Saturdays are the day we catch up with all the non-finance related stuff we didn’t get to during the week. You can check out last week’s edition here.
Quote of the Day
"Generation X tends to fly under the radar in the culture war between boomers and millennials but we are the ones running the world. Most of the British cabinet, for example, are Gen-X-ers like me."
(Tim Harford)
Chart of the Day

Even with a coronavirus vaccine it’s hard to model a comeback in movie ticket sales in 2021 and beyond. (via @ballmatthew)
Autos
- Why we are still a ways from self-driving cars. (vox.com)
- Honda is leaving Formula 1 to focus on EVs. (sportico.com)
Environment
- Greeland is rapidly losing ice. (arstechnica.com)
- Climate-related changes are making the oceans less habitable. (hakaimagazine.com)
- Climate change related disasters also affect transportation as well. (npr.org)
- How recent California wildfires are different in nature than previous years. (wired.com)
- Enzymes that break down plastics are becoming more efficient. (theguardian.com)
Travel
- What it's like to visit New York City right now as a tourist. (msn.com)
- Scuba operators are having to adapt in pandemic. (washingtonpost.com)
Science
- Are black holes just big blobs of dark matter? (quantamagazine.org)
- Mars really does have frozen underground saltwater lakes. (nature.com)
Archaeology
- A new discovery is helping re-write the origins of Chinese civilization. (nationalgeographic.com)
- How the Caribbean islands were settled. (theconversation.com)
Technology
- RIP, Farmville. (arstechnica.com)
- The future of gadgets is monthly subscriptions. (debugger.medium.com)
Behavior
- How we experience time or why "Time flies when you’re having more fun than you expected." (quantamagazine.org)
- Some of the logical fallacies we fall for time and again. (markmanson.net)
- Why Headspace is winning the meditation app wars. (marker.medium.com)
- Why focused breathing is so effective at reducing stress. (hbr.org)
- Walks are good for you. They are even better when you do this. (nytimes.com)
Health
- The opioid epidemic did not pause for pandemic. (nytimes.com)
- Why your immune system weakens as you age. (scientificamerican.com)
- This study shows a potential downside for intermittent fasting. (nytimes.com)
- Tattoos may damage sweat glands. (newatlas.com)
Food
- Health officials are looking for additional ways to reduce American sugar consumption. (wsj.com)
- Subway bread is according to an Irish court not really bread. (theguardian.com)
- Why chicken farming today is for many a financial dead end. (vox.com)
- Why you should avoid highly restrictive diets. (elemental.medium.com)
Drink
- A new tool to help identify counterfeit whiskey. (wired.com)
- 'Dusty hunters' are out there looking for old bottles of booze. (nytimes.com)
Sports
- The pandemic only served to highlight the broken business model of big-time college football. (sportico.com)
- Why ESPN has no desire to lose the rights to Monday Night Football. (variety.com)
- Greyhound racing is rapidly going by the wayside in the US. (nationalgeographic.com)
- Horse racing is being invaded by small investors. (sportico.com)
- What ski resorts are doing to prepare for Winter with coronavirus. (wsj.com)
- How the underhand serve is being put to good use at the French Open. (nytimes.com)
Movie theaters
- Movie theaters are reducing showtimes due to a lack of demand. (hollywoodreporter.com)
- The movie theater experience is going to have to change post-Covid. (wired.com)
- Even with a coronavirus vaccine it's hard to model a comeback in movie ticket sales in 2021 and beyond. (twitter.com)
Children
- How school re-openings are going across the country. (vox.com)
- College students from low-income families are being adversely affected by the pandemic. (tonyisola.com)
MBA
- It took a pandemic for MBA programs to see a jump in applications. (wsj.com)
- Business schools outside the US are seeing a rise in admissions. (ft.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: IFR vs. R. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: the realities of investing. (abnormalreturns.com)
- An entertaining anomaly: why you should watch 'Ted Lasso.' (abnormalreturns.com)
- Every Friday I send out five links for advisers to help them think a little differently about the world. Sign up now! (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)