Dovi's Digest Volume 212
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 212 of Dovi’s Digest.
Last week was the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the allies landed troops on mainland Europe for the first time. By the end of the day, more than 130,000 allied soldiers had made their way to France. It was a massive undertaking, with 7,000 ships and close to 200,000 sailors aiding the ground forces.
Naturally, the whole operation was very hush hush, with most of the forces not knowing until the morning of. To throw Nazi intelligence off the scent, the allies built an entire fake army out of inflatables and plywood hundreds of kilometres away from the actual staging points, leading the Nazis to shore up defences elsewhere and leaving the beaches at Normandy slightly undermanned.
In the lead up, the troops practised landing boats on foreign soil, storming up the beaches, and taking control of the bluffs. They needed to know the lay of the land almost perfectly in order to make sure that each squad achieved their objectives.
This week’s headline article is a nice marriage of those two points. Out in the Mojave Desert, the US Army has built an entire fake town in which to practise their craft. It’s an elaborately constructed facility with buildings, a bazaar, a mosque, and people role playing as civilians, spies, or enemies, complete with costumes and props. It’s all part of an effort to prepare soldiers for war. There are hundreds of these fake towns worldwide, and I learned a lot about them in the excellent podcast 99% Invisible, in the episode titled Imitation Nation which I’ve linked here.
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
In this week’s added extras:
The 71 most beautiful streets in the World
The world’s weirdest cave systems.
How screens actually affect your sleep.
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 Josh H, Chaim E, and Ariel S!! The answer and this week’s puzzle are below.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
‘We’ve Got Drone Swarms, Dirty Bombs, Radar-Jamming’: The Fake Town Where America Practises For War
In the middle of the Mojave Desert, the US army has built a huge set to prepare its soldiers for combat, filled with actors, tanks, explosions – and even fake news.
Inside The Extraordinary Experiment To Save The Stradivarius Sound
An entire town went quiet so the world’s most iconic violin could be immortalised.
A Running Mate’s History: $1 Billion, Cocaine, a Fling With Elon Musk
Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer who was married to Sergey Brin, a Google founder, led a rarefied and sometimes turbulent life in Silicon Valley, according to a Times examination.
Labyrinth Walking: An Ancient Activity That Could Help Ease Anxiety
Walking labyrinths has become an increasingly popular global method of reducing stress by integrating the mind and the body.
The Beauty of Concrete
Why are buildings today simple and austere, while buildings of the past were ornate and elaborately ornamented? The answer is not the cost of labour.
My Rendezvous with The Raw Milk Black Market
Quick, easy, and unchecked by the FDA.
Hit Man
Gary Johnson is the most sought-after professional killer in Houston. In the past decade, he's been hired to kill more than sixty people. But if you pay him to rub out a cheating spouse or an abusive boss, you'd better watch your own back: He works for the cops.
Quote of the Week:
“The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it.” – American columnist Franklin P Jones
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Randy B)
Repository
ruh·po·zuh·tuh·ree /rɪˈpɒsɪt(ə)ri/
Noun
a place where or receptacle in which things are or may be stored.
"a deep repository for nuclear waste."
2. a place where something, especially a natural resource, is found in significant quantities.
"accessible repositories of water"
3. a central location in which data is stored and managed.
"the metadata will be aggregated in a repository"
Facts of the Week:
The French don't have Christmas pudding or Christmas crackers at Christmas.
The pioneers of the French naturalist movement were a married couple called Lecoq.
Louis XVI issued a decree prohibiting anyone from carrying a handkerchief larger than his.
Lawn, a fine cloth used to make handkerchiefs, gets its name from the French city of Laon.
The curator of the British Lawnmower Museum is allergic to grass.
As a child, Welsh jockey Sean Bowen was allergic to horses and practised riding by sitting on the arm of a sofa.
US ice hockey goalie Chris Truehl is allergic to ice.
Under U.S. law signed by Ronald Reagan, July is National Ice Cream Month and 15 July is National Ice Cream Day (and also my birthday!).
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
(Courtesy of David Greenway)
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Here are three puzzles about words. There are multiple valid answers for each question.
1. Find a word that contains six “i”s.
2. Find a word that contains four “u”s.
3. Find a nine-letter word that contains two pairs of double “o”s.
Last week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Below are the names of five countries with alternating letters missing. What are the five countries?
1. *E*A*
2. *I*H*A*I*
3. *N*O*E*I*
4. *I*B*B*E
5. *I*A*A*U*
Answer:
1. Nepal
2. Lithuania
3. Indonesia
4. Zimbabwe
5. Nicaragua