077 - Placemats

Kyle Scheuerle
October 10, 2025

Welcome!

Welcome to thirty-two eleven (”3211”). This newsletter will entail: 3 Reads, 2 Rabbit Holes, 1 Watch, and 1 Listen — 3/2/1/1. Detailing what I have been up to, on the internet.

introduction:

Recently started up the book The Fish that ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King, by Rich Cohen. So far very good, diving into the life of Samuel Zemurray - a man who started with nothing and built up a banana empire. A bit more about the book:

When Samuel Zemurray arrived in America in 1891, he was tall, gangly, and penniless. When he died in the grandest house in New Orleans sixty-nine years later, he was among the richest, most powerful men in the world. Working his way up from a roadside fruit peddler to conquering the United Fruit Company, Zemurray became a symbol of the best and worst of the United States: proof that America is the land of opportunity, but also a classic example of the corporate pirate who treats foreign nations as the backdrop for his adventures.

Zemurray lived one of the great untold stories of the last hundred years. Starting with nothing but a cart of freckled bananas, he built a sprawling empire of banana cowboys, mercenary soldiers, Honduran peasants, CIA agents, and American statesmen. From hustling on the docks of New Orleans to overthrowing Central American governments and precipitating the bloody thirty-six-year Guatemalan civil war, the Banana Man lived a monumental and sometimes dastardly life. Rich Cohen's brilliant historical profile The Fish That Ate the Whale unveils Zemurray as a hidden power broker, driven by an indomitable will to succeed.

3 reads:

1 - When picking a wedding date, weather is the first thing that comes to mind. The Farmer’s Almanac has been around since 1792, originally published primarily for farmers to maintain their farms and plan their planting based on the expected weather conditions for the year.

An app idea I had when going through this process:

Enter multiple dates, receive a rough estimate of the likelihood of weather for each date based on history, astrology, and other sources. Add in a pricing plan of: 5 dates - $4.00, 10 dates - $7.00, etc.

If I get around to it maybe I’ll try to create this.

The Truth About the Farmer’s Almanac: Fact or Folklore?

The Farmer's Almanac has made weather predictions for centuries, but how accurate are they? We checked in with an Earth scientist to find out.

www.familyhandyman.com/article/farmers-almanac-accuracy/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=morning_brew

2 - Interesting blog I came across. Details entrepreneurs and their morning routines / supplements they take.

Andrew Wilkinson's Daily Routine

Andrew Wilkinson's daily routine showcases his approach to staying productive and achieving personal well-being. Read on to learn more about his daily schedule.

routines.club/routine/andrew-wilkinsons-daily-and-business-routine?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Most%20popular%20links%20&%20articles%20-%203791347

3 - There is something to appreciate for the design of small-town diner menu placemats. Would be fun to print these out and laminate to spice up your dining room table. Everyone gets a different menu.

Order Up

Today’s collection is a grab bag of midcentury North American restaurant placemats. Most of these date from the late 1940s through the ’50s, when the postwar boom and expanding highway system put long-distance vacations within reach for a growing middle class in both the US and Canada.

casualarchivist.substack.com/p/order-up