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John Topham

@johntopham.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.9K following 8.4K posts

30 year RAF Veteran, retired after 20 years oil & gas. Tech/Science/Health/Environment information junkie, scuba Divemaster and travel enthusiast. Atheist/Humanist. Here for pleasant company since X's descent into Dante's deeper circles of hell #FBPE 🗿七七

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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 20h
Another study relevant to my #longcovid friends Covid fatigue linked to reduced brain blood flow www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Cognitive fatigue is related to reduced cerebral perfusion and sustained attention in patients with post COVID-19 condition: An fMRI study
Persistent fatigue is one of the most prevalent and disabling symptoms of Post-COVID-19 Condition (PCC). To investigate possible mechanisms underlying…
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Well diving has finished, so here's some birds. Frigate birds to be precise, seen on a day trip to Barbuda
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Reading ✅ Socialising ✅ (regular pub visits count, right?) Doing puzzles ✅ (thanks for the wordle group @jneill.bsky.social ) Reading, socialising and doing puzzles can help preserve cognitive health – large study shows theconversation.com/reading-soci...
theconversation.com
Reading, socialising and doing puzzles can help preserve cognitive health – large study shows
Our study shows that brain remains malleable and can learn new things well into older age.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
If oceans die, we all die. It's not just the temperature, or the coastal flooding, or increased storms. It's the death of an ecosystem. This should be of massive concern, but it will barely register on people's radar until they're shouting 'why didn't anyone warn us' edition.cnn.com/2026/09/30/c...
edition.cnn.com
Scientists deliver ‘starkest warning yet’ of profound changes sweeping the planet’s oceans | CNN
The world’s oceans are warming at an alarming pace as humans burn fossil fuels, with far-reaching consequences, according to a report by more than 100 scientists.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Some sensible advice (for a change). Concentrate on the quality of your food. Eat more fibre, plants and grains. Foods high in saturated fat, refined starches and added sugars should be limited. Cut out highly (ultra) processed foods. www.news-medical.net/news/2026093...
news-medical.net
Overall dietary patterns matter more for heart health than nutrients
A healthy, balanced dietary pattern, rather than one focused on individual nutrients or foods is key to maintaining heart health, according to a Scientific Statement issued by the American College of ...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Cancer? That's caused by genetics, or chemicals or sunburn or smoking, right? Well, actually, not always. New research shows one in eight cancers worldwide are actually caused by infections. Another reason to keep up with your vaccinations www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
cbc.ca
Researchers are discovering more infections that can cause cancer | CBC News
New global research suggests 12 per cent of cancers were caused by infections, predominantly caused by HPV and H. pylori
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Today's diving was fun, with 3 sharks constantly circling us
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It's been a turtle-y Shark sort of day
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Studies with 8.8 million participants aged 23 to 77 finds that each additional 100 g/day of ultra-processed foods is associated with a 14% higher cardiovascular risk, 4% higher cancer risk, 3% higher all-cause mortality risk and 2% higher metabolic syndrome/diabetes risk bmjgroup.com/higher-upf-i...
bmjgroup.com
Higher UPF intake linked to heightened risk of multiple chronic health issues + death - BMJ Group
Every extra 100 g consumed associated with correspondingly greater risks A higher ultra processed food (UPF) intake is linked to a heightened risk of several major chronic health issues, such as diges...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The signs that the AMOC could be weakening keep coming #climate futurism.com/science-ener...
futurism.com
Scientists Just Found Something Very Disturbing About the AMOC Current Deep Below the Ocean: Evidence That Its Weakening Isn't Just a Fluke, and If It Collapses, the World Could Be Plunged Into Climat...
A reanalysis of the "cold blob" at the bottom of the Atlantic suggests that it's caused by the weakening of AMOC, a key artery of the ocean.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It's been a turtle-y sort of day
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Improvement in stroke treatment developed in China www.scmp.com/news/china/s...
scmp.com
Chinese drug loberamisal extends stroke treatment window from 6 hours to 2 days
Large-scale clinical trial with nearly 1,000 patients from 32 hospitals delivers 13 per cent leap in recovery over standard care alone.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Use exercise as an alternative to your pain killers - it's as effective. Researchers found that exercise can significantly reduce acute and chronic pain across a wide range of conditions including musculoskeletal, neurological, inflammatory, and cancer-related pain. adelaide.edu.au/about/news/2...
adelaide.edu.au
Less is more: Exercise rivals common pain meds
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Local to me, solar farms can be designed to be beneficial to rare & endangered birds scienceblog.com/a-ecologists...
scienceblog.com
Ecologists walked matching 200-meter transects across solar farms planted for wildlife in England’s East Anglian Fens and counted 35 birds on each solar pass against 12 on the cropland beside it, corn...
