April 22, 2022

Happy Earth Day. Fun fact about Earth: We have no clue who named it. Every other planet is named after a Greek or Roman god except the one we call home (sorry, Elon Musk). If anyone knows how to get in touch with Scooby Doo, let us know cause we need a proper investigation.

Speaking of Earth Day, we apologize for mistakenly referring to iguanas as mammals yesterday. It seems we have no choice but to dub this error a reptile dysfunction....

Finally, congrats to Maig from Brooklyn for winning the newsletter giveaway airline tix! Hope everyone enjoys today's 20 Questions!

― Key Stories

Science Wants Uranus
Overview

• A panel of US scientists published a major report pushing NASA to prioritize research of Uranus
• The document, published every 10 years, is meant to summarize the scientific community's thoughts on space research priorities
• Uranus, the 7th planet from the sun, is about ~4x Earth's size and known as the “Ice Giant.” Astronomers think it has the most in common with the majority of new planets now being discovered, and that there are likely oceans on its moons
• Conditions will be favorable for a mission launch in 2031 or 2032

CNN+ Implodes
Overview

• 3 weeks after launch, WarnerMedia announced CNN’s streaming platform, CNN+, will shut down
• Despite pouring $350M+ into the platform, CNN+ added fewer than 10,000 regular users. In total, Warner budgeted $1B+ for the network over 4 years
• It's a major blow to CNN, whose long-term president was the platform's biggest supporter before he resigned in February over an undisclosed relationship with a colleague
• WarnerMedia rushed to launch CNN+ days before it closed its merger with Discovery. Discovery execs were reportedly doubtful that CNN+ would succeed

Highway Death Trackers Kill Drivers
Overview

• A study published in the journal Science found that some highway signs meant to help drivers focus actually increase the frequency of car accidents
• The study looked at Texas, where, beginning in 2012, highway signs warned of the number of traffic fatalities for 1 week each month
• The study found that those messages caused 4.5% more crashes over the next 6.2 miles (10 kms), resulting in 2,600 crashes and 16 fatalities yearly
• The researchers concluded that the messages “seize too much attention… interfering with drivers’ ability to respond to changes in traffic conditions”

To Smack or Not to Smack
Overview

• There is an ongoing divide within the UK government over whether it is okay for parents to hit their children
• The UK’s education minister said its his “strong view” that the government shouldn’t tell parents how to punish their kids and should avoid “nannying people about how they bring up their children”
• Meanwhile, the top children’s representative in England’s government has called for a ban on “smacking”
• Within the UK, smacking kids is outlawed in Wales and Scotland, but not in England or Northern Ireland. Hitting your child is legal in all 50 US states

See yesterday's answers below!

  Popcorn

Culture & Sports 

• First class whooping: Mike Tyson beat up an airplane passenger after being repeatedly harassed. Tyson bloodied the guy's face
• Ad in, motherhood: Maria Sharapova announced that she is pregnant with her first child. The ex-tennis star is 35 and engaged
• The Season 2 premiere of Bridgerton blew away the competition in Netflix's weekly "minutes watched" report, tallying 2.5B total minutes

• Easy there, good boy: The Fed is taking a harder line on inflation, as Chairman Jerome Powell calls price stability "absolutely essential"
• New York-based company Overtime Elite pays high schoolers to play at its basketball academy, with one player making $100k+
• Apple a day keeps the judges away: A Brazilian judge ordered Apple to pay a customer $1k for not including a power adapter with his iPhone

• 'Tis the season: 500 pounds of cannabis spilled on a Missouri highway on 4/20. A 3-vehicle crash caused the poorly-timed spill
• Breaking malo: The ex-president of Honduras was extradited to New York on drug trafficking charges, at the DEA's request
• Sean Hannity surpassed Larry King as the longest-running primetime cable news host in TV history. He's been in the limelight for 25 years
• Sweet 96: Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 96th birthday at her Norfolk estate Sandringham. The Queen took the throne 70 years ago

― 20 Questions

 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Yesterday's Question:

― Final Thoughts