Simple solution, but thoughtful in multiple ways.

• Sorts bottles from the rest of the trash.
• Bottles don't overload the small trashcan.
• Keeps it clean. Bottles left beside a trash can often flip and spill leftovers.
• Help homeless people collect the bottles without making a mess.

Before telephones were widely adopted, the way people shared their “profiles” in USSR was by giving or sending each other a picture of themselves.

Friends were giving it to friends.

Colleagues to colleagues.

Soldiers to young girls.

and some more soldiers. Yes, my grandma was popular.

My grandpa to my grandma.

My grandma to my grandpa.

Sending letters and photos for 4 years before they ... got married. This year was their 50th anniversary.

When we hear about Thai food we immediately think that it's something spicy. Actually, it is not nearly as spicy as it used to be 200 years ago.

But what's interesting is that before the 1600s Thai food was NOT spicy at all. It was the time that Portuguese merchants were coming from the Americas and brought chili peppers to the Middle East, India, and Siam. The origin of chili peppers is Mesoamerica and it was discovered and introduced to the rest of the world by Columbus. Since then it became one of the main ingredients of Thai cuisine.

I grew up not knowing the beauty of spicy food. Now I can't imagine my life without it.

Living in Thailand, I noticed that the 13th floor was commonly missing in the apartment buildings. Instead, the 13th floor was called 12A. That is due to the triskaidekaphobia (superstition regarding the number thirteen), and most of the developers try to avoid it. This is not unique to Thailand, it’s common around the globe.

Many buildings in China would skip the 4th floor or any floor that contains the number 4 ( 4, 14, 24, 34...) because it sounds similar to the Chinese word for death. This is also true for the Chinese developments overseas, like in Canada or South East Asia, where all the floors with #4 and #13 could be missing. Luckily authorities stopped issuing permits for such developments due to fire safety reasons.

Number 9 is feared in Japan because it sounds similar to the word for torture or suffering.

You can tell that the pedestrian space was done with love and care if you see stripy tile (corduroy paving) or grooves made in the pavement around the poles or other objects obstructing the walkway. It’s a rare occasion.

(To bookmark) These tactile tiles are for blind or as they are typically called vision-impaired people. Stripy/groovy to follow along (or not to be crossed) and dotted to stop, if dots are in a grid and there are a bunch of them - it’s a street crossing or elevator/escalator, if the dots are offset - it’s the edge of a train/tram platform.

The joy of flipping the vinyl has changed to a simple push of a button. Mindfulness that each change of the vinyl brought could be compared to a cheese or wine tasting, rather than now we shove it into our ears, gloating one song after another.

Every time you stand up from your desk and walk to the player to switch the song - teleports you back to reality, away from your black mirror. One of the wonders we forgot.