Sulfur prices have gone haywire

Sulfur cost $46 per ton in 2024, jumped to $180 in 2025, and hit over $1,000 per metric ton in July. It's a key ingredient in fertilizer needed to grow food.

Fertilizer makers are cutting back

Mosaic Company, a major phosphate fertilizer producer, says prices are so high that fertilizer use will drop significantly. They've already shut down two facilities in Louisiana, affecting 300 families.

Your food bill is about to rise

Oxford Economics predicts global food prices will jump another 4.8% in 2027, driven by higher diesel and fertilizer costs tied to the sulfur shortage.

The U.S. makes sulfur but can't help

America produces its own sulfur, but Middle Eastern suppliers like Iran are blocked by the closed Strait of Hormuz, and Russian exports are banned. Other countries are now buying from U.S. markets, driving up domestic prices too.

Oil crisis is making things worse

Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline was shut down by drone attacks from Iraq. If it stays offline for a month, over 100 million barrels of oil could be kept from global markets, pushing prices even higher.

Oil stockpiles are running dry

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level since 1982 and will take months or years to refill. American refiners are already operating at 98% capacity with no room to handle more oil.

High prices will stick around

Even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens tomorrow, oil prices won't drop quickly. The market will take time to reset, and backup supplies that cushioned prices are now at their limits.

Flock cameras track more than plates

Police departments pay over $100,000 annually for Flock's AI-powered license plate cameras, which reduced car thefts by 11% in their first year. But the cameras can also pan, tilt, zoom, and track people walking or biking.

Facial recognition is possible

Flock cameras don't currently use facial recognition, but they have the technical ability to do so if the company or police departments decide to implement it, raising privacy concerns.

Lego doesn't match Hollywood size

Lego's annual revenue was $12.9 billion in 2025, far below California's film industry GDP of $59 billion. Even accounting for value added, Lego is significantly smaller than the motion picture industry.

Wealthy people break more rules

A 2012 paper that won the Ig Nobel Prize found that wealthier individuals cut off other drivers more often, cheat more in games for money, and even steal candy from jars labeled for children.

“Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior”