Centives

Peter Andreas outlined the history of condoms in America – and in the process illustrated basic economic principles such as the consequences of prohibition and protectionism:

• Until the 1850s condoms were made from animal intestines and imported from Europe – making them too expensive for Americans. This changed when rubber condoms came along.
• Around 1873 the import and sale of condoms was banned. This led to a thriving domestic black market that jump-started the American condom industry.
• The condom ban would begin to end during World War One when sexually transmitted disease became a real security threat. Condoms were given unofficial approval and were sold in government-run canteens.
• The soldiers that returned from the war were now familiar with condom usage leading to their widespread adoption.
• Even then it took until 1971 for all anti-condom laws to be taken off the books.

Read more about the history of the condom, one man’s doomed efforts to ban them, and how Trojan condoms got their start over here.

Source: Slate

Alyson Shontell believes that in just 50 years Silicon Valley – the home of companies such as Facebook – could soon disappear. What could cause such a calamity? The bursting of another tech bubble? The unsustainability of a business model driven by advertisement revenue alone? Patent wars? Nope. It’s all about the environment:

• Much of California’s coastline is threatened by rising sea levels.
• Silicon Valley, in particular, is 3-10 feet below sea level, meaning that flood waters could overtake the entire area.
• Perhaps this is why tech companies have had such a focus on saving the environment – they’re desperately trying to save their offices.
• Luckily the companies at risk have the cash to build improved levees to ward off the disaster in the making…for now.

Read more about future water level projections, the population of Silicon Valley, and other tech companies that might be affected over here.

Source: Business Insider

Romantic comedies used to be pretty dependable bets for success at the box-office. Yet in recent times their popularity has waned. What happened? Claude Brodesser-Akner outlined some of the prevailing theories:

• Dating and courtship have changed. Fewer people are getting married, and those who do are getting married later. Romantic comedies are no longer relevant to our love lives.
• Hollywood studios are putting less emphasis on them. They would rather have blockbuster movies with potential sequels that can guarantee cash-flow in future years.
• Audiences know that big scale Hollywood productions are best watched on big-screens, making the increasingly expensive tickets worth the price. Romantic comedies, in contrast, can just as easily be consumed at home, on a small screen, through Netflix.
• Quality talent, afraid of the bad reputation associated with romantic comedies, are staying away from the genre. Which means that the same few actors willing to do them are cast over and over again and audiences are getting tired.
• Romantic comedies are too mild. If people want movies about sex they prefer something more…extreme. Like Magic Mike. Or Twilight.

Read more about the different theories, some of the counter-arguments, and what studio executives have to say over here.

Source: Vulture

Via: Newmark’s Door

The robot apocalypse is here, and instead of humans versus machines, it’s machine versus machine. Ola Kinnander wrote about the battle for the market share of robot lawnmowers:

• While the rest of Europe’s economy is stagnating, the robotic lawnmower segment has grown rapidly. Over the next five years it’s expected to grow 20% a year.
• The mowers use sensors to stay within their owner’s yards and avoid obstacles such as trees. They don’t collect the cut grass, instead the machines clip them into pieces so small that they can be used as fertilizer.
• The mowers aren’t as popular in the United States in part because American grass is tougher, and thus more difficult to cut.
• The robots can cost anywhere between €1,700 and €5,000. Human controlled lawnmowers can cost as little as €300.

Read more about the companies fighting for dominance of the market, those that tried building them and failed, and the magical price line that manufacturers should aim for over here.

Source: Bloomberg

Via: Marginal Revolution

There are too many malls, writes Jeff Jordan. Many will have to be demolished:

• The rise of online retail means that fewer people are purchasing things in malls.
• This is reflected in the fact that malls have high vacancy rates and sluggish rents. The recession might have started this trend, but the continued strength of online commerce is ensuring it continues.
• The next slew of exciting retail stores have all gotten their starts online, rather than through malls.
• In an interesting twist many stores that started off as an internet presence are also starting brick and mortar stores. But often with a twist. One clothing retailer has a store where people can try on their products – but have to buy them online.

Read more about the decline of the mall, and some hard numbers behind the trend over here.

Source: The Atlantic

Via: Marginal Revolution

Jesse Meixsell believes that video games have become easier over the years. Highlights of his argument include:

• In the past a game’s ‘tutorial’ came on the printed manual sold along with the game. Then they came as optional side-quests. Nowadays they’re baked into the opening levels of the game.
• The increasing use of scripted events in games means that there are fewer opportunities to create our own strategies.
• Overall things are easier. Features that used to require cheat codes are now available for all. You rarely have to worry about aiming your gun, running out of ammo, or even running out of health.
• Publishers might be making things so easy so that they appeal to a wider audience.

Read more about the length of games, whether or not this trend should upset us, and more about the overall difficulty of the games presented to us today, over here.

Source: Venture Beat

Cheerleaders are an ubiquitous part of American sport. But their history would likely surprise most Americans writes Lisa Wade:

• Cheerleading started off as an activity pursued exclusively by men. American Presidents Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Reagan were all cheerleaders.
• However after men went to fight World War One, women started to take up the activity.
• When the war ended, colleges tried to prevent women from staying on as cheerleaders – some even banned them because it was too masculine a sport.
• However, after World War Two, women had come to dominate the activity.
• The ideal cheerleader was “no longer a strong athlete with leadership skills” rather they were cute and effeminate, causing men to bow out of the activity.
• In the modern day gender norms have evolved a little so that cheer-leading once again requires extraordinary amounts of athleticism and skill. But it continues to be something practiced exclusively by women.

Read more about the surprising history of cheerleaders over here.

Source: The Society Pages

David DiSalvo wrote about the plight of turtles trying to cross roads:

• In an experiment with a rubber turtle, one researcher found that a surprising number of motorists would specifically swerve their vehicle to run over the turtle.
• Anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of people who engage in this practice are male.
• The need to run over small defenceless animals with thousand pound motor vehicles is likely why some species of turtles are endangered.

Read more about the experiment, its findings, and what experts have to say about it, over here.

Source: Forbes