Dovi’s Digest Volume 236
Happiness from without 😁
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 236 of Dovi’s Digest!
When people ask me “are you an introvert or an extrovert?” The most common differentiation between the two is not outgoing vs more introspective, but whether one draws their energy from being alone, or from being with people. So, the answer I normally give is a bit of both. I can be the life of the party: meeting, greeting, pressing the flesh, and making sure there’s a vibe. But after that I’ll most likely need some alone time – reading, meditating, maybe a little gaming – in order to recharge my battery.
I say most likely because that isn’t a hard rule. Last week I mentioned I was in Greece. I was there with a multinational group of likeminded young professionals who want to change their worlds and societies. It was a weeklong trip jam packed with touring the Thessaly and Macedonia area, leadership sessions, and not much sleep. You’d think after that I’d be exhausted. But as the trip drew to a close, I found myself with more and more energy. I smiled more readily, I danced a bit, I formed a connection with every person on the trip, and not once did I feel down or tired. On the contrary, one friend told me over the phone that I sounded like I was in a great space and when I changed my WhatsApp profile pic for the first time in ages, someone else responded that I look so happy. It was lovely to hear. I’m going to hold onto that feeling for the next little while, and I’m excited to see where this special group of people take me next.
Here's the picture in question (taken by the hilltop monasteries of Meteora) :
Merry Christmas, Channukah sameach, and happy holidays everyone!!
In this week’s added extras:
The annual Worst Tweets bracket is out.
This reaction to Indian chess prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju winning the world chess championship is electric.
Is the World really running out of sand?
Squareword is effectively a two-dimensional Wordle, where both the rows and columns in a grid make up five-letter words. Players guess the horizontal words, with correctly positioned letters turning green and incorrectly positioned letters appearing in a yellow box at the end of the row. (As with Wordle, letters that don’t appear anywhere on the grid turn grey.) Try it yourself here.
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 Josh H and Jeff C! The answer and this week’s riddle are below
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
He Got Famous At 3. How Does a YouTube Superstar Grow Up?
Ryan's World made Ryan Kaji a juggernaut. A decade later, he is navigating a whole new challenge: becoming a teenager.
Hope and Fear in Syria
The brutal regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad fell in a week. Syrians have been preparing for this moment for years.
The World Is Studded with Artificial Mountains
They’re fake, but they can be spectacular (and hazardous).
120 Miles of Russian Forest Couldn’t Keep These Two Tigers Apart
Boris and Svetlaya were raised together as orphaned cubs, and then reintroduced to the wild separately. But Boris went on a trek that surprised the researchers who were monitoring him.
“You Have to Just Draw Something That You Hope Is Funny”: How Charles M Schulz Created Charlie Brown and Snoopy
Charles M Schulz drew his beloved Peanuts strip for 50 years until his announcement on 14 December 1999 that ill health was forcing him to retire. In History looks at how an unassuming cartoonist built a billion-dollar empire out of the lives of a group of children, a dog and a bird.
I’m A Death Expert. I Designed Eight Questions to Help You Think About Dying
The modern era has eroded the myths and traditions of death. But there’s a way to create your own belief system.
The Hideaway
In an abandoned military barracks in rural Germany, Ben Green prepares for the end of the world.
Quote of the Week:
“If you wish to improve, be content to appear clueless or stupid.” – Epictetus
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of John W)
Hegemony
huh·geh·muh·nee/həˈjemənē, ˈhejəˌmōnē/
Noun
leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others.
"Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871"
Do you know a word you think others should know about?
Facts of the Week:
75% of the sesame seeds grown in Mexico are used on McDonald's burger buns.
Until the 1870s, all camembert was made by a single family.
Since the 1970s, France has lost 50 types of cheese.
The world's most expensive cheese is made from donkey’s milk.
Thomas Hardy's novels were considered so disgusting they were sold in plain, brown wrappers.
Thomas Harding, Rudyard Kipling, and Joseph Conrad all wrote books the size of postage stamps for Queen Mary's doll’s house.
Christina Foyle, owner of Foyle’s Bookshop, read an entire book every day, never did her own housework, and only drank champagne.
There's an orchid in Madagascar that smells like champagne.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Here is a rebus puzzle, which uses words, letters, and numbers in specific orientations to represent a common phrase. Which common phrase is represented by the following?
a) 1/2 = 05
b) six percent = 006
c) four and a half = 45
d) pi = approximately 314
Last week’s brainteaser and answer:
There are 1,000 people in a conference. 500 speak English, 500 speak Spanish, and 500 speak Hindi. Everyone at the conference speaks at least one of these languages.
What can the maximum number of people be who speak only one language?
Answer:
750. This site has some explanations of how to get there.