The BLT Episode 3: The Winner Techs It All

It’s been a big week in the news, full of terrible events and big announcements. All of which need full coverage and thorough explanation. That’s why the BLT will stick to the lighter side of the news, with our trademark style and joined up visual thinking.

Every week we love seeing the layers of connection that run through the news stories that the team bring to our writer’s room. Despite being from every corner of the news, they all fit beautifully into a visual narrative. Connecting and layering ideas is something we are big fans of at We are Cognitive.

This week we tackle the virtual and the real, going under the sea and back to dry land. If you see a story you think we should include, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us!

Hologram technology giving some the chance to retire, and bringing others out of retirement

Holograms still feel like something straight out of science fiction, but it’s brought some very real benefits to circus animals in France and to ABBA! The French circus L’Écocirque has created holographic animals, using them as an ethical way to include animals in their shows. Spectators will be treated to lions, elephants and even whales! ABBA on the other hand, have embraced the technology (also used to create digital effects in Star Wars) for their ABBA Voyage tour, creating ‘ABBAtars’ to tour for them until 2026.

How long until you’re watching a holographic version of the BLT?!

How do you take a remote swimming test?

COVID lockdowns have changed many things about our lives, who even knew what Zoom was three years ago? The latest part of life forced to adapt has been swimming tests. Shanghai University have asked students to complete an online ‘Basic Theory of Swimming’, instead of their 50-meter swimming test as the city responds to a COVID outbreak.

Maybe there are even more uses for holograms than we first thought.

The meaner side of goldfish

Pets helped many of us get through lockdown, and goldfish were a popular choice. As life returns to something like normal though, some pet owners have been releasing their goldfish into rivers. This is very bad news for our native fish species, Dr James Dickey of Queen’s University Belfast has found that these released goldfish combine insatiable appetites with bold behaviour, making them a real threat to biodiversity.

When hamsters get hostile

Staying with pets, hamsters found their way into the news this week. Georgia State University scientists were left in shock as gene-editing designed to make hamsters more peaceful and social made them hyper-aggressive instead. While this wasn’t what the scientists intended, GSU professor H. Elliot Albers explained that it does provide a startling conclusion about the Avpr1a receptor.

Does anyone else remember the Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters?

The case of the missing ape

Back in the world of the virtual, this week saw the theft of Seth Green’s NFT ape Fred Simian. Part of the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the loss of the Fred is even greater, as he was due to be the star of Green’s new hybrid series White Horse Tavern. One of four NFTs stolen in a phishing scam, the loss of Fred has raised questions about the future of White Horse Tavern, which had got as far as having a trailer made.

Monkeypox cases are on the rise

Although human monkeypox cases are usually rare, they’ve been spreading across Europe, North America, Australia and Israel. The symptoms usually clear up on their own and the virus is transmitted through close contact. If you have any concerns, the NHS have provided advice.

Jackdaws are democratic

Anyone that has been following the BLT will know we love a good bird story, and this week did not disappoint! Alex Thornton, Professor of Cognitive Evolution at University of Exeter, has been researching jackdaws and discovered that they use a democratic process to decide when it’s time to leave in the morning, casting votes with their calls.

It’s always nice to see democracy in action.

What does a coral reef sound like?

It’s an interesting question, and the answer is a chorus of clicks, clacks and pops. The discovery by Senior oceanographer, Lauren Freeman and her team at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center is good news for the coral reefs because it provides an unobtrusive way to check on them. However, it also raises questions about human noise pollution.

There’s good news for anyone thinking of touring the Bermuda Triangle

Have you ever dreamed of touring the Bermuda Triangle, but held back in case your ship disappears? Well, thanks to the Norwegian Prima liner, you’ll now get a full refund if the ship vanishes. And if the ship does go missing, we’re not sure the money will be any good to you, but is there a price for peace of mind?

The sharkcano

There’s no need to get in the water for this next item, you can see it from space! The Kavachi volcano is near the Solomon Islands, and NASA have observed two species of shark living in its crater in high numbers. Known as ‘Kavachi’s oven’, it recently erupted, prompting NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre to tweet ‘you’ve heard of sharknado, now get ready for sharkcano’.

Life imitates art

Romance novelist Nancy Brophy is not new to the idea of murdering their husband. She wrote about the topic in a 2011 blog post, and took her speculation a step further by actually doing it. Despite saying a fictional version of her case would not stand up to scrutiny, Brophy will be sentenced on the 13th June.

Giving back to the earth after we’re gone

Thanks to the creation of a ‘living’ coffin, we can now do that in a very literal sense. Described as ‘the Tesla of coffins’, start-up Loop have developed the fully biodegradable mycelium caskets, which transform bodies into compost with the help of mycelium.

We’ve included a cameo from Ray Liotta. Ray played some iconic characters and he will be missed.

We love using visual thinking and visual storytelling to create connected and layered whiteboard animations like this. We’d love to talk to you about how your message could look as a whiteboard animation, contact us today!