Hi All, and welcome to Volume 33 of Dovi’s Digest.
Our social media streams are awash with Spotify wraps and best of lists. I’d assume I’m not the only one who is sick of them. I don’t particularly care how many times you listened to the new Taylor Swift albums, or how well you can rap to WAP. That being said, this has been the best year of Dovi’s Digest yet! From a quickly cobbled together thread sent to 24 people, we’ve grown to 326 wonderful subscribers, with more added every week! Thank you all so much. Only onwards and upwards from here!
There were eight correct answer to last week’s riddle. Well done David Flax, Josh Sack, Hazel Levine, Bianca Shulman, Ari Braun, Yona Kessler, Dylan Berger and Cheryl Geliebter! The answer and this week’s brainteaser are below.
I was initially planning on doing a recap of the year, but we all know it’s been a total dumpster fire. So I decided to compile a list of my favourite headlines, as well as the usual complement of articles, some of which are kinda new year related. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
All the best
Dovi
And now, the articles:
A Good Life Doesn’t Mean an Easy One
A new study finds that for many, ‘psychological richness’ is more valuable than simple happiness.
Octopuses Sometimes Punch Fish Out of Spite, Scientists Say
Things get salty when it comes to sharing food.
The Lasting Lessons of John Conway’s Game of Life
(Courtesy of Jacqueline Labovitz)
Fifty years on, the mathematician’s best known (and, to him, least favorite) creation confirms that “uncertainty is the only certainty.”
Not Sports: Dodgeball’s Transformative Journey From Gym Class to World-Class
The future of dodgeball might look nothing like its past.
Around the World in Rare and Beautiful Apples
From the sweet to the offbeat.
The Year in Math and Computer Science
Even as mathematicians and computer scientists proved big results in computational complexity, number theory and geometry, computers proved themselves increasingly indispensable in mathematics.
1,273 People Share Their Best Life Lessons from 2020
Even if 2020 was one long dumpster fire of a year, we sure learned a lot about ourselves. Here's what nearly 1300 people had to say about it.
Quote of the Week:
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin
Facts of the Week:
In the USA alone, more than 360 million glasses of sparkling wine are consumed on December 31.
The most popular day for car theft is January 1.
January 1 is also the biggest night for illegal "celebratory gunfire."
The most popular New Year's resolution is to exercise more.
80% of resolutions fail by February.
In Japan, Buddhist temples all over the country ring their bells 108 times at midnight to symbolize and get rid of the 108 types of human weakness.
In parts of Italy, people welcome in the New Year by tossing old things out of their windows. By tossing out the old, they make room for new and lucky things to enter their households and lives in the coming year.
The ball drop in Times Square is a long-standing New Year’s ritual, and the tradition began over 100 years ago. In 1907, fireworks were banned in New York City, so the city decided to try something different. Instead of fireworks, they lowered a 700-lb ball made of wood and iron.
Now, the ball weighs 11,875 pounds, and is covered in 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles, which contain 32,256 LEDs.
New Years is first celebrated on the small island nations of Tonga, Samoa, and Kiribati.
The last place or places to ring in 2021 will be the tiny outlying islands of the US. Baker Island and Howland Island will see the New Year at 12pm GMT on January 1 – but as it's uninhabited, we tend to forget about it.
Second to last will be American Samoa at 11am – just 558 miles from Tonga, where locals and visitors were celebrating a full 25 hours before.
Headlines of the Year:
Foxes Keep Attacking This 88-Year-Old, Leading Him to Strangle One With His Bare Hands
Finally, This Cuttlefish Can See Avatar
Roving Band of Herpes-Ridden Monkeys Now Roaming Northeast Florida
Should Orgies Keep Going In The Age Of Coronavirus?
Florida Man Plans to Dress as Grim Reaper to Scare Away Beachgoers
Alabama Police Search For “Aggressive Chicken” Attacking People at ATMs
Coronavirus Trapped This Bolivian Orchestra In a German Castle Surrounded By Wolves and Ghosts
Residents Surrender Thai City to Monkey Gangs Headquartered In an Abandoned Cinema
Woman Shouts 'I Still Love Sharks' After Being Attacked By One
Maskless Man Ejected From Disney's Hollywood Studios Today While Screaming Misquotes From Pixar's A Bugs Life
Leopard Mauls Florida Man Who Paid For “Full-Contact Experience” With Big Cat
Fat, Flightless Parrot Named Bird of the Year After a Campaign Tainted By Voter Fraud
Man Accused of Ponzi Scheme Attempts To Escape FBI With Underwater Scooter
Florida Man Rescues Puppy From Jaws of Alligator Without Dropping Cigar
And My Favourite:
March, The Longest Month of Our Entire Lives, Is Reportedly Ending
Cartoon of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Five friends, Jenna, Brad, Anna, Chris, and Ronald, decided to get together and throw a new year party. They each had to organize one part of the entertainment, as well as arrange food items for each course of the new year bash meal. Can you figure out who handled what?
1. No one organized any part of the entertainment or food, the first letter of which coincided with the first letter of their name.
2. Neither Anna nor Ronald handled the organization of the quiz, but one of them handled the starters.
3. Anna knew of some great places where they could have the party, so she agreed to find a suitable venue.
4. Ronald did not organize the music for the party.
5. Jenna worked for a music store and had the perfect list of head bangers set up for a wild night.
6. Chris did not feel brainy enough to do the quiz. However, he had a sweet tooth, so he handled one of the sweets.
7. Brad's food item included beef, onions, and peas.
8. Jenna's Dad owned a bakery and made the perfect new year cake for the party.
9. Anna's food item did not include chicken wings and french fingers.
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
Christmas and New Year’s Day occur exactly one week apart. So a New Year’s that occurs right after Christmas should be on the same day of the week. But in the year 2020 Christmas will occur on a Friday and New Year’s on a Wednesday. Why is this?
Answer:
In 2020, New Year occurs on January 1st, 2020 and Christmas on December 25th, 2020. These dates are 51 weeks and 2 days apart, not one week apart.
Christmas and New Year (of the following year) are one week apart. A New Year and Christmas on the same year are 51 weeks and 2 days apart.
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