This is statistically true. But it’s largely because child mortality was so high – around one half of children died before they were 10 – and because many people died in battle. For those who safely made it into adulthood, life expectancy was actually good. Romans routinely lived until their 70s, and in fact to be consul you had to be 43 – eight years older than the US’s minimum age limit of 35 to hold a presidency.
All Threads
Weather is not just for small talk – it has a greater impact on a store’s sales than either inflation or unemployment. Interestingly, of the four weather conditions assessed, high are by far the most likely to influence shopping.
Selling your car?
58% of (white) Americans say they are spending too much on welfare vs too little (15%), yet 56% think they are spending too little on assistance to the poor (vs 16% too much). The difference? Welfare is a heavily loaded term.
When the Welsh rugby team played France they had just signed a new shirt sponsor: the ale Brains. Unfortunately, French law meant you couldn’t advertise booze on the shirts – so they changed the logo from Brains to Brawn, all in the same recognisable font.
In memory tests, only 6% remember a mundane fact: “160,000 trolleys are sent off to be fixed each year.” But recall triples when the same information is brought to life visually: “That’s the equivalent of 2 full Wembley Stadiums”
Westpac Bank flipped impulse spending on its head, creating a smartphone that allowed customers to save money with one simple click.
Tim Martin started Wetherspoons in the 1970s, basing the name of his company on a former teacher who believed he wouldn’t amount to anything.
WH Smith, once a high street staple, is really a travel business: it generates £1.5 billion in sales from branches in airports and stations vs £452 million from those on high streets.
Historically, it refers to both the device – the radio set – and the medium itself. But that is changing. According to Ofcom, one quarter of radio listeners say they use Spotify’s ‘radio’ function which automatically creates a custom playlist curated around any song, album, playlist or artist.
Reddit has an excellent thread based around this question. Being really into wine, getting money from the government and wearing hoodies to work are some of the answers that show the same behaviour can have two very different connotations.
Chris Sheldrick, working as an event organizer, struggled to get bands and equipment to the appropriate entrances of large music venues. He knew something had to change, and so he created What3words.
Life supposedly peaked when we were young, and is at its worst right now – this holds true for society, music and fashion. The problem is that nostalgia is selective; we only remember the best from the past and compare it to all the average stuff today (it’s also why marketers claim there is a ‘crisis in creativity’ and it’s all due to the rise of online ads.)
The phrase originates from a 1914 ad campaign by the Morton Salt Company, where the slogan was used to highlight how their salt would pour freely even in humid weather.
If you ask people, they gravitate towards the era when they became adults. Over 70s choose the Swinging Sixties, while under 30s choose the turn of the millennium.