Hello! Welcome back. Despite record global temperatures coinciding with National Sidewalk Egg Frying Day, you probably still struggled to cook one all the way through. Today's charts explore:
What’s mined is yours
Botswana is set to increase its share of diamond extraction in the country’s joint venture with mining conglomerate De Beers, rising from 25% to 50% over the next decade in a new deal struck over the weekend.
Founded in 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, De Beers quickly gained a monopolistic and controversial position in the global diamond industry, controlling a staggering 80% of supply as recently as the 1980s. Meanwhile, the company's savvy marketing also helped shape demand. With famous campaigns like “A Diamond is Forever”, the company successfully associated diamonds with love, commitment and high prices in the minds of consumers.
Carats and sticks
Botswana’s diamond mines — including the world’s largest open pit mine, Orapa, discovered by De Beers in 1967 just one year after the nation's independence — have helped catapult the country from one of the poorest in the world, to one with a per-capita GDP 4x the sub-Saharan Africa average. That growth, however, has come with mutual dependence — diamonds account for a staggering 90% of the country’s exports, while Botswana’s mines represent 70% of the De Beers portfolio.
After Botswana took a 24% stake in another diamond manufacturer earlier this year to diversify its route to market, and with ongoing pressure from increasingly high-quality lab-grown diamonds, this latest deal suggests that De Beers may continue to lose some of its luster.
Revolutions per minute
For many Americans, Independence Day Weekend is synonymous with another storied US institution: the road trip. As yesterday’s barbecues and fireworks recede in the rear-view mirror, AAA predicts that a record 43.2 million people will have driven more than 50 miles to spend time with friends and loved ones over the break, up 2.4% on last year.
That forecast was bolstered by cheaper gas at the pump — July 3rd saw nationwide average prices for regular gasoline of $3.53 per gallon, down ~30% from their mid-2022 peak of $5.01, according to the EIA — providing some welcome inflation relief for at least one part of Americans' wallets.
Tank half full?
While lower gas prices have helped reignite a spirit of adventure, pent-up demand from the tail end of “revenge travel” is still an important factor. Indeed, despite ongoing delays, cancellations, heatwaves and sky-high prices, plane trips are expected to have climbed even more so than driving — up 11.2% to 4.2 million people, a record share of travel for the long weekend.
The AAA predictions, besides a rare overestimate during 2021’s uncertain reopening, tend to be accurate. If those forecasts hold up, it may demonstrate some resilience from US consumers in the face of a cloudy economic backdrop — for now, at least.
Wiener takes all
Joey “Jaws” Chestnut has once again won the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, held at the historic site of the company’s original Coney Island stand. While he clinched the coveted mustard-yellow belt for an astounding 16th time, his 62-dog effort in 10 minutes fell short of his own jaw-dropping record of 76, set in 2021.
With a myth-filled history dating back to 1916, the competition's official format started to take shape in the 1970s. Sometimes dubbed the “Olympics of competitive eating”, today the contest garners widespread coverage from international news outlets, from The New York Times to the BBC.
Dog eat dog
In 2001, the competition underwent a transformation when Takeru Kobayashi introduced ground breaking techniques — removing the hot dog, splitting it in two, dipping the bread in water, and wiggling his body throughout. These methods allowed him to consume 50 dogs – a feat that doubled the previous record.
Since 2007, however, it’s been the Joey Chestnut show, with many now wondering if he can ever break his own record of 76 – one study puts the theoretical maximum amount of hot dogs a human can consume in 10 minutes at 83.
• Electric flying car company Alef Aeronautics has received approval to start testing by the FAA – pre-orders start at $300,000.
• Taylor Swift is bringing in $13 million a night on her tour, which could total $1.3 billion to become the highest-grossing ever.
• The US Department of State is currently issuing 500,000 new passports a week, putting them on track to top last year's record of 22 million.
• Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny is struggling at the box office, with Harrison Ford's finale only opening to $82 million domestically.
• A visual exploration of how those fireworks yesterday impacted the environment.
• Photo gallery summing up how the nation celebrated yesterday.
Off the charts: Which early internet giant, whose rise and fall we previously charted, is now reportedly planning to return to the public markets? [Answer below].
