The Weekly Wrap: October 17, 2021

Why are mosquitos a thing?

I understand that bats eat mosquitoes (thanks, bats!) but other than being vectors for disease, what purpose do they serve?! *screams the woman who got 5 bites standing outside for 30 seconds*

There is scientific evidence that mosquitos are, indeed, attracted to certain people more than others.  (It's not in your head!) I am one of those people. Whenever mosquitos are around, they go for the ankles, back of the knees, and the one spot on your arm you can never comfortably reach to itch. If I don't cover up, use repellent, or stand in a cloud of citronella, I am guaranteed to be a feast for the blood suckers.

Within minutes, these bites erupt into raised areas of swelling, turn red, and itch like mad. If I can control myself through the first burst of itching, I tend to be okay. But, more often than not, I don't notice that I'm already itching a bite and then I'm stuck with scratchy spots for a few days.

But, seriously, would there be a global calamity if we eradicated mosquitos? It's October and I'm still smacking the buggers off my skin. Thanks, global warming!

Which bug annoys you the most?

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• The rainbow colors of the moon. [GreenFlash.Photo]
• The uniquely American invention of the Chinese food takeout container. [The Dieline]
• I'm shocked - shocked, I say! - to hear that women took on additional office work during the pandemic but were not rewarded or recognized for it. [HBR]
• Smart raccoon. [@notaterrornerd]
• Are these the most iconic book covers in history? [Lit Hub]
• Put these things in your dishwasher. [Apartment Therapy]

• Honoring the foodways of your heritage. [Life Kit]
• Gravestone recipes. [Atlas Obscura]
• Would you say that to a friend? Self compassion is good for you. [Hidden Brain]
• Feeding a sourdough library. [Atlas Obscura]
• How nostalgia moved from disease to economic force. [Throughline]

• Contagion​ is one of those movies I will always watch. It was a great movie before COVID and, while it's creepier now, it's still a great movie. When we watched this week, I was struck by just how prescient much of it was. [Amazon Prime]
• John Oliver covering the topic of misinformation should be required viewing. [Last Week Tonight]

• Our new salmon recipe of the week was sheet pan balsamic salmon. It was a touch more involved than I thought it would be (somehow I missed you had to reduce the sauce), but the result was tasty. I don't recommend making the reduction in advance. I did and it seized up so I had to thin it with more balsamic. [Sitka Salmon Shares]
• I love soup but it's a bit tricky for our toddler to eat. So, I made a creamy chicken noodle skillet. All the flavor of soup with less of a mess. Despite adding peas - our kiddo's current favorite vegetable - she didn't touch it. I liked it and the leftovers aren't bad. [The Girl Who Ate Everything]