If last night's episode of The White Lotus had you thinking, "I should book a trip to Thailand," you're not alone. When the location of Season 3 was first announced, interest in travel to Thailand skyrocketed. And the two previous locations — the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina, Sicily, and the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Wailea, Hawaii — both saw increased traffic thanks to the popularity of the Mike White series. This phenomenon of media influencing travel has even been dubbed "the White Lotus effect." While you anxiously await the next episode, learn how and why the show landed on Thailand for this season.
Must Reads
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Science
World's First Astronaut With a Physical Disability Is Approved for Long-Term Space Missions
Michael Evers/picture alliance via Getty Images
Over the past 25 years, the International Space Station has been a home far away from home for more than 270 astronauts from various countries and backgrounds. Yet an astronaut with a physical disability has never been cleared to visit the space station, until now. John McFall, a 43-year-old surgeon and former Paralympian for Great Britain, is officially the first astronaut with a disability to be medically certified for a long-duration space mission. The milestone comes over 20 years after McFall had his right leg amputated following a motorcycle accident. "I'm proud for me, but I'm proud of the mindset shift that this has achieved," McFall said at a media briefing from the European Space Agency. To get the medical clearance, McFall participated in an extensive study to see if it was technically feasible to fly someone with a physical disability like his to space as a fully integrated crew member. Now that feasibility has been confirmed, he'll begin the "Mission Ready" phase of the study. So while there's still more work to be done, things are looking bright. "I would hope that between 2027 and the end of this decade, we'll see a European astronaut with a physical disability as part of the International Space Station crew," he told The Guardian last fall. We're rooting for you, John!
Together With Pacaso
The Innovators Flipping a $1.3 Trillion Market
It didn't take long for Spencer Rascoff and Austin Allison to see that the $1.3 trillion vacation home market was full of untapped potential. So after growing Zillow to a $16 billion valuation, these real estate disruptors created Pacaso to introduce co-ownership. And by handing keys to more than 1,500 happy homeowners, Pacaso has earned over $100 million in gross profits. No wonder top firms like SoftBank and Maveron invested. Now, the company is focused on international expansion, achieving record-breaking sales in Paris, securing seven homes in Cabo, and recently buying its most valuable European property to date in London. You can join them as an investor — but with this expansion underway, the current share price won't last long. Invest at $2.70/share by Thursday.
This is a paid advertisement for Pacaso's Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com.
Environment
The Comeback Kit: Otters Are a Step Closer to Repopulating on the Oregon Coast
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Like any good comeback story, this one starts with a struggle. Sea otters have been missing from the Oregon coast for over a century, after being nearly hunted to extinction in the U.S. due to the fur trade. But conservation initiatives over the years helped turn the tide — and now the cute faces are poised to pop back up in the state, with help from a $1.56 million grant. "This whole effort is a mission of hope," Robert Kentta told The Oregonian. Kentta is a Siletz Tribal Council member and board member of the Elakha Alliance, a nonprofit on a quest to bring sea otters back to Oregon. The grant will allow tribes and partners to work with scientists on choosing potential sites to repopulate the otters along an 800-mile stretch of coastline in Oregon and Northern California. Tribes will also gather cultural and traditional ecological knowledge about species and help prepare public outreach efforts to communicate the why behind the conservation movement. "They're the guardians of the kelp forest," Elakha Alliance executive director Jane Bacchieri explained. She added that the keystone species controls the invasive sea urchin population and keeps the ecosystem in a more balanced and resilient position, making an otter comeback all the more vital amid climate change.
Culture
Some of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Sketches Are Headed Stateside
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To see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, a trip to Vatican City is in order. But a new exhibition is bringing the iconic frescos to the Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, Virginia — well, at least sketches of them. From March 6 (the Italian artist's 550th birthday) through May 28, the "Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine" exhibit will feature 25 rarely seen sketches Michelangelo created to map out the Sistine Chapel's design. Although the Renaissance master made hundreds or perhaps even thousands of sketches during the planning process, fewer than 50 exist today, as he destroyed many of them, Smithsonian Magazine reports. Some of the exhibit highlights include his plans for"The Last Judgment"and figures that didn't end up in the final design, as well as large, highly detailed re-creations of scenes from the Sistine Chapel. "That's where it's really going to become powerful for viewers," museum director David Brashear told Artnet. "Like, 'this is the head of one of the figures in the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes' and 'this is what it looks like in the final form, as Michelangelo put it up on the ceiling.'" Scroll through some of the sketches.
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Betty White stamps will be released next month to commemorate the actor's "warmth, wit, and charisma" (read more)
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Something We Love
LA Fire Fundraiser Mug and Stickers This sweet, simple design from Jennifer Vallez says so much. My aunt got me the mug, and I quickly ordered a batch of stickers for myself and loved ones. There are also hats, tumblers, and T-shirts available, and all net proceeds are split between the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the American Red Cross, and Best Friends Animal Society. – Marika Spitulski, Writer
When Carlton Mackey first searched the hashtag #BlackMenSmile, nothing showed up. So he made it his mission to change that, and started a movement to show Black men in "another modality of existence," he said — "one of joy." Today, the movement has grown into an Instagram account with over 100,000 followers and a clothing brand featuring designs like "Black Love Is Black Power" and "Black Joy Is Revolutionary."
Photo of the Day
MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images
What you're seeing here is "boto therapy" in action — a program launched by Brazilian physiotherapist Igor Simoes Andrade in 2016. Andrade brings people with physical and mental disabilities to swim with pink freshwater dolphins in the Amazon, known as "botos" in Portuguese.
You're Invited: Join Bonner, America's Most Unique Wine Club
Just when you think you've tried it all, along comes a wine so rare, it almost never reaches the U.S. From the heart of the Andes Mountains to your doorstep, the Bonner Private Wine Partnership brings you extraordinary wines unlike anything you've tasted. Join the club to discover extreme altitude Argentine wines and other rare, small-batch bottles from around the world.
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