Add Summary

This college dropout was bedridden for 11 years. Then he invented a surgery and cured himself

CNN (07/27/2019)
by
  • In 1999, 21-year old Rockhurst University (Missouri) senior Doug Lindsay suddenly collapsed at home and became bed-ridden for 22 hours/day the next 11 years.
  • Doctors were baffled after multiple treatments were ineffective; his mother suffered from the same condition.
  • After immersing himself in medical textbooks, Doug discovered that his adrenal glands (above kidneys) were enlarged like tumors, making him too weak to move (bilateral adrenal medullary hyperplasia).
  • Doug eventually found a surgeon willing to shrink his adrenal glands and got his life back.

Want To Feel Happier Today? Try Talking To A Stranger

NPR (07/26/2019)
by
  • Smartphones have made it easier than ever to avoid interacting with strangers in public.
  • However, researchers (psychological) from the University of British Columbia found short conversations with strangers can uplift moods.
  • The study involved comparing participants’ moods after some were instructed to talk to strangers at Starbucks and others were told to keep to themselves.
  • Also, simply making eye-contact with strangers can improve your well-being.
  • “Just that brief acknowledgment, that brief glance made them at least temporarily feel more socially connected”.

6 Takeaways From the Democratic Debate in Nevada

NY Times (02/20/2020)
by
  • As opportunity windows close, Democratic candidates were constantly attacking each other with one-liners during the 2 hour debate.
  • In his debate debut, Mike Bloomberg was immediately attacked for his racist ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy as NYC mayor and sexual harassment allegations as CEO of Bloomberg LP.
  • Elizabeth Warren shined by aggressively challenging Bloomberg and others on their behavior and proposed policies.
  • Bernie Sanders was largely unscathed from heavy attacks and sinking Joe Biden was largely ignored.
  • Klobuchar and Buttigieg focused on challenging each others political experience.

Kickstarter Employees Win Historic Union Election

VICE (02/18/2020)
by
  • Employees at Brooklyn-based crowdfunding platform Kickstarter voted 46-37 to unionize.
  • Kickstarter is now the first US tech company with a white-collar (skilled) employee union.
  • Since its founding (2009), Kickstarter has promoted itself as a progressive employer, going as far as becoming a Public Benefit Company in 2015 to commit to positively impacting society.
  • While CEO Aziz Hasan said he “supports and respects” the decision, Kickstarter has discouraged employee unions before.
  • Google, Amazon and Microsoft employees have also recently started organizing around social issues.

Mike Bloomberg Is Paying ‘Influencers’ to Make Him Seem Cool

Daily Beast (02/18/2020)
by
  • The Bloomberg campaign is offering Instagram micro-influencers (people with 1,000-10,000 followers) $150 to create original content showing support.
  • The invite is on Tribe, a platform where companies and brands can solicit nearly 70,000 Instagram influencers for help creating and promoting seemingly-original content.
  • Bloomberg’s campaign encourages influencer submissions to be “well lit”, mention “why we need a change in government” and “honest, passionate” without any negativity or profanity.
  • The influencer campaign seems to be geared towards collecting pro-Bloomberg content for later usage.

Venezuela’s Latest Problem Is There Are Now Too Many Dollars

Bloomberg (01/03/2020)
by
  • Venezuela’s collapsing currency and economy (6,567% inflation) have forced its citizens and local businesses to adopt the US dollar.
  • Since Venezuelan banks are barred from offering foreign currency bank accounts, many have resorted to keeping their savings “under the mattress” in personal safes and homes.
  • This shift has sparked worries about a potential crime wave, with everyday citizens increasingly vulnerable targets.
  • Despite economic distress, Venezuela’s crime has declined due to higher ammunition prices and 5 million of the poorest migrating to neighboring countries.

1 In 4 Food Delivery Drivers Admit To Eating Your Food

NPR (07/30/2019)
by
  • A recent survey of 500 food delivery drivers by restaurant supplier US Foods found that almost 30% admitted to eating customers’ food.
  • The drivers work for popular food delivery services including DoorDash, Grubhub, UberEats and PostMates.
  • Surveyed drivers ranged in age from 18-77 (median age of 31).
  • 54% of drivers admitted to being “tempted by the smell” of the food they deliver.
  • To remedy the situation, some delivery companies have started adding tamper-evident labels to food packaging (eg sticker seals).

Everything you need to know about coronavirus

USA Today (02/02/2020)
by
  • Experts believe coronavirus originated in China on December 12th (2019) at an outdoor seafood market in Wuhan.
  • Researchers believe that someone bought contaminated meat at the market, ate it, got sick then infected others.
  • It probably derived from a bat infecting an eaten animal.
  • Symptoms include fever, cough and difficulty breathing; at its worst, coronavirus can cause pneumonia and/or kidney failure resulting in death.
  • Coronavirus can spread via coughing, sneezing and close contact.
  • There is no specific treatment for coronavirus yet.

Kobe Bryant leaves behind a business empire that stretched beyond the basketball court

CNN (01/26/2020)
by
  • Before his tragic death, NBA legend Kobe Bryant was quickly establishing himself as a successful entrepreneur.
  • In 2013, Kobe co-founded Bryant Stibel, a $100 million value-growth venture capital firm.
  • After 10 successful exits, Bryant Stibel currently has $2 billion in assets with dozens of investments in technology and media companies.
  • Startup founders believe Bryant’s co-sign provides instant validation, exposure and growth acceleration.
  • Aside from Bryant Stibel, in 2014 Kobe made a $6 million investment in sports drink Bodyarmor that has grown to $200 million.

What Happens to Your Body on No Sleep

Outside (04/02/2019)
by
  • Scientists have found that the effects of acute sleep deprivation, or all-nighters, kicks in after being awake for 16-18 hours straight.
  • The first sign is a sluggish mind, with reaction times lagging to the equivalent of being legally drunk by the 24th hour awake.
  • After 24 hours, your brain starts forcing you into 10-20 second periods of “micro-sleep”.
  • After 35 hours, the brain’s emotion-emitting amygdala becomes 60% more reactive and the ability to regulate emotions declines.
  • Hallucinations are common after 48 hours awake.