Hey folks!

Forget fridge magnets and postcards from your vacations. What if your next souvenir was a literal breath of fresh air?

Well, that’s exactly what a company is offering with its ‘100% authentic air’ from Italy’s Lake Como, sealed in a can for €9.90 (about ₹900).¹

Yup! That’s right.

Lake Como’s scenic allure now comes bottled up for you to inhale back home. It’s labelled as a luxurious souvenir, one you would struggle to find.

But let’s pause for a second and think. Is this genius or simply ridiculous?

It’s funny to think of a “souvenir” that’s basically a puff of air. But isn’t there something poetic about bottling up fresh air and selling it as a luxury when clean air is becoming scarce?

Maybe it’s a subtle commentary on the scarcity of clean air in our world today, a nod to the dystopian idea that we might one day need to buy every breath.

While Lake Como’s fresh air might seem like a gimmick, it also makes us wonder how this could evolve into something more. Could we soon see Himalayan air in cans sold in Delhi markets? A premium product for those tired of smoggy skies?

We know it sounds absurd, but maybe a souvenir could transform into a business if our air quality continues to deteriorate. After all, we’re already doing it with water ― packing it up in bottles and selling it at a premium.

See, the act of capturing air in a can and labelling it as something worth buying says a lot about the nature of souvenirs and nostalgia itself. It’s not really about the object, it’s about the memory, the experience, and the feeling you want to keep alive. The can is a physical token, sure, but it’s the stories around it that make it valuable — “This is air from where George Clooney lives!” or “From that gorgeous Italian lakeside… remember?”

Is it silly? Sure, for some.² But it’s also strangely charming.

It makes us reflect on how ideas, no matter how simple or absurd, can become desirable products. It shows how we monetise experiences and how our consumption narratives are evolving. Perhaps that’s what makes this can of air so appealing.

Here's a soundtrack to put you in the mood 🎵

Collage Kolkata by Drishtikone

Thanks for this lovely and nostalgic rec, Yash Sethi!

Ready to roll?

What caught our eye this week 👀

Bacteria are now maths wizards, and the day isn't far off when they'll power computers!

Yup, you read that right.

Scientists at Kolkata’s Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, led by synthetic biologist Sangram Bagh have been building smart bacteria that can solve problems like determining if a number is prime or if a letter is a vowel!³

And how are they doing this, you ask?

Well, to begin with, they’ve inserted “genetic circuits” into bacteria that work like tiny computers. These circuits are triggered by chemical signals, just like how computers use electrical signals (think ones and zeroes). By combining different bacteria with various circuits, they’ve created bacterial “brains” that work together to tackle problems.

For example, to check if 7 is a prime number (a number divisible only by 1 and itself), scientists use binary code with chemicals. And they’ve programmed the bacteria in such a way that when they ask a question in binary code, the bacteria glow green if the answer is "yes" (number is prime), or red if the answer is "no" (not prime). When they tested 7, the bacteria lit up green!

And that folks, is called bacterial computing. And it’s not just some quirky science experiment. If bacterial computers take off, they could have huge potential.

They could recognise early-stage cancer or deliver local treatments before tumours even form. Plus, they use way less energy than traditional computers, which is a big win considering how much power and resources go into silicon chips.

Not just that. Mimicking the brain’s neural networks, these bacteria could help us understand how intelligence works and spark new ideas for AI.

So, who knows? In a few decades, bacterial-powered computers might be a real thing!

Infographic 📊

This Day in Financial History 📜

17th of November 1869 ― The Suez Canal formally opened for trade

On this day, the Suez Canal opened its waters to the world, changing the way we trade forever.

The Suez Canal, a 193-kilometre artificial waterway, connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, offering the shortest maritime route between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans.⁴ Before its existence, ships had to take a long, costly detour around the southern tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope), which meant longer journeys and higher expenses.

Now, the idea of linking these seas isn’t new. It goes back to the 12th century under the Egyptian Pharaohs.⁵ But it was French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, working alongside Sa’id Pasha of the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey), who kickstarted the project in 1859. The massive task involved over 1.5 million workers with just hand tools. Construction picked up steam, literally, in the final years, with steam-powered machinery speeding things up.

The Canal slashed transit times between Europe and India from 4 months to just 30 days, making Egypt a bustling hub for global commerce. That attracted merchants from all over, including Sindhis from the Bombay Presidency, who used Egypt’s free ports to export Indian silks, jewellery and handicrafts, sparking an economic boom.

Fast forward to 2019, the Suez Canal hit record traffic, moving over a billion tonnes of cargo. India played a huge part in this, with 17% of goods headed for Indian ports, and 12% of cargo originating from India.⁶

The impact doesn’t stop there. Today, the Suez Canal is a crucial lifeline for global trade. It handles about 15% of maritime trade, moving everything from oil to consumer goods. In 2023, it raked in a record-breaking $9.4 billion in revenue for Egypt!

But with so much of the world’s trade relying on it, and global conflicts disrupting cargo along this vital route, there are now plans to create new Suez Canal-like routes. Let’s see what the future holds. Fingers crossed.

Readers Recommend 🗒️

This week, our reader Seshu C L recommends reading Bad Blood by John Carreyrou.

It’s a non-fiction inside story about Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of Theranos, whose startup promised to revolutionise the medical industry with a machine that would make blood tests faster and easier.

The only problem?

It was all a fraud that misled investors, FDA officials, and even Theranos’ own employees! And it’s written by the journalist who first broke the story and relentlessly pursued the truth to uncover the mystery behind this farce.

And if you haven’t heard of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes yet, you can catch up with a quick read here, where we’ve written about it too.

Thanks for the rec Seshu!

Finshots Weekly Quiz 🧩

It’s time to announce the winners of our last two weekly quizzes. And the winners are…🥁

Akash Dixit. Congratulations! Keep an eye on your inbox and we’ll get in touch with you soon to send over your Finshots merch. And for the rest of you, we’ve moved the quiz to our weekly wrapup. So make sure you answer all the questions correctly by 12 noon on November 23, 2024 (Saturday) and tune in here next week to check if you got lucky.

Anyway, that’s it from us this week. We’ll see you next Sunday!

Until then, don’t forget to tell us what you thought of today’s newsletter. And send us your book, music, business movies, documentaries or podcast recommendations. We’ll feature them in the newsletter! Just hit reply to this email (or if you’re reading this on the web, drop us a message: morning@finshots.in).

🖖🏽

Don’t forget to share this edition on WhatsApp, LinkedIn and X.

Sources: The Times of India [1], Express [2], The Hindu [3] [6], New Zealand Foreign Affairs & Trade [4], Nautilu Shipping [5]