10 Things I Never Knew (DEC24)
In this year end episode of a new series I explore the wide world of things learned this month.
#1: There is a gym in NYC that costs $10,000/mo
No that was not a typo, or the cost per year. Continuum is a self proclaimed “precision wellness” club in the West Village that intends to be a beacon for the who’s who of Manhattan.
With amenities ranging from cold plunges and saunas to float tanks and hyperbaric chambers it is safe to say this is not your run of the mill high end fitness club. Still the biggest draw for membership are the social elites you might brush shoulders with among one of their well appointed lounges, cafes, or work areas.
Though their unlimited membership tops out at an eye watering $10,000 a month there is still hope for us plebeians with their basic membership - a comparative bargain at $1,000 a month.
It is anyones guess what they spend those massive monthly dues on, but we can be certain that it is not their 3 page website.
#2: Immigration was 84% of US population growth last year*
As a nation founded by immigrants perhaps it should come as no surprise that our growth remains fueled by them, but it did. At least to me.
The combination of declining birth rates and the in progress “silver tsunami” of aging boomers has made immigration the most significant part of the US population growth.
Interestingly over 1/3 of all immigration occurred in just two states - FL & TX and three states experienced a net decrease in population (deaths > births): VT, WV, & MI.
*Note- The federal calendar year ends June 30, so this data is July 23 through June 24.
#3: India has the only holiday I never want to celebrate: “Pollution Holidays”
You’ve heard of a snow day…but what about a pollution day? Well actually more like pollution weeks - but they are a real thing! Each year weather patterns in India, coupled with excessive pollution, create a hazardous atmosphere that causes schools to close and outdoor activity to screech to a halt.
Delhi’s air quality declines at this time of year because cooler temperatures mean polluted air doesn’t rise and disperse as it does in the summer.
“Air pollution and temperature are inversely related”, said B.S. Murthy, a senior scientist at the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. “As temperatures go down, pollution goes up,” he said - Vibhuti Agarwal /WSJ
On Dec 15 the air quality reading in Delhi India was over 450. Thats 38x than times worse than NYC and 150% above the threshold for hazardous air.
#4: Walgreens entire company is now worth less than 50% of Ozempic’s 2024 sales.
This one felt a little personal. Having started my career as a pharmacy tech, then intern, then pharmacist at Walgreens it has been startling to see its fall from grace.
This week the stock price hit its lowest price since 1996 at <$10/share, off its high of nearly $96/share in 2015. How we got here is no great mystery - Walgreens made bad bets and remained too entrenched in the faltering business of pharmacy (compared to its peers like CVS who bought up PBM’s and insurers).
With a current market cap of ~$8 billion it is quite stark to put into context how little remains of the more than 120 year old drug store:
Walgreens entire company (which also includes the largest pharmacy chain in Europe, Alliance Boots) is worth half of the popular diabetes drug that gained popularity for weight loss Ozempics projected 2024 sales ($16 billion).
Ro, the Telehealth company I was employee #1 at, was last valued at $7 billion. They operate 6 pharmacies. Walgreens has 8500.
#5: Inflation can be >10% worse for lower income households
A recent WSJ journal article detailed how despite receding inflation over the last year America’s most budget conscious households continue to be disproportionately effected.
The underlying data makes an obvious point, albeit one I have never considered: inflation readings and the CPI are a broad mix of spending categories but how inflation actually affects you depends on which of those categories you spend money on, which tends to vary between income brackets.
A reduction in cost of big ticket items like a used car or mortgage interest rate can skew measured inflation downwards. Since lower income houses tend to make fewer of these purchases though their inflation reality is more closely tied to the prices of goods and services like groceries and the cost of a plumber (which have remained stubbornly high).
Since 2002 the lowest quartile of income earners have experienced cumulative inflation at a rate almost 10% higher than those in the 75th percentile of income - making the only thing that is deflating this disparity.
#6: An uber ride can cost more on an iPhone than android
A recent LinkedIn post detailed the diverging cost for ordering an uber from and to the same location on difference devices.
As with everything from the internet - let’s take it with a grain of salt. I have not yet tested this myself (mostly because I don’t associate with android users - how could we ever be friends I can’t even charge my phone at your house!) but I think it hits home on a pretty interesting point: companies have a lot of data on us and personalization is not always a net benefit.
#7: The US spent 17.6% of GDP on healthcare last year
Despite our competitive culture here in the US, one race we did not want to win (but did) is the one on healthcare spending.
As a country we spend much (much) more on healthcare in virtually every dimension. Last year we spent nearly $1 out of every $5 on healthcare related expense. On a graph of healthcare spending per capita by country the US looks like a stray mark from a toddler who’s not learned to color inside the lines yet. We spend 50% more than the next closest country, which happens to be Switzerland.
What do we get for all of our excessive healthcare spending? Certainly not the longest life. We place 49th in that race behind countries like Saint Pierre and Miquelon (pop. 5,800) and Wallis and Futuna (and island 15x smaller than rhode island where the US embassy recommends flying to Australia or France for emergent or specialized care - a 15 or 32 hour flight respectively).
Maybe there is something to be said about good chocolate and dodgy bank accounts after all.
#8: Apparently owls can swim
Yea not much more to add to this one - but here’s a cool video of an owl swimming.
Source: National Geographic
#9: A company will build you a glamping resort, just bring the land
As a part of my usual daily doom scrolling on Linked In I came across an interesting company called Posh Outdoors who specializes in building incredible glamping resorts on your land.
One thing led to another and I had a fantastic intro call with one of the Cofounders, Nick (who ironically is from the same town in England my dad grew up in and every bit as cheeky).
For some time now my ambition has far exceeded my ability in the hospitality space to open a nature first resort - primarily due to a lack of funding and expertise in site design. That is why I am so bullish on what the team at Posh Outdoors is doing because they bridge that gap while allowing land owners to own and operate the finished product.
They work off a simple revenue share model that aligns both the upside interest and risk with yours. They will open the doors at their first concept resort this spring just outside of Banff in BC, Canada.
With moving deeper into hospitality on my 2025 bingo card l look forward to following along and maybe just maybe partnering up with the team there to bring my own resort to life.
While this is not a sponsored post (although by all means Posh if you’d like to pay me my venmo is @clafayette) you can learn more about the industry on Nicks blog - The Glamping Insider (or by blowing him up on Linked In like I did).
#10: Hanukkah will start on Christmas Day for the first time in 19 years
Tis the season as they say and this year the seasons will start on the same calendar date for the first time since the iPhone was invented.
Ironically the start of Hanukkah and Christmas always share the same the date but because the Hebrew Calendar is based on a lunar year it is somewhat rare that the actual day lines up with Christmas Day which is based on the solar calendar.
If you are in a household lucky enough to be celebrating Chrismukkah remember menorah’s and pines trees don’t mix well so take extra caution to provide each their own window.
