An original Rosie the Riveter is making masks and lobbying Congress to recognize women’s contributions to the war effort.

During another difficult moment in human history—World War II—women who went to work in factories and shipyards donned scarves on their heads to keep sweat and hair off their faces. These women were represented by the iconic Rosie the Riveter poster, in which a female wartime worker wears a red polka-dot bandana. Now, one of the original Rosies has started making face masks out of that same patterned fabric as part of the fight against COVID-19.

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A number of brands are removing racial stereotypes from their products. Will Trader Joe’s follow suit?

The past few months have been a time of reckoning for brands built on racist imagery. Now, Trader Joe’s is being called out for some of its own questionable branding.

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At this point, it’s just a prototype, but it shows the potential of radically rethinking our materials.

The fact that personal protective equipment is in short supply is well known. The national stockpile was nearly empty as of April 1, and states have been sourcing their own supplies.

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It’s like a computer that you can slice in half, then just stick back together again.

It’s impossible to forget the terrifying invincibility of the T-1000 liquid metal robot in Terminator 2. Even when shot with bullets, or split apart by explosions, the robotic goop would slowly form itself back together, healing itself anew.

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Get sucked in for hours at a time. What else do you have to do?

In her book How Games Move Us (2016), computer games researcher Katherine Isbister writes that her friends and colleagues believe that gaming might numb people’s emotions. Given the possible connection between games and violence, it may be understandable that they think this, but Isbister disagrees with them. She writes that “games can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences.”

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This flat-pack purse is designed to be shipped.

Ikea built an empire out of a simple idea: furniture designed in such a way that it could be flat-packed to ease shipping costs and eliminate the need for a delivery truck. Today, that same innovation comes to purses, as the Milan-based bag label Up To You Anthology has created a flat-pack purse. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, along with leather and felt options. And yes, just like Ikea furniture, you have to assemble it yourself.

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Just in time for quarantine.

After being stuck inside for six weeks, there’s a good chance we’re tired of looking at our own homes. Fortuitously, Apple TV+ has a new docuseries that gives us a glimpse inside other people’s homes and speaks to our current reality in quarantine, as our worlds are increasingly defined by where and how we live.

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Three hospitals are using nature to improve the well-being of workers in an environment that feels anything but natural.

The coronavirus pandemic is taking a huge toll on the mental well-being of healthcare workers. The shifts are long, and often, heartbreaking, as medical workers bear witness to the impact of the coronavirus on patients and their families firsthand—while barely getting to see their own families for support along the way. In response, some hospitals are offering a new way to help these workers catch a break.

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It’s called the Square. And we need it, pronto.

Tens of millions of people are working from home. Zoom use has exploded as we’ve turned to video chats—even though they’re exhausting. And whenever we do go back to our offices, we probably won’t all go back. To enable social distancing, more people will work in shifts, and remotely.

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Ron Arad designs masks depicting the smiles of William Shakespeare and Florence Nightingale, as well as grinning portraits taken from paintings by Picasso, Matisse, and Dalí.

Even if you’ve perfected the art of “smizing”—a craft named by Tyra Banks that gives the impression of a smile by slightly squinting your eyes without moving any of your face below—the now ubiquitous face mask leaves a person with a lot of blank canvas to work with below the eyes. A new fundraiser for Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) called “Smile for our NHS” puts that canvas to good use, with a series of masks depicting famous artists from the nose down.

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