👋 Good morning. They say you can’t rewrite history but, if you’re a zoologist, that might not be true. Scientists just reclassified a fossil that was previously believed to belong to a 300m-year-old octopus — listed by Guinness World Records as the earliest known octopus — after discovering it’s likely a nautilus-like cephalopod with a shell. It’s a good day to be the second-oldest octopus in the world.
NEWS FLASH
🫠 Emoji or no? A University of Ottawa study asked 243 adults to rate various workplace IMs for the sender’s “competence” and “appropriateness,” per Gizmodo. Use of a negative emoji was rated as both inappropriate and less competent, while a positive emoji only “enhanced perceptions of competence” when paired with positive or neutral IMs. When paired with negative IMs, participants perceived the sender as insincere. The study only used a happy face and an angry face, so we can’t tell you how the melting face or spooky ghost come off.
⛽ Startup fuel: London couple Matt Cortland and John Fleming launched Gas Index, a vibe-coded tool that tracks gas prices at 170k+ stations across 50 states. It uses Google data, user-submitted photos and receipts, and an AI agent named Bobby that calls gas stations and asks for prices. While many cashiers were happy to provide the info, Cortland told Business Insider that one in every 700 calls involved profanity.
✈️ Runway to fairway: This year’s Masters Tournament drove one of the busiest weeks for private jets with thousands flying in and out of Augusta, Georgia, and nearby airports. NetJets projected 775+ flights into and out of Augusta — a 35%-40% increase from last year — and Flexjet estimated 350-400 flights. The PJ companies aren’t just competing on the runway: They hosted over-the-top parties and luxe pop-ups for deep-pocketed Masters attendees to woo future customers as demand for jets rises.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
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The future is now: Dippin’ Dots will finally offer its signature ice cream in grocery stores this spring thanks to a “slight reformulation,” per Food Dive. Previously, the beads had to be kept colder than most store freezers.
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For serious users: OpenAI announced a $100/month Pro tier for devs using ChatGPT’s Codex coding tool. It offers 5x more Codex than Plus ($20/month) but if you really wanna go nuts, its $200/month plan offers 20x higher limits than Plus.
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If you don’t have anything nice to say… delete that comment. Meta will now let users edit Instagram comments within 15 minutes after posting.
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Eh on AI: Gen Z isn’t all in on artificial intelligence — only 18% said they’re hopeful about the tech and 22% said they’re excited, down from 27% and 36%, respectively, according to a new Gallup poll.
ON THE RUN
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Run your life (before it runs you over)
Why do we tend to these decisions? Is it our impulsiveness, apathy, pride?
We’re not your psychologists (or anyone’s), only stewards of the Sam Parr way — which means fixing things sooner over later, and quitting self-sabotage for good.
This guide is titled “Run Your Life Like A $100M Business.” We call it “Get Your Shit Together.” Please don’t miss the workbook in the back.
THE BIG IDEA
Nice ice, baby
If your local watering hole slings cocktails with cloudy crushed ice, it's time for an upgrade.
Entrepreneurial bartenders-turned-ice-makers are crafting crystal clear cubes for cocktail bars, and business is booming.
One former bartender, Richard Boccato, solidified his obsession with pristine cocktail ice into a multimillion-dollar business, per Business Insider.
The iceman carveth
Bartending at New York's best bars and co-opening his own in 2009, Boccato realized one key ingredient missing from the cocktail revival: high-quality ice.
Like a diamond, the cut, clarity, and density are critical characteristics of cocktail ice, affecting drink dilution, temperature, taste, and appearance.
Boccato purchased clear blocks from an ice sculptor, but later invested in a Clinebell, the Cadillac of ice makers, and shaped cubes with chainsaws and irons.
Word spread of the first bar with an in-house ice program and Boccato co-launched Hundredweight Ice, eventually leaving behind bartending to become a full-time ice man.
With zero advertising, Hundredweight's revenue grew around 37% yearly. But not without investment:
- Ice-making machines: $5k-$7k
- Bandsaws: $5k-$20k
- Router for etching: $50k-$75k
- Transport vans: $80k-$90k
Hundredweight now delivers to Michelin-starred restaurants and hundreds of clients, but hasn't raised prices since 2017.
- 50-pack of 2-inch cubes: $30
- Etched cubes: ~$100 per pack
- 15k 2-inch cubes cut each day
- Over 3m pounds of ice made each year
The company's projected revenue for 2026 is $3.5m. Meanwhile, the global ice market is worth ~$5B and is expected to grow to $8.9B by 2034.
Not bad for frozen water.
Gleaming the cube
Other libationists have since stepped out from behind the bar:
- Javier Roberto Flores carved out a name with Austin's Fat Ice.
- Caitlin Pierce, founder of Lady Chiller, is Richmond, Virginia’s only craft icemaker.
- West Coast Ice Pro and Disco Cubes raised the bar in LA.
- Good Ice delivers to over 30 restaurants in St. Louis.
- Jeff Banks of King Cube is Atlanta’s iceman.
- And Block Ice brings the chill to Sacramento.
Not fancy enough? Some US bars import ice from Japan, and one company ships arctic ice from Greenland to Dubai.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Robots might be the future… but Kroger’s $2.6B bet on automation was a flop. What went wrong?
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
Cost to spend the weekend reading with fellow bookworms at Page Break’s two-day retreat in Upstate New York, per The New York Times. If you have a pile of half-read books staring at you at home, this might be just the activity for you. The retreat, held at a remote mansion, condenses the traditional book club experience into 48 hours of group reading and discussion (plus fancy meals with wine pairings) to make sure you actually finish the next novel you read.
You’ll just have to be OK with taking turns reading aloud… Good news for people who like the sound of their own voice, bad news for those of us currently having flashbacks to high school English.
AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in NYC.
📖 That’s cool: Read a lonely Wikipedia article.
🏆 It’s crunch time: The Hustle is up for Webby Awards in the Websites & Mobile Sites and Video & Film categories. Help us take home the trophies, would ya?
🍪 Haha: This website tries and ranks snacks. Currently, there are 11.9k+ snacks to read about.
🍓 Aww: Nom, nom, nom.
SHOWER THOUGHT
You'd think evolution would have stopped snoring long ago: being loud at night while sleeping seems like a bad survival strategy. SOURCE
Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Danny Jensen, and Singdhi Sokpo.
Editing by: Sara "No more mister ice guy" Friedman.
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