Welcome back to The Flyover, your daily midday digest of what local media outlets and Twitter-ers are gabbing about.
Ilhan Omar Didn’t Actually Criticize the Singing Airplane Christians. But We Sure Will.
Inside Racket there are two wolves. One moans, “Please ignore wingnuts who feign outrage whenever Ilhan Omar says something.” The other drowns him out completely by howling, “We found a way to local-angle a trending topic!!!” And so, with apologies to the Wolf of Reason, let’s discuss the Christians who went viral for singing their terrible song on an airplane on Easter Sunday. Many people tweeted about this unfortunate event, and one such tweeter was Rep. Ilhan Omar.
I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end? pic.twitter.com/5696Erwsl5
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 17, 2022
Now, you, I, and @diplorablepatri0t639401 all know exactly how a public display of Muslim worship would go over on a crowded flight. But the sorts of Christians who take it as a fundamental tenet of their religion that they are the most oppressed group in the U.S. celebrated the holiest day on their calendar by getting mad on Twitter. So let me just say what Omar did not: We all know that no one should sing on a plane. Ever. And if you do, my god tells me to kick the back of your seat till you shut the hell up.
"Name Lake" or "Lake Name"?
While the rest of us were busy talking Lake Chipotle, MinnPost was looking at the bigger picture: Why is it Lake Chipotle and not Chipotle Lake? In Minnesota, roughly 90% of our lakes have Name Lake construction, like Cedar Lake, Leech Lake, and the GOAT, Ham Lake. But plenty go with Lake Name instead: Lake Harriet, Lake Pepin, and of course, Lake Superior. Why is that? Researchers at Université du Québec à Montréal have been digging into that very question, and their new exploration into the etymology of lake name construction was recently published in Freshwater Biology. While there are patterns—lakes with greater surface area are more often Lake Name, and there's some consistency depending on what country colonized a given region—some lake names remain a pain to explain.
75,000 Bugs to Infest Mall of America
...with cuteness!!! To celebrate Earth Day (Friday, April 22), local kids will help release 75,000 ladybugs throughout the live plants at the Mall of America. Don't "bug out" about it! Ladybugs are a natural form of pesticide—they like to chow down on common plant pests like aphids—and since the mall has more than 30,000 live plants throughout the building, they have their work cut out for them. The MOA has been using these little ladies as a natural pesticide for more than 30 years, so if a ladybug ever lands on you while you shop, it's not just good luck; it's also good for the planet.
Lizzo Hosted SNL This Weekend
Saturday Night Live. It’s still a thing, though people don’t really watch it live anymore. At least in its entirety. Most of us watch whatever the one kinda funny sketch was that evening on our phones come Sunday afternoon. Last Saturday’s show featured Lizzo, both as a performer and actress. Her “one sketch” features a bit where she panics backstage as she struggles to write a new song. With the help of three very white dudes, she comes up with something… special. Lizzo, you may recall, used to live in Minneapolis.
