A list of curious facts

One: Each generation tries to prove its cool cred by inventing a new hand sign. Example: The iconic peace sign invented by the Boomers. Gen Z has decided to reboot the heart sign. Taylor Swift’s hand heart—see below—is officially passe:

So much so that Zoomers use it as a cruel ‘spot the Millennial’ test. The kids have instead chosen to go Korean—adopting a two-finger version from K-Pop stars. Of course, you now have olds like Joe Biden—or Tom Cruise (see lead image) trying to get in on the action: 

We’re far more intrigued by the ‘cheek-assist’—popularised by the ‘Dune: Part Two’ crew:

And we were most amused by this extended riff on the Korean variety show ‘Running Man’—starring Tom Cruise. (Wall Street Journal, splainer gift link) 

Two: As ministers and babus take possession of their offices in the new government, sparkling white Turkish towels are having their moment. See: newly-minted Minister of State,  Jayant Chaudhry. 

So what’s the deal with these bath towels? Some claim it’s a Raj tradition—passed down by sweaty British officers who needed something sturdier than the humble gamcha. No one really knows for sure. But tradition dictates these are draped over seats in government offices—as a useful marker of status. Thanks to the towels, you always know who’s the boss in any given room:

A white towel simply represents an invisible screen that separates the ruler from the ruled, a new identity maker in the strictly hierarchical nature of Indian power politics, an unspoken political caste system. 

 

For instance, it is most likely that at any government function, the central chair, occupied by the most powerful in that gathering, has the brightest white towel on it. The ones on the left and right can have towels which are slightly smaller, or less white, or of lesser quality, depending on who occupies the chair.

Firstpost has this older feature on the Turkish towel of power.

Three: Did you know there is a mysterious 1.8 km-wide crater in Gujarat—dubbed the Luna structure. A recent study claims it was caused by a meteor—“the largest meteorite to strike Earth in the past 50,000 years.” Scientists say the fireball crashed into what was then the Indus Valley Civilization:

Gordon Osinski says the ash and particles kicked up by the meteorite would have dimmed the sun in parts of what is now India for days. “In the near vicinity, it would be a fireball, then complete decimation for kilometres,” he says.

 

The crater is just over 100 kilometres from the Dholavira archaeological site, which was a Harappan city in this period. “If there were people living in that area, there would have been some serious casualties,” says David King. [Lead author KS] Sajinkumar says that this might have been the only impact of such magnitude that complex civilisations on Earth have ever witnessed.

Not everyone buys this theory—or an unprecedented cataclysmic New Scientist (paywall) and The Telegraph have all the nerdy details on the debate. You can see the location of the crater below.