S U N D R Y

The Great Leap Forward was a Chinese plan to restructure the economy. One of the first things was to eradicate the “four pests” that were crippling the countryside. Mosquitoes, flies, rats, and sparrows. Sparrows? Yes, apparently, they ate a lot of fruits and grains. So people killed sparrows and brought them to the brink of extinction. There was an unintended result though. Sparrows were the main predators of locusts. And locusts really do eat anything. Dylan Owens argues that this policy led to the great famine that claimed the lives of millions, thus making it one of the costliest mistake ever made — quora.com

Ali Wong's guide to selecting an Asian restaurant. Funny and useful, although probably US-focused — vulture.com

New York must deal with delivering 1.5 packages a day — nytimes.com

Why do people hate vegans + a history of the movement — theguardian.com

Hypocognition is not knowing what you don't know. Apparently, 2/3 of Americans don't know about compounding interest — scientificamerican.com

Nassim Taleb's philosophical inspirations — firstthings.com

Why do recipe writers lie about how long it takes to caramelise onions? — slate.com

A collection of beautiful fruit crate labels from early 20th century Florida — openculture.com

How to use Occam's razor without cutting yourself. Occam's razor is a mental model. It states that among competing hypotheses, the one with fewest assumptions should be preferred. But experience and common sense are essential so keep it in mind but don't be dogmatic — fs.blog

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This is the Sundry Newsletter. It is a distillation of what I read every week: society, fun facts, history, business, science, branding, art, etc. Thank you for reading — Ulysse Sabbag.