Dovi’s Digest Volume 48
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual and physical needs
Hi All! Welcome to Volume 48 of Dovi’s Digest.
Yesterday marked the 39th anniversary of the death of my grandfather’s for whom I’m named. My dad was 27, it was a few days before he wrote the accountancy board exams, and he had to travel to Gweru, his small hometown in the middle of Zimbabwe. Being the 80s, and my grandmother being a child of the 20s, my father had the honour of identifying the body. Even though my grandfather would drink 2 litre cokes straight from the bottle and specifically eat the fattiest pieces of meat, he was only 65, and it was very unexpected. They had the funeral, and that night my late uncle stood with my dad in the garden of their home, looked up at the stars, and said “dad’s watching us”. The next day, my dad returned to Johannesburg and wrote his exams, then went back to Zim to pack up his entire childhood.
My grandfather arrived as a 20 year old refugee from Kelm in Lithuania, not speaking the language, barely being able to read or write. He loved Zimbabwe (Rhodesia at the time) with a passion, only left on a few occasions, and would go back as quickly as he could. He’s still buried there today, in the little town where he lived, and he’d have it no other way.
He never met my mom, nor did he meet any of his grandchildren. He never knew of cellphones or email. I guess what I’m saying is that 39 years is a lifetime, a span that I can’t comprehend. And by that, I mean we don’t know what’s around the corner, so eat that ice cream, ask that girl/guy out, and tell those you love that you love them. Specially that last part.
This week’s preamble has run very long, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. He was one of my favourite royals, mainly because his pure entertainment value. He had a knack for saying the perfectly wrong thing. I was going to compile a list of my favourite gaffes, but thankfully, this BBC article spared me the trouble. Let me know which is your favourite!
This also allows me to reach back into the Digest vault, all the way to volume 5, for the article entitled “London Bridge is Down”, which lays out the protocol for when the queen passes away.
There was ONE correct answer to last week’s riddle, well done to Ivor Berger! The answer, as always, is at the bottom of the newsletter, but the awesome infographic right below this paragraph is a great representation of it. Who’d have thought “J” would be the least frequently used letter?!
A big apology to Simon Myerson, for neglecting to include his correct answers to the last few riddles, the emails were going through to the wrong inbox and I didn’t pick them up. I’m really sorry!!
Ramadan kareem to my Muslim readers, may this month bring you peace and prosperity!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
All the best
Dovi
And now, the articles:
Ingenuity: What If the Mars Helicopter Wimps Out or Crashes?
This tiny helicopter is a big test of the future.
Is Sunscreen the New Margarine?
Current guidelines for sun exposure are unhealthy and unscientific, controversial new research suggests—and quite possibly even racist. How did we get it so wrong?
The Convenient Truth of Rotisserie Chicken
A look at America’s favourite illogically cheap, ecologically dubious roasted chicken.
Inside the Secret Math Society Known Simply as Nicolas Bourbaki
For almost a century, the anonymous members of Nicolas Bourbaki have written books intended as pure expressions of mathematical thought.
My Hunt for the Original McDonald’s French-Fry Recipe
Veteran line-cooks, experts, and die-hard fans tell the story of the fries that birthed an empire, then disappeared—until now.
US Toddler to Release Debut Album Recorded in the Womb
Luca Yupanqui was recorded by her parents using “biosonic MIDI technology”.
Bad Birds in Quarantine
Struggling to go legal in the underworld of finch smuggling.
Quote of the Week:
“Most people don’t grow up. It’s too damn difficult. What happens is most people get older. That’s the truth of it. They honour their credit cards, they find parking spaces, they marry, they have the nerve to have children, but they don’t grow up. Not really. They get older. But to grow up costs the earth, the earth. It means you take responsibility for the time you take up, for the space you occupy. It’s serious business. And you find out what it costs us to love and to lose, to dare and to fail. And maybe even more, to succeed." — Maya Angelou
Facts of the Week:
“Joke” comes from the same Latin word as “jewel”.
The redder a ruby, the more it costs.
Donald Trump's daughter Tiffany was named after the jewellers.
Peter Carl Fabergé made 50 exquisite Fabergé eggs and one Fabergé potato.
Until they hatch the eggs of a Cardinal fish are stored in the male's mouth with 30% of them are regrettably swallowed.
The hand of a human foetus touching the walls of the womb causes the fingerprints to form.
Elephant’s ear plants look like they're diseased so eggs won't be laid on them.
Elephants can hear better with one foot off the ground.
Tweet of the Week:
Cartoon of the Week:
(via Safely Endangered)
Brainteaser of the Week:
Fill in the following word square using four A’s, three T’s, two each of the letter E, N, and R, and one each of the letters D, O, and S so that each word can be read across and down.
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
This one is a little different from the norm. I’m going to give you a letter in English, and you’re going to tell me whether it more frequently appears as the first letter of a word or the last letter.
1. S
2. K
3. B
4. N
5. D
6. R
Answer:
1. S more frequently appears as the last letter
2. K = First letter
3. B = First letter
4. N = Last letter
5. D = Last letter
6. R = it’s just about a tie between the first and last letters.
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