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FIFA and Baby Goats
Payton Mitchell & John Green
August 16, 2024
Hello friends,
As I inch back toward wellness after a long period of mental instability, I am encouraged by this newsletter and the community it fosters. On Twitter recently (I know), I complained that there's no way for me to reach Nerdfighteria without also engaging with, like, The Internet at Large, and at the moment I find The Internet at Large a somewhat unhealthy space for me. But we're not there right now. We're here, and things here are lovely, at least from my perspective.
This week I've mostly been writing--working on vlogbrothers scripts and on my nonfiction book about tuberculosis, which will come out next year (more on that soon). I've been writing especially about the so-called "psychosocial" impact of a TB diagnosis, the way stigma and fear intertwine and compound one another so that society treats TB survivors as not just "other" but also "less than." In this respect, of course, TB is not alone--talking publicly about my depression was a reminder that mental illness is still stigmatized in ways that other diagnoses aren't. And so I just want to take this space today to promise you that whatever you may be going through in your health and in your life, society may conspire to make you feel that you are alone or other or less than--but you aren't. You're valuable. You're precious. You're rare. And we're so glad you're here.
Love love love,
John
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
Olympian Tom Daley knitted a pouch for Ilona Maher's first Olympic medal.
Katie Van Slyke posted an adorable video of baby goats causing a traffic jam on a slide.
There’s a trending sound on TikTok that people are using to post positive, hopeful content.
You can help support Snail’s House ferret rescue by watching their 24/7 ferret Twitch stream.
John plays FIFA live on YouTube and Twitch to raise money for AFC Wimbledon’s real-life player fund.
I lost all my ducks clearly
— Spooky🌻Eepy time (@spookynest)
4:22 AM • Aug 9, 2024
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
Death rates have declined across all ages
Saloni Dattani
Infants, children, adults, and the elderly are all less likely to die than in the past.
The chart shows death rates by age in France since the early 19th century, combining data from the Human Mortality Database and the United Nations World Population Prospects. Death rates have fallen in every age group.
When data collection began in 1816, around 1 in 5 babies in France died during infancy. Two centuries later, that figure was 1 in 274, a 50-fold reduction.
In 1816, around 1 in 20 people aged 65, died. In 2021, it was 1 in 106, a five-fold reduction.
These reductions mean that death continues to be delayed, and life expectancy continues to rise.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here.
Hi! My name is Elizabeth and I wanted to share with you that a pair of my Awesome Socks and I made it to the Olympics! Not only that, but they were present when the US Women’s National Soccer Team won Gold!!! They also got to see Gabby Thomas win her gold medal in the Women’s 200-meter race.
Thank you kindly and DFTBA,
Elizabeth
This Week at Complexly
Earlier this week SciShow reached a HUGE milestone! They officially reached 8 million subscribers. Thanks so much for learning with us!
At Complexly, we believe good information is worth it. What is “it”? Well, sometimes “it” can be the hard work of our writers, producers, editors, and hosts. Other times, “it” is your time that you generously give to us when you watch our videos. But “it” can also be the financial support we receive from people just like you to help us keep up our mission of creating trustworthy stuff that inspires curiosity and lowers barriers to knowledge building.
This financial support usually comes to us from our various Patreon pages or the products you buy at Complexly.store, but we’ve heard from a lot of our viewers that they would like to have a more direct way to support Complexly.
So, we are excited to announce the first ever Complexly Learn-a-thon, a celebration of all things Complexly! This event will be running from August 26th through September 6th, across several Complexly channels, and it will feature livestreams, activities, trivia and more! Sign up to get our event calendar and reminders right in your inbox!
A couple of years ago, we noticed a problem. College courses can be expensive, inflexible, and sometimes... a little dry. So we thought, “What if we took the style of Crash Course and the expertise of ASU and we make something that's more flexible, more interesting, and cheaper?”
The result is Study Hall: 9 intro college courses led by ASU professors and tied to Crash Course-style series on YouTube. Preview the content for free, then join an online cohort for just $25. If you like your grade at the end of the course, pay $400 to earn 3 transferable college credits!
Courses start next week on August 22nd, learn more at https://link.gostudyhall.com/august
Eons recently partnered with toy designer David Silva of Creative Beast Studio to create scientifically-accurate, articulated wooly mammoth figures. The 1/18th scale mammoth is designed based on the latest science and painted using references to modern-day creatures living in the same environments. Follow our campaign page now to get updates and sneak previews of the creation process!
Some Games to Play
Scrabble Tetris (by carykh)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress.)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Arden. Send yours to [email protected]
If you post your results on social media, we’d love it if you post a link for folks to subscribe to “We’re Here” (https://werehere.beehiiv.com/subscribe)
Your Random Facts
Last week, we asked for your favorite facts you learned as a kid. Thanks for doing a deep dive of your brain and sharing your findings with us!
The strings on a banana are called phloem bundles.
My fun fact is that four leaf clovers are due to a genetic mutation, and if you find one in a patch you’re more likely to find another in the same area.
I’ve definitely found this to be at least partially true as I’ve got a collection of about 35 four leaf clovers.
Cleopatra lived closer the invention of the iPhone than she did to the creation of the Pyramids of Giza!
If you eat the liver of a polar bear, you will die because of an excess of vitamin A.
Wombats poop cubes. It's the greatest random fun fact of all time. Also wombats are not in fact bats, but they are marsupials, like kangaroos and koalas.
L1 L2 R1 R2 UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT L1 L2 R1 R2 UP DOWN LEFT RIGHT is the cheat code for a jet pack in GTA San Andreas (on PS2).
Nail polish remover removes permanent marker! (learned this hack from a friend after accidentally writing all over the classroom whiteboard with permanent marker - phew!)
I have NO IDEA WHY, but I randomly think about when I was asked to guess what a “glabella” was; being the skin above your nose.
I remember I had this big book of animals when I was around seven and on the mosquito page it showed a map of all the places where mosquitos can be found, using red dots to indicate the areas. The whole map was filled red. I was absolutely horrified.
When I was a kid I learnt that sharks teeth always grow back. We have baby teeth and adult teeth, sharks have as many as they please!
You made it to the end!
We want to know what your favorite smell is. Maybe it’s the scent of coffee in the morning, the fresh pages of a book, or your signature perfume. Only your nose knows!
Send your smells to [email protected].
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