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This post is part ofHard Refresh,a soothing weekly column where we try to cleanse your brain of whatever terrible thing you just witnessed on Twitter.
In times of crisis, I turn to ancient gelatinous Cnidarians to soothe my soul.
They call these creatures "jellyfish." As the victim of multiple jellyfish attacks, I prefer to ogle them from a remove, either from behind an aquarium glass wall, or failing that, a computer screen.
They and all their delightfully lethargic underwater friends provide much comfort during hard times, (a.k.a. all times at this point.)
SEE ALSO:Sister Helen Prejean's Twitter account is proof that the world still has good in itThough I wish I could spend an hour a day at the New England Aquarium, for those of us who don't have access to aquariums/are too cool to live in Boston, there are plenty of aquarium live feeds online, available free of charge. Plus, a study published in Environment and Behaviorfound that well-stocked aquariums, like pets, have a soothing effect on humans. Watching a tank for five minutes can temporarily relieve anxiety. It's like having a margarita with none of the puking.
There's just something so primitively comforting about seeing an illuminated blob fart around in a tank. It's slow-paced aquatic living.
Personally, I rely on a combination of live feeds and long feed recordings featured on YouTube. Here are a few suggestions for where to get your underwater fix:
1. The Live Jelly Cam from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
It's like a Windows screensaver, but good.
2. A live West Coast sea nettles cam
What these sea nettles lack in color they make up for in sheer blobiness.
3. A live sea otter cam at the Seattle Aquarium
Sea otters are healing. Please don't bring up the *one* time a group of otters were caught on camera banding together to kill a monkey at the Bronx Zoo. Thesearen't thoseotters.
4. A live beluga cam from the Churchill River estuary in Manitoba, Canada
Baby belugas > adult humans, most days of the week.
5. Footage from a Great Barrier Reef cam
I've dreamed of the Great Barrier Reef ever since playing Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? as a child. Now my dream can play out on-screen right in front of me.
6. Footage from an Osaka Aquarium cam in Japan
It's a stunning potpourri of sea creatures.
7. A live reef lagoon cam
This cam will lull you into an afternoon nap.
8. A live walrus cam
Most of the time I check this channel, the walruses aren't even there. I'm cool with it. The idea that walruses might one day show up is healing on its own.
9. Just a clip from The Little Mermaid
It's not live, nor is it technically real, but it has everything these other cams lack: songs, dance, and forks that double as hairbrushes.
Watch and restore thyself.
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