What does a dragon need gold for? They live in caves for free and eat cattle they don’t buy. A dragon needs its treasure hoard as much as a corpse needs its life savings, and yet…

… some big shots are hoping to cryogenically freeze themselves to not only achieve immortality, but wake up wealthy, per a fascinating report from Mother Jones.

What exactly happens when you’re frozen?

At the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona, there are 225 frozen people (plus some pets). The process is a little Han Solo, a little Cronenberg body horror:

• Blood is swapped for a chemical that preserves organs.
• The corpse is injected with what’s essentially antifreeze.
• The body is cooled to -321 degrees Fahrenheit and stored in a tank — called a “Dewar” — full of liquid nitrogen, where it’ll remain until science finds a way to revive it.

This costs $200k+ for the whole body or $80k for just the brain — so, needless to say, they were probably rich in life…

… and probably want to be rich again

In the US, people must name a beneficiary and most states cap trusts at 90 years. For people who die normally, that’s not a problem. For people who expect to be revived in a century or two, it’s a concern. So:

• Some lobbyists are trying to extend how long a trust can last.
• Attorney Mark House told Mother Jones that he’s created ~100 “cryonic suspension trusts” since working on the estate of a frozen client a decade ago.
• One expert said they’d seen cryonics trusts that consider the rights of a bionic person containing a digital copy of someone’s mind — a la sci-fi series Altered Carbon.

Does it even matter, though?

In 1967, James Bedford, a 73-year-old man with terminal cancer, became the first person to be cryogenically frozen. He’s still frozen, currently at Alcor.

In fact, no one who’s been frozen has been successfully revived; scientists don’t know how, and many think they never will.

So all that money? It might be totally worthless, in pursuit of a fantasy about as real as a dragon.

Golf has historically been a boys’ club — literally.

But the sport seems to be entering the modern era, with a surge of women showing interest. More than 800k American women started playing golf between 2020 and 2022, according to the National Golf Foundation, representing a 15% increase.

And 38% of players under 18 years old today are girls, compared to just 14% in 1986, indicating that this demographic shift might be here to stay.

Why?

Multiple factors are likely contributing to the influx of women into the sport, per The Washington Post:

• Overall interest in golf surged during the pandemic as people looked for outdoor, socially distant activities. Plus, remote work freed up time for hobbies.
• Millennial and Gen Z women are exposed to golf on social media, where celebrities and professional athletes alike have posted about the sport.
• Indoor golfing businesses and bars have grown increasingly popular, serving as accessible entry points to the sport.

All that interest adds up: In 2021, Golf Datatech found that women accounted for ~20% of the then $5.59B golf market.

Vying fore women’s wallets

With billions of dollars up for grabs, brands are quickly adapting to capitalize on female spending power.

• In 2021, Callaway launched a product line specifically engineered for female players.
• Activewear brands like Lululemon, Adidas, and Nike carry golf clothing for women, as do high-end fashion brands.

And it’s not golf without clubs: many are springing up on social media, in the nonprofit space, and in local communities across the country.

This is all good news, considering research suggests that not playing golf can actually hurt women’s careers.

• The lactose intolerant, unwilling to pay for oat milk and unable to stomach the idea of going somewhere else, are suing Dunkin’ for discrimination. The chain is facing a $5m lawsuit from 10 customers who claim its surcharge on nondairy milk alternatives discriminates against people with lactose intolerance and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Sounds a little far-fetched, but do they have a point? Lactose intolerance affects ~36% of Americans, predominantly people of color.
• A 52-year-old runner chain-smoked his way to a marathon finish line. A Chinese man, known to the internet as “Uncle Chen,” finished the 26-mile race in three hours and 33 minutes, all while puffing on a cig — an impressive feat, except it didn’t count. He was disqualified for violating the marathon rules, which, as of last year, prohibit smoking (as well as “open defecation”...). Definitely not advised, but still, kind of impressive.
• It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, including in Saudi Arabia now. The Gulf kingdom, where alcohol consumption is illegal and warrants severe punishment, including public flogging, is opening its first alcohol-serving establishment — available exclusively to “non-Muslim diplomats.” To imbibe, patrons must receive clearance from the Foreign Ministry and adhere to monthly quotas. Hopefully, the drinks are as stiff as the rules.
• An 11-year-old boy from Morocco who was born deaf can now hear, thanks to gene therapy. Aissam Dam became the first person in the US to receive gene therapy for congenital deafness after participating in a clinical trial at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Though noises initially startled him, he said: “There’s no sound I don’t like.” (OK, crying.) But his favorite sound, he said, is people. (That’ll pass.)
• An American’s advice on how to drink tea has Brits steaming. In her new book, Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, US chemistry professor Michelle Francl suggests adding a pinch of salt for the perfect cup of tea. The sodium ions in salt reportedly help make tea taste less bitter by blocking certain receptors in our mouths. But the friendly piece of advice has left Brits outraged — so much so that the US Embassy in London intervened, stating that the tip (keyword: tip) is “not official United States policy.”