A list of curious facts
One: Everybody loves a good pair of flip flops—including the ancient Romans. Archaeologists recently discovered this mosaic in the ancient estate of Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. According to local authorities, “These are not simple decorations, but a refined work created by a mosaic craftsman of the 4th century AD.” As you can see in the lead image, they’re certainly an upgrade from the Bata chappal. (Gizmodo)
Two: Once upon a time, Rajinikanth appeared in a French film titled ‘Prête-moi ta main’ (I Do). His cameo in the 2006 comedy was a bit meta. He appears in a stunt scene from his 1995 film ‘Muthu’—playing on a TV screen by the heroine. The very best bit—she is played by none other than the fab Charlotte Gainsbourg:
[She] is shown watching Muthu. She is asked, “What are you watching?” to which she replies, “Muthu, a cult Indian movie,” and adds when Rajinikanth’s face appears, “I love that scene!”
That is, in one word, ‘Super’! You can see how delightfully random the scene is below. (The Hindu)
Three: For centuries, adult humans have been torturing their bodies with bizarre diets—in the name of ‘health’. Now they have moved on to babies. Some parents are raising ‘carnivore babies’—who are raised with a shuddh meat-only diet from the moment they are weaned. Think ‘whipped bone marrow’ instead of pureed banana. The Wall Street Journal trend piece starts with this scene straight out of a horror flick:
When Dariya Quenneville’s infant daughter was ready for solid food, she skipped the mushed up avocado and banana. On the menu instead? Raw egg yolk and puréed chicken liver. The child, named Schizandra, then moved on to sardines, butter and ice pops made out of bone broth. She gnawed on leg of lamb. “She would just teethe on that and soothe herself,” said Quenneville, 31.
Of course, they’re Americans. One day you will tell your grandchildren about the time you saw a superpower collectively lose its mind. (Wall Street Journal, paywall, Newsweek)
Bonus fact: We leave you with this amusing take on ‘business class’ travel—in a bus! Pakistani bus operators have revamped the space usually reserved for luggage with “reclining leather seats, extra legroom, air-conditioning, WiFi, onboard entertainment screens, and even massage functions.” The result is impressive and entirely unsafe. (Supercar Blondie)
