A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 184 of Doviās Digest.
The last two years Iāve railed against the rampant consumerism that is black Friday (which is today), despite taking part in it myself.
Although Iām a fan of retail therapy, I donāt just buy things willy nilly. Mainly because stuff is expensive, but also because as a classic over thinker, I research things to death. Buying a new pair of gym shoes involves many articles weighing up which shoe is best for what, aggregating data, putting it all together, deciding on a pair, and then getting hung up on the colour (this is a true story from today, and then they didnāt have that colour in my size).
With all the research, I have to check that the articles arenāt paid for and check the veracity of the source. But a few years ago, I stumbled quite happily on a little trick. Instead of googling āshoe a vs shoe b comparisonā I now throw a single word on the end ā Reddit. That takes me to opinions from people who are not only independent but are passionate about the subject matter. Over the years Iāve delved into shoes with a Goodyear welt, the fill powers of down jackets, and the pros and cons of an OLED screen. Often the advice is sound, and Iāve been happy with each purchase Iāve made.
Obviously, this weekās headline article is about Reddit, and using the hive mind of the internet for good.
Thank you to everyone who submitted a word last week!Ā I was enamoured and vellicated. Please keep them coming! Have a word that enthrals you and bamboozles your friends?
In your added extras:
The most beautiful places in the world, 2023 edition.
Why coconut farmers risk their lives to feed the world's superfood obsession.
And a map of which Countries Get the Most Paid Vacation Days.
Do you enjoy the Digest? Would you like it to get better? Then please consider sharing it, as the more articles Iām sent, the better it is. It only takes a few seconds, and all you need to do is click here š. Thank you!
There were THREE correct answers to last weekās brainteaser, Well done to Ariel Subotzky, Ryan Subotzky, and Rachel Goldstuck! The answer and this weekās puzzle are below.
You can also see how love appears in the body on MRI and CAT scans, learn what happened when a famous artist set his fans on a critic, how China took over e-commerce, learn whether time travel is really possible, forget about Black Friday and ride the Green Wednesday train, and finally dive into the story of the great Texas turtle heist. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Best Place for Product Reviews Is ā¦ Reddit?
The hive mind of the internet is good, for once.
Mapping Love: How 27 Different Types of Love Manifest in The Body
Survey data suggests that our bodily perceptions of love extend far beyond the heart.
The Worldās Most Popular Painter Sent His Followers After Me Because He Didnāt Like a Review of His Work. Hereās What I Learned
The reaction from Devon Rodriguez's followers shows why developing a critical analysis of "parasocial aesthetics" is important.
How China Took Over the Worldās Online Shopping Carts
Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein, Temu, and TikTok Shop are going global with big ambitions.
Is Time Travel Really Possible? Here's What Physics Says
The ability to jump forward and backwards in time has long fascinated science fiction writers and physicists alike. So, is it really possible to travel into the past and the future?
How Green Wednesday Became the Black Friday of Cannabis
Cannabis retailers navigate a thicket of regulations when it comes to discounting.
The Great Cajun Turtle Heist
Alligator snapping turtle populations in Texas were dwindling. One family of smugglers had been poaching them from the state for years.
Quote of the Week:
āGood judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.ā ā Mark Twain
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Tanya Perel)
Chagrin
/ĖŹaÉ”r(ÉŖ)n/ shaĀ·gruhn
Noun
annoyance or distress at having failed or been humiliated.
"To my chagrin, he was nowhere to be seen."
Facts of the Week:
Beesā tongues have no taste buds.
The āoral size illusionā is when your tongue gives you the impression that a hole is bigger than it is.
The heat of the hole that the egg of the Pacific green sea turtle is incubated in determines its sex. (This is why it may go extinct as the world warms.)
āTurtle rabbitā is the literal translation of the Aztec for āarmadilloā.
A rabbit 's nose can twitch more than 120 times a minute.
A nazothek is a collection of nose sculptures.
In ancient Rome, being born with a crooked nose was a sign of leadership.
Your nose is always in your eyeline, but your brain has learned to ignore it.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Canāt believe Iāve waited this long to unleash the famous āZebra Puzzleā on you. First appearing in Life International magazine in 1962, itās often attributed to Albert Einstein or Lewis Carroll, but just as likely is that it was created by neither.
Anyhoo, the puzzle starts off with 15 facts:
There are five houses.
The English person lives in the red house.
The Spanish person owns the dog.
Coffee is drunk in the green house.
The Ukrainian person drinks tea.
The green house is immediately to the right of the ivory house.
The Old Gold smoker owns snails.
Kools are smoked in the yellow house.
Milk is drunk in the middle house.
The Norwegian person lives in the first house.
The person who smokes Chesterfields lives in the house next to the person with the fox.
Kools are smoked in the house next to the house where the horse is kept.
The Lucky Strike smoker drinks orange juice.
The Japanese person smokes Parliaments.
The Norwegian person lives next to the blue house.
What you have to figure out is: Who drinks water? And who owns the zebra?
Last Weekās Brainteaser and Answer:
What makes this number unique: 8,549,176,320?
Answer:
The numbers are all in alphabetical order.
Thanks for reading Doviās Digest!Ā