One of my cats follows me around waiting for me to sit so he can fall asleep in my lap. I should make one of these to keep him happy while I'm standing.
Canned water, OK. But is the market that big for people who are OK being seen walking around with an energy drink in public?
It sounds like Liquid Death has won over investors with its promise to “murder your thirst” — the startup is announcing that it’s raised $9 million in Series A funding.
Liquid Death sells water in a tallboy aluminum can, and it’s expanding the lineup with a sparkling water can that it plans to start shipping in March. A 12-pack of either regular or sparkling mountain water currently costs $18.99 on the Liquid Death website.
Co-founder and CEO Mike Cessario has worked as a creative director and copywriter at companies like VaynerMedia, and he told me that his goal is to create a brand that’s healthy and sustainable while being “just as exciting, if not more exciting, than energy drinks, soda, alcohol and candy.”
Hence the “murder your thirst” tagline, as well as a generally tongue-in-cheek approach to marketing, including aggressive, heavy metal-influenced art. The startup is expanding those efforts with a new “Keep the Underworld Beautiful” campaign that asks customers to save Hell itself from plastic bottles.
“When you’re launching a new brand, if you don’t have millions and millions of dollars to push it out there with [advertising], your only chance of survival is the product itself has to be insanely shareable,” Cessario said. “You’re going to have a hard enough time funding production. You’re not going to have the money to compete with the Cokes and the Pepsis, so the only way get it out there is if people organically want to share it because of the funny, irreverent marketing.”
As one piece of evidence that the message is resonating, the company says there are at least 20 “random customers” who have received Liquid Death tattoos.
The emphasis on branding left me wondering whether the water itself was a bit of a sidenote. Cessario responded that when it comes to food and beverage products, branding is the biggest differentiator, because “consumers aren’t stupid.” They don’t actually believe that one product is dramatically better than the other; it’s more about which brand they feel affinity with.
At the same time, he said that when it comes to turning Liquid Death into more than a one-time novelty purchase, “The most important thing, first and foremost, is that when someone buys it, they enjoy drinking this water from a can. When they actually have a freezing cold can of Liquid Death, people will continue to come back because they like the product experience.”
I’ll note that I’ve tried out Liquid Death myself and can confirm that it’s perfectly fine water. Most notably, there’s something genuinely fun and satisfying about cracking open a new can (though if you do it work, you also risk drawing some suspicious or amused stares from your coworkers).
Cessario also argued that the brand is about “so much more than loud marketing, it’s about sustainability.” The company makes a big point out of the fact that its aluminum cans are made out of more than 70% recycled material, and that aluminum is “infinitely recyclable,” making the packaging much more environmentally friendly than plastic bottles. Liquid Death also donates 5 cents for every can sold to nonprofits like 5 Gyres (which fights plastic pollution) and Thirst Project (which works on providing access to clean drinking around the world).
The sustainability message has prompted criticism around the fact that packaged water — even if it’s in an aluminum can — is less sustainably than simply filling up a reusable container with tap water.
“We’re definitely not against reusable bottles,” Cessario said when I brought this up. “But the reality is: Do you think it’s possible to actually get 300 million people, people in the Midwest, to do that 100 percent of the time? It’s highly unrealistic.”
Instead, he suggested that he’s happy for people to drink tap water from reusable bottles when it makes sense, and they can turn to Liquid Death at other times — “at a concert venue, when you’re having a house party, when you’re at a bar.”
Liquid Death’s Series A was led by Velvet Sea Ventures, a new firm created by Buddy Media co-founder Michael Lazerow. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, TOMS founding members Jake Strom and Blake Mycoskie, GirlBoss founder/CEO Sophia Amoruso and Thrive Market CEO Nick Green also participated, as did existing investors Science Inc. and Away co-founder Jen Rubio. Liquid Death has now raised a total of $11.25 million.
