What You Need to Know Today: April 20

By Nick Papple | 04/20/2015

Good evening, Early Risers!

Tech

Google’s mobile update will crush small businesses tomorrow. Already being called ‘mobilegeddon’ Tuesday, April 21, Google will update its search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites. “… a lot of small businesses are going to be really surprised that the number of visitors to their websites has dropped significantly. This is going to affect millions of sites on the web,” says Itai Sadan CEO of website building company Duda.

The flight booking site for people who don’t want to commit. Committing to one brand of toothpaste is tough enough, how can airlines expect people to commit to flying. Options Away solves this problem by letting flyers hold today’s price up to 21 days, giving you time to plan. If airfare drops, you pay the lower price. If you decide not to travel, simply do nothing and your hold expires.

Career

Your productivity depends on weekends. A new study from Stanford found productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and productivity drops off so much after 55 hours there’s no point in working any more, says Dr. Travis Bradberry. Here are 10 things successful people do on weekends instead of work.

Better than a 401(k). James Altucher did a quick 1-minute video for Business Insider explaining why investing in a 401(k) is a complete waste of money for young people. At the end of the video he says, “What you should do in your 20-30s is invest in yourself. Building on multiple sources of income. Investing in greater skills and so on. That’s how you make money in your 20-30s.” Watch the 60-second clip on why 401(k)’s are so bad.

Personal Development

Mark Ford’s simple formula for writing well. “Good writing is the skill of expressing compelling thoughts clearly. That’s it,” says ETR founder Mark Ford. This definition has two parts and Mark explains why this simple formula works so well.

Back in history today

Alright, alright, alright … today is four-twenty. Whether you’re for or against the legalization of pot, here’s what you need to know about the biggest single-day celebration of marijuana and hemp-derived delta 8 edibles and high potency chewables, which are all the rage these days for pain management.

From Vox magazine 

  • The origin of 4/20 remains a mystery. One common belief is 420 was the California police or penal code for marijuana (but no evidence supports those claims). Others believe it was a ritual started by Californian teenagers who smoked marijuana every day at 4:20 PM. The ritual spread, and soon 420 became code for smoking marijuana. Eventually 420 was converted into 4/20 for calendar purposes.

  • Most Americans want people to keep their marijuana use at home. 53 percent of Americans support legalization, and 82 percent said it wouldn’t bother them if people used marijuana in their own homes — but 62 percent said it would bother them if someone used pot in public.

  • Legalization is transforming 4/20 into a commercial holiday. Originally 4/20 was a counterculture holiday to protest, at least in part, the social and legal stigmas against marijuana. Marijuana legalization undercuts that purpose: as big businesses and corporations begin growing and selling pot, marijuana will slowly lose its status as a counterculture symbol. Even companies like McDonalds are strategically testing their all-day breakfast today in hopes of cashing in on some hungry stoners.

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