Good Morning! 🌞 

Today we got some trivia for you all! 🥳 

Today’s topic is cinema.

Innovation

Massive Undersea Tunnel

Construction is underway on the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, an 18-kilometer (11-mile) submerged road and rail link between Germany and Denmark that promises to transform Northern Europe’s transportation network. Once completed, it will halve travel time between Hamburg and Copenhagen from five hours to just 2.5. The current 45-minute ferry crossing will be replaced by a seamless 10-minute drive through the tunnel, which will feature two double-lane highways and two rail tracks.

The project involves assembling 79 massive tunnel sections—each weighing as much as 10 Eiffel Towers—along with 10 specialized sections for electrical components. These are being constructed in a facility covering an area equivalent to 300 football fields. Once complete, the sections will be lowered 40 feet into a trench on the Baltic seabed using pontoons and 120 miles of steel cables, then connected and buried to form what will be the world’s longest immersed undersea tunnel. To ensure precision, advanced sealing technology allows the sections to float before being positioned, with crews installing as many components as possible on land before flooding a basin to guide them into place.

“There will be no test run for the actual immersion,” said Denise Juchem, spokesperson for Femern A/S, the Danish state-owned company managing the project. “It must work the first time.” Engineers estimate that the sections can be placed with 12-millimeter precision using underwater cameras. With a $7.4 billion price tag, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel is set to break multiple records, including the longest and deepest immersed tunnel with road and rail traffic. Once operational, it is expected to drive cross-border trade and tourism, particularly benefiting Eastern Denmark, while standing as a landmark achievement in undersea engineering.

Culture & Trends

$87,840 Cheeto?

A Flamin’ Hot Cheeto shaped like Charizard, dubbed "Cheetozard," just sold for a staggering $87,840 at auction. The three-inch snack was mounted on a custom Pokémon card and auctioned through Goldin, a collectibles marketplace. Bidding started at $250 on February 10, but after 60 bids, the final price soared to $72,000—plus Goldin’s 22% buyer’s premium, bringing the total to just under $88K. While the buyer remains anonymous, Goldin’s head of consignment, Dave Amerman, noted that the auction attracted global attention, calling Cheetozard a prime example of a rare, one-of-a-kind collectible.

Naturally, the internet had a field day with the sale. Some compared it to Maurizio Cattelan’s banana artwork, which sold for $6.24 million, while others joked about listing their own oddly shaped snacks. One person even claimed to have an onion shaped like Bulbasaur. Interestingly, Cheetozard wasn’t a recent discovery—it was originally found and stored by 1st & Goal Collectibles sometime between 2018 and 2022. The snack sat in a safe for years before resurfacing in 2024, quickly going viral, and even inspiring a short-lived meme cryptocurrency.

Believe it or not, there’s an entire market for uniquely shaped Cheetos. Listings on eBay include ones resembling Arnold Schwarzenegger, Godzilla, and the Nike swoosh, though none have fetched Charizard-level prices—yet. However, Cheetozard isn’t even the highest-selling Cheeto. In 2017, a Cheeto shaped like Harambe the gorilla sold for an even hotter $99,900. If nothing else, these bizarre auctions prove that value is truly in the eye of the beholder. Would you ever drop serious cash on a snack with personality?

Good News

Make-A-Wish Come True

A 9-year-old transplant survivor is making his mark in the culinary world by helping create a menu item for a high-end Pittsburgh hotel restaurant—all in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Prince Wise, an aspiring young chef, knew exactly what he wanted on the menu: crab cakes. His love for food runs deep, shaped by a life-changing journey that began at age 7 when he was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a serious heart condition requiring immediate surgery and months of recovery. After three months on a transplant waiting list, Wise received a donor heart, but one of his biggest complaints during his hospital stay was the bland food.

Wise’s refined palate sets him apart—he can name all 50 spices in his mother’s kitchen, enjoys seafood boils, and loves sushi outings. Once he could eat normally again, he stuck to cheeseburgers and berry shakes, unimpressed by hospital meals. Make-A-Wish initially sent Wise and his mother, Chantell Hardin, on a trip to Orlando, which they thought was the extent of their involvement. But last year, the organization invited Wise to design a dish for Floor 2, the restaurant at the Fairmont Pittsburgh. The opportunity left them both in tears. Wise met executive chef Fernando Canales, who was impressed by the boy’s taste. “When he told me, ‘Oh, I love lobster,’ I was like, ‘You have expensive taste,’” Canales joked.

Together, they crafted Prince’s Crab Cake Sandwich, carefully balancing flavors, selecting ingredients, and fine-tuning garnishes. Wise suggested avocado—Canales approved. The side? Thin, crispy fries like McDonald’s. The sauce? Tartar, of course. The dish was featured on the menu for months, with proceeds benefiting Make-A-Wish. To top it off, the Fairmont gifted Wise a personalized apron and chef’s hat, a perfect tribute to his big moment. His mother beamed with pride. “He rocked it,” she said. “Everything was so natural for him.”

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Mind Stretchers

⁉️ 

I wake you up yet steal your rest,
I'm dark as night but not distressed.
I start off bitter, then turn sweet,
A daily ritual none can beat.

What am I?

Yesterday’s Answers to the Mind Stretchers:

I can be still, I can be rough. You need me to live, but I can be tough. What am I? —water, Chris Hostetler got this correct! 🌞 

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