Wed. 08/05 – Crystal Pepsi and the Harbingers of Failure

Do you live in a zip code that’s a Harbinger of Failure? The newly discovered secret to anglerfish’s parasitic success. The woman who returns items left behind in used books to their owners. And the 87 year old athlete who just became the oldest man to complete the Ironman World Championship.

Sponsor:

• Beachbody on Demand, Text "GOODNEWS" to 303030 for a free trial membership

Links:

• The "Harbinger Customers" Who Buy Unpopular Products & Back Losing Politicians (Kottke)
• "Harbinger households": neighborhoods that consistently buy products that get discontinued, buy real-estate that underperforms, and donate to losing political candidates (Boing Boing)
• Harbingers of Failure (Journal of Marketing Research) 
• The Surprising Breadth of Harbingers of Failure (Journal of Marketing Research)
• Odd immune system lets anglerfishes fuse males to females (Futurity)
• A Song About an Anglerfish (Hank Green, YouTube)
• Emma Smreker scours used books for mementos and gives them to the original owners (Washington Post)
• @inusedbooks (Instagram)
• This 87-Year-Old Triathlete Just Became the Oldest Man to Finish the Ironman World Championship (Men’s Health)
• The 85-year-old Ironman World Champion (On)