March 29th, 2017

The many dialects of the Chinese Language are all quite challenging, but amongst them Wenzhounese is perhaps the hardest. The province of Wenzhou (温州, meaning 'Warm state') was geographically isolated throughout much of its history. On account of this, the Wenzhounese language diverged, becoming mutually unintelligible with all other varieties of modern Chinese. It also preserves aspects of ancient Chinese, making it somewhat of a living fossil. The complexity and nuances of the language have earned it the nickname 'The Devil's Language', and inspired the Chinese phrase '天不怕，地不怕，就怕温州人说温州话' (Don't fear the sky, don't fear the earth, fear the man from Wenzhou speaking Wenzhounese).

Bonus:

Because of its difficulty, Wenzhounese was purportedly used to transmit secret codes during the Sino-Vietnamese War. This employment of obscure languages in wartime has been used all over the world, most notably in the case of the Navajo language during the 2nd World War.

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March 28th, 2017

A heart-burial is a ritual in which the heart of the deceased is buried elsewhere from the body. Often times the body is laid to rest where the death occurred, while the heart is returned to an area that held sentimental significance for the deceased in life.

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March 27th, 2017

Some countries offer citizenship to those who make a substantial contribution to their economy: usually at least a few hundred thousand dollars. This is called 'citizenship-by-investment', and has become somewhat popular amongst small island nations. The initiative can be a huge boost to relatively small economies, but can also usher in criminals trying to acquire a new citizenship to avoid taxes or legal proceedings in their home country.

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March 26th, 2017

How do magnets work? It's a tough question, even inspiring an internet meme. At the very bottom of all this is the fundamental concept that a magnetic field is the movement of energy (charge). So at the level of particles, how can it be that a particle that is not moving can still have a magnetic charge, as is the case with protons and electrons? This is a caused by a property of every particle that we call 'spin'. What is spin and how is it expressed by particles? We don't know! All we know is that there is some property of particles that gives them tiny magnetic fields. A particle that is not moving, but rotating on itself, would still count as 'moving energy', and hence the term spin is used. However, fundamental particles are infinitely small, and therefore the idea breaks down. For now, until a more satisfactory understanding is developed, the best we can do is move forwards using this analogy of a rotating particle. Atoms can be magnetic when their electrons are organized in such a way that more of them are spinning in one direction than the other. Iron, for example, has 26 electrons: 11 spinning one way, and 15 the other. So the net pull is in the direction of the 15. Of course there are always exceptions. Manganese has 10 electrons spinning one way, and 15 the other, so the imbalance towards the 15 should be even stronger. Yet manganese is not magnetic, because of a phenomenon called Exchange Interaction. Essentially, for the question of how magnets work, the more satisfactory you aim to make your answer the deeper down the rabbit hole you go...

Bonus:

Some of the complexity of the subatomic world is rather imaginatively animated in this quick video by graphic designer Markos Kay.

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March 25th, 2017

Le Brady is a theatre in Paris opened in 1956. It is a cinema 'Art et Essaie', meaning that it focuses on independent film, and also screens movies that have finished their runs in traditional cinemas. More intriguing, however, is that it is one of the last theatres in Paris that still sells tickets for seats, not for specific films. This means cinema-goers can stay as long as they desire. On account of this, homeless people have been known to use the cinema to sleep, and Le Brady has been sometimes called 'l'hôtel le moins cher de Paris' (the cheapest hotel in Paris).

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March 24th, 2017

In Ancient Greece, statues were usually made with bronze, or sometimes wood as of the 5th century BC. Wood tended to rapidly decompose, and bronze could be easily reclaimed as scrap. This meant that very little has survived from this period. Thankfully, the Romans took a fancy for recreating these sculptures in marble from the 2nd century CE onward, meaning we have a reasonable idea of what the original sculptures looked like from Roman reproductions. A very small number of original sculptures have survived from the ancient era, however. Some are bronze, and were found submerged. There are also a small number of original marble sculptures that have survived from the Hellenistic Period (the last 3 centuries BC). The Louvre's Venus de Milo and Winged Victory of Samothrace are both exquisite cases, and though the Roman sculptures are equally beautiful, the history of these two puts them in a league of their own.

