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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