Dovi’s Digest Volume 73
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hi all! Welcome to Volume 73 of Dovi’s Digest.
I make no bones about the fact that I love animated movies. It may be a holdover from when I was a kid, and that I’m trying to recapture that magical feeling. Or it could be that I don’t have the mental bandwidth for dramas, and that 9/10 times I’ll feel worse after it.
I’m not special in this regard. Increasingly, millennials are gravitating back to their childhood favourites. It seems that these movies provide some form of comfort and catharsis from the world around us. It has led to the resurgence of certain movies, with new merch being dropped and rereleases on DVD or VHS. Of course, all of us have our favourites. Some of the most common include Shrek (a favourite of mine, enough lines geared towards adults that it’s worth the re-watch, and one of the best soundtracks for movie ever imho), Lilo and Stitch (Ohana means family, and that includes friends, and if you don’t at least tear up you’re probably a robot), and Finding Nemo (again, family, and the lengths we’ll go to for them).
One that has made a resurgence in the last couple years is Ratatouille, a (admittedly unlikely) story about a rat who can cook (his name is Remy, not Ratatouille). It seems millennials and Gen-Zs identify with a rat who can do unexpected things. It’s become enough of a meme that last year during the height of the lockdowns, people crowd sourced and then performed an entire Ratatouille musical on TikTok.
I of course write this because due to the surge in popularity for a rat who has no place in a kitchen, Disney World opened a Ratatouille themed ride this week. The headline article this week is from Eater’s series that commemorates this, which is rather pithily called “Ratatouweek”. I need to say that I don’t recommend nearly burning down your house in pursuit of the perfect dish.
A quick call-back to last week to inform you that the Fattest Bear has been crowned. The winning chonk is named 480 Otis, who has won three times before, in 2014, 2016, and 2017. In the final he bested one of the best named bears ever, Walker the Baron of Beardonkadonk.
If animated movies aren’t your thing, then there are still many articles for you. Like the food aspect? There’s an article about eating utensils specifically for human flesh. Something more pop culture-y? an article about the Netflix hit Squid Game. Want something more depressing? Read about how Haiti was forced to pay reparations to France for their foregone slavery. Plus, why rap albums are getting longer or shorter, how long can a human feasibly live, and the legacy of Daniel Craig as a James Bond (whom I think was excellent). Enjoy!
There were FIVE correct answers to last week’s brainteaser, well done to Dovi Joel, Kevin Levy, Josh Todes, Ivor Berger and Steven Kaplan!! The answer and this week’s riddle are below. In addition to the correct answer, Ivor sent what is one of the best facts I learned as kid. Polar bear’s skin is black. In fact, their hair isn’t white. It’s mostly clear and hollow. It’s the light getting trapped, bouncing around and creating luminescence (and the density) that makes it appear white. Another good one is that in order to sneak up on prey, polar bears will often push a block of ice in front of them to hide their black nose.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
I Nearly Set My House on Fire Trying to Make the Lightning Mushroom From “Ratatouille”
My less-than-well-thought-out plan to recreate my favourite scene from Pixar’s rat-infested classic.
“The Greatest Heist In History”
How Haiti was forced to pay reparations for freedom.
Planet Squid Game
How Netflix’s biggest show came to be.
What Is the Maximum Age for a Human?
Here's why more people will live beyond 100 in the future.
Meat is Murder
The Fiji cannibal fork.
The Coming Battle Over Rap Album Lengths
Streaming made track lists longer. Will TikTok reverse that trend?
The Legacy of Daniel Craig's James Bond
Fifteen years and five films later, Daniel Craig's run ends with No Time to Die. How does his tenure stack up?
Quote of the Week:
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Apple cofounder Steve Jobs who died 10 years ago this week.
Facts of the Week:
Climate change is causing ancient mummies to turn into black slime.
King Ferdinand I of Naples had his enemies killed, stuffed, mummified, and mounted in their everyday clothes.
Clothes are eaten by only seven of the UK's 2500 species of moth.
There's a caterpillar that eats coca leaves and vomits cocaine onto its predators.
Nematocampa caterpillars hate being shouted at.
The “Shouting Bomb”, developed by the US in 1957, was designed to lecture the enemy for three minutes as it fell from the sky.
During the Second World War, Foyle’s bookshop bomb-proofed itself by covering the roof with copies of Mein Kampf.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
(Courtesy of Ori Tobias, Meir Brom, and another person whose name I forgot to write down)
Brainteaser of the Week:
A clock was correct at midnight. From that moment it began to lose four minutes per hour.
The clock stopped two and a half hours ago showing 10:16 am.
The clock runs for less than 24 hours.
What is the correct time now?
Last week’s Brainteaser and answer:
A man builds a house where all the sides have southern exposure. A big bear walks past. What colour is the bear? Why?
Answer:
The bear is white. If all the sides of his house face south, then he must be at the North Pole. The only bears that live at that latitude are polar bears.