A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 202 of Dovi’s Digest.
I don’t mind being alone. I used to travel a fair bit for work, and as a result I’ve had many meals in restaurants by myself, gone to see movies solo, and experienced some of my best moments without anyone around. It gives me time to think, and in some ways can set my mind free.
The thing is, I’ve always had someone to come back to. A loving family, wonderful friends, a tight knit community, because as much as I enjoy my own space, I don’t fancy being lonely.
There have been many articles over the years about people doing crazy things as a solo endeavour, like skiing across the arctic, or running the length of Africa. While I take my hat off to these people, a story from last year has sat with me for a while and might be one of the maddest ones yet. In November 2021, Beatrice Flamini entered a cave alone, and planned to only surface 500 days later. At least with the other feats, you’re always moving, there is change, some sort of visual cue that you’ve progressed. Here, it was just her alone, with no clock or calendar, and only the darkness for company.
To find out how it went and the results of the team of psychologists who monitored her (to a degree), have a look through this week’s headline article.
This week was April Fool’s, and there were obviously a bunch of hoax articles, columns, and press releases. But none of them could touch what is one of the best pranks of all time, when the BBC convinced the U.K. that spaghetti grows on trees. Read about it here.
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
In this week’s added extras:
19-year-old Ilia Malinin wins the world figure skating title in one of the best routines you’ll ever see.
Ever wonder how a shovel is made? This video takes you inside a shovel factory.
Enter the matrix: A new game tests your movie trivia knowledge by having you place films into a grid.
Stare at a dot for one minute to boost your concentration.
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 ZERO correct answers to last week’s brainteaser. The answer and this week’s puzzle are below.
This week you can learn how to change someone’s mind, have a gander at the world’s largest collection of dictionaries (the collective noun for dictionaries is a “meaning” just btw -TP), step into the mind of someone with Aphantasia (not being able to picture things), learn how to fly a president into an active war zone, process how Microsoft Word has changed English, and how chickens can heal a broken heart. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Woman Who Spent Five Hundred Days in a Cave
Beatriz Flamini liked to be alone so much that she decided to live underground—and pursue a world record. The experience was gruelling and surreal.
How to (Actually) Change Someone’s Mind
How do you convince someone who, for one reason or another, doesn’t see eye to eye with you?
The Low Down on the Greatest Dictionary Collection in the World
From “unabridged” to “slanguage,” Madeline Kripke’s library is a logophile’s heaven (or hell).
My Brain Doesn’t Picture Things
I can’t imagine sights, smells, or sounds. What’s wrong with me?
How to Fly an American President into a Country at War
Presidents would typically travel secretively and under tightly controlled circumstances during a conflict. Not this time.
The Surprisingly Subtle Ways Microsoft Word Has Changed How We Use Language
As Microsoft Word turns 40, we look at the role the software has played in four decades of language and communication evolution.
Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
A lesson on loss, love, and raising chickens.
Quote of the Week:
“In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life.” – George Best
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Mickey C)
Eponymous
/ɪˈpɒnɪməs/ uh·po·nuh·muhs
adjective
(of a person) giving their name to something.
"The eponymous hero of the novel"
2. (of a thing) named after a particular person or group.
"Their eponymous debut LP"
E.g: Achilles is the eponym of the Achilles tendon
Facts of the Week:
Oil Nationalisation Day is a public holiday in Iran.
In Bermuda, the nearest weekday to 24 May is the first day of the year when Bermuda shorts may be worn as formal wear.
On formal occasions, Barack Obama wore the same dinner jacket and shoes for all eight years of his presidency.
The Simpsons predicted Donald Trump would become president 16 years before he was elected.
Calvin Coolidge chose all his children's clothes and insisted his sons wore tuxedos at dinner.
Calvin Klein kept a Pantone card in his kitchen so his chef could get the colour of his coffee exactly right.
Pantone created a new shade of purple in honour of Prince called Love Symbol #2.
Prince's favourite colour was orange.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
What four-digit number reverses itself when multiplied by 4? As in, what are the digits a, b, c, and d such that the number abcd x 4 = dcba?
Last week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
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 moth
Answers:
Clint Eastwood
Amy Poehler
William Shakespeare
Osama bin Laden
Tom Hiddleston
Thanks for reading Dovi’s Digest!