Solar farms designed for wildlife are harboring nearly three times more birds than the conventional crops they replaced, challenging long-held assumptions about renewable energy and nature.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A good reason to exercise and lose a bit of weight For someone who is overweight, losing 10 pounds reduces the force on the knees by 40 pounds with every step, which can significantly ease joint pain. scitechdaily.com/knee-osteoar...
scitechdaily.com
Knee Osteoarthritis Isn’t Inevitable: Simple Habits May Lower Your Risk
Healthy behaviors and appropriate treatment can help people manage knee osteoarthritis and may reduce the risk of developing it.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For my #longcovid friends Scans reveal that long COVID is associated with damage to dopamine-releasing neurons in the brain. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
sciencedaily.com
Brain scans reveal a possible cause of long COVID fatigue and brain fog
Researchers have found evidence that long COVID may damage dopamine releasing neurons in the brain, potentially explaining persistent fatigue, low motivation, slowed movement, and memory difficulties....
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
It was a swim and Pina colada on the beach sort of day here in Antigua
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
No shit Sherlock. Brexit has been a disaster, by every metric. The US was always an unreliable partner compared to the EU, made even worse by the orange pedo felon rapist baby in the white house. The occasional 'but we never got a real Brexit' nonsense doesn't hold up to even the slightest scrutiny.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Yes, and this is why the IPCC modelling of future warming should be taken with a large pinch of salt. We're more likely to see the higher paths than they say. Even Exxon is currently forecasting 2.5C - 3C by 2050 (but they're deflecting the blame onto coal)
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Agrivoltaics working to keep both plants and people cool in the desert www.autonocion.com/us/arizona-s...
autonocion.com
Arizona raised solar panels on stilts over its crops so one acre could grow food and make power at once — then researchers noticed a third job nobody put in the brochure: skin under the panels runs 21...
Solar panels have a bad habit of showing up where nobody wants them. They get strung over canals, floated on reservoirs, and planted across farmland that used
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Wait, what? Exxon Mobile confirming global warming to reach 2.5 - 3 degrees C by 2050. Ah, they're pointing the finger at coal as the culprit, not gas. #climate www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Exxon Sounds Alarm Coal Use Is Accelerating Global Warming
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. says the world is on course for rapid global temperature increases as coal use persists, pushing emissions beyond mid-century climate goals.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We really are ruining this planet, aren't we. Marine scientists sent an ROV down between 1k and 4k metres deep The team was shocked to see 29 man-made items in total across 10 of their dives including plastic bags, food wrappers and discarded fishing gear www.discoverwildlife.com/environment/...
discoverwildlife.com
Scientists just photographed a place that's never been seen by humans before. What the images reveal is shocking | Discover Wildlife
During a survey of the Mar del Plata Canyon off the coast of Argentina, deep-sea researchers found dozens of pieces of human rubbish, including food wrappers, a plastic cup and a rubber boot.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
A new approach to stabilising degenerative retinal diseases - using the eye's own defences www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
sciencedaily.com
Scientists find a hidden retinal defense against vision loss
A naturally occurring molecule called erucamide may help the retina fight back against diseases that cause progressive vision loss. Restoring the molecule activated protective immune responses that he...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Look into my eyes.... ❤️ People with atrial fibrillation have signs of the condition in the retinas of their eyes that can be detected as early as four years before diagnosis www.news-medical.net/news/2026091...
