💬 QUOTED: “‘Gate lice’ beware.”

Add another item to the list of ways to be humiliated at the airport. American Airlines is testing new technology that audibly alerts passengers and gate agents if someone tries to board before their group is allowed.

Complaints about “gate lice,” a term referring to passengers who try to sneak aboard with an earlier group than the number on their ticket (often to secure overhead space), have increased over the last decade. The term was first popularized in the early 2010s, shortly after airlines first started charging to check bags.

American’s fix? A loud public shaming.

• The airline’s new system makes a loud sound when an out-of-order boarding pass is recognized, alerting gate agents in addition to everyone in Terminal A that someone is attempting to cut the line. The passenger-in-question’s boarding pass wouldn’t be accepted by the tech until it’s actually their turn to board.
• American Airlines says the system is testing well at trial airports in DC, Albuquerque, and Tucson.

United Airlines reserves the right to comment “first.” American may be reaching for the medicated shampoo, but they aren’t the first airline to apply it. United already has a somewhat similar system in place, Gary Leff of the airline industry website View from the Wing tells NPR.

🍬 STAT OF THE DAY: What’s crunchy on the outside, gummy on the inside, and prints enough cash to rival the Federal Reserve? The answer is Nerds Gummy Clusters, a candy first introduced in 2020 despite testing so poorly in focus groups the company almost decided against its release.

In 2018, Nerds had less than $50 million in sales across the entire company. This year, Nerds Gummy Clusters alone have already generated $500+ million in sales. Thanks almost entirely to GC’s, which comprise ~90% of the company’s overall revenue, Nerds’ sales now rival that of candy powerhouses like Starburst, Sour Patch Kids, and Skittles, per TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow.

🤔 DID YOU KNOW? An individual’s vote has the most impact in Wyoming, and the least impact in Michigan. Based on 2020 turnout, a vote in Wyoming counts for 1/90,000th of an electoral vote – while in Michigan, each vote counts for 1/369,000th of an electoral vote.

📰 WORTH A READ: How Have Song Lyrics Changed Since the 1960s? A Statistical Analysis → (Stat Significant)