As bleak as it sounds, suicide is a question of ease and not just motivation. In the US, suicide rates are highest in the states where gun ownership is highest (and largely where gun control laws are weakest).
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The pandemic was supposed to kill off gyms: who would want to pay when there were so many free alternatives at home? Yet 5 years on, gym memberships are at a record level (at least in the UK).
When business travellers were asked which hotel facilities were most important in their choice of hotel, 70% said the gym. But in reality, only 17% use the gym when they stay.
The brand was born online, but Gymshark is now heavily investing in physical marketing; recently opening its flagship store on Regent Street in London, and routinely hosting live events where hundreds of fans exercise together.
Reuben Mattus coined the name “Häagen-Dazs” to make the (American) brand sound more Danish. Interestingly letters like “ä” and digraphs like “zs” do not actually exist in Danish.
Halo Top was started by an ex-lawyer who, in his own words, “just wanted to eat an entire pint of ice cream and not hate himself for it.”
Americans say they need a 30%-50% raise to feel happy, regardless of their income. People making $50k need about 75k, and people making $200k need 350k.
Want to get into Harvard? Make sure your parents went there. Legacy students have a 33% chance of winning a place vs 6% for the rest. (Alternatively, become an elite athlete and your chance of getting in goes up to 86%).
At Heathrow airport, 80% of noise complaints come from just 10 people.
In 1944 two researchers, Heider and Simmel, showed people some basic animated shapes and asked them to describe what they saw. The abstract shapes soon became a story. Viewers saw characters with emotions, motivations, and purpose. They personified the inanimate figures using words like “escaped,” “slammed,” “danced,” or “kissed” to describe their actions. They depicted them with tempers; as cowardly, or as viciously conspiring. If you ever needed proof that humans are meaning making creatures, this is it.
The iconic Japanese toymaker is no longer just a toymaker – it’s a high-margin global licensing platform. Nearly half of its revenue now comes from royalties and IP partnerships.
They were the most successful industrialists of the 20th century, but their philosophies were poles apart. For Ford the car was everything: a means of improving welfare and achieving global peace. For Sloan it was merely a product: “the primary object of the General Motors corporation is to make money, not just to make motor cars.”
We only have the Church of England because of one man’s personal problems: Henry VIII needed to free himself from his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had not provided him with a male heir. However, the Catholic Church continually refused to annul the marriage, so he set up an independent branch and declared himself leader.
Or is it Specsavers? Weetabix? Cillit Bang?
The billion dollar shoe brand actively limits its distribution to maintain a sense of scarcity and value. Until recently the shoes were available in less than 20% of Dick’s sporting good stores – and company executives sound proud of how few places you can find a pair of Hokas.