The countdown to Pyeongchang is over, with world’s best athletes coming together Feb. 8 for the opening ceremonies of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. GOOD wants you to be ready for the world competition with these sport-by-sport snapshots of athletes and stories to watch, all thanks to a new original series from the Olympic Channel.
Consider this your preview of history in the making. Each episode of the Olympic Channel’s 15-part series, “Pyeongchang 2018 Stories to Watch,” explores a number of fascinating athlete stories and highlights potential medalists. Learn more about what’s happening at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games below, and get ready to cheer on your favorite athletes and teams to victory.
Bobsleigh
Bobsleigh has been around since the beginning of the Winter Olympics. Both men and women compete in events that can reach speeds to rival those at top motorways. Kaillie Humphries of Canada has been the dominant bobsleigh driver of her generation, leading Canada to gold at the last two Olympics. She began her sports career as an Alpine skier but broke each of her legs in separate accidents and decided to try a new sport. She began her bobsleigh career as a pusher and was an alternate on Canada’s Olympic team in 2006. Click here to learn more from the Olympic Channel.
Curling
Curling rewards concentration and good team strategy. But can any curling team unseat champion Canada at Pyeongchang 2018? Switzerland hopes to win curling gold for only the second time in Olympic history. The team of Jenny Perret and Martin Rios pulled off a stunning rally to beat Canada for the world mixed doubles crown in 2017 after Perret delivered the winning shot. That’s given them the confidence to face Switzerland, winner of six world titles, for an Olympic matchup for the ages. Also watch Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead, the youngest skip to win a medal.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey fans should watch for Meghan Agosta of Canada, Pavel Datsyuk of Russia, and Hilary Knight of the U.S. History in the sport could be equaled at Pyeongchang 2018 by Agosta, who has won gold at each of the last three Olympics; a fourth would tie the record held by two others. At 18, she was the youngest member of Canada’s team at the 2006 Games in Torino. She initially played in leagues with boys. And Knight is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, poised to lead her team to victory in Pyeongchang. Click here for more from the Olympic Channel.
Luge
Felix Loch, Natalie Geisenberger, and Tatjana Hüefner, all of Germany; Erin Hamlin of the U.S.; and the Šics brothers, Andris and Juris, of Latvia are some of the top luge athletes to watch. For Hüefner, who is 26, Pyeongchang will be her fourth Olympic Games. She was a soldier in the German army when she competed in her first Olympics in 2006, where she put together runs good enough to earn the bronze medal. Four years later, she won the gold. And at Sochi in 2014, she turned in a steady silver performance. If she adds a fourth medal in Pyeongchang, Hüefner will be the most decorated female luger in Olympics history.
Speed skating
Why are Sven Kramer of the Netherlands, Joey Mantia of the U.S., and the married Bergsmas — Heather for the U.S. and Jorrit for the Netherlands — the ones to watch at the 2018 Games? Kramer has already won seven Olympic medals, including two at the last games in Sochi. He might have won another, but he was disqualified despite having finished finishing first in the 10,000-meter for skating a lap in the wrong lane after his coach had given him incorrect instructions. He also has broken nine world records. Will he continue to ride into history in Pyeongchang?
Ski jumping
Ski jumping, like bobsleigh, has been on the Olympic program since the Winter Games began in 1924. It was a men’s only program until four years ago. This year, viewers will want to get to know Noriaki Kasai of Japan, Carina Vogt of Germany, Peter Prevc of Slovenia, and Sarah Hendrickson of the U.S. Kasai, who is the reigning silver medalist in the large hill, will be 45 years old at these games, which will mark his record-setting eighth Winter Olympics appearance. He says he wanted to participate in these Olympics because his family has never seen him compete, and Japan is close to South Korea. Click here to learn more from the Olympic Channel.
Snowboard
Big air snowboarding is entering the Olympic Games for the first time in 2018. Alex Deibold of the U.S. won bronze in the snowboard cross at the Sochi Olympics in 2014 and was a back-up and wax technician at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Deibold started snowboarding at age 4, when his mother gave him a purple and green board for Christmas, and he entered his first slopestyle competition at age 8. To learn more about snowboard events in Pyeongchang, catch the Olympic Channel episode preview Click here to learn more from the Olympic Channel.
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.