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Notes -
How did Astrology become a Thing again? Since 2020, I've encountered it more and more IRL among the general population, even in people with undergrad degrees. I checked Tinder the other week before re-un-installing, and at least 1/3rd of the profiles had birth sign front-and-center. I honestly thought this was a slain beast.
Someone talking about capricorns really riles up my inner fedora.
It's interesting how different Russia and the US are, because it never went away here. Everyone knows their star sign (and often their Chinese animal as well, I am Sagittarius/Ox btw), most newspapers and magazines (other than explicitly business-oriented ones) have a horoscope section and every December the shops are flooded with the upcoming Chinese zodiac animal-themed calendars and knick-knacks.
However, interest in astrology, tarology and related crap has been dropping since 2024, likely because more people use LLMs instead of professional esoteric services.
Everybody here knows their star sign, but usually not their Chinese animal- although if you're male you probably don't know what it's supposed to mean. Interest in astrology doesn't seem to have ever gone away, either, although admitting to it might have been unfashionable in elite circles. Tarot and psychics and related crap is still for a) hardcore nuts and b) divorced women, though.
Do chinese restaurants not have placemats with their zodiac on them in your locale? Every one-horse town in Canada has had such a place for a hundred years; sometimes the only decent restaurant around. It's something to talk about while waiting for your food, reading practice for kids, etc -- so I'd say most people here would know their Chinese animal. (which is bits I'm not going to release about myself)
A surprising amount don't, and just have gigantic menus you order off of by number. I've certainly seen them, but 'Chinese' is not the default restaurant meal in large parts of America either(Tex-Mex is), and lots of them are buffets or fast-casual places that don't have menus in that sense, and even sit down Chinese restaurants often skip it.
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