Dovi’s Digest Volume 89
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Well hello there readers, welcome to Volume 89 of Dovi’s Digest.
Since I was a kid, I’ve enjoyed playing games. Board games, pickup soccer or cricket, putt-putt, you name it and I enjoy playing it. But from around the age of ten, I noticed that my siblings didn’t want to play with me anymore. Turns out that despite my apathy for most of the things that were important in life (e.g., school), when it came to trivial things, I was insanely competitive. National maths competition? Yawn. Snakes and Ladders? All in, all the time. And people took exception to this. Apparently, it was “unbecoming” when I would slide tackle my 6-year-old brother from behind to stop him scoring a goal. To my credit, not once did I ever flip a board, or take the ball away in a snit when I was losing. I just wasn’t particularly gracious (read, was all huffy for a good couple days, making excuses). As I’ve grown older (note, not grown up), I’ve mellowed out a bit. Now on occasion I’ll let my friends’ kids win at chess. But not all the time. They need to learn about losing, and sometimes a guy needs a win. Even if it is against a six-year-old.
This week’s headline article is about boardgames, and about one in particular. The one that causes friendships to come to ruin and pits siblings against each other for years to come. The well-known family destroyer. I of course am talking about Monopoly. Monopoly was the first board game that I owned myself, having got it for my 8th birthday. I was so excited. We started it multiple times, but I don’t think we ever finished. This was probably because it took four hours, and often it would end in tears. Needless to say, it holds a special place in my heart. I was unaware at the time that Monopoly is actually the best-selling board game of all time. It has over 1000 different versions (not the 300 claimed on some sites), and aside from national/city editions, include ones with famous sports teams, World of Warcraft editions, and even a Pug-opoly. So, what turned this board game (whose history is interesting within itself [do you know it was initially about collaboration?]) into the recreational behemoth it is today? Well, you’ll just have to read the article.
There were TWO correct answer to last week’s brainteaser. Well done to Rachel Goldstuck and Myer Brom (who had a very novel solution in addition to the one I was looking for). The answer and this week’s riddle are below.
In addition to a story about a game that gets you to crush your loved ones with capitalism, there are also articles about last week’s volcano eruption in Tonga (with amazing satellite footage), how the super-rich isolate during covid, where our idea of witches (warts, cats, large cauldrons) comes from, how superhero tech may be around the corner, people who use weed to help them be better parents, and how a party animal and a Mormon teamed up to con the US government out of millions of dollars. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
How A Real-Life Monopoly Made Monopoly the World’s Biggest Board Game
Monopoly now accounts for nearly one-third of all global board game sales, largely thanks to Hasbro’s own expansion strategy.
Tonga’s Volcano Eruption: in Pictures
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano eruption is thought to be the largest volcanic event in 30 years. Here are a selection of images of what we have seen so far.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Quarantined
Super-Concierge Doctors, High-Design Home Classrooms, and Catered Backyard Dinners: This is what a luxe lockdown in Washington looks like.
Sex, Drugs, and Broomsticks: The Origins of the Iconic Witch
Why do witches ride brooms? Buckle up.
How real-life technology is catching up to Iron Man’s Heart
Tony Stark's Arc Reactor is one of the most iconic pieces of tech in the MCU. Could it soon become a reality?
The “Cannamoms” Parenting With Cannabis
An increasing number of mothers are using cannabis to help them parent. As they come out of the 'green closet', they're hoping to shift the stigma.
The Lion, the Polygamist, and the Biofuel Scam
How a member of a breakaway Mormon sect teamed up with a Lambo-driving, hard-partying tycoon to bilk the government for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Quote of the Week:
“You only need to know the direction, not the destination. The direction is enough to make the next choice.” — James Clear
Facts of the Week:
The average heart rate in San Francisco rose by 4 beats per minute the day Donald Trump was elected.
Holding hands causes heart rates, breathing, and brainwaves to synchronise.
Hand dryers in public toilets blow faecal bacteria all-round the room and spread it evenly over your hands.
7% of Netflix users watch movies in public toilets.
The pig toilet, once common in rural China, fed human waste straight to the pigs.
Germany, you can be fined €2500 for calling someone an “old pig”.
During the First World War, truces would occasionally be called in the trenches so both sides could yell insults at each other.
During the Christmas truce of 1914, one English soldier got a haircut from a German who used to be his barber in Holborn.
In 1865, the Duke of Buckingham was blown from Holborn to Euston through a pneumatic tube intended for parcels.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Which of the following words does not belong with the others?
REWARD TORT SNOOPS MEAL MOOR
Last Week’s Brainteaser and Answer:
Your task is to make 100 by placing pluses and minus is in the string of digits 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 in that order. But that's not actually your only task. To get full credit on this puzzle, you must find the least number of pluses and minuses needed to get to 100.
Answer:
98 – 76 + 54 + 3 + 21. So, four symbols.