Recommended Links of the Week #712

Welcome to another edition of Recommended Links of the Week. This time, we bring you a mix of science, history, culture, and curiosities. Explore the extraordinary legacy of Isaac Asimov, discover why ancient paper armor was mightier than steel, delve into the science of eating chili, and learn about the rare Sjögren syndrome. Plus, a bunch of videos and galleries to keep you entertained.

Recommended Readings

Isaac Asimov, the prolific writer: "Isaac Asimov recalls the moment when he realized he was about to publish his hundredth book and tells how he decided to commemorate it with a new work that he simply calls Opus 100, and that would consist of a kind of anthology of the most significant works of his career. The writer would die in 1992. In the interval between one date and another, the same amount of time did not pass, and yet any Internet search shows that the writer's signature appears on more than four hundred books."

Ancient Chinese paper armor was stronger than steel: "You've probably heard the saying 'the pen is mightier than the sword,' but have you heard that paper armor is stronger than protective metal clothing? It goes against everything we've learned about warfare; hence, bulky warriors are often dressed in steel armor or iron plates. But according to ancient Chinese records, the use of paper armor was sometimes considered the best option."

What we know about the supposed "most dangerous tomb in the world": "The disaster that ended the soldier's life occurred one night in 1961 at the Idaho National Laboratory, located in a desert area about 65 kilometers east of Idaho Falls (United States). On December 21, 1960, one of the reactors, SL-1, was shut down for inspection and maintenance. The task of restarting the reactor, on January 3, 1961, fell to Mate Richard Legg, chief electrician of the Navy, and John Byrnes and Richard Leroy McKinley, two Army specialists."

Ocean Depth

We live in a society that understands less and less and opines more and more: "Opinions fly like poisoned darts. Ad hominem attacks become daily bread. Reactivity surfaces in a society that seems increasingly sensitive and intransigent. Much of the everyday attacks that occur on social media, the unbridled anger that some words provoke, or the condemnation of certain writings actually have a simple explanation: the lack of reading comprehension. We live in a society that understands less and less and opines more and more."

The thousand cigars of a soldier that saved Audrey Hepburn: "I told you a long time ago that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote thanks to Osborne wine, and therefore we must thank our Cádiz wines when we read The Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, in this curiosity that I tell you today, penicillin appears, whose discoverer, Fleming, was able to do so thanks to a rifle club. Strange relationships and luck. Like the surprising story of the thousand cigars of a soldier that saved Audrey Hepburn."

"80% say they can't live without their phone": A report warns of the collapse of concentration capacity among young people: "According to a study by the eLearning Innovation Center (eLinC) of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) in collaboration with Accenture, it has been revealed that attention span has decreased by more than four seconds on average in just fifteen years. The report indicates that the digital format makes young people more prone to mind-wandering. Thus, while paper allowed better concentration, the digital format has the opposite effect."

POV: You're driving a quarter-million-dollar car

That calculator is not what it seems, the apps that kids use to bypass parental controls: "The main attention points of families when supervising minors' phones are usually the gallery, browsers, social networks, or video games. The apps used to bypass that control are based on generating 'secret vaults' where alternatives to those services can be hidden, away from what guardians usually check."

Between pleasure and pain, the science of eating chiles: "The highest concentration is found where the seeds and placentas or veins are. Capsaicin is capable of stimulating the release of the pain neurotransmitter and, at the same time, activates receptors for that sensation in the mouth, nose, stomach, and other parts of the body. The brain responds to this possible 'aggression' by releasing endorphins that neutralize pain, which causes a feeling of pleasure. Thus, consuming chili becomes more pleasurable than the pain it can cause."

Why Russians have been so good at playing chess: "The Greeks admired the ability of the ancient Slavs (one often speaks without nuances of Russian soul or Slavic soul almost as if they were synonyms) to endure the hardships that nature presented to them. Therefore, in the riddles and dilemmas posed in a game of chess, we could see the permanent challenges of an entire people with the choices (the right and the wrong) that are presented at each step in the pursuit of survival. A people who knew how to link the pastime to their own sacrificed lives, which served as teaching, cognitive challenge, and tranquility."

Heavy Metal (1981) vs Fifth Element (1997)

Z.P.G - 21st Century Edict: Forbidden to have children (Michael Campus): "In an indeterminate future, the air is so polluted that you can barely see a few meters ahead and it is essential to wear an oxygen mask, food is served in tubes, and animals and plants have been extinct for decades. All nations of the world agree to the Zero Growth Edict, under which people are forbidden to have children for the next thirty years. Pregnant women must register with the State Security Department. If during that thirty-year period a woman becomes pregnant, she has two alternatives: she can report her situation to the 'Ab Lab' or Abortion Lab..."

"No tears, no saliva, she couldn't cry": "It was in 2008, during the pregnancy of her second child, that nursing student Rafaela Santana Oliveira Silva, now 42 years old, began to have symptoms such as hair loss, body itching, fatigue, and a feeling of dryness in the eyes and mouth. However, this Brazilian woman focused on caring for her newborn son and put aside seeking medical attention. Four years later, Rafaela noticed that her symptoms, instead of improving, worsened, and she began to seek a diagnosis."

Astronomers discover the "missing link" that explains the origin of water in the solar system: "This discovery was made while studying the composition of water present in V883 Orionis, a planet-forming disk located about 1,300 light-years from Earth, reports the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in a note. When a cloud of gas and dust collapses, it forms a star at its center; around the star, the material of the cloud also forms a disk. Over the course of a few million years, the matter of the disk clumps together to form comets, asteroids, and eventually planets."