The Daily Valet. - 7/14/21, Wednesday

✔️ Meet Your Team

July 14, 2021

Wednesday, July 14th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Who’s getting excited for the Olympics!?

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Meet Team USA

Our Tokyo Olympic team is the second-largest in history, with the most women ever

On Tuesday, the United States Olympic Committee announced the official 2020 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the upcoming Tokyo Games, kicking off next Friday.

The American team will be its second-largest in history and is set to shatter the record for the most women competing for any nation at a single Games.

The roster is 627 athletes (if including all of the athletes who can be substituted for strategic purposes during several team events), though it’s possible some of those athletes will not be used in competition. And there are more women than men for a third time in history and for the third Summer Olympics in a row.

The team features 193 returning Olympians—including one seven-time Olympian. The slate of veterans features 104 Olympic medalists, including 56 Olympic champions and 33 athletes who have won multiple medals.

No single statistic, however, defines the United States’ unique situation in the Olympic world better than the number of college athletes who go on to wear the red, white and blue. Because our Olympic team does not receive government funding, it looks to universities as a major training ground and pipeline for talent, reports ESPN.

Meanwhile, with Tokyo banning foreign spectators—and nearly all others—from watching the Games in person, the U.S. Olympic Committee (along with NBC and a few sponsors) are sending athletes’ closest friends and family to a remote viewing-and-cheering hub at an Orlando Florida resort.

↦ Hidden Costs: One Team USA athlete shares her experience of crowdfunding, training on a shoestring budget and the financial strain of going for the gold.

The Emmy Noms Got a Little Wild

But there will always be contentious snubs

Watching the Emmy nominations is as much about seeing what's considered the best in television as it is about seeing what the Academy considers safe and viable. But this year, after so many of us watched more TV than ever, things were a bit different.

Vulture says that while a tad chaotic, the typically predictable award show attempted to capture the immense range of what we watched and streamed in 2020. I'd have to agree. Who could've seen out-of-left-field nominations for Cobra Kai and Emily in Paris?

But while fan-favorites like Ted Lasso, The Mandalorian and WandaVision rightfully secured Emmy nominations on Tuesday, there were quite a few shows—and actors—that didn't make the cut.

Plenty of people were upset that Small Axe, Rutherford Falls and Mythic Quest were snubbed. And unfortunately there are many extraordinary, Emmy-eligible limited series every year, but only five nomination slots were available to be filled—leaving a lot of the most-talked-about TV shows without recognition.

↦ Dig Deeper: Vanity Fair has all the nominations and categories.

The 5-Day Workweek Is Dead

Or are the rumors greatly exaggerated?

At a moment when businesses are questioning the value of physical office space and lower-paid workers are agitating for better treatment and wages, it's hard to decipher what the future of work will really look like.

Everyone from Forbes and Bloomberg to The Atlantic has exclaimed that the five-day workweek is dead and gone. After all, it's been reported that people who work a four-day week are healthier, happier and less crunched for time—their employers report that they're more efficient and more focused.

And after a year and a half removed from business as usual, some office workers are quitting rather than giving up the more relaxed pace of remote work.

Which is why employers are testing out four-day workweeks. But one has to wonder, will this really result in less hours worked? Smartphones and laptops have broken down the barriers between work and home—as one management professor wrote in Fast Company earlier this year, “thanks to technology, the eight-hour, 9-to-5 workday is a mirage.”

↦ FYI: Around 85% of workers in Iceland have the option of working just four days a week.

The Deepest Pool on Earth Just Opened

Dubai sets a record with the 200-foot deep pool, complete with a ‘sunken city’

Dubai has been home to the tallest skyscraper for over a decade, but it now hosts the world's deepest swimming pool, too.

The record-breaking indoor pool is nearly 200 feet deep and holds almost 3.7 million gallons of water—the equivalent of six Olympic swimming pools. It's also home to a vast underwater attraction resembling a “sunken city” that divers can explore either on their own or with a guide.

Like descending into a flooded city block, divers are met with graffiti, crumbling facades and a large portrait of Marilyn Monroe hanging on the wall. There's an apartment building and library—even an arcade with a vintage Pac-Man machine, foosball and pool table.

According to Reuters, the facility, shaped like an oyster in reference to the UAE's pearl diving heritage, is also the region's largest underwater film studio.

↦ FYI: Bookings are currently by invitation only, but tickets will be available later in July for about $218.

In Other News

↦ Biden Blasts ‘Un-American’ Voting Limits; Texas Dems Act

↦ A New York Restaurant’s French Fries Set Guinness World Record for Most Expensive

↦ HBO’s New Show Asks If Nice Guys Really Finish Last

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

This private wine cave

Shohei Ohtani’s Superhero Origin Story

Old school maps

Feeling Oily?

Save your skin this summer

More than 30% of men report having oily skin. And that number surely rises with the temperature—as warmer weather can leave anyone feeling shiny.

That's because when your body heats up, it can actually cause the gunk in your pores to liquefy, leading to a greasier appearance.

You can also blame it on higher levels of testosterone, which increase the production of sebum, the natural oils your body generates to protect your skin from drying out. The upside to oily skin is that it's less prone to early signs of aging. The downside, of course, is that you can feel self-conscious, especially when you see the shine pop up in photos.

Thankfully, you can solve this dilemma and strike the right balance between moisturized and greasy with a consistent regimen using the right products. We consulted some grooming experts for the best picks.

↦ Buy: The best products for summer's greasiest skin.

6 on Sale Hats for Summer

↑ Chino bear on a hat! I repeat, chino bear on a hat! Do we need to say more? If you're not convinced, picture yourself in tennis whites at the CC (country club) with this bad boy ($70 / $60) on, and re-evaluate.

↦ Want more? See all six summer hats

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