✈️ Why all those planes were grounded

Plus: The biggest movies ever, touch-screen MacBooks, what people ate on the Warner Bros. lot, a hidden skunk, and more. [View Online]( [The Hustle] Scammers are reactivating old Airbnb listings to steal travelers’ money (though the company said it was rare), which is how a Philly woman returned home to find a confused family on her doorstep. In today’s email: - NOTAMs: Or why all US flights were grounded. - Chart: Avatar’s China boost. - Y2K: Gen Z loves aughts tech and fashion. - Around the web: An old menu, virtual pen pals, post-interview thank-you emails, and more cool internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast]( to hear Jacob and Juliet discuss air travel woes, Apple Maps’ game changer, Avatar in China, and more. The big idea [plane departures]( The NOTAM plane debacle, explained Due to an FAA computer glitch, all US flights were temporarily grounded on Wednesday morning. 2023-01-12T00:00:00Z Juliet Bennett Ryla Days after the Southwest Airlines [snafu](, a computer glitch grounded all US flights on Wednesday morning. Such an order hasn’t been issued since 9/11, [per]( NPR. What happened? An FAA computer system that sends out [NOTAMs]( (Notice to Air Missions) failed. Though separate from air traffic control systems, NOTAMs share crucial info about potential safety hazards with pilots. - For example: Runway closures, lights out of service, military exercises, lasers, or air shows. - NOTAMs date back to 1947. The name once stood for “Notice to Airmen,” but in [December 2021](, it changed to be more inclusive of all aviators, including drone pilots. Aviation consultant Mike Boyd [told]( CNN, “It’s like telling a trucker that a road is closed up ahead.” So, no NOTAMs, no flights. What’s next? The FAA lifted the ground stop shortly before 9am EST, after [~1.5]( hours, though air travel was snarled due to the 8.2k+ delays and 1.2k+ cancellations reported by [FlightAware]( as of Wednesday afternoon. President Joe Biden has ordered an investigation into why the system failed. Currently, there’s no evidence of a cyberattack. Cybersecurity experts think the culprit was likely a software update, [per]( NBC; others told USA Today it could be [outdated tech](. Meanwhile: It’s not just planes. On Monday, [passengers]( on an Amtrak train from Washington, DC to Florida, were stuck aboard for 29+ hours due to a freight train derailment. Eventually, the conductor had to tell them to stop calling 911 as they were not being held hostage. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+NOTAM+plane+debacle%2C+explained%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01122023-NOTAM-plane-debacle%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D01122023-NOTAM-plane-debacle%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDING [eyeball wearing a hat] Uh, what? The Missouri Supreme Court [ruled]( that Geico doesn’t have to pay $5.2m to a woman who contracted HPV from a Geico customer. Geico covers in-car injuries but argues sex isn’t typical vehicle use. The case now heads back to a lower court. SNIPPETS Netflix will [livestream]( the SAG Awards starting in 2024, the streaming service’s first live awards show. Disney prices are… going down? With Bob Iger back as CEO, select parks will [offer]( more lower-cost days, free parking, and free digital photo downloads. In-N-Out is [expanding]( to Tennessee, the farthest east the California burger chain has expanded. It expects to open its Nashville-area office and restaurants by 2026. Meta will [cut off]( its original Oculus Quest headset — only four years old — on March 5, meaning no more new features, or creating or joining parties. OpenAI will test [ChatGPT Professional](, a paid version of its AI chatbot that includes unlimited messaging and faster responses. Apple Maps’ latest [update]( will let businesses showcase photos, deals, reservation buttons, and more to better compete with Google Maps. The company is also [reportedly]( developing touch-screen MacBooks, a concept Steve Jobs once said “doesn’t work.” Supply chain software startup Flexport is [laying off]( 20% of its staff, citing lower volume forecasts from customers and overstaffing. Update: US Consumer Product Safety Commission head Alexander Hoehn-Saric [said]( the agency will not ban gas stoves. Read our previous coverage [here](. Risky business: Great movie, but bad news for your biz. [Here’s how]( to mitigate financial risk and make sure your money stays where it belongs: in your bank account. Chart [biggest movies of all time]( Olivia Heller The Way of Water gets a boost from China But how long will it last? 2023-01-12T00:00:00Z Jacob Cohen Recommendation: If you haven’t yet seen Avatar: The Way of Water — IMAX, fifth row is the right way to do