Author: openjargon

• I spent over $120 to try 22 burgers available at the fast-food chain Wendy's.
• The pretzel Baconator was good, but I thought it had too much meat.
• The Baconator was my favorite, and it felt like the perfect meal.

I love grabbing a quick, hot meal on the go, and lucky for me, there are plenty of great fast-food chains around. Fast-food giant Wendy's is known for its "fresh, never frozen" square burgers, making it a go-to spot for many customers craving the diner classic.

Wendy's, which has over 7,000 locations worldwide, carries seven distinct burger categories: Jr. burgers, Double Stacks, Big Bacon burgers, Baconators, Dave's burgers, bacon jalapeño cheeseburgers, and pretzel cheeseburgers. Lately, I've been wondering which Wendy's burger is the best, so I decided to do my own ranking.

Buying all of these burgers wasn't cheap, which, considering fast-food chains' increasing prices, didn't surprise me. Over multiple trips to Wendy's, I spent about $120 and tried 22 burgers. I assigned each order a division and pitted the winners against each other to compile a master ranking.

Here's how the burgers stacked up.

Editor's Note: This piece includes items that are no longer available but may return. 

Division 1: The Double Stacks consisted of 2 contenders

These burgers are known for having two 2-ounce patties and not too many toppings — just cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, and sometimes mustard. 

The first of this bracket, the original Double Stack, was understandably smaller in real life than in the menu picture

First Impression: In real life, this burger looked a lot smaller than the picture, which I probably should have expected. Its only toppings are ketchup, pickles, and onions.

I thought this one would be pretty good, as you can never go wrong with two patties and some pickles — White Castle understands this. 

It reminded me of a quarter pounder with cheese, but not quite as good

Review: Essentially, this reminded me of a McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese. The pickles were delicious, but there were no onions to be seen. 

All in all, this was a solid burger, even if it wasn't unique. Every establishment needs a menu item like this. 

The bacon Double Stack lacked condiments

First Impression: I spent a while trying to figure out the difference between the bacon Double Stack, the Baconator, and the Big Bacon Classic double.

They each have bacon, cheese, and two patties, but there are a few differences in the toppings. The Big Bacon Classic double has crisp lettuce, tomato, pickle, ketchup, mayo, and onion. 

This burger's rank came down to the value I placed on condiments. Here, I thought having mustard — an oft-forgotten topping among fast-food chains — was a good move.

I enjoyed the mustard, but this option lacked in other departments

Review: Again, this felt like a quarter pounder with cheese and bacon. Was it better than McDonald's? I honestly wasn't sure. It was a little saltier, which could go either way. 

I thought the meat — although underseasoned — was top-notch. The mustard was a nice touch, but the meal could've used a dash more of it. That said, I missed the lettuce and tomato.

Division-1 winner: The bacon Double Stack triumphs for having bacon 

Although these burgers had many good qualities, a lack of toppings held the Double Stacks back.

The bacon alternative slightly beat out the original one, but only because bacon beats no bacon. 

Division 2: All 3 burgers in the Dave's category seemed promising

This collection of burgers is named after the chain's founder, Dave Thomas.

Each toasted bun is stacked with a select number of quarter-pound beef patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mayo.

The smallest of the options, Dave's single, still has a large patty

First Impression: The single patty on this burger looked about the size of the Double Stack's two. The only difference was this option genuinely looked like a burger, with onion, lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayo, ketchup, and a toasted bun. 

This is Wendy's version of a classic hamburger, so I was excited to taste the chain's interpretation. 

This burger impressed me

Review: This was an excellent burger. The pickles and lettuce actually crunched, even after I waited to eat it at home. I also liked the addition of mayo and look forward to eating this burger again.

Dave's Double looked like a total classic

First Impression: This order was a great baseline for all of the double burgers since it's such a classic. 

I took this from the Wendy's wrapper and thought, "Yeah, that's a good-looking burger."

This was a quintessential American hamburger

Review: Once again, I was confronted with a great burger. I wanted some bacon, but there was magic in the ketchup and mayo team. I loved the onion as well. 

Dave's triple was a massive burger

First Impression: Wendy's website says to "use both hands" while eating this one, and that's a solid piece of advice.

It was just too … much … food

Review: Wendy's said to use both hands — I needed a third. 

The delicious pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomatoes were lost in this sea of beef. I can't see myself eating this option again unless dared to do so. 

Division-2 winner: Dave's Double easily won this set

Emblematic of the quintessential American hamburger, this meal made me want to get a soda pop and go to the sock hop.

Division 3: The Big Bacon burgers, which had 4 competitive options

The Big Bacon burgers are, unsurprisingly, all stacked with Applewood smoked bacon, but can also include other toppings like lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, ketchup, and mayo.

I was excited to dig into the Big Bacon Classic

First Impression: This burger wasn't a whole lot larger than a Dave's single, but it did have bacon on it.

It also had a liberal amount of sauce, and I liked that it came with two pieces of cheese.

I liked that Wendy's didn't skimp on the cheese

Review: This burger was excellent. The two pieces of cheese were a highlight of this burger since a single slice would've gotten lost. 

I grew up near a hole-in-the-wall burger place, and this sandwich reminded me of it. The bacon was super crispy, and the seemingly fresh ingredients stood out. 

This option was better than the Dave's single, but only because bacon makes any burger better. 

If you need a big meal, look no further than the Big Bacon Classic double

First Impression: I honestly thought the double cheeseburgers were the perfect size overall.

I noticed that Wendy's didn't increase the serving of condiments, either. The meal just oozes meat — in a good way. 

It was a classic burger with just the right amount of toppings

Review: This was the ultimate straight-up burger. I liked that Wendy's didn't increase the number of toppings and just added more cheese — it was the right call.

This was a lot of meat, and if there was twice as much bacon, it would've felt like overkill. 

The Big Bacon Classic triple seemed to have too much meat

First Impression: This burger had three patties and three slices of cheese. The question here became whether a burger could truly have too much meat. It was so big it needed two foils to cover it. 

It was literally too much of a handful

Review: The burger was delicious, but I only really tasted the meat. Even the three slices of cheese got lost. The beef also tasted underseasoned to me.

Although promising, this burger lacked the balance of the double. As I ate the massive burger, it nearly slipped out of my hand.

The things that make a good burger great, like lettuce, tomato, and onion, were virtually nonexistent. In this case, less would have been more. 

The Big Bacon cheddar cheeseburger looked delicious

First Impression: I thought this burger looked quite good. I was interested in the cheesy bun — the only completely new ingredient that I could see — and liked how it stacked. I also appreciated that Wendy's picked several classic burger toppings, including bacon and crispy onions. 

Plus, I was optimistic about the addition of cheddar and American cheese. 

This burger had a great balance of flavors

Review: The onions were excellent. They were greasy and a little chewy, but the fried flavor didn't overpower them. 

The combination of cheddar and American cheese was also fantastic. The American cut the sharpness of the cheddar, and it all mixed wonderfully with the bacon. The cheddar bun, however, wasn't very noticeable and tasted a bit like a dull Cheez-It.

That said, the bacon-jam sauce held everything together and then some. It added the perfect amount of sweetness to this savory dish.

Division-3 winner: The Big Bacon cheddar cheeseburger came out on top

Like most of its contenders, this burger was impressively good. Bacon truly is a game-changing ingredient. However, the delicious sauce made this Big Bacon option a standout. 

Division 4: The Baconators, which both looked like strong contenders

Applewood smoked bacon takes a leading role on top of these meaty options — just the name should tell you that — and each burger is paired with just cheese, ketchup, and mayo.

The Baconator seemed like overkill

First Impression: This burger was bun, patty, cheese, bacon, patty, cheese, and more bacon. I like lettuce and tomato, so staring the Baconator down was a little nerve-racking.

There's a reason this is considered Wendy's flagship burger 

Review: My first impression was off — the Baconator lived up to its hype. I would've liked a pickle, just for something a little green, but it was so good. 

There's something to be said for giving the people what they want. The patty meat and bacon went well together, and the cheese held everything in place. 

There was also something so right about the mayo on this sparse burger. It added a mellow flavor to the meat. The ketchup was a nice finishing touch. 

The Son of Baconator looked like it'd be good for someone who wanted a somewhat average portion

First Impression: The only difference between this one and the regular Baconator is that this is made with two smaller patties.

I probably don't need to eat half of a pound of beef plus however much pork the bacon is, so it's nice to have this option, but I can't see myself ever choosing it. Even using a big knife, I struggled to cut through it. 

The small version should've been enough, but it wasn't

Review: Because of the size difference, this burger wasn't quite as good as its papa. This option is probably enough food for most people, but I wanted more.

Division-4 winner: The Baconator was just better  

Wendy's kept it simple with this one and gave the people what they wanted — more meat.

The cheese perfectly held the meats together, and the flavors of the combined ketchup and mayo brought out the very best in this burger. 

Division 5: There are 4 Jr. burgers, but I didn't expect any of them to go far

Wendy's line of Jr. burgers is exactly what you'd expect: smaller portions with the heart of a full-sized one.

The toppings vary based on your order, but the base ingredients include pickles, onions, ketchup, and mustard.

The Jr. cheeseburger deluxe didn't have too much going on, which I liked

First Impression: This is a cheeseburger, all right. I felt like I knew what it would taste like before I bit in.

I was curious if this stripped-down burger could stand on its own without bacon and extra patties.

