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October 3, 2024
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
The Japanese stock market gains followed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying the time wasn’t right for further increases in borrowing costs. Elsewhere, a co...
The Japanese stock market gains followed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba saying the time wasn’t right for further increases in borrowing costs. Elsewhere, a co...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: October 3, 2024\pah-STAIR-uh-tee\ noun
What It Means
Posterity is a formal word that refers to all future generations of pe...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: October 3, 2024\pah-STAIR-uh-tee\ noun
What It Means
Posterity is a formal word that refers to all future generations of pe...
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FREEPhysics Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them. So many of our essential electronic devices run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but they have an annoying habit of not doing the one thing they’re supposed to: holding a charge. Fortunately, researchers at Stanford University may have discovered the cause of this irritating phenomenon, according to a paper published in Science. Lithium-ion batteries are relatively simple, using anodes and cathodes to store lithium ions. When the ions move between the two oppositely charged electrodes through an electrolyte, the resulting chemical reaction creates a charge by freeing up electrons. But if that’s all there was to it, lithium-ion batteries wouldn’t lose capacity and energy as quickly as they do, even when they’re not in use. The culprits, it seems, are hydrogen protons which are released into the cathode, breaking down electrolyte molecules with the help of electrons and leaking through the cathode. Hydrogen has long been suspected of causing these issues, but it was difficult to know for sure, since hydrogen atoms are pretty much everywhere and hard to isolate in a lithium-ion battery. So, researchers instead used deuterium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen, that was easier to track. When deuterium was introduced into a battery, they found the exact amount of charge loss they expected from hydrogen. Maybe it’s problems like these that keep hydrogen from being considered a noble gas!
[Image description: A selection of batteries arranged in a triangle, seen from above.] Credit & copyright: mohamed abdelghaffar, Pexels
You can’t live with them, and you can’t live without them. So many of our essential electronic devices run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but they have an annoying habit of not doing the one thing they’re supposed to: holding a charge. Fortunately, researchers at Stanford University may have discovered the cause of this irritating phenomenon, according to a paper published in Science. Lithium-ion batteries are relatively simple, using anodes and cathodes to store lithium ions. When the ions move between the two oppositely charged electrodes through an electrolyte, the resulting chemical reaction creates a charge by freeing up electrons. But if that’s all there was to it, lithium-ion batteries wouldn’t lose capacity and energy as quickly as they do, even when they’re not in use. The culprits, it seems, are hydrogen protons which are released into the cathode, breaking down electrolyte molecules with the help of electrons and leaking through the cathode. Hydrogen has long been suspected of causing these issues, but it was difficult to know for sure, since hydrogen atoms are pretty much everywhere and hard to isolate in a lithium-ion battery. So, researchers instead used deuterium, a heavier isotope of hydrogen, that was easier to track. When deuterium was introduced into a battery, they found the exact amount of charge loss they expected from hydrogen. Maybe it’s problems like these that keep hydrogen from being considered a noble gas!
[Image description: A selection of batteries arranged in a triangle, seen from above.] Credit & copyright: mohamed abdelghaffar, Pexels
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FREEDiabetic Care Daily Curio #2954Free1 CQ
It’s always nice when our own cells are put to good use. Type 1 diabetes affects millions of people around the world, but now we may be approaching a cure, thanks to researchers at Tianjin First Central Hospital and Peking University and some human stem cells. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which a person’s pancreas produces insufficient insulin or none at all after the body’s immune system destroys the organ’s islet cells. Without insulin, the body isn’t able to process sugar in the blood, resulting in a host of complications. Once thought to develop only in children, it used to be referred to as juvenile diabetes. However, it’s now known that type 1 diabetes can develop in anyone at any age, and symptoms can come on very suddenly. These include excessive thirst, hunger, and urination, as well as fatigue, mood changes, and blurry vision. The condition is fatal if left untreated, and treatment involves a lifetime dependence on insulin. Even with insulin, though, patients often have to adhere to strict diets and monitor their blood sugar levels. But for one 25-year-old woman in Tianjin, China, the days of walking on medical eggshells may be in the past. Three months after receiving an experimental transplant of reprogrammed stem cells that grew into new islet cells, her pancreas started producing insulin at healthy levels. Now, a year later, she says she no longer needs insulin injections and can eat as she pleases. This comes just a few months after another group of researchers performed a similar procedure to treat type 2 diabetes in a 59-year-old man, also in China. The researchers hope to follow up with the woman in another year or so, and they hope to expand their next trial to 10 to 20 people in order to replicate the results. If it works, it could mean a cure for diabetics all over the world. That’s some heavy lifting for a few tiny cells.
[Image description: A row of medical needles in plastic packaging.] Credit & copyright: Tara Winstead, PexelsIt’s always nice when our own cells are put to good use. Type 1 diabetes affects millions of people around the world, but now we may be approaching a cure, thanks to researchers at Tianjin First Central Hospital and Peking University and some human stem cells. Type 1 diabetes is a chronic condition in which a person’s pancreas produces insufficient insulin or none at all after the body’s immune system destroys the organ’s islet cells. Without insulin, the body isn’t able to process sugar in the blood, resulting in a host of complications. Once thought to develop only in children, it used to be referred to as juvenile diabetes. However, it’s now known that type 1 diabetes can develop in anyone at any age, and symptoms can come on very suddenly. These include excessive thirst, hunger, and urination, as well as fatigue, mood changes, and blurry vision. The condition is fatal if left untreated, and treatment involves a lifetime dependence on insulin. Even with insulin, though, patients often have to adhere to strict diets and monitor their blood sugar levels. But for one 25-year-old woman in Tianjin, China, the days of walking on medical eggshells may be in the past. Three months after receiving an experimental transplant of reprogrammed stem cells that grew into new islet cells, her pancreas started producing insulin at healthy levels. Now, a year later, she says she no longer needs insulin injections and can eat as she pleases. This comes just a few months after another group of researchers performed a similar procedure to treat type 2 diabetes in a 59-year-old man, also in China. The researchers hope to follow up with the woman in another year or so, and they hope to expand their next trial to 10 to 20 people in order to replicate the results. If it works, it could mean a cure for diabetics all over the world. That’s some heavy lifting for a few tiny cells.
[Image description: A row of medical needles in plastic packaging.] Credit & copyright: Tara Winstead, Pexels
October 2, 2024
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
The San José is being hailed as the most valuable shipwreck in the world — it’s a Spanish galleon which sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago. Now th...
The San José is being hailed as the most valuable shipwreck in the world — it’s a Spanish galleon which sank in the Caribbean more than 300 years ago. Now th...
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: October 2, 2024\FRET\ verb
What It Means
To fret is to worry or be concerned.
// I was sure we wouldn’t get there in time,...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: October 2, 2024\FRET\ verb
What It Means
To fret is to worry or be concerned.
// I was sure we wouldn’t get there in time,...
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FREEBiology Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
That’s not a raccoon…but it’s not too far off from one either. Coatimundis, or coatis, as they’re commonly called, are members of the family Procyonidae, which also includes raccoons. You won’t find these ring-tailed mammals digging through garbage cans, though. Coatis are rainforest dwellers, and some of the things they eat are a lot more dangerous than trash—like tarantulas, for example.
Coatis are around the same size as their raccoon cousins, reaching lengths between 33 and 44 inches, and weighing between 4.4 and 15.9 pounds. Active during the day, coatis avoid predators by climbing, which they excel at. In fact, coatis can rotate their ankles more than 180 degrees, allowing them to descend trees headfirst. When they’re on the ground, coatis use their long snouts to overturn logs and dig through fallen leaves to find their favorite foods: fallen fruit, small reptiles, and insects. Prey doesn’t always go down without a fight, though. Coatis sometimes face off against venomous snakes, which they are nimble enough to outmaneuver and kill. Tarantulas present two problems: not only do the spiders have a venomous bite, they’re also covered in irritating hairs that stick into an attacker's skin, causing itching and pain. Tarantulas even kick their own legs in order to disperse the hairs onto potential enemies. Coatis have a novel way of dealing with this. They simply snatch tarantulas from the forest floor and rub the spiders vigorously between the thickened palms of their front feet, or “hands.” This rubs off the irritating hairs and kills the spiders at the same time, making for an easy meal.
That’s not to say that coatis are invulnerable. They have plenty of their own predators, from big cats, like jaguars, to birds of prey. To stay safe, coatis use the buddy system…at least for part of their lives. Females live in groups along with their offspring, but males become solitary once they reach sexual maturity. This makes them easier targets for predators, but also makes it easier to spread out and claim territory and females of their own. When you spend your days fighting tarantulas and snakes, it’s understandable to not want to fight amongst yourselves.
[Image description: A ring tailed coatimundis sniffing the ground.] Credit & copyright: Vassil, Wikimedia CommonsThat’s not a raccoon…but it’s not too far off from one either. Coatimundis, or coatis, as they’re commonly called, are members of the family Procyonidae, which also includes raccoons. You won’t find these ring-tailed mammals digging through garbage cans, though. Coatis are rainforest dwellers, and some of the things they eat are a lot more dangerous than trash—like tarantulas, for example.
Coatis are around the same size as their raccoon cousins, reaching lengths between 33 and 44 inches, and weighing between 4.4 and 15.9 pounds. Active during the day, coatis avoid predators by climbing, which they excel at. In fact, coatis can rotate their ankles more than 180 degrees, allowing them to descend trees headfirst. When they’re on the ground, coatis use their long snouts to overturn logs and dig through fallen leaves to find their favorite foods: fallen fruit, small reptiles, and insects. Prey doesn’t always go down without a fight, though. Coatis sometimes face off against venomous snakes, which they are nimble enough to outmaneuver and kill. Tarantulas present two problems: not only do the spiders have a venomous bite, they’re also covered in irritating hairs that stick into an attacker's skin, causing itching and pain. Tarantulas even kick their own legs in order to disperse the hairs onto potential enemies. Coatis have a novel way of dealing with this. They simply snatch tarantulas from the forest floor and rub the spiders vigorously between the thickened palms of their front feet, or “hands.” This rubs off the irritating hairs and kills the spiders at the same time, making for an easy meal.
That’s not to say that coatis are invulnerable. They have plenty of their own predators, from big cats, like jaguars, to birds of prey. To stay safe, coatis use the buddy system…at least for part of their lives. Females live in groups along with their offspring, but males become solitary once they reach sexual maturity. This makes them easier targets for predators, but also makes it easier to spread out and claim territory and females of their own. When you spend your days fighting tarantulas and snakes, it’s understandable to not want to fight amongst yourselves.
[Image description: A ring tailed coatimundis sniffing the ground.] Credit & copyright: Vassil, Wikimedia Commons -
FREEScience Daily Curio #2953Free1 CQ
Sometimes, history isn’t made—it’s grown. Researchers at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, Israel, have brought back an ancient tree from extinction. It’s not just any tree, either: it was once one of the most valuable commodities in the ancient world. The “Judean Balsam,” also known as “the Balm of Judea,” or “Balm of Gilead” was grown in the southern Levant region millennia ago. Its resin had a variety of uses and is referenced in biblical texts as “tsori.” Tsori was written about and traded extensively by the Romans, and was used for everything from perfumes to medicine. However, the tree died out in the Levant at some point, and the identity of the Judean Balsam and its miraculous resin were thought to be lost to time. Yet, in a stroke of luck, a seed belonging to the mysterious tree was discovered in the 1980s in the Judean Desert. The seed, which is approximately 0.8 inches in length, was found safely tucked away in a cave and dates back to sometime between 993CE and 1202CE. Although it was found to be viable, researchers had little success in cultivating it until recently.
Now, they finally have a sapling to show for their efforts. The researchers have named the young tree Sheba, and through a DNA analysis, have determined it to belong to a species in the Commiphora family. Researchers can now better understand what its resin was used for. Most notably, compounds found in the tree appear to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. One of the compounds is squalene, an oily substance that is known to protect and smooth skin. Trees in the Commiphora family can be found in other parts of the world and are common in parts of Africa, Madagascar, and the Middle East, but one has never been found in the Levant before. Researchers believe that Judean Balsam may have been grown in the region by grafting parts of grown plants onto rootstock, which would explain why the seeds weren’t found before. Regardless, we certainly aren’t tsori to see it make a comeback.
[Image description: A sketch of a branch from the biblical plant known as the “balm of Gilead.”] Credit & copyright: Commiphora gileadensis (L.) C. Chr. (Balm of Gilead, Opobalsam): finished drawing of fruiting branch by Luigi Balugani (1737–1770), Wikimedia Commons. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Public Domain.Sometimes, history isn’t made—it’s grown. Researchers at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem, Israel, have brought back an ancient tree from extinction. It’s not just any tree, either: it was once one of the most valuable commodities in the ancient world. The “Judean Balsam,” also known as “the Balm of Judea,” or “Balm of Gilead” was grown in the southern Levant region millennia ago. Its resin had a variety of uses and is referenced in biblical texts as “tsori.” Tsori was written about and traded extensively by the Romans, and was used for everything from perfumes to medicine. However, the tree died out in the Levant at some point, and the identity of the Judean Balsam and its miraculous resin were thought to be lost to time. Yet, in a stroke of luck, a seed belonging to the mysterious tree was discovered in the 1980s in the Judean Desert. The seed, which is approximately 0.8 inches in length, was found safely tucked away in a cave and dates back to sometime between 993CE and 1202CE. Although it was found to be viable, researchers had little success in cultivating it until recently.
Now, they finally have a sapling to show for their efforts. The researchers have named the young tree Sheba, and through a DNA analysis, have determined it to belong to a species in the Commiphora family. Researchers can now better understand what its resin was used for. Most notably, compounds found in the tree appear to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. One of the compounds is squalene, an oily substance that is known to protect and smooth skin. Trees in the Commiphora family can be found in other parts of the world and are common in parts of Africa, Madagascar, and the Middle East, but one has never been found in the Levant before. Researchers believe that Judean Balsam may have been grown in the region by grafting parts of grown plants onto rootstock, which would explain why the seeds weren’t found before. Regardless, we certainly aren’t tsori to see it make a comeback.
[Image description: A sketch of a branch from the biblical plant known as the “balm of Gilead.”] Credit & copyright: Commiphora gileadensis (L.) C. Chr. (Balm of Gilead, Opobalsam): finished drawing of fruiting branch by Luigi Balugani (1737–1770), Wikimedia Commons. Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Public Domain.
October 1, 2024
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10 minFREEWork Business CurioFree6 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Police have clashed with protesting garment workers in Bangladesh, who are demanding higher wages and better working conditions. ...
From the BBC World Service: Police have clashed with protesting garment workers in Bangladesh, who are demanding higher wages and better working conditions. ...
