Curio Cabinet
- By Date
- By Type
June 26, 2017
-
4 minFREEPolitical Science Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
The World spoke with Wired reporter Andy Greenberg, who found that Russia has been using Ukraine as a testing ground for its cyberwarfare techniques since 2014.
with PRI's The WorldThe World spoke with Wired reporter Andy Greenberg, who found that Russia has been using Ukraine as a testing ground for its cyberwarfare techniques since 2014.
-
6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
Senate Republicans are reportedly planning to put a penalty in the health care bill that would lock people out of the market for six months if they drop thei...
Senate Republicans are reportedly planning to put a penalty in the health care bill that would lock people out of the market for six months if they drop thei...
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 26, 2017
perspicuous \per-SPIK-yuh-wus\ adjective
Definition
: plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precisi...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 26, 2017
perspicuous \per-SPIK-yuh-wus\ adjective
Definition
: plain to the understanding especially because of clarity and precisi...
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Red Blue Chair
Artist: Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964)
Created: designed in 1918; color added in 1923
Medium: painted wood
Dimensions: 34.13 x 26 x 33 in (86.7 x 66 x 83.8 cm), seat h. 13 in (33 cm)
Current location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
If your favorite chair is too tempting a napping spot, Gerrit Rietveld has just the thing for you. Devoid of coziness and extravagant colors or shapes, Rietveld's Red Blue Chair was the first piece of furniture to take elements of the Dutch De Stijl ("The Style") abstract minimalist movement into three dimensions. Rietveld, born this day in 1888, wanted to transform the way people sat in a chair in the aftermath of World War I. Like many of his idealist De Stijl colleagues, he believed attentiveness in the body was the path to spiritual awakening—hence the lack of padding, and the simple red board backrest and blue seat. In an effort to make the chair embody ultimate simplicity and abstraction, Rietveld created a specific type of furniture joint characterized by three overlapping bars, each facing a different orthogonal direction. The resulting Rietveld joint, seen on the Red Blue Chair's legs above, resembles a set of overlapping De Stijl squares. Though the Red Blue Chair never became a household trend like rocking chairs or Lay-Z-Boy recliners, we think Rietveld would've been content making a chair that keeps people on the edge of their seats.
Image credit & copyright: Rietveld Originals
Title: Red Blue Chair
Artist: Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964)
Created: designed in 1918; color added in 1923
Medium: painted wood
Dimensions: 34.13 x 26 x 33 in (86.7 x 66 x 83.8 cm), seat h. 13 in (33 cm)
Current location: Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York
If your favorite chair is too tempting a napping spot, Gerrit Rietveld has just the thing for you. Devoid of coziness and extravagant colors or shapes, Rietveld's Red Blue Chair was the first piece of furniture to take elements of the Dutch De Stijl ("The Style") abstract minimalist movement into three dimensions. Rietveld, born this day in 1888, wanted to transform the way people sat in a chair in the aftermath of World War I. Like many of his idealist De Stijl colleagues, he believed attentiveness in the body was the path to spiritual awakening—hence the lack of padding, and the simple red board backrest and blue seat. In an effort to make the chair embody ultimate simplicity and abstraction, Rietveld created a specific type of furniture joint characterized by three overlapping bars, each facing a different orthogonal direction. The resulting Rietveld joint, seen on the Red Blue Chair's legs above, resembles a set of overlapping De Stijl squares. Though the Red Blue Chair never became a household trend like rocking chairs or Lay-Z-Boy recliners, we think Rietveld would've been content making a chair that keeps people on the edge of their seats.
Image credit & copyright: Rietveld Originals
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Who would toss bubble wrap into protected waters? Wait a minute…. The sea salp, or Pegea confoederata, is a small, jelly-like animal that links together into chain-like communities. These chains sometimes stretch up to 15 feet in length, and can appear from the surface like wayward plastic. The critters feed by pumping water slowly through filters in their delicate bodies, so they don't miss a single morsel of phytoplankton, a species of tiny creatures that drift in the sea. The sea salp is just one of the numerous alien invertebrates that greet Alexander Semenov on his ongoing dives. Semenov is a photographer and head of diving at White Sea Biological Station in Russia, a research and sustainability installation that puts him at the forefront of marine biology expeditions and in the presence of incredible creatures. His large swath of deep-sea photography covers jellyfish, octopi, sea snails—and not for the faint of heart—worms. Two features remain constant across Semenov's works: the cosmic beauty of these animals and his virtuoso camerawork. Next time we grab a piece of "garbage" out of the ocean, we'll make a point to check for a pulse.
Below: more photos from Semenov's otherworldly dives.
Image credit & copyright: Alexander Semenov
Who would toss bubble wrap into protected waters? Wait a minute…. The sea salp, or Pegea confoederata, is a small, jelly-like animal that links together into chain-like communities. These chains sometimes stretch up to 15 feet in length, and can appear from the surface like wayward plastic. The critters feed by pumping water slowly through filters in their delicate bodies, so they don't miss a single morsel of phytoplankton, a species of tiny creatures that drift in the sea. The sea salp is just one of the numerous alien invertebrates that greet Alexander Semenov on his ongoing dives. Semenov is a photographer and head of diving at White Sea Biological Station in Russia, a research and sustainability installation that puts him at the forefront of marine biology expeditions and in the presence of incredible creatures. His large swath of deep-sea photography covers jellyfish, octopi, sea snails—and not for the faint of heart—worms. Two features remain constant across Semenov's works: the cosmic beauty of these animals and his virtuoso camerawork. Next time we grab a piece of "garbage" out of the ocean, we'll make a point to check for a pulse.
Below: more photos from Semenov's otherworldly dives.
Image credit & copyright: Alexander Semenov
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
On this day in 1997, 38-year-old Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole passed away from heart failure, just as his cover Over the Rainbow began climbing the charts. The song was recorded a decade prior in one take. The engineer at the session, Milan Bertosa, loved Iz's take so much, he pocketed it for himself. The song was still unreleased years later when Bertosa found himself at one of Iz's session for his now-classic album, Facing Future. Bertosa approached the producer, saying, "This is great, but there's more." He handed over the recording of Over the Rainbow, and it ended up on the album. Nowadays, even with its incorrect lyrics and spontaneous chord changes, Israel's cover of Over the Rainbow has eclipsed Judy Garland's original performance. Something about the singer's radiant happiness, gentle voice, and fluttering ukulele reminds us all to laugh a little and take it easy every once in awhile. Aloha!
Below: compare Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's cover with Judy Garland's original.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Mountain Apple Company
On this day in 1997, 38-year-old Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole passed away from heart failure, just as his cover Over the Rainbow began climbing the charts. The song was recorded a decade prior in one take. The engineer at the session, Milan Bertosa, loved Iz's take so much, he pocketed it for himself. The song was still unreleased years later when Bertosa found himself at one of Iz's session for his now-classic album, Facing Future. Bertosa approached the producer, saying, "This is great, but there's more." He handed over the recording of Over the Rainbow, and it ended up on the album. Nowadays, even with its incorrect lyrics and spontaneous chord changes, Israel's cover of Over the Rainbow has eclipsed Judy Garland's original performance. Something about the singer's radiant happiness, gentle voice, and fluttering ukulele reminds us all to laugh a little and take it easy every once in awhile. Aloha!
Below: compare Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's cover with Judy Garland's original.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Mountain Apple Company
-
FREETravel PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
The natural wonders of New Zealand may have been rediscovered again.
From the looks of it, the Pink and White Terraces of New Zealand could've been stairways to heaven. But their hellacious destruction was a tragic event.
Formed over 1,000 years ago, the Pink and White Terraces first came to the attention of British tourists in the 1840s. Travel to the Terraces was a long ordeal, but those who visited were inspired by the majesty of the springs. Many photographs were taken, but they only showed black and white views of the place. Paintings by Charles Blomfield highlighted the Terraces' colors and tiered pools that were results of hot silica deposits.
Through all the appreciation of the Pink and White Terraces, the British tourists forgot one inevitable detail: the precise map coordinates of the location. There was just something about the long trip by steamer, and being in the presence of the Terraces that made even visiting cartographers fail to keep accurate notes. That minor slip-up would come to haunt researchers over the next 130 years.
In 1886, a volcanic eruption at Mount Tarawera put an end to tourism at the Terraces. The surrounding area just south of the volcano was covered in smoke, molten rock, and ashes. Over 100 local Māori lost their lives, and a 330-foot crater lay where the Terraces used to be. They were thought to be destroyed under the tons of debris caused by the disaster.
Any attempts at trying to discover whether or not the Terraces were completely destroyed was impeded by the lack of records or coordinates for their location. Only in the six years have geoscientists in New Zealand attempted to make serious claims of rediscovering and excavating the Terraces—though their conclusion was that the Terraces were destroyed.
Recently, two researchers have used the field diaries of Ferdinand von Hochstetter to deduce where the Terraces were located in Lake Rotomahana. Their findings were published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and renewed interest has been taken in uncovering the long-hidden beauty of the Terraces. It'll take a lot of work, and a lot of money, but if they are successful, the Pink and White Terraces could once again become a natural marvel for people to visit. And maybe serve as a cool backdrop for the next Hobbit movie Peter Jackson makes.
Image credit: Charles Blomfield
The natural wonders of New Zealand may have been rediscovered again.
From the looks of it, the Pink and White Terraces of New Zealand could've been stairways to heaven. But their hellacious destruction was a tragic event.
Formed over 1,000 years ago, the Pink and White Terraces first came to the attention of British tourists in the 1840s. Travel to the Terraces was a long ordeal, but those who visited were inspired by the majesty of the springs. Many photographs were taken, but they only showed black and white views of the place. Paintings by Charles Blomfield highlighted the Terraces' colors and tiered pools that were results of hot silica deposits.
Through all the appreciation of the Pink and White Terraces, the British tourists forgot one inevitable detail: the precise map coordinates of the location. There was just something about the long trip by steamer, and being in the presence of the Terraces that made even visiting cartographers fail to keep accurate notes. That minor slip-up would come to haunt researchers over the next 130 years.
In 1886, a volcanic eruption at Mount Tarawera put an end to tourism at the Terraces. The surrounding area just south of the volcano was covered in smoke, molten rock, and ashes. Over 100 local Māori lost their lives, and a 330-foot crater lay where the Terraces used to be. They were thought to be destroyed under the tons of debris caused by the disaster.
Any attempts at trying to discover whether or not the Terraces were completely destroyed was impeded by the lack of records or coordinates for their location. Only in the six years have geoscientists in New Zealand attempted to make serious claims of rediscovering and excavating the Terraces—though their conclusion was that the Terraces were destroyed.
Recently, two researchers have used the field diaries of Ferdinand von Hochstetter to deduce where the Terraces were located in Lake Rotomahana. Their findings were published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and renewed interest has been taken in uncovering the long-hidden beauty of the Terraces. It'll take a lot of work, and a lot of money, but if they are successful, the Pink and White Terraces could once again become a natural marvel for people to visit. And maybe serve as a cool backdrop for the next Hobbit movie Peter Jackson makes.
Image credit: Charles Blomfield
-
FREEWork Daily Curio #1367Free1 CQ
Hey, office warriors! Here are a few scientifically-proven tips for getting people to heed your requests at work:
First, ask in person. A study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reported that people dramatically overestimate their persuasiveness via text-based communication. Researchers found that face-to-face requests were 34 times more effective than emailed ones. On average, when subjects asked only six people in person to do a favor, they had more success than when emailing 200 people!
Second, take advantage of the morning morality effect—which recent social psychology research has shown to exist. The normal, unremarkable experiences of people's daily tasks appear to wear down their capacity for doing the right thing. So if your request is appealing to a person's sense of fairness, ask them in the morning.
