The Daily Valet. - 10/26/22, Wednesday
✔️ On the Rise
Wednesday, October 26th Edition
We’ve got a real mixed bag today … enjoy.
Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf
Today’s edition is presented by
Today’s Big Story
Early Voting on the Rise
Counts continue to climb past usual midterm turnout
The pandemic ushered in big changes to how Americans vote. States made it easier to cast ballots by mail, introduced ballot drop-boxes and extended voting deadlines. And while some states have rolled those innovations back, it seems like we’re not going back to the old ways.
Just days into early voting in the 2022 midterm elections, states across the country are reporting a surge of voters casting ballots at in-person voting sites and by mail. Election experts say the signs suggest overall turnout will be strong. As we know, that’s not usually the case for midterm races, despite growing interest in recent years.
On Tuesday, University of Florida’s U.S. Elections Project counted more than 10.5 million early votes, of which 7,662,560 were mail-in ballots returned and 2,916,195 ballots cast in person so far. Just a week prior, ElectProject.org had only tallied about 2 million early votes.
And the pace should pick up even further this week, the Elections Project told ABC News, as additional states start offering in-person early voting and additional ballots should be sent out for those who have requested mail-in options.
Georgia, in its first general election test of a sweeping elections bill signed into law in 2021 by incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp—legislation that Democrats widely deemed as restrictive—has been shattering past turnout trends. More than 1 million Georgians have already voted early. That’s 59% higher than at this point before the 2018 midterms.
In Virginia, more than 411,000 people have voted so far, surpassing the total number of people who voted early in 2018 (with two weeks to go before Election Day). On Monday—the first day early voting began in South Carolina—the day’s final tally nearly doubled the previous single-day early voting record. So far, the largest demographic voting early is the senior set (over 65 years old). The 18 - 40 demographic currently makes up just 11% of early voters. But one pollster told the New York Times that young voters, who often lean Democratic, are showing a stronger inclination this year to vote in person, on Election Day. I say vote however you like, just make sure to vote.
↦ Dig Deeper: How much do America’s voting-access reforms affect turnout? The Economist investigates.
What Are ‘Dirty Bombs’?
And why are we suddenly taking about them?
U.S. and Ukrainian alarm over a flurry of Russian claims that Kyiv plans to deploy a so-called “dirty bomb” have worsened fears that a panicky Vladimir Putin could try to escalate the conflict to try to change the course of the war.
Ukraine and its allies vehemently reject the Russian accusations, countering that, in fact, the Kremlin may be planning a “false flag” operation, blaming Kyiv for its own actions. Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said Tuesday that Russian forces were performing secret work at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, activity that could shed light on Russia's claims that the Ukrainian military is preparing a “provocation” involving a radioactive device.
But all the headlines around this back and forth have renewed attention on the concept of the dirty bomb itself. The more formal name of the bombs—radiological dispersal devices (or RDD)—offers a fairly straightforward description of what they are and how they work. The bomb uses conventional high explosives to spread radioactive material into the surrounding area. Pretty nasty, right?
The idea for such a weapon came about in the early years of the atomic age, but it never materialized. After the Sept. 11 attacks, there was talk that terrorists could build one and dirty bombs became a boogeyman in the public consciousness, an object of fear. But the fact that no military is known to have fielded one in its arsenal is a good indicator that they are not useful on the battlefield.
↦ Meanwhile: A Russian court has denied Brittney Griner’s appeal of her 9-year prison sentence.
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There Are More Food Allergies Now
More kids and adults are finding out that they can’t eat their favorite foods. Why?
If you have a food allergy, I feel for you. Because it seems really annoying, potentially dangerous and, at times, expensive to navigate. But unfortunately, more and more people are suffering from food allergies. So much so that it's being called an epidemic.
The USDA estimates about 2% of adults and around 4% to 8% of children suffer from food allergies, but some scientists think that the number is as high as 10% across the board, or around 33 million Americans. And doctors don't exactly know why.
