Good morning. Former Canadian Olympian turned accused drug lord Ryan Wedding might still be on the lam from justice, but the long arm of the law may have just seized his whip.
The FBI confiscated a 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR that is allegedly tied to Wedding. The vehicle, a super-rare variant that is basically a street-legal racecar, is valued at US$13 million. We already know that a gaggle of car nuts are chomping at the bit to put a bid in.
—Lucas Arender, Quinn Henderson
CONVERSATION STARTERS
📚Silent book clubs are all the rage. Members get together in a shared space to read their own books for an hour, then stick around to chat and swap books if they feel like it. The concept, popularized a decade ago, now has 2,000 chapters across 62 countries. This could really kill the “Drink wine and gossip” stigma around book clubs.
🦝 Raccoons could soon be our pets. New research found that raccoons in cities are showing physical traits — like shorter snouts — that suggest they’re starting to be domesticated in the same way dogs and cats were. Let's be honest, if it weren’t for the trash eating, these little guys would make cute companions.
🧠 Apparently, our brains only really change four times in our lives. A team of scientists at Cambridge University found that our brains only go through major changes at ages 9, 32, 66, and 83. Pretty wild that we don’t get our real ‘adult brains’ until we’re in our early 30s. Explains a lot, actually.
🍩 Canadians are splurging on sweet treats. Despite a huge pullback in restaurant spending, Interact data shows that 30% of Canadians are spending more on baked goods at their local bakeries compared to last year. Even in this economy, a sweet treat is non-negotiable.
🎥 James Cameron and Billie Eilish are releasing a movie. In a somewhat bizarre pairing, the 23-year-old teamed up with the legendary Canadiandirector to make her new concert film, Hit Me Hard and Soft. It sure seems like a shoo-in to add to Billie’s trophy case, which already somehow includes nine Grammys and two Oscars.
BUSINESS
Restaurant service is getting eerily personal
It turns out OpenTable is doing a lot more than locking down your Friday night dinner reso.
Driving the news: OpenTable has quietly launched a pilot to allow restaurant groups to access detailed notes about customers compiled across its network of restaurants, including what they like to drink, whether they're a big spender, or if they like to leave reviews online.
According to The Verge, the AI tool shares these notes across OpenTable’s system, meaning a place you’ve never been to could already have a profile of you based on visits to other restaurants.
Why it matters: Similar to how advertisers use social media data to target ads to us, restaurants can increasingly use tools like OpenTable’s to personalize dining experiences and, ultimately, maximize how much cash we’re willing to drop.
Yes, but: This tool still has some deficiencies. For instance, you could get labelled as a ‘big spender’ if you slap down the company card at a business dinner, or tagged as a vegetarian if a couple of people in your party order meatless dishes.
Our take: It’s an example of how businesses are starting to roll out AI for real-world use cases, though whether it actually moves the needle on profits remains to be seen. If my go-to drink and appetizer arrived at the table without me asking — especially at a restaurant I’ve never been to — I’d find it more creepy than endearing.—LA
IN THE LAB
According to a new study, researchers at Stanford University were able to cure or entirely prevent Type 1 diabetes in mice using a unique method for blood stem cell and pancreatic islet cell transplants. The root cause of Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune response that suddenly destroys islet cells in the pancreas, which this process was able to mitigate.
Why it matters: The researchers are confident that this method could be transplanted to humans in the future, pending more studies. This would mean a potential cure for Type 1 diabetes which, while a manageable illness, is still a costly burden, both physically and financially.—QH
DROP THE PIN
🌎 Hint: The old district of this city is one of the world’s most well-preserved medieval walled urban areas. It’s home to what’s widely considered the oldest operating university in the world (founded in 857 AD) and is well known as a hub for traditional leather tanning.
Think you have an idea where this is? Lock in your best guess here.
