The Daily Valet. - 12/8/22, Thursday
✔️ The Year In Search
Thursday, December 8th Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
I’d be embarrassed to know how many Google searches I do in a day.
Today’s Big Story
The Yearin Search
Scandals, War and a whole lot of Wordle cheating
A whole lot happened this year. And when you need answers to make sense of your world, you turn to that trusty search bar. So what did we google the most in 2022? Turns out, scandals were big. So was the war in Ukraine. But it seems that the thing most people were interested in was a simple game of word-guessing.On Wednesday, Google has launched its Year in Search review for 2022, and the top trending search of the year was Wordle. You know what that means, right? A whole lot of people were cheating.Topping Google's list of trending people (as well as its separate list of trending actors) was Johnny Depp, whose name dominated headlines during his and Amber Heard's defamation trial. Heard, meanwhile, came in at No. 3 on the trending people and actors list. There was also high interest in the Oscars moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for joking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The incident landed at No. 8 on the top trending “news” category.As you might expect, the year's top searches were dominated by terms relating to world events, such as “Ukraine” and “Queen Elizabeth”. And the streaming shows that everyone was talking about up there as well—a lot of Netflix series, from The Watcher and Dahmer to the more charming Heartstopper. Of course, the most searched for show was HBO's Euphoria (again, scandals are key).This year, Google is offering an even more granular look at searches in the United States with a new hub that lets you type in your city or ZIP code and see what people in your area specifically are searching for.Perhaps the most amusing part of Google's overview is the less obvious categories, such as top houseplants searched for with Google Lens, topped by the good old philodendron, or the top scenic hotspots on Google Maps, which is headed by the Sky Garden in London.
Meanwhile:
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is TIME's “Person of the Year”.
Shop Smarter This Holiday Season
Shipping times aren't always what they're promised to be
American shoppers plan to watch their wallets closely this holiday shopping season, with 41% saying they plan to spend less this year than last, according to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey. Analysts say it marks the most cautious holiday season in over a decade.The survey found that average spending intentions for gifts fell about 10% from last year to $907 from $1,004 in 2021 when Americans were flush with cash from government stimulus. This year, though wage expectations are up and Americans feel secure in their jobs, high inflation and concern about the economy and housing prices look to be sapping Yuletide spending cheer.But, if you missed out on Cyber week deals, don't panic. According to some experts, the best day for Christmas shopping actually isn't until next week—December 17th. But that could be cutting it close for online shipping. Considering that shipping services have to deal with millions of packages a day during the holiday season, it's no surprise that some of them hit delays. But according to a new report, some states experience problems with late packages more than others.
SHOPPING IRL:
In-person browsing allows for something that’s become a novelty in our algorithm-addled age: serendipity.
After a couple of hours of swiping, TikTok users get bespoke recommendations that make other feeds feel off-the-rack.”
The Strange Brilliance of ChatGPT
OpenAI's new AI-Fueled Chatbot promises entertainment, industry disruption
Just as people move on from the Lensa portraits, there's a new AI that's making weird stuff for us to enjoy. Launched last week by OpenAI (a startup founded by Elon Musk), the artificial intelligence-fueled platform ChatGPT has garnered well over a million users in a matter of days.It will talk to you about physics, do your homework, or write you a poem, if you ask it to. And Mashable says users are still learning how to break it in exciting new ways to produce responses its creators never intended—including turning it into an all-purpose crystal ball. As they say, “what fun is an AI if you can't misuse it?”Trained by powerful machine learning, the program promises to disrupt entire industries and change the way people interact with machines permanently. It's also free to use right now, and oddly satisfying to play with. I'd say it's worth checking out if you've got a few minutes to engage a machine in a fact-based—or at least fact-adjacent—chat.
DIg Deeper:
The Atlantic says that ChatGPT is dumber than you think, and to treat it like a toy, not a tool.
Dyson’s Air Filter Headphones Are Coming
They'll go on sale next month for a staggering $949
You've seen the tweets, now it's finally time to enter the Dyson Zone. Perhaps better known as the “Bane mask,” the company's latest device is one part headphones, one part air-purifier, and totally bizarre.And, yeah, it's really called the Dyson Zone, like it's some kind of arcade from our youth. On Wednesday, the brand finally revealed more details—like it will be going on sale in January, first in China, with U.S. and U.K. availability coming in March. The price? A cool $949.That's a lot, right? But this device does two things (three if you count getting you stared at). Designed to tackle air pollution and noise pollution, they offer top of the line noise-canceling technology along with dual-layer air filters to remove particles like pollen, bacteria, and dust, plus gases like nitrogen dioxide. But the company warned that the Zone headphones don't create a perfect seal and are not a solution for minimizing the risk of viral transmission.
FYI:
In the U.S., Dyson will offer the Zone in two colorways: Ultra Blue/Prussian Blue and Prussian Blue/Bright Copper
In Other News
Spectacular views of the Moon and lunar environment.
Have you heard about ...
Foolproof Home Gift Ideas
The perfect presents to improve someone's home life
We spend a lot of time at home during the holidays—really, the whole winter. It's a time for restful relaxation and nesting. Make someone's home even happier with a thoughtful gift that's one part practical and one part luxurious. The key here is to get something they might need, but won't get for themselves. A richly scented candle or luxuriously lathering hand soap. Maybe a vintage serving board for the friend who's always hosting. Perhaps a record player for the music buff or a handsome personal heater for the ones who can never get warm during the winter. Here are some of the items our team is giving (and asking for) this season.
Clockwise, from top left to right:
Potted Norfolk island pine, $78 / $55 by The Sill; Cast iron match striker, $38 by Craighill and Neroli hand wash, $30 by Homecourt
Clockwise, from top left to right:
Copperwell memory foam pillow, $29.99 by Molecule; Leather & Oud marble incense kit, $60 by Soho Home and Porcelain Sellier tray, $630 by Hermès
Want More?
Morning Motto
Start with yourself. Always.
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