Interesting Finds: Issue #30
Trash vs Art, Genetics vs Cold, Ship vs Prices and Susan vs Your Fridge
Each week, I curate and spotlight the most curious content I find. In Issue #30, I’ve got four Interesting Finds for you of the dueling nature: Trash vs Art, Genetics vs Cold, Ship vs Prices and Susan vs Your Fridge.
If you’re enjoying the newsletter, I’d love to hear from you! Feedback is always welcome. If you were forwarded this newsletter or found the link on social, you can subscribe here:
Genetics vs Cold
A new study finds that 20% of people have a genetic mutation that provides resilience to the cold. People that are lacking Actinin Alpha 3 are better at keeping warm and enduring a tougher climate. Reported by Psych News Daily:
The protein α-aktinin-3, which is found only in fast-twitch fibers, is absent in almost 20% of people.
The absence of that protein is due to a mutation in the gene that codes for it. In evolutionary terms, the presence of the mutated gene increased when humans migrated from Africa to the colder climates of central and northern Europe.
“This suggests that people lacking α-aktinin-3 are better at keeping warm and, energy-wise, at enduring a tougher climate,” said co-author Håkan Westerblad of the Karolinska Institutet. “But there hasn’t been any direct experimental evidence for this before.”
“We can now show that the loss of this protein gives a greater resilience to cold,” Westerblad said. “And we’ve also found a possible mechanism for this.”
Ship vs Prices
A giant cargo ship has lost power and blocking all traffic in the Suez Canal, which is a fundamental part of the worldwide transport infrastructure as it sees “10% of the world’s trade go through it”.
More than 50 shipping vessel traverses the canal each day, which each vessel paying approximxately $700k per passage to Egypt. This is $35M per day. Bonkers.
All types of goods are impacted: food, fuel, manufactured goods, etc.
Approximately $400M worth of goods go through every hour, which is $9.6B per day.
All forms of businesses are impacted, including retailers like Nike, Crocs, Gap and Peloton. All these businesses have already reported impacted to their businesses this quarter due to this issue.
It will certainly be interesting to see ripple effect on the global impact on consumer pricing over the next 6 months 💰.
Susan vs Fridge
One recent fridge organization trick I did recently was to put in a 9” lazy susan to make it easier to grab hot sauces. I was tired of reaching back through various bottles and condiments to find the one I wanted. For 10-$15, it’s one of the best things I’ve done recently in home organization.
Amazon carries an endless supply of them, so shop to your heart’s content.
Trash vs Art
Mariah Reading is an artist out of Bangor, Maine that has some stunning work turning pieces of trash into captivating pieces of art. She finds discarded objects and trash in natural environments and paints landscapes on them so they blend into the background of where they were found.
I discovered her work via Atlas Obscura:
MARIAH READING USES UNIQUE CANVASES for her paintings. When the nomadic park ranger and frequent artist-in-residence finds lost objects and trash while adventuring in state and national parks across America, she paints the surrounding landscape on the item, highlighting waste and showcasing the beauty of the protected areas. She has captured the morning light flooding through the gaps between redwood trees at Big Sur on a lost Croc, mimicked the steep cliffs of Channel Islands National Park on a flipper, and—on a forgotten helmet—depicted riotously colorful fall leaves wreathing the banks of a placid lake in Acadia National Park.
See more of Mariah’s art on her portfolio site.