The Credit Card Showdown, Flushless Toilets, and Why It’s Normal to Believe in The Paranormal

I’m spending most of this week reading books and debating selections as we narrow the field for our big announcement of the Top 100 Non-Obvious Books of 2023 that I will release next week on November 1st from the stage at the Inc 5000 Conference in San Antonio. I can tell you this year’s selections are going to have some big surprises and definitely some titles you don’t expect. Watch my social media for news about the list when it comes out. 

For stories this week, there are a few Halloween leadup stories about blue pumpkins and why belief in the paranormal is so common. We’ll also take a look at some of the best ideas from the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 Show and how Barnes & Noble continues to win in retail by following their own unusual playbook. In an industry intersection story, we’ll also look at the upcoming showdown between the behemoth industries of retail, travel, and banking as new legislation limiting credit card fees gets considered in Washington. 

Enjoy the stories and always stay curious!

Flushless Toilets, Plastic Reuse, and More Ideas From the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale

Imagine a toilet that never needs to be flushed. Arid desert land converted into abundant living spaces. Plastic yellow gallon oil containers upcycled into chairs and houses. These are just a few of the dozens of ideas from across the world that are on display right now at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023 Show which will be open to the public for another month. The festival is meant to be an “agent of change” and this year’s theme is the Laboratory of the Future.

Curated by Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko, this year’s show is distinctly African with more than half the exhibits coming from the continent with the fastest-growing population in the world. Events like this offer the chance to combine artists’ visions with architects’ concepts to radically different visions of humanity’s future. It’s not often you can see this diversity of imaginings for the future all in one place. If you have a bit of time, I highly recommend scrolling through images and descriptions of the many countries’ pavilions for yourself. 

How Barnes & Noble Is Winning by Rethinking the Usual Retail Conventions

The Barnes & Noble store location in Oviedo, Florida may be a bit harder to locate than others because it has a different name. As a throwback to a brand the bookseller acquired decades ago, this store location is now the one and only B. Dalton Bookseller location in the world. It’s a symbol of B&N Chief Executive James Daunt’s  “idiosyncratic approach to mass retail.”

Over the past several years, the resurgent bookseller has abandoned typical branding guidelines, killed the “racetrack checkout” used by so many retailers to force consumers to walk through a snaking path of junk designed to encourage impulse buys, and refocused their stories and entire experience on books. This relatively simplistic strategy (focus on the one product we are known for and think like an independent bookseller) has been delighting book fans and helping B&N take on “the guys in Seattle” as Daunt calls them.

The success of this strategy is quickly becoming a retail case study in how to turn around a sinking brand. An underappreciated reason for their success may also be the fact that B&N is no longer a publicly traded company and therefore is able to think beyond quarterly results. Another has been the brand’s faith in the ingenuity and skills of local teams to make more decisions.

As Daunt puts it: “Booksellers are about as uncommercial a breed of people as it’s possible to come across … the irony is that the less concerned we are with the commercial, the better it works commercially.”

The Blue Pumpkin Debate

If you see a child carrying a blue pumpkin this Halloween, consider that they may have autism and be nonverbal or have difficulty communicating or may not be dressed up like other kids. For several years now, a movement has been on the rise from parents and autism advocates to use the blue pumpkin as both a way for kids with autism to communicate a condition that may not otherwise be visible as well as a way to raise awareness about autism itself.

Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. Some critics think the blue pumpkins contribute to the “othering” of kids with autism by labeling and singling them out, potentially making them the target of bullying by other kids. It’s easy to find arguments for both sides online. The key, though, seems to be about education and awareness.

If you have school age kids, teach them what the blue pumpkin means and how to respect any peers they see carrying one. And if you have a child come to your door this Halloween holding one, you’ll know what it means so you can interact with empathy. 

Do Too Many People Own Dogs? Inside the Pet Mental Health Crisis … 

The rise of the pandemic puppy is a real thing. Our family is one of the many who added a dog to the household during a time of social isolation. Several years later, some experts are pointing to a rise in pet anxiety and corresponding efforts from pet owners to medicate their dogs as a symbol that something is out of balance: 

“Either humans are stressing dogs out so much that they truly need prescription meds, or owners are putting their dogs on unnecessary psychoactive drugs to address annoying but normal dog habits. It might be time, in other words, to reevaluate the way we approach dog ownership.”

It’s a tricky truth to uncover … are we projecting our own emotions and anxiety onto the behaviour of our pets or is there really a modern crisis in pet mental health? The answer, so far, seems entirely dependent on which explanation you prefer to believe. 

Airlines Get Increasingly Desperate to Save Their Credit Card Revenue

If you’ve sat through those annoying sales pitches on flights from attendants desperately trying to convince you to sign up for their airline’s credit card, you might correctly assume it is because there’s a lot of money at stake. These cards generate billions of dollars each year for airlines (some estimate 12% of annual revenue) and it’s the best kind of revenue: free money they have to do little to nothing in order to receive. 

Now there is new proposed credit card legislation in the US to increase competition that airline CEOs are predicting will “kill loyalty programs. Clearly they want to protect their cash cow (and even joined forces to build an advocacy website), but are their claims true?

An analysis by a leading rewards website (which relies on commissions from these credit cards) predictably suggests this legislation could have a major impact on how travelers are able to “earn” points for everything that isn’t getting on a plane and flying. On the flip side, the winners of this legislation would be small businesses, restaurants and all other retailers who would pay less in swipe fees if there was more credit card competition.

The most fascinating part of this story is the unique showdown it has created between many of the biggest sectors in our economy: government, retail, travel, financial and restaurants are all deeply involved. All have billions of dollars at stake and are ready to fight for the outcome that benefits them. The rest of us, as consumers, diners, travelers and account holders will just have to wait and see what happens. 

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Looking for a speaker to inspire your team to become non-obvious thinkers through a keynote or workshop?  Watch my new 2023 speaking reel on YouTube >>

Want to share? Here’s the newsletter link:
https://mailchi.mp/nonobvious/391?e=e4ada04396

This Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter is curated by Rohit Bhargava.

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