Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. Researchers at University of Maryland recently created a biodegradable battery made from crab shells, which begs the question: will Duracell lean into this and rebrand to Durashell? It seems only natural.

In today’s edition:

• 🪙💻 “The Merge” is upon us
• 💰 Juul is puff puff, paying up
• 🛣 The world’s most dangerous roads

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news takes 3.90 minutes to read.

“You cannot teach a crab to walk straight.”

–Aristophanes (444 B.C. – 386 B.C.)

It’s currently the best time for Americans to switch jobs compared to any point in at least two decades, per new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta published over Labor Day weekend.

🔢 By the numbers… US employees who left for a new employer earned a median annual raise of 8.5% in July, a record high based on federal data going back to early 2002. The pay gap between workers who switched jobs and those who stayed put also came in at an all-time high (2.7 percentage points).

• A separate analysis of data from 10 million workers found the median wage increase for recent job changers was 16.1%... compared to 7.6% for those who stayed in place.
• Most Americans (60%) who switched employers from April 2021 to March 2022 saw their inflation-adjusted earnings increase, per a recent Pew Research report. Among workers who stayed put, less than half did.

🇺🇸 Zoom out: Across America, the Great Resignation is still in full swing. Roughly 4.2 million workers quit their jobs in July – near the record highs of the past year – and there are still ~2 job openings listed for each one of the 5.7 million unemployed persons in the country.

• This also shows no signs of slowing down. A recent McKinsey study found 40% of Americans plan on leaving their jobs before the end of this year.

📊 Flash poll: Have you left your job for a new employer within the past 12 months?

Yes

No

Other (student/stay-at-home parent/etc.)

Juul, the former crown jewel of the e-cig industry, agreed yesterday to a $438.5 million settlement with 33 states and Puerto Rico, following a joint investigation into whether the company had marketed to underage users.

🙅‍♀️ More deets… The settlement, which is set to be paid out over the next 6–10 years, also includes some stipulations about what Juul can’t do in its future ads. For example:

• No using cartoons or depicting people under 35
• No paying social media influencers, or advertising on billboards or public transport
• No placing ads with outlets unless 85%+ of its audience are adults

Though tbh, these limitations won't affect the e-cig maker much. It axed many of its previous marketing practices after coming under scrutiny several years ago.

⚖️ One lawsuit, two lawsuit… red lawsuit, blue lawsuit. But Dr. Suess jokes aside, Juul is still facing more than 2,500 personal injury lawsuits, as well as hundreds more cases related to underage vaping brought by local governments and school districts. These claims could potentially result in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional damages, Bloomberg reports.

• Plus, the FDA could still remove Juul products from the US market altogether.

📸 Big picture: E-cig sales increased more than 6x from 2015 to 2018, per a recent government study, from $304.2 million to $2.06 billion. And over that period, Juul was by far one of the most popular nicotine products used by kids and teens – though its recent use among that demo has been declining.

LiveNation, the world’s largest concert promoter, held 12,500 shows in the second quarter of this year – up 25% from pre-pandemic numbers in 2019, per recently published company data.

🎤🎟️ A deeper dive… Attendance at these live events is up from pre-pandemic times, too. In fact, “every key operating metric is at an all-time high,” per the company, as some of the biggest names in music tour the country after staying home the last two years.

• Harry Styles, BTS, Billie Eilish, and Bad Bunny are among the major artists who’ve embarked on sold-out tours in recent months, while Stevie Nicks, Lil Nas X, Post Malone, and Lizzo all have upcoming fall tours with strong pre-order numbers.

📸 The big picture: While demand for mainstream artists and concerts is stronger than ever, other live events have struggled to recover to their pre-pandemic levels:

• A recent study of 143 North American performing arts organizations – covering orchestras, opera groups, and more – found the number of tickets sold decreased 40% in the 2021-22 season compared with before the pandemic.
• Major League Baseball is drawing millions fewer fans this summer than in 2019.
• On Broadway, shows from the 2021-22 season collectively earned less than half of those from the last full pre-pandemic season ($845M vs. $1.8B).
• Domestic box office revenues so far this year are down more than 30% compared to the same period in 2019.

