👋 Good morning. And ring, ring! This week marks the 150th anniversary of the first-ever telephone call. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell changed technology and society forever when he called his assistant from the other room. The phones themselves look quite different today, as do the greetings: Bell preferred starting a call with “Ahoy-hoy” rather than "hello" — try that when presenting your slide deck later today and let us know how it goes.
STARTING UP
3D printing turns construction waste into public furniture
❌ The problem: When a building is demolished, the remaining concrete and brick waste leaves piles of debris and few options for reuse. An estimated 2.2B tons are generated annually, as of 2025.
💡 The pitch: Design studio Bentu Design not only developed a system that avoids the need for hauling debris, but it’s transforming the waste into public furniture. The company crushes and sorts construction waste on-site, turning the rubble into a printable, cement-like material that’s made of up to 85% recycled content. The mix flows through a 3D printer and hardens into furniture, all on-site. By skipping long-distance transport, the process cuts costs and emissions.
🚀 The outlook: The company’s chairs and stools reduce carbon emissions by 65%-80% compared to traditional concrete or metal prefabrication and lower transport-related emissions by ~70%. Plus, they’ll look pretty cool in a park.
NEWS FLASH
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Hey, that’s not me: To curb misinformation, YouTube will offer its deepfake detection tool to journalists and politicians, who will be able to review content featuring their likeness and request removal. YouTube already gave the tool to A-list actors, athletes, and ~4m of its creators.
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Brain power: Australia's Cortical Labs is developing two “biological” data centers in Melbourne and Singapore, which would use its CL1 units instead of GPUs. Ready for something that sounds like sci-fi? The CL1 is a biocomputer, with a chip that contains 200k lab-grown human brain cells.
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Pick a card: Startup Gradient’s robots can process 100k trading cards per day, using scanners to photograph and catalog them, while AI analyzes and scores them. Customers can use Gradient's portal to manage their collections and list them on eBay, where Gradient takes a cut of sales.
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Take off: The FAA approved eight pilot programs that will allow air taxi companies Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, Joby Aviation, and Wisk to conduct test flights across 26 states over three years.
THE TIME IS NOW
How other folks are waaay more productive
Time does not simply vanish. We bet it all in small chunks of change, and then freak out when checking our pockets, confused at where it went.
Anyone weak with clocks should skim our Founder-Mode Guide to Time Management for the mental models and daily routines that winners use to heighten productivity.
Think like an entrepreneur:
- Master first-order principles of productivity
- Design high-performance daily systems
- Engage in spaced-out deep-work sprints
- Inject apps across your tech stack
- Make an effort to squash distractions
- And shorten your meetings (for real)
THE BIG IDEA
The mom-and-pop soda pop that won't stop
Sure, you're "I recycle" cool, but are you, "I recycle 60-year-old glass bottles" cool?
Family-owned Twig's Beverage in Wisconsin is one of the last US soda companies to sell liquid refreshment in returnable glass bottles, per BBC.
Customers return empties to Twig's factory to be washed and refilled, including those that have been passed down through generations for 60 years — like an eco-friendly heirloom.
Boom time for bottling
While recovering from being shot in both legs during the Korean War, founder Floyd "Twig" Hartwig learned of the booming bottling business back home. He sent his paychecks to invest in equipment and opened Twig's bottling plant in 1951. Typical origin story, right?
- Twig's bottles citrus-flavored Sun Drop, a Midwest favorite, among others.
- Hartwig's grandson Ben now operates the company with his wife and two brothers.
- After 75 years, Twig's is the last manufacturer of Sun Drop (now owned by Keurig Dr Pepper) to use returnable glass bottles instead of plastic.
- The company now makes its own line of caffeine-free sodas, including black cherry and the intriguing "rhuberry," and plans to expand across the Midwest.
Twig's is among a surprising number of family-owned soda companies across the US, including Dublin, Spring Grove, and Polar.
Refillable renaissance
While it's among the last of a dying breed of old schoolers still using returnable glass bottles, Twig's serves as a role model for a refillable bottle revival.
A distant or non-existent memory for most Americans, refillable bottles were long the norm. But thanks to cheaper plastic, sales of soda in refillable bottles went from 95% in 1960 to 0.4% in 1998.
But that could change.
- Refillable plastic bottle programs are successful around the world, including Brazil's 90% return rate.
- Coca-Cola aims to increase sales of reusable packaging from 14% to 25% by 2030.
- The Bring Back Refill campaign advocates for policy changes to increase deposit return systems.
- A 10% increase in global beverage industry refillables could reduce ocean-bound plastic bottle pollution by 22% each year.
In the meantime, how about a road trip to Wisconsin?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Fun fact: The average age for completing potty training in the US was 18 months in 1947. If you just watched a 3-year-old sprint by in Pampers — blame Big Diaper.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
Cost of Row 7’s fancy new tinned vegetables, which debuted at Whole Foods last month. Unlike canned veggies, these gourmet upgrades — all organic and harvested at peak season, with varieties currently including tomatoes, beets, and a garlic-leek hybrid — can be eaten straight out of their aesthetic little containers. Plus, rather than having to drain them, the veggies are packed with high-quality olive oil or vinaigrette that can be repurposed as a dressing.
The format costs more than canned options and has been met with mixed reviews — but if the popularity of tinned fish, which has been favored for its pretty packaging and convenience, is any indication, don’t be surprised if you start seeing more premium greens overtake your local grocery store shelves.
HOW YOU HUSTLE
Let’s check in on what you’re building. Here’s our weekly spotlight on a Hustle reader working on something big.
Who: Mike Wickman
What: Champ's Pet Kitchen
The elevator pitch: “Champ’s Pet Kitchen makes protein-first dog treats with real meat, functional health benefits, and big flavor — think: fun, modern, actually healthy treats at an everyday price.”
The problem they’re solving: “Most pet treats are confusing, over-processed, or overpriced, sometimes all three. Pet parents want to feed their dogs better, but they shouldn’t need a nutrition degree or a bigger grocery bill to do it. We’re fixing that with simple ingredients, real protein, and honest labeling.”
One truly innovative thing they’re doing: “We’re treating pet food labeling the way human food evolved. That means clear nutrition, functional benefits, and no mystery math. Innovation doesn’t always mean a new ingredient; sometimes it means making the category easier to understand and trust.”
What are you working on? Tell us here.
AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: In 1989, the TV show “Cops” debuted on Fox. It now airs new episodes only on Fox Nation’s streaming service.
🚀 That’s cool: Observe the alien planet.
📰 Newsletter: Selling Signals delivers expert-level deep dives into sales processes and tech.
🔥 That’s interesting: Centralia, Pennsylvania, was abandoned after a fire in an underground mine couldn’t be extinguished. Here’s what the town looks like, 60 years later. And, yes, it’s still burning.
🐈 Aww: Biscuits.
SHOWER THOUGHT
Everyone always talks about what your last meal would be. No one ever asks what your last song would be. SOURCE
Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Danny Jensen, and Singdhi Sokpo.
Editing by: Sara "Glass act" Friedman.
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