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A picture is worth a thousand words. And a CQ point.
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September 25, 2023
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 25, 2023\KWOR-um\ noun
What It Means
Quorum refers to the smallest number of people who must be present at a meet...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 25, 2023\KWOR-um\ noun
What It Means
Quorum refers to the smallest number of people who must be present at a meet...
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
This is one horse that can’t be outrun. American painter Albert Pinkham Ryder created this dreary scene while mourning the loss of a friend. The oil painting, titled Death on a Pale Horse, depicts a ghostly humanoid figure holding a scythe while riding a galloping white horse around a racetrack. A snake in the foreground looks through a broken section of the track’s fence. Ryder painted this scene of sickly greens and grays after a tragic event; a friend of his had bet his life savings on a horse race and lost it all, leading him to take his own life. As an emotionally visceral reaction to the tragedy, Ryder’s painting contains straightforward symbolism: Death from the Christian Book of Revelations and a snake, which represents temptation in Christian imagery. As if to say that no one triumphs over death, the pale horse and its rider are the track’s sole racers. Only the snake is there to beckon viewers’ eyes toward the scene. But beware: it’s a race you can’t win.
The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse), Albert Pinkham Ryder
(1847–1917), c. 1896–1908, Oil on canvas, 27.75 x 35.43 in. (70.5 x 90 cm), Cleveland Museum of Art
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
Public Domain Dedication.]This is one horse that can’t be outrun. American painter Albert Pinkham Ryder created this dreary scene while mourning the loss of a friend. The oil painting, titled Death on a Pale Horse, depicts a ghostly humanoid figure holding a scythe while riding a galloping white horse around a racetrack. A snake in the foreground looks through a broken section of the track’s fence. Ryder painted this scene of sickly greens and grays after a tragic event; a friend of his had bet his life savings on a horse race and lost it all, leading him to take his own life. As an emotionally visceral reaction to the tragedy, Ryder’s painting contains straightforward symbolism: Death from the Christian Book of Revelations and a snake, which represents temptation in Christian imagery. As if to say that no one triumphs over death, the pale horse and its rider are the track’s sole racers. Only the snake is there to beckon viewers’ eyes toward the scene. But beware: it’s a race you can’t win.
The Race Track (Death on a Pale Horse), Albert Pinkham Ryder
(1847–1917), c. 1896–1908, Oil on canvas, 27.75 x 35.43 in. (70.5 x 90 cm), Cleveland Museum of Art
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
Public Domain Dedication.] -
FREEDaily Curio #2729Free1 CQ
This might be the most unlikely museum conservation of all time. We’ve written before about thylacines (commonly known as Tasmanian tigers) and their extinction, but what about their resurrection? Recently, scientists from Sweden and Norway retrieved RNA from a thylacine specimen, marking the first time in history that RNA has been recovered from an extinct species. RNA is what reads the genetically-encoded instructions found in DNA. However, RNA is much more fragile and difficult to preserve. If a tissue sample containing RNA isn’t put into cold storage quickly enough, it’s promptly destroyed by enzymes. Against all odds, researchers managed to recover intact RNA from a thylacine tissue sample at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm even though it had been kept at room temperature. Using the surviving RNA, scientists were able to catalog a list of transcriptomes, or actively expressed genes. By looking at transcriptomes, they can tell what proteins were being produced by the tissues found in the sample when the animal was still alive.
Thylacines went extinct around 130 years ago, but before their disappearance, they were the top predators in Tasmania. Predators play a key role in their respective ecosystems, so some conservationists believe that resurrecting and reintroducing thylacines to Tasmania would be good for the island’s health. Unfortunately, those hoping for a Jurassic Park situation, it’s unlikely that a thylacine will be cloned using the recently-retrieved RNA. What is possible, however, is a synthetic reconstruction of the species via gene editing, though even that would be a long way off. There are still immediate benefits to the RNA’s recovery, though. It opens up a world of possibilities for recovering RNA from similarly-kept samples, most of which were assumed to be lost causes. The RNA will also undoubtedly give scientists a detailed glimpse into the lives of these extinct creatures. The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but RNA is a porthole to the past.
[Image description: A drawing of two thylacines looking to the left.] Credit & copyright:
Henry Constantine Richter after John Gould, 1863, Wikimedia Commons, This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.This might be the most unlikely museum conservation of all time. We’ve written before about thylacines (commonly known as Tasmanian tigers) and their extinction, but what about their resurrection? Recently, scientists from Sweden and Norway retrieved RNA from a thylacine specimen, marking the first time in history that RNA has been recovered from an extinct species. RNA is what reads the genetically-encoded instructions found in DNA. However, RNA is much more fragile and difficult to preserve. If a tissue sample containing RNA isn’t put into cold storage quickly enough, it’s promptly destroyed by enzymes. Against all odds, researchers managed to recover intact RNA from a thylacine tissue sample at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm even though it had been kept at room temperature. Using the surviving RNA, scientists were able to catalog a list of transcriptomes, or actively expressed genes. By looking at transcriptomes, they can tell what proteins were being produced by the tissues found in the sample when the animal was still alive.
