View this email in your browser · Missed an issue? Click here!

If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format is different than the rest of the week. On Fridays, I take a pause to write the "Weekender," my "week in review" type of thing, or to share something else I think you may find interesting. Thanks for reading! -- Dan

Yes, I Called Julius Caesar a Greek. Oops.

Hi!

Wednesday was March 15th, also known as the ides of March, the day of Julius Caesar's assassination. And I wrote about a Microsoft Excel competition, which, as far as I know, has nothing to do with Julius Caesar or assassinations. That's often the case for Now I Know emails; I don't necessarily link what I'm writing about to anything happening in the rest of the world, historically or otherwise. But since the very first Now I Know email went out, I've carved out a little space at the top (you'll see it in italics above) as a preface of sorts, and, if I remember, that's where I may reference the news of the day or "important" dates like the ides of March.

And on Wednesday, I screwed that up. Here's a screenshot.

I have about a billion emails telling me that Julius Caesar was (a) not an emperor and (b) not Greek.

I knew he wasn't an emperor but I took some license there; I didn't want to spell it out by saying "if you're Julius Caesar," so while your objections there are correct, For example, if I was writing about another notable date and there is a myth associated with the holiday, I may reference the myth without saying "but that never really happened." So I don't feel bad about that error.

But the Greek thing? Yeah, he was very obviously a Roman, not a Greek. I guess I've been having a long week.

I don't republish these prefaces on the archives, so there's no way for me to update (or even link to) them; that's why I had to use a screenshot to show you my horrid error from Wednesday.

Anyway, happy St. Patrick's Day, unless you're an Italian snake charmer, in which case, you may want to find a new occupation.

The Now I Know Week in Review

Monday: This Cupcake Recipe Isn’t The Bomb: A nice little trick that gave some bad guys their just desserts.

Tuesday: The Little Bit of P-Word in the Coke: This story was on my radar for years. I have no idea what sparked me to finally write about it.

Wednesday: I Guess You Could Say They … Excel: Excel error messages give me anxiety. I could never do this.

Thursday: Kaninhoppning -- The World's Cutest Sport?: Rabbits doing equestrian-like things.

Some Other Newsletters to Check Out!

Here's a list of other email newsletters you should consider subscribing to. In the interest of full disclosure, these are paid placements -- the newsletters are paying me a small amount of money for each person who signs up.

1440: 1440 is the daily newsletter helping 2M+ Americans stay informed—it’s news without motives, edited to be unbiased as humanly possible. The team at 1440 scours over 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and everything in between - in a five-minute read each morning, 100% free.

Tech Brew: Tech news is confusing, so Tech Brew changed that. Join over 450K people reading Tech Brew, the 3-times-a-week free newsletter covering all updates from the intersection of technology and business. They provide free tech knowledge that'll help you make more informed decisions.

Smartr Daily: This is the essential newsletter for curious minds! Smartr Daily sources the smartest articles on the Internet. Get thought provoking ideas and insights delivered straight to your inbox daily!

sponsored

And some other things you should check out:

Some long reads for the weekend:

1) "The Immortal Horizon" (The Believer, 28 minutes, May 2011). I've shared this before, in February 2016. I'm sharing it again because the not-really-a-marathon that it is about just finished yesterday, and as I said in 2016, "it’s one of the few must, must-reads I’ll ever put out there." Here's an excerpt.

The first race was a prison break. On June 10, 1977, James Earl Ray, the man who shot Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary and fled across the briar-bearded hills of northern Tennessee. Fifty-four hours later he was found. He’d gone about eight miles. Some might hear this and wonder how he managed to squander his escape. One man heard this and thought: I need to see that terrain!

Over twenty years later, that man, the man in the trench coat—Gary Cantrell by birth, self-dubbed Lazarus Lake—has turned this terrain into the stage for a legendary ritual: the Barkley Marathons, held yearly (traditionally on Lazarus Friday or April Fool’s Day) outside Wartburg, Tennessee. Lake (known as Laz) calls it “The Race That Eats Its Young.” The runners’ bibs say something different each year: SUFFERING WITHOUT A POINT; NOT ALL PAIN IS GAIN. Only eight men have ever finished. The event is considered extreme even by those who specialize in extremity.

The story is in The Believer, which has one of the strangest histories of any magazine out there, too. Don't take my word for it; the last paragraph of the "History" section of its Wikipedia entry takes a turn that isn't really family-friendly enough for me to publish, but is, pardon the pun, unbelievable.

2) "How Loneliness Reshapes the Brain" (Quanta Magazine, 10 minutes, February 2023). The subhead captured my attention: "Feelings of loneliness prompt changes in the brain that further isolate people from social contact."

3) "How a ticket from Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls debut became priceless" (ESPN, 23 minutes, March 2023). I'm a big baseball fan and almost bought a (collectible/used) ticket to the 1969 World Series to hang on the wall, but the price got out of hand and was beyond my budget. The shift to digital tickets is definitely convenient but I'll miss having the tangible ones for nostalgic reasons, so this story really resonated with me.

Have a great weekend!

(And yes, the "Italian" thing was a joke.)

Dan

Share

Forward

Archives · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 Now I Know LLC, All rights reserved.
You opted in, at http://NowIKnow.com via a contest, giveaway, or the like -- or you wouldn't get this email.

Now I Know is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Some images above via Wikipedia.

Now I Know's mailing address is:

Now I Know LLC

P.O. Box 536

Mt. Kisco, NY 10549-9998

Add us to your address book

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Now I Know: Yes, I Called Julius Caesar a Greek. Oops.

Yes, I Called Julius Caesar a Greek. Oops.

The Now I Know Week in Review

Some Other Newsletters to Check Out!

And some other things you should check out:

Older messages

Now I Know: I Guess You Could Say They... Excel

Now I Know: Kaninhoppning -- The World's Cutest Sport?

Now I Know: The Little Bit of P-Word in the Coke

Now I Know: This Cupcake Recipe Isn't The Bomb

Now I Know: I Think I Found My Favorite Wikipedia Entry

You Might Also Like

• Black Fri TO CyberMon Book Promos for Authors ➳ Book Your Spot Now •

SEO is Not Dead: The Power of Free Tools

KU & Paperback • The Story Weaver by Sally Zigmond • A colourful mix of beautifully crafted stories

My Scurvy Mistake

🎤 The SWIPES Email (Friday, November 15th, 2024)

Swing for This PR Technique

🧙‍♂️ 3 reasons I wrote Sponsor Magnet

The Historic Connection Between TV Dinners and Diarrhea?

Navigating Private Equity ownership. @ Irrational Exuberance

Black November - Double Discount💥