👥 Stat of the Day: The queue of jobs that help to avoid a queue is growing. Bookings for line-standing services rose 18% at the end of 2024 compared to 2023, according to Taskrabbit data shared with Axios.

In general, line standers can be commissioned to wait anywhere – Taskrabbit’s rates average $27/hour – including popular NYC pizza places, the DMV, or city hall. Designer shoppers often recruit line standers for sample sales, while some people even held spots at President Trump’s hush money trial.

But…Psychologist Maggie Mulqueen, in a 2023 piece for CNN, writes that waiting in line for yourself can have mental health benefits. And some businesses – like Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, who banned professional line standers – have caught on to these arrangements.

Big picture: Gig workers on Taskrabbit aren’t the only ones playing the waiting game. Companies in New York, D.C., and LA offer similar services.

🤔 Did You Know? The most realistic film depiction of a psychopath is Javier Bardem's portrayal of Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, according to a 2017 study.

📰 Worth a Read: How a Camel Herder Became Leader of a Rampaging Gang Accused of Genocide → (Wall Street Journal)