The Daily Valet. - 9/8/22, Thursday

✔️ Travel Myths (and Truths)

September 08, 2022

Thursday, September 8th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

It’s a very tech-driven newsletter today. Enjoy.

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Truth About Scoring Cheap Flights

Here’s what the data says about saving on airfare and when to book those upcoming holiday trips

Holiday travel is just around the corner. And if you’re thinking about booking a trip you probably start by searching Google Flights, right? Google just published five years’ worth of airfare data from one of the most popular travel tools online to help us on our quest for cheaper tickets.

The research actually supports some old school travel myths—like it’s cheaper to fly in the middle of the week than on the weekend. But there are also some results that may surprise well-informed travelers—like prices for domestic flights are lowest between 21 and 60 days out.

According to By the Way, the engineers looked at average round-trip airfares between Aug. 1, 2017, and Aug. 1, 2022, from 4,000 cities in the United States. For the holidays, their data showed that you don’t have to lock something down a year in advance, but you shouldn’t wait until the last minute. They suggest looking for Thanksgiving flights within 36 to 74 days ahead of time (which basically means you should start shopping for tickets over the next few weeks).

The lowest average prices for Christmas showed up 22 days beforehand—but it might be too stressful to wait until December to book. Phil Dengler, co-owner of the travel site The Vacationer says it’s a risk and you should give yourself a hard deadline before Thanksgiving to avoid shelling out hundreds of extra dollars. Plus, there are other considerations to take into account as well, of course. Like how crowded the airports will be. The Hill has a list of dates for the lowest cost and smallest crowds.

Non-stop flights are found to be, on average, about 20% more than connecting flights, but flights with stops also increase the risk of interruptions—which have become more common lately. A recent poll by the travel insurance company World Nomads found that more than one in three respondents had spent anywhere from $250 to $1,000 on flights, meals or hotels because of flight delays or cancellations this summer.

Personally, when I’m on Google Flights, I like to use the tool’s “explore” feature. Just add the preferred travel dates, which can be as specific or flexible as you want, input your home airport, and hit the search button. It finds great deals on destinations (both flights and hotels) and you can book them right then and there—for now. According to Travel + Leisure, Google will stop offering the option to book a flight directly through the site in March of next year.

↦ Big Ideas: An airline is testing a program that will let you buy out an empty seat next to you (to keep it empty) for as little as $20.

Google Wants to Up Its Productivity

CEO Sundar Pichai is aiming for a 20% boost in efficiency

Speaking of Google, Sundar Pichai is the head of one of the most successful businesses in the world, one that dominates several fields—but he says he wants to make the company 20% more productive.

I was hoping he meant fixing all the strange bugs in Google Maps. Have you used that lately? What's that team been up to? But no. He said that the push for more efficiency was prompted by “macroeconomic concerns” about the prospect of an economic slowdown, which could “affect advertising and consumer spending.”

In July, Pichai sent a memo to Google staffers, saying that the company would be slowing the pace of hiring for the rest of the year, noting the uncertain global economic outlook. As of this spring, Alphabet (Google's parent company) had around 164,000 employees, about 17% more than a year earlier.

At Vox’s Code Conference this week, Pichai talked about facing a “hyper-intense” market ... “ Competition comes from nowhere —none of us were talking about TikTok three years ago.” Of course, Vox points out that the idea that a huge company like Google is struggling could also serve as a useful argument at a time when Big Tech critics like Sen. Amy Klobuchar are pushing antitrust legislation that would target the company.

↦ Meanwhile: Hustle culture is out. “Quiet quitters” now make up half the U.S. workforce according to a new Gallup survey on the phenomenon.

What Do the New Dictionary Words Say About Us?

Is it sus that Merriam-Webster just added pumpkin spice? Maybe a little cringey?

Like all good descriptivist dictionaries, Merriam-Webster seeks to catalog how language is being used rather than dictate how it should be used. And that means that if enough people use a certain term in the same way for long enough, it will eventually get an entry of its own.

For example, in 2019, EGOT, stan (as a verb) and the phrase “bottle episode” was added. Last year, “dad bod” joined the ranks. This year's batch of additions is just as entertaining—370 new words and definitions from all walks of life.

“A word has to have staying power,” a Merriam-Webster editor told the Wall Street Journal. “We don’t want to add a word that will fall out of use.”

So what are some of the new words? Sus, janky, lewk and sponcon are a few that stuck out to me. Pumpkin Spice was surprisingly new this year. Cringe (as in cringeworthy) was just added too, which seems a bit late. But then again, Oxford just added it last June.

↦ Other Words: Americans love dirty words, particularly on Twitter. Digg mapped the most popular swear words in every state.

Apple Announced Some Stuff

But the best news from the event? It may actually be the prices

You've got to hand it to Apple. No other company gets their product announcements covered the way that new Apple gear is covered. These have become news events. But I guess that makes sense, given the impact they have on technology and the considerable share of the phone and smart watch market they command.

During yesterday's anticipated event, the company announced a slate of new iPhones, upgraded AirPods and a couple Apple Watches. The new iPhones will be available to order tomorrow, but sadly none of them flip closed. I'm still waiting on that.

Apple announced the latest version of the mobile operating system, iOS 16, back in June, but at yesterday's event we saw features like Crash Detection, the Always On display and much-tweeted about Dynamic Island in action. It's innovations like this take on a standard pinhole that does remind us that Apple loves taking things to the next level.

As Tom's Guide points out, while there were some impressive features (crash detection and satellite connectivity for emergency communications) announced, one of the biggest surprises was the lack of price hikes. The new phones and watches are all at the same prices as last year's models—despite inflation and economic pressure that has driven up the cost of many other everyday items. Apple is known for a lot, but being cost concious isn't really one of them. But they do love a surprise that delights.

↦ Dig Deeper: The team at Hodinkee was at the event and has everything you need to know about the new Apple Watches—all three of them.

In Other News

↦ Just How Sustainable Are Fake Meats?

↦ Obama Graciously Accepts His Portrait Painter’s Refusal to Optimize His Appearance

↦ The World’s Largest Cruise Ship to Be Scrapped Before First Voyage

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Frances Tiafoe

These incense matches

Comfort dogs

Running Out of Room for Your Shoes?

The best storage options for any place or budget

It’s a problem any Daily Valet. reader could have. Because it's a problem for most of the Valet. staffers. More shoes than we know what to do with. It seems like each season there's at least one or two pairs you just gotta have, right? But that doesn't mean you necessarily want to get rid of the perfectly good ones you already own.

Besides, these loafers are a lot different than those loafers. And I may go hiking again, sometime, somewhere, so I should probably hang onto these boots just in case. The only downside to this embarrassment of riches? Your beloved footwear ends up piled on the floor of your closet—much to the chagrin of your more organized partner. No? Just me?

In any case, I'm convinced that there's no such thing as too many shoes. There are simply insufficient ways to store them. After all, when shoes aren't stored properly, everyone suffers. The shoes get dusty and dinged up. Not to mention, you miss out on wearing the ones that are completely buried. You want storage solutions that work within your space confines and make it easy to choose the best pair for today.

We've rounded up some smart footwear storage solutions, no matter how much (or how little) room you have—in your entryway, closet or anywhere else.

↦ Read: The best shoe storage options for any budget, style or place.

What We’re Eyeing

Ojook Toothpaste With nHA and Bamboo Salt

Is this fancy toothpaste? Yes. But is it a fancy toothpaste that really does wonders for your oral health? Absolutely. Formulated with a team of dentists, Ojook's stylish tube features a clean formula that works to not only clean and freshen, but restore a healthy microbiome in your mouth. It actually remineralizes and strengthens your enamel—this not only helps brighten teeth but helps alleviate sensitivity. Korean medicinal bamboo salt works to neutralize harmful acids while xylitol starves harmful bacteria in your mouth to reduce plaque buildup and prevent cavities. As for the taste, it has a sophisticated and refreshing peppermint and pine flavor.

↦ Get It: $18 by Ojook