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FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
Chappell Roan isn’t the only pop girlie who has rocketed to fame this year. Sabrina Carpenter has taken the music industry by storm in 2024 with her biting humor and famously short stature (the star is just 5 feet tall, hence her latest album’s name, Short n' Sweet). Her breakout hit, Espresso, is the kind of earworm that all pop stars dream of releasing. The song’s bopping beat is perfectly danceable while its lyrics are easy to remember and also sharply funny: “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya/walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya.” The frothy tune was inspired by a trip to France in which Carpenter drank espresso at a cafe while feeling on top of the world. As fast as her ascent to fame may seem, though, Carpenter has actually been in the entertainment industry for a while. At age 11, she had a small acting role on Law & Order SVU. Then, from 2014 to 2017, she had a recurring role on Girl Meets World. She began releasing music around the same time—in fact, Short n’ Sweet is the star’s sixth album, though it’s already the one she’s best known for. Sometimes fast fame takes a while!
Chappell Roan isn’t the only pop girlie who has rocketed to fame this year. Sabrina Carpenter has taken the music industry by storm in 2024 with her biting humor and famously short stature (the star is just 5 feet tall, hence her latest album’s name, Short n' Sweet). Her breakout hit, Espresso, is the kind of earworm that all pop stars dream of releasing. The song’s bopping beat is perfectly danceable while its lyrics are easy to remember and also sharply funny: “I know I Mountain Dew it for ya/walked in and dream-came-trued it for ya.” The frothy tune was inspired by a trip to France in which Carpenter drank espresso at a cafe while feeling on top of the world. As fast as her ascent to fame may seem, though, Carpenter has actually been in the entertainment industry for a while. At age 11, she had a small acting role on Law & Order SVU. Then, from 2014 to 2017, she had a recurring role on Girl Meets World. She began releasing music around the same time—in fact, Short n’ Sweet is the star’s sixth album, though it’s already the one she’s best known for. Sometimes fast fame takes a while!
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FREEWorld History Daily Curio #2952Free1 CQ
Imagine having your thoughts bottled up for 200 years. Student volunteers working at an archaeological dig in France have discovered a message in a bottle, and the find appears to have them as excited as the ancient pottery buried in the site. In the commune of Dieppe on the northern coast of France, volunteers were digging in the remains of an ancient Gaulish village in search of pottery. The Gauls were once the dominant culture in the region that covers modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Germany and Italy. For centuries, the Gauls clashed with the ancient Romans, and in 390 BCE, they even managed to plunder the city of Rome itself. Over time, though, the Gauls lost ground against the Romans, and Julius Caesar eventually led a successful campaign against the rest of the Gallic territories by 50 BCE.
In order to maintain control over the Gauls, the Romans built limes, a type of fort, including the Cité de Limes, where the aforementioned volunteers were conducting an archaeological dig. Sites like the Cité de Limes are the subject of interest to archaeologists because they can sometimes contain a treasure trove of Gallic and Roman artifacts from thousands of years ago, but the volunteers at this site found something much more recent. Among the ancient relics was a glass bottle—the kind that apparently used to hold smelling salts for women to carry around—containing a note. It read, “P.J Féret, a native of Dieppe, member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825. He continues his investigations in this vast area known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp.” Indeed, local records confirmed that Féret conducted a dig of his own nearly 200 years ago on the very site and left the note for future researchers to uncover. It’s not often that an archaeologist gets to be the find on a dig!
[Image description: A close-up photo of the surface of water.] Credit & copyright: Matt Hardy, PexelsImagine having your thoughts bottled up for 200 years. Student volunteers working at an archaeological dig in France have discovered a message in a bottle, and the find appears to have them as excited as the ancient pottery buried in the site. In the commune of Dieppe on the northern coast of France, volunteers were digging in the remains of an ancient Gaulish village in search of pottery. The Gauls were once the dominant culture in the region that covers modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Germany and Italy. For centuries, the Gauls clashed with the ancient Romans, and in 390 BCE, they even managed to plunder the city of Rome itself. Over time, though, the Gauls lost ground against the Romans, and Julius Caesar eventually led a successful campaign against the rest of the Gallic territories by 50 BCE.
In order to maintain control over the Gauls, the Romans built limes, a type of fort, including the Cité de Limes, where the aforementioned volunteers were conducting an archaeological dig. Sites like the Cité de Limes are the subject of interest to archaeologists because they can sometimes contain a treasure trove of Gallic and Roman artifacts from thousands of years ago, but the volunteers at this site found something much more recent. Among the ancient relics was a glass bottle—the kind that apparently used to hold smelling salts for women to carry around—containing a note. It read, “P.J Féret, a native of Dieppe, member of various intellectual societies, carried out excavations here in January 1825. He continues his investigations in this vast area known as the Cité de Limes or Caesar’s Camp.” Indeed, local records confirmed that Féret conducted a dig of his own nearly 200 years ago on the very site and left the note for future researchers to uncover. It’s not often that an archaeologist gets to be the find on a dig!
[Image description: A close-up photo of the surface of water.] Credit & copyright: Matt Hardy, Pexels
September 30, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 30, 2024\trib-yuh-LAY-shun\ noun
What It Means
Tribulation, which is often used in the phrase "trials and tribula...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 30, 2024\trib-yuh-LAY-shun\ noun
What It Means
Tribulation, which is often used in the phrase "trials and tribula...
