Dovi’s Digest Volume 36
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual and physical needs
Hello everyone, and welcome to Volume 36 of Dovi’s Digest.
Well, a saga that started at the beginning of November 2020 finally reached its conclusion this week. It was a trip that had its ups and downs, with absolute insanity, fake calms, and bouts of surrealism. I think we can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing that I finally made my way through the entirety of Parks and Recreation. My verdict: highly recommend.
There were zero correct answers to last week’s riddle. Well done to Meir Brom! I will leave the brainteaser unanswered and repost it below. Remember, he’s offering 0.0002 bitcoin to the first person who gets it right!
In this week’s edition, you’ll learn how Israel are just so damn fast at vaccinations, ridiculously huge waves that quite frankly terrify me, Tokyo’s not-so-secret underground labyrinth, and how to survive on Mars from a psychological perspective.
Just a quick reminder to everyone, many of my articles come from websites where there a limited amount of free articles per month. I would never condone trying to get around it, but if I wanted to, I’d recommend viewing those articles on incognito/private browser mode.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
All the best
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Biggest Wave Surfed This Year
Maya Gabeira didn’t just ride the biggest wave ever ridden by a woman. It was the biggest wave surfed by anyone in the 2019-20 winter season, a first for women in professional surfing.
Why Are Flies So Hard to Swat?
(Courtesy of Eli Berkow)
One secret is their specialised wings.
A Brief History of Pez Candy Dispensers
How Pez evolved from an anti-smoking tool to a beloved collector’s item.
The Underground Cathedral Protecting Tokyo From Floods
An intricate system of dams, levees and tunnels defends the Japan’s capital. Will it be able to cope with climate change?
How Billionaires See Themselves
Reading the dreadful memoirs of the super-rich offers an illuminating look at their delusions.
Why Has Israel Succeeded at COVID Vaccination?
Israel has pulled ahead of much of the world in its rate of vaccinating its citizens. How?
Living Life at a Distance
I spent four months pretending to live on Mars. Here’s what I learned about staying sane and passing time.
Quote of the Week:
“If you want to do a good deed, do it now. The time will pass, and you will not have the chance again.” — Leo Tolstoy in A Calendar of Wisdom
Facts of the Week:
In 2017, a book called Forty Minutes Late was returned to the San Francisco public library 100 years late. The late fee was waived.
More than half of all meetings start late.
The chances of surviving a heart attack increase when the top doctors are absent from the hospital attending cardiology meetings.
The first meeting of the War Propaganda Bureau was attended by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, and H. G. Wells.
“Bacon and Eggs” was invented by Sigmund Freud’s nephew.
The Queen won’t reveal her favourite meal in case she never gets served anything else.
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Marmite brought out a special edition called Ma’amite. (Ma’am being how one addresses the Queen after one’s first meeting.)
Tweet of the Week:
Cartoon of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Complete the words below using three consecutive letters in alphabetical order.
Example: _ _ A _ U S; add A B and C it would become ABACUS.
1. F _ _ R I _
2. T H I _ _ _
3. A _ U _ _ A
4. _ _ _ I N E
5. A _ _ _ T E
6. _ _ _ A C K
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
Using only the common +, -, x, ÷ (no shtick or funny business), you have to use each number exactly once, and end up with final total of 24.
For example: 1,1,3,9
The answers could be (9+3)x(1+1), or ((9-1)x3)/1
The first person to find a solution to the following 5 numbers will win 0.0002 Bitcoin. (This is an honours system, so no internet or programming cheating. Pencil and paper at most.)
Peppadew: 2,2,2,7
Jalapeño: 5,6,6,9
Cayenne: 3,3,7,7
Habanero: 1,4,5,6
Carolina Reaper: 3,3,8,8
Answer:
You tell me
Did someone forward you this email?
Lucky you, they obviously think you’re clever.
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