Curio Cabinet
- By Date
- By Type
June 22, 2024
-
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 22, 2024\soo-per-SEED\ verb
What It Means
Supersede is a verb meaning "to take the place of (someone or something that...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 22, 2024\soo-per-SEED\ verb
What It Means
Supersede is a verb meaning "to take the place of (someone or something that...
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
In a flurry of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the Justices’ lack of action on one case is a major victory for the tribal gaming industry. The court lef...
In a flurry of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the Justices’ lack of action on one case is a major victory for the tribal gaming industry. The court lef...
-
FREERunning Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
You really have to hoof it to win this race. It’s summer in the Rockies, and that means it’s time for Colorado's official summer heritage sport: pack burro racing. It’s an unusual competition that combines the stubbornness of donkeys with the stubbornness of human athletes. According to state lore, pack burro racing came about when two prospectors in the 1800s raced back to town from a gold deposit to be the first to stake a claim. Each had donkeys laden with tools and supplies, so the men raced with their pack animals galloping alongside them on leads. It wasn’t until 1949 that the first official race was held, with competitors similarly running beside—not riding on—their donkeys. The sport became popular enough and so ingrained in the state’s history that in 2012, the state passed House Joint Resolution 12-1021 to declare it their official summer heritage sport. Since its humble, inaugural race with just 21 participants (and only eight finishers), the event has grown to host around 100 racers every year. This year is the 75th anniversary of the event, a three-day affair called Burro Days that takes place in the town of Fairplay. Athletes have to think about more than just the high elevation and the rugged terrain when racing with their donkeys. For example, competitors aren’t supposed to tie themselves to their animals because, if a donkey hears their person fall, they’ll just run faster, dragging their human companion behind them. It seems these burros are a little confused about just who’s the leader of the pack.
[Image description: A donkey eating grass in a field.] Credit & copyright: Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Arpingstone at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.
You really have to hoof it to win this race. It’s summer in the Rockies, and that means it’s time for Colorado's official summer heritage sport: pack burro racing. It’s an unusual competition that combines the stubbornness of donkeys with the stubbornness of human athletes. According to state lore, pack burro racing came about when two prospectors in the 1800s raced back to town from a gold deposit to be the first to stake a claim. Each had donkeys laden with tools and supplies, so the men raced with their pack animals galloping alongside them on leads. It wasn’t until 1949 that the first official race was held, with competitors similarly running beside—not riding on—their donkeys. The sport became popular enough and so ingrained in the state’s history that in 2012, the state passed House Joint Resolution 12-1021 to declare it their official summer heritage sport. Since its humble, inaugural race with just 21 participants (and only eight finishers), the event has grown to host around 100 racers every year. This year is the 75th anniversary of the event, a three-day affair called Burro Days that takes place in the town of Fairplay. Athletes have to think about more than just the high elevation and the rugged terrain when racing with their donkeys. For example, competitors aren’t supposed to tie themselves to their animals because, if a donkey hears their person fall, they’ll just run faster, dragging their human companion behind them. It seems these burros are a little confused about just who’s the leader of the pack.
[Image description: A donkey eating grass in a field.] Credit & copyright: Adrian Pingstone, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Arpingstone at English Wikipedia. This applies worldwide.
June 21, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Kenya’s government has been forced to drop some of its plans for new taxes, but widespread protests are continuing over its contr...
From the BBC World Service: Kenya’s government has been forced to drop some of its plans for new taxes, but widespread protests are continuing over its contr...
-
FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Ice cream isn’t the only refreshing treat around here! If you’re looking to beat this summer’s brutal heat wave, you might want to reach for a glass of falooda. This dessert drink has been keeping people cool for centuries, and while it includes many ingredients conventionally found in ice cream, like milk and fruit, some of its components might seem a bit quirkier, depending on where you’re from. When was the last time you had a dessert featuring noodles?
Falooda is a milk-based, smoothie-like drink that’s usually served cold, often alongside a type of dense, un-whipped ice cream called kulfi. Fruit puree, rose syrup, and sweet basil seeds are mixed with the milk, and the drink is sometimes topped with cubes of jelly or pistachios, but falooda’s most interesting ingredient is vermicelli, a spaghetti-like pasta usually made from wheat. This gives the drink a thick, robust texture that contrasts nicely with its delicate flavor.
