Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Parents, rejoice: For the first time ever, there’s a Lego brick so tiny that you can’t see it, let alone step on it. The brick in question is a microscopic sculpture created by U.K.-based artist David A Lindon. It’s made from a standard red square Lego, and it looks like one, too, aside from the fact that it measures just 0.02517 millimeter by 0.02184 millimeter (about the size of a white blood cell). As of this month, the brick has snagged the Guinness World Record for the smallest-ever handmade sculpture, measuring four times smaller than the previous record holder. We’ve seen lunar Legos, renewable Legos, and giant Legos, but this brick might just be the most i…

At a time when book bans are raging and the federal government is pushing back against DEI initiatives, there’s one place where diversity is thriving: children’s literature. Picture books—which cater to those under the age of 10—are often children’s first introduction to poetry and art. And this year, there are many newly-published picture books that celebrate aspects of Black life in nuanced ways, portraying history, culture, and joy. Here are five of our favorites. ‘City Summer, Country Summer’ [Art: Courtesy of Kokila/Penguin Random House] By Kiese Laymon, illustrated by Alexis Franklin. (Kokila/Penguin Young Readers, ages 5-9.) Author Kiese Laymon is…

When David Mesfin was producing his documentary on Black surfing culture, Wade in the Water, back in 2023, he had a problem. Like millions of other people since ChatGPT and other GenAI tools emerged in late 2022, Mesfin was experimenting and using these tools to generate imagery for the film. “But the results were always the same: white surfers with darkened skin,” says Mesfin, a creative director at ad agency Innocean. “It was a clear sign that these systems weren’t built with us in mind. That moment made it impossible to ignore how deeply bias is embedded in the technology.” This week, sparked by that moment, Mesfin and his colleagues have launched “Breaking B…

The return-to-office (RTO) push at companies such as Amazon and AT&T—which both required employees to be back in the office full-time this month—has been met with discontent and frustration from much of their workforces. Some Amazon employees have said they are looking for new jobs, if they haven’t left already, while people at both companies have reportedly struggled to even find an open desk. But other leaders are not letting the prospect of low morale or limited workspace derail their plans to return to the office full time in 2025. According to a memo obtained by Business Insider, the latest addition to the mix is Dell, which had already tested the waters with…

Building a high-growth business is all about timing and making the right moves at the right moments. Whether it’s knowing when to expand into new retail spaces or recognizing a buzzy product that can skyrocket your brand, the journey is full of strategic decisions and challenges. As founders scale their businesses, they must navigate everything from cash flow management to mastering social media. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in determining how a business can not only grow but thrive in a competitive market. This past weekend at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW, Danielle Guizio, owner and designer of Guizio; Kat Hantas, cofounder of tequila brand 21Seeds;…

Gen Z workers have been branded as demanding, unmotivated, and even entitled—a word that was used not too long ago to describe millennials. In an Intelligent.com survey last fall, 60% of employers said they had fired Gen Z workers not long after hiring them, and one in six managers said they were hesitant to hire recent college graduates. It’s no surprise that Gen Z continues to be misunderstood, or that older employees might rely on lazy tropes as they try to make sense of a new generation. While it’s true that Gen Z employees may have higher expectations for the workplace, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing—in fact, it may just be a necessary corrective in the face …

We’re only in the third month of the year and already there have been a number of bizarre food trends go viral on TikTok—from a $19 strawberry to feeding babies spoonfuls of butter. The latest is a yogurt, called Coconut Cult, that costs $39 for a 16 ounce jar. On many a for-you-page, you can find influencers incorporating a scoop of the super-live probiotic yogurt into their morning routine and instructing viewers how to properly eat it. “I’ve never looked hotter,” one user posted, adding her stomach “has never been flatter.” (Not everyone on the platform was impressed with the results, however, and some weren’t fans of the reportedly sour taste.) Availabl…

Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries. It’s the first new pharmaceutical approach to treating pain in more than 20 years, offering an alternative to both opioids and over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. But the medication’s modest effectiveness and lengthy development process underscore the challenges of finding new ways to manage pain. Studies in more tha…

Apple has introduced its first new product of 2025: the iPhone 16E. The new iPhone replaces the iPhone SE from Apple’s lineup—the company’s entry-level, budget iPhone. But the iPhone 16E is more than just a minor spec update to the existing third-generation iPhone SE, which debuted nearly three years ago. As its name suggests, Apple’s new entry-level device has more in common with its flagship iPhone 16 series, introduced last year, than the now-discontinued iPhone SE of old. Here are five major changes Apple has made and who, exactly, the new iPhone 16E is for. [Photo: Apple] A new design with a 6.1-inch display The most noticeable thing about the iPhone 1…

Ever wondered what life is like for an astronaut? Now you can ask during NASA’s first Twitch event, where astronauts will be broadcasting live from the International Space Station (ISS). The stream is set to take place on Wednesday, February 12, at 11:45 a.m. ET on NASA’s official Twitch channel. The event will feature flight engineer Don Pettit, currently in space as part of the Expedition 72 launch which began on September 23, 2024, and ends in Spring 2025. He’ll be joined by NASA astronaut Matt Dominick, who returned to Earth in October 2024 after conducting scientific research for 232 days aboard the ISS. The NASA astronauts will answer questions about daily …

