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Every year the world gets a little more digitaland every year we still find surprise, delight, and meaning in the physical and the material. Like books or movies, the objects we obsessed over tell a story about the year gone by. So to continue a tradition that goes back several years now, heres my look at the objects that tell the story of 2025: the joys, the absurdities, and the difficult-to-explain. [Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images] 1. Gold Oval Office Decor To call the second Trump administration a new gilded age is less a critique than a straightforward descriptor. Most notably, the president has transformed the look of the Oval Office into a barrage of gold, from gilded statues and vases to accent pieces that Internet sleuths said were actually just painted decor from Home Depot. (Trump denied this.) While mocked as tacky by many observers, the look is of a piece with a continuing embrace of brazen material opulence, from a $1 million gold card visa and a massive new ballroom where the East Wing used to be, to accepting a $400 jet from the Qatari government and a newly invented peace prize from FIFA that involved a trophyan oddly gruesome object according to The New Yorker, but a shiny one, too. [Photo: Walmart] 2. The Wirkin Bag Walmart doesnt usually find itself in the same conversation as luxury brands. But the discount behemoths $78 bag that echoed the design of the Herms iconic $10,000-and-up Birkin was dubbed the Wirkin on social media. It quickly became a sensationand an emblem of dupe culture, in which lower prices handily trump authenticity. That may threaten the value of some high-end brands, but actual Birkins remain coveted: The original, made for actress Jane Birkin, sold at auction for $10.9 million this year. [Photo: Starbucks] 3. Starbucks Bearista Tumblers Starbucks attempted turnaround journey included rough patches like closing hundreds of locations and laying off employees. But the coffee giant proved it can still generate excitementmaybe more excitement than it wanted. Customers lined up at 3 a.m. to score limited-run, bear-shaped glass tumblers for $30 a pop, and sometimes getting into scuffles when there werent enough. But the Bearista cups promptly became a meme, even inspiring good-natured copycat tributes from the likes of Aldi and Walmart. Recently, Starbucks has brought the object back (on a limited basis of course) as a prize for members of its rewards program. [Photo: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA/B. Quint] 4. Vera C. Rubin Observatory Telescope In a year when science seemed under assault, the worlds largest telescope debuted with jaw-dropping views of space, including millions of galaxies and thousands of never-before-seen asteroids in our solar system. Decades in the works, the observatory is at the summit of a Chilean mountain, its telescope equipped with the biggest space camera ever built, with an unprecedented three-billion pixel sensor array. The result, from the start, has been stunning images. [Photo: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images] 5. Inflatable Frog Costumes Video of Seth Todd, a protester outside an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, being chemical-sprayed by law enforcement went viral, one assumes, largely because he was wearing an inflatable frog costume. The absurdity was, after all, the point. The outfits success at making heavy-handed tactics look both bullying and clueless is why inflatable costumessharks, chickens, etc.became a popular form of protest-wear. Its an example of tactical frivolity as a form of resistance that defangs accusations of violent opposition. As one observer put it: Its hard to be violent in a frog suit. [Photo: P&G] 6. Wicked x Swiffer If you were looking to exemplify dubious movie-product collabs, you would have a hard time dreaming up something to top the special edition pink Wicked Swiffer. The hit Wicked movies, building on the acclaimed Broadway musical, have spawned scores of products and brand collabs, as is standard practice for blockbuster IP. But theres something the Swiffer sweeping its way into the spotlight of a witchy story thats irresistibly ridiculouspicture a witch zooming away on a sponge mop instead of a broom. [Photo: Oasis Official Store] 7. Oasis Bucket Hat In 2025, one locus of 1990s appreciation was the lucrative reunion tour of Millennial-favorite Britpop throwback rockers Oasis, making bucket hats one of the years Vogue-approved accessories. The floppy Gilligan-style bucket hat was part of the Gallagher brothers style, and apparently still is: Singer Liam clarified from the stage, its a bucket hat, to anyone mistaking his headgear for a beanie. You’re just in a sea of bucket hats, one concertgoer who paid $42 for an Oasis-branded hat told The Wall Street Journal, calling the effect hilarious. [Photo: L.A.B. Golf] 8. L.A.B. Putter Golf is not a sport known for sudden change or progressive innovation. All the more remarkable that one of 2025s most significant golf moments involved a weird-looking club J.J. Spaun used to sink a 64-foot putt that clinched the U.S. Open. Lie Angle Balance putters are designed to minimize torque, positioning the shaft directly into the instruments center of gravity, behind the head. This ends up looking like some sort of exotic barbecue tool, but their use has grown steadily on the tour and off, and this year was a breakthrough. Sales of the putter, starting at $400, are expected to triple, and a private euity fund backed by LVMH reportedly bought a majority stake in L.A.B. for $200 million. [Photo: Microsoft] 9. AI data centers While tech pundits seem to think a desirable AI wearable is imminent (and no, the Friend ragebait ads for a product that scarcely exists dont count), the most significant manifestation of AI mania are the data centers the technology requires. Microsofts Fairwater AI data center in Wisconsin has three main buildings totaling about 1.2 million square feet, its data storage systems five football fields long. Metas Louisiana AI campus, announced in 