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May 26, 2022
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Hazel Henderson was perhaps best known as an environmental activist, her work in evolutionary economics and her iconoclastic views of several pillars of trad...
Hazel Henderson was perhaps best known as an environmental activist, her work in evolutionary economics and her iconoclastic views of several pillars of trad...
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 26, 2022
fetter \FET-er\ noun
What It Means
A fetter is a chain or shackle for the feet. Fetter is also used figuratively to refer t...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 26, 2022
fetter \FET-er\ noun
What It Means
A fetter is a chain or shackle for the feet. Fetter is also used figuratively to refer t...
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FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Scientists are really shooting for the moon with these plants. Researchers at the University of Florida were recently able to grow plants on Lunar soil collected during the Apollo missions, according to a paper published in Communications Biology. The soil used is Lunar regolith, which is powdery and razor-sharp at the microscopic level. That’s challenging enough when cultivating crops, but the scientists also had a limited quantity of the soil. After several attempts to acquire Lunar regolith from NASA, the agency finally loaned them just 12 grams to be used in their experiments. To make the most of the soil, the scientists created thimble-sized wells filled with 1 gram each. They then planted arabidopsis, also known as thale cress, along with a mix of nutrients and water. Surprisingly, the plants were able to sprout in the alien soil, although they did appear to struggle compared to the control group. The sprouts in the Lunar regolith tended to grow slower and were smaller in size. Most importantly, the scientists were able to deduce how the plants reacted to the stressful environment at the genetic level. Lead author Anna-Lisa Paul told Science News, “By seeing what kind of genes are turned on and turned off in response to a stress, that shows you what tools plants are pulling out of their metabolic toolbox to deal with that stress.” This means that, if humanity ever does create livable colonies on the moon, plants might be able to be genetically engineered to grow better there. Such plants could provide oxygen and food to lunar explorers. Now that would be some out-of-this-world horticulture.
[Image description: Bean sprouts grow inside small cups.] Credit & copyright: KlausAires, Pixabay
Scientists are really shooting for the moon with these plants. Researchers at the University of Florida were recently able to grow plants on Lunar soil collected during the Apollo missions, according to a paper published in Communications Biology. The soil used is Lunar regolith, which is powdery and razor-sharp at the microscopic level. That’s challenging enough when cultivating crops, but the scientists also had a limited quantity of the soil. After several attempts to acquire Lunar regolith from NASA, the agency finally loaned them just 12 grams to be used in their experiments. To make the most of the soil, the scientists created thimble-sized wells filled with 1 gram each. They then planted arabidopsis, also known as thale cress, along with a mix of nutrients and water. Surprisingly, the plants were able to sprout in the alien soil, although they did appear to struggle compared to the control group. The sprouts in the Lunar regolith tended to grow slower and were smaller in size. Most importantly, the scientists were able to deduce how the plants reacted to the stressful environment at the genetic level. Lead author Anna-Lisa Paul told Science News, “By seeing what kind of genes are turned on and turned off in response to a stress, that shows you what tools plants are pulling out of their metabolic toolbox to deal with that stress.” This means that, if humanity ever does create livable colonies on the moon, plants might be able to be genetically engineered to grow better there. Such plants could provide oxygen and food to lunar explorers. Now that would be some out-of-this-world horticulture.
[Image description: Bean sprouts grow inside small cups.] Credit & copyright: KlausAires, Pixabay
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FREEWorld History Daily Curio #2449Free1 CQ
Want to spend the night at the Moulin Rouge? Now you cancan. The famed cabaret recently announced that it’s making a secluded room within its iconic windmill structure available for booking through Airbnb. Founded in 1889 by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, the Moulin Rouge was an elaborately decorated entertainment venue where guests could mingle and watch dance performances while consuming copious amounts of champagne. It was where the cancan as it is portrayed today was developed, although the dance had been scandalizing polite society since the early 1800s. But not everything was fun and frivolity in the Moulin Rouge’s 130-plus years of history. The venue suffered a devastating fire in 1915 that required the entire structure to be rebuilt, and attendance was understandably low during World War II, when it was turned into a dance club. However, the Moulin Rouge was revitalized in the 1950s as a cabaret, and nowadays serves as a reservation-only cabaret where guests can enjoy dinner and a show.
However, this is the first time that anyone can stay overnight in the Moulin Rouge’s secret boudoir. It’s certainly a limited-time offer to say the least. Spots are available only on June 13, 20, and 27. But the stay comes with additional perks. The room will be decorated with costumes and other artifacts from the venue—including old letters sent to the performers from admirers. Guests will also be treated to a private tour of the Moulin Rouge, a three-course dinner, and have access to a rooftop terrace that would be off-limits to regular visitors. Of course, they’ll also get tickets to “Féerie,” the cabaret’s current stage show, and they’ll get to meet Claudine Van Den Bergh, the lead dancer of the Moulin Rouge who will be pulling double-duty as Airbnb host. So, what’s the price tag for the night of glitz and glamor in one of the most storied locations in Paris? Just one Euro, according to Airbnb. It’s sure to be a night to remember in the City of Light for whomever is lucky enough to snag a reservation!
[Image description: The Moulin Rouge, with its famous red windmill, in 2011.] Credit & copyright: Juanedc, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, image is hereby distributed under the same license linked here.Want to spend the night at the Moulin Rouge? Now you cancan. The famed cabaret recently announced that it’s making a secluded room within its iconic windmill structure available for booking through Airbnb. Founded in 1889 by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, the Moulin Rouge was an elaborately decorated entertainment venue where guests could mingle and watch dance performances while consuming copious amounts of champagne. It was where the cancan as it is portrayed today was developed, although the dance had been scandalizing polite society since the early 1800s. But not everything was fun and frivolity in the Moulin Rouge’s 130-plus years of history. The venue suffered a devastating fire in 1915 that required the entire structure to be rebuilt, and attendance was understandably low during World War II, when it was turned into a dance club. However, the Moulin Rouge was revitalized in the 1950s as a cabaret, and nowadays serves as a reservation-only cabaret where guests can enjoy dinner and a show.
