Episode 319: Some Good News

What this episode covers

This time out, we’re going to have just good news. No conservative commentary. (Well, maybe just a little bit.) Mentioned links: We Just Got Proof That Uber Has Saved Thousands of Lives Man speechless after letter he wrote to Santa in 1961 is found in his old chimney Man surprises wife with long-lost wedding video after finding it 14 years later, in an unlikely place Florida man in bubble-like vessel washes up on beach, sheriff says Show transcript The rideshare company Uber has been the target of some politicians’ ire because of the way they run their business. Think about it; people voluntarily offer their time and vehicle in exchange for cash from a company that connects drivers with people who need a ride. That’s what the free market is all about. But there’s a little something more to this company than merely disrupting the corrupt taxi service system. A study by two economists at the University of California, Berkeley examined the impact that Uber, specifically, has had on alcohol-related traffic deaths and total traffic deaths in the US. The study asked the question; by providing people with a safe, convenient, and relatively inexpensive alternative means of transportation, would Uber reduce drunk driving and traffic deaths? The good news is Yup. Uber reduced drunk driving accidents by 6.1% and total road fatalities by 4%. How much is that in absolute terms? For drunk driving, it comes to 214 lives, and for all traffic deaths it comes to 494 lives. In absolute numbers, these may sound small, but consider that the major competitor Lyft was not included in this study and so those numbers could be double that. And consider these were just for the year 2019. That’s good news, and because Uber can typically beat the rate for taxis, its disruption of the market translates into more lives saved than with just taxis because it’s an option. Little Robert Crampton asked his father to write a letter to Santa with his Christmas list. Now, this was just 2 days before Christmas, so he made sure to have his dad write “URGENT” at the top of the page, along with the return address so he knew where to deliver the items, which were mostly cowboy-related. And so on December 23rd, 1961, Robert sent that letter off to Santa and went to bed. And that was the last anyone saw of the letter. Until recently. Just a little while ago, on July 20th, Cheryl Thorne found it while she was just doing her job. No, she’s not a postal worker; she’s a…chimney sweep. Cheryl found the letter up inside the home’s chimney. The Crampton’s had since moved, and Robert had grown up, so it took a little doing to reunite him with his letter 60 years later, but it happened. Now I’m sure you’re either amazed and giddy or totally incredulous to hear that, yes, the letter was found in the chimney, at least if you, like me, are American. You see, Robert lived in Derbyshire, England, and it’s a tradition to write your letter to Santa and then burn it in the fireplace. I did not know this until I looked into this story. The ashes then go up the chimney and off to the North Pole. What’s interesting in this case is that the letter itself, remarkably intact, flew up the chimney and lodged itself somewhere so that it could remain safe until, 6 decades later, a chimney sweep could find it. Let me leave you with a couple thoughts. Looking back, Robert noted that he did get some of what he asked for; a six-shooter cap gun and a sheriff’s badge. And also, I’m pretty sure that, if you ask one,

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