Stay Inside Humans! The Dolphins Are Playing In the Venice Canals

In the beloved Douglas Adams book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (and its numerous TV and film adaptations) just before the planet Earth comes to an end, one intelligent species — the dolphins — gives humanity a flippant farewell: “So long and thanks for all the fish.” But now, it appears that Adams was both prescient and slightly wrong. A worldwide crisis is here, but the dolphins aren’t leaving. They’re having a freaking party.

Because the famous canals of Venice, Italy are suddenly very empty of humans on gondolas, the dolphins have taken this as an opportunity to frolic like there’s no tomorrow. As reported by numerous outlets, dolphins have been seen swimming in the canals of Venice since most of Italy went into quarantine due to the coronavirus outbreak. And if you think this sounds like something Captain America was talking about in Avengers: Endgame, you’re not wrong. But look! Here’s a frolicking dolphin!

Combined with reports of monkeys walking the streets searching for food, and Kim Kardashian finding a lobster in her driveway, it would appear that planet Earth is reminding us that other creatures live here, too, and, quite frankly, they’re happy to have a little fun while we humans figure everything out.

If you are not comforted by the sight of dolphins playing, it seems very possible that you don’t know how to have a good time. But, one thing is for sure: When things go back to “normal” (whatever that is) everybody should probably remember how happy the animals are right now. Maybe we should all stay home — and out of the water – more often. Looks, the fish are happy, too!

In the meantime, you can watch the 1981 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on BritBox here. (If you like old British shows like Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous, this service rocks.)

You can also, you know, um, read the book version of Hitchhiker’s Guide on your Kindle or whatever.