Digits: Electric pickups, a $260m ‘floating’ park, and a DVD SPAC

The electric F-150 in all its glory (Source: Getty Images / Jeff Kowalsky)

In this new section, we’ll break down the week’s headlines by-the-numbers.

• It appears there are fewer germaphobes now than a year ago. For the week ending May 8, Hand sanitizer sales were down 80% YoY to $9.2m. In July 2020, weekly sales hit a $52m high.
• Ford got a bolt of energy with the release of its all electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck (that’s capable of powering a house for 3+ days). Customers made 44.5k+ preorders in the truck’s first 48 hours on the market, according to Ford’s CEO.
• Lengthy work weeks killed 745k+ people in 2016, according to a new World Health Organization study. The study found people working 55+ hour weeks face a 35% higher risk of stroke and 17% higher risk of heart disease than those working 35- to 40-hour weeks.
• Redbox, the company that makes those high-tech DVD vending machines you see in supermarkets, is going public via SPAC at a $693m valuation. Redbox has 39m+ US loyalty members and operates 40k kiosks. It’s now planning to release 36+ original films annually.
• A new 2.4-acre “floating” park opened on New York City’s Hudson River. The $260m project uses 130+ tulip-shaped concrete columns to sit atop the water and incorporates 370 species of trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers.