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Although the technology is available for brands to leverage data to reach consumers in more personalized ways, many brands aren't tapping into this capability. When asked if consumers feel that ads on social media are personalized or tailored for them, less than a third (31 percent) said that ads are tailored to them the majority of the time (75 percent of the time or more). In addition, 35 percent indicated that they see the same ad too many times, a sign that brands aren't using the data being collected to their full advantage. 

Here’s another interesting statistic: Finland just scored the top spot on the 2018 World Happiness Report. It’s produced by a United Nations initiative based on global polling data from Gallup, and you can make of the methodology what you will, but Finns reported themselves happier than any other nationality on earth, and they were followed on the list by three Nordic neighbors: Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Americans, meanwhile, came in at a dismal 18th. Correlation does not mean causation, but come on, this is totally causation, right? All those salty-licorice countries clustered at the very top? Maybe it’s not so crazy to think about reported national happiness in relationship to something like a favorite national candy, because what is candy, after all, if not an elemental signifier of happiness and also something extraordinarily culturally specific and wrapped up in nostalgia and childhood memories and, by proxy, national identity?

“Today’s pickup in retail sales shows a healthy pace of spending and a sign of ongoing consumer strength which is consistent with the state of the US economy,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “The figures bolster expectations for the major shopping period of the year, the holidays. Thanks to a high level of consumer confidence surrounding the current and future economy, we expect spending to maintain its strong momentum.”

But ecoRobotix, developer of the Swiss weeder, believes its design could reduce the amount of herbicide farmers use by 20 times. The company said it is close to signing a financing round with investors and is due to go on the market by early 2019.

Another application from the General Telecommunications Authority requested, among other things, clothes hangers.

An effusive greeting: “We are thankful for your cooperation with us, asking God, the Exalted, to elevate your stature and bless you with good judgment to serve Islam and Muslims.” (Not shown)

We'd respond with that uncomfortable church-pew laugh, the kind that turns your back on damnation. So many truths and rumours came to stay when Uncle Jim did.

What Zuckerlwerkstatt calls rock candy is about as far from the American version as it gets. The round, smooth confections look more like millefiori glass designs from Venice than something you should eat: They include beautiful, tiny sugar depictions of everything from fruit to slogans to company logos. An Austrian couple, Maria Scholz and Chris Mayer, were on vacation in Sweden when they stumbled on a candy factory and fell in love with candy making. Back home, they sought out artisans who knew the old Austrian way of making hard candy by hand. In 2013, the couple opened a manufacturing facility in Vienna, producing beautiful candies with as many as 80 layers using only three tools: scissors, spatulas and their bare hands.

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A major security review was launched last night after a suspected stalker was arrested attempting to break into Prince George’s school.

“Flavor itself is a language,” Fossum told me over the phone from her home in Plymouth, Mass. “And like any language, it takes years to learn.” Throughout her time at Mars (the manufacturer of M&Ms, Twix and Skittles), Fossum traveled to production plants around the world giving sensory trainings like the one I sat in on. “Whether they were in Waco, Texas, or Hackettstown, New Jersey, they were speaking a common language,” Fossum recalled. “Mr. Mars could pick up the phone and call any plant and ask, ‘How is the chocolate?’ and get an answer in plain English. He’d tell me, ‘You know, dear, this is my mantra: The most important thing is taste.’ Even at age 84 he sat in every single training with a spoon, ready to taste. And if you think about it, it worked, because when you eat an M&M, it tastes the same wherever you go.”

“The fact that a tractor and row-crop oriented company such as John Deere did this means it won’t be long before corn or soybean farmers in the U.S. Midwest will start using precision spraying,” Shah said.