It’s a long weekend…sorta. This upcoming Monday is “Super Sick Monday.” So many workers call in sick the day after the Super Bowl that lawmakers are trying to make it an official holiday.

• Nearly 14.5M lie about being sick the day after the Super Bowl. And ~10M people have already put in their OOO.

Celebrate accordingly. Cough…

This week’s edition is 40% of the best of the pod and 60% things we had to share off the record. 

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Worth sharing:

If you’re #teamcauli, you’re in the minority.

• The football part: The 49ers are squished. Literally. They have the #1 offense thanks to their strategy of keeping players closer together — their avg offensive formation begins with players just 19 yards apart (the Chiefs start 25 yards apart).

• Fit check: The woman who designed T Swift’s custom Chiefs jacket just got a licensing deal with the NFL. Kristin Juszczyk is the designer, her husband is 49er.

• Hang with Spongebob: There will be 2 broadcasts this year — 1 on CBS (commercials cost $7M for 30 sec) and the other on Nickelodeon (commercials are $100k, and include Gak).

• The Theme: Every year has one, there was the Crypto Bowl (2021), the Betting Bowl (2022), Booze Bowl (2023)… this year it’s the Sue-per Bowl. It’s all about her. Expect ads focused on female fans.

• The toilet situation: Allegiant Stadium once did a “Super Flush” of all 1,430 toilets and urinals simultaneously... and it worked. So they’re prepared.

via Nick’s Apple Notes app

Your foil is tin, your napkins are tan. I can barely afford the stock, let alone the extra guac. You ask me daily: bowl or wrap. A trick question indeed, because both do slap. 

(Respond with a love poem about your favorite company to get featured on our Valentine’s day episode)

• 🍷 Rooftop airport wineries: In 2026, Florence Airport in Italy (FLR) will open the world’s first airport winery — the roof of the international terminal is a grape-growing vineyard. Boeing Brunello or Getaway Sangiovese?

• ♨️ Mandatory coffee breaks: In Sweden, Fika is the universally observed, technology-free, mandatory coffee break with your co-workers. And acc. to the WSJ, companies that Fika together enjoy 70% less employee turnover.

• 🤭 Dimple-plasty: Dimples are the latest plastic surgery trend — just $1,500 for cheeks Nana will want to squeeze.

For Nick: I’ve been listening to Sugarcane Featuring King Promise to pump me up every day pre-pod recording.

For Jack: Jay Shetty's productivity rule for getting work done —

• For work that requires creativity: Set a timer for 52 minutes and do good work (no grabbing your phone or watching videos). When the timer goes off, treat yo-self to a 17-minute break. I like to walk & talk.

• For less creative work (like emails): Same concept but 25 minutes on plus a 5-minute break.

Scatterplot from last week’s Qs:

For next week’s edition: How many chicken wings do you consider sufficient for a serving? And how many Usher songs can you name in 1 minute (without looking)? Submit your response here. 

Got an idea for a scatterplot? Reply to this email with a question (must have answers with measurable variables.) We’ll see if there’s a correlation.

• National anthem records: The average Super Bowl anthem takes 1 min 50 sec to complete.

  • Alicia Keys has the longest at 2 min 36 sec 🇺🇸🇺🇸.

  • Neil Diamond has the shortest at 1 min 2 sec 🇺🇸.

  • What’s Reba McEntire going to clock in?

• Most-watched TV show: It’s not the Super Bowl, it’s China’s Lunar New Year variety show 🧧 which is viewed by over 1B people worldwide. That’s 10x more than the Super Bowl. Happy Lunar New year, everybody (it begins today!).

What’s the picture filling in the TBOY logo? Hint: Taylor Swift once sold them. (answer at bottom of this newsletter).

• 1,000% growth: Sales of Nerds candy have grown from $50M to $500M in the last 4 years — that’s a 10x return. 🤓

• $8.6K: That’s the avg price of this year’s Super Bowl tickets… or $1.8M for a 20-person suite. Both are an #ATH 🎟️

• 1: The number of profitable years in Uber’s history, now that it finally got into the black in 2023. It took Uber 14 years to become profitable. That’s way longer than the ETA said. 🚘️ 

• When you fail: “Fail up.” It’s when you failed, but somehow ended up in a better position. Adam Neumann (CEO of WeWork) is the poster child for “failing up” after announcing an offer this week to buy back WeWork out of bankruptcy.

• When investing: if Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates invest in the same company…we pay attention. And they both put $$ into KoBald, the copper mining startup that just hit paydirt. Because copper is crucial for climate change.

• When you’re hangry: A viral $18 McDonald’s burger explains the whole economy right now: Stocks are at record highs, unemployment’s close to record lows, but a Big Mac meal costs $18 in Connecticut. Our story from this week’s pod explains why the data on our economy is good, but our perception of the economy isn’t.

• If you’ve played it safe: “The only ideas worth pursuing are contrarian ones.”

• If you have a product: “It’s what’s on the inside that counts, but it’s what's on the outside that sells.”

Monday: Ugly Beautiful — Uggs' boots are back. Facebook turns 20. The Secret of Great Packaging.

Tuesday: Revenge of the Nerds — Nerds’ Super Bowl commercial. Does the Sphere make money? Bill Gates & Jeff Bezos’ mining startup.

Wednesday: WeCrashed: Part II — Adam Neumann’s WeWork offer. 49ers’ Silicon Valley playbook. FTX’s full refund.

Thursday: DINKs vs PINKs — The Silver Tsunami of Americans over 65. Chipotle’s Hero Metric. The End of Media’s Gated Gardens.

Friday: The Toilet Bowl — Super Bowl’s bathroom strategy. McDonald’s $18 Big Mac. Arm’s Shakespearean computer chip.

The Answer: Caramel DeLites (formerly known as Samoas Girl Scout Cookies)…also known as inflation’s latest victim at $7 per box in New York which is up from $5 last year. Btw, T-Swift was a Girl Scout.

And one more thing. Seriously, we want you to write a poem for your favorite brand (or stock). Reply with yours and we might read it on the pod.

—Nick & Jack