Cessario said that until now, the majority of the startup’s sales have either come from its website or from Amazon, but one of the main aims with the funding is to get the water into brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, it’s already taking a big step in that direction, with nationwide availability in Whole Foods stores planned for next month.
I haven't even clicked through yet but felt this needs a share.
At this year’s World Taekwondo Hanmadang, an annual martial arts festival held in South Korea, a team of South Korean taekwondo experts from the Kukkiwon Demonstration Team put on a hell of a show. Please enjoy these insanely athletic martial artists flying around the stage and breaking the shit out of some boards:
The Great Span was Alger Hiss’s term for the personal links of living humans across large periods of time. For instance, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. shook hands with both John Quincy Adams and John F. Kennedy, linking the Revolutionary War with the Vietnam War. This interview with 103-year-old Galusha Cole filmed in 1929 is another instance of this phenomenon:
This was part of a series of interviews with the elderly on the cusp of the Great Depression. Cole was born in 18261 during the administration of John Quincy Adams, was alive at the same time as Ludwig van Beethoven, and lived just long enough to be captured in voice and picture on film.
Although this page on Find a Grave claims that Cole was actually only 92 at the time of the interview. Which would be interesting vis a vis his proclamation that he doesn’t have any vices.↩
Geeks Worldwide is reporting that Mad Max director, George Miller, has resolved his legal issues with Warner Bros. which were holding him back from filming the follow-up to Mad Max: Fury Road. The GWW piece claims that Miller will begin filming in Australia in the fall. No word yet on theme or who might already be signed on to the project.
I mean, it's one banana, Michael. What could it cost, ten dollars?
Reporter Natalie Allison, who covers state politics for The Tennessean in Nashville, tweeted a photo Monday (the photo was shot by photojournalist George Walker IV) of TN state Rep. Kent Calfee drinking from a Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle.
Weird.
Or -- not weird, if you ask TN state Rep. Kent Calfee, and others who've observed him doing this before.
PHOTO: Tennessee state Rep. Kent Calfee often drinks from a Hershey’s chocolate syrup bottle, according to a Tennessean reporter who shared a photo of him taking a swig before a State of the State address. Image courtesy Tennessee General Assembly
Allison tweeted that Calfee “often does” this during the legislative session.
But not so fast, reports the Tennessean! The rep says it's water, not syrup or alcohol.
“It’s a repurposed syrup bottle that I drink my water out of,” Calfee said Tuesday, according to the newspaper. “I’m not going to buy a $25 or $35 or $45 water bottle that’s not worth what it costs because I’ll probably put it down and leave it somewhere.”
He added that he and his wife “recycle everything,” per The Tennessean, saying “I was fixing to put it in the plastic recycling one day at home, and I thought, shoot, I can put water in that.”
On the ground, more confusion: here's a video of a woman who did vote for Pete, but changed her mind after learning something new about him. [via Public Freakout]
It's not clear if she was able to change her pick. But it is a clear reminder of the distance between media and reality.
A 25-year-old Japanese woman was about to board a flight from Hong Kong to Saipan when a staff member of Hong Kong Express airlines said she would have to take a pregnancy test, reports Oddity Central. The woman had indicated on a check-in questionnaire that she was not pregnant, but the staff member didn't believe her and told her that she couldn't fly without proving she wasn't pregnant. She took the test and was found to be not pregnant.
Saipan is a United States Territory and U.S. officials are concerned about birth tourism. According to U.S. law, babies born in the United States automatically become U.S. citizens.
From Oddity Central:
The island of Saipan has apparently become a popular destination for foreign women to give birth in, since under US law any child born on one of its territories is automatically granted American citizenship. Being admitted into the North Marian Islands commonwealth is much easier than entering the United States, so it’s not very surprising that 2018 saw more tourists giving birth on Saipan than there are residents on the island.
Hong Kong Express Airways specified that Midori Nishida’s pregnancy test was meant “to help ensure US immigration laws were not being undermined”. The airline has since apologized and suspended the practice of forcing women to take pregnancy tests.
