7. Animal Urine

Performing at a strip club can be lucrative, but it requires financial and psychological savvy — and an eye for social trends. Zachary Crockett takes a look.

• SOURCES:
  • Layla, stripper.
  • Dave Manack, publisher and editor-in-chief of Exotic Dancer.

• RESOURCES:
  • "A Look at Washington State’s ‘Strippers’ Bill of Rights’," by Aimee Ortiz (The New York Times, 2024).
  • "These L.A. Strippers Won a Union. But the Dance Isn’t Over," by Suhauna Hussain (Los Angeles Times, 2023).
  • "Dancers at Northwest Portland Strip Club Vote to Form City’s First Strippers Union, Second in U.S.," by Kristine de Leon (The Oregonian, 2023).
  • "'Everyone and Their Mum Is on It': OnlyFans Booms in Popularity During the Pandemic," by Matilda Boseley (The Guardian, 2020).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Why is Everyone Having Less Sex?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).

Why does treating a venomous snake bite cost as much as a house? Zachary Crockett slithers over to North Carolina to find out.

• SOURCES:
  • Steve Anderson, emergency medicine business unit leader at BTG Pharmaceuticals.
  • Nick Brandehoff, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado and executive director of the Asclepius Snakebite Foundation.
  • Sean Bush, emergency physician and president of the North American Society of Toxinology.
  • Nitin Deshpande, business consultant with Premium Serums & Vaccines.
  • Jack Facente, owner-operator of AGRITOXINS Venom Production Laboratory.

• RESOURCES:
  • "This New Antivenom Defangs the Toxins of Cobras, Black Mambas and More," by Cassandra Willyard (Scientific American, 2024).
  • "Perspectives on Snakebite Envenoming Care Needs Across Different Sociocultural Contexts and Health Systems: A Comparative Qualitative Analysis Among U.S. and Brazilian Health Providers," by Eleanor Strand, Felipe Murta, Anna Tupetz, Charles J. Gerardo, et al. (Toxicon: X, 2023).
  • "Access to Antivenoms in the Developing World: A Multidisciplinary Analysis," by Julien Potet, David Beran, David J. Williams, et al. (Toxicon: X, 2021).
  • "The Lab Saving the World From Snake Bites," by Myles Karp (Smithsonian Magazine, 2020).
  • "Why Competition Hasn't Brought Down The High Price Of Snakebite Treatment," by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez (NPR, 2019).
  • "Summer Bummer: A Young Camper’s $142,938 Snakebite," by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez (KFF Health News, 2019).
  • "The Amazing Science Behind Fatal Snake Bites," (BBC News, 2015).
  • "Southern Californians See a Rise in Venomous Snakes," by Rebecca Fairley Raney (The New York Times, 2006).
  • Venom Week.

• EXTRAS:
  • Venom Hunters, TV series (2016).

Online companies promised to bring transparency to the mattress-buying experience. Did that work out? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the sheets.

• SOURCES:
  • Derek Hales, founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab.com.
  • Joe Megibow, C.E.O. of Casper Sleep.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Drake Has a $400,000 Bed − We Asked Why and Where You Can Buy It," by Emilia Hitching (Homes & Gardens, 2024).
  • "Casper Tests a New Store Design as It Rethinks Its Retail Strategy," by Anna Hensel (Modern Retail, 2024).
  • "Is The Direct-To-Consumer Bedding Business Turning Into A Bad Dream?" by Warren Shoulberg (Forbes, 2019).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Are We in a Mattress-Store Bubble?" by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

Channeling the voices of celebrities can be a lucrative career — one that requires empathy and discretion as well as literary chops. Zachary Crockett checks the acknowledgements.

• SOURCES:
  • Valerie Frankel, ghostwriter.
  • Madeleine Morel, President and Lead Agent of 2M Communications.
  • Daniel Paisner, ghostwriter.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Ghostwriting History: Churchill, Kennedy and the Authenticity of Authorship," by Andrew Mumford (The International History Review, 2024).
  • "Column: How many ways can a political memoir backfire? Ask Kristi Noem," by Robin Abcarian (Los Angeles Times, 2024).
  • "Notes from Prince Harry’s Ghostwriter," by J. R. Moehringer (The New Yorker, 2023).
  • "Confessions of a Celebrity Ghostwriter," by Dina Gachman (Texas Monthly, 2022).

How did mobile kitchens become popular with hipster gourmands? And just how much money can a popular truck make from a lunch shift? Zachary Crocket drops some napkins.

• SOURCES:
  • Mariel-Leona Edwards, senior operations manager for Señor Sisig.
  • Matthew Geller, founding president of the National Food Truck Association and C.E.O. of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association.
  • Evan Kidera, C.E.O. and co-owner of Señor Sisig.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Seed Planted in SF State MBA Program Grows Into Mini-Filipino Food Empire," by Jamie Oppenheim (SF State News, 2022).
  • "Inside Señor Sisig, the First Restaurant for a Pioneer of Filipino-American Cuisine," by Luke Tsai (Eater, 2019).
  • "Tamales, L.A.’s Original Street Food," by Gustavo Arellano (Los Angeles Times, 2011).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Why You Shouldn’t Open a Restaurant (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

Youth baseball — long a widely accessible American pastime — has become overrun by $10,000-per-year, for-profit travel leagues. Zachary Crockett peers inside the dugout.