However, this is the first time that anyone can stay overnight in the Moulin Rouge’s secret boudoir. It’s certainly a limited-time offer to say the least. Spots are available only on June 13, 20, and 27. But the stay comes with additional perks. The room will be decorated with costumes and other artifacts from the venue—including old letters sent to the performers from admirers. Guests will also be treated to a private tour of the Moulin Rouge, a three-course dinner, and have access to a rooftop terrace that would be off-limits to regular visitors. Of course, they’ll also get tickets to “Féerie,” the cabaret’s current stage show, and they’ll get to meet Claudine Van Den Bergh, the lead dancer of the Moulin Rouge who will be pulling double-duty as Airbnb host. So, what’s the price tag for the night of glitz and glamor in one of the most storied locations in Paris? Just one Euro, according to Airbnb. It’s sure to be a night to remember in the City of Light for whomever is lucky enough to snag a reservation!
[Image description: The Moulin Rouge, with its famous red windmill, in 2011.] Credit & copyright: Juanedc, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, image is hereby distributed under the same license linked here.
May 25, 2022
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: One of England’s top soccer clubs, Chelsea, is now in American hands, after the U.K. government approved its sale to a consortium...
From the BBC World Service: One of England’s top soccer clubs, Chelsea, is now in American hands, after the U.K. government approved its sale to a consortium...
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 25, 2022
benevolent \buh-NEV-uh-lunt\ adjective
What It Means
Benevolent means "kind and generous," or less commonly, "organized for...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 25, 2022
benevolent \buh-NEV-uh-lunt\ adjective
What It Means
Benevolent means "kind and generous," or less commonly, "organized for...
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FREEMind + Body Daily Curio #2448Free1 CQ
Is there another pandemic brewing? Not quite. Still, some people are understandably nervous after learning that the U.S. now has six confirmed cases of monkeypox. Government officials aren’t ready to sound the alarm just yet, though. The monkeypox virus was first identified in monkeys and causes symptoms very similar to smallpox—including headaches, fevers and skin rashes—but tends to be milder in severity. However, the disease is still considerably deadly, with a mortality rate of 1 in 10, with children, pregnant women and the elderly being most susceptible. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox is only endemic to a few African countries, but with cases popping up in North America and Europe, there are some concerns that the disease may be spreading. One of the U.S. cases involved an individual who was traveling from Nigeria, while another case involved someone in Massachusetts who had recently traveled to Canada. Between the 13th and 21st of May, there were up to 92 confirmed cases and up to 28 further suspected cases throughout North America and Europe. Still, no one is calling for quarantines or lockdowns, as governments around the world did with COVID-19. The reason is mainly that while monkeypox is far deadlier, it isn’t nearly transmissible as the coronavirus.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it originates in some animals (not just monkeys). It can be spread to humans who consume infected meat. Between humans, the disease is primarily spread through skin-to-skin contact. In a recently published statement, the WHO stated that the confirmed cases involve mostly sexual transmission, and the AP is reporting that the majority of cases can be linked to raves that were held in Spain and Belgium. Even if the virus were to somehow spread to the wider population, there is already a vaccine that has been proven to be effective, meaning that there won’t be a rush to develop it on the fly in the event of an outbreak. On May 23, at a news conference in Tokyo, President Joe Biden stated, "We have had this monkeypox in large numbers in the past. We have vaccines to take care of it.” He added, "I just don't think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with Covid-19." Of course, it never hurts to keep some hand sanitizer around.
[Image description: A toque monkey sits in a tree.] Credit & copyright: pen_ash, PixabayIs there another pandemic brewing? Not quite. Still, some people are understandably nervous after learning that the U.S. now has six confirmed cases of monkeypox. Government officials aren’t ready to sound the alarm just yet, though. The monkeypox virus was first identified in monkeys and causes symptoms very similar to smallpox—including headaches, fevers and skin rashes—but tends to be milder in severity. However, the disease is still considerably deadly, with a mortality rate of 1 in 10, with children, pregnant women and the elderly being most susceptible. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), monkeypox is only endemic to a few African countries, but with cases popping up in North America and Europe, there are some concerns that the disease may be spreading. One of the U.S. cases involved an individual who was traveling from Nigeria, while another case involved someone in Massachusetts who had recently traveled to Canada. Between the 13th and 21st of May, there were up to 92 confirmed cases and up to 28 further suspected cases throughout North America and Europe. Still, no one is calling for quarantines or lockdowns, as governments around the world did with COVID-19. The reason is mainly that while monkeypox is far deadlier, it isn’t nearly transmissible as the coronavirus.
Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it originates in some animals (not just monkeys). It can be spread to humans who consume infected meat. Between humans, the disease is primarily spread through skin-to-skin contact. In a recently published statement, the WHO stated that the confirmed cases involve mostly sexual transmission, and the AP is reporting that the majority of cases can be linked to raves that were held in Spain and Belgium. Even if the virus were to somehow spread to the wider population, there is already a vaccine that has been proven to be effective, meaning that there won’t be a rush to develop it on the fly in the event of an outbreak. On May 23, at a news conference in Tokyo, President Joe Biden stated, "We have had this monkeypox in large numbers in the past. We have vaccines to take care of it.” He added, "I just don't think it rises to the level of the kind of concern that existed with Covid-19." Of course, it never hurts to keep some hand sanitizer around.
[Image description: A toque monkey sits in a tree.] Credit & copyright: pen_ash, Pixabay -
FREEWork Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
A high-ranking job at established businesses is an end-goal for many, but for some aspirational entrepreneurs it’s just a stepping stone. 49-year-old Faisal Masud spent years working in high-level positions at business powerhouses like Amazon and Google. Using what he learned there, Masud helped launch an e-commerce startup called Fabric in 2016. Fabric creates software that allows retailers to sell goods online, similar to businesses like Shopify, although Fabric is more tailored to medium and large-scale businesses. Since e-commerce software is a hot commodity these days, it’s no surprise that the startup is well-funded by investors. But the hard truth is that even well-funded startups often die. That’s where Masud’s expertise came in. As Fabric’s CEO, he employs many work principles that he learned at specific large businesses. For example, having empathy for employees, rather than seeing them as cogs in a machine, is something that Masud learned during his years at Google. The concept of “ownership”, wherein a particular person “owns” a particular developmental idea and has final say over its implementation, is something he learned at Amazon. “Culturally, we’ve built a company that’s sort of a hybrid of all the companies I’ve worked at,” Masud told CNBC. “We’re able to take the best pieces out of the places I’ve had experiences and apply those.” Talk about lifelong learning.
