Good morning. In today’s edition:

• ✈️ Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy
• 🪙 The world’s largest institutional holder of bitcoin
• 🤔 How much fuel does a Boeing 747 consume? (Hint: It’s a thirsty fella.)

… and more.

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.76-minute read (1,267 words).

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"Someone who has never failed somewhere, that person cannot be great. Failure is the true test of greatness."

–Herman Melville (1819-1891)

Ratatouille was onto something – rats can teach humans things. At least according to University of Richmond neuroscientist Kelly Lambert, who recently published new insights regarding her team’s work with rodent F1 drivers.

Not a typo: As documented in a 2019 study, Lambert and her team have taught a group of rats how to drive tiny cars using Froot Loops as food rewards (fun fact: they like revving the engine). The experiment, later featured in Netflix’s The Hidden Lives of Pets, was contrived as a way of studying the relationship between animal environments, stress, and the development of cognition and new skills.

It’s not over. The project continues with new, improved rat-operated vehicles, or ROVs, designed by a robotics professor and his students. These upgraded electrical ROVs – featuring rat-proof wiring, indestructible tires and ergonomic driving levers – are “akin to a rodent version of Tesla’s Cybertruck,” per Lambert.

But there has been a slight change in the experiment’s focus. In the summer of 2020, the researchers noticed the rats appeared to eagerly anticipate either the Froot Loops or the driving itself (similar to how a dog gets the zoomies before a walk) – and decided to shift focus to how positive events, and anticipation for these events, shape neural functions. The new direction was dubbed the “Wait For It” research program, due to researchers designing experiments that used waiting periods to ramp up anticipation before a positive event, such as forcing the rats to wait 15 minutes between an initial stimulus and receiving a Froot Loop.

What they’ve found so far, per Lambert:

• In a test designed to measure rodent optimism, rats required to wait for their rewards show signs of shifting from a pessimistic cognitive style to an optimistic one.
• Rats trained to anticipate positive experiences were more likely to have higher dopamine levels, and would hold their tails higher than untrained rats.

🐀 What this means: Neuroscience research increasingly suggests joy and positive emotions play a critical role in the health of both human and nonhuman animals. And driving rats serve as a good reminder for humans to enjoy the journey as well as the destination, per Lambert: “Rather than pushing buttons for instant rewards, they remind us that planning, anticipating, and enjoying the ride may be key to a healthy brain.”

Read Lambert’s full essay here.

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🛬 Spirit Airlines is officially bankrupt. The debt-laden discount airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, following four years of consistent financial losses and a failed merger attempt with JetBlue. Spirit will still be in the sky, however: the airline will continue flying as normal during the bankruptcy process – which it expects to exit sometime in Q1 2025 – and will also continue to honor all tickets, credits, and loyalty points. The airline’s shares have fallen 90+% so far this year, and will soon be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to the bankruptcy filing.

🪙☝️ A live look at MicroStrategy Inc. The enterprise software maker, which updated its corporate strategy four years ago to include buying bitcoin as a hedge against inflation, recently acquired another $4.6 billion worth of the cryptocurrency, in its largest-ever single purchase. MicroStrategy is now the world’s largest institutional holder of bitcoin, with 331,200 coins purchased at an aggregate price of ~$16.5 billion – well below their current value of ~$30 billion. The company’s not-so-micro strategy has proven popular with investors; its stock is up ~460% year-to-date (for reference: bitcoin is up ~105% YTD).

🤖📜 In a blind test, readers prefer AI-generated poems to classics like Shakespeare. University of Pittsburgh researchers used ChatGPT 3.5 to generate poems in the style of famous authors like William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and more. They then gathered ~700 “non-expert poetry readers” to read a mixture of AI-generated and authentic poems and rate them across 14 qualities, from rhythm to imagery. Researchers found people who weren’t clued in about the poems’ origins gave higher ratings, on average, to those written by ChatGPT across every single category outside of “originality.”

Take the test yourself and see if you can spot the difference.

Working four days/week, implementing cutting-edge tech, and collecting mid-six-figure salaries – tech industry perks are making their way to dermatology. And many young physicians are taking notice.

• Medical residency applications for dermatology slots are up 50% over the past five years, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
• This increase has largely been driven by women. 71% of applicants who selected dermatology as their first choice when applying for their residency match this year were women, up from 63% two years ago, according to the National Resident Matching Program.

Glamor + balance

While the work of early dermatologists was far from glamorous – they tended to treat venereal diseases, including syphilis, that manifested on the skin – the boom in skin care, and its popularity on social media, has added to the profession’s allure, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many dermatologists now perform both medical and cosmetic treatments, such as botox or lip filler.

Work-life balance is also important for young physicians, data indicates. Physicians work an average of 59 hours/week, and nearly half of doctors report feeling some burnout, according to the American Medical Association. Dermatology, with skincare emergencies few-and-far-between, is seen as less of a pressure cooker than, say, cardiac surgery.

💰 The pay is pretty good, too. Dermatologists earn a median $541,000/year, per a recent survey of 150,000+ US physicians conducted by Medical Group Management Association. Pediatricians, by contrast, earn a median $258,000/year.

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• ☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the sixth annual International Pet Photography Awards, which fielded 3,621 entries from 41 countries.

