oh, chicago
Chicago narcotics arrests are way down
As you might expect, even police are hesitant to violate social distancing these days. | learn more
fun facts
Daguerreotype: the original photograph
From Wikipedia, “The daguerreotype process, or daguerreotypy, was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s.” The first image of Abraham Lincoln used this technology, and it looks eerie! | learn more
fun facts
Bailout tracker from 2008
You’ll be pleasantly surprised that ProPublica has continued to update their tracker of every dollar of taxpayer money from the 2008 bailout of the financial system. | learn more
fun facts
I had no idea sequencing a genome was this easy
There’s a device called the MinION. It fits in the palm of your hand. It weighs around 0.25 lbs. It plugs into the USB port on a laptop. It’s cost? A mere $1,000. | learn more
big ideas
Washington’s farewell address from 1796
Speaking from that past, our first President has some incredibly timely warnings about the dangers of political parties! “Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the […]
thoughts of food
6 things restaurants can do to mitigate the impact of Coronavirus
This is a thoughtfully detailed article with many great tactics that restaurant operators can consider. It’s written by the founder of Pepr, a food-tech startup that helps restaurants improve their profitability | learn more
under the microscope
Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects?
I won’t spoil the surprise answer. “Homeopathy seems scientifically implausible, but has widespread use. We aimed to assess whether the clinical effect reported in randomised controlled trials of homeopathic remedies is equivalent to that reported for placebo.” | learn more
retail therapy
Illinois medical cannabis sales keep growing
A little lockdown can’t stop this train! “March’s total medical cannabis sales in Illinois were not only up, but seemingly following the same growth curve established in 2019.” | learn more
retail therapy
Are bankruptcy floodgates opening?
This recent issue of the newsletter Petition contains a bunch of interesting insights. Retailers are so far notably absent from restructuring. Why? One reason: it’s hard to do a Going Out of Business Sale when stores aren’t open. | learn more
to your health
Direct-to-consumer COVID-19 testing shut down
A handful of direct-to-consumer companies started offering at-home COVID-19 testing. The FDA quickly responded: “No.” | learn more