October 21st, 2017

Today marks one year since I started this blog, and thus the end of this project. I am pleased to have successfully learned one new thing every day for a year (including the two month break for summer, even if what was learned was not chronicled for lack of internet). Updates will now stop. They may resume at some point in the future, however for now Pansophism has ended. It was a fun ride!

Alcohol strength is usually quantified in terms of 'Alcohol by Volume' (or ABV), however we still sometimes hear strength quoted in units of 'alcohol proof'. This is a somewhat arcane unit of measurement that was quite interesting. A pellet of gunpowder would be soaked in alcohol, and if it could still be lit the alcohol was said to be 'above proof', and as such taxed more heavily. The point at which the gunpowder would still burn was called 100 proof, and corresponded to about 57.15 % ABV. Knowing this, it is fairly easy to switch between Alcohol proof and ABV:

Proof = $\frac{ABV}{57.15} \times 100$

A typical beer, at about 5% ABV, works out to be around 8 proof. Understandably, soaking gunpowder pellets turned out to be a somewhat impractical way of measuring alcohol strength, and the unit was phased out in the 1800s in favour of ABV. For old time's sake, you will still sometimes see proof alluded to on the labels of spirits.

-E

October 20th, 2017

France has seen many interesting presidents. The greatest would have to be Charles de Gaulle, who is consistently ranked at the top of most lists. His brand of politics is still practised today, and referred to as 'Gaullism'. In 1981 another interesting character was elected. François Mitterrand would go on to be president for 14 years, and is sometimes regarded as 'the last of the greats'. He played a large part in pushing France towards the socialist state it is today, increasing funding towards education, healthcare, pensions, childcare, and immigration. However, behind his confident political prowess Mitterrand was hiding some jarring secrets. An adulterer, Mitterrand regularly pursued extramarital affairs, and fathered two children to two different women (a French historian and Swedish journalist, both decades younger), although there may well have been other mistresses. Mitterrand was also diagnosed with cancer in 1981. He went to great lengths to hide these facts: falsifying medical records, wiretapping journalists he didn't trust, and threatening anyone he felt could turn on him. He managed to keep one child - a son - a secret until after his death, while his illegitimate daughter was unknown to the public for over a decade. The daughter's name is Mazarine, allegedly alluding to the street in central Paris where she was conceived.

Bonus:

The French seem to have a talent for electing womanisers. In addition to Mitterrand's trysts, current president Emmanual Macron is married to a woman 24 years his senior whom he courted at 15. François Hollande, his predecessor, has had multiple partners, and is currently dating an actress 20 years his junior. Before him there was Nicolas Sarkozy, who is obsessed by his image, and on his third marriage to a young model. Even in wartime, president Philippe Pétain had to be tracked down by hotel staff who knew which mistress he would be with on a given night. It would seem the position requires a certain je ne sais quoi...

-E

October 19th, 2017

French actor Jean Rochefort passed away last week at the age of 87. He was a cultural icon in France, having acted in his first film in 1956. In addition to acting, Rochefort found plenty of ways to keep busy. He recorded audio for children's films (as well as the french adaptation of the Winnie the Pooh series), was a fan of equestrianism, and even served as the godfather of a lighthouse. Rochefort also had a playful sense of humour. Near the end of his life, he produced a series of short videos in which he summarises classic literature using vulgar slang (young language, as he called it).

Bonus:

Terry Gilliam cast Rochefort as the title character for The Man Who Killed Don Quixote in 1998. Rochefort polished his English for the role, but suffered a herniated disk which put filming on hold for months, and the project was eventually cancelled. Gilliam made several attempts at rebooting the project over the years, but they all fell flat. Until 2016 that is, when the project finally began filming with Michael Palin replacing Rochefort. Filming is complete as of June 2017, but sadly Rochefort will not be amongst the audience at the upcoming release.

-E

October 18th, 2017

Japan's fertility rate is among the lowest in the world, at around 1.4 children per woman. The statistic has remained relatively unchanged in the past half century. Though, if you take a look at a graph of Japan's fertility rate over the years, you will notice a bizarre dip in fertility rate for 1966. Why did so many Japanese avoid having children in 1966? An article by sociologist Koya Azumi explains the dip. In Japan, as well as other East Asian countries, each year is associated with both an element and an animal. The cycle repeats every 60 years, and the first year of each cycle is associated with the 'Fire Horse', and referred to as 丙午 (Hinoe Uma). Women born on such a year are thought to be fiery and headstrong: trouble for their husbands. On account of this couples avoided giving birth in 1966, at the risk of having a daughter who would be difficult to marry. The next 丙午 will be in 9 years - in 2026. It will be interesting to see if superstition has waned, or if another dip in fertility rate will appear.

-E

October 17th, 2017

Moving from Lyon to Iceland, the most famous (as well as notorious) food is kæstur hákarl, or fermented shark. The fish is buried for a few months, and then hung to dry for a few more. The meat is occasionally described as tasting like pee, with rumours going around that the species pees through its skin. Not quite, though the Greenland Shark from which hákarl is made does have high concentrations of urea (also present in urine) to help with deep-sea buoyancy.

Bonus:

The Greenland Shark is also the vertebrae with the longest lifespan: sometimes over 400 years. The sharks only reach sexual maturity at around 150 years of age.

-E

October 16th, 2017

At an evening out with a group of Lyonnais (that is, people from Lyon), should you ask for an example of something defining the city, you stand a good chance of learning about Beaujolais Nouveau. A nouveau (new) is a wine sold the same year it is harvested. Just north of Lyon, the region of Beaujolais is renowned for its wines, and therefore the first wines of the year come with much fanfare. They are shipped down the Saône river, and can be sold as of 12:01 am on the third Thursday of November. It seems strange to rush a wine to market, when the product's value usually increases with age. In the case of Beaujolais, nobody claims it to be exceptionally good wine. It is coveted more for the tradition that accompanies it, that being the celebration of another year's harvest.