Thylacines went extinct around 130 years ago, but before their disappearance, they were the top predators in Tasmania. Predators play a key role in their respective ecosystems, so some conservationists believe that resurrecting and reintroducing thylacines to Tasmania would be good for the island’s health. Unfortunately, those hoping for a Jurassic Park situation, it’s unlikely that a thylacine will be cloned using the recently-retrieved RNA. What is possible, however, is a synthetic reconstruction of the species via gene editing, though even that would be a long way off. There are still immediate benefits to the RNA’s recovery, though. It opens up a world of possibilities for recovering RNA from similarly-kept samples, most of which were assumed to be lost causes. The RNA will also undoubtedly give scientists a detailed glimpse into the lives of these extinct creatures. The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but RNA is a porthole to the past.
[Image description: A drawing of two thylacines looking to the left.] Credit & copyright:
Henry Constantine Richter after John Gould, 1863, Wikimedia Commons, This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. -
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
Almost a week into the autoworkers strike, there are few signs of progress. If little movement is made by tomorrow, the United Auto Workers union is promisin...
Almost a week into the autoworkers strike, there are few signs of progress. If little movement is made by tomorrow, the United Auto Workers union is promisin...
September 24, 2023
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
During the pandemic, federal subsidies kept many child care facilities afloat. But that aid will begin to disappear at the end of the month. Meanwhile, feder...
During the pandemic, federal subsidies kept many child care facilities afloat. But that aid will begin to disappear at the end of the month. Meanwhile, feder...
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FREEBiology PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Who’s that rarefied, long-legged beauty in pink? No, it’s not Barbie—it’s the flamingo. Some of these fine, feathered flyers were recently blown astray by Hurricane Idalia and found themselves scattered across the U.S. There have been sightings of them from Texas to Ohio, but even without the storm, these plucky proprietors of pink plumage have been spotted in places beyond their usual hangouts due to a number of factors.
Most flamingos in the U.S. reside in Florida, where they are a native species. There aren’t that many of them left in the Sunshine State, though, since overhunting nearly drove them to extinction in the early 1900s. When Hurricane Idalia struck the Southeastern U.S. this year, some Florida flamingos fled outside of their natural range to avoid the storm, while others got caught in it and were knocked off their usual flight paths by force. Luckily, the birds should be able to get back home. Flamingos may look like fussy fashionistas, but they’re actually hardened survivors that have conquered some of the harshest environments on Earth.
Flamingos have been around for about 30 million years, making them quite a bit older than humans, and they’ve survived so long via some impressive adaptations. While no one knows why they’re pink, we do know how they become pink. A flamingo’s diet consists mostly of plants and brine shrimp. The pigments or carotenoids in these foods are absorbed by the flamingos’ feathers. Flamingos aren’t born pink, but rather a dull gray. Luckily, it doesn’t take long for flamingo chicks to grow their adult feathers, and they retain their pink hues as long as they have a decent source of food. Flamingos have very attentive parents who feed them something called “crop milk,” a high protein liquid produced in the crop, a muscular pouch near their throats. Besides these adaptations, flamingos have unusual beaks that almost appear to be attached upside-down. These are used for filter feeding. While standing in shallow water, flamingos dip their heads down and take in whatever plant matter, insects, or shrimp they can, using their beaks like scoops. They then expel the water through thin, comb-like plates inside their beaks. Flamingos’ legs also look as if they’re pointing the wrong way because they seem to bend backwards at the knee. However, the bending joint that’s visible is actually their ankle. Their knees are hidden under their feathers, much closer to their bodies. Flamingos can stand on just one of these long, sturdy legs for hours at a time—even sleeping in that position. They do this because their unique anatomy lets them use less energy to stand on one leg than on two. Some scientists believe that this also allows them to conserve heat when it’s cold. Their legs have thick, durable skin, which is particularly useful for flamingos living near alkaline lakes. These bodies of water have high concentrations of highly corrosive carbonate salts that would be deadly to most other animals, yet adult flamingos are practically immune to them.
Despite these incredible adaptations, flamingo populations around the world are only tenuously safe. Per the The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, American flamingos and greater flamingos are considered species of “least concern.” Meanwhile the Andean flamingo is considered “vulnerable” and the Chilean flamingo is considered “near threatened.” The greatest threats facing the latter are hunting, habitat loss, and pollution, but all species can be affected by storms or flooding, which are increasing in severity and frequency with climate change. Then again, maybe flamingos will surprise us—they’re so weird, you never know what surprises they’re hiding under their gorgeous getups.
[Image description: A pair of deep pink flamingos stands in front of a flock of lighter-pink flamingos.] Credit & copyright: Alexas_Fotos, PixabayWho’s that rarefied, long-legged beauty in pink? No, it’s not Barbie—it’s the flamingo. Some of these fine, feathered flyers were recently blown astray by Hurricane Idalia and found themselves scattered across the U.S. There have been sightings of them from Texas to Ohio, but even without the storm, these plucky proprietors of pink plumage have been spotted in places beyond their usual hangouts due to a number of factors.
Most flamingos in the U.S. reside in Florida, where they are a native species. There aren’t that many of them left in the Sunshine State, though, since overhunting nearly drove them to extinction in the early 1900s. When Hurricane Idalia struck the Southeastern U.S. this year, some Florida flamingos fled outside of their natural range to avoid the storm, while others got caught in it and were knocked off their usual flight paths by force. Luckily, the birds should be able to get back home. Flamingos may look like fussy fashionistas, but they’re actually hardened survivors that have conquered some of the harshest environments on Earth.
