🐡 A fortune-telling sea urchin | Bulletin #147

This week: be there in a jiffy ⏰

February 11, 2026

University of Tokyo 📍 Tokyo, Japan 📸 Accidentally Wes Anderson

Did you know a "jiffy" is an actual unit of time? 1/100th of a second, to be precise. The term started as 18th-century slang for "a short moment" - which, given that we're now several billion jiffys past that point, feels almost quaint. So the next time you promise to be back in a jiffy, know that you've got exactly .01 seconds before someone calls your bluff.

🥳 THIS WEEK IN AWA AWESOMENESS

💌 Valentine vignettes
🍫 Sweet history
🎿 An unauthorized ascent
📮 Postcards for you

In Case You Missed It

Happy Valentine's Day, Adventurers! Will you be our Valentine? Either way, Cupid's been busy curating today's ICYMI. Whether you're into chocolate-covered history, perfectly pink chapels, or slightly spooky love lore, this lineup has something to make your heart skip a beat. 💌

Sweethearts Candy 📸 Getty Images

THE SWEET HISTORY OF SWEETHEARTS

Equal parts confection and confession, Sweethearts are the original mini love letters with a surprisingly chewy backstory…

Old Thatch Teashop 📍 Shanklin, England 📸 Jack Street

A PERFECTLY PINK BEAU-TEA

Shanklin, England’s oldest building now houses a perfectly pink teashop, but the tea behind its history is perhaps a little less than sweet…

Olympic Museum 📍 Sapporo, Japan 📸 Kay Gulledge

SAY HEY-YO TO SKIMO!

The newest sport to this year’s Winter Olympics has its fair share of peaks - and sneaky subsititutions. SkiMo makes its Olympic debut with heroic climbs, daring descents, and one legendary woman…

Cadbury Factory 📍 Birmingham, England 📸 Gary Morris

LOCO FOR COCOA

Americans buy nearly 60 million pounds of chocolate each year for Valentine's Day - a tradition that dates back to 1861, when Richard Cadbury (yes, that Cadbury!) introduced the first heart-shaped box of chocolates. Within seven years, chocolate had become a holiday staple. Nearly two centuries later, the sweetest gesture in romance is still wrapped in foil.

Instagram Reel

A PHYSIC SEA URCHIN

A sea urchin from our favorite aquarium may have to take a trip to the casino. This little ocean oracle just poked its way into Super Bowl prophecy history, accurately predicting the winner of Super Bowl LX!

Hey lovebirds! This week's Secret Link holds a trove of extra-special Valentine's Day stickers — because nothing says "I love you" quite like adhesive declarations of affection. Whether you're celebrating romance, friendship, or passionate love affair with all things analog, these stickers have you covered ❤️