Year in Review: All of 2020’s Top Stories from The Futurist

Let’s look back at this sh*tshow for the last time The Futurist uncovers unique and inspiring topics that feed your curiosity. Curated articles on technology, science, and culture delivered to your inbox. Not for you? Unsubscribe anytime below. /numberone [New Deranged Reality Show | Mic]( [MEN COMPETE TO IMPREGNATE A WOMAN ON THIS DERANGED NEW REALITY SHOW]( FOX has outdone itself with its newest reality show, which began airing at the end of May. Labor of Love is a game show where men compete for the privilege of impregnating a woman. Yes, you read that right. As if 2020 hasn’t already proven society is on the verge of collapse, TV execs decided America needed a dating show that sounds creepily reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale. [Mic]( /numbertwo [Woman Called The Cops Over Meat | Vice]( [A WOMAN CALLED THE COPS BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT STORE-BOUGHT MEAT WAS A PENIS]( Lamia Singfield bought a package of smoked turkey tails that day at a nearby Save A Lot supermarket. She was in the middle of a Facebook Live video and, after stopping to stir the beans, she realized that one piece of that seasoning meat didn't look right. She put the meat on a plate, and realized that it looked less like a piece of pork or poultry, and more like a piece of, um, a man. [Vice]( /numberthree [Desperate Vegas Hotels Now Offering WFH Packages | Mic]( [DESPERATE VEGAS HOTELS ARE NOW OFFERING “WFH” PACKAGES]( Those of us lucky enough to be gainfully employed and working from home right now are getting a little antsy. It's been five months, and we could all use a change of scenery. Apparently, one new solution to work-cabin-fever is stowing your laptop and flitting off to the strip. Yes, your new mobile office could now be in Las Vegas. [Mic]( /numberfour [Inside The Weird Get-Rich-Quick World of Dropshipping | Wired]( [‘IT’S BULLSHIT’: INSIDE THE WEIRD, GET-RICH-QUICK WORLD OF DROPSHIPPING]( Inside Bali’s co-working spaces, western immigrants are building business empires selling products they’ve never handled, from countries they’ve never visited, to consumers they’ve never met. Welcome to the world of dropshipping. [Wired]( /numberfive [Engineers Built A Retractable Lightsabler | IFLScience]( [ENGINEERS BUILD RETRACTABLE LIGHTSABER THAT CUTS THROUGH STEEL LIKE BUTTER]( Being stuck at home during the pandemic has led to people finding some pretty crazy ways to pass the time, like that [12-year-old kid]( who built his own nuclear fusor. But the winners might have to be the engineers from the Hacksmith on Youtube, who have created a fully retractable, color-changing lightsaber that cuts through metal like it’s butter. [IFLScience]( /numbersix [Scientists Caught Time Crystals Interacting | Popular Mechanics]( [FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, SCIENTISTS CAUGHT TIME CRYSTALS INTERACTING]( For the first time, scientists have observed an interaction of a rare and baffling form of matter called time crystals. The crystals look, at a glance, like “regular” crystals, but they have a relationship to time that both intrigues and puzzles scientists because of its unpredictability. Now, experts say they could have applications in quantum computing. [Popular Mechanics]( /numberseven [Biological Warfare-Expert: Never Jump In A Vegas Pool | IFLScience]( [BIOLOGICAL WARFARE EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER GET IN A LAS VEGAS POOL]( “I know certain things so you don't have to,” the not-so-reassuring words tweeted by former U.S. Army Chemical Officer Dan Kaszeta in regards to taking a leisurely dip in a Las Vegas pool. In fact, he urges you to not even so much as touch the water. Something to think about next time you’re tempted to try out that swim up blackjack table. [IFLScience]( /numbereight [People Throwing COVID-19 Parties | Mic]( [PEOPLE ARE THROWING COVID-19 PARTIES AND PAYING THE FIRST PERSON WHO GETS SICK]( No matter how much we’re all craving new adventures going into month five of pandemic lockdown, most people don’t actually want that journey to include a hospital. However, a group of college students in Alabama apparently have different ideas of what constitutes as fun. These young people are throwing COVID-19 parties with a cash prize if you get sick, inviting people currently infected with COVID-19 to attend said parties, and offering partygoers a payout if they are the first to become infected with the virus afterwards. High-risk, pretty meaningless reward. [Mic]( /posted [@giuliabxx on Instagram]( [@giuliabxx]( THE FUTURIST [Advertise]( [Talk to Us](mailto:letschat@getthefuturist.com) | [Shop]( | [Subscribe]( Powered by StackCommerce 21 market street venice, ca 90291 [unsubscribe](