The Daily Valet. - 8/15/22, Monday

✔️ We're Talking About Pizza

August 15, 2022

Monday, August 15th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

So … did I miss anything while I was away?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Shake Ups in the Pizza World

You might say it’s gone to pieces ...

Let’s start out with the wildest slice of this pizza story: Domino’s tried to sell the good people of Italy pizza. Well, their Americanized version of pizza. Not surprisingly, most self-respecting Italians said, ‘no, grazie.’

It was just announced that the last 29 Domino’s locations are packing up and leaving the country for good. Their original plan was to open more than 800 stores by 2030, but now Italians are celebrating the pizza chain’s demise after railing against it on social media for the past two years.

Sales were down nearly 40% and the company actually blamed reduced demand on a consumer preference for mom-and-pop shops. Who would’ve thought an Italian couldn’t be swayed by the Cali Chicken Bacon Ranch pie?

Speaking of corporate machinations, Papa John’s is going to ditch my favorite part of the pizza and debut a new crustless creation here in the U.S. next week. The pizza bowls, according to Thrillist, include all the expected toppings baked into three flavors: the Italian Meats Trio, Chicken Alfredo and Garden Veggie.

And Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza is returning to menu boards following a three-month absence. The chain announced the meal is returning permanently on September 15—which is earlier than expected because Taco Bell said it “worked quickly to restock the beloved menu item.” Made of a flat, crispy tortilla covered with pizza sauce and either beans or ground beef, it was brought back after a two-year hiatus in May, but demand was so high, it caused the chain to run out just two weeks after the relaunch.

Of course, the best pizza doesn’t come from a multi-national conglomerate. It comes from a local joint that specializes in your region’s favored style. That’s why there’s a Detroit-style pie and why New Yorkers will tell you the difference in a Brooklyn-style slice or why we can’t call Los Angeles a mediocre pizza town anymore. And when all else fails, there’s the pizza currently sitting in your freezer. And it turns out, there’s a TikTok hack that’s pretty helpful for cooking them.

↦ Meanwhile: Don’t ever feel guilty for needing a slice. Emotional eating is totally normal and shouldn’t be demonized, according to dietitians.

Trump Had a Bad Week

But the former president is now calling on FBI to return documents seized at Mar-a-Lago

You probably heard that last week, the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and office, recovering 11 sets of classified documents. On Friday afternoon, the F.B.I.'s search warrant was unsealed—revealing that the government believed evidence of three federal crimes regarding the handling of sensitive material could be found.

Trump and his allies have given often conflicting defenses of his retention of any classified documents, without addressing why he had kept them. According to the New York Times, his aides claimed he had a “standing order” to declassify documents that left the Oval Office for his residence.

John Bolton, who served as Trump's third national security adviser over 17 months, said he had never heard of the standing order. It is, he said, “almost certainly a lie ... if he were to say something like that, you would have to memorialize that, so that people would know it existed.”

But on Sunday, Trump wasn't backing down. He called on the FBI to return seized documents, saying that they are allegedly protected by attorney-client and executive privileges. He and his allies have attacked the search as being politically motivated, but still haven't answered why he had classified documents (after his lawyers claimed they were retuned in June), at a Florida resort that's had shaky security when officials had been asking for a year to retrieve them.

↦ Dig Deeper: Both the FBI and DHS have warned that threats to federal law enforcement have spiked since Mar-a-Lago search.

Partner

Need more energy? Put down the coffee. You don't need caffeine, but you could very well be deficient in a vital bodily element.

Air Conditioning Needs an Update

The search for an AC that doesn’t destroy the planet

It keeps happening. Every summer, unprecedented heat surges through cities across the United States—and the world. Every year, hundreds die from heat-related illness in the U.S., and thousands more end up in emergency rooms from heat stress.

It's a serious problem. According to TIME, extreme heat kills more people than any other climate disaster on the planet, including hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. Which is why air conditioners have become a modern lifeline.

