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IN THIS ISSUE
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| Cold turkey, lazy merch and going for broke this holiday shopping season.
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The News Fix
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With Black Friday upon us, the pressure is on — for retailers and consumers.
E-commerce giants and venture-backed startups are giving traditional chains like Kohl’s, Walmart, Nordstrom and Macy’s a run for their money, forcing old guard retailers to add
faster delivery and deeper discounts. Small businesses have made big investments in anticipation of a busy fourth quarter, too, but mom-and-pop shops tend to have smaller margins so holiday sales can be a gamble. Come Tuesday, charities and nonprofit organizations will be hoping shoppers saved some disposable income to donate to a good cause or two — it's
Giving Tuesday.
The shopping season ultimately depends on how much people are willing to spend — whether we have the cash on hand or not. Nearly two-thirds of adults feel pressured to spend more than they’d like to on holiday items, and nearly half of people with credit cards end up
going into debt from holiday purchases, according to surveys.
Sounds dangerous. Then again, if it’s Baby Yoda merch we’re talking about …
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Smart in a Shot
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Ahead, spoilers are. The launch of Disney’s streaming service earlier this month brought with it a new television series from the “Star Wars” universe about a lone bounty hunter from an ancient warrior culture, “The Mandalorian.”
But the show’s breakout star is — without a doubt — a character called “The Child,” who’s transported around the galaxy in a levitating bassinet. The Child bears a striking resemblance to legendary Jedi master Yoda, and fans across the internet immediately dubbed it “Baby Yoda.” Memes proliferated and Etsy crafters got to work on plush toys, onesies, prints and sweaters featuring the wide-eyed (and wide-eared) green toddler.
Disney, however, was visibly absent from the Baby Yoda merchandise market. Several news outlets reported that the studio was planning to offer a selection of official toys and other merchandise before the holidays. Still, the delay seemed overlong — at least in internet time — given that The Child was introduced in the series’ first episode.
In what seemed like a bit of a rush job ahead of Black Friday, Disney this week posted a few “Mandalorian” T-shirts, tote bags and coffee mugs on its merchandise website. But to many it felt like too little too late. TechCrunch called it “The laziest merch ever.”
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The Numbers
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While you’re recovering from yesterday’s feast, let’s look at exactly how much turkey we tackled. As it happens, you’re not the only one with leftovers.
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| 45 million
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That’s roughly how many turkeys are
consumed on Thanksgiving — and that’s only about 20% of the total produced in the U.S. each year, according to the National Turkey Federation. While Thanksgiving is a big deal for turkey farms, it’s not the whole hog. A lot of turkey ends up as things like deli meat, jerky, and of course, roasted Christmas and Easter birds.
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| 200 million pounds
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That’s how much turkey is
thrown out over Thanksgiving week, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. That’s 25.6 billion grams of protein that never get eaten, which is enough to meet the recommended daily protein intake for more than 500 million adults.
So be responsible …
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| 3 to 4 days
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That’s how long cooked turkey
will keep in the refrigerator. (If you freeze it, it’ll last even longer.) Just take the meat off the bones and store it in an airtight container within two hours of eating. The
recipe possibilities for turkey leftovers are endless.
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None of us is as smart as all of us
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| Tell us what’s making you smarter at
smarter@marketplace.org. We'd love to include your recommendation in a future newsletter.
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Wild and wooly
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Listener Paul B. recommends
this article about woolly mammoths. Researchers discovered remains of the longest-surviving mammoth population, which only disappeared about 4,000 years ago, long after other populations were lost.
•••
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Family game night
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Marketplace producer Eliza Mills recommends the
spy-themed card game Codenames. It can be played in teams of any number — ideal for an evening, say, at home with lots of family members.
•••
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Tracing the U.S. trade war strategy
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| Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal recommends
this article from Bloomberg that follows the Trump administration’s evolving strategy in its trade dispute with China. As of now, the trade war has ensnared more than 70% of bilateral trade in goods.
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Elevate your understanding of what's trending, breaking and buzzing with Make Me Smart. Because none of us is as smart as all of us.
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