Falooda is served across much of Asia, from India to Pakistan to Sri Lanka, but its origins lie in Persia, or modern-day Iran. There, around 400 B.C.E., an ice-cream-like dessert called faloodeh eventually transformed into modern falooda (though the original faloodeh is also still enjoyed in Iran today). Falooda grew popular in the ancient Southeast Asian Mughal Empire, and it spread as the empire grew, eventually coming to outlive it. Today, falooda is not only commonly served at special events, like weddings, but also as a popular street food. Vendors often make large vats of falooda and scoop out individual portions for each customer. The drink’s fruity components and colorful toppings make it particularly alluring on a hot summer day, especially since it's usually served in clear glasses to showcase its layers of decadent ingredients. Who wouldn’t want a glass of cold, creamy goodness in the midst of all this heat and humidity?
[Image description: Two glasses of red-and-pink falooda on a table decorated with red flowers and fruits.] Credit & copyright: VD Photography, UnsplashIce cream isn’t the only refreshing treat around here! If you’re looking to beat this summer’s brutal heat wave, you might want to reach for a glass of falooda. This dessert drink has been keeping people cool for centuries, and while it includes many ingredients conventionally found in ice cream, like milk and fruit, some of its components might seem a bit quirkier, depending on where you’re from. When was the last time you had a dessert featuring noodles?
Falooda is a milk-based, smoothie-like drink that’s usually served cold, often alongside a type of dense, un-whipped ice cream called kulfi. Fruit puree, rose syrup, and sweet basil seeds are mixed with the milk, and the drink is sometimes topped with cubes of jelly or pistachios, but falooda’s most interesting ingredient is vermicelli, a spaghetti-like pasta usually made from wheat. This gives the drink a thick, robust texture that contrasts nicely with its delicate flavor.
Falooda is served across much of Asia, from India to Pakistan to Sri Lanka, but its origins lie in Persia, or modern-day Iran. There, around 400 B.C.E., an ice-cream-like dessert called faloodeh eventually transformed into modern falooda (though the original faloodeh is also still enjoyed in Iran today). Falooda grew popular in the ancient Southeast Asian Mughal Empire, and it spread as the empire grew, eventually coming to outlive it. Today, falooda is not only commonly served at special events, like weddings, but also as a popular street food. Vendors often make large vats of falooda and scoop out individual portions for each customer. The drink’s fruity components and colorful toppings make it particularly alluring on a hot summer day, especially since it's usually served in clear glasses to showcase its layers of decadent ingredients. Who wouldn’t want a glass of cold, creamy goodness in the midst of all this heat and humidity?
[Image description: Two glasses of red-and-pink falooda on a table decorated with red flowers and fruits.] Credit & copyright: VD Photography, Unsplash
June 20, 2024
-
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Cannabis is now legal — for medical or recreational use — in 38 states, plus D.C. But marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, meaning there are strin...
Cannabis is now legal — for medical or recreational use — in 38 states, plus D.C. But marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, meaning there are strin...
-
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 20, 2024\HYOO-und-KRYE\ noun
What It Means
Hue and cry refers to a clamor of alarm or protest in response to something...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 20, 2024\HYOO-und-KRYE\ noun
What It Means
Hue and cry refers to a clamor of alarm or protest in response to something...
-
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Saturn might be the most beautiful planet in the Solar System thanks to its rings, but beauty is only skin deep. Just under the planet’s cloudy surface, Saturn is home to colossal megastorms that last hundreds of years. The cause? An unusual energy imbalance, according to a paper published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of Houston. The ringed planet’s orbital eccentricity, defined by the difference between its aphelion (the closest point to the sun in the orbit) and perihelion (the furthest point) varies by about 20 percent. Compared to Earth’s measly 3 percent, that’s a huge difference. Where this matters is in the amount of energy that each planet absorbs from the sun during their orbits, and its effect on the global energy budget, or the amount of energy that a planet emits. For Earth, the 3 percent doesn’t make a big difference, but Saturn has huge variations in the amount of energy it receives from the sun, leading to wild temperature swings on the planet’s surface that contribute to the aforementioned megastorms. Researchers were able to observe the energy imbalance thanks to data from the Cassini probe mission, which studied Saturn for two decades. Though the data only directly concerns Saturn, the discovery that the planet’s orbital eccentricity can create such an energy imbalance helps scientists understand similar weather phenomena on other gas giants. When you get down to it, those gas giants are just full of hot (and cold) air!