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March 23rd, 2017

Since the case of Loving vs Virginia made interracial marriage legal across the United States in 1967, such marriages have been on the rise. In 2013 it was reported that 12% of marriages were interracial (in 1960 the figure was 0.4%). Public opinion has also shifted drastically in the past half century, with nearly all Americans now saying interracial marriage is acceptable.

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March 22nd, 2017

Our universe is composed of Dark Energy, Relativistic Particles, and Matter. Within these, 'matter' can be further broken down into two types: Baryons and Dark Matter. Baryons are 'normal' matter, making up everything we see on earth, our bodies, and all the elements on the periodic table. Dark matter is a form of 'invisible' matter. We see its effects in space, where it pulls on baryons through gravity, but we have not yet been able to directly study it, and therefore do not understand its nature. Even if we cannot directly study dark matter, we can measure how much of it there is through observing the strength with which it pulls on normal matter. In our entire universe, we have about 17% normal matter, and the rest is dark matter. Interestingly, however, there seems to be a higher ratio of dark matter in galaxy clusters. This hint may hold a key to understanding dark matter, which remains one of the biggest mysteries in physics.

Bonus:
Because of French Guyana, France's longest land border is surprisingly with Brazil. This is 3 km longer than its border with Spain.

Bonus 2:
A neat website lets you see how the Mercator map projection distorts countries.

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March 21st, 2017

Because of somewhat relaxed copyright laws, plagiarism in Bollywood is rampant. Many scenes, musical numbers, and sometimes entire movies are based off (to varying degrees of faithfulness) foreign media from outside India. A number of attempts have been made to match the facsimiles to their originals, including a list on IMDB which includes nearly 150 alleged pairs.

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March 20th, 2017

In 1970 Canadian criminal sociologist Robert Hare developed the Psychopathy Checklist. It is a list of 20 items that are considered characteristic of a psychopath. For each item a score of 0 is given for traits that don't match the individual, 1 for those that seem somewhat present, and 2 for those that reasonably match the individual. Thus, a final score out of 40 is tallied, and different countries have different cut-offs for psychopathy, usually 25 or 30. The test has historically done quite well, assigning Charles Manson 32/40, Paul Bernardo 35/40, and Ted Bundy 39/40. The full checklist, should you wish to be sure of your friends, can be found here.

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March 19th, 2017

An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) is a large rocket that can transport and detonate nuclear warheads over a range of at least 5,500 kilometres. Six countries are known to have ICBMs, and North Korea is allegedly developing their own. To date, no country has used an ICBM outside of tests, and their existence is based entirely on the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction. Still, those countries with ICBM strive to push the technology, resulting in modern ICBMs with ranges of up to 16,000 km and speeds over Mach 20 (~25,000 km/h). The current 'tour de force' being sought after by many countries is achieving a system that allows for a 'Prompt Global Strike': the ability to deploy a nuclear strike anywhere in the world in one hour. To date, no country has accomplished the feat.

Bonus:

In 2012 North Korea put a satellite into orbit, which some have suggested may have been an ICBM test disguised as a satellite launch. Regardless of the motivation, this put North Korea on the list of only 9 countries that have succeeded in an orbital launch.

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March 18th, 2017

Arrhephoria was an ancient Greek celebration accompanied by some very curious rituals. Two young girls, between the ages of seven and eleven, would be chosen beforehand from families of repute. They would be sent to live in the Acropolis for a year. On the day of Arrhephoria, the girls would be made to carry a 'mysterious item' into an underground passage (apparently the item was either in a basket, or in a vessel they would balance on their heads). The girls would leave their item in the passage and return with those left by the previous pair of girls. The exact significance of this ritual, as well as what the 'mysterious items' actually were, is still not fully understood. It is thought to be connected to the story of Herse and Aglaurus, who were said to have been given a basket by Athena containing the infant king Erichthonius, and instructed not to open it. They gave in to their curiosity and opened it, to find the infant surrounded by snakes. In horror they jumped from the side of the Acropolis to their deaths.

Bonus:

The original Ancient Greek text of Lysistrata, written in the 5th century BC makes reference to Arrhephoria. In line 641 a group of women sing "When I was just 7, I was an Arrhephoros..." (Arrhephoros being the term for a girl chosen for the ritual of Arrhephoria). In later translations, however, this explicit reference was abandoned, substituting "I was an Arrhephoros" with "I carried the sacred vessels".

