Hello there, reader! I come to you on a Monday because I fell sick over the weekend. Well actually, I fell sick over the past week and aggravated it because of being at work when I shouldn’t have. This has taught me that I need to set my personal/work boundaries better, and generally lower the gear I run my life at. I have also finished The Making of the Atomic Bomb (just this morning in fact!) which was quite momentous. What a book and what an experience reading it. I won’t say it was enjoyable all the way, because of the subject, but it was gripping.
Anyhow, not much else from my side now. It’s only 8:30pm but I’m already looking forward to some shuteye and rest as I let my body recover.
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1. What did the ancient Maya see in the stars? Their descendants team up with scientists to find out (Science Magazine):
Fascinating article about Mayans’ astronomy and how they used it to guide some of their architecture. I think multiple contemporary civilizations might have been in on these same ideas at the time too.
2. Why Bumblebees Love Cats and Other Beautiful Relationships (Longreads):
This is a delight. It’s an excerpt from Stefano Manusco’s book The Nation of Plants. Not a new book, I just stumbled upon this excerpt recently.
3. The Strange Saga of Kowloon Walled City (Atlas Obscura):
Phew. Fantastic–in other senses of the word than we’re used to.
4. The English vegetable picked by candlelight (BBC):
This is the story of “forced” rhubarb, which is grown at the beginning of spring under cover, which means that the plant is using up energy stored in its roots rather than from photosynthesis. Fascinating. Also! Please listen to this, it’s magical: the sound of forced rhubarb growing in real time!
5. When This Beetle Gets Eaten by a Frog, It Heads for the ‘Back Door’ (Smithsonian Magazine):
Some comic relief. This is hilarious. When this particular beetle gets ingested by a frog, it heads straight to the back of the frog to make a miraculous escape 93% of the time!
6. How Modernity Made Us Allergic (Noema Magazine):
Interesting. Lots of points brought up in this long-ish piece but a lot of it is also backed up by some scientific evidence, pretty fascinating especially as countries mature into developed ones.
7. Chestnut, Too Many Garnishes To List (Allen Hemberger’s blog):
A few months ago I watched a YouTube video of Hemberger’s journey recreating the entire Alinea (one of the leaders in molecular gastronomy) cookbook. I then went on to his blog, which is, well, magical! And the photography :)
8. The burdens of being Rohit Sharma (The Cricket Monthly):
I enjoyed this piece ahead of the upcoming men’s World Cup about India’s captain.
9. How bamboo shoot flavours the food of North-east (Mint Lounge)
Bamboo is inextricably linked to the North-East’s sociocultural milieu. But its consumption is not limited to food. Parts of the plant are used as fuel, for construction, household items, medicinal purposes and agricultural implements. In the culinary world, the edible young shoots abundantly available during the monsoon tie the eight states. The shoots are used in various forms—fresh, dried, fermented and extract—in meats, fish, pickles, salads, broths and stir-fries.