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.

-E