The Guardian reports that over the past five years there has been a spike in the number of quirky nest houses in the UK. But quirkiness turns not only to be bad politically, as the Beacon Hill Library makes clear (white architects turned to quirkiness because they could not honestly represent the racial and cultural diversity of that neighborhood), but also bad for young birds.

Boxes that have bright colors draw predators (cats and squirrels, for example) to nesting birds. It does not end there. When they are made from "unusual materials such as ceramics," they end up freezing the poor things on cold days, and when they are made from shimmering metal, they cook them on hot days.

The best thing for these animals is to make (or buy) boxes that are just plain and protected from your inspiration. Art, and particularly art that's excited by quirkiness, isn't needed everywhere. Art does not always make the world a better place. Sometimes it helps to keep your self-expressions to yourself.

Fremont is Seattle's capital of quirkiness.