Brief - The Hustle

Digits: Beehive fences, squid imports, toilet paper, and more.

Written by Jacob Cohen | Oct 4, 2021 8:21:26 AM

1) The Burlington Coat Factory made a good decision renaming itself to Burlington Stores in 2009, given just 5% of its $5.8B in 2020 revenue was from coats.

2) A new study of 50k monuments in the US found there are 22 statues of mermaids and just 2 of congresswomen. Also interesting: Polish revolutionary war officer Casimir Pulaski bested Thomas Jefferson 51-36 in memorial count.

3) Across Africa and Asia, farmers have deployed~10k beehive fences at a cost of $1.2k per acre to keep elephants from eating crops. It’s incredibly effective, with 61% of farmers saying it’s better than other measures (no duh).

4) Consider Squidward impressed. Or scared? The US imported $314m of squid in 2019, with ~50% of it coming from China, much of it likely caught illegally.

5) One thing that unites Americans: our love of toilet paper. Globally, it’s a $26B industry, and the average American uses ~140 rolls each year. If only everyone started using the enormous Forever Roll, meant to last a month.