Upstream
Bright Side: Otter Maps, Nacho Day, And A Robot That Takes Out Your Trash
For your election fatigue.
Lauren Bair Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.
This week, there's a map for that, it's nacho November, robots take over a job we never wanted, and wieners — but make 'em fine art.
Healing Maps For Voter Fatigue
Did anyone else sear their retinas by watching election maps this week? Refresh your peepers with a map that shows exactly where you can keep an otter as a pet (and float on your backs in your inflatable pool, holding hands-paws, and cracking open freshwater mussels together).
Tired of the election map? The yellow states are the states where you can legally own an otter. pic.twitter.com/RuvBrYxctm
— Todd Jones 🦊 (@toddrjones) November 3, 2026
You Guys v Y'All in the United States
by in MapPorn
In Queso You Missed It
I'll take on your enchiladas and chimichangas to argue that nachos are the most universally beloved tortilla dish other than chips straight out of the bag. Lucky for Tex-Mex lovers, it's nacho average weekend because November 6 is National Nachos Day. Pass the squeezy cheese.
Need your own puppy fix? Tune in to this live puppy cam from Finland any day of the week. Sounds like somebody's good boy deserves the new Starbucks holiday pup cup.
Welcome, Robots
Don't freak out; it's still in testing. But Revere Robotics has built a little yellow robot to do your chores. Specifically, Curbie is designed to take your garbage out, happily carting your trash bin from your door to the curb, rain or shine — no complaints.
Now's the part where someone informs me that they like hauling their bins around, or that this is an overbuilt solution for a non-problem with everything going on in the world. I get it. But let's see how the robots do with a few basic chores (I fully admit these humanoid housecleaners are the stuff of nightmares) before we make any rash decisions about handing everything over to our robot overlords.
I'm Dreaming Of A …
So what actually counts as a "white Christmas"? Roughly an inch of snow on the ground by 7 a.m. on December 25. Since grass might still be peeking through, maybe we should call it white-ish, but this live map lets you check your precipitation status. There's also a "chance of a white Christmas" between Ohio and the Pacific Northwest, and they're calling for scattered plastic flamingos dressed in festive scarves in Florida.
Now that we have that nailed down, does anyone know what time you're supposed to eat Thanksgiving dinner? Chefs say 3 p.m. — do you agree? (Quick follow-up question: Does anyone else's dad pour milk over warm apple pie? Asking for a friend.)
In Case You Missed It Check out highlights from Upstream this week!
AI Filmmakers Are Making Movies Hollywood Never Would
What Happened When I Stopped Dressing In Sweatpants For A Month A Turtle, A Straw, And A Decade Of Bad Ideas
What 'Sense And Sensibility' Gets Right About Love That Modern Dating Gets Wrong
And my very own plea for Thanksgiving sanity: Are We Going To Let Christmas Gobble Up Thanksgiving?
Stop by the comments section (or email me) for free hugs and compliments from strangers. (Just putting it out there.) Enjoy your weekend! — Lauren
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