Third, end all of your sentences in a question mark. This is called uptalking. It keeps the listener engaged and attentive to your needs as you plead your case. For example, instead of saying "I've been working so hard, you should give me a raise!" try saying "I've been working so hard, you should give me a raise?"
Finally, employ the kindly brontosaurus posture. After making your request (in person!) lean forward with your hands clasped, and a beatific expression on your face—almost like you are praying. Gaze at the other person and don't speak until you are spoken to. There's no research to back up this one, but there is a very entertaining Slate article about it (see below).
Now that you are armed with these ninja office tricks, time to get to work!Hey, office warriors! Here are a few scientifically-proven tips for getting people to heed your requests at work:
First, ask in person. A study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology reported that people dramatically overestimate their persuasiveness via text-based communication. Researchers found that face-to-face requests were 34 times more effective than emailed ones. On average, when subjects asked only six people in person to do a favor, they had more success than when emailing 200 people!
Second, take advantage of the morning morality effect—which recent social psychology research has shown to exist. The normal, unremarkable experiences of people's daily tasks appear to wear down their capacity for doing the right thing. So if your request is appealing to a person's sense of fairness, ask them in the morning.
Third, end all of your sentences in a question mark. This is called uptalking. It keeps the listener engaged and attentive to your needs as you plead your case. For example, instead of saying "I've been working so hard, you should give me a raise!" try saying "I've been working so hard, you should give me a raise?"
Finally, employ the kindly brontosaurus posture. After making your request (in person!) lean forward with your hands clasped, and a beatific expression on your face—almost like you are praying. Gaze at the other person and don't speak until you are spoken to. There's no research to back up this one, but there is a very entertaining Slate article about it (see below).
Now that you are armed with these ninja office tricks, time to get to work! -
3 minFREEAstronomy Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
16th Century scientist, Christiaan Huygens, looks for alien life. In today's Nerdy Curio from Engines of our Ingenuity, an old inquiry into life on other planets.
16th Century scientist, Christiaan Huygens, looks for alien life. In today's Nerdy Curio from Engines of our Ingenuity, an old inquiry into life on other planets.
June 25, 2017
-
FREEMind + Body Mindset Curio #25Free3 CQ
Our fixed mindset personas like to ask us the wrong questions: Am I smart or not? Lovable or unlovable? A good or bad parent/partner/friend/colleague? We've touched on all of these in past Mindset Curios. But today our fixed-mindset persona will ask: Am I a strong or a weak person?
The willpower myth
Am I strong or weak? This question comes to mind when we're trying to make changes in our lives—even relatively small ones—such as dropping some pounds, cutting out a bad habit, sleeping more, controlling our temper, or being kinder. In a fixed mindset, it's all about having "willpower," being strong. If you're strong, you'll do the right thing. If you're weak, you won't. But this view ignores a critical point.
Make plans not vows
Successful change is about finding strategies that work for you, not about simply vowing to be strong. How do you find these strategies?
Take weight loss, for example. Begin by asking yourself lots of questions: How can I fill up on good, healthful foods instead of fattening ones? What foods do I have to remove from my house? What are some events coming up that will challenge my healthy eating and how can I navigate them? What are key times I succumb to unhealthy snacks and what can I do or eat instead?
Now let's take being kinder. You might ask yourself: Why don't I do more for people? And you might realize that you mean well, but each day you quickly get sucked into the duties, obligations, must-do's of the moment. Not because you're an unkind or weak person, but because you're stressed, focused, rushed. But what if each morning, while you're drinking your coffee (shaving, doing your hair, stretching) you think of a single act of kindness you can do for a friend/co-worker/family member that day. Just one. Then plan when, where, and how you will bestow that act of kindness. Using cues like this can be a very effective way to build healthy new habits (see SMC #8 and SMC #10).
Monitor and adjust
Coming up with your plan and trying it out is a critical step. But there's more. Is your plan actually working? Monitor yourself and create new strategies based on when your plan succeeds and when it fails. Our fixed mindsets will see these failures as weakness. But our growth mindsets will understand these occasional lapses are not just inevitable, they are welcome opportunities for learning. Learning about what vulnerabilities we have, and how we can better deal with them next time.
Avoid the backslide
Okay, now suppose that whatever you did worked! You lost the weight, started getting more sleep, began controlling your temper, or took the time to be kinder. Well, that's great. But…now comes the real danger: backsliding.
Your fixed mindset may be telling you: This proves that I'm a strong person. Case closed, end of story. You don't need those crutches, those strategies anymore—they're for weaker types. You simply assume the changes you've made will last and that you will continue to be a thin, sleep-filled, sweet-tempered, or kind person. You're probably wrong.
In a growth mindset, you can feel proud of your changes but still know that it will take sustained thought and effort to maintain (and build on) your accomplishments. It's all too easy to regain that weight; or succumb to being irritable or inconsiderate again. It doesn't mean you're weak, it means you're human. So, instead of relying on some mythical willpower, weave successful growth strategies into your ongoing life—that's the true mark of a "strong" person.EXERCISE: Make that change
Identify a small change you'd like to make in your life. Write it down.
Reflect upon past times you've tried to make this change. What happened? Did you make any progress? Did it work for a while? Did you backslide?
Now come up with a list of questions you'll need to answer to form an effective plan. Think of specific scenarios where you will need a good strategy in addition to your willpower. For examples, see the "losing weight" and "being nicer" questions above.
Write down your strategy, making sure it answers your list of questions adequately. Make sure your plan includes a daily cue or activity you can use to build this change into your daily routine.
Finally, think of how you can use the same cue to monitor/adjust your plan and—once you are seeing results—also watch out for back slide behavior.Our fixed mindset personas like to ask us the wrong questions: Am I smart or not? Lovable or unlovable? A good or bad parent/partner/friend/colleague? We've touched on all of these in past Mindset Curios. But today our fixed-mindset persona will ask: Am I a strong or a weak person?
The willpower myth
Am I strong or weak? This question comes to mind when we're trying to make changes in our lives—even relatively small ones—such as dropping some pounds, cutting out a bad habit, sleeping more, controlling our temper, or being kinder. In a fixed mindset, it's all about having "willpower," being strong. If you're strong, you'll do the right thing. If you're weak, you won't. But this view ignores a critical point.
Make plans not vows
Successful change is about finding strategies that work for you, not about simply vowing to be strong. How do you find these strategies?
Take weight loss, for example. Begin by asking yourself lots of questions: How can I fill up on good, healthful foods instead of fattening ones? What foods do I have to remove from my house? What are some events coming up that will challenge my healthy eating and how can I navigate them? What are key times I succumb to unhealthy snacks and what can I do or eat instead?
Now let's take being kinder. You might ask yourself: Why don't I do more for people? And you might realize that you mean well, but each day you quickly get sucked into the duties, obligations, must-do's of the moment. Not because you're an unkind or weak person, but because you're stressed, focused, rushed. But what if each morning, while you're drinking your coffee (shaving, doing your hair, stretching) you think of a single act of kindness you can do for a friend/co-worker/family member that day. Just one. Then plan when, where, and how you will bestow that act of kindness. Using cues like this can be a very effective way to build healthy new habits (see SMC #8 and SMC #10).
Monitor and adjust
Coming up with your plan and trying it out is a critical step. But there's more. Is your plan actually working? Monitor yourself and create new strategies based on when your plan succeeds and when it fails. Our fixed mindsets will see these failures as weakness. But our growth mindsets will understand these occasional lapses are not just inevitable, they are welcome opportunities for learning. Learning about what vulnerabilities we have, and how we can better deal with them next time.
Avoid the backslide
Okay, now suppose that whatever you did worked! You lost the weight, started getting more sleep, began controlling your temper, or took the time to be kinder. Well, that's great. But…now comes the real danger: backsliding.
Your fixed mindset may be telling you: This proves that I'm a strong person. Case closed, end of story. You don't need those crutches, those strategies anymore—they're for weaker types. You simply assume the changes you've made will last and that you will continue to be a thin, sleep-filled, sweet-tempered, or kind person. You're probably wrong.
In a growth mindset, you can feel proud of your changes but still know that it will take sustained thought and effort to maintain (and build on) your accomplishments. It's all too easy to regain that weight; or succumb to being irritable or inconsiderate again. It doesn't mean you're weak, it means you're human. So, instead of relying on some mythical willpower, weave successful growth strategies into your ongoing life—that's the true mark of a "strong" person.EXERCISE: Make that change
Identify a small change you'd like to make in your life. Write it down.
Reflect upon past times you've tried to make this change. What happened? Did you make any progress? Did it work for a while? Did you backslide?
Now come up with a list of questions you'll need to answer to form an effective plan. Think of specific scenarios where you will need a good strategy in addition to your willpower. For examples, see the "losing weight" and "being nicer" questions above.
Write down your strategy, making sure it answers your list of questions adequately. Make sure your plan includes a daily cue or activity you can use to build this change into your daily routine.
Finally, think of how you can use the same cue to monitor/adjust your plan and—once you are seeing results—also watch out for back slide behavior. -
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 25, 2017
argy-bargy \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\ noun
Definition
: a lively discussion : argument, dispute
Examples
The tenants got into a ...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 25, 2017
argy-bargy \ahr-jee-BAHR-jee\ noun
Definition
: a lively discussion : argument, dispute
Examples
The tenants got into a ...
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Costume design for The Firebird
Artist: Léon Bakst (1866-1924)
Created: 1913
Medium: metallic paint, gouache, watercolor, and pencil on paper on board
Dimensions: 26.5 x 19.25 in (67.3 x 48.9 cm)
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York
Léon Bakst's costume design gives new meaning to the term "line dancing." The artist created the above image for the title character of Stravinsky's The Firebird, which the Ballet Russes dance company premiered on this day in 1910. The expressive movements of the firebird's pigtails and skirt mimic the live dance scene where the mythical creature enchants the evil magician Koschei's minions, helping Prince Ivan defeat the ballet's antagonist. Bakst based the flame-colored, patterned outfit on traditional Russian clothing and khokhloma art, or wood painting handicraft, and borrowed from cubism for the figure's flat perspective and exaggerated shapes. The resulting creation is a perfect marriage of avant-garde and folk traditions befitting the highly experimental Ballets Russes. Far more polished and embellished than design sketches usually are, the final drawing indicates Bakst meant for this to be a standalone piece of art. One that, like Stravinksy's music and the Firebird myth, doesn't need to be paired with the ballet performance to enchant us.
Title: Costume design for The Firebird
Artist: Léon Bakst (1866-1924)
Created: 1913
Medium: metallic paint, gouache, watercolor, and pencil on paper on board
Dimensions: 26.5 x 19.25 in (67.3 x 48.9 cm)
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York
Léon Bakst's costume design gives new meaning to the term "line dancing." The artist created the above image for the title character of Stravinsky's The Firebird, which the Ballet Russes dance company premiered on this day in 1910. The expressive movements of the firebird's pigtails and skirt mimic the live dance scene where the mythical creature enchants the evil magician Koschei's minions, helping Prince Ivan defeat the ballet's antagonist. Bakst based the flame-colored, patterned outfit on traditional Russian clothing and khokhloma art, or wood painting handicraft, and borrowed from cubism for the figure's flat perspective and exaggerated shapes. The resulting creation is a perfect marriage of avant-garde and folk traditions befitting the highly experimental Ballets Russes. Far more polished and embellished than design sketches usually are, the final drawing indicates Bakst meant for this to be a standalone piece of art. One that, like Stravinksy's music and the Firebird myth, doesn't need to be paired with the ballet performance to enchant us.
-
FREEMind + Body PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
A chocolate egg prohibition and the smugglers who defy it.
On this day in 1974, America placed an embargo on candy maker Ferrero's newest product, Kinder Surprise—chocolate eggs with a mystery inside. The sweet treats have since become a childhood favorite abroad, but for candy cravers within the U.S., they remain a forbidden fruit.
