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Monday, February 23, 2026
Disturbing Events that Almost Ended Humanity
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
I Entered America's Most Feared Satanic Cult
Monday, February 16, 2026
The Kennedys – America's "Royal" Families
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Everything You Missed From Day 7 Of 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics!
Everything You Missed From Day 6 Of 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics!
West Indies v Nepal | Nepali Highlights | T20WC 2026
🔥 Australia vs Zimbabwe T20 Thriller | Match Highlights & Best Moments
The Epstein files cover-up: Botched or calculated? | The Listening Post
Lost Media The Internet Wasn’t Meant to See
Horrors of the Dark Web
Friday, February 13, 2026
Secret Cults Hiding in Plain Sight Today
Thursday, February 12, 2026
SIBERIA: The Land That Makes Russia More Mysterious | 4K Travel Documentary
Behind Bars: CPDRC, Philippines | World’s Toughest Prisons | Free Documentary
Maktoums - Trillionaire Family That Built Dubai | 2025 Documentary
Monday, February 9, 2026
Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots | Super Bowl LX Game Highlights
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Why Owning Nothing Is So Expensive
The video explains how companies are increasingly shifting towards subscription models, making it more expensive for consumers to access products and services they once owned outright (0:55). This trend, exemplified by companies like HP, Adobe, and Apple, generates recurring revenue for businesses and makes it difficult for consumers to cancel services due to "dark patterns" and hidden fees (6:26).
Key points highlighted in the video:
- The rise of subscriptions (1:58): The video traces the evolution of subscriptions from traditional print media and milk deliveries to modern digital services like Netflix and Spotify, enabled by technology like cable TV and smartphones.
- Company benefits from subscriptions (6:26): Subscriptions provide companies with stable, recurring revenue and are "sticky," meaning users are less likely to cancel due to automatic payments and difficult cancellation processes.
- Sneaky tactics and difficult cancellations (9:13): Companies often use free trials or misleading pricing to entice users, and then employ "dark patterns" (10:34) to make it hard to unsubscribe, leading to consumers paying more than they initially intended.
- The "own nothing" economy (13:39): The proliferation of subscriptions blurs the line between owning and accessing, as products like printers and cars increasingly limit features behind subscriptions, giving consumers less control over their purchases.
- Consumer resistance and the future (16:52): Some consumers are fighting back by embracing physical media like vinyl records and supporting companies that offer one-time purchases. However, the video concludes that the "own nothing" economy is likely to persist unless regulations are put in place to protect consumers from deceptive subscription practices.
The video explains that companies are incentivized to use subscription models primarily because they provide recurring revenue, which is highly valued by investors (6:36).
Additionally, the video highlights that subscriptions are "sticky," meaning they are effective at retaining users because payments are often automatic. Consumers are four times more likely to cancel if they have to make an active choice (6:41). This model allows companies to earn significantly more money—up to 200% more revenue—from "inattentive subscribers" than they would with more transparent pricing schemes (6:53). The industry has recognized this as a profitable business model and is adopting it to maximize profits (7:06).
The Olympics Make Billions…But The Athletes Are Broke
The video explains the complex financial model of the Olympics, highlighting how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) generates billions in revenue while host cities often face bankruptcy and most athletes struggle financially (0:00).
IOC Revenue Streams
- The IOC made $7.7 billion from 2021 to 2024 (0:36).
- Broadcast rights account for 55% of revenue, with NBC in the Americas being a major contributor (1:13).
- Sponsorships through the Olympic Partners (TOP) Program make up 36% of revenue (2:51). However, some long-term sponsors, like Toyota, have withdrawn due to concerns about the IOC's political stance and its distribution of funds (2:25).
- The remaining 9% comes from other activities like licensing deals (3:03).
Host Cities and Financial Struggles
- Host cities are primarily responsible for the non-OCOG budget, which covers construction and capital investments, leading to significant cost overruns (6:41).
- Since 1960, every Olympic Games has gone over budget, with an average overrun of 150% to 175% (7:14). Montreal in 1976 was 720% over budget, taking 30 years to pay off its debt (7:36).
- Host cities often incur massive expenses for "white elephant" structures like stadiums and train lines that are rarely used after the games (9:41).
- The financial burden largely falls on taxpayers (10:10).
- In 2019, the IOC changed its bidding process due to fewer cities wanting to host, aiming for a more financially stable approach (5:18). Paris 2024 aimed to mitigate costs by using 95% pre-existing or temporary venues and had established transportation (14:53).
Athlete Financial Instability
- Despite the billions in revenue, less than 6% of the IOC's revenue goes directly to athletes (10:50).
- The average US Olympian earns around $20,000 per year, often requiring them to work part-time jobs (10:55).
Olympic athletes primarily fund their participation through a combination of sources, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not directly pay them for competing (12:21-12:24, https://www.olympics.com/ioc/finance. The funding typically covers their extensive training, equipment, coaching, travel, and living expenses.
Here's how athletes typically secure funding:
- Stipends from Sporting Bodies Athletes may receive monthly payments from their sport's governing body, such as USA Track and Field. These stipends vary significantly by sport and are often based on an athlete's experience, past performance, and potential to win medals. For example, athletes in popular sports like gymnastics, swimming, or track might receive a few thousand dollars per month, while those in less prominent sports like fencing or rowing might only get a couple of hundred dollars (11:49-12:13).
- Prize Money from Home Countries The IOC does not offer prize money for winning medals (12:21-12:24). Instead, any monetary reward for medals comes from the athlete's home country. The amount varies widely; for instance, Singapore and Hong Kong might pay over $700,000 for a gold medal, while the US pays $38,000, and Great Britain offers no prize money (12:27-12:38).
- Sponsorships and Endorsements This is a significant source of income for many athletes, particularly those with high visibility. Major stars like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps, and Usain Bolt can earn millions annually through sponsorships (12:44-12:59). However, sponsorship deals depend on an athlete's popularity, performance, and ability to generate a return on investment for brands. Less famous athletes, even if they are top in their field, often struggle to find sponsorships (13:00-13:23, https://www.investopedia.com/news/how-athletes-get-funding-olympics/.
- Personal Contributions and Fundraising Because the funding from other sources is often insufficient, many Olympians hold one or two part-time jobs while training (11:11-11:17, https://www.si.com/winter-olympics/what-do-olympic-medalists-get-medals-money-rewards. The video highlights that many athletes even have to fundraise within their communities to cover the cost of traveling to the Olympics (13:31-13:35).
- Olympic Solidarity Grants The IOC redistributes a portion of its revenue to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to support athlete development, training grants, and travel subsidies, especially for athletes from developing nations.
- Private Donations In recent developments, private donations have begun to offer more direct financial stability to athletes. For example, a recent $100 million donation is set to provide Team USA athletes with $200,000 each starting in 2026, regardless of medal wins.
Overall, while the Olympic movement generates billions, a very small percentage of the IOC's revenue (less than 6%) directly reaches the athletes (10:50-10:55), making financial stability a significant challenge for most Olympians.
- Only major stars like Simone Biles and Michael Phelps secure lucrative sponsorship deals (12:52). Most athletes struggle to find sponsorships and often have to fundraise to cover travel expenses (13:31).
The video concludes by questioning where the money goes, suggesting that the IOC takes no risk while cities and taxpayers bear the financial burden, and the athletes, who make the show possible, receive very little (13:53). The directors of the IOC, however, take home a combined $50 million (14:35). A long-term solution proposed by some analysts is to have permanent host cities for the Summer and Winter Games (15:23).
50 Geography Facts So Crazy They’ll Change How You See the World
This video presents 50 incredible geography facts that challenge common perceptions about our planet (0:32).
Some of the highlights include:
- The River of Death (1:00): Located in Peru's Amazon rainforest, the Shennai Tempishka is a thermal river so hot (120°F to 200°F) it can cook animals alive, despite being 400 meters from the nearest volcano.
- Earth's Lost Continent — Zealandia (1:35): A continent twice the size of India, Zealandia is 94% submerged beneath the Pacific Ocean, with only New Zealand and New Caledonia visible. It was officially recognized as a continent in 2017.
- The Impossible Island (3:19): The Philippines hosts a unique geographical Russian nesting doll: Vulcan Point, an island within a lake (Crater Lake) on an island (Taal Volcano Island) within a lake (Tal Lake) on another island (Luzon Island).
- The Entire Town Under One Roof (3:55): In Whittier, Alaska, almost all 200 residents live in a single 14-story building that contains a post office, grocery store, school, and medical clinic.
- Russia Versus an Entire Planet (4:26): Russia is so vast it covers 17 million square kilometers, making it larger than Pluto's entire surface area (16.6 million square kilometers).
- The Dead Sea That Isn't (5:01): The Dead Sea is not a sea but a hypersaline lake, 10 times saltier than the ocean, allowing people to float effortlessly due to its extreme density.
- The Flattest Country on Earth (5:36): The Maldives has a highest natural point of just 2.44 meters above sea level, making it extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels.
- The Secret Underwater River (6:09): Beneath the Black Sea flows an underwater river with waterfalls and rapids, which, if on land, would be the world's sixth-largest river by volume.
- The Growing Mountain (6:37): Mount Everest grows approximately 4 mm taller each year due to the continuous collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
- The Lake That Holds One-Fifth of Earth's Water (7:53): Lake Baikal in Russia contains nearly 20% of the world's total freshwater supply and is the deepest (1,642 meters) and oldest (25 million years) lake on Earth.
- The Pyramid Champion (11:43): Sudan boasts over 200 ancient pyramids, exceeding Egypt's 118 structures.
- The World's Largest Living Thing (12:25): The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2,300 kilometers and is the largest living structure on Earth, visible from space.
- The Non-Rectangular Flag (13:11): Nepal is the only country with a non-rectangular national flag, featuring a unique double-triangle design.
- The Disappearing Country (14:40): The Maldives could be the first country to completely disappear due to climate change and rising sea levels within 50 to 100 years.
- The Door to Hell (18:03): Turkmenistan's Darvaza gas crater has been burning continuously since 1971 after Soviet engineers accidentally ignited the leaking gas.
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