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Coming to your inbox every Monday with educational fun-facts and all the answers to Trainwreck Labs games from the past week.
This week, we have…
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A fun fact inspired by a recent Globle answer
Answers to last week's games
A Chronogram update
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Riga to Reno: the origin of jeans
The creator of denim pants may have been Latvian-American, but the Canadian tuxedo wasn’t far behind. Image generated by DALL-E.
When anyone thinks of blue jeans, they think of Levi Strauss & Co. Since their debut in 1873, Levi’s have become the gold standard in denim trousers. However, very few people know the real origin story of America’s go to fashion statement. Some tell of a tale of a civil war veteran or a gold prospect inventing the first pair of Levi’s. In fact, the original template for these pants was created by a tailor from Latvia (Globle answer for April 8).
Like so many people seeking a better life, the Latvian Jewish tailor Jacob Davis reached New York in a ship’s steerage in 1854. After relocating to Reno, Nevada, Davis opened a tailor shop and one day stumbled upon a brilliant idea that would not only change his life but change the world of fashion forever. One day, a customer in his tailor shop asked him to create a pair of durable trousers for her husband. Davis experimented with duck cloth and discovered an ingenious approach to reinforcing the weak points in the seams and pockets—creating a unique copper rivet to strengthen the joins. The copper-riveted “blue jeans” were a hit.
Davis soon approached his textile supplier, Levi Strauss, to partner with him in mass producing the pants. In 1873, the two men received a U.S. patent for their "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings." The rest, as they say, is history. In addition to the copper rivets, Levi’s added their trademark orange threaded seam to stand apart from competitors. The reinforced copper-riveted pants originally designed as strong pants for the working man have become synonymous with self-expression. The Levi’s brand is now a global leader in fashion and the dominant supplier of jeans worldwide, thanks to an immigrant from Latvia, Jacob Davis—the mystery man behind the “& Co.” that graces every pair.
Answers to last week's games
Monday, April 8 to Sunday, April 14.
Globle
Apr 8 Latvia
Apr 9 Afghanistan
Apr 10 Croatia
Apr 11 Eswatini
Apr 12 Syria
Apr 13 Luxembourg
Apr 14 Egypt
Apr 15 Play now!
Globle: Capitals
Apr 8 Yaounde
Apr 9 London
Apr 10 Caracas
Apr 11 Dushanbe
Apr 12 Khartoum
Apr 13 Kuwait City
Apr 14 Beirut
Apr 15 Play now!
Chronogram
#373 Caravaggio
#374 Ho Chi Minh
#375 Leonhard Euler
#376 Édouard Manet
#377 Martin Luther King Jr.
#378 Arthur Schopenhauer
#379 Antonín Dvořák
#380 Play now!
Fictogram
#141 Aureliano Buendia
#142 Elizabeth Bennett
#143 Miss Marple
#144 James Bond
#145 Janie Crawford
#146 Sherlock Holmes
#147 Lennie Small
#148 Play now!
Metazooa
#252 mussel
#253 rhinoceros
#254 kite
#255 black bear
#256 scorpion
#257 brain coral
#258 manta ray
#259 Play now!
Metaflora
#191 ricin
#192 touch-me-not
#193 cardamom
#194 cedar of lebanon
#195 cashew
#196 poppy
#197 chamomile
#198 Play now!
Linxicon
The following are the shortest paths from last week:
#56 light -> contrast -> versus -> despite -> though
#57 math -> law -> permit
#58 ring -> engagement -> commitment -> choice -> either -> nor
#59 exciting -> opening -> gaping -> mouth
#60 because -> causes -> sickness -> recovery -> restore
#61 please -> request -> add -> addition -> combination
#62 display -> manifestation -> spirit -> soul
#63 Play now!
Forgeous
"Breton Brother and Sister" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Forgery of week, from April 10
80.3% accurate
Bouguereau, William-Adolphe. Breton Brother and Sister. 1871, oil paint on canvas, 129.2 x 89.2 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Met, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435754.
Play Forgeous for April 15.
Chronogram Update
Dark mode is now available for Chronogram and Fictogram!
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