[Image description: A digital illustration of hands reaching out of computer screens, one holding a $100 dollar bill, the other holding a brown shopping bag.] Credit & copyright: Mediamodifier, PixabayA high-ranking job at established businesses is an end-goal for many, but for some aspirational entrepreneurs it’s just a stepping stone. 49-year-old Faisal Masud spent years working in high-level positions at business powerhouses like Amazon and Google. Using what he learned there, Masud helped launch an e-commerce startup called Fabric in 2016. Fabric creates software that allows retailers to sell goods online, similar to businesses like Shopify, although Fabric is more tailored to medium and large-scale businesses. Since e-commerce software is a hot commodity these days, it’s no surprise that the startup is well-funded by investors. But the hard truth is that even well-funded startups often die. That’s where Masud’s expertise came in. As Fabric’s CEO, he employs many work principles that he learned at specific large businesses. For example, having empathy for employees, rather than seeing them as cogs in a machine, is something that Masud learned during his years at Google. The concept of “ownership”, wherein a particular person “owns” a particular developmental idea and has final say over its implementation, is something he learned at Amazon. “Culturally, we’ve built a company that’s sort of a hybrid of all the companies I’ve worked at,” Masud told CNBC. “We’re able to take the best pieces out of the places I’ve had experiences and apply those.” Talk about lifelong learning.
[Image description: A digital illustration of hands reaching out of computer screens, one holding a $100 dollar bill, the other holding a brown shopping bag.] Credit & copyright: Mediamodifier, Pixabay
May 24, 2022
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6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: The World Food Programme’s director bluntly lays out what could happen if food production and delivery continues to be hit by the...
From the BBC World Service: The World Food Programme’s director bluntly lays out what could happen if food production and delivery continues to be hit by the...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day : May 24, 2022
dander \DAN-der\ noun
What It Means
Dander is a synonym of dandruff and is also used to refer to anger or temper, especiall...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 24, 2022
dander \DAN-der\ noun
What It Means
Dander is a synonym of dandruff and is also used to refer to anger or temper, especiall...
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
And the winner is…Switzerland! American Idol is far from the first televised singing contest. The honor for longest-running annual, international, televised music competition goes to Europe’s Eurovision Song Contest, in which European countries compete to see which is the best at writing and performing songs. Held in Lugano, Switzerland, on this day in 1956, the very first Eurovision contest saw Swiss singer Lys Assia score the win for her country with her rendition of Refrain. Assia performed the song in French as it was originally written by Swiss radio moderator Émile Gardaz and Swiss composer Géo Voumard. The song adheres to the chanson style of French music, in which lyrics take a front seat and sometimes even run over the meter of each line. With its sweet melody and lyrics about long lost youth and love, Refrain was a dignified song for a dignified song contest. Eurovision’s first competitors might not recognize the pop-heavy, bombastic competition today. But hey, at least it’s still running.
[Image description: A black-and-white photo of Lys Assia, who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, performing at the 1958 contest.] Credit & copyright: Nederlandse Televisie Stichting, Beeld en Geluid Wiki, image cropped for size, this image is hereby distributed under the same license linked here.
And the winner is…Switzerland! American Idol is far from the first televised singing contest. The honor for longest-running annual, international, televised music competition goes to Europe’s Eurovision Song Contest, in which European countries compete to see which is the best at writing and performing songs. Held in Lugano, Switzerland, on this day in 1956, the very first Eurovision contest saw Swiss singer Lys Assia score the win for her country with her rendition of Refrain. Assia performed the song in French as it was originally written by Swiss radio moderator Émile Gardaz and Swiss composer Géo Voumard. The song adheres to the chanson style of French music, in which lyrics take a front seat and sometimes even run over the meter of each line. With its sweet melody and lyrics about long lost youth and love, Refrain was a dignified song for a dignified song contest. Eurovision’s first competitors might not recognize the pop-heavy, bombastic competition today. But hey, at least it’s still running.
[Image description: A black-and-white photo of Lys Assia, who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, performing at the 1958 contest.] Credit & copyright: Nederlandse Televisie Stichting, Beeld en Geluid Wiki, image cropped for size, this image is hereby distributed under the same license linked here.
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FREEScience Daily Curio #2447Free1 CQ
This place is a hole. Literally! Cave explorers in China have found a massive sinkhole in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that is home to an ancient forest. The area is known for large limestone formations, and caves and sinkholes in the region are common. Sinkholes are formed when water erodes away at the limestone, and in this case, the culprit is an underground river system. While sinkholes are a common occurrence, it’s rare to find one large enough to contain its own forest. In China, there are around 29 other known sinkholes like this, called Tiankeng, which means “heavenly pit” in Mandarin. This particular sinkhole appears to be about 500 feet wide, 1000 feet long and 630 feet deep. It’s so big that it took explorers hours to safely rappel down around 330 feet before trekking into the sunken forest.
Despite the size of the hole, there isn’t much sunlight at the bottom because of the limited angle at which light can enter from above. Nevertheless, the trees in the underground forest grow up to 130 feet, seemingly well-adapted to their unusual environment. On the forest floor are shade plants that fill every nook and cranny, potentially hiding future discoveries. Chen Lixin, the leader of the expedition that discovered the massive sinkhole, believes there might be undiscovered species lurking in the enclosed ecosystem. Lixin told the press, "I wouldn't be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now.” Lixin’s team was sent from the Institute of Karst Geology of the China Geological Survey. Its sister institute in the U.S. is the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI). NCKRI’s executive director, George Veni, explained that China’s karsts, or limestone landscapes featuring heavily eroded areas, are different than those found in other parts of the world . "So in China you have this incredibly visually spectacular karst with enormous sinkholes and giant cave entrances and so forth. In other parts of the world you walk out on the karst and you really don't notice anything. Sinkholes might be quite subdued, only a meter or two in diameter. Cave entrances might be very small, so you have to squeeze your way into them." Sounds like China really is heavenly for sinkhole explorers.