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FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Don’t forget to wash your hands before you eat! The piece above is a bronze water vessel in the shape of a male lion with a dragon on its back as a handle. There is a spout protruding from the lion’s mouth. Medieval Europeans are often misrepresented as having been filthy, unhygienic people who hated to bathe. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Vessels like the one above, called an aquamanile, were used in some places to wash one’s hands before eating. Many villages also had a public bath where people would gather to get clean. Public bathing was a social activity too, with patrons of the baths taking time to gossip, play games, and eat together. And yes, they even had soap and perfumes to come out smelling clean and fresh. Smelling good was important, since it was believed that bad smells, or miasma, could spread disease. Ironically, bathhouses fell out of favor partly because of the bubonic plague, and fears that the disease could spread more readily in such gathering places. Maybe that’s when people started saying, “smell you later!”
Lion Aquamanile, 1200–1250, Bronze: cast, chased, and punched, 10.37 x 11.43 x 5.87 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Chester D. Tripp in honor of Chester D. Tripp 1972.167. Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.Don’t forget to wash your hands before you eat! The piece above is a bronze water vessel in the shape of a male lion with a dragon on its back as a handle. There is a spout protruding from the lion’s mouth. Medieval Europeans are often misrepresented as having been filthy, unhygienic people who hated to bathe. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Vessels like the one above, called an aquamanile, were used in some places to wash one’s hands before eating. Many villages also had a public bath where people would gather to get clean. Public bathing was a social activity too, with patrons of the baths taking time to gossip, play games, and eat together. And yes, they even had soap and perfumes to come out smelling clean and fresh. Smelling good was important, since it was believed that bad smells, or miasma, could spread disease. Ironically, bathhouses fell out of favor partly because of the bubonic plague, and fears that the disease could spread more readily in such gathering places. Maybe that’s when people started saying, “smell you later!”
Lion Aquamanile, 1200–1250, Bronze: cast, chased, and punched, 10.37 x 11.43 x 5.87 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Chester D. Tripp in honor of Chester D. Tripp 1972.167. Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation. -
10 minFREEWork Business CurioFree6 CQ
Those who have been waiting patiently for the housing market to cool down may have to wait even longer for lower prices. Data released today indicates that t...
Those who have been waiting patiently for the housing market to cool down may have to wait even longer for lower prices. Data released today indicates that t...
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FREEWriting Music Daily Curio #2951Free1 CQ
New Mozart just dropped! Classical music lovers finally have a new release from one of the genre’s greatest hitmakers after a lost piece of music was recently rediscovered. Born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was making waves in the classical music scene by the time he was five years old. Touring Europe as a child prodigy, he astounded audiences with his immense talent. By the time of his untimely death in 1791 at age 35, Mozart had created a celebrated body of work consisting of over 600 pieces. Over 70 years later, Austrian musicologist Ludwig Ritter von Köchel gathered and chronologically organized Mozart’s compositions, and the Köchel catalog has since been the definitive collection of the composer’s works. The catalog has been updated several times by various scholars throughout its history, but no addition may be as late to the party as Serenade in C, a composition discovered this year in the archives of the Leipzig Municipal Libraries in Germany. Written for a string trio, the piece is attributed to Wolfgang Mozart, indicating that it was written sometime before 1769, when he started signing his name with the inclusion of “Amadeus.” That would make Mozart 13 at the oldest at the time of composition, but he could have been as young as 10 based on the style of the piece, which is more similar to his work in the mid 1760s. While the discovery of the lost piece is a boon to music historians and Mozart fans, the sad truth is that there may be many more pieces lost to time. Although the composer’s father kept a record of many of his early compositions, most of them have not been found. This particular piece was only saved thanks to his sister Maria Anna Mozart, who appears to have kept it as a memento. Thanks to her sisterly affection, there’s now one more piece to remember Mozart by.
[Image description: A portion of a painting depicting Mozart, wearing a white wig and high-collared red shirt.] Credit & copyright:
Johann Nepomuk della Croce (1736–1819), Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.New Mozart just dropped! Classical music lovers finally have a new release from one of the genre’s greatest hitmakers after a lost piece of music was recently rediscovered. Born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was making waves in the classical music scene by the time he was five years old. Touring Europe as a child prodigy, he astounded audiences with his immense talent. By the time of his untimely death in 1791 at age 35, Mozart had created a celebrated body of work consisting of over 600 pieces. Over 70 years later, Austrian musicologist Ludwig Ritter von Köchel gathered and chronologically organized Mozart’s compositions, and the Köchel catalog has since been the definitive collection of the composer’s works. The catalog has been updated several times by various scholars throughout its history, but no addition may be as late to the party as Serenade in C, a composition discovered this year in the archives of the Leipzig Municipal Libraries in Germany. Written for a string trio, the piece is attributed to Wolfgang Mozart, indicating that it was written sometime before 1769, when he started signing his name with the inclusion of “Amadeus.” That would make Mozart 13 at the oldest at the time of composition, but he could have been as young as 10 based on the style of the piece, which is more similar to his work in the mid 1760s. While the discovery of the lost piece is a boon to music historians and Mozart fans, the sad truth is that there may be many more pieces lost to time. Although the composer’s father kept a record of many of his early compositions, most of them have not been found. This particular piece was only saved thanks to his sister Maria Anna Mozart, who appears to have kept it as a memento. Thanks to her sisterly affection, there’s now one more piece to remember Mozart by.
