Further Reading is a monthly tangent of definitely-not-bike-related reads that have nothing to do with riding but are just too good not to share. While there aren't any 'hard-hitting' stem reviews below, you will find long-form reads, thought-provoking stories, interesting videos, and other non-bike content that we've been following from across our network and beyond. This one includes UFOs, of course, but you'll also find stories about ancient gold coins, tightrope walking, and a Himalayan tragedy.
Found something interesting that's worth sharing and has nothing to do with bikes? Post it in the comments below.
"Examining whether a ruler slipped through the cracks of a tumultuous century."
The story of how eight gold coins found buried in 1713 points to the existence of a previously unknown Roman emperor named Sponsian. Back in the third century when Sponsian might have been around, the empire was struggling with economic turmoil, wars, and a pandemic (sound familiar?), conditions that saw at least twenty-six different leaders, most of whom had gold coins created bearing their faces and names.
"When Leo Babler was born with a rare and deadly genetic disorder, his parents reshaped their lives, moving to the mountains, building out an adventure van, and making sure their son experienced the most beautiful wild places in the country during the time they had."
Heartwrenching but also heartwarming, Babler shares the deeply personal story of her son Leo's life with rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata, a rare condition that has devastating effects on the musculoskeletal, respiratory, and nervous systems.
"Pilot Mark Hulsey is a former F/A-18 Hornet turned commercial pilot who has encountered UAP multiple times in his 12,000 hours of flight time. Frustrated, Mark questions why these phenomena are not openly investigated and reflects on the backlash he has received, mysteriously missing radar footage, and why everyone has the right to know what’s happening."
"In 1976, Nanda Devi Unsoeld, the daughter of legendary alpinist Willi Unsoeld, died while climbing the massive Indian peak for which she was named. Decades later, friends, family, and surviving expedition members offer new insights into what went wrong during this controversial adventure, shedding light on an enigmatic young woman who lived without limits."
Narula's story takes you to Nanda Devi, an imposing Himalayan peak that stands 25,645 feet tall and where a woman of the same name died for still unknown reasons.
"Road to Le Mans tells the story of Hollywood star Michael Fassbender’s dream to compete against the best race teams and drivers in the world at the 24h of Le Mans."
This series follows Fassbender on his four-year journey to compete in the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious endurance race in the world, and it does an incredible job of showing the highs and lows of motorsport. With multiple classes and three drivers to a car, many with vastly different skill levels, the FIA World Endurance Championship can make F1 seem pretty straightforward, but Road to Le Mans does a great job of explaining the complicated rules. If anything, watch it for some absolutely bonkers onboard camera footage and sounds from Fassbender's 911 RSR-19.
"I taught myself to walk a tightrope in high heels after seeing a middle-aged woman do it in a circus tent on the banks of the Thames. She wore a black cocktail dress and silver stilettos. She had tattoo sleeves and the kind of confidence you expect in army generals. She carried no pole."
I stumbled onto Rundell's short op-ed about tightrope walking, originally published in 2016, and have now wasted at least an entire workday's worth of time learning more about the highwire sport. As you'd expect, its history is full of ridiculous feats and interesting people, from the Flying Wallendas to Maria Spelterini and Charles Blondin. Can you imagine carrying a stove over Niagara Falls on a one-inch wide wire, stopping to cook some eggs, then continuing on over the 1,700-foot wide chasm?
The story of Leo was the sweetest and the saddest I have ever read. It was told in a simple way and from each word you can feel the love was sorrounding him, but men I am crying now. This make us feel human I think.
Regarding the possible unknown Roman Emperor, this time period is known as the Crisis of the Third Century, and was a really bad time to be around. The Empire actually split into three. There was a "Gallic Empire" that consisted of what is now France, Spain, Parts of Belgium/Netherlands and parts of Germany. The center part consisting of Italy, the Balkans, and North Africa, and the Easter half which was Syria, Egypt, Turkey and the Levant. There were so many Emperors during this time (50, from the years from 235-284) it's hard to keep track. This Sponsian may have been a local commander who was hailed as Imperator by his troops and never made it back to contest the sitting Emperor for control.
Death, life, and everything in-between is what makes us human. There's no words or visuals that can completely and truly convey the the culmination of experiences one endures. Leo's story by Lewann is one that brought me closer than ever before. The way she ended the article.... tears.
The Nanda Devi story was a good one. Many amazing things about it.
Amazing the way she announced she was dying and then promptly dropped dead.
I've actually seen this phenomenon happen before.
Maybe it's more common than I think it is.
@andyk: Use your imagination and consider what might change if/when we figure this stuff out or actually have some of their technology, medicine, philosophy, etc. The world wants you to keep your blinders on.
@mikelevy: It's wasteful spending time on what-if fantasies so I just watch Sabine Hossenfelder. That's where stuff is actually figured out, and delivered. Actual info about the actual world.
@andyk: For sure, she’s so good at explaining stuff. I watch a lot of her, Cool Worlds, and other traditional science channels. Sounds like you’re just not that curious, while I’d argue that UFOs are wildly interesting given the history. We might never know, but the sheer volume of strange happenings in the sky over human history, and the people who know something weird happened to them, all needs to be explained.
Do you know how much of the “actual world” our eyes and senses let us experience? In the actual world, our eyes only let us see a very small percentage (I’ve read as low as 1% but also a bit higher) of the EM spectrum. So maybe the answer to UFOs is as simple as we usually can’t see them but, for reasons we don’t understand, sometimes certain people can. Or maybe it’s all being created by our minds together? Maybe they’re from here? Point is, people are actually experiencing something, tangible or not, and it ain’t swamp gas. How this isn’t interesting is lost on me. Watch Moment of Contact, a recent documentary that covers only one case, and tell me some crazy shit isn’t happening. I’ll wait here
@andyk: Micro organisms weren’t discovered until the late 1600s, and it wasn’t until the late 1800s that science started to understand bacteria and infections. Before that, most smart people didn’t believe in tiny bugs, it was ridiculous and not the actual world. I guess my point is we only know what we know, but it’s foolish to think things stop there. Makes you sound like you think everything revolves around the earth
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvDC-wJkEtM&t=679s
Waste of mental capacity honestly. Focus on things that matter.
Do you know how much of the “actual world” our eyes and senses let us experience? In the actual world, our eyes only let us see a very small percentage (I’ve read as low as 1% but also a bit higher) of the EM spectrum. So maybe the answer to UFOs is as simple as we usually can’t see them but, for reasons we don’t understand, sometimes certain people can. Or maybe it’s all being created by our minds together? Maybe they’re from here? Point is, people are actually experiencing something, tangible or not, and it ain’t swamp gas. How this isn’t interesting is lost on me. Watch Moment of Contact, a recent documentary that covers only one case, and tell me some crazy shit isn’t happening. I’ll wait here