[1/29/2020 6:20pm PT] An important correction from Doug Rand:
In 2019, a 3-year-old Nubian goat named Lincoln was officially inaugurated as the first mayor of Fair Haven, Vermont. And then she pooped. As Town Manager Joe Gunter explained at the time, "Originally we did it as a fundraiser to replace the playground behind the school, but it really turned into a small civic lesson for the children. 'Come out and vote. Get involved in the town.'"
But that election only guaranteed a one-year term, and Lincoln only narrowly defeated Sammy, a K-9 cop. And now Sammy's taking another shot at the top seat in town. If elected, Sammy has promised to release her tax returns and recuse herself from all police business that might come before the town to avoid any conflicts of interest, according to her representative, Police Chief Bill Humphries. Humphries has also tried to soothe the concerns of Fair Haven's feline population, which has a long history of hostile relations with canine police officers.
In response to Sammy's campaign, Lincoln has released a budget proposal that includes $0 spending on grain, $0 spending on hay, and a promise that there will be no tax increases to fund the playground that formed the foundation of her historic run for the town's inaugural mayorship.
Fair Haven will hold the contentious election at their Town Meeting on March 3, 2020. And while I don't want to be partisan, I think it's only fair to point out that one candidate is literally a cop, and the other one is literally the GOAT, so I think we all know who deserves to be in charge.
Either way, Fair Haven's new tradition is not to be confused with the Irish town of Killorglin, which has crowned a new goat king every year for the past four hundred years or so.
Who are all these psychopaths searching "Super Bowl Cake Recipe"
Huddle up, football fans! It’s almost game time. This Sunday, people around the country will gather to watch Kansas City and San Francisco face off in the biggest football game of the year. We took a look at Google Trends data to see the top questions, recipes and topics people are searching for. Fun fact: Search interest in Roman numerals spikes every year at this time (and this year roman numeral LIV is no exception) .
While the teams get ready to go head to head, Search and the Google Assistant can provide information about Sunday’s showdown, help you prep your game day appetizers, give you fun ideas for your watch party, and keep you updated with the latest plays during the game. Score!
Football fan face-off
Our two conference champions are causing chatter across the U.S. Search interest in both San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have reached an all-time high. What team will you cheer for this Sunday?
And football isn’t the only thing we’re excited for. This year’s halftime artists are ready to “Get Right” and put on an amazing show—here are their most-searched songs in the U.S. over the past five years.
Most searched Jennifer Lopez songs
I’m Real
Get Right
Dinero
Waiting for Tonight
Ain’t Your Mama’
Most searched Shakira songs
Waka Waka
Try Everything
Chantaje
Whenever, Wherever
She Wolf
For some nostalgia, we took a look at the most-searched halftime performances in the U.S. since 2004. Talk about a top-notch lineup.
Bruno Mars
Janet Jackson
Maroon 5
Lady Gaga
Beyonce
Game Day goodies
From white chicken chili to football cookies, this year’s most uniquely-searched game day recipes in each state will have your mouth watering. And with the Google Assistant, you can get step-by-step help cooking on Smart Displays, like Nest Hub Max. Get started by saying, “Hey Google, show me recipes for seven layer dip.”
Uniquely-searched recipes per state as compared to the U.S.
No matter what team you’re cheering for, yummy food is something we can all agree on. Here are the top five most-searched game day foods since 2004 (buffalo chicken dip is the G.O.A.T. of snacks!).
Buffalo chicken dip
7 layer dip
Chili
Spinach artichoke dip
Taco dip
Get in the game with the Assistant
The Assistant can keep you updated on the event or bring more fun to your watch party. Start by asking, “Hey Google …”:
"Watch FOX on YouTube TV” to have your Assistant play the big game on Smart Displays, like Nest Hub Max.
“Who do you think will win the big game?” to hear the Assistant’s prediction.
“Help me talk like a football fan” for tips to sound like a pro—even if you don’t usually watch football.
“Tell me a football joke” for a few laughs.
“Touchdown!” to add to the celebration when your team scores.
No matter what you’re searching for, Search and the Google Assistant can be your game day champion. For the latest on what people are searching for this weekend, see our Google Trends page.
mmm. oh hey my work computer lets me access the internet now!
Photographs: Marvin Gapultos
This is an incredibly quick-cooking bar snack for the times you want to start eating and drinking rather than spending much time in the kitchen prepping and cooking. Shrimp, as is, cook plenty fast, but when thrown into a blazing hot wok, they're ready to eat in hardly any time at all.
Although peeled and deveined shrimp would benefit greatly from the simple, but lively glaze of garlic, sugar, lime, and Sriracha, this recipe utilizes head-on shrimp which lends a more robust shrimp flavor to the finished dish—just rip off the shrimp heads, slurp out the richness from within, then plop the succulent shrimp bodies into your mouth. The glaze is a little bit sweet, plenty spicy, and will have you licking your fingers before washing everything down with a cold beer.
About the author:Marvin Gapultos is the author of the Filipino food blog, Burnt Lumpia. His first cookbook is due out in 2013. When he isn't cooking or writing about Filipino food, Marvin is usually enjoying a beer or cocktail, and thinking about what to eat with said beer or cocktail. You can follow him on Twitter @BurntLumpia.
A Kansas gentleman has asked a court in Iowa for a legal sword fight – or trial by combat – with his ex-wife. According to the Des Moines Register, 40-year-old David Ostrom claims that she has legally destroyed him, and after hearing that duals have never actually been banned in the United States, thought it would be a good way to settle things once and for all.
"To this day, trial by combat has never been explicitly banned or restricted as a right in these United States," he told the court. But he made it clear he would need 12 weeks "lead time" to get the Japanese katanas he has in mind. He also kindly invited his wife's attorney Matthew Hudson to the dual, who could either be a spectator or stand in for the lady.
According the Des Moines Register, "Hudson argued that because a duel could end in death, such ramifications likely outweigh those of property tax and custody issues."
Scientists attached 3D glasses to cuttlefish to better understand the molluscs' visual perception as it relates to their ability to attack prey. They were treated to 3D screenings of shrimp while the University of Minnesota researchers studied their behavior. I wonder if, like me, the 3D movies gave them headaches. From the University of Minnesota:
The (shrimp) images were offset, allowing for the researchers to determine if the cuttlefish were comparing images between the left and the right eyes to gather information about distance to their prey. The process of comparing the images is called stereopsis, and is the same way humans determine depth. Depending on the image offset, the cuttlefish would perceive the shrimp to be either in front of or behind the screen. The cuttlefish predictably struck too close to or too far from the screen, according to the offset.
“How the cuttlefish reacted to the disparities clearly establishes that cuttlefish use stereopsis when hunting,” said Trevor Wardill, assistant professor at the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior in the College of Biological Sciences. “When only one eye could see the shrimp, meaning stereopsis was not possible, the animals took longer to position themselves correctly. When both eyes could see the shrimp, meaning they utilized stereopsis, it allowed cuttlefish to make faster decisions when attacking. This can make all the difference in catching a meal.”
Masks, cuddle pillows, robots, a lot of posts recently that make me wonder if we are moving to post-real-cat. Is Big Dog behind this?
At CES 2020, one of the more well-represented gadget categories was definitely consumer robots — but none was more adorable than MarsCat, a new robo-pet from industrial robot startup Elephant Robotics. This robot pet is a fully autonomous companion that can respond to touch and voice — and even play with toys, and it’s hard not to love the thing after spending even just a brief amount of time with it.
MarsCat’s pedigree is a bit unusual, since Elephant Robotics is focused on building what’s known as “cobots,” or industrial robots that are designed to work alongside humans in settings like factories or assembly plants. Elephant, which was founded in 2016, already produces three lines of these collaborative robots and has sold them to client companies around the world, including in Korea, the U.S., Germany and more.