[Image description: A black-and-white illustration of the planet Saturn.] Credit & copyright: Pearson Scott Foresman, donated to the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Pearson Scott Foresman. This applies worldwide.
Saturn might be the most beautiful planet in the Solar System thanks to its rings, but beauty is only skin deep. Just under the planet’s cloudy surface, Saturn is home to colossal megastorms that last hundreds of years. The cause? An unusual energy imbalance, according to a paper published in Nature Communications by researchers at the University of Houston. The ringed planet’s orbital eccentricity, defined by the difference between its aphelion (the closest point to the sun in the orbit) and perihelion (the furthest point) varies by about 20 percent. Compared to Earth’s measly 3 percent, that’s a huge difference. Where this matters is in the amount of energy that each planet absorbs from the sun during their orbits, and its effect on the global energy budget, or the amount of energy that a planet emits. For Earth, the 3 percent doesn’t make a big difference, but Saturn has huge variations in the amount of energy it receives from the sun, leading to wild temperature swings on the planet’s surface that contribute to the aforementioned megastorms. Researchers were able to observe the energy imbalance thanks to data from the Cassini probe mission, which studied Saturn for two decades. Though the data only directly concerns Saturn, the discovery that the planet’s orbital eccentricity can create such an energy imbalance helps scientists understand similar weather phenomena on other gas giants. When you get down to it, those gas giants are just full of hot (and cold) air!
[Image description: A black-and-white illustration of the planet Saturn.] Credit & copyright: Pearson Scott Foresman, donated to the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Pearson Scott Foresman. This applies worldwide.
-
FREEBiology Daily Curio #2894Free1 CQ
Here’s a sight for sore eyes. The range of the giant pangolin once included the West African country of Senegal, but it was considered locally extinct for decades. Now, this armor-clad species might be making a comeback in their former territory. After not being seen within the country’s borders since 1999, it was recently announced that a giant pangolin was spotted on a trail camera back on March 8, 2023, in Niokolo-Koba National Park. Giant pangolins are unusual animals, to say the least. These rare mammals are one of eight pangolin species known for their scaly outer shell and their propensity for rolling up into a ball when faced with a threat. In fact, the name “pangolin” comes from the Malay word “pengguling,” which means “one who rolls up.” In this way, they’re a lot like armadillos, which also have a hard exterior and tend to ball-up, but the two are not closely related. Whereas pangolins have keratin scales that cover most of their body, armadillos actually have bony plates called osteoderms which are covered in skin and keratin. Pangolin scales are also sharp, which helps deter predators, while armadillo plates are smooth and segmented. Despite their tough exterior, though, pangolins are fairly harmless animals. They’re sometimes referred to as scaly anteaters due to their diet of mostly ants and other insects, which they hunt with their elongated tongues.
Unfortunately, while their tough armor and defensive posturing does wonders against pangolins’ natural predators, these same quirky qualities have made pangolins a hot commodity in the illegal pet trade, and today they’re one of the most trafficked animals in the world. Giant pangolins and other African pangolin species haven’t been as extensively hunted as their Asian counterparts, most of which have been declared critically endangered. Nevertheless, poaching has rendered them locally extinct in areas where they once thrived, including Senegal. Conservationists hope that the pangolin spotted on the trail camera might signal the return of the animal to its former range, and a rise in its population. Here’s hoping that these unusual mammals are on a roll.