🤔 What’s going on?... Hit that reply button and let us know your thoughts.

While “The Mouth Guard Challenge” made for some hilarious moments, imagine trying to sleep with one of them… and depending on your night guard, you might not have to imagine!

🦷 Luckily, Remi makes comfortable night guards that are custom-fit to your teeth to protect from grinding – and they cost hundreds of dollars less than night guards from the dental office.

Many people go through the trouble/expenses of getting a night guard and don’t even wear it! Sleep is important, but so are your teeth… if excessive teeth grinding persists, it can lead to teeth decay and enamel erosion.😬

👍 But Remi is making night guards more comfortable – and the fitting process easier than ever before. Plus, Remi's night guards are made from the highest quality materials and if you aren’t satisfied within 30 days they'll refund your purchase!👍

Get a night guard you’ll actually wear today from Remi.

Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain in the world, began a massive software upgrade yesterday that’s known to the community as “the Merge.”

☝️ First things first: Ethereum technically means something different than “ether,” the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, though the two terms are often (mistakenly) used interchangeably.

• Ethereum is the blockchain platform that facilitates all of ether’s transactions. It’s also the base upon which thousands of other crypto tokens and decentralized apps have been built.

📰🪙 Now, back to the news... At its most basic level, the Merge will transition Ethereum – and all crypto projects under its umbrella – away from a system called “proof-of-work” and towards a new process called “proof-of-stake,” reducing the blockchain’s energy consumption by 99+% in the process.

• The Merge is expected to be completed at some point around September 13-16, resulting in a blockchain system that’s sometimes referred to as ‘Ethereum 2.0’ – though not officially.

⏩ Driving the move… A desire to reduce Ethereum’s negative environmental impact. In its pre-Merge form, a single transaction on the blockchain consumed roughly as much power as the average US household does during a full workweek, per Fortune.

📉 Zoom out: After falling nearly 60% over the first six months of this year, the price of ether is about the same level it was at the end of July (~$1,600 per coin).

💬 Quoted…​​ “Insensitivity.”

• The reason Capitol Records severed ties with AI rapper FN Meka.

✈️📈 Stat of the Day: The TSA screened 8.76 million airline passengers this past Labor Day weekend, 106% of checkpoint volume from the same period in 2019, an agency spokesperson said yesterday.

🌎 Around the World: Liz Truss was officially appointed as the UK’s new prime minister yesterday in a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. (☝️)

• In her first acts in office, Truss appointed senior members of her new Cabinet, including the first Black Treasury chief and first female deputy PM in UK history.
• Truss also delivered a speech promising to cut taxes, bolster the country’s National Health Service, and “deal hands on” with the ongoing energy crisis.

🤯 Did You Know?... Prior to the pandemic, there was one deadly road crash in India every four minutes. Which is good for ~11% of all crash-related deaths globally, even though the South Asian nation accounts for ~1% of the world’s vehicles.

📖 Worth a Read: When Every Ketchup But One Went Extinct → (Atlas Obscura)