BUSINESS & MARKETS

in partnership with Dan Miller Wellness

• 💰 US markets closed mixed (S&P: +0.4%; Dow: -0.1%; Nasdaq: +0.6%). | 📈 Super Micro shares rose ~25% in extended trading after the company said it hired BDO as its new auditor and submitted a plan to avoid delisting from the Nasdaq; shares have fallen ~65% since short seller Hindenburg Research published an August report accusing Super Micro of accounting malpractices and other financial misdeeds.
• 🏢 US venture-capital firms’ profits this year are around their lowest level since 2011; analysts attribute the dip to relatively few acquisition deals or IPOs.
• 🪙 Trump Media is reportedly in “advanced talks” to buy cryptocurrency trading firm Bakkt. | 🤖🚗 The incoming Trump administration will develop a federal regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, clearing many existing regulatory hurdles, per a Bloomberg report.

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SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🏟️🎤 Beyoncé will be the halftime performer for Netflix's Christmas NFL doubleheader; her show will come during halftime of the second game (Ravens @ Texans, 4:30 ET).
• 📺🤝 SpringHill, the entertainment company founded by LeBron James, is merging with Fulwell 73, producer of The Kardashians; the deal will see existing shareholders invest an additional $40 million to fuel growth initiatives.
• ⚔️👀 Paramount staged the biggest “roadblock” promo in history last night, broadcasting a 60-second Gladiator II trailer across 4,000 global TV, radio, and digital channels at the same time (covering ~300 million consumers).

SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

in partnership with MANSCAPED®

• 🤔🥚 The egg came first, not the chicken, according to science: A new study found life on Earth likely developed the ability to form embryos before the very first animals emerged. | 🪐 Humanity’s initial biological experiments on Mars, performed by a pair of Viking landers in 1976, may have inadvertently killed the life it was searching for in Martian soil samples, per a recent commentary from astrobiologist Dirk Schulze-Makuch.
• 🐹🦠 Japanese researchers successfully injected chloroplasts – the cell components responsible for photosynthesis – into hamster cells, per a new study; it marks the first time an animal cell has been given the ability to photosynthesize.
• 💉🇨🇳 Novo Nordisk is launching its Wegovy obesity drug in China for ~$193/month, significantly lower than its ~$1,350/month US list price.

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MISCELLANEOUS

• 🚫🥕 Dozens of organic carrot brands are recalling bags sold in 18 US states for potential E. coli contamination after an outbreak of the disease hospitalized 15 people and killed one.
• 🏛️ President-elect Trump nominated Brendan Carr, the senior Republican at the FCC, to head the agency during his term; Trump also tapped energy executive Chris Wright to lead the Department of Energy, a role requiring Senate confirmation.
• 🎓 32 American students were named 2025 Rhodes Scholars, and will pursue graduate degrees at the UK’s Oxford University. | 🌁 India’s capital of New Delhi canceled most activities yesterday after air pollution reached its worst level this season (over 50x higher than recommended). | 🇮🇳 India’s government announced a successful hypersonic missile test, becoming the fourth confirmed nation to ever do so (alongside the US, China, and Russia).

CLICKBAIT

• 🍗👀 The CEO of KFC and Taco Bell China sits for hours and watches customers eat. It’s led to many popular menu items.

🧊☕ Stat of the Day: How do you take your coffee? For a growing number of people, the answer sounds like the title of a Vanilla Ice song: “Iced, iced, baby.” Americans spent ~$17.7 billion on out-of-home cold coffee last year, more than double the amount spent in 2016, according to food service research firm Technomic. Another fun fact: Starbucks recently revealed cold drinks accounted for ~75% of its total beverage sales in Q3 2024, up from 37% in 2013. Analysts say cold coffee’s recent surge in popularity can largely be attributed to its growth among younger folks, who prefer the highly customizable syrups, toppings, and cold foam available for many popular offerings.

🤔 Did You Know? A Boeing 747 airplane consumes ~1 gallon of fuel per second during an average flight.

📰 Worth a Read: Ancient Roman Gladiators Were Huge Celebrities Who Even Had Their Own Merch → (Smithsonian Magazine)

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

• 🧑‍🏫 72% of US public school teachers in 2018 said the stress and disappointment of their job was worth it; today, that figure stands at 42%.
• 🧬 1 in 4 American men say they’d probably or definitely clone themselves if given the chance, compared to 1 in 8 US women.
• 📵 Around half of Gen Z US adults – aka Americans aged 18-27 – say they wish X (50%), TikTok (47%), and Snapchat (43%) were never invented.
• 🌀🌪️ Nearly 1 in 5 Americans (18%) have ever evacuated their homes because of severe weather.
• 🚒 In 1980, 28% of all calls to US fire departments were about an actual fire; by 2022, that figure had fallen to just under 4%.

Yesterday, we started a two-part series focused on how the Republican and Democratic Parties have changed in recent years – with the GOP, fresh off its 2024 victory, first up on the list.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you prefer the Republican Party of today, or the GOP of previous decades?

• Republicans today: 36%
• Republicans in previous decades: 43%
• Unsure/other: 21%

Click here to read more of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 2,857 votes and 291 longform responses.

A TAP Air Portugal flight from Lisbon to Portugal had an unusal host of passengers last week en route to a pet store, including dozens of hamsters, ferrets, and birds.

But when ~130 hamsters escaped their transport boxes in the cargo hold, the plane was forced to ground for four days to ensure all of the animals were rescued – and not nibbling on any important wires. 

• All hamsters were eventually retrieved safely, and the plane was able to return to Libson on Sunday.

🌜 Trivia: Triton is a moon of which planet?

🦈 True or False? Sharks predate trees.

🤔 Riddle Me This: What word starts and ends with an “e”, but only contains one letter?

Working your way towards a sweet tumbler? AirPods? The $100 gift card? Good news: prizes stack, so when you’re emailed to claim your prizes, you don’t have to wait. Just reply to this email for more info or with any questions🍩✌️.

🌜 Trivia: Neptune

🦈 T/F: True

🤔 Riddle: Envelope