There was a little too much sauce on it, but this was a good burger

Review: This burger had more pickles, mayo, and ketchup than some of the other ones I tried. The lettuce was a little bit larger than the meat, which made me feel better about eating it. 

However, I thought the patty was a bit too small, and the sauces felt a little too overpowering. Still, it was refreshing to have a burger that felt normal. 

The Jr. bacon cheeseburger looked solid 

First Impression: This looked like a solid cheeseburger, similar to the Jr. cheeseburger deluxe, but with bacon. 

The size of this burger was the only thing holding it back

Review: This burger was pretty good. The bacon added something nice, even if the serving of mayonnaise was a little heavy-handed, but that might have been the human element at fast-food chains. 

I thought Wendy's used great cheese, even if it was more processed-tasting than the produce. Really, the size was the only thing holding this one back. 

The Jr. cheeseburger seemed cute

First Impression: Enveloped in a warm bun, this option looked cute. With no lettuce and tomato, this order was stripped down to its most basic flavors. 

The pickles and onions were a great combo

Review: This burger was very nice. I liked the pickle-onion combination, and the ketchup stood out, too. It was a step above the kind of frozen patty you'd make at home on a hot plate, but certainly not as good as the one you'd get at a cookout. 

The flavors went well together, but unless you walk into Wendy's thinking, "Wow, I just want a hamburger," I'd say get something else. 

The Jr. hamburger looked very plain

First Impression: This kind of looked sad compared to the behemoths that it stood next to on the menu. 

Honestly, if the Jr. hamburger is the worst thing on this list, I think it will reflect how fantastic all of the other burgers are rather than how bad this one is.

But it's a hamburger. You don't go to Wendy's for just a hamburger. 

This was so small that I felt like I was eating Charlie Brown's Christmas tree

Review: The pickles were crunchy, the onion had zip, and the ketchup was good, but the meat was pretty underseasoned.  

It was so small, with just a single sliver of onion and a couple of tiny pickles. I felt like I was eating the tiny "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree.

Division-5 winner: The Jr. bacon cheeseburger was the best of this large pool

Honestly, an argument could be made for the deluxe, but I think the bacon helped push this option over the edge — it also slightly seasoned the meat. 

That said, I didn't see this winner advancing very far in the ultimate playoff.

Division 6: The bacon jalapeño burgers had 3 formidable-looking contenders

Wendy's added a kick of spice to its menu with its bacon jalapeño burgers. Each order is topped with pickled jalapeños, bacon, cheese, fried onions, cheese sauce, and jalapeño sauce. 

I loved seeing crispy onions on the bacon jalapeño cheeseburger

First Impression: I was excited about the addition of crispy onions, which are always good on a burger. Jalapeño would never be my first move, but I was interested to see what Wendy's did with that choice as well. 

Again, this one had no other vegetables, but that hadn't been a dealbreaker so far. 

The hot jalapeños made this burger 

Review: This burger was excellent. The cheese sauce was good but not on Taco Bell's level, which knocked it down a peg.  

The jalapeños were delicious and gave the burger a real kick, and the crispy onions elevated the whole thing. I liked that Wendy's took a shot with the cheese sauce, even if it didn't quite hit. 

Overall, the onions and jalapeños made this better, but the cheese sauce brought it down.

The bacon jalapeño double cheeseburger looked especially promising

First Impression: The double burger was the best size, and this seemed to be where the bacon jalapeño double cheeseburger separated itself from the rest. 

This burger was one of my favorites 

Review: This was one of my favorite burgers. The jalapeño had a lot of bite, and the cheese balanced everything out. It was like ballpark nachos between a bun. 

My only complaint was that it didn't have produce. I'd love a crisp, fresh onion or tomato on here. 

The bacon jalapeño triple cheeseburger looked like the best triple

First Impression: This was the only triple that I actually believed might have been as good as the originals, but only because I thought the jalapeño had a strong enough flavor to carry across three patties. 

Still, I just didn't know why I needed this much meat. 

I could not have opened my mouth any wider

Review: My first impression was spot on. The jalapeños added enough variety to avoid making this one taste like a meat sandwich. Still, the double was more manageable and, therefore, better to eat.

Division-6 winner: The bacon jalapeño double cheeseburger was the best in this bracket

I may have been skeptical about the cheese sauce and lack of vegetables, and although those points still stand, this burger was still good on its own.

Division 7: I expected stiff competition between the burgers with pretzel buns

Each burger in this category had a thick pretzel bun. This line of Wendy's burgers is dressed to the nines in toppings and upgrades, though the contents of each sandwich vary. 

The pretzel Baconator looked like a meat-heavy yet delicious option

First Impression: This two-patty burger certainly looked filling. The pretzel bun excited me, but I was slightly disappointed that it didn't have salt on top. However, I was sure the burger would be salty enough.

