None of them will cost you a dime; but they will prove intensely enriching in more ways than one.
Lockdown.
An entirely essential step to deal with this damned virus…yet an entirely depressing time of our lives. Yes, we are doing this for America to become America again, but still.
Don’t worry.
Just like we help you plan family events in Orange County during non-covid19 times, we’ll now help you brighten up your day during covid-19.
Here are 5 novel things you can do at home during the ‘novel’ coronavirus lockdown.
Tour 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Tour the official residence of the president.
Want to tour the nation’s seat of power…well, at least one of the seats of power if you’re one of those people (who starts quoting the Constitution at every possible opportunity)?
Get a taste of the rooms and corridors where at least some of the decisions as to how the US response to covid-19 will proceed?
Then you can go on a tour of the White House. A virtual tour, obviously.
You can
- Get a view of most of the indoors of the White House.
- Look through the art collection.
- Explore what the grounds are like.
Who knows, you may want to give yourself a shot at earning the right to live there, maybe?
Take up the Rubik Challenge – Advanced Level
You’ve heard of the Rubik’s Cube, right?
Manipulating it till you get perfect colors, one shade for each face?
Well, this lockdown, take it up a notch!
Here’s the Rubik Challenge – Advanced Level.
- Create as many ice cubes as you can.
- Draw up a bath for yourself.
- Drop most of the ice cubes into the bath.
- Get into said bath.
- Get someone to drop the remaining ice into the bath, over yourself, to cool things down a little.
- Solve a rubik’s cube within 5 minutes.
And make sure you brag about how you rubiked the hell out of it (which may or may not have actually happened) on Facebook, and tag your friends, challenging them.
Watch a few movies
Exhausted Netflix of watchable flicks?
Don’t have a Netflix account, and don’t want to cough up the dough for one?
No problem!

You got time to catch up on your movies.
This coronavirus lockdown could be the start of a beautiful…viewership (in the sense of you viewing classic films; I know it’s weak, but I really wanted to rhyme with the original).
Openculture has a good collection of great movies, spanning decades.
Kanopy offers access to more recent releases, but you need a public/university library card to sign in.
Deep clean your home
Go beyond a simple vacuuming.
Do that deep cleaning you’ve been putting off since you didn’t have the time.
From flushing faucets and showerheads inside out, to clearing out breadcrumbs from your toaster, this is the time to do all that.
Here’s a brief guide to get you started.
Become ‘the learned one’
You do know this lockdown isn’t permanent, right?
There will come a time when the lockdown will be lifted, when you’ll be able to venture out (I mean, much more readily than you can now, and to meet with friends.
Now’s the time to prepare for that glorious day.
Brush up on research and all things scientific, so you can be ‘Gandalf the Wise’ when you all meet up.
JSOTR is offering access to a hundred research papers (as opposed to 12, under their normal rules) for free, till Tuesday, June 30th.
To recap, the 5 things to do at home during the coronavirus lockdown are
- Go on a virtual tour of the White House
- Solve the rubik’s cube, while in an ice bath
- Watch classic movies
- Deep clean your home
- Access a hundred research papers on various topics for free from JSOTR.
What activities are YOU doing at home during the lockdown?
Make sure you tweet your choices with the hashtags #LockdownAtHome #FiabOC