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The Brunch round-up for October 31: The week and how it made us feel
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This week, we’re layering tights, on a slow game streak, creating a nerd army and seeing AI pregnancies
Waiting our turn. Gamers, there’s MMORPG, and then there’s Jono – massively singleplayer. Because only one person, anywhere on Earth, can play at a time, and only for a minute. The rest wait, watch, cheer and build future levels until it’s our turn to take over. It’s a 2D scroll. Players jump over spikes and through portals. Sign up! We’re literally all in this together.
Doing double work. If you’re in a cold enough place to wear leggings, wear two. That’s how the cool legs are doing it. Base layers are the opaque ones, which will keep you warm. The leggings over it – lace, netting or just a sheer overlay are for the fun. How did we go through so many winters without this hack?
Checking out. Reels do change the world. We shamed Airbnb with clips of guests complaining that they were expected to do dishes, make beds, take out garbage and still pay a cleaning fee. The company fixed it. New rules — they apply globally from November 20 —forbid hosts from making these demands. It’s almost as if the cleaning fee will now go towards… cleaning.
Getting sciencey. Go home mansplainers. Eliot Bohr, descendant of atom-breakdowner Niels Bohr, is not just doing his own experiments in atomic, molecular and optical physics. He’s not just producing music for American rappers. He’s also asking other descendants of scientists to reach out on his Insta @EliotBohr. Might this be the nerdiest corner of the internet? The data is still coming in.
Still processing. Mity, from the Chinese band Babyqueen, has announced she’s leaving the group because she’s pregnant. Fans are baffled. Because the whole band is AI-generated. Sigh. If anyone should be able to have it all, surely it’s an AI mum? No body to tire, no maternity leave to negotiate, no childcare to arrange. So why is she still giving up her career?
Picking our fighter. The upcoming US college basketball season features over 30,000 players, and some of their names deserve a draft of their own: Catfish Battle, Tennessee Rainwater, Zi White Woman. Other player are named All Wright, Always Wright and Wiggy Ball. Does basketball attract people with unusual names, or do unusually named men just gravitate towards basketball? Discuss for 3 points.
Getting a reality check. Tough week? Spare a thought for Love Is Blind contestant Scott Stewart. First, his fiancée, Jax Guelli, dumped him the moment she saw him. Now, the internet has turned his face into a group project, photoshopping beards onto him and giving him nose, ear and eyebrow makeovers to figure out what’s supposedly wrong with his looks. The man’s been through enough. Let him live.
Facing off. Do you have a Ferritin Face? No, it’s not a rodent you’ve never heard of. It’s TikTok’s latest beauty flaw, supposedly responsible for your dark circles, pale skin and brittle hair. Ferritin is the protein that stores iron in your body, and influencers say that a deficiency can impact your appearance. Doctors disagree, of course. There’s only one face flaw we’re willing to own, and that’s our resting bitch face.
From HT Brunch, October 31, 2026
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