I also appreciated that the burger came with ketchup, mayo, and two slices of cheese.

I wished there was less meat in this burger

Review: This sandwich had everything — to the point where I thought it was a little too much. I couldn't handle all that meat, and although there was ample cheese, it was overpowered. At first, I thought the burger needed more ketchup, but it definitely had enough.

Each ingredient was fine by itself. Even the pretzel bun tasted good, though it lacked crispness and was slippery from the glossy sheen on top.

The bacon seemed high quality — I liked it better than what I've had at other fast-food chains — but sadly contributed to the meat takeover. Those patties just overpowered everything.

This could've been a balanced burger with a pickle or some vegetables. As it was, I felt there was too much meat.

The Pretzel Bacon Pub cheeseburger looked like a delicious mess

First Impression: This certainly looked like the best burger on the list. Forget the beer-cheese sauce, the fact that Wendy's included honey mustard on this is incredible. 

Fried onions are classic, but the thing that caught my eye was the Muenster cheese. That was a bold move for a fast-food restaurant, and I wouldn't have trusted any other place to get it right.

The onion bits smelled incredible, and I was excited to dig in. 

I shouldn't have let this one get cold

Review: This was a delicious burger, but don't let it get cold.

Temperature doesn't usually make a huge difference, but there were too many moving parts here to let it sit — I'm talking about even the time it takes to get back home.  

The Muenster cheese, onion, pretzel, and beer-cheese sauce, which I couldn't really taste, were very heavy. The light pickle flavor and fluffy pretzel bun held this meal together. 

I had to hand it to Wendy's. I've had worse pub burgers, but this was a solid offering.

The Pretzel Bacon Pub double was more balanced

First Impression: I was optimistic that having two patties could help balance out the flavors in this burger.

However, I was slightly worried the honey mustard would get lost in the meat. 

It was the only double I liked less than the single version

Review: I liked this option less than the first one. Throughout most of this taste test, two patties had been the perfect amount of meat for a burger, but the toppings felt like they got lost in this case. 

The pickle was the only thing that saved this meal. Everything else got utterly overpowered.

The Pretzel Bacon Pub triple probably shouldn't exist

First Impression: I didn't think I'd be able to get my mouth around this burger. 

I also couldn't imagine it would be better than the double, which had already lost so many of the delicious flavors and textures of the original — but I had to eat it.  

This burger was way too meat-heavy

Review: As expected, this burger was a wall of meat. Frankly, I was disappointed it didn't have cheese between every layer of meat, which likely would've made this meal better. Muenster must be pretty expensive. 

The burger wasn't bad by any means, but it felt like an odd mix of ingredients.

The original Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger eked out a victory

Overall, this division was kind of disappointing compared to the other burgers I had tried so far, but I liked the single version the most. It was balanced enough for me to enjoy each ingredient separately.

Finally, I sat down to calculate my results

I sat back to catch my breath, trying not to think about all that I'd consumed over four trips to Wendy's. 

I feel sodium in my blood and cheese sauce coursing through my veins. Still, I was able to determine Wendy's best burger. 

Let's start at the bottom of this ranking. The Jr. burgers have to occupy the lowest spot. Every self-respecting burger joint needs to have a section like this, so you can't fault Wendy's.

The pretzel-bun burgers came next, which was an upset considering I had high hopes for them. As a group, these burgers were just too much. The flavor profile was just too busy, and I couldn't get my mouth around them in every sense of the phrase. Even the single Pub burger couldn't quite cut it. 

Dave's line of burgers was also solid, but it suffered from some of the same issues as the Jrs. I don't go to Wendy's to have a regular burger, no matter how high it ranks on the list of offerings from the fast-food chain. 

Despite some strong competition, the Baconator won the gold

The bacon jalapeño double cheeseburger, Big Bacon cheddar cheeseburger, and Baconator all had excellent qualities. 

The pepper on the bacon jalapeño double cheeseburger offered a unique kick, but as a whole, this option suffered from an underwhelming cheese sauce and couldn't compete with the winner. 

I didn't want to rank the Big Bacon cheddar cheeseburger above the Baconator after one taste test — that would feel sacrilegious. It was absolutely the second-best burger, but if somebody wants to buy me another one, I'll tell you if I change my mind.

Ultimately, the Baconator was just too excellent. This order was everything that you could ask for in a burger. 

This story was originally published in December 2020 and most recently updated on July 9, 2024.

• Nike's been having a tough time, with shares down more than 30% this year and sales set to fall.
• The sportswear brand has started implementing a turnaround plan, but the results are yet to be seen.
• Nike's reliance on its lifestyle business seems to be hurting it, one analyst said.

Nike's lost its stride — and is finding it hard to get its pace back up.

In December, the company announced a cost-cutting initiative that included simplifying its assortment of products and cