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

Help Me Empower People to Help Themselves

Hi!

I’m celebrating a non-milestone birthday today and, as I’ve done in years past, I’m asking you to make a donation to a worthwhile non-profit to help me celebrate. In 2021, we raised more than $6,000 collectively for ProLiteracy, an organization that helps adults who can’t read learn how to.

If you want to donate, click here to join the fundraiser. If you want to read more, here you go!

Let’s start with how ProLiteracy describes itself:

I chose this organization because I’m a lifelong learner and in many ways, autodidact. Adult literacy is the prerequisite to learning anything later in life; even with the advent of YouTube and the like, if you can’t read, you can’t easily learn new things. But that’s not the biggest problem with adult illiteracy. Illiteracy is significantly connected to poverty. According to Begin to Read, “43% of adults at Level 1 literacy skills [that’s the lowest reading level] live in poverty compared to only 4% of those at Level 5 [the highest].” Giving someone the gift of literacy gives them hope for a brighter future.

And there are a lot of people that ProLiteracy serves. The organization estimates that there are 48 million Americans who cannot read above a third-grade level. They can’t fill out most job applications. They can’t read basic instructions for how to fix an appliance. They can’t do many things we take for granted, simply because they can’t read.

We can help fix that. I’ve donated today’s ad revenue and then some to the fundraiser (and also accidentally donated the same amount to the 2021 fundraiser today!). I hope you’ll join me in making an impact.

The Now I Know Week In Review

Monday: The Hotel Room With a Unique View: You. You’re the view.

Tuesday: The Worst TV Show in Broadcast History?: It didn’t even make it through its first episode.

Wednesday: Mr. Peeler: Meet the man who made a living selling potato peelers on the street.

Thursday: The Day That Never Happened: Fun with the International Date Line.

Long Reads and Other Things

Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend. (And remember, many adults can’t enjoy these because they can’t read. Click here to donate so we can help change that.)

1) “The Sinking of the Bounty” (The Atavist, 66 minutes, February 2013). The subhead is to the point: “The true story of a tragic shipwreck and its aftermath.”

2) “The inspiring scientists who saved the world’s first seed bank” (The Guardian, 18 minutes, November 2024). A Soviet geneticist created a seed bank — a library of seeds — in what was then Leningrad. It was at risk of destruction if left alone during World War II, as heavy fighting in the area (the Siege of Leningrad) wrecked the city. The scientists who maintained the lab stayed behind, risking their own lives, to save the seeds. This is their story.

3) “Dubuque '96 Stage-Crashers Remember a Uniquely Wild Bob Dylan Show” (Flagging Down the Double E's, 16 minutes, November 2024). In November 1996, some fans jumped onto a stage at a Bob Dylan concert — and Dylan just kind of went with it. Then more fans came on stage, and Dylan kept on playing. Security just didn’t care, and no one got hurt — the fans just kind of went up there and danced (and some did a stage dive). it looks like a good time was had by all. This is a fun story as a result.

Have a great weekend!

Dan