1 . Remember the woman in Port Hood, N. S. whose recipe for meat rolls spread all over the internet? The dog from Quebec that attracted hundreds of thousands of followers for its advice on surviving social isolation? The pilot whose path over Nova Scotia formed the shape of a heart?

All of their stories, and dozens more, are collected in a new book by two Canadian authors. It took Heather Down and Catherine Kenwell just a little more than seven weeks to collect the stories behind the 49 uplifting moments they recorded during the pandemic.

The book includes everything from the tale of Robbie Griffiths, the father from Paradise, N. L. who dressed up as Spider-Man so kids could have something positive in their day, to Carter Mann, the Grade 5 student from Sudbury, Ont, who wrote a poem to encourage front-line heroes including his own father, who is a health carer.

“Not Canceled: Canadian Caremongering in the Face of COVID-19” is a reminder that a lot of positive things happened during lockdown. The book’s title is a nod to the Canadian attitude and reaction to the pandemic, as the word “caremongering” has Canadian roots. Even the number of stories is no accident: it’s a reference to the 49th parallel, along which runs the Canada-U. S. border between Manitoba and B. C.

One of the stories in “Not Canceled” centers on the marriage of a couple in B. C. They may have had to shift their celebrations to a living room, but the ceremony was far from lonely. Friends showed up in their cars outside, with everyone tuned into the same radio station, so the bride and groom could have their first dance in the middle of the street.

Down wanted to document how the nation navigated such dark times with kindness. She told CTV News that “the response has been amazing. I’m so pleased.”

The stories included in the book are just the tip of the iceberg. Down says that there are so many stories left over that she and Kenwell might just have to do a second book.

2 . As my head moved up and down on the Zoom screen, private messages poured in from my colleagues: “What are you doing there?” “Are you sitting on a ball?” “Are you walking?” I could feel their eyes on me — inquiring, interested, confused. Clearly, this wasn’t a normal faculty meeting. I replied I was walking on my new under desk treadmill (跑步机).

I didn’t have to worry about workday inactivity earlier in my career. As a graduate student and postdoc, I went on frequent field excursions to collect soil samples in remote places. The fieldwork was physically challenging, a contrast to the lab tasks and desk work that were also part of my job. But when I became a professor, fieldwork became a rarity.

During the pandemic the situation grew worse. My schedule filled up with one online meeting or seminar after the next. And I “traveled” to them without leaving my desk. Although I had the luxury of a height-adjustable desk, which gave me the option to stand, I still felt unbalanced, and I began to experience back pain.

At home, I’d occasionally tried to work on my wife’s treadmill, which I’d repurposed by putting a wooden board across the handles and my laptop on top. I thought that might be just what I needed in my campus office, so I bought a treadmill designed to go under a desk. I decided to spend my entire workday on the treadmill. It took me several days to adjust, but I eventually got the hang of typing and speaking while walking.

When I’m at my desk, I spend nearly all of my working hours in motion. In the first couple of weeks, I was a bit exhausted when I got home at night. But over time, I developed more endurance. My back pain disappeared and I came to enjoy the time at my desk.

Most of the scientists I work with have sent me reassuring feedback. Some have even bought treadmills of their own. That has made me view my walking as a way to silently communicate a crucial message to my colleagues: There’re always ways to stay active if you want!

7 . Last September, British artist Sacha Jafri set the record for creating the world's largest painting. Last week, the painting was sold for $62 million, which will go to charity.

Last year, as the COVID-19 spread and many countries went into lockdown, Mr. Jafri was in Dubai. Rather than feeling stuck, Mr. Jafri decided to take on a huge project that could“make a really big difference”.

He decided to create the world's largest painting. And he wanted to do it in a way that would include people from around the world. He asked children to send him pictures showing how they were feeling during the pandemic(疫情). He got artwork from kids in 140 different countries.

Using the children's ideas as a starting point, Mr. Jafri began to paint in a huge dancing room in a fancy hotel. It took Mr. Jafri seven months to create the painting. He worked long hours every day—often up to 20 hours a day. He hurt his back by bending over so much while he painted. It took over 1,000 paintbrushes and 6,300 liters of paint to create the painting. The painting, which was over 1,600 square meters, was around the size of four basketball courts.

Mr. Jafri hoped that his painting, called “The Journey of Humanity”, would help bring the world together during a difficult time. Since Mr. Jafri’s goal was to raise money to help children suffering from the pandemic, the painting was split up into 70 large parts. Mr. Jafri hoped that by selling the parts separately, he could raise $30 million.

But when the auction(拍卖) ended on March 22, Mr. Jafri did much better than that. A French businessman bought all the pieces. Knowing that the money would go to charity also motivated him to decide to pay more. He says he was poor when he grew up, so he's glad to be helping children around the world by buying the painting.