Digits: Phone cords, ‘The Conjuring’ house, fake Christmas trees, and more

1) Sorry, Apple. In a move to reduce the 11k metric tons of electronic waste tossed out annually by Europeans, the EU proposed legislation requiring phone makers adopt USB-C as a uniform charging cord.

2) The house from “The Conjuring” is listing on the market for $1.2m. The couple who owns it bought it for $439k and turned it into somewhat of a bed-and-breakfast for paranormal investigators. It’s booked straight through 2022.

3) Americans aren’t big readers. A recent Pew survey found 23% of US adults have neither read nor listened to a single book in the past year.

4) Last Christmas “I gave you my heart”, 85% of American homes with a Christmas tree used an artificial one, up from 46% in 1992. Inflated shipping costs mean this year’s prices could jump 25% for some retailers.

5) In 2020, Israeli companies raised $10.7B in total. In 2021, they’ve already raised $15.1B. Expect that to go up: SoftBank recently hired ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to lead its cyber investing there.