May 3, 2022

70 years ago today, the Kentucky Derby aired on national TV for the first time. It's hard to believe that Americans were once mesmerized by something as silly as a horse race. Thankfully, we've evolved so much since. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for a Pokémon-themed brunch in the metaverse.

― Key Stories

Figure Skating Age Restrictions
Overview

• The governing body for figure skating has proposed raising the competition age from 15 to 17
• It comes after a 15-yo Russian champion figure skater was punished at the February 2022 Olympics for doping, and amid concerns that the sport puts too much pressure on young athletes
• The proposal would lift the minimum age to 16 in 2023, then to 17 before 2026, when the next Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held in Italy
• Gold medalists in 5 Olympic Games between 1994 and 2018 were between 15 and 17. None competed beyond the following year’s world championships

Leaked Draft: Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade
Overview

• A draft Supreme Court opinion shows that the court has voted to strike down Roe v. Wade
• Roe v. Wade is the 1973 court decision that established the right to abortion across the US. The Court has been deliberating on abortion restrictions in Mississippi, in the process of which it had the opportunity to overturn Roe
• The draft opinion leaked to Politico says that, “We hold that Roe… must be overruled.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives”
• If finalized, many states will restrict abortions

Grindr Sold Millions of Users' Data
Overview

• Gay dating app Grindr sold data about millions of users’ movements
• Grindr users who opted into location-tracking — so they could meet nearby people — were uploading real-time location data to the app
• The app in turn sold data — about where people were hanging out, living, and working — to advertisers, who served users hyper-local ads, including for nearby bars, hotels, and restaurants
• The news led to concerns over being outed or blackmailed. Grindr said it no longer sells this data and never did in places where being gay is illegal

EU to Phase Out Russian Oil
Overview

• The EU is nearing a deal to phase out all purchases of Russian oil
• The EU is the largest buyer of Russian oil. It spent $108B on Russian energy products in 2021
• On Monday, Germany, the EU’s largest buyer of Russian oil, said it could withstand an immediate end to Russian oil purchases. Such a move was seen as impossible at the war’s outset, but Germany and others have weaned themselves off Russian oil
• The EU said an oil embargo will happen by year-end; all EU countries must agree to it. Oil and gas revenues provide ~40% of Russia’s government funding

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Popcorn

Culture & Sports

• Happy birthday, Mr. Pete Davidson: Kim Kardashian wore Marilyn Monroe's iconic "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" dress to the Met Gala
• Coachella high: Harry Styles will premiere his new "Harry's House" album with a "One Night Only in New York" concert. Tix will be just $25!
• In the doghouse: Greyhound racing is on its final legs as a US sport. Annual greyhound betting is roughly 10% of its peak 

• A fake priest using the name "Father Cruise" managed to spend the night in the army barracks at Windsor Castle while the queen was away
• Shiver me timbers: A barrel containing a decomposing body was found at the bottom of the dried-up Lake Mead in Nevada
• Does it end with fighting? A syndicated game show based on the board game "Pictionary" will be launched across the US this fall
• Diet croc: An alligator broke into the garage of a Florida family and munched on their Diet Cokes, sending the sodas "spewing everywhere"

― Roca Wrap

A Newsletter Exclusive

Last year, Nathan Raab, a rare book dealer, was contacted by a man with an irresistible offer: 2 leather-bound books, a century old, never before publicly sold.
 
Raab was told the books had tens of thousands of autographs from the 20th century. Signatories ranged from everyday people to celebrities and world leaders from every continent but Antartica.
 
Raab wondered: How did so many people sign the book around the world, and why?
 
If true, the books were the largest autograph collection ever assembled; a time capsule of the early 20th century; an ambitious travel record from a time when international travel was expensive and difficult.
 
The pages were crammed full of handwritten notes in several languages between the autographs – a good place to start looking for answers, Raab thought. He translated portions of the notes, and the books’ origin was soon revealed: A man named Josip Mikulec.
 
Mikulec was born in Croatia in 1878. Not much is known about his childhood except that he left Croatia to travel around 1900. He hopped on a steamboat headed for South Africa, and his journey began.
 
From South Africa, he went to South America, and by 1908, the United States. By that point, Mikulec told people that a Croatian publishing company agreed to pay him $10,000 if he could walk 25,000 miles around the world in 5 years.
 
As proof of his travels, Mikulec requested signed notes from people he met. As he met more and more people, he bound the signed notes together and started a book… which just kept growing.
 
When Mikulec began his US tour, people were skeptical. Who was this man walking into towns, requesting autographs, then leaving? Some local papers described him as a hitchhiker, others a fraud.  
 
But it didn’t take long before skepticism became excitement. Word spread of the “long distance walker” and people lined up to meet him. The New York Times profiled him 4 times. He had audiences with some of the time’s most famous people: 6 former US presidents, 48 governors, business titans like Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison, movie stars, and athletes.
 
By 1911, now a celebrity himself, he set sail for Australia, Asia, and Europe. He continued to be met by fanfare and excitement. He racked up meetings with monarchs, Prime Ministers, and more.
 
The book eventually became so heavy – nearly 60 lbs – that it could only be pushed in a custom cart. He started a second volume, full of newspaper articles published about him and additional notes.
 
By 1923, he had covered more than 200,000 miles and collected over 60,000 signatures. And he was tired.
 
So he decided to end his journey and sold the primary book to a wealthy Philadelphia man for $2,500 (around $41,500 today). The man acquired the second book too, although it’s not clear how. It was this man’s descendants who contacted Raab and sold him the books.
 
What happened to Mikulec after the sale remains a mystery, nor is it certain if he ever received his prize from the publishing company. His legacy, however, is worth a lot: Having bought the albums, Raab is selling them with a starting price of $250,000.

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