it. 4D seems cool, too, though a tad violent. The film has earned [$1.75B]( at the box office. Those earnings include [$189.4m]( in China, despite a surge of covid infections there, according to The Hollywood Reporter. - Chinese ticketing app Maoyan projects the film will peak at $222m — more than the $202m Avatar collected in China a decade ago, when there were [~5.7k]( movie screens in the country. Today, there are 82k+. Attention could dwindle, though, with the Lunar New Year coming up, when a host of domestic films will hit theaters — among them, The Wandering Earth 2. The first Wandering Earth pulled in $700m in 2019 (and is on Netflix, in case you’re interested). “We’re [going] back to theaters around the world,” Avatar director James Cameron [told]( Variety. “They’re even going back to theaters in China.” He added, “Enough with the streaming already — I’m tired of sitting on my ass.” [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+Way+of+Water+gets+a+boost+from+China%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01122023-biggest-movies%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D01122023-biggest-movies%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource The economics of unused gift cards Be honest — you’ve got one in your wallet. Our copywriter’s eating at the Cheesecake Factory tonight. Forty-seven percent of US adults have at least one unused gift card, voucher, or store credit, according to a 2022 YouGov study. Nationwide, that’s $20B+ in unspent credit. What happens to those untapped funds over time? Find out on the [latest episode]( of “Hustlenomics.” The story of forgotten gift cards: - Why so many gift cards go to waste - Use ‘em (or be prepared to lose ‘em) - Why it’s a win-win for retailers TLDR: Here’s how companies capitalize on the gift-card graveyard. [The gift card game →]( Why Not Y2K? [old cameras]( Gen Z loves outdated tech Gen Z craves digital cameras and Y2K fashion. 2023-01-12T00:00:00Z Sara Friedman Rolling into the school cafeteria with the newest smartphone was once the pinnacle of cool — but not anymore. Today’s teenagers seek the opposite: They’re ditching modern [tech]( for phones and cameras from the days of yore (AKA the early 2000s), per the [The New York Times](. Uh, why? The choice to part with a smartphone — and its top-tier camera — to bang out texts on T9 might seem a little confusing. But old-school phones and cameras appeal to today’s teens: - They can take photos without being on their cell phones. - They get space from social media, which [36%]( of teens say they use too much. Older digital cameras capture less detail and let in less light through their lenses, producing lower-quality photos. But blurry, vintage-looking photos are exactly what Gen Zers want to stand out from the crowd — and, ironically, to stand out on Instagram. EBay searches for “digital camera” increased 10% from 2021 to 2022, with searches for specific camera models rising even more sharply (“Nikon COOLPIX,” for example, saw a 90% jump). Y2K nostalgia… … has gripped more than just the tech industry. It’s fueled the return of fashion trends like low-rise jeans and velour tracksuits, with brands like [Juicy Couture](, True Religion, and [Abercrombie]( making lucrative comebacks. So BRB, blasting Eminem and digging out our Razr phones. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Gen+Z+loves+outdated+tech%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F01122023-Gen-Z-outdated-tech%3Futm_campaign%3DThursday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D01122023-Gen-Z-outdated-tech%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 😊 On this day: In 2001, the Downtown Disney District [opened]( to the public in Anaheim, California, adding a variety of activities for fans that didn’t require a park pass. 🍔 That’s interesting: If you’d visited the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, in 1941, [this]( would have been the lunch menu. ✉️ That’s cool: [Slowly]( is an app for finding digital pen pals. The farther away they are, the longer it takes to deliver your message. 🙏 How to: [Write]( a post-interview thank-you email. 🦨 Aww: And now, [where’s Lilly](? Tweet [drafting an email meme] Follow on us Twitter ([Link]() TELL FRIENDS → GET PRIZES Help your friends aboard our growing pirate ship. Share The Hustle Daily to start winning loot. [all prizes]( [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? [Love It]( [Meh]( [Hate It]( Today's email was brought to you by [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Sara Friedman](, and [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Mark “Juicy Couture velour tracksuit” Dent. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). 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