A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 176 of Dovi’s Digest.
Since 2020 there’s been a proliferation of people on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and pretty much anywhere you consume media, who claim they can fix your life in a few easy steps. All you need to do is give them some money, and in no time at all you’ll be less stressed, more successful, will have lots of time on your hands, and you’ll probably be taller, more popular, and better smelling too.
The thing is, we all know deep down that these things don’t actually work in a short period of time, that real change takes perseverance. We know that manifesting won’t bring about a shift, that it takes constant hard grind. So then why do we fall for it time after time?
But what if there was a way to rewire your brain quickly? What if instead of years of internal struggle, and setbacks, some simple, everyday changes can alter our brains in just six weeks? Can it be done? Find out in this week’s headline article.
In this week’s added extras:
Miniature golf courses are becoming less magical, go back to when they were full of wonder with this article about the lost art of building them.
When you travel, do you want to find the most interesting (and sometimes oddest) places you can? Well, this map lists all 25,958 extraordinary sights. How many have you been to?
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 Rachel Goldstuck! The answer and this week’s puzzle are below.
You may be content with where you are, and that’s great! So, there are other articles to tickle your fancy. Bop along to the story of why listening to Taylor Swift while in prison makes a man feel like he’s still part of the outside world (and how he managed to do it), tell the idea that honeybees are dying to buzz off, put away that raw fish eating video and see what it really takes to become a contestant on Survivor, learn all about the world of foley (making sound effects) for video games, all bets are off in this fascinating piece about the men who created an entirely fake league to rip off bettors, and the remarkable story of a Uighur man who escaped China with the most basic tools possible. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
How I Rewired My Brain in Six Weeks
There is growing evidence that simple, everyday changes to our lives can alter our brains and change how they work. Melissa Hogenboom put herself into a scanner to find out.
Listening to Taylor Swift in Prison
Her music makes me feel that I’m still part of the world I left behind.
The Beekeepers Who Don’t Want You to Buy More Bees
In Slovenia and around the world, conservationists try — and mostly fail — to combat the widespread belief that honeybees are in danger.
How To Get on Survivor: Behind The Scenes Of Casting Season 45
We've got all the intel — and audition videos — showing the disparate journeys five players took to make it onto the new season.
The Squelchy, Messy Art of Video Game Sound Effects
Foley artist Joanna Fang powers up video games with her eclectic arsenal of sound-simulating weapons.
The Wild Quest to Create a Fake Indian Cricket League ... That Was Just the Beginning
With a scruffy lot and an audacious sense of ambition, an Indian villager created—and broadcast! —a rigged cricket league to rip off online bettors. It looked small-time, but something bigger was going on.
Escaping China with A Spoon And A Rusty Nail
(Courtesy of Yisroel Greenberg)
How one Uyghur man fled Xinjiang via the notorious smugglers' road and broke out of a Thai prison.
Quote of the Week:
“We only confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones.” – François de La Rochefoucauld
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Tanya Perel)
Rapport
ra - paw /raˈpɔː/
noun
A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well.
Especially: a relationship characterised by agreement, mutual understanding, or empathy that makes communication possible or easy
"She was able to establish a good rapport with the children."
Facts of the Week:
The Japan pig is a seahorse so tiny that hundreds of them would hit into your hand.
In 19th-century Paris, it was fashionable to take turtles for walks on a lead.
In 14th-century France, it was a capital offence to wear stripes.
In the 1910s, there was a US baseball team made up of death-row prisoners, whose executions were delayed so long as they kept winning.
Before every Major League Baseball game, mud from the Delaware River is rubbed on the ball.
Punchball is a sport like baseball in which you punch the ball instead of using a bat.
The first punch Mike Tyson ever threw was because someone killed his pigeon.
18th-century actor James Quin killed a fellow actor in a disagreement over how to pronounce the name Cato.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
You can go from “A” to “seatbelt” by adding a letter and rearranging them into different words. Which words belong on the dashed lines?
A
AS
SEA
EAST
TASTE
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
SEATBELT
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Some geography trivia this week. What is this list?
1. Kazakhstan
2. Mongolia
3. Chad
4. Niger
5. Mali
Answer:
The world’s largest landlocked countries.
Thanks for reading Dovi’s Digest!