Flamingos have been around for about 30 million years, making them quite a bit older than humans, and they’ve survived so long via some impressive adaptations. While no one knows why they’re pink, we do know how they become pink. A flamingo’s diet consists mostly of plants and brine shrimp. The pigments or carotenoids in these foods are absorbed by the flamingos’ feathers. Flamingos aren’t born pink, but rather a dull gray. Luckily, it doesn’t take long for flamingo chicks to grow their adult feathers, and they retain their pink hues as long as they have a decent source of food. Flamingos have very attentive parents who feed them something called “crop milk,” a high protein liquid produced in the crop, a muscular pouch near their throats. Besides these adaptations, flamingos have unusual beaks that almost appear to be attached upside-down. These are used for filter feeding. While standing in shallow water, flamingos dip their heads down and take in whatever plant matter, insects, or shrimp they can, using their beaks like scoops. They then expel the water through thin, comb-like plates inside their beaks. Flamingos’ legs also look as if they’re pointing the wrong way because they seem to bend backwards at the knee. However, the bending joint that’s visible is actually their ankle. Their knees are hidden under their feathers, much closer to their bodies. Flamingos can stand on just one of these long, sturdy legs for hours at a time—even sleeping in that position. They do this because their unique anatomy lets them use less energy to stand on one leg than on two. Some scientists believe that this also allows them to conserve heat when it’s cold. Their legs have thick, durable skin, which is particularly useful for flamingos living near alkaline lakes. These bodies of water have high concentrations of highly corrosive carbonate salts that would be deadly to most other animals, yet adult flamingos are practically immune to them.
Despite these incredible adaptations, flamingo populations around the world are only tenuously safe. Per the The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, American flamingos and greater flamingos are considered species of “least concern.” Meanwhile the Andean flamingo is considered “vulnerable” and the Chilean flamingo is considered “near threatened.” The greatest threats facing the latter are hunting, habitat loss, and pollution, but all species can be affected by storms or flooding, which are increasing in severity and frequency with climate change. Then again, maybe flamingos will surprise us—they’re so weird, you never know what surprises they’re hiding under their gorgeous getups.
[Image description: A pair of deep pink flamingos stands in front of a flock of lighter-pink flamingos.] Credit & copyright: Alexas_Fotos, Pixabay
September 23, 2023
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 23, 2023\TEN-uh-brus\ adjective
What It Means
Tenebrous is a formal word that is often used as a synonym of gloom...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 23, 2023\TEN-uh-brus\ adjective
What It Means
Tenebrous is a formal word that is often used as a synonym of gloom...
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
The owner of the Everton soccer club in England’s Premier League has agreed to sell the Liverpool-based team to an investment group based in Miami. If approv...
The owner of the Everton soccer club in England’s Premier League has agreed to sell the Liverpool-based team to an investment group based in Miami. If approv...
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FREEMind + Body Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
You could say that Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tendon was his Achilles heel. In the first quarter of his debut as the quarterback for the New York Jets, Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon. He is now expected to sit out the rest of the season, and fans are wondering if he will return at all. The concern has merit, since an Achilles tear is a potentially career-ending injury. The Achilles tendon, also known as the calcaneus tendon, connects the heel bone to the calf muscles. It’s an incredibly strong piece of connective tissue—the largest in the body—and for good reason. The tendon bears the weight of the entire body when a person takes a step, jumps, or stands on their toes. Without it, it wouldn’t be possible to flex the foot, which is kind of important when you’re a football player. Rodgers likely tore his tendon by making a sudden movement with his foot that stretched the tendon beyond its limit, made more likely by a previous calf injury that weakened the attached muscles. An Achilles tear requires rehabilitation and/or surgery, and the resulting loss in tendon strength was once considered a sure career-ender. Luckily, recent studies show that proper rehabilitation might end up strengthening the surrounding structures, allowing athletes to perform at the same or higher levels, as is sometimes the case with ACL reconstructions. As for Rodgers, he is expected to make a recovery in about a year, albeit at around 90 percent strength. As a quarterback, he’s less reliant on the tendon’s strength, which improves his odds of fully recovering. Just keep any poisoned arrows off the field.
[Image description: A pair of feet in orange-and-black sneakers shown climbing a stone staircase from behind.] Credit & copyright: StockSnap, Pixabay
You could say that Aaron Rodgers’ Achilles tendon was his Achilles heel. In the first quarter of his debut as the quarterback for the New York Jets, Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon. He is now expected to sit out the rest of the season, and fans are wondering if he will return at all. The concern has merit, since an Achilles tear is a potentially career-ending injury. The Achilles tendon, also known as the calcaneus tendon, connects the heel bone to the calf muscles. It’s an incredibly strong piece of connective tissue—the largest in the body—and for good reason. The tendon bears the weight of the entire body when a person takes a step, jumps, or stands on their toes. Without it, it wouldn’t be possible to flex the foot, which is kind of important when you’re a football player. Rodgers likely tore his tendon by making a sudden movement with his foot that stretched the tendon beyond its limit, made more likely by a previous calf injury that weakened the attached muscles. An Achilles tear requires rehabilitation and/or surgery, and the resulting loss in tendon strength was once considered a sure career-ender. Luckily, recent studies show that proper rehabilitation might end up strengthening the surrounding structures, allowing athletes to perform at the same or higher levels, as is sometimes the case with ACL reconstructions. As for Rodgers, he is expected to make a recovery in about a year, albeit at around 90 percent strength. As a quarterback, he’s less reliant on the tendon’s strength, which improves his odds of fully recovering. Just keep any poisoned arrows off the field.