The States outlawed the chocolates within the year they debuted, citing The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which banned all treats nested with "non-nutritive objects." The eggs featured a capsule inside that housed constructable toys, such as animals, planes, and cartoon characters. Worse yet, Ferrero had premised its Kinder brand on children as the primary consumers. Kinder understood that "all children love chocolate, playing games and discovering new things."
That didn't stop Americans of all ages from becoming obsessed with the eggs, with some going as far as smuggling them into the country. In 2011, 60,000 Surprise Eggs were confiscated at the US-Canada border, despite fines for a single egg reaching upwards of $1,200. One man allegedly forced himself to eat all 20 of his eggs in detainment to avoid charges—sparing the toys. The eggs become legal once the toys are removed, but some egg-smugglers need them intact to get their proper fix.
An enduring fear of children choking on plastic parts continues to plague America, and although 33 billion Surprise Eggs have been eaten without incident since 1998, the law will not budge. A subdued version of the eggs called Kinder Joy recently became legal in America, but for some who grew up with the original, it's just not the same.
Image credit & copyright: The Huffington Post Canada
A chocolate egg prohibition and the smugglers who defy it.
On this day in 1974, America placed an embargo on candy maker Ferrero's newest product, Kinder Surprise—chocolate eggs with a mystery inside. The sweet treats have since become a childhood favorite abroad, but for candy cravers within the U.S., they remain a forbidden fruit.
The States outlawed the chocolates within the year they debuted, citing The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938, which banned all treats nested with "non-nutritive objects." The eggs featured a capsule inside that housed constructable toys, such as animals, planes, and cartoon characters. Worse yet, Ferrero had premised its Kinder brand on children as the primary consumers. Kinder understood that "all children love chocolate, playing games and discovering new things."
That didn't stop Americans of all ages from becoming obsessed with the eggs, with some going as far as smuggling them into the country. In 2011, 60,000 Surprise Eggs were confiscated at the US-Canada border, despite fines for a single egg reaching upwards of $1,200. One man allegedly forced himself to eat all 20 of his eggs in detainment to avoid charges—sparing the toys. The eggs become legal once the toys are removed, but some egg-smugglers need them intact to get their proper fix.
An enduring fear of children choking on plastic parts continues to plague America, and although 33 billion Surprise Eggs have been eaten without incident since 1998, the law will not budge. A subdued version of the eggs called Kinder Joy recently became legal in America, but for some who grew up with the original, it's just not the same.
Image credit & copyright: The Huffington Post Canada
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
Everybody needs somebody sometimes, and for Thelonious Monk in 1957, that person was John Coltrane. Monk was gearing up for a six-month residency at New York City's Five Spot, after a six-year hiatus from the Big Apple. Enter 'Trane, who was already a jazz legend by the time he went into the studio to record Epistrophy with Monk on June 26, 1957. Accompanied by Art Blakey on drums and Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax, Monk's composition became the bedrock for a jazz supergroup recording. Epistrophy's alternating semitone melody can sound a little disjointed upon first listen, but in the hands of the jazz giants, it becomes a singular idea with ever-evolving improvisational possibilities. Take a listen to the tune played by the two at what would be the pinnacle of Monk's return to New York, the Carnegie Hall Concert recorded in November of that same year.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: All About Jazz
Everybody needs somebody sometimes, and for Thelonious Monk in 1957, that person was John Coltrane. Monk was gearing up for a six-month residency at New York City's Five Spot, after a six-year hiatus from the Big Apple. Enter 'Trane, who was already a jazz legend by the time he went into the studio to record Epistrophy with Monk on June 26, 1957. Accompanied by Art Blakey on drums and Coleman Hawkins on tenor sax, Monk's composition became the bedrock for a jazz supergroup recording. Epistrophy's alternating semitone melody can sound a little disjointed upon first listen, but in the hands of the jazz giants, it becomes a singular idea with ever-evolving improvisational possibilities. Take a listen to the tune played by the two at what would be the pinnacle of Monk's return to New York, the Carnegie Hall Concert recorded in November of that same year.
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: All About Jazz
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
President Bill Clinton once called Herman Leonard "the greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre." The high praise is warranted: Leonard's body of work includes photos of Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, and this image of Thelonious Monk at Minton's Playhouse in 1949. Early in his career, Leonard became a jazz-worthy improviser himself while taking photos. He usually got into shows by offering to take free promo shots for clubs. And before he'd go shoot someone like Monk, the photographer would soak film in mercury so it would perform better in low concert-lighting situations. The results give the piano framing Monk an incredible level of depth, with lights and shadows befitting a stolen moment with a budding jazz giant. Leonard's work is permanently housed at the Smithsonian Museum, with an exhibit of his images currently on display at Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown, New York. These days it's harder to get into all the clubs he visited, but Leonard's legacy ensures we're still able to feel what it would have been like to be in those smoky rooms amongst some of the 20th century's greatest musicians.
Below: more of Leonard's photos including Billie Holiday, Buddy Rich, and Diahann Carroll lighting Louis Armstrong's cigarette with a candle while Duke Ellington plays on.
Image credit & copyright: Herman Leonard Photography
President Bill Clinton once called Herman Leonard "the greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre." The high praise is warranted: Leonard's body of work includes photos of Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, and this image of Thelonious Monk at Minton's Playhouse in 1949. Early in his career, Leonard became a jazz-worthy improviser himself while taking photos. He usually got into shows by offering to take free promo shots for clubs. And before he'd go shoot someone like Monk, the photographer would soak film in mercury so it would perform better in low concert-lighting situations. The results give the piano framing Monk an incredible level of depth, with lights and shadows befitting a stolen moment with a budding jazz giant. Leonard's work is permanently housed at the Smithsonian Museum, with an exhibit of his images currently on display at Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown, New York. These days it's harder to get into all the clubs he visited, but Leonard's legacy ensures we're still able to feel what it would have been like to be in those smoky rooms amongst some of the 20th century's greatest musicians.
Below: more of Leonard's photos including Billie Holiday, Buddy Rich, and Diahann Carroll lighting Louis Armstrong's cigarette with a candle while Duke Ellington plays on.
Image credit & copyright: Herman Leonard Photography
-
5 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
The Family Reunions Project goes beyond seeing photos on Facebook or calling relatives over Skype. But the project's creators were not prepared for how peopl...
with PRI's The WorldThe Family Reunions Project goes beyond seeing photos on Facebook or calling relatives over Skype. But the project's creators were not prepared for how peopl...
-
2 minFREEWork Business CurioFree2 CQ
It's a work in progress that could take decades to finish.
with MarketplaceIt's a work in progress that could take decades to finish.
June 24, 2017
-
2 minFREEAstronomy Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Learn what to look for in the night sky with today’s Nerdy Curio from Stardate. Solar storms can create all sorts of trouble. They can knock out power grids,...
with StardateLearn what to look for in the night sky with today’s Nerdy Curio from Stardate. Solar storms can create all sorts of trouble. They can knock out power grids,...
-
FREEPlay Teaser Curio #93Free1 CQ
The Curious Learn-a-thon is in full swing! This month, everything you learn earns more money for four great educational charities. And it also earns you a Learn-a-thon word square. 'Cuz you know you want one.
Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:
CAT
AGO
TOY
Ready? Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it?Jettison
Part of the name of a Curious Learn-a-thon charity.
Kids can learn how to do this through another Curious Learn-a-thon charity.
Lay eyes onThink you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #93" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!
The Curious Learn-a-thon is in full swing! This month, everything you learn earns more money for four great educational charities. And it also earns you a Learn-a-thon word square. 'Cuz you know you want one.
Remember: a word square is similar to a square crossword puzzle, but the same words appear across and down. Here's an example of a 3x3 word square:
CAT
AGO
TOY
Ready? Below are four clues, not in order. Can you make a 4x4 word square out of it?Jettison
Part of the name of a Curious Learn-a-thon charity.
Kids can learn how to do this through another Curious Learn-a-thon charity.
Lay eyes onThink you know the answer? Email support@curious.com with the subject "Teaser #93" and let us know, or check back next week to find out!
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 24, 2017
volplane \VAHL-playn\ verb
Definition
: to glide in or as if in an airplane
Examples
"With uncanny calm, Fauchard switch...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 24, 2017
volplane \VAHL-playn\ verb
Definition
: to glide in or as if in an airplane
Examples
"With uncanny calm, Fauchard switch...
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
More than just mambo and cha-cha-chá: Cuban singer Daymé Arocena wants to show the world there's plenty of untapped sounds brimming from her home country, and she possesses the almighty pipes to do so. Arocena performed at the Boston Institute of Art last week for her new album Cubafonía, a dexterous work spanning genres—a change of pace from her more traditional album Nueva Era. Nueva Era features tracks rooted in her Afro-Cuban Santería faith, such as Madres. From Arocena's opening line, her voice dominates the reserved thumb piano, only receding when her backing ensemble falls into a jazzy breakdown. She returns with elegant sequences of scat, chant, and unrelenting belts from her deep lungs, displaying an incredible range. Beyond the sheer joy of performing, Arocena aims to combat the way Cuban music's growth has been pigeon-holed overseas, but laments of Cubafonía, "I'm missing conga, I'm missing dengué ... I'm missing contra—I'm missing a lot." So much rhythm to be had from such a small country!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Pedro Margherito
More than just mambo and cha-cha-chá: Cuban singer Daymé Arocena wants to show the world there's plenty of untapped sounds brimming from her home country, and she possesses the almighty pipes to do so. Arocena performed at the Boston Institute of Art last week for her new album Cubafonía, a dexterous work spanning genres—a change of pace from her more traditional album Nueva Era. Nueva Era features tracks rooted in her Afro-Cuban Santería faith, such as Madres. From Arocena's opening line, her voice dominates the reserved thumb piano, only receding when her backing ensemble falls into a jazzy breakdown. She returns with elegant sequences of scat, chant, and unrelenting belts from her deep lungs, displaying an incredible range. Beyond the sheer joy of performing, Arocena aims to combat the way Cuban music's growth has been pigeon-holed overseas, but laments of Cubafonía, "I'm missing conga, I'm missing dengué ... I'm missing contra—I'm missing a lot." So much rhythm to be had from such a small country!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Pedro Margherito
-
FREEMusic PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
A nonprofit determined to keep music alive everywhere.
Composer Michael Kamen spent decades arranging music for classic rock legends like Queen and Pink Floyd. But wasn't until his work on the soundtrack for Mr. Holland's Opus that he began to think about really paying it forward. The movie about a teacher's fight to keep his high school's music program inspired Kamen to establish the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1996, a program committed to a brighter future for music education.
In order to learn how to play an instrument at all, let alone play it well, the instrument needs to be of quality. Some students never encounter the opportunity to hold a functional instrument at their schools. Kamen envisioned a foundation that ensured its efforts directly reached these children with working instruments.
For 20 years now, musicians have donated their precious instruments to the foundation, who in turn grants them to passionate students. The foundation has partnered with 1,441 school music programs and donated $20 million worth of instruments across the country. Musicians big and small have donated big. The Van Halen brothers donated 75 guitars from their private collection. "My whole life has been music. I could not imagine anything else," Eddie Van Halen said. "It's a must. It has to be taught."
Sadly, as the gap continues to widen in educational opportunities, the foundation finds it needs more and more instruments to keep music alive in low-income communities. But it affirms it's still up to the task. The foundation receives over 1,000 applications each year, giving highest priority to schools with little or no music funding. In order to be considered, an applicant school must serve 65 percent or more economically disadvantaged children.
"Our goal is to give kids every tool they can possibly have to succeed. Music is the common denominator," said the foundation's president and CEO Felice Mancini. Times might be tight, but there seems to be a whole lot of people willing to share what they have to offer and make a difference.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
A nonprofit determined to keep music alive everywhere.
