Of facts and trivia...they missed teaching you at school
Welcome to ‘Back To School’ - a project that aims to bring the most intriguing pieces of trivia from around the globe right into your inbox. Like me, if you find yourself wondering about why the Plaster of Paris isn’t Plaster of Bombay or asking yourself why the sky is blue and not violet or why the logo of a bike manufacturer has tuning forks, then you’ll find this digest as entertaining as informative.
So, what can the readers expect?
Trivia and Stories. Loads of them.
Let me interest you in one.
If I told you that one color changed the 1800s as we know it, would you call me crazy? But, hear me out.
William Perkin was just a teenager in 1856, all of 15 when he undertook studies of Chemistry. At the time, one of the biggest unsolved problems in the world was malaria. Perkins and other chemists like him had heard of how the Peruvians used the bark of cinchona tree, abundantly available there, to extract quinine which was an effective agent in neutralizing fever.
So, taking a cue from it, the effort was on to chemically produce quinine (that is make it in a laboratory, not extract naturally - which means to synthesize and hence that which is not produced organically are called synthetics. Honestly I didn’t know this till I was 24). So, as Perkins kept attempting to synthesize quinine, he finds a black precipitate at the bottom of his beaker. He puts alcohol to clean off the beaker and notices his beaker produced a color similar to the Tyrian Purple that the Phoenicians first extracted (from snails, naturally).
What had happened here was that Perkins had accidentally discovered the world’s first-ever synthetic dye, called mauve.
Things didn’t however end at the discovery of a new color. Perkins saw an opportunity.
You see, colorful garments were worn only by a select few until that point - like the senators of Ancient Rome who wore the snail-extracted purple. Sensing an opportunity, United Kingdom, France, and Germany got into an industrial competition to produce dyes. In no time, there were up to 30 factories producing mauve. The chemicals company BASF, for eg, was formed at this juncture. Fashion itself started becoming a bit more cruelty-free.
These dyes enabled medical researchers to color cells and study under the microscope - which led to finding a cure for Tuberculosis. Even the first-ever synthetic perfume was created by Perkins himself while further experimenting with inks and dyes.
Mauve had become the color of the season, a symbol of an inclusive world.
Net-net, serendipitous discovery of mauve had transformed the chemicals industry, the world of fashion, and medicine forever. In fact, the 1890s is often called the “Mauve Decade” for this reason.
So, would such stories be the only feature of the digest?
Well, no. For one, this whole story isn’t one that is easily Googlable. It takes research to put it all together.
But, either way, there’s more. Each of the digests will also include:
Quizzes covering the most obvious of topics like world-changing movies to obscure stuff like telephones that you can take at your own pace
Recommendations for podcasts, books, and movies - from stuff that I have personally used and found of intrigue
Discount coupons from affiliate partners - pertaining to adding knowledge. So think podcast apps, EdTech services et al (For annual subscribers)
Quizzing Leagues hosted annually for all the annual subscribers (only) along with a monthly quiz conducted online
How many such a month? It’ll begin with 3 and go up as the readers increase.
If you’re a parent, there’ll also be an additional digest a month that your child can play with featuring word games, quizzes, and more trivia that are child-friendly.
Lastly, but not least (They need to come up with a better phrase!), who am I?
At the core of it all, I’m just a huge lover of facts and trivia. Just that wide-eyed boy who loves his encyclopedia.
I’ve been a quizzer all through my school and college days. I regularly host pub quizzes in Bangalore. But most valuably, I have hosted over ~200 quizzes online during the pandemic, built a community of trivia lovers called ‘Qua Qui’, and have engaged more than ~500 unique people from around the world in quizzes.
Beyond this, I’ve also been a teacher to Grade 2 and 3 students for two years. An experience that is dearest to my heart.
This digest, hence, combines my love for teaching with that for trivia into one.
Ok, I’m sold! Where do I sign up?
The first issue is free for all and will be out on June 11th, 2021. Post the first free for all issue, there’ll be a small monthly charge (~INR 199 per month).
On annual subscriptions, I’ll be offering discounts of up to 25% (Currently, at almost 50% for the first 100 signups). Additionally, founding members (loyal readers) can pay any amount higher than prescribed to say thanks.
None of this is set in stone and I aim to figure these out as we go along.
Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue.
In the meantime, tell your friends!