Today’s Big Story

Minibars Are Going Extinct

Why the once-luxurious amenity is slowly fading away

It was once the mark of a high-end hotel. The solution for quick, convenient booze and indulgent late-night snacks, hotel minibars were a hallmark of luxury for travelers in the 1990s and the early aughts. But that’s no longer the case.

Perhaps we’ve grown accustomed to too many choices. Yes, that little mini fridge and accompanying tray offered some nice goodies (I fell prey to a small can of Pringles and any gummies on offer multiple times). But now, we can tap an app and have anything delivered to our door in less than an hour. The world is our mini bar now.

And, as CNBC reports, the once-convenient novelty for guests was a logistical nightmare for hotels and staff. Restocking, food spoilage, operational costs and rampant theft all contributed to an amenity that cost more to run than it earned hotel chains. For instance, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square required eight full-time employees whose sole job was to upkeep and maintain more than 150 minibars every single day.

Even with the introduction of “smart minibars” that tracked usage in real time, the returns have been modest. One provider, Bartech Systems, estimated that 33% of guests use a minibar if it’s available to them. The average daily transaction is only around $12, the company said. (And, let’s be honest, those damn smart fridges wouldn’t let you take something out to use the space inside for your own food, either.)

And then came the pandemic, which exposed critical vulnerabilities in the old school model. Concerns over hygiene, coupled with the rise of remote work and extended stays, rendered traditional minibars—often associated with high prices and perceived waste—increasingly obsolete. Hotels (and guests) would rather see that money going to wellness programs and more affordable grab-and-go offerings from the lobby. This cuts down on costs and allows for more variety.

Besides, with the cost of everything going up, the already-inflated prices of a minibar have become downright crazy. Food & Wine’s Darron Cardosa recently encountered a hotel minibar offering a 1.86 ounce Snickers bar for a whopping 10 bucks. “Almost $5 an ounce, and $2 a bite.” Suddenly, he realized he could order one on Amazon for less than two bucks and have it there the next morning. “But the minibar is about convenience and that’s why they can charge the prices they do, right?” But those prices will send any business concept into an early grave.

Mass Shooting at New York City Office Building

The suspect was found dead on the 33rd floor of the high-rise

A gunman opened fire in a prominent Manhattan office building on Monday evening, killing four people and seriously injuring a fifth before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, New York City officials said. An off-duty police officer was among those killed in the shooting at the high-rise, Mayor Eric Adams said at a Monday night briefing.

The suspect, named as Shane Tamura, 27, from Las Vegas, was armed with a high-powered M4 rifle, officials said. The incident occurred just before 6:30 p.m. in the Park Ave. building which houses the NFL and top financial firms, including KPMG and Blackstone. Photos of how Blackstone employees barricaded themselves inside their offices while the shooter was active circulated on social media and illustrated the grim reality we live in these days.

The rampage happened at the end of the workday in the same part of Manhattan where the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down outside a hotel late last year. While Associated Press reports that Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the gunman had a “documented mental health history,” his motive was still unknown. “We are working to understand why he targeted this particular location,” Tisch said.

Most Liver Cancer Cases Are Preventable

Obesity-related cases are the fastest-growing cause of the disease

Cancer sucks. Let’s just get that out of the way. And liver cancer kills more than 700,000 people a year. But three in five cases could be prevented, according to a comprehensive analysis published on Monday in the journal Lancet. What’s more the number of those suffering from the disease will nearly double worldwide by 2050 unless more is done to address it, the same study found.

With nearly 900,000 new cases globally each year, liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of death from cancer. According to NBC News, the leading cause of liver cancer is viral infections, including the hepatitis B and C viruses. The research found that prevention could be accomplished by addressing the disease’s major causes: from hepatitis vaccines and combatting alcohol-associated liver disease and liver disease linked to metabolic risk factors like obesity.

The findings align with what liver specialists have seen in their clinics for years. The experts are now calling for more public awareness about the preventable danger of liver cancer, particularly by warning people with obesity or diabetes about fatty-liver disease in the United States, Europe and Asia.

How Much of the Plastic Fork Are We Eating?

Concerned? You probably should be.

Maybe you’re enjoying some potato salad at a summer picnic, eating cake at a birthday party, or digging into your Chipotle burrito bowl. There’s a solid chance you have a plastic fork in hand. Disposable utensils are everywhere and are often preferred as the most convenient cutlery option. But it’s also one of the most controversial options.

They’re typically too small to be caught by recycling machines or made with non-recyclable mixed plastics. Instead, the vast majority of them end up in landfills, incinerators and in our ecosystems. They’re typically petroleum-based, which means they break down and release microplastics (a.k.a. any plastic fragment smaller than 5 millimeters). Research suggests that anywhere from 10 to 40 million metric tons of microplastics are released into the environment annually—and that number is estimated to double by 2040. One of the biggest sources? Plastic utensils.

And when you eat with plastic cutlery, they shed small particles of microplastics—no matter how careful you are. Because of the very nature of plastic utensils, each fork and spoon releases a significant amount of particles—which often end up directly in our mouths. The physician Dr. Nicholas Dragolea of My Longevity Centre says studies have shown that “using single-use disposable cutlery sheds hundreds of microplastics every time.” The Takeout suggests bamboo cutlery, which is affordable and durable and has none of the concerns of plastic.

The Long Read

Private investigator influencers are staking out suspected cheaters on social media

Stay humble.