According to Vox, there is no single cause behind the rise. Rather, it is likely due to a mix of varying factors at play. One of the big theories is the “hygiene hypothesis,” which goes like this: The fewer germs and bacteria children come into contact with, the more reactive their immune systems will be to harmless allergens, thus triggering reactions. Often, people who emigrate from poorer countries with low allergy rates to wealthier countries see their allergy rates go up.
Tasting Table reports that another potential culprit for the rise may be exposure timing. “In past decades, mothers were advised to avoid certain foods during pregnancy and while breastfeeding,” and that has led to a spike in peanut and milk allergies. Then again, a food allergy doesn't simply develop, but it's written in your DNA. One study shows that over 100 genes are associated with allergies. According to Verywell Health, a person is 50% more susceptible to developing an allergy if one of their parents had one. That number jumps to 75% when both parents share the same allergy.
↦ Speaking of Food: McDonald’s has announced the McRib’s “farewell tour,” but The Takeout is convinced it’s merely a publicity stunt.
Taylor Swift Sells a Million in a Week
She’s the first artist to do that since 2017
Taylor Swift's “Midnights” has become the first album to register a million units in a week in five years. The last album to do it? Taylor Swift's “Reputation,” all the way back in 2017—which truly does feel like a different world, right?
And this time, she did it in just three days. The days when a singer could sell a million records for their album's opening week are supposed to be at an end—a relic of a time before streaming services, when fans still mainly purchased albums and directly drove artists' album sales.
What's more, “Midnights” already shattered single-day streaming records on Spotify, reports Rolling Stone. Even more surprising, in an era where physical sales and digital purchases are no longer the main currency of the industry, Swift's audience was still hungry to obtain her album the old-school way. According to Billboard, over 955,000 units—nearly 80% of the sales—came from digital downloads, CD, cassette and vinyl sales. Nearly half a million were vinyl copies. Another high point in the still ongoing vinyl boom.
As for the songs themselves, I'll let you make your own call. I'm listening to it right now and bopping my noggin along, but I haven't paid for it or seen the music video everyone seems to be talking about.
↦ Reviews: A Gen Xer, a millennial, a zillennial, and a 10-year-old discuss whether the singer-songwriter’s new album is an instant classic or just cringe.
In Other News
Other Things We’re Talking About Today
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The Future of Surgery Is Robotics
Monogram combines surgical robots with custom 3D-printed implants. Invest before they go public.
Knee replacement surgery is more popular than you probably realize. Athletes from John Elway to Tiger Woods have had joint-replacement surgery. It's such a popular procedure that it's estimated to be performed over 800,000 times annually in the United States alone—and that figure increases every year.
But here's the thing: Around 100,000 knee replacements fail each year. One out of every five patients aren't satisfied with the results and up to a third of all total knee replacements have chronic pain after their operation. Why? Well, many believe it's because current joint replacements are generic, one-size-fits-all implants that cause problems later on, and surgical methods are downright medieval.
Meet Monogram Orthopedics, a startup aiming to enable mass personalization of orthopedic implants that hopes to fix this problem and giving investors the opportunity to join them.
While the majority of standard knee implants use cement bonding, Monogram relies on a more custom fit that doesn't require cement. In fact, they use highly-sophisticated bone-scanning and 3D-printing software to craft personalized implants. Then, their surgical robot can prepare custom bone cavities for the implant while conserving more of the natural bone. It's clear that this is an area ripe for disruption and Monogram is leading the charge, having the only 3D printed, patient-specific implants that are inserted with active milling robots. With over a dozen patent applications filed, now is the time to invest.
↦ Learn More: Get in early on Monogram while the company is taking concrete steps toward a public listing.
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Morning Motto
Focus on what you can control and make peace with what you cannot.
↦ Follow: @mindfulenough__
That’s all for today...
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