[Image description: The Xiaozhai Tiankeng, the world's deepest sinkhole, in Chongqing Municipality, China.] Credit & copyright: Brookqi, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, Public DomainThis place is a hole. Literally! Cave explorers in China have found a massive sinkhole in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region that is home to an ancient forest. The area is known for large limestone formations, and caves and sinkholes in the region are common. Sinkholes are formed when water erodes away at the limestone, and in this case, the culprit is an underground river system. While sinkholes are a common occurrence, it’s rare to find one large enough to contain its own forest. In China, there are around 29 other known sinkholes like this, called Tiankeng, which means “heavenly pit” in Mandarin. This particular sinkhole appears to be about 500 feet wide, 1000 feet long and 630 feet deep. It’s so big that it took explorers hours to safely rappel down around 330 feet before trekking into the sunken forest.
Despite the size of the hole, there isn’t much sunlight at the bottom because of the limited angle at which light can enter from above. Nevertheless, the trees in the underground forest grow up to 130 feet, seemingly well-adapted to their unusual environment. On the forest floor are shade plants that fill every nook and cranny, potentially hiding future discoveries. Chen Lixin, the leader of the expedition that discovered the massive sinkhole, believes there might be undiscovered species lurking in the enclosed ecosystem. Lixin told the press, "I wouldn't be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now.” Lixin’s team was sent from the Institute of Karst Geology of the China Geological Survey. Its sister institute in the U.S. is the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI). NCKRI’s executive director, George Veni, explained that China’s karsts, or limestone landscapes featuring heavily eroded areas, are different than those found in other parts of the world . "So in China you have this incredibly visually spectacular karst with enormous sinkholes and giant cave entrances and so forth. In other parts of the world you walk out on the karst and you really don't notice anything. Sinkholes might be quite subdued, only a meter or two in diameter. Cave entrances might be very small, so you have to squeeze your way into them." Sounds like China really is heavenly for sinkhole explorers.
[Image description: The Xiaozhai Tiankeng, the world's deepest sinkhole, in Chongqing Municipality, China.] Credit & copyright: Brookqi, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, Public Domain
May 23, 2022
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 23, 2022
mercurial \mer-KYUR-ee-ul\ adjective
What It Means
Mercurial means "changing often" or "characterized by rapid and unpredic...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 23, 2022
mercurial \mer-KYUR-ee-ul\ adjective
What It Means
Mercurial means "changing often" or "characterized by rapid and unpredic...
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
How much impact will inflation have on profits? Will higher interest rates lead a recession? Investors are getting out of stocks at a rate that’s causing the...
How much impact will inflation have on profits? Will higher interest rates lead a recession? Investors are getting out of stocks at a rate that’s causing the...
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #2446Free1 CQ
This is a big step toward helping little ones. Scientists might be moving closer to solving the mystery behind one of the most tragic syndromes known to man: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Australian researchers recently published a study in eBioMedicine claiming that they’ve found the first ever biomarker, or genetic indicator, for SIDS. The Mayo Clinic defines SIDS as the unexplained death of an infant under one year old, usually during sleep. Past studies have not shown any genetic links, although SIDS is more likely to affect an infant who has had closely related family members die of it. It is also more likely to affect infants who are born premature, born to mothers under 20, or who live in a household where someone smokes. Around 3,400 babies die from it every year in the U.S. alone, and parents have long been desperate for answers on how to prevent it.
In this new line of research, scientists examined blood samples from infants that had died from SIDS, specifically to measure the levels of Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), an enzyme in the cholinergic system, part of the body’s autonomic system that controls things like sleep, wakefulness, and blood pressure. They found that in the samples from infants that had died from SIDS, the BChE activity was lower than in healthy infants. This marks the very first measurable factor that can be tied to SIDS. In a press release by the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, lead author of the study, Dr. Carmel Therese Harrington, stated, “Babies have a very powerful mechanism to let us know when they are not happy. Usually, if a baby is confronted with a life-threatening situation, such as difficulty breathing during sleep because they are on their tummies, they will arouse and cry out. What this research shows is that some babies don't have this same robust arousal response.” While this finding doesn’t yet point to a cure for SIDS, and there is currently no test available to search for low BChE in living infants, at least some light is finally being shed on this dark subject.
[Image description: An infant’s hand clutches and adult’s finger.] Credit & copyright: RitaE, PixabayThis is a big step toward helping little ones. Scientists might be moving closer to solving the mystery behind one of the most tragic syndromes known to man: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Australian researchers recently published a study in eBioMedicine claiming that they’ve found the first ever biomarker, or genetic indicator, for SIDS. The Mayo Clinic defines SIDS as the unexplained death of an infant under one year old, usually during sleep. Past studies have not shown any genetic links, although SIDS is more likely to affect an infant who has had closely related family members die of it. It is also more likely to affect infants who are born premature, born to mothers under 20, or who live in a household where someone smokes. Around 3,400 babies die from it every year in the U.S. alone, and parents have long been desperate for answers on how to prevent it.
In this new line of research, scientists examined blood samples from infants that had died from SIDS, specifically to measure the levels of Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), an enzyme in the cholinergic system, part of the body’s autonomic system that controls things like sleep, wakefulness, and blood pressure. They found that in the samples from infants that had died from SIDS, the BChE activity was lower than in healthy infants. This marks the very first measurable factor that can be tied to SIDS. In a press release by the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, lead author of the study, Dr. Carmel Therese Harrington, stated, “Babies have a very powerful mechanism to let us know when they are not happy. Usually, if a baby is confronted with a life-threatening situation, such as difficulty breathing during sleep because they are on their tummies, they will arouse and cry out. What this research shows is that some babies don't have this same robust arousal response.” While this finding doesn’t yet point to a cure for SIDS, and there is currently no test available to search for low BChE in living infants, at least some light is finally being shed on this dark subject.
[Image description: An infant’s hand clutches and adult’s finger.] Credit & copyright: RitaE, Pixabay -
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
It seems black goes with everything. American artist Franz Kline, best known for his black-and-white expressionist paintings, was born on this day in 1910. His untitled piece above, from 1961, features his trademark wide, black brushstrokes against a white background. Bold horizontal strokes cover the lower part of the painting, while several intercrossing vertical and diagonal strokes run up its center. Oddly, Kline’s early works were mostly illustrations, scenic paintings and commercial designs. His personal style only began to develop once he dove into abstract art. Soon, his realist days were behind him, and he earned a reputation for working almost exclusively in black and white for a time in the 1950s.The bold, striking brushstrokes that featured heavily during this period have been compared to Chinese or Japanese calligraphy. However, Kline never completely abandoned figurative and scenic art. During the Great Depression, he often depicted scenes from everyday American life, and the struggles of ordinary people. Who says there’s only one way for an artist to express their emotions?
Untitled, Franz Kline (1910-1962), 1961, Acrylic on canvas, 72.5 in. × 106 in. (184.2 × 269.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum
Below: One of Kline’s realist paintings, Palmerton, Pa.
It seems black goes with everything. American artist Franz Kline, best known for his black-and-white expressionist paintings, was born on this day in 1910. His untitled piece above, from 1961, features his trademark wide, black brushstrokes against a white background. Bold horizontal strokes cover the lower part of the painting, while several intercrossing vertical and diagonal strokes run up its center. Oddly, Kline’s early works were mostly illustrations, scenic paintings and commercial designs. His personal style only began to develop once he dove into abstract art. Soon, his realist days were behind him, and he earned a reputation for working almost exclusively in black and white for a time in the 1950s.The bold, striking brushstrokes that featured heavily during this period have been compared to Chinese or Japanese calligraphy. However, Kline never completely abandoned figurative and scenic art. During the Great Depression, he often depicted scenes from everyday American life, and the struggles of ordinary people. Who says there’s only one way for an artist to express their emotions?
Untitled, Franz Kline (1910-1962), 1961, Acrylic on canvas, 72.5 in. × 106 in. (184.2 × 269.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum
Below: One of Kline’s realist paintings, Palmerton, Pa.
May 22, 2022
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 22, 2022
galumph \guh-LUMF\ verb
What It Means
Galumph means "to move with a clumsy heavy tread."
// After long days at his landsca...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 22, 2022
galumph \guh-LUMF\ verb
What It Means
Galumph means "to move with a clumsy heavy tread."
// After long days at his landsca...
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FREEGames PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Eat the dots, get the fruit…avoid the ghosts! There’s no doubt that Pac-Man is a wacky game, yet it caused a sensation upon its release on this day in 1980. Created by Japanese company Namco, Pac-Man was designed to lift the reputation of “seedy” arcades and provide an alternative to the violence found in other popular video games of the time. Pac-Man managed to do all of that and more.
The company which would become Namco began taking shape in 1955, when out-of-work shipbuilder Masaya Nakamura bought two hand-cranked rocking horses that children could pay to ride and put them on the roof of a busy department store in Yokohama. Over the next decade, Nakamura turned his attention to electro-mechanical games such as shooting galleries and pinball machines. This put him in touch with the emerging world of gaming arcades, and he began using the name Namco to brand some of his games. Namco’s foray into video games came in 1974, with the help of American gaming giant Atari, inventors of the smash hit game Pong. Atari was expanding into Japan and asked Namco to be their official Japanese distributor. Under Nakamura’s leadership, Atari Japan officially became Namco in 1977. Namco released its first original video game in 1978. The game’s designer, Toru Iwatani, was an out-of-the-box thinker who, in 1979, designed Namco’s first true hit: Galaxian, a game similar to the popular Space Invaders by Taito. But Iwatani had another idea for a game in mind, and it looked nothing like anything else on the market.
By the early 1980s, video games and arcades were hugely popular with boys, but not so much with girls. Games tended to have violent themes, and shooting was usually a key element of gameplay. Adults in the early 1980s weren’t exactly crazy about arcades. They saw them as seedy places where teenage boys caused trouble. Iwatani saw girls as an untapped gaming market, and he knew that arcades needed a reputation-boost, if his industry was going to continue its success. As a solution to both problems, he began working on a game with friendly-looking characters, and very little violence. When exploring themes that might appeal to female gamers, Iwatani thought of young girls eating at cafes with friends, and concluded that young women loved to eat. He thus decided to base the game around food. Galaxian had revolutionized video game displays by employing an RGB color display, making it so that game sprites could be more than one solid color. This technology allowed Iwatani to create bright, colorful sprites, all of which he designed with cute, rounded shapes. Rather than shooting, the game’s main character would traverse a maze, eating dots and fruits, while avoiding blob-like ghosts. To fit the game’s food theme, Pac-Man’s shape was based on a pizza with one slice cut out to form a mouth. Inspired by Popeye the Sailor, a cartoon character who got stronger by eating spinach, Iwatani included power-ups in the game, which gave the player advantages when eaten. Even the game's sound effects and music, created by composer Toshio Kai, were meant to be cute and appealing. Iwatani called the game Puck Man. Namco later changed it to Pakkuman, since the game focused on eating and “paku paku taberu” is the Japanese onomatopoeia for chewing. Although it didn’t take off during its initial Japanese testing phase in May of 1980, the game soared to success in the American market, where it was released as Pac-Man, later that year.
Just two years later, coin-operated Pac-Man arcade games were making around $8 million per quarter. Pac-Man decorations and merchandise, like figurines and stuffed animals, began popping up in arcades, giving them a friendlier appearance. Pac-Man did, indeed, attract female gamers, so much so that in 1981, Ms. Pac-Man, featuring a female version of Pac-Man’s main character, was released to great acclaim. By the late 1990s, Pac-Man had become the highest grossing video game in history, up to that time, with total sales of over $2.5 billion dollars. And all thanks to a designer who appreciated girls’ love of eating.
[Image description: A digital illustration of gameplay from Pac-Man, showing a yellow character approaching four white dots against a black background.] Credit & copyright: Perlinator, Pixabay, image expanded for sizeEat the dots, get the fruit…avoid the ghosts! There’s no doubt that Pac-Man is a wacky game, yet it caused a sensation upon its release on this day in 1980. Created by Japanese company Namco, Pac-Man was designed to lift the reputation of “seedy” arcades and provide an alternative to the violence found in other popular video games of the time. Pac-Man managed to do all of that and more.
