DOWNTOWN — Hi and welcome to the Block Club. It's a DNAinfo blog about, well, whatever. It's our special place for posts about pets with thumbs and other important things.
Also, we'll share some of our favorite stuff from around the internet.
Here goes!
Best Sandwich Ever? Jen Sabella is trying to eat clean on weekdays, so this USA Today story about the breaded steak sandwich at Ricobene’s being the best in the world is slowly killing her.
"I AM SO DELICIOUS! KALE IS THE WORST! EAT MEEEE!"
Don’t Worry, Get Dirty: DNAinfo’s resident urban gardener Patty Wetli is digging this blog post on the power of soil to make you happy. Toss that Prozac prescription and go put your hands in some dirt — if you can find it under the snow.
Wrinkles Aren’t Just for People: Kyla Gardner loves this National Geographic article on why some animals (like sharpeis and elephants) are wrinkly, but this line about naked mole rats from Field Museum curator Bruce Patterson will give her nightmares for weeks: “All burrowing rodents have loose skin because they live in confined tunnels and need to turn around, virtually inside their skins.” See them at the Lincoln Park Zoo!
Could Rahm’s Decision to Close 50 Schools Cost Him the Election? Today’s must-read for political junkies like Heather Cherone is the New York Times story about the impact of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s decision to close dozens of schools — mostly on the South and West Side in 2013 — on the April 7 runoff between Emanuel and Cook County Comissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. The take away: "in the end, it may be the education agenda that [Emanuel] proudly, defiantly and swiftly carried out that threatens his political future." This isn’t news to anyone in Chicago, but it is interesting to see it getting national attention.
Mars: Still Pretending to be Red After All These Years: Sci-fi snob Darryl Holliday took this story from IFLScience! way too seriously. It turns out the Mars Curiosity rover dug three holes beneath the red, iron oxide-covered crust of Mars and found that the planet’s color is actually a slate-blue like wet concrete. Acidic leaching, global conspiracy, or both?
We may not get a good look at Mars without a telescope any time soon but check out the Adler Planetarium’s #LookUp series on Instagram for updates on stargazing from Chicago. Hint: Jupiter was visible directly to the left of the gibbous moon on Monday. Thanks, Adler!
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