25%+: Increase in soup and stew orders in Q4 2023, per data from Toast. Apparently, cold weather at the end of the year saw customers craving warm, savory comfort foods, with a 13% bump in ramen/noodle orders and a 12% jump in curry orders. During that same period, customers ordered fewer salads, hot dogs, and tacos. That may not be surprising, but the year-round champs are apparently desserts and enchiladas, which saw no change.
$167k: The salary you’d make if you were Steamboat Springs, Colorado’s head of human resources. Before you go filling out an application, however, know that the town has struggled to fill this position after not one, but two candidates were unable to find affordable housing, even with a six-figure income. Costs have skyrocketed due in part to remote workers leaving cities and settling in ski towns like Steamboat Springs. It’s gotten so bad that one resort is housing employees in a hotel.
$25k: Auction price for Mr. Darcy’s shirt from the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Actor Colin Firth wore the shirt during an apparently very memorable scene in which his character takes a swim, then runs into his love interest in his still-damp linen shirt. The auction lot, which included Darcy’s boots, pants, and waistcoat, fetched far more than its $12.7k presale estimate.
29: How many of the top 10 films of each year from 2018 to 2023 had either a colon, numeral, or number in the title, indicating a sequel. That’s nearly half of the biggest blockbusters from the last five years, and significantly more than the top 10 films of each year from 1995 and 2000, which included seven such titles. This year’s shaping up to be nothing new, with titles like Dune 2, Deadpool 3, Inside Out 2, and A Quiet Place: Day One on the calendar.