Curio Cabinet
- By Date
- By Type
April 17, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Despite extensive sanctions, the International Monetary Fund has forecast Russia’s economy will grow more than any other rich nat...
From the BBC World Service: Despite extensive sanctions, the International Monetary Fund has forecast Russia’s economy will grow more than any other rich nat...
-
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: April 17, 2024\ser-kum-loh-KYOO-shun\ noun
What It Means
Circumlocution refers to the use of many words to say something th...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: April 17, 2024\ser-kum-loh-KYOO-shun\ noun
What It Means
Circumlocution refers to the use of many words to say something th...
-
FREEEconomics Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
World leaders aren’t the only ones reeling after Iran’s recent attack on Israel—the economy is feeling the shock too. Oil prices, in particular, spiked directly following the attack, though they dropped just as quickly once word got out that around 99 percent of the missiles fired in the attack had been intercepted. Still, fears of escalating violence persist, along with concerns that a mounting conflict could significantly drive up oil prices. After all, Iran exports around 1.5 percent of the world’s oil supply. Of course, the Middle East isn’t the only region engulfed in a conflict with the potential to affect the global economy. Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has already resulted in rising prices for commodities like food and energy. This is not only due to sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and European nations but also a decrease in exports from both Russia and Ukraine. Recently, new sanctions were announced, which will prevent Russian aluminum, nickel, and copper from being sold on LME and CME exchanges. While this isn’t expected to raise global prices on industrial metals in the short term, the longer the invasion drags on, the more economic impact the world is likely to feel. It’s just one more reason to hope for a peaceful and swift end to these conflicts.
Â
World leaders aren’t the only ones reeling after Iran’s recent attack on Israel—the economy is feeling the shock too. Oil prices, in particular, spiked directly following the attack, though they dropped just as quickly once word got out that around 99 percent of the missiles fired in the attack had been intercepted. Still, fears of escalating violence persist, along with concerns that a mounting conflict could significantly drive up oil prices. After all, Iran exports around 1.5 percent of the world’s oil supply. Of course, the Middle East isn’t the only region engulfed in a conflict with the potential to affect the global economy. Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has already resulted in rising prices for commodities like food and energy. This is not only due to sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and European nations but also a decrease in exports from both Russia and Ukraine. Recently, new sanctions were announced, which will prevent Russian aluminum, nickel, and copper from being sold on LME and CME exchanges. While this isn’t expected to raise global prices on industrial metals in the short term, the longer the invasion drags on, the more economic impact the world is likely to feel. It’s just one more reason to hope for a peaceful and swift end to these conflicts.
Â
-
FREESTEM Daily Curio #2857Free1 CQ
The robot uprising is coming, and their first targets are those dastardly feathered fiends—geese. Way up north, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities have brought on a robot they’ve named Aurora to keep airports clear of geese and other wildlife that can interfere with airplanes. Geese might not seem particularly menacing, but a single goose can bring down a plane if its body gets sucked into a jet engine—and the geese don’t exactly leave such encounters in fighting shape. Airports around the world are vigilant about keeping birds and other wildlife away from runways, with many employing other animals to keep tarmacs critter-free. Some places use falconers to chase away birds, while others turn to herding dogs for help. Some geese-infested locales have resorted to culling local populations, but officials in Anchorage, Alaska, have brought on Aurora, a four-legged robot made by Boston Dynamics. One of the company’s commercial offerings, Aurora is an iteration of their “Spot” models, though she has a bit of customization. To better frighten away animals, she is covered in interchangeable panels that mimic the look of coyote or fox fur. At about the size of a Labrador retriever, she can tread through deep snow, an ability that’s mandatory in snowy Anchorage. At $70,000, Aurora may seem like overkill, but some would argue that’s a bargain compared to the alternative. In 2023 alone, Alaska had 92 animal strikes (incidents where a plane hits wildlife), and aircraft are costly to repair. Not to mention that any one of those cases could have ended in tragedy. While most animal or bird strikes only result in superficial damage to the aircraft, more serious disasters can and do happen. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III’s famed emergency landing over the Hudson River in 2009 was actually caused by a flock of Canada geese. Birds of a feather, indeed.
