Why 4:30 in June is 6:30 in January

I once read someplace that 4:30 p.m. in June is like 6:30 p.m. in January.

You’re basically shutting down work for the day at 4:30 p.m. in June like it’s 6:30 p.m. in January. If you’re working and the sun is shining, try spending some of that time coming up with an excuse for how you’re going to cut work a little early. Go ahead, you have our permission.

If you’re looking to rebalance your work-life situation this summer, keep reading. We have in this daily dispatch a revealing story about the effectiveness of therapy, an interview with the people running DC Comics’ hottest new project, a wild report about what happens to crayfish when antidepressants get into the water, and a discovery about the origins of the Northern Lights.

I know. There’s a lot in here to tide you over ‘til June 6:30 (which is actually 4:30).

I’m Nick Lucchesi, an editor at Inverse, and this is Inverse Daily, your daily dispatch of essential stories that mix science and culture.

Mailbag — Keep sending your stories about national parks. This month the administration of President Joe Biden announced it would restore protections to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to keep its trees shielded from loggers and road construction. (The protections were stripped away during the administration of Biden's predecessor.) With that news in mind, and with vacation season upon us, what is your favorite national park and why? It can be in the United States or elsewhere. Send your answer to newsletter@inverse.com, or if you’re reading this in your inbox, just reply to this email.

Below are some terrific responses I received after Monday’s email went out. I’ve taken the liberty of linking to the web page for each park within each response.

Not a single person — “Gates of the Arctic. Dropped in by float-plane and saw not a single person for 10 unbeatable days.” — Larry

It looks like I imagine Eden did. — “My favorite is Isle Royale. [This one is pictured at the top of this email —ed.] You have to really, really want to visit this park. It's an archipelago in Lake Superior. Only accessible by seaplane or boat, nearly all visitors come for at least a couple of days. At least that much time is needed to enjoy its unique features. The flora is amazing. One would think that being so far north would limit the variety of flowering plants. There are orchids! The bogs have pitcher plants. Rocks are carpeted in twinflowers. It looks like I imagine Eden did.” — Michelle

Not one fast food joint, chain hotel, or traffic light — “My favorite national park ...is a national lakeshore, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northwest Lower Michigan. [There are] 450-foot-tall moving sand dunes rising out of the crystal-blue waters of Lake Michigan. Absolutely gorgeous hiking trails with bluff overlooks. An absolutely amazing scenic drive. Historic farm homesteads, lumber-boom ghost towns, rare bird and plant habitats, all being preserved. Two large islands, one with a campground and motorized tours, one managed as total wilderness. Surrounded by charming little villages. Not one fast food joint, chain hotel, or traffic light within 20 miles. Thankfully, 71,199 acres of Northern Michigan vacation paradise that will never be McMansions or five-story cheek-by-jowl condos for millionaires as way too much of Northern Michigan has become. My wife was lucky enough to grow up nearby, and I've come to love the place like nowhere else on Earth.” — Matthew

Wow. These were excellent. And there are plenty more to share in the coming days. In the meantime, keep your National Park recs coming. It’s summer. Get out there, and remember to Leave No Trace.

This is an adapted version of the Inverse Daily newsletter for June 16, 2021. Subscribe for free and earn rewards for reading every day in your inbox.

Prince Harry's therapy reveals a hard truth — Prince Harry, Oprah, and Lady Gaga discuss post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and therapy, writes Katie MacBride in her story on the impressive new TV series:

A fear of flying is common, but that is not what was affecting Prince Harry, a military-trained helicopter pilot.

Instead, the 36-year-old monarch’s airplane anxiety stems from a childhood fear associated with returning to the United Kingdom from trips abroad. They were experiences linked with being hounded by Britain’s tabloid press in the wake of the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.

Harry was 12 at the time, but his adult mind still relives this fear despite more than two decades separating him from the experience.

But as we see Harry experience therapy in The Me You Can’t See, a new HBO documentary TV series, we realize a vital truth about trauma: There is no quick fix for it. But there are ways to live with it, and even to thrive.

Read the full story.

More on mental health:

• Going back to the office could be bad for your mental health — here's why
• Inside YouTube's vicious mental health cycle
• Video games might be good for your mental health after all — study

Physicists solve a longstanding mystery — A new study reveals the peculiar physics behind the beautiful light display of the aurora borealis. Elana Spivack has put together a stunning gallery of images that illustrate this finding.

More space science headlines:

• NASA just took another step in getting more private citizens to space
• Clouds on Mars and more: Understand the world through 9 images
• Why is NASA sending 2,000 water bears and 128 squid to space?

Flushed antidepressants make one animal unusually “bold” — Scientists discover that flushed antidepressants can alter the behavior of crayfish. We should try to safely dispose of medication, researchers say. Tara Yarlagadda has the story:

In a video published by University of Florida-led researchers, the small crustacean boldly scampers around a plexiglass chamber, searching for food through frenzied movements that could rival a college dance party.

But while it may look like these crayfish are merely having a good time, their bold behavior isn’t natural, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Ecosphere.

Instead, it’s been enhanced by a surprising human substance: the antidepressant citalopram, which makes its way from human households to the watery homes of aquatic animals, like the crayfish.

You’ve got to read the full story.

More about life underwater:

• Life may have been forged in violent underwater volcanoes
• Look: An alien-like new cephalopod was found deep in the ocean
• Are fish migrations revealing a massive extinction event is on the way?

A Black Lives Matter rally spawns a wave of superheroes — Milestone Media figures Denys Cowan and Reginald Hudlin speak on the electrifying comeback of one of the most popular Black superheroes of all time: Static Shock. It’s the latest feature from senior entertainment writer Eric Francisco:

The universe of Milestone Media begins, like most universes do, with a big bang.

During a Black Lives Matter protest, an experimental gas is released on those gathered: “Let ‘em fly,” orders a police commander as cops wearing gas masks shoot canisters into the crowd. Thwunk, thwunk, thwunk.

Eventually, the gas unlocks superpowers in people throughout the fictional Dakota City. Among those at the protest is high school student Virgil Hawkins, who soon discovers he can harness the power of electricity.

This is the origin story of the recently relaunched Milestone Media, a historic DC Comics imprint that was formed in the early ‘90s around the same time as Wu-Tang Clan. Milestone Returns #0, a single-issue comic that rebooted this universe, was first released last fall.

Now, the headlining hero of the “Dakotaverse” — Virgil Hawkins, aka Static — will star in his own comic book series, Static: Season One, its first issue out this week

Read the full story on this new series.

More from Eric:

• Follow all of Eric’s articles on his author page
• Read Eric’s view on the blindspot in Battlefield 2042
• Eric geeks out with the VFX chief for A Quiet Place 2

• About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share a story about the time you met an astronaut? Send those thoughts and more to newsletter@inverse.com.
• Follow me on Twitter at @nicklucchesi, if for no other reason than to get Inverse headlines in your timeline and a few other Inverse-y things.
• Before we go, happy birthday (🎂) to Joan Van Ark (78), Phil Mickelson (51), Ian Mosley (68), Eddie Levert (79), Daniel Bruhl (43) (AP).