Dovi's Digest Volume 28
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual and physical needs
Hi All, and welcome to Volume 28 of Dovi’s Digest.
I was a bit lazy this week. This is mainly because there was (and is) a glut of thanksgiving themed articles, some of which were just too odd not to include. So instead of reading innumerable articles about anything and everything, I took the easy route out. In addition, there is an article about the “Tootsie Roll Battle” which took place today 70 years ago. If you enjoy the article about the racoon, I encourage you to go find out a bit more about the Coolidge family’s pets, it is a wonderful rabbit hole to fall down.
Finally, with regard to last week’s brain teaser, Justin Benatar sent me this link about the book “Gadsby”, a 50,000 word novel that is a lipogram.
To my American readers, happy thanksgiving, I hope the food coma was worth it. To everyone else, the black Friday deals aren’t as good as you think they are.
There were six correct answers to last week’s riddle. Well done to Meir Brom, Dovi Joel, David Greenway, Ben Rubin, Cheryl Geliebter and Akiva Crouse. There was a fair amount of ambiguity in the question, and although not everyone got the stated answer, all the answers checked out mathematically. The answer and this week’s brainteaser are below.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming!
All the best
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Invention of Thanksgiving
Massacres, myths, and the making of the great November holiday.
Scientists Have Created a Quicker Way to Sober Up
“It’s almost inexplicable why we didn’t try this decades ago.”
How a Thanksgiving Day Gag Ruffled Feathers in Missions Control
(Courtesy of Eli Berkow)
“I don’t remember ever being so nervous or upset about something as I was then.”
The Tootsie Roll Battle and the Chosin Few
(Courtesy of Meir Brom)
Troops were sent candy instead of ammo, but the outcome of the mix-up was better than it sounds.
The Long, Absurd History of Presidential Turkey Pardonings
Come on a trip through one of America’s most absurd traditions.
This Raccoon Could Have Been a President’s Thanksgiving Meal. It Became a White House Pet Instead
This was, first lady Grace Coolidge later wrote, “no ordinary racoon.”
The Substackerati
Did a newsletter company create a more equitable media system – or replicate the flaws of the old one?
Quote of the Week:
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” – Robert Frost
Facts of the Week:
Kangaroos keep cool by licking their forearms.
Birds can tell what the speed limits are on roads.
The French air force has a squad of golden eagles, trained to hunt down drones.
Dragonflies can be used as drones by fitting them with tiny backpacks.
Japanese scientists have invented a robot bee.
Cartoon of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
A man goes into a barber shop and gets a haircut for $15. He pays the barber with a $20 bill, but the barber doesn’t have change. The barber goes to the neighbouring flower shop and trades the $20 bill for a $10 dollar bill and two $5 bills. Then he gives the man his $5 in change.
Later the lady from the flower shop confronts the barber and tells him that the $20 bill he gave her was counterfeit money. The barber agrees and he gives the lady a different $20 bill.
Later that day he tries to figure out how much money he lost. How much money did the barber lose?
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
There are seven thieves. They stole diamonds from a diamond merchant and ran away. While running, night sets in and they decide to rest in the jungle.
When everybody was sleeping, two of them woke up and decided to divide the diamonds equally among themselves. But when they divided the diamonds equally, one diamond is left.
So they woke up the 3rd thief and tried to divide the diamonds equally again but still one diamond was left. Then they woke up the 4th thief to divide the diamonds equally again, and again one diamond was left. This happened with the 5th and 6th thief – one diamond was still left.
Finally, they woke up the 7th thief and this time the diamonds were divided equally.
How many diamonds did they steal in total?
Answer:
They stole 301 diamonds in total.
We need a number that is a multiple of 7 that will give a remainder of 1 when divided by 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. The least common multiple of these numbers is 60. So, we need a multiple of 7 that is 1 greater than a multiple of 60.
60 + 1 = 61, not a multiple of 7
60 x 2 + 1 = 121, not a multiple of 7
60 x 3 + 1 = 181, not a multiple of 7
60 x 4 + 1 = 241, not a multiple of 7
60 x 5 + 1 = 301, a multiple of 7
Did someone forward you this email?
Lucky you, they obviously think you’re clever.
Is there something you particularly liked or didn’t like? Let me know by replying to this email.
Q: What did the barber lose?
A: His license, for being open during the lockdowns ;)