[Image description: A portion of a painting depicting Mozart, wearing a white wig and high-collared red shirt.] Credit & copyright:
Johann Nepomuk della Croce (1736–1819), Wikimedia Commons. This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.
September 29, 2024
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1 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree1 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 29, 2024\FECK-lus\ adjective
What It Means
Feckless describes people or things that are weak or ineffective.
// ...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 29, 2024\FECK-lus\ adjective
What It Means
Feckless describes people or things that are weak or ineffective.
// ...
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7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
Last week, refinance applications were up 20% from a week earlier. The number of people who could benefit from refinancing — especially those who took out mo...
Last week, refinance applications were up 20% from a week earlier. The number of people who could benefit from refinancing — especially those who took out mo...
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FREEStyle PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
Ooo la la! This timeless headpiece is as French as escargot, yet the beret has managed to maintain incredible worldwide appeal throughout the centuries. This simple, unisex hat has shown up on the heads of everyone from European royals to uniformed soldiers and is still going strong despite a history that stretches back at least as far as the 14th century.
Although modern berets are heavily associated with French fashion and largely gained popularity in the 20th century, flat-cap style hats have been worn since the time of ancient Greece. The true ancestor of the beret comes from Europe in the 1300s, when felted or fulled wool hats were a durable, warm choice for many people working outdoors. The simple design of these hats gave them a timeless quality that endured through the centuries, and they were eventually adopted by the people of the Basque region, sandwiched between the border of France and Spain. The Basque people were renowned fishermen and whalers who sailed long distances in search of their quarry. Basque berets were perfect for these hardy sailors, who needed water–resistant hats to keep them warm while sailing the cold, northern seas. Their version of the beret became so emblematic of their culture that receiving one at the age of 10 was a rite of passage for boys in the Basque city of Béarn, where the hat is said to have originated. Other European cultures recognized the sailing prowess of Basque fishermen as well, and many came to Basque country to learn from the best. That, along with the long-reaching travels of the Basque sailors, spread the Basque beret around Europe. It wasn’t until 1835, though, that the hat began to be called “beret,” short for the French name for it, “béret basque.” Throughout the 1800s, the hat gained increasing popularity outside of maritime professions, though for less peaceful purposes.
The beret came into the forefront of fashion and history when Spanish-Basque military officer Tomás de Zumalacárregui wore a large, red iteration of the hat during the First and Second Carlist Wars. From then on, the beret was inextricably linked to military aesthetics, and was adopted by various European armies thereafter. Another famous example were the Chasseurs Alpins, an elite group of French soldiers trained to fight in the mountains. They wore blue berets to distinguish themselves and keep warm. Then came the brutal conflicts of WWI and WWII, when the advent of wireless communication with the widespread adoption of radios and telephones gave the beret a novel advantage: its compact design allowed it to fit in the cramped spaces inside tanks and other vehicles, while also allowing for the wearing of headphones. Soon, berets became associated with elite forces like the Green Berets of the U.S. Army.
Around the same time, though, the beret once again found itself being worn for fashion. They were embraced by artists and writers like Ernest Hemingway, who considered their roots in European peasantry a means of rebelling against mainstream fashion. As Paris distinguished itself as the world’s fashion center, the hats became most heavily associated with France. Today, the beret remains largely a fashion statement, but it’s also been worn by political revolutionaries such as Che Guevara and the Black Panthers as a means to identify themselves. No matter who you are, though, when you put on a beret, you’re not just wearing a fashionable headpiece. You’re wearing a piece of history.
[Image description: A maroon-colored beret hat with a puffed decoration on top, sitting on a blank mannequin head.] Credit & copyright:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of E. F. Schermerhorn, 1953. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.Ooo la la! This timeless headpiece is as French as escargot, yet the beret has managed to maintain incredible worldwide appeal throughout the centuries. This simple, unisex hat has shown up on the heads of everyone from European royals to uniformed soldiers and is still going strong despite a history that stretches back at least as far as the 14th century.
Although modern berets are heavily associated with French fashion and largely gained popularity in the 20th century, flat-cap style hats have been worn since the time of ancient Greece. The true ancestor of the beret comes from Europe in the 1300s, when felted or fulled wool hats were a durable, warm choice for many people working outdoors. The simple design of these hats gave them a timeless quality that endured through the centuries, and they were eventually adopted by the people of the Basque region, sandwiched between the border of France and Spain. The Basque people were renowned fishermen and whalers who sailed long distances in search of their quarry. Basque berets were perfect for these hardy sailors, who needed water–resistant hats to keep them warm while sailing the cold, northern seas. Their version of the beret became so emblematic of their culture that receiving one at the age of 10 was a rite of passage for boys in the Basque city of Béarn, where the hat is said to have originated. Other European cultures recognized the sailing prowess of Basque fishermen as well, and many came to Basque country to learn from the best. That, along with the long-reaching travels of the Basque sailors, spread the Basque beret around Europe. It wasn’t until 1835, though, that the hat began to be called “beret,” short for the French name for it, “béret basque.” Throughout the 1800s, the hat gained increasing popularity outside of maritime professions, though for less peaceful purposes.
