Four gifts for the festive season
Splainer almost never goes on sale except during this time of the year. So we hope you will take full advantage of our big discounts—available until November 7. Here are four wonderful deals for you:
- Gift friends, colleagues and relatives an annual subscription at a whopping discount. It now costs only Rs 1000. Click ‘Gift a friend’ on our ‘subscribe’ page.
- Add 12 months to your own subscription by heading over to the ‘subscribe’ page—and hitting renew.
- Use your magical referral link—available in every daily email and your account page—to offer a free month to anyone you want.
- That same link also offers that sweet Rs 500 discount on our annual subscription.
Want a bulk Diwali discount? If you plan to gift splainer to a bunch of people in your organisation or family, be sure to email us at talktous@splainer.in.
Covaxin approvals delayed
If you opted for Bharat Biotech’s vaccine, here’s some bad news: The WHO has still not approved Covaxin—and is asking for more clarifications on its data. Why this matters: many countries only accept vaccines on WHO’s list. (Mint)
In better news: The latest results of a serological survey in Delhi show that 90% of its citizens have antibodies to Covid—which is pretty darn close to herd immunity. (Indian Express)
Sequoia makes a big change
Big investment funds rarely make drastic changes, but Sequoia Capital has broken the mold. It is creating an evergreen fund that allows the company to hold on to its stake in a startup indefinitely—even after it goes IPO. Typically, venture funds force managers to sell holdings when 10- to 12-year terms expire. What it means: Sequoia can reap long-term returns for investing early in companies. FYI: It won’t apply to its India and China investments… for now. Wall Street Journal via Mint has more.
Speaking of money: New data shows that Indians paid more than Rs 263 billion (26,300 crores) as foreign exchange fees in the year 2020. Roughly Rs 97 billion (9,700 crores) were hidden as exchange rate markups on currency conversions, payments, and card purchases. The remaining Rs 166 billion (16,600 crores) was spent on transaction fees. Why this matters: A significant portion of these fees paid on remittances to India come from people in Gulf countries, most of whom are employed in blue collar jobs. (Mint)
Speaking of crypto-money: A detailed study shows that one-third of all bitcoin is controlled by 10,000 investors—who account for $274 billion between them. Gizmodo has eye-opening details on the concentration of wealth and power in the cryptocurrency world.
Mark Zuckerberg has a new problem
The Zuckerbergs are being sued by two former household employees who claim that they were subjected to racist and homophobic abuse—by the family’s head of security. And they were penalised when they raised a complaint. The allegations include calling a black, gay woman “ghetto”—and slapping a male gay employee on his groin. Business Insider has more details.
Speaking of lawsuits: Kellog’s is being sued for $5 million by a customer who claims its Pop-Tarts don’t have enough strawberries. Also a problem: “relatively significant amount of non-strawberry fruit ingredients” including pears and apples. (CNN)
Netflix’s sneaky little trick
The company received a lot of flak in 2020 over the poster for the French film ‘Cuties’. People were angry that it showed children in sexualised poses. The movie itself is about the pressure girls feel to sexualise themselves at a very young age. At the time, Netflix stood by the film and the director. But it secretly suppressed ‘Cuties’ on its platform:
“Behind the scenes, however, Netflix scrambled to minimize public backlash by suppressing the film in search results prior to its release. It removed Cuties from the ‘coming soon’ and ‘popular searches’ categories and excluded it from queries for ‘cute.’ It then adjusted its algorithm so searches for the film would not surface ‘steamy / sexual titles’ or kids’ movies.”
Why this matters: When it comes to big tech PR, what you see is not what you get. (The Verge)
In more upbeat tech news: A London startup has developed AI that can estimate the age of a person—especially children—to determine whether they are underage. All it needs is a camera. Why this matters: Social media companies have struggled to determine whether users are accessing age-inappropriate content without requiring identification such as passports—which no one wants to give to companies like Facebook. (Times UK)
A bizarre government directive
The government has sent a circular to all media outlets—print, digital and television—asking them to display the logo of a government campaign called ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. It kicked off in March and is a 75-week countdown to India attaining 75 years of independence. To be clear, the outlets are asked to “consider” using the logo—and again “advised” to use it. There is no information on what happens if a channel or publication chooses to not consider the government’s advice. Read the circular here. (NewsLaundry)
T20 drama: The Pakistan edition
One: Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar walked off air in the middle of a broadcast after a heated argument with host Nauman Niaz—and then said that he’s quitting his job as a pundit on Pakistan TV. Watch the altercation below, the moment of exit here, and Akhtar’s version of the incident here. (The Telegraph)
Two: Also creating controversy on-air, former skipper Waqar Younis who declared it was very special to watch Mohammad Rizwan offer Namaz in front of Hindus during a drinks break in the India-Pakistan match. Here is his rambling non-apology. (Indian Express)
A new nightclub hazard
Women in the UK face a new danger called ‘needle spiking’—where they are secretly pricked in crowded spaces like pubs and clubs. The effects are similar to consuming a drink laced with Rohypnol (roofie) or Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB). That said, the number of cases are low, and no sexual assault has been reported. (Independent)
Two key animal studies
One: New research shows that great white sharks don’t attack humans because they are bloodthirsty beasts. The real reason: Thanks to their terrible eye-sight, surfers and swimmers look a lot like seals: “They’re not these mindless killers, but we just happen to look like their food.” (The Guardian)
Two: A new study shows that the trash in our oceans poses great peril for hermit crabs—specifically millions of discarded rubber tires. Mistaking them for a likely new home, the crabs climb into them. But the curved walls of the tires trap them inside—leaving them to starve to death. (Smithsonian Magazine)