Five Finds: The Uglification of the World

The uglification of the world, what animal to look for on the wine bottle, and how Uniqlo got to $20Bn in revenue.

Have a great Friday! I know I will, since I’m driving from Lisbon to Porto for an extended vacation I’ve needed for a long time.

To avoid some possible envy, I’ve prepared the usual package. Enjoy!

How Did The World Get So Ugly?

The chances are high that you might have seen the Cultural Tutor account on Twitter, since he has almost 2 million followers. Now, the dude showed his face most unusually — by producing a banger YouTube video about how our world got uglier.

He argues that modern design prioritizes convenience over meaning and replaces genuine beauty with grey utilitarianism. Think Victorian ornaments and then the most boring bus stop you've ever seen. I don't even believe it's the design in particular — I'm sure if Dieter Rams designed our lamp posts, they'd look fantastic. It's more likely a combination of the way local governments run contracts, resulting in the lowest common denominator.

Still a bit sad though.

Self-Taught Thieves Keep Blowing Up ATMs—And Walking Away With Millions

Dutch gangs perfected blowing up ATMs across Europe and thrived in cash-heavy Germany. No wonder, this seems to be the last European country where you actually need to keep cash on you.

This is a fantastic profile of the gang's whole operation.

Choosing wine by the animal

I like wine. Most of the time, I choose it by the label and check the rating distribution on Vivino, with a slight preference for beautiful bottles.

This study analyzed the labels with AI to determine what animal was drawn and ranked it against the average Vivino rating.

Here are their findings:

Cats have high ratings at a high price, birds are the middle of the pack for both price and quality, pigs are more likely to be cheap and low-rated, and amphibians/reptiles are more likely to be overvalued: higher prices for lower quality.

Now you know what to look for!

Inside Uniqlo’s Quest for Global Dominance

Love Uniqlo! Great quality, utility and the complete lack of labels (unless you go for their coveted collabs). This is a good profile of how they got to $20Bn in revenue just being Inditex (Zara) and H&M (and with much better products that people actually want to associate themselves with).

How to Sail Solo

Garett is sailing the ocean solo. He also produces great videos about the process, I've been watching him for quite a while. YouTube is filled with such people. It is truly a fascinating company because it enabled an entire generation to live amusingly different lives. Doesn't matter what your specialty is; if it's rare enough, people will watch.