The Weekly Wrap: July 13, 2025

On Friday, while waiting for our kiddo's bus to summer camp, I found a maple leaf seed on the ground. I called the kiddo over and showed her how to break it in half, split it open, and wear it on her nose. She thought it was hysterical and walked back to her friends saying, "I'm an elephant."

When I logged on to work afterwards, I told my colleagues about how I had passed on this classic childhood activity. But, what I thought was common knowledge turned out to be regional lore. Not a single one of my colleagues had ever heard of this. To quote one of them, "must be a northern thing ;)"

Of the group of us who were online at the time, I was the only one who had spent time in the Northeast, where maple trees are common. It turns out this little moment was just a small, sweet piece of local culture. The kind of thing passed from kid to kid, or parent to kid. It made me wonder how many of our childhood memories are shaped not just by age, but by geography. Things that are common for some kids are complete unknowns to others, even if they were growing up at the same time.

What did you grow up doing that you thought everyone knew but later realized might be specific to your hometown area?

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• How to use AI at work to catch up when you come back from vacation. [Lauren McGoodwin]
• "Male rage is being coddled, voiced, and shown on TV, but what of my rage? My loss of rights? My own stupid chair." [Men Yell at Me]
• Just a delightfully cute, good news story. [WaPo - gift link]

• The Scopes trial was real, but it was also staged. [Short Wave]
• For love of a stinky cheese. [Atlas Obscura]
• Your passion made need a new outlet. [Hidden Brain]
• Food deserts are a policy choice. [99% Invisible]

• I was hoping that The Old Guard would get a sequel. Sadly, The Old Guard 2 is not nearly as good as the first. It's more convoluted. It adds characters and world building to an almost  unnecessary level. While it was a fine Friday night watch, I wish they had streamlined the storytelling. [Netflix]
• I'm so glad it's Tour de France season. Most nights, we turn on the rewatch of that day's route. While we do fast forward through some of the lulls in action (so as not to go to bed at midnight), it's fun to see the team strategy and bursts of action. Also, I love that the announcers do call out local sights and fun things happening along the road.  As for the riders, I've taken to Quinn Simmons. He's just so American it's almost painful. I appreciate that, on the day he decided to go for it, he put is hair back. [Peacock]

• Panzanella has been on my list of meals to make for years. I finally made it during this recent heat wave. It was the perfect meal for the weather. I loved the flavor but it did feel like a side dish. It would have been nice paired with some grilled chicken. Next time, I'll also cut the bread cubes a bit smaller. Finally, the recipe I used did not call for vinegar. I tossed in a few tablespoons of red wine vinegar because I thought the recipe needed it. I was right. [Skinny Taste]
• We found a new recipe the kiddo will eat with no changes! Pasta with peas and bacon - easy, simple, and tasty. I didn't use enough pasta water so things were a bit dry but, otherwise, this was fantastic. [Budget Bytes]
• For my lunch meal prep, I chopped up bell pepper and feta chickpea salad. It was good but on the light side when spread across three meals. I would have added another pepper and can of chickpeas. Alternatively, this might have been tasty stuffed into a pita. [Eating Well]