👋 Good morning. Are you craving a sub? Just a lucky guess. For 11 years, Chick-fil-A has reigned supreme as America’s favorite fast-food chain, but the chicken giant has finally been dethroned by Jersey Mike’s, according to a new customer satisfaction survey. The sandwich chain, which beat Chick-fil-A by one point, added 238 new locations last year and reached $4.2B in sales. It seems Mike did, in fact, get his way.
NEWS FLASH
⚫ Stare into the void: Researchers at Singapore-based Nipsea have developed a new ultra-black paint that absorbs 99.9% of visible light. The paint, which is so black that it can create an optical illusion, could be paired with a glossy coating to one day be used on luxury vehicles. If all of this sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of Vantablack, the paint that BMW used on one of its 2019 concept cars and is now used as a coating for satellites and submarines.
👓 A spectacle indeed: Snap unveiled Specs, its long-awaited AR glasses, last week and the company’s stock slid 5%+ immediately following the announcement. The glasses, which have been in development for more than a decade, will cost ~$2.2k and aren’t exactly subtle. The chunky, black frames aren’t just a fashion statement — the glasses run all computing within the device, unlike competitors. In defense of the price, CEO Evan Spiegel said consumers should think of Specs as being comparable to a high-end computer purchase.
❤️ AI in love: Singles are increasingly turning to AI for dating help, according to new data from Match Group, via Axios. The company — which owns Tinder, Hinge, Match.com, and others — found that 74% of daters use ChatGPT and ~64% say AI helps them make stronger dating profiles, keep conversations going, and start conversations. But respondents were as conflicted as a twenty-something who just broke up with their college sweetheart: 47% reported viewing AI negatively in the context of romantic relationships.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
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Back to school: Abercrombie & Fitch’s Hollister is partnering with Target to launch a line of dorm decor and tap into the $88.8B back-to-college market. We can smell the cologne from here.
- More memes: Startup Klipy (not to be confused with Clippy, may he RIP) recently raised $3.8m to help people create GIFs, stickers, and “micro memes” and share them across messaging platforms and through apps like Canva and BeReal.
- Hear, hear: Startup Rylo raised $85m and said it’s reached profitability for its AI-powered speech and sign-language translation tool designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing users.
- Not so fast: Waymo issued a software recall for nearly 3.9k robotaxis over concerns the autonomous cars could drive at speed into closed freeway construction zones.
SPEAK YOUR TRUTH
No words? Steal ours
Burnout doesn't just kill content — it kills the conversations you keep avoiding. The raise you haven't asked for. The boundary you've "meant to set." The email you've rewritten 6x and quietly archived.
These eight plug-and-play script categories handle the full chaos of work life:
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Capacity: How to say "I'm at my limit" without nuking your career
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Boundaries: Protect your time without torching the relationship
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Managing Up: Get what you need from the people above you
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Raise: Ask for more money and actually mean it
Every script tells you when to use it and why it works.
THE BIG IDEA
The startups working to tackle the problem of microplastics
Microplastics are like ghosts in a haunted house: you can't see them, but you know they're there — and they're frightening.
- Microplastics range from 5 millimeters to 1 nanometer (human hair is ~100k nanometers wide).
- Primary microplastics (AKA nurdles) are added to personal care products for smoother textures, while secondary ones — most common — degrade from larger plastics (e.g. bottles, clothing, takeout containers).
- Between 10m and 40m metric tons are released yearly, a number that could double by 2040.
- They're present in our air, water, soil, and food — from Mount Everest to deep oceans.
- We eat and inhale ~21 grams of plastic every month and 250 grams yearly by some estimates.
- Microplastics pose potential health risks to humans, wildlife, and the environment.
Scary stuff.
Unfortunately, microplastics are a very real problem that isn't going away soon. Fortunately, some brilliant minds and ambitious startups are working to tackle that problem.
Startups working to track and filter nanoplastics
- PolyGone's tech removes microplastics from waterways and wastewater facilities and recycles them.
- UK-based Matter's filtration system captures microplastics from washing machines and textile production before they reach the environment.
- Ecofario's cost-effective filterless technology separates microplastics from water.
- Indian teenagers won the 2026 Earth Prize for developing a system that uses tamarind seed waste, which attracts microplastics into clumps that are removed with a magnet (very cool).
- MicroBubbles GmbH removes microplastics and pollutants from large bodies of water using tiny gas bubbles.
- Oceanworks upcycles collected marine plastic pollution into usable raw materials for new products.
- Other startups are using enzymes, fungi, and microorganisms to break down microplastics.
- Ocean Diagnostics detects and tracks microplastic pollution.
Removing existing microplastic pollution is great, but what about eliminating the use of primary microplastics?
Startups developing alternatives
- Naturbeads manufactures tiny particles made of cellulose from wood to replace microplastics used in cosmetics, paint, and industrial products.
- Carbonwave's SeaBalance is the first seaweed-based cosmetic emulsifier, which replaces synthetic microplastics in skincare.
- Boldwill creates plastic-free activewear (commonly made with plastic synthetics).
- Numerous startups are developing biodegradable alternatives to plastic packaging.
So, while we may be living in this microplastic-haunted house for the foreseeable future, at least there are some ghostbusters working to rid us of the ghosts.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
You win some, you lose some: The story of the guy who owned MTV & Comedy Central… but fumbled Facebook.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
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How many episodes of "Mafia the Game" — a reality game-show series, produced by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, where tech billionaires and millionaires try to outsmart each other — have come out so far, with the next slated to debut this week. Launched earlier this month, it’s essentially Silicon Valley’s version of “Traitors” and has already featured bigwigs like OpenAI founder Sam Altman, who was “killed” early on, and biohacker Bryan Johnson, whose exhaustive efforts to live forever didn't save him from being next.
AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: In 2001, the first The Fast and the Furious film debuted.
🐈 That’s interesting: The history of “cat’s meat men,” a class of trader that evolved as cats in Victorian London transitioned from mousers to companions.
💬 Haha: Roost is a messaging app where your messages travel only as quickly as it would take a bird to deliver them.
📷 Art: Dave Krugman’s “Windows” shows photos of illuminated apartment windows.
🐦 Aww: A pigeon eating in slo-mo is what you need today.
SHOWER THOUGHT
All we ever needed was the one 3D printer. We just needed to print more 3D printers with the 3D printer. SOURCE
Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah, Danny Jensen, and Singdhi Sokpo.
Editing by: Sara "Micromanager" Friedman.
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