This new product is designed for the home, however, not the factory or the lab. MarsCat is the startup’s first consumer product, but it obviously benefits immensely from the company’s expertise and experience in their industrial robotics business. With its highly articulated legs, tail and head, it can sit up, walk, play and watch your movements, all working autonomously without any additional input required.
While MarsCat provides that kind of functionality out of the box, it’s also customizable and programmable by the user. Inside, it’s powered by a Raspberry Pi, and it ships with MarsCat SDK, which is an open software development library that allows you to fully control and program all of the robot’s functions. This makes it an interesting gadget for STEM education and research, too.
MarsCat is currently up for crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with Elephant having already surpassed its goal of $20,000 and on track to raise at least $100,000 more than that target. Elephant Robotics CEO and co-founder Joey Song told me that it actually plans to ship its first batch of production MarsCats to users in March, too, so backers shouldn’t have to wait long to enjoy their new robotic pet.
There are other robotic pets available on the market, but Song thinks that MarsCat has a unique blend of advanced features at a price point that’s currently unmatched by existing options. The robot can respond to a range of voice commands, and will also evolve its personality over time based on how you interact with it: Talk to it a lot, and it’ll also become “chatty,” play with it frequently and it’ll be a playful kitty. That, combined with the open platform, is a lot to offer for the asking backer price of just $699 to start.
Sony’s Aibo, the canine equivalent of MarsCat, retails for $2,899 in the U.S., so it’s a bargain when considered in that light. And unlike the real thing, MarsCat definitely doesn’t shed, so it’s got that going for it, too.
Emily Stewart's private equity explainer for Vox is a great explainer on how the PE con works: buy up businesses, load them with debt, sell off their assets, slash their costs, then walk away as the house burns, leaving society to put out the fire -- all while enjoying special tax status on your gains.
It's a great companion-piece to Matt Stoller's "Why Private Equity Should Not Exist." Stewart's got a delicious opener, though: she notes that in 2010, Doug Lowenstein -- the top US private equity lobbyist -- wrote a letter complaining about a PBS special on the problems of PE, touting Toys R Us as PE success story.
To explain leveraged buyouts in easier-to-understand terms, let’s say you buy a house. Under normal circumstances, if you can’t pay for the mortgage, you would be in trouble. But by the LBO rules, you’re only responsible for a portion. If you pay for 30 percent of the house, the other 70 percent of the asking price is debt placed on the house. The house owes that money to the bank or creditor who lent it, not you. Of course, a house can’t owe money. But under the private equity model, it does, and its assets — its factories, stores, equipment, etc. — are collateral.
The idea, in theory, behind private equity is that the endeavor will be worth it — for both you and the house. “There are many companies that, if not for private equity, would not be able to get access to the kind of capital they need to scale, to transform, to turn around, and to have succession planning,” said one industry source, who requested anonymity to speak candidly for this story.
But because of the debt companies end up owing creditors as part of a deal, they sometimes find themselves with such high interest payments that they can’t make the investments necessary to be competitive or even stay afloat. Plus, companies often take out additional loans to pay private equity investors dividends, and then they pay a fee if and when they are sold. If they can’t pay off the debt, the companies are on the hook, and their employees and customers are the ones to suffer the consequences.
And private equity’s No. 1 priority isn’t the long-term health of the companies it buys — it’s to make money, and as is the case in so many facets of investing today, to make money fast.
