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8 Apr, 6 tweets, 3 min read
Early in the pandemic, @anne_theriault scrolled across some plush toys being sold online. But they weren’t teddy bears; they were plague doctors, and they're popular. Are these kinds of toys helping people navigate discomfort around death and disease? thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 1/6
“After admitting to myself that I wanted one,” writes @anne_theriault, “my main misgiving was that the producers of the toy, a US-based company called Squishable, might be trying to profit off of the mounting COVID-19 death toll.” Read the story here: thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 2/6
The plushies are created by @squishable, a company known for its quirky designs. Squishable typically releases a few limited-edition designs a year. In the case of the Mysterious Doctor Plague, it has already been restocked several times. More here: thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 3/6
And the plague doctor toy isn’t the only COVID-19 collectable flying off the shelves. Coronavirus-microbe plushies are increasingly popular too. Read about the strange allure of these pandemic toys here: thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 4/6
Nearly 200 people have left reviews explaining why they bought a plush coronavirus microbe and what they love about it. Some are health care providers, some had bought the toy for COVID-19 survivors, and some are apparently just microbe enthusiasts. thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 5/6
The push-pull feelings created by something weird or frightening made cute are interesting. And many describe finding comfort in seeing the virus rendered harmless and cuddly. Read @anne_theriault’s story about coronavirus toys going viral here: thewalrus.ca/coronavirus-to… 6/6

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More from @thewalrus

The Walrus Profile picture
9 Apr
British Columbia’s old-growth forest battle is heating up. @hmrustad, a features editor at The Walrus, will take over @thewalrus account to explain more. For a backgrounder, here’s his story from 2016: thewalrus.ca/big-lonely-dou… 1/9
Hi everyone, this is @hmrustad. My 2016 article was about a single Vancouver Island tree that was saved by a logger. Big Lonely Doug is a twenty-storey-tall Douglas fir and is estimated to be 1,000 years old. thewalrus.ca/big-lonely-dou… 2/9
It’s been thirty years since activists blockaded roads near Clayoquot Sound and Carmanah Valley, both on Vancouver Island, in protest of logging old-growth forests. In Clayoquot, nearly a thousand protestors were arrested. thewalrus.ca/big-lonely-dou… 3/9 Image
Read 9 tweets
The Walrus Profile picture
9 Apr
Stay tuned for a Twitter takeover by @intothemelwoods talking about her pandemic love letter to karaoke: thewalrus.ca/this-pandemic-… 1/14
Hi everyone! I’m @intothemelwoods, here to tell you the story behind my article about what we all lost when the pandemic shut karaoke down. 2/14
First of all, I LOVE karaoke. In the “before times,” every few weeks, you could find me at Funky Winker Beans, in Vancouver, doing my very best Alanis Morissette impression on the main stage. 3/14
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The Walrus Profile picture
7 Apr
Today is #WorldHealthDay. Over the past year, health care has been top of mind for everyone around the world. And it has been no different for the team at @thewalrus. Here are some stories, talks, and podcasts that we’re thinking about (thread ahead!)
Early in the pandemic, The Walrus team started Record of a Pandemic, which includes stories of what everyone is going through during this unusual time. Check out the series here: thewalrus.ca/covid-19/ #WorldHealthDay
In the #SlaightPrize–nominated article “Your Brain on COVID-19,” science writer Carolyn Abraham explains why our minds are not designed to process threats like the coronavirus pandemic. #WorldHealthDay thewalrus.ca/your-brain-on-…
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The Walrus Profile picture
7 Apr
The term “fake news” entered the public lexicon circa 2016, during the US presidential election, when the internet was flooded with inaccurate information. Now, as @vivianefairbank explains, fact-checking is on the rise. More here: thewalrus.ca/how-do-we-exit… 1/7
In 2014, there were fewer than sixty initiatives around the world focused exclusively on checking others’ claims. Today, there are more than 300. Read about the rise of fact-checking here: thewalrus.ca/how-do-we-exit… 2/7
The growing instinct to fact-check isn’t particular to journalists either: it’s part of a growing cultural movement of revision and debunking. Podcasts like @revhistpodcast and @yourewrongabout get listeners to think of well-known stories differently. thewalrus.ca/how-do-we-exit… 3/7
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6 Apr
When the first-wave lockdowns happened in March 2020, writer @KBabstock was kept afloat by financial assistance from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). Then, suddenly, the government demanded the money back. More here:
thewalrus.ca/when-death-is-… 1/5
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) wanted proof that @KBabstock’s 2019 income had been more than $5,000 to confirm eligibility for CERB. But it refused to count the arts grant he had received that year as income and asked him to repay $10,000. More here: thewalrus.ca/when-death-is-… 2/5
Like many writers, @KBabstock was already financially precarious. Then, COVID-19. His University of Toronto course was cancelled. Three residency/fellowship opportunities: cancelled. His next book: bumped from spring to fall. Prospects looked grim. thewalrus.ca/when-death-is-… 3/5
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The Walrus Profile picture
5 Apr
From the shared microphones to the passed-around laminated song lists caked in stale beer, a karaoke bar is a hotspot for viral transmission. Many jurisdictions have banned most karaoke-like activities. So when will karaoke be back? More here: thewalrus.ca/this-pandemic-… 1/6 #COVID19
Before the pandemic, @intothemelwoods would rarely go two weeks without a trip to a karaoke bar. Belting out songs can be both “a stimulant and an antidepressant” for some, or a means of self-discovery. thewalrus.ca/this-pandemic-… 2/6
But multiple studies have shown exactly how bad of an idea public singing is in this moment: when a person projects their voice, they also project those pesky respiratory droplets that can carry the coronavirus. Read @intothemelwoods’s article here: thewalrus.ca/this-pandemic-… 3/6
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