2025, involves over 4 million square feet of buildings, an industrial district of server halls, power yards, and cooling infrastructure. OpenAIs Stargate similarly immense data center in Abilene, Texas, in progress, may ultimately require 1.2 gigawatts of power. [Photo: PepsiCo] 10. Dust-Free Cheetos and Doritos With skepticism of processed foods becoming a rare point of bipartisan agreement, PepsiCo is among those adding more natural, health-conscious offerings to its lineup. The most startling experiment: versions of Cheetos and Doritos without their signature orange colorsand that weird, messy, but nonetheless iconic, dust. The new line, dubbed Simply NKD, isnt actually any healthier, it just doesnt scream industrial foodstuff anymore. Its a start? [Image: Oleksandr Pokusai/Adobe Stock] 11. The Button After years of swiping, tapping, and pinching, physical controls have started to show signs of a comeback. The touchscreen era has been particularly evident in auto designand so is the recent pushback. The data shows us physical buttons are better, Mercedes-Benzs chief software officer declared this year in the course of unveiling a more button-centric design strategy. Hyundai and Volkswagen are making similar moves toward bringing back buttons and knobs. The industry wont likely swipe left on touch screens altogether, but its acknowledging the attraction of physical controlsat least until the robocars take over. [Photo: cathup/Adobe Stock] 12. Labubu Those toothy, furry creatures hanging from everyone’s handbag werent a fever dream. The Labubu is very real, and the biggest collectible craze in recent memory. Created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese toy company Pop Mart in mystery “blind boxes,” the willfully ugly plush dolls became status symbols after K-pop star Lisa from BLACKPINK was spotted with one late last year. By 2025, celebrities from Rihanna to Kim Kardashian were clipping Labubus to their designer bags, turning the $22 accessory into a very lucrative fad. Pop Mart reported $1.9 billion in revenue for the first half of 2025up over 200%with Labubu accounting for a third of sales; an oversized version of the creature even joined the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade. One theory of the Labubus appeal: the blind boxsales strategy as an antidote to an overly algorithmic world. As one marketing professor put it: Its fun, its uncertain, and its social. At least until the next trend comes along.
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E-Commerce
More than 20% of Americans will be diagnosed with mental illness in their lifetimes. They will, that is, experience conditions that influence the way they think, feel, and actand that may initially seem incompatible with the demands of work. Our new research suggests that what people living with chronic mental illnesses need most to succeed at work is for their managers to be flexible and trust them. This includes the freedom to adjust their schedules and workloads to make their jobs more compatible with their efforts to manage and treat their symptoms. For that to happen, managers need to trust that these workers are committed to their jobs and their employers. Were management professors who reviewed hundreds of blog and Reddit posts and conducted in-depth interviews with 59 people. And those are the most significant findings from our peer-reviewed study, published in the October 2025 issue of the Academy of Management Journal. Scouring Reddit posts and conducting interviews We gathered our data from three sources: anonymous blog posts from 171 people, Reddit posts from 781 people, and in-depth interviews with 59 workers employed in a variety of jobs across multiple industries. All these people worked while dealing with chronic mental illness, such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder. The blog posts were maintained by a nonprofit concerned with the experiences of individuals living with mental illness. We focused on posts tagged work. To identify relevant data on Reddit, we searched using a combination of the word work with several terms associated with mental illness. Additionally, we restricted our data collection to unsolicited narratives published prior to mid-March 2020 to avoid overlap with the employment changes that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because this data was gathered from the internet, we couldnt obtain details about participants gender, age, profession, or education. We also recruited people to interview through social media postings, advertising in a public universitys alumni listserv, and contacting an organization that focuses on mens mental health. We also made requests of those wed already interviewed to see whether they had recommendations for other people to possibly interview. The interviews took place in 2020 and 2021. Speaking with people from all walks of working life About 37% of the people we interviewed identified as women, and their average age was 41.5 years. Approximately 80% of them identified as Caucasian, 3.5% Black, 3.5% Hispanic, and less than 2% identified as either Indian, Korean American, mixed race, or Middle Eastern and North African. About 3.5% chose not to answer. They held a variety of jobs, including lawyer, professor, touring musician, consultant, teacher, real estate manager, chief technology officer, salesperson, restaurant server, travel agency manager, graphic designer, tester for manufacturing plant, chemical engineer, and bus driver. Several worked in tech fields. When the employees who we studied were trusted and given flexibility, they became better able to do their jobs while also attending to their well-being. Employees who had lived with their condition for years used what we call personalized disengagement and engagement strategies to manage their symptoms. That refers to the fact that people with mental illness respond best to different coping strategies depending on their own preferences and symptoms, instead of using generic techniques they learned from self-help resources or peers. Examples of personalized disengagement strategies ranged from