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Here’s what you need to know
Tupperware shares shot up 350% in the past five days. Investors are turning extremely bullish on the stock for no apparent reason.
Ticks are causing an increasingly common red meat allergy. The CDC estimates that the number of cases is growing by about 15,000 each year.
A Mar-a-Lago worker became the third person indicted in the case of the displaced White House documents. The prosecutor also brought three new charges against former president Donald Trump.
A heat wave in the US is affecting both the power grid and gas prices. Surging temperatures have strained refineries and increased demand for energy to power air-conditioning units.
The Mattel Cinematic Universe
There’s a new MCU, and it’s based on a lot of plastic: Mattel is offering up its toy IP to Hollywood executives, hoping that it can be molded into a money-making, Marvel-styled franchise.
Here are some of the films announced so far—for real—in the Mattel Cinematic Universe:
🇺🇸 American Girl
🦖 Barney
🎈 Christmas Balloon
🛞 Hot Wheels, with JJ Abrams’s Bad Robot
🎱 Magic 8 Ball
👨🚀 Major Matt Mason, starring Tom Hanks
One big number: 3 billion
Monthly active users on Facebook
Facebook is far from Meta’s fastest growing app, though. Quartz’s Scott Nover explains.
Pop quiz: Hip-hop turns 50
What was hip-hop’s first big business move?
A. Run–D.M.C’s deal with Adidas
B. P. Diddy’s launch of Bad Boy Entertainment
C. Will Smith’s casting in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
D. Rick Ross’s launch of Maybach Music Group
The answer is A., which happened in 1986 and kicked off a framework for generational wealth in a country that hasn’t historically afforded much of it to the Black community. Read about hip-hop’s biggest business moves, part of our new Hip-Hop: ’73 Till Infinity series.
Quartz’s most popular
🇨🇳 China’s reputation as a leading economic power is fast eroding
💸 These are the world’s most expensive cities in 2023
🥵 The UK’s warmest year on record might just become the norm by 2060
🍻 Unionized workers are stepping in to save America’s oldest craft brewery
🧵 Why you’re struggling to ditch Twitter for Threads
⛽ Toyota is betting that the US will keep buying gas-guzzling SUVs
Surprising discoveries
Changing social media networks is not as easy as it sounds. It all has to do with how the brain processes starting—and stopping—habits.
McDonald’s latest earnings were very purple. “This quarter, the theme is—well, if I’m being honest, the theme was Grimace,” the burger chain’s CEO said.
Japan has a new luxury cherry variety. One Benio is $30.
Kim Jong Un riding a horse and a tractor are just a few of the new paintings of the leader showcased in a North Korean art exhibit. Take a look.
Gen Zers are the stingiest tippers. And it may just be the start of a greater shift.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Send any news, comments, purple shakes, and expensive cherries to talk@qz.com. Reader support makes Quartz available to all—become a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Sofia Lotto Persio and Morgan Haefner.