December 29th, 2016

One billion is 1 followed by nine zeros. Or at least, that's what it is in the Short Scale. A huge section of the world uses an alternative system for naming numbers, known as the Long Scale. So what's the difference? Both scales are identical up to 1,000,000 (one million). After this the prefixes 'bi', 'tri', 'quad', 'quin', etc... are used. Where the scales differ is in how many zeros are added before you advance to the next prefix. In the short scale, you advance to the next prefix every three zeroes (1,000). In the long scale, the prefix augments every six zeroes (1,000,000). This means that one billion in the long scale is 1 followed by twelve zeroes, instead of nine. So what is 1 with nine zeroes called in the long scale? A milliard.

Bonus:

Seventeen countries use neither the long scale, nor the short scale, but their own local variants. Amongst these are many oddities, such as vigesimal (base 20) systems, and ones where the prefix advances every two zeroes (meaning 1 million is written 10,00,000 as opposed to 1,000,000).

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December 28th, 2016

Freestyle wrestling is a sport in which opponents earn points by employing various techniques to show dominance over their opponent. Amongst these techniques, the highest scoring are the 'takedowns', which involve manipulating the opponent in such a way that three 'contact points' on their bodies are forced against the mat. More points are awarded for more technically difficult takedowns. The most difficult involves lifting your opponent over your head, and is rare but quite impressive to watch.

Bonus:

Buvaisar Saitiev of Russia is considered the most accomplished freestyle wrestler. Before each fight he would recite a poem by Boris Pasternak, which discusses themes of modesty and determination. He has now transitioned from wrestling to politics.

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December 27th, 2016

Vinyl records have made a resurgence in the past few years. They come in three standard sizes: 7'', 10'', and 12''. They are also meant to be played at various rotations per minute (rpm): usually 33¹⁄₃, 45, or 78. Though you can always play a record at a slower or faster speed than intended, for interesting effect. The history of audio recording goes back to the 1850s, with the invention of the Phonautograph in 1857. It inscribed the waveforms linearly on paper or glass. However, at the time there was no way of playing back the sound. In 2008 some of the sheets were scanned and digitally reconstructed into audio files, allowing the recordings to be reheard after almost 150 years. In 1877 Edison unveiled his Phonograph, which inscribed audio on a wax cylinder. It allowed playback and reproducibility, but the cylinders were degraded significantly in each instance. Emile Berliner invented the Gramophone in 1887, which not only improved the quality and reproducibility, but was also the first to use disc shaped records. Discs in various form would become the standard form of data storage for the next century.

Bonus:

The word whiskey comes from the Irish/Scottish words Uisce Beatha/Uisge Beatha, which means 'water of life'.

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December 26th, 2016

The French word 'Paname' sounds as though it should mean 'Panama', but in fact it is used to refer to the Paris region. It is known that it entered the vernacular sometime around the First World War. The 1920's song 'Tu le r'verras paname', for example, highlights all the wonders of the city that will someday be seen again. Lines such as ''comme c'est loin tout ça, mais tu le r'verras" give the impression that it could have been intended for soldiers fighting abroad. In any case, how the term 'Paname' arose is still uncertain. It could have been linked to the Panama Scandals, in which funds meant for the construction of the Panama Canal were employed as bribes to hide financial difficulties. The scandal came to light in the 1890s, and involved many high profile Parisians, possibly explaining 'Paname'. Around the turn of the century, the French involvement in Panama also popularized the Panama Hat, which become a popular accessory amongst upper class Parisians. The sudden influx of Panama Hats could also be responsible for the term. A third suggestion is that Panama became slang for 'enormous', and was frequently used in reference to the grandeur of Paris.

Bonus:

On a side note the Panama Hat was in fact invented in Ecuador. It was shipped internationally from Panama, hence the name. In Spanish it is still sometimes called 'Paja Toquilla' (straw hat) or 'Jipijapa', which is the name of a region of Ecuador.

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December 25th, 2016

There are white chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and they are delicious.

Merry Christmas!

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December 24th, 2016

Amongst the sweet treats that will appear on tables this Christmas, one of the more Canadian options is Nanaimo Bars. It has long been know that the name comes from the town of Nanaimo, British Columbia. Yet the story of the exact origins of the Nanaimo Bar is a complicated one. After much research by Dr. Lenore Newman, a culinary anthropologist, it seems as though the main components for the Nanaimo Bar (an unbaked chocolate cake covered in icing) were coming together in the late 40s. The earliest recipe for the modern incarnation seem to have appeared in the Nanaimo Hospital auxillary cookbook in 1953, suggesting that the staff had adapted the recipe into its current form.

Bonus:

To go back a little further, where did the town of Nanaimo get its name? It was a mispronunciation of the native word for the region (in the Hul'qumi'num language), which was Snuneymuxw, meaning 'gathering place'.

December 23rd, 2016

Shipmap is a website that shows 2012 ship traffic across the globe. It also allows colour coding to see what each ship is carrying.

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December 22nd, 2016

चार दिन की चांदनी फिर अंधेरी रात is a Hindi idiom that translates as "Four days of moonlight then dark night". It means that exciting and fun things will eventually lose their lustre, and life will return to normal.

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December 21st, 2016

In 1986, Wierd Al Yankovic parodied the song 'Living in America' by James Brown with 'Living With A Hernia'. In the song, Yankovic talks about the pain and inhibitions caused by a hernia. However, not all types of hernia are painful. Inguinal groin hernias, the most common type, are often painless, and can even go unnoticed. Sometimes such a hernia is caused by fat which descends into the groin via the inguinal canal. Sometimes a section of the intestine can also descend, and become 'incarcerated', meaning stuck in the cavity. This can be quite dangerous, and if not operated on can even be fatal. 27% of males will have a groin hernia at some point in their lifetime, and it is estimated that 32,500 individuals died on account of them in 2013.

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December 20th, 2016

Each winter the residents of Roberval, Quebec set up a village entirely on ice. The village comprises roughly 350 small cabins set up on Lac Saint-Jean, all of which encircle a large skating circuit.

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December 19th, 2016

Flying from Europe to Montreal, planes often follow a 'great circle' which brings them North towards Greenland, and then across much of barren Quebec. During the latter section, looking out of the plane across the landscape reveals incredibly stark terrain, rocky and pocked with lakes and rivers. In winter, the sight is even more sombre and desolate, yet from the sky long and straight white lines can be seen in the otherwise untouched wilderness. These look somewhat like highways, or snowmobile trails, however they are actually power line corridors, bringing electricity huge distances to remote northern communities.

Bonus:

Without knowing it, passengers on transatlantic flights also cross the longest mountain range on earth: the Mid-Atlantic ridge. The underwater mountains stretch roughly 40,000 km and occasionally surface (such as on Iceland and the Azores Islands).

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December 18th, 2016

On the 18th of June, 1875, a malt house caught fire in Dublin. As a result, the whiskey also caught fire, and poured outwards into the streets as a fiery molasses. 14 people were killed, however none of them died because of the fire, nor the smoke, nor the building collapses. They all died from drinking what remained of the whiskey sludge.

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December 17th, 2016

At the end of each year, the total air traffic amongst international airports is tallied up. The Airports Council International releases data about which airports topped the list. As of 2015, the top ten spots for 'movement' (planes arriving and departing) are occupied entirely by US airports, with the exception of Beijing International (5th) and Charles De Gaule in Paris (10th). For passenger flow, the top 10 is much more international, and includes Dubai, Tokyo, London, and Hong Kong. At the top of both lists the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia reigns supreme (although dethroned in 2014 by O'Hare for movement, it reclaimed the title in 2015). In 2015, Hartsfield-Jackson was the first airport to process over 100 million passengers in a year. However, to date no airport has moved a million planes in a year, though Hartsfield-Jackson came tantalizingly close in 2007, with 994,346 total movements. Perhaps 2016 will be the year this achievement is finally claimed? The extra day in February could have helped...

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December 16th, 2016

Goostrey is a little town south of Manchester with a population of just over two thousand. As with many small English towns, the exact origins of the town have grown murky with time. In the Doomsday Book (completed in 1089) the town's existence is mentioned, although its name is given as Gostrel. A yew tree in Goostrey's churchyard has been dated to 1,200 years ago, meaning the town may have existed as far back as the Dark Ages, before the Roman Empire. Today, the quiet rural feel of the town is contrasted immensely by the nearby Lovell Telescope, built in 1957. However, somewhat counter-intuitively the telescope has helped Goostrey retain its quaint charm: most large scale building projects have been declined, as any excess radio interference would interfere with the telescope's precision. In the town, a pub called The Crown, which has been open since the 1800s, serves delicious fish and chips and local ciders. The pub has been called 'The Official Pub of The JBCA', and serves both international astrophysicists and Goostrey locals, both happy to have each other.

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December 15th, 2016

An interesting gif shows the six first regular polygons (where all sides and angles are equal) appearing from a point. It also begins with a point and line. Are they also regular polygons? A point most likely doesn't fit the bill, but, depending on how accommodating you are with the definition, a line might. However, the gif hasn't led to much discussion of regular polygons, but instead been touted as a way of synchronizing breathing to reduce stress.

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December 14th, 2016

From the age of polar exploration, Robert Falcon Scott's name most likely comes up first, on account of his martyrdom, followed perhaps by Shackleton or Amundsen. Not many remember William Speirs Bruce, who led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition from 1902 - 1904. The expedition established the first ever meteorological station in Antarctic territory, charted new lands, and provided a wealth of scientific data. It was applauded for being incredibly efficient and well organized, however Bruce's strong Scottish Nationalist sentiments meant that it was all but ignored by England. Bruce had also wanted to join Falcon Scott's team, but this never came to pass for the same reasons. Perhaps the most iconic memory of the Expedition was a 1904 photo of a bagpiper serenading a penguin.

Bonus:

Before mounting his own expedition, Bruce had been part of the Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition (1894 - 1897), which aimed at mapping the incredibly remote and uninhabited Franz Josef Land. On June 17th, 1896, Jackson's party happened to bump into a bearded gentleman walking around one of the islands. This was Fridtjov Nansen, who had incredibly survived on the island for a year with a fellow explorer Hjalmar Johansen after their attempt on the North Pole (which failed, but broke the record for the highest north ever reached, at 86°14′). On returning to Christiania (the old name for Oslo), Nansen was greeted by the biggest crowd the city had ever seen, was hosted by royalty, and received tributes from around the world.

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December 13th, 2016

When a light is turned on, it is tempting to think that the electricity is flowing into the lamp at the same speed as the light particles are coming out - that is to say, at the speed of light (300,000,000 m/s). In fact, for a typical copper wire, electrons carrying a 10 amp charge only move along the wire at  a speed of a quarter millimeter per second.

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December 12th, 2016

French Toast, possibly because of its simplicity, exists in some form or another in many different cultures around the world. This international aspect of the dish has led to a variety of different names from country to country. In Quebec, French Toast is known as 'Pain Doré' (Golden Bread). In France the name is instead 'Pain Perdu', meaning 'Lost Bread'. This is to suggest soaking and frying as a way to salvage bread which has become stale (lost).

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December 11th, 2016

If a site is repeatedly abandoned and resettled, it eventually forms somewhat of a hill. In archaeology, this is known as a 'tell', and is a good indicator of potentially interesting sites for excavation. In 1963 a survey of southern Turkey noted a tell with some interesting characteristics, such as limestone slabs. However, the site was forgotten until archaeologist Klaus Schmidt reviewed the survey in 1994 and decided to excavate. Within a few years, something incredible came to light: the lower layer of the site dated to almost 10,000 BC, making it the oldest large-scale construction project known to date. In fact, the site is so old it pre-dates agriculture, meaning it was most likely built by hunter-gatherers. Göbekli Tepe, as the site is known, is still being excavated today, and continues to fascinate researchers. Some have suggested that its construction should be considered the starting point for modern human history, in which case we are two weeks away from the year 12,017.

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December 10th, 2016

The city of London has many green spaces, including eight Royal Parks which are owned by the Monarchy. Although they are now open to the public, these parks were originally intended solely for the recreation of the Royal Family. The public have no legal right to use the parks, however the Crown Lands Act of 1851 now permits public use. There are plans to shift the ownership from the Monarchy to the city of London, however for the time being the parks remain bureaucratically intended for the Royal Family.

Bonus:
On the topic of green spaces, in crowded central London there is - quite unexpectedly - a small 2.2 acre public farm on the Thames. Surrey Docks Farm is free to visit all year.

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December 9th, 2016

As early as 6000 BC cultures were beginning to play with various symbols and iconography, in what would eventually lead to proto-writing. However true writing systems didn't emerge until cuneiform, which was gradually evolving into a full-fledged system at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Yet hundreds of years before cuneiform had fully matured, people still had signatures. In the place of writing, they used cylindrical stone moulds, called cylinder seals. First appearing around 3500 BC, it is thought that cylinder seals would have been worn on a necklace, and were each carved with a unique picture - usually religious in nature, though sometimes also contemporary life scenes or simple geometric patterns. The seals could be quickly rolled across clay, either for decoration or as a signature. When instigating a trade, a clay table would be inscribed with indentations indicating the nature and quantity of items involved in the trade. Then the cylinder seal would be rolled over the indentations, and the clay would be baked. Essentially an early sales receipt.

Bonus:

Pazuzu is an ancient Assyrian/Babylonian demon king, who was blamed for bringing famine and locusts, among other misfortune. His name and likeness still occasionally find their way into contemprary popular culture, such as the cover art for the Gorillaz album 'D-Sides'.

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December 8th, 2016

Canada has put out a new survey to gauge public opinion on changes to the investigative powers of government in the digital world. Concepts such as data retention and backdoor access are up for debate. Although many have argued that the concept of justified police search warrants should extend to digital information, youtuber CGP Grey offers some insight into why the two realms - material and digital - are not comparable.

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December 7th, 2016

Nude and naked aren't quite synonyms in portraiture. As one professor explains, nudity is a state of envisioned perfection, almost god or goddess-like physique. As such, it was not considered shameful to gaze upon a painting featuring nudes. However, non-idealized individuals drawn without clothes was labelled 'nudity', and could result in a painting or sculpture's exclusion from a gallery or salon.

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December 6th, 2016

Heraldry is the production and study of armory, or anything related to arms (shields, armour, military flags, etc.). Within heraldry, animals are often depicted, such as on coats of arms or statues. The position of the animal is known as the attitude. Among equestrian statues a rumour claims that the attitude of the horse is an indication of the nature of the rider's death. If the horse is salient (front hooves in the air) the rider died in battle. If the horse is passant (one front foot raised) the rider was wounded in battle. Otherwise, the horse is said to be statant (all hooves on the ground), which means the rider was neither killed nor injured in battle. Although some sculptors most likely followed this protocol, there is good evidence it is generally an urban legend, and counterexamples of the supposed symbolism are easy to find.

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December 5th, 2016

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are a group of seven incredible monuments, all of which were erected before the common era. For a brief period of 21 years (247 - 226 BC), all seven of them were standing, however an earthquake in 226 BCE knocked down the Colossus of Rhodes (upon which, as mentioned yesterday, the Statue of Liberty may have been loosely based). One by one they were all destroyed...well, all except the Great Pyramid of Giza. The oldest of the seven, it is also the only one still intact. Also of note is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, whose location (if they truly existed as all) remains a mystery.

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December 4th, 2016

The true name of the Statue of Liberty is 'La Liberté éclairant le monde' (Liberty Enlightening the World). Although presented as a gift upon completion in 1886, the designer Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi also hoped to celebrate the US's abolition of slavery in 1963, and that France would take note and impact change upon its colonies. The statue itself may have drawn inspiration from the Colossus of Rhodes, which was roughly the same size, and greeted ships coming into Rhodes (until it was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC). In 1987, the International Herald Tribune decided to dedicate a full scale replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame to Paris, to celebrate both 100 years of English language publication in Paris, as well as restoration work France had carried out on the Statue of Liberty three years earlier. The Flame of Liberty, completed in 1989, highlighted the fraternity between the US and France. However, in 1997 Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in a tunnel that passed directly below the statue, re-appropriating it as a memorial. Today most tourists assume it was built for her.

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December 3rd, 2016

In the 1970s, feminism, communism, and modernization began to challenge the idea of the 'nuclear household'. This trend influenced artists, specifically in the situationalist and happenings movements, to portray the household as falling apart. One example was Vito Acconci's piece Instant House, in which sitting on a swing brings together four walls of a house to reveal communism on the outside and the US flag on the inside. Acconci's most well-known piece was a controversial performance named Seedbed, in which he masturbated hidden from the spectators while his fantasies about them were broadcast on speakers.

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December 2nd, 2016

The holiday season is upon us, and many shops are now stocking Christmas trees. Around the world, some countries like the US, UK, France, and Canada prefer to have real trees. North America consumes 40 million trees each year, and to meet that demand 73 million are planted annually, as not all will survive to maturity (which takes 6-10 years). Other countries, especially those in South America, tend to opt for artificial trees. The debate has always been fierce as to whether natural trees or artificial trees are more environmentally friendly. Some research has suggested artificial trees need to be used for 20 years to surpass the environmental effects of a natural tree.

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December 1st, 2016

Guacamole has been around for a while: the Aztec people were making it in the 1500s. In fact, the name itself comes from the Aztek dialect of Nahuatl, in which the words 'āhuacatl molli' mean 'avocado sauce'. The avocado itself has been a staple of human diets since around 10,000 BC, and has come to been known by many names. In Nahuatl it was also sometimes called 'testicle' on account of its shape (possibly why the Aztecs also considered it an aphrodisiac). In Chinese the name is even more creative: 鳄梨 meaning 'crocodile pear'.

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