One giant leap: It’s Wednesday already but still January out there, intrepid innovators, with a supersized new month now just hours away.
“Supersized,” of course, is a relative term. However, hurdle this midweek hump and you will indeed land in a leap-year February, extra day and all (a clock correction required by our annual 365.2422-day trip around the Sun). But that’s enough astronomy – (mostly) earthbound innovation awaits. Let’s jump in!
Best foot backward: Backward running is just one way to express yourself on National Backward Day.
While you can: It’s Jan. 31 out there, obviously, and we’re kicking things off with Appreciate Your Social Security Check Day, an annual acknowledgement of the hard work funding those monthly benefit checks (and the critical financial stability they provide, for now).
It’s also National Backward Day, encouraging us to reverse our habits, routines and thought processes (a winning formula for some).
Dinner and drinks: Our daily menu spans the nutritional and age spectra, featuring the vitamin-rich Eat Brussel Sprouts Day (you protest, but they’re absolutely scrumptious when done right), the adults-only Brandy Alexander Day (a creamy concoction best made with cognac) and National Hot Chocolate Day (delighting children of all ages every Jan. 31).
Sweet dreams: Also delighting kids (and cooks, mostly bakers) is condensed milk, the mostly dehydrated, heavily sweetened version of cow’s milk introduced on this date in 1851 by inventor Gail Borden.
Post script: Coke locked up its instantly recognizable logo 131 years ago today.
Have a trademark and a smile: Other sugary beverages associated with this date include Coca-Cola, which trademarked its famous cursive logo on Jan. 31, 1893.
Muscle car: Speeding officially became a thing on this date in 1905, when the first car to break 100 miles per hour – a Napier L48, known alternately as the Napier 90 H.P. (for “horsepower”) – hit 104 mph (without flying apart) on a Florida test track.
Real sticktoitiveness: Also holding it together is Scotch Tape, introduced 94 years ago today by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. (known later as the 3M Company).
Exceeding expectations: And remaining intact for a remarkable 12 years was the first successful American space probe, the Explorer I, which blasted off Jan. 31, 1958.
The satellite – launched in quick response to the Soviet Union’s Sputnik program – was designed for a quick four-month mission but remained in orbit until 1970, when it finally burned up on atmospheric re-entry.
Schubert theater: Austrian Classical and Romantic era composer Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) – who produced a massive oeuvre during his short but prodigious life, including 600-plus secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies and a vast portfolio of sacred music, operas, piano concertos and chamber music – would be 227 years old today.
Tough customer: Jersey Joe (white trunks) fought many of the greats — and even dropped Joe Louis twice before losing a controversial decision.
Also born on Jan. 31 were French cyclist and journalist Henri Desgrange (1865-1940), a world record-holder who founded the Tour de France; Major League Baseball all-timers Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), Ernie Banks (1931-2015) and Nolan Ryan (born 1947); and American boxer “Jersey” Joe Walcott (born Arnold Raymond Cream, 1914-1994), a heavyweight champion who also logged impressive careers in acting and law enforcement and chaired the New Jersey State Athletic Commission.
Justified: And take a bow, Justin Randall Timberlake! The American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor – a Grammy- and Emmy-winner ranked among his generation’s most influential entertainers – turns 43 today.
Say Something to the Prince of Pop at editor@innovateli.com, where there’s nothing as Sexy(Back) as your news tips and This I We Promise You: We’ll run your calendar events Until the End of Time. (Bye Bye Bye).
About our sponsor: Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied-learning outcomes through scholarship, research and student engagement. Our commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse and technically dynamic society. Long Island’s first public institution of higher education, Farmingdale State is a regional economic cornerstone, with 96 percent of graduates working in New York State and 75 percent working on Long Island. We prepare emerging leaders in the growing technology, engineering, business and healthcare fields. Learn more here.
BUT FIRST, THIS
Winds of change: With New York’s energy future blowing around, corporate maneuvering continues off Long Island’s shores.
Just days after Denmark-based Ørsted A/S signed an agreement with Massachusetts-based Eversource Energy to acquire Eversource’s 50 percent share in the Sunrise Wind offshore development, Norwegian energy firm Equinor announced some high-stakes horse trading with British project partner BP, giving Equinor full ownership of the Empire Wind offshore wind projects and BP exclusive ownership of the Beacon Wind farm, rising 60 miles east of Montauk Point and 20 miles south of Nantucket, Mass. As with Ørsted and Eversource, Equinor and BP previously shared 50/50 ownership of Beacon Wind and Empire Wind – including Empire 1, under construction 15 miles south of Jones Beach, and Empire 2, in flux.