Composer Michael Kamen spent decades arranging music for classic rock legends like Queen and Pink Floyd. But wasn't until his work on the soundtrack for Mr. Holland's Opus that he began to think about really paying it forward. The movie about a teacher's fight to keep his high school's music program inspired Kamen to establish the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation in 1996, a program committed to a brighter future for music education.
In order to learn how to play an instrument at all, let alone play it well, the instrument needs to be of quality. Some students never encounter the opportunity to hold a functional instrument at their schools. Kamen envisioned a foundation that ensured its efforts directly reached these children with working instruments.
For 20 years now, musicians have donated their precious instruments to the foundation, who in turn grants them to passionate students. The foundation has partnered with 1,441 school music programs and donated $20 million worth of instruments across the country. Musicians big and small have donated big. The Van Halen brothers donated 75 guitars from their private collection. "My whole life has been music. I could not imagine anything else," Eddie Van Halen said. "It's a must. It has to be taught."
Sadly, as the gap continues to widen in educational opportunities, the foundation finds it needs more and more instruments to keep music alive in low-income communities. But it affirms it's still up to the task. The foundation receives over 1,000 applications each year, giving highest priority to schools with little or no music funding. In order to be considered, an applicant school must serve 65 percent or more economically disadvantaged children.
"Our goal is to give kids every tool they can possibly have to succeed. Music is the common denominator," said the foundation's president and CEO Felice Mancini. Times might be tight, but there seems to be a whole lot of people willing to share what they have to offer and make a difference.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
-
1 minFREEWork Business CurioFree1 CQ
Starting in 2019 Ford will export small cars from China to the U.S.
with MarketplaceStarting in 2019 Ford will export small cars from China to the U.S.
-
1 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree1 CQ
Poem of the Day: Blues for Dante Alighieri. By Kim Addonizio.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: Blues for Dante Alighieri. By Kim Addonizio.
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Unlike Madeline, these girls are keeping their ranks. On a safari in Zambia, photographer Torie Hilley found herself surrounded on all sides by sight-obstructing savanna grass. Just as she abandoned her search for wildlife, these lionesses came jaunting down the road more traveled: the tire tracks leading from behind her vehicle! National Geographic is currently running the Travel Photographer of the Year Contest until June 30, and Hilley's March, above, is one of the editors' picks for the week. Hilley found herself very lucky with the photo; lions have adapted over millions of years to camouflage amongst the golden grasslands, so tough luck photographing a lion in the thickets. But that doesn't mean they enjoy grass in their whiskers any more than the rest of us. These females, the sole meal providers in a lion pride, were likely taking advantage of the tracks during a tough hunting excursion while the males stayed back to patrol the pride's land. We're just glad these furry ladies didn't nab Hilley as their dinner!
Image credit & copyright: Torie Hilley
Unlike Madeline, these girls are keeping their ranks. On a safari in Zambia, photographer Torie Hilley found herself surrounded on all sides by sight-obstructing savanna grass. Just as she abandoned her search for wildlife, these lionesses came jaunting down the road more traveled: the tire tracks leading from behind her vehicle! National Geographic is currently running the Travel Photographer of the Year Contest until June 30, and Hilley's March, above, is one of the editors' picks for the week. Hilley found herself very lucky with the photo; lions have adapted over millions of years to camouflage amongst the golden grasslands, so tough luck photographing a lion in the thickets. But that doesn't mean they enjoy grass in their whiskers any more than the rest of us. These females, the sole meal providers in a lion pride, were likely taking advantage of the tracks during a tough hunting excursion while the males stayed back to patrol the pride's land. We're just glad these furry ladies didn't nab Hilley as their dinner!
Image credit & copyright: Torie Hilley
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Woman at the Theater
Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Created: 1901
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 31.9 x 23.6 in (80 x 60 cm)
Current location: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Grow up and be an artist? Pablo Picasso didn't have to wait that long. The art prodigy had his first major exhibit on Paris' famous rue Lafitte, known for its prestigious art galleries, this day in 1901. At the young age of 19, the Spanish-born Picasso was taking in the Parisian night life and artistic influences from the region, culminating in works like Woman at the Theater. While this may not be a painting from the cubist Picasso we're used to, elements of the artist who was dying to break out of his formal training are visible. The woman's face bears some of the flat perspective Picasso was so fond of, and the lower half of the painting dissolves into an abstraction of colors and space where it's hard to tell where the woman's dress ends, and the room begins. Though all of the primary colors shine in Woman at the Theater, Picasso would soon narrow his palette to just one for his Blue Period (1901-1904), to match the somber mood he felt after the suicide of a good friend. Even prodigies aren't immune to the plight of the tortured artist!
Title: Woman at the Theater
Artist: Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Created: 1901
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 31.9 x 23.6 in (80 x 60 cm)
Current location: Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Grow up and be an artist? Pablo Picasso didn't have to wait that long. The art prodigy had his first major exhibit on Paris' famous rue Lafitte, known for its prestigious art galleries, this day in 1901. At the young age of 19, the Spanish-born Picasso was taking in the Parisian night life and artistic influences from the region, culminating in works like Woman at the Theater. While this may not be a painting from the cubist Picasso we're used to, elements of the artist who was dying to break out of his formal training are visible. The woman's face bears some of the flat perspective Picasso was so fond of, and the lower half of the painting dissolves into an abstraction of colors and space where it's hard to tell where the woman's dress ends, and the room begins. Though all of the primary colors shine in Woman at the Theater, Picasso would soon narrow his palette to just one for his Blue Period (1901-1904), to match the somber mood he felt after the suicide of a good friend. Even prodigies aren't immune to the plight of the tortured artist!
-
4 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
The 23-year-old Cuban composer, director and singer didn't pay attention to Santería until she learned its music.
with PRI's The WorldThe 23-year-old Cuban composer, director and singer didn't pay attention to Santería until she learned its music.
June 23, 2017
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
A draft of the Senate's version of the Republican health care bill is finally here. We'll talk about the changes it would make to Medicaid, and whether consu...
A draft of the Senate's version of the Republican health care bill is finally here. We'll talk about the changes it would make to Medicaid, and whether consu...
-
FREERelationships Daily Curio #1366Free1 CQ
Drop out! Hippies from all over the world descended on San Francisco in the summer of 1967—50 years ago this week—calling it the "Summer of Love." Its epicenter was the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, but activities stretched from the Monterey Pop Festival to the campus of UC Berkeley. Participants allegedly "dropped out" of the materialistic values of modern life in favor of sharing and community (and some other pastimes). Two UC Berkeley psychology students fell so intensely in love that summer, they spent their careers studying it. Arthur and Elaine Aron created a "love laboratory" to study whether they could influence people to fall in love. They eventually created three dozen questions which they believed could increase the chances of two strangers falling in love. Called the "36 Questions," there are three groups of twelve questions designed to create closeness in a laboratory setting. The questions get progressively more intimate and focus on getting the strangers to elicit positive comments about each other. In a final act, the strangers stare silently into each other's eyes for exactly four minutes.
The Arons say it works by mimicking the accelerated intimacy that can happen between strangers who meet on an airplane or group camping trip. The Arons published their work 20 years ago, in a 1997 paper titled "The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness." Since then they have expanded their research to include friendships, racial relations, and tensions between police officers and community members. The Arons' work lived in relative obscurity until 2015, when a "Modern Love" author in the New York Times recounted how the 36 Questions had led to her falling in love. Now the 36 Questions are making rounds at bars, social mixers, and speed dating events. There's even a 36 Questions app! You can check out the questions here. If you ask me, their success has mostly to do with getting people to put down their smart phones and have an actual conversation for thirty minutes without distractions or live-blogging it. Those hippies had it so much easier 50 years ago!Drop out! Hippies from all over the world descended on San Francisco in the summer of 1967—50 years ago this week—calling it the "Summer of Love." Its epicenter was the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, but activities stretched from the Monterey Pop Festival to the campus of UC Berkeley. Participants allegedly "dropped out" of the materialistic values of modern life in favor of sharing and community (and some other pastimes). Two UC Berkeley psychology students fell so intensely in love that summer, they spent their careers studying it. Arthur and Elaine Aron created a "love laboratory" to study whether they could influence people to fall in love. They eventually created three dozen questions which they believed could increase the chances of two strangers falling in love. Called the "36 Questions," there are three groups of twelve questions designed to create closeness in a laboratory setting. The questions get progressively more intimate and focus on getting the strangers to elicit positive comments about each other. In a final act, the strangers stare silently into each other's eyes for exactly four minutes.
The Arons say it works by mimicking the accelerated intimacy that can happen between strangers who meet on an airplane or group camping trip. The Arons published their work 20 years ago, in a 1997 paper titled "The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness." Since then they have expanded their research to include friendships, racial relations, and tensions between police officers and community members. The Arons' work lived in relative obscurity until 2015, when a "Modern Love" author in the New York Times recounted how the 36 Questions had led to her falling in love. Now the 36 Questions are making rounds at bars, social mixers, and speed dating events. There's even a 36 Questions app! You can check out the questions here. If you ask me, their success has mostly to do with getting people to put down their smart phones and have an actual conversation for thirty minutes without distractions or live-blogging it. Those hippies had it so much easier 50 years ago! -
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 23, 2017
threshold \THRESH-hohld\ noun
Definition
1 : the section of wood or stone that lies under a door : sill
2 a : the means o...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 23, 2017
threshold \THRESH-hohld\ noun
Definition
1 : the section of wood or stone that lies under a door : sill
2 a : the means o...
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
In the summer of 1996, an up-and-coming British band called Radiohead embarked on a short tour with Alanis Morissette. Audience reception for the supporting act was mostly cold—except when the band played one of their new songs, Lift. Guitarist Ed O'Brien remembers, "Suddenly you'd see [the audience] get up and start grooving. It had this infectiousness." Simple strummed chords and a classic beat lay a low-key blanket of sound to frame Thom Yorke's distinctive vocals. Each repeating form brings with it a new layer of piano, guitar, or backing vocals to give the feeling of rising action. A certain contemporary band may owe its early success, just a few years later, to this exact formula. Even so, Radiohead decided against releasing a studio version, fearing—in the most British fashion—that the song would make them too famous. (Too late for that.) After a 20-year wait, the song is finally being released as part of a reissue of the band's seminal album OK Computer. Paging all those Alanis Morissette fans!
Other streaming options
In the summer of 1996, an up-and-coming British band called Radiohead embarked on a short tour with Alanis Morissette. Audience reception for the supporting act was mostly cold—except when the band played one of their new songs, Lift. Guitarist Ed O'Brien remembers, "Suddenly you'd see [the audience] get up and start grooving. It had this infectiousness." Simple strummed chords and a classic beat lay a low-key blanket of sound to frame Thom Yorke's distinctive vocals. Each repeating form brings with it a new layer of piano, guitar, or backing vocals to give the feeling of rising action. A certain contemporary band may owe its early success, just a few years later, to this exact formula. Even so, Radiohead decided against releasing a studio version, fearing—in the most British fashion—that the song would make them too famous. (Too late for that.) After a 20-year wait, the song is finally being released as part of a reissue of the band's seminal album OK Computer. Paging all those Alanis Morissette fans!
Other streaming options
-
FREETeaching Skills PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Developing the most educational ways to blow things up since '44.
There are no days off for the National Science Teachers Association—not even during summer break. "The world's largest organization centered around science teaching and learning" works year-round to improve STEM education in the United States, from preschool through college.
The NSTA was founded on Independence Day, 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It combined about 2,000 members of the American Council of Science Teachers and the American Science Teachers Association. Over the decades, NSTA has grown to over 25 times its original size. The 55,000+ members nowadays represent more than just science teachers—administrative faculty, research scientists, business and industry representatives, and many others are among the ranks of folks dedicated to innovation in American science education.