The beret came into the forefront of fashion and history when Spanish-Basque military officer Tomás de Zumalacárregui wore a large, red iteration of the hat during the First and Second Carlist Wars. From then on, the beret was inextricably linked to military aesthetics, and was adopted by various European armies thereafter. Another famous example were the Chasseurs Alpins, an elite group of French soldiers trained to fight in the mountains. They wore blue berets to distinguish themselves and keep warm. Then came the brutal conflicts of WWI and WWII, when the advent of wireless communication with the widespread adoption of radios and telephones gave the beret a novel advantage: its compact design allowed it to fit in the cramped spaces inside tanks and other vehicles, while also allowing for the wearing of headphones. Soon, berets became associated with elite forces like the Green Berets of the U.S. Army.
Around the same time, though, the beret once again found itself being worn for fashion. They were embraced by artists and writers like Ernest Hemingway, who considered their roots in European peasantry a means of rebelling against mainstream fashion. As Paris distinguished itself as the world’s fashion center, the hats became most heavily associated with France. Today, the beret remains largely a fashion statement, but it’s also been worn by political revolutionaries such as Che Guevara and the Black Panthers as a means to identify themselves. No matter who you are, though, when you put on a beret, you’re not just wearing a fashionable headpiece. You’re wearing a piece of history.
[Image description: A maroon-colored beret hat with a puffed decoration on top, sitting on a blank mannequin head.] Credit & copyright:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wikimedia Commons. Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of E. F. Schermerhorn, 1953. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
September 28, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 28, 2024\AV-uh-tar\ noun
What It Means
An avatar is an electronic image (as in a video game) that represents, and...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 28, 2024\AV-uh-tar\ noun
What It Means
An avatar is an electronic image (as in a video game) that represents, and...
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8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
We’re now just days from a potential strike by dockworkers that would stretch from the Gulf of Mexico on up the East Coast. Oct. 1 is the deadline for an agr...
We’re now just days from a potential strike by dockworkers that would stretch from the Gulf of Mexico on up the East Coast. Oct. 1 is the deadline for an agr...
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FREESwimming Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
Being out in open water with no provisions might sound terrifying to most people, but Neil Aigus isn’t most people. On September 23, the Maltese activist and ultra-endurance athlete completed the longest unaided, open-water swim on record after swimming for three days straight. Aigus’s trip began on the morning of the September 21st, when he took off from Għadira Bay in the village of Mellieħa, located on the northern coast of Malta. From there, he swam around the island until he climbed out of a ladder on the beach in Għar Lapsi, another bay on the island’s southern coast. During his three days in the open water, he covered 87 miles without stopping, breaking the previous world record of 78 miles (also set by him). To be considered for the record, Aigus swam with nothing but a porous swimsuit, goggles, a non-neoprene swim cap, and ear plugs, per the rules set out by the World Open Water Swimming Association. Although he had a support crew trailing him, he wasn’t allowed to rest on their boat. While Aigus had a crowd of cheering supporters to greet him at the end, he says he didn’t do it for personal glory. Instead, he told the press, “It was a swim for Malta.” Indeed, the swim was part of a larger effort to raise awareness of marine waste polluting the island's coasts. As he swam, volunteers scoured the coasts for trash, and by the time he finished, they had collected over 1700 pounds of it. That should be a record of some kind too.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a watery surface.] Credit & copyright:
Matt Hardy, Pexels
Being out in open water with no provisions might sound terrifying to most people, but Neil Aigus isn’t most people. On September 23, the Maltese activist and ultra-endurance athlete completed the longest unaided, open-water swim on record after swimming for three days straight. Aigus’s trip began on the morning of the September 21st, when he took off from Għadira Bay in the village of Mellieħa, located on the northern coast of Malta. From there, he swam around the island until he climbed out of a ladder on the beach in Għar Lapsi, another bay on the island’s southern coast. During his three days in the open water, he covered 87 miles without stopping, breaking the previous world record of 78 miles (also set by him). To be considered for the record, Aigus swam with nothing but a porous swimsuit, goggles, a non-neoprene swim cap, and ear plugs, per the rules set out by the World Open Water Swimming Association. Although he had a support crew trailing him, he wasn’t allowed to rest on their boat. While Aigus had a crowd of cheering supporters to greet him at the end, he says he didn’t do it for personal glory. Instead, he told the press, “It was a swim for Malta.” Indeed, the swim was part of a larger effort to raise awareness of marine waste polluting the island's coasts. As he swam, volunteers scoured the coasts for trash, and by the time he finished, they had collected over 1700 pounds of it. That should be a record of some kind too.
[Image description: A close-up photo of a watery surface.] Credit & copyright:
Matt Hardy, Pexels
September 27, 2024
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2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: September 27, 2024\LOO-sid\ adjective
What It Means
If something written, spoken, or otherwise communicated is described as...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: September 27, 2024\LOO-sid\ adjective
What It Means
If something written, spoken, or otherwise communicated is described as...
