Dovi’s Digest Volume 263
Don't go into the water 🏊♂️🦈😵
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 263 of Dovi’s Digest!
Contrary to what Avatar: The Last Airbender has told you, there are not really four types of people, but two. Water and non-water. I don’t mean in the amphibious sense, but more in the “do they enjoy swimming and going to lakes/streams/oceans" sense (although on reflection that very much lines up with being amphibious). I am very much an amphibious a water person. I love swimming and, in the pool, will either do laps or splash around for hours.
When it comes to open water though I’m a little more reticent to get in. I just don’t like it when I can't see the bottom (a mild form of thalassophobia I guess). I seldom go in rivers and lakes at all, and in the sea will wade up to my chest. The funny thing is that I really enjoy scuba diving – I just don’t like it when my head is above the waterline and the rest of me is dangling below.
The main reason I don’t go further is that I’m scared of sharks. Now, I know shark attacks are exceedingly rare, and sharks themselves aren’t really interested in us. In fact, I’ve even been diving with sharks (and had the best time), but every time I get into the water an iconic piece of music plays in my head – dun dun, duunnn dunnn… dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun - the theme from Jaws, which was released 50 years ago this week.
Before its release, summer was traditionally a slow season for the box office. Jaws is the first true blockbuster and changed the face of film forever. The studio took a risk hiring the then unknown Steven Spielberg, and the entire production was beset by set malfunctions and cost overruns. So much so that the reason the shark isn’t shown in the first half of the movie wasn’t to build suspense, but because the animatronic model kept breaking down. The movie is still one of the highest grossing of all time (over $2 billion in today’s money), launched an entire genre, and is still one of the best films ever made.
The headline article is of course about Jaws, and I’ve thrown in another article showing how sharks aren’t the cold-blooded killers we think them to be.
In this week’s added extras:
An explanation of where the phrase “OK” came from.
A dad wins the internet with perfect timing (it’s one minute, and awesome/adorable at the same time).
The winners of this year’s World Press Photo Contest include an aeroplane sitting on the flooded tarmac of an airport in Brazil; members of the Karen National Liberation Army firing a heavy machine gun in an attack on a government army camp in Myanmar; a Kurdish kolbar (border courier) smuggling a giant pack of contraband through a mountain pass into Iran; and a bloodied Donald Trump being muscled off stage after his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania. See the rest here.
The “maths crossword” is an addictive puzzle in which players must complete simple sums by dragging numbers into the relevant box. Each correct answer generates a new grid with an additional sum, all in the traditional crossword format.
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 was ONE correct answer to last week’s brainteaser. Well done to 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:
Jaws Is Still (And Will Always Be) My Favourite Movie
Fifty years later, my memories of Steven Spielberg's masterpiece are as permanently etched as the sound of Quint singing, “Farewell and Adieu to You Fair Spanish Ladies.”
The Antidote To The Jaws Effect: These Photos Show A Softer Side Of Great White Sharks
Fifty years since the release of Jaws, these photographers are showing a different, less frightening view of great white sharks.
Twelve Dudes and a Hype Tunnel: Scenes from the “Super Bowl for Excel Nerds”
At the Microsoft Excel World Championship in Las Vegas, there was stardust in the air as 12 finance guys vied to be crowned the world’s best spreadsheeter.
The Greatest Two-Hit Wonders
Sometimes one hit isn't enough.
It's A Barrier Women Have Never Broken. Can Faith Kipyegon Make Mile History?
Kipyegon, the mile world record holder and three-time Olympic champion from Kenya, will attempt to be the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes.
Dogs And Their Owners Really Do Look Alike—Here’s Why
(Courtesy of Yali F)
New research reveals that people aren’t just imagining it—dogs and their owners share striking similarities, from matching hairstyles to mirrored temperaments.
When To Quit: A Simple Framework For Life’s Toughest Decisions
Annie Duke, a poker champion turned decision scientist, talks with Big Think about how to choose well under uncertainty.
Quote of the Week:
“Lead us not into temptation. Just tell us where it is, we’ll find it.” – Sam Levenson
Word of the Week:
Groak
GRO-k/ɡroʊk/
Verb
1. To stare at people who are eating in the hope that they will offer to share their food.
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
Facts of the Week:
Lewis Carroll collected snails.
In 2008, a new species of insect was discovered in the garden of the Natural History Museum by a five-year-old boy.
Indian jumping ants can smell which of the larvae will mature into a queen.
Queen Victoria hung a photograph of Prince Albert on his deathbed over every bed she slept in.
In 1926, the future George VI competed in the men's doubles at Wimbledon but was knocked out in his first match.
Cricketers wore a box to protect their genitals for more than 100 years before they wore a helmet to protect their head.
In Finland, they make bread from crickets.
Elephants have three times as many brain cells as humans.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
(Courtesy of Josh H)
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Here is a notorious puzzle known as the “potato paradox.”
Fred brings home 100kg of potatoes, which consist of 99% water. He then leaves them outside overnight so that they consist of 98% water. What is their new weight?
Last week’s brainteaser:
You can rearrange the letters in SWITZERLAND to form the words LIZARD and NEWTS, the singular version of an animal and the plural form of another animal.
Can you name another country that can also be anagrammed into two animals (one singular form, one plural)?
Answer:
Mexico – ox and mice
Singapore – gar and ponies (as suggested by Jeff C)
Answer to brain teaser: 101.0204
Because the potatoes must have gotten heavier if the water content which was originally 99% of the potatoes’ weight is now only worth 98%. Thus: 99/0.98 = 101.0204kg is their new weight.