Would you pay a professional $2,500 or more to put up your holiday lights? Zachary Crockett is walking in a winter wonderland.

• SOURCES:
  • Chuck Smith, creator of Planet Christmas.
  • Dean Lyons, founder and CEO of Bright Nights.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Suburban Maximalists Making Viral Christmas Displays," by Graham Hacia (WIRED, 2017).
  • "Incandescent vs. LED Christmas Lights: How Much Does it Impact Your Power Bill?," by Kelly Bedrich (Electricity Plans).
  • "Why Christmas Light Installation Is a Great Add-on Service for Contractors," (Sprinkler School).
  • Brite Nites.
  • Planet Christmas.

• EXTRAS:
  • "How Christmas Lights Are Made," (Insider, 2018).

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Trees are more than decoration — they’re living economic assets, with measurable costs and benefits for cities and neighborhoods. Zachary Crockett takes a walk on the shady side of the street.

• SOURCES:
  • Geoffrey Donovan, owner of Ash & Elm Consulting.
  • Jana Dilley, urban forester for the city of Seattle.
  • Kathleen Wolf, social scientist, former researcher at the University of Washington.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Extreme Heat Is Worse For Low-Income, Nonwhite Americans, A New Study Shows," by Deepa Shivaram (NPR, 2021).
  • "US Urban Forest Statistics, Values, and Projections," by David Nowak and Eric Greenfield (Journal of Forestry, 2018).
  • "The role of trees in urban stormwater management," by Adam Berland, Sheri Shiflett, William Shuster, Ahjond Garmestani, Haynes Goddard, Dustin Herrmann, and Matthew Hopton (Landscape and Urban Planning, 2017).
  • "Urban trees and the risk of poor birth outcomes," by Geoffrey Donovan, Yvonne Michael, David Butry, Amy Sullivan, and John Chase (Health & Place, 2011).
  • "Calculating the Green in Green: What's an Urban Tree Worth?," by Gail Wells (Science Findings, 2010).
  • "The Effect of Trees on Crime in Portland, Oregon," by Geoffrey Donovan and Jeffrey Prestemon (Environment and Behavior, 2010).

• EXTRAS:
  • i-Tree Tools.

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Grab a simple bouquet from your local grocery store and you're activating a global network of farms, shipping companies, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Zachary Crockett stops to smell the roses.

• SOURCES:
  • Bob Mellano, vice president of wholesale operations for Mellano & Company.
  • Jasmine Gomez-Gonzalez, chief operations officer at OC Wholesale Flowers.

• RESOURCES:
  • "From Colombia with love: The journey of a Valentine’s Day bouquet," by Júlia Ledur and Fabiola Ferrero (The Washington Post, 2015).
  • "Your Valentine’s Day bouquet probably came a long way," by Daniel Ackerman (Marketplace, 2015).
  • "A Brief History of Specialty Cut Flower Production," by Ben Bergmann (NC State Extension).
  • Mellano & Company.
  • OC Wholesale Flowers.

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Shoe repair shops are a dying breed — but for those that remain, demand is higher than ever. Zachary Crockett goes in for a shine.

• SOURCES:
  • Jim McFarland, owner of McFarland’s Shoe Repair in Lakeland, Florida.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Shoe cobbler becomes unlikely TikTok star," (NBC News, 2024).
  • "Cobblers face extinction - and are busier than ever," by Diana Nelson James (AP, 2019).
  • Shoe Service Institute of America.

• EXTRAS:
  • America's Cobbler (Jim McFarland), (YouTube).

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The market for gustatory pain is surprisingly competitive. Zachary Crockett feels the burn.

• SOURCES:
  • Ed Currie, founder and president of the PuckerButt Pepper Company.
  • Stephanie Walker, associate professor and Extension Vegetable Specialist at New Mexico State University

• RESOURCES:
  • "Pepper X Dethrones Carolina Reaper as World’s Hottest Chili Pepper," by Sanj Atwal (Guinness World Records, 2023).
  • "The Shocking, Stupendous Rise of Superhot Chillies: ‘The Stomach Cramps Can Last for 14 Hours,’" by Tim Dowling (The Guardian, 2023).
  • "14-Year-Old Dies After Trying The Paqui ‘One Chip Challenge,’" by Bruce Y. Lee (Forbes, 2023).
  • "Beyond Neuronal Heat Sensing: Diversity of TRPV1 Heat-Capsaicin Receptor-Channel Functions," by Yaroslav M. Shuba (Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2021).
  • "Training Your Tongue to Love Spicy Food Benefits More Than Your Taste Buds," by Maddie Oatman (Mother Jones, 2019).
  • "Fire-Eaters," by Lauren Collins (The New Yorker, 2013).
  • "The Arms Race to Grow World's Hottest Pepper Goes Nuclear," by Spencer Jakab (The Wall Street Journal, 2013).

• EXTRAS:
  • "Why Do People Love Horror Movies?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).
  • Hot Ones, YouTube talk show.

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How much does it cost to design and build a mini-golf course? And what’s it like to run one? Zachary Crockett putts things in perspective.

• SOURCES:
  • Katie Conaboy, CEO and co-owner of Harris Miniature Golf.
  • Sal Conaboy, president and co-owner of Harris Miniature Golf.
  • Mike Matsinger, owner of Surf's Up Mini Golf.

• RESOURCES:
  • "The Evolution of Miniature Golf," (National Golf Foundation, 2022).
  • "Who Made Mini-Golf?" by Hilary Greenbaum and Dana Rubinstein (New York Times, 2012).

• EXTRAS:
  • Harris Miniature Golf.
  • Surf's Up Mini Golf.

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How do flavorists capture the essence of a fruit and put it in a can of sparkling water, or a tub of yogurt? Zachary Crockett takes a bite.

• SOURCES:
  • Terry Miesle, master flavorist at Sensient Technologies Corporation.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Flavor and Well‐Being: A Comprehensive Review of Food Choices, Nutrition, and Health Interactions," by Sakhawot Hossain, Abdul Wazed, Sharmin Asha, Alomgir Hossen, Nur Muhammad Fime, Shamiha Tabassum Teeya, Lubna Yeasmin Jenny, Diptho Dash, and Islam Shimul (Food Science & Nutrition, 2025).
  • "What is artificial banana flavor made of? A food neuroscientist reveals the truth," by Elana Spivack (Inverse, 2024).
  • "Are ‘Natural Flavors’ Really Natural?" by Roni Caryn Rabin (New York Times, 2019).
  • "The Inexorable Rise Of Synthetic Flavor: A Pictorial History," by Nadia Berenstein (Popular Science, 2015).
  • "The Flavor Industry: From 1945-1995," (Chemical Sources Association).

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A day on the job includes hundreds of quarters, giant balls of lint, and fishing weird stuff out of machines. Zachary Crockett throws in a load.

• SOURCES:
  • Jordan Berry, owner of Laundromat Resource.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Appliances in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020," (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2023).
  • "How the Washing Machine Liberated The Masses," by Allen Therisa (Culturescape, 2023).
  • "Industry Overview," (Coin Laundry Association).

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