[Image description: A brown pangolin walking through dry grass.] Credit & copyright: Masteraah, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.Here’s a sight for sore eyes. The range of the giant pangolin once included the West African country of Senegal, but it was considered locally extinct for decades. Now, this armor-clad species might be making a comeback in their former territory. After not being seen within the country’s borders since 1999, it was recently announced that a giant pangolin was spotted on a trail camera back on March 8, 2023, in Niokolo-Koba National Park. Giant pangolins are unusual animals, to say the least. These rare mammals are one of eight pangolin species known for their scaly outer shell and their propensity for rolling up into a ball when faced with a threat. In fact, the name “pangolin” comes from the Malay word “pengguling,” which means “one who rolls up.” In this way, they’re a lot like armadillos, which also have a hard exterior and tend to ball-up, but the two are not closely related. Whereas pangolins have keratin scales that cover most of their body, armadillos actually have bony plates called osteoderms which are covered in skin and keratin. Pangolin scales are also sharp, which helps deter predators, while armadillo plates are smooth and segmented. Despite their tough exterior, though, pangolins are fairly harmless animals. They’re sometimes referred to as scaly anteaters due to their diet of mostly ants and other insects, which they hunt with their elongated tongues.
Unfortunately, while their tough armor and defensive posturing does wonders against pangolins’ natural predators, these same quirky qualities have made pangolins a hot commodity in the illegal pet trade, and today they’re one of the most trafficked animals in the world. Giant pangolins and other African pangolin species haven’t been as extensively hunted as their Asian counterparts, most of which have been declared critically endangered. Nevertheless, poaching has rendered them locally extinct in areas where they once thrived, including Senegal. Conservationists hope that the pangolin spotted on the trail camera might signal the return of the animal to its former range, and a rise in its population. Here’s hoping that these unusual mammals are on a roll.
[Image description: A brown pangolin walking through dry grass.] Credit & copyright: Masteraah, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
June 19, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Amazon could be forced to recognize a trade union for the first time in the United Kingdom, as staff at its warehouse in Coventry...
From the BBC World Service: Amazon could be forced to recognize a trade union for the first time in the United Kingdom, as staff at its warehouse in Coventry...
-
FREEScience Daily Curio #2893Free1 CQ
Cemeteries are supposed to be places where the dead rest in peace, but what if they could also help the living? The city of Valencia, Spain, recently announced that it will install solar panels in three of its city-owned cemeteries to provide power to citizens. Thanks to climate change, the picturesque city of Valencia has been struggling with heat and drought. For decades, the city has been enacting initiatives to reduce energy consumption and increase green spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. Late last year, the city’s ongoing efforts were recognized when they were given the European Green Capital Award, but Valencia’s not ready to rest on its laurels. One of the city’s major goals is to be carbon-neutral by 2030, and they’re turning to solar power to get it done.
The only problem is the lack of free space in densely-packed Valencia. To avoid years of red tape, the city looked for city-owned spaces large enough to house solar panels. The perfect spots came in the forms of three city-owned cemeteries, full of mausoleums that had plenty of spare room on their roofs. Though city officials technically didn’t need permission from anyone to install the panels, they did consult with Catholic clergy to make sure they weren’t doing anything that would violate peoples’ beliefs. On the contrary, they were met with enthusiastic support from the Church. Spain isn’t the first European city to utilize cemeteries for energy production. Earlier this year, the commune of Saint-Joachim in Pays de la Loire, France, installed solar canopies in a cemetery to provide energy to residents and to act as rainwater catchments. The canopies also provide shade to cemetery visitors, since they are freestanding over outdoor plots instead of sitting on mausoleum roofs. It’s probably easier to rest in peace when you know your loved ones are being taken care of.Cemeteries are supposed to be places where the dead rest in peace, but what if they could also help the living? The city of Valencia, Spain, recently announced that it will install solar panels in three of its city-owned cemeteries to provide power to citizens. Thanks to climate change, the picturesque city of Valencia has been struggling with heat and drought. For decades, the city has been enacting initiatives to reduce energy consumption and increase green spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. Late last year, the city’s ongoing efforts were recognized when they were given the European Green Capital Award, but Valencia’s not ready to rest on its laurels. One of the city’s major goals is to be carbon-neutral by 2030, and they’re turning to solar power to get it done.
The only problem is the lack of free space in densely-packed Valencia. To avoid years of red tape, the city looked for city-owned spaces large enough to house solar panels. The perfect spots came in the forms of three city-owned cemeteries, full of mausoleums that had plenty of spare room on their roofs. Though city officials technically didn’t need permission from anyone to install the panels, they did consult with Catholic clergy to make sure they weren’t doing anything that would violate peoples’ beliefs. On the contrary, they were met with enthusiastic support from the Church. Spain isn’t the first European city to utilize cemeteries for energy production. Earlier this year, the commune of Saint-Joachim in Pays de la Loire, France, installed solar canopies in a cemetery to provide energy to residents and to act as rainwater catchments. The canopies also provide shade to cemetery visitors, since they are freestanding over outdoor plots instead of sitting on mausoleum roofs. It’s probably easier to rest in peace when you know your loved ones are being taken care of.
June 18, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
The Treasury and IRS announced a new initiative Monday to close a tax loophole for wealthy people that could raise more than $50 billion in revenue over the ...
The Treasury and IRS announced a new initiative Monday to close a tax loophole for wealthy people that could raise more than $50 billion in revenue over the ...
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Can we get a hallelujah? On this day in 1976, famed Nashville songwriter and producer Busbee was born. Though he tragically passed away in 2019 at the age of 43, he’ll long be remembered for his work with artists from Pink to Keith Urban to The Fray. One of his most lauded songs, co-written alongside singer Maren Morris, was 2015’s My Church. The bluesy country tune, about the almost-religious experience of listening to music while cruising down the highway, won Morris a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017. It also earned her a nomination for Best New Artist, and the song itself was nominated for Best Country Song. My Church is a great example of Busbee’s knack for combining genres, as its distorted guitars are clearly inspired by rock while its twangy strings conjure the melancholy of the blues. If you’re looking to pay respect to this music industry titan this summer, jamming to My Church while rolling down the highway seems like a pretty fitting tribute.
Can we get a hallelujah? On this day in 1976, famed Nashville songwriter and producer Busbee was born. Though he tragically passed away in 2019 at the age of 43, he’ll long be remembered for his work with artists from Pink to Keith Urban to The Fray. One of his most lauded songs, co-written alongside singer Maren Morris, was 2015’s My Church. The bluesy country tune, about the almost-religious experience of listening to music while cruising down the highway, won Morris a Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance in 2017. It also earned her a nomination for Best New Artist, and the song itself was nominated for Best Country Song. My Church is a great example of Busbee’s knack for combining genres, as its distorted guitars are clearly inspired by rock while its twangy strings conjure the melancholy of the blues. If you’re looking to pay respect to this music industry titan this summer, jamming to My Church while rolling down the highway seems like a pretty fitting tribute.
-
FREEWorld History Daily Curio #2892Free1 CQ
Ancient history isn’t all dusty tomes—it can include morbid tombs as well. That’s especially true of Chichén Itzá, an ancient Mayan archaeological site on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula where human sacrifices were carried out on a fairly regular basis. Such sacrifices were an important part of ancient Mayan religious practices, hence the hundreds of bones recovered from Chichén Itzá’s temples and tombs over the years. Now, for the first time, researchers have conducted a thorough DNA analysis of bones discovered in an underground chultún, or cistern, at the site, and the results are surprising to say the least. The bones belonged to 64 individuals whom researchers believe were victims of human sacrifice. As it turns out, they were all young boys, mostly between the ages of 3 and 6, with several being closely related to each other. In fact, there were even two sets of twins. This last detail lines up with writings from the Popol Vuh, also known as the Mayan Book of Community, which depict the sacrifice of twins as a sacred act. Coauthor Oana Del Castillo-Chávez, a researcher with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, explained in a statement, “The similar ages and diets of the male children, their close genetic relatedness and the fact that they were interred in the same place for more than 200 years point to the chultún as a post-sacrificial burial site, with the sacrificed individuals having been selected for a specific reason.” These findings contradict the once widely-accepted, 20th-century idea that Mayans mostly sacrificed women and young girls. It’s always good to have a clearer picture of history…even when that history includes uncomfortably morbid truths.
