Tag Archives: history

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* It’s illegal to import non-Brazilian coffee into Brazil. (Courtesy: James Freeman et. al., The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee)

* The history leading up to the southern WV mine wars. (Courtesy: PBS’ Mine Wars)

* Ebenezer Scrooge, before his Christmas revelation, may have been a proponent of self-use renewable energy. (Courtesy: George C. Scott’s A Christmas Carol)

These are garments, Mr. Cratchit. Garments were invented by the human race as a protection against the cold. Once purchased, they may be used indefinitely for the purpose for which they are intended. Coal burns. Coal is momentary and coal is costly. There will be no more coal burned in this office today, is that quite clear, Mr. Cratchit?

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* The hottest new dining spot in Pyongyang is Italy Pizza! (Courtesy: Laya Maheshwari/NYT)

* Americans ate seven pounds of avocados in 2015, double what we ate in 2008. Michoacán is the only Mexican state that can export avocados to the US. (Courtesy: Victoria Burnett/NYT)

* Humphrey Bogart was a serious chess player. (Courtesy: Mike Doyle/Chess.com)

* Oysters first appeared at a restaurant in 1763. (Courtesy: Sam Roberts/NYT)

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* AVG Innovation Labs developed a clever way to leverage the same technology that does facial and image recognition, so that faces are automatically blurred. This could protect a degree of privacy while letting the others sell/advertise their experiences. (Courtesy: AVG Innovation Labs)

* More than 40,000 millionaires left France between 2000 and 2014. (Courtesy: Michael Stothard/FT)

* The Confucius family tree is the longest lasting and most documented lineage. (Courtesy: Amy Qin/NYT)