P.S. You Should Know... | Issue #269

Yes, but. “Artist draws a series of sarcastic comics that show 25 funny contradictions.” | learn more

They no longer give Guinness World Records for fasting. It’s because they don’t want to encourage unsafe behavior. So, who holds the record? Scottish man Angus Barbieri. During his fast his weight (in lbs) fell from 456 to 180! Can you guess how long his fast lasted? | learn more

When Poe invented the detective story, he changed the literary world forever. “A gruesome double-murder has taken place in a home along the Rue Morgue (a fictional street in Paris). Several witnesses confirm having heard several voices, but no one can agree on what language one of the speakers may have been using. Several clues linger about, each more baffling than the next. The police are stumped. But C. Auguste Dupin, a chevalier and rare book aficionado, solves the mystery at home after reading the details in the paper, becoming literature’s first bona fide detective character and starting a genre revolution.” | learn more

Texas fire department warns of snakes hiding in pool noodles. “Summer is almost here and the Salado Texas Volunteer Fire Department says you need to check your pool noodles for snakes.” New state, new hazards! A friend has a picture of a coral snake slithering around his new home in Austin. I feel wholly unprepared for this life. Is there a snake-wrangling class that I should enroll in? | learn more

We need a middle class for startups. “Problem: There are only two types of businesses on social media: …. Bootstrapped from zero [and] … Raised $100M+ from VCs. … Result: Aspiring entrepreneurs think these are the only two paths to startup success.” There is, of course, a budding ecosystem for this middle class. Tiny and Little Engine Ventures come to mind as investors in this middle class. But given that I have a list of 387 private equity firms based just in Chicago, I believe there’s room for middle class expansion. | learn more

Why do we undervalue competent management? I literally love this. “Business schools teach MBA students that you can’t compete on the basis of management processes because they’re easily copied. Operational effectiveness is table stakes in the competitive universe, according to the strategists. But data from a decade-long research project involving 12,000 firms challenges that thinking.” | learn more

How to think. Farnam Street reminds us that school didn’t teach us how to think. One standout quote I’m glad this resurfaced for me: “I find for myself that my first thought is never my best thought. My first thought is always someone else’s; it’s always what I’ve already heard about the subject, always the conventional wisdom.” | learn more

The data-driven answer to life. As you start reading this article, you’ll think it’s about money. But it is really about happiness. “Be with your love, on an 80-degree and sunny day, overlooking a beautiful body of water, having sex.” | learn more

The science of fasting. I plan to do a multi-day fast soon. Please reach out with any tips! “Intermittent Fasting or Caloric restriction unleashes a complicated set of useful cellular reactions… There are currently hundreds of clinical trials looking at the Fasting/Caloric restriction. Throughout history, we always have been fasting; when we limit external food sources, we start burning our own fat to fuel the organs, Brain, Heart, Kidneys, Blood Etc.” | learn more

Massively parallelizing everything. The first two parts of this series were Sequencing and Synthesis. This part, called Scale, builds on the idea that the underlying breakthroughs enable automation that drives the pace of science much faster, creating totally new types of biotechnology. | learn more

Transfusion of brain fluid from young mice is a memory-elevating elixir for old animals. You might remember that young blood transfusions rejuvenates old animals, and that actually simply diluting the old plasma does the trick. Now researchers have found a new way to help older mice regain memory by swapping CSF fluid. “CSF is a clear liquid that flows in around the hollow cavities of the brain and spinal cord, bathing them in nutrients and clearing away cellular waste.” | learn more

Can biodigesters save America’s small dairy farms? “The sustainable technology presents an opportunity to turn cow manure and food waste into renewable energy and added income. But biodigesters are not always easy to operate, and they can be costly to replace.” | learn more

Pomp’s thoughts on LUNA / UST. “The entire crypto market has been glued to their computers and phones as they watch the volatility and drama unfold related to Terra, LUNA, and the UST stablecoin. As many of you are already aware, the UST stablecoin lost the $1 peg earlier this week and the LUNA token has fallen more than 99% in value.” | learn more

Someone forgot to tell the Washington Nationals about Terra. “Terra inked a five-year, $40 million deal with the Washington Nationals before the start of the MLB season.” Then the blockchain network started collapsing on May 9th. But the Nationals made good on their promotional terms on May 10th. “The Nats tweeted to their nearly 800,000 followers a video titled "Crypto 101” sponsored—in big letters—by Terra with the caption: “You have questions. We’ve got answers.” I guess they don’t want to return them money! | learn more

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