Dovi’s Digest Volume 71
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Well hello readers! Welcome to Volume 71 of Dovi’s Digest.
To paraphrase a well known late 90s song, the weeks keep coming and they don’t stop coming. It seems like just a few days ago that I was writing last week’s intro. Yet here I am again, frantically banging out a short essay to try and satiate the ever-hungry maw of the internet. I’m going to try and be as concise as possible this week, as my arthritis is flaring up again (I know I sound like a 70-year-old man called Irving when I say that).
This week’s headline article touches on this a little. For years the Dead Sea’s salt and mud flats have been touted as panaceas for all of life’s woes. Eczema, psoriasis, even depression have all been anecdotally cured by Dead Sea products. This goes for arthritis as well. Seeing as there’s no known allopathic cure for it, I’ve been researching naturopathic therapies, and one of the most common recommendations is a visit to the Dead Sea. Unfortunately, it’s shrinking at an alarming rate, due to both human intervention (the diverting of feeder rivers) and global warming (although I guess that is also human intervention). Anyway, I reckon that I need to try get there at some point before 2050 to have a shot. For a variety of reasons.
We have our usual diverse bunch of articles, ranging from “hacking” AI algorithms to ace tests, why your New Yorker tote is actually bad for the environment, why your poop may be precious, and a nun who saved dozens of lives. Enjoy!
There were THREE correct answers to last week’s brainteaser, well done to Yisroel Greenberg, Kevin Levy, and Josh Friedlander!! 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:
The Disappearing Dead Sea
It’s a natural wonder treasured for the “healing powers” of its mineral-rich water. But the sea at the lowest point on Earth is slipping away.
These Students Figured Out Their Tests Were Graded by AI — And the Easy Way to Cheat
“He’s getting all 100s”.
Your Cotton Tote Is Pretty Much the Worst Replacement for A Plastic Bag
Maybe a plastic bag ban isn’t the best idea.
South Korean Toilet Will Pay for Your Poop
“Faeces... Is a treasure of great value to me.” - Hui-Jin Heo
Why We Focus on Trivial Things: The Bikeshed Effect
Bikeshedding is a metaphor to illustrate the strange tendency we have to spend excessive time on trivial matters, often glossing over important ones. Here’s why we do it, and how to stop.
The Daring Nun Who Hid and Saved 83 Jewish Children
Two Jewish girls from north-eastern France found themselves in great danger when Germany invaded 80 years ago. But while their parents and younger sister were caught and murdered, they survived - with dozens of other Jewish children - thanks to the bravery of a nun in a convent near Toulouse.
How A Former Slave Became Part of NY’s Jewish Elite
Recounting the story of a Sephardic matriarch, a new book undoes assumptions about race and identity.
Quote of the Week:
“The ultimate touchstone of friendship is not improvement, neither of the other nor of the self, the ultimate touchstone is witness, the privilege of having been seen by someone and the equal privilege of being granted the sight of the essence of another, to have walked with them and to have believed in them, and sometimes just to have accompanied them for however brief a span, on a journey impossible to accomplish alone.” — David Whyte
Facts of the Week:
Plastic eating bacteria could help break down plastic bottles.
Iron from space was used for hunting Arctic seals.
Elephants crossed (read: were forced to) the Alps to attack the Roman army.
Eleven days disappeared in September 1752.
Whales have finger bones – but no fingers.
The first paper was made of bark, fishnets, and rags.
More than a million earths could fit inside the sun.
History was invented by an ancient Greek wanderer.
Moon dust is so sharp it can cut through space suits.
The World’s largest cave has a rainforest growing inside it.
To help rebuild damaged coral reefs, scientists play recordings of healthy reefs.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Rearrange the following letters to give three seven-letter words.
What are they?
A C E R S S T
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
Adam and Eve play rock-paper-scissors 10 times. You know that:
· Adam uses rock three times, scissors six times, and paper once.
· Eve uses rock twice, scissors four times, and paper four times.
· There are no ties in all 10 games.
· The order of games is unknown.
Who wins? By how much?
Answer:
Adam wins, 7 – 3. A full explanation can be found here.