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
"We are all distracted. We all have tribes too: social if not political. We are all vulnerable, then, to believing things that aren’t true. And we are equally vulnerable to denying or ignoring important truths."
(Tim Harford)
Autos
- Stephen Wilmot, "Delivery vehicles lend themselves to EV technology in ways passenger vehicles don’t." (wsj.com)
- Microsoft ($MSFT) is investing in GM’s self-driving vehicle startup Cruise. (marketwatch.com)
- Despite some missteps VW trails only Tesla ($TSLA) in terms of EV and hybrid auto production. (wsj.com)
Energy
- Offshore wind installations require their own specialized support. (wsj.com)
- Oil and gas companies could become geothermal energy powerhouses. (qz.com)
PFASs
- PFASs, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are present in the drinking water of most Americans. (scientificamerican.com)
- PFASs are present in a lot of the popular outdoor clothing lines. (gq.com)
Environment
- Regenerative farming is both an opportunity for farmers and the planet. (indystar.com)
- Bad things happen when underground aquifiers get depleted. (wired.com)
- How the pandemic is undermining sea-based weather monitoring. (hakaimagazine.com)
- How New Zealand increased recycling rates with recognition not rewards. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
Extraterrestrials
- Why would extraterrestrials even care about us? (scientificamerican.com)
- Why a prominent astrophysicist believes there is evidence of extraterrestrial life. (newyorker.com)
- What if aliens are just boring? (scientificamerican.com)
Archaelology
- Check out the oldest example of figurative art found in an Indonesian cave. (arstechnica.com)
- Humans have been standardizing things by weight for awhile now. (nytimes.com)
Health
- Are direct health companies like Hims ($HIMS) good for consumers? (fastcompany.com)
- How robots are making hip replacements better. (nytimes.com)
- How to support a worker with a chronic health condition. (hbr.org)
- Coffee consumption is tied to a lower risk of prostrate cancer. (nytimes.com)
- A once-monthly shot can substitute for daily pills for those with HIV. (nytimes.com)
- Why there are no approved medications designed to treat concussions. (theatlantic.com)
- How diet affects gut microbiomes. (nytimes.com)
Fitness
- Researchers are focusing on exercise-related hormones to fight aging. (newatlas.com)
- HIIT is not a perfect substitute for moderate exercise. (nytimes.com)
Food
- Why the fast-food chicken sandwich war is heating up again. (wsj.com)
- Celebrities are spinning up food brands using ghost kitchens. (medium.com)
- Vertical farming solutions could be sited at grocery stores and restaurants. (newatlas.com)
- The avocado market is finally in balance. (marketwatch.com)
Drink
- How Kweichow Moutai became one of the most valuable companies in the world. (cnn.com)
- Millennials are not big wine drinkers. (fooddive.com)
Sports
- Punting was at a record-low in the NFL this season. (nytimes.com)
- Three pointers now make up 40% of shots in the NBA. (wsj.com)
- What ski resorts are doing to try and keep people safe. (npr.org)
- Why buy a team, when you can buy the whole league? (ft.com)
College
- The College Board announced that it will discontinue the optional essay component of the SAT, and it will no longer offer subject specific tests. (npr.org)
- You can always ask for more financial aid. (npr.org)
- The U.S. is pumping out the wrong kind of PhD degree holders. (finance.yahoo.com)
- Recent Chinese college graduates are having a hard time finding jobs. (nytimes.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: empty gas tanks. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: how America invests. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Tired of reading? Listen to your favorite blogger read recent posts including 'How to Make Millions in Bitcoin.' (abnormalreturns.com)
- Are you a financial adviser looking for some out-of-the-box thinking? Then check out our weekly e-mail newsletter just for advisers. (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)
Mixed media
- The cities won't necessarily make a huge comeback, post-pandemic. (thereformedbroker.com)
- The maker of Purell is betting on a cleaner, post-pandemic world. (wsj.com)
- Online shopping is not a substitute for the serendipity of in-person shopping. (susanorlean.medium.com)
- In some ways we have acclimated emotionally to the pandemic. (fastcompany.com)
- Will the bicycle boom outlast the pandemic? (bbc.com)