Hello!
Greetings from Miami.
"Third things are essential to marriages," Donald Hall wrote, referring to the things other than the people in the marriage. "John Keats can be a third thing, or the Boston Symphony Orchestra, or Dutch interiors, or Monopoly." You must find, in any enduring relationship, the places where your love and enthusiasm can be oriented in the same direction.
Sarah and I have several third things — Wordle, AFC Wimbledon, and so on — but our first third thing was art. For me, there is no joy quite like looking at art with Sarah, which is what I’ve been doing for the last few days. I hope wherever you are, you’ve got some good people and some good third things to share with them.
John
You can always email us at [email protected]
This Week in Stuff
Animals at Brookfield Zoo have been enjoying the snow in Chicago. (Instagram)
A drag queen named Pattie Gonia just raised $1M for charity by hiking 100 miles in full drag. (GoodGoodGood.co)
A toothless horse was able to eat apples again, thanks to a bit of ingenuity. (TikTok)
Alec of Technology Connections used a car charger to boil water at 18 miles per hour. (YouTube)
How much energy could you generate by typing a novel? (YouTube)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
How many lives would be saved if Africa had other regions’ child mortality rates?
Simon van Teutem
One of the starkest expressions of global inequality is a child’s chance of survival. In 2023, 2.84 million children in Africa died before reaching their fifth birthday, giving the continent the highest child mortality rate of any region (5.9%).
The chart above shows a simple hypothesis: how many more African children would reach the age of five if it had the same child mortality rates as other regions?
If conditions in Africa improved enough to match Asia’s current child mortality rate (2%), 1.9 million of these 2.84 million children would survive.
If the child mortality rate were to drop to the European rate (0.4%), then 2.64 million children would be saved each year.
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.
This Week at Complexly
John and Hank have each designed their own handmade DH&J logo tees for this year's Complexly holiday collection! Hank used markers to draw this Dear Hank & John shirt, while John cut out construction paper to create this very special Dear John & Hank shirt. Which one's your favorite? Do you want the classic Hank version, or would you rather get John's and be prepared for 2028 and the inevitable renaming of the podcast? Make your decision at Complexly.store/handmade, where you can also get both logos as stickers! These shirts are only available until the end of the year!
The Christmas Island red crab’s yearly migration has captured nature enthusiasts’ attention for decades. But could we be partly responsible for this world-famous crab-valanche?
Some Games to Play!
Stars (by Inkwell Games)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Corinne. 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)
Our first phones
Last week, we asked you to tell us about your first cell phone. Thanks to everyone who emailed us!
My first cell phone was a car based one that plugged into the cigarette lighter for power. It was 1997 and I was going to school at the University of Miami. I had just gotten my first car, a 1986 Camaro, and my parents wanted me to have it in case of an emergency. I never used it because they also stressed just how much it would cost to ever use it.
from Norma
I don’t have a picture of my first cell phone, but I do remember that I it was a hand-me-down iPhone from my dad (I feel like that’s a quintessential Gen Z experience) and that I smashed the screen after having a really bad day at school. I can’t remember exactly why it was so bad, but it was eighth grade and I have a visceral and probably overdramatized memory of it being terrible. My dad put a note in my lunch bag the next day saying something like, “You had a bad day yesterday. Today will be better. And don’t worry about the iPhone.” I cried when I read it.
This is the first phone I ever got. It was 2006 and I was 11 years old. No it wasn't the fancy flip phones others got with the full keyboard, but this phone had a nice bunch of ringtones and games on it and I took full advantage. It was my first real introduction to Tetris and I love playing it to this day!
from H M
My first cellphone was a pink and grey brick-like off-brand track phone with just enough minutes on it to call home in an emergency. I got in 4th grade, a few days after one very memorable afternoon where I got in trouble for forgetting to call home when I arrived at my friend's house (a 15 minute walk from home). Thankfully, I never needed to use it for anything more serious than playing brickbreak on the school bus.
My first cell phone was a Samsung Juke. It was slim and flipped open kind of like a switchblade, and even though it was fun, it wasn't the most practical. I ended up switching to one of my mom's old flip phones within a few months. I miss that era of funky phone designs.
from Julie
The first cell phone I owned was a NEC N400i, no photo unfortunately. I got it in 2005 for my 10th birthday and I was so proud to have received this marvel of technology. It was a flip phone, it had a camera, and not only did it have a color display, it had two! The only drawback was that it didn't have Snake. I made my mom call my best friend to ask for her number, so that I could text her about my new phone, but it took me so long that she showed up at my house before I was done typing.
My first phone was a promotional Coca-Cola Motorola phone. Collect 20 bottle wrappers and pay $50 and get this bad boy! (Circa 2003/4)
from Chelsea
What are the third things in your life, and who do you share them with? Tell us about them!
Send your third things to [email protected].
