Curio Cabinet
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July 2, 2024
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10 minFREEWork Business CurioFree6 CQ
From the BBC World Service : Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe is presenting lawmakers with a deal made by creditors after the country’s 2022 financ...
From the BBC World Service : Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe is presenting lawmakers with a deal made by creditors after the country’s 2022 financ...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: July 2, 2024\GLAYD\ noun
What It Means
A glade is a grassy open space in a forest.
// She felt the most at ease outdoors, ...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: July 2, 2024\GLAYD\ noun
What It Means
A glade is a grassy open space in a forest.
// She felt the most at ease outdoors, ...
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
This fast car sure hasn’t slowed down! We’ve written before about Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit Fast Car, a song famous for its unflinching look at working class struggles. On this day last year, the bluesy folk song became a chart-topper once again, this time as a country song. A cover by country star Luke Combs reached number one on the U.S. Country Airplay chart and stayed there for two weeks. Combs had been a fan of the song since his childhood, when his father would play it for him on a cassette tape. His own working class background made the song easy to relate to, and a natural one for him to cover. Of course, Combs’ version hits differently, with his unmistakably southern twang and country instrumentation in place of Chapman’s sparse, acoustic arrangement. The cover officially made Chapman the first black woman to top the country charts as a song’s sole writer, and she even appeared on stage with Combs at the 66th Grammy Awards for an emotional duet. It’s true what they say; a good song simply never goes out of style.
This fast car sure hasn’t slowed down! We’ve written before about Tracy Chapman’s 1988 hit Fast Car, a song famous for its unflinching look at working class struggles. On this day last year, the bluesy folk song became a chart-topper once again, this time as a country song. A cover by country star Luke Combs reached number one on the U.S. Country Airplay chart and stayed there for two weeks. Combs had been a fan of the song since his childhood, when his father would play it for him on a cassette tape. His own working class background made the song easy to relate to, and a natural one for him to cover. Of course, Combs’ version hits differently, with his unmistakably southern twang and country instrumentation in place of Chapman’s sparse, acoustic arrangement. The cover officially made Chapman the first black woman to top the country charts as a song’s sole writer, and she even appeared on stage with Combs at the 66th Grammy Awards for an emotional duet. It’s true what they say; a good song simply never goes out of style.
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FREEScience Daily Curio #2900Free1 CQ
They may have been primitive, but they weren't cruel. Neanderthals are often portrayed as violent brutes, but several recent paleontological finds have proved that misconception very wrong. In fact, these prehistoric hominids looked out for and cared for one another as a matter of survival. Recently, researchers discovered a fossil belonging to a Neanderthal child who seems to have had Down syndrome and was at least six years old. The only way the child could have survived so long before the advent of modern medicine was for their family to provide them with continuous care. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with 47 chromosomes instead of 46 (a pair of 23 chromosomes from each parent). This seemingly small change can have major impacts on a person’s health. The condition can affect the development of a person’s brain, leading to learning disorders, behavioral symptoms, and developmental delays. A host of other physical issues, including trouble breathing or seeing clearly, can also pop up. The syndrome can make one more vulnerable to infections and diseases and cause congenital heart defects that can greatly shorten a person’s life expectancy. It’s incredible that, faced with such immense odds, the Neanderthal child managed to survive for around six years. The 273,000-year-old fossil shows that these hominids were not only compassionate enough to care for a member of their family who could not help them in return, but that they had the means and knowledge to do so. It's all part of a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals might have actually valued compassion. In that way, they were more advanced than some of today’s homo sapiens.
[Image description: A painting of a family of neanderthals standing at the mouth of a cave. One is holding a spear.] Credit & copyright: Neanderthal Flintworkers, Le Moustier Cavern, Dordogne, France,
Charles Robert Knight (1874–1953). Wikimedia Commons,
American Museum of Natural History. Public Domain.They may have been primitive, but they weren't cruel. Neanderthals are often portrayed as violent brutes, but several recent paleontological finds have proved that misconception very wrong. In fact, these prehistoric hominids looked out for and cared for one another as a matter of survival. Recently, researchers discovered a fossil belonging to a Neanderthal child who seems to have had Down syndrome and was at least six years old. The only way the child could have survived so long before the advent of modern medicine was for their family to provide them with continuous care. Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person is born with 47 chromosomes instead of 46 (a pair of 23 chromosomes from each parent). This seemingly small change can have major impacts on a person’s health. The condition can affect the development of a person’s brain, leading to learning disorders, behavioral symptoms, and developmental delays. A host of other physical issues, including trouble breathing or seeing clearly, can also pop up. The syndrome can make one more vulnerable to infections and diseases and cause congenital heart defects that can greatly shorten a person’s life expectancy. It’s incredible that, faced with such immense odds, the Neanderthal child managed to survive for around six years. The 273,000-year-old fossil shows that these hominids were not only compassionate enough to care for a member of their family who could not help them in return, but that they had the means and knowledge to do so. It's all part of a growing body of evidence that Neanderthals might have actually valued compassion. In that way, they were more advanced than some of today’s homo sapiens.
