Bowling for dollars

Your folks were probably all over these patterned Pyrex sets back in the ’70s, and you were grateful for it. Why? Because by the time you were moving out on your own in the ’80s, they were happy to offload them to get you started 😎 

If you’ve hung onto them until now, you’re probably even more grateful. Those folksy patterns were desirable back then, and the nostalgia factor has only grown over time. These days, vintage Pyrex is selling on eBay for thousands of dollars. 

You got bowls? Make lots of money ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon eGift Card!)

WEEKLY POLL RESULTS

Here’s what you said

IN THE NEWS

Global GDP growth could be slowest since 1960s

The World Bank published a report the other day revealing the global economy is on track to have its slowest decade of growth since the 1960s, with a slowdown in the back half of the decade driven largely by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

The first few years of the 2020s saw growth hampered due to the pandemic, and while the global economy roared back once the world reopened, American tariffs and the resulting retaliatory tariffs will set markets back, resulting in a growth slowdown of a magnitude not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.

The World Bank doesn’t anticipate a global recession at this point, but it has downgraded its forecast for growth this year to 2.3% from 2.7%, working on the assumption that the global trade environment during May will persist throughout the year.

“The sharp increase in tariffs and the ensuing uncertainty are contributing to a broad-based growth slowdown and deteriorating prospects in most of the world’s economies,” the institution said in the report.

Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings expressed a similar sentiment in a report of its own in which it downgraded global bond markets from “neutral” to “deteriorating.”

“The escalation in the global trade war, uncertainty over the endpoint for tariffs and their impact on global trade volumes, supply chains, investment and international relations is a significant adverse global economic shock.”

WHAT UP WEDNESDAYS

Dangers of cutting calories

A study published yesterday in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health found overdoing it with a diet and cutting too many calories could lead to symptoms of depression.

The researchers looked at data on 28,000 people from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and found people who adhered to a “calorie-restrictive diet” were more likely to experience symptoms of depression—particularly men and people considered overweight.

They also found similar results for those who ate poorly in general, consuming more ultraprocessed foods high in saturated fat, refined carbs, or sugar.

“The findings suggest caution with overly restrictive or unbalanced diets, particularly for people already experiencing weight-related stress or challenges,” said lead study author Dr. Venkat Bhat, psychiatrist, clinician-researcher and director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program at St. Michael’s Hospital and University of Toronto.

Previous studies have found calorie-restrictive diets actually reduce depressive symptoms, but Dr. Bhat’s was the first to contain such a high degree of control, including the study of calorie-restrictive diets that were supervised by a doctor.

Dr. Bhat concedes calorie restriction can lead to weight loss, which in turn could improve someone’s mental health; however, overdoing it can deprive the body of the nutrients it needs, leading to chemical imbalances that could result in depression.

TRAVEL

World’s cleanest cruise line

The CDC inspects cruise ships at American ports periodically as part of its Vessel Sanitation Program, and one cruise line stood out last year for its cleanliness among the 151 ships the agency inspected.

Ships are given a score out of 100, but must receive an 85 at minimum to pass; even a score in the high 80s can result in the line being publicly admonished or assessed for infractions.

Norwegian Cruise Line had seven ships receive perfect scores of 100 last year, including one—Norwegian Breakaway—that was inspected twice during the year and was declared perfect both times.

The CDC will give demerits for things like the crew working while feeling ill, leaky water lines, malfunctioning refrigerators, and pest control that isn’t completely up to standard. It also won’t announce when it’s sending inspectors, making it all the more impressive when a ship obtains a perfect score—especially when it does so consistently.

Royal Caribbean was the next cleanest line, having five ships in its fleet that were given perfect scores last year, followed by Carnival, which had three.

PETS

Cats know your scent and prefer someone else’s

Truth hurts, don’t it?

A study published recently in PLOS One followed and observed 30 house cats as they were presented with tubes containing different odors, including their owner’s scent, a stranger’s scent, and a tube with no specific scent.

The cats were left alone with the tubes so as not to influence or disturb them (plus cats will simply never perform if they know someone wants them to). The researchers observed via a GoPro camera, and noticed a pattern emerge fairly quickly: the cats were much more concerned with the unfamiliar scent than they familiar one.

Specifically, they spent 4.8 seconds sniffing the stranger’s scent on average, compared to just 2.4 seconds sniffing their owner’s, and 1.9 seconds sniffing the tube that didn’t actually smell like anything.

Aside from this lining up with everything everyone knows about cattitude and playing hard to get, it also made sense given the feline propensity to be endlessly curious.

The researchers didn’t go so far as to say cats consciously “recognize” their owners based on their scent, but they did conclude that cats clearly rely on olfaction for memory storage and keeping track of their territory.

MUSIC

Steve Perry auctions memorabilia for wildfire relief

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry is selling off some seriously personal and valuable memorabilia from his time in the band in order to raise funds for the victims of the Altadena wildfires.

The archival memorabilia site, Darkives Collectibles, launched the page that’s hosting Perry’s auction. It will run until this Friday at 3 p.m. ET, and includes Perry’s own platinum and gold Journey records, some of his personal record collection, cassettes, CDs, rare vintage tour merch, bass guitars, and more, all of which signed by the man himself.

However, most notably up for auction are the handwritten lyrics for Foolish Heart, Don’t Stop Believin’, and Faithfully. While the first two had bids in yesterday for about $6,400 and $19,000, respectively, Faithfully is proving to be the crown jewel of the bunch, with bids now north of $160,000.

"These pieces have been carefully stored for many years, and now I feel it's the right time to pass them on from my hands to yours, to be enjoyed, remembered, and treasured in your own personal collections," Perry wrote on the site. "And most importantly, all the proceeds from this archive sale will go to support victims of the Los Angeles fires with the help of Sweet Relief Musicians Fund."

STAKE TRIVIA

Gettin’ Wilder

Happy Birthday, Gene Wilder! 🥳 

The iconic actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker would’ve turned 92 today. To celebrate, we’re getting wild with all things Wilder for today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Amazon eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

P.S. We experimented with an alternate trivia format yesterday, and experienced an issue with the scoring calculations. Today, we’ve reverted back to what you know and love 😎 Many thanks to all the Stakers who reached out to let us know about the issue, and apologies to all those who experienced scoring problems before we were able to implement a fix.

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.