November 30th, 2016

The École Nationale Supérieur des Beaux-Arts is a beautiful establishment in the centre of Paris, right across from the Louvre. Established in 1648, it is considered one of the top art schools in the world. Over the years, the highest honour students could earn was the 'Prix de Rome', which allowed them three to five years of studies in the Villa Medici in Rome. In 1968 the prize was discontinued for political reasons, and although still owned by the French Government, the Villa Medici now houses French students of all disciplines, not solely art.

Bonus:
Canadian mathematician cum musician Dan Snaith (who produces under the names Caribou and Daphni) created a youtube playlist of 1000 of his favourite songs, which you can listen to here.

November 29th, 2016

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is the deepest image we've ever taken (well, the deepest optical image, otherwise the prize goes to images of the CMB). It was created by collecting distant light over 11 days, and every dot, blob, and smudge in the image is a distant galaxy. All in all, the image is thought to contain roughly 10,000 galaxies. It took years to comb the image for objects of interest (and research is ongoing), and in 2009 one especially interesting smudge was noticed. Named 'UDFy-38135539', the nearly invisible smudge is the oldest galaxy known to date (some potentially older ones have not be confirmed). UDFy-38135539, as it appears in the image, is 13.1 billion light years away, however because of the expansion of the universe it (or whatever is now left of it) is now around 30 billion light years away. In 2018 the James Webb Space Telescope will be launched, and be able to peer even further into the cosmos.

-E

November 28th, 2016

In recent years there has been an increased focus on the carbon production linked to our lifestyles. Cutting back on meats, especially beef, can be a step in the right direction. A pescatarian (no meats, but fish) diet leads to roughly the same carbon production as a vegetarian diet, and both are about half as polluting as a meat-heavy diet. In a year, a vegetarian (or pescatarian) produces about 1.5 tonnes of carbon, while regular meat eaters are closer to 2.5 tonnes. Flying is also a huge offender, producing an estimated 250 kg of carbon per hour of flight, or 1 tonne every 4 hours. A roundtrip flight across the Atlantic is thus roughly 4 tonnes, much worse than the yearly carbon produced through the diet of even a meat eater. That being said, driving is still worse per kilometer.

Bonus:
If she survives the night, Emma Morano will turn 117 tomorrow. She is the last living person verified to have been born in the 1800s.

-E

November 27th, 2016

Thanksgiving is now over, but fridges around the US will most likely be stocked with leftover turkey for quite some time to come. The turkey is quite an enigmatic bird in fact. It is now known to have originated in North America: across Canada, the US, and Mexico. Yet, on account of chaotic trading routes all over the world, there was much confusion in almost every language as to where the bird actually originated. The French thought it had come from India, hence 'dinde' (d'Inde). Indians, on the other hand, assumed Peru, hence पीरू (Peru). Khmers named it 'French Chicken', Arabs named it 'Ethiopian Rooster', Malays named it 'Dutch Chicken', and the list goes on. As for English, where do you think we assumed it had come from? Yep, Turkey.

-E

November 26th, 2016

Any time you catch a glimpse of the Paris skyline it's hard not to agree that some of the city's charm is the lack of skyscrapers. Although there are plenty outside the central city (defined by the ring-road), inside you will only see the Eiffel tower and church steeples. Well...almost. Tour Montparnasse is the only exception. Completed in 1973, it was part of a push by Georges Pompidou to modernize Parisian infrastructure. However, the brutalist structure was met with near unanimous disdain that continues today, so much so that a 37m height limit was imposed on all building projects in the city. To date no new skyscrapers have been built, although this will change next year when the controversial 118m Tour Triangle (approved in 2015) will begin construction. Some say skyscrapers are necessary; with 12 million people in the Paris metro area, living space is in high demand. Paris has amongst the highest rent prices on earth, and 1 square meter of storage space can cost over 110€/month.

-E

November 25th, 2016

The ancient city of Mari was built at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC near the west bank of the Euphrates river, in present day Syria. A canal was dug connecting the city to the river, and Mari became a prosperous trading intermediary. The city was abandoned and rebuilt multiple times throughout its history, until it was destroyed by King Hammurabi in the 17th century BC. The city, however, continued to exist to some small degree until the last few centuries BC, at which point it was forgotten. In 1933 it was rediscovered, and excavations of the Royal Palace yielded a wealth of tablets, wall art, and sculptures, including an incredibly well preserved statue of Ebih-Il, superintendent of Mari. 48 sunken terracotta carvings puzzled archaeologists. Finally, as they were found near ancient ovens, it was realized that they were 4000 year old baking moulds.

Bonus 1:
Mari is one step in the complex rise and spread of civilization, which begun around 10,000 BC. A video by the California Academy of Sciences, based on work by scientists at the University of Utrecht, illustrates the process beautifully. Especially poignant is the astounding dimming of civilization in the Americas around 1500 - 1700 CE.

Bonus 2:
A small noddle shop in Hanoi received an unexpected endorsement in May, when President Obama and Anthony Bourdain sat down for some 6$ bún chả. Months later, there is still a constant line to get in, and so many customers ask to have what Obama did that the the menu now includes the 'Obama Combo'.

-E

November 24th, 2016

With Christmas now a month away, in which country does Santa Claus 'actually' live? The modern version of Santa evolved in the 19th century, incorporating elements from different mythologies. At this time it was thought that he lived in or around the North Pole. Ever since, northern countries have all argued over who gets to truly lay claim to Santa. All countries with territory bordering the Arctic Ocean (US, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark) have at some point claimed Santa as their own, as well as a few others (Finland, Belarus, Slovenia, etc.). Perhaps Denmark, which contains the northernmost point of land on earth, should be the winner. However, Canada certainly upped the ante when they granted Santa Canadian Citizenship in 2008.

Bonus:
Romain Gavras' new music video for the Jamie XX song 'Gosh' is quite visually stunning. Filmed in the bizarre planned Paris-imitation city of Tianducheng it deals with, as the author explains, themes of cultural appropriation.

-E