[Image description: A pair of feet in orange-and-black sneakers shown climbing a stone staircase from behind.] Credit & copyright: StockSnap, Pixabay
September 22, 2023
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: The United Kingdom is set to clear a fresh Microsoft-Activision deal. In August, the “Call of Duty” maker agreed to sell its stre...
From the BBC World Service: The United Kingdom is set to clear a fresh Microsoft-Activision deal. In August, the “Call of Duty” maker agreed to sell its stre...
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s scrumptious. It’s also associated with Russia even though it wasn’t invented there, and named after an ingredient that is rarely used to make it anymore. Suffice it to say that borscht has a long and complicated history. Luckily, the tangy soup itself is quite simple to make.
Borscht is a bright red soup made from meat stock, sautéed vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, and fermented beetroot juice, called beet sour. This final ingredient is what gives the soup its famous color. One ingredient you won’t find in most modern borscht is hogweed ( also called cow-parsnip), a common European weed related to fennel. Yet the original Slavic name for borscht refers to this plant. That’s because, before beets were widely cultivated, hogweed was the ingredient that gave borscht its sour kick. In fact, borscht dates back to around the fifth century C.E., when foraging for wild ingredients was common practice.
In what is now Ukraine, ancient Slavic peoples would pick and chop up hogweed in early summer, then place it in clay pots filled with water and leave it to ferment. The result was a sour ingredient that could be combined with meat, cream, and egg yolks to make tarts or used as a primary component in soup. Hogweed remained the main ingredient in borscht until around the 17th century, by which time it had spread throughout what we now think of as Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that many people, including famed Polish botanist Simon Syrenius, considered hogweed a great hangover cure at the time, borscht began to change alongside Slavic farming practices. No one knows when, exactly, beetroot replaced hogweed as the soup’s primary ingredient, but many historians believe that it happened east of the Dneiper River in the late 17th century. The change was likely made by Ukrainian farmers living under Russian rule who turned to their own crops for sustenance.
As Russia became a dominant force in 18th century Europe, borscht’s popularity grew further. Meatless versions were often eaten by Christians during religious fasts, and Russian churches would sometimes distribute bowls of borscht to the poor. Today, this flavorful soup is considered a Russian staple food, and is often served with a dollop of sour cream on top, alongside boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Still, its humble origins have never been forgotten. In Poland, the common phrase “tani jak barszcz” even means “cheap as borscht.” Hey, the most delicious things in life aren’t always the fanciest.
[Image description: A bown of borscht topped with sour cream and fennel against a white background. There is sliced, brown bread in the upper right.] Credit & copyright: Polina Tankilevitch, PexelsIt’s sweet, it’s sour, it’s scrumptious. It’s also associated with Russia even though it wasn’t invented there, and named after an ingredient that is rarely used to make it anymore. Suffice it to say that borscht has a long and complicated history. Luckily, the tangy soup itself is quite simple to make.
Borscht is a bright red soup made from meat stock, sautéed vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, and carrots, and fermented beetroot juice, called beet sour. This final ingredient is what gives the soup its famous color. One ingredient you won’t find in most modern borscht is hogweed ( also called cow-parsnip), a common European weed related to fennel. Yet the original Slavic name for borscht refers to this plant. That’s because, before beets were widely cultivated, hogweed was the ingredient that gave borscht its sour kick. In fact, borscht dates back to around the fifth century C.E., when foraging for wild ingredients was common practice.
In what is now Ukraine, ancient Slavic peoples would pick and chop up hogweed in early summer, then place it in clay pots filled with water and leave it to ferment. The result was a sour ingredient that could be combined with meat, cream, and egg yolks to make tarts or used as a primary component in soup. Hogweed remained the main ingredient in borscht until around the 17th century, by which time it had spread throughout what we now think of as Eastern Europe. Despite the fact that many people, including famed Polish botanist Simon Syrenius, considered hogweed a great hangover cure at the time, borscht began to change alongside Slavic farming practices. No one knows when, exactly, beetroot replaced hogweed as the soup’s primary ingredient, but many historians believe that it happened east of the Dneiper River in the late 17th century. The change was likely made by Ukrainian farmers living under Russian rule who turned to their own crops for sustenance.
As Russia became a dominant force in 18th century Europe, borscht’s popularity grew further. Meatless versions were often eaten by Christians during religious fasts, and Russian churches would sometimes distribute bowls of borscht to the poor. Today, this flavorful soup is considered a Russian staple food, and is often served with a dollop of sour cream on top, alongside boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Still, its humble origins have never been forgotten. In Poland, the common phrase “tani jak barszcz” even means “cheap as borscht.” Hey, the most delicious things in life aren’t always the fanciest.
