Welcome to Thursday, Apexians. It’s high summer here in Oregon. It’s hot. Blackberries are ripe. Tomatoes are coming on. The hydrangeas are showing their stuff. And nothing sounds better than relaxing in a lawn chair with a cool beverage in hand…
A brief history of the lawn chair. [Valet] — “The rise of this all-American staple coincided with the growth of suburbs after World War II, when homes with larger lawns were suddenly more affordable. Aluminum production soared during the war, since it was used in the structural framing of military aircraft. After the war, manufacturers sought other uses for the strong yet lightweight material. Turns out, narrow aluminum tubing was great for making chairs.”
And hey — why not? — let’s put today’s video in the middle of the list! Here’s a seven-minute video from The New York Times that explains how Americans learned to love their front lawns.
You know, as long as we’re doing the whole 1950s suburbia thing, how about this story that has nothing to do with money and everything to do with bowling?
The most amazing bowling story ever. [D Magazine] — “He had 33 straight strikes entering the 10th frame of the third game. Out came the cell phone cameras. There were whispers, but as soon as Fong picked up his ball, it was dead quiet. He turned to look at the crowd behind him, now well over 100 people, densely packed from the end of the snack bar to the vending machines 80 feet away. That’s when the magic left him…” [Related: Bowling a perfect game in 90 seconds.]
“Decorating our home with thrift-store finds.” [Financial Mechanic] — “I have recently been shopping to furnish our new apartment. I am perpetually taken aback by every price tag…Sticker shock aside, thrifting is about more than just money. Every item you thrift is another item that doesn’t need to go to a landfill.”
A half million dollars by thirty. [A Purple Life] — “Now, enough with those squishy emotions. Let’s get into some nerdy analysis! I was curious how much of my net worth is from after-tax savings from my earnings, compared to how much the market contributed, so let’s look at it!”
And that’s all for today! I’ll be back tomorrow to take you into the weekend — a weekend during which I hope we will all relax after bowling by sitting in thrift-store lawn chairs purchased with our half-million-dollar nest eggs! 🙂