Hormuz is a small island in the Persian Gulf a few miles off the coast of Iran. The island is a salt dome, and the soil that covers it comes in a rainbow of colors, giving Hormuz the nickname "Rainbow Island." The most notable is the red soil, called gelak, which is the only one considered edible. Gelak doesn't make up the majority of any dish, but is powdered and used as a spice of sorts. It works as a colorant, giving the condiment sooragh its pleasant red color. Sooragh itself is used in other foods, such as a flatbread called tomshi. Gelak gets its red hue from iron in the soil, which contributes to its nutritional reputation. Why is it the only colored soil used in cooking? The others have been tried, and they don't taste good. Fair enough.

Gelak was once mined commercially for use in paints and dyes, but that is now banned due to the environmental degradation it caused. But local painters, cooks, and tourists can still take some for personal use. Read about the Rainbow Island, gelak, and the Iranian dishes made with it at Atlas Obscura.

When your spouse dies, you are a widow or widower; when your parents die, you are an orphan. But there's no special word for a parent whose child has died. Could that be because it is such a rare event? Pediatrics professor Perri Klass thinks that, in contrast, the lack of a term could be because until relatively recently, it was all too common.

In 1800, nearly half the children born in the United States died before the age of five. By 1900, between a fifth and a quarter of them did; in 1915, as my grandparents were growing up, one out of every ten infants died before turning one—and there was no way to prevent most of the common infectious diseases of childhood, from whooping cough and pneumonia to scarlet fever and tuberculosis, which regularly killed toddlers and school-age children.

When you start looking in the margins of history for the lost children, they are present in every story, peering out from the edges of family portraits, buried under sad little headstones in old cemeteries. Among the rich and famous, dead children are noted sometimes just as footnotes in biographies. Creating a world in which children are not supposed to die may be our greatest achievement as a species, a victory over thousands of years of suffering, sorrow, and shadow.

The very rarity of childhood death today makes it appear even more tragic, and also makes parents constantly worry that any wrong decision could bring disaster and it would be their fault. An article about children dying may seem depressing at first, and indeed there are some horrible stories in it, but the main point of an essay at Harper's about childhood death is how far we've come in the last 100 years in overcoming the diseases, injuries, and random bad luck that once took so many children.  -via TYWKIWDBI

In 1939, Lyra Ferguson left her job as a church secretary in Missouri for an adventure that was also a social experiment of sorts. She aimed to get a job in all 48 of the United States, in which she would spend a week before moving on. She managed to do it in 45 states. Ferguson's plan was to write a book about her experiences, which makes sense, but the book was never published because it wasn't good. Today, a publisher would have assigned her a ghost writer. She edited film of her adventures into a documentary, but it has been lost.

Weird Universe has a list of jobs Ferguson got in 42 of the states, which shows us the difference between the employment practices of 1939 and today. Although she started out with $200, the jobs must have paid well enough to cover her accommodations, food, and gasoline in the days between jobs. Almost all were entry level or unskilled jobs, but in Nebraska she was hired as a booking agent! A few of the jobs are now extinct, like washing windshields at a gas station and milking cows.

We'd also like to know if Ferguson told prospective employers that she was planning to stay for only a week. That might have worked in her favor if the employer was game to let her try to learn something new, or if they thought about the publicity value of the stunt. Today, she would be required to submit a resume listing all previous employment -which could have run to several pages!   

you see, that's why you're just the @OKWildlifeDept and not the @GreatWildlifeDept

— Alexandxor (@ID10TErrors) January 21, 2022

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation sent out a Tweet a couple of days ago that referenced an old animal welfare campaign that said, "If you're cold, they're cold. Bring them in." It was about not leaving your cats and dogs outside when the temperature drops. That doesn't apply to wild predators, or at least it didn't until the phrase became a meme. 

This being the internet, the Tweet had the opposite effect of making folks want a mountain lion in their house. Or at least the chance to pet one. Hey, look, the kitty is offering its belly for rubs!

That’s a lot to put on a headstone, but okay! 😂

— June Heinz 🌈✊🏾🌈 (@june_heinz) January 21, 2022

The wildlife office wasn't going to put up with such nonsense.

pic.twitter.com/FIM2cbBJyu

— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) January 21, 2022

But the internet as whole has a serious case of toxoplasmosis.

pic.twitter.com/Pky2o2mgTl

— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) January 21, 2022

I think by now you can guess the wildlife department's favorite TV show. The wildlife folks took it all in stride and made a corgi meme about the Tweet, which was gradually expanded to include an entire pack of corgis.

The current state of the union: pic.twitter.com/NqtvXWoapA

— Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (@OKWildlifeDept) January 22, 2022

The original Tweet has a growing number of jokes, memes, and cat pictures underneath, but you also need to check out the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's feed to catch updates on the situation. -via Fark

Irishman Dan Donnelly was an accomplished boxer around the turn of the 19th century. This was in the early days of prize fights, when there were no gloves and almost no rules. Donnelly, who had a reputation as a successful scrapper in his native Dublin, only fought in three official matches, but reigned as the heavyweight champion of his time, and was a hero to the Irish. Donnelly died of pneumonia at only 31 years old. He was honored with as many memorials as a national hero could ask for, but it was what happened to him after his death that really earned Dan Donnelly a place in the history books.

Donnelly's grave was robbed by body snatchers soon after his burial. His remains were sold to a surgeon who was surprised to learn the identity of the cadaver he was dissecting. The doctor returned Donnelly to his grave, or at least most of him. He couldn't resist sawing off the boxer's right arm, as it was the one that won those fights. Afterward, Donnelly's arm began 200 years of its own adventures, traveling across the world and being put to work. Read about Dan Donnelly's arm and its astonishing afterlife at Strange Company.

It's been two years, and we've all learned more about viruses than we ever thought we'd need to know. So, when will the pandemic end? The short answer is: we don't know. The more helpful answer is: it depends on a few different factors that we can't exactly predict now, but with a primer on what we've learned about coronaviruses in general and COVID-19 in particular, we can expect one of several different scenarios. Six scenarios, to be exact. Or at least that's what the guys from AsapSCIENCE tell us. They are basing these predictions on the history of the 1918 flu pandemic plus what happened to other coronaviruses, and the timeline of how COVID-19 has spread, mutated, and attacked. These changes give us clues about what may come next. The bad news is that this virus may always be with us. The good news is that the longer it hangs around, the more we know its secrets and how to deal with it. -via Digg

1950: In the 21st century, robots will do all our chores!
2022: We regret to inform you that robots have discovered r/antiworkhttps://t.co/QVRRVRYJJI

— Drivelcast (@drivelcast) January 22, 2022

A robot vacuum cleaner made a break for freedom from the Travelodge hotel in Cambridge, UK, on Thursday. The hotel has an army of vacuums, but this one worked its way right out the front door, slipping right over the lip of the doorway that would have normally stopped it. You could say it made a clean getaway. However, there is always the possibility that someone aided and abetted its escape. Hotel management posted an alert on social media for locals to be on the lookout for the vacuum cleaner.  

While some readers joked about the robot's adventures, one feared for its safety in the great outdoors, pointing out that "nature abhors a vacuum".

However, much to everyone's relief, the device was found nestled under a hedge on Friday afternoon by a (human) hotel cleaner sprucing up the front drive.

And that's what you get on a slow news day at the BBC.  -via reddit

After the Battle of Guam in 1944, thousands of Japanese soldiers refused to surrender, and hid in the jungle, preferring to fight on their own instead of being captured by the Americans. By the time the war ended a year later, there were still 130 Japanese holding out on Guam. They ran and hid whenever they were spotted, refusing to endure the dishonor of defeat. Shouichi Yokoi was among them. Leaflets were dropped on the island, but Yokoi considered them enemy propaganda and not to be believed. He lived with other holdouts, until one by one they left, died, or were captured. Finally, he spent eight years without seeing another human being.

In all, Shouichi Yokoi spent almost 28 years on Guam. Only in January of 1972 did he run into two fishermen, who overpowered him and took him to civilization. Back in Japan, he received a hero's welcome, but the public was split between honoring him for his dedication to duty and pity for a life wasted. Read about Shouichi Yokoi, how he survived alone on Guam, and what happened after he was found, at Smithsonian.

They call them Dad jokes now, but they've always been puns. Wordplay. Groaners. Dan Opsal and John Haskell of the Real Big Boys YouTube channel play Pip Ketchip and Nic Musterd on a picnic. They seem to be looking for a world record in stuffing as many puns as they can into two minutes. Forget trying to follow the conversation, as they get distracted constantly by the alternate meaning of a word. Since there's no pause for laughter, and no reaction from the principle punsters, you are guaranteed to miss some of the jokes as they fly by. Yeah, you'll probably have to watch this twice. Don't stop to laugh or groan. And don't be surprised if you get grated cheese on your hot dates.  -via Laughing Squid

Actor and singer Meat Loaf, best known for his 1977 album Bat Out of Hell and his longtime collaboration with composer Jim Steinman, passed away at his home with his family surrounding him. Born Marvin Lee Aday in Dallas, he earned the nickname Meat Loaf before he ever started his musical career. After playing in a local band, he went to the musical stage, appearing in the Los Angeles cast of Hair and other productions, eventually moving to the Broadway production of Hair. His turn in the stage production of The Rocky Horror Show led to Meat Loaf reprising the role of Eddie in the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He and Steinman devoted five years to the album Bat Out of Hell, which turned Meat Loaf into an arena musician. He still appeared in an occasional film afterward, such as Fight Club. Read his life story at The Guardian. Meat Loaf was 74.

The announcement of Meat Loaf's death brings up stories from his long career. In 1989, as his career was seen to be flagging, Meat Loaf was booked on a tour of dive bars in Ireland, promoted as "intimate" shows. The venues were always overcrowded and rowdy. One night at the Community Cen­tre in the town of Moate, things got out of hand immediately. The drunk crowd began to throw beer cans, which eventually hit the stage, then shoes, then lit cigarettes. Meat Loaf warned the crowd, then stormed off the stage. But the band, not realizing what was happening, kept playing, and the singer returned to try again. Until...

Fly­ing through the air was… a wheelchair.

The chair flew directly over Marty’s head. He turned just in time to see Meat Loaf’s eyes swell with an unusual mix­ture of both fear and won­der. The burly singer put out an arm and attempted to step back. The stage was so small he stum­bled into the drum riser just as the wheel­chair crashed onto the boards in front of him. In slow motion the big man appeared to fall, the empty wheel­chair bounc­ing to his left, one wheel com­i­cally spinning.

Marty remem­bers the crowd cheer­ing. He was sure he could make out some­one scream­ing, but by the time he could react Meat­ had got­ten to his feet, grabbed the mic, roared at the audi­ence and hurled it at them as he stormed off.

The show was over, less than half an hour in. Meat Loaf was outraged, and not only because he and his crew were put in danger. He wasn't going back on. “Not after what they did to that poor kid in the wheelchair.”

We never found out whose wheelchair was used, but the tour continued, just not in Moate. -via Metafilter

❄️ 1 inch of natural snow overnight
🌨 16 inches of snow this week
🎿 21 slopes and trails
🏂 3 terrain parks
🚡 9 am - 9 pm

Snow Report: https://t.co/rw4pGi01Tx pic.twitter.com/gNAT7Q99Ct

— Seven Springs (@7SpringsPA) January 20, 2022

Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania brings us their latest ski report. Sixteen inches of snow! But that's not what makes this video noteworthy. Watch it to the end, and don't drink anything until it's over.

Okay, once the video is over, you realize that you didn't really absorb a thing Abbey said, did you? Not that it matters. As funny as it turned out, we can all relate to the poor skier in the background. How did this happen? Was it serendipity thanks to the staff who didn't clear the stairs, a typical case of hard-to-walk-in ski boots, or was it staged to go viral? Give us your determination in the poll below. -via Fark

When my sister in-law was a waitress in Canada, she was taking drink orders from a group of Americans. They each ordered a glass of red wine. She suggested they choose a LITRE instead. They spoke among themselves and one man put up his hand and said - “I’ll be the leader.”

— Christine (@guelphgirlchris) December 31, 2019

Everybody has done something so embarrassing that you just want to go home and hibernate for a few years. The best of those awkward moments are those that no one present can ever forget, so they surface on the internet ten, twenty years later, and everyone can have a laugh. Just be glad that your name isn't attached to the viral Tweet.

True story:
Surgeon: Did someone fart?
Silence
Surgeon: I need to know if someone farted. I may have perforated bowel.
Med student: I farted

— Sujay Kansagra, MD (@medschooladvice) August 12, 2016

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

— Sujay Kansagra, MD (@medschooladvice) July 26, 2021

In this collection, some of the perpetrators are identified, because people do tell on themselves occasionally. Be prepared to laugh out loud at one or more of these 50 mortifying conversations, and just be glad that your most awkward and embarrassing story isn't included. ....unless it is. See the entire ranked list at Bored Panda.

Believe it or not, there are people who can't wrap their heads around the use of non-medicinal drugs before the 20th century. But it was always so, from mind-expanding hallucinogens for religious rites to painkillers to escape the grinding stress of everyday life. And for some, mood-altering drugs could aid in warfare.

We all know that you stay away from someone who is in a drug-induced frenzy, because they may have lost all sense of self-preservation. That was the story of the berserkers, who were said to be immune to fire and weapons during battle. The more likely story is that they just didn't care, and that terrified their enemies into retreat or submission. It must have been the drugs.  

Nutty History goes through a whole bunch of drugs that were available during the Viking era, which all come with some contraindications for use in warfare. We don't know what they used- it could have easily been a combination. We also don't know how many casualties they had, in drug overdose or battle, in the quest for the formula they wanted. But when it worked, it gave the berserkers a reputation that long outlasted them. -via Boing Boing

Ernest Shackleton led three expeditions to the Antarctic between 1901 and 1917. He survived all of them, but there were many moments when the possibility of death loomed large. And disasters happened. Shackleton set out on his third expedition, the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, in 1914. The expedition's ship, the Endurance, became locked in ice for a year before being crushed by it. The crew camped out on the ice, but that also began to break up, so they took the lifeboats and tried to make it to uninhabited Elephant Island, 60 miles away. Once away from the ice, they now had to contend with crashing waves in 20 degrees below zero. And getting to Elephant Island wouldn't be the end of their troubles, as it wasn't near any shipping lanes that might draw a rescue. Read about Shackleton's expedition and their escape from the wrecked Endurance at Atlas Obscura.


(Image source: Library of Congress)

YouTuber Hyperboliumn transcribed the shapes of each of the 50 United States onto a midi graph. You would have never guessed how melodic they sound when played. I think there was some tweaks made here and there to improve the sound. I know Wyoming isn't that irregular along the bottom. If you don't recognize the shape of each state, a clue might help: they are in alphabetical order. However, if you are still stumped, or you just want to find your state, there's an index at the YouTube page. -via Laughing Squid