Â
[Image description: Two Canada geese in a grassy field with trees in the background.] Credit & copyright: Brett Sayles, PexelsThe robot uprising is coming, and their first targets are those dastardly feathered fiends—geese. Way up north, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities have brought on a robot they’ve named Aurora to keep airports clear of geese and other wildlife that can interfere with airplanes. Geese might not seem particularly menacing, but a single goose can bring down a plane if its body gets sucked into a jet engine—and the geese don’t exactly leave such encounters in fighting shape. Airports around the world are vigilant about keeping birds and other wildlife away from runways, with many employing other animals to keep tarmacs critter-free. Some places use falconers to chase away birds, while others turn to herding dogs for help. Some geese-infested locales have resorted to culling local populations, but officials in Anchorage, Alaska, have brought on Aurora, a four-legged robot made by Boston Dynamics. One of the company’s commercial offerings, Aurora is an iteration of their “Spot” models, though she has a bit of customization. To better frighten away animals, she is covered in interchangeable panels that mimic the look of coyote or fox fur. At about the size of a Labrador retriever, she can tread through deep snow, an ability that’s mandatory in snowy Anchorage. At $70,000, Aurora may seem like overkill, but some would argue that’s a bargain compared to the alternative. In 2023 alone, Alaska had 92 animal strikes (incidents where a plane hits wildlife), and aircraft are costly to repair. Not to mention that any one of those cases could have ended in tragedy. While most animal or bird strikes only result in superficial damage to the aircraft, more serious disasters can and do happen. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III’s famed emergency landing over the Hudson River in 2009 was actually caused by a flock of Canada geese. Birds of a feather, indeed.
Â
[Image description: Two Canada geese in a grassy field with trees in the background.] Credit & copyright: Brett Sayles, Pexels
April 16, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Economic growth in China, the world’s second biggest economy, beat expectations in the first quarter. Official data shows it’s be...
From the BBC World Service: Economic growth in China, the world’s second biggest economy, beat expectations in the first quarter. Official data shows it’s be...
-
FREEMusic Appreciation Song CurioFree2 CQ
There was a whole lot of rock in this orchestra. On this day in 1972, legendary British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) made their debut at a small London pub. Within a few short years the band, which specialized in classically-inspired rock music, was churning out hits, including their best-remembered song, 1977’s Mr. Blue Sky. It features a bouncy tune and very literal lyrics (it’s about the joy of seeing a blue sky after a period of bad weather) yet the layers of electronic instrumentation and intricate harmonies (which may well remind listeners of The Beatles) lend it a maturity that made it instantly popular. In a 2014 interview with Hi-Fi News & Record Review, songwriter Jeff Lynne said, “All the bits that come in and out, the backing vocals, the cellos sliding, all the little naughty bits, the sound effects, everything is exactly what I imagined ELO to be.” The song has been featured in commercials, as a T.V. show theme song, and is even played at the beginning of every soccer match featuring the Birmingham City Football Club. It seems that everyone everywhere can agree that nice weather is worth singing about.
Â
[]
ÂThere was a whole lot of rock in this orchestra. On this day in 1972, legendary British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) made their debut at a small London pub. Within a few short years the band, which specialized in classically-inspired rock music, was churning out hits, including their best-remembered song, 1977’s Mr. Blue Sky. It features a bouncy tune and very literal lyrics (it’s about the joy of seeing a blue sky after a period of bad weather) yet the layers of electronic instrumentation and intricate harmonies (which may well remind listeners of The Beatles) lend it a maturity that made it instantly popular. In a 2014 interview with Hi-Fi News & Record Review, songwriter Jeff Lynne said, “All the bits that come in and out, the backing vocals, the cellos sliding, all the little naughty bits, the sound effects, everything is exactly what I imagined ELO to be.” The song has been featured in commercials, as a T.V. show theme song, and is even played at the beginning of every soccer match featuring the Birmingham City Football Club. It seems that everyone everywhere can agree that nice weather is worth singing about.
Â
[]
 -
FREEEngineering Daily Curio #2856Free1 CQ
Waste not, want not, stay hot. In Finland, where winters are long and cold, an energy supplier is working on an underground thermal energy storage system that would run partially on waste heat. While the Finnish love their saunas, it takes more than a little steam to keep warm through the country’s brutal winters. In Vantaa, Finland, residents rely on Vantaan Energia to heat their homes through the frigid months, and soon they’ll be using heat generated from waste, then stored underground. The facility that will make this possible is called Varanto, and it will measure a whopping 38.85 million cubic feet and boast a total thermal capacity of 90 gigawatt hours (gWh). That’s enough energy to heat a medium-sized Finnish city all winter. Once completed in 2028, it will be the world’s largest seasonal heat storage system.
Â
The advantage of systems like Varanto is that they’re resilient against fluctuations in demand since they store energy ahead of time. As Vantaan CEO Jukka Toivonen said in a statement, “The biggest challenge of the energy transition so far has been the inability to store these intermittent forms of energy for later use. Unfortunately, small-scale storage solutions, such as batteries or accumulators, are not sufficient; large, industrial-scale storage solutions are needed." In this case, thermal energy will be stored in three caverns located 330 feet under the surface in the bedrock. Each cavern will be 984 feet in length, 131 feet in height and 66 feet in width and will be filled with water. Throughout the summer, the water will be heated by waste heat from industrial sources and with renewable energy like wind or solar when there’s a surplus. Insulated and under pressure due to the weight of the ground above, the water will stay liquid while reaching a temperature of 284 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, during the winter, the water will be piped to individual homes and businesses to keep them warm. Imagine feeling the heat of the summer sun in the middle of a blizzard.Â
[Image description: Description ] Credit & copyright: StAnselm, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.Waste not, want not, stay hot. In Finland, where winters are long and cold, an energy supplier is working on an underground thermal energy storage system that would run partially on waste heat. While the Finnish love their saunas, it takes more than a little steam to keep warm through the country’s brutal winters. In Vantaa, Finland, residents rely on Vantaan Energia to heat their homes through the frigid months, and soon they’ll be using heat generated from waste, then stored underground. The facility that will make this possible is called Varanto, and it will measure a whopping 38.85 million cubic feet and boast a total thermal capacity of 90 gigawatt hours (gWh). That’s enough energy to heat a medium-sized Finnish city all winter. Once completed in 2028, it will be the world’s largest seasonal heat storage system.
Â
The advantage of systems like Varanto is that they’re resilient against fluctuations in demand since they store energy ahead of time. As Vantaan CEO Jukka Toivonen said in a statement, “The biggest challenge of the energy transition so far has been the inability to store these intermittent forms of energy for later use. Unfortunately, small-scale storage solutions, such as batteries or accumulators, are not sufficient; large, industrial-scale storage solutions are needed." In this case, thermal energy will be stored in three caverns located 330 feet under the surface in the bedrock. Each cavern will be 984 feet in length, 131 feet in height and 66 feet in width and will be filled with water. Throughout the summer, the water will be heated by waste heat from industrial sources and with renewable energy like wind or solar when there’s a surplus. Insulated and under pressure due to the weight of the ground above, the water will stay liquid while reaching a temperature of 284 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, during the winter, the water will be piped to individual homes and businesses to keep them warm. Imagine feeling the heat of the summer sun in the middle of a blizzard.Â
[Image description: Description ] Credit & copyright: StAnselm, Wikimedia Commons. The copyright holder of this work has released it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.
April 15, 2024
-
FREEArt Appreciation Art CurioFree1 CQ
Artists can paint history, but sometimes they live through it. French painter Joseph-Marie Vien was once the favored painter of the king, but not even the French Revolution could slow him down. His piece above, Sweet Melancholy, depicts a young woman in a gold dress seated on a chair draped with a blue robe. She is looking down at the floor with her head resting on her right hand. Vien was a neoclassical painter known for his meticulously detailed historical paintings (although he also painted biblical and mythological scenes). Sweet Melancholy was made to be as accurate as possible in depicting ancient furniture and garments. For his exemplary skills, Vien was made the director of the Académie Royale and made the Premier peintre du Roi, which translates to “First painter of the King.” However, he received the appointment in 1789, just in time for the beginning of the French Revolution. Vien would be the last to hold this title, as the post and the Académie Royale were both dissolved during the revolution. That’s one way to be both first and last.
Â
Sweet Melancholy
1756, Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809), 1756, oil on canvas, 26.75 x 21.62 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OhioÂ
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1996.1. Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.]Artists can paint history, but sometimes they live through it. French painter Joseph-Marie Vien was once the favored painter of the king, but not even the French Revolution could slow him down. His piece above, Sweet Melancholy, depicts a young woman in a gold dress seated on a chair draped with a blue robe. She is looking down at the floor with her head resting on her right hand. Vien was a neoclassical painter known for his meticulously detailed historical paintings (although he also painted biblical and mythological scenes). Sweet Melancholy was made to be as accurate as possible in depicting ancient furniture and garments. For his exemplary skills, Vien was made the director of the Académie Royale and made the Premier peintre du Roi, which translates to “First painter of the King.” However, he received the appointment in 1789, just in time for the beginning of the French Revolution. Vien would be the last to hold this title, as the post and the Académie Royale were both dissolved during the revolution. That’s one way to be both first and last.
Â
Sweet Melancholy
1756, Joseph-Marie Vien (1716–1809), 1756, oil on canvas, 26.75 x 21.62 in., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OhioÂ
[Image credit & copyright: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1996.1. Public Domain, Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.] -
8 minFREEWork Business CurioFree5 CQ
Walmart has opted to settle a $45 million class-action lawsuit over allegedly inflating prices for certain products sold by weight, such as produce and meat ...
Walmart has opted to settle a $45 million class-action lawsuit over allegedly inflating prices for certain products sold by weight, such as produce and meat ...
-
FREELiterature Daily Curio #2855Free1 CQ
“Human life begins on the far side of despair,” but the life of this great thinker ended on the other side of a Nobel Prize. Philosopher, novelist and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre died on this day in 1980, leaving an extensive body of work that explores existentialism. Sartre was born in Paris in 1905 and experienced a difficult early childhood. His father died when he was young and he had difficulty making friends. Feeling unwanted by the world at large, Sartre focused his imagination on his writing, retreating into a world of his own making. As an adult, he began studying philosophy, and met Simone de Beauvoir while they were both students. Though Sartre was opposed to the institution of marriage, the two became lifelong partners and intellectual peers. As a professor of philosophy in Laon and then Paris, Sartre met some of the greatest minds of his time, though his teaching career was interrupted when he was drafted during World War II. It was after the war that he began making his living as a writer, promoting an existentialist philosophy that was closely tied to matters of personal freedom and social responsibility. Sartre believed that life didn’t have inherent meaning, and that each individual had to create their own, which he considered a “terrible” freedom. In 1943’s Being and Nothingness he wrote, “I am condemned to be free,” but he also believed that within this state of “condemnation,” there was a path to becoming a moral being. True to his stated convictions, Sartre was politically active, and he wasn’t above changing his views in light of new evidence and personal experiences. For example, he was initially a public supporter of the Soviet Union, but he changed his stance after learning of the state’s human rights violations. In 1964, he was given the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yet, in a not entirely surprising decision, Sartre declined the award saying, “A writer must refuse, therefore, to allow himself to be transformed into an institution.” He might have been condemned to be free, but he was strongly bound by his own beliefs.
Â
“Human life begins on the far side of despair,” but the life of this great thinker ended on the other side of a Nobel Prize. Philosopher, novelist and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre died on this day in 1980, leaving an extensive body of work that explores existentialism. Sartre was born in Paris in 1905 and experienced a difficult early childhood. His father died when he was young and he had difficulty making friends. Feeling unwanted by the world at large, Sartre focused his imagination on his writing, retreating into a world of his own making. As an adult, he began studying philosophy, and met Simone de Beauvoir while they were both students. Though Sartre was opposed to the institution of marriage, the two became lifelong partners and intellectual peers. As a professor of philosophy in Laon and then Paris, Sartre met some of the greatest minds of his time, though his teaching career was interrupted when he was drafted during World War II. It was after the war that he began making his living as a writer, promoting an existentialist philosophy that was closely tied to matters of personal freedom and social responsibility. Sartre believed that life didn’t have inherent meaning, and that each individual had to create their own, which he considered a “terrible” freedom. In 1943’s Being and Nothingness he wrote, “I am condemned to be free,” but he also believed that within this state of “condemnation,” there was a path to becoming a moral being. True to his stated convictions, Sartre was politically active, and he wasn’t above changing his views in light of new evidence and personal experiences. For example, he was initially a public supporter of the Soviet Union, but he changed his stance after learning of the state’s human rights violations. In 1964, he was given the Nobel Prize in Literature. Yet, in a not entirely surprising decision, Sartre declined the award saying, “A writer must refuse, therefore, to allow himself to be transformed into an institution.” He might have been condemned to be free, but he was strongly bound by his own beliefs.
Â
April 14, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
On Wednesday, Republicans, Democrats and college officials took to Capitol Hill to vent about the Education Department’s botched rollout of a newer, simplifi...
On Wednesday, Republicans, Democrats and college officials took to Capitol Hill to vent about the Education Department’s botched rollout of a newer, simplifi...
-
FREECollege Prep PP&T CurioFree1 CQ
It was a pandemic disappearing act that just couldn’t last. During the height of COVID-19, some colleges in the U.S. decided to stop requiring SAT scores as part of their admissions processes. Now, though, Harvard University and several other institutions have started asking for the scores once again. This has led to renewed discussions about the SAT’s relevance. Some people feel that the test is a fair, objective way to measure students’ knowledge, while others argue that standardized test scores are a poor measure of academic comprehension. It’s a debate that’s been going on for decades.
Â
Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT has changed many times since its inception, and it wasn’t even the first test of its kind. Around the turn of the 20th century, 12 university presidents came together to form the College Entrance Examination Board (shortened to College Board). The board’s main purpose was to create a standardized entrance exam for their schools. The resulting test was nothing less than daunting. It took five days to complete and challenged the taker’s knowledge of Latin, Greek, and physics. However, it began to lose relevance by the early 1900s, due in part to its limited scope. At that time, IQ tests were fairly new, having been developed in 1905, and they were all the rage. To update their exams, the College Board hired Carl Brigham, who administered IQ tests for the U.S. military, to develop a similar test for would-be university students. Eventually, the test Brigham created evolved into the SAT, which was officially released in 1926. Over the years, the test underwent many changes. The foreign language portions were dropped, for one thing, and the test was pared down to a three-hour-long affair. However, its main purpose, to assess math and verbal skills, has remained largely the same. Along with alterations to its content, the test’s name changed multiple times, from the Scholastic Assessment Test to the SAT Reasoning Test. In the end, most institutions simply ended up calling it the SAT.
Â
Unlike its predecessors, the SAT was touted for its supposed ability to evaluate a student’s critical thinking skills instead of rewarding rote memorization. It still had plenty of detractors, though. Some universities believed that the test was an unnecessary barrier for students who faced socioeconomic hardships, since such students had limited access to resources like private tutoring and less time to study, since they often had to work outside of school. It’s a viewpoint still shared by plenty of people today. Recently, Harvard professor David J. Deming and his colleagues conducted research into the impact of socioeconomic status on standardized tests. After Harvard announced the SAT’s return, Deming acknowledged that the tests weren’t perfect, but also defended them, saying in a statement to The Harvard Gazette, “The virtue of standardized tests is their universality. Not everyone can hire an expensive college coach to help them craft a personal essay. But everyone has the chance to ace the SAT or the ACT. While some barriers do exist, the widespread availability of the test provides, in my view, the fairest admissions policy for disadvantaged applicants.” Nowadays, there are even free resources for test preparation from nonprofit organizations, though even that requires an internet connection that some applicants might not have access to. Love it or hate it, it seems that the SAT and its counterpart, the ACT (American College Test) probably won’t be going anywhere any time soon. At least test-takers can be assured that the tests’ rigorousness isn’t personal…it’s just standard procedure.Â
[Image description: A mathematical problem written on a chalkboard.] Credit & copyright: Monstera Production, PexelsIt was a pandemic disappearing act that just couldn’t last. During the height of COVID-19, some colleges in the U.S. decided to stop requiring SAT scores as part of their admissions processes. Now, though, Harvard University and several other institutions have started asking for the scores once again. This has led to renewed discussions about the SAT’s relevance. Some people feel that the test is a fair, objective way to measure students’ knowledge, while others argue that standardized test scores are a poor measure of academic comprehension. It’s a debate that’s been going on for decades.
Â
Originally called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the SAT has changed many times since its inception, and it wasn’t even the first test of its kind. Around the turn of the 20th century, 12 university presidents came together to form the College Entrance Examination Board (shortened to College Board). The board’s main purpose was to create a standardized entrance exam for their schools. The resulting test was nothing less than daunting. It took five days to complete and challenged the taker’s knowledge of Latin, Greek, and physics. However, it began to lose relevance by the early 1900s, due in part to its limited scope. At that time, IQ tests were fairly new, having been developed in 1905, and they were all the rage. To update their exams, the College Board hired Carl Brigham, who administered IQ tests for the U.S. military, to develop a similar test for would-be university students. Eventually, the test Brigham created evolved into the SAT, which was officially released in 1926. Over the years, the test underwent many changes. The foreign language portions were dropped, for one thing, and the test was pared down to a three-hour-long affair. However, its main purpose, to assess math and verbal skills, has remained largely the same. Along with alterations to its content, the test’s name changed multiple times, from the Scholastic Assessment Test to the SAT Reasoning Test. In the end, most institutions simply ended up calling it the SAT.
Â
Unlike its predecessors, the SAT was touted for its supposed ability to evaluate a student’s critical thinking skills instead of rewarding rote memorization. It still had plenty of detractors, though. Some universities believed that the test was an unnecessary barrier for students who faced socioeconomic hardships, since such students had limited access to resources like private tutoring and less time to study, since they often had to work outside of school. It’s a viewpoint still shared by plenty of people today. Recently, Harvard professor David J. Deming and his colleagues conducted research into the impact of socioeconomic status on standardized tests. After Harvard announced the SAT’s return, Deming acknowledged that the tests weren’t perfect, but also defended them, saying in a statement to The Harvard Gazette, “The virtue of standardized tests is their universality. Not everyone can hire an expensive college coach to help them craft a personal essay. But everyone has the chance to ace the SAT or the ACT. While some barriers do exist, the widespread availability of the test provides, in my view, the fairest admissions policy for disadvantaged applicants.” Nowadays, there are even free resources for test preparation from nonprofit organizations, though even that requires an internet connection that some applicants might not have access to. Love it or hate it, it seems that the SAT and its counterpart, the ACT (American College Test) probably won’t be going anywhere any time soon. At least test-takers can be assured that the tests’ rigorousness isn’t personal…it’s just standard procedure.Â
[Image description: A mathematical problem written on a chalkboard.] Credit & copyright: Monstera Production, Pexels
April 13, 2024
-
2 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: April 13, 2024\BRUSK\ adjective
What It Means
A person may be described as brusque when they are talking or behaving in a v...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: April 13, 2024\BRUSK\ adjective
What It Means
A person may be described as brusque when they are talking or behaving in a v...
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
Next month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will tell us how much of the income generated by workers’ toil actually went to them in Q1. That stat is called la...
Next month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will tell us how much of the income generated by workers’ toil actually went to them in Q1. That stat is called la...
-
FREESports Sporty CurioFree1 CQ
There aren’t any sharks in the Seine, but it turns out you can still lose a leg in it. The 2024 Summer Olympics is set to start soon, but the swimming leg of the triathlon is under threat due to the unsanitary conditions of the river Seine’s waters. Although city and Olympics organizers have both been working to improve water conditions, officials say that it might be necessary to delay or cancel the swimming portion entirely. The major culprit behind the water’s unsafe conditions is E. coli, which is present due to sewer overflows discharging into the Seine during heavy rains. To their credit, city officials have spent a whopping $1.5 billion to update the city’s centuries-old sewer system in anticipation of the Olympic event. When the water was deemed unsafe for swimming last year during a mixed relay test event, the organizers simply dropped the swimming portion, turning the triathlon into a duathlon. That might happen during the actual event this summer, but some are more optimistic, with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and President Emmanuel Macron both promising to go swimming in the Seine before the opening ceremony to prove the water’s safety. Maybe they should at least dip their toes in first.
Â
[Image description: Boats on the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background.] Credit & copyright: Syced, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.
ÂThere aren’t any sharks in the Seine, but it turns out you can still lose a leg in it. The 2024 Summer Olympics is set to start soon, but the swimming leg of the triathlon is under threat due to the unsanitary conditions of the river Seine’s waters. Although city and Olympics organizers have both been working to improve water conditions, officials say that it might be necessary to delay or cancel the swimming portion entirely. The major culprit behind the water’s unsafe conditions is E. coli, which is present due to sewer overflows discharging into the Seine during heavy rains. To their credit, city officials have spent a whopping $1.5 billion to update the city’s centuries-old sewer system in anticipation of the Olympic event. When the water was deemed unsafe for swimming last year during a mixed relay test event, the organizers simply dropped the swimming portion, turning the triathlon into a duathlon. That might happen during the actual event this summer, but some are more optimistic, with Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and President Emmanuel Macron both promising to go swimming in the Seine before the opening ceremony to prove the water’s safety. Maybe they should at least dip their toes in first.
Â
[Image description: Boats on the Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background.] Credit & copyright: Syced, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.
Â
April 12, 2024
-
7 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: Thousands of victims of a huge investment scam believe police in London have nearly $4 billion worth of bitcoin that belongs to t...
From the BBC World Service: Thousands of victims of a huge investment scam believe police in London have nearly $4 billion worth of bitcoin that belongs to t...
-
FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
Rice isn’t just for eating, it’s for drinking! Sake, a type of rice wine, is Japan’s national drink, and it predates recorded history in the region. As such, it’s tied to a multitude of important Japanese cultural practices and is part of nearly every celebration and holiday held in the country.
Â
Sake is made from fermented rice which is brewed to convert the rice’s starches into sugars. The result is a smooth, light, slightly sweet drink with an average alcohol content of around 13 to 17 percent—just a bit higher than most grape wines. Traditionally, sake is warmed in earthenware bottles until it reaches temperatures of around 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Then it’s served in porcelain cups called sakazuki. Of course, today sake can also be enjoyed in less formal ways, and at varying temperatures. Some people even prefer their sake chilled.
Â
While no one is quite sure when the first batch of sake was brewed, we know that it happened at least 2,000 years ago…and that its origins weren’t exactly fancy. One of the first forms of the drink was known as kuchikami-zake, kuchi meaning “mouth” and kami meaning “to chew.” That’s because the beverage was made by chewing grains of rice (to remove the bran) and then spitting them into a vat. There, the rice’s yeast would mix with saliva enzymes, eventually resulting in an alcoholic drink. In the Kojiki, a text compiled in 712 that’s considered to be Japan’s first extensive, written history, alcoholic beverages made with rice are mentioned several times. By 1578, many improvements had been made to sake’s brewing process, and the drink had become one of the first in human history to be routinely pasteurized. The first instance of completely clear, filtered sake was recorded that year. At the time, not many drinks could boast such an intricate filtration process, and sake quickly became an esteemed beverage among the wealthy. By the 1800s, large-scale sake production was in full swing, with most brewers located in western Japanese cities, like Kobe.
Â
Sake’s popularity exploded in the 20th century. During World War II, rice shortages and a lack of other materials resulted in some brewers adding ingredients to simplify the sake-making process. Some added distilled alcohol, sugar, and flavorings to hasten things along. Today, some sake is still made with added sugars and flavors. Of course, nowadays, sake can be found in stores and at Japanese restaurants the world over. American-made sake is even gaining popularity, with events like the American Craft Sake Fest in Arkansas celebrating U.S. brewers. Maybe trips to Arkansas and Japan are in order, just to compare and contrast.Â
[Image description: Decorative barrels of sake, decorated with artwork, stacked on top of one another.] Credit & copyright: Lawsonstu, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.Rice isn’t just for eating, it’s for drinking! Sake, a type of rice wine, is Japan’s national drink, and it predates recorded history in the region. As such, it’s tied to a multitude of important Japanese cultural practices and is part of nearly every celebration and holiday held in the country.
Â
Sake is made from fermented rice which is brewed to convert the rice’s starches into sugars. The result is a smooth, light, slightly sweet drink with an average alcohol content of around 13 to 17 percent—just a bit higher than most grape wines. Traditionally, sake is warmed in earthenware bottles until it reaches temperatures of around 100 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Then it’s served in porcelain cups called sakazuki. Of course, today sake can also be enjoyed in less formal ways, and at varying temperatures. Some people even prefer their sake chilled.
Â
While no one is quite sure when the first batch of sake was brewed, we know that it happened at least 2,000 years ago…and that its origins weren’t exactly fancy. One of the first forms of the drink was known as kuchikami-zake, kuchi meaning “mouth” and kami meaning “to chew.” That’s because the beverage was made by chewing grains of rice (to remove the bran) and then spitting them into a vat. There, the rice’s yeast would mix with saliva enzymes, eventually resulting in an alcoholic drink. In the Kojiki, a text compiled in 712 that’s considered to be Japan’s first extensive, written history, alcoholic beverages made with rice are mentioned several times. By 1578, many improvements had been made to sake’s brewing process, and the drink had become one of the first in human history to be routinely pasteurized. The first instance of completely clear, filtered sake was recorded that year. At the time, not many drinks could boast such an intricate filtration process, and sake quickly became an esteemed beverage among the wealthy. By the 1800s, large-scale sake production was in full swing, with most brewers located in western Japanese cities, like Kobe.
Â
Sake’s popularity exploded in the 20th century. During World War II, rice shortages and a lack of other materials resulted in some brewers adding ingredients to simplify the sake-making process. Some added distilled alcohol, sugar, and flavorings to hasten things along. Today, some sake is still made with added sugars and flavors. Of course, nowadays, sake can be found in stores and at Japanese restaurants the world over. American-made sake is even gaining popularity, with events like the American Craft Sake Fest in Arkansas celebrating U.S. brewers. Maybe trips to Arkansas and Japan are in order, just to compare and contrast.Â
[Image description: Decorative barrels of sake, decorated with artwork, stacked on top of one another.] Credit & copyright: Lawsonstu, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.
April 11, 2024
-
6 minFREEWork Business CurioFree4 CQ
From the BBC World Service: A Vietnamese court sentenced property developer Truong My Lan to death after she was convicted of taking $44 billion from one of ...
From the BBC World Service: A Vietnamese court sentenced property developer Truong My Lan to death after she was convicted of taking $44 billion from one of ...
-
3 minFREEHumanities Word CurioFree2 CQ
Word of the Day
: April 11, 2024\diss-KUM-fit\ verb
What It Means
To discomfit someone is to make them confused or upset. Discomfit is a form...
with Merriam-WebsterWord of the Day
: April 11, 2024\diss-KUM-fit\ verb
What It Means
To discomfit someone is to make them confused or upset. Discomfit is a form...
-
FREEScience Nerdy CurioFree1 CQ
Dating is difficult enough as it is, but it’s about to get even harder for these moths. Researchers at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) have discovered that the female sex pheromones of the African Cotton Moth (Spodoptera littoralis) can be used to disrupt the circadian rhythms of the species’ males, according to a paper published in the journal Current Biology. The discovery, while limited to one moth species for now, is a potential stepping stone to a highly-effective form of biological control, or biocontrol. The moths, also known as Egyptian cotton leafworms during their larval stage, are considered crop pests. Conventional mitigation measures involve pesticides that can also kill beneficial insects like bees and can even be dangerous to human health. That’s why organizations like INRAE are looking into biocontrol as an option. Biocontrol refers to methods of pest suppression which use natural predators or competitors, making them generally cheap, safe, and target-specific. In this case, it seems that the insects’ own pheromones could be used against them. The sex pheromones of S. littoralis contain a chemical compound called (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate that is capable of disrupting the males’ circadian rhythm even in the presence of daylight. By exposing males to the pheromones, researchers were able to get the females and males on opposite sleep cycles, preventing their meeting and mating, which must happen during a narrow, 8-day window. Best of all, male moths are extremely sensitive to the pheromones and can be attracted to it from large distances. You snooze, you lose.
Â
[Image description: A large rice field under a blue sky.] Credit & copyright: DESPIERRES CĂ©cile, Pexels
ÂDating is difficult enough as it is, but it’s about to get even harder for these moths. Researchers at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) have discovered that the female sex pheromones of the African Cotton Moth (Spodoptera littoralis) can be used to disrupt the circadian rhythms of the species’ males, according to a paper published in the journal Current Biology. The discovery, while limited to one moth species for now, is a potential stepping stone to a highly-effective form of biological control, or biocontrol. The moths, also known as Egyptian cotton leafworms during their larval stage, are considered crop pests. Conventional mitigation measures involve pesticides that can also kill beneficial insects like bees and can even be dangerous to human health. That’s why organizations like INRAE are looking into biocontrol as an option. Biocontrol refers to methods of pest suppression which use natural predators or competitors, making them generally cheap, safe, and target-specific. In this case, it seems that the insects’ own pheromones could be used against them. The sex pheromones of S. littoralis contain a chemical compound called (Z,E)-9,11-tetradecadienyl acetate that is capable of disrupting the males’ circadian rhythm even in the presence of daylight. By exposing males to the pheromones, researchers were able to get the females and males on opposite sleep cycles, preventing their meeting and mating, which must happen during a narrow, 8-day window. Best of all, male moths are extremely sensitive to the pheromones and can be attracted to it from large distances. You snooze, you lose.
Â
[Image description: A large rice field under a blue sky.] Credit & copyright: DESPIERRES CĂ©cile, Pexels
 -
FREERelationships Daily Curio #2854Free1 CQ
This particular monkey business is no fun at all. The Thai city of Lopburi is famous for its population of long-tailed macaques, which roam the streets freely. However, an ongoing spree of monkey-on-human violence has forced the city’s government to take drastic action. Residents of Lopburi, the central city in the province of the same name, share their streets with thousands of macaques. In the wild, the macaques are found in wooded areas near bodies of water, like mangrove swamps or riverine forests, where they survive on a diet of fruit. Outside of these natural habitats, though, they’ve taken to accepting food from humans. In Lopburi, there’s even an annual “Monkey Buffet,” a feast that honors the macaques by offering them a bounty of fruit at the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple. The macaques are considered a sign of good luck and they’re an economic boon to the city since they attract tourists who want to interact with them up close, but in recent years, the mischievous monkeys have become increasingly hostile. Motivated by food, the monkeys have taken to attacking human residents and tourists, sometimes causing serious injuries. In one instance, a woman dislocated her knee during an attack. In another, a motorcyclist crashed his vehicle when he was attacked while driving.
Â
To make things worse, macaques can carry diseases that are transmissible to humans, primarily through bites. While tourists have been baffled by the violent simian uprising, officials say that the current violence is due, in part, to overpopulation. With an abundance of rich, ripe fruit and no predators, the macaque population has been increasing over the years despite efforts to sterilize them en masse. Starting in 2014, officials managed to sterilize around 2,600 of them over the course of 9 years. Yet, as of last year, their population still reached around 5,709. The pandemic didn’t help matters by keeping tourists—and their sugary snack offerings—away just long enough for the monkeys to develop wilder, more aggressive habits while seeking new sources of food. Now, officials are planning to round up and contain 2,500 of the most problematic macaques in a massive enclosure, though their future from that point on is uncertain. In this case, monkey see, monkey do isn’t doing the macaques any good at all.Â
[Image description: A tan-colored Long-tailed Macaque walking on stones, surrounded by vegetation.] Credit & copyright: Gary Houston, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.This particular monkey business is no fun at all. The Thai city of Lopburi is famous for its population of long-tailed macaques, which roam the streets freely. However, an ongoing spree of monkey-on-human violence has forced the city’s government to take drastic action. Residents of Lopburi, the central city in the province of the same name, share their streets with thousands of macaques. In the wild, the macaques are found in wooded areas near bodies of water, like mangrove swamps or riverine forests, where they survive on a diet of fruit. Outside of these natural habitats, though, they’ve taken to accepting food from humans. In Lopburi, there’s even an annual “Monkey Buffet,” a feast that honors the macaques by offering them a bounty of fruit at the Phra Prang Sam Yot temple. The macaques are considered a sign of good luck and they’re an economic boon to the city since they attract tourists who want to interact with them up close, but in recent years, the mischievous monkeys have become increasingly hostile. Motivated by food, the monkeys have taken to attacking human residents and tourists, sometimes causing serious injuries. In one instance, a woman dislocated her knee during an attack. In another, a motorcyclist crashed his vehicle when he was attacked while driving.
Â
To make things worse, macaques can carry diseases that are transmissible to humans, primarily through bites. While tourists have been baffled by the violent simian uprising, officials say that the current violence is due, in part, to overpopulation. With an abundance of rich, ripe fruit and no predators, the macaque population has been increasing over the years despite efforts to sterilize them en masse. Starting in 2014, officials managed to sterilize around 2,600 of them over the course of 9 years. Yet, as of last year, their population still reached around 5,709. The pandemic didn’t help matters by keeping tourists—and their sugary snack offerings—away just long enough for the monkeys to develop wilder, more aggressive habits while seeking new sources of food. Now, officials are planning to round up and contain 2,500 of the most problematic macaques in a massive enclosure, though their future from that point on is uncertain. In this case, monkey see, monkey do isn’t doing the macaques any good at all.Â
[Image description: A tan-colored Long-tailed Macaque walking on stones, surrounded by vegetation.] Credit & copyright: Gary Houston, Wikimedia Commons. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain.