Five months on, living in a pandemic has become a new liminal normal, shifting our gaze toward the familiar sights, sounds, and objects that once filled our days. The curators at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum are no doubt feeling this shift on some ontological level. This past spring, on the V&A blog, they started “Pandemic Objects,” an ongoing editorial project that highlights and reflects upon everyday objects (defined in the broadest sense) that have become charged with new urgency and meaning in the midst of the coronavirus. Senior design curator Brendan Cormier considers the gaze of the drone, which has seen a surge in use worldwide in recent months, with people dispatching them in their hometowns—even to take their dogs for a walk. Other highlights include soap, street trees, and the ubiquitous canvas tote bag, the latter overly produced as swag for events and festivals that have since been canceled, further calling the “sustainability” of reusable bags into question. For staffer Gina Koutsika, it’s a jump rope that gives her pause as she riffles through the museum’s archives, uncovering photos, artworks, and accounts about the age-old pastime before going for a jump herself: “After a bit of research practicality gave into nostalgia, and armed with a compact, lightweight rope with tangle-free coated table and anti-slip foam handles, I ventured to the park.”