Dovi’s Digest Volume 97
A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Guten tag!! Welcome to Volume 97 of Dovi’s Digest.
Humans are exceptional at pack bonding. That is the idea in that no matter what we’ll find a group and develop some sort of cohesion with it. The funny thing is that we’ll do it with basically anything. There’s a Tumblr post about a Roomba robot vacuum and that shorted during a storm, and began to spin in tiny circles, beeping pitifully. The owner (the post author), landed up picking up the inanimate object, holding it in their lap, and tried to soothe it with gentle sounds. As I said, we’ll pack bond with anything.
Of course, if we do this with a robot, we of course do it with other species. Pets have become such an ingrained part of our society that we don’t really give that bond a second thought. 70% of US households have a pet, and that number is growing. Pets are no longer animals, but part of the family. Dogs and cats are referred to as “fur babies” (as an aside, why is that accepted but I’m not allowed to call babies “skin dogs”?), are pushed around in prams, dressed up, and for all intents and purposes, are now another member of the household.
People seem to react much more viscerally to the plight of animals as well. Studies have shown that people are apparently more willing to give to dog shelters than hospitals. We react so badly to their fictional death that there is a whole website dedicated to finding out if the dog dies in a movie. The John Wick films (which I haven’t seen), seem to be predicated on that fact that the protagonist’s dog is killed by a crime boss (I think), which leads him to go on a killing spree. People seem to approve of this.
However, no matter what moniker we use, or how much some might disagree, animals are, by definition, not human, and as such don’t enjoy the same rights as us. But that doesn’t mean they don’t experience very human emotions.
This week’s headline article is about an elephant at the Bronx Zoo, paradoxically called Happy. Elephants are very social creatures. They’re also intelligent, long lived, and sentient of nonhuman animals, and, arguably, they’re the most sympathetic. They live in families, they protect their young, and they grieve their dead. Happy was snatched from her family as a calf and has been forced to live in mainly isolation for more than 50 years. For humans, the UN classifies solitary confinement exceeding 15 days as torture. She was forced to perform and give rides, all the while being all alone. Now, one organisation is fighting to free Happy, and have her put in an elephant sanctuary where she can live out the rest of her days in ostensible comfort, along with other members of her species. The article discusses sapience, sentience, and what constitutes a person in the legal sense. It also tackles the thorny issue of zoos in today’s world, and whether they still have a place. It’s eye opening, sad, and brilliant all at once.
Seeing as that’s a bit of a downer, here’s a fun and interesting infographic about the world’s shipping that’s also interactive. The sheer volume of ships on the sea is astounding, and you can track individual ships over the course of a year. You can also play around with the different types of product they carry, the routes, and even specific ports. I recommend turning off the map and turning on ship colours (by product) and routes. The outcome is a strikingly beautiful world map made entirely out of shipping routes that honestly could double as art.
Do you enjoy the Digest? Would you like it to get better? Then please consider sharing it, as the more articles I’m sent, the better it is. It only takes a few seconds, and all you need to do is click here 👇. Thank you!
There was ONE correct answer to last week’s brainteaser. However, it did take multiple tries to get it right. It’s a fun maths one, so I’m leaving it up for another week. There is a new one too though. I’m really spoiling you this week.
If you don’t feel like reading a sad story about elephants, I understand, and have prepared for that possibility. So instead, you can read about why lol isn’t lol, a park that makes you feel tiny (picture included), how to get real answers from people, a secret lake, how your professor may not have been a put together adult, and whether remorse should be a mitigating factor in criminal law. Enjoy!
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming,
Have a great week,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
The Elephant Who Could Be a Person
The most important animal-rights case of the 21st century revolves around an unlikely subject.
Why We Use “lol” So Much
The word rarely means “laugh out loud” anymore, but you probably knew that lol.
Parque Gulliver
This massive fiberglass Gulliver turns every visitor into a Lilliputian.
How to Ask Useful Questions
Asking useful questions is a skill, and it requires practice.
New Zealand's Secret Lake Most Kiwis Don't Know
A tiny lake in New Zealand's South Island is the crown jewel on an isolated pest-free island reserve that's reaping the rewards of regeneration.
The Secret Lives of Adjunct Professors
My students saw me as their role model—the put-together adult. The truth? I was barely getting by.
No Remorse
Should a teen-ager be given a life sentence?
Quote of the Week:
"I would like to point out the importance of chasing your own dreams. You must live with whoever you become, and those around you have to live with that. It's important to be who you want to be, and not what others want you to be.” – Nils Van der Poel
Facts of the Week:
In 2018, after nine-year legal battle, an unemployed man in southern Italy was acquitted of stealing an aubergine.
The Lamborghini Countach gets its name from the Piedmontese slang for “holy shit”!
There has been only one posthumous Formula One champion.
Mexico City’s Day of the Dead Parade didn't exist until it appeared in the James Bond film Spectre.
The phrase “vital statistics” originally referred to births, marriages, and deaths.
George Washington is the highest ranking general in the US, even though he's been dead for over 200 years.
George Washington called a ceasefire during the American Revolutionary War to return a British general’s terrier that had wandered onto the battlefield.
King Henry III of France liked to tie ribbon around his neck, from which he hung a basket of small dogs.
Dogs like reggae.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
(Courtesy of Daniel Rabinovitch)
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
Because people really enjoyed this format, I found you another one.
This puzzle has a Batman-level origin story. In the early days of PayPal (you know, when Elon Musk and other future moguls roamed the office), the company would circulate an internal newsletter that featured a single trivia question. Today’s riddle is one of those long-lost questions.
OK, here goes: I am a fire. Change one letter and I am a knife. Change another letter and I am a clearing. Change another letter and I am a rank. Change one final letter and I am a fruit. What was I and what did I become?
Last Week’s Brainteaser:
Your friend chooses at random a card from a standard deck of 52 cards, and keeps this card concealed. You have to guess which of the 52 cards it is.
Before your guess, you can ask your friend one of the following three questions:
is the card red?
is the card a face card? (Jack, Queen or King)
is the card the ace of spades?
Your friend will answer truthfully. What question would you ask that gives you the best chance of guessing the correct card?
Answer:
You’ll get it next week.