[Image description: A Mayan pyramid at the Comalcalco archaeological site in Tabasco, Mexico.] Credit & copyright: Miguel Marn, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.Ancient history isn’t all dusty tomes—it can include morbid tombs as well. That’s especially true of Chichén Itzá, an ancient Mayan archaeological site on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula where human sacrifices were carried out on a fairly regular basis. Such sacrifices were an important part of ancient Mayan religious practices, hence the hundreds of bones recovered from Chichén Itzá’s temples and tombs over the years. Now, for the first time, researchers have conducted a thorough DNA analysis of bones discovered in an underground chultún, or cistern, at the site, and the results are surprising to say the least. The bones belonged to 64 individuals whom researchers believe were victims of human sacrifice. As it turns out, they were all young boys, mostly between the ages of 3 and 6, with several being closely related to each other. In fact, there were even two sets of twins. This last detail lines up with writings from the Popol Vuh, also known as the Mayan Book of Community, which depict the sacrifice of twins as a sacred act. Coauthor Oana Del Castillo-Chávez, a researcher with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, explained in a statement, “The similar ages and diets of the male children, their close genetic relatedness and the fact that they were interred in the same place for more than 200 years point to the chultún as a post-sacrificial burial site, with the sacrificed individuals having been selected for a specific reason.” These findings contradict the once widely-accepted, 20th-century idea that Mayans mostly sacrificed women and young girls. It’s always good to have a clearer picture of history…even when that history includes uncomfortably morbid truths.
[Image description: A Mayan pyramid at the Comalcalco archaeological site in Tabasco, Mexico.] Credit & copyright: Miguel Marn, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
June 17, 2024
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this portrait might have been a confession letter. French Impressionist Edouard Manet often painted his colleagues, but his relationship with the subject of this painting was a little more complicated than usual. It’s a portrait of a woman with dark hair wearing a fur coat. She has her hands in a matching fur muff and her eyes are looking to one side. The subject’s name was Berthe Morisot, and she was a renowned Impressionist in her own right. Morisot and Manet became close after meeting each other in 1868 through a mutual friend, and ultimately, she would become a frequent model for him. Although Morisot married Manet’s younger brother Eugène, some art historians suspect that Morisot and the elder Manet brother may have shared a romantic connection on account of their close bond, their prolific correspondence, and her frequent role as his model. Much of their most intimate correspondence was destroyed by the authors themselves, so all that remains is speculation. It’s just like Impressionists to leave a muddled picture.
Berthe Morisot, Edouard Manet (1832–1883), c. 1869–73, Oil on fabric, 29.12 x 23.62 in. (74 x 60 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Edouard Manet, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.34, Public Domain CC0.]If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this portrait might have been a confession letter. French Impressionist Edouard Manet often painted his colleagues, but his relationship with the subject of this painting was a little more complicated than usual. It’s a portrait of a woman with dark hair wearing a fur coat. She has her hands in a matching fur muff and her eyes are looking to one side. The subject’s name was Berthe Morisot, and she was a renowned Impressionist in her own right. Morisot and Manet became close after meeting each other in 1868 through a mutual friend, and ultimately, she would become a frequent model for him. Although Morisot married Manet’s younger brother Eugène, some art historians suspect that Morisot and the elder Manet brother may have shared a romantic connection on account of their close bond, their prolific correspondence, and her frequent role as his model. Much of their most intimate correspondence was destroyed by the authors themselves, so all that remains is speculation. It’s just like Impressionists to leave a muddled picture.
Berthe Morisot, Edouard Manet (1832–1883), c. 1869–73, Oil on fabric, 29.12 x 23.62 in. (74 x 60 cm.), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Edouard Manet, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.34, Public Domain CC0.] -
FREEBiology Daily Curio #2891Free1 CQ
Talk about a big surprise. An Asian elephant named Jamjuree is making headlines around the world after giving birth to twins, a phenomenon so rare that it accounts for just one percent of elephant births. Asian elephant gestation lasts between 18 to 22 months (the longest of any extant mammal), and by the time a calf is born, it can weigh nearly 200 pounds. It takes a lot of time, resources, and energy to grow such a large baby. Now imagine doubling the process! 36-year-old Asian elephant Jamjuree did just that. Jamjuree lives at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, a tourist attraction in Thailand operated by the conservation group Elephantstay. After giving birth to a bouncing 176-pound male calf, she was seemingly shocked to suddenly give birth to another—a 132-pound female. The mother grew confused, and initially attacked her newborn daughter. Thankfully, her handlers were able to separate the female calf from her mother until she could calm down. However, the female calf was so small that she had trouble reaching up high enough to nurse, so staff members lent her a helping hand by syringe feeding her and providing a ramp for her to stand on. As rare as elephant twins may be, it’s not unheard of. Back in 2023, an elephant named Alto at Samburu National Reserve in Kenya also gave birth to twins, an unexpected boon for the critically endangered species. No matter what continent you’re on, you can never have too many elephants.
