A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 199 of Dovi’s Digest.
A few weeks ago, I promised myself and my editors that I wouldn’t talk about Duolingo again for a while. My streak is still going strong (2603 days and counting), but this isn’t about me. In addition to the standard languages one can learn (e.g. French, Spanish, German etc), one can also learn a few fictional languages which include High Valyrian (Game of Thrones), Klingon (Star Trek), and Italian (Mario Kart).
The OG of fictional languages is JRR Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, who, according to the story, first invented Elvish, and then decided it needed a backstory and lore, which then became the most influential fantasy book of all time.
The linguists who make constructed languages (conlangs as they call them) must not only create the vocabulary, but work out conjugations, history of the words, and tenses. It’s a mind-boggling task, and there is no one better than David J. Peterson, who along with his wife created the Fremen language in the new Dune movies. He has also been hired to create some fifty other conlangs, including languages for the Dark Elves in Thor: The Dark World, and for the Grounders in the TV show The 100. His most well known are High Valyrian and Dothraki, both from Game of Thrones.
This week’s headline article is about the brilliant people who are at the forefront of creating languages for films and TV shows, and about what goes into them.
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
In this week’s added extras:
Every Oscar best picture winner, ranked by how good a Muppets version would be.
From Toad the Wet Sprocket to Stone Temple Pilots, the stories behind the names of your favourite bands from the 1990s just might surprise you.
Tell WaPo your drink preferences, and they will match you with the perfect coffee.
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 THREE correct answers to last week’s brainteaser, Well done to R’ Sam T, Ryan S, and Chaim E! The answer and this week’s puzzle are below.
You can also read about the race to protect the last truly dark skies on earth, why plastic recycling is a scam, the man who received 217 Covid vaccines, the new pastry fad: the “crookie” the beauty of the anonymity of early internet chat rooms, and for when you get left behind by your dive boat: how to survive 75 hours alone in the water. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
“Dune” and the Delicate Art of Making Fictional Languages
The alien language spoken in Frank Herbert’s novels carries traces of Arabic. Why has that influence been scrubbed from the films?
Protecting Dark Sky Country
For as long as we’ve been human, we’ve looked to the sky to find ourselves. Ever-increasing light pollution threatens not just our sense of identity, but our relationship with the whole biosphere.
Plastic Recycling Is a Scam
The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that recycling alone won't solve the plastic crisis. But it's spending millions to convince the public otherwise.
A Man Deliberately Got 217 Covid Shots. Here’s What Happened
A 62-year-old from Germany deliberately got 217 Covid-19 vaccine shots in the span of 29 months, at an average of one jab every four days. In the process, he became a walking experiment for what happens to the immune system when it is vaccinated against the same pathogen repeatedly.
The New Croissant Taking Paris by Storm
The croissant has been reimagined into a host of portmanteau pastries, from the cruffin to the Cronut. Now its latest iteration, the "crookie", is taking Paris by storm.
Age, Sex, Location
Chatrooms taught me everything I needed to know about what real people were like before I had to grow up and become one of them.
How to Survive 75 Hours Alone in the Ocean
A new case study digs into the medical records of a lost diver's incredible survival story.
Quote of the Week:
“I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” – Mathematician Blaise Pascal
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Dee A)
Rapscallion
/rapˈskalɪən/ rap·ska·lee·uhn
Noun
1. a mischievous person, a rascal, someone who causes trouble.
"They were the rapscallions behind this practical joke."
Facts of the Week:
Sir Walter Scott’s novel, Anne of Geierstein in which a woman is cursed by opal, caused opal sales in Europe to drop by 50%.
The first work of fiction about travelling back in time to kill the young Adolf Hitler was published in 1941.
The Vatican’s chief astronomer has written a book called Would You Baptise an Extraterrestrial?
In 2017, the Vatican banned the use of gluten-free bread for Holy Communion.
In 320 A.D., the Catholic Church made it a sin to eat sausages.
In 17th century Japan, people put chillies in their socks to keep their toes warm.
Sprinkling black pepper into a load of laundry will stop it fading.
Red, green, and yellow peppers are all from the same plant, but in various stages of ripeness.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
board with your next move. The tiles are: A, E, E, J, R, R, and blank, which can represent any letter. With the correct placement of your tiles, you can form a 10-letter word. What is that word?
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Think of a word for a person who helps you. Copy the last three letters, repeat them at the front, and you’ll get a new, longer word that names the person who hurts you. What words are these?
Answer:
Mentor, Tormentor
Thanks for reading Dovi’s Digest!