leaving workspaces to meditate to taking a walk to finding a quiet space to cry. Engagement strategies included immersing more deeply into work and having conversations with co-workers. These coping strategies will sound familiar to most people, including those without any chronic mental health conditions. But workplaces dont always give employees, regardless of their disability status, the flexibility and self-determination necessary to enact their strategies. In fact, a recent survey by Mind Share Partners found that nearly half of employees didnt even feel like they could disconnect from their jobs after working hours or while on vacation. Many employees also told us that they benefited from trust and flexibility in the period after they were diagnosed, when they needed to explore different therapies and treatment techniques. When managers allow for flexibility, trust workers to do what they need to do to address their symptoms, and convey their compassion, employees with chronic mental illness are more likely to keep their jobs and get their work done. Affecting most employers Mental illnesses became more prevalent in the aftermath of COVID-19, especially among adolescents and young adults. So, if youre an employer, chances are that our research is relevant to your workforce. Depression, a common mental illness, had an estimated cost of US$1 trillion annually in lost productivity in 2019, the World Health Organization has estimated. People with anxiety and mood disorders, including bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, may periodically have symptoms that interfere with their ability to do their jobs. And while doing those jobs, they risk being stigmatized by co-workers who may know little about mental illness or be judgmental about people with those chronic conditions. That adds further stress beyond what others would experience at work. Employee assistance programs could be falling short In response, many employers offer benefits to help employees cope with mental and emotional problems, such as employee assistance programs, mental-wellness app subscriptions, and stigma-reduction efforts. These one-size-fits-all initiatives can help improve functioning for those with occasional or short-term emotional problems, and they can help improve leaders ability to respond to employees distress, which s crucial. But as a whole, they are not enough to solve the problem. Employee assistance programs, which nearly all big companies offer, have not proved systematically helpful to workers in achieving their goals. One study found that they reduced employees absences but did not reduce their work-related distress. Another study even found that workers who used these programs became more inclined to leave their jobs. Not missing out on peak performers Contrary to stereotypes, people with chronic anxiety and depression, such as those we studied, are generally as capable of success in the workplace as anyone else in the right context. Extremely high performers, such as the late actor Carrie Fisher and the Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, are two such examples of people with a mental illness who were top achievers in their field. If you were a manager, wouldnt you want people of this caliber working for you? If so, then its important to create the right conditions, which many employers fail to do despite their best efforts. Needing more mental health support Companies will face increasing pressure to support those with mental illness and other mental health challenges. Monsters 2024 State of the Graduate Report found that Gen Z employees (people born between 1996 and 2010 and are currently in their teens and 20s) are increasingly prioritizing support for mental health at work, with 92% of 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed wanting a job where they are comfortable discussing their mental health at work. This trend suggests that employers wishing to attract top entry-level talent will need to effectively support mental health, highlighting the importance of continuing to research this issue. Sherry Thatcher is a Regal Distinguished Professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Tennessee. Emily Rosado-Solomon is an assistant professor of management at Babson College. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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E-Commerce
Mad Max mode may sound like something out of a video game, but it is a real-life setting for cars currently plying Americas streets. And it poses genuine danger. In an homage to the main character from George Millers dystopian 1979 film and its sequels, originally portrayed by current Trump supporter Mel Gibson, Tesla created Mad Max mode as an option for vehicles equipped with its Full-Self Driving (FSD) system. The Mad Max icon is a mustachioed smiley face wearing a cowboy hat, bearing less of a resemblance to the films titular vigilante than to Tesla CEO Elon Musks brother, Kimbal. (Warner Bros., which released the films, has not filed suit.) Despite its name, FSD does not enable the car to drive itself. Rather, it is an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), capable of changing lanes, making turns, and adjusting speed as long as a human driver remains alert and ready to take over. Other automakers, such as Ford and GM, also offer ADAS systems. Mad Max mode is starkly different from other FSD settings like Sloth and Chill. Teslas using it will roll through stop signs and blast past other vehicles on the road. One driver posted a YouTube video showing his Mad Max-enabled Tesla hitting 82 mph while whizzing by a 65 mph speed limit sign. A social media user wryly suggested that Mad Max should just immediately write you a ticket when you turn it on. Tesla made Mad Max mode available briefly in 2018 and then reintroduced it in October. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quickly announced a safety investigation; the agency declined to give an update on its status. Musks company is not the only one programming its vehicles to treat traffic laws as suggestions rather than requirements. Waymos robotaxis (which, unlike ADAS such as Tesla FSD, do not require anyone in the front seat) have been spotted in San Francisco blocking bike lanes and edging into crosswalks where children are walking. In a recent Wall Street Journal story titled Waymos Self-Driving Cars Are Suddenly Behaving Like New York Cabbies, a Waymo senior director of product management confirmed that the company has programmed its cars to be more aggressive. He said that recent adjustments are making its robotaxis confidently assertive. Welcome to our brave new computer-powered future, where companies will determine which road rules are obeyed and which are ignored. We might not like what they decide. Mad Max, unleashed Traffic laws occupy a curious niche in the U.S., where most drivers break them regularly and without consequences. There is this built-in acknowledgment that going 5 miles per hour over the limit is okay, says Reilly Brennan, a partner at Trucks Venture Capital, a transportation-focused investment firm. In other parts of our life, that wouldnt be acceptable, like going 5% over in accounting or when a doctor performs some kind of task. Indeed, many otherwise law-abiding drivers occasionally change lanes without using a turn signal or double park while grabbing coffee, knowing that these behaviors are technically illegal, but believing they are unlikely to result in a crash or fine. Driving more than 25 mph over the speed limit is a different story. Most people avoid doing so unless, say, rushing a child to the hospital, given the risk of getting into a crash or receiving a pricey ticket. But unlike humans, robotaxis and ADAS can violate traffic laws regardless of situational context. Youve taken away the agency of the person to decide whether its reasonable to break the law at that time, says Phil Koopman, professor emeritus of computer science at Carnegie Mellon, who has studied autonomous driving extensively. Furthermore, companies like Tesla and Waymo may be shielded from the consequences of both minor and major traffic violations. The driver of a Tesla running FSD, for instance, is expected to remain alert and ready to take over, and the company claims that the drivernot Teslais liable for mishaps or collisions. You have a company deciding to break the law, but the driver is being held responsible and suffering the consequences, Koopman says. Last August, a Florida jury rejected Teslas attempts to pin crash responsibility on drivers alone, awarding $243 million to the family of a person struck and killed by a Tesla runing Autopilot, the companys less advanced ADAS. Tesla is appealing. Producers of fully autonomous software shoulder more responsibility for their vehicles actions than car companies offering ADAS. Still, accountability isnt a given for them, either. State law in California and Georgia currently does not allow police to ticket vehicles without a driver, though California will close that loophole next year. (A Waymo spokesperson said the company supported Californias change). Everyones a road warrior now Without liability for traffic law violations, companies may program their vehicles to take more risks. Tesla likely launched Mad Max mode to appeal to the companys hardcore customers, says author and podcaster Edward Niedermeyer, who has written a book about the companys history and is currently writing a follow-up. Tesla has a baseline incentive to release all kinds of weird, quirky, unique software updates that cost them almost nothing and fuel their online fan base, he says. Mad Max mode is an example of that, and it happens to also reflect the companys casual attitude toward public safety. Waymos robotaxis do not behave nearly as aggressively as Teslas running Mad Max. But the company faces an incentive to turn its assertiveness dial up a bit, if only to match the expectations of its paying passengers, who have become accustomed to violating traffic laws when they themselves sit behind the wheel. Driving like your grandmotheras writer Malcolm Gladwell described his Waymo passenger experience in 2021isnt exactly a juicy marketing line. Consumers think that these systems should drive the way they drive, Brennan says. Some circumstances clearly call for rule-breaking, such as moving across a double yellow line to navigate around a moving van that is being unloaded. What weve learned through more than a hundred million real-world miles is that appropriate assertiveness is crucial for safety and traffic flow, says a Waymo spokesperson. But other situations are trickier, such as dropping someone off in a crosswalk or bike lane when no parking spot is available. These behaviors may be common practice among human drivers, but they can endanger other road users and certainly inconvenience them. Last year, Waymo received 589 tickets for illegal parking in San Francisco. But the public may have limited patience for computer-powered cars that bend traffic rules or cause collisions. Researchers have found that people are more tolerant of risk in activities they can control (like driving) than those they cannot (like robotaxis). Case in point: A recent outcry erupted in San Francisco after Waymo vehicles ran over a cat and dog. Of course, countless American pets are killed by human drivers, including the estimated 100,000 dogs who die annually after being placed in truck beds. These tensions will not dissipate anytime soon, given how furiously makers of ADAS and autonomous vehicles are working to win over customers. Brennan envisions a future where riders might choose from varying levels of robotaxi assertiveness. Right now, there is just one Waymo setting, he says. But in a few years, there may be three or four settings, and one of them is almost exactly like the way that you want to drive. For that to happen, humans will have to grow accustomed to self-driven cars zooming past speed limits and playing chicken with pedestrians in crosswalks. Companies are designing their autonomous systems to reflect how humans drive, for better and for worse.
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E-Commerce
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