smart & curious
A list of intriguing facts
A new study shows that women are less likely to swipe right on a man with a cat: “Men holding cats were viewed as less masculine; more neurotic, agreeable, and open; and less dateable." This is wrong.
Archeologists have discovered 4,500-year-old prehistoric ‘shafts’ near the famed Stonehenge—and they seem to be deliberately situated in a ring. Why these twenty-odd pits matter: they suggest that our Neolithic ancestors had a far more sophisticated belief system than previously thought.
Monkeys don’t like the stringy bits in their banana any more than humans. Damning proof below. PS: these are called “Phloem bundles” and are very good for you. Bad monkey!
Lonar lake in Maharashtra is a crater lake that was formed when a meteorite crashed into Earth. It used to be a bright green, but has now turned a mysterious shade of pink! NASA noticed the stark and sudden change. Now officials are investigating, and experts suspect a spike in salinity due to high temperatures.
A list of good reads
- Rasheed Kidwai revisits the storied friendship of the Gandhis and the Bachchans—and reveals that Big B was always what he is now.
- The Conversation explains why emotion tracking apps are really bad for you.
- Gizmodo asks: Do animals practice revenge? The answers are intriguing.
- Anu Hariharan put together wise advice for those left heart-broken and stranded by the suspension of H-1B visas.
- Who gets to wander the streets even during a lockdown? Priyanka Borpujari in Nikkei Asian Review explains how the ban on movement imprisoned Indian women within their homes.
- Tanmoy Goswami offers a thoughtful and beautifully written riff on living with anxiety and depression. Who gets to define if you are ‘sick’—and are you?
