A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 201 of Dovi’s Digest.
Firstly, thank you to many people for the lovely congratulatory messages after last week’s big two-oh-oh! I’m pretty sure I’ve replied personally to each of you, but in case I didn’t, please know how appreciated it was!
To coincide with World Happiness Day, Oxford, the UN, and Gallup put out an annual World Happiness Report ranking the happiest countries. For the seventh consecutive year, Finland was crowned the happiest country in the world. There are many reasons, including low-income inequality, high GDP, and good public service, but the Finns put it down to two main things: spending time outdoors, and saunas.
To give back a little, Finland is offering people free trips to Helsinki to learn how to be content. The Nordic nation is inviting applicants from around the world to come and see what makes them so cheery. The lucky participants will get a five-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Helsinki in June, during which they will be taught “everyday hacks” revolving around four key themes: nature and lifestyle, health and balance, design and the everyday, and food and wellbeing. You can apply here.
Happiness is fickle thing, money to one person brings joy but to another it’s quality time with loved ones. But in this week’s headline article, you can read about what basic happiness boils down to, and how a balance of enjoyment and suffering may the key to finding nirvana.
There are also two articles on the social media site Reddit, the self styled home page of the internet, as it went public this week.
The referral program is already picking up steam, but if you missed it, here’s a quick refresher on how to get some sweet free DD swag:
1. Share Dovi's Digest. When you use the referral link below, or the “Share” button on any post, you'll get credit for any new subscribers. Simply send the link in a text, email, or share it on social media with friends.
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In this week’s added extras:
Needle Drop is a simple but addictive online game: each day it plays a new song, and you have to guess which film it’s from. You get four guesses and a clue after each incorrect effort. Give it a go here.
Slow motion footage captures the amazing patterns flames make while interacting with fluid.
Here’s an analysis of which method is best for putting on a duvet cover.
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 Volume 199’s brainteaser and two to last week’s brainteaser, Well done to Jeff C and Hazel L, as well as Josh H and Ryan S! The answers and this week’s puzzle are below.
You can also read about how pilots take stimulants to stay awake, find out the real cost of being a parent influencer’s kid, get an inside view of pop health’s favourite neuroscientist, and take a seat (or a house) and read about the people who squat inside abandoned mansions. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend, and happy Easter to those who celebrate.
Dovi
And now, the articles:
There Are Two Kinds of Happy People
Some of us strive for a virtuous life. Others strive for a pleasant one. We could all use a better balance.
Can Reddit Survive Its Own IPO?
An army of more than 60,000 unpaid moderators has unprecedented power over Reddit. The company’s future hinges on whether they can coexist with Wall Street’s expectations.
Reddit: Organised Lightning
One of social media’s oldest companies is also its most undervalued.
The Drugs Pilots Take to Stay Awake
Pilot fatigue is in the spotlight this week, after the news that one Indonesian flight had two sleeping pilots at its helm. But military organisations have been grappling with this problem for decades – and they have a surprising solution.
“Sharenting”: What’s the Price of a Childhood Turned into Content?
In the unregulated world of vloggers, children are, for the most part, not entitled to a single cent they help earn. We spoke to creators—and a former kid influencer—to understand how this unusual family business actually works.
Falling for Dr Huberman
The private and public seductions of the world’s biggest pop neuroscientist.
The Squatters of Beverly Hills
After a fugitive doctor abandoned his mansion, an enterprising group of party throwers slid in the front door.
Quote of the Week:
“There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this.” ― Terry Pratchett
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Emily S)
Mercurial
/məːˈkjʊərɪəl/ muh·kyuor·ree·uhl
adjective
1. subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
"His mercurial temperament"
Do you know a word you think others should know about?
Facts of the Week:
Birds can't taste chilli.
Crows can count up to six.
Counting sheep to try get to sleep keeps you awake for longer.
“Sheep-stealing” is the practice of one American church luring the congregation of another.
Sheep smuggling used to be called “owling”.
In 2012, thieves in the Czechia stole an entire ski lift.
Stonehenge was built by the Welsh.
China's Tomb Sweeping Day is for tending your relatives’ graves and for young couples to have their first date.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
(Courtesy of Josh F)
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Let’s have some fun with anagrams. Below are anagrams of famous historical figures or celebrities, and you have to unjumble the letters to discover the person. The anagrams are indirect clues about that person.
Example: He bugs Gore → George Bush
Old West action
My pale hero
I’ll make a wise phrase
A bad man (no lies)
Odd silent month
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
The following story about the 18th-century French mathematician Edouard Lucas is absolument authentique, according to a 1915 French maths textbook. It took place many years ago, the author writes, at a scientific conference. Several well-known mathematicians were milling around after lunch. Lucas piped up and challenged them to the puzzle below. A few replied with the wrong answer. Most were silent. No one got it right.
Every day at noon in Le Havre an ocean liner sails to New York, and (simultaneously) in New York an ocean liner sails to Le Havre. The crossing takes seven days and seven nights in either direction. How many ocean liners will an ocean liner leaving Le Havre today pass at sea by the time it arrives in New York?
Answer:
15
When I first heard this puzzle, I instantly thought that the answer was seven, since the crossing takes seven days, which was surely also the response of the French mathematicians who first heard this puzzle from Monsieur Lucas.
Wrong! What about the liners that left New York in the past week? They are currently at sea and you will pass all of them on your journey too. The correct answer is that as you leave Le Havre you pass one in the port (that’s the one arriving at noon, having left New York a week ago); you will pass 13 at sea; and you will meet a final one that is departing as you reach New York at noon in a week’s time.
Here’s a diagram that explains it:
If the liners are all travelling at constant speed, you will pass a liner every 12 hours, once at noon (Le Havre time) and once at midnight.
Volume 199 Brainteaser and Answer
Anyone here a Scrabble player? Your challenge: Place all seven of your tiles onto the 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?
Answer:
Tearjerker (around the “ERK” tiles near the bottom of the board)
Thanks for reading Dovi’s Digest!