From its onset, the NSTA has been an essential resource for lesson plan ideas and networking opportunities. But in the past few years, it has also become a hub for science teachers hoping to get acquainted with a new set of schooling norms, called Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS. (Clearly, those STEM teachers are fans of acronyms.) Released in 2013, NGSS throws out the old model of covering a wide swath of subjects in siloed classes, opting for a more interconnected approach that shows students how real science is done. That means less biology and chemistry courses, and more lab and research writing classes.
NGSS has had its detractors, especially those opposed to teaching the widely-accepted scientific views of climate change and evolution. But it's hard to argue with the NSTA's overarching objective in adopting the guidelines: to teach "the skills and knowledge [students] need to be well-informed citizens, to be prepared for college and careers, and to understand and appreciate the scientific enterprise." Amen to that!
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including the National Science Teachers Association. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
Developing the most educational ways to blow things up since '44.
There are no days off for the National Science Teachers Association—not even during summer break. "The world's largest organization centered around science teaching and learning" works year-round to improve STEM education in the United States, from preschool through college.
The NSTA was founded on Independence Day, 1944 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It combined about 2,000 members of the American Council of Science Teachers and the American Science Teachers Association. Over the decades, NSTA has grown to over 25 times its original size. The 55,000+ members nowadays represent more than just science teachers—administrative faculty, research scientists, business and industry representatives, and many others are among the ranks of folks dedicated to innovation in American science education.
From its onset, the NSTA has been an essential resource for lesson plan ideas and networking opportunities. But in the past few years, it has also become a hub for science teachers hoping to get acquainted with a new set of schooling norms, called Next Generation Science Standards, or NGSS. (Clearly, those STEM teachers are fans of acronyms.) Released in 2013, NGSS throws out the old model of covering a wide swath of subjects in siloed classes, opting for a more interconnected approach that shows students how real science is done. That means less biology and chemistry courses, and more lab and research writing classes.
NGSS has had its detractors, especially those opposed to teaching the widely-accepted scientific views of climate change and evolution. But it's hard to argue with the NSTA's overarching objective in adopting the guidelines: to teach "the skills and knowledge [students] need to be well-informed citizens, to be prepared for college and careers, and to understand and appreciate the scientific enterprise." Amen to that!
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including the National Science Teachers Association. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
-
3 minFREEPolitical Science Worldly CurioFree2 CQ
A 3-year-old anti-corruption probe called Operation Car Wash has advanced deep into the backrooms of Brazilian politics and business, implicating politicians...
with PRI's The WorldA 3-year-old anti-corruption probe called Operation Car Wash has advanced deep into the backrooms of Brazilian politics and business, implicating politicians...
-
FREEPhoto Editing Photo CurioFree1 CQ
How might animals fit into our rapidly urbanizing world? If they start to look anything like photographer Liu Di's rabbit, we'll have a massive problem on our hands. This photo is from Liu's series Animal Regulation, which explores the tense relationship between nature and cities. Using Photoshop, the photographer expands critters to comical yet alarming proportions—which mirror the faster-than-ever growth of urban environments—and places them among images he takes of Beijing's crowded streets. Along with this bottom-heavy bunny slumped in a tenement yard, Liu's series also features a chunky panda in a junkyard, a fawn in a back street, and other critters squeezed into alleys, construction sites, and more. By making the animals "powerful and impossible to ignore," Liu forces viewers to acknowledge the reality of the animals' displacement. Only with their realities questioned can people address, according to Liu, "the more lasting and valuable things beyond the trivialities of daily life." In other words, we can finally talk about the elephant in the room—or is it the rabbit in the courtyard?
Liu Di is wrapping up his first solo show today at the Pékin Fine Arts in Beijing, China, entitled Break with Convention.
Below: more images from Animal Regulation.
Image credit & copyright: Liu Di
How might animals fit into our rapidly urbanizing world? If they start to look anything like photographer Liu Di's rabbit, we'll have a massive problem on our hands. This photo is from Liu's series Animal Regulation, which explores the tense relationship between nature and cities. Using Photoshop, the photographer expands critters to comical yet alarming proportions—which mirror the faster-than-ever growth of urban environments—and places them among images he takes of Beijing's crowded streets. Along with this bottom-heavy bunny slumped in a tenement yard, Liu's series also features a chunky panda in a junkyard, a fawn in a back street, and other critters squeezed into alleys, construction sites, and more. By making the animals "powerful and impossible to ignore," Liu forces viewers to acknowledge the reality of the animals' displacement. Only with their realities questioned can people address, according to Liu, "the more lasting and valuable things beyond the trivialities of daily life." In other words, we can finally talk about the elephant in the room—or is it the rabbit in the courtyard?
Liu Di is wrapping up his first solo show today at the Pékin Fine Arts in Beijing, China, entitled Break with Convention.
Below: more images from Animal Regulation.
Image credit & copyright: Liu Di
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Rob Pruitt’s Official Art World/Celebrity Look-Alikes
Artist: Rob Pruitt (b. 1964)
Created: 2016
Medium: canvas prints
Current location: Art Basel Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland
Even the high-brow world of art has its practical jokers. Artist Rob Pruitt's exhibit at Art Basel last weekend, Rob Pruitt’s Official Art World/Celebrity Look-Alikes, compares each of the art realm's heaviest hitters alongside their own celebrity doppelgänger—with no holds barred. Painters, sculptors, and collectors alike find themselves juxtaposed with everything from movie stars to brick walls to Squidward. Acclaimed artists Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst parallel Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element and Bruce from Finding Nemo, respectively. (Judging by Hirst's faux jaws below, he probably found the comparison a compliment!) Sparing not even himself, Pruitt matched with Bill Hader's eccentric Saturday Night Live character Stefon, above. Look-Alikes consists of 129 canvas print diptychs, or foldable two-paneled works. The project started for Pruitt as an ongoing Instagram gag, before its popularity spurred a book and exhibition. The artist is notorious for similar antics, such as Cocaine Buffet, a 16-foot-long, mirrored table he loaded with cocaine for gallery passersby. Laughs and controversy aside, Pruitt finds himself deeply fascinated with pop culture. Look-Alikes highlights social media's growing influence over art—well, at least the influence social media "likes" have over Pruitt.
Below: Pruitt's exhibit at Art Basel, featuring artists Yayoi Kusama (middle) and Damien Hirst (bottom).
Image credit & copyright: Rob Pruitt/Gavin Brown
Title: Rob Pruitt’s Official Art World/Celebrity Look-Alikes
Artist: Rob Pruitt (b. 1964)
Created: 2016
Medium: canvas prints
Current location: Art Basel Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland
Even the high-brow world of art has its practical jokers. Artist Rob Pruitt's exhibit at Art Basel last weekend, Rob Pruitt’s Official Art World/Celebrity Look-Alikes, compares each of the art realm's heaviest hitters alongside their own celebrity doppelgänger—with no holds barred. Painters, sculptors, and collectors alike find themselves juxtaposed with everything from movie stars to brick walls to Squidward. Acclaimed artists Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst parallel Milla Jovovich in The Fifth Element and Bruce from Finding Nemo, respectively. (Judging by Hirst's faux jaws below, he probably found the comparison a compliment!) Sparing not even himself, Pruitt matched with Bill Hader's eccentric Saturday Night Live character Stefon, above. Look-Alikes consists of 129 canvas print diptychs, or foldable two-paneled works. The project started for Pruitt as an ongoing Instagram gag, before its popularity spurred a book and exhibition. The artist is notorious for similar antics, such as Cocaine Buffet, a 16-foot-long, mirrored table he loaded with cocaine for gallery passersby. Laughs and controversy aside, Pruitt finds himself deeply fascinated with pop culture. Look-Alikes highlights social media's growing influence over art—well, at least the influence social media "likes" have over Pruitt.
Below: Pruitt's exhibit at Art Basel, featuring artists Yayoi Kusama (middle) and Damien Hirst (bottom).
Image credit & copyright: Rob Pruitt/Gavin Brown
-
5 minFREEPhysics Nerdy CurioFree3 CQ
In today's Nerdy Curio from Minute Physics, learn about the three proposed physical models for the universe, or multiverses.
with Minute PhysicsIn today's Nerdy Curio from Minute Physics, learn about the three proposed physical models for the universe, or multiverses.
June 22, 2017
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
In just a few hours, we should have a draft of the Senate's health care overhaul. But even though it hasn't been officially released, parts of the bill have ...
In just a few hours, we should have a draft of the Senate's health care overhaul. But even though it hasn't been officially released, parts of the bill have ...
-
FREEWork Daily Curio #1365Free1 CQ
It's been a bad few years for Italian banks. In 2016, bad loans in that country exceeded 300 billion Euros. Yikes. But there is one Italian bank that is immune to its country's current banking woes, thanks to accepting an innovative form of collateral: cheese wheels. Credito Emiliano is Italy's 14th largest bank, with assets of over 30 billion Euros. The bank is located in the province of Reggio Emilia, the home of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese production. To be classified as Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cheese needs to be aged for 18-36 months in strictly controlled conditions. Each wheel of parmesan, 18 inches in diameter and weighing 84 pounds (38 kg), is worth over one thousands dollars wholesale. If you are a banker, you can see where this is headed. The aging cheese makes a perfect form of collateral. It has a predictable value and is easy to liquidate. So, since 1953, Credito Emiliano has been accepting parmesan wheels as collateral for loans. Often from the parmesan producers themselves. Since the cheese needs to age anyway, the bank takes possession of the cheese for the life of the loan and stores it at a local cheese-storing facility. When the cheese is ready to be sold, the client repays the loan with the proceeds—or secures the loan with new cheese wheels. It may sound cheesy, but it's actually smart business. The bank makes a solid profit by dovetailing with the production cycle of the cheese producers. And with 360,000 wheels of cheese in storage, that's a nice "chunk" of business!
It's been a bad few years for Italian banks. In 2016, bad loans in that country exceeded 300 billion Euros. Yikes. But there is one Italian bank that is immune to its country's current banking woes, thanks to accepting an innovative form of collateral: cheese wheels. Credito Emiliano is Italy's 14th largest bank, with assets of over 30 billion Euros. The bank is located in the province of Reggio Emilia, the home of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese production. To be classified as Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cheese needs to be aged for 18-36 months in strictly controlled conditions. Each wheel of parmesan, 18 inches in diameter and weighing 84 pounds (38 kg), is worth over one thousands dollars wholesale. If you are a banker, you can see where this is headed. The aging cheese makes a perfect form of collateral. It has a predictable value and is easy to liquidate. So, since 1953, Credito Emiliano has been accepting parmesan wheels as collateral for loans. Often from the parmesan producers themselves. Since the cheese needs to age anyway, the bank takes possession of the cheese for the life of the loan and stores it at a local cheese-storing facility. When the cheese is ready to be sold, the client repays the loan with the proceeds—or secures the loan with new cheese wheels. It may sound cheesy, but it's actually smart business. The bank makes a solid profit by dovetailing with the production cycle of the cheese producers. And with 360,000 wheels of cheese in storage, that's a nice "chunk" of business!
-
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day : June 22, 2017
bilious \BILL-yus\ adjective
Definition
1 a : of or relating to bile
b : marked by or suffering from liver dysfunction an...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 22, 2017
bilious \BILL-yus\ adjective
Definition
1 a : of or relating to bile
b : marked by or suffering from liver dysfunction an...
-
2 minFREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree2 CQAlbino dolphin, eagle adoption & DiCaprio’s vaquita cam...A lesson with Earth Touch 2Min News Roundup
Today’s Nerdy Curio catches you up on nature news from the past week, courtesy of Earth Touch: Leonardo DiCaprio teams up to save the vaquita, a familiar alb...
Today’s Nerdy Curio catches you up on nature news from the past week, courtesy of Earth Touch: Leonardo DiCaprio teams up to save the vaquita, a familiar alb...