[Image description: A painting of a family of neanderthals standing at the mouth of a cave. One is holding a spear.] Credit & copyright: Neanderthal Flintworkers, Le Moustier Cavern, Dordogne, France,
Charles Robert Knight (1874–1953). Wikimedia Commons,
American Museum of Natural History. Public Domain.
July 1, 2024
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
That looks like an impressive haul for a day's work. Claude-Emile Schuffenecker created this scene out of black chalk, and despite its humble subject matter, it’s one of the defining pieces of the Synthetism movement. Seaweed Gatherers, Yport, shows women at a rocky beach carrying bundles of seaweed on their backs. The women are crouched forward as they walk on the sand with the sea in the background. Schuffenecker, along with Paul Gaugin, created Synthetism, a post-Impressionist style that moved away from relying on nature and the focus on the study of light. Instead, the artists relied more on memory and emphasized flat, two-dimensional shapes. Synthetism also heavily featured symbolism, and often had surreal, dream-like scenes. Despite his contributions to art, Schuffenecker's legacy was forever marred after his death, when it was discovered that he was involved in the sale of fake van Gogh paintings. It’s a revelation that certainly doesn’t paint him in a good light.
Seaweed Gatherers, Yport, Claude-Emile Schuffenecker (1851–1934), 1889, Black chalk, 11.5 x 8.93 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Claude-Emile Schuffenecker, Gift from Samuel and Paul Josefowitz in tribute to Jane Glaubinger and Heather Lemonedes, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Domain Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.]That looks like an impressive haul for a day's work. Claude-Emile Schuffenecker created this scene out of black chalk, and despite its humble subject matter, it’s one of the defining pieces of the Synthetism movement. Seaweed Gatherers, Yport, shows women at a rocky beach carrying bundles of seaweed on their backs. The women are crouched forward as they walk on the sand with the sea in the background. Schuffenecker, along with Paul Gaugin, created Synthetism, a post-Impressionist style that moved away from relying on nature and the focus on the study of light. Instead, the artists relied more on memory and emphasized flat, two-dimensional shapes. Synthetism also heavily featured symbolism, and often had surreal, dream-like scenes. Despite his contributions to art, Schuffenecker's legacy was forever marred after his death, when it was discovered that he was involved in the sale of fake van Gogh paintings. It’s a revelation that certainly doesn’t paint him in a good light.
Seaweed Gatherers, Yport, Claude-Emile Schuffenecker (1851–1934), 1889, Black chalk, 11.5 x 8.93 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: Claude-Emile Schuffenecker, Gift from Samuel and Paul Josefowitz in tribute to Jane Glaubinger and Heather Lemonedes, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Domain Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.] -
FREEScience Daily Curio #2899Free1 CQ
Picture this—a forest in the middle of the Sahara. It might sound like a description of a mirage, but it was once reality. Archaeologists have just discovered 5,000 year-old cave paintings in Sudan that depict the Sahara as a green paradise, giving researchers an idea of what the region might have looked like before it became the barren desert it is today. It’s also a picture of what the desert could look like in the distant future. The Sahara is an expansive desert—for now. Over eons, it goes through cycles, turning from verdant, lush grassland into a harsh, inhospitable desert. This is due in part to its location and the effects of the Earth’s gradually shifting orbit, which changes the amount of sunlight that falls on the region. But the last time the Sahara turned into a desert around 8,000 years ago, it happened earlier and faster than it should have based on the Earth’s orbit. For decades, the discrepancy has been a mystery to both archaeologists and paleoecologists, but the mystery may finally be solved. According to archaeologists, the culprit might have been humans—specifically, ancient peoples with grazing livestock.
