October 19, 2026
Good Morning. Oil touched $110 a barrel Friday, and diesel now costs 70% more than it did a year ago. Plus, Earhart’s “plane” is trees, Berkshire buys AOL’s owner, and Rockefeller’s slight edge (first time here? Join 523,000 Betterists ).
Friday’s most clicked link : Tesla next-gen, flying Roadster
TOP STORY TODAY
Trees, Not Plane
The mysterious “Taraia Object” off a remote Pacific island isn’t Amelia Earhart’s plane , researchers said late Sunday. A 17-member team led by Purdue University concluded it was most likely a pile of large trees.
A Navy veteran spotted the shape in 2020 satellite images of Nikumaroro’s lagoon. Up close, its metallic shine was a crust of hardened coral sand , and only one Y-shaped piece was left ( see expedition photos ).
Storms kept the team on its ship for three of five planned days. They did find a 30-inch steel tube in the lagoon worth studying. Separately, a New Zealand museum just released 47 aerial photos of the island from 1938 .
Oil Hits $110
Brent crude touched $110 a barrel Friday for the first time since May, closing at $109.86 after a 3.7% jump. U.S. crude settled above $101, up more than 10% for the week.
At least nine tankers and cargo ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday as Iran tries to choke off exports. The U.S. military says Iran sank a container ship (w/chart), the GFS Pride, on Wednesday.
Diesel averaged $6.33 a gallon Friday, more than 70% above a year ago. The IRS is waiving penalties on cheaper dyed diesel through Dec. 31, though the tax is only deferred and some states are warning drivers off it .
Berkshire’s Software Bet
Berkshire Hathaway has now put more than $900 million into Bending Spoons , the Italian company that owns AOL, Vimeo and Evernote. Its latest $330 million stake sent the stock up 41% in a day.
The model is buying fallen software stars at a discount. It agreed to buy Miro, once valued at $17.5 billion, for $1.36 billion, and paid about $1.3 billion for Airtable. Deep layoffs have followed (w/chart).
Three friends started it in 2013 with $40,000 left after their first app flopped. Berkshire paid $33 a share for 10 million new shares , above the $29 IPO price. Shares closed Friday at $47.07.
TOGETHER WITH SMILE MAKERS
The Muscle Group Most Core Workouts Skip
Planks, dead bugs, crunches. Most core routines skip the pelvic floor , and in perimenopause and menopause, it matters more. As estrogen drops, pelvic floor strength often dips too. That’s the leak when you sneeze, or the run you cut short.
The usual advice is “do your Kegels.” But few women know if they’re doing them right.
Pelvic Partner answers that:
- It vibrates when you squeeze correctly and stops when you fully relax.
- No app, no account and no data leaving the room.
- 8 levels, so you start gently and build.
Good Housekeeping named it Best Pelvic Floor Trainer Overall, and it’s marked down 20% for Menopause Awareness Month.
Try Pelvic Partner, or send it to someone who’d want it
GET 1% BETTER
Rockefeller’s 1% Better Secret
With oil back above $100, it’s worth remembering how the first oil fortune was built. On Founders, David Senra breaks down The Tycoons , and Rockefeller’s edge wasn’t one big move.
- Tiny wins, everywhere. He squeezed small savings out of every step, from barrel-making to shipping. Stacked up, they became a “crushing profitability advantage.”
- Speed over price. He’d overpay to close fast. In his Cleveland push, he reportedly closed a deal almost every other day.
- Own the road. He controlled pipelines, storage and shipping, so even rivals using his network paid him.
- Hire the people you beat. He paid fair prices, opened his books to targets and often gave defeated rivals a job.
Pick one small inefficiency in your week and fix it. Then find the next one.
Read our 5-minute summary
Every Mike Flanagan Project, Ranked
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie went straight to No. 1 on Prime Video this month, and his next film is The Exorcist: Martyrs , starring Scarlett Johansson ( out March 12, 2027 ). He might be the closest thing we have to a modern Hitchcock:
- The Haunting of Hill House (2018 series): 8.5
- The Fall of the House of Usher (2023 series): 7.9
- Carrie (2026 series, King): 7.9
- Midnight Mass (2021 series): 7.7
- The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020 series): 7.4
- Doctor Sleep (2019, King): 7.3
- The Life of Chuck (2025, King): 7.3
- Hush (2016): 6.6
- Oculus (2014): 6.6
- Gerald's Game (2017, King): 6.5
- The Midnight Club (2022 series): 6.5
Click the link above to find out where each is streaming.
Editor’s note: Our favorite, and appointment viewing this time of year, is Midnight Mass on Netflix .
THE MARKET
Business & Markets
▲ Ticket broker REPS allegedly used 1,300 accounts to buy 7,624 tickets to one Beyoncé show | The 18.5 million tickets regulators say it hoarded
▲ Blue Origin will spend $330 million in Florida to fly New Glenn multiple times a week | The pad explosion it’s still recovering from
▲ Amazon’s Bee wristband listens all day and turns your conversations into to-do lists for $74.99 | What Amazon says happens to the audio
THE OTHER 99%
5 Stories
▲ Aaron Rodgers ties Peyton Manning at 539 touchdown passes at 42 with an overtime win | Every record Rodgers is chasing this season
▲ Empire’s new Dune: Part Three issue also has Tarantino and Fincher’s first joint interview, on Cliff Booth | Why Dune and Avengers open the same day
▲ Amazon deforestation fell 42% to the lowest level since Brazil started counting in 1988 | Brazil’s satellite data, state by state
▲ Hidden spyware rode ordinary online ads onto devices with no click needed, researchers confirm | How the ads reached 200,000 sites and apps
▲ World timekeepers voted to scrap the leap second for a leap hour, after 27 since 1972 | Why a 59-second minute scared tech companies
TOGETHER WITH COCOJUNE
The Snack Between School and Practice
Fall sports season means dinner at 7:30 and hungry kids at 4. Chips win by default. Give them a better default.
Cocojune is a creamy, plant-based yogurt made from organic coconuts and probiotic cultures. Keep a few in the fridge and you’ve got three snacks in under two minutes:
- The dip: apple slices and a cup of Cocojune with a shake of cinnamon.
- The crunch cup: Cocojune topped with granola and a spoonful of nut butter.
- The car smoothie: blend it with a pear and drink it on the way to the field.
It works for the 3 p.m. slump at your desk, too.
Stock your fridge with Cocojune
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Fun Links
Chris Williamson vs. Eleven Labs AI [ Video ]
Baywatch reboot drops its full trailer [ Video ]
America’s happiest states, mapped [ Map ]
How exercise rewinds aging muscle [ Study ]
Cider-braised sausage and lentils [ Recipe ]
20-minute walk gets your gut moving [ Study ]
Panthers score hat tricks in 3 straight games [ Recap ]
Why 1% Better? Most self-improvement swings between burning out and rusting out. 1% Better is the antidote. In five minutes each morning, we help you get smarter about the news, your health and your money, with small tips you can use to get a little better every day.