You may have heard of the “government shutdown”—but do you really know what it means or how it affects you? And why it has replaced all the Breaking Bad posts of Facebook?

Others have already tackled many of the issues related to the shutdown, but Flyby is here to answer the questions that you were too embarrassed to ask.

What is a shutdown?
Republicans and Democrats in Congress could not agree on a spending bill, so they have put a freeze on some government services. Some federal employees were furloughed, others are working without pay.

Oh yeah, so is this why last weekend they tried to shut down the Owl?
No.

So then is this why no one voted in the UC election?
No.

So then how will the shutdown affect me?
Well, emotionally it is quite demoralizing, and most national parks will be closed, so I guess you can’t go to the national zoo for a while.

I mean at Harvard?
There might be fewer research grants, and there are concerns about student loans.

But, like, can I still place a grill order? And is my Science of Cooking midterm still happening?
Yes.

And what about Facebook? Is Facebook safe?
Yes.

Okay, I’m good. That’s all I needed to know.