Link Tank: How Americans Feel About Foldable Smartphones
Foldable smartphones, Princess Diana's handwritten letters, the best memes of 2020 so far, plus more in today's Link Tank!
Foldable smartphones are the latest rage within the tech industry, but the average consumer may not be as taken with them as previously thought.
“Foldable smartphones are a big trend in the tech world lately, from Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and its upcoming Z Flip to the resurrection of the Motorola Razr. Even Pablo Escobar’s brother is launching one (sort of). But what they all seem to have in common is a lackluster reception from consumers, who are not quite ready to invest more than $1,000 in one of these devices.”
A collection of Princess Diana’s handwritten letters are going up for auction, along with a number of other personal items of hers.
“On June 25, 1997, just months before Princess Diana’s death in August, dozens of her dresses were auctioned off at Christie’s in New York. Now, some of her handwritten letters regarding that event are hitting the auction block. Princess Diana wrote the letters to her friend Elizabeth Tilberis, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar at the time, both leading up to and after the auction.”
Check out a list of the best memes of 2020 so far, according to our friends over at Thrillist.
“The memes, they never stop. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the new year — nay, decade — and already there have been enough new internet jokes to hold us over for a good long while. Alas, we can’t ask everyone to please stop memeing, especially given the decreasing shelf life of how long jokes stay funny for, so we remain committed to keeping up with this breakneck cycle for the sake of handy content. We’ll be updating this list regularly so you can always be the funniest, most relevant person on your feeds.”
Scientists have revealed three steps in which they can defend Earth from a catastrophic asteriod impact.
“In 1998’s Armageddon, humanity’s only chance of survival hung on Bruce Willis blowing up an asteroid in space, seconds before it collided with Earth and ended the human race. Unfortunately, back in the real world and more than two decades on, the real-life plans to deflect any potential asteroid on a collision course with Earth are not much more advanced — and Bruce Willis tends to get lucky.”
Superman made his big screen debut eighty years ago with animated shorts from Max and Dave Fleischer. Check out this exclusive interview with film historian Leonard Maltin, who talks about their impact.
“About 80 years ago the Man of Steel made his leap (in a single bound) to the big screen via the animated shorts from Max and Dave Fleischer that brought the character to life for the first time. Bud Collyer, who voiced the dual characters of Superman and Clark Kent on the radio show, reprised the vocal role. To look back at the shorts, we’ve turned to film historian Leonard Maltin who shares his views on what they were all about and their impact.”
Listen on Voices from Krypton.
Star Wars is going all out with Baby Yoda merch ahead of Toy Fair 2020, with reveals from Lego, Hasbro, and more.
“First up is Lego’s 1,023-piece Razor Crest set with the Mandalorian and the Child settled in the cockpit. It also comes equipped with a Greef Karga (Carl Weathers’ character) figure. It retails for $129.99 and ships Sept. 1. The BrickHeadz, which are really much cuter than they should be, ship Aug. 1 for $19.99. Both are available for pre-order right now.”
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