Dear friends, 

Have you dreamed of potatoes lately? (I haven't, but now that I know what they supposedly signify I'm vaguely disappointed.)

People always blame ‘jargon’ but it turns out it's actually poor writing that confuses people, not fancy words (or, at least, that's what this one study found).

Sage advice for sign painters: “The word ‘HURRAH’—sometimes used to attract attention—is very weak—unless lettered in bold ‘Egyptian’.”

I don't usually include images but I have to share this one, from An Anthropological Toolkit, Sixty Useful Concepts by David Zeitlyn, well, because: 

A philosopher's take on why you're not entitled to your opinion.

“With few remaining rivals, the hammer today is once again the largest of its kind in the world.” (May we all just persist our way to the top.)

The newest brilliant thing from Danielle Baskin and Akiva Leffert: smashomancy, telling your fortune from the cracks on your phone screen. [via Clive Thompson] 

Speaking of divination ... “The sex of an unborn child is discovered by throwing a freshly killed snake into the air three times and observing whether it falls upside down or otherwise. If it falls back uppermost, the child will be male.”

“Like fresh fruit, and smooth as velvet”—Velva Fruit. While we're cooking, “There are 1,750 formulas in this section and each formula has been passed upon and tested by a practical fountain man.”

Stay well, and don't spend too much time staring into the abyss of the Twitter implosion! (<=That advice is really for me.)

Your friend,

Erin