• SOURCES:
  • Linda Flanagan, author.
  • Nick Mackenzie, future New York Yankees shortstop.
  • R.J. Mackenzie, physical education teacher and baseball dad.
  • John Miller, journalist and baseball coach.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Cost of Youth Baseball Is Getting Absurd," by Adam Minter (Bloomberg, 2024).
  • "Perfect Game Sees Prosperity Thanks To New Investments In Youth Sports," by Wayne G. McDonnell, Jr. (Forbes, 2024).
  • "How America Sold Out Little League Baseball," by John W. Miller (America Magazine, 2022).
  • "In Youth Sports, Talent Helps but Money Rules," by Roman Stubbs (The Washington Post, 2022).
  • Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids Sports and Why It Matters, by Linda Flanagan (2022).
  • "State of Youth Sports: Parents, Policymakers Better Appreciate Physical Activity, Face Barriers to Help Kids Play," by Jon Solomon (The Aspen Institute, 2022).

• EXTRA:
  • Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids Sports and Why It Matters, by Linda Flanagan (2022).

Why do we use a specific kind of tree-bark tissue to seal up 70 percent of wine bottles? Zachary Crockett takes a sniff and gives the waiter a nod.

• SOURCES:
  • Carlos De Jesus, director of communications at Amorim Cork.

• RESOURCES:
  • "This Ancient Material Is Displacing Plastics and Creating a Billion-Dollar Industry," by Marta Vidal (The Washington Post, 2024).
  • "Troubled Times For Wine In 2023: Global Production And Consumption Shrinking," by Per and Britt Karlsson (Forbes, 2024).
  • "Three Studies Take A Look At Various Wine Bottle Closure Preferences," by Thomas Pellechia (Forbes, 2019).
  • "How Millennials (Almost) Killed the Wine Cork," by John Gifford (The Atlantic, 2016).

Grocery stores have turned shoppers into cashiers. Zachary Crockett runs two bags of chips and a Gatorade over the scanner.

• SOURCES:
  • Sara Alloy, experience retail lead for North America at Publicis Sapient.
  • Christopher Andrews, professor of sociology at Drew University.
  • Phil Lempert, founder and C.E.O. of SupermarketGuru.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Feeling Rewarded and Entitled to Be Served: Understanding the Influence of Self- Versus Regular Checkout on Customer Loyalty," by Farhana Nusrat and Yanliu Huang (Journal of Business Research, 2024).
  • "It’s Not Just You: Self-Checkout Is Awful. These Retailers Finally Agree," by Sarah Bregel (Fast Company, 2023).
  • "'I'm Banned From Walmart Over a Bag of Reese's,' Houston-Area Woman Says After Self-Checkout 'issue,'" by Matthew Seedorff (Fox26, 2023).
  • "Self-Checkout Is a Failed Experiment," by Amanda Mull (The Atlantic, 2023).
  • The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy, by Christopher Andrews (2018).
  • "The Banana Trick and Other Acts of Self-Checkout Thievery," by Rene Chun (The Atlantic, 2018).
  • "Self-Service Checkouts Can Turn Customers Into Shoplifters, Study Says," by Christopher Mele (The New York Times, 2016).
  • "Check This Out: A Revolution in the Supermarket," by Daniel P. Puzo (Los Angeles Times, 1987).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How the Supermarket Helped America Win the Cold War," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).

Does anyone ever win the giant teddy bear? Zachary Crockett steps right up.

• SOURCES:
  • Matthew Gryczan, retired journalist and engineer.
  • Elliot Simmons, former carnival game worker.
  • Olivia Turner, general manager of Redbone Products.

• RESOURCES:
  • "AG Platkin Announces 10-Year Ban of Amusement Games Licenses and a Fine for Wildwood Games Operator," by the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (2023).
  • "N.H. Man Loses Life Savings on Carnival Game," (C.B.S. News Boston, 2013).
  • "Carnival Games: Walking the Line Between Illegal Gambling and Amusement," by J. Royce Fichtner (Drake Law Review, 2012).
  • "Carnivals: Law Enforcement on the Midway," by Bruce Walstad (F.B.I. Law Enforcement Bulletin, 1997).
  • Carnival Secrets: How to Win at Carnival Games, Which Games to Avoid, How to Make Your Own Games, by Matthew Gryczan (1988).

With industries relying on them and profits to be made, weather forecasts are more precise and more popular than ever. But there are clouds on the horizon. Zachary Crockett grabs an umbrella.

• SOURCES:
  • Steve Adelman, head of Adelman Law Group, PLLC and vice president of the Event Safety Alliance.
  • Peter Neilley, director of weather forecasting sciences and technologies for The Weather Company.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Traders Have Turned Betting on the Weather, a Technique Pioneered by Enron, Into a Booming $25 Billion Market," by Dylan Sloan (Fortune, 2024).
  • "Why Your Weather Forecasts May Soon Become More Accurate," by Dan Stillman (The Washington Post, 2023).
  • "The High-Tech Race to Improve Weather Forecasting," (The Economist, 2023).
  • "Study: Climate Change Has Increased Atmospheric Instability Over Past 40 Years," by University at Albany (Phys.org, 2023).
  • "Beyoncé Concert In D.C. Suburb Highlights Complex Weather Challenges," by Marshall Shepherd (Forbes, 2023).
  • "Forecast Process," by the U.S. National Weather Service.

• EXTRAS:
  • "How Will We Handle the Heat?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
  • "The Folly of Prediction," by Freakonomics Radio (2011).