Part of the key to understanding the premature desertification of the Sahara is realizing that it happened in patches between 8,000 and 4,500 years ago. Researchers found that this lined up with the spread of people and their livestock in these areas. As their goats and cattle moved into an area, they would reduce the amount of atmospheric moisture by overgrazing. Removing vegetation also affects albedo, or the amount of sunlight reflected from the Earth’s surface, further contributing to desertification. Lastly, fire may have been used as a land management tool, which also destroys large swaths of grasslands. Left to its own devices, the Sahara may very well turn into grasslands and forests again—just keep the goats out next time.
[Image description: Sandy desert dunes.] Credit & copyright: Amine M'siouri, PexelsPicture this—a forest in the middle of the Sahara. It might sound like a description of a mirage, but it was once reality. Archaeologists have just discovered 5,000 year-old cave paintings in Sudan that depict the Sahara as a green paradise, giving researchers an idea of what the region might have looked like before it became the barren desert it is today. It’s also a picture of what the desert could look like in the distant future. The Sahara is an expansive desert—for now. Over eons, it goes through cycles, turning from verdant, lush grassland into a harsh, inhospitable desert. This is due in part to its location and the effects of the Earth’s gradually shifting orbit, which changes the amount of sunlight that falls on the region. But the last time the Sahara turned into a desert around 8,000 years ago, it happened earlier and faster than it should have based on the Earth’s orbit. For decades, the discrepancy has been a mystery to both archaeologists and paleoecologists, but the mystery may finally be solved. According to archaeologists, the culprit might have been humans—specifically, ancient peoples with grazing livestock.
Part of the key to understanding the premature desertification of the Sahara is realizing that it happened in patches between 8,000 and 4,500 years ago. Researchers found that this lined up with the spread of people and their livestock in these areas. As their goats and cattle moved into an area, they would reduce the amount of atmospheric moisture by overgrazing. Removing vegetation also affects albedo, or the amount of sunlight reflected from the Earth’s surface, further contributing to desertification. Lastly, fire may have been used as a land management tool, which also destroys large swaths of grasslands. Left to its own devices, the Sahara may very well turn into grasslands and forests again—just keep the goats out next time.
[Image description: Sandy desert dunes.] Credit & copyright: Amine M'siouri, Pexels -
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
In a 6-3 ruling, Supreme Court justices have narrowed the scope of federal corruption law, as it pertains to state and local officials. Justices ruled that a...
In a 6-3 ruling, Supreme Court justices have narrowed the scope of federal corruption law, as it pertains to state and local officials. Justices ruled that a...
June 30, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 30, 2024\KOO-dahss\ noun
What It Means
Kudos refers to praise someone receives because of an act or achievement, or to...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 30, 2024\KOO-dahss\ noun
What It Means
Kudos refers to praise someone receives because of an act or achievement, or to...
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FREESports PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
As a rule, humans aren’t the world's best swimmers…but rules were made to be broken. While most members of our terrestrial species are much faster on land than in the water, Olympian Michael Phelps is a notable exception. This record-breaking athlete, born on this day in 1985, has a unique physiology that makes him perfectly suited for the pool, and an aquatic nickname to match.
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, following in his sisters’ footsteps after they joined a local swim team. Long before he boasted nicknames like “Flying Fish” and “Baltimore Bullet,” swam competitively for his high school team and even made it onto the U.S. Swim Team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Though he didn’t win any medals that year, he still made history by being the youngest male Olympic swimmer in 68 years. He began setting world records while still in high school, a trend that continued when he attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was during Phelps’ second Olympics appearance in 2004, in Athens, that he became a household name after winning eight medals, including six golds. After not winning a single medal at his first Olympics, Phelps was suddenly just one gold away from Mark Spitz's record of seven. He went on to break the record during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by winning eight gold medals, which was also the record for the most gold during a single Olympics. By the time he retired in 2016 after the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he had 28 medals to his name, with 23 golds including 13 individual golds.
While hard work and perseverance surely played a role in Phelps' dominance in the water, he also benefited from having what may be the ideal swimmer’s body. Most of the best swimmers in the world have a similar body shape that gives them an advantage over the average person, beyond their training. Firstly, it pays for a swimmer to be tall, and indeed, most of the top Olympic swimmers hover around six feet tall. But proportions matter too, with long, flexible torsos allowing for more power behind strokes and a center of mass closer to the lungs (the center of flotation) allowing for less energy wasted in trying to stay level in the water. It also helps to have large hands and feet, which act like paddles or flippers in the water, while large lungs help swimmers stay afloat and take in more oxygen. Many swimmers have these traits, but Phelps’s physique seems to take some of them to an extreme. His lung capacity sits at 12 liters, twice that of the average person, and he has double-jointed elbows. He’s also hyper-jointed at the chest, allowing him to leverage more of his body to power each stroke. Even for a swimmer, he has a massive “wingspan,” the distance from fingertip to fingertip when the arms are held out horizontally from the body. While most people have wingspans that are about the same as their height, Phelps’s wingspan of six feet, seven inches is three inches longer than he is tall. Finally, his body was found to produce half as much lactic acid than even other trained athletes, which allows him to recover faster between training sessions.