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
If this year's summer hit sounds a little familiar, it's not just you. Selena Gomez's Bad Liar is soaring up the charts with the help of the bassline from the Talking Heads' 1977 single, Psycho Killer. Gomez, the ex-Barney & Friends cast member and Disney Channel star, is, along with her longtime songwriting partner Julia Michaels, like totally "Talking Heads-obsessed." It seems the feeling is mutual, as the band's ex-frontman David Byrne signed off on the sample because he loved the song. For its part, the song is surprisingly low-key, deriving much of its strength from the interplay of Gomez's vocals with the straightforward thump of the bass. (That triangle at 0:58 is pretty spot-on, too.) Take a listen while enjoying the fittingly retro vibe of the music video.
Other streaming options
If this year's summer hit sounds a little familiar, it's not just you. Selena Gomez's Bad Liar is soaring up the charts with the help of the bassline from the Talking Heads' 1977 single, Psycho Killer. Gomez, the ex-Barney & Friends cast member and Disney Channel star, is, along with her longtime songwriting partner Julia Michaels, like totally "Talking Heads-obsessed." It seems the feeling is mutual, as the band's ex-frontman David Byrne signed off on the sample because he loved the song. For its part, the song is surprisingly low-key, deriving much of its strength from the interplay of Gomez's vocals with the straightforward thump of the bass. (That triangle at 0:58 is pretty spot-on, too.) Take a listen while enjoying the fittingly retro vibe of the music video.
Other streaming options
-
7 minFREEHumanities Worldly CurioFree4 CQ
The World's Marco Werman wanted to get a taste of what the people who patrol our waters do, and what their job is like these days. So he joined the Coast Gua...
with PRI's The WorldThe World's Marco Werman wanted to get a taste of what the people who patrol our waters do, and what their job is like these days. So he joined the Coast Gua...
-
FREECooking PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
The mother of the farm-to-table movement takes on fast food.
Where'd your food come from? This simple question is not so easy to answer thanks to today's processed, prepackaged food culture—a troubling fact at the heart of Alice Waters' work as a world-renowned chef and activist.
Waters, a Californian-by-way-of-New Jersey, was drawn to the history and culture of food while studying abroad in France in the 1960s. There, she saw families buying local produce from the market twice a day and spending hours preparing home-cooked meals. The centrality of food and cooking to people's lives seemed so fundamental, and Waters wanted to bring this principle back to America.
In 1971, two decades after McDonald's became a franchise, Waters opened a very different kind of restaurant in Berkeley, California called Chez Panisse. While it was originally intended to serve only friends and family, locals loved the food, ambiance, and prix fixe menu. Word quickly spread. Because Waters insisted on serving only food produced by local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman, Chez Panisse's prices stayed high and their offerings limited to what was seasonal. But it also strengthened the restaurant's brand, which came to be labeled as farm-to-table.
As important a role as Chez Panisse has played in the development of American cuisine, Waters' greater legacy seems to be unfolding in real-time, thanks to her work outside the kitchen. (She stopped cooking at Chez Panisse in 1983.) In 2001, she teamed up with a local middle school to turn a rundown concrete playground into a kid-staffed vegetable garden. The Edible Schoolyard Project was born. Since then, the project has exploded into a global movement called edible education, where classroom activities are centered around gardening. From math to biology to home economics, teachers use real flowers, fruits, and vegetables—tended to by students—to impart a holistic education.
It's early yet, but studies on the edible education movement are encouraging for Waters' message. A three-year study of students enrolled in the program showed increased fruit and vegetable intake and greater nutritional knowledge. To Waters, it's a sign: edible education, like the fresh food it produces, is a movement worth growing.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including the Edible Schoolyard Project. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
The mother of the farm-to-table movement takes on fast food.
Where'd your food come from? This simple question is not so easy to answer thanks to today's processed, prepackaged food culture—a troubling fact at the heart of Alice Waters' work as a world-renowned chef and activist.
Waters, a Californian-by-way-of-New Jersey, was drawn to the history and culture of food while studying abroad in France in the 1960s. There, she saw families buying local produce from the market twice a day and spending hours preparing home-cooked meals. The centrality of food and cooking to people's lives seemed so fundamental, and Waters wanted to bring this principle back to America.
In 1971, two decades after McDonald's became a franchise, Waters opened a very different kind of restaurant in Berkeley, California called Chez Panisse. While it was originally intended to serve only friends and family, locals loved the food, ambiance, and prix fixe menu. Word quickly spread. Because Waters insisted on serving only food produced by local farmers, ranchers, and fisherman, Chez Panisse's prices stayed high and their offerings limited to what was seasonal. But it also strengthened the restaurant's brand, which came to be labeled as farm-to-table.
As important a role as Chez Panisse has played in the development of American cuisine, Waters' greater legacy seems to be unfolding in real-time, thanks to her work outside the kitchen. (She stopped cooking at Chez Panisse in 1983.) In 2001, she teamed up with a local middle school to turn a rundown concrete playground into a kid-staffed vegetable garden. The Edible Schoolyard Project was born. Since then, the project has exploded into a global movement called edible education, where classroom activities are centered around gardening. From math to biology to home economics, teachers use real flowers, fruits, and vegetables—tended to by students—to impart a holistic education.
It's early yet, but studies on the edible education movement are encouraging for Waters' message. A three-year study of students enrolled in the program showed increased fruit and vegetable intake and greater nutritional knowledge. To Waters, it's a sign: edible education, like the fresh food it produces, is a movement worth growing.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including the Edible Schoolyard Project. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Who knew BMX could be so serene? German photographer and former semi-pro snowboarder Lorenz Holder first spotted the ancient-looking Rakotzbrücke, or Devil's Bridge, on the internet. He immediately envisioned a composition that combined its peaceful surroundings with his love of extreme sports. Last fall, he and BMX Pro Rider Senad Grosic made the trip to Gablenz, Germany, to bring Holder's vision to life. But the perfect shot didn't come easily; upon arriving, the pair found a layer of fallen autumn leaves on the water's mirrored surface. Holder had to use a large fishing net to painstakingly clear the leaves from the lake. Then there was the wind, which created ripples in the water and ruined the bridge's reflection. Thankfully, Grosic's balancing skills were on point, and Holder captured the shot in only three attempts after the breeze died down. The image beat out 34,624 other entries to win the 2016 Red Bull Illume photo competition and will be exhibited in Salzburg, Austria this fall as part of a worldwide tour. Though capturing this photo was trickier than performing a front wheelie, the hard work paid off!
Image credit & copyright: Lorenz Holder/Red Bull Illume
Who knew BMX could be so serene? German photographer and former semi-pro snowboarder Lorenz Holder first spotted the ancient-looking Rakotzbrücke, or Devil's Bridge, on the internet. He immediately envisioned a composition that combined its peaceful surroundings with his love of extreme sports. Last fall, he and BMX Pro Rider Senad Grosic made the trip to Gablenz, Germany, to bring Holder's vision to life. But the perfect shot didn't come easily; upon arriving, the pair found a layer of fallen autumn leaves on the water's mirrored surface. Holder had to use a large fishing net to painstakingly clear the leaves from the lake. Then there was the wind, which created ripples in the water and ruined the bridge's reflection. Thankfully, Grosic's balancing skills were on point, and Holder captured the shot in only three attempts after the breeze died down. The image beat out 34,624 other entries to win the 2016 Red Bull Illume photo competition and will be exhibited in Salzburg, Austria this fall as part of a worldwide tour. Though capturing this photo was trickier than performing a front wheelie, the hard work paid off!
Image credit & copyright: Lorenz Holder/Red Bull Illume
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: Cooking the World
Artist: Subodh Gupta (b. 1964)
Created: 2017
Medium: found aluminum utensils, monofilament line, steel, and performance
Current location: Galleria Continua, Art Basel Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland
If art can't bring people together, surely food can. Indian artist Subodh Gupta combined the two for his piece at last week's Art Basel contemporary art fair, called Cooking the World. Part interactive sculpture, part performance art, Cooking the World's goal was to serve up community and unity to its audience. Patrons were invited into a house-shaped shelter, constructed from hundreds of used metal pots, pans, and woks—all hung from the ceiling with fishing wire. No frame reinforcements were used, resulting in a porous, gently undulating structure. Inside, Gupta and his studio team made free meals for visitors lucky enough to snag a reservation to the daily cooking and eating performance. On the menu: Indian culinary staples including lentil soup, bhel puri (a puffed rice snack), and saffron yogurt. Gupta believes the ritual of sharing a meal is "the strongest indicator of inclusion and acceptance into a community." We're all for giving more people a seat at the table. Now, excuse us while we attend to a "performance" in the Curious kitchen!
Below: interior view of Cooking the World.
Image credit & copyright: Subodh Gupta; top image, Hauser & Wirth and Continua Gallery; bottom, Agence France-Presse
Title: Cooking the World
Artist: Subodh Gupta (b. 1964)
Created: 2017
Medium: found aluminum utensils, monofilament line, steel, and performance
Current location: Galleria Continua, Art Basel Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland
If art can't bring people together, surely food can. Indian artist Subodh Gupta combined the two for his piece at last week's Art Basel contemporary art fair, called Cooking the World. Part interactive sculpture, part performance art, Cooking the World's goal was to serve up community and unity to its audience. Patrons were invited into a house-shaped shelter, constructed from hundreds of used metal pots, pans, and woks—all hung from the ceiling with fishing wire. No frame reinforcements were used, resulting in a porous, gently undulating structure. Inside, Gupta and his studio team made free meals for visitors lucky enough to snag a reservation to the daily cooking and eating performance. On the menu: Indian culinary staples including lentil soup, bhel puri (a puffed rice snack), and saffron yogurt. Gupta believes the ritual of sharing a meal is "the strongest indicator of inclusion and acceptance into a community." We're all for giving more people a seat at the table. Now, excuse us while we attend to a "performance" in the Curious kitchen!
Below: interior view of Cooking the World.
Image credit & copyright: Subodh Gupta; top image, Hauser & Wirth and Continua Gallery; bottom, Agence France-Presse
-
5 minFREEPoetry Poem CurioFree3 CQ
Poem of the Day: If We Were Honest. By Albert Goldbarth.
with Poetry FoundationPoem of the Day: If We Were Honest. By Albert Goldbarth.
June 21, 2017
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
A group of investors have pushed out Uber's founder and CEO following a series of controversies, including allegations of sexual harassment. On today's show,...
A group of investors have pushed out Uber's founder and CEO following a series of controversies, including allegations of sexual harassment. On today's show,...
-
FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1364Free1 CQ
Will we sink or swim? Stephen Hawking made news last month when he predicted humankind will need to find a new planet within the next few hundred years. But some futurists who agree we are outgrowing Planet Earth have a different idea: seasteading. Seasteading is the idea of building nations that float on Earth's vast oceans. Advocates argue we aren't running out of space, just out of land. The idea—as with many other crazy ideas about our future—came from Buckminster Fuller, a 20th-century American architect and futurist. Fuller didn't call it seasteading, but he designed a floating city that consisted of three triangular walls, each containing 5,000 living units that face the sky. The walls and base formed a tetrahedron, a shape Fuller believed was at the heart of a new system of social transformation he called synergistics. Yes, he was a little bit nuts.
