Six Things, Volume 27

Spiked | glyphs | hexagon map | Kermit | Schulz's house | Tony Bennett

Jul 21, 2023

Thing 1 – Spiked

One of the more feel-good stories of recent weeks (from the point of view of the nature-lover, at least), was the revelation that corvids have been repurposing the very things humans use as bird repellents as nesting material.

A magpie nest in Antwerp. Photo by Auke-Florian Hiemstra.

We’ve long known of the intelligence of corvids, of course, but this seems to show that they combine this with admirable pragmatism as well as a sense of humour. In particular, the idea that magpies are canny enough to deploy the spikes in their intended “just you try to get into this, matey” configuration induces a rush of warmth for the much maligned avian long-tailers.

Laura Erickson wrote beautifully about it here (her Substack For The Birds is highly recommended, especially for those of us in the UK who are disgracefully ignorant about American birds), and the original press release is here.

The discovery is the work of Auke-Florian Hiemstra, who looks and sounds very much like the kind of person I’d like to know.

Auke-Florian Hiemstra and friends. Photo: Alexander Schippers.

Thing 2 – Glyphs

Here is a beautifully presented website documenting all the world’s writing systems, both living and historical.

It’s the kind of thing you start looking at because it’s just very satisfying to contemplate, and then you click on one of the links and start reading and before you know it two hours have passed and you’re a little bit more knowledgeable about such arcana as the origins of early dynastic cuneiform, the development of notation for representing sign languages, and how Alexander Graham Bell’s father produced a symbol set to help deaf-mutes develop speech.

Not that such information stays long in my head, mind. Such is the way of things these days, as I more and more resemble this kid in The Far Side.

The website shows one representative glyph and basic information for each system – if you want to explore further (recommended), there are links to Wikipedia, Scriptsource, Omniglot and other resources, each one a good solid afternoon’s worth of rabbit-hole exploration. You can thank me later.

Thing 3 – Hexagon map

In 1895 John Leighton decided that maps of London simply weren’t symmetrical enough. So he made one that appealed strongly to his inner honeybee. It contains, of course, no reference to the Thames, which you might have thought would at least get a look in. But Leighton’s concern – as expressed in his book The Unification of London: The Need and the Remedy, from which the before-and-after maps are taken – was the chaotic nature state of the capital (The Need) and the importance of imposing some sort of order on it (The Remedy).

An intriguing idea, but I think we can be thankful it didn’t gain traction.

You can read more about Leighton here.

Thing 4 – Kermit

I learn, thanks to Jillian Hess’s excellent Substack Noted, about Jim Henson’s red notebooks.

There are riches within, not least this, the very first appearance of Kermit, in 1955.

Thing 5 – Schulz’s house

A house is for sale in California. On the one hand you only get one bedroom for your four million dollars (not exactly peanuts – sorrynotsorry). On the other hand you get 7.32 acres (including your own golf course), a Snoopy-and-Woodstock bench, and endless opportunities to wander about the place hoping that something of the former owner’s genius remains in the air.

Thing 6 – Tony Bennett

News has just come in of the death of Tony Bennett, and with it an outpouring of love and appreciation, along with widespread sharing of his work. So instead of some stupid map of different words for ‘jam’ worldwide, or equivalent frippery that might otherwise sit in the difficult ‘Thing 6’ slot, here he is at the age of 88 (EIGHTY-EIGHT) singing the hell out of The Way You Look Tonight with Bill Charlap.