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March 17th, 2017

Hector Berlioz was a French composer during the Romantic Era. Although he initially performed primarily in Paris, he soon found he was better received abroad, and would often tour in neighbouring countries. A Russian friend once asked him if he would consider touring Russia, to which he jokingly replied "If the Emperor of Russia wants me, then I am up for sale." This, however, was taken seriously, and Berlioz ended up touring Russia twice. A trip to Russia in the 1800s was no easy voyage, and involved a many day journey over hilly terrain in a sled. Both tours damaged Berlioz's health, yet he was incredibly well received, being hosted by royalty and paid generously. The life of Berlioz was a tumultuous one, and though it comprised some happy years, it was punctuated by sadness; the death of his first and second wives, the estrangement and eventual death of his only son, his failing health, and the French critics who were merciless at critiquing his works (though on one occasion praised one his his compositions when he published it under a pseudonym, saying "Berlioz could never do that!"). In June 1862 he began a relationship with 24 year old Amélie, 35 years his junior, which lasted until February 1863 when she requested they separate. In 1864 Berlioz was told by a friend that Amélie had passed away from poor health, and he later found her grave at the Cimitière Montmartre, learning that she had been dead for six months.

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March 16th, 2017

The Polish observatory of Biały Słoń was an unlucky one. That's because its construction was completed in 1938. The observatory was in use for just over a year, before the Soviet Aggression begun in 1939 and the personal of the observatory fled to Hungary. The building has been abandoned ever since, though some slight restoration has been carried out since 2012. The name Biały Słoń is polish for 'White Elephant', most likely in reference to the impressive appearance of the snow-covered building in winter. Even though Biały Słoń never achieved its true potential as an observatory, the building itself is quite spectacular, as is the case with many other abandoned observatories around the world.

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March 15th, 2017

When organic materials are subject to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen, they break down through what is known as pyrolysis. Sometimes this is desirable, such as in cooking, thermal cleaning, and various forms of energy production. Other times, it can be detrimental, such as in house fires. Research is currently looking into whether organic molecules formed in space could have arrived on earth on an asteroid, and somehow escaped degradation through pyrolysis. If plausible, this could bring us closer to explaining the origin of life on earth.

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March 14th, 2017

Today is 'Pi Day', as March 14th can be shorthanded 3.14. Pi has been known since the 2nd millennium BC, and possibly earlier. Throughout antiquity, pi had no symbol, and was usually written as a fraction or root that roughly equalled pi (i.e. 25/8, or the square root of 10). The Greek letter π was first used by Welsh mathematician William Jones in 1706 to denote the constant. Jones chose this letter as an abbreviation for the Greek word περίμετρος, meaning perimeter. Needless to say, the trend stuck.

Bonus:

Since the discovery of pi there has been a tireless effort to calculate as many decimal places as possible. The progress was slow initially - 2000 years after being discovered only 7 decimal places were known - but accelerated tremendously with the advent of computers in the 1950s. As of 2016, pi is known to 22,459,157,718,361 decimal places.

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March 13th, 2017

Author William S. Burroughs believed that, for whatever reason, the number 23 seemed to pop up more often than it should. This belief has been perpetuated now by many authors, and is termed the '23 Enigma', even supplying the plot for a movie. In actual fact, this is an example of 'apophenia': the tendency to witness patterns emerging when there are, in reality, none. Apophenia is the basis for a number of related phenomena, such as gambling addictions and belief in the supernatural (though some would argue otherwise for that one). Even computers are not immune, and can fit a patter to random data. This is known as 'overfitting'.

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March 12th, 2017

A remotely operated submarine was christened 'Boaty McBoatface' today in place of the research vessel which carries it: the RRS Sir David Attenborough. It was the latter that was supposed to bear the former's name, after an online poll was launched allowing the public to choose. Many were frustrated at the research vessel being denied the Boaty McBoatface title, deemed unfitting for a 200 million £ endeavor. Others claimed that a submarine is not a boat. In fact, it is, and submarines were originally called 'submarine boats'. How do you define a boat, then? And how do they differ from ships? Generally speaking, size is the deciding factor: boats tend to be smaller, while ships tend to be larger. Though this doesn't hold for submarines, where even the largest are called boats. Historically, a watercraft was a ship (or 'full-rigged' ship) only if it had at least three square-rigged masts. Yet today, as most watercraft no longer use masts, the line has become murky, and size is used a rough guide. Some have proposed the rule of thumb "A ship can carry a boat, but a boat cannot carry of ship." This clears up the case of the submarine, but the oreboat provides a new counterexample.

