A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello everybody, and welcome to Volume 105 of Dovi’s Digest.
Last week, a quiet announcement tolled the final death knell for a 21-year-old piece of tech that changed history. Touted as being to hold 1000 songs within its whopping 5GB of memory, the first iPod was a game changer. No longer did we have to shlep around multiple CDs or tapes, we could keep it all in one pocket for the then princely sum of $399. iPods got smaller while their storage expanded, with the iPod video which launched in 2006 bringing us the ability to watch our pirated shows on the tiny 3-inch screen. I clearly remember 4 people gathered close, using two sets of headphones and a splitter, watching an episode of friends on someone’s iPod. The iPod paved the way to the iPhone, and the rest as they say, is history. While Apple haven’t sold the music/video only iPod for many years, last week in a statement it confirmed that it will stop producing the iPod touch, which was pretty much an iPhone without the phone part (so, just an i).
I was gifted an 80GB iPod video for my 19th birthday, and it changed my life. It gave me an escape when I needed space and allowed me to share videos when I wanted companionship. I still have it, it still works (40 pin connecter and all), and although the new tech is objectively better, I kinda miss the haptic feedback from the touch wheel.
So, as an homage, there is not one, but two headline articles this week. One is a retrospective on the iPod and all it brought with it, and the second is a visual history, 2001 to today.
Last week’s article about the cosmos and astrophotography went down quite well, and people seem to want to know more about the systems closest to us. So, here’s a little visualisation which allows you to zoom all the way from the edge of the milky way to the sun. It shows you have mindbogglingly big just our little stellar “neighbourhood” is. Remember that this is “just” our closest 100,000 stars, and there are more than 100 billion stars just in our little galaxy. (i.e., a million times more) The site is more impressive and just better on a computer, but it runs on mobile as well.
Do you enjoy the Digest? Would you like it to get better? Then please consider sharing it, as the more articles I’m sent, the better it is. It only takes a few seconds, and all you need to do is click here 👇. Thank you!
There was ONE correct answer to last week’s brainteaser. Well done to Ariel Subotzky. The answer and this week’s riddle are below.
Is the iPod and smart tech blasé to you? Do you still use a Nokia 3310? Well, that’s fine. You can see pictures of a solar eclipse captured from Mars, find out what your doodling reveals about your mind, how to better make friends using just mouth words, how private equity is behind spiralling healthcare costs, or answer that most common of questions, how to build a whale skeleton.
Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Apple iPod Changed Music as We Know It
From the Classic to the Touch, the iPod facilitated access-all-areas music in ways nothing else did before – and now it is gone.
An Illustrated History of The iPod and Its Massive Impact
The Science of Doodles: What Do They Really Mean?
Doodles can be a window into your inner thoughts. Neurologists and philosophers like Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung have searched for meaning behind these idle drawings. Here’s what they’ve found.
Wow! Perseverance rover captures gorgeous video of solar eclipse on Mars
These are truly otherworldly shots.
The Conversational Habits That Build Better Connections
Can you chat your way to greater social connection? Five useful steps can help us strengthen ties and avoid mistakes.
The Air-Ambulance Vultures
A search for why my flight cost $86,184 led to a hidden culprit: private equity.
Bones, Bones: How to Articulate a Whale
“I have sat inside her rib cage. And yet I know nothing about her.”
Quote of the Week:
“Do not allow your fire to go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not at all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists. It is real. It is possible. It is yours.” — Ayn Rand
Facts of the Week:
There used to be six more letters in the English alphabet: “eth”, “thorn”, “wynn”, “yogh”, “ash”, and “ethel”.
Denmark hated the letter “Q” so much they abolished it in 1872.
The letters “K”, “W” and “Y” were officially added to the Portuguese alphabet in 2009.
Seychelles is the only member of the UN whose name has no letters in common with “Britain”.
Britain and Portugal have been allies since 1373.
A Portuguese way of telling someone to leave you alone is: “Go away and comb monkeys.”
“To feed the donkey sponge cake” is a Polish expression meaning "to treat someone better than they deserve”.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
If you can only move two matches, what is the biggest number you can make?
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Jasper Jason works for local radio. This is his business card. Can you spot the pattern?
Answer:
The letters are the months of the year, starting with June.