Itโs Thursday, Boston.
๐ To everyone (read: no one) who said B-Side couldnโt score another wedding invite โฆ B-Sider Lyric invited us to capture her $200 wedding at the Central BPL branch. Yes, we said $200. And it was amazing. Everyone say โcongratulations, Lyric and Jon!โ
๐ Whatโs on tap today:
Why the bike lane barriers disappeared
R.I.P. to the Pit
MITโs giant eyeball
Up firstโฆ
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Why you might be better off single

Illustration: Gia Orsino
Weโre in a โrelationship recession,โ but many women are doing great. Or at least, better than men.
Hereโs what to know:
๐ Young people are swiping left โฆ on relationships. The U.S. marriage rate has dropped by almost 60% in the last 50 years, and more Americans โ particularly young women โ are single, and more OK with it than ever before. 45% of 18- to 29-year-old women reported being single in 2022 versus 38% in 2020, according to the Survey Center for American Life. Of that group, only 36% are interested in getting into a serious relationship.
๐โโ๏ธ And women seem to be happier about it. A 2024 University of Toronto study found that single women report being happier than single men across a wide range of categories: Theyโre more satisfied with their quality of life, their sex life, their relationship status, and have less desire for a partner. But why?
๐ฎโ๐จ For one thing: Singlehood might be โa more enjoyable alternativeโ to straight relationships for women, according to the studyโs lead author Elaine Hoan. Women have historically tended to get the short end of the stick in dating and marriage. Think: More emotional labor, more household work, more โsexual labor,โ she said. โBecause of these sort of inequities โฆ it tends to be the case that women ultimately have both lower relationship satisfaction and lower sexual desire [than men].โ Oof.
๐ญ Another reason: The girlies. For singles, a big part of emotional fulfillment is โnon-romantic support,โ Hoan said, and research shows that men have lesser and lower quality social support than women. โFemale friendship isnโt โฆ a new phenomenon,โ said Danielle Bayard Jackson, director of the Women's Relational Health Institute, โbut people are really centering it in their lives in a way โฆ that felt reserved for romantic relationships.โ Sheโs seen women recentering platonic relationships in their lives, buying homes together, even raising children.
โค๏ธ All of this has women rethinking their approach to romance. Sprinkle in our nightmare dating app situation and rising misogyny, and itโs not hard to believe that women might want to approach love more cautiously. The good news: A step away from romance as the end-all-be-all may ultimately help them feel more fulfilled in their relationships, be it with friends or a romantic partner. โHopefully, the takeaway is: How do I reimagine โฆ my own experiences in romantic and friend realms, and seek a connection that is healthy and mature and reciprocal and fun-loving,โ said Northeastern Behavioral Science professor Kristen Lee.ย
QUICK QUESTION!
๐ฅฏ Do you think Boston has good bagels?
Let us know below!
MEDIA SPONSORSHIP
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The best part: You can attend WISE Summit for just $30 with this link or code WISEBSIDE.
CITY
Quick & dirty headlines

Image: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe
๐ด The mystery of the disappearing flexposts has been solved. Mayor Michelle Wu finally addressed the buzzy disappearance of protective bike lane barriers on three local streets. In a Boston Public Radio appearance, Wu said that the now-removed โflex postsโ were never meant to be a permanent solution, calling them her โpersonal pet peeve.โ She implied their removal will lead to more permanent solutions for the streets. But given Wuโs new M.O. to โbe more reflectiveโ about taking on infrastructure projects, itโs unclear if those solutions will include new barriers.
โฝ Bostonโs (other) incoming soccer stadium is inching along. On Tuesday night, Wu and other city officials gathered to hear from Charlestown residents about the potential for a New England Revs soccer stadium in Everett. The residents emphasized they want to make sure the project, which is expected to bring heavy traffic to the neighborhood, means BIG investments in public transit, parking, noise reduction, and greenspace. And if the Kraft Group wants to get the stadium built soon, it should probably listen, since the project needs Bostonโs OK to move forward.
๐ง R.I.P. to the P-I-T. The Pit, an iconic sitting area in Harvard Square, is being demolished (or pitted, you could say) as part of the squareโs big makeover. The Pitโs removal is bittersweet because back in the day, the area was a place for local misfits, rebels, and anyone who just didnโt quite fit in (a.k.a. โpit ratsโ) to gather. In true Boston fashion, the og plan to demolish The Pit came about years ago (there was even a party in 2022), but demolition only started recently. Itโs giving Parks and Rec.
๐ Something โฆ strange is going down at 2 a.m. Itโs a blood moon! Also known as a total lunar eclipse, which will be visible to us New Englanders from 2:26 a.m. to 3:31 a.m. on Friday (thatโs tonight). During a lunar eclipse, the full moon passes through the Earthโs shadow, making it look very dim and sometimes reddish, hence the name. The good news is, unlike our solar eclipse last year, this one requires no special eyewear, just go outside and look up! The bad news is it might be a little cloudy โ keep tabs on the forecast here.
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ONE LAST THING
MITโs giant eyeball

Image: Charles Krupa/Associated Press. Illustration: Gia Orsino.
From now through March 14, if you look at the MIT dome, itโll look right back. Seriously, because itโll have a 75-foot eye projected on it. But donโt worry, itโs actually kind of a sweet story.
The giant eye is part of a project called โGaze to the Stars,โ by Behnaz Farahi. The project brought participants into a pod where their eye is photographed and an AI โguideโ asks them to respond to a question about โdreams, longing, feelings, and struggles,โ according to WBUR. The response is recorded and attached to a code thatโs embedded in a photo of their iris.
Now, when the giant eye is projected on the dome, we can scan the iris with our phones and hear the story of the person who that eye belongs to. You can read more about the project here.
โ Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario
๐๏ธ Thanks for reading! You could say itโs putting the โeyeโ in MIT. Sorry!
๐ The results are in: 45% of readers say theyโre OK with rowdiness at the St. Paddyโs Day parade, but thereโs a clear line. One reader said: โIt really shouldn't be that hard to drink all day in public and NOT be an asshole.โ
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