All that isn’t to discount his talent. While Phelps may have been gifted with natural advantages, his drive and willingness to train hard are even more important. Those who’ve worked with Phelps have often expressed that the true secret behind the swimmer’s success is his immaculate technique, which can only come from extensive training. Swimming is extremely inefficient for human beings, so every movement of every stroke counts, especially at elite levels where a fraction of a second can make all the difference. It wouldn’t matter if you had shark skin and flippers for feet if you didn’t know how to use them!
[Image description: A large, empty swimming pool with blue-and-white lane dividers.] Credit & copyright: Jan van der Wolf, PexelsAs a rule, humans aren’t the world's best swimmers…but rules were made to be broken. While most members of our terrestrial species are much faster on land than in the water, Olympian Michael Phelps is a notable exception. This record-breaking athlete, born on this day in 1985, has a unique physiology that makes him perfectly suited for the pool, and an aquatic nickname to match.
Phelps began swimming at the age of seven, following in his sisters’ footsteps after they joined a local swim team. Long before he boasted nicknames like “Flying Fish” and “Baltimore Bullet,” swam competitively for his high school team and even made it onto the U.S. Swim Team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Though he didn’t win any medals that year, he still made history by being the youngest male Olympic swimmer in 68 years. He began setting world records while still in high school, a trend that continued when he attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. It was during Phelps’ second Olympics appearance in 2004, in Athens, that he became a household name after winning eight medals, including six golds. After not winning a single medal at his first Olympics, Phelps was suddenly just one gold away from Mark Spitz's record of seven. He went on to break the record during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by winning eight gold medals, which was also the record for the most gold during a single Olympics. By the time he retired in 2016 after the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he had 28 medals to his name, with 23 golds including 13 individual golds.
While hard work and perseverance surely played a role in Phelps' dominance in the water, he also benefited from having what may be the ideal swimmer’s body. Most of the best swimmers in the world have a similar body shape that gives them an advantage over the average person, beyond their training. Firstly, it pays for a swimmer to be tall, and indeed, most of the top Olympic swimmers hover around six feet tall. But proportions matter too, with long, flexible torsos allowing for more power behind strokes and a center of mass closer to the lungs (the center of flotation) allowing for less energy wasted in trying to stay level in the water. It also helps to have large hands and feet, which act like paddles or flippers in the water, while large lungs help swimmers stay afloat and take in more oxygen. Many swimmers have these traits, but Phelps’s physique seems to take some of them to an extreme. His lung capacity sits at 12 liters, twice that of the average person, and he has double-jointed elbows. He’s also hyper-jointed at the chest, allowing him to leverage more of his body to power each stroke. Even for a swimmer, he has a massive “wingspan,” the distance from fingertip to fingertip when the arms are held out horizontally from the body. While most people have wingspans that are about the same as their height, Phelps’s wingspan of six feet, seven inches is three inches longer than he is tall. Finally, his body was found to produce half as much lactic acid than even other trained athletes, which allows him to recover faster between training sessions.
All that isn’t to discount his talent. While Phelps may have been gifted with natural advantages, his drive and willingness to train hard are even more important. Those who’ve worked with Phelps have often expressed that the true secret behind the swimmer’s success is his immaculate technique, which can only come from extensive training. Swimming is extremely inefficient for human beings, so every movement of every stroke counts, especially at elite levels where a fraction of a second can make all the difference. It wouldn’t matter if you had shark skin and flippers for feet if you didn’t know how to use them!
[Image description: A large, empty swimming pool with blue-and-white lane dividers.] Credit & copyright: Jan van der Wolf, Pexels -
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
As cities look to grow and innovate in the recovery from the pandemic, some are pushing for new sports stadiums. The idea is that fresh ballparks attract vis...
As cities look to grow and innovate in the recovery from the pandemic, some are pushing for new sports stadiums. The idea is that fresh ballparks attract vis...