Anyway, the idea of building floating nations seemed to die with Fuller in 1983, until this March. That's when the book Seasteading: How Floating Nations Will Restore the Environment, Enrich the Poor, Cure the Sick, and Liberate Humanity from Politicians was published by Patri Friedman and Joe Quirk. The former is the grandson of Milton Friedman, one of the fathers of free market economics. The latter is a self-proclaimed "seavangelist" and libertarian who believes politics are slowly enslaving society. So it should come as no surprise the authors have received support from Peter Thiel and other free market purists. Sorry, but the idea of "seasteaders" building giant, floating cities seems a bit wobbly to me. Instead of running away from the problems we have created as a society, shouldn't we try to band together and fix them? I might mention that the last time somebody tried to implement a crazy Bucky Fuller idea, it didn't end well (see Daily Curio #989). Can you say "sea-saster"?Will we sink or swim? Stephen Hawking made news last month when he predicted humankind will need to find a new planet within the next few hundred years. But some futurists who agree we are outgrowing Planet Earth have a different idea: seasteading. Seasteading is the idea of building nations that float on Earth's vast oceans. Advocates argue we aren't running out of space, just out of land. The idea—as with many other crazy ideas about our future—came from Buckminster Fuller, a 20th-century American architect and futurist. Fuller didn't call it seasteading, but he designed a floating city that consisted of three triangular walls, each containing 5,000 living units that face the sky. The walls and base formed a tetrahedron, a shape Fuller believed was at the heart of a new system of social transformation he called synergistics. Yes, he was a little bit nuts.
Anyway, the idea of building floating nations seemed to die with Fuller in 1983, until this March. That's when the book Seasteading: How Floating Nations Will Restore the Environment, Enrich the Poor, Cure the Sick, and Liberate Humanity from Politicians was published by Patri Friedman and Joe Quirk. The former is the grandson of Milton Friedman, one of the fathers of free market economics. The latter is a self-proclaimed "seavangelist" and libertarian who believes politics are slowly enslaving society. So it should come as no surprise the authors have received support from Peter Thiel and other free market purists. Sorry, but the idea of "seasteaders" building giant, floating cities seems a bit wobbly to me. Instead of running away from the problems we have created as a society, shouldn't we try to band together and fix them? I might mention that the last time somebody tried to implement a crazy Bucky Fuller idea, it didn't end well (see Daily Curio #989). Can you say "sea-saster"? -
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 21, 2017
duende \doo-EN-day\ noun
Definition
: the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm
Examples
Her performance...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 21, 2017
duende \doo-EN-day\ noun
Definition
: the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm
Examples
Her performance...
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: The Banjo Lesson
Artist: Henry Ossawa Turner (1859-1937)
Created: 1893
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 49 x 35.5 in. (124.5 x 90.2 cm)
Current location: Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia
The times they are a-changing. Henry Ossawa Turner's The Banjo Lesson from 1893 represents America's transitional phrase after slavery's abolition several decades earlier. The grandfather cast in cool shadows represents slaves of the "old," pre-Civil War United States; his young grandson, highlighted in warm light, represents a generation born free. The hardened elder passes on knowledge to his impressionable ward who has much to learn but, like the generation he represents, is full of potential. Tanner, born today in 1859, was the son of a bishop and a former slave whose unique middle name was inspired by the early abolitionist Kansas town, Osawatomie. He spent most of his career in France but was well aware of the systematic hardships African Americans continued to weather post-slavery—particularly in the Appalachian South, where The Banjo Lesson is set. The painting strums an optimistic tune about the future of its graceful, focused characters despite their continued struggle. Some of that optimism must have rubbed off on the artist, who overcame the odds to become the world's first internationally-acclaimed African-American artist and show in Paris's famous Salon—all before the century's end.
Title: The Banjo Lesson
Artist: Henry Ossawa Turner (1859-1937)
Created: 1893
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 49 x 35.5 in. (124.5 x 90.2 cm)
Current location: Hampton University Museum, Hampton, Virginia
The times they are a-changing. Henry Ossawa Turner's The Banjo Lesson from 1893 represents America's transitional phrase after slavery's abolition several decades earlier. The grandfather cast in cool shadows represents slaves of the "old," pre-Civil War United States; his young grandson, highlighted in warm light, represents a generation born free. The hardened elder passes on knowledge to his impressionable ward who has much to learn but, like the generation he represents, is full of potential. Tanner, born today in 1859, was the son of a bishop and a former slave whose unique middle name was inspired by the early abolitionist Kansas town, Osawatomie. He spent most of his career in France but was well aware of the systematic hardships African Americans continued to weather post-slavery—particularly in the Appalachian South, where The Banjo Lesson is set. The painting strums an optimistic tune about the future of its graceful, focused characters despite their continued struggle. Some of that optimism must have rubbed off on the artist, who overcame the odds to become the world's first internationally-acclaimed African-American artist and show in Paris's famous Salon—all before the century's end.
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
The song so nice, he recorded it twice. La Marea, "The Tide" in Spanish, first appeared on Manu Chao's groundbreaking 2001 album, Próxima Destinación: Esperanza. That version of the recording is dancey and energetic, buoyed by funky percussion and horns. A new version of the song just released attacks the song from a different angle. With a reggae pulse and an almost-whispered vocal performance, the arrangement is more fitting for the subdued lyrics. Chao broke a decade of radio silence when he released three new songs this January, followed by La Marea this month. Given that today is the multilingual musician's birthday, we're hoping he has something special in store for us. If not, we can take solace in both versions of his beautiful original song.
Other streaming options
The song so nice, he recorded it twice. La Marea, "The Tide" in Spanish, first appeared on Manu Chao's groundbreaking 2001 album, Próxima Destinación: Esperanza. That version of the recording is dancey and energetic, buoyed by funky percussion and horns. A new version of the song just released attacks the song from a different angle. With a reggae pulse and an almost-whispered vocal performance, the arrangement is more fitting for the subdued lyrics. Chao broke a decade of radio silence when he released three new songs this January, followed by La Marea this month. Given that today is the multilingual musician's birthday, we're hoping he has something special in store for us. If not, we can take solace in both versions of his beautiful original song.
Other streaming options
-
FREESTEM PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
How one woman is taking risks to close computer science's gender gap.
For someone who spreads the gospel of "fail fast, fail early, fail often," Reshma Saujani succeeds a lot. The Harvard- and Yale-educated lawyer and politician has tapped into the zeitgeist with Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization she founded to eliminate the gender gap in computer science.
But Saujani's impressive résumé belies tough defeats and disappointments. It took her four application cycles to get into Yale Law School. When she graduated, her attempts to enter politics were fraught with failure. In 2010, she risked a run against a 17-year incumbent for a New York representative seat and lost in the primary by a whopping 60 percentage points. Two years later, another public office campaign was unsuccessful.
Instead of giving up, Saujani channeled her toughest losses into a revelation: boys, but not girls, are socialized to accept failure more readily. She often points to a statistic popularized by Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg: "Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them." The divide is all the more striking in the tech industry.
The nonprofit she founded, Girls Who Code, aims to change this mindset while equipping young girls with the skills they need to be successful programmers. For girls as young as 11, Girls Who Code provides a welcoming after-school environment where novice female coders learn by trial and error.
When Saujani founded Girls Who Code in 2012, she had 20 students and virtually no ties to established tech companies. Now, Girls Who Code serves over 40,000 students and is partnered with over 80 companies, including Apple, Google, Dell, IBM, and Pixar. Saujani's goal is to get 3.9 million women into the computing workforce by 2025—more than tripling the current number. With Saujani's growth mindset powering Girls Who Code's students, we're betting on their success.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including Girls Who Code. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
How one woman is taking risks to close computer science's gender gap.
For someone who spreads the gospel of "fail fast, fail early, fail often," Reshma Saujani succeeds a lot. The Harvard- and Yale-educated lawyer and politician has tapped into the zeitgeist with Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization she founded to eliminate the gender gap in computer science.
But Saujani's impressive résumé belies tough defeats and disappointments. It took her four application cycles to get into Yale Law School. When she graduated, her attempts to enter politics were fraught with failure. In 2010, she risked a run against a 17-year incumbent for a New York representative seat and lost in the primary by a whopping 60 percentage points. Two years later, another public office campaign was unsuccessful.
Instead of giving up, Saujani channeled her toughest losses into a revelation: boys, but not girls, are socialized to accept failure more readily. She often points to a statistic popularized by Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg: "Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them." The divide is all the more striking in the tech industry.
The nonprofit she founded, Girls Who Code, aims to change this mindset while equipping young girls with the skills they need to be successful programmers. For girls as young as 11, Girls Who Code provides a welcoming after-school environment where novice female coders learn by trial and error.
When Saujani founded Girls Who Code in 2012, she had 20 students and virtually no ties to established tech companies. Now, Girls Who Code serves over 40,000 students and is partnered with over 80 companies, including Apple, Google, Dell, IBM, and Pixar. Saujani's goal is to get 3.9 million women into the computing workforce by 2025—more than tripling the current number. With Saujani's growth mindset powering Girls Who Code's students, we're betting on their success.
From June 1st to June 30th, for every CQ Point you earn, Curious will donate 1¢ to one of four education-focused charities—including Girls Who Code. Choose your charity at curious.com/learnathon.
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
June may feel like an unseasonably hot month to play dress up in Lisbon, Portugal. But residents have a chance to earn bragging rights for the rest of the year with dazzling, layered outfits. Patricia de Melo Moreira photographed this young woman from Lisbon's Alfama district straightening her stocking before last week's Santo António de Lisboa parade. Each June, the city's districts try to outdo one another as the most festively-dressed group in the procession. This friendly but fierce competition also involves coming up with the best choreographed routine for the march. The event is part of a month-long celebration for Saint Anthony of Padua, Lisbon's unofficial patron and Portugal's marriage saint. Part of the parade route takes revelers to Sé Cathedral, where dozens of couples are married in a large wedding ceremony. The night is capped off with a giant block party filled with music, dancing, and traditional foods like grilled pork and sardines. We're not sure which district is worthy of the annual costume prize, but those newlyweds undoubtedly made out with the best-dressed guests—and wedding reception—of the year.
Below: another of this year's Alfama parade participants getting ready to march.
Image credit & copyright: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
June may feel like an unseasonably hot month to play dress up in Lisbon, Portugal. But residents have a chance to earn bragging rights for the rest of the year with dazzling, layered outfits. Patricia de Melo Moreira photographed this young woman from Lisbon's Alfama district straightening her stocking before last week's Santo António de Lisboa parade. Each June, the city's districts try to outdo one another as the most festively-dressed group in the procession. This friendly but fierce competition also involves coming up with the best choreographed routine for the march. The event is part of a month-long celebration for Saint Anthony of Padua, Lisbon's unofficial patron and Portugal's marriage saint. Part of the parade route takes revelers to Sé Cathedral, where dozens of couples are married in a large wedding ceremony. The night is capped off with a giant block party filled with music, dancing, and traditional foods like grilled pork and sardines. We're not sure which district is worthy of the annual costume prize, but those newlyweds undoubtedly made out with the best-dressed guests—and wedding reception—of the year.
Below: another of this year's Alfama parade participants getting ready to march.
Image credit & copyright: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images
-
4 minFREEScience Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
Climate change is slowly making parts of Antarctica turn green. New species of plants and insects are taking hold, threatening to transform the continent's d...
with PRI's The WorldClimate change is slowly making parts of Antarctica turn green. New species of plants and insects are taking hold, threatening to transform the continent's d...
-
2 minFREEScience Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Climate change has changed where polar bears live and what they eat. In today’s Nerdy Curio from 60-Second Science, find out how this has affected their intake of a toxic pollutant.
with 60-Second ScienceClimate change has changed where polar bears live and what they eat. In today’s Nerdy Curio from 60-Second Science, find out how this has affected their intake of a toxic pollutant.
June 20, 2017
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
We might soon get clarity from Senate Republicans on their plans to repeal Obamacare. On today's show, we'll take a look at what a bill from the group — whic...
We might soon get clarity from Senate Republicans on their plans to repeal Obamacare. On today's show, we'll take a look at what a bill from the group — whic...
-
1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : June 20, 2017
pervade \per-VAYD\ verb
Definition
: to become diffused throughout every part of
Examples
"While the editors and contrib...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : June 20, 2017
pervade \per-VAYD\ verb
Definition
: to become diffused throughout every part of
Examples
"While the editors and contrib...