[Image description: A bown of borscht topped with sour cream and fennel against a white background. There is sliced, brown bread in the upper right.] Credit & copyright: Polina Tankilevitch, Pexels
September 21, 2023
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia’s full scale invasion last year — welcoming more than a million r...
From the BBC World Service: Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia’s full scale invasion last year — welcoming more than a million r...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 21, 2023\REJ-uh-mun\ noun
What It Means
Regimen refers to a plan or set of rules about food, exercise, etc., desi...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 21, 2023\REJ-uh-mun\ noun
What It Means
Regimen refers to a plan or set of rules about food, exercise, etc., desi...
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FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Progress can sometimes mean making compromises, but further progress can negate them entirely. The tomatoes we find in modern grocery stores are a bit tougher than they were a few decades ago. In fact, they had to undergo selective breeding to make them strong enough for mechanical harvesting. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of flavor (which is why softer, garden-variety tomatoes always seem yummier than the ones at the store.) Now, a team of plant geneticists at Shandong Agricultural University claim to have found a way to bring the flavor back to tomatoes while making them as strong as ever, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Plants. Most modern store-variety tomatoes available in the U.S. today are the result of a breeding program led by agronomist Gordie C. Hanna in the mid-1960s. After decades of experimenting, he created a cultivar known as the "square tomato,” which was capable of withstanding the rigors of mechanical harvesting. The veggies revolutionized California’s agricultural industry and made tomatoes more accessible, but whatever made them firm also made them slightly less flavorful. The Shandong Agricultural University team believes that the key to solving this problem lies in roma tomatoes, which are oblong and durable, yet delicious. They found the gene responsible for the variety’s shape, Solyc08g061910, and introduced it to two other cultivars, TB0249 and Ailsa Craig. With genetic editing, the cultivars took on the oblong shape of roma tomatoes and became more resistant to crushing while retaining their flavor. However, there is yet another problem: many restaurants prefer large, round tomatoes to get large, round slices for sandwiches and other dishes. The next step, then, is to figure out how to make the tomatoes larger too. Bigger, tastier tomatoes certainly sound good, no idea no matter how you slice it.
[Image description: A tomato plant with a vine of red tomatoes covered in drops of water.] Credit & copyright: kie-ker, Pixabay
Progress can sometimes mean making compromises, but further progress can negate them entirely. The tomatoes we find in modern grocery stores are a bit tougher than they were a few decades ago. In fact, they had to undergo selective breeding to make them strong enough for mechanical harvesting. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of flavor (which is why softer, garden-variety tomatoes always seem yummier than the ones at the store.) Now, a team of plant geneticists at Shandong Agricultural University claim to have found a way to bring the flavor back to tomatoes while making them as strong as ever, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Plants. Most modern store-variety tomatoes available in the U.S. today are the result of a breeding program led by agronomist Gordie C. Hanna in the mid-1960s. After decades of experimenting, he created a cultivar known as the "square tomato,” which was capable of withstanding the rigors of mechanical harvesting. The veggies revolutionized California’s agricultural industry and made tomatoes more accessible, but whatever made them firm also made them slightly less flavorful. The Shandong Agricultural University team believes that the key to solving this problem lies in roma tomatoes, which are oblong and durable, yet delicious. They found the gene responsible for the variety’s shape, Solyc08g061910, and introduced it to two other cultivars, TB0249 and Ailsa Craig. With genetic editing, the cultivars took on the oblong shape of roma tomatoes and became more resistant to crushing while retaining their flavor. However, there is yet another problem: many restaurants prefer large, round tomatoes to get large, round slices for sandwiches and other dishes. The next step, then, is to figure out how to make the tomatoes larger too. Bigger, tastier tomatoes certainly sound good, no idea no matter how you slice it.
[Image description: A tomato plant with a vine of red tomatoes covered in drops of water.] Credit & copyright: kie-ker, Pixabay
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FREELiterature Daily Curio #2728Free1 CQ
The greatest adventures can start in the most unexpected places. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published on this day in 1937. The beloved classic is known as a child-friendly prequel to the author’s grander fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings. Yet, few people know that it wasn’t actually intended to be a prequel at all.
Compared to the cosmically-high stakes of The Lord of the Rings, its predecessor seems fairly tame. It’s the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit with no ambitions of being a great adventurer, who goes on a journey with a gang of dwarves and an eccentric wizard. Being a hobbit, Bilbo is literally small in stature, and his people are insular folk unconcerned with anything that happens beyond their land, called The Shire. After helping the dwarves reclaim their home from a dragon, Bilbo returns to The Shire as a braver and more worldly hobbit, and thus his adventure ends.
So why does this simple story lead into one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time? Well, it wasn’t really supposed to. Tolkien first conceived of The Hobbit as a way to entertain his children. As he made up the story, he added things his children liked, like bears, silly jokes, and the hobbits’ famous love of food. When Tolkien finally decided to write the story into a book and publish it, The Hobbit was wildly successful, prompting his publisher to ask Tolkien for more stories from the same world in which it took place.
Tolkien was a great world-builder and a renowned linguist with a keen interest in genealogy. So, when his publishers asked for more stories, he started work on The Silmarillion, a book that incorporated his passions. It greatly fleshed out the early mythology of Middle-earth, where The Hobbit took place. Unfortunately for Tolkein, his publishers really just wanted more hobbits. So, Tolkien began work on what would become The Lord of the Rings, featuring Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, as the protagonist at the heart of a war for the soul of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings is decidedly darker and more mature, than The Hobbit, yet at times it’s just as whimsical. Mythology and epic battles are great…but so are hobbits.
