1. 21 Jokes Only History Nerds Will Get – My husband and I guffawed at a number of these. He enjoyed scissors beating paper, while the Latin jokes had me chortling. Yes, yes, we embrace our geekiness.
2. Stunning visual imagery of the earth – Feeling discouraged lately about the troubles ailing our planet, in whatever form? I am. So watching this gorgeous video reminded me of all the beauty in the world, and how grateful I am to be alive. It’s that wonderful.
3. Ethnicities with largest ancestry in the US – Fascinating map showing much of our ethnic heritage here in the USA. Although I do want to know – what the heck is “American”, historically speaking?
4. What if Emily Dickinson Attended a Writing Workshop? – Feeling discouraged about your work? Facing a mound of edits, either yours or those suggested by others? This might just cheer you up – a look at what Emily Dickinson might have faced if she attended a writing workshop.
5. Eleven Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures – Language fascinates me. That we can communicate our own personal thoughts, beliefs and experiences with another human being is nothing short of astounding, isn’t it? Even more so when we can learn a foreign language and communicate across cultures. Occasionally, however, there is simply no way to translate a word, to capture its essence in any language other than its own. Here are 11 marvelous ones.
6. Iron-Age Sweater – And we thought they only wore furs. Totally cool garment that has been preserved by ice, up until now. But what I want to know is, did they have the crazy kind of holiday sweaters people love to wear today?
7. Gut Feelings: The Future of Psychiatry – It’s not all in your head. A lot of our troubles are in our gut, too. Great look at the connection between physical health and mental health.
8. BMI not the best measure of health – For those of us challenged in the, uh, height-to-weight ratio department, this is nice to hear – although probably not surprising, either, since BMI has never taken body fat percentage or any other number of factors into consideration. I include it here as a reminder to myself that no one measurement – pounds, BMI, inches – can give a true estimate of health. And to keep walking and eating well, no matter what the numbers may be.