52 Things I Learned in 2021

This year, I was poked in the arm three times, I found out my neighbor invented the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and I talked to people, a lot.

Here’s some of what I learned from conversations in a pandemic-ridden world:

1. In 2012, at a busy Seattle beach, a teenager dove 85 feet underwater to catch an 80-pound Giant Pacific Octopus by hand. He wrestled and punched the nine-foot octopus for 25…