Friday Fives, Vol. 181
This week, we’re getting nostalgic for bygone eras of entertainment, TikToking at 32,000 feet, and confusing our taste buds with a meatball scented candle.
If you’re old enough to understand this article’s headline reference, then you probably remember when MTV was a cultural juggernaut. This year, MTV turns 40, and while it may not rock as hard as it used to, we still need our fill of classics like The Real World, Punk’d, and if we’re feeling extra saucy, Jersey Shore. You can still find these shows and more on streaming services listed in the article, but for some reason, you can’t stream the entirety of the 2009 VMAs when Kanye interrupted Taylor. We’ll just leave this here.
Ikea’s new “Store in a Box” promotion delivers everything you love about Ikea right to your home. But sending a box of frozen meatballs would be way too predictable (and practical) for Ikea, so they made a candle that smells like their classic Swedish meatballs instead. Sadly, or maybe luckily, you can’t buy the “Huvudroll” at stores, so only a select few sweepstakes winners will get to sniff this weird wax. If only they could make the feeling of being hopelessly lost among the furniture and not knowing how to find the exit in candle form, then the at-home Ikea experience would be truly complete.
Vanity Fair is helping us relive glorious moments in cinema history but with a modern twist. They’re celebrating the late 90’s, early 2000’s period where classic movies like Legally Blonde, The Matrix, and American Psycho were released by casting up-and-coming entertainers to pose as movie characters. Most of these folks were probably not old enough to watch these movies when they came out, but this nostalgia-fueled photoshoot reminds us that every generation can learn from each other. And if you haven’t seen some of the movies featured, take the rest of the day off from work and binge them. Your boss will understand.
Picture this. There are 30 minutes left on your flight from LAX to LGA. You finish an episode of Schitt’s Creek and then, panic — you realize that was the last one you downloaded. You’re out of entertainment and the guy next to you seems like he really wants to chat about fly fishing. Take a deep breath. If you’re on select American Airlines flights, then you can watch 30 minutes of TikTok for free. American Airlines hopes this, and other in-flight perks, will get people back in the air after COVID-19. And if for some reason, like if you’re over the age of 25 and TikTok isn’t on your phone, they’ll let you download it for free. You’ll be up in the aisles in no time doing the latest TikTok dances, although flight attendants probably won’t be jazzed about it, so maybe save that for the terminal.
Let’s talk trash. Australian startup TOMbag wants to end single-use plastic trash bags with a reusable garbage bag. Their bag is made from recycled plastic and is durable, machine washable, and waterproof. The idea is that you treat it like a traditional waste disposal unit, but instead of heaving the entire thing down a trash chute or into a dumpster, you open the top and put the refuse into another can for collection. After that, you hose it down or put it in your washing machine. If you’re skeptical about a garbage bag’s ability to save the planet, we remind you of one of our favorite bits of internet wisdom: “It’s called a garbage can, not a garbage cannot.” Enjoy your weekend.
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The Working Assembly
NYC branding agency exploring the intersection of art, design, technology and culture. Partnering with emerging and evolving brands.
