Sep 2, 2021 Sign Up

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"Why pay a dollar for a bookmark? Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?" – Steven Spielberg

Good morning! It's been a long time coming but digital driver's licenses are finally here. Apple will let you add your driver’s license and state ID to Apple Wallet in select states after a software update this fall. Hot travel summer seems to be waning off, driving down airfares. The TSA screened nearly 1.35 million people on Tuesday, the fewest since May 11.

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1. Story of the Day: McBroken Catches FTC Attention

Has anyone ever been to a McDonald's where the ice-cream machine is working? Enter the United States Federal Trade Commission. The FTC reached out to McDonald’s franchisees this summer seeking information on what the hell is going on with the broken ice cream machine problem??? (thanku FTC)

The dysfunctional ice cream dispenser is no small matter. They account for about 60% of the chain’s dessert sales in the US. Repeated breakdowns have led customers to draw up petitions demanding that something be done.

Owners have complained the devices are too complicated and machines are hard to fix. They require a nightly automated heat-cleaning cycle that can last up to four hours to destroy bacteria. The cleaning cycle can fail, making the machines unusable until a repair technician can get them going again.

McDonald's last year tweeted: "We have a joke about our soft serve machine but are worried it won’t work."  

The National Owners Association, a group of franchisees, didn't find the joke funny. "We are tired of being the butt of late night jokes. So are our customers and crews."

Short Squeez Takeaway: It is quite unbelievable that McDonald's ice-cream machine problem has gone on for so long. McDonald's says it is introducing a variety of solutions including new training for crew members and regular maintenance checkups. (wait what?) Maybe the FTC investigation will force the company to make new simpler machines instead of trying to fix a decade old problem.

Source: WSJ

2. Markets Rundown

• US stocks ended mostly higher Wednesday, despite an August employment report coming in below forecasts, which puts Friday’s jobs report and the timing for tapering of the Fed’s bond purchases in focus

Movers & Shakers

• (+) PVH ($PVH) +15% on strong earnings and guidance. 
• (+) Ambarella ($AMBA) +27% after beating earnings estimates.
• (–) Lucid Motors ($LCID) -11% after a lockup period expired for some of the electric vehicle company's big investors.
  

3. Top Reads

A Message from Polymarket: CryptoPunks to the Moon

The CryptoPunks series was one of the first NFTs created during the crypto bull run back in 2017. Larva Labs released 10,000 Punks (for free) with varying attributes all algorithmically generated. No two Punk are alike, and there is a fixed supply of 10,000 Punks. Each Punk has its own attributes and commands different prices depending on the scarcity of its features.

The lowest priced Punk is currently receiving offers for 90 ETH (~$335k USD). Just five months ago, the cheapest Punk was going for $30k.

Part cryptocurrency prices racing back towards all-time-highs and part broader mainstream adoption of NFTs (see Visa’s purchase of their own CryptoPunk last week), it seems like there is no stopping the CryptoPunks train.

Will the floor price of CryptoPunks be above 100 ETH on October 1?

However, expectations for the floor price for CryptoPunks have changed over the last 24 hours. Polymarket traders are pricing in a 44% probability - down from 71% - that the cheapest CryptoPunk will be above 100 ETH by October. Will the NFT market hold on or are we due for another correction?

Trade now or follow the odds on Polymarket. Use code “OWS” to get reimbursed up to $100 on your first day of trading!

4. Book of the Day: The Science and Technology of Growing Young

In The Science and Technology of Growing Young, industry investor and insider Sergey Young demystifies the longevity landscape, cutting through the hype and showing readers what they can do now to live better for longer, and offering a look into the exciting possibilities that await us. By viewing aging as a condition that can be cured, we can dramatically revolutionize the field of longevity and make it accessible for everyone.

Join Sergey as he gathers insights from world-leading health entrepreneurs, scientists, doctors, and inventors, providing a comprehensive look into the future of longevity in two horizons:

The Near Horizon of Longevity identifies the technological developments that will allow us to live to 150—some of which are already in use—from AI-based diagnostics to gene editing and organ regeneration.

The Far Horizon of Longevity offers a tour of the future of age reversal, and the exciting technologies that will allow us to live healthily to 200, from Internet of Bodies to digital avatars to AI-brain integration.

Combining practical advice with an incredible overview of the brave new world to come, The Science and Technology of Growing Young redefines what it means to be human and to grow young.

5. Daily Visual: The Sunglasses Cycle

Source: Matt Shirley

6.  Daily Acumen: Berkson's Paradox

Joseph Berkson first described Berkson's paradox to the American Statistical Society about 75 years ago as a type of bias in which unrelated diseases become falsely associated together.

Strong correlations can fall apart when combined with a larger population. For example, among hospital patients, motorcycle crash victims wearing helmets are more likely to be seriously injured than those not wearing helmets. 

That’s because most crash victims saved by helmets did not need to become hospital patients, and those without helmets are more likely to die before becoming a hospital patient.

Source: Collaborative Fund

7. Memes of the Day

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