What I Learned Today

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London Fog. Think it’s just an outerwear brand? Think again.

London Fog is actually a combination of atmosphereic conditions where air pollution, namely sulfur and sulfur dioxide from coal burning fires, is trapped by the inversion layer formed by cold air. Pollution built up and became a thick smog, making driving and other activities, including movie watching sice fog would penetrate theaters and indoor arenas, unbearable. King Edward I was first to address the problem by creating the first pollution-control agency in 1306. He unsuccessfully tried to ban coal, the culprit behind the pollution, with repercussions of the death penalty! Queen Elizabeth who was “annoyed with the taste and smoke” later imposed a partial ban on coal, which was also unsuccessful. London fog had become one of the city’s unique characteristics, referred to as the “London particular,” as noted in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.

It wasn’t until the “Great Smog” in 1952 that Parliament acted. The Great Smog lasted almost a week and led to the premature death of over 10,000 people. 4,000 died in just the five days of the Fog, and another 8,000 in the months that followed. This study of tissues from those who died in the killer fog indicates that coal combustion was the main factor in the deaths.

The killer fog led directly to an act of Parliament putting a ban on coal fires in London. Though there was some protest, including George Orwell insisting coal fire was “an Englishman’s birthright,” the Clean Air Acts in 1956 and 1968 were implemented and have helped reduce emissions and curbed the London fog.

"Quizno's model - with a twist"

On September 10, 2001, al-Qaeda was a name that was hardly recognized. Though the group was founded in 1988 by Osama Bin Laden and this timeline tells of earlier attacks linked to the group, the name was just not largely recognized. After September 11, however, the world knew al-Qaeda. By the end of the month it became a household name.

How is al-Qaeda a brand? Well, to analyze a brand’s identity we must identify the brand as a product, a symbol, an organization, and a person.

al-Qaeda as a product: The first “product-like” endeavor that comes to mind is the attack on September 11. That incident embodies the al-Qaeda brand and all of its aspirations.

al-Qaeda as a symbol: al-Qaeda had its own unique font. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate it on the internet, but you may recall a conjoined and slanted Al before the Qaeda. In this way, it was managing its own brand, ensuring that all al-Qaeda documents had such a font (though I have not seen it in years..)

al-Qaeda as an organization: The organizational attributes are extreme dedication, with members taking a pledge of loyalty to Osama bin Laden and other leaders.

al-Qaeda as a person: Osama Bin Laden comes to mind first. But remember Zarqawi? The leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq until his death caused by a US airstrike. Well, he was a major player in the al-Qaeda brand, inspiring the daring and drastic measures of his constituents. He was the leader behind numerous beheadings, assassinations and bombings. He was brutal, the true embodiment of al-Qaeda’s brand identity. However, he didn’t even know how to shoot a gun. Remember this video? It certainly was no mistake this “blooper” was leaked to the internet in May of 2006 – the US military, who released the tape, was trying to dilute the strength of the al-Qaeda brand. Not only did the video expose Zarqawi’s inept gun ability (he fumbled the machine gun and had to have an assistant fix the locked gun), but he was wearing New Balance shoes. Fearsome warriors don’t wear New Balance.

Looks like Coacervo, Zach, and Yan are all on the same page here regarding the fastest “0 to global” brand. Not only that, but it looks like Jon Stewart is also hip to the al-Qaeda brand.

Just a few weeks ago in a segment called “Iraq?”, Stewart describes application forms for potential al-Qaeda recruits. Resident expert John Hodgman describes they have “annual reports, March Madness pools, secret Santas … well very secret Santas,” likening the brand to the “Quizno’s model – with a twist.”

Here’s another article describing al-Qaeda as a franchise, rather than the army that most media has encouraged us to believe. It’s also interesting to note the argument that the US actually created the al-Qaeda brand. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, veteran journalist Ted Koppel stated “we turned al Qaeda into the biggest franchise since McDonalds.”

QQ: What is the fastest "0 to global" brand?

Basically, what brand (company, product, person, any entity that holds a brand identity) do you think gained awareness the fastest. Reblog your answer, if you’re so inclined. TBC Monday (taking a snowboard trip to Stowe this weekend).