The company which would become Namco began taking shape in 1955, when out-of-work shipbuilder Masaya Nakamura bought two hand-cranked rocking horses that children could pay to ride and put them on the roof of a busy department store in Yokohama. Over the next decade, Nakamura turned his attention to electro-mechanical games such as shooting galleries and pinball machines. This put him in touch with the emerging world of gaming arcades, and he began using the name Namco to brand some of his games. Namco’s foray into video games came in 1974, with the help of American gaming giant Atari, inventors of the smash hit game Pong. Atari was expanding into Japan and asked Namco to be their official Japanese distributor. Under Nakamura’s leadership, Atari Japan officially became Namco in 1977. Namco released its first original video game in 1978. The game’s designer, Toru Iwatani, was an out-of-the-box thinker who, in 1979, designed Namco’s first true hit: Galaxian, a game similar to the popular Space Invaders by Taito. But Iwatani had another idea for a game in mind, and it looked nothing like anything else on the market.
By the early 1980s, video games and arcades were hugely popular with boys, but not so much with girls. Games tended to have violent themes, and shooting was usually a key element of gameplay. Adults in the early 1980s weren’t exactly crazy about arcades. They saw them as seedy places where teenage boys caused trouble. Iwatani saw girls as an untapped gaming market, and he knew that arcades needed a reputation-boost, if his industry was going to continue its success. As a solution to both problems, he began working on a game with friendly-looking characters, and very little violence. When exploring themes that might appeal to female gamers, Iwatani thought of young girls eating at cafes with friends, and concluded that young women loved to eat. He thus decided to base the game around food. Galaxian had revolutionized video game displays by employing an RGB color display, making it so that game sprites could be more than one solid color. This technology allowed Iwatani to create bright, colorful sprites, all of which he designed with cute, rounded shapes. Rather than shooting, the game’s main character would traverse a maze, eating dots and fruits, while avoiding blob-like ghosts. To fit the game’s food theme, Pac-Man’s shape was based on a pizza with one slice cut out to form a mouth. Inspired by Popeye the Sailor, a cartoon character who got stronger by eating spinach, Iwatani included power-ups in the game, which gave the player advantages when eaten. Even the game's sound effects and music, created by composer Toshio Kai, were meant to be cute and appealing. Iwatani called the game Puck Man. Namco later changed it to Pakkuman, since the game focused on eating and “paku paku taberu” is the Japanese onomatopoeia for chewing. Although it didn’t take off during its initial Japanese testing phase in May of 1980, the game soared to success in the American market, where it was released as Pac-Man, later that year.
Just two years later, coin-operated Pac-Man arcade games were making around $8 million per quarter. Pac-Man decorations and merchandise, like figurines and stuffed animals, began popping up in arcades, giving them a friendlier appearance. Pac-Man did, indeed, attract female gamers, so much so that in 1981, Ms. Pac-Man, featuring a female version of Pac-Man’s main character, was released to great acclaim. By the late 1990s, Pac-Man had become the highest grossing video game in history, up to that time, with total sales of over $2.5 billion dollars. And all thanks to a designer who appreciated girls’ love of eating.
[Image description: A digital illustration of gameplay from Pac-Man, showing a yellow character approaching four white dots against a black background.] Credit & copyright: Perlinator, Pixabay, image expanded for size -
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
President Biden is in South Korea today, the first of a five-day Asia tour. His first stop? A Samsung computer chip factory. A similar one is to be built in ...
President Biden is in South Korea today, the first of a five-day Asia tour. His first stop? A Samsung computer chip factory. A similar one is to be built in ...
May 21, 2022
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 21, 2022
paradox \PAIR-uh-dahks\ noun
What It Means
Paradox refers to a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to comm...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 21, 2022
paradox \PAIR-uh-dahks\ noun
What It Means
Paradox refers to a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to comm...
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
Teachers and other education workers are up against pandemic burnout, understaffed schools and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation. As a result, a re...
Teachers and other education workers are up against pandemic burnout, understaffed schools and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation. As a result, a re...
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FREESports Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Crouch, Bind, Set! World Rugby has just announced that the U.S. will host the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This marks the first time that the U.S. will get to host the RWC, but also the first for any nation to host both the men’s and women’s competitions over 2 years. Rugby is a contact sport in which two teams of 15 players try to score the most points by advancing a ball to their opponents side and touching it to the ground, not unlike in American football. Although rugby has long been popular around the world, with 1.7 million fans attending the 2019 RWC in Japan, its rise in popularity within the U.S. is relatively recent. USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport, was founded in 1975. The first professional league in the country—Major League Rugby—was only just founded in 2017, with the inaugural season following in 2018. There are currently 13 professional teams across the U.S. competing in two conferences, and the sport has also been gaining popularity at the collegiate level, with 67 Division 1-A Rugby teams.
Shortly after World Rugby made its announcement, USA Rugby chief executive Ross Young stated in a press release, "I speak for the rugby community and fans across the United States when I express our sincere gratitude to World Rugby for their trust and endorsement of our vision to grow this incredible sport exponentially across our country…We look forward to partnering with World Rugby in the years ahead to ensure that our preparations for these tournaments and the events themselves are a paradigm-shifting catalyst for the growth of our sport, not only here in the United States but around the world.” Get ready for the scrum.
[Image description: Rugby players in blue-and-white uniforms participate in a scrum, grouping close together with their heads down.] Credit & copyright: MonicaVolpin, Pixabay
Crouch, Bind, Set! World Rugby has just announced that the U.S. will host the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup. This marks the first time that the U.S. will get to host the RWC, but also the first for any nation to host both the men’s and women’s competitions over 2 years. Rugby is a contact sport in which two teams of 15 players try to score the most points by advancing a ball to their opponents side and touching it to the ground, not unlike in American football. Although rugby has long been popular around the world, with 1.7 million fans attending the 2019 RWC in Japan, its rise in popularity within the U.S. is relatively recent. USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport, was founded in 1975. The first professional league in the country—Major League Rugby—was only just founded in 2017, with the inaugural season following in 2018. There are currently 13 professional teams across the U.S. competing in two conferences, and the sport has also been gaining popularity at the collegiate level, with 67 Division 1-A Rugby teams.
Shortly after World Rugby made its announcement, USA Rugby chief executive Ross Young stated in a press release, "I speak for the rugby community and fans across the United States when I express our sincere gratitude to World Rugby for their trust and endorsement of our vision to grow this incredible sport exponentially across our country…We look forward to partnering with World Rugby in the years ahead to ensure that our preparations for these tournaments and the events themselves are a paradigm-shifting catalyst for the growth of our sport, not only here in the United States but around the world.” Get ready for the scrum.
