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February 7, 2022
Okay, we can all relax. If you ever worry that society is heading in the wrong direction, this weekend's box office results will put you at ease: The highest-grossing movie was none other than... Jackass Forever. Hollywood, you've made it: Casablanca walked so that Jackass Forever could run.
Have you wondered how the Winter Olympics are being held in a part of China that lacks snow? Today's Wrap explains how Hollywood made it possible.
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Bird Strikes Soar
Overview
- The frequency of bird strikes – when an airplane collides with a bird – increased significantly in 2021
- Per the WSJ, aviation experts around the world have noted the trend. Many believe the surge was caused by birds nesting around airports and aircraft that were idle during the pandemic
- The surge has been particularly pronounced in Europe, where bird strike rates are up by 20%+. Airports with notable increases include those in Portland, Oregon; Rome, Italy; and Bangalore, India
- While few incidents have been fatal for people, they can cause significant damage to jets
DIG DEEPER
In 2009, a bird strike forced Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger to land his US Airways flight in the Hudson River, off Manhattan. In an incident this October, a Spirit Airlines flight had to make an emergency evacuation after a bald eagle flew into its jet during takeoff from Atlantic City. In 2021, US bald eagle strikes were up 20%+ over the prior 2 years.
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Johns Hopkins Study: Lockdowns Have Small Benefit
Overview
- A Johns Hopkins University report by 3 economists found that lockdowns cut Covid-19 deaths by 0.2%
- The report reviewed 24 different lockdown studies. It has not yet been peer-reviewed, meaning other researchers haven't verified its findings
- The study found that lockdowns cut Covid-19 mortality rates by 0.2% and that shelters-in-place did so by 2.9%. “Lockdowns have had little to no effect on… mortality,” it concluded
- Critics say that the researchers defined “lockdown” too broadly, and did not adequately capture lockdowns' benefits
DIG DEEPER
“Smoking causes cancer, the earth is round, and ordering people to stay at home … decreases disease transmission. A study purporting to prove the opposite is almost certain to be fundamentally flawed,” wrote one Oxford professor whose influential study projected that lockdowns saved 3M+ lives in Europe alone.
The study's authors accused Johns Hopkins of suppressing the findings.
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Peloton For Sale?
Overview
- Nike and Amazon are both considering acquiring Peloton, the premium spin-bike maker, per the FT
- Since November, Peloton's stock has been one of the worst performing of any major US company. After soaring to $160+ in 2020, it is now trading for $25, an 84% drop in about a year
- Some Peloton investors have accused the company's CEO of mismanagement and want him to resign or approve a sale of the company. Last month, Peloton paused production of its bikes and treadmills
- An acquisition may help Amazon, Nike, or another company move into the wellness-tech space
DIG DEEPER
Per the Financial Times, other companies, including Apple, may be considering placing bids. Complicating matters is that the company's co-founder and CEO has veto power over Peloton's major decisions.
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Innovative Treatment Cures Cancer
Overview
- 10 years after 3 patients received a groundbreaking cancer treatment, University of Pennsylvania researchers confirmed that 2 were cured of cancer
- The treatment involves taking, modifying, and infusing a patient's T cells so that they will attack cancer cells. 2 of 3 patients in the trial went into remission within 1 year of treatment
- While the treatment appears promising, it can cost $1M+ and cause dangerous side effects
- “We can now conclude CAR-T cells can cure patients with leukemia based on these results,” said a UPenn oncologist involved with the research
DIG DEEPER
The researchers said that the modified cells appear to continue fighting cancer for at least 10 years after treatment. They are now looking at how to apply the treatment to a wider range of cancers.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Which word from the English language is grosser?
Moist
Phlegm
Today's Question:
What would you do to make the Olympics more exciting?
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Jackass Forever is your weekend box office winner! The latest episode of the "Jackass" series reeled in $23.5M in its opening weekend
- Riding the wave and winning! Just days before turning 50, surfing great Kelly Slater won the Billabong Pro Pipeline in Hawaii
- Beijing bummer: The Winter Olympics opened with dismal TV ratings, setting an all-time low for NBC's Olympics coverage
Business
- Spotify has deleted over 100 old episodes of Joe Rogan's podcast as the platform faces calls for the ultra-popular host's cancellation
- Meta bust, Amazon boom: On Friday, Amazon recorded the largest one-day jump in market cap ever. A day before, Meta recorded the all-time biggest drop
- New match! Popular dating app Bumble made its first-ever acquisition, buying French dating app Fruitz for an undisclosed sum
Wildcard
- Tequila! After another year of booming sales, tequila is on pace to replace vodka as America's favorite liquor within a few years
- The "Tinder Swindler" con artist (new Netflix documentary) who swindled millions out of his dates is now officially kicked off of Tinder
- A Washington State University researcher found that people responded better to a robot with female traits than one with male traits
- Wordle is sweeping the globe and being translated into many different languages. There is even an Old Norse version of the game
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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How do you hold the Winter Olympics in a place where it doesn’t snow?
The answer has its roots in a 1930s Hollywood production lot. For years, Hollywood simulated winter with snow lookalikes, ranging from pools of bleached cornflakes to flurries of asbestos.
In 1934, production cmopany Warner Bros had another idea: To craft a blizzard in the film As the Earth Turns, technical director Louis Geib created a machine that used 3 rotating blades to shave ice off a 400-pound block. A high-powered fan then blew the resulting particles into the air.
For the first time, Hollywood had "real" snow – cold, falling flakes that melted. His invention took off, both in Hollywood and on the slopes. The expanding ski industry, which sometimes brought in snow for big events, started trying the machines, which eventually evolved into the modern snow guns commonplace at ski resorts today. Winter could be anywhere, anytime.
Fast forward to the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, and the technology saved the games. For the first time, the Olympics used artificial snow to boost low snow levels after an unusually dry winter.
After that, Olympic host cities increasingly turned to snow guns to pump out ever-larger amounts of artificial snow. In 2010, Vancouver turned 2.1M gallons of water into snow. 80% of snow at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia was artificial; 4 years later in PyeongChang, South Korea, 90% was.
This year, for the first time, 100% is.
The climate at the skiing hub in Zhangjiakou, about 100mi (161 km) northwest of Beijing, is cold and dry, averaging just 7.9mm of precipitation each winter over the last 4 years. China estimates it will take 49M gallons of water to make enough snow.
To lessen waste, China has built 11 water tanks to catch snow melt and recycle water. Yet even so, environmentalists are worried about the water-intensive process, especially because Zhangjiakou is one of China’s most water-deprived regions.
If climate change projections hold true, Beijing is a sign of what’s to come. A University of Waterloo study found that if rising temperatures models prove accurate, only 8 of the 21 cities that have previously hosted the Winter Olympics will still have the proper climate to host them again by 2100.
Given that, Zhangjiakou's 300 snow guns may be giving us a glimpse into the future of the Winter Olympics’.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
Is this the name of a bone in the human body or a town in Italy? Good luck (sorry, buona fortuna).
- Tibia
- Perugia
- Casoria
- Scapula
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Are you a fan of emoji use in emails?
YES: 37.4%
NO: 62.6%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
General Feedback:
Roca Riders, we done messed up. On Friday, we spoiled the answer to Friday's Wordle ("pleat") and received countless emails highlighting our mistake. We offer our heartiest apologies to the Wordle community. We will move past this and hope to iron out this ~pleat~ in our relationship.
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20 Questions: 1-5
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers. Last Friday, we did our second-ever "This or That" 20 Questions. Here is the breakdown of your preferences....
1. Middle school or high school?
Middle school: 18%
High school: 82%
2. Squidward or Patrick?
Squidward: 26%
Patrick: 74%
3. Advil or Tylenol?
Advil: 59%
Tylenol: 41%
4. Coffee black or with cream/sugar?
Black: 40%
Cream/sugar: 60%
5. Busy weekend or chill one?
Busy: 45%
Chill: 55%
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Games Answer(s):
1. Bone 2. Italian city 3. Italian city 4. Bone
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― Final Thoughts
We hope you all had great weekends. Something tells us there will be a lot of great content this week, so stay tuned. We are ready to RIDE this Roca WAVE into the best week of our lives!
Come on, everyone! Let's GO!!!!!!!!!
Woooo!!!!!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is about crows, which studies show are as smart as a 7-yo and able to clean up the trash in our cities.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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