Things I learned while looking up other things, 2021.4.11
Dear friends,
Mostly what I've been looking up this past month is available vaccination appointments, but luckily my spouse had his first shot this past Monday, I have my first shot this week, and my son now lives in a county that is vaccinating everyone 16+, so I have high hopes of his appointment being made shortly!
Today is the 101st day of the year (already!) and the birthday of Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, the first woman to be elected president of the Mathematics Association of America. Because of her interest in computers (and her ability to get NSF grants) Goucher College was the first women's college have its own computer, back in 1961.
It can cost up to $1000 per acre to rent a herd of goats for landscaping purposes (aka 'goatscaping'), but personalized goat videos are only $20 (a steal). Worried about the ruminants spreading weed seeds in their droppings? Don't be—supposedly an enzyme in goat saliva kills seeds. Although you can rent goats, you can't plant lambs.
YKK made a zipper-themed anime. (I couldn't make it all the way through; maybe you'll have better luck?)
Manumitted persons in Roman times wore leather patches on their skin to cover up the brandings or tattoos that had marked them as enslaved.
Joe Magarac was "born in an ore mountain and rose out of an ore mine to help steelworkers"; like Paul Bunyan, his story is an example of fakelore.
This is a good spring wordlist; I like 'smur' and 'serein' especially.
I've been using the Muppet Labs set as my video-call background for a couple of weeks now, and it's still bringing me joy.
Here's hoping there are things—especially vaccination appointments—bringing you joy, too!
Your friend,
Erin