Japan has more vending machines per square kilometer than any other country. Brian Ashcraft looked at why the country has such an affinity for them:

• The machines make business sense. They’re cheaper to operate than a shop and make a brand’s products widely available.
• They also serve as free advertizing since the sides of the machines act as billboards pushing the brand.
• Some use the machines as publicity stunts. One company announced that it would sell lingerie through a vending machine, just for the media coverage it garnered.
• The country has a long relationship with “unmanned sellers” which were just open stalls with fruits and vegetables. Buyers were meant to take what they wanted and leave the correct amount of money.
• These days the machines appeal in part due to their technical sophistication. They come with giant touch screens that do things like display the latest headlines.

Read more about the machines, the kinds of things you can get from them, why low rates of crime have boosted their popularity, and much more over here.

Source: Kotaku

Ashley Feinberg covered a service that aims to be the Uber for helicopters in New York City:

• A typical flight on the service costs $219, a bargain compared to the $1,000 cost of chartering your own helicopter.
• For the ride to work at least three (and up to five) other people have to have booked it at the same time.
• At launch the service will run from 8am to 8pm, but the plan is to ultimately make it 24 hours a day.
• The only two destinations at the moment are the major airports in the area.
• Passengers can wait for their ride in a lounge at the heliport with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.
• Upon boarding they’ll be offered a pair of Bose noise-cancelling headphones to make for a more pleasant ride.

Read other attempts at the same idea, why the service will probably fail, its founder’s dreams for it, and much more here.

Source: Gizmodo

Joe Pinker looked at the question of making public transportation free:

• Some feel so strongly that getting around the city shouldn’t cost anything that they’ve come up with ingenious workarounds. In Sweden around 500 subway riders make a monthly $12 contribution to a common pool, cheaper than the $35 weekly pass. They then jump the turnstiles and if anybody is caught, the pooled funds pay the fine.
• In theory public transportation is a win-win for all. It would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate traffic congestion.
• In practice experiments with free public transit have found that it barely increases ridership – and when it does it’s usually pedestrians who take the subway rather than drivers.
• Singapore found that free rides at non-peak hours were a good idea, since they reduced the load on the subway during periods of high congestion.
• But proponents of free public transit note that the poor should be able to get around the city and so public transit has to be free, even if it doesn’t increase usage.

The full article looks at the experience that cities around the world have had with free public transport, and provides many other fascinating details. Read it here.

Source: The Atlantic

Alison Griswold looked at how a start up’s name can affect its success:

• According to researchers startups with fewer than four words in their name are 50% more likely to succeed than those with long names.
• Short names in general seem to lead to success. People with shorter names usually have higher salaries.
• For firms short names can be sharp and memorable, leaving a lasting impression on customers.
• New companies are also fond of intentional misspellings with dropped vowels and the addition of ‘ly’ to the end of names – such words do well in search engine results.

See how the region that a company is from can affect its success, and read more over here.

Source: Slate

While Spiderman is a Marvel Comics character, Sony Pictures has long held the film rights for the hero, preventing him from appearing in Marvel movies . That’s about to change write Marc Graser and Brent Lang:

• Marvel and Sony have come to an agreement which will allow for Spiderman to show up in Marvel movies.
• This could mean that web slinger may make an appearance in future Avengers installments, as well as cameo appearances in other Marvel movies.
• Sony agreed that it wouldn’t make a dime from Spiderman’s appearances in Marvel films – the publicity and exposure for the character will be payment enough.
• Andrew Garfield will be recast, and a new, younger Spiderman to return the character to his high school roots will be found.

Read details about the agreement here.

Source: Variety

Sean Hollister believes that we’ll soon live in a world where digital screens have replaced mirrors:

• On cars dashboard cameras can provide a much better view of what’s behind the driver than side or rear view mirrors.
• In bathrooms a digital mirror could help men shave by zooming in on their stubble.
• Those who apply makeup may prefer digital mirrors that can provide advice and feedback as they make adjustments.
• Digital mirrors could show a person what they look like in different outfits before they put them on.
• Also? We’re all just sort of used to it, but real mirrors reverse everything when we look at them. Future generations may find that unacceptable as digital mirrors will be able to eliminate the effect.

See some photos that show why cameras are superior to mirrors, and read other parts of the argument here.

Source: Gizmodo

Los Angeles has the worst congestion in all of America. The Economist took a look at how this changes purchasing incentives:

• Becker Automotive Design builds customized vans that give LA’s elite ways to kill time as they wait in traffic.
• Features include flat screen televisions, touch-screen computers, wireless internet, seats for a family, and even bathrooms.
• One fitness obsessed customer wanted a stationary bike nailed to the floor so that they could work out in traffic.
• The cars are decadently luxurious on the inside, but look dull on the outside so as not to attract the attention of fans – as the traffic would make it impossible to get away from them.
• The basic model costs $150,000, and the cost can go as high as $500,000 for armour which is popular with Middle Eastern and African customers.

Read more about the vehicles, and other famous clients here.

Source: The Economist

American President Barack Obama has requested $5 million in his budget to develop a 6^th generation fighter plane. Patrick Tucker looked into what features it may have:

• BAE systems has released some concepts for future planes, including one that can 3-D print replacement parts for itself mid-air, and another that can split up into multiple planes to carry out specialized tasks such as surveillance and battle in a war zone.
• The air force may want lasers on the plane since lasers could theoretically be better and more cost effective at shooting down multiple small drones than conventional weapons.
• The plane may also carry its own drones which it can deploy and act as a mother ship to.
• There’s a chance the plane won’t have a human pilot. They’re heavy, make mistakes, and complicate plane design.
• While the plane will be fast it won’t try to break speed records, since a warplane won’t realistically be able to outrun a missile. Instead any extra power could be used to drive the plethora of onboard sensors that are expected on the jet.

Read about the cognitive electromagnetic weapons the fighters will feature, why stealth won’t be a high priority, and more over here.

Source: Defense One

Oreos are popular. Svati Kirsten Narula looked at just how popular:

• $3.28 billion worth of Oreos were sold in 2014. This is triple the amount made by the next highest selling cookie in the world.
• Their popularity is in part due to the cookie’s versatility. Deep fried Oreos are now fairly common at state fairs, and sports stadiums are experimenting with Oreo churros.
• There are a myriad ways of eating them too – from twisting them apart, to dipping them in milk, to licking the cream off.
• The company behind them has a smart social media strategy. There are more people who like Oreos on Facebook than there are people who like Starbucks.
• Its makers dares to experiment. You can get Red Velvet Oreos, white fudge ones, peanut butter cup ones, cool mint ones, and even root beer ones.
• They also tailor to local tastes. In China you can get green tea Oreos and in Mexico there is a “Trio Chocolate” version that has the standard crème filling, and then different creams lining each of the cookies.

See some charts that show just how completely Oreo dominates the cookie category, how it’s growth has climbed over time, and read more details here.

Source: Quartz