[Image description: A wooden writing desk with an open notebook, a leather bag, an inkwell, a jar of pencils, a stack of books, and a clock sitting on it. ] Credit & copyright: mozlase__, PixabayThe greatest adventures can start in the most unexpected places. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published on this day in 1937. The beloved classic is known as a child-friendly prequel to the author’s grander fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings. Yet, few people know that it wasn’t actually intended to be a prequel at all.
Compared to the cosmically-high stakes of The Lord of the Rings, its predecessor seems fairly tame. It’s the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit with no ambitions of being a great adventurer, who goes on a journey with a gang of dwarves and an eccentric wizard. Being a hobbit, Bilbo is literally small in stature, and his people are insular folk unconcerned with anything that happens beyond their land, called The Shire. After helping the dwarves reclaim their home from a dragon, Bilbo returns to The Shire as a braver and more worldly hobbit, and thus his adventure ends.
So why does this simple story lead into one of the greatest fantasy epics of all time? Well, it wasn’t really supposed to. Tolkien first conceived of The Hobbit as a way to entertain his children. As he made up the story, he added things his children liked, like bears, silly jokes, and the hobbits’ famous love of food. When Tolkien finally decided to write the story into a book and publish it, The Hobbit was wildly successful, prompting his publisher to ask Tolkien for more stories from the same world in which it took place.
Tolkien was a great world-builder and a renowned linguist with a keen interest in genealogy. So, when his publishers asked for more stories, he started work on The Silmarillion, a book that incorporated his passions. It greatly fleshed out the early mythology of Middle-earth, where The Hobbit took place. Unfortunately for Tolkein, his publishers really just wanted more hobbits. So, Tolkien began work on what would become The Lord of the Rings, featuring Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo, as the protagonist at the heart of a war for the soul of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings is decidedly darker and more mature, than The Hobbit, yet at times it’s just as whimsical. Mythology and epic battles are great…but so are hobbits.
[Image description: A wooden writing desk with an open notebook, a leather bag, an inkwell, a jar of pencils, a stack of books, and a clock sitting on it. ] Credit & copyright: mozlase__, Pixabay
September 20, 2023
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Japan’s fishing exports plummet 70% after China banned imports over the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima p...
From the BBC World Service: Japan’s fishing exports plummet 70% after China banned imports over the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima p...
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FREEHumanities Daily Curio #2727Free1 CQ
Raise the curtain! The first Cannes Film Festival took place on this day in 1946, and it continues to be one of the most prestigious events in the worldwide film industry. Named for the French city of Cannes (pronounced more like pan than pawn with silent “S”), the festival is heavily associated with the glitz and glamor of international movie stars gracing the scenic streets of its namesake. However, the festival actually has its origins in the tumultuous political climate preceding WWII.
French diplomat and historian Philippe Erlanger was at the International Venice Film Festival in 1938 when a Nazi propaganda film was announced as the winner due to political pressure from both Hitler and Mussolini. This led Erlanger to convince the French Minister of Education, Jean Zay, to create a film festival that could be free of political meddling. They followed through on this plan in 1939, holding an international film festival in Cannes at the same time as the one in Venice. Unfortunately, the first festival didn’t go as planned. Scheduled to begin on September 1, the festival debuted on the same day as Germany’s invasion of Poland. With the onset of WWII, the organizers couldn’t see the festival through. In the end, there was only a single, private screening featuring the American film Quasimodo, and the festival couldn’t be held again until after the war ended.
Between 1945 and 1946, Erlanger once again campaigned for a film festival held in France. At the time, there wasn’t any government funding available for the festival at the national or local level, so the money was collected through a public fundraising effort. Although there were numerous technical difficulties, the Cannes Film Festival was able to debut for the “first” time for a second time. Today, the festival is known for the unfettered creativity of the contributors, and is a place where experimental or unconventional projects can find an audience. Between screenings, producers and distributors get together to make deals on films that perform well with viewers and judges. The most coveted prize, of course, is the Palme d’Or (“golden palm”). Films that win the award often go on to be critically and commercially successful upon wider release, like Apocalypse Now and Pulp Fiction. You’ve just got to have a Cannes-do attitude and a certain je ne sais quoi to do well.
[Image description: An empty movie theater with red seats and a gold curtain.] Credit & copyright: onkelglocke, PixabayRaise the curtain! The first Cannes Film Festival took place on this day in 1946, and it continues to be one of the most prestigious events in the worldwide film industry. Named for the French city of Cannes (pronounced more like pan than pawn with silent “S”), the festival is heavily associated with the glitz and glamor of international movie stars gracing the scenic streets of its namesake. However, the festival actually has its origins in the tumultuous political climate preceding WWII.
