Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai. I hope that all of you are doing well and continuing to stay safe and healthy. Hopefully you aren’t buried under too much snow and are starting to see the first signs of Spring (it’s definitely spring here in Shanghai)!
As I discussed in my last blog post, China has dropped almost all of the Covid-19 restrictions. This past week, they announced that tourist visas would once again be processed (seemingly one of the last remaining restrictions in place). This is a bittersweet announcement for me because I have wanted to have my parents come visit me (and Emmet) since coming to Shanghai in 2019, and now that it looks like a possibility, I’m preparing to leave. That said, I am somewhat optimistic, that if I want to, I’ll be able to come visit Emmet in 2024. As I mentioned last time, the atmosphere in Shanghai is very surreal. Everything feels back to normal (or what I perceive as 2019 normal). That said, there are clear signs that this is not the case. Most notably, on my walks and runs, there are many stores that have closed within the past year. With all of the Covid-19 restrictions gone, the only sign that anything ever happened is that people still frequently wear masks, though that is becoming significantly less frequent (though still common). The only place that it’s required is on public transportation (the metro/busses). China is even allowing PCR test free travel to certain countries (though not the US or UK as of yet).
In terms of Covid, I was able to get a 4th booster shot (as was Emmet) of the Sinopharm vaccine. Given that my last shot was in January of 2022, I was grateful that I was able to get a booster. That said, I still plan to get the latest Pfizer/Moderna vaccine once I move to the UK.
So, things are now very similar to what they were like when I arrived in Shanghai in 2019. Given how much I’ve grown and evolved, how many of my friends have since left, and how much has actually happened in the world, it is very strange to write that. That said, I’m trying to make the most of my last few months here and enjoy these newfound freedoms! Here are some of the highlights from this past month!
Astronomy in Shanghai
This past month was relatively productive. I’ve been working on some minor tweaks to my Luminosity Function paper and should have that submitted to MNRAS soon. I found a bug in my code, so I’m glad we caught it before we submitted the paper for publication. Though this correction changes some of the results, it doesn’t change the overall results of the paper.
Outside of my CLF project, my ICL project was officially published by MNRAS! Here’s the link to the paper. I believe you may need a college/university library account to access it, so if you are unable to access the pdf and would like to, please e-mail me and I’ll send you the pdf. I’ve also started a follow-up analysis to this project (again working with my collaborators Yuanyuan and Ricardo) looking at the correlation between the magnitude gap and the ICL, both tracers of hierarchical growth, in DES clusters. So, I hope to have some interesting results to share with you next month! Since my next postdoc will be focused on the ICL, it’s exciting to be starting up a new ICL focused project.
Outside of the ICL and CLF, I’m continuing to work on DESI research. The 1st year of DESI spectroscopic data was released to the collaboration, so it’s exciting to finally have enough data to begin cluster science!
Also, as I mentioned in my last post, SJTU is back open. I don’t have to preregister to enter campus and can just scan my campus ID (on my phone) when I arrive at the gate to enter campus. I’ll note that most Chinese universities are more like Skidmore College with multiple gates (though here you have to scan in) to enter/exit campus, and not like Brown or the University of Michigan, which have sprawling campuses that blend into the city. That said, I believe people who are not students or employees still need permission to enter campus. I’ve been able to go in to campus 2 times per week. While I’m still going to campus via the metro (a ~75 minutes each way combined walk + metro trip), I am glad that some activities like group meetings and colloquiums are once again able to be in person as it’s nice to interact with some of my colleagues.
Life in Shanghai
Unlike last month, there were no exciting trips this month, though Emmet is visiting me in Shanghai next weekend! I can’t wait to see him and have him meet Scottie and Charlie!
In the meantime, there were still a lot of fun things I did this month! One of the main highlights is that it’s definitely Spring in Shanghai! It even reached 90 degrees a few weeks ago! Thankfully, it’s not normally that warm, most days are in the 60s. It’s been so nice out that I’ve been able to intersperse more running into my exercise routine (when the air quality is okay)! I even did a few runs with some of my friends and trainers from F45! I haven’t done a lot of group running since I moved to Shanghai, but I used to enjoy running with Emmet, my Dad, or my friend Juliette when I was in Ann Arbor, so it’s been nice to do more of that again! One of the runs was a group fundraiser for Turkey and Syria (it was part of a weekend of exercise events that raised a few thousand dollars) and I was happy to participate and donate.
The best part of getting to spend more time outside running or walking is that there are gorgeous flowers everywhere! Those of you who have been reading for a few years may remember that in 2020 and 2021, I shared tons of photos of the flowers. Last year, the city-wide lockdowns effectively prevented Spring from happening (or at least me from experiencing it), so it’s so wonderful to see Shanghai in bloom once again!
One of my favorite parts of living in Shanghai is the abundance of Cherry blossoms! It is so wonderful to be able to see them again this Spring! I look forward to showing Emmet Shanghai in the spring, as opposed to the summer when he visited last time (when he arrived in China in August, 2021).
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure!
Normally, this would be in a bit about anime and manga, but this past month, I went to an exhibit in the Joy City mall (a Japanese mall) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Anime. For those of you who are unfamiliar, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a long running manga (it began in the 1980s) with multiple arcs centered around different members of the Joestar family, spanning locations from England, to the US, to Japan, to Egypt, to Italy and time from the 19th century to the present day. The story focuses on different members of the Joestar family using the powers of hamon and later their stands (something of a supernatural soul) to fight against the forces of evil, from vampires to the forces of Dio Brando. Emmet and I have read a lot of the manga (still working our way through it) and watched all the anime, so I knew I wanted to check out the exhibit!
There were three different parts of the exhibit. The first was the welcome area with different character cutouts and posters of all the main characters!
The Second part of of the exhibit, which was my favorite part, was the animation cells. They placed the sketched animation cells next to the fully colored and animated images. This was really cool to see! The art style was very reminiscent of the manga and the cells looked like comic book pages I’ve seen being drawn! While I read a lot of comics, I’ve never really examined how animation is done, so it was really neat to see!
And for those of you wondering, one of the things that makes the JoJo’s manga and anime unique is the way that color is more fluidly used (things don’t always stay the same color), often changing to add to the mood of the story!
The last part of the exhibit featured these really cool displays of the character cutouts set up in different key scenes/locations from the anime!
As a huge manga and anime fan, I had such a fun time exploring the exhibits! It was certainly a great way to spend the afternoon!
In addition, there were a ton of different stores selling anime and manga statues (and even some comics) in the Joy City mall! While I only bought a few small things, It was definitely fun to see all of the cool stuff! I’ll have to go back and pick up a few things, but I don’t want to get too much as I’ll have to figure out how I’m getting it all to Nottingham!
In addition to all of the cool anime and manga statues and posters, there were a bunch of other cool things that I saw while walking around Shanghai! As you can see, there are tons of things just on the street that always make it fun to go for a walk. Unsurprisingly, there are still lots of Rabbits around for the Year of the Rabbit! Plus, it’s always cool to see different highlights of Shanghai architecture as well as different parts of the city lit up at night! And you never know, maybe I’ll see another hot pink Tesla out in the wild? Plus, that is such a cool galaxy themed backpack!
While Scottie and Charlie are absolutely adorable, I also saw some other adorable and friendly cats, including some of the cats who live near F45 and some who live in my neighborhood!
Scottie and Charlie
This past month marked the 1 year anniversary since I adopted Scottie and Charlie!! Special thanks to my friend Sydney for rescuing them and taking care of them until they found their forever home (me)! As you all know, this was one of the best decisions that I have made in my time in Shanghai. They both continue to bring me endless joy, whether they’re cuddled on top of me, sleeping next to me, trying to get my attention while I work, or playing with their favorite toys! While figuring out all the logistics on getting them to the UK is a bit challenging (we’ll be flying to Paris then taking a pet taxi to the UK), they’re love is well worth it!
As you can see, Charlie and Scottie continue to be absolutely adorable when they cuddle together!
Surprisingly, Scottie and Charlie continue to find new places to explore (namely sleeping on top of my suitcase in my closet), though Scottie still loves his other high perches! Charlie (and Scottie) have also started crawling under my blankets to cuddle when I’m sleeping!
Even when they’re not snuggling together, Scottie and Charlie are just so adorable! They’re wonderful work companions!
Food in Shanghai
To celebrate accepting my new postdoctoral position at the University of Nottingham, I got food from one of my favorite vegan restaurants! I ended up over ordering, so I had enough food for three meals! 🙂
I enjoyed fried mushrooms, sword beans, spicy seitan hot pot, Beijing style bao buns with seitan, sword beans, and noodles with vegetables and tofu! As you can see, I love that there’s so much variety in the different ingredients and styles of Chinese food! It always makes for a fun eating experience!
For those of you who read Emmet’s blog, you may remember that he often goes to vegan markets in Beijing. Sadly, there is no such vegan market in Shanghai. However, with the relaxing of the Covid-19 policies, the Jiashan Market (which is next to F45) has returned after at least a one year absence. This market is mostly different food vendors, but made for a great lunch earlier this month after a run with friends from F45! I got a falafel wrap and pan-fried vegan mushroom jiaozi (dumplings)! I look forward to continuing to go during the spring/summer!
In addition to this delicious food, I also made a lot of tasty food for me to enjoy. It’s just starting to be the end of soup weather, so I made a few more tasty soups as well! I made red curry noodle soup (with tofu), Mushroom and rice soup, red lentil chili, chickpea cauliflower burgers, vegan monster cookies, and spicy lentil meatballs!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
About two weeks ago, was the holiday Purim! As things are now back to normal, Kehilat Shanghai was able to celebrate Purim at Tacolicious. We had over 50 people gather for a fun evening of delicious food and camaraderie (we even played some fun Purim videos) and I was able to get wooden groggers on taobao! It was so great to see so many people in person again! Since we were making up for having to cancel our Channukkah party, we even had latkes made. More importantly, Chef Thijs made absolutely delicious hamantaschen (raspberry, peach, and chocolate), which were a huge hit with the attendees and the community! I even got some extras to share with my colleagues! I’m so glad that I was able to organize such a fun event and super grateful to the team at Tacolicious for helping to make it such a wonderful evening!
In addition to Purim, since my last update, we’ve had two trivia nights! At the end of this post, I’ll share the questions that I wrote as well as those Emmet wrote.
Also, we’re in the process of finalizing all the plans for the Kehilat Shanghai 2nd Night Community Seder for Passover! I’ll be leading the Seder again this year. This will be the last large event that I lead for the Kehilat community (they’ll be other smaller Shabbats and events in the summer), so it’s somewhat bittersweet to think about. That said, I’m so glad that we’re able to gather together again in person this year! Since my next post will be out afterwards, I wanted to wish all of you who are celebrating a Chag Pesach Same’ach! Happy Passover! I hope that you’re able to gather with family and friends to celebrate.
What I’m Reading and Watching
This week, I finished reading Project Hail Mary the third novel from Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, which I really enjoyed! As both an Astronomer and a fan of science fiction, this was a really fun and entertaining read. Like in The Martian, I found most of the science to be plausible, which helped make the book much more enjoyable! To briefly summarize without spoiling, the story focuses on Dr. Ryland Grace, who is sent on a suicide mission to a nearby star, following the arrival of an interstellar organism (astrophage) that is slowly eating the sun. Dr. Grace’s mission is to discover, why this star (Tau Ceti), which also hosts astrophage is not dimming. If you enjoyed The Martian, either the book or movie, this is definitely worth reading! Plus, there’s a movie in development starring Ryan Gosling.
Since my last post, I finished a surprising number of shows (I guess that’s what happens when a lot of shows have the same number of episodes). I finished the first season of Tokyo Vice, on HBOMax. This show is about Jake Adelstein, an American reporter who is working for a Japanese newspaper in the 1990s and his work to uncover and help bring down part of the Yakuza. Even though this is set in Tokyo, and not Shanghai, during the more mundane parts of the show, there were clear parallels I could see to my life in China. From standing out in almost every room, looks from natives, to the clustering of expats in many environments. While the show is very interesting, it does portray somewhat of a white savior narrative where Jake is the only earnest reporter willing to dig deeper, which while may reflect Jake Adelstein’s experience (he’s a real person), but was at times uncomfortable. I also finished the 3rd season of Jack Ryan, on Amazon Prime. This season centered on preventing a conflict between the US and Russia. While the past seasons had larger more complex mysteries, this season was very political, and given how close what was happening in the show is to real world events, made it at times less enjoyable. However, it’s still quite good. Additionally, I finished the 4th and final season on Ozark! For those of you who are unfamiliar, Ozark tells the story of the Byrd family. The show begins with Marty Byrd (the father) money laundering money for a Mexican drug cartel. In this season, we see a dramatic change to the dynamic as the Byrds have secured a position of power within the cartel’s hierarchy and are thus able to leverage that power to attempt to leave the cartel and setup political power in the US (using the financial system built from the money laundering operation). It’s a pretty dark and grim show, where almost all of the characters are somewhat unlikable or do things that are terrible. That said, its excellent TV and certainly paints a grim picture about the level of corruption that exists within the US political infrastructure (not just parts of the government, but also the lobbying institutions). Emmet and I have slowly been working our way through all the DC animated TV shows. This month, I finished Teen Titans, the animated show starting Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy that ran in the mid-2000s. This was a fun ride featuring some of my favorite characters! It’s definitely a departure from the Batman the Animated Series universe, but is certainly great fun and still holds up 15 years later! Lastly, I also finished watching the anime Mob Psycho 100! This is about the adventures of middle school student Shigeo Kageyama (Mob) as he uses his psychic powers to fight the forces of evil, other psychics, and save the world, all while trying to deal with his emotions. While at times it oscillates between a comedy and an action series, it does a nice job balancing the genres!
