A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hi! Welcome to Volume 129 of Doviâs Digest.
Every few months, I give you dear reader an unsolicited view into my personal life. Whether it be my grandfather, mental health, or travel, that door gets cracked open.
Iâve spoken (written?) about my parentsâ epic three-year backpacking trip around the world. What I havenât told you is how they made it work.
Hereâs a quick refresher: Both my parents came from working-class backgrounds. My motherâs parents were shopkeepers from Germany, and my paternal grandfather (who you may remember from DD Volume 48) owned a small watch repair shop in rural Zimbabwe. Needless to say, they didnât have the means to send their children gallivanting around the world. My father had just qualified as an accountant, and my mother was working two jobs: as a radiographer and a medical supplies salesperson. So, my parents did what many free-spirited children of the 60s did, they decided to just go with the flow, and see where it went. They worked odd jobs and took advantage of the strong Rand. And once they had enough money saved to move to the next place, they packed up and left. However, at some point in the trip, they hit upon a novel idea. My dad was (and still is) a keen amateur magician and put his skills to the test by approaching random strangers, and hopefully getting some sort of tip. This skill really came to the fore when they were in Los Angeles for the 1984 summer Olympics. My dad stood outside the stadium doing tricks (illusions) until they had enough money for tickets, at which point they stopped.
However, my dad is not one to rest on his laurels. He of course wouldnât only wow people with his sleight of hand, his disappearing coins, and his never-ending hankies. He would also juggle.
I remember being so amazed when he juggled for us when we were kids. The way the balls seemed to float so effortlessly, how they always looked so fluid mesmerised me. So of course, true to form, I took to juggling as soon as I could. I started with devil sticks, and slowly moved to beanbags, starting with two, then three, then four. I stopped there as anything over that became too difficult to control. I assumed this was all there was to juggling, but as laid out in this weekâs headline article (which was kindly sent by Yisroel Greenberg), it turns out there are many ways to skin the proverbial cat. Not only does the ball not have to even leave your hand (see contact juggling), but sometimes you use machines and contraptions to make the balls seem to defy the laws of physics. Even if this article doesnât grab you, I highly highly recommend you just scroll through it to see the gifs and videos which are just spellbinding.
Do you enjoy the Digest? Would you like it to get better? Then please consider sharing it, as the more articles Iâm sent, the better it is. It only takes a few seconds, and all you need to do is click here đ. Thank you!
There was ONE correct answer to last weekâs brainteaser. Well done to Ariel Subotzky. The answer and this weekâs riddle are below.
Of course, there are other articles to keep you absorbed. Read about an epic transcontinental journey by train, why the second quietest room in the world will drive you mad, how to use maths to utilise a shuffled deck to your advantage (and what casinos have done to stop it), Â pills that will make your beloved fur baby live longer, how your cat might kill you (indirectly, at the very least make you psychotic), and the story behind one of musicâs bad-boys last public appearance, shortly after a terminal diagnosis.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
Innovations in Juggling
(Courtesy of Yisroel Greenberg)
How many ways are there to throw balls in the air?
25 Days, 9 Countries, 1,959 Miles: Seeing Europe by Train
For one British writer left adrift by Brexit, a cross-continental train trip might be the best way to reconnect with her European neighbours.
How A Magician-Mathematician Revealed a Casino Loophole
When a gang of gambling cheats sussed out how to beat the house, they inadvertently highlighted a loophole from a shuffled deck. It took a magician-turned-mathematician to reveal how.
Orfield Labs Quiet Chamber
This lab's maddening silence is good for business but bad for sanity.Â
The Search for a Pill That Can Help Dogsâand HumansâLive Longer
People have been searching for a fountain of youth for thousands of years. Celine Halioua thinks sheâs found oneâfor canines. Be patient, weâre next.
Swamp Boy
Inside a family's $400k quest to stop their son's psychosis â and what they learned about the medical system and the bacteria behind cat-scratch disease.
âThank You, and Goodbyeâ
On October 30, 2002, a cancer-stricken Warren Zevon returned to the âLate Show With David Lettermanâ stage for one last performance. Twenty years later, Letterman and more remember the gravitas and emotion of that stunning night.
Quote of the Week:
âThe penalty of success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.â â Nancy Astor
Facts of the Week:
The pumpkin toadlet is a Brazilian frog whose mating call can be heard by every animal except other pumpkin toadlets.
The Cuyaba dwarf from inflates its bottom to scare off predators.
The Aztecs burned incense to mask the smell of the Spanish.
King Henry IV of France smelled strongly of goat.
BeyoncĂŠ has released more perfumes than albums.
Will Young considered breaking his leg to get out of Strictly Come Dancing.
The oldest member of Englandâs 2018 World Cup squad was Ashley Young.
The oldest member of any 2018 World Cup squad was Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary. He was born in Kafr al-Battikh â âTown of the Watermelonâ â and celebrates victory by eating watermelons.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
This weekâs is a little whimsical, have fun!
A spoonerism is when two consecutive words (or elements in the same word) swap their initial letters or sounds. Rephrase the following sentences using a pair of spoonerisms
Example: Delicate followers greet gents from France. Answer: Frail henchmen hail Frenchmen
a) Hummus ingredients select dairy product.
b) Orangutans and gorillas consumed fruits which grow on vines.
c) Meal brought to school failed to make an impact.
d) Rodents suppress feline fury.
e) Infants making a noise fighting off a disease.
Last Weekâs Brainteaser and Answer:
Change my beginning every time
To realize another rhyme
Start with a repair to apply
Step before one's able to fly
Do this and my freedom you take
Find this and a couple you make
Use me to make a gate secure
As a baked group we may allure
What are we?
Answer:
Patch - "...a repair to apply"
Hatch - "Step before one's able to fly"
Catch - "...my freedom you take"
Match - "...a couple you make"
Latch - "...make a gate secure"
Batch - "...baked group we may allure"