The Birth of the Price Tag

For centuries buying something meant haggling, negotiating with shopkeepers to get a lower price. As a result, the same goods cost different people different prices. In the mid-19th century, U.S. Quakers came to believe that charging people different amounts for the same item was immoral, so they started using price tags which, if not more moral, are more efficient.

An NPR Planet Money video.

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Pitless Avocados at FreshDirect

At last, our long guacamole nightmare is over.

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Mickey D’s Durian McFlurry. Yum!

Durian, the notoriously stinky fruit of the Pacific, is featured at McDonald’s in Malaysia and Singapore in a McFlurry concoction. It’s made with the milder D24 durian, but even so, that’s no pumpkin spice latte. McD’s offers localized menus in many parts of it’s global empire. See ads for more far-flung fast food treats here.

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Firehose of Falsehood

Obvious lies make great propaganda. Carlos Maza explains. A Vox video.

More:

“The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model,” Christopher Paul, Miriam Matthews, RAND Corporation

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How ‘The Apprentice’ Manufactured Trump

“How ‘The Apprentice’ Manufactured Trump,” an Atlantic video.

In 2004 the first season of The Apprentice reintroduced pro wrestling promoter Donald Trump as an incredibly successful and intelligent businessman, the biggest real estate developer in New York City (had to be true, it was on TV, right?). The show was a hit, and boosted the Trump brand. The show’s producers created his persona and sold his image to America. How did they create a reality TV president?

More:

“The Inside Story of How ‘The Apprentice’ Rescued Donald Trump,” Michael Kranish,Marc Fisher, Fortune

“How Reality TV Made Donald Trump President,” Joy Lanzendorfer, Vice

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‘Pro wrestling is an art form’

Pro wrestling is an art form, ballet for beefy guys,morality plays for our time.

A Vox video.

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Meat. Eek.

“Why Meat is the Best Worst Thing in the World,” a Kurzgesagt video (Kurzgesagt is German for “in a nutshell”).

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‘Dear Young People: Don’t Vote’

A civic message to the young from the old farts of America.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th. That’s tomorrow.

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Star Wars Wayang Kulit

Note: That’s not your doorbell, it’s an instrument on the soundtrack.

A Star Wars shadow puppet play (wayang kulit), explained by Malaysia’s Pak Daim, a tok dalang (master puppeteer). The Wayang Kulit tradition has entertained audiences in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia with dramas bringing folktales, Hindu mythology, and Balinese sagas to life. Pak Daim’s company and artist Tintoy Chuo created a shadow drama of the Star Wars saga using traditional techniques and instruments, with added special effects and sounds. There are shadow puppets of Stormtroopers, C-3PO, R2-D2, Princess Leia, and Darth, even an Imperial Star Destroyer.

Video by Singapore’s TODAYonline.

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Atomic War or Peace

“Atomic War or Peace,” by Albert Einstein, from The Atlantic, November 1947. Animated by Atthar Mirza. Read the essay here.

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