DATA POINTS
- 0.00038% – The chance of filling out a perfect NCAA bracket — lower than getting struck by lightning twice
- 64 Seconds – The amount of time the Florida Gators led against the Houston Cougars in the National Championship game; and ultimately won
- 2011 – The last time gas prices averaged under $3 a gallon for an entire year
- 19+ Hrs. – The time it took a team of five to solve the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle of 60,000 pieces
- 118,000+ – The number of AI-generated songs uploaded to Spotify in March 2025
- $1 Million – The amount of money awarded to a Berkshire Hathaway employee for correctly guessing 31 of 32 March Madness first-round games
More Time on TikTok’s Clock
This week, President Trump granted TikTok a 75-day extension to sell its U.S. operation to a domestic company or face a national ban. It is welcome news for 170 million American fans of the app, who would have seen the app go offline (again) had the extension not been granted. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, said that it is currently in negotiations with the Trump Administration, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Don’t forget: nothing in geopolitics exists in a vacuum. A deal was reportedly near final as of last Wednesday, but the Chinese government backed out following the newest round of President Trump’s international tariffs. This deal had secured support from existing and new investors, ByteDance, and the U.S. Government, but China rescinding from the negotiation put the app’s fate back in the air.
Check back with The Weekender for the fate of TikTok in a few months.
Economy Imitates Fashion
With talk of tariffs, recessions, and the stock market becoming unavoidable, here’s a new perspective to your next run-in with the economy talkers. The Hemline Index, created by George Taylor in 1926, compares the hemlines of women’s skirts and dresses with the state of the economy. During economic prosperity, hemlines have become shorter (i.e., the Roaring 20s and the 1960s). During downturns, those hemlines fall (i.e., the Great Depression). The economy impacts societal psychology: in the good times, people feel flirty and free-spirited; in the bad times, they turn to more conservative practices.
Seemingly counterintuitively, recessions (like those in the Great Depression and 2001) see an increase in lipstick and cosmetic sales. Why the disparity? When other luxuries become out of financial reach, more affordable fashion statements become more appealing.
Read More at The Daily Free Press
The AI in our DNA
AI advancements have spent the past few years revolutionizing the medical field, bringing groundbreaking discoveries in record time. In the not-too-distant future, it may become the first stop in diagnosing skin cancer. A 2017 paper found that an AI model that reviewed nearly 130,000 clinical images outperformed 21 dermatologists in diagnosing the disease. Of course, an AI cannot do what a doctor can: ask questions, touch the trouble area, and have bedside manners. Patients and researchers alike know medicine is far more than examining photos.
The merger between doctors and AI, however, may produce more timely and accurate results. Doctors can use handheld devices to hover over lesions to assess for skin cancer, reducing referrals and biopsies, especially in areas where specialized treatment centers are few and far between. General practitioners and similar healthcare professionals now have the expertise of a dermatologist in the palm of their hands – saving time and money for patients.
Despite some potentially grim outcomes of broad AI use in society, one thing is clear: there is tremendous potential for its use in medicine.
Read more at The Washington Post
Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Sandwiches
Cinnabon – the premier dessert staple of shopping malls—is facing a challenge: malls are closing. Apart from being an airport staple, how does a company survive in a post-shopping center world? GoTo Foods, Cinnabon’s parent company, sees the dessert store’s sister company as its saving grace. Cinnabon will open its first-of-its-kind location in tandem with fellow GoTo Foods brand Carvel, combining the famous cinnamon roll with Carvel’s ice cream to create something new and sweet.
The brand “Cinnabon Swirl” is being marketed for the foody TikTok audience (if it’s still around in 75 days, see above). Cinnamon roll ice cream sandwiches, Cinnabon Sundaes, and ice cream cakes are all on the menu. This new brand swirl presents a litmus test for the iconic titans of the food courts. Will the opportunity melt away or reignite the love of niche fast food locations?
More House, More Problems
Anyone trying to buy their first home knows one thing: they’re terribly expensive. For longtime homeowners who have expanded their spaces with additions, pools, and pergolas, the changes increase their home values and instill a deeper sense of ownership. The downside, however, is that property taxes rise as their property’s value does. It’s a peculiar predicament to be in. On the one hand, a house is often the single most expensive thing a person owns, and seeing its value increase is a good thing. On the other hand, property owners may need to cut back on discretionary spending and save more just to pay for higher property taxes.
The American Dream has long hinged on owning your own home. For many, that is still an unobtainable feat. For the rest, it is losing its promise as being the path to prosperity.
Read More at the Wall Street Journal
See you next week!
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