Doomscrolling is a terrible habit for sure, and it’s one that I’m guilty of from time to time. It mostly depends on my mood, energy levels, and whether I have to sit and wait for an extended period of time.
The videos that have captured my imagination the last little while are the ones where content creators from other countries react to all things Canadian. That means everything from trying ketchup chips to seeing some of the worst ice storms the Maritimes have experienced.
Some of my favourites are the ones about wildlife. It’s entertaining to listen to the narrator speak about how big a moose is for fifteen seconds while they show a five-second clip of a moose, then five of an elk, and five more seconds of several white tail deer bounding into the distance. No one will ever know which one is the moose.
Another favourite of mine is videos of the Cobra Chicken, or for those of you who don’t speak to teenagers on a regular basis, the Canadian Goose.
The moniker Cobra Chicken is a little odd, but I guess it’s because they’re a big bird with long necks. Thus parts of them look like cobras and the rest looks like chickens.
In any case, anyone who has ever been near a goose in the spring knows they aren’t birds to be messed with. These birds can weigh up to 12 pounds and can reach speeds of 80 km/h on a normal day. With tailwinds, they can reach speeds of 112 km/h or higher.
Last April, a group of college students in Waterloo, Ontario, had to get creative with entering and exiting their house when a pair of geese decided their front yard was the best place for their nest. For several weeks they had to be very careful about when and how they entered their house because they could be attacked.
Of course, calls to any groups who could help with the situation were no help. The Canadian Goose is a protected species, so people aren’t allowed to touch them or their nests, cause injury, or kill the birds.
While the videos are always good for a laugh, people can get seriously injured. Many of the injuries happen as people try to run away from the birds, but a downstroke from a goose can hit like a fist and leave you with some nasty injuries.
I’m saying all of this because the season of the cobra chicken is coming soon. We do have some geese that feel this area is a good place to bring up their goslings. It’s a good time to tell kids that geese shouldn’t be messed with and to start paying attention when we’re walking near any ponds.
I would hate to be the main character in one of the YouTube videos people come across while doomscrolling. I feel like that would be far less entertaining for me, though I’m sure it would give others a good laugh.