[Image description: Rugby players in blue-and-white uniforms participate in a scrum, grouping close together with their heads down.] Credit & copyright: MonicaVolpin, Pixabay
May 20, 2022
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Canada says it will ban two of China’s biggest telecoms equipment makers, Huawei and ZTE, from working on its 5G phone networks. ...
From the BBC World Service: Canada says it will ban two of China’s biggest telecoms equipment makers, Huawei and ZTE, from working on its 5G phone networks. ...
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day : May 20, 2022
ad hoc \AD-HOCK\ adjective
What It Means
Ad hoc means "concerned with a particular end or purpose" or "formed or used for s...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day : May 20, 2022
ad hoc \AD-HOCK\ adjective
What It Means
Ad hoc means "concerned with a particular end or purpose" or "formed or used for s...
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FREESports Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
You think surfers are chill? While surfing may seem like a laid-back lifestyle sport, it can get intense. From Hawaii to California to Australia, many of the best surf beaches are guarded by local surf gangs. The phenomenon started in the 1960s when surfing's growing popularity began causing overcrowding at popular surf spots. Established local surfers, frustrated they could no longer surf at will in their hometowns, began banding together in places like Long Beach, California and Hawaii's North Shore. The groups adopted local hangouts, got matching tattoos, and gave themselves names like the Longos, the Black Shorts, the Wolfpak, and the Bra Boys. Most gang activities were limited to encouraging the cardinal rule: locals get precedence at the best surf spots. But things sometimes turn violent. The Lunada Bay Boys, an LA surf gang started in the ‘60s, has been known to physically rough up new surfers, and even make death threats. Then again, the gang is not quite like "Straight Outta Compton." They are mostly middle-aged white men with graying hair who live in the wealthy Palos Verdes Estates. Today the gang is mostly known for pelting rookie surfers with rocks, verbally assaulting them, and vandalizing their parked cars. This brings a whole new meaning to surfin' turf!
Credit & copyright: Kanenori, Pixabay
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
You think surfers are chill? While surfing may seem like a laid-back lifestyle sport, it can get intense. From Hawaii to California to Australia, many of the best surf beaches are guarded by local surf gangs. The phenomenon started in the 1960s when surfing's growing popularity began causing overcrowding at popular surf spots. Established local surfers, frustrated they could no longer surf at will in their hometowns, began banding together in places like Long Beach, California and Hawaii's North Shore. The groups adopted local hangouts, got matching tattoos, and gave themselves names like the Longos, the Black Shorts, the Wolfpak, and the Bra Boys. Most gang activities were limited to encouraging the cardinal rule: locals get precedence at the best surf spots. But things sometimes turn violent. The Lunada Bay Boys, an LA surf gang started in the ‘60s, has been known to physically rough up new surfers, and even make death threats. Then again, the gang is not quite like "Straight Outta Compton." They are mostly middle-aged white men with graying hair who live in the wealthy Palos Verdes Estates. Today the gang is mostly known for pelting rookie surfers with rocks, verbally assaulting them, and vandalizing their parked cars. This brings a whole new meaning to surfin' turf!
Credit & copyright: Kanenori, Pixabay
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
A painting is a painting is a painting. Artist Frank Stella doesn't want you to get too caught up in symbolic interpretations of his minimalist paintings. The works are meant to be appreciated as purely material objects. That doesn't mean they're is devoid of outside influences, though. Firuzabad, completed in 1970 as part of Stella's Protractor series, derives its title from an ancient circular city in Iran. The artist chose circles as a base because they provided symmetrical "stability" on which he could infuse "instability" with overlapping and intertwined segments. To create the 10-foot circles, the artist used a makeshift protractor created by nailing one end of a piece of wood into the canvas and attaching a pencil at the other end. The delicate, color-separating lines seen above are actually parts of the blank canvas taped off while painting each maze-like segment. With all that in mind, you can still enjoy Firuzabad at face value; as Stella would say, "What you see is what you see."
Image credit & copyright: Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
A painting is a painting is a painting. Artist Frank Stella doesn't want you to get too caught up in symbolic interpretations of his minimalist paintings. The works are meant to be appreciated as purely material objects. That doesn't mean they're is devoid of outside influences, though. Firuzabad, completed in 1970 as part of Stella's Protractor series, derives its title from an ancient circular city in Iran. The artist chose circles as a base because they provided symmetrical "stability" on which he could infuse "instability" with overlapping and intertwined segments. To create the 10-foot circles, the artist used a makeshift protractor created by nailing one end of a piece of wood into the canvas and attaching a pencil at the other end. The delicate, color-separating lines seen above are actually parts of the blank canvas taped off while painting each maze-like segment. With all that in mind, you can still enjoy Firuzabad at face value; as Stella would say, "What you see is what you see."
Image credit & copyright: Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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FREEComposition Photo CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
It's all about the little moments. At least, that's the case for American photographer Nan Goldin, whose most famous work cataloged the everyday lives of LGBTQ people in New York City's East Village, from the 1970s onward. Like many of Goldin's photos, Trixie on the cot, pictured above, captures a small moment which speaks volumes about the subject's larger experiences. It shows a feminine-presenting person in a colorful dress and hair ribbon, taking a cigarette break in what appears to be a dingy, dimly-lit room. The contrast between the subject's delicate appearance and the roughness of their surroundings says a lot about the extremes of living as an LGBTQ person in 1970s New York. The 1970s and 1980s were difficult times for LGBTQ Americans. The AIDS Crisis and an unsupportive government had heightened bigotry against the LGBTQ community. Nan Goldin's photos were a reminder that LGBTQ people were human beings with everyday lives, just like everyone else. In an interview, Nan Goldin once said, "I think the wrong things are kept private." After seeing the power of the private moments Goldin captured, it's hard to not feel emboldened to share such things when they need to be heard or seen.
Below: More of Goldin's photos from the 1970s and 1980s.
