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What happened in the third quarter? [Advertisement] September 30, 2021 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( [Daily Brew]( TOGETHER WITH [Miso]( Hello, again. Just popping into your inbox once more today because it happens to be a very special occasion: The final day of the third quarter. Per Brew tradition, at the end of each quarter we send a newsletter reviewing everything that happened in the business world in Q3, and re-up some of the most popular MB content in case you missed it the first time around. See you in October. —The Brew writers BUSINESS [The Top 5 Business Stories From the Third Quarter]( [Sirisha Bandla sits on Richard Branson’s shoulders with fellow astronauts Beth Moses and Colin Bennett]( Patrick T. Fallon/AFP vs. Getty Images Our goal for this section: Take the entirety of business news that happened over the last three months and distill it into the 5 stories that truly mattered. Here’s what we came up with. 5. Spaceflight takes off It’s hard to say just yet, but this summer could be considered a Wright brothers moment for commercial space travel. Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson blasted off to space in homegrown rockets. And while he didn’t go to space himself, Elon Musk did something even more impressive—SpaceX sent the first all-civilian crew into orbit on the Inspiration4. Something the industry still needs to figure out: literally astronomical costs. Tickets for Virgin Galactic space flights start at $450,000 a seat. 4. China’s crackdown China’s government tightened the screws on numerous industries as it tries to center the country’s culture around an ideal of “common prosperity.” In no particular order, Beijing has a) expanded its ban on crypto-related transactions b) limited the amount of time kids can play video games c) stopped ride-hailing giant Didi from signing up new customers d) banned “effeminate” men from appearing on TV e) blocked tutoring companies from taking profits, and much more. The new regulations amount to one of China’s most dramatic attempts to reset the relationship between business and culture in recent memory. 3. Extreme weather From record-shattering temps in Oregon to Hurricane Ida in the East, weather disasters affected nearly 1 in 3 Americans this summer. These weather events, plus a new UN report that deemed climate change a “code red for humanity,” sparked more conversation around climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Will it lead to action? Democrats cited failures of our current system (like the NYC subway flooding) as justification for the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill they’re hoping to pass this week. 2. Delta Hot Vax Summer fizzled out as the highly contagious Delta variant sent Covid cases soaring once again. The wave also created more urgency from the government and businesses to get employees vaccinated. While some large corporations mandated vaccinations early on, the Biden administration turned the volume up to 11 when it said that all companies with 100 or more employees need to ensure their workers are vaccinated, or otherwise present a weekly negative Covid test. Good news is, the Delta wave appears to have peaked in many pockets of the US. 1. Supply chain madness Turns out, the Ever Given being stuck in the Suez Canal was the least of our supply chain worries this year. Factory closures in Asia due to Covid-19 have prolonged bottlenecks, driving inflation higher and delaying your new couch from arriving. Some stats that illustrate the brokenness of the global supply chain: - The chip shortage will cost $210 billion this year, according to a new estimate. - Nike said 80% of its shoe factories in Vietnam are closed. - This month, the line of container ships waiting to enter Los Angeles’s and Long Beach’s neighboring ports hit an all-time high of 65 vessels. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=The%20Top%205%20Business%20Stories%20From%20the%20Third%20Quarter%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F09%2F29%2Fthe-top-5-business-stories-from-the-third-quarter%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A CULTURE [Time Capsule](#) How will Q3 2021 be remembered decades from now? Here are some of the most iconic moments. [Q3 time capsule] Matty Merritt SPONSORED BY MISO [Burger With a Side of Robots, Please](#) [Miso]( You can invest in fast food seasoned with the latest tech. [Miso Robotics]( is bringing Silicon Valley to QSR (quick-service restaurants, for any non-MBAs out there) by providing artificial intelligence for kitchens. What that means: Miso uses a cloud-connected, AI platform to power autonomous robotic kitchen assistants to perform tasks such as frying and grilling alongside chefs and automate beverage dispensing. You want the receipts? - Flippy Fryer has fried 175,000+ lbs of food  - Flippy Grill has flipped 10,000+ burgers  - Miso’s Automatic Beverage Dispenser integrates with QSR point of sale systems to automatically dispense, seal and label drinks; drastically reducing drive-thru wait times [Miso](’s even kicked things up a notch (literally) by working with 10 of the 25 major QSR brands to kick off pilots of the new and improved Flippy! Ready to flip out? The Miso Robotics product team is nearing the completion of this exciting redesign with several of their partners, including White Castle. [Get in on this fall’s hottest collab—QSR x tech—here](. GRAB BAG [Facts on Facts]( [Starbucks drinks ]( Starbucks We read a lot of news stories over the past three months. Here are some of the craziest facts we learned. 