Pandora's Pen

Good morning, adventurous minds!

Ready to explore another round of fascinating headlines? From the White House's whirlwind of executive orders to —believe it or not—an entire Swedish city embracing wood. Let's get this show started with a cup of coffee.

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Connecting the dots for you, daily:

Did you see our "Executive Orders Incoming" headline yesterday? Nailed it! Within hours of retaking the Oval Office at 78, Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of signature scrawls, breaking down Biden's climate rules, COVID, and DEI, pardoning Jan. 6, and writing new directives about border security to "Manifest Destiny into the stars." He even teased the mother of all tariffs (though he mysteriously delayed the main act).

Billionaire bystanders like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg watched Trump replace FDR's portrait with George Washington's and vowed a "golden age" for America. Everyone else has to wonder how big those waves will get when Trump wields huge power in Term Two.

Vertical Vision

In a classic case of "if you can't beat 'em, clone 'em," X (yep, it's still weird to call it that) and my favorite social app, Bluesky, have gone vertical. Bluesky launched "Trending Videos," where you can swipe up to see TikTok-like videos, while Elon Musk's X launched its immersive feed.

This all comes amid ongoing drama about TikTok in the States. Instagram's new layout is messing up your neatly curated feed, which is competing with Meta's CapCut rival, "Edits." Translation? This is what "innovation" looks like now: 50 carbon copies of the TikTok scroll.

Snooze or Lose?

Scientists found that when mice take sleeping pills, their brains' built-in "dishwasher” doesn't function properly, so crucial toxins aren't cleaned. Usually, norepinephrine pulses slowly at night, letting cerebrospinal fluid flush the brain. But sleeping pills stop this wave-like motion, suggesting that mice's "rest" may come at a price.

While it's early days—mice aren't people—the big lesson here might be that we need new sleep medications. These medications should give us the shut-eye we crave while keeping our brains working.

Bonus: Here's another reason to sleep well.

The Ultimate Ikea Hack

Apparently, Sweden's forests never cease, so the country built an entire city out of wood—2,000 new homes, 7,000 offices, plus a high school and countless eco-friendly details. It's not your typical backyard treehouse. Instead, it uses cross-laminated timber tougher than steel, cutting emissions in half and fueling a construction frenzy that costs 10% more upfront but saves time (and sanity) because there's no messy concrete to pour.

If all goes well, by 2027, you can walk among rooftop beehives, pocket parks, and an environment that suggests we might hold off on doomsday—at least until we build more wooden wonderlands.

💡 Core Wisdom

📸 Lens to Life

Life in Another Light: Infrared Photography Contest 2024 winners.

🧮 Core Count: 2,500,000

The Eiffel Tower's number of rivets.

🗓️ Flashback:

1789 - Isaiah Thomas published the first American novel, William Hill Brown's "The Power of Sympathy".

1793 - The newly created French Parliament (Convention Nationale) executed Louis XVI by guillotine in Paris after he was convicted of "high treason".

1968 - The Battle of Khe Sanh begins at Khe Sanh Air Base, one of the most publicized and controversial battles of the Vietnam War.

2008 - Global stock markets experience Black Monday due to fears of a possible US recession. European stocks drop to their lowest level since 9/11, and Asian stocks plunge 15%

I'm glad we could get together here. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Fatih Taskiran