Happy Saturday Besties,

The viral pigmy hippo, Moo Deng, is having a moment. She has her own crypto, was a top Google search this week and even Spirit Halloween is asking social media what the baby hippo should go as for Halloween. But there’s a new “chonky king” in town, he’s a penguin named Pesto winning hearts this time.

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DID YOU KNOW

🔘 Jony Ive is obsessed with buttons.

Who is Ive? He’s the designer behind the iPod and iPhone. Nbd. Why buttons? Buttons are the part of the coat you touch most — and they’re also a visual highlight. Remember the iPod? It had just 1 button and 1 wheel (the work of Ive). When the 1st iPhone came out it had just 1 button — people said it wouldn’t work (it did ofc). By revolutionizing buttons, Ive revolutionized entire product categories.

And in a New York Times interview, Ive just shared what he’s been up to for the last 5 years: a new design studio called “LoveFrom”.

(From our Jony Ive’s iPhone sequel story)

GET THIS

• 🥤 Electric Juice: Erewhon is collabing with Chevrolet today on a smoothie.

• 🚨 Shortage Update: We’re running outta stretch limos. You can buy one on Craigslist these days.

• 🪥 Lost Hotel Products: According to a Hotels.com survey, 25% of guests lose an item at the hotel. The reason: “Contextual Dependence”: our Memory is tied to routines and places. The most forgotten item: Charger cord.

GOTTA’ KNOW

• 🚢 Port Strike: Next week could bring the biggest strike in US shipping history. Workers at 36 major US ports on the East Coast may strike starting Oct. 1. If they do, it would affect, ½ of America’s imports. Fruit and car parts will be affected the most.

• 💌 In an Open Letter: Sam Altman just wrote some huge claims about AI. He said “deep learning worked”, superintelligence may be “a few thousand days” away, and “astounding triumphs” will incrementally become commonplace. By the way, a few thousand days means ~10 years.

• 💳 The US Department of Justice sued Visa for being the world’s biggest financial tollbooth, and allegedly abusing that power. Remember: Visa charges a 2-3% swipe fee every time we swipe… The US Gov’t says that Visa punishes merchants that dare to use a different network.

IN STOCK NEWS…

 😎 Meta created the next iPhone… and they’re glasses.

On Wednesday Zuck put on his best T-shirt to present at Meta Connect. 1️⃣ He unveiled an updated Quest VR headset (cut the price by $200) & made digs at Apple’s competing product. 2️⃣ But Zuck spent the meat of the time talking about Meta’s Ray Ban A.I. sunglasses, or what he called “the next great computing device” (we’re calling it, the tech gadget gift of this Christmas). 3️⃣ The surprising end was the unveiling of a prototype of Orion. They look like glasses but with headset features. But it’s not for sale… yet.

The stock hit an all-time high on the news of this total surprise product.

(From our Zuck’s Orion AR sunglasses story)

BEST TAKEAWAY

💰 If you’re not asking for a Signing Bonus, you’re leaving $ on the table.

Good news: 70% of hires who got a signing bonus asked after they got the job offer. After?!?! The reason: you have the leverage. HR already invested rounds of interviews and determined you were the top choice. The worst case is they say ‘no,’ but they won’t retract the offer because you simply asked.

(BTW — this is exclusive newsletter content)

TELL A BESTIE

• 🏠 Costco is getting in on apartment buildings.

• 🤬 Meta is using celebs for AI voices.

• 🧲 8 new emojis were just approved.

• 💀 Kmart is closing its final US big box store after 125 years.

And one more thing. We just had an epic Hotline live show in Seattle. Here’s a sneak peek at the episode that publishes on our podcast feed on Wednesday the 2nd…

 ✨ Tori Dunlap (@herfirst100K) was our special guest — a fantastic guru of finance. Here are some of our fave takeaways from our conversation with her…

• For saving: Automate everything.

• For goals: Be specific. Write them as if they have already happened.

• For parents: The best gift for your child is to educate them about it.

• The Best Takeaway: Money is neutral.

More of that next week…

— Nick & Jack