French diplomat and historian Philippe Erlanger was at the International Venice Film Festival in 1938 when a Nazi propaganda film was announced as the winner due to political pressure from both Hitler and Mussolini. This led Erlanger to convince the French Minister of Education, Jean Zay, to create a film festival that could be free of political meddling. They followed through on this plan in 1939, holding an international film festival in Cannes at the same time as the one in Venice. Unfortunately, the first festival didn’t go as planned. Scheduled to begin on September 1, the festival debuted on the same day as Germany’s invasion of Poland. With the onset of WWII, the organizers couldn’t see the festival through. In the end, there was only a single, private screening featuring the American film Quasimodo, and the festival couldn’t be held again until after the war ended.
Between 1945 and 1946, Erlanger once again campaigned for a film festival held in France. At the time, there wasn’t any government funding available for the festival at the national or local level, so the money was collected through a public fundraising effort. Although there were numerous technical difficulties, the Cannes Film Festival was able to debut for the “first” time for a second time. Today, the festival is known for the unfettered creativity of the contributors, and is a place where experimental or unconventional projects can find an audience. Between screenings, producers and distributors get together to make deals on films that perform well with viewers and judges. The most coveted prize, of course, is the Palme d’Or (“golden palm”). Films that win the award often go on to be critically and commercially successful upon wider release, like Apocalypse Now and Pulp Fiction. You’ve just got to have a Cannes-do attitude and a certain je ne sais quoi to do well.
[Image description: An empty movie theater with red seats and a gold curtain.] Credit & copyright: onkelglocke, Pixabay -
FREEFinance Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It’s surprising enough when a high-level employee gets let go, nevermind a CEO! In a shocking and somewhat puzzling move, the board of Planet Fitness, one of the biggest fitness franchises in the country, ousted CEO Chris Rondeau late last week. The sudden turnover might not have seemed so abrupt if Planet Fitness had been doing poorly, but its recent second-quarter earnings report indicated that the business was performing well. In fact, Rondeau’s firing led the company’s stock to fall by around 16 percent, hitting a 52-week low. Although the board didn’t disclose their reasoning, chances are good that their choice wasn’t random. Planet Fitness has made fairly solid business decisions since its founding. In fact, co-founders Marc and Michael Grondahl didn’t have much fitness experience when they started the franchise business, in 1992. They did have business experience, though, which meant that they knew how to market to a specific niche. Knowing that gyms could be intimidating for fitness novices like themselves, they marketed Planet Fitness as a “judgment-free zone” where people of any skill level were welcome. As for the business’s future, the board has announced that the search for a new CEO is already underway. For the time being, board member Craig Benson, a former New Hampshire governor and Planet Fitness and Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee, is stepping in as interim CEO. Politics, dumbbells, and donuts: now that’s an impressive range of skills.
[Image description: A rack of weights in front of a long mirror.] Credit & copyright: Pexels, Pixabay. This image is not associated with Planet Fitness in any way.It’s surprising enough when a high-level employee gets let go, nevermind a CEO! In a shocking and somewhat puzzling move, the board of Planet Fitness, one of the biggest fitness franchises in the country, ousted CEO Chris Rondeau late last week. The sudden turnover might not have seemed so abrupt if Planet Fitness had been doing poorly, but its recent second-quarter earnings report indicated that the business was performing well. In fact, Rondeau’s firing led the company’s stock to fall by around 16 percent, hitting a 52-week low. Although the board didn’t disclose their reasoning, chances are good that their choice wasn’t random. Planet Fitness has made fairly solid business decisions since its founding. In fact, co-founders Marc and Michael Grondahl didn’t have much fitness experience when they started the franchise business, in 1992. They did have business experience, though, which meant that they knew how to market to a specific niche. Knowing that gyms could be intimidating for fitness novices like themselves, they marketed Planet Fitness as a “judgment-free zone” where people of any skill level were welcome. As for the business’s future, the board has announced that the search for a new CEO is already underway. For the time being, board member Craig Benson, a former New Hampshire governor and Planet Fitness and Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee, is stepping in as interim CEO. Politics, dumbbells, and donuts: now that’s an impressive range of skills.
[Image description: A rack of weights in front of a long mirror.] Credit & copyright: Pexels, Pixabay. This image is not associated with Planet Fitness in any way.
September 19, 2023
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
The central bank starts a two-day meeting on interest rates today, but significant headwinds are blowing. We’ll assess the biggest factors challenging the Fe...
The central bank starts a two-day meeting on interest rates today, but significant headwinds are blowing. We’ll assess the biggest factors challenging the Fe...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 19, 2023\pahn-TIF-uh-kayt\ verb
What It Means
To pontificate is to speak or express an opinion about something in...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 19, 2023\pahn-TIF-uh-kayt\ verb
What It Means
To pontificate is to speak or express an opinion about something in...
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
He’s been a star in his native Mexico for a while, but the recent VMAs have a lot of Americans asking: who is Peso Pluma? Was the song from his VMA performance actually about Lady Gaga? Oh, and why is the musician’s life being threatened by a drug cartel? As for the first question, Peso Pluma is a 24-year-old Mexican rapper whose songs began going viral on social media in 2022. Since then, he’s rocketed to fame in Mexico. Though the song he performed at the VMAs is titled Lady Gaga, it isn’t specifically about the pop star. Her name is a reference to a champagne she produced with Dom Pérignon. The song is a braggadocio track in which Pluma flaunts his money, fame, and drug-related exploits over surprisingly melodic instrumentation featuring violins, horns, and a cello. Not everyone is pleased by Pluma’s specific drug references, though. In some of his songs, he has praised the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo, leading the rival Mexican CJNG Cartel to threaten his life. Pluma has already postponed several concerts due to these threats. Here’s hoping he makes it to next year’s VMAs safe and sound.
