👋 Inch by inch. It’s an adage usually meant to inspire confidence, but in the case of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, it’s more of a warning. The Southern California area has been sliding toward the Pacific Ocean at an average rate of ~4 inches per week, according to NASA. While a waterfront view is usually a plus, the landslides’ speed is cause for concern and prompted FEMA to launch a $42m buyout program last year to help impacted homeowners.
🎧 On the pod:Online retailers are cracking down on digital shoplifting.
NEWS FLASH
🥚 Maybe you just can’t make an omelette, full stop. Many grocery stores nationwide are starting to limit how many eggs consumers can purchase as shoppers attempt to stock up amid bird flu outbreaks and climbing prices. A Numerator survey found 50%+ of respondents have seen shortages or empty shelves at US stores. And that’s not all: Eggshells are likely to chip more frequently as many hens have been laying eggs past retirement age to compensate for those affected by bird flu. Such eggs often have thinner shells.
💔 Friend breakups are really hard: Former co-founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman have unlocked a new level of squabbling with a new Musk-led group submitting a $97.4B takeover offer for Altman’s OpenAI, to which the ChatGPT maker replied with a quick “no thank you.” Altman clarified that his org’s current structure makes it impossible for any individual to take control — all while he actively works to change its structure, ditching its humble nonprofit roots to become a for-profit behemoth (much to Musk’s consternation). Despite the quick rejection, the high-dollar offer stands to complicate Altman’s plans — and teach us all a valuable lesson about the destructive power of partners scorned.
🏙️ File under things we don’t want to be “like a banana”: skyscrapers. Unfortunately, Manhattan’s Seaport 1 building didn’t get the memo. The project — dubbed “The Leaning Tower of New York” — slants three inches to the north and was paused indefinitely in 2020 amid mounting litigation. The lean was not a stylistic choice: The building’s developers shaved off $6m in costs by using an uncommon method for laying the foundation. The abandoned project hasn’t hurt New York City’s status as a world leader in gravity-defying buildings: It still has 319 skyscrapers taller than 150 meters, dwarfed only by China — Hong Kong alone is home to 564 skyscrapers.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
Penny for your thoughts? Not for long, it seems. President Trump claimed that he ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies. The US Mint lost $85.3m producing ~3.2B pennies in FY 2024, with each costing 0.037 cents to make.
In a serious relationship with Ronald McDonald: Mickey D’s saw sales to its MyMcDonald’s Rewards members grow 30% in 2024 to ~$30B, despite dips in revenue and same-store sales.
Young people in China are untying the knot: The number of new marriages in China hit a record low of 6.1m last year, down 20.5% year over year, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs. More marriages are also ending: ~2.6m Chinese couples registered for a divorce in 2024, up 28k from 2023.
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Deep, a company backed by a “mysterious millionaire,” is developing underwater homes called “sentinels,” perThe Guardian.
Designed to sit 200 meters underwater, the sentinels would allow people to live in the ocean “where the sunlight zone ends and the twilight zone of the ocean begins.”
They have six bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom with running water, and a recreation area.
Deep wants to eventually establish permanent underwater settlements.
The company is conducting trials in a deep lake, so this future might not be too far off.
Human bodies may be able to adapt to living in a submersible over time, though the longest anyone’s remained continuously underwater is 100 days, perPopScience.
But that might be the least of anyone’s concerns: A 2003 study points out that “the stresses of a cramped environment could take a toll on residents’ mental health.”
So why do it?
It’s vaguely more practical than living on Mars or the moon, if only because there are no rockets involved.
There are sharks underwater, sure, but we don’t know everything in space. There could be sharks up there, too.
Sound prospecting is key to a solid deal… and it’s as easy to screw up as it is to nail. Avoid these seven mistakes that can kill your deal.
DATA POINT
It’s not the sexiest of social media apps. In fact, it might just be the cringiest. But, despite being home to the humblebragger, LinkedIn is delivering in a big way to parent company Microsoft, perSherwood News.
The platform is seeing record engagement (mostly with people you went to high school with, or so it feels), with comments up 37% YoY.
Plus, millions are shelling out for a Premium subscription. The number of premium subscribers has grown 50% over the last two years and earned the company $2B+ over the last 12 months.
All in, LinkedIn — which now has 1B+ users — brought in $16B in 2024 revenue for Microsoft.
If you think the site is limited to office lunchbreak scrolling, you’d be wrong: While traffic dips on weekends, LinkedIn still sees 10m-11m US visitors on Saturdays and Sundays.
AROUND THE WEB
🍲 On this day: In 1963, Julia Child’s “The French Chef” debuted in the US. She taught viewers how to make a beef bourguignon.
☕ That’s interesting: A writer’s pilgrimage to Twede’s, a cafe featured in the series “Twin Peaks,” following David Lynch’s death.
🪿 Haha: A streaming radio site controlled by six pet ducks.
🕹️ That’s cool: Check out the Video Game History Foundation’s new online archives.
