We’re in the first week of May and there’s a lot coming up this month. First off, today is Cinco de Mayo and Taco Tuesday, so order a taco trio from your favorite local restaurant to enjoy while browsing through this week’s quick reads.
We may have food on our mind —read on for celebrating Cinco de Mayo: Quarantine Edition along with how mini pancakes are the latest viral food trend —but we’re also celebrating the recent Pulitzer Prize winners and looking at the future of the workplace.
2020 Pulitzer Prize Winners
Yesterday, the Pulitzer Prizes were awarded to news organizations, journalists, and writers for their outstanding achievements in 2019. Of note was The Anchorage Daily News with contributions from ProPublica winning the prestigious public service award for their yearlong investigation into sexual violence in Alaska. Other highlights include the staff of The Baltimore Sun and their win in the category of Local Reporting for their reporting of former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh’s ‘Healthy Holly’ book publishing scheme that led to her resignation and subsequent federal conviction.
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Home
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders may have made it nearly impossible to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but you can still bring the festivities to your home. In addition to ordering some tacos from your favorite restaurant, brands are creating virtual events and digital campaigns to celebrate.
Adweek shares some of their favorites, including Patrón’s Virtual Bar that will raise money directly for bartenders and charities supporting hospitality workers. The tequila brand will host a five-hour Instagram Live featuring bartenders sharing how to make margaritas at home. Cholula is also using Instagram Live to host a Tacothon fundraiser that will raise money for independent restaurants. For every viewer who tunes in to see celebrity chefs sharing their taco tips, the hot sauce company will donate $1 to a trade group helping local restaurants impacted by COVID-19.
TikTok’s Newest Viral Craze: Pancake Cereal
We’ve moved on from Dalgona coffee to another breakfast staple: pancakes. Each week brings a new viral recipe on TikTok, and this week it’s pancake cereal. Refinery29 explains the latest trend of eating mini pancakes along with milk and syrup like a bowl of cereal. These tiny pancakes appeared in TikTok earlier this week and the hashtag #pancakecereal already has over five million views. What will next week bring? Tomato soup shooters with a grilled cheese crouton?
The End of the Open-Floor Office
Open office plans are a key feature of modern workplaces. They encourage collaboration and creativity, and also enable companies to fit more people into pricey office space. With COVID-19 now a new member of the workforce, offices will need to get a makeover to keep employees safe as they return to their desks.
The New York Times takes a look at what the “new normal” office could look like, including the new sneeze guard barrier at every desk. Creating a virus-free office isn’t a reality, but there are basic steps offices can take to lower the risk. In addition to these barriers, having fewer people in a space, eliminating shared desks, and allowing more employees to work from home are all possibilities for the future of the workplace. Cubicles may be coming back, or you may find yourself purchasing that standing desk for a more comfortable home office.
