🐤 Batten down the hatches

🏦 Markets: The country made it past its most recent debt ceiling standoff, so there’s some reason for investors to breathe a sigh of relief. But there’s plenty of other important economic data on the horizon that will influence Wall Street’s performance this week.

Apple is hosting its worldwide developer conference today and the latest consumer borrowing and trade deficit info will be dropping tomorrow.

Also coming this week are earnings reports from companies including GameStop and J.M. Smucker.

🚢Traffic jam: Movement around an area of the Suez Canal in Egypt ground to a halt on Sunday after a massive oil tanker experienced a mechanical problem. The Seavigour had been moving from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the narrow canal when it broke down, tying up traffic that included eight other ships. The Suez Canal is one of the world’s busiest transit channels with nearly 24,000 vessels passing through it last year alone.

📱Cashing out: The proliferation of payment apps like PayPal and Venmo have become popular in recent years due in large part to their convenience. But officials are warning consumers that it might come at a serious cost. Since deposits into such platforms often don’t have the same government protections as traditional bank deposits, they could be susceptible to loss. Reps for the apps, however, insist that consumer cash is safe.

📘Bible ban: An increasing number of states across the country have been limiting the availability of certain books and materials based on the argument that their contents are inappropriate for young children. In Utah, that even includes the Bible. According to reports, one parent complained about “vulgarity and violence” in the King James Bible and a school district responded by removing it from elementary and middle schools.

👩🏻‍🎤Swift response: You probably already know that Taylor Swift has some seriously dedicated fans, but some of them are going to extremes when they finally get a chance to see her perform live. In social media posts, a few of these super-fans say they’ve decided to wear adult diapers during concerts so they won’t have to miss any of the songs if nature calls during the performance.

Those Amazon delivery trucks and vans have become ubiquitous in communities across the country and around the world. But decades before anyone had ever heard of the online shopping giant, another company had already revolutionized speedy package delivery.

And now, FedEx is preparing to celebrate its golden anniversary.

How it all began

It all started with the vision of company founder Fred Smith, who came up with an idea for worldwide delivery as quickly as overnight. Back then, all of his proposals were new and unproven, but in the 50 years since then, he has been proven right again and again.

He was able to see the increasing opportunity of automation before almost anyone else in the business world and leveraged that knowledge to create a totally new way to deliver.

Not only did he believe computers would make his own business more effective, but he knew that other businesses would need rapid delivery in order to keep up with the increasing pace of technology.

Smith explained: “Your computer goes down, you have to have the part to fix it or you’re out of business. That’s the whole principle of FedEx.”

The first 50 years the company began with a small Dassault Falcon 20 plane (now an artifact you can see at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum) that got packages from the sender to the recipient with unprecedented speed.

Since then, of course, the company has grown exponentially. Here are some impressive stats as FedEx celebrates its 50th anniversary:

• The company has more than 530,000 employees.
• It ships 15 million packages to 220 countries every day.
• Many Boeing 777 jets are part of its massive fleet.

A combination of foresight, improved logistics, and taking care of employees has helped FedEx stay relevant over the past five decades.

We’ve previously discussed how the latest technology has helped archaeologists discover incredible artifacts hidden in some of the most inaccessible underground locations around the world.

But sometimes, all it takes is a few curious critters to lead experts to some hidden historical relics. That’s what happened recently in Wales.

Digging for the truth

While bunnies are naturally inclined to burrow into the ground, when a group of the fluffy animals did so on the largely uninhabited Skokholm Island, they found more than a cool place to spend their day.

According to wardens on the island, the digging uncovered a trove of evidence reflecting how humans lived between 6,000 and 9,000 years ago.

In addition to a collection of pottery shards dating back to the Bronze Age, the bunnies also helped scientists to identify a pair of tools believed to have been made by Stone Age inhabitants of the region.

Here’s what it means

So what did these tools actually do? That’s what two wardens on the island wanted to know when they found the artifacts. Prehistoric tool expert Andrew David ended up with photos of the objects and reasoned that they were probably used in the construction of rudimentary boats or to prepare shellfish for consumption.

He went on to note the significance of finding such items at that location, explaining: “Although these types of tools are well known on coastal sites on mainland Pembrokeshire and Cornwall, as well into Scotland and northern France, this is the first example from Skokholm and the first firm evidence for Late Mesolithic occupation on the island.”

As for how the bunnies discovered the historically significant spot, archaeologist Toby Driver theorized that the location had been a burial mound that Bronze Age inhabitants built atop a site established by even earlier humans.

The start of June marked the beginning of hurricane season — and from Arlene to Whitney, this year’s list of names is already selected.

For those who live in coastal areas, preparation is just a part of life. But as climate change introduces bigger and earlier storms, it’s vital to remain vigilant throughout these summer and autumn months.

Looking ahead

Although experts predict the 2023 hurricane season will be relatively normal, it’s impossible to confidently forecast how many named storms will form in the Atlantic and possibly make landfall along the coast.

Just two days into June, the first — Tropical Storm Arlene — began swirling. It began as a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday but increased in strength to the level of a tropical storm by Friday.

Meteorologists noted that rainfall across much of Florida was not directly caused by Arlene, but the National Hurricane Center advised that some flooding could result.

Getting ready

With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicting as many as 17 named storms this season, it’s crucial for individuals in low-lying and coastal areas to make sure they have a plan.

Here are a few ways to ensure that you have the best chance of weathering (or escaping) a major storm if it heads your way:

• Put together a kit with food, water, first aid, and other essentials.
• Make sure everyone in the home is familiar with an emergency plan.
• Be sure you understand the terms of your insurance policies.
• Replace the batteries in flashlights and other important household devices.
• Fill up the tank (or charge the battery) in your family’s vehicles.

Most importantly, don’t become complacent just because this season is expected to be typical. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell advised: “It only takes one storm to make it an active season.”