A list of curious facts
- A new Stanford study shows that the rich are wildly overconfident—and often without justification. Worse, they are consistently rewarded for that overconfidence—which is mistaken for intelligence and competence.
- Fact: This is the longest period in modern history during which the world map has remained unchanged—a state called “cartographical stasis.” Axios explains.
- A massive study of one million people revealed a startling fact: Having too much iron in the blood may be linked to an increased risk of dying. And it may be why having an iron-rich meat diet is bad for your health.
- The maximum number of hot dogs a human can consume in 10 minutes: 83.
- Did you know that the mosque recently destroyed by lightning in Delhi is called ‘Randi ki Masjid’—named after a courtesan who married a British Resident? Indian Express has the story. Bonus: a gorgeous painting of the courtesan whose memory it preserves.
Four good pop culture reads
- Two good reads in Huffington Post: Piyasree Dasgupta’s fabulous ode to Sushmita Sen. Milan Vohra on the perils of writing romance novels in the time of a pandemic.
- LongReads takes excellent aim at our love affair with a romanticised notion of English-ness—best epitomised by Downton Abbey—that has zero connection to the nastier reality of Britain.
- Vice examines K-Pop’s appropriation of Indian culture. For example: the use of the Gayatri mantra in this South Korean vid at the 2:30 mark.
