🗣️ Designer Babies, Inc.

 NEWS YOU CAN USE

👶🏻 Designer Babies, Inc.

Since having kids, my life has been consumed by… well, kids.

Newborn giraffes? Up and running in 30 minutes.
Human children? Comically useless.
Sure, they don’t have to outrun lions—but my eldest is ten and still leaves dirty socks lying around like toxic waste.

So, it’s no surprise the world’s going full Children of Men.

• Birth rates are collapsing in Japan, South Korea, Spain, Germany, and more.

• Gen Z’s fertility? Tanking faster than crypto in a bear market.

• Global population projections? Picture a ski slope.

Naturally, Silicon Valley has an answer: What if we made babies… but like, optimized?

Welcome to startup parenting, where your future child’s IQ scores count for everything (starting with preschool entry).

🧬 The Big Brain Baby Boom

• $50,000 for embryo IQ screening from companies like Herasight. (Anything to avoid helping with maths homework, right?)

• $500,000 for elite matchmaking with Ivy League gene pools—swipe right for eugenics!

• Pronatalists like Elon Musk (14 kids and counting) believe, “Smart people need to have more babies.” (Imagine his dad jokes? …yikes 😬)

• Rationalists (a hyper-logical tech crowd) are betting that ultra-smart babies will be our last line of defence against AI. (Yes, really.)

Even the scientist behind the IQ prediction model admits it only gives you a 3–4 point bump.
So… forget beating Terminator. Your kid might beat Wordle faster. That’s about it.

🤖 Robo-Wombs

And too busy building your unicorn startup to grow your own human?
China’s here for you.
Coming 2026: a $14K humanoid robot with an artificial womb. Just pop in your custom embryo and let your Robo-nanny slow-cook your legacy while you make your billions and avoid swollen feet…

💡 PRO TIP: Topic too heavy? Try the playful pivot, “Honestly, I’d pay $50K if it guaranteed my kid would pick up socks.”

💬 FOLLOW UP: “What’s something your parents wasted money on for you?” Suddenly, you’re swapping funny stories, not arguing ethics

⛔️ DON’T SAY: “How much would it cost to fix my kids now?” (Unless you’re talking to people who truly get you, and your kids aren’t listening).

FAMOUS WORDS

“Your genetics load the gun. Your lifestyle pulls the trigger.”
(Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, American physician & author, 1933 -)

🎬 Can you name the film?

🚿 Genetic elites vs genetic “invalids” — this 90s thriller predicted our designer baby future.

⬇️ Answer at the end of this issue

 THE CULTURE CODE

🍙 Rice Ball Roulette

In Japan, onigiri (rice balls) are everywhere—convenience stores sell almost 6 million every single day. That’s over 2 billion a year — basically a national food group. Wrapped in seaweed, stuffed with tuna (yum), fried shrimp (yummier), even natto (nope), they’re the ultimate grab-and-go meal.

Enter the Ministop scandal: staff at 23 stores were caught faking expiry dates.
The fallout? 1,600 stores suspended onigiri sales nationwide.

Well, there goes my dinner. So much for convenience stores.

🗓️ Quick “Did you know?”: Sell-by dates are for stores (inventory tracking).
Use-by dates are for you (quality guidelines). Neither are actual safety deadlines—except for baby formula, the only legally mandated expiration date in most countries.

💡 PRO TIP: Next time someone panics about expired milk (like my wife), mention it’s usually fine a week past “sell-by.” You’ll sound like a food safety guru… or just get scowled at.

💬 FOLLOW UP: “Do you actually check expiry dates, or just sniff test everything?”

⛔️ DON’T SAY: “Rice balls? Meh, I’m more a sandwich person.” (Nothing like insulting a national staple to make new friends).

TALK TOOLBOX

🧠 Smart, Not Smug: How to Share FACTS

You’ve got the facts—great. Now don’t weaponize them. Here’s how to share knowledge without clearing the room: think F.A.C.T.S.

• Frame it well: Set the tone with “I read…” or “I heard…” instead of dropping facts like grenades.

• Admit limits: “I could be wrong, but…” or “From what I understand…” shows humility and softens the delivery.

• Credit your source: “I saw this in the news…” beats pretending you’re the expert.

• Timing: One fact, then stop. Nobody wants a surprise TED Talk.

• Switch to questions: Keep it collaborative: “What do you think about that?”

💡 PRO TIP: If someone looks lost, hit pause and reframe. A simple “In other words…” or “Basically…” can turn confusion into a nod.

⛔️ DON’T SAY: “Well, actually…” (still the #1 conversation killer, unless you deliver it with heavy irony).

WORD WISE

📚 Fresh Dictionary Drops

Cambridge just added 6,212 new words this year. Translation: the internet is officially writing the dictionary now. Let’s see if you can keep up.

Match the definition:

1. Skibidi (SKIB-ih-dee) - a) Traditional housewife influencer

2. Tradwife (TRAD-wife) - b) Tech bros with oligarch-level power

3. Delulu (deh-LOO-loo) - c) Device to fake computer activity while not working

4. Broligarchy (BROH-li-gar-kee) - d) Short for "delusional"

5. Mouse jiggler (MOUSE JIG-ler) - e) Meaningless slang that can mean "cool" or "bad"

💡 PRO TIP: These aren't just slang—they're officially English now. But, use sparingly unless you want to sound like you're trying too hard.

💬 FOLLOW UP: I got 6/7 on a Gen Alpha vocab test. Not bad for someone who still remembers dial-up. Can you top it?

Answers: 1-e, 2-a, 3-d, 4-b, 5-c

TALKING POINT

🕊️ Peace Prize Politics

Putin was in America. Zelensky’s doing the suit-and-smile circuit. Trump’s flip-flopping while eyeing the Nobel Peace Prize like it’s a new golf trophy.

The big, messy question: should Ukraine trade land for peace? Everyone has an opinion. What’s yours?

BECAUSE THE ROBOTS ARE COMING

The World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing finished recently.
While Amazon fills its warehouses with roboslaves lifting boxes, China has them running, kickboxing, dancing and playing football, with some success.

But as robots from Unitree also finished the 1500m in under seven minutes, I’ll keep quiet…

What do you think?
Scared for when they introduce shooting events?

BITS ‘N BOBS

• ✈️ Skip Airbnb — this site lets you look out windows from Tokyo to Toronto.

• 🤑 Musk has 14 kids. You have his wallet. How would you spend it?

• 🧐 Like facts? I love this one — Smart Nonsense. Daily facts, made funny. One of my favourite reads👇

ANSWER

🎬 ANSWER: Gattaca (1997)

Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, a “genetic invalid” who assumes the identity of a genetically superior man (Jude Law) to achieve his dream of space travel.

🍿 Cultural Impact: The film popularized the term “genoism,” entering debates on genetic privacy, discrimination, and the social consequences of emerging biotechnologies.

🧠 Deep Dive: Gattaca is based on the letters G, A, T, and C, the four bases of DNA.

LAST WEEK

🗳️ POLL: What word will stick for the bots?

Let the slur wars begin

A) Clanker — it's a keeper! — 67%
B) Tin Skin — Tin Can, upgraded. Shinier. Creepier — 23%
C) Cogsucker — Very rude, very crude (and probably trending on reddit) — 0%
D) Boss — Let's face it, we're halfway there already — 0%

Tell us how you feel! 😂 You’ll love the AI toys this week then…

THIS IS THE END

That's a wrap on #32!

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