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…
A fun fact inspired by a recent Globle answer
Answers to last week's games
Unibrows Are the Standard of Beauty in Tajikistan
This was supposed to be an image of a unibrow winning a beauty contest, but DALL-E really struggled with that so maybe real artists aren’t out of the job just yet!
Most of the world’s population has no idea what it is like to wake up and gaze upon the views from over 3000m above sea level. Known for its spectacular high altitude splendor, Tajikistan (Globle answer for March 19), also celebrates a rich cultural heritage. Brightly colored traditional costumes, unusual sports, and warm comfort food are just a few of the characteristics which have earned Tajikistan a place among the most recommended tourist destinations. And while all of these qualities set this central Asian nation apart, tourists may be most impressed by the nation’s fascination with the unibrow.
The official medical term, synophrys, literally means, “overgrowth or fusion of the eyebrows.” In the West, the unibrow is considered a malady—something out of sorts with western beauty standards. In fact, any online search will return links to articles providing advice for undoing the unfortunate circumstance. In Tajikistan, the opposite is true. Women with a natural unibrow are considered the most attractive.
Walking around the nation’s capital city, or especially in surrounding villages, visitors will see women of all ages proudly sporting a single eyebrow. The bigger and bushier the better. And for those who can’t grow a connected brow on their own, there is a special herbal product called Usma, which can be applied to simulate the condition and texture of a connected brow. Usma requires some patience and time, as the herbal paste has to be applied, allowed to dry and then reapplied in stages to create a textured effect. Those with less ambition and time simply draw a single bold brow, as if to announce, “My brow is one, get over it.” While this feminine beauty standard may seem strange to some, is it really any stranger than plucking eyebrows or shaving legs?
Answers to last week's games
Monday, March 18 to Sunday, March 24.
Globle
Mar 18 Romania
Mar 19 Tajikistan
Mar 20 Ireland
Mar 21 Spain
Mar 22 Malaysia
Mar 23 Mongolia
Mar 24 Marshall Is.
Mar 25 Play now!
Globle: Capitals
Mar 18 Tbilisi
Mar 19 Sanaa
Mar 20 Kyiv
Mar 21 Manila
Mar 22 Asuncion
Mar 23 Cairo
Mar 24 Singapore
Mar 25 Play now!
Chronogram
#352 Arthur Rimbaud
#353 Samuel Taylor Coleridge
#354 Émile Zola
#355 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
#356 John Wayne
#357 Edgar Degas
#358 Jack London
#359 Play now!
Fictogram
#120 George Follansbee Babbitt
#121 Charlie Marlow
#122 Molly Bloom
#123 Hester Prynne
#124 Vito Corleone
#125 Sebastian Flyte
#126 Daenerys Targaryen
#127 Play now!
Metazooa
#231 snail
#232 tuna
#233 beluga whale
#234 grasshopper
#235 anglerfish
#236 cuttlefish
#237 water buffalo
#238 Play now!
Metaflora
#170 hemp
#171 sunflower
#172 strawberry
#173 holly
#174 lotus
#175 giant sequoia
#176 hop
#177 Play now!
Linxicon
The following are the shortest paths from last week:
#35 manage -> management -> illness -> symptom
#36 potentially -> potential -> natural -> nature -> landscape
#37 miss -> absence -> crime -> law
#38 soil -> garden -> sunrise -> early
#39 fight -> wrestling -> television -> radio
#40 section -> chapter -> novel -> dramatic
#41 prominent -> visibility -> traffic -> highway
#42 Play now!
Forgeous
"Portrait of a Woman" by Willem Wissing
Forgery of week, from March 20
90.2% accurate
Wissing, Willem. Portrait of a Woman. 1687, oil paint on canvas, 126.4 cm x 102.2 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437945.
Play Forgeous for March 24.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading!
