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- Why We Swear, Baby Reindeer Whoopsies!, Where are the Barf Bags and more!
Why We Swear, Baby Reindeer Whoopsies!, Where are the Barf Bags and more!
How To Stay Curious
June 20, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
Be Curious, Not Judgmental
- Not Walt Whitman
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Curiously Counting: Issue #2
Two words could have helped Netflix avoid a lawsuit over surprise hit Baby Reindeer, can you guess what they are?
HOW… |
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Zach Foster - a Jewish American historian and Rutgers University senior fellow, and former Zionist - breaks down the biggest myths clouding the conversation.
To understand the Israel-Palestine conflict, start with these two simple questions - via Analyst News
WHAT… |
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This article is a part of NPR’s The Science of Siblings, a new series exploring the ways our siblings can influence us, from our money and our mental health all the way down to our very molecules.
As a parent if there’s one thing I hope for my kids, it’s a continued close connection as they grow up.
She taught us to approach life with love and empathy, shaping how we treat each other and face challenges.
WHEN… | is driving on the wrong side of the road is the right? When it’s the way to speed up traffic! |
"There were a lot of people who looked at me like I was a little nuts," says traffic engineer Gilbert Chlewicki, the designer who inspired this unconventional interchange. "Like, why are you putting me on the other side of the road?"
Locally most folks can relate to the sense of dread seeing new drivers try to manoeuvre an intersection on Windsor St as one Reddit user noted:
I use this intersection daily and never have any issues, however, seems the entire city hates it.
I feel like locals would hate Gilbert’s contribution just as much.
The best part of Gilbert’s story [via NPR], his patience:
"I was drawing roads as a little kid," Chlewicki said. "I would draw lanes wide enough from my Hot Wheels, and I would just use a map to kind of guide me on what I wanted to draw."
Chlewicki had the idea for the diverging diamond interchange when he was in graduate school at the University of Maryland. He presented the first major paper on it at a conference in 2003.
The design caught the attention of engineers at the Federal Highway Administration, who threw their support behind it.
Twenty years later, Chlewicki's idea has crossed over into the mainstream. And while two decades may seem like a long time, he doesn't see it that way.
"Honestly, for government and for complex things like interchanges, this went super fast," he said.
WHERE… |
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Well this is one I can honestly say I never thought about until seeing these articles.
“Barf bag, spew sack, airsickness bag, upchuck bag, regurgitation bag, the more formal emesis bag, whatever the name, you definitely know one when you see one. Cox himself is partial to the more sedate term “Nausivat”—as in a vat for nausea—a term coined for him by a Latin professor friend.”
+ Meet the hobbyists who collect barf bags - via CNN with this solid opening:
“I collect barf bags” is not a complete sentence. The grammar is there, but it demands further explanation. To make sense of this singular hobby, a “because” or a charitable “and” is needed to steer listeners through the bewilderment of hearing that set of words, arranged in that way, for the very first time.
WHO… |
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“Lynn Conway may hold the record for longest delay between being unfairly fired and receiving an apology for it.”
I like that dig against IBM that starts the last article below.
I think she may have appreciated HTSC:
“Why not question everything?” was one of her guiding philosophies*
She helped develop the process that lead to the chips allowing you to read this on the devices you are. And coined the Conway Affect which:
“states that people who are “othered” in computing, including women and people of color of all genders, form a group that society does not expect to make great advances, and so they are not given full credit when they do because they are literally overlooked.” **
At various points the man she co-invented with received all the credit.
“She overcame so much, but she didn’t spend her life being angry about the past,” said Valeria Bertacco, computer science professor and U-M vice provost. ***
Lynn died on June 9, 2024. She was 86.
The legacy of Lynn Conway, chip design pioneer and transgender-rights advocate - via Michigan Engineering
***Lynn Conway, microchip pioneer who overcame transgender discrimination, dies at 86 - via AP
**Lynn Conway was a trans woman in tech − and underappreciated for decades after she helped launch the computing revolution - via The Conversation
WHY… |
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On Inside the Actors Studio, host James Lipton asked all guests the same 10 questions at the end of their interview:
1. What is your favorite word? 2. What is your least favorite word? 3. What turns you on? 4. What turns you off? 5. What sound or noise do you love? 6. What sound or noise do you hate? 7. What is your favorite curse word? 8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? 9. What profession would you not like to do? 10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
For me, I’m pretty sure the answers to 1 and 7 would be the same, extremely versatile word….and now I can say I use it for health purposes!
How swearing achieves its physical effects is unclear, but the researchers speculate that brain circuitry linked to emotion is involved. Earlier studies have shown that unlike normal language, which relies on the outer few millimeters in the left hemisphere of the brain, expletives hinge on evolutionarily ancient structures buried deep inside the right half.
Why the #$%! Do We Swear? For Pain Relief - via Scientific America
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Not only does swearing feel good — it's also good for you: study - via CBC
Also: Fake swear words just can’t compete with the real thing when it comes to tolerating pain ('Fouch' and 'twizpipe' just won't cut it), more CBC
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Why the **** does everyone swear all the ******* time? via Vox
!!! NSFW LANGUAGE ON THIS ONE !!!
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“Sportsmen and women have a greater chance of success if at the critical moment they say to themselves “you can do it” rather than “I can do it”, the study revealed.”
You Can Do It! Scientists Find Urging Yourself on in the Second Person Is the Key to Sporting Success via Pocket
Curious Counting: The Solution - 2 words, “based on”
Baby Reindeer in court: the two words that might have saved Netflix $170m worth of grief
“How the lawsuit shakes out could affect the way that television is made for the foreseeable future. The consensus seems to be that just two words could have spared Netflix this hassle. At the very start of the series, Baby Reindeer bills itself as “a true story”; a decision that seems more and more reckless as time goes on. Had someone involved in the production and distribution of the show thought to have added the words “based on” to that description, then they would have found themselves with a lot more cover.” - via The Guardian
Still Curious About…
Some drama around Wu-Tang’s “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin”: Judge bars ‘pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli from streaming Wu-Tang Clan album after suit says he copied it - via CNBC
Alcohol’s impact on your health? This provides a nice summary on how the change in tone on alcohol came about, and what a risk to an individual may actually look like: Is that drink worth it to you? - via NYT
Until next week - stay curious!
Rob
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