Happy Friday! If you're new to Now I Know, you'll notice that today's format differs from the rest of the week. On Fridays, I pause to write the "Weekender," my "week in review" type of thing, or to share something else I think you may find interesting. Thanks for reading! — Dan
A Reminder to Be Curious
Hi!
It’s been a few months since I launched The Curiosity Habit: 14 Days to See the World Differently, and I’ve heard from a bunch of readers who’ve gone through it and really enjoyed the experience. One note in particular stuck with me — because it’s from someone bringing the course into the classroom.
Here’s what Peter S., a Composition and Creative Writing teacher, shared:
I teach high school English and have wanted to include a small unit similar to a Now I Know essay for some time. After a few years of failing to launch, I will be using your The Curiosity Habit course to help my students find their own interests and end the unit by having them write their own Now I Know essay.
As an introduction to research, a piece similar to what you produce and share with us every day is a great way to introduce my classes to research-based writing.
I am looking forward to seeing what my students are curious about!
I love that — and it reminded me that some of you might still be on the fence about joining the course yourselves. So, here’s a little thank-you for reading Now I Know, especially as we wrap up year 15:
👉 Get $3 off the course for the next week with code THREEBUCKS.
Just use that code at checkout and you should be good to go. But the code expires this time next week, so now’s the time! 😀
And if you’re still unsure whether the course is a good fit, I put together a quick quiz to help you figure that out. It takes about a minute:
👉 How curious are you? Take the quiz:
It's ten questions and all multiple choice. Click here! You'll be done before your coffee gets cold, that's for sure.
Thanks, as always, for reading — and for being part of this community of curious people.
What’s the “Curiosity Habit”?
Writing Now I Know for 15 years has taught me this: curiosity is a superpower. It makes life richer, work more creative, and challenges easier.
That’s why I created a 14-day, self-paced course to help you unlock it for yourself:
✨ Learn faster & remember more
🧠 Boost creativity & problem-solving
🌱 Find more joy in everyday life
You can start today → Enroll in The Curiosity Habit
The Now I Know Week In Review
Monday: Let's Have a Book Burning?: Or, let’s save the books instead!
Tuesday: The Worst of the Best is Still Pretty Amazing: The NBA benchwarmer who proved just how good he is.
Wednesday: The Hug Me Dot: A sticker system that resolves ambiguity around hugging.
Thursday: The Book That Got Americans Hanged: I’ve been thinking about this one a lot and expect to be for weeks.
A Few Dollars = A Big Difference
Now I Know is supported by readers like you. Yes, you! Many of my readers donate a few dollars a month to help Now I Know grow and thrive. And in exchange, they get an ad-free version!
To become a monthly supporter via the newsletter’s Support page, click here. If you do, you’ll get the ad-free version going forward!
To become a one-time supporter via PayPal, click here.
To become a one-time supporter via Venmo, click here — I’m @DanDotLewis
And thanks! — Dan
Long Reads and Other Things
Here are a few things you may want to check out over the weekend:
1) ”The Unlikely Story of an E-mail Time Machine” (Scientific American, 6 minutes, November 2025). The subhead: “Twenty years ago Forbes sent hundreds of thousands of messages to the future. Here’s what happened next.”
2) “The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating” (Serious Eats, October 2025). I wish I had discovered this one before Thanksgiving.
3) “A Very Big Fight Over a Very Small Language” (New Yorker, 23 minutes, December 2025). The subhead: “In the Swiss Alps, a plan to tidy up Romansh—spoken by less than one per cent of the country—set off a decades-long quarrel over identity, belonging, and the sound of authenticity.”
Have a great weekend!
Dan