Dovi’s Digest Volume 213
Gotta test ‘em all!! 🃏👾🪤
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 213 of Dovi’s Digest.
For most of my childhood, whenever we had break(recess) at school, all the boys would grab a ball and proceed to kick it around until we were forced back into the classroom half an hour later. The reason I say most is that for about a year when I was 11 or 12, the teachers had to kick us OUT of the classroom at breaktime. However we weren’t going through notes, or catching up on homework, we were playing Pokémon.
Many of you are familiar with Pokémon trading cards, but despite knowing that each one has a single Pokémon’s stats on it, most of you are unlikely to have actually played the game.
We spent hours and hours competing against each other, building specific decks to play against certain people (I’m looking at you Akiva with the Misty deck), changing them up as and when necessary. There were never stakes, it was always for fun, but it could get heated.
As much as we crafted our decks, knowing the intricacies of strengths and weaknesses of different types of Pokémon, how we knew each card intimately, I doubt it crossed any of our little minds as to how the cards were developed. We just wanted to play.
Back then there were 151 different Pokémon, a fair amount. These days there are more than 1,100 creatures, each one with unique attributes, artwork, and stories. In fact, there are over 200,000 distinct cards that can be used in a match.
In this week’s headline article we go behind the scenes to see how each and every card is made, from clay carving (yes, you read that right) to gruelling playtesting. Enjoy!
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
In this week’s added extras:
50 box office bombs totally worth watching.
Kitchen tricks and tips from the Real Simple test kitchen.
Why sushi chefs pay up to $20,000 for these stainless-steel knives.
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 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:
The Secrets Behind How Pokémon Cards Are Made – From Clay Carvings To Gruelling Playtests
Creatures Inc pulls back the curtain on the specially commissioned artists and dedicated team of testers behind their trading card game phenomenon.
The Lost Art of Buying a Round for the Bar
The day after my daughter was born, I walked into a watering hole in New York and dropped $200 on a group of strangers. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
Subvocalization: Why Do We Have A Voice In Our Heads When We Read?
You probably have a voice in your head when you read, but why – and is it helpful?
The History of CTRL + ALT + DELETE
In 2013, Bill Gates admitted ctrl+alt+del was a mistake and blamed IBM. Here's the story of how the key combination became famous in the first place.
Who Took the Cocaine Out of Coca-Cola?
The medical profession saw nothing wrong with offering a cocaine-laced cola to white, middle-class consumers. Selling it to Black Americans was another matter.
A 342-Mile Journey To The Best McDonald’s In The World
A carved wooden trail sign guides the way.
The Package King of Miami
Matthew Bergwall was a gifted coder who could have gotten a job at any tech company. He decided to go in another direction.
Quote of the Week:
“If one cannot command attention by one’s admirable qualities one can at least be a nuisance.” – Margery Allingham
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Akhil C)
Lampoon
Lam·poond/lamˈpuːn/
Verb
publicly criticise (someone or something) by using ridicule, irony, or sarcasm.
"The actor was lampooned by the press."
Facts of the Week:
February was known to the Anglo Saxons as Solmoneth, or “mud month”.
Abraham Lincoln patented an inflatable ship.
In 2017, China imported 33 shipping containers of avocados – up from zero in 2014.
The flag of the Philippines has the blue stripe on top in peacetime and the red stripe on top in wartime. 🇵🇭
The First red flag symbolising workers’ rights was dyed with calf’s blood.
Blood donors in Sweden are sent a thank you text message when their blood gets used.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Portmanteaus are words that blend two or more words together, because who has time?
We’ll give you a portmanteau, and you have to name the words that were smushed together to form it.
1. Microsoft
2. Hazmat
3. Contrail
4. Verizon
5. Endorphin
6. Cyborg
7. Pixel
Last week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
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.
Answer:
Note: There may be other valid answers than these.
1. Indivisibility, invisibilities, invincibilities, and ineligibilities.
2. Tumultuous and unscrupulous
3. Foolproof and footstool.
Thanks to Puzzle a Day for the great puzzle.