one: last squeak tonight
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight is generally a good watch, and this week the show put out a bonus web episode “for people aged under 35 who will never own a house, so our main episode about houses has no value to you, so here’s half an hour about the history of Chuck E Cheese for you instead”.
Like Oliver, I grew up in the UK and so I don’t really know what Chuck E Cheese is, beyond what I’ve picked up from mentions in American TV shows and books. But the episode is unexpectedly fascinating, and among other things it touches on something I knew but had forgotten: CEC was a spin off from Nolan Bushnell’s original Atari Company, in an effort to position its arcade machines in more family-friendly environments than the pool halls they were in already.
But there’s so much more in the video beyond that (the video contains lots of swearing, like most LWT episodes, in case you are watching with kids around or are otherwise concerned).
two: more about American food
One of the things the John Oliver video above touches on is how “ghost kitchens” or “dark kitchens” now work. Most of us are familiar with the dark kitchen concept: a restaurant that doesn’t exist in the real world as a place you can go to, but only appears as a brand on delivery apps. Orders go to a warehouse kitchen (in London these are often in railway arches) and the delivery driver picks up your food from there and delivers it to you.
What’s new is the rise of dark kitchen brands that are actually existing restaurants, just under a new name. John Oliver covers Chuck E Cheese’s version of this (a hipster pizza delivery outlet called - for some reason - Pasqually’s) but the Eddy Burback video linked above goes into much more detail on the whole thing, and is fascinating. And in case you’re wondering, this kind of fake ghost kitchen branding also exists in the UK - I’ve seen it on delivery apps in London.
three: incredible innovation in India
A terrific piece of reporting from Rest of World, about how small Indian shopkeepers (mainly of roadside stalls) were struggling with the move to digital payments: they were happy to accept them, but were not able to confirm the payments had gone through, because so many of the shopkeepers cannot read or write.
The customers, often in a rush, would get impatient. Ali would have to spend more time attending to them than he had back when he accepted only cash. Eventually, a fellow vendor suggested he subscribe to a “sound box” — a nifty internet-connected device that reads out payment confirmation messages. “Earlier, I had to wait for five to 10 minutes after every transaction to get confirmation,” Ali told Rest of World. “I can now focus on other customers while the payment is being made. I have installed two sound boxes … one from Paytm and the other one from PhonePe.”
So as the piece explains, and as the above quote trails, the shopkeepers have been investing en masse in little speakers that read out a confirmation that the payment has gone through. You can hear a recording in the piece. It’s a clever example of innovation in a specific space that works because a company was listening to its customers and developing empathy for them.
four: a London thing
If you happen to be in London later this month, you can visit one of the city’s more quirky museums as it reopens after restoration: The Old Operating Theatre, in Southwark just by London Bridge station. I was lucky enough to see a theatrical magic performance there about 10 years ago which was excellent, but it’s an enjoyable place to visit even when there isn’t a show on.
Entry will cost £8.45 for adults from Saturday 22 April onwards, but on Friday 21 April entry is free all day, from 10.30am until 5pm.
The Old Operating Theatre: 9a St Thomas St, London SE1 9RY
five: the republicans and wrestling
Turns out we’re a bit America-heavy this issue. This was a fascinating opinion piece from the New York Times making the case that if you want to understand the modern Republican Party (the GOP as it’s sometimes called) then you should look to wrestling, or the WWE. I know almost nothing about wrestling but it was still a fascinating and persuasive case.
Before he met Mr. McMahon, Mr. Trump had probably never worked a rowdy arena into a bitter, liberated frenzy by feeding it a mix of verboten truths and outrageous lies. But that skill, so essential in wrestling, would become Mr. Trump’s world-changing trademark.
(I’ve used an NYT gift link so you should be able to read the story even if you don’t have a subscription. I’m reasonably sure my NYT subscription allows me to post my gift links here - let’s find out 👀.)
six: revenue management on the Titanic
I just read this piece this morning and thought it was worth sharing.
writes a Substack called which I read even though I have no professional interest in airlines. It's interesting regardless, and sometimes he comes through with a corker, as in the piece below, in which he compares fares, lodgings, food and entertainment on the RMS Titanic to what modern air passengers would experience (without the falling-into-a-freezing-ocean bit). If you're interested in products, pricing, positioning or marketing then it's a must-read, and even if you're not, you're likely to find something of interest.and a bonus thing: Substack Notes
Substack suggested that I should send this to you as a plug for its new Notes feature which has heartily upset Twitter owner Elon Musk. The wording is not very me but here it is, followed by the rest of the bumf about Notes:
I just published my first note on Substack Notes, and would love for you to join me there!
Notes is a new space on Substack for us to share links, short posts, quotes, photos, and more. I plan to use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, like work-in-progress or quick questions.
How to join
Head to substack.com/notes or find the “Notes” tab in the Substack app. As a subscriber to six things, you’ll automatically see my notes. Feel free to like, reply, or share them around!
You can also share notes of your own. I hope this becomes a space where every reader of six things can share thoughts, ideas, and interesting quotes from the things we're reading on Substack and beyond.
If you encounter any issues, you can always refer to the Notes FAQ for assistance. Looking forward to seeing you there!