June 29, 2024
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3 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 29, 2024\FEK-und\ adjective
What It Means
Fecund is a formal word that typically describes a person, animal, or plant ...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 29, 2024\FEK-und\ adjective
What It Means
Fecund is a formal word that typically describes a person, animal, or plant ...
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FREEGames Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
Chess might be the game of kings, but crokinole is the game of Canucks. The World Crokinole Championship took place earlier this month, continuing a proud tradition that started…who knows when. Crokinole is a popular parlor game in Canada, but its origins are mysterious. The earliest written record of the game is from 1860, and it describes it as already being popular. Nowadays, there are crokinole aficionados around the world, and the best of the best gather every year in Tavistock, Ontario, to test their mettle on the board at the World Crokinole Championship. The game involves taking turns flicking discs on a wooden board and can be played in singles or doubles formats. The center of the board has a hole worth 20 points, and the rest of the board is divided into concentric circles worth 15, 10, and 5 points. This year, first place went to defending champion Connor Reinman of Michigan, but one of the standout competitors was Ryotaro Fukuda, the first Japanese player to ever compete at the championships. Despite having only played the game for 18 months, Fukuda placed 10th overall. Organizers noted that crokinole seems to be spreading in popularity throughout the U.S., perhaps due to a growing interest in board games in general. Get your flicking fingers ready—crokinole might be coming to a table near you!
Chess might be the game of kings, but crokinole is the game of Canucks. The World Crokinole Championship took place earlier this month, continuing a proud tradition that started…who knows when. Crokinole is a popular parlor game in Canada, but its origins are mysterious. The earliest written record of the game is from 1860, and it describes it as already being popular. Nowadays, there are crokinole aficionados around the world, and the best of the best gather every year in Tavistock, Ontario, to test their mettle on the board at the World Crokinole Championship. The game involves taking turns flicking discs on a wooden board and can be played in singles or doubles formats. The center of the board has a hole worth 20 points, and the rest of the board is divided into concentric circles worth 15, 10, and 5 points. This year, first place went to defending champion Connor Reinman of Michigan, but one of the standout competitors was Ryotaro Fukuda, the first Japanese player to ever compete at the championships. Despite having only played the game for 18 months, Fukuda placed 10th overall. Organizers noted that crokinole seems to be spreading in popularity throughout the U.S., perhaps due to a growing interest in board games in general. Get your flicking fingers ready—crokinole might be coming to a table near you!
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
A rule of thumb is that market players don’t like uncertainty. The question this morning is whether there’s more or less of it in the wake of President Joe B...
A rule of thumb is that market players don’t like uncertainty. The question this morning is whether there’s more or less of it in the wake of President Joe B...
June 28, 2024
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a security pact with the European Union during a visit to Brussels. We’ll delv...
From the BBC World Service: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a security pact with the European Union during a visit to Brussels. We’ll delv...
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
There’s no violence in this war, just tasty rice! The Jollof Wars, in fact, are more of an ongoing rivalry between several West African countries unofficially competing to serve the best version of jollof rice. This dish, sometimes simply called jollof, is a rice-based meal with historical roots in Senegal, though it’s also the national dish of Nigeria and is just as beloved in Ghana and other nations, from Liberia to Cameroon.
Jollof rice is a one-pot dish with a base of long-grain rice. The rice is cooked in a tomato-based sauce along with spices like bay leaves, garlic powder and bay leaves, and vegetables like tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and chilies. The result is a tangy, spicy, savory dish that’s often served alongside plantains and various meats.
Jollof rice dates back to the 14th century and the days of the Jolof Empire, in which rice was a staple food. While the original dish was made with vegetables, fish, and shellfish native to West Africa, today’s version heavily features tomatoes and onions, neither of which is native to Africa (though both are cultivated there today.) Tomatoes originally came from South America, while onions are believed to have originated in Asia. Both vegetables came to Africa through a mix of intercontinental trade and European colonization. No one knows for sure how modern jollof rice came to include these new ingredients, but one story credits it to a 19th-century cook named Penda Mbaye who worked at a colonial estate in Senegal. Supposedly, she was charged with making a dish that included tomatoes, onions, spices, and barley…but she ran out of barley, which was imported and therefore difficult to replace quickly. Instead, she substituted long-grain rice, and the rest is history. Whether or not Mbaye was the dish’s actual inventor, she was undoubtedly one of the first people to create a written record of modern jollof rice.
