Saturdays are the day we catch up with all the non-finance related items that we didn’t get to during the week. You can check out last week’s edition here. Have a great weekend!
Quote of the Day
"Since 1990, U.S. pickup trucks have added almost 1,300 pounds on average."
(Angie Schmitt)
Autos
- Nearly every new EV company is projecting a rapid ramp up in sales and revenue. (wsj.com)
- The big automakers, including Volkswagen, are moving battery production in house to ensure supplies for growing EV volume. (nytimes.com)
- Drivers are more likely to speed when they have adaptive cruise control. (arstechnica.com)
- Ordered an electric pickup truck? Here's when they might start shipping. (wsj.com)
- How much does it cost to charge an EV? (marketwatch.com)
Water
- North Carolina's Outer Banks are fighting a losing battle against the sea. (nytimes.com)
- Louisiana is running low on groundwater. (npr.org)
- Covering water canals with solar panels is a win-win-win. (wired.com)
Environment
- Cleaning up steel production is going to be expensive. (nytimes.com)
- Putting a number on the greenhouse gas impact of indoor marijuana farming. (modernfarmer.com)
- Why wood skyscrapers are better for the environment. (reasonstobecheerful.world)
- Feeding cattle seaweed reduces greenhouse emissions. (phys.org)
- The giant saguaro is at-risk of climate change. (washingtonpost.com)
Travel
- How long is it going to take for Las Vegas to get back to normal? (wsj.com)
- Iceland is opening up to vaccinated tourists. (marginalrevolution.com)
- Hotels are beginning to see a pick up in demand. (wsj.com)
- When will cruise ships start sailing again? (nytimes.com)
Space
- Why researchers are paying more attention to 'space weather.' (axios.com)
- Would somebody actually try and steal a big space telescope? (theatlantic.com)
- Astronomers believe Oumuamua is a 'cookie-shaped planet shard.' (apnews.com)
Science
- Satellites can now detect warming which is an indication of a volcanic eruption. (arstechnica.com)
- Five takeaways from Seb Falk's new book "The Light Ages: The Surprising Story of Medieval Science." (nextbigideaclub.com)
- When did the age of humans really begin? (npr.org)
- How 'distracted walkers' can unleash chaos on sidewalks. (nytimes.com)
Fish
- Bottom-trawling fishing is bad for the environment and big source of carbon, to boot. (vox.com)
- Just because a fish like the mummichog can survive in a polluted environment isn't something to celebrate. (theatlantic.com)
Technology
- Nobody really knows what Apple's ($AAPL) strategy for the home really is. (sixcolors.com)
- Why face ID systems should require users to 'make faces.' (newatlas.com)
- How to get your data out of LastPass. (wired.com)
Behavior
- If we all know delayed gratification is good for us, why is it still so hard? (markmanson.net)
- In the future, nudges will be personalized. (behavioralscientist.org)
- Four lessons from Ethan Kross' “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It.” (bakadesuyo.com)
- Oregon is on the forefront of a new approach to psychedelic legalization. (nytimes.com)
- Do experts end up getting less pleasure from their pursuits? (marginalrevolution.com)
- Despite the health risks, older people seemed to manage the pandemic better (nytimes.com)
Fitness
- How the gym business has been transformed during pandemic. (wsj.com)
- People are not obsessed about Peloton ($PTON) because of the bike. (nytimes.com)
Health
- Why the world is increasingly at-risk of a measles outbreak. (bloomberg.com)
- Five insights from Dr. Michael J. Stephens' "Breath Taking: The Power, Fragility, and Future of Our Extraordinary Lungs." (nextbigideaclub.com)
- Will vaccine momentum continue, post-Covid? (statnews.com)
Food
- Mislabeled seafood is a huge problem and global in nature. (theguardian.com)
- Governments largely left restaurants to sink-or-swim in pandemic. (eater.com)
- Plant-Ag wants to help everyone track their food from farm to table. (fastcompany.com)
- Some restaurants are using the pandemic as an opportunity to eliminate tipping. (chicago.eater.com)
Dogs
- The case for feeding your dog real food. (bigthink.com)
- Spending money on their pets makes people happier. (tandfonline.com)
Entertainment
- What kind of rebound can movie theaters expect? (bloomberg.com)
- The NFL has locked in a media rights package for the next decade (or so). (sportico.com)
Baseball
- Putting some numbers to the financial hit minor league baseball took in 2020. (sportico.com)
- Why MLB should move the mound back. (theringer.com)
- How pitching machines have evolved over time. (theringer.com)
Sports
- The Tokyo Olympics are going to bar foreign spectators. (sportico.com)
- Miniature golf is making a comeback in the U.S. (insidehook.com)
- Basketball is gaining traction in India. (theringer.com)
- It's good to know the best chess players in the world can have fun making ridiculous moves. (theguardian.com)
College
- Colleges and universities are planning for a nearly normal Fall semester. (wsj.com)
- Don't expect a quick bounce in enrollment this Fall. (cnbc.com)
- The pandemic has put the big SAT industry at-risk. (marker.medium.com)
Earlier on Abnormal Returns
- Coronavirus links: not enough tests. (abnormalreturns.com)
- What you missed in our Friday linkfest. (abnormalreturns.com)
- Podcast links: unreliable intuitions (abnormalreturns.com)
- Are you a financial adviser looking for some out-of-the-box thinking? Then check out our weekly e-mail newsletter. (newsletter.abnormalreturns.com)
Mixed media
- Paul Graham, "The secret curse of the nonprofit world is restricted donations." (paulgraham.com)
- Joseph Wells, "The ability to make unpopular decisions is a superpower." (josephcwells.com)
- Ryan Holiday, "But if you’re not also cultivating a direct line to your people, what are you doing? Being arrogant and reckless is the answer, in my opinion." (ryanholiday.net)