The International Energy Agency estimates that there may be more than 5 billion air conditioners across the planet by 2050. The problem is that while air conditioners do keep people safe, they're also a major contributor to climate change. Most modern air conditioners consume a massive amount of energy, strain the electrical grid during sweltering summer days, and use harmful chemicals, called refrigerants, that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Recode says that the basic science of air conditioners hasn’t changed much since they were first invented about a century ago—but race to redesign the AC is already on. Right now, ideas range from retrofitting our windows to more far-out concepts, like rooftop panels that reflect sunlight and emit heat into space. After all, no one's against more efficient air conditioning, right?

↦ FYI: Why are thermostat displays so hard to decipher?

Women Are Better at Driving the Cars of the Future

A study shows women are better than men at taking control of semi-autonomous vehicles

Whether men or women make better drivers has long been a hotly-debated topic. And while ladies historically take more jibes about their skills behind the wheel, studies have shown that female drivers are far less likely to commit driving offenses.

So maybe it's not surprising that a recent study found that women respond more quickly and more stably when asked to take over control of driverless cars. You see, as the automotive world continues to trend toward driver assistance technologies, researchers started asking questions about the skills of the drivers behind the wheel.

Scientists analyzed how well different drivers were able to take over “a level-three automated vehicle in situations where a driver would need to reestablish their full attention to the act of driving.” Seventy-six drivers (33 female and 43 male) were asked to take over control in different weather conditions, with researchers measuring the timing of the takeovers and their quality.

According to Jalopnik, the researchers wanted to analyze the impact of gender on this takeover process, citing other studies that have highlighted how gender impacts “crash patterns, risk perception, driving confidence, self-assessment of driving skills, anger while driving and traffic violations.” The women took over the cars faster and more smoothly than men—though neither party could exactly be termed “bad” at the autonomous takeover.

↦ FYI: Women are often overlooked in the data used for designing everything from medical devices to transit systems.

In Other News

↦ House Passes Inflation Reduction Act …Biden Will Sign It This Week

↦ Disney Surpasses Netflix in Global Paid Streaming Subscribers

↦ The Feds Published a List of Emoji Codes for Drugs

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Lounging around

Kinks

‘Heat 2’

Partner

Maximize Your Workout Gains

LMNT is the key to preventing soreness and a sluggish recovery

It's one of the most important rules when it comes to fitness: Don't overlook your recovery. Because this is when your muscles rebuild to get stronger and bigger. The key, of course, is to focus on recovery after substantial activity. Something that a lot of us tend to forget.

I've learned this the hard way. An avid weekend cycler, I found that when I push myself and clock 50+ miles on the bike, I'll be sluggish and sore for a couple of days—if I don't take care of myself. Downing some LMNT upon returning home has been amazing at ensuring a less painful “day after”.

That's because during a workout, dehydration occurs when fluid losses (be it from sweating, increased core temperatures or even breathing) are accompanied by the loss of electrolytes—vital minerals that aid in healthy cell signaling and function. LMNT packs a wallop of a punch with a science-backed ratio of sodium, magnesium and potassium. There's no sugar or mystery ingredients, but there is a refreshing taste—especially after a hard workout. But the real bonus is keeping all that unnecessary pain away.

↦ Try It: Valet. readers get a free LMNT sample pack with any purchase.

What We’re Eyeing

Your things deserve a beautiful place to be put down. Craighill is a brand that focuses on the little details—they craft items that not only look good, but are purposeful and pleasurable to use too. Their new facet bowls ($98) come in two sizes and the larger one can be used in a myriad of ways: a centerpiece display, a fruit bowl or a tray to help tidy and style your coffee table, desk or entryway. With a beveled edge at the bottom, the bowls have a softly floating appearance and the rings of the wood grain elegantly map the slope of their interiors. It's a piece that looks as good as it feels to use.

↦ Want more? 5 stylish items to buy this week