He’s been a star in his native Mexico for a while, but the recent VMAs have a lot of Americans asking: who is Peso Pluma? Was the song from his VMA performance actually about Lady Gaga? Oh, and why is the musician’s life being threatened by a drug cartel? As for the first question, Peso Pluma is a 24-year-old Mexican rapper whose songs began going viral on social media in 2022. Since then, he’s rocketed to fame in Mexico. Though the song he performed at the VMAs is titled Lady Gaga, it isn’t specifically about the pop star. Her name is a reference to a champagne she produced with Dom Pérignon. The song is a braggadocio track in which Pluma flaunts his money, fame, and drug-related exploits over surprisingly melodic instrumentation featuring violins, horns, and a cello. Not everyone is pleased by Pluma’s specific drug references, though. In some of his songs, he has praised the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo, leading the rival Mexican CJNG Cartel to threaten his life. Pluma has already postponed several concerts due to these threats. Here’s hoping he makes it to next year’s VMAs safe and sound.
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FREEUS History Daily Curio #2726Free1 CQ
Americans love fireworks, but this takes things to another level. Just over 242 years ago, Benedict Arnold became a “turncoat” or traitor during the American Revolution and burned down the town of New London, Connecticut. In turn, New London burns him in effigy every year. The latest burning took place on September 9, during the annual Burning of Benedict Arnold Festival, with residents chanting, “Burn the traitor!” Arnold was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Unhappy with his treatment by his colleagues and superiors, he became a “turncoat,” as in, he joined the British “Redcoats” to fight against the former colonies.
Arnold is perhaps the most well-known traitor in American history, and his name is still synonymous with betrayal in common parlance today. But there’s actually more history behind the festival that bears his name. Soon after the end of the Revolutionary War, there were many local events throughout the U.S. akin to the Burning of Benedict Arnold Festival. The reason, aside from leftover animosity against traitors, was Guy Fawkes Day. Before the war, American colonists celebrated the day by burning an effigy of England’s most famous traitor, because they considered themselves English. But after the war, they couldn’t exactly go back to burning Guy Fawkes for treason when they had just fought a war against the king of England. Instead of letting the holiday die, they simply began burning effigies of American traitors. New London specifically picked Benedict Arnold for a little payback since he’d burned down their town. It’s all in good fun, though. This year, there were even self-proclaimed supporters of Arnold who showed up in powdered wigs to defend his honor in jest. As for how Arnold himself would feel about it, he probably wouldn’t be surprised—he actually saw himself being burned in effigy during his lifetime. And despite joining the British, he was never really accepted by British society. However, contrary to some enduring myths, Arnold never expressed any regrets for his decision, and there is no evidence to suggest that he was buried in his blue Continental uniform upon his death, though his tombstone reads, “Sometime general in the army of George Washington.” That’s some selective wording.
[Image description: A painting of Benedict Arnold in a hat and military uniform with one hand raised.] Credit & copyright: Thomas Hart, Wikimedia Commons, From the Anne S. K. Brown Collection at Brown University, Public Domain (published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1928.)Americans love fireworks, but this takes things to another level. Just over 242 years ago, Benedict Arnold became a “turncoat” or traitor during the American Revolution and burned down the town of New London, Connecticut. In turn, New London burns him in effigy every year. The latest burning took place on September 9, during the annual Burning of Benedict Arnold Festival, with residents chanting, “Burn the traitor!” Arnold was a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Unhappy with his treatment by his colleagues and superiors, he became a “turncoat,” as in, he joined the British “Redcoats” to fight against the former colonies.
Arnold is perhaps the most well-known traitor in American history, and his name is still synonymous with betrayal in common parlance today. But there’s actually more history behind the festival that bears his name. Soon after the end of the Revolutionary War, there were many local events throughout the U.S. akin to the Burning of Benedict Arnold Festival. The reason, aside from leftover animosity against traitors, was Guy Fawkes Day. Before the war, American colonists celebrated the day by burning an effigy of England’s most famous traitor, because they considered themselves English. But after the war, they couldn’t exactly go back to burning Guy Fawkes for treason when they had just fought a war against the king of England. Instead of letting the holiday die, they simply began burning effigies of American traitors. New London specifically picked Benedict Arnold for a little payback since he’d burned down their town. It’s all in good fun, though. This year, there were even self-proclaimed supporters of Arnold who showed up in powdered wigs to defend his honor in jest. As for how Arnold himself would feel about it, he probably wouldn’t be surprised—he actually saw himself being burned in effigy during his lifetime. And despite joining the British, he was never really accepted by British society. However, contrary to some enduring myths, Arnold never expressed any regrets for his decision, and there is no evidence to suggest that he was buried in his blue Continental uniform upon his death, though his tombstone reads, “Sometime general in the army of George Washington.” That’s some selective wording.
[Image description: A painting of Benedict Arnold in a hat and military uniform with one hand raised.] Credit & copyright: Thomas Hart, Wikimedia Commons, From the Anne S. K. Brown Collection at Brown University, Public Domain (published or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before January 1, 1928.)