arithmocracy: rule by the numerical majority
millocracy: the rule of mill owners
gerontocracy: government by old men
polyarchy: rule by many people
angelocracy: government by angels
paedarchy: rule by a child or children
mesocracy: government by the middle class
dulocracy: government by slaves
isocracy: polity where all have equal power
ideocracy: government according to a particular ideology
stratocracy: government by the army
diabolarchy: rule by a devil
chrysocracy: rule of the wealthy
heroarchy: government by people who are widely admired
hetaerocracy: the rule of college fellows
chirocracy: government by a strong hand or physical force
synarchy: joint rule or sovereignty
kakistocracy: government by the worst citizens
cryptarchy: secret government
papyrocracy: government by excessive paperwork
ergatocracy: government by the workers
ptochocracy: government by the poor
nomocracy: government based on a legal code
gynarchy: government by a woman or women
pollarchy: rule by the masses
pornocracy: rule by prostitutes
hierocracy: the rule of priests
merocracy: government by a small number out of the whole
ochlocracy: government by the populace
tritheocracy: government by three gods
“The most dangerous man, to any government, is the man who is able to think things out for himself,” wrote H.L. Mencken. “Almost inevitably, he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable.”
Finder reports that Americans waste $13 billion every year buying gifts that the recipients don't want. The most interesting part of the report was the section about "spiteful gifts," that is gifts that the giver knows the recipient will dislike:
Interestingly, we found that 15% of Americans — roughly 38 million people — have deliberately bought a present knowing their recipient wouldn’t like it. Men are about four times more likely than women to intentionally gift a bad present, with 25% of men surveyed saying they’d done it in the past, versus about 6% of women.
Of the generations, Gen Xers are most likely to knowingly give bad gifts, with 22% admitting they’ve done so. That’s only slightly higher than the rate for Gen Y (18%) but 11 times higher than the rate for boomers (2%).
Those with money to burn — people earning $100,000 to $150,000 — are most likely to buy spiteful presents, with 28% saying they’d done so. That’s almost three times higher than those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 (11%) and almost five times higher than those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 (6%).
"So if you're poor, you're dead." That's what a woman in the U.K. said when she was told the price of health care services in the U.S.
No doubt many people in the U.S. do die from the high price of health care, but the ones who survive but can't pay their bills are likely to be sued by the hospital.
Burgess Meredith stars in this 1943 film produced by the United States Office of War Information to teach U.S. soldiers how to conform to the customs of British pubs. The film has an "Ugly American" type soldier doing all the wrong things while a uniformed Meredith shakes his head in shame.
Talk about being irresponsible, Sunset posted an article that suggests serving a "THC-laced turkey gravy" as a way to avoid, or smooth over, uncomfortable conversations with your family at the Thanksgiving table.
Thanksgiving is one of the best days of the year, filled with an overflowing table of food, football, and quality family time. It’s also one of the riskiest days of the year for rational discourse, when family members with differing opinions gather round a roast turkey to air their grievances. This year, avoid it all by serving everyone a healthy dose of THC-laced turkey gravy...
Grandma won’t care about your new tattoo after slurping up this stuff — in fact, she might want one of her own! Will your stuffy uncle ever stop talking? Maybe, after he eats this gravy (or at least you might not care what he says, after you’ve eaten it too).
In a role I'm not accustomed to being in, I'm going to be the the grown-up for a minute to say, unequivocally, DO NOT DOSE YOUR FAMILY (OR ANYONE) WITHOUT THEIR EXPLICIT CONSENT. Seriously, secretly slipping cannabis into their gravy, or anything, is NOT COOL. My pal Halcyon has a term for this kind of bad behavior, "Some people may think that secretly giving someone a drug experience is a gift, but it is NOT. Non-consensual dosing is 'Consciousness Rape.'" Strong term, I know. But, c'mon, really think about it for a minute.
If you do somehow manage to get everyone on board to get high on Thanksgiving gravy, you can buy it as a powdered mix from Kiva Confections for $5 at specific SF and LA dispensaries only.
(@KevinBaird) February 4, 2020
This new product is designed for the home, however, not the factory or the lab. MarsCat is the startup’s first consumer product, but it obviously benefits immensely from the company’s expertise and experience in their industrial robotics business. With its highly articulated legs, tail and head, it can sit up, walk, play and watch your movements, all working autonomously without any additional input required.
Even if you're not following a keto diet, who can resist mozzarella-stuffed meatloaf?
READ MORE...
