P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #267

The dubious art of the dad joke. “Take the worst joke known to humanity and surely somehow, somewhere out there in the world, some dad will be telling it as if it’s the funniest thing in the world to a long-suffering audience.” | learn more

The economics and history of hole-in-one insurance. “Though the concept [of a golfer picking up everyone’s bar tab after nailing a hole-in-one] largely faded away in the US, it became a big business in Japan, where golfers who landed a hole-in-one were expected to throw parties “comparable to a small wedding,” including live music, food, drinks, and commemorative tree plantings.” | learn more

Rocket size comparison. A 3-minute video. Do you know the one rocket that’s bigger than Starship? | learn more

Property tax sticker shock. Here’s something I can relate to. “If you’ve recently received your property appraisal and your response is, “Holy @$%—this is nuts!” you’re not alone in your expletive-filled reaction.” | learn more

Refactoring restaurants. Byrne Hobart shares how a business model by startup Local Kitchens might, “mean that the minimum viable restaurant location is a lot smaller than it used to be, and that small, beloved establishments that were too undercapitalized to expand can start reaching more customers.” | learn more

Vibe shift and costly signaling. The article starts out by showcasing the “vibe shift” that web design went through circa 2015. Whereas before photography was front and center, after the shift illustrations became more popular. The author’s theory is that free high-quality photography became available, so the “costly signaling” of brand design moved to something else: custom illustrations. As for the future, “What Unsplash did to photography, DALL·E 2 will do to illustrations, 3D renderings, and eventually all visual styles.” | learn more

Is cash kingmaker or killer for startups? “A examination of when cash can anoint a market winner.” | learn more

How you know. A Paul Graham essay. “Reading and experience train your model of the world. And even if you forget the experience or what you read, its effect on your model of the world persists. Your mind is like a compiled program you’ve lost the source of. It works, but you don’t know why.” | learn more

Half-baked creative. “Paul’s not a genius, neither is John. This isn’t about talent, it’s about skill. And the genius that was the Beatles happens between Paul and John, not inside of either of them.” | learn more

Designing a good MVP means thinking outside the box. “The term MVP is such a profound misnomer; a good MVP is not viable, and it is certainly not a product. Chances are it isn’t as minimal as you want it to be either, come to think of it.” | learn more

Buy with Prime on Shopify? “Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke told investors he’d be "happy” to offer Buy with Prime to merchants earlier this week. A company spokesperson later said this was Lütke’s personal opinion, and there are currently no such plans.“ | learn more

School doesn’t teach foreign languages right. “I have been aggressively studying Spanish over the next month before I fly to Spain. Wanted to share a breakdown of what I’ve been doing, and how it differs from school.” | learn more

Sam Bankman-Fried explains “yield-farming” to Bloomberg. Here’s a fun excerpt: “Like this is a valuable box as demonstrated by all the money that people have apparently decided should be in the box. And who are we to say that they’re wrong about that?” | learn more

NFTs stolen after social hack. Beware the internet! “A fraudulent "mint” link was sent to followers. Some [Bored Ape Yacht Club owners] appear to have taken the bait.“ | learn more

Who was the 19th-century merchant Howqua? “The late tycoon once dominated China’s trade market as the richest man on Earth.” | learn more

Grimes interview in Vanity Fair. “Grimes’s real name is Claire Boucher, and she answers to Grimes or Claire, or even better, c, as in the speed of light.” | learn more

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