Ever wondered what it would be like to wake up in Pompei on eruption day? How about how it would have felt to be a passenger on the Titanic? Now you don’t need to. A new TikTok trend lets you travel back in time via artificial intelligence and experience the POV of someone living though that time period. From waking up as a caveman in 40 B.C. to being the last person on earth in 2087, many of the most viral videos have been posted by creator @timetravellerpov. “The inspiration behind my videos is the desire to bring history to life in a way that feels immersive,” @timetravellerpov tells Fast Company over email. “Each one is designed to transport viewers into differen…

Chess.com has a new subscription option for chess families and tight-knit players: a friends and family plan. The site, where players around the world can face off against live opponents, play bots, and solve chess puzzles, introduced its group tier in January, offering a players a discount on its top-tier offerings with the aim of winning the long-term loyalty game. For $199.99 a year, Chess.com’s “Friends and Family” Diamond Premium plan offers up to four people access to feature’s like an ad-free site experience, chess lessons, game reviews, and insights into how to improve their skills that would run an individual subscriber $120 a year. “It’s good for con…

Barbara Bouza went from architecture to Imagineering and back again. A trained architect who spent nearly 19 years working on building projects for the world’s largest architecture and design firm, Gensler, Bouza made an unconventional career pivot in 2020 when she became president of Walt Disney Imagineering, the famed division of the Disney corporation focused on theme parks, experiences, and future technologies. After four years of navigating pandemic closures, updating theme parks around the world, and debuting new cruise ships, she’s now coming back to her roots in architecture and taking on a new role as executive director of market strategies and growth at the…

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. From a young age, feedback from authority figures shape our self-perception. Unfortunately, too many young people internalize the message that they should only pursue what comes easily to them. I know this firsthand. As a student, I was interested in STEM but found it challenging. After an educator told me to focus on what I was “good at,” I believed I could never succeed in sci…

The intense red color of classic lipstick traditionally comes from an unlikely source: crushed bugs that live on cactus plants in South America. It takes tens of thousands of the ground-up insects to make just a pound of the vivid red dye. The red coloring, called carmine, also shows up in food—from red velvet cupcakes to sausages, gummy candies, and some versions of strawberry yogurt. In the cosmetics industry, major brands started moving away from carmine in the 2010s because of ethical concerns. A growing number of consumers wanted vegan makeup. (Crushing bugs also creates an allergen because of other bug parts that end up in the dye.) But because synthetic dyes do…

This week, the startup Humane—which raised $240 million to build an iPhone-killing AI Pin—announced its sale to HP for $116 million. While far short of the company’s original $1 billion asking price, it’s astonishing the brand scrapped for anything at all. A product that had promised to change the world instead became a worldwide laughing stock, indicative of the worst tendencies of Silicon Valley founder hubris. Universally panned, Humane sold fewer than 10,000 units. Sometimes its returns outpaced its sales. Units could catch fire. Humane co-founders Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno thanked their few loyal customers by announcing their Pins would no longer work…

Most chatbots want to appear human. But their efforts to sound just like us only widen their uncanny valley feeling. Many are Elon Musk-level awkward. And most are annoyingly verbose. There’s only one AI persona that offers a completely different user experience: Tolan. This AI-powered being—which you can teleport into your iPhone—doesn’t pretend to be like us. Quite the opposite. Tolan embraces being very much unlike us. But in doing so, it feels more human and relatable than any other AIs I’ve come across. Tolan is an alien. The whimsical, colorful creature is made of friendly curved shapes that are designed to reflect, converse, and grow with its user. These AI-drive…

You’ve probably heard that people don’t leave their job, they leave their manager. It’s a popular saying because it’s often true. Having a toxic boss, however, is different than having one you simply don’t like. If your boss is toxic, you need to take steps to protect yourself. But if it’s simply a matter of personalities not jiving, slow your job-search roll, suggests Stephanie Chung, author of Ally Leadership, How to Lead People Who Are Not Like You. “There are people in your family you probably don’t like,” she says. “But if you like your company, you like your colleagues, you like how much money you’re making, you like your benefits, and the only thing you don’t l…

Debate about whether artificial intelligence can replicate the intellectual labor of doctors, lawyers, or PhDs forgoes a deeper concern that’s looming: Entire companies—not just individual jobs—may be rendered obsolete by the accelerating pace of AI adoption. Reports suggesting OpenAI will charge $20,000 per month for agents trained at a PhD level spun up the ongoing debate about whose job is safe from AI and whose job is not. “I’ve not seen it be that impressive yet, but it’s likely not far off,” James Villarrubia, head of digital innovation and AI at NASA CAS, told me. Sean McGregor, the founder of Responsible AI Collaborative who earned a PhD in computer sc…

Gallup recently released new data on employee engagement, and the results are dismal. Just 3 out of every 10 employees are actively engaged—which is the lowest percentage in a decade. But despite decades of effort and investment in tackling disengagement, this persistent issue endures. If you conduct an Amazon search for books on employee engagement, you’ll get thousands of results. There are also dozens of apps and “platforms” that promise to “unleash human potential” and “help people transform,” not to mention countless, self-described “coaches” offering services related to “re-engaging” the workforce. We’ve seen the rise and fall of “perks culture,” added opp…

Some “copycat” versions of popular weight-loss drugs will soon be restricted in the U.S. The change comes as a federal judge declined an injunction that would’ve allowed compounding pharmacies to keep making more affordable versions. In a Good Morning America segment, Dr. Tara Narula, ABC News chief medical correspondent, explained how compound-drug creation works to meet demand. “When a drug is in short supply, the FDA allows these compounding pharmacies to essentially create copycat drugs. But when the drug companies say, ‘we are able to meet the demand,’ then those compounding pharmacies can no longer sell those drugs,” Narula said. The U.S. Food and Drug Adm…