-
4 minFREESports Worldly CurioFree3 CQ
Pakistanis are going wild. Their national cricket team overcame long odds to defeat India Sunday, clinching a surprise win in the final of a global tournamen...
with PRI's The WorldPakistanis are going wild. Their national cricket team overcame long odds to defeat India Sunday, clinching a surprise win in the final of a global tournamen...
-
FREESTEM Daily Curio #1363Free1 CQ
Are these anthropologists just messing with us? Only last month we learned about the stunning discovery of 130,000-year-old human remains in San Diego. Now a different group of archaeologists has announced a Homo sapiens fossil that is twice as old—also thousands of miles away from the area in Ethiopia most commonly accepted as the birthplace of humanity. Skull, jaw and extremity bones of five individuals were discovered at an archaeological site near the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The fossils were originally discovered in the 1960s by miners in a Moroccan cave called Jebel Ihroud, and dated to be around 40,000 years old. But over the years anthropologists have grown increasingly suspicious of the dating technique used on the Jebel Ihroud artifacts. So last year scientists from the Max Planck Institute visited the site and gathered samples of rock that had been used to contain a rudimentary fire place, presumably that of the five early humans. Using a technique called thermoluminescence, they were able to determine the rock's crystalline structure had last been altered by intense heat roughly 300,000 years ago. That's 100,000 years older than the previously oldest Homo sapiens fossil records! While the skull contained a smaller brain than what humans have today, the researchers are convinced it's still in the Homo sapiens family. They say these findings prove evolution is not a straight line, but a series of branches that split off then sometimes rejoin, sometimes make a clean break. Unfortunately none of this helps prove my hope-othesis that humans roamed the earth with the dinosaurs. We'll need a 65-million-year-old human fossil to prove that one.
Are these anthropologists just messing with us? Only last month we learned about the stunning discovery of 130,000-year-old human remains in San Diego. Now a different group of archaeologists has announced a Homo sapiens fossil that is twice as old—also thousands of miles away from the area in Ethiopia most commonly accepted as the birthplace of humanity. Skull, jaw and extremity bones of five individuals were discovered at an archaeological site near the Atlantic coast of Morocco. The fossils were originally discovered in the 1960s by miners in a Moroccan cave called Jebel Ihroud, and dated to be around 40,000 years old. But over the years anthropologists have grown increasingly suspicious of the dating technique used on the Jebel Ihroud artifacts. So last year scientists from the Max Planck Institute visited the site and gathered samples of rock that had been used to contain a rudimentary fire place, presumably that of the five early humans. Using a technique called thermoluminescence, they were able to determine the rock's crystalline structure had last been altered by intense heat roughly 300,000 years ago. That's 100,000 years older than the previously oldest Homo sapiens fossil records! While the skull contained a smaller brain than what humans have today, the researchers are convinced it's still in the Homo sapiens family. They say these findings prove evolution is not a straight line, but a series of branches that split off then sometimes rejoin, sometimes make a clean break. Unfortunately none of this helps prove my hope-othesis that humans roamed the earth with the dinosaurs. We'll need a 65-million-year-old human fossil to prove that one.
-
FREEPhotography Photo CurioFree1 CQ
Fruits and veggies aren't the only things in bloom this summer. This NASA image of the Black Sea covered in turquoise swirls is actually evidence of blooming coccolithophores in the water. Coccolithophores are types of microscopic phytoplankton, or marine algae, that surround themselves with tiny limestone plating reminiscent of lacy tea cozies. The plating contains calcium carbonate, which gives the Black Sea its milky tint in summer months. This photo was taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. Aqua orbits the Earth from south to north once every day or two, collecting data on global ecosystem dynamics and climate change. Activities like the coccolithophores' effect on sea color have to be watched closely because their blooms may change the way light reflects off of water, possibly damaging delicate temperature balances in the ocean. Who knew something so small could make such a big impact!
Image credit & copyright: Norman Kuring, NASA’s Ocean Biology Processing Group
Fruits and veggies aren't the only things in bloom this summer. This NASA image of the Black Sea covered in turquoise swirls is actually evidence of blooming coccolithophores in the water. Coccolithophores are types of microscopic phytoplankton, or marine algae, that surround themselves with tiny limestone plating reminiscent of lacy tea cozies. The plating contains calcium carbonate, which gives the Black Sea its milky tint in summer months. This photo was taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. Aqua orbits the Earth from south to north once every day or two, collecting data on global ecosystem dynamics and climate change. Activities like the coccolithophores' effect on sea color have to be watched closely because their blooms may change the way light reflects off of water, possibly damaging delicate temperature balances in the ocean. Who knew something so small could make such a big impact!
Image credit & copyright: Norman Kuring, NASA’s Ocean Biology Processing Group
-
FREEMusic Song CurioFree2 CQ
Dun, dun… dun, dun… On this day in 1975, Steven Spielberg's Jaws hit theaters, a cinematic classic that just wouldn't have been complete without composer John Williams' iconic overture. The film and its frightening score placed the director and composer at the pinnacle of Hollywood, garnering three Oscars for Spielberg and the first of 22 Grammys for Williams. Spielberg now credits "half of the success" of Jaws to its theme, but he didn't always love it. He laughed when Williams first played it for him, thinking the musical phrase was an amusing joke. But then, Spielberg says, "He played it again and he played it again, and it suddenly seemed right." From then on Spielberg and Williams' talents became intrinsic to most of each other's' crowning successes: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind, E.T.—the list goes on. In contrast to those elegant scores, Jaws looped a simple, but nevertheless genius overture. The bass opens slow, ebbs and flows with the wandering shark. Then Jaws smells human feet, and the bass quickens to match the maneater's heart rate at 0:19. We think we'll skip the beach today, and maybe the pool, too!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Universal Studios
Dun, dun… dun, dun… On this day in 1975, Steven Spielberg's Jaws hit theaters, a cinematic classic that just wouldn't have been complete without composer John Williams' iconic overture. The film and its frightening score placed the director and composer at the pinnacle of Hollywood, garnering three Oscars for Spielberg and the first of 22 Grammys for Williams. Spielberg now credits "half of the success" of Jaws to its theme, but he didn't always love it. He laughed when Williams first played it for him, thinking the musical phrase was an amusing joke. But then, Spielberg says, "He played it again and he played it again, and it suddenly seemed right." From then on Spielberg and Williams' talents became intrinsic to most of each other's' crowning successes: Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind, E.T.—the list goes on. In contrast to those elegant scores, Jaws looped a simple, but nevertheless genius overture. The bass opens slow, ebbs and flows with the wandering shark. Then Jaws smells human feet, and the bass quickens to match the maneater's heart rate at 0:19. We think we'll skip the beach today, and maybe the pool, too!
Other streaming options
Image credit & copyright: Universal Studios
-
FREEUS History Art CurioFree1 CQ
Title: The Great Seal of the United States
Artist: Charles Thomson (1729-1824)
Created: 1782
Medium: pencil sketch (converted to brass)
Dimensions: 2 in diameter, 1 in deep (5.08, 2.54 cm)
Current location: National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Next time you have a one dollar bill, check out the fierce eagle on the back! The Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress on this day in 1782, didn't always look so "great"—because it wasn't designed by a trained artist. When the U.S. declared its independence, a committee was formed to create an official seal for the young republic. Dozens of designs were shot down until congressional secretary Charles Thomson came up with the winning look. His drawing was awkward, but accepted on the basis of a page of compelling notes about the image's symbolism. The eagle's 13 stripes and the stars above its head represent the 13 colonies, the clutched arrows and olive branch represent war and peace, and the colors red, white, and blue represent valor, innocence, and justice. Since its creation, the seal has received tweaks on four separate occasions, but always maintained the same basic elements. The most current version has been around for over 100 years, cut from steel by engraver Max Zeitler in 1903. In an ever-changing America, at least the seal got a lasting seal of approval.
Below: the original brass seal based on Thomson's design, 1782; the official seal design today; and the original seal press, still used for all official seals.
Title: The Great Seal of the United States
Artist: Charles Thomson (1729-1824)
Created: 1782
Medium: pencil sketch (converted to brass)
Dimensions: 2 in diameter, 1 in deep (5.08, 2.54 cm)
Current location: National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Next time you have a one dollar bill, check out the fierce eagle on the back! The Great Seal of the United States, adopted by Congress on this day in 1782, didn't always look so "great"—because it wasn't designed by a trained artist. When the U.S. declared its independence, a committee was formed to create an official seal for the young republic. Dozens of designs were shot down until congressional secretary Charles Thomson came up with the winning look. His drawing was awkward, but accepted on the basis of a page of compelling notes about the image's symbolism. The eagle's 13 stripes and the stars above its head represent the 13 colonies, the clutched arrows and olive branch represent war and peace, and the colors red, white, and blue represent valor, innocence, and justice. Since its creation, the seal has received tweaks on four separate occasions, but always maintained the same basic elements. The most current version has been around for over 100 years, cut from steel by engraver Max Zeitler in 1903. In an ever-changing America, at least the seal got a lasting seal of approval.
Below: the original brass seal based on Thomson's design, 1782; the official seal design today; and the original seal press, still used for all official seals.
-
FREECollege Prep PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
The prototype for the SAT looks nothing like today's version.
We hope you studied your Latin adjective declensions! The College Board administered its first exam this week in 1901, marking the beginning of the end for the absurdly inefficient admissions process of old.
Prior to 1900, students had to travel to prospective universities to be evaluated. Universities wrote and administered their own tests, which could more than a week for students to complete—making applications to just one or two schools financially burdensome for everyone involved.
In 1885, a school principal raised the issue with the National Education Association so a better process could be devised. After 15 years of planning, the College Board was formed. It hoped to standardize high school curricula, and streamline the college application process to make higher education available to a wider range of applicants.
The 1901 test consisted of essays in several topics: English, French, German, Latin, Greek, history, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. Forget about trying to score a perfect 2400, these students were vying for titles: Excellent, Good, Doubtful, Poor, or Very Poor. The test was administered to a mere 973 students in 69 locations.
The modern-day SAT was developed in 1925, based on an army intelligence test, and reworked to grade students on a point-based scale. Test-taking numbers have improved considerably since then; nowadays, over 1.5 million students take the SAT each year. We'd grade that "Excellent."
The prototype for the SAT looks nothing like today's version.
We hope you studied your Latin adjective declensions! The College Board administered its first exam this week in 1901, marking the beginning of the end for the absurdly inefficient admissions process of old.
Prior to 1900, students had to travel to prospective universities to be evaluated. Universities wrote and administered their own tests, which could more than a week for students to complete—making applications to just one or two schools financially burdensome for everyone involved.
In 1885, a school principal raised the issue with the National Education Association so a better process could be devised. After 15 years of planning, the College Board was formed. It hoped to standardize high school curricula, and streamline the college application process to make higher education available to a wider range of applicants.
The 1901 test consisted of essays in several topics: English, French, German, Latin, Greek, history, mathematics, chemistry, and physics. Forget about trying to score a perfect 2400, these students were vying for titles: Excellent, Good, Doubtful, Poor, or Very Poor. The test was administered to a mere 973 students in 69 locations.
The modern-day SAT was developed in 1925, based on an army intelligence test, and reworked to grade students on a point-based scale. Test-taking numbers have improved considerably since then; nowadays, over 1.5 million students take the SAT each year. We'd grade that "Excellent."
-
2 minFREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree2 CQ
Foraminifera are tiny, single-celled marine life forms, but they build gorgeous houses that record how much ice there is on the planet. Watch today's Nerdy Curio from Minute Earth to find out how.
with Minute EarthForaminifera are tiny, single-celled marine life forms, but they build gorgeous houses that record how much ice there is on the planet. Watch today's Nerdy Curio from Minute Earth to find out how.