news-medical.net
Eye scans detect signs of atrial fibrillation years before diagnosis
People with atrial fibrillation have signs of the condition in the retinas of their eyes that can be detected as early as four years before diagnosis, finds a new study led by University College Londo...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
@wildweatherdan.bsky.social I hope you don't mind a quick question, but I'm out of my depth here - how does the gulf stream speeding up tie in with the overall weakening of the AMOC? bsky.app/profile/john...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Gulf stream speeding up. This, plus the effects from the record El Nino could (I think) lead to a mild, but wetter stormier start to the winter here in the UK. I'm not sure how this ties in with the overall weakening of the AMOC though. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Rapid Surface Intensification of the Gulf Stream Since 2014
East of the separation point, the Gulf Stream speed increased rapidly by 0.25 m/s (>20%) from 2014 to 2019, remaining elevated through 2023 The observed strengthening of the Gulf Stream coincides...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A fantastic advance in treating malignant liver cancer www.sciencealert.com/a-3-year-old...
sciencealert.com
A 3-Year-Old's Metastatic Cancer Disappeared After Two Doses of Experimental Therapy
A powerful advance in cancer-fighting medicine has achieved an extraordinary new milestone.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Books are good for you. Reading for pleasure cuts dementia risk by third, Cambridge study finds. Review reveals books boost mental health, reduce stress and increase empathy regardless of genre. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health | Psychological Medicine | Cambridge Core
Reading and associations with brain health, cognition, well-being, and mental health - Volume 56
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Why indeed? Couldn't be a bribe to relax regulation of cryptocurrency could it? Surely not.. No one would relax regulation of the favoured currency of organised crime, rogue states, drug runners, arms dealers, sex traffickers, tax evaders (and people hiding the source of political donations) Right?
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Having been diagnosed with knee arthritis after too many years of sport that put lots of impact on the knees, knee supports do work. These days, low impact exercise keeps me mobile and seems to keep the pain away - elliptical is my cardio of choice www.sciencedaily.com/releases/202...
sciencedaily.com
Nearly 10,000 patients reveal what works best for knee arthritis pain relief
A major analysis of 139 clinical trials involving nearly 10,000 people suggests that some of the simplest treatments may work best for knee osteoarthritis. Knee braces ranked highest overall for reduc...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
For anyone wondering if they should take vitamin K with your vitamin D, the answer is yes. www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/...
ahajournals.org
Vitamin K2 and D3 Supplementation in Patients With Severe Coronary Artery Calcification: The DANCODE Trial | Circulation
BACKGROUND: Coronary artery calcification (CAC) progression is a strong predictor of cardiovascular events. We investigated whether supplementation with vitamin K2 and vitamin D3 reduces CAC progressi...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sodium ion battery tech finally looks like challenging lithium for mass market applications #renewables www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2026/08/sodi...
solarpowerworldonline.com
Sodium-ion batteries are ready for world domination
For much of the last decade, perovskites have been promised to be the future of solar panels, but commercialization has been slow, and only a few
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Another country looking at Agrivoltaics. Agriculture and solar proving again that they can work together grist.org/energy/why-e...
grist.org
Why Egyptian farmers are growing crops under solar panels
The additional shade reduces evaporation and stress on the plants, all while generating clean electricity.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Think your brain is declining with age? It doesn't have to. Participants experienced measurable gains in cognitive, emotional and social wellbeing across the entire age range, with those in their 70s and 80s seeing improvements equal to younger adults involved www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-bo...
sciencefocus.com
'Your cognitive peak isn't in your 20s': A landmark study just demolished everything we thought about brain ageing | BBC Science Focus Magazine
With age comes wisdom, we’re told. But retaining the ability to recall the whereabouts of your glasses? Forget it – or so we're told
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Reposted by John Topham
Quiet Majority @majorityquiet.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We loved this so much we just had to put English subtitles on it, apologies to the French speakers for our translation. But this is what it would look like here in the UK if Farage or Lowe or another of their ilk got their own way.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Superb #climate resources here
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Half the World’s Population Will Be Nearsighted by 2050. Nearly 5 billion people will be unable to see clearly at a distance by the year 2050. The reasons? 1. Too much screen time. 2. Too little time outside. Outdoor time is the single most protective factor. techfixated.com/half-the-wor...
techfixated.com
Half the World’s Population Will Be Nearsighted by 2050.
