A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hola! Welcome to Volume 140 of Dovi’s Digest.
I can be a little bit of a masochist. Not the whips and chains type, but the exercise type. The more gruelling a workout is, the more I enjoy it. It’s not the only reason I took up running years ago (I would go with my dad and brother), but it definitely plays a part. For some reason, I feel good at the end of a run: breathing hard, lying on my back on the ground, and hoping I’ll be able to stand. It’s almost definitely the reason I took up long distance running a few years ago. There’s also the false sense of superiority that one gets when the answer to “what did you do this weekend?” is “not much, ran a marathon.” I also genuinely enjoyed the long runs; it was almost meditative for me. No music, just the rhythm of my feet hitting the asphalt, and the focus on my breathing. I even remember the little mantra I made up to make sure the tempo of my stride and my breath matched up.
But no matter how much I appreciated my long runs, the solitude and the silence, the race in this week’s headline article seems cuckoo. It is run totally alone in a tunnel, it takes 55 hours, and the 200 miles (±320km) are nearly eight times the length of a standard marathon. It is so gruelling that only 13 people have ever finished it, and one of the finishers went temporarily blind towards the end. It takes masochism to the next level. The story of the race, what it takes to finish, and how it affects you, are all covered in the piece. It is truly something else.
The Dovi’s Digest Facebook and Twitter pages are chock-full of facts, articles, quotes, and even the occasional meme! Check them out here:
Your little extra this week is for the art enthusiasts. It gives you a novel, new way to experience Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night.
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 were ZERO correct answers to last week’s brainteaser. I’ll leave it up for another week, but will add a new one too.
If the only running that you’re interested in is running from your problems, I get you. So, instead, you can learn about smart bugs, how we can utilise sewerage, the pettiest man ever, how the great void of space is alive, why we have only ourselves to blame for the lower quality products that we get these days, and the night-time terror special forces brought to Afghan civilians.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
Tunnel Ultra: The Mind-Bending 200-Mile Ultra-Marathon In The Dark
How do you like to spend your weekend off?
I Asked Leading Entomologists: ‘What’s The Smartest Bug In The World?’
Some insects can count, recognize human faces, and even invent languages.
Waste Not, Want Not
Sewage is a vital part of a circular economy—and we have the tech to make good use of it. Why don’t we?
The Man Who Built a 40-Foot Spite Fence Around His Neighbour’s Home
When Nicholas Yung wouldn't sell his land to railroad baron Charles Crocker, Crocker built a 40-foot fence around his house and blotted out the sun.
The Remarkable Emptiness of Existence
Early scientists didn’t know it, but we do now: The void in the universe is alive.
Your Stuff Is Actually Worse Now
How the cult of consumerism ushered in an era of badly made products.
The Night Raids
For many Afghans, terror came when night fell. Over the years, CIA-backed operations have killed countless civilians. The U.S. left without being held accountable. A reporter returns to investigate her past and unravel the legacy of the secretive Zero Units.
Quote of the Week:
“It could be that your purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
Facts of the Week:
Scientists in Morocco have created a scorpion milking machine that can extract venom from 4 scorpions at once.
The man who invented condensed milk also invented the amphibious horse-and-cart equipped with a mast and sail.
Grampussing was a punishment in which sailors’ hands were tied above their heads and buckets of water poured down their sleeves.
The heatproof sleeve on the outside of a disposable coffee cup is called a “zarf”.
The U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs gets through 1400 disposable cups a day.
69 ants’ nests in the UK have listed building status.
U.K. Control Of Noise at Work Regulations (2006) recognises no distinction between a factory and an opera house.
The Ministry of Defense's official Book of Abbreviations is 373 pages long.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
(Courtesy of Dovi Joel)
Brainteaser of the Week:
See if you can determine what is represented by the following:
HANY
HAEY
HAEY
HADY
HALY
HAEY
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
For each of the five tasks below, you must divide a square into four parts that have the same shape, but whose sizes are determined by the following statements:
i) All four shapes are the same size.
ii) Only three are the same size.
iii) Two are the same size, and the other two are also the same size (but a different size from the first two).
iv) Two are the same size, and the other two are different sizes.
v) No two parts are the same size.
Here’s a solution for the first one. The square is divided into four triangles that are the same shape, and the same size.
For clarification: within each solution, the four parts must have the same shape. It is only their sizes that may change. However, each solution may involve a different shape. One solution fits perfectly along the lines of a 12 x 12 square, one on a 10x10 square, and one involves triangles.