May 03, 2024 | Read Online

If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format differs from the rest of the week. On Fridays, I 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

Hi!

Back in March, I used this space to share a roundup of other email newsletters I think you should try. It proved very popular, so let’s do it again with a brand new set! I tried to find ones that focus on lifelong learning, curiosity, etc. — I hope these work for you!

😊 Personal Growth and the Human Experience: Living Better by Love What Matters. They’re dedicated to providing evidence-backed advice, actionable insights, and captivating personal stories to propel our readers toward living a more fulfilling life.

👪️ Parenting/Early Readers: Reluctant Readers. This weekly newsletter helps parents and caregivers get children — even those who haven’t shown a lot of interest in books — to become more open to reading.

📚️ Reading (or … Outsourcing it!): Alex & Books. Every week, Alex helps you become smarter, happier, and wiser with 5-minute book summaries.

💸 Business News: Exec Sum. This daily newsletter curates major news from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, with a touch of humor and memes. Read by over 250,000 investment bankers, institutional investors, venture capitalists, and more.

🌏️ World Affairs: International Intrigue. Expert but irreverent analysis from the intersection of geopolitics, business, and tech — from former diplomats. It’s the global affairs briefing you'll actually look forward to reading!

✈️ Travel, Off-the-Beaten Path: RNDM Travel. This is a cool one; the editors do a deep dive into a seemingly random small-ish town (like Hopkinton, Massachusetts, population 18,000) or non-major city (Bozeman, Montana anyone?) with first-hand accounts of people who lived there.

9️⃣ Sudoku: Artisanal Sudoku by James Sinclair. I’ve linked to this many times prior, and James deserves another shoutout for the puzzle below. (Give it a try here; it’s from volume 119 of his fantastic weekly newsletter.) I got very, very stuck on this, came back, got stuck again, gave up, and then had a passing realization before I went to sleep one night. That realization was 100% wrong but it made me realize that I had missed something else — and I finally solved the puzzle.

(The rules, if you’re not familiar with sudokus with arrows and thermometers:

Normal sudoku rules apply — fill each row, column, and 3x3 box with the digits 1-9 once each.

Arrows: the sum of the digits along an arrow is equal to the digit in the connected circle.

Thermometers: digits on thermometers increase from the bulb.)

I hope you give some of these newsletters a try! If you do, let me know what you think. And if you have recommendations for a future roundup of newsletters, let me know — I’m glad to take a look!

The Now I Know Week In Review

Monday: How An Airline Shook Off Petty Theft: Salt shakers!

Tuesday: How To Become a Marvel Hero Without Being Furious About It: Now Samuel L. Jackson became Nick Fury. Officially.

Wednesday: When New York City Moved — All At Once: May 1st must have been total chaos in NYC.

Thursday: When It’s Better Not to Share Where Things Are Made: How England’s “Made in Germany” labeling requirements backfired.

Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Yes, you! Many of my readers donate a few dollars a month to help Now I Know grow and thrive. And in exchange, they get an ad-free version!

Interested in supporting Now I Know? Click here!

And thanks! — Dan

And some other things you should check out:

Some long reads for the weekend:

“A vegan cheese beat dairy in a big competition. Then the plot curdled.” (Washington Post, 12 minutes, April 2024). This is an amazing story. I know it’s a low bar to say this, but this will be the best story you’ve ever read about vegan cheese.
“Historical markers are everywhere in America. Some get history wrong” (NPR, 38 minutes, April 2024). As a purveyor of fun facts, the fact that these are sometimes (often?) wrong is maddening.
“Once Upon a Time, the World of Picture Books Came to Life” (New York Times, 11 minutes, April 2024). This is a review of a new museum in Kansas City — and it’s such a cool idea. The pictures tell the story, but you need to be somewhat familiar with the books. to really appreciate it.

Have a great weekend!

Dan