Today we head to East Palestine, Ohio. As we prepare for a weekend of interviews and sight-seeing, we want to know what you are most curious to learn about. Please send us an email with your thoughts or questions. Also, if you're in the area or know a local farmer, union worker, or anyone we should talk to, please let us know!

In today's edition:

• Norfolk Southern backs out of town hall

• UK letter delivered a century late

• 19+1 questions

🔑 Key Stories

Balloongate Pops?

President Biden said that 3 flying objects shot down by US jets last weekend likely weren’t spy-related

• On February 4, the US downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon; from February 10-12, it downed 3 more “flying objects” over Alaska, Canada, and Lake Huron

• On Wednesday, Biden said the latter 3 were likely related to private companies, research, or recreation, not Chinese spying. He also said the US is detecting more objects due to heightened surveillance, not because there are more flying in US airspace

• Biden said he doesn’t seek conflict with China but won’t apologize for prior actions and accusations

Dig Deeper

• Biden said the balloons were shot down because they posed a threat to civilian air traffic and because the US military couldn’t rule out at the time that they were spying. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also announced that he will soon meet his Chinese counterpart, weeks after canceling a meeting in protest of the spy balloon

Penises: Longer, Bigger

A new study found that the average erect penis length has increased 24% over the past 29 years

• The study, conducted by Stanford, Emory, and other universities, analyzed data from 75 smaller studies that measured the penis sizes of 55,761 men from 1942 to 2021. Across that data, average flaccid length was 3.4 in and average erect length was 5.5 in

• Per that data, researchers also concluded that penile size grew 24% globally since the 1990s

• Researchers say the causes of that trend are unclear, but that it could be caused by boys hitting puberty earlier, which is also an unexplained trend

r/WallStreetLawsuit?

r/WallStreetBets’ founder sued Reddit

• Jaime Rogozinski founded r/WallStreetBets, an online community of amateur stock traders, in 2012. Its membership exploded with the rise of commission-free trading and during the pandemic

• Reddit banned Rogozinski from moderating the page in April 2020 for “attempting to monetize” the community by promoting his book and events

• Rogozinski later tried to trademark “WallStreetBets,” and Reddit filed to block that

• Rogozinski now claims Reddit breached its user contract by ousting him; Reddit denies all charges

Dig Deeper

• Rogozinski also accused Reddit of violating his rights to trademark the brand: When he submitted a WALLSTREETBETS trademark application, Reddit filed its opposition, calling WallStreetBets “a valuable asset of Reddit”

Norfolk Southern Backs Out

The company whose train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio backed out of a town hall meeting with locals

• On February 3, a Norfolk Southern train carrying 20 train cars of toxic chemicals derailed. Train crews later burned 5 wagons’ worth of vinyl chloride, a highly explosive chemical, to prevent an explosion

• Residents were evacuated then told days later that it was safe to return. Many have since complained of falling ill and pets, fish, and livestock dying

• Norfolk Southern agreed to send representatives to speak to residents on Wednesday night but backed out hours before, citing “growing physical threats”

Dig Deeper

• “They kept saying it's fine to drink the water, but also to drink bottled water,” one resident said during the meeting

• “That's a contradiction, live for everyone to see." “Why are people getting sick if there's nothing in the air or the water?” another asked

Free Books and a Humorous Finance Newsletter? Sure

Together with Short Squeez

Short Squeez is giving away 25 free copies of the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel, a book on its way into the canon of finance literature

• Short Squeez is a pithy newsletter focused on all things Wall Street

• They are consistently recommending worthwhile books like The Psychology of Money – a must-read for anyone interested in the psychological underpinnings of how people make money-related decisions

• The first 25 people to sign up using the link below get the book and 1-month of Short Squeez Insiders membership for free**

**Cancel at any time

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• 🙏 up, King: Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), per a statement from his family. He was first diagnosed with aphasia last year

• Beauty & the Bot: "I want to be human" is what the new ChatGPT-powered Bing chatbot said in an exchange. Bing Chat said it wants to have dreams and feel emotions

• Houston, we have a busy calendar: Space authorities are postponing the rescue timeline of the astronauts stuck in space due to a spaceship leak last year

Wildcard

• Missed a few spots: Japan has double the islands it previously thought, per a new report. Instead of ~7,000 islands, authorities now say it has ~14,000

• Going generous into that good night: Disgraced ex-Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver is giving $20k bonuses to team employees after selling the franchise

• Got mail? A letter lost in the UK mail in 1916 was finally delivered to a London address more than a century after being sent

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🗣 20 Questions

Every Friday, we ask the Roca readers 20 questions, then feature our favorite answers the following week.

Another week, another 20 carefully curated set of questions for our curious and diverse audience! No matter how random the question is, the riders always hit us with the truth! This week, we've got....

THIS OR THAT!

We're giving you 2 prompts, and you choose the one you prefer. You guys never fail to amaze us with how well rounded you are & we love that our riders share all different preferences!

Here's the link. Have an AMAZING PRESIDENT'S DAY WEEKEND!

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Do you trust tap water at hotels?

Yes: 38.7%

No: 61.3%

Yesterday's Question:

Who's someone from history who truly inspires you?

Chris from OKC: "Teddy MF’n Roosevelt"

Matt from Queens: "Yuri Gagarin is my favorite historical character. He straight up got into a rehashed ICBM prototype that was built by the USSR, they shot him into outer space, and no one knew what was going to happen. He ended up ejecting himself at like 23000 feet above the surface of the Earth to get out of that contraption and subsequently become the first human to survive a spaceflight. That takes some guts."

Amy from South Dakota: "Mother Teresa, she never had much, but made a huge impact with her kindness and compassion. A genuine angel."

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

1. Bop It Game: 5.2

2. Slap bracelets: 4.8

3. Schoolhouse Rock cartoon series: 6.4

4. Silly Putty: 7

5. Flintstone vitamins: 6

6. Mr. Sketch scented markers: 5.9

7. Pencil grips: 5

8. School lunch chocolate milk: 7

9. Candy necklaces: 6

10. The prize counter at the arcade: 5.9

11. Heelys: 3.7

12. Webkinz: 3.3

13. Blockbuster: 7.5

14. Etch A Sketch: 7.6

15. Magic Tree House books: 6

16. Play-Doh: 7.8

17. Beanie Babies: 5.5

18. Slinky: 7.6

19. Dunkaroos: 4.6

20. Pokémon cards: 4.2

🧠 Final Thoughts

Happy, happy Friday!

Thank you all for sending us so much great feedback lately. It inspires us and motivates us to keep improving. We love reading it, interacting with you, and hearing your thoughts.

We won't be sending a newsletter on Monday, but we will be posting news on our app beta. We'll be expanding the number of people on there soon, so keep checking your inbox if you signed up.

Have a great weekend!

Max and Max