The Branded and Gilded Life
The Branded and Gilded Life
Time for the amphibious car?
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-5:45

Time for the amphibious car?

There has been more flooding in several parts of the world this year.

Shots of cars being stranded or carried away in terrifying surges have been shared across social media.

When a driver comes across a patch of flooded road, the natural inclination is to turn back.

There's no saying what will happen if the car stalls.

Even a thin film of water can reduce the grip and make navigation through water difficult.

Now, Tesla does not have 'Boat mode'. At least not yet.

A clip shot from inside the car is either testament to the car's ability - or the driver's foolhardiness.

Literally like wading into a pool of gushing water and expecting to get through.

There's a point at which they come across another car parked on the left-hand side of the road.

It was abandoned for sure, since the owner would not have been able to proceed.

The Tesla, however, breezes through.

Making it to the dry stretch of road again. This is certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Elon Musk even tweeted about it saying 'Thrust via wheel rotation' is what gets the cars through.

But he doesn't recommend it either.

Maybe speedboats and automobile companies should collaborate and come up with amphibious design solutions for the times when roads become rivers.


A 'beard tax' probably seeded the shaving market

Shaving every day or every other day is now the accepted norm.

Starting off with cavemen who used clamshells to tweeze out individual hairs.

Must have taken them hours without the soapy lather or gel - not to speak of the sharp twinge of pain with each hair pulled out!

But beards through human history have waxed and waned depending on the style of the time. 

Imagine a profusion of males walking around with bushy long beards and morose looks. Hard to make out when they're smiling.

Peter the Great, a Russian Czar played a starring role in driving the change. After a two-year tour of Europe, he was so impressed with the clean-shaven looks of the Europeans, he made it the law in Russia.

He introduced a beard tax to ensure that people were clean-shaven and imposed fashion by diktat. This was back in the early 1700s.

Like passports and driving licenses today, every bearded male had to procure a token at a price. It looked like a small medallion and had to be shown to the 'Fashion police' who roamed the streets.

Peasants only had to pay a few kopecks, but nobles and military officers had to pay large sums as fines if they did not show 'proof of tax paid'.

This must have been one of the world's first tax avoidance schemes. Shave every day, to escape the tax.

And over the decades it became a daily habit.

We're still paying the tax. Except that it's now to the companies who enable smooth shaves, day after day!


Is there a bigger game behind Skater Girl on Netflix?

It ticks all the boxes for popular cinema.

The rags to riches story of a poverty-stricken girl.

Along with the run-ins with patriarchy and the small horizons children from remote villages can aspire to.

It's packaged with warmth and nostalgia.

Of a successful Creative Director returning to her roots in an Indian village from where her father migrated to the US. 

Her boyfriend, an ace skater follows her into the village. And they're on a mission to introduce children to the wonders of skating.

He goes ahead and buys skates for all of them and soon, the kids are creating havoc.

They disrupt the peace and quiet in the village with their boisterous exploits and are promptly sanctioned by the local authorities.

The compromise is to define where the children will skate and the land for the rink is donated by local royalty.

The building of the rink becomes a community affair and they're taught the 'moves' that will earn them fame and fortune.

The conflict is built around the girl's father who does not want her to spend time on frivolous pursuits.

But it all turns out well in the end.

So far, so good. But look at it from a marketing angle now. How do you introduce a sport that has no local fan following?

How do you build a new generation of stars? 

How do you make it about something larger than the person and equate it to a victory for womanhood?

Now, keep watching as skating tournaments and rinks sprout up across the country.

This was just the trailer.


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