Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🤖 Automakers are testing humanoid robots
• 📈 Sports memorabilia has become a hot-ticket investment
• 🤔 Celebrity/fan interactions

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.91-minute read (1,307 words).

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"The only defense against the world is a thorough knowledge of it."

–John Locke (1632-1704)

If Paul Revere were still alive, you could probably find him riding through the streets loudly proclaiming “The humanoid robots are coming!”

BMW and Figure, an AI robotics company, earlier this month completed a successful test that saw Figure’s AI-powered humanoid robot working in one of the automaker’s plants in South Carolina.

The test lasted several weeks, and involved Figure’s 02 humanoid robot handling automotive assembly tasks such as inserting sheet metal parts into specific fixtures, a step requiring some dexterity, according to BMW.

• Some quick specs on the Figure 02, which shares a few commonalities with our favorite #shortkings: The bot stands 5’6”, weighs ~130 lbs, and can stay active for ~5 hours before needing some sleep a charge.
• Figure says its robots are meant to eliminate the need for humans to perform unsafe and undesirable jobs, which number 10+ million in the US alone, per the company – while BMW sees an opportunity to increase productivity (and profitability).

Other automakers are also joining the I, Robot party. During Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Elon Musk talked about deploying thousands of the company’s “Optimus” humanoid robots within its production facilities by the end of next year. And Mercedes-Benz is actively working with robotics company Apptronik to deploy humanoid robots in the automaker’s manufacturing facilities.

Big picture: Robots have long been used in manufacturing. But humanoid robots are a whole ‘nother ball game with big labor market implications; they’re also being tested in warehouses, and are eventually expected to help out in hospitals and nursing homes.

But… The hype train’s locomotive may be going a lot faster than its cargo. Per a recent quote from Marc Raibert, chairman of Boston Dynamics (the same company making acrobatic robots and Black Mirror-reminiscent robot dogs): “[H]umanoids themselves are still pretty immature, by and large. You can look at the demos that some are doing with car companies. I think that's to some degree a show-off thing more than a productivity thing."

👀 Looking ahead: The global humanoid robot market is projected to reach $38 billion by 2035, according to Goldman Sachs.

+Dive deeper: The annual World Robot Conference took place in China this past weekend, featuring numerous companies showcasing humanoid robots. See what went down

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🇻🇪 A top Venezuelan electoral official denounced recent presidential election results. In a New York Times interview published yesterday, Juan Carlos Delpino, an opposition-member of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, said he hasn’t seen any evidence that President Nicolás Maduro won re-election – despite the council he sits on previously declaring Maduro the winner. Delpino’s interview came four days after Venezuela’s Supreme Court certified Maduro’s election win, in a decision that can’t be appealed (though the US and 10 Latin American countries reject the certification).

🇳🇱 The Netherlands fined Uber $324 million for allegedly inadequate protection of driver data. The Dutch data protection agency found Uber allegedly transferred sensitive information regarding European drivers to the US without sufficient protection for over two years, in breach of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. Uber, which plans to appeal the fine, denies any wrongdoing and says its cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR.

🇦🇺 A new Australian law gives employees the “right to disconnect” after work. The law, which took effect yesterday, allows employees to ignore work communications after-hours, and prevents employers from punishing workers for doing so under penalty of fines up to ~$13,000/employee. With the new law, Australia joins 20+ other countries – mainly in Europe and Latin America – who have similar regulations on the books.

On Sunday, a historic jersey worn by baseball legend Babe Ruth shattered the record for the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever auctioned off, at $24.1 million.

The record-setting New York Yankees jersey was worn by Ruth during his famous “called-shot” game in the 1932 World Series. As the legend goes, Ruth was being heckled by opposing Chicago Cubs players when he pointed deep into the center-field stands – then pounded the next pitch exactly in that direction for a home run.

When keeping it real goes… right? The jersey sale comes as the game-worn memorabilia market is experiencing a boom at least partly fueled by new authentication methods.

Photo-matching – an authentication process that involves matching the details of jerseys, shoes, or other objects to details seen in historical photos – has grown increasingly commonplace in the vintage sports memorabilia market, where an estimated 50%-80% of items are fraudulent.

• In 2021, 44% of the 25 most expensive pieces of sports memorabilia were photo-matched. By 2023, that figure had risen to 92%, including the newly sold Babe Ruth jersey.
• Over that same period, the number of game-worn sports memorabilia sales above $1 million nearly doubled, reaching 13 last year.

📸 Big picture: The sports memorabilia market is like a child trying to get some X Games-like air at the playground – on the upswing. Analysts say the industry has emerged in recent years as a blue-chip investment class alongside art, with returns consistently outpacing the S&P 500.

A game that’s both collaborative and competitive, First To Worst challenges you to rank items 1-5 of players’ favorites on fun topics like…

• 🤦‍♀️ Dad Jokes
• 🍕 Pizza toppings
• 👩‍🎤 Karaoke tunes
• 👻 Ghost stories

...and a ton more. The game includes 300+ topics to offer a true, family-friendly experience for all ages. Want to spice it up instead? The set includes the “After Dark” expansion for a steamier affair😉.

Get First To Worst here.

“It’s weird how people think that you know a person because you see them online and you listen to the art they make… I'm allowed to say no to creepy behavior, OK?"

Over the past year, singer/songwriter Chappell Roan has gone from under 1 million monthly Spotify listeners to 43 million and counting. But this newfound stardom has also caused some issues for the 26-year-old “Hot To Go!” singer. Last week, Roan posted a series of TikTok videos in which she shared her discomfort with “creepy” fan behavior in recent months, including what she described as abuse, harassment, and stalking.

Zoom out: Roan joins a growing list of musicians and actors – including Halsey, Doja Cat, Sophia Bush, and Tyler, the Creator – who have expressed frustration over the phenomenon of rude and overzealous fans in recent weeks.

• Experts say such behavior stems from a longstanding public perception that celebrities have opted into or "asked for" a lifestyle of scrutiny as a tradeoff for fame and fortune, especially in the age of social media.

📊 Flash poll: In your opinion, do celebrities “owe” it to fans to be available for pictures or greetings when in public?

• Yes, most or all of the time
• Some of the time
• No, not at all
• Unsure/other

• ☝️ The coin collection of Danish butter magnate Lars Emil Bruun will soon be auctioned off; auction house Stack’s Bowers describes it as the most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market (insurance values it at $72.5 million).

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Asutra

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: -0.3%; Dow: +0.2%; Nasdaq: -0.9%); Nvidia, which reports earnings tomorrow, dropped 2.3%.
• ⚖️🤝 The Kroger-Albertsons merger trial began yesterday; the FTC is alleging a tie-up between the two grocery chains will hurt consumers and workers.
• 🍏 Apple announced it’ll be hosting an event September 9; the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 16.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏈 The Dallas Cowboys agreed to a four-year, $136 million contract extension with star WR CeeDee Lamb, making him the NFL’s second-highest paid wide receiver.
• 🎭 TV castings: Kate Winslet will star in The Spot, a new Hulu series from writer Ed Solomon and production company A24; Emilia Clarke is set to star in Ponies, a Cold War espionage thriller greenlit by an animal kingdom friend (Peacock).
• ⚾ Catcher Danny Jansen made MLB history yesterday when he played for two teams in the same game; Jansen took the field for Boston in the resumption of a rain-delayed game he started for Toronto back in June (prior to being traded to the Red Sox).