Today, jollof rice is enjoyed across West Africa, and national variations have led to a culinary rivalry that some have dubbed the Jollof Wars. Ghana and Nigeria are the main players, as the nations both take great pride in their variations of jollof. The versions are actually quite similar, with spices and different varieties of rice accounting for most of the differences. Nevertheless, Ghanans and Nigerians never seem to miss an opportunity to poke fun at each other in relation to jollof. Personally, we find it all equally delicious.
[Image description: A white plate of jollof rice, shrimp suya, and plantains on a red table.] Credit & copyright: WhisperToMe, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.There’s no violence in this war, just tasty rice! The Jollof Wars, in fact, are more of an ongoing rivalry between several West African countries unofficially competing to serve the best version of jollof rice. This dish, sometimes simply called jollof, is a rice-based meal with historical roots in Senegal, though it’s also the national dish of Nigeria and is just as beloved in Ghana and other nations, from Liberia to Cameroon.
Jollof rice is a one-pot dish with a base of long-grain rice. The rice is cooked in a tomato-based sauce along with spices like bay leaves, garlic powder and bay leaves, and vegetables like tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and chilies. The result is a tangy, spicy, savory dish that’s often served alongside plantains and various meats.
Jollof rice dates back to the 14th century and the days of the Jolof Empire, in which rice was a staple food. While the original dish was made with vegetables, fish, and shellfish native to West Africa, today’s version heavily features tomatoes and onions, neither of which is native to Africa (though both are cultivated there today.) Tomatoes originally came from South America, while onions are believed to have originated in Asia. Both vegetables came to Africa through a mix of intercontinental trade and European colonization. No one knows for sure how modern jollof rice came to include these new ingredients, but one story credits it to a 19th-century cook named Penda Mbaye who worked at a colonial estate in Senegal. Supposedly, she was charged with making a dish that included tomatoes, onions, spices, and barley…but she ran out of barley, which was imported and therefore difficult to replace quickly. Instead, she substituted long-grain rice, and the rest is history. Whether or not Mbaye was the dish’s actual inventor, she was undoubtedly one of the first people to create a written record of modern jollof rice.
Today, jollof rice is enjoyed across West Africa, and national variations have led to a culinary rivalry that some have dubbed the Jollof Wars. Ghana and Nigeria are the main players, as the nations both take great pride in their variations of jollof. The versions are actually quite similar, with spices and different varieties of rice accounting for most of the differences. Nevertheless, Ghanans and Nigerians never seem to miss an opportunity to poke fun at each other in relation to jollof. Personally, we find it all equally delicious.
[Image description: A white plate of jollof rice, shrimp suya, and plantains on a red table.] Credit & copyright: WhisperToMe, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
June 27, 2024
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
From the BBC World Service: The Japanese Yen has fallen to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar for nearly 40 years. It’s causing jitters in the markets...
From the BBC World Service: The Japanese Yen has fallen to its weakest level against the U.S. dollar for nearly 40 years. It’s causing jitters in the markets...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 27, 2024\KAHRD-nul\ adjective
What It Means
Cardinal is an adjective used to describe things—usually abstract things s...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 27, 2024\KAHRD-nul\ adjective
What It Means
Cardinal is an adjective used to describe things—usually abstract things s...
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FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Won’t someone think of the animals? While most people have been understandably concerned with SARS-CoV-2’s effects on human populations, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa and other institutions are studying the virus’s effects on animals and its ability to spread between species. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is zoonotic, meaning that it originated in a non-human species. The general consensus is that it probably came from bats due to its genetic resemblance to a bat-borne virus, but regardless of its origin, the virus is known to be transmissible to many different species. Currently, not much is understood about how the virus spreads in non-human species because it affects each species differently. While some hardly show any symptoms of an infection, others, like minks and big cats, can get just as sick as humans when infected with the virus. Due to the risk the virus poses to wildlife and livestock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been funding research into the matter, including USF researchers who are studying the virus in the wild. Among the vulnerable wildlife populations are the white-tailed deer, which are known to be particularly susceptible to infection from the virus. However, there are at least 50 mammal species in total that are known to be vulnerable, and there may be more. Over the next five years, USF will be monitoring how the virus spreads between species and which species are particularly vulnerable. Data from this study might help manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic viruses in the future. If only you could teach deer to cover their sneezes.
[Image description: Three female white-tailed deer in a field.] Credit & copyright: MONGO, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, I, MONGO. This applies worldwide.
Won’t someone think of the animals? While most people have been understandably concerned with SARS-CoV-2’s effects on human populations, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa and other institutions are studying the virus’s effects on animals and its ability to spread between species. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is zoonotic, meaning that it originated in a non-human species. The general consensus is that it probably came from bats due to its genetic resemblance to a bat-borne virus, but regardless of its origin, the virus is known to be transmissible to many different species. Currently, not much is understood about how the virus spreads in non-human species because it affects each species differently. While some hardly show any symptoms of an infection, others, like minks and big cats, can get just as sick as humans when infected with the virus. Due to the risk the virus poses to wildlife and livestock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been funding research into the matter, including USF researchers who are studying the virus in the wild. Among the vulnerable wildlife populations are the white-tailed deer, which are known to be particularly susceptible to infection from the virus. However, there are at least 50 mammal species in total that are known to be vulnerable, and there may be more. Over the next five years, USF will be monitoring how the virus spreads between species and which species are particularly vulnerable. Data from this study might help manage the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic viruses in the future. If only you could teach deer to cover their sneezes.
[Image description: Three female white-tailed deer in a field.] Credit & copyright: MONGO, Wikimedia Commons. This work has been released into the public domain by its author, I, MONGO. This applies worldwide.
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FREEGolf Daily Curio #2898Free1 CQ
We may have missed her birthday by a day, but it’s never too late to celebrate a legend! On June 26, 1911, Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias, one of the greatest athletes in American history, was born. Didrikson was naturally drawn to and excelled at sports from a young age. As a child, she was given the nickname “Babe,” after Babe Ruth, for her ability to hit home runs in neighborhood baseball games with other children. In high school, she participated in a variety of sports, but dropped out to play basketball in a company team for an insurance firm in Dallas. In 1932, she competed in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, winning gold in the javelin throw, setting a world record in the 80-meter hurdles and a silver in the high jump. The next year, Didrikson began her career in golf, but was unable to compete with other women after being denied amateur status for receiving endorsements in the past. As there was no professional league for women, she competed against men with limited success until her amateur status was reinstated in 1943.
In the following years, she came to dominate the sport, winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament in 1946 and 17 championships in 1947. She also went on to win the U.S. Women’s Open in 1948 and 1950, and her dominance made headlines, bringing attention to women’s participation in sports. Building on her success and growing interest in women’s sports, Didrikson co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950 with her friend Patty Berg and several others. For years, she remained the LPGA’s star athlete, but her career and life were cut short due to cancer. After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953, she underwent surgery and competed the next year with a colostomy bag, winning the U.S. Open once more. The next year, she passed away at the age of 45. By the end of her illustrious career, she had also participated in boxing, tennis, swimming, cycling, and many other sports. We’re not the only ones to be late in honoring this 20th century sports star—it wasn’t until 2021 that she was posthumously awarded a much-deserved Presidential Medal of Freedom.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a golf club hovering over a golf ball on a white tee.] Credit & copyright: Mikhail Nilov, pexelsWe may have missed her birthday by a day, but it’s never too late to celebrate a legend! On June 26, 1911, Mildred Ella “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias, one of the greatest athletes in American history, was born. Didrikson was naturally drawn to and excelled at sports from a young age. As a child, she was given the nickname “Babe,” after Babe Ruth, for her ability to hit home runs in neighborhood baseball games with other children. In high school, she participated in a variety of sports, but dropped out to play basketball in a company team for an insurance firm in Dallas. In 1932, she competed in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, winning gold in the javelin throw, setting a world record in the 80-meter hurdles and a silver in the high jump. The next year, Didrikson began her career in golf, but was unable to compete with other women after being denied amateur status for receiving endorsements in the past. As there was no professional league for women, she competed against men with limited success until her amateur status was reinstated in 1943.
In the following years, she came to dominate the sport, winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur tournament in 1946 and 17 championships in 1947. She also went on to win the U.S. Women’s Open in 1948 and 1950, and her dominance made headlines, bringing attention to women’s participation in sports. Building on her success and growing interest in women’s sports, Didrikson co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association in 1950 with her friend Patty Berg and several others. For years, she remained the LPGA’s star athlete, but her career and life were cut short due to cancer. After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 1953, she underwent surgery and competed the next year with a colostomy bag, winning the U.S. Open once more. The next year, she passed away at the age of 45. By the end of her illustrious career, she had also participated in boxing, tennis, swimming, cycling, and many other sports. We’re not the only ones to be late in honoring this 20th century sports star—it wasn’t until 2021 that she was posthumously awarded a much-deserved Presidential Medal of Freedom.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a golf club hovering over a golf ball on a white tee.] Credit & copyright: Mikhail Nilov, pexels
June 26, 2024
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9 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
From the BBC World Service: At least 13 people have been killed and many more injured after police fired into crowds protesting Kenya’s controversial finance...
