Ducks Are Employees at a Vineyard, the Victorian Version of Spotify, and A Mathematical Theorem for Cutting a Ham Sandwich

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Self-improvement, Science, Astronomy, Education

4.6 • 935 Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2020

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn about why hundreds of ducks are employees at a wine vineyard; a musical invention that was the Spotify of the Victorian era; and a delicious mathematical principle known as the ham sandwich theorem.

Hundreds of Ducks Are Employees at a Vineyard by Joanie Faletto
https://curiosity.com/topics/hundreds-of-ducks-are-employees-at-a-vineyard-curiosity

The Telharmonium was the Victorian version of Spotify by Steffie Drucker

McClure’s magazine v.27 1906 May-Oct. (2017). HathiTrust. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027895930&view=1up&seq=297
Morton, E. (2015, November 24). The Telharmonium Was the Spotify of 1906. Atlas Obscura; Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-telharmonium-was-the-spotify-of-1906
Stubbs, D. (2018, November 16). The World’s First Synthesizer Was a 200-Ton Behemoth. Smithsonian Magazine; Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/worlds-first-synthesizer-was-200-ton-behemoth-180970828/
Weidenaar, R. (1995). Magic Music from the Telharmonium. Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr2kq-598-YC&lpg=PP1&dq=telharmonium&pg=PA71#v=snippet&q=helmholtz&f=false
Davidson, R. (2014). 9XM Talking: The Early History of WHA Radio. Wisconsin Public Radio. http://www.portalwisconsin.org/archives/9xm.cfm#:~:text=

The Ham Sandwich Theorem Is a Delicious and Puzzling Mathematical Principle by Ashley Hamer
https://curiosity.com/topics/the-ham-sandwich-theorem-is-a-delicious-and-puzzling-mathematical-principle-curiosity

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/ducks-are-employees-at-a-vineyard-the-victorian-version-of-spotify-and-a-mathematical-theorem-for-cutting-a-ham-sandwich

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com.
0:06.1	I'm Cody Goff.
0:07.1	And I'm Ashley Hamer.
0:08.1	Today you learn about why hundreds of ducks or employees at a wine vineyard, a musical invention that was the Victorian version of Spotify,
0:16.0	and a delicious mathematical principle known as the Ham Sandwich Theorem.
0:20.0	Ham Sandwich Mathematics and ducks that work in a vineyard.
0:26.0	Those are funny April Fool's jokes, Ashley.
0:29.0	What are the real stories we're doing today?
0:31.0	No, Cody, those are real. Those are all real things.
0:34.6	You're not messing with me? No you know I hate April Fool's Day so we're doing some things that are
0:41.8	actually real but just kind of wacky.
0:45.0	All right, fine, let's dive in, but I'm going to be fact-checking you as we go along.
0:49.0	All right.
0:50.0	Let's satisfy some curiosity.
0:52.0	What would you think if you saw a herd of ducks, several hundred strong, running in formation through a vineyard? You might wonder whether you've had too much wine.
1:02.6	But at the Varanued wine estate in Stelenbosch, South Africa,
1:06.1	this is a daily and surprisingly orderly occurrence.
1:09.9	These are Indian runner ducks,
1:11.9	and they're employed at the vineyard to help with pest control.
1:15.2	While that might sound unusual, putting ducks to work actually has a long history,
1:19.7	both at this vineyard and around the world.
1:22.1	The ducks work five hours a day, five both at this vineyard and around the world.
	...

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