There is no doubt about it, we're bored and not even Netflix is churning out content quick enough to keep us content. However, these days, it seems as though we're looking for new creative ways to be entertained (see watching marble racing and Tetris tournaments).
Amongst the long days spent at home, two men have earned a cult following on YouTube, where people watch them solve tricky sudoku videos.
On May 10, the Cracking The Cryptic channel – which boasts more than 216,000 followers – posted The Miracle Sudoku video for Simon Anthony to solve. The puzzle only had two numbers to start with and the challenge was set by Mark Goodliffe, who co-runs the channel with Anthony.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Anthony says upon first seeing the puzzle. He assumes that Goodliffe is "trolling" him, and the video won't see the light of day. Oh, how wrong he was. At the time of writing, the 26-minute video had over 787,800 views.
The puzzle has more specific rules that a typical sudoku. As well as the traditional rules that a number cannot appear in a row or box more than once, he was also limited by the knight's and king's moves in chess and numbers cannot be consecutive, so a 1 and a 2 cannot be beside each other, for example.
As he perseveres, no one is as shocked as Anthony that he is managing to crack it.
"We may have to actually take this a bit more seriously," he says as he realises that it may just be a solvable puzzle.
The comments on the video reflect his glee at successfully solving the puzzle.
"Me: There's no way I'm going to watch a 25-minute video of some dude playing sudoku. Me: Cheers loudly when he places the 7,8,9s rapid fire," wrote one user.
Another said: "This is the most wholesome content I have ever witnessed".
Goodlife is, according to their video biographies, a 12-time reigning Times crossword champion and reigning UK sudoku champion. Anthony is a former UK team member in world sudoku and world puzzle championships.
In the YouTube description, the duo share a link to the puzzle, for people to try themselves at home.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
