A list of curious facts

One: The athletics track at the Olympics is usually red—which unfortunately clashed with the colour scheme for the Paris Games. So the French switched it to purple—and developed a special track made out of seashells—in keeping with their sustainability goals. Running tracks are usually made of calcium carbonate—mined from the ground. These are extracted from shells of molluscs like clams and mussels—which would have ended up in the bin. The result—as you can see in the lead image—is très magnifique. (Wired) 

Two: Long before ChatGPT was a twinkle in Sam Altman’s eye, there was the Manchester University Computer—invented by Alan Turing and Christopher Strachey. The fathers of computer-generated writing created Mark 1, which could generate love letters. The results were goofily amorous:

Darling Sweetheart

You are my avid fellow feeling. My affection curiously clings to your passionate wish. My liking yearns for your heart. You are my wistful sympathy: my tender liking.

Yours beautifully

M U C

Patricia Fancher argues that these letters were instances of coded queer desire—at a time when it was a crime to be homosexual. FYI: Both Turing and Strachey were gay. (Big Think)

Three: Banbū is a sustainable (and humane) alternative to leather—both, the kind made of animal skins and the vegan version that uses plastic-based materials like polyurethane. Made of bamboo fibres, it is supposedly as “buttery-soft and smooth as lambskin” and one-third the weight of cow leather. Plus, it takes less than 250 days to biodegrade in a landfill. Yayy… except there is one thing this material is not: affordable. The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman from Herman Miller is 100% Banbū—and costs an eye-watering $6,395. The Verge explains why the recycled plastic version may be kinder to your pocket and even the environment—but not, sadly, your bum:)

Four: Did you know that inherited surnames are an artefact of invasion—used by occupiers to keep track of pesky locals—who often shared the same first name. The French brought it to England in the 11th century around the time of the Norman Conquest. The British passed the gift forward to their subjects—first to the Irish and later, Indians. 

The colonial babus in India imposed surnames not by force—but by making them a bureaucratic requirement (sorta like the Aadhaar card). Also this: “The Sikh use of Singh and Kaur might represent the most sustained opposition to differentiated surnames anywhere in the world.” BBC News has more on the patriarchal roots of taking your husband’s name. ET Prime (splainer gift link) has a lively piece on the surname’s history in India.

Bonus related fact: This very funny vid on the history of ‘C**t’—the surname, not the curse. Even funnier, this map—which shows the popularity of the name across the world. And the winner is… India!