The Whatever logo

The Whatever

Subscribe
Archives
January 23, 2022

The Weekly Whatever: Don't kiss the hamster

Business

  • Better.com CEO who fired 900 workers via Zoom is back running the company.

  • Amazon's firing of union activists deemed illegal by National Labor Relations Board.

Permademic

  • Canadian restaurant found to be accepting photos of dogs in lieu of proof of COVID vaccination.

  • COVID-infected hamsters lead to pet store cull and warnings not to kiss your hamster.

Politics

  • The Trump administration drafted an executive order to the military to seize voting machines.

  • Having successfully passed laws against the nonexistent threat of Critical Race Theory in schools, Florida Republicans aim to take the next step: to make it illegal to make white people "feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress" over racism.

  • Biden declines to make changes at the US Postal Service, leaving Trump's Postmaster General in charge.

  • Texas Democrats fight for voting rights by suing to keep Green Party candidates off of the ballot.

  • UK government plans to campaign against encrypted messaging by putting a child and an adult in a glass box and having the adult look "knowingly" at the child. But hang on, says the UK Information Commissioner's Office, encryption strengthens children’s online safety.

Technology

  • Roku smart TVs start showing banner ads on top of live TV; Roku claims it was a bug.

  • Robot vacuum cleaner escapes from motel.

  • Influencer clones her dead dog so she can keep posting photos of it on Instagram.

Crapto

  • Crapto company Binance refuses to say where it's based so that it can dodge laws against money laundering.

  • Ozzy Osbourne's official NFT account carried links to a fake Discord, resulting in people getting scammed even more than expected.

  • Steve Bannon's new digital currency lets him freeze users' accounts to prevent them from being able to spend it.

  • A group of crapto enthusiasts bought a rare copy of the novel "Dune" for $3m, apparently believing it would give them rights to produce derivative works.

  • NFTs are being pushed in Marfa, TX, and actual artists are not happy about it.

  • This week's $30m heist hit crypto.com.

Other news

  • Missouri Highway Patrol clarify that they aren't actually looking for The Joker.

  • Giant offal spill shuts down Melbourne freeway.

Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to The Whatever:
Powered by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.