GOOD

Your Favorite Meme Is Now Drinkable

”People engage with our cards the same as they do with wine”

 Frankie Sakai
09.16.16

As an internet user, you’ve surely encountered at least one Someecard in your lifetime. The tongue-in-cheek illustrated postcards that mock Hallmark while cutting to the heart of the human condition in a hilarious, snarky-as-hell way have become a mainstay on the web since their introduction in 2007. You may have even thought to yourself, “Man, I wish I could grab a drink with the people that write these.”

Well, you’ve just come a little bit closer—the card company is now making wine. Launched in early 2016, SomeWine combines the two elements for creating memories and having a good time: laughter from hilarious jokes and a great bottle of wine. Random, perhaps, but we’re not complaining.

“We saw Someecards as a brand where people engage with our cards the same as they do with wine,” says Duncan Mitchell, CEO of Someecards and co-creator of SomeWine. “People love to share the hilarious memes we create with friends and family, similar to how people get together and share a bottle of wine, so we wanted to build that deep conversation connected to people.”

The company sells four types of wines; Chardonnay, Red Blend, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Currently sold in 15 states, with partnerships with major retailers like Sprouts, Heinen’s, Giant Eagle, and Goody Goody Liquor, the company is looking for further distribution in 10 more states by 2017. The company’s target audience? Twenty-somethings and enthusiasts looking for a fun, humorous spin on wine.

“The wine business is evolving with millennials. They’re open to nonconventional ideas of what a wine company now is,” says Tom Lynch, a partner of 1026 Beverage Company and co-creator of SomeWine. “They want something approachable, with depth and something they can relate to, as well as wanting really good juice in the bottle.”

SomeWine's bottles bring the jokes with them. Photo courtesy SomeWine

The socially awkward and shy among us have never been better-armed: with SomeWine, the label is the joke. Currently, there are four jokes as the labels, including “Keep your friends close and your wine glass closer” and “This wine goes great with more wine,” but since they have over 100 memes in their arsenal, they are working to branch out and offer more variety.

They’re also tapping their original social media success to crowdsource the funniest labels. For their second Chardonnay, for instance, SomeWine tested five different variations of wine memes across Facebook and had a contest. The most liked card, “This is the perfect wine for drinking in your nicest sweatpants” won to become the label for their Chardonnay blend.

SomeWine isn’t just spreading laughs. As a 1% For the Planet Company, they donate at least 1 percent of all their revenue to non-profit organizations. After Lynch took a life-changing trip to South African Safari with his daughter and did a week-long volunteering with a non-profit organization that brought sustainable food garden into a village, it got him thinking about that the right way to do business and do good things in the world shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.

While their wine production is still in the early phases, those looking to get a double-dose of wine and humor can shop online by the bottle—or buy an entire case to ensure that there will be plenty of good times to be had at the party...even if that party just consists of you, a glass, your finest sweatpants, and Netflix.

Food

A Kenyan inventor's niece was born deaf so he made a glove that turns sign language into speech

via Honor Africans / Twitter

The problem with American Sign Language (ASL) is that over 500,000 people in the U.S. use it, but the country has over 330 million people.

So for those with hearing loss, the chances of coming into contact with someone who uses the language are rare. Especially outside of the deaf community.

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Bill Gates explaining the internet to a smug David Letterman in 1995 is hilarious in hindsight

Looking back, the year 1995 seems like such an innocent time. America was in the midst of its longest streak of peace and prosperity. September 11, 2001 was six years away, and the internet didn't seem like much more than a passing fad.

Twenty-four years ago, 18 million U.S. homes had modem-equipped computers, 7 million more than the year before. Most logged in through America Online where they got their email or communicated with random strangers in chat rooms.

According to a Pew Research study that year, only 32% of those who go online say they would miss it "a lot" if no longer available.

Imagine what those poll numbers would look like if the question was asked today.

RELATED: Bill and Melinda Gates had a surprising answer when asked about a 70 percent tax on the wealthiest Americans

"Few see online activities as essential to them, and no single online feature, with the exception of E-Mail, is used with any regularity," the Pew article said. "Consumers have yet to begin purchasing goods and services online, and there is little indication that online news features are changing traditional news consumption patterns."

"Late Night" host David Letterman had Microsoft founder and, at that time the richest man in the world, on his show for an interview in '95 to discuss the "the big new thing."

During the interview Letterman chided Gates about the usefulness of the new technology, comparing it to radio and tape recorders.

Gates seems excited by the internet because it will soon allow people to listen to a baseball game on their computer. To which Letterman smugly replies, "Does radio ring a bell?" to laughter from the crowd.

But Gates presses Letterman saying that the new technology allows you to listen to the game "whenever you want," to which Letterman responds, "Do tape recorders ring a bell?"

Gates then tells Letterman he can keep up with the latest in his favorite hobbies such as cigar smoking or race cars through the internet. Letterman shuts him down saying that he reads about his interests in magazines.

RELATED: Bill Gates has five books he thinks you should read this summer.

The discussion ends with the two laughing over meeting like-minded people in "troubled loner chat room on the internet."

The clip brings to mind a 1994 segment on "The Today Show" where host Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric have a similar discussion.

"What is internet anyway?" an exasperated Gumball asks. "What do you write to it like mail?"

"It's a computer billboard but it's nationwide and it's several universities all joined together and it's getting bigger and bigger all the time," a producer explains from off-stage.





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Culture

We're finally starting to take climate change seriously, survey finds

Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash

The future generations will have to live on this Earth for years to come, and, not surprisingly, they're very concerned about the fate of our planet. We've seen a rise in youth activists, such as Greta Thunberg, who are raising awareness for climate change. A recent survey indicates that those efforts are working, as more and more Americans (especially young Americans) feel concerned about climate change.

A new CBS News poll found that 70% of Americans between 18 and 29 feel climate change is a crisis or a serious problem, while 58% of Americans over the age of 65 share those beliefs. Additionally, younger generations are more likely to feel like it's their personal responsibility to address climate change, as well as think that transitioning to 100% renewable energy is viable. Overall, 25% of Americans feel that climate change is a "crisis," and 35% feel it is a "serious problem." 10% of Americans said they think climate change is a minor problem, and 16% of Americans feel it is not a problem that worries them.

The poll found that concern for the environment isn't a partisan issue – or at least when it comes to younger generations. Two-thirds of Republicans under the age of 45 feel that addressing climate change is their duty, sentiments shared by only 38% of Republicans over the age of 45.

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The Planet