We send 10 billion of them every day. Where do they come from? Zachary Crockett hearts this topic. SOURCES:Jennifer 8. Lee, co-founder of Emojination. RESOURCES:"Apple Removes The Gun Emoji, Replaces It With A Squirt Gun," by Carl Franzen (Popular Science, 2021)."Ford’s secret fight for a pickup truck emoji," by Mark Dent (The Hustle, 2019)."The WIRED Guide to Emoji," by Arielle Pardes (WIRED, 2018)."How the iPhone won over Japan and gave the world emoji," by Sam Byford (The Verge, 2017)."About Emoji," (Unicode Consortium).
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98. Police Sketches
When security cameras and facial recognition tools fail, law enforcement investigators fall back on a witness's memory and an artist's hand. Zachary Crockett's nose was a little bigger than that. SOURCES:Lois Gibson, forensic artist.David Sarni, adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. RESOURCES:"Fighting Crime With Pencil and Paper," by J. David Goodman (New York Times, 2013)"Something Sketchy About Identifying Suspects," by Stephen Owsinski (National Police Association)."Forensic Art Certification Scope and Role," (International Association for Identification)."Forensice Art Composites," (Samantha Steinberg).
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EXTRA: Fireworks Stands
How does an industry built on roadside pop-ups make billions of dollars in two weeks of the year? Zachary Crockett gets pyrotechnical. SOURCES:Alex Zoldan, vice president of Phantom Fireworks. RESOURCES:Phantom Fireworks 2025 Wholesale Price List."The Explosive Growth Of The Fireworks Market," by Greg Rosalsky, Darian Woods, and Julian Ritchey (NPR, 2023)."Directory of State Laws for Consumer Fireworks," (American Pyrotechnics Association).
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Car Washes (Replay)
Why are these sudsy roadside stops one of the fastest growing industries in America? Zachary Crockett takes a look under the hood. RESOURCES:"Private Equity Wants to Wash Your Car," by Miriam Gottfried (The Wall Street Journal, 2022)."California Labor Commissioner Recovers $282,000 for Car Wash Wage Citations," State of California Department of Industrial Relations News Release (2022)."Sgt. Clean’s Future Shines Bright Thanks to Subscription Model, Strong Reputation," by Vince Guerrieri (Crain's Cleveland Business, 2018)."One California Drought Winner? The Local Car Wash," by Lauren Sommer (Marketplace, 2015).Sonny's CarWash College.
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97. Elevators
Americans take more than 20 billion elevator rides every year — and keeping them safe is an expensive proposition. Zachary Crockett makes small talk. SOURCES:Frank Christensen, president of the International Union of Elevators Constructors.Shannon Moore, service mechanic for the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 8.Brian O'Connell, senior vice president of the Eastern U.S. at Otis Elevators.Stephen Smith, executive director of the Center for Building in North America. RESOURCES:"Elevators," by Stephen Smith (Center for Building in North America, 2024)."Elevator and Escalator Fact Sheet," (National Elevator Industry, 2020)."The Evolution of Elevators: Physical-Human Interface, Digital Interaction, and Megatall Buildings," by Stephen Nichols (Frontiers of Engineering, 2017).Lifted: A Cultural History of the Elevator, by Andreas Bernard (2014). EXTRAS:"Up and Then Down," by Nick Paumgarten (The New Yorker, 2008)."World's Tallest Towers."
Who decides which snacks are in your office’s vending machine? How much is a suburban elm tree worth, and to whom? How did Girl Scout Cookies become a billion-dollar business? In bite-sized episodes, journalist Zachary Crockett looks at quotidian things and finds amazing stories.
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