[Image description: An Asian elephant mother and calf at a zoo enclosure with trees.] Credit & copyright: LadyofHats, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work, has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.Talk about a big surprise. An Asian elephant named Jamjuree is making headlines around the world after giving birth to twins, a phenomenon so rare that it accounts for just one percent of elephant births. Asian elephant gestation lasts between 18 to 22 months (the longest of any extant mammal), and by the time a calf is born, it can weigh nearly 200 pounds. It takes a lot of time, resources, and energy to grow such a large baby. Now imagine doubling the process! 36-year-old Asian elephant Jamjuree did just that. Jamjuree lives at the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, a tourist attraction in Thailand operated by the conservation group Elephantstay. After giving birth to a bouncing 176-pound male calf, she was seemingly shocked to suddenly give birth to another—a 132-pound female. The mother grew confused, and initially attacked her newborn daughter. Thankfully, her handlers were able to separate the female calf from her mother until she could calm down. However, the female calf was so small that she had trouble reaching up high enough to nurse, so staff members lent her a helping hand by syringe feeding her and providing a ramp for her to stand on. As rare as elephant twins may be, it’s not unheard of. Back in 2023, an elephant named Alto at Samburu National Reserve in Kenya also gave birth to twins, an unexpected boon for the critically endangered species. No matter what continent you’re on, you can never have too many elephants.
[Image description: An Asian elephant mother and calf at a zoo enclosure with trees.] Credit & copyright: LadyofHats, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work, has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. -
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Four years ago, the pandemic sent the world economy into disarray. Panic buying led to widespread backlogs, with shipping gridlocks so bad you could see them...
Four years ago, the pandemic sent the world economy into disarray. Panic buying led to widespread backlogs, with shipping gridlocks so bad you could see them...
June 16, 2024
-
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Israel is withholding $35 million in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, which provides limited self-governance for the Palestinian people in the We...
Israel is withholding $35 million in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, which provides limited self-governance for the Palestinian people in the We...
-
FREECooking PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
As pride month continues, so does our celebration of extraordinary LGBTQ+ figures. This week, we’re taking a closer look at the late, great, American chef, James Beard. Even outside the culinary world, the James Beard award is well-known as one of the most coveted prizes that a chef or restaurant can receive. Read on to learn how this award’s namesake became one of America’s first culinary superstars, and the unconventional way that he chose to come out, later in life.
Born May 5, 1903, Beard grew up in Oregon where his parents taught him to fish and forage for food in the bountiful waters and forests of the Pacific Northwest. He was also exposed to fine dining as a child, as his mother ran a boarding house and was known for her cooking. While the passion for cooking with locally sourced ingredients was thus imparted on him at a young age, Beard’s first career choice had nothing to do with the kitchen. Instead, he traveled abroad and trained for theater as a young man, but he never found much success as an actor and struggled to make ends meet. Beard returned to the U.S. in 1927, but had no better luck in the entertainment industry stateside. In 1937, Beard started a catering business called Hors d’Oeuvre Inc. to supplement his income. Not too long afterward, though, this enterprise born out of necessity became a financial success and reignited his childhood passion for cooking.
