At the end of every year, some writers I like (such as Jason Kottke and Tom Whitwell) do a "52 interesting things I learned this year post."
I love the way it feels like turning over intellectual rocks and marveling at the whole hidden world underneath. Look how interesting the world is, how full of wonder!
But also find them a bit overwhelming to read. It's a lot to take in at the end of the year when things are slowing down and I've got so much else on my mind.
I've always wanted to do something similar as a practice to keep a sense of wonder, humility, curiosity, but the prospect of collecting stuff over the course of year feels daunting and also I'm not that patient.
So I'm going to try my own spin on it. Instead of 52 things once a year, 4 things 12 times a year.
So without further ado. Here are 4 things I learned for August 2024:
I love the way it feels like turning over intellectual rocks and marveling at the whole hidden world underneath. Look how interesting the world is, how full of wonder!
But also find them a bit overwhelming to read. It's a lot to take in at the end of the year when things are slowing down and I've got so much else on my mind.
I've always wanted to do something similar as a practice to keep a sense of wonder, humility, curiosity, but the prospect of collecting stuff over the course of year feels daunting and also I'm not that patient.
So I'm going to try my own spin on it. Instead of 52 things once a year, 4 things 12 times a year.
So without further ado. Here are 4 things I learned for August 2024:
- Petrichor is the name for the smell after it rains.
- Yusuf Cat Stevens' hit song “Father and Son” was originally written for a musical he was working on about the Russian Revolution.
- Bananas emit antimatter every 75 minutes.
- The first Nigerian prince scammer was an American in the early 1900s. He was 14 years old.