How many people can Earth handle? Towards the end of 2022, the human population on Earth is expected to reach eight billion. To mark the occasion, BBC Future takes a look at one of the most controversial issues of our time. Are there too many of us? Or is this the wrong question? (BBC)
The Mysterious, Stubborn Appeal of Mass-Produced Fried Chicken: Why do so many accomplished chefs call Popeyes their favorite fried chicken? (Vice)
The World’s Hottest Housing Markets Are Facing a Painful Reset Frothy property markets are poised for double-digit price declines as consumers face mounting financial pressures. (Bloomberg)
The focus on misinformation leads to a profound misunderstanding of why people believe and act on bad information: Misinformation has been a prominent paradigm in the explanation of social, political, and more recently epidemiological phenomena since the middle of the last decade. However, Daniel Williams argues that a focus on misinformation is limiting when used to explain these phenomena. Primarily, as it distracts us from more important ways in which information can be misleading, and it overlooks the social dynamics of competition involved in information marketplaces that produce effective rationalisations of the favoured narratives of different social groups. (London School of Economics)
Oops, Minnesota Accidentally Legalized THC-Spiked Seltzer Craft breweries are cranking out cannabis-infused drinks after a sudden law change. (Vice)
Dry Cleaners Were Disappearing Even Before the Pandemic: Starched shirts just don’t have the same appeal they once did. But there are forces greater than the virus at work here. (Businessweek)
They built a Minecraft crypto empire. Then it all came crashing down: Kids in the Philippines were earning hundreds of dollars from a play-to-earn Minecraft game, until new rules sent the community into a tailspin. (Rest of World)
More Than 335,000 Lives Could Have Been Saved During Pandemic if U.S. Had Universal Health Care: In the United States, death rates from COVID-19 are higher than in any other high-income country—and our fragmented and inefficient health system may be largely to blame, Yale researchers say in a new study. (Yale School of Public Health)