Nearly 5 billion people will be unable to see clearly at a distance by the year 2050.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A party of liars. Carbon Brief fact checks 45 false or misleading claims made by the Reform party’s leadership, and Tice in particular, relating to climate change, renewables and net-zero. www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-re...
carbonbrief.org
Factcheck: Reform UK’s 45 false or misleading claims about climate and energy - Carbon Brief
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, has emerged as a major force in UK politics in recent years – pushing…
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Reposted by John Topham
Timothy Caulfield @caulfieldtim.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
#Sleepmaxxing: Are Popular Sleep Hacks Evidence-Based? www.medscape.com/viewarticle/... - Mouth taping? Nope ❌ - Nasal strips? Nah ❌ - Good #sleep hygiene? Yep ✅ Reality: Most influencer ideas bunk and some "maxxing" practices "may even worsen sleep quality."
medscape.com
Sleepmaxxing: Are Popular Sleep Hacks Evidence-Based?
Sleepmaxxing practices vary in their evidence, with some routines supported by research, while others lack proven benefits or may worsen sleep problems.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Haven't got time to get your 10 thousand steps in? Walk faster instead, brisk exercise is good for you www.medicalnewstoday.com/amp/articles...
medicalnewstoday.com
Longevity: 30-minute brisk walk may be as effective as 7,500 steps
Walking at a faster pace under 5,000 steps daily cuts early death risk as much as walking 7,500 slower steps a day, researchers have found.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Using an engineered virus to treat autoimmune diseases by reprogramming a patient's own immune cells directly inside the body. Apologies for the click through ads, it's not a site I like but the story is just too intriguing to miss medicalxpress.com/news/2026-09...
medicalxpress.com
A single IV treatment retrains immune cells to fight autoimmune diseases in early trial
CAR T-cell therapy is an immune-reprogramming procedure that turns a patient's own immune cells into cancer-fighting specialists. The entire process is complex, but researchers have now found a faster...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
To follow up on the earlier post highlighting the similarities between the Dover 'patriots' and fascist private armies...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If you've got a cold, vitamin C is the go to, right? Well, not really. zinc supplementation was observed to potentially reduce cold duration by 2.25 days pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32342851/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Zinc Supplementation Reduces Common Cold Duration among Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials with Micronutrients Supplementation - PubMed
The common cold had resulted in significant economic and social burden worldwide. The effect of vitamin C on preventing common cold in healthy adults has been investigated extensively, but not that of other micronutrients. Thus, we aim to assess the effects of providing micronutrients singly through …
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The Dover incident Uniformed, organized, far right paramilitary group, and the police and security services didn't seem to know their plans. Effectively a private army of thugs. Like Mosley's (and the Italian) fascist Blackshirts, or the Brownshirt paramilitary storm troopers of early N@zi Germany
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Poor sleep is known to affect memory and concentration, exercise after poor sleep helps offset that and keep your mind sharp academic.oup.com/sleep/advanc...
academic.oup.com
Slow-Wave Sleep Mediates the Compensatory Effects of Acute Moderate-Intensity Exercise on Declarative Memory Deficits in Sleep Restriction
Here, we demonstrate that a single session of moderate-intensity evening exercise performed before a night of sleep restriction was associated with better
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Just had a climate denier on Threads crowing that Antarctica was gaining ice, and would not be convinced otherwise. The reality is, the mass gains were due to warmer moister air, which means more precipitation. A temporary slowdown of ice loss. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Multiyear tropical warm pool warming drives slowdown in Antarctic mass loss - Nature
Recent Antarctic ice mass gain was linked to a recurrent atmospheric teleconnection, but this recurs about once per decade in observations and historical simulations so does not yet reflect a global-w...
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The party of free speech, who protect our women and girls, assaulting a woman for speaking her mind. Hair pulled, hit with a walking stick and fists, hand over her mouth, all while Farage laughs and mocks her from the podium. Vile people
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Ah, but the US probably rejected it because it shows the gulf of MEXICO, and Lake ONTARIO Trump wouldn't like that
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I heard someone moan about their energy bill, and they were parroting the reform line of blaming renewables. The reality is somewhat different. Every accepted generator gets paid the price of the most expensive bid needed to meet demand not their own bid, usually gas ukgridlive.info/pages/electr...
ukgridlive.info
About electricity prices - UK Grid: Live+
How the GB wholesale electricity price is calculated, how Contracts for Difference work, and why cheaper renewables don't automatically mean cheaper bills.
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John Topham @johntopham.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Everyone says there'll be a blue ocean event soon...
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