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with Mira

• 🩸 Stelo, the first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor in America, became available for purchase from manufacturer Dexcom yesterday. | 🫀 People with constipation are far more likely to suffer a major cardiac event compared to others, according to a new study from Monash University in Australia.
• 🚀 SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission – which will attempt the first-ever private spacewalk – saw its launch postponed from today until later this week following a helium leak.
• ❄️ Europeans used coca leaves – the source of modern cocaine – as a stimulant as early as the 17th century, per a new study based on the preserved brains of two people buried in a Milanese crypt. | 🌿 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient in cannabis, was shown to reverse conventional signs of brain aging in mice in a new study.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🦟🦠 Ten Massachusetts counties are at high or critical risk from eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a rare but potentially deadly mosquito-borne virus without a cure, state health officials warn; Plymouth, MA, has closed its parks at night after EEE was detected in a horse in the area.
• 🇨🇦🇨🇳 Canada announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on all imports of EVs from China, joining the US and EU; Canada also unveiled a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.
• 🚌🗽 Fare evasion has surged in recent years on New York City buses, where 48% of riders fail to pay.

CLICKBAIT

• 🏆🎓 See the 2025 ‘Best Value Colleges’ in America.

📵 Stat of the Day: If you give a millennial or Gen Zer a phone… they probably won’t answer it. A recent Uswitch survey of 2,000 millennial and Gen Z residents in the UK found nearly a quarter of all 18-to-34-year-olds (23%) say they never answer phone calls, with the most commonly cited reason being worries around spam or scam callers. According to Uswitch, younger generations are increasingly choosing to communicate via text message (61%), social media (48%), and voice messages (37%) over traditional phone calls.

🤔 Did You Know? Between 80% and 95% of East Asians don’t release an acidic odor smell from their armpits when exposed to hot temperatures and perspiration, while the rest of the global population does, per multiple studies. This is due to a dysfunction of the ABCCII gene, which is linked to smelly armpits.

📰 Worth a Read: Elon Musk’s Hard Turn to Politics, in 300,000 of His Own Words → (WSJ)

Here are five stats from this past week that made our team go “whoa.” Hopefully you will, too.

• 🚭 A record-low 11% of US adults say they’ve smoked cigarettes within the past week, down from 25% in 2000 and 38% in 1983, per Gallup. (Read more)
• 🪙🗳️ The crypto industry accounts for 48% of all money contributed by corporations to political action committees (PACs) so far in the 2024 election cycle. (Read more)
• 🦠 More than 5% of all US adults have long Covid, with the disease resulting in ~1 million Americans being pushed out of the labor force since 2020. (Read more)
• 🛂 In 1990, just 5% of Americans owned a passport; by last year, that figure had risen to 48% (160+ million Americans). (Read more)
• ⚰️🔥 The percentage of US funerals in which the remains of the deceased were cremated has risen from 32% in 2005 to 61% last year. (Read more)

Yesterday, we covered how Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to suspend his 2024 presidential campaign and endorse former President Trump will affect the race heading into November.

❓ Our question to you: In your opinion, will RFK Jr.’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Trump have a material impact on the result of the 2024 presidential election?

• 👍Yes: 37%
• 👎 No: 40%
• 🤷 Unsure/other: 23%

Click here to read the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 3,386 votes and 347 longform responses.

It all started when Ioanni's Grill & Bar in Morehead City, North Carolina, had a "Happy Birthday" sign up for nearly a month. In a bit of lighthearted fun, Dank Burrito owner Clarke Merrell put up an opposing sign across the street poking fun at Ioanni's situation.

• And thus, the "Great Sign War" began. The two restaurants went back and forth for days with hilarious signs that had passersby stopping for photos along the road. 

🪧 More and more places around town eventually got involved. Today, an estimated 70 businesses have contributed to the battle.

• "It is just the greatest thing because the community we live in, we’re all tight everybody's tight," Carteret County resident Ashton Blackmon told NewsChannel 12.

❓ Trivia: What does HBO stand for?

🕷️ True or False?... Black widow bites usually aren’t fatal.

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❓ Trivia: Home Box Office

🕷️ T/F: True (though you should still seek medical attention immediately)