Backward Thinking

From a telephone pole along the Burke-Gilman to a display outside a shuttered sushi restaurant, signs around the city forecasted the end of the internet on December 2 of last year, or 12022021. The palindrome date (and apparent book marketing stunt) did not inspire the panic of Y2K but rather a fleeting relief that people might log off for once.

Bragging Rights

In 1990, E. Donnall Thomas won a Nobel Prize for developing bone marrow transplants to treat leukemia and other cancers. How much is that honor worth? $312,500, apparently. The late Fred Hutch leader’s gold medal was sold at auction for that amount, with a portion of the proceeds going to the cancer research center.

Xbox Chills Out

Microsoft’s gaming brand heeded the Twittersphere’s calls for a mini fridge made in the image of its Series X console. With a matte-black facade and inner green glow, the meme-turned-reality fits up to 12 cans at a time. Red Bulls not included.

Fun with Ferries

Washington State Ferries has coined its next boat Wishkah, “honoring a river that earned a nod on a Nirvana record and that Lower Chehalis people may have referred to as, yes, “stinking water.” Monikers “Sir Floats-a-Lot” and “Always Late” did not make the cut.

Lego Trafficking

Turns out the recent Awesome Exhibition of Legos at Seattle Center may have inspired too much anticipation. A Pike Place Market store owner was recently arrested for selling 171 stolen Lego sets. His plug favored the Star Wars variety; the cops called it Operation: MandalOrganized Retail Theft.