Whensday: Mathematics, Politics and Moby Dick

Today (November 20) is someone’s birthday. I do not have any friends or acquaintances with a birthday, but history tells me that two interesting people were born on this day. The first is Belgian lawyer Victor D’Hondt in 1841. He was a lawyer at the University of Ghent in the 19th century and discovered a method for distributing seats in parliament in a proportional manner. Some would say he rediscovered it, as a similar method had also been presented by Thomas Jefferson at the end of the 18th century. The D’Hondt method helps to apportion votes in a fair manner and is used by countries around the world, including Belgium and the Netherlands. If you know anything about the complexity of Belgian politics and political parties, you will understand the importance of this method. 

In the Netherlands Willem Jacob van Stockum was born on this day in 1910. He was a mathematician who worked on the general theory of relativity. He died as a bomber pilot in fighting at the end of WWII. But his discovery of CTC’s (Closed Timeline Curves) showed that the possibility of traveling back in time might be possible. Just what some might want to do considering certain outcomes of voting in years past or present or the results of some wars. 

But on this day in 1820 (after Thomas Jefferson had figured out his method but before Victor D’Hondt had rediscovered it) a sperm whale attacked and sunk a whaling ship from Massachusetts. This became the basis of one of my favorite books from Herman Melville called “Moby Dick”. And anyone can travel back in time to this period, even today, simply by picking up the book and reading the story. 

COPA Benelux 2024

Each year an indoor soccer tournament is organized for the churches in Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a fun opportunity to get together in a different way and to show how much fun can be had by Christians together. It is also an opportunity to invite friends to a different kind of activity. 

In past years the congregation in Maastricht has put together a team. As a matter of fact, we were the first ones to win in the Fun league (we have never had a team in the “pro” league). But in the past years it has become a bit more difficult to field a team. Last year we were part of “Fun United”. This year I signed up individually and was assigned to the team from The Hague - Den Haag Xtra (they said I was the “extra”). 

There were 7 pro teams and 4 fun teams, which is quite an increase from the previous years. It was great to see so many taking part. Halfway through the day we stop to have time to sing together, hear a short devotional thought and pray together. Each game is officiated by the players themselves. It was exciting to see the players being honest and helping one another, even those on the other team. This is what it looks like when Christians get together to have fun. 

And in the end Den Haag Xtra were the Fun champions! I was the goalie for the
games and enjoyed being able to help the team to this victory. It was fun to encourage, to have some good conversations between games and just to have fun together. Next year we will try to put together a team from Maastricht and see if we can bring the trophy home again. 

Whatsit Wednesday: Jar licker

I remember cooking with my mom and siblings in the kitchen when I was young. Whenever Mom made cookies or a cake or some such, we were allowed to help, especially with the clean-up. This meant, since there were multiple siblings, that someone got the spoon, someone else the spatula and two others the bowl. When we ended up having six, it got harder to be fair. Each kid had something to lick off and enjoy. 

So when I got to the Netherlands and heard that they had a utensil which is literally called a “jar licker” - pottenlikker - I was intrigued. What did this utensil look like and how was it used. But there wasn’t much of a mystery. It was exactly what it purported to be - a utensil which helps clear out a jar. 

Mind you, it is not a spatula. A spatula can be used to clean a pan or bowl or pot. It is a bit of silicon on a stick that can be used, better than a spoon, to clean the edges of the pan or bowl or pot. The “pottenlikker” has a different task in the kitchen. It is specifically used for (usually glass) jars. The word for jar in Dutch is “pot”, just to make things a bit more confusing. 

The Dutch are considered to be thrifty. Some call I stingy. The joke among the Belgians about the Dutch is: How do you know which yard is from a Dutchman? It is the one with the toiletpaper hanging up to dry. So wanting to get the very last bits out of a jar makes perfect sense for a Dutchman. After all, you paid for everything in the jar, you should be able to enjoy every last bit. That is what a pottenlikker is for - to get the very last bit. 

But it also touches on another desire of the Dutchman - being environmentally friendly. The Dutch have a lot of things in jars. They buy their vegetables in jars instead of cans. Glass jars can be recycled. There is a place in every neighborhood to bring your used glass containers (jars). But these should be dumped or gathered clean. If you leave bits of food in the jar, it will only attract bugs of all sorts and will stink up the area. So every jar should be cleaned. Enter the pottenlikker.