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you so much for reading. I know this month was very anime heavy, so for those of you who are anime fans, I hope that you enjoyed it! Next month, I’ll share some of the highlights from Emmet’s visit as well as Passover! Again, Happy Passover to those of you celebrating! And Happy Easter for those of your who celebrate as well! If you have any questions about anything that I shared or anything else related to life in Shanghai, don’t hesitate to write or comment on the blog.
In peace,
Jesse
Trivia
February Trivia
Hearts (Jesse)
1). Which side of your heart pumps blood into the lungs?
2). Billy Shears is the lead singer of this Fictional Band?
3). Name this electrical system that control’s the beating of the heart.
4). The Queen of Hearts is one of the primary antagonists in a novel by this British Author?
5). The heart is often divided into 4 chambers. Name them.
6). The most heart attacks each year occur on this holiday.
7). On average to the nearest 500 gallons, how much blood is pumped by your heart every day?
8). This animal has the largest heart?
9). Name this Black man who founded the first black-owned hospital in the US and performed the first successful heart surgery
10). In this short story by Edgar Allen Poe, the unnamed narrator is driven to commit murder by the thumping sound of a beating heart.
Answers — 1). right 2). Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 3). Cardiac Conduction System 4). Lewis Carrol 5). Left/Right Ventricle and Atrium 6). Christmas 7). 2000 gallons
8). Blue Whale 9). Dr. Daniel Hale Williams 10). The Tell Tale Heart
Year of the Rabbit (Jesse)
1).Though not as famous as their brother Peter, Beatrix Potter filled out Peter Rabbit’s family with these three sisters
2). In Rabbits, these body parts never stop growing?
3). Created by Stan Sakai and inspired by the legendary Musashi, name this comic book anthropomorphic rabbit who has appeared alongside the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
4). Contrary to Looney Tunes, the primary food eaten by Rabbits should be this, not carrots.
5). Name this 1944 play about Elwood P. Dowd and his presumed imaginary friend, who is described as a 6ft 3 in pooka that resembles and anthropomorphic rabbit. This was also made into a 1950 movie starring Jimmy Stewart
6). Since Rabbits are unable to sweat, they use these body parts that can rotate 180 degrees to regulate their temperature.
7). In the 2001 science fiction psychological thriller, Donnie Darko, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie has visions of a mysterious figure named what who is seen wearing a rabbit costume and informs Donnie that the world will end in 28 days.
8). Surprisingly, baby rabbits are called this, more commonly used to refer to another type of young animal.
9). Name this British children’s classic by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson that chronicles the titular stuffed rabbit’s desire to become real through the love of his owner.
10). When Rabbits are happy they hop in the air, twist their body, and kick their feet, a motion of pure joy commonly referred to as what?
Answers — 1). Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail 2). Teeth 3). Usagi Yojimbo/Miyamoyo Usagi 4). Hay 5). Harvey 6). Ears 7). Frank 8). kittens 9). The Veleveteen Rabbit 10). Binkying
Beijing Olympics 2022 Revisited (Emmet)
1). Name the two mascots for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics?
2). Gu Ailing (Eileen Gu) became a household name here in China due to her dominance in Women’s Freestyle skiing. How many of each type of medal did she win? (Bonus: Can you name the disciplines)
3). This country won the most Gold medals and the most medals overall
4). After losing out on gold due to showboating in the Snowboarder X gold medal race at the 2006 Turino Games, this athlete finally got redemption in 2022, winning two gold medals in the discipline.
5). This venue, built for the Beijing 2008 games, was converted into an arena for curling for the 2022 games (it has since been converted back). (Use either name)
6). This nation won it’s first Winter Olympic Gold Medal (via snowboard women’s slopestyle)
7). Although she had a disappointing Olympics, this skier recently passed Lindsey Vonn as winningest female alpine skier (and will likely become the winningest alpine skier later this year).
8). These two warm weather countries (one in the tropics and one in the desert) made their Winter Olympic debuts
9). Leading up to the Men’s Figure Skating Competition, much of the news coverage centered around these two figures. One, the eventual winner. The second, the two-time defending champion, who was mysteriously absent in Beijing until just before the event
10).These two powerhouses battled for the gold for the 6th time in 7 Olympics since the introduction of Women’s Ice Hockey
Answers — 1). Bing Duan Duan and Shui Ran Ran 2). Gold – Big Air, Gold – Half Pipe, Silver – Slopestyle 3). Norway 4). Lindsey Jacobellis 5). The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Water Cube/Ice Cube 6). New Zealand 7). Mikaela Shiffrin 8). Haiti/Saudi Arabia 9). Nathan Chen/Yuzuru Hanyu 10). Canada & The USA
Connections (Jesse)
1). Name this 4th most populous city in the US, named after the president of the Republic of Texas.
2). In 1215, this king was forced into signing the Magna Carta to make peace with a group of rebellious barons.
3). This science fiction franchise created in the 1960’s by Gene Roddenburry, spans both feature films and animations and has featured actors including LeVar Burton, Nichelle Nichols, and John Cho.
4). Name this global messaging network that is a major component of global payment systems. As part of the sanctions, Russian banks were banned from using it.
5). Name this iconic superheroine who was created by American psychologist/writer William Moulton Marston in 1941 and has appeared in comics, animation, tv, and feature films.
6). Name this character who first appeared in Peanuts in 1968, who was the first African American character in the series.
7). While Will Smith got all the wrong headlines after last year’s Oscars. He did win the Best Actor Oscar for his role in this film?
8). This team was the first AFL team to win the Super Bowl.
9). In Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, this man’s ghost tells Scrooge that he “wears the chains I forged in life” and that Scrooge still has a chance for redemption.
10). What is the Connection?
Answers — 1). Houston 2). King John 3). Star Trek 4). SWIFT 5). Wonder Woman 6). Franklin 7). King Richard 8). New York Jets 9). Jacob Marley 10). Famous Musicians
March Trivia
March (Jesse)
1). The graphic novel series March, was the autobiographical series of this civil rights icon and former US Congressman’s life.
2). March of the Penguins, the 2005 Oscar Winning documentary tells the story of the yearly journey of these kinds of penguins.
3). This character, named Haghia, in Through the Looking Glass, appears in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the Tea Party Scene
4). This US non-profit organization was founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and works to improve the health of mother’s and babies.
5). The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took place in what year?
6). Middlemarch, a Study of Provincial Life is an 1872 novel by this British author? It is widely regarded as her best work and follows the interesting stories on many characters, including the status of women, nature of marriage, religion, political reform, and historical events. Bonus: What is this author’s real name?
7). On the Ides of March, the murder of Julius Caesar was lead by these two men?
8). This March in 2017, attracting between 3.2 and 5.2 million people was the largest march in US history
9). The largest anti-war protest in history occurred in 2003 in this city with over 3 million people gathering
10). This composer is known primarily for writing many of the US military marches
Answers — 1). John Lewis 2). Emperor Penguins 3). March Hare 4). March of Dimes 5). 1963 6). George Eliot Bonus — Mary Ann Evans 7). Brutus & Cassius 8). Women’s March 9). Rome 10). John Philip Sousa
march Madness (Emmet)
1). The NBA G-League Team, the Fort Wane Mad Ants don’t get their name from crazy insects, but rather this American Revolutionary War General
2). Although the 1992 cover of “Mad World” by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews that was featured in Donnie Darko is arguably better known, the original song was by this band
3). Although “March Madness” was first used to describe basketball in 1939, it wasn’t until this year that Brent Musberger famously coined the term to describe the NCAA tournament (within 5 years).
4). 1.Although the role was originated by Mel Gibson, he was the most recent actor to portray “Mad Max” in Mad Max: Fury Road
5). In Mad Men, Don Draper works at this fictional advertising agency
6). The non-profit group M.A.D.D. (in the US) stands for this
7). He was the mascot and most recognizable character from Mad Magazine
8). Bertha Mason is the “mad woman in the attic” in this Bronte novel
9). The Batman Adventures: Mad Love was the introduction of this sometimes villain, sometimes hero former love interest of the Joker
10). Lewis Carroll’s character of the Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is inspired by the damage inflicted on many haberdashers by this material, which caused neurological damage, slurred speech, memory loss, and tremors
Answers — 1). Mad Anthony Wayne 2). Tears for Fears 3). 1982 4). Tom Hardy 5). Sterling Cooper 6). Mothers Against Drunk Driving 7). Alfred E. Neuman 8). Jane Eyre 9). Harley Quinn 10). Mercury Poisoning
Women’s History Month (Jesse)
1). This woman became the all time leader in Skiing World Cup championships (men’s and women’s) this past weekend?