Ørsted and Eversource have submitted an updated Sunrise Wind plan to state solicitors – a successful award essentially consummates their acquisition deal – while Equinor has also bid Empire 1 into New York State’s latest wind-solicitation process. “We aspire to be a leading company in the energy transition,” noted Equinor Executive Vice President of Renewables Pål Eitrheim. “Empire Wind 1 is ready to deliver on New York’s climate and energy goals.”
Time is running out: Numerous threats have pushed humanity to the brink.
Tick, tick, tick…: From our Innovate Washington Bureau comes the ominous news that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has reset humanity’s Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight.
That’s the closest the clock – a metaphorical assessment of humanity’s self-destruction odds, based on factors including nuclear holocaust, climate change and unchecked technological advances – has ever been to midnight. It’s also the second straight year it’s been set at 90 seconds, though that’s “not an indication that the world is stable,” notes Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin, a scientific journal founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer and the University of Chicago team behind the Manhattan Project.
Instead, the repeat 90-second warning – reflecting dangers including the Russia-Ukraine war, the deterioration of nuclear-arms agreements, 2023’s designation as the hottest year on record and the proliferation of generative AI – is a desperate call for world leaders to turn back the clock, according to the Bulletin, starting with “serious dialogue” between the United States, China and Russia. “It’s urgent for governments and communities around the world to act,” Bronson said in a statement. “And the Bulletin remains hopeful … in seeing the younger generations leading the charge.”
TOP OF THE SITE
This is an emergency: After several punishing storms – and repeated distress calls from Albany – federal officials will speed up storm-damage assessments and repair work on Fire Island beaches.
No time to waste: Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast is the only Long Island-based podcast featuring educational and entertaining one-on-ones with the leaders of the regional innovation economy. Season 5 is on the way … Seasons 1-4 are waiting for you right now, right here.
VOICES
With investors watching closely, seven out of 10 U.S. primary-care physicians are now employed by for-profit corporate conglomerates, including insurance companies and health systems – and Voices Healthcare Anchor (and former Northwell Health Senior VP) Terry Lynam isn’t entirely sure healthcare is trending in the right direction.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Water: Being near bodies of water really does make us feel better. Pocket explains “blue mind theory.”
Water everywhere: As rates soar, federal lawmakers fight for affordable and accessible flood insurance. UPI pays a premium.
And not a drop to drink: The “megadrought” drying up the West hasn’t been seen in 500 years. Newsweek drowns in “hot drought.”
RECENT FUNDINGS
+ GreenSpark, a New York City-based software platform for the metal-recycling industry, raised $9.4 million in funding led by Zero Infinity Partners, Third Prime and Bienville Capital.
+ Chunk Foods, a NYC-based developer of plant-based meats, raised an additional $7.5 million in seed funding led by Cheyenne Ventures.
+ Elo Life Systems, a North Carolina-based molecular farming platform, raised $20.5 million in Series A2 funding led by DCVC Bio, Novo Holdings, Hanwha Next Generation Opportunity Fund, AccelR8 and Alexandria Venture Investments.
+ Dupr, a Texas-based global pickleball rating system and technology platform, raised $8 million in funding. Backers included David Kass, Andre Agassi, Raine Ventures, Jay Farner, Brian Yeager and R. Blane Walter.
+ Sion Power, an Arizona-based electric-vehicle battery manufacturer, raised $75 million in Series A funding led by LG Energy Solution, Euclidean Capital and Hillspire LLC.
+ XGS Energy, a California-based geothermal energy pioneer, raised $9.7 million in funding led by Constellation Technology Ventures, BlueScopeX and Thin Line Capital.
Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know (just ask Farmingdale State). Marlene McDonnell can tell you more.
BELOW THE FOLD (Out With The Old Edition)
You should be sleeping: Disturbing Phil’s hibernation for a nonsense tradition is cruel, according to PETA.
Last straw: When carpetbagging backfires badly.
Awful ideas: Bad habits terrible bosses should cut out now.
Grounded: Why PETA thinks it’s time to retire Punxsutawney Phil.
In with the new: Please continue supporting the amazing institutions that support Innovate Long Island, including Farmingdale State College, where the next generations of intelligent and conscientious leaders are earning their stripes. Check them out.