Everything’s bigger in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates is home to many of “the world’s largest,” “the world’s tallest,” and “the world’s longest” entities. It’s also home to “the world’s richest” - the city of Abu Dhabi. Here are some other examples..

World’s Tallest Building - Burj Dubai currently stands 159 stories tall. It will be completed in late 2008 and will include 30,000 homes, 9 hotels,19 residential towers, and the Dubai Mall. Entire development is estimated to cost $20B.
World’s Largest Flag - On UAE National Day, a 50,000 square feet flag flew over Abu Dhabi, forming the largest aerial banner ever flown.
World’s Largest Indoor Snow Park - Ski Dubai is 85m high and 85 m wide.
World’s Longest and Tallest Bridge - The Sixth Crossing will be 1 mile long at 673 feet high, and is expected to be completed by 2012
World’s Largest Mall - Dubai Mall will include the world’s largest aquarium.
World’s First Revolving Tower - 55º Time Dubai will be a rotation apartment building that offers its residents 360-degree views across the Dubai cityscape.
World’s Tallest and Only 7 Star Hotel - Burj Al Arab is one of the world’s most expensive hotels, with the Royal Suite going at $28,000 a night.
World’s Largest Manmade Island - The Palm are the three largest man-made islands in the world, which are being built on the coast of Dubai. These islands can be recognized from the moon.
There’s also The World off the coast of Dubai – It is a 300 island man made archipelago in the shape of the world map.
World’s Largest Manmade Waterfront - Dubai Marina
World’s First Luxury Underwater Hotel - The Hydropolis will be 66 feet below the Persian Gulf.
And of course, World’s First Spaceport - the UAE Spaceport in Ras Al-Khaimah, which will offer the world’s first suborbital flights.

The UAE also has the world’s largest indoor pool, the world’s largest passenger hub, the world’s biggest yacht, the first zero-carbon city in the Gulf emirate of Abu Dhabi, among other achievements.

$2 barrels of oil

The cost to produce one barrel of oil in Iraq is about $1. In Saudi Arabia it’s $2. Remember that oil is currently traded on the NYMEX at $99.63 per barrel.

So where does that margin go? Through a variety of mechanisms like taxes, royalties, production shares, the governments of oil producing countries get between 45-90% of the profits. For example, the Nigerian government made $2M an hour on Nigeria’s oil revenue.

This article tells of the $370M that the President of Equatorial Guinea received from its oil production (while its people were living off of less than $1 a day). The IMF predicts that Iraq’s economy, boosted by the increase in oil revenues, will grow by 7% this year as compared to 1.3% last year!

From a 2007 NYT survey “Respondents said they would support higher gasoline prices to reduce dependence on foreign oil but would oppose higher prices to combat global warming.”

The impetus to change our dirty energy ways will not be in response to Al Gore’s scare tactics about the rising of California’s coast, New York City turning into Venice, or more Katrina-like catastrophes. Rather, it will be in response to oil shocks caused by those men down in the bunker and our fear of increasing foreign control. Just a thought.

This video (click on Cheap Meat in “Latest Video Reports”) prompted the recall of 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse that provided meat to school lunch programs. It is the largest meat recall in history, and was instigated by a man armed with a hidden camera who took a $12/hour job at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co of Chino, California. Hallmark/Westland was the acclaimed “Supplier of the Year” for 2004-2005, as awarded by our government.

"Communication, not cleanliness, is next to godliness"

says Kevin Kelly of Wired, referencing a home in Tibet which has no toilet, outhouse, or designated hole in the ground, but has a cell phone and fantastic coverage.

In only 26 years, the cellphone technology has spread faster than any technology in human history – even faster than the polio vaccination. There are now 3.3 billion active cellphones in a world of about 6.6 billion people. That’s one phone for every two humans on Earth! And there are at least 30 nations with more cellphones than population.

Here’s an article from early 1982, when cellphones were first introduced. My favorite quote from the article: “‘If you can start getting phone calls anywhere, all the Type A personalities in the world will be having heart attacks at the age of 31.’”

who loves the sun

if we could capture the energy that we get from the sun in just one hour and turn it into electricity, we could power the earth for a year