Image credit & copyright: Nan Goldin
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
It's all about the little moments. At least, that's the case for American photographer Nan Goldin, whose most famous work cataloged the everyday lives of LGBTQ people in New York City's East Village, from the 1970s onward. Like many of Goldin's photos, Trixie on the cot, pictured above, captures a small moment which speaks volumes about the subject's larger experiences. It shows a feminine-presenting person in a colorful dress and hair ribbon, taking a cigarette break in what appears to be a dingy, dimly-lit room. The contrast between the subject's delicate appearance and the roughness of their surroundings says a lot about the extremes of living as an LGBTQ person in 1970s New York. The 1970s and 1980s were difficult times for LGBTQ Americans. The AIDS Crisis and an unsupportive government had heightened bigotry against the LGBTQ community. Nan Goldin's photos were a reminder that LGBTQ people were human beings with everyday lives, just like everyone else. In an interview, Nan Goldin once said, "I think the wrong things are kept private." After seeing the power of the private moments Goldin captured, it's hard to not feel emboldened to share such things when they need to be heard or seen.
Below: More of Goldin's photos from the 1970s and 1980s.
Image credit & copyright: Nan Goldin
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FREEComputer Science Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
It’s been quite a while since Apollo 11 delivered the first humans to the moon. Nobody was more excited by that accomplishment than Margaret Hamilton. She lead the software team that programmed the computers that ran the control systems that enabled the astronauts to find, land on, and return from the moon. Surprised such a critical technical position was held by a woman in the 1960s? That's because jobs like computer programming were considered “women’s work.” The process of programming was extremely labor intensive. First, series of instructions were hand written onto paper coding pads. These were then translated onto punched cards by “keypunch girls,” who sent them to the male machine operators who fed the code decks through card readers. But Margaret Hamilton was no keypunch girl. She led the team at MIT that programmed the two guidance computers--one on the command module and one on the lander module. The code was so complex and lengthy that, when printed out single spaced, it was taller than Margaret (see photo below). The equivalent of more than 20 phone books of hand written and compiled computer instructions! Margaret's code likely saved the entire Apollo 11 mission. Three minutes away from landing on the Moon, multiple false alarms were rapidly triggered by the rendezvous radar system. This flooded the computer's processor, which was trying to perform its normal landing functions. Thanks to Hamilton's design principles, which assumed the program would break and included graceful recovery procedures, the computer simply rebooted itself. It restarted almost instantaneously, with fresh memory, and completed the landing sequence without incident. Hamilton's approach to creating the Apollo software led to many best practices for programming that are still used today. In fact, she invented the term “software engineering” to describe her methodic and redundant approach to coding. I have a feeling if Margaret were Mark we would already know this story.
Credit & copyright: Draper Laboratory; restored by Adam Cuerden, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, Public Domain.
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
It’s been quite a while since Apollo 11 delivered the first humans to the moon. Nobody was more excited by that accomplishment than Margaret Hamilton. She lead the software team that programmed the computers that ran the control systems that enabled the astronauts to find, land on, and return from the moon. Surprised such a critical technical position was held by a woman in the 1960s? That's because jobs like computer programming were considered “women’s work.” The process of programming was extremely labor intensive. First, series of instructions were hand written onto paper coding pads. These were then translated onto punched cards by “keypunch girls,” who sent them to the male machine operators who fed the code decks through card readers. But Margaret Hamilton was no keypunch girl. She led the team at MIT that programmed the two guidance computers--one on the command module and one on the lander module. The code was so complex and lengthy that, when printed out single spaced, it was taller than Margaret (see photo below). The equivalent of more than 20 phone books of hand written and compiled computer instructions! Margaret's code likely saved the entire Apollo 11 mission. Three minutes away from landing on the Moon, multiple false alarms were rapidly triggered by the rendezvous radar system. This flooded the computer's processor, which was trying to perform its normal landing functions. Thanks to Hamilton's design principles, which assumed the program would break and included graceful recovery procedures, the computer simply rebooted itself. It restarted almost instantaneously, with fresh memory, and completed the landing sequence without incident. Hamilton's approach to creating the Apollo software led to many best practices for programming that are still used today. In fact, she invented the term “software engineering” to describe her methodic and redundant approach to coding. I have a feeling if Margaret were Mark we would already know this story.
Credit & copyright: Draper Laboratory; restored by Adam Cuerden, Wikimedia Commons, image cropped for size, Public Domain.
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
In Daily Curio #1168, we explored the unlikely origin of Auto-Tune, the vocal processing software that can make even a terrible singer sound worthy of the airwaves. But Auto-Tune would be nothing if it weren't for Cher's Believe. The song, which topped the U.S. charts this week in 1999, was the first to let loose on Auto-Tune, turning the singer's sweet harmonies into the sounds of a crooning fembot. The song was the first single off the eponymous album, dedicated to Cher's ex-husband Sonny Bono, who had died earlier the year before in a skiing accident. It marked something of a rebirth for Cher's career, which had been languishing as she struggled to find a style to keep up with the times. Believe launched her a decade into the future, predating the groundbreaking fusion of Auto-Tune singing and rap that Kanye West would be lauded for in 2008's 808s and Heartbreak. It almost didn't happen: Cher's record label didn't like that the Auto-Tune masked their talent's recognizable voice. But the singer rebuffed: "You can change that part of it over my dead body. And that was the end of the discussion."[A black-and-white publicity photo of Cher from the 1970s.] Credit & copyright: Casablanca Records, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
It's Flashback Friday! In honor of Cher’s birthday, enjoy these curios about things that were going on in the 1960s and 70s, during the height of the pop star’s career.
In Daily Curio #1168, we explored the unlikely origin of Auto-Tune, the vocal processing software that can make even a terrible singer sound worthy of the airwaves. But Auto-Tune would be nothing if it weren't for Cher's Believe. The song, which topped the U.S. charts this week in 1999, was the first to let loose on Auto-Tune, turning the singer's sweet harmonies into the sounds of a crooning fembot. The song was the first single off the eponymous album, dedicated to Cher's ex-husband Sonny Bono, who had died earlier the year before in a skiing accident. It marked something of a rebirth for Cher's career, which had been languishing as she struggled to find a style to keep up with the times. Believe launched her a decade into the future, predating the groundbreaking fusion of Auto-Tune singing and rap that Kanye West would be lauded for in 2008's 808s and Heartbreak. It almost didn't happen: Cher's record label didn't like that the Auto-Tune masked their talent's recognizable voice. But the singer rebuffed: "You can change that part of it over my dead body. And that was the end of the discussion."[A black-and-white publicity photo of Cher from the 1970s.] Credit & copyright: Casablanca Records, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain