Dovi's Digest Volume 222
Written in the Stars 🔭🌌😮
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 222 of Dovi’s Digest! For all the cricket fans out there, please read this while standing on one leg.
I’ve spent a lovely last few days with family in the Kruger National Park. It was full of good weather, game drives, and quality time. It was also a much needed break from life. A big thank you to Tanya for taking over last week to help facilitate this. I’ve now returned, tanned, more relaxed, and raring to go.
Once all the fun and games were done, and everyone was asleep, I would sit outside on my own next to the dying embers of the bonfire and look at the stars. As there were very few settlements around, the Milky Way was visible and the rest of the stars burned with a fierce light almost as if to make up for the time they spend blocked out by light pollution. It brought me much needed peace and perspective – not so much the futility of existence, but that I am so grateful to have these experiences in beautiful places with people that I love.
I recently dated a girl whose father is very into astrophotography, and we spent a good amount of time geeking out over his set up and pictures. I tell you this because on the last night of our trip, the moon was down early and the stars were especially bright. Years ago I got big into astrophotography, but eventually wasn’t able to continue due to not being able to afford the equipment. Last night while pondering the great unknown, I realised that I now have a smartphone equipped with a great camera and nightmode, so I made a makeshift tripod (a chair), and got snapping, managing to capture some beautiful pictures, which capped off a wonderful night.
This week’s headline article is in a similar vein, and involves the James Webb telescope.
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
In this week’s added extras:
A deep dive into the political economy of the Shire.
This rotating boat lift is an engineering marvel.
Here’s a visualisation of how technology and society have evolved since the 1500s.
Here’s some obvious travel advice.
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, mainly due to the fact I didn’t put instructions. I’ve reposted it. Apologies!!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Epic Race Inside The Pillars Of Creation Is Almost Over
The last infant stars are finishing their formation inside these pillars of gas. The evaporation of those columns is almost complete.
10 Places That No Longer Exist
Not even a compass could help you get to these lost places.
The Underdog's Surprising Appeal
From the US election to the Olympic Games, we often root for those considered disadvantaged. Why we do so may reveal more about ourselves than them.
We Bought Everything Needed to Make $3 Million Worth of Fentanyl. All It Took Was $3,600 and a Web Browser.
At the tap of a buyer’s smartphone, Chinese chemical sellers will air-ship fentanyl ingredients door-to-door to North America. Reuters purchased enough to make 3 million pills. Such deals are astonishingly easy – and reveal how drug traffickers are eluding efforts to halt the deadly trade behind the fentanyl crisis.
Netflix Secret Menu: How to Unlock Hidden Movies and TV Shows
Use the Netflix secret menu to break free from the platform's curated picks.
Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse
As the popular dance show grew into an international juggernaut, some of the group’s young performers paid a steep price.
Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia
Rounding up migrants. Lists of “friendly” sheriffs. Debating political assassinations. Internal messages reveal AP3's journey from Jan. 6 through the tumultuous lead-up to the 2024 election. One member predicts: “It’ll be decided at the ammo box.”
Quote of the Week:
“Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo.” – HG Wells
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Christine M)
Nascent
na·snt/ˈneɪsnt,ˈnasnt/
Adjective
(especially of a process or organisation) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.
"the nascent space industry"
Facts of the Week:
Pancakes in food ads are drizzled with motor oil because it looks better than Maple syrup.
The director of Canada's Avian Science and Conservation Centre is called Professor Bird.
Birds have a built-in “smell map” that helps them navigate featureless oceans.
A pelican’s bill can hold as much water as two flushes of a toilet.
50 geese can produce 5000 lbs of excrement a year.
The UK has more Wildlife Trust nature reserves than branches of McDonald's.
Donald Trump asked the White House chef to recreate items from the McDonald's menu for him.
When Donald Trump asked the Guggenheim Museum to lend the White House a Van Gogh, they offered him a solid gold toilet instead.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
(Courtesy of Tanya P)
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
This intricate puzzle should help you stay stimulated during a slow Friday at work.
The following two 4x4 grids each contain a 12-letter word. Each word is formed by a chain of letters. A word can begin with any of the letters in the grid. The second letter of a word is adjacent (either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) to the first letter, the third letter is adjacent to the second, and so on. No letter can be used more than once. Four letters in each grid will be unused. Can you find the words?
