The Daily Valet. - 7/14/22, Thursday

✔️ It's Time to Check-In

Thursday, July 14th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

You’re gonna make someone’s day today. Trust me.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

Check in With Your Friends

A study found that our friends and loved ones enjoy being reached out to more than we think

We’re all guilty of it. Of letting a little too much time pass, or not following through when you’d said you’d call to make plans. Maybe you owe someone a text right now. Perhaps you haven’t spoken to that former colleague even though you planned to get lunch “one of these days.”

You’d like to get to it, but you don't want to seem needy or desperate, right? But what if you knew that just by reaching out, you’d make that person’s day—that they would genuinely like to hear from you? According to a recent study [PDF], we routinely misjudge how meaningful a casual check-in can be to a family member, friend or even work-related acquaintance.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh conducted more than a dozen experiments, involving nearly 6,000 participants where they explored their emotions and found that those who reached out felt it didn’t mean all that much, whereas those who they reached out to were genuinely delighted.

“People are fundamentally social beings and enjoy connecting with others,” said lead study author Peggy Liu, Ph.D. “There is much research showing that maintaining social connections is good for our mental and physical health.” Conversely, Harvard Medical School found that a lack of social ties is associated with depression and later-life cognitive decline, as well as with increased mortality.

Theirs is not the only recent research to emphasize the power of small moments of connection. Another study, published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found that having positive social interactions is linked with a sense of purposefulness. It adds to the growing body of research that suggests the people we spend time with daily have a “very large impact” on our well-being.

What’s more, the surprising “out of the blue” nature of these check-ins led to an even greater appreciation by the reveipient. According to the New York Times, this could be linked to an unfortunate phenomenon known as the “liking gap.” That’s the tendency to underestimate how well-liked we really are within our social circles. Sound familiar? Yeah, me too. So let’s reach out to someone today. Because it’s now been scientifically proven to improve their day.

↦ Dig Deeper: After his children tried to fix him up on a play date, journalist Tim Lewis wondered why it’s so hard to hang onto your friends as you get older.

America’s Inflation Just Got Worse

Another month, another terrible inflation report. And prices keep climbing.

Inflation's relentless surge didn't just continue in June, it actually accelerated. For the 12 months ending in June, the government's consumer price index rocketed 9.1%, the fastest year-over-year jump since 1981.

The June increase was heavily influenced by higher food and gas prices, reports NBC News. Food prices increased 1% from May and 10.4% over the previous 12 months, while the cost of gasoline increased 11.2% from May and energy prices rose 60% over the past 12 months. Excluding food and gas prices, inflation increased 0.7% on the month and 5.9% for the year.

And sadly, price increases show no signs of slowing. That will add urgency to the Federal Reserve's aggressive campaign to cool inflation by raising interest rates. According to the Wall Street Journal, higher borrowing costs tend to lead to lower demand, but raising interest rates also elevates the risk of a recession.

How long will this go on? No one knows for sure. Elevated consumer price inflation could endure as long as companies struggle to keep up with consumers' demand for goods and services. A recovering job market (employers added a record 6.7 million jobs last year and a healthy average of 457,000 a month so far this year) means that Americans as a whole can afford to keep spending.

YouTube TV Is Growing Fast

But young people are now more interested in TikTok

How much YouTube do you watch? And where do you watch it? I mostly fire it up on my Apple TV and scroll through my subscriptions. And I'm not alone. Apparently, the average American is watching about 20 minutes of YouTube every day.

Other cord cutters rely on it as a TV replacement so much that it's overtaken Hulu's Live service. Variety reports that YouTube TV has surpassed 5 million accounts—making it the U.S.'s biggest internet-based pay TV service. First launched in April 2017, YouTube TV is available nationwide with more than 100 channels, including local networks. The service features unlimited cloud-based DVR storage, up to six accounts per household and lets subscribers access up to three streams simultaneously.

What I've noticed watching YouTube is how long the videos get now. It's not unusual for an architectural tour, off-the-wall fashion film or an interesting video from my favorite vlogger in Japan to have the same runtime as a sitcom.

And while YouTube is still the number one platform for Millennials, the younger generations are less interested and more geared toward the addictive quick hits on their phone. According to TechCrunch, kids and teens were watching an average of 91 minutes of TikTok per day last year, compared with just 56 minutes per day spent watching YouTube.

↦ FYI: YouTube says that more than 500 hours of content is uploaded to the site every minute.

Cars Door Handles Are Disappearing

Where we’re going … we don’t need handles

I like cars, but I wouldn't classify myself as a “car guy” because I don't really geek out on stats or horsepower. For me, I like them the same way I like watches or cool chairs. Which is why when news about Hyundai's ambitious Ioniq 6 EV was announced Wednesday, all I focused on were the door handles.

Or lack thereof. It seems that flush door handles are the way of the future. It started with high-end sports cars, but has transitioned to become almost standard issue for any electric vehicle. Telsa famously has them. So do the Rivian trucks. Cadillac's first fully electric crossover has the sleek disappearing handles too.

Of course, this is how design works, right? It filters down. Flap-style door handles were a staple of American cars in the 1960s and '70s. They gave way to the pull handles most cars have today. But now that fully wired cars are able to latch and unlatch a door electronically, the handle is less necessary—its purpose only needs to act as a switch. Which means we're gonna see more of these smooth, stowaway handles going forward.

But there is a learning curve involved. There seems to be two designs: One where the handle extends out and then retracts straight in, and the other where you push one side in/out to create the door handle. Some worry that a bad crash or electrical malfunction could delay the rescue of those in a crash. And as my notoriously practical mother would say, it's just “one more thing to break and have to fix.” But for now, they sure look cool.

↦ FYI: Watch as a road rager tries to open another driver's car only to be perplexed by the missing door handles.

In Other News

↦ Apple Ends Consulting Agreement With Jony Ive, Its Famed Former Design Leader

↦ A Judge Rules That Subway Can Be Sued Over Its ‘100% Tuna’ Claim

↦ The Double Album Is Thriving

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

A new way to fly business class

This ice cream pie

WiFi lurkers

The Secret to Healthy Skin?

It’s not in your medicine cabinet. It’s in your refrigerator.

Good looking skin is healthy skin. No cream, serum or lotion—no matter how high-end and effective—will matter all that much if the stuff you put inside your body is crap.

A healthy, nutrient-rich diet is integral to your overall skincare regimen. The foods you should focus on are ones rich in vitamins, protein and essential fatty acids. But note: one salad today isn't going to clear your skin tomorrow.

Eating for better skin is more of a lifestyle change, not a one-time fix. But if you put in the right fuel, you're going to start noticing a difference soon.

We spoke with dermatologists and dug up the latest data to find out what foods do your skin some good. As an added bonus, they're all tasty and not hard to stomach.

↦ Read: How to eat your way to a healthier complexion.

Making the Case for ...

Value is incredibly important to us at Valet., but that's not to say we don't like nice things or are afraid to shell out for quality—some things are worth the splurge. Case in point: this beautiful box of incense. It's unflinchingly fancy and elegantly packaged. But its real worth is found inside. Astier de Villatte's fragrances are inspired by worldly travels—the scents are layered, nuanced and sophisticated. Put another way: they smell damn good. Like the coolest shop or hotel lobby you've ever been in. The Namche Bazar scent combines black tea and lavender with dried grass and a smoky tobacco undertone.

If you don't like the way incense smells, you've probably only smelled the cheap stuff (remember all that bad patchouli in college?). This is the good stuff. It hangs in the air and relaxes you. Unlike a candle that can sometimes be too overpowering, this incense is subtle but noticeable. It smells legit (not artificial) because it's made the old fashioned way, with all-natural ingredients by master craftsmen off the coast of Kobe, Japan, where incense has been burning since the sixth century.

Yes, a box will set you back a staggering sixty dollars, but it contains 125 sticks. You could burn one everyday and it'll last you more than four months. No candle would last that long.

↦ Get It: $60 by Astier de Villatte