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Richard Branson sank a ship and turned it into a sea-saving monster.

If ships really do have souls, the Kodiak Queen's must have been a weary one.

It's an old ship, first launched as a Navy barge in 1940 under the uninspiring moniker YO-44, and it's had its share of experiences. On Dec. 7, 1941, for instance, it was moored in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked. The crew had to scramble to avoid the bombs while all around them, other ships and their sailors sank to the bottom of the harbor.

Photo from BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

YO-44 survived the attack and was eventually decommissioned, renamed the Kodiak Queen, and turned into a fishing boat. But that wouldn't last forever. It eventually ended up in a maritime junkyard in the British Virgin Islands, destined for scrap.

Then, in 2012, someone recognized it.

A historian, Mike Cochran, saw Kodiak Queen in the junkyard, figured out what it was, and decided being turned into scrap metal was too ignoble for one of the few remaining Pearl Harbor ships.

Photo from BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

Cochran started to recruit a team, including photographer Owen Buggy and Buggy's previous boss and friend, British business magnate Richard Branson. Together, they set out to give the Kodiak Queen a proper retirement.

Their idea is something called the BVI Art Reef. Rather than ending up as junk, the Kodiak Queen will become a reef — a living part of the ocean that it traveled for so many years.

As part of the project, sculptors decided to adorn the Kodiak Queen with an 80-foot-long squid-like kraken sculpture welded from wire mesh and rebar.

Photo from BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

Krakens are mythical sea monsters known to sink ships. But this particular one isn't attacking — it's helping shepherd the Kodiak Queen along.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

"The kraken is embracing the boat and taking it down to this next life," Aydika James, a founder of the company that built the kraken, told The New York Times. "She’s no longer a weapon of war; she’s now a platform for rebirth and regrowth."

Once the work was finished in April 2017, all that was left to do was for the ship to get a friendly tow out to its new home.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

The destination? A sunny spot off the island of Virgin Gorda.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

The crew came out to see it off, including Branson, the man who'd helped get this all together.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

They gave it the proper honors for a ship going on a voyage — a bottle broken across the bow.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

And then down...

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

...it...

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

...went.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

There was a tense moment where it looked like it was about to tip over onto one side — ruining the artwork — but in the end, everything went right.

Safely nestled on the sea floor, the Kodiak Queen will slowly transform into an artificial reef.

Photo from BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

Artificial reefs are submerged structures that create habitats for fish and other sea creatures, which can help to restore damaged ecosystems. As sea life moves in, either naturally or through planned coral restoration projects, the Kodiak Queen's old hull and the kraken's many wiry nooks and crannies will become a great habitat for fish and other sea creatures.

In the meantime, the Kodiak Queen has become a tourist attraction and popular diving spot.

Photo from BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

It's giving a boost to the local economy, helping to highlight the importance of ocean conservation, and it might even inspire some future divers and conservationists.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

It's even helping scientists learn more about the waters around Virgin Gorda.

Photo from Owen Buggy Photography/BVI Art Reef, used with permission.

Scientists are using the Kodiak Queen as a platform to gather something called environmental DNA, which is a way to monitor what animal populations are present through castoff material (like poop).

This was a spectacular reincarnation for such a storied ship. One must imagine if indeed the Kodiak Queen has that weary soul, it must be pretty satisfied with how it ended up.

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

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Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship

Democracy

This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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money

Identity

One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

Behavior like Norma's is quite common for older folks suffering from Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. Walter, another man in the same assisted living facility, demanded breakfast from the staff every night around 7:30.

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Health

If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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grief

Richard Branson sank a ship and turned it into a sea-saving monster.

If ships really do have souls, the Kodiak Queen's must have been a weary one.

Then, in 2012, someone recognized it.

As part of the project, sculptors decided to adorn the Kodiak Queen with an 80-foot-long squid-like kraken sculpture welded from wire mesh and rebar.

Krakens are mythical sea monsters known to sink ships. But this particular one isn't attacking — it's helping shepherd the Kodiak Queen along.

Once the work was finished in April 2017, all that was left to do was for the ship to get a friendly tow out to its new home.

The destination? A sunny spot off the island of Virgin Gorda.

The crew came out to see it off, including Branson, the man who'd helped get this all together.

They gave it the proper honors for a ship going on a voyage — a bottle broken across the bow.

And then down...

...it...

...went.

Safely nestled on the sea floor, the Kodiak Queen will slowly transform into an artificial reef.

In the meantime, the Kodiak Queen has become a tourist attraction and popular diving spot.

It's even helping scientists learn more about the waters around Virgin Gorda.

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?

92-year-old Norma had a strange and heartbreaking routine.

Confusion is common in Alzheimer's patients, but Makesh knew there had to be some way to minimize these conflicts.

Instead of rooms or units, each resident gets a "home" on a quiet little indoor street reminiscent of the neighborhoods many of them grew up in.

Instead of a boring panel ceiling, residents look up and see a digital sky, which grows dimmer late in the day to help keep their biological clocks in tune.

Throughout the day, nature sounds and fresh aromas like peppermint or citrus are piped in.

For Makesh, this isn't just about making patients comfortable, though. He wants to change how we think about the endgame of severe dementia.

Of course, we're a long way from a cure for Alzheimer's.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

Trameka Brown-Berry was looking over her 4th-grade son Jerome's homework when her jaw hit the floor.

The school assignment was intended to spark debate and discussion — but isn't that part of the problem?

The assignment was real. In the year 2018. Unbelievable.

The shockingly offensive assignment deserved to be thrown in the trash. But young Jerome dutifully filled it out anyway.

"You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't."

1. You're going to have to get uncomfortable.

2. "Your black friend would like to say something to the racist lady, but doesn't want to appear to be that 'angry black man.'"

3. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.

4. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. There are more black performers than Beyoncé."

5. Speaking of which, performative blackness is really uncomfortable.

6. "Your black friend feels like a man without a country."

7. We would love it if we could stop talking about our anxiety and frustrations regarding racism. But right now, that's impossible.

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.