Made a jar of fermented carrots in a Berlin hostel last fall. Just used tap water, salt, and a repurposed pickle jar from the discount grocery. Left it on the windowsill for a week while I day-tripped to Potsdam. Came back to a perfectly fizzy, slightly funky snack. It's the best kind of souvenir because you eat the evidence.

Yeah that reminds me of the time I freaked out over a weird chest pain for days. Turns out it was just my new workout shirt being way too tight across the back. I was convinced I had pulled a muscle or something. Spent twenty minutes stretching before I finally changed my shirt and the pain was just gone. Our brains are so easy to trick when our clothes are too small.