In 1940, Beard published his first cookbook, Hors d’Oeuvre & Canapés, and in 1942, he published Cook It Outdoors. Then, in 1946, he achieved his former ambition of making it onto the screen in a roundabout way, when he began hosting a cooking segment on I Love to Eat on NBC. His books and TV appearances made him a household name in post-WWII America. What set him apart from other culinary personalities emerging around the same time was his focus on identifying and creating distinctly American dishes. As much as Italian and French cuisine were beginning to capture home cooks’ imaginations, Beard defined American cuisine as a worthy contender with its own unique traditions and merits. That’s not to say that he was one to snub other culinary traditions, of course. He himself was well-traveled and wrote extensively about everything he tried in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Europe. Beard was also close friends with Julia Child, another American food personality who was responsible for making French cuisine accessible to the average home cook. The two met in 1961 and remained close until Beard passed away in 1985. She once said of him, “People just adored him. He was so jolly, so nice, and so generous… He was so open, he had such a general love of food, and I think he encouraged everybody.” Child was instrumental in the creation of the James Beard Foundation after his death, which awards exceptional contributions to American culinary arts and related fields.
Sadly, as successful as he was professionally, Beard’s fame made him feel pressured to keep his sexuality hidden from the public for most of his life. He only came out in 1981 in the revised version of his autobiography, Delights & Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes, where he wrote about his relationship with his partner, Gino Cofacci. The couple spent 30 years together, and when Beard passed away in 1985, the late chef left Cofacci an apartment in his townhouse. Even so late in life, coming out was a risky thing for a celebrity like Beard to do, especially during the AIDS epidemic and anti-LGBTQ atmosphere of the 1980s. Then, as now, being a celebrity can be a double-edged chef’s knife.As pride month continues, so does our celebration of extraordinary LGBTQ+ figures. This week, we’re taking a closer look at the late, great, American chef, James Beard. Even outside the culinary world, the James Beard award is well-known as one of the most coveted prizes that a chef or restaurant can receive. Read on to learn how this award’s namesake became one of America’s first culinary superstars, and the unconventional way that he chose to come out, later in life.
Born May 5, 1903, Beard grew up in Oregon where his parents taught him to fish and forage for food in the bountiful waters and forests of the Pacific Northwest. He was also exposed to fine dining as a child, as his mother ran a boarding house and was known for her cooking. While the passion for cooking with locally sourced ingredients was thus imparted on him at a young age, Beard’s first career choice had nothing to do with the kitchen. Instead, he traveled abroad and trained for theater as a young man, but he never found much success as an actor and struggled to make ends meet. Beard returned to the U.S. in 1927, but had no better luck in the entertainment industry stateside. In 1937, Beard started a catering business called Hors d’Oeuvre Inc. to supplement his income. Not too long afterward, though, this enterprise born out of necessity became a financial success and reignited his childhood passion for cooking.
In 1940, Beard published his first cookbook, Hors d’Oeuvre & Canapés, and in 1942, he published Cook It Outdoors. Then, in 1946, he achieved his former ambition of making it onto the screen in a roundabout way, when he began hosting a cooking segment on I Love to Eat on NBC. His books and TV appearances made him a household name in post-WWII America. What set him apart from other culinary personalities emerging around the same time was his focus on identifying and creating distinctly American dishes. As much as Italian and French cuisine were beginning to capture home cooks’ imaginations, Beard defined American cuisine as a worthy contender with its own unique traditions and merits. That’s not to say that he was one to snub other culinary traditions, of course. He himself was well-traveled and wrote extensively about everything he tried in the U.S. and abroad, particularly in Europe. Beard was also close friends with Julia Child, another American food personality who was responsible for making French cuisine accessible to the average home cook. The two met in 1961 and remained close until Beard passed away in 1985. She once said of him, “People just adored him. He was so jolly, so nice, and so generous… He was so open, he had such a general love of food, and I think he encouraged everybody.” Child was instrumental in the creation of the James Beard Foundation after his death, which awards exceptional contributions to American culinary arts and related fields.
Sadly, as successful as he was professionally, Beard’s fame made him feel pressured to keep his sexuality hidden from the public for most of his life. He only came out in 1981 in the revised version of his autobiography, Delights & Prejudices: A Memoir with Recipes, where he wrote about his relationship with his partner, Gino Cofacci. The couple spent 30 years together, and when Beard passed away in 1985, the late chef left Cofacci an apartment in his townhouse. Even so late in life, coming out was a risky thing for a celebrity like Beard to do, especially during the AIDS epidemic and anti-LGBTQ atmosphere of the 1980s. Then, as now, being a celebrity can be a double-edged chef’s knife.