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Would’ya like a bowl of chowdah? Go to Boston, and you may very well be asked this question. Even though clam chowder is heavily associated with Beantown, though, it’s prized throughout all of New England—and there are plenty of regional variations, all of which are perfect to cozy up with as fall weather approaches.
The most famous type of clam chowder is New England clam chowder, also called Boston-style. It’s a thick, creamy soup made with clams (usually Quahog clams, though littleneck clams are also sometimes used.) The clams are steamed, de-shelled, and chopped into hearty chunks before being added to a broth of milk, butter, potatoes, onions, and flour for thickening purposes. Pork or bacon is sometimes added, and the chowder is usually sprinkled with black pepper. Clam chowder is normally served with oyster crackers, which get their name, at least in part, from their association with the soup. Some people’s preference for crushing the crackers and adding them to the chowder as a thickener actually mimics some of the first New England clam chowder recipes, which used crushed hard tack or stale bread in place of flour to thicken the broth.
Despite its beloved status in Boston, Boston-style clam chowder didn’t actually originate there—or even in the states, for that matter. Seafood chowders had been popular in Europe for centuries by the time anyone in the U.S. ate their first bowl of it. In the 1700s, as settlers from places like England, France, and Nova Scotia came to New England, they brought their seafood recipes with them. Sometimes, fishing communities would create large, communal pots of soup, adding leftover fish from their days’ catch. These fishermen were sometimes called “Jowters”, after a 16th-century word meaning fishmonger, which may be where the word “chowder”, meaning seafood soup, originated. No one knows for certain how clams came to be the main ingredient in American chowders, but the first written instance of them being added to chowder came in 1833, in American Frugal Housewife. The name of this book might give a clue as to their popularity, since clams were usually cheaper to procure than high-quality fish.
Today, the most famous clam chowder variations are Manhattan clam chowder and Rhode Island clam chowder, which look and taste quite different from the Boston-style dish. Manhattan style clam chowder forgoes milk in favor of a tomato-based broth with added vegetables and thyme. Rhode Island clam chowder does away with the creamy broth of New England’s style and the tomato-based broth of Manhattan's style, opting for a clear broth made by simmering clams, vegetables, and pork in fish stock. The truth is, no matter where you are in New England, there’s sure to be some kind of clam chowder on the menu. Not bad for a soup originally made by humble fishmongers.
[Image description: A black bowl filled with white, lumpy clam chowder sprinkled with black pepper.] Credit & copyright: Daderot, Wikimedia CommonsWould’ya like a bowl of chowdah? Go to Boston, and you may very well be asked this question. Even though clam chowder is heavily associated with Beantown, though, it’s prized throughout all of New England—and there are plenty of regional variations, all of which are perfect to cozy up with as fall weather approaches.
The most famous type of clam chowder is New England clam chowder, also called Boston-style. It’s a thick, creamy soup made with clams (usually Quahog clams, though littleneck clams are also sometimes used.) The clams are steamed, de-shelled, and chopped into hearty chunks before being added to a broth of milk, butter, potatoes, onions, and flour for thickening purposes. Pork or bacon is sometimes added, and the chowder is usually sprinkled with black pepper. Clam chowder is normally served with oyster crackers, which get their name, at least in part, from their association with the soup. Some people’s preference for crushing the crackers and adding them to the chowder as a thickener actually mimics some of the first New England clam chowder recipes, which used crushed hard tack or stale bread in place of flour to thicken the broth.
Despite its beloved status in Boston, Boston-style clam chowder didn’t actually originate there—or even in the states, for that matter. Seafood chowders had been popular in Europe for centuries by the time anyone in the U.S. ate their first bowl of it. In the 1700s, as settlers from places like England, France, and Nova Scotia came to New England, they brought their seafood recipes with them. Sometimes, fishing communities would create large, communal pots of soup, adding leftover fish from their days’ catch. These fishermen were sometimes called “Jowters”, after a 16th-century word meaning fishmonger, which may be where the word “chowder”, meaning seafood soup, originated. No one knows for certain how clams came to be the main ingredient in American chowders, but the first written instance of them being added to chowder came in 1833, in American Frugal Housewife. The name of this book might give a clue as to their popularity, since clams were usually cheaper to procure than high-quality fish.
Today, the most famous clam chowder variations are Manhattan clam chowder and Rhode Island clam chowder, which look and taste quite different from the Boston-style dish. Manhattan style clam chowder forgoes milk in favor of a tomato-based broth with added vegetables and thyme. Rhode Island clam chowder does away with the creamy broth of New England’s style and the tomato-based broth of Manhattan's style, opting for a clear broth made by simmering clams, vegetables, and pork in fish stock. The truth is, no matter where you are in New England, there’s sure to be some kind of clam chowder on the menu. Not bad for a soup originally made by humble fishmongers.
[Image description: A black bowl filled with white, lumpy clam chowder sprinkled with black pepper.] Credit & copyright: Daderot, Wikimedia Commons