1. At Starbucks, Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew [outsold]( the Pumpkin Spice Latte last year. 2. Uber has saved many lives that would’ve been lost to drunk driving, according to a [new study]( based on internal Uber data. Ride-sharing has decreased alcohol-related US traffic fatalities by 6.1% and reduced overall US traffic deaths by 4%. 3. 45% of remote employees work from a couch regularly, according to a [study]( from home improvement marketing firm CraftJack. It gets even crazier: 38% of remote workers work from their bed regularly, 20% work outdoors, and 19%...in a closet. 4. There will be [more weddings]( in the US in 2022 than in any year since 1984, according to market research firm The Wedding Report. It estimates that 2.5 million weddings will take place next year, compared to an average of 2.1 million weddings/year pre-pandemic and 1.2 million weddings in 2020. 5. Average pay at US supermarkets and restaurants hit [$15/hour]( for the first time ever, according to the Washington Post. Nearly 80% of US workers now earn a minimum of $15/hour, compared to 60% in 2014. 6. More than 45% of young people surveyed across 10 countries said climate change [caused them anxiety]( and affected their daily lives. 56% said they thought humanity was doomed. 7. Women accounted for a [record 59.5%]( of college students at the end of the 2020–2021 school year, while men made up just 40.5%. �  �  �  mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20Morning%20Brew%21&body=Facts%20on%20Facts%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fstories%2F2021%2F09%2F29%2Fthe-7-craziest-facts-we-learned-in-the-third-quarter%0A%0AWant%20more%20great%20content%3F%20Subscribe%20to%20Daily%20Brew%20%E2%80%94%20Delivering%20the%20latest%20business%20news%20from%20Wall%20St.%20to%20Silicon%20Valley%2C%20daily.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.morningbrew.com%2Fdaily%2Fr%2F%3Fkid%3Da905682a%26utm_source%3Demail_share%0A BEST OF [Reads and Recs](#) [Kids reading in black and white ] Bettmann/Getty Images Check out the 10 most popular pieces of content from around the Brewniverse from the past quarter. - [Q&A]( with happiness expert Dr. Laurie Santos. - [The new office politics]( is going to be more complicated than you think. - [Seven charts]( that explain the current state of crypto. - [A biotech startup]( has raised millions to resurrect wooly mammoths. - [The great Havana syndrome]( mystery. - [The expanded child tax credit](, explained. - [A TikTok]( of Tesla’s new humanoid robot. - [WTF are NFTs](? - [James Clear]( explains the importance of habits. - [How to write better online]( with David Perell. Best of Brew's bets The Brew’s Bets section of the newsletter features a smorgasbord of viral videos, lifestyle recs, and tips on leveling up your career. Here are the 5 most clicked-on links from the last quarter. Beyond BCC: 40 [one-sentence email tips](. Internet gold: A beautiful scroll through [vintage cocktail recipe books](. Wanna go really, really far away? Find the [farthest city]( on Earth from you. Another list of 40: [40 concepts]( you should know. How the US drains itself: Drop a raindrop anywhere in the US, then [watch its path]( to the ocean. FORECAST [Q4 Predictions](#) [Yoda saying "Impossible to see the future is"] Giphy In the last quarterly email, we asked readers to predict five outcomes by September 30. So, how’d you do? 1. Will Jeff Bezos successfully return from his mission to space? 92% correctly answered yes. The other 8% of you will definitely not be astronauts. 2. Which crypto asset will perform the best: dogecoin, bitcoin, or ethereum? 57% of readers predicted ethereum, which was correct. Ethereum gained nearly 50% last quarter. 3. Will the Olympics go off without disruption due to Covid-19? Most of you were pessimistic about the Olympics: 61% incorrectly predicted Covid would disrupt the Games. The Olympics actually handled Covid really well. 4. Will another US company join Microsoft and Apple in the $2 trillion market cap club? (The two closest at the time were Amazon and Alphabet.) Neither Amazon nor Alphabet reached a $2 trillion market cap, contrary to the predictions of Brew readers. 66% guessed at least one of those companies would hit the mark. 5. Will Aaron Rodgers still be a Green Bay Packer? 55% said no, but Rodgers is playing for the Packers this season and he is in fact still quite good. That was fun, let’s do it again. [Click here]( to cast your vote for next quarter’s predictions. SPONSORED BY COLE HAAN [Cole Haan]( All ready for fall? Thanks to [Cole Haan](, you will be. Their new collection includes footwear, bags, and accessories that will have you serving lewks straight through the new year. And now that you’re back to turning sidewalks into runways, you’ll look *chef’s kiss* whether you’re headed to school, work, or first-date drinks. Check out the [new collection](, then become an Above & Beyond member to [get 10% off your first order here](. QUIZ [Yep, There's a Quiz](#) [Quiz image ]( Getting a 10/10 on the Brew’s Quarterly News Quiz has been compared to getting a 5/5 on the Brew’s Weekly News Quiz. It’s that—if not more—satisfying. [Ace the quiz](. SHARE THE BREW We think you should [share the Brew.]( Not only is it a smart thing to do for your friends, it’s also the smartest way to get showered in free Brew swag and exclusive content. 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