Dovi’s Digest Volume 66
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello everyone, and welcome to Volume 66 of Dovi’s Digest.
In Johannesburg, the birds are chirping, the skies are blue, the blossoms are starting to bud, and the mornings no longer feel like Jack Frost punching you in the gut. All this can only mean one thing – summer is on its way. This is great for me as I’m normally a person of extremes. Particularly when it comes to the weather. (As an aside, to be perfectly frank, I love spring. The few weeks where the beautiful light green of the new leaves starts to peek out is my favourite time of year. But that only lasts for a couple weeks, and then it’s back to what most people call pleasant weather.) I feel that summers should be boiling hot, and winters should be freezing cold. When I went hiking in the Colorado Rockies in the middle of winter, I was in thigh-high snow, single digit Fahrenheit temperatures, and couldn’t be happier. Hours on the trail felt like minutes. My food and water bottle freezing did nothing to dissuade me. Similarly, when faced with 40-degree Celsius temperatures, I’m in my element.
However, one of the biggest boons in summer is the summer fruit. Peaches, apricots, watermelon, I enjoy them all. But nothing quite has my heart like a good mango. There’s something special about it. I don’t know if it’s the way it cools you down, or maybe just my memories associated with it and summer holidays, but a perfectly ripe mango is the epitome of summer for me.
Of course, that brings us to this week’s headline article which is about how my beloved fruit is part of an illicit smuggling ring, and prized beyond many other things, a view which I fully endorse. Nevertheless, the story of intrigue and espionage is rather enjoyable. Even if you don’t like mangoes.
Another momentous happening this week was the video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” passing one billion views. For those of you who aren’t quite sure why an 80s pop song is still racking up views, it’s the subject of an internet joke “Rickrolling”, which basically means you trick your friends into opening the video. The Pudding have put together a very interesting visual history of Rickrolling, which analysed millions of comments, posts, and links to chart the definitive history of the Rickroll.
In addition, we have what to do with surplus legal marijuana (which didn’t take off it seems), a calculation of how many cars Vin Diesel has destroyed, and how the Segway, which was supposed to usher in the next generation of personal transport, was a total flop, along with a few others.
There was ONE correct answer to last week’s brainteaser, well done to Steven Kaplan!! The answer and this week’s riddle are below.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
Inside the Secretive, Semi-Illicit, High Stakes World of WhatsApp Mango Importing
Customs restrictions, high transport costs, and a short shelf life have made the world’s greatest mangoes — grown in Pakistan — difficult to come by in the U.S.
What Do You Do with a Billion Grams of Surplus Weed?
Cannabis legalization was supposed to be a licence to print money. Three years on, nobody is turning a profit.
How Many Cars Have Been Destroyed in the Fast & Furious Movies?
The Fast & Furious franchise has been about cars since the beginning, and all those action sequences have led to over a thousand cars being destroyed.
The Thriving Business of “Ikea Hacking”
Last August, Alex Hernandez found herself in the market for a new piece of furniture. The designer brands were too expensive, so she opted for a custom makeover instead.
He Convinced the Elite He Invested for Good. Then the Money Vanished.
Arif Naqvi attracted billionaires and governments to his funds by promising to make money from investments that would benefit society. Prosecutors allege he committed fraud, stealing from those he wooed.
The Secrets of the Alps' Strange Red Snow
Growing patches of coloured snow in the French Alps could be a sign of the impact climate change is having in the mountains.
“This Is Going to Change the World”
As the new millennium dawned, a mysterious invention from a charismatic millionaire became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. Ever since, I’ve wondered: Was it all my fault?
Quote of the Week:
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” — George Bernhard Shaw.
Facts of the Week:
In 19th century Scotland, to be counted as an island, a piece of land needed to have enough pasture to support at least one sheep.
Depending on the definition, the number of islands in the world is somewhere between 86,000 and 7 billion.
Palmerston Atoll in the South Pacific has a population of 60, all of whom speak with the Gloucestershire accent.
Pheasant Island is owned alternately by France and Spain.
Pheasants are more likely to be run over than any other birds.
Pheasants will stop attacking each other if given spectacles.
Scottish football referees are sponsored by Specsavers.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Two vehicles set off from the same point to travel the same journey.
The first vehicle sets off two minutes before the second vehicle.
If the first vehicle travels at 65 km/h and the second vehicle travels at 90 km/h, how many kilometres from the starting point will the two vehicles draw level?
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
On each row place a three letter word that can be attached to the end of the word to the left, and to the beginning of the word to the right, to give a longer word in each case.
When completed, the centre letters of the added words will give a type of bird reading downwards.
What is it?
FIRED _ _ _ LEST
MARROW _ _ _ ALLY
POST _ _ _ LESS
COUNTER _ _ _ HOLE
TOPS _ _ _ SKIN
HEAR _ _ _ ANT
Answer:
Magpie. The three letter words are AMP, FAT, AGE, SPY, OIL and TEN.