Unknown Author | June 7, 2025
The Saturday Selection, Vol. 57
The Nutella wars, a healthier Hajj, Japan's rice stockpiles, and closing out (constantly).
Every day, WITI’s group chats buzz with fresh links. As part of our Saturday send for paid readers, we round up 11 of the best.
It’s WITI, on the weekend.
Why are these interesting?
The Stunning Decline of the Preference for Having Boys (The Economist)
Fifteen years after this Economist cover, a trend reversal to celebrate.
How to Live on $432 a Month in America (Hickman’s Hinterlands, via Public Announcement)
“For the right young person — there are many opportunities to stop pointing the finger at the boomer and to become the boomer, if they so choose.” (It just involves moving to Massena, New York.)
Japan Has Released 500,000 Tonnes of Emergency Rice from its Reserves (Reuters)
Queues are everywhere—and the Agriculture Minister was recently forced to resign for joking about the situation.
How a Hazelnut Spread Became a Sticking Point in Franco-Algerian Relations (The New Yorker)
El Mordjene, an Algerian hazelnut spread, went viral last summer—then was banned by the E.U. at the height of its success, giving rise to allegations of a nefarious plot by Nutella.