Bonus:
If you wish to fully experience Lyon's gastronomical scene, your Beaujolais Nouveau must be enjoyed at a Bouchon, a traditional Lyonnais restaurant. But be sure to book in advance: only about 20 restaurants are certified authentic Bouchons.

-E

And today is as good a day as ever to break out the wine. It's the 300$^{th}$ article!

October 15th, 2017

Today I met someone with a tattoo on the right of his neck which read '家族母姉父'. In general, if one doesn't see any hirigana nor katakana it's safe to assume the text is Chinese. In Chinese, 家族 (jiāzú) means 'clan', and the next 3 characters are 'mǔ zǐ fù' meaning 'mother, elder sister, father'. However, 姉 is not a character used in modern Chinese, besides as an occasional phonetic element. My guess was that perhaps the characters were intended to be read phonetically: 'mǔzǐfù clan'. I asked, and was informed that it was a Japanese haiku written in kanji. In Japanese, 姉 is still used to mean sister, while '家族' means family. Thus, the characters are read as 'family: mother, elder sister, father' and pronounced as 'kazoku haha ane chichi'. Though, is this truly a haiku? A traditional Japanese haiku consists of 17 音 (on), organised in 5-7-5 (or sometimes 11 organised in 3-5-3). These 5 characters consist of 9 音 (ka-zo-ku ha-ha a-ne chi-chi), so they do not form a haiku in the traditional sense. Although today the rules have become quite relaxed, with much shorter 'monokus' occasionally popping up. Even the old masters would occasionally bend the rules. Ultimately, the only consistent definition of a haiku is that they are concise, and in that sense the tattoo certainly qualifies.

Bonus:
Noteworthy is that the Japanese concept of 音 do not always correspond to syllables. Paired vowels (such as おう 'ou') count as two 音, but represent a single English syllable. A similar disagreement occurs when a vowel ends with 'n' (なん 'nan').

-E

October 14th, 2017

Lindy Hop is a fast paced dance style that was born in the late 20s in New York. The routines often include frantic footwork paired with daring somersaults, lunges, and other acrobatics. Legendary in the history of the dance were Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, formed in 1935. The break-neck pace of the group's choreographies saw them featured in many of the era's Broadway performances and Hollywood movies. To truly appreciate the skill, as well as risk, their art entailed, take a moment to watch this clip from the 1941 film Hellzapoppin'. As the US stepped up its involvement in the 2$^{nd}$ World War, many of the male dancers were drafted, and by the mid-forties the group was no more. At the time of writing this, a sole member of the original group (also featured in the above clip) is still alive: Norma Miller is 97 years old, and still travels to promote the dance.

-E

October 13th, 2017

In Egypt's Dendera Temple a large circular star chart was discovered on the ceiling. The Dendera Zodiac, as it became known, fired up many an imagination, with some claiming it attested to astounding astronomical knowledge as early as 2,500 BC. Today, the consensus is that the Zodiac is not nearly as ancient: likely the 1$^{st}$ century BC. However, the astronomical implications (pun intended) are still very impressive. The relief contains the constellations and planets known to the Egyptians, as well as the dates of a solar and a lunar eclipse. The Zodiac in Dendera is a replica, with the original now housed in the Louvre (much to the dismay of many Egyptians).

Bonus:
In the Dendera Temple, another curious relief looks like an elongated lightbulb. The bulb became known as the Dendera Light, and gave rise to many far-flung theories that the Egyptians had electric lighting.

-E

October 12th, 2017

If you find yourself (for god knows what reason) in need of assuring a French person that you will keep a promise, a safe option is Croix de bois, croix de fer, si je mens, je vais en enfer (Wooden cross, iron cross, if I lie, I go to hell). The context is effectively identical to the English ditty "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye".

-E

October 11th, 2017

Our Galaxy, the Milky Way, is part of a group of about 50 galaxies called the Local Group. Most of these are small dwarf galaxies, with the only galaxy larger than our own being Andromeda. Recently, for the first time ever, scientists have been able to detect complex molecules in a galaxy outside of this group: the Sculptor Galaxy (or NGC 253), located 11.4 million light years away.

-E

October 10th, 2017

Boursin is a popular cheese in France. It was invented in 1957, is easily spreadable, and contains herbs. The slogan is "Du Pain, Du Boursin, On Est Bien", and the brand is owned by Bel Group. The company is also responsible for other cheese brands such as The Laughing Cow and Babybel.

Bonus 1:
The Laughing Cow was the first cheese product to be trademarked (in 1921). The name came from a meat truck spotted during the First World War which bore the name 'La Wachkyrie', alluding to the Norse Valkyries. To a frenchman's ear, this sounded like La Vache Qui Rit (The Cow That Laughs), and voila.

Bonus 2:
Later, earrings were added to the red cow on the packaging, each one a smaller version of the round box the cheese comes in. Embedding a logo inside itself, as in this case, is called the Droste effect. The effect is named after the Droste chocolate company, specifically a cocoa tin sold by the company with an image of a nurse holding up a smaller version of the tin.

-E

October 9th, 2017

Here's a dated expression: "Living the life of Riley" (or Reilly by some accounts). It refers to someone who is living a happy and carefree existence, and has more or less fallen out of modern usage. It seems as though though the expression finds its origins in an early   19$^{th}$ century Irish folk song: 'Willey Reilly and his Colleen Bawn'. The ballad tells the story of Willie Reilly, who elopes with his 'Colleen Bawn'. This is an alternate spelling of Cailin Ben - Cailin being the Irish word for a young maiden, and Ben for woman. Reilly was allegedly tried for eloping, and as he was Catholic while his 'cailin ben' (possibly a woman named Helen Ffolliot) was Protestant, the punishment could be the death penalty. A judge (possibly a 'Luke Fox') agreed to save Reilly, finding pity for the lovers. The characters of the tale seem to be true historical figures, and the events may have occurred in Sligo, Ireland around 1745. There was later a film loosely based on the events released in 1918. As for the saying, the idea of overcoming the dangers of forbidden love to live happily in the Irish countryside certainly meant Willie Reilly lived the 'life of Riley'.

Bonus:
About nine people have walked or run around the world, although with two thirds of the world's surface covered by ocean, it becomes very difficult to agree on which routes can truly be considered circumnavigation. Some of the more credible claims are those of Jean Béliveau, who walked for 11 years across all six continents and covered around 75,000 km. Endurance runner Tony Mangan also jogged for 4 years and covered 50,000 km (he also holds the record for most distance covered on a treadmill in 48 hours: 405.22 km). One of the greatest stories of pedestrian circumnavigation, however, is probably that of the first person to accomplish the feat. Romanian Dumitru Dan set out with three friends in 1910, and returned in 1923 alone: one by one his friends had died along the way. Dumitru had crossed 76 countries and wore out 497 pairs of shoes.

-E

October 8th, 2017

A Croatian legend talks of the siege of Đurđevac, in which Turkish forces attempted to capture the city. As the story goes, the Turks were also hungry and of low morale, but they could hunt and gather food while continuing the siege. In the city, however, prospects were grim, and all the food had been eaten except a single rooster. It is said that the Croats fired the rooster at the Turks, giving the impression that there was so much food within the city it could be wasted as artillery. The Turks, fooled by the display and exasperated by the prospect of holding the siege much longer, retreated. Regardless of whether the events actually took place, the residents of the town have come to be known as 'Picoks' (the Croatian word for rooster).

-E

October 7th, 2017

Croatia does not use the Euro, although it is obliged to adopt the currency once certain economic conditions are met. Instead, it uses the Kuna, with colourful notes featuring historical figures and events. On the 100 Kuna note is a peculiar script next to Croatian poet and linguist Ivan Mažuranić. This is the Glagolitic Script and the excerpt is taken from the Baška Tablet. The script was developed in the 9$^{th}$ century by a Byzantine monk, making it the oldest known Slavic script. The tablet dates to around 1,100 and contains a liturgical inscription bearing the first known reference to the Croatian name of Croatia (hrъvatъskъï, or Hrvatski). As for the script, it slowly declined beginning in the 17$^{th}$ century, and Croatia was one of the final regions where it was used (primarily for liturgy) before disappearing entirely in the 20$^{th}$ century.

Bonus:

There are currently 9 EU countries that do not use the Euro: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Of these, all are contractually obliged to join as part of their EU membership except the UK (which will leave the EU in 2019) and Denmark (which opted out of the membership provision). There are also two non-EU countries using the Euro: Montenegro and (if you count it) Kosovo.

-E

October 6th, 2017

The HBO series Game of Thrones has become a phenomenon, and nowhere is that more evident than in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The city is teeming with tourists eager to get a look into King's Landing, for which Dubrovnik was used. In 2016 more than one million tourists visited, up 12 percent from 2015, and staggering for a city with a population of 42,000. There has been talk of limiting the number of people in the old city to avoid damage. One of the sights the tourist are most eager to see are the 'Shame Steps', used in the episode 'Mother's Mercy' in which Queen Cersei walks down them naked while being pelted and harassed as punishment for her adultery. The scene is supposedly the most expensive in television history, with the costs of shutting down the city for three days of filming at 200,000$. Add to this paying off businesses, hiring 500 extras, and 200 security guards, and the final cost is hefty (though some sources say 200,000$ was the total). It's worth noting that quantifying the price of a scene is difficult. What defines a distinct scene, for example? Should you factor in the salaries of the main characters? Or should the price reflect simply the logistics of the setup and execution? If all salaries are included, Game of Thrones would certainly be...um...dethroned by the Netflix series The Crown, as well as the ER, which both cost 13 million per episode (compared to 10 for Game of Thrones).

Bonus:

The 'Shame Steps' must be having an identity crisis. The 'Walk of Shame' that Cersei is subject to is a common mislabelling of the 'Walk of Atonement', and hence the stairs should be the 'Stairs of Atonement'. Before Game of Thrones overtook Dubrovnik the stairs were usually called the Spanish Steps. This was also a mix up, as the Dubrovnik steps resemble the actual Spanish Steps, in Rome. The true name for the steps, forgotten by most, are the Jesuit Stairs. This is in reference to the Jesuit Church and College located at the top

-E

October 5th, 2017

Stockholm Syndrome refers to the manifestation of empathy amongst hostages towards their captors. But why Stockholm? Well, the term was coined after a hostage situation in a Stockholm bank in 1973. Four people were held hostage by two Swedish criminals hoping to rob the bank, and the stand-off lasted 5 days. Over the course of the incident, some of the captives developed trust for their captors, and feared that the police would escalate events. In the end nobody was killed, and the syndrome became associated with Stockholm.

Bonus:
Both perpetrators were eventually set free. One lives in Belgium, while the other went on to run a supermarket in Thailand for 15 years with his wife and son, before returning to Sweden.

-E

October 4th, 2017

Alsace is a region of western France bordering Germany. It is quite lovely, with picturesque towns such as Strasbourg, and an interesting mix of French and German culture. Unbeknown to many, Alsace has a tryst on the other side of the world: Japan. In the 1800s Alsace was renowned for its textile prowess. Japanese merchants, looking to learn the secrets of western textiles (and allegedly how to dye clothes in as-of-yet unaccomplished colours) arrived in the country in 1863 and forged business ties. These connections have held strong until today, with the two celebrating their 150$^{th}$ anniversary in 2013. Alsace maintains a centre for Japanese cultural studies, and Japan set up a boarding school in the area for Japanese students, which operated from 1986 - 2005. With Brexit, it seems the relationship between these two odd bedfellows may only strengthen.

Bonus:

In 1667 a magnitude 10 earthquake hit Dubrovnik. Two thirds of the citizens were killed and three quarters of the buildings were destroyed.

-E

October 3rd, 2017

Dubrovnik used to be part of the Republic of Ragusa, which existed between the 14$^{th}$ and 19$^{th}$ centuries. The city shares much in common with Venice, both enjoying a warm Mediterranean climate, and both serving as hubs for maritime trade. Yet the two were bitter rivals, and fought to monopolise sea trade. In 1806 the city was taken by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, but the occupation lasted only 8 years. Then they became part of Austria-Hungary, followed by Yugoslavia, before finally joining Croatia in 1991 after the shattering of Yugoslavia (much to the dismay of Serbia and Montenegro). The tumultuous history has worn off on the little city, with elements of all occupying cultures lingering today.

-E

October 2nd, 2017

Long ago the universe was filled with neutral hydrogen, and not much else, a period known as the Dark Ages. Slowly, stars and galaxies were born and began to 'energise' this neutral hydrogen, and over time the universe became clear, as it is today. Looking deep deep deep into space, we can see the light arriving to us from incredibly distant objects. In 2011, a team detected light from a quasar (an incredibly bright and energetic galaxy) 13 billion light years away. This is a measure of how long it took the light to travel to us (13 billion years). Quasars emit their light particles (photons) at many different energies, and as these photons travel through space to arrive at us, they can be absorbed by gasses or materials they pass through on their journey. Each material will only absorb photons that have a certain energy, and because of this we can know what things the photons passed through based on which energies are missing. The light from this incredibly distant quasar was missing the energies that correspond to neutral hydrogen. This tells us that this quasar is so ancient it was formed during the dark ages of the universe, and its light began the journey to Earth in the cloudy young universe.

-E

October 1st, 2017

The name of Croatia is derived from the Croat people, the first known mention of whom appears on the Brahnimir Inscription, dating to 888. However, Croatian cars are emblazoned with the letters 'HR'. Why? The initials betray the Croatian name of the country: Hrvatska. Intriguingly, nobody knows exactly where the name came from, although that's not to say that there is a shortage of theories. Part of the difficulty in conclusively placing the name comes from the difficulty in placing the people: nobody knows where the Croats came from.

Bonus:

One of the more fanciful theories (today more-or-less discredited) claims the Croats originated in ancient Iran. The claim goes on to suggest the name Hrvatska comes from the ancient region of Harahuvatiš (today referred to as Arachosia), which historically extended as far as the Indus river.

Bonus 2:

...but one can go even deeper down the rabbit hole. Harahuvatiš is the the Old Persian equivalent of the Sanskrit word (सरस्वती Saraswati), which is the name of a mythical river mentioned in the Rig Veda, written sometime in the 2nd Millennium BC. Over the course of three and a half millennia the river may have dried up or rerouted, however much archaeological work has been put into affirming the myth by analysing maps and soils of northeast India.

Bonus 3:

...and there is one final layer. Sarswati was not only the name of the ancient river, but the river goddess associated with it. Her name comes from सरस् (sars, meaning lakes or waters) and वती (wati, meaning woman), hence 'woman of the waters'. Today Sarswati remains a major goddess, although she has lost her ancient roots to today embody knowledge, music, and wisdom. So are the Croatian license plates unknowingly paying homage to an ancient Indian river goddess? As good a story it would be, there are issues with the link between Hrvatska and Arachosia, and thus it seems as though the conclusion is fanciful. Still, imagining 'what if' leads us down some fascinating alleys that span 3,500 years and 5,600 km.

-E

Note: I am at an astrophysics conference in Croatia for the next week. Posts may reflect this.

September 30th, 2017

Montenegro is a fairly unremarkable country, and is about average in terms of per capita GDP. The country doesn't usually make the news, and many people didn't know of its existence until Donald Trump allegedly rough-handled the president at the Nato headquarters in May. However, the little country manages to get up to a lot of mischief. It suffers from problems of crime, mafia, as well as trafficking of people and weapons. Corruption is also a big issue, with the Prime Minister's immense wealth coming from 'mysterious' origins. These issues caused tempers to boil over in 2015, and the country experienced protests that lasted many months.

-E

September 29th, 2017

The European Union was created for many reasons, one of the primary being (after the chaos and destruction of the 2$^{nd}$ World War) making war ''not only unthinkable, but materially impossible''. However, the EU was not the first attempt at combining European Countries. The birth of a previous entity will celebrate its centenary next year: Yugoslavia came into existence in 1918, after the 1$^{st}$ World War. The idea was to define a sole state for the Southern (юг, yug) Slavic people (hence yug-slavia), although other possible benefits included shared wealth and military strength between the nations involved. Yugoslavia began to fracture in 1991 with Slovenia and Croatia declaring independence, and the name 'Yugoslavia' was used until 2003 by Serbia and Montenegro. In these final remnants of the state, some of the older generation still remain proud of their 'Yugoslavian' cultural identity. Although the EU is vastly different from Yugoslavia (for one, the former is a political union, while the latter was a state merger) many have pointed out that there is much to be learned from the initial historical attempt at uniting European Countries that was Yugoslavia.

Bonus:
After the 1$^{st}$ World War another large state merger was proposed to counter the strength of Russia and Germany. Intermarium would have comprised up to 10 modern countries in Eastern Europe. All of the countries were swallowed up by Russia before the merger could be seriously attempted...well, except Finland.

-E

September 28th, 2017

Much like countries, cultures, civilisations, and languages, religions also blossom and fade away as the centuries pass. Zoroastrianism, which has been practised for over two millennia, is today nearly extinct. A lesser known example is Manichaeism, founded by the prophet Mani in the 3$^{rd}$ century. The religion revolved around a struggle between good and evil, and thrived for centuries, even becoming one of the main religions alongside Christianity. Yet by the 14$^{th}$ century, after over a millennia, the religion went extinct. A relic of the faith survives as an English word: Manichaean - that which relates to distinct ideals of good and evil.

Bonus:

Manichaeism is included in wikipedia's 'List of Philosophies', along with many other religions, both extinct and extant.

-E

September 27th, 2017

Of all the countries in the world, you are most likely to be killed in a car accident in Libya. There are about 73 deaths per 100,000 people in 2013. It appears that, since the fall of Gaddafi's regime, drivers have been especially reckless in the absence of police offers to enforce traffic rules. Though, if one was to look at the deaths compared to the number of vehicles of a country, many African countries eclipse Libya. In Africa as a whole 25% of deaths by injury are car accidents, with Guinea reporting a staggering 1 traffic death per year for every 10 cars in the country. If you happen to visit, look both ways before you cross: most of those deaths are pedestrians. On account of its population, China wins for the sheer number of road deaths per year: approximately 261,000 (close to the population of Iceland).

-E

September 26th, 2017

Katy Perry has a rather bizarre new video out. If you look closely, you might notice a tattoo in devanagari under her arm. The tattoo reads अनुगच्छतु प्रवाहं, an attempt at translating 'go with the flow' into Sanskrit, and her ex husband Russel Brand has a matching one (probably on account of the fact that they married in a Hindu ceremony in Rajasthan). There have been plenty of other examples of devanagari celebrity tatoos, some of them chronicled here.

-E

September 25th, 2017

Just as the British took a few words back from India, the French certainly owe a few to their ex-colonies. Today, French is replete with words that originated from North African languages. One example: during France's rule in Algeria, the Arabic word for gunpowder (بارود, baroud) was picked up, and eventually lead to the French word baroudeur - referring to one who fills cannons. The meaning changed over the years, first to mean a fighter in general, and then to the modern meaning: an adventurer.

Bonus:
Walt Disney holds the record for the most Academy Awards, at 22 (from 59 nominations). His very first was for his 1932 animation 'Flowers and Trees', running 8 minutes long.

-E

September 24th, 2017

If you want to curse at a Hindi speaker, there are certainly many words to choose from. One of the more heavy duty choices would be बहनचूत (behenchoot), which is derived from the words बहन (behen, sister) and चूत (choot, vagina). Saying this to someone implies that you have slept with their sister, and will most likely get you a strong थप्पड़ (thappad, slap). During the time of the British Raj, soldiers misconstrued it as 'barnshoot', which was brought back to the UK as a (somewhat milder) insult.

Bonus:
In the internet era, the insult persists amongst Indians, and is usually written simply 'BC'. If you stumble upon it on an Indian friend's facebook, they are most likely not talking about the era Before Christ...

-E

September 23rd, 2017

For a variety of reasons, island nations are currently home to the world's fattest people. In some (Nauru, Micronesia, Tonga) over 90% of adults are overweight, and over 70% obese. Though the exact rank of countries by obesity vary, countries in the Levant and Middle East usually follow island nations (Kuwait, Egypt, UAE, Qatar). English speaking countries shouldn't gloat, however, as they tend to have obesity rates of around 30%. The winners? Amongst developed countries East Asia probably takes the cake (well...figuratively at least), with countries reporting rates under 5% (Japan, Korea, China). As for the entire world, the rate is around 13%, equalling around one billion obese people.

Bonus:

In case you were curious, an individual with a Body Mass Index greater than 30 is considered obese (while over 25 is overweight). One's BMI is calculated as:

$BMI = \frac{weight (kg)}{(height (m))^2}$

-E

September 22nd, 2017

Things I learned at Oktoberfest this evening:

• The beer steins each contain a liter, and each one is about 7% alcohol per volume.
• With the stein, each one weighs about a kilogram, and waitresses carry up to eight at a time.
• To accomplish this, they wear wrist braces.
• Some also wear tags on their drindls that warn festival-goers not to touch, as drunken tourists tend to do.
• The event attracts more and more tourists each year, largely from the UK.
• It is a popular destination for Hen and Stag parties.
• Around 7 million visitors consume about 7 million liters of beer.
• The grounds comprise many beer tents, the largest being around 4000 m$^2$ and fitting upwards of 7000 people.
• Most tents include live music, usually a mix of pop and traditional Bavarian tunes.
• Repeatedly throughout the night, the jingle Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit (A toast to good cheer) is played, which signals that everyone should clink their beers and have a swig.
• The festival is held in a 420,000 m$^2$ space known as Theresienwiesen.
• The space is named after Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who wed Ludwig I on the grounds in 1810.
• Their wedding celebrations were attended by much of the Munich public, and it was decided that the festivities should continue every year...
• ...thus the birth of Oktoberfest.

-E

September 21st, 2017

A Marian Column is, quite simply, a column topped with a statue of the Virgin Mary. They can today be found in many European cities. One of the first such columns can be found in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. The column was erected 1614, though it had previously belonged to the Basilica of Maxentius, completed in 312 AD. Two earthquakes (in 847 and 1349) destroyed the entirety of the ancient Basilica, except for the one column which stands to this day in front of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.

Bonus:

Marienplatz, a public square in Munich, takes its name from its own Marian Column, erected in 1638, and inspired by the one in Rome.

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September 20th, 2017

George Orwell is the pen name of author Eric Arthur Blair. He is most remembered for his books Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. However, Blair's writings took a jarringly dystopian turn only after the 2$^{nd}$ world war. Before that he wrote of his time in Burma, and was also fascinated with the life of the poor and destitute. He spent a number of years living in poverty, and describes this time in his book Down and Out in Paris and London. Another neat little tidbit: Blair was born in India.

Bonus:

Some Germans rub the salt pieces off of their pretzel before eating them. This can incite debates about whether this is the right thing to do.

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September 19th, 2017

Salamanders are fireproof, right? Some property of their oily skin makes them immune to the scalding licks of flames. Heck, there is even a species called the Fire Salamander. Well...not quite. The myth of fireproof salamanders has existed since antiquity, and seems to have come from Salamander's penchant for decaying logs. Toss the logs on a fire, light it up, and the fleeing salamander appears to have been born of the flames. For this reason, salamanders are now abound throughout architecture, lore, and heraldry, usually engulfed in flames. But, as neat as a fireproof salamander would be, keeping one in a fire will most definitely kill it.

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September 18th, 2017

In central Montenegro, a monastery was built into the wall of a cliff face during the 17th century. The Ostrog Monastery has been renovated many times since, now receives over 100,000 visitors each year, and offers a dormitory in which pilgrims can sleep for 5 euros.

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September 17th, 2017

Oktoberfest has begun. The 217 year old festival comes with many quirky traditions. For example, the beer must be authentic Munich brew, and therefore the beer of only six breweries is allowed to be served. These breweries are known as 'The Big Six'. Each year, the mayor of Munich taps a barrel of beer to signify that Oktoberfest has officially begun. The number of hammer strokes required to drive in the tap has become a fascination for Bavarians, with some even placing bets. Currently Christian Ude and Dieter Reiter hold the record: 2 strokes. In 1950, then Mayor Thomas Wimmer apparently took 19 strokes to drive in the tap. Perhaps he'd been sampling the beer beforehand...

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September 16th, 2017

Afghanistan has, throughout the ages, proven itself notoriously difficult to conquer. Its challenging geography, multitude of tribal powers, and general belligerence towards outsiders has earned it the nickname 'Graveyard of Empires'.

Bonus:
The Grotta Palazzese restaurant in Italy is built in a cave on the face of a cliff. Diners get to enjoy their food overlooking the sea.

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September 15th, 2017

The highest grossing film in France (by ticket sales) is Titanic, however the highest grossing French Film in France is Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis (2$^{nd}$ overall behind the Titanic). The 2008 film examines the cultural differences between communities in southern and northern France, and takes place primarily in Bergues. The town of Bergues was once a citadel, being surrounded by geometric moats and ramparts. Over the years and the wars, much of this were destroyed -- the second world war claiming approximately 80% of the town. Even after this destruction though, Bergues still retains some of its beauty, and is sometimes referred to as "The Other Bruges in Flanders".

Bonus:

Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis dethroned the previous highest grossing French film in France, which had held the title for over 40 years. This was La Grande Vadrouille, released in 1966. The film tells the story of a group of British pilots who are trapped in Paris during Nazi occupation. It features some icons of comedy at the time, notably French actor André Bourville and British actor Terry-Thomas.

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September 14th, 2017

'Capharnaüm' is a French word meaning 'a big mess'. It's etymology is an interesting one. כפר נחום (Kfar Nahum, meaning 'House of Nahum') was an ancient fishing village on the Sea of Galilee. It is said that Jesus, revered for his healing abilities, was harassed by wild crowds of sickly individuals on entering into the city, all of whom wanted to be healed. The chaos of the scene evolved over the centuries such that the name of the town became the French word.

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September 13th, 2017

The city of Quebec was once the site of an Iroquois village named Stadacona. When Jacques Cartier arrived in Stadacona in 1534 he was introduced to the village chief, Donnacona. The relationship between the French and the Iroquois was turbulent, though with some persuasion Donnacona allowed his two sons to travel to France with Cartier on condition that they returned the next year. Cartier made true on his promise, and returned in 1535, however relations continued to sour. For various political reasons, Cartier decided it would be best if Donnacona were removed, and therefore he persuaded Donnacona himself to come to France, again promising a return within a year. Donnacona went to France in 1536 along with his two sons and 7 other Iroquois. None of them would ever return. Donnacona seems to have died in 1539 or 1540, and may have been buried in Paris, in a grave under what is today rue Séguier, though sources of location (and cause of death) are spotty. Around the same time his two sons, as well as six other Iroquois, also passed away. Only one Iroquois survived: a little girl of around 10 years old. What became of her appears to be lost to history.

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September 12th, 2017

The Ajanta caves in India are thought to date to the 2$^{nd}$ century BC. Within the 29 caves are numerous impressive paintings of Buddhist scenes, the style of which would go on to influence other cultures in South East Asia, and eventually contemporary painters. The caves also contain beautiful sculpted idols, which are mentioned in the song أفرين أفرين (Afreen Afreen) by Indian songwriter Javed Akhtar and Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The latter passed away in 1997, however his nephew upholds the tradition, performing the song in 2016 as part of a Pakistani music show. The sculptors of the Ajanta idols, whoever they were, would surely be pleased to know that their masterpieces are now celebrated in youtube music videos.

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September 11th, 2017

Welcome back!

Donald Trump promised to build a wall along the US-Mexico border during the 2016 campaign. The wall, at 3,201 km, would be one of the longest in the world, but so far no funding has been allotted. If it is completed, the 'Trump Wall' would certainly be a sizable entry in Wikipedia's list of notable walls, but it would still be under half the length of the longest wall ever: unsurprisingly the Great Wall of China, at 8,850 km. But what about fences? The longest fence is, at 5,614 km, the Dingo Fence. It was constructed in the late 1800s to keep dingoes away from farm animals in the fertile southeast of the country.

Bonus:

Speaking of walls, if one wanted to up the ante, they could include the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, a cosmic mass of galaxies measuring 10 billion light years, or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000 times the length of the Great Wall of China. In addition to being the biggest 'wall', the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall is the biggest...well...anything.

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July 11th, 2017

Alfred Russel Wallace was a naturalist who, in the 1850s, came up with the idea of Evolution through Natural Selection independent of Charles Darwin. Although Darwin and Wallace jointly published their findings in 1958, the two were quite different. While Darwin came from wealth, Wallace spent much of his life with little money. He didn't seem to care much for holding himself to standards of etiquette, and also pursued atypical theories without regard to loss-of-face amongst the scientific community. Wallace once took up a £500 wager that he could prove a flat-earth proponent wrong, which he did quite convincingly with the Bedford Level experiment. The experiment took advantage of a long stretch of uninterrupted calm water in Norfolk, called the Old Bedford Level. A boat with a flag in the rear sailed off into the distance, and an observer with a telescope observed the flag disappearing below the horizon. Wallace was declared the winner of the wager by a team of arbitrators, however the man who had made the wager accused Wallace of having cheated and sued him. Although Wallace won the case, he never saw the money, and in fact came out having lost money on the court fees. This aside, Wallace lived a good and long life, dying in 1913 at the age of 90, and after having traveled the world and fed many of his curiosities. Unlike Darwin, who died in 1882, Wallace also lived long enough to see Mendel's Theory of Inheritance begin to take root - a theory that would lay the foundation upon which Natural Selection operated.

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Note: I will be away for the next two months, largely without internet, and will therefore be taking a break. Updates will resume in September. 

July 10th, 2017

Given the task of enumerating animals by strangeness, the extinct Macrauchenia would most likely find itself pretty high on the list. It appears to have traits from the llama, camel, rhinoceros, and a small elephant-like trunk to top it all off. Charles Darwin found a partial skeleton in Argentina on his travels aboard the HMS Beagle, yet was unable to pin down the exact origin of the creature. Recently, zoologists have confirmed that Macrauchenia was a relative of Odd-Toed Ungulates (or more technically Perissodactyla), which today includes the horses, rhinos, and tapirs.

Bonus 1:

One extant species with a somewhat similar 'mini-trunk' is the Saiga Antelope found in the Eurasian Steppe. However, it's an Even-Toed Ungulate, meaning it's not directly related to the Macrauchenia. The Saiga Antelope is critically endangered, and faces numerous threats such as horn-hunters for Chinese medicine, recreational hunting, habitat loss, and climate change. With the loss of almost the entire Mongolian population in 2016 to plague there is a good chance the species will soon join the Macrauchenia as one for the history books.

Bonus 2:

Macrauchenia and another extinct relative (Neocaliphrium) seem to be the only two in their order to have survived the Great American Interchange. This was a period about 3 million years ago in which - on account of the newly formed Isthmus of Panama - South American animals and North American animals were able to switch continents, and they did so in large quantity on account of environmental pressures, threatening endemic populations upon their arrival.

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July 9th, 2017

Hanuman (हनुमान्) is a diety with a monkey likeness. Though primarily associated with Hinduism, he also exists in various forms in other religions and folklore, such as Jainism, Buddhism, and possibly also Chinese tradition. Such a well travelled god certainly accumulates many names, and Hanuman is no exception. One of his names, used in north India, is बजरंगबली (bajarangabali), which means वज्र (vajra) अङ्ग (ang, meaning limbs or body) वली (wali, meaning lord). Thus, a lord with limbs like a 'vajra'. But what on earth is a vajra? It's both the concept of the strength of a diamond, and the power of lightning, combined into one word. Vajra is also the name of a small two-headed club that is strongly associated with Hanuman, Indra, and Hinduism is general. Like Hanuman, the symbol has travelled, and is found in the Emblem of Bhutan, Japanese Buddhist iconography, and (somewhat modified) on the Emblem of the Royal Arms of Thailand.

Bonus:

One of the oldest stories of Hanuman talks of how he mistook the sun for a fruit, and leaped towards it. He (depending on the source) was either struck down by Indra, or burned as he approached, accounting for his disfigured monkey-like jaw. The story contains tantalising similarities to that of Icarus, and perhaps hints at a common origin (such as that of Indra and Zeus). Unfortunately, there is not enough evidence to conclusively rule out coincidence.

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July 8th, 2017

Want some easy points in scrabble? Check out the five parts of a human soul, as defined by Ancient Egypt. They are:

• Jb - the heart, and source of emotion, thought, will, and intention.
• Sheut - the shadow, containing some transcendental aspect of the person's physical being.
• Ren - a person's name.
• Ba - their personality.
• Ka - their 'vital spark', referring to that which animates them, and distinguishes them for the inanimate.

Though only Ba, Ka, and sometimes Ren are considered English words, fit for scrabble. Go figure.

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July 7th, 2017

Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2) is a cryptographic algorithm which converts any text to binary. This may sound fairly unimpressive, however there are a few interesting qualities. Firstly, no matter how massive the text input (even an entire book), the binary output will always have a length of 256. As an example, converting 'hi' returns the output:

8f434346648f6b96df89dda901c5176b10a6d83961dd3c1ac88b59b2dc327aa4

which is in hexadecimal. This can be then changed to binary, which gives:

1000 1111 0100 0011 0100 0011 0100 0110 0110 0100 1000 1111 0110 1011 1001 0110 1101 1111 1000 1001 1101 1101 1010 1001 0000 0001 1100 0101 0001 0111 0110 1011 0001 0000 1010 0110 1101 1000 0011 1001 0110 0001 1101 1101 0011 1100 0001 1010 1100 1000 1000 1011 0101 1001 1011 0010 1101 1100 0011 0010 0111 1010 1010 0100

If you count all the 0s and 1s, there are indeed 256. SHA-2 is also 'collision resistant'. This means that, although you can use anything of any length as input, and your output is always 256 zeros and ones, it is practically impossible to find two different inputs that give the same output. How is this possible? Well, the number of different possible outputs for 256 characters that can be either 0 or 1 is $2^{256}$. This is roughly equal to:

$10^{77} =~$100 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000

This enormous number of possible outputs makes it nearly impossible to find two inputs that generate the same output. That it is very quick and easy to calculate the output of a given input, but effectively impossible to go the other way, makes SHA-2 the current standard for computer encryption. It also plays a pivotal role in online currencies (cryptocurrencies), such as bitcoin.

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July 6th, 2017

Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with our perception and understanding of beauty. It has existed in some form or other since Plato. Over the centuries the debate has taken some interesting turns. Hegel linked the idea of beauty to the ideal of truth. Darwin's theory of Natural Selection was used to motivate an 'evolution' of aesthetic taste. The Dada movement severely shook aesthetics by pushing an anti-art agenda, and by blurring the lines between beauty and arbitrary expression. The debate rages on, though perhaps one can take solace in this quote by Barnett Newman:

"Aesthetics is for the artist as ornithology is for the birds."

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July 5th, 2017

Paracetamol (perhaps better known as Tylenol) is a common painkiller. In addition to humans, it can also be used to treat pain in animals such as dogs and horses (though it should only ever be administered after consulting a veterinarian). However, cats lack the enzyme required to break down acids in Paracetamol. As a result, toxic compounds begin to build up after ingestion, and can often lead to death.

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July 4th, 2017

Beijinho No Ombro is a portuguese song by Brazilian artist Valesca Popozuda. The title means 'A Little Kiss on the Shoulder', and entered into Brazilian vernacular after the song's release in 2013. The idea of giving your shoulder a little kiss is meant somewhat as a cute gesture of deprecation towards a rival. As if to say "You did your best" in a snide manner. It's perhaps similar to the English slang "GG no re" (Good Game, no rematch) used amongst gamers, though more versatile in context. The expression was incorporated into a campaign promoting safe sex: Beijinho No Ombro & Camisinha No Bolso (Kiss on the shoulder and condom in the pocket).

Bonus:

Valesca Popozuda's real name is Valesca Reis Santos. Popozuda is Brazillian slang for a woman with a large butt.

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July 3rd, 2017

In addition to balancing the salt content of the body and filtering various liquids into urine, kidneys can also help with blood pressure. Over time, they can compensate for low blood pressure by adding fluid to the circulatory system, however this is only a temporary fix, and properly circulating blood in clean arteries is the only real solution. The kidney is quite a hard-working organ. It also plays a role in secreting hormones, reabsorbing nutrients, and filters about 180 litres of liquid a day (of which, only about 2 litres become urine).

Bonus:

These days, most commercial planes are 'fly-by-wire'. That is to say, the control wheel (or 'yoke') is not directly attached to any piece of control machinery. Instead, inputs are connected to a computer, and the plane decides if the command would be safe before executing it. This way, modern planes cannot be stalled nor flipped by careless pilots (though they can still be flown into mountains).

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July 2nd, 2017

Today Europe is dominated by cheap 'no-frills' airlines: Ryan Air, EasyJet, Transavia, Wizz Air, etc. Yet fewer and fewer remember the airline that started it all: Laker Airways. Until the 60s, flying was a luxury. So when Laker Airways began flying very basic yet cheap flights in 1966, it shook the industry. The man behind the undertaking was Frederick Laker, a British businessman keen to get his foot into the airline market. He succeeded, with prices across the Atlantic as low as £59. Other airlines, needless to say, were not amused. The big players at the time (British Ariways, Pan Am, KLM, Air France, etc.) all dropped their prices to below-cost. At a time when Laker Airways was already struggling from the financial climate, this was a death blow, and the company filed for bankruptcy in February 1982. However, the ending wasn't an unhappy one for Freddie Laker. He sued 12 airlines for price collusion and won. The settlement resulted in the airlines paying the bankruptcy costs of Laker Airways, as well £8m out of court for Freddie. To top it all off Freddie was knighted for his contributions to the airline industry. Freddie died in 2006, but not before inspiring the next generation of low-cost carriers (specifically Virgin Atlantic and easyJet) with his wisdom: "Sue the bastards".

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July 1st, 2017

During the Second World War, the German invasion and occupation of Denmark was...relatively relaxed. The Nazi ground campaign lasted only 6 hours before Denmark surrendered, making it the shortest campaign in the war. The Danes did resist the occupation, but more through underground activities than direct fighting. They also successfully smuggled all but 500 of their population of 8,000 Jews into neutral Sweden. By the end of the war, 'only' 3,000 Danes had died in Denmark as a result of the occupation (although many others had perished fighting in other countries), a much smaller percentage than in most other countries. On account of all this, Germans referred to Denmark as the 'Whipped Cream Front', as the chance of being killed was much less than the Eastern or Western Fronts.

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June 30th, 2017

In the Roman calendar, March was the first month of the year. This seems to have change sometimes in the 2nd century BC, at which point it became the third month, where it remains to this day. Some Indian cultures still consider the New Year to fall in spring.

Bonus:

For this reason, the monumental set of 12 tapestries Les Chasses de Maximilien, in which each work depicts a month, begins in March.

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June 29th, 2017

The building of the pyramids conjures images of slaves dying of exhaustion after working endlessly under the fierce sun. Though the conditions were no doubt difficult, one may be surprised by a few details of the Egyptian working life. Slaves didn't built the pyramids. Rather, peasants did when they could not work on their crops due to flooding. As well, they enjoyed at least some basic worker rights. Workers were given rations, and (at least as early as 1170 BC) there were reports of strikes if rations were not provided. Instead of being met with violence, a vizier would be sent to address the problem, and sometimes the project head would be punished.

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June 28th, 2017

In 2011 a music project was formed consisting of five well known artists from vastly different genres. They were Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, and Dave Stewart from the UK, along with reggae icon Damian Marley (youngest son of Bob Marley), as well as Indian composer A. R. Rahman (renowned in India for being one of the nation's most prolific composers). The group were called SuperHeavy, and their songs fuse elements of British rock, Jamaican Reggae, and Indian classicism.

Bonus:

L'Office québécois pour la langue française (The Quebec Office for the French Language) has proposed costumade as a French substitute for the English composite word cosplay (costume play).

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