Good morning. It's Wednesday, Nov. 26, and we're covering travel and food trends for Thanksgiving, the key ages when your brain rewires, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
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Editor's note: The 1440 Daily Digest team will be off Thursday and Friday, spending time with family and friends. Have a great holiday—we'll see you again Saturday. |
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Thanksgiving by the Numbers |
Nearly 82 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more over Thanksgiving weekend this year. About 73 million plan to hit the road by car, while close to 6 million will fly.
Thanksgiving became a regularly observed national holiday after President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation establishing a day of thanks. Today, about 94% of Americans say they plan to celebrate, with around 87% serving turkey alongside classic sides like stuffing, mashed potatoes, and rolls (check out regional favorites here). The average cost of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is $55.18, or roughly $5.50 per person, marking the third consecutive year of price declines. Meat thermometers, cake pans, and measuring cups topped the list of last-minute buys in 2024. For dessert, pumpkin pie reigns as the nation’s top pick.
Millions are expected to tune in to the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (8:30 am ET, NBC). See this year’s floats here. |
For the first time, scientists have identified four ages at which the average human brain rewires: ages 9, 32, 66, and 83. The resulting transitions provide five distinct stages of human brain development, according to a new study released yesterday.
Researchers studied roughly 3,800 people, from babies to individuals age 90, using MRI diffusion scans to examine how water molecules move through the brain. They saw that from birth to age 9 (childhood), gray and white matter rapidly increase, and extra synapses are pruned. From age 9 to age 32 (adolescence), white matter continues to grow, and cognitive performance improves. From 32 to 66 (adulthood), brain architecture stabilizes, leaving personality and intelligence mostly unchanged. Early aging begins at age 66, when neural activity is largely concentrated in subnetworks, and late aging begins at age 83, when connectivity decreases further.
The findings suggest cognition doesn’t simply increase until a certain age and then decline. Read the full study here. |
Missing-Child Case Retrial |
New York prosecutors plan to retry—for the third time—now 64-year-old Pedro Hernandez for the 1979 disappearance and presumed death of 6-year-old Etan Patz, one of the nation's most infamous missing-child cases.
The decision follows a federal appeals court ruling this summer that overturned Hernandez's 2017 murder conviction. The court found jurors had received flawed instructions on how to weigh his 2012 video confession, in which the former bodega stock clerk admitted to strangling Patz after offering him a soda. No physical evidence links Hernandez to the boy. Hernandez’s lawyers argue his confession was coerced, citing his mental health issues, low IQ, and lengthy unrecorded interrogation. His first trial in 2015 ended in a hung jury.
Patz went missing May 25, 1979, while walking alone to his school bus for the first time. His body was never found. The case became a watershed moment for missing children, with Patz's image among the first to appear on milk cartons. |
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In partnership with Incogni |
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Unknown Number Calling? It’s Not Random |
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The BBC caught scam call center workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking. One worker bragged about making $250k from victims. The disturbing truth? Scammers don’t pick phone numbers at random. They buy your data from brokers.
Once your data is out there, it’s not just calls. It’s phishing, impersonation, and identity theft. That’s why we recommend Incogni: They delete your info from the web, monitor and follow up automatically, and continue to erase data as new risks appear. Try Incogni here and get 55% off your subscription with code 1440DAILY. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> FIFA unveils 2026 World Cup bracket that prevents a face-off between the top four seeded countries until the semifinals, a first in the tournament's history (More) |
> Paramount is reviving "Rush Hour" film franchise, reportedly at President Donald Trump's request (More) | Netflix announces Dec. 2 release for Sean "Diddy" Combs docuseries executive produced by rival rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson (More, w/trailer) |
> Historian Rick Atkinson's Revolutionary War trilogy to be adapted into graphic novels; first edition slated for June 2026, ahead of the US' 250th anniversary (More) |
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In partnership with Quince |
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Cashmere for Every Wishlist (and Budget) |
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> Neuroimmunologists discover a neural process designed to encourage social withdrawal during sickness, suggesting the urge to stay in bed when ill is an evolutionary trait to curb disease spread—not just a byproduct of symptoms (More) |
> Researchers find Atlantic gray seal milk to be more chemically complex than human breast milk; additional sugars in seal milk could boost human immune and gastrointestinal health (More) |
> President Donald Trump signs executive order directing government, tech firms, and universities to pair AI with federal data to accelerate scientific advances (More) |
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> US stock markets close higher (S&P 500 +0.9%, Dow +1.4%, Nasdaq +0.7%) as investors grow optimistic about December interest rate cuts (More) |
> Klarna to launch US dollar-backed stablecoin, marking the European fintech firm's entrance into the crypto market (More) | What is cryptocurrency? (1440 Topics) |
> US consumer confidence in November falls to lowest reading since April; write-in responses cited inflation, tariffs, and federal government shutdown (More) |
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> FBI opens investigation into six congressional Democrats who called on military members to defy any illegal orders (More) |
> Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro begins 27-year prison sentence on charges of attempting to lead a coup following his electoral loss in 2022 (More) |
> French authorities arrest four more people, two men and two women, in connection with last month's Louvre heist (More) |
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In partnership with Incogni |
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Sick of Scam Calls? Scared of Identity Theft? |
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1440 Topics gives you the overview, then points you to the best resources: |
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Etcetera—Best of November 2025 |
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Editor's note: More than 12 million monthly clicks can't be wrong. Here are the most popular stories we ran in November. Enjoy!
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Clickbait: Explore how differently men and women spend their days.
Historybook: Abolitionist Sojourner Truth dies (1883); National Hockey League founded (1917); "Peanuts" creator Charles M. Schulz born (1922); Archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon enter King Tut's tomb (1922); Singer and actress Tina Turner born (1939). |
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"At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don’t. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought." |
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