By Rosie Neville, Second Year, Economics and Politics
With just over a year having passed since the first lockdown, here is a ranking of all the well-known fads that have tried to keep us entertained, fed and sane throughout it all.
BEST: Dalgona Coffee
This South Korean coffee drink took the internet by storm. Dalgona coffee is like a cappuccino turned on its head with the frothy coffee on top and the milk underneath. Upon first attempt one was often left with a gooey sweet puddle (blame the under-whisking). But if you got back up and dusted yourself off you were in for a treat. Once you had that caffeinated meringue in your mouth the sugar-coma was able to sedate you into forgetting the uncertainty of the world.
UPPER-MIDDLE: PE with Joe Wicks
During lockdown Joe Wicks stepped up to the challenge of being the nation’s PE teacher. Prior to this, he was only in the public consciousness having branded tenderstem broccoli ‘midget trees'. His cookbook, ‘Lean in 15’, can be found unused across middle-class Britain. During lockdown however, his daily live-streamed workouts helped many get through - or rather Theroux. Even Louis Theroux admitted he was tuning in every morning.
And don’t you worry- Joe Wicks has confirmed his eagerly awaited return for lockdown 2.0.
Today marks one year since I meant to do Joe Wicks exercises everyday but didn't
— Victoria Canning (@Vicky_Canning) March 24, 2021
MIDDLE-TIER: Zoom
Pre-lockdown, ‘To Skype’ used to be a common verb within English slang. However, during lockdown this application was deemed inadequate by the British public. Zoom, enter stage left. ‘To zoom’ no longer means to hurry or to dash, rather it means to use the notorious video conferencing application.
Zoom served us well over lockdown and even beyond. The regular virtual gatherings were an effective way to touch-base with friends and families. However, by May the zoom-fatigue began to set in when my only reaction to ‘shall we do a Zoom quiz?’ was one of absolute trepidation.
LOW-MIDDLE: Insta-challenges
Instagram took on a life of its own during lockdown with a variety of different challenges. There are too many to name, but here are some honourable mentions that your friends would tag you in hourly: 30-day music template challenge, controversial Virgin Media 5km run and the Gesture challenge.
My personal favourite, however, was the #ToiletPaperChallenge. All it consisted of was people trying to juggle toilet paper. The absolute absurdity of it was entertaining - who would've thought toilet paper was the thing to keep people connected worldwide? I am proud to say I managed eleven ‘juggles’ - a not too lousy attempt. However, this trend fails to place higher in the ranking due to the moral ambiguity of kicking toilet paper about whilst your neighbours were stuck with kitchen roll in their bathrooms.
WORST: Baking Banana Bread / Sourdough
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest trends was baking. Be it Banana Bread, Ciabatta, Brioche or Sourdough, someone you know was posting about it on Instagram. My house was no different. Each day I would awake to a delectable smell coming from the kitchen. You might then ask, why have I rated the baking phenomenon the worst trend? The answer is simple: my wheat allergy. Rather than a tasty trend, it was a torturous one.
Featured Image: Rosie Neville
What has your favourite lockdown activity been?