2). Dr. Vera Rubin is the Astronomer responsible for discovering this Universal substance that makes up ~ 25% of the Universe
3). In 1893, Kate Sheppard and fellow suffragists presented a petition to Parliament demanding women’s suffrage with nearly 32,000 signatures, leading to this country being the first to grant women national voting rights?
4). Though Vice President Kamala Harris became the first women to be elected as either US President or Vice President, this former congresswoman was the first woman to be nominated as either president or Vice President by a major political party (Democratic/Republican) when she was Walter Mondale’s VP in 1984.
5). Celebrated much more around the world than in the US, International Women’s day, was first celebrated in this year. Somewhat ironically, 1 week before the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York. (Answer within 3 years)
6). In 1983, this woman became the first female Astronaut when she flew aboard the space shuttle Challenger?
7). In 1987, this Queen of Soul got the respect she deserved when she became the first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame
8). In 1000 CE, Murasaki Shikibu wrote and published the world’s first novel, name it
9). Name this one and only female pharaoh in recorded history?
10). In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike was elected as prime minister of this island nation (and later re-elected in 1970). The first woman to hold such a position. Name this nation
Answers — 1). Mikaela Shiffrin 2). Dark Matter 3). New Zealand 4). Geraldine Ferraro 5). 1911 6). Sally Ride 7). Aretha Franklin 8). Tale of Genji 9). Hatshepsut 10). Sri Lanka
Pi(e) (Emmet)
1). The value of Pi is defined as the ratio of these two mathematical qualities of a circle
2). The Apple Pie is quintessentially American. Just like America, the modern version of the dish is the result of the melting pot of different Apple dishes brought from Colonists from these three countries (primarily)
3). The earliest estimates of the mathematical value of pi date back to what century (within 400 years)
4). A Pate Chinois is the French-Canadian version of this classic savory pie
5). In units of radians, the angular measure of a circle is what?
6). Although better known for the series of raunchy teen comedies, the song “American Pie” was originally performed by this American singer
7). Although we call it pumpkin pie, the majority of canned pumpkin is actually made of this vegetable
8). To prevent the pastry dough from rising, seasoned pastry chefs will place this kitchen item on top of the dough, which can sometimes be substituted for dried beans, when cooking the dough
9). The annual Key Lime Festival is held in this Florida city (and has been held every year since 2002)
10). How many digits were ancient Chinese mathematicians able to estimate pi to (within 1 digit)
Answers — 1). Diameter (radius)/Circumference 2). England, the Netherlands, Sweden 3). 1900-1600 BCE 4). Shepherd’s pie 5). 2 pi 6). Don McClean 7). Squash 8). pie weights 9). Key West 10). 7
Connections (Jesse)
1). Name this Scottish-born inventor and scientist/engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone
2). Name this popular toy that was invented in 1949 which features an oblong shaped body and detachable body parts including ears, eyes, shoes, hat, nose, mouth
3). Name this American classic novel, published in 1951 that tells the story of Holden Caulfield
4). Name this popular lawn game or tail gating game featuring two boards with 1 hole each and beanbags.
5). Name this 2006 war drama about the Irish War for Independence and Irish Civil War that shares it’s name with the Robert Dwyer Joyce’s 1798 Irish Ballad song. The movie starred Cillian Murphy.
6). Name this American author known for children’s classics including Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web?
7). Name this Swedish brand alternative dairy product (and company) that was founded in the 1990s and has become incredibly trendy in China and even has a production factory in Anhui
8). Mantou, Taiyaki, Hotteok, and Naan are all types of this general food item that are traditional to different Asian cuisines
9). Elizabeth Faulkner, Florian Bellanger, Duff Goldman, Ho Chi Minh, Christina Tosi, Lorraine Pascale, and Buddy Valastro are all this type of cook, many of which have appeared on television.
10). What is the Connection?
Answers — 1). Alexander Graham Bell 2). Mr. Potato head 3). The Catcher in the Rye 4). Corn Hole 5). The Wind that Shakes the Barley 6). E.B. White 7). Oatly 8). Bread 9). Pastry Chef 10). Types of Flour
