Split World economy milestone splits: 1494, 1945, 2019? 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas red vertical line divided the “New World” between Spain & Portugal. 1945 Iron Curtain divided Europe between the West & the Soviet bloc. 2019 US & China tariff war splits the world economy into 2, forcing trading partners to choose 1 or the…
Category: S
Space wars Spent satellites, or bits of them, are heading into space wars. 7,500+ satellites in orbit already, with >1,500 actively sending us data. The ‘big enough sky for no collisions’ assumption no longer holds. How will so many co-exist, zipping around Earth @ 17,500 mph while navigating a minefield of flotsam? It’s getting crowded…
Self-storage UK self-storage space doubled in 10 years to >44m sqft in 2017. That’s 0.7 sqft for each person, the highest in Europe. USA self-storage is 7 sqft per person, despite its homes being the world’s largest. UK: 1,160 indoor & 345 outdoor sites, 450k customers, £750m ($930m) annual sales. We over-estimate the space we…
State banquet A state banquet is business entertainment, to strengthen ties with 150 guests invited for their cultural, diplomatic or economic links. Preparations begin a year in advance. Each dish is handmade. Every last detail is inspected & approved by the Queen herself. Some things in business are too important to delegate Guessed the Word? …
Santacon Santacon draws attention to mindless consumerismCacophony Society founded 1994 in San Francisco, to broaden perceptions & challenge mainstream culture, by pranks. Huge & long-lasting influence through flash mobs, urban exploring, Fight Club, Burning Man & Santacon. Jingle tills, ho ho ho Guessed the Word? Series 34 (5/8) …
Spam EU’s GDPR, meant to curb unwanted marketing, unleashed the biggest spam explosion in historyin the month spam turned 40, on 3 May. US is world-leader in spam output (Uncle Spam!), then China & Russia. 60% of email traffic is now spam Guessed the Word? Series 24 (1/7) [pic:…
Sudden Sudden change in rules/ markets can cause a sudden end. Unexpected EU ban on shipping rosewood (used in fingerboards) across borders led to sad collapse of USA’s fabled Gibson, founded in Nashville 1902 Guessed the Word? Series 23 (5/8) [pic: Gibson Les Paul/ SeanKearns]
Scam Web scammers don’t need to guess who’ll fall for their cons. Social media’s trove of user data + algorithms target their fake ‘news’ & ‘endorsed’ ads across multiple platforms – by age, interests, location or IP address – based on previous clicks on their links Guessed the Word? Series 22 (8/8) [pic:…
Sleep Lack of sleep knocks 2% off UK GDP, and causes more accidents than alcohol & drugs combined. But firms & government ignore it. 2 in 5 people in the UK aren’t getting the sleep they need Guessed the Word? Series 22 (7/8) [pic:…
Small print is long to bury key details. Can be >38,000 words! Longer than Hamlet, Shakespeare’s longest play. It’s how insurance co’s avoid paying for “pre-existing conditions”, leasing co’s hide true costs, & social media giants secretly mine personal data Guessed the Word? Series 22 (3/8) [pic: Shakespeare’s Globe]