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Puffer Fish and Ryans
Payton Mitchell & Hank Green
August 09, 2024
Hello!
One of the most fun parts of my life is that I get to read John Green books way before everyone else, but this was a particularly weird book because John and I swapped manuscripts. He sent me his, I sent him mine. We've both been working on books about diseases for the last year. One thing I've learned about writing a book is that you need to have, like, a very strong interest in the subject of that book, whether it is the themes, plot, and drama of a novel or the subject of a non-fiction book. Every time I have failed to finish a book (and that's happened a bunch of times) I can basically always trace it back to just not being interested enough in it.
But John and I both got VERY interested in two separate diseases recently (if for very different reasons). John's interest came out of his discovery that tuberculosis, this disease that sounds like something that only kills 19th-century poets, is actually still killing more people than any other infectious disease on Earth. Mine came out of a similarly organic discovery that there was a bunch of cancer in my body. These books are going to take a very long time to come out, so don't expect them any time soon, but John's book came out FOR ME this week, which is just a really awesome part of my job. I get it first!!
Hank
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This Week in Stuff
Male puffer fish meticulously create geometric circles in the sand to try and find a mate.
An entire theater of Ryans met up to support Ryan Reynolds by watching the new Deadpool movie.
University of Minnesota professors gene sequenced a corn dog.
A seal rescue center in the Netherlands has a 24/7 seal livestream that recently went viral on Twitter, leading to an influx of views and donations from Japan.
A dog on a balcony in Poland recruited strangers on the street below to play fetch.
big week for the glasses community
— RK Jackson | Atlanta 🛸 (@theerkj)
1:31 PM • Aug 6, 2024
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Tuberculosis in Ethiopia: a drastic decline but still far behind wealthier nations
Veronika Samborska
In 1980, Ethiopia had the highest death rate from tuberculosis in the world. Almost 400 people died per 100,000 people, according to data from the latest edition of the Global Burden of Disease study.
Since then, the country has achieved a sixfold reduction in the death rate. This steep decline is shown in the chart.
The nation's widespread health initiatives have likely significantly improved access to tuberculosis care and treatment. These efforts have significantly exceeded the progress of other countries with similar tuberculosis rates in the 1980s.
Despite these advances, Ethiopia's tuberculosis mortality rate remains significantly above that of wealthier nations, where fewer than 1 in 100,000 people die from the disease annually.
Explore tuberculosis mortality rates in other countries here.
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.
Circle art by Erin
This Week at Complexly
Eons is back with another season of videos about the history of life on Earth. Season 7 kicks off by exploring that one time when India was an island. Africa, Madagascar, and India were once neighbors! The journey took 35 million years, but the plants and animals that went along for the ride when India became an island eventually reunited with their long-lost northern relatives…kinda.
The SciShow episode will cover an ancient Roman shipwreck that contained some very old lead that particle physicists wanted for a sophisticated experiment on neutrinos beneath a mountain. Because the shipwreck also had archeological value, it led (pun fully intended) to some controversy.
Introducing Study Hall's New Macroeconomics Series!
This series isn’t just about economic theory– it’s about connecting the dots between what you see on the news, feel in your wallet, and experience in your day-to-day life. From outlining the push-pull of inflation and unemployment to diving into the causes of a recession to finally understanding what the heck an interest rate is, we’ve got you covered.
Get a front-row seat to how economists and policymakers make decisions for the whole economy (minus the congressman spittle flying into your face) with Study Hall Macroeconomics. New episodes every Monday!
And if you're interested in getting the full Econ 211 experience, check out the Study Hall Macroeconomics online course led by ASU Faculty: https://gostudyhall.com/courses/
Some Games to Play!
Scrabble Tetris (by carykh)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Evie. Send yours to [email protected]
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Telling our friends we love them
We ended the last newsletter by writing about Esther Day and encouraging you to tell your friends/family how much you love them. Thank you to everyone who updated us on how it went! We were feeling the love every time we checked our inbox.
Esther Day is how I became a real Nerdfighter. My friend in grad school, Bethany, had introduced me to vlog brothers videos around 2008. I watched some, I subscribed and would catch up on a few from time to time. But then she wished me a Happy Esther day via email two months after we’d finished our MEds together. I didn’t know what it meant. She shared links and then I cried. Our friendship changed, growing stronger! And then my relationship to vlog brothers changed too. The next year, I wished one of my oldest friends a Happy Esther Day, with links included. And now she listens to DH&J with her kids!
Thanks Green Brothers, for making everything better!
A week ago I met up with a college friend that I had not seen since graduation, 37 years earlier. A big portion of our lives has played out in between, and we talked for 7 hours. He surprised me by hugging me when we met and when we parted. It was the perfect expression of friendship.
Esther day went really well. My mom, sister, and nieces helped me and my daughter move to a new city, and we all had a giant hug pile before they went back home. I’m so grateful that we got to christen our new home with so much love.
My college roommates and I haven't seen each other since my wedding in 2021. They came to see me this weekend (on Esther day) and we had a great time! We love seeing musicals together and we were even able to go see Waitress together! Held my friend's hand through most of the second act because of play emotions and just because we've missed each other.
For about a decade, my best friend and I have always said "I love you" to each other on Esther day. As we've gotten older, we don't get to talk or see each other as often as we used to, but every Esther day, we will always remind each other of how much we mean to one another and how grateful we are to each other for our friendship and our presence in each other's lives!
The folks at Good Store did a silly favor for me and created a limited edition soap scent that is inspired by my favorite summer drink: Pimm's Cup. It’s called Garden Party and it smells deliciously like spiced citrus. The team even created a special little bundle that includes my soap AND a shampoo bar. It's a garden party for the whole body! Of course, 100% of profit goes to charity.
Get the party started HERE!!
Hank
You made it to the end!
What’s a random fact you learned as a kid that has stuck with you? Let us know what lives deep down in your brain (along with all the song lyrics and video game cheat codes).
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