X Games, Venture Capital, and Ford's 'Soybean Car'

Dear Readers—Our Sunday edition delivers deep dives into interesting and relevant topics, helping you explore new ideas and feeding your curiosity.

Instead of the news—which we cover Monday through Saturday—today we’ll bring you deeply researched overviews and the human-curated articles, podcasts, videos, and more that most fascinated us this week.

Thrills and Spills

What are the X Games?

The X Games are an annual extreme sports competition featuring top athletes in events like skateboarding, BMX, motocross, and snowboarding. 
 

Founded by ESPN in 1995 to better reach young audiences, the first competition—then called the “Extreme Games”—took place in Rhode Island and Vermont. The series now includes at least two major editions each year—one summer and one winter—plus additional international events, each featuring dozens of competitions across multiple disciplines. 
 

Over the years, it has become a proving ground for trailblazing sporting achievements, debuting tricks and performances that have redefined what’s possible in action sports (like skater Tony Hawk's famous 900-degree spin). The event’s focus on extreme performances is primed to generate viral highlight clips on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, routinely amassing millions of views beyond traditional broadcasts.

... Read our full deep dive on the competition here.

Also, check out ... 

> Iconic skater Tony Hawk is not often recognized in public. (More)

> How a Winter X Games course is built. (More)

> The X Games rode the "extreme" marketing wave in the 1990s. (More)

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Bits of Plastic

Microplastics, explained

Microplastics, or MPs, are tiny plastic particles less than five millimeters long and have become one of Earth's most widespread pollutants. Like synthetic plastics, MPs are mostly made of long chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms, formed by linking byproducts of refining crude oil and natural gas (watch explainer). Other chemical additives may be incorporated to modify the final product’s properties.
 

Primary MPs, such as microbeads commonly found in exfoliating cosmetic products, are intentionally manufactured to be small. Secondary MPs, like those released while washing synthetic textiles, form from the breakdown of larger plastics and make up the bulk of MPs in the environment (learn why plastic doesn't biodegrade).
 

As of 2024, the FDA claims there is insufficient evidence that MPs pose any human health risk, though initial biochemical studies have linked them to inflammation and hormone disruption.

... Read our full explainer on microplastics here.

Also, check out ... 

> Microplastics are everywhere on Earth—even Mount Everest. (More)

> Locating where microplastics are concentrated in the human body. (More)

> The plastic designed to dissolve in saltwater. (More)

Risks and Returns

Venture Capital, 101

Venture capital is a form of investment that firms use to invest in startups and other emerging organizations with high growth potential. In other words, VC firms bet on companies with hopes that they’ll grow into larger corporate powerhouses.
 

Venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Kleiner Perkins are best known for helping fund some of the buzziest business movements of our time, from the cryptocurrency boom to the current AI craze. In 2023, US VC investments totaled roughly $170B, falling significantly from the roughly $242B invested in 2022 (how VCs decide to invest). 
 

These investments are considered highly risky. Roughly 75% of VC-backed companies will fail. That means the other portfolio companies need to provide significant returns to make up for all the companies that don’t yield returns (how these numbers work).

... Read our full overview on VC here.

Also, check out ... 

> One VC firm honors the successful companies it missed. (More)

> The annual list of the world's top 100 venture capitalists. (More)

> Explaining venture capital using Lego bricks. (More)

Best of the Week

We uploaded 204 resources to 1440 Topics last week—here are some of our favorites:

Henry Ford's 1941 plastic car was made from soybeans. 

"Buy one, get one free" is a way to drive more spending.

Watermelons were once neither red nor sweet.

Geography was key to making Moscow Europe's biggest city.

How helpful is it to take vitamins as supplements?

Following the wild salmon supply chain, from Alaska to your plate.

Stem cells can reboot the ability of cells to repair themselves.

Visualizing the changes to Mac's control panel between 1984 and 2004. 

How brutalist concrete transformed building design.

When it's good to let your food stick in the pan.

How the Discovery Channel popularized educational TV. 

The Harlem Hellfighters, WWI's longest-serving US regiment.

Where do you fall on the sports misery index?

The world's top 10 hedge funds.

Assessing the respiratory risks of too much air conditioning. 

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