From the BBC World Service: At least 13 people have been killed and many more injured after police fired into crowds protesting Kenya’s controversial finance...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: June 26, 2024\ZEER-oh-SUM\ adjective
What It Means
Zero-sum describes something, such as a game, mentality, or situation, i...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: June 26, 2024\ZEER-oh-SUM\ adjective
What It Means
Zero-sum describes something, such as a game, mentality, or situation, i...
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FREEUS History Daily Curio #2897Free1 CQ
You’ve heard the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree, but fact is sometimes stranger than fiction! Archeologists recently unearthed dozens of bottles of cherries (and other fruits) from George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, uncovering a real-life link between cherries and the nation’s first President for the very first time. The unprecedented find was discovered not during an archeological dig, but by accident during renovations to the estate’s cellar. Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn called the discovery, “…an unprecedented find and nothing of this scale and significance has ever been excavated in North America.”
As for what the cherries were doing in the cellar, along with the currents, gooseberries, and other fruit pulp found there, they were likely intended to be made into “cherry bounce”, a brandy-based drink made with aged cherry juice and spices. Some of them might have also been drying out to make “morelly cherries”, a type of dried cherry eaten as a candy-like treat at Mount Vernon. The bottles were almost certainly put in the cellar by one of the many enslaved people working at Mount Vernon, one of whom, named Doll, was known for making morelly cherries. Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon’s principal archeologist, said that the find was a “…testament to the knowledge and skill of the enslaved people who managed the food preparations from tree to table.”
Of course, these particular fruits never made it to Washington’s table. Although analysis of the find is ongoing, Mount Vernon historians believe it’s likely that the bottles were laid down just before the American Revolution and then promptly forgotten about in 1755, when Washington left his home to take command of the Continental Army. Now, researchers are working to see whether some of the cherry pits and other seeds might be in good enough condition to germinate, though that likely won’t be known for another six months to a year. For now, these bonafide Washington cherries are a pretty sweet gift for America’s upcoming 250th anniversary!
[Image description: A painting depicting the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree. A young Washington points to an axe in his hand as his father questions him about a cherry tree. Another man parts a red curtain to show the scene.] Credit & copyright: Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Parson Weems' Fable, Grant Wood (1891-1942), Public Domain.You’ve heard the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree, but fact is sometimes stranger than fiction! Archeologists recently unearthed dozens of bottles of cherries (and other fruits) from George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, uncovering a real-life link between cherries and the nation’s first President for the very first time. The unprecedented find was discovered not during an archeological dig, but by accident during renovations to the estate’s cellar. Mount Vernon President & CEO Doug Bradburn called the discovery, “…an unprecedented find and nothing of this scale and significance has ever been excavated in North America.”
As for what the cherries were doing in the cellar, along with the currents, gooseberries, and other fruit pulp found there, they were likely intended to be made into “cherry bounce”, a brandy-based drink made with aged cherry juice and spices. Some of them might have also been drying out to make “morelly cherries”, a type of dried cherry eaten as a candy-like treat at Mount Vernon. The bottles were almost certainly put in the cellar by one of the many enslaved people working at Mount Vernon, one of whom, named Doll, was known for making morelly cherries. Jason Boroughs, Mount Vernon’s principal archeologist, said that the find was a “…testament to the knowledge and skill of the enslaved people who managed the food preparations from tree to table.”
Of course, these particular fruits never made it to Washington’s table. Although analysis of the find is ongoing, Mount Vernon historians believe it’s likely that the bottles were laid down just before the American Revolution and then promptly forgotten about in 1755, when Washington left his home to take command of the Continental Army. Now, researchers are working to see whether some of the cherry pits and other seeds might be in good enough condition to germinate, though that likely won’t be known for another six months to a year. For now, these bonafide Washington cherries are a pretty sweet gift for America’s upcoming 250th anniversary!
[Image description: A painting depicting the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree. A young Washington points to an axe in his hand as his father questions him about a cherry tree. Another man parts a red curtain to show the scene.] Credit & copyright: Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Parson Weems' Fable, Grant Wood (1891-1942), Public Domain.