If you like baseball and use social media, you’ve likely already encountered the Savannah Bananas. The team is something of a social-media darling, especially on TikTok – the Bananas’ more than 6m million followers on the app significantly outnumber those of every franchise in Major League Baseball (as well as every team in the NFL, NBA and NHL). The factors driving the Bananas’ online success are obvious. In-game clips of players swinging flaming baseball bats, pitching from atop stilts, and performing choreographed dance routines are tailor-made for social media. The Bananas competed in the Coastal Plains League (CPL), a competitive collegiate summer league. Outside of the standard CPL season, however, the Bananas began playing exhibition games which featured significant rule changes: fan-caught foul balls counted as outs, bunts were outlawed, stealing first base was permitted and ‘walks’ were replaced by ‘sprints,’ among other modifications. Games played under this new set of rules were appropriately christened “Banana Ball”. (via The Guardian)
In Sparta a competitive sport involved jumping and kicking oneself in the butt
The Bibasis, a dance of men and women, was of the gymnastic kind. The dance consisted in springing rapidly from the ground, and striking the feet behind; a feat of which the Spartan woman Lampito, in the Lysistrata of Aristophanes, prides herself. She derives her strength and her beauty essentially from this exercise. The text reads: μάλα γ’ οἰῶ, ναὶ τὼ σιώ· γυμνάδδομαί γα καὶ ποτὶ πυγὰν ἅλλομαι (It’s true, I think, by the Twin Gods. I do take exercise, and I jump-kick my butt.) The dance consisted in kicking one’s own buttocks, to music, as rapidly as possible. The number of successful strokes was counted, and the most skilful received prizes in competitions. We are told by a verse from an epigram, which has been preserved by Pollux, that a Laconian girl had won by dancing the Bibasis a thousand times, which was more than had ever been done before. (via Wikipedia)
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Canada has a version of the Dead Sea that is so salty you can float in it
Ten times saltier than the ocean and devoid of any large marine life, the Dead Sea is the lowest elevation on Earth, reaching about 430 metres below sea level. Located between Jordan and Israel, this natural phenomenon in the Great Rift Valley is where bathers float effortlessly in the salty waters, then slather themselves with dark, mineral-rich mud renowned for its cosmetic benefits. Southeast of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan is the town of Watrous (population 1842) and the Manitou Springs Spa Resort, overlooking Little Manitou Lake. It’s a modest counterpart to the luxury spa resorts that line the Dead Sea, but the draw here is much the same: bathers come from near and far for the opportunity to float in a saline lake, smear themselves with healing mud and soak in therapeutic springs for a variety of ailments. Twelve thousand years ago, a receding glacier trapped a lake at the bottom of a valley. (via Canadian Geographic)
Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. I am able to continue writing this newsletter in part because of your financial help and support, which you can do either through my Patreon or by upgrading your subscription to a monthly contribution. I enjoy gathering all of these links and sharing them with you, but it does take time, and your support makes it possible for me to do that. I also write a weekly newsletter of technology analysis called The Torment Nexus.
In 1831 a new island emerged from the sea near Sicily thanks to an underwater volcano
Alarming events were in store for Sicily at the beginning of the summer of 1831. On 28 June, small earthquakes rocked the western end of the island, and these continued occurring day after day. On 4 July, the unpleasant scent of sulfur spread through the town of Sciacca. On the 13th, the people of St. Domenico spotted smoke from far offshore. Normally, volcanic activity would be the obvious culprit, but these black plumes were out on the water. Maybe, the residents suggested to one another, a boat was on fire. The crew of a passing ship had other ideas: the captain noted that the water under the smoke was bubbling vigorously. He was convinced that what they were dealing with was a sea monster. This disturbance was, in fact, a volcano erupting from just under the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. By the 17th of July, a new island some 25 feet high had appeared off the coast of Sicily. And that was only the beginning. (via Damn Interesting)
Rainbow shrimp have the most advanced vision of any organism but we don’t know why
Named for its praying mantis-like forelimbs and shrimp-shaped body, the “mantis” or rainbow shrimp is a carnivorous marine crustacean painted in rainbow hues and a vibrant tail akin to that of a peacock. With tubular, domelike eyes, this voracious predator is also credited with the most complex vision of any animal on Earth – but scientists aren’t exactly sure why. Humans typically have three photoreceptor cells, which enable them to see approximately a million colors. Mantis shrimp, by comparison, have between 12 and 16 photoreceptors, allowing them to see light in wavelengths ranging from deep ultraviolet to far red, as well as polarized light. One reason may be communication. Male mantis shrimp perform courtship dances for females and display aggressive behaviors toward rival males. In both cases, they showcase colored patches that vary in brightness and hue. This suggests flashing colorful patches may convey communication signals detectable by other mantis shrimp, but not by other organisms. (via Discover)
In Germany kids play a version of soccer but while riding bicycles
Acknowledgements: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other places that I rely on as “serendipity engines,” such as The Morning News from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg’s Curious About Everything, Dan Lewis’s Now I Know, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton’s The Browser, Clive Thompson’s Linkfest and Why Is This Interesting by Noah Brier and Colin Nagy. If you come across something you think should be included here, feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com