Covid-19 Victims Who Lost Sense of Smell Are Leaving Bad Reviews for Scented Candles, and Other News

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A common COVID-19 symptom is ruining scented candle reviews on Amazon.

Scented candle companies may be falling victim to an unintended consequence of COVID-19: An influx of bad reviews from people who report they can’t smell the fragrance, a common side effect of the coronavirus. Kate Petrova, a research assistant in the psychology department at Bryn Mawr College, compiled the Amazon reviews for scented and unscented candles over the past few years, then posted the data visualization on Twitter. What she found was relatively stable reviews from January 2017 to January 2020, followed by a sharp increase in negative reviews between January and November of 2020. Reviews for unscented candles during the same periods showed no such increase. London-based PhD student Moritz Wagner found a similar trend in the UK Amazon reviews for perfumes. Twitter user @TerriDrawsStuff summed up the trend perfectly: “There are angry ladies all over Yankee Candle’s site reporting that none of the candles they just got had any smell at all. I wonder if they’re feeling a little hot and nothing has much taste for the last couple days too.”

In San Francisco, parklets are saving restaurants and creating more vibrant urban space.

Parklets have been quickly taking over parking spots all over San Francisco, and most are the result of design professionals offering discounted or pro bono services. During the pandemic, architects, designers, artists, and contractors have been volunteering their time to not only help local restaurants, but also generate ideas about what public space could look like in the future. One Bay Area landscape architect, Alec Hawley of Fauvescraper Studio, estimated that the work he spent on three parklets, pamphlets about zoning, and other advocacy labor adds up to nearly $20,000. The Oakland Indie Alliance, an advocacy group for small business owners, asked if any of its members couldn’t afford to build parklets and 30 responded right away. Three parklets were built as a result, with two more underway. 

Zaha Hadid Architects unveils visuals for the Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum.

Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled a sinuous design for the Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum, which is slated to open in China’s Guangming Science City. The aspirational project will be linked to schools, universities, and innovation centers across the country and aims to showcase Shenzhen’s position as a hotbed of innovation and technology. The London-based firm designed the new museum to be as intuitive as possible—its core elements comprise a sequence of interconnecting public spaces, galleries, and educational facilities centered around an atrium courtyard. It’s also slated to become a benchmark for sustainability within the city’s civic architecture, with the firm taking into account wind tunnel testing, thermal performance, natural lighting, wind levels, air quality, and the region’s subtropical climate in the building’s design. Completion of the project is currently slated for late 2023.

Greenhouse Auctions will fund scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities.

Launching its inaugural sale on December 2, Greenhouse Auctions has opened for early bidding. The new auction house’s business model only acquires consignments from galleries and artists directly and contributes to art history scholarships at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Titled Sourdough, the show features works by 17 emerging and established artists working across mediums, such as Nick Farhi’s painting Homes That Morph (2020) and Amanda Genty’s Proximity (2020). “I like that the transparency of the platform is meant to create similarly sustaining artist-collector relationships,” participating artist Sophy Naess tells Hyperallergic. “That part of the proceeds from sales go towards Art History scholarships at HBCUs also appeals to my desire for structural change in my field.”

Today’s attractive distractions:

Maybe Southwest Airlines is behind the Utah monolith’s disappearance.

Feast your eyes on a book dedicated exclusively to pictures of citrus.

A couple unearths 60 bottles of Prohibition-era whiskey in their home.

Konstantin Grcic upcycles soft-top vehicle roofs into sleek tote bags.