Happy Friday! 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

My Scurvy Mistake

Hi!

On Wednesday, I shared a bonus fact about scurvy, a serious medical condition caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. If you’re not familiar with the disease, great news: I shared its history in an article, here, back in 2013. The important part is simple, though: for a long time, the crew of ships were getting sick from the lack of vitamin C, and eventually, someone figured out that it was their diets causing the problem — when the crew set off from shore, they didn’t pack a lot of fruits and vegetables. So the British government passed a law requiring that ships carry a lot of limes to counter this. (There’s a weird twist because they kind of forgot later on, but that’s not important for my story today.)

Growing up in the 1980s, my teachers shared the basics of that story a few times, which my adolescent brain carried forward very simply: put limes on ships and no one gets sick from scurvy. Ten or fifteen years later, though, I embarrassingly realized that I didn’t have the story quite right. In law school, we were discussing a maritime case, and my small study group was going over it later that day. We somehow got on the topic of scurvy — my memory here is imperfect, to say the least — and how the crew of the ship fell ill toward the end of the voyage. I said something about how surprised I was — didn’t they know about the limes by then? — and my classmate said they did, but they must have run out. And, embarrassingly, I asked how that was possible.

It never occurred to me that the sailors had to eat the limes or drink their juice.

From, say, fourth grade until my mid-20s, I was somehow convinced that limes had some sort of totemic effect over a poorly understood disease. It never quite made sense to me in my head, but I clearly remember not having a grasp of what “scurvy” actually was (or its connection to vitamin C, I guess?). And, more importantly, I recall being uncomfortable asking anyone to explain it to me — everyone knew about scurvy, after all, because we learned about it in elementary school! How embarrassing it would have been to ask such a thing, I remember thinking.

But alas, embarrassment delayed is embarrassment redoubled. Since then, when I don’t quite get a concept or idea, I’ve made a point of asking someone to clarify or explain. It’s a better way to go through life than carrying a lime in your pocket.

The Now I Know Week In Review

Monday: Oneteen and Twoteen: This one goes to eleven. Twelve, actually!

Tuesday: The $2.56 Trophy: When it’s better not to cash a check.

Wednesday: The Historical Connection Between TV Dinners and Diarrhea?: Salisbury steak’s history isn’t what it seems.

Thursday: Balloonacy: A nice idea goes wrong.

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And thanks! — Dan

Long Reads and Other Things

Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend:

1) “The Honey Hunters” (Longreads, 21 minutes, September 2014). Meet the people who follow the bees.

2) “The thriving business of looking good on Zoom” (Hustle, 9 minutes, November 2024). When interviewing for a new job a few years ago, I spent a lot of time decorating a background for my Zoom interviews and adjusting the lighting more than I probably needed to. Apparently, not only am I not alone in this endeavor, but there’s a cottage industry around it — including investments in plastic surgery (!!).

3) “Mike Tyson Takes One Last Swing at Immortality” (Esquire, 20 minutes, July 2024). Tonight, one of the greatest boxers in history returns to the ring. But he’s 58 years old and his opponent is less than half his age. This interview with Tyson talks about his motivations for returning to boxing — despite the obvious age mismatch.

Have a great weekend!

Dan