Wild at heart. Giant panda population has nearly doubled since they were listed as endangered (’90s kids remember). It’s all thanks to humans – people monitored their dating lives, analysed their poop, dressed up as adult pandas to babysit them. Because pandas are basically nepo babies of the conservation world. They did none of the work. Here’s a cookie.
In a purple haze. There’s now a street in New York called Jimi Hendrix Way. His family has been campaigning for this since the 1970s. While NYC is a bit late to the party, Seattle already has a park, a statue and a post office dedicated to him. India’s tributes include a Hendrix Café in Guwahati and a Hendrix veg roll in Rishikesh, which tastes decent, BTW.
Saying Gotcha! Peru’s police force has a costume budget and zero chill. They just conducted a drug raid dressed as the 2026 World Cup mascots – Clutch the Bald Eagle and Maple the Moose – because their target was a football fan. Officers have previously gone undercover as a giant teddy bear on Valentine’s Day, Marvel superheroes, the Grinch, Deadpool, Wolverine and Santa Claus. Why wasn’t this a Brooklyn Nine-Nine subplot?
Staying invested. Watching stocks tumble is no fun. Watching a motocross rider go across the up-down graph is more fun than we expected. StonkRider is a browser-based game that lets you launch off peaks, pull off mid-air tricks and chase the fastest times. Follow the highs and lows of the market without risking a single rupee.
Prepping our skin. Make space on your bathroom shelf, P-beauty is coming. P as in Filipino. One brand, Bini, has viral lip jellies and highlighters. Another, Issy & Co, has a setting spray that (according to one influencer) lasted through a storm. Most formulations are tweaked for hot, humid life in The Philippines. Perfect for India. So, Nykaa, when do we add them to cart?
Acting childish. Walking like you’re an NPC is an old trick. With Toy Story 5 is out this week, gymnasts and dancers are posting videos of themselves as inanimate figurines. They’re falling down as if they were a stiff-limbed, legs never bending, arms locked in position. It’s so believable, you can almost hear a confused Woody yelling, “You… are… a… toy?”
Throwing hands. See what scientists in Myanmar did when it came to naming a prehistoric bug species. They saw its crab-like claws and thought, “Ah, just like the Step Out hand sign from the Korean boy band Stray Kids!” So, they named it Carcinonepa libererrantes, Latin for wandering children, aka Stray Kids. The most epic one-upping among all fandoms.
In edit mode. Adrian Chiralla, director of the new queer horror Leviticus, knows how fans thrive on edits. So, he’s feeding into their obsession with “scene packs” or clips they can use for fancams and Reels. He’s even encouraged them to have fun with their “unhinged little masterpieces”. Can all movies start doing this so we don’t have to rely on blurry screenshots?
From HT Brunch, June 20, 2026
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