Dovi's Digest Volume 188
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 188 of Dovi’s Digest.
I intrinsically know my age. When people ask me how old I am, I immediately think 34, but ask them how old they think I am. I look younger than I am, which is a blessing. My body doesn’t know this, and I’m starting to get the snap crackle pop when I stand up, or the groan if I have to get off the floor (which is where I’m currently writing this). My mind also doesn’t seem to get this, but in the other direction. I still feel like I’m 25. I enjoy life, I want to go out, have a few drinks, see where the night goes, and not worry about the physical consequences (adult hangovers are not fun). I still have a bit of a sense of joy when I look at the world, and on good days I am excited to get up and get going. I like having a young energy, I like being more active than my similarly aged friends, I like just seeing where the road goes.
I’m not unique in this aspect, and research has shown we all feel younger than we actually are. But why is this? And is it a good thing? Find out in this week’s headline article.
In this week’s added extras:
A deceptively tough game that asks you to type 20 easy words in 20 seconds.
The winners of the Red Bull extreme photos have been announced. Check out all the finalists here.
My favourites are the freediver in a ray of light underwater, the BMX athlete in a candy-coloured world, and ice climbing in a tunnel.
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 TWO correct answers to last week’s brainteaser, Well done to Ariel Subotzky and Chaim Ehrlich! The answer and this week’s puzzle are below.
You can also read the Bloomberg jealousy list of the articles they wish they’d wrote, learn what happens to babies born on planes (nationality wise), delve into the story of whether the world’s oldest dog (who recently died) was a fraud, enjoy the piece about the cute glider marsupial, find out about the massive nuclear programme you’ve never heard of, and read about the man who catches catfish (people who run romance scams on the internet) by catfishing them himself . Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are
There are good reasons you always feel 20 percent younger than your actual age.
Jealousy List 2023
Bloomberg’s list of all the stories they wish they wrote this year.
What Happens to Babies Born on Planes
When contractions begin at 39,000 feet...
Was Bobi the World’s Oldest Dog—or a Fraud?
A quest to uncover the truth about Bobi, named the “oldest dog ever” by Guinness World Records, led to dog fur experts and conspiracy theories and left me with serious questions about how world records are verified.
Australia's Charismatic Glider Marsupial
A solitary, tree-dwelling marsupial with big furry ears, large round eyes and a feather boa-like tail that lives in the eucalypt forests of eastern Australia, the greater glider is often described as a clumsy flying possum. Only cuter.
Inside the $1.5-Trillion Nuclear Weapons Program You’ve Never Heard Of
A road trip through the communities shouldering the U.S.’s nuclear missile revival.
To Catch a Catfish
How one detective took on an international network of romance fraudsters.
Quote of the Week:
“Wealth is like seawater; the more we drink, the thirstier we become.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Word of the Week:
Kafkaesque
kahf-kuh-ESK /kafkə(r)ˈɛsk/
Adjective
1. Something described as Kafkaesque has an often nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality to it. More broadly, anything relating to or suggestive of the writing of Franz Kafka may be said to be Kafkaesque.
“The airline is notorious for its Kafkaesque procedures for changing flights, even in situations where a flight is cancelled due to bad weather.”
Facts of the Week:
The world record for the most stairs climbed while balancing another person upside down on one's head is 90.
Guinness has world records for “most mousetraps released on the tongue” and “most fan blades stopped by the tongue”.
A pangolin’s tongue is longer than its body.
Possession of a pangolin is illegal in Ghana.
It is legal in 18 US states to sell fake urine.
In New Zealand, imperial measures are illegal, apart from pints of beer, which are regarded as description, not a measure.
In Britain in the First World War, it was illegal to serve someone more beer than they asked for.
In London in 1814, eight people drowned when a vat in a brewery ruptured, creating a 15-foot tidal wave of beer.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Each pair of hints below relates to two words. One of the words is the other one spelled backward. What are the word pairs?
Example clue: married, moisture
Answer: wed, dew
1. dwell, wicked
2. portion, catching device
3. prize, furniture compartment
4. drinking aid, skin blemishes
5. stopper, big swallow
6. implement, stolen goods
7. precinct, illustrate
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Make the equation valid by moving exactly two matchsticks.
Answer
Here’s one way.
And here’s another:
Thanks for reading Dovi’s Digest!