Bonus:
A new exhibition in Warsaw will showcase works by artists from around the world, all of which will share the common theme of hitchhiking.

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March 11th, 2017

Shakespeare and Company is a bookstore in Paris with more stories than just the ones on its shelves. It has played a part in the lives of many authors throughout the years, including those of the Lost Generation, and then later the Beat Generation. Between these two eras, the bookshop changed location. The original one, opened by Sylvia Beach on Rue de l'Odéon (which had actually started on rue Dupuytren before that) was closed in 1941 during German occupation, and never reopened. In 1951, American George Whitman opened the current Shakespeare and Company where it stands today - though it was named Le Mistral until 1964. Whitman was renowned for his kindness, and would shelter and feed guests in the bookstore - himself having often been cared for by strangers during his years hitchhiking. He called his guests 'Tumbleweeds' as they would "Blow in and out on the winds of chance", and his only condition was that if they wished to stay they read one book each day. Whitman passed away in 2011, but the store still welcomes and lodges 'Tumbleweeds', still requiring them to read a book a day. Whitman's daughter Sylvia now runs the store. She was named after the owner of the original.

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March 10th, 2017

In general, keeping genetics varied is a good thing. Mixing populations which have long been separated makes it unlikely that both parents carry the same 'autosomal recessive disorders' (and therefore the child will not be effected). This is known as the hybrid (or heterozygote) advantage, and it follows that there are many detriments to inbreeding. Yet there can be cases where breeding two distant populations of a species can cause more harm than good. This is known as underdominance, and it can occur when two populations have both evolved to exploit respective niches. Hybrids across such populations can - as opposed to benefiting from the genetic diversity - lose the advantages of both their parent populations.

Bonus:
The 'Ain Ghazal Statues of Jordan are among the oldest humanoid objects known, with some dating to the 8th millennium BC. One was loaned to the Louvre from Jordan in the 1990s, and is currently the oldest object in the museum (at roughly 9,000 years old).

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March 9th, 2017

A shamrock is not a four-leaf clover, a common mistake recently made by President Trump's marketing team. However, he's not the first to fall into the trap. Obama's team made the same error five years ago, and even Guinness, an icon of Ireland, has been guilty of the mix up. So, if a shamrock is a clover, does that make four-leaf clovers a 'subset' of shamrocks? It depends. As a symbol, the shamrock was intended as a metaphor embodying the three entities of the Holy Trinity. As such, four-leaf clovers are certainly not shamrocks. However, the word shamrock comes from Old Irish 'semroc', meaning simply 'little clover'. Because of this, one could argue the number of leaves is irrelevant, and that four-leaf clovers are indeed shamrocks. It's all a bit confusing, but a possible resolution could be that a four-leaf clover is a shamrock, but not the Shamrock.

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March 8th, 2017

Today is International Women's Day. Google has published a doodle honouring various women throughout history. One of them is Rukmini Devi Arundale, who challenged social norms to popularise Bharatanatyam, a dance style which was once considered fit for women of poor character. She also challenged norms outside of dance, marrying a British national 26 years her senior when she was only 16. Yet their marriage was a happy one, and it was her husband who encouraged her to pursue dance. On one occasion (possibly apocryphal), Rukmini was asked if she would like to be President of India, but declined in order to continue with dance.

Bonus:

For her contributions to Indian culture Rukmini was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956, the third highest honour in India. The highest is the Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India), which has been awarded only 45 times since it was first conceived in 1954. These have all been Indians except three: Mother Theresa (although she was a naturalised Indian), Nelson Mandela, and - surprisingly - a Pakistani national. This third was Bacha Khan, who championed a peaceful course towards independence from Britain, and is sometimes thought of as a Muslim counterpart to Gandhi (with whom he was good friends).

Bonus 2:

Sacrosanct is an English adjective, which is used to characterise something too important, sacred, or complex to criticise.

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March 7th, 2017

Near the end of the Middle Ages, in Bologna, people started building towers. They were thin square towers made of stone, sometimes upwards of 60m in height, and it is possible there was once more than 100 of them. The reason why the residents of Bologna built so many, and to seemingly superfluous heights, remains a mystery. In the past millennium, most of the towers have been demolished or fallen naturally, but a few still remain. Of these, the Tower of Asinelli dominates the city at just shy of 100m. It, and its shorter neighbour the Garisenda Tower, have become an icon of Bologna.

Bonus:

A city as old as Bologna is bound to accumulate some lore. It certainly has, and if you are friendly with the locals they will perhaps divulge the 'Seven Secrets of Bologna': hidden details of the city's architecture for only keen eyes. However, don't expect anything mystically profound; the first secret is that from a certain vantage point it looks as though the statue of Neptune has an erection...

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March 6th, 2017

In Italy, pizza is often sold by weight, even in some supermarkets. It is baked in big rectangular trays and then priced 'al taglio', meaning 'by the cut'.

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March 5th, 2017

Florence, or Firenze, is often considered the heart of the Renaissance. As such, it attracts a sizeable number of tourists - roughly 16 million per year to be exact. For a city with a population of only 380,000, some say that this volume of visitors is insupportable. For those who aren't dissuaded from visiting, Florence offers some incredible sights. Best known is 'Il Duomo Di Firenze', whose brick dome was an engineering marvel, and held the record for largest dome for nearly 450 years (until the development of new materials in the 1800s). Also popular are the 'Palazzo Pitti', and the surrounding 'Boboli Gardens', both of which house impressive renaissance era artworks. The 'Museo Galileo' is another option, and showcases some of the astronomer's telescopes and scientific instrumentation. It also displays two of his fingers...

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March 4th, 2017

Psytrance is a music genre that incorporates many layers of very technical digital sounds and noises. It is the descendent of Goa Trance, which itself was born on the beaches and in the clubs of Goa during the hippy movement. Psytrance now forms the basis of many festivals around the world, some well known, and others kept secret. The progression of psytrance songs over the course of an evening, as well as the various movements within each song, are intended to 'guide' the audience through a hallucinogenic trip.

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March 3rd, 2017

The tiny country of San Marino is a curious place indeed. It is the oldest republic on earth (established in 301 CE, though the origins are somewhat murky), and the second smallest after Nauru. Its history is an interesting one, and it has traditionally remained neutral throughout wartime. During the Second World War, San Marino had to contact the United Kingdom to insist that they had not, in fact, declared war. Tourists usually come to see the stunning three towers, which have become the symbol of the country. They can also get a Tourist Visa stamp in their passport for 5 euros, though it's entirely optional (and a bit frivolous).

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March 2nd, 2017

France has guidelines on which cheeses can be taken on a plane. Generally, runny and strong smelling cheeses are restricted, while more solid forms are allowed.

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For the next week I am in Italy, and posts might reflect that.

March 1st, 2017

This week 7 foot 7 inch actor Neil Fingleton passed away at the age of 36. He was one of the tallest people alive, and the tallest in Europe. But not the tallest ever. That title goes to american Robert Wadlow, who reached 8'11''. Wadlow passed away in 1940 at the age of 22, and was one of only 19 people known to have reached 8' or taller - of which only four are currently alive. It seems that cases of extraordinary heights are usually rooted in the pituitary gland, which secretes various hormones. Tumors or other issues can cause the gland to overproduce growth hormones, and continue to produce them beyond the age at which one's body should have fully matured. Already it is difficult for human organs to support such a stature, and the added risk of cerebral problems caused by malfunctioning pituitary glands means that the life expectancy of these individuals is quite low, usually 30 - 40 years. However, there have been exceptions to this trend, such as Don Koehler (who lived to 56 and reached 8'2''), or Felipe Birrel (who lived to 78 and reached 7'11'').

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February 28th, 2017

Wu Xing is the belief that there are five fundamental elements that underline the physical world: water, fire, earth, wood, and metal. The concept originated in China, but is now found in many Asian countries. Each element has a positive association with two other elements, and a negative one with the remaining two. In the lunar calendar, each year is associated with one of the five elements (in addition to one of twelve animals). Men and women who were born in years of positively corresponding elements are encouraged to marry. If their birth elements clash, then it is believed that having a child in a year whose corresponding element positively associates with those of the parents can 'bridge the divide'.

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