Stockpile Coronavirus fears driving stockpiles. Governments aren’t immune & have previously hoarded: raisins, helium & rubber (USA), maple syrup (Canada), pork (China), butter, milk & wine (EU), sugar (USA & China), cotton (China & India). Better to devise supply-chain contingency plans, & partner with others, than try to guess what stock to pile & how…
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Scotch egg The humble Scotch egg lays out features of successful products: Simple components, well planned & properly executed (hard or soft boiled egg, enclosed in sausagemeat, rolled in breadcrumbs & fried). Many claims to invention (Scotland, England, India, Algeria). Enduring (from pre-18thC). Convenient (portable snack). Good anywhere (indoor meal, outdoor picnic). Popular (versions worldwide). …
Spread The great English spread: Marmite. Invented in 1902 from spent brewer’s yeast & still made today. Nutritious black savoury paste enjoyed on toast. Most-confiscated item at British airports, so comes in 70g travel size since 2015, & in limited-edition versions – new sales for traditional product! Included in soldiers’ rations in both World Wars &…
Saving Germans squirrel away 10% of disposable income regardless of economic crises or interest rates, double that of the average European or American. Only Swedes & Swiss save more. In contrast, Britons save about 3%. In 2016, their savings rate was actually negative. 1778: world’s 1st savings bank founded in Hamburg. Most Germans view the…
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…
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:…