The Daily Valet. - 9/27/21, Monday

✔️ Crowds Crush

September 27, 2021

Monday, September 27th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Sleeping in a van? Cool. Airbnb-ing a van on the side of the road? Less so.

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Crowds Crush the National Parks

We go there for quiet experience in nature. Not to compete for a picture or a little breathing room.

This is really a good news, bad news sort of situation. The lack of indoor options and the need to be outdoors for our health led a drastic increase in trips to our country’s national parks.

That’s a great thing: These natural wonders give us stories, educate us and change us. But the uptick in travelers has also compounded an existing issue: that some of America’s national parks are experiencing serious problems due to overcrowding.

Kim Heacox, a former Parks Service ranger, looked at recent events at Yellowstone for a piece in The Guardian. She cites an astonishing figure: in July, one million people visited Yellowstone. Heacox says that these visitors “sought solitude and fresh air” but instead found “traffic, litter, crowds, noise, oppressive heat and long lines.”

During the height of the pandemic summer, many tourists were surprised to find new systems in place requiring reserved time slots to enter some of the most popular U.S. national parks at peak hours. With the seasonal rush done, parks are analyzing those pilot programs to figure out what worked.

According to the Wall Street Journal, park officials say we can expect some type of congestion-management plans in the future, whether or not they use a reservation system. Some parks were already considering ticketing systems to address how tourism has increased in recent years—and that was before the pandemic-induced rush.

Other ideas to lessen the crush of visitors is to actually increase the total number of parks. But as several op-eds have since pointed out, more parks won’t necessarily solve the problem. The main victims of national park overcrowding, it seems, are the crowds themselves—not the parks or their resources.

↦ Dig Deeper: Another option to help battle crowds? The selfie station: a humble stand in front of a stunning vista, ready to hold a camera for a quick, safe and simple photo experience.

Is Cash Really Going Away?

Why experts say cash will be obsolete within a decade

Central banks like the U.S. Federal Reserve are printing more paper money than ever. But Cornell University economics professor Eswar Prasad, who published a new book on the future of money, thinks cash has outlived its usefulness.

Prasad’s book, The Future of Money, is a deep dive into the world of fintech, crypto assets and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). He says the research that went into writing it has made him an optimist about our digital future.

“It's hard to imagine cash remaining a viable medium of exchange in the world once you get past the next five to 10 years, depending on which country you're talking about,” he told Quartz. And not just because we're all using cards and our watches to pay for stuff—cash is a big hassle for businesses.

But the answer isn't Bitcoin, either. “Its promise of digital anonymity has proved to be something of a mirage,” he told the Economic Times. “But cryptocurrencies have had a real impact on the financial ecosystem … So I think the legacy of the Bitcoin revolution is going to be with us in different forms, even if cryptocurrencies don't exist.”

↦ FYI: I hate cash, but I carry it anyway. Here is why every adult should have some actual money in their pocket.

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Are you good in bed? Would you want to be better? This just might help.

Fixing the Unfriendly Skies

Delta wants airlines to share no-fly lists to keep crap passengers off planes

We've heard a lot about unruly and violent airline passengers lately. Last week, two Hawaiian Airlines flights returned to the Honolulu airport due to unruly passenger incidents.

That same day, at a congressional hearing on in-flight incidents, the Federal Aviation Administration said that while rates of unruly passengers onboard commercial flights have dropped by 50% since early 2021, they are still more than double what they were at the end of 2020.

Airlines have banned hundreds of passengers due to bad behavior since the start of the pandemic. Delta Air Lines wants carriers to share those lists between each other. (Airlines' banned passenger lists are separate from the federal no-fly list, which is managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Terrorist Screening Center.)

So far, it's not clear how such information-sharing would work, though. When asked by the Washington Post, Delta did not elaborate whether sharing the internal lists should be done via the federal government or directly with other airlines. According to the FAA, the majority of the problems with unruly passengers this year are related to individuals refusing to comply with federal mask mandates.

↦ Meanwhile: The TSA has reinstated flight crew self-defense classes as unruly passenger behavior continues.

There’s No Glamping in New York

Police discover illegal vans being used as Airbnb rentals in Manhattan

When a deal sounds too good to be true, trust your gut. Also, don't pay to sleep in a van parked on a New York City street.

Police seized seven illegally documented vans that have been used for at least two years as cut-rate Airbnb rentals, authorities said. The city Sheriff's office and the NYPD Document Fraud Unit impounded the cars over the weekend, reports the New York Post.

Sheriff Joseph Fucito told ABC7 that the registrations for three of the vehicles had expired more than four years ago. Others had license plates that belonged to other vehicles, while one wasn't registered at all. Fucito said the investigation included watching a YouTuber's review of his experience in the East Village.

The YouTuber said he was initially seduced by the ad, which offered him the #VanLife experience for just $97. But was greeted by a van with a parking ticket on it and instructions to use the “restrooms and showers at a public pool nearby.”

↦ Biased Opinion: Call me old fashioned, but there's nothing better than a great hotel when you're away from home. Why? Let me count the ways.

In Other News

↦ German Election Results Hint at Messier Politics After Angela Merkel

↦ China Bans Crypto, Marvel Film ‘Shang-Chi’ and ‘Effeminate Men.’ This Is What They Share.

↦ Simply Letting Forests Regrow Naturally Could Suck up 8.9 Billion Tons of CO2 a Year

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

The RH One jet

This ‘aged’ Tudor watch

Putting SUVs to the test

Partner

Last Longer, Anywhere

Promescent offers an easy and discreet way to keep going in bed

When it comes to being good in bed, confidence plays a huge role. Being worried about finishing too soon isn't sexy. And even if you're not anxious, you might want to keep going—longer than the average man. That's where modern wellness brand Promescent comes in.

Their best-selling Delay Spray is recommended by more than 2,000 healthcare professionals because it works—every time. Now, they offer convenient Delay Wipes that utilize all of the same technology but in a simple-to-apply individually wrapped wipe. That means you can take them anywhere and apply it quickly and discreetly without spoiling any of the fun.

Without boring you with the science, the benzocaine in the product is absorbed into nerve cells just below the skin to temporarily slow down their trigger response. Compared to other wipes on the market, Promescent's are 175% stronger, meaning you're all but guaranteed to last longer. Plus, the wipes allow you to apply it only where you need it (so you won't feel overly desensitized). Now you can relax and enjoy the pleasure without worrying about climax control.

↦ Get It: $19.95 / $16.95 (with Valet. discount) by Promescent

Stuff We Want

L.L. Bean x Todd Snyder Color-Block Cashmere Watch Cap

You might not need a beanie just yet, but get this one before it's gone. It's been a year since Todd Snyder and L.L.Bean dropped their debut collaboration and now the two brands are back. This collection, called “Upta Camp,” reworks items Bean offered up in the '80s that have become vintage grails. One standout is this color-block watch cap ($50), knit from a soft cashmere/wool blend that will easily pair with anything you wear this season.

↦ Want More? The five stylish items to buy this week