• ☝️ 8K footage depicting the wreckage of the Titanic was released yesterday for the first time ever by OceanGate Expeditions, a Washington-based underwater exploration company.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🛏🛁 Bed Bath & Beyond appointed its chief accounting officer Laura Crossen as interim CFO; former CFO Gustavo Arnal committed suicide on Friday; shares closed down 18%.
• 🚗 Porsche will IPO later this month, owner Volkswagen announced Monday; the offering could value the luxury automaker between $59.8B and $84.6B.
• 📱👀 Launch sequence, engaged: Google sent out invites for an October 6 event, at which it’s expected to debut new phones and its first watch. | Apple’s “Far Out” event takes place later today.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🎢 Cedar Point is shutting down the Top Thrill Dragster, the world’s second-tallest roller coaster (at 420 feet), one year after someone was seriously injured by a metal bracket that fell off the ride.
• 🍿 The inaugural National Cinema Day – featuring $3 movie tickets across America – drove the highest single-day movie attendance this year; over 8 million moviegoers attended films across 3,000+ participating locations this past Saturday.
• 📺 The Rings of Power, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel show, currently sports a 39% average audience score on Rotten Tomatoes (but 85% among critics); if you remember from yesterday’s edition, Amazon has temporarily suspended reviews on IMDb due to suspected “review bombing.”

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 📸🌌 A James Webb Space Telescope image is being used to push malware, per security analytics platform Securonix.
• 🧠 An AI developed by Meta can scan a person’s brain waves to “hear” what someone else is saying to them, though the tech reportedly isn’t very accurate yet.
• 💉👃 China became the first country in the world to approve an inhaled Covid vaccine, which reportedly only requires a single breath to be effective.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• 💳 Credit Karma was ordered by the FTC to pay its users $3 million after an investigation found the company promoted pre-approved credit cards to consumers who didn’t qualify, which harmed their credit scores.
• 🏃‍♂️💨 Leonard Glenn Francis, a Malaysian defense contractor known as "Fat Leonard" who pleaded guilty in 2015 to the worst corruption scandal in US Navy history, escaped from San Diego house arrest weeks ahead of his September 22 sentencing date.
• 🏛️ The Biden administration released its plan for how to allocate the ~$53 billion in CHIPS Act spending that Congress approved in July. (Background | From the Left | From the Center | From the Right)

Quick recap: In this section, we’re aiming to crowdsource details about epic trips – then provide the whole playbook for the experience to y’all.

• Have you ever gone on an epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip? Tell us about it here.

🚶‍♂️ Who: Jullea P. from Silicon Valley, CA

☀️ Length of trip: 1 week

💬 Quick recap: Well I was there for a writing event at the Harvard Crimson, where I published two articles for their paper, so that took up most of my time. My partner and I basically ran around Cambridge and Harvard Square interviewing people and then after that we wrote the article (about Harvard fashion). We also learned about all things journalism. When not in the program, we explored Boston (on the other side of the bridge and river that separates Boston and Cambridge) and Cambridge and did some shopping and sightseeing. The new friends that I met there and I also explored Harvard square.

🤔 Want to learn more?... Dive deeper into Jullea's must-dos, must-don'ts, and trip expenses here.

P.S. Have your own epic trip you’d like to share? Tell us about it here for a chance to be featured in next Wednesday’s newsletter.

For years, the small village of Brinklow in Warwickshire, England, has hosted an annual scarecrow competition. People always flocked to the town to see the impressive creations, but this year feels extra special. 

• After three years off due to the pandemic, Brinklow residents are back with a vengeance – and some seriously impressive sculptures. 

🧑‍🌾 If I only had a brain... Over 80 households are participating in the friendly competition, with scarecrows ranging from a group of minions to a life size Prime Minster Boris Johnson.

• “It’s just a good bit of fun and after the last couple of years we’ve had that’s what we can all do with,” said 66-year-old resident Peter Cox. "Its lovely to see so many people come from all over to see them in our little village.”

❓ Trivia: How old was JFK when he became president?

❄️ True or False?... All snowflakes have six sides.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What's full of holes, but still holds liquid?

(keep scrolling for the answers)

👆 Check out the referral prizes you can get, all for introducing people you know to little old us. 

What to do: Copy your unique link below, then send it to anyone who you think would like the DONUT. Once you hit each milestone, you'll get an email with a link to claim your prize. (Pro tip: there's no need to ration points, you're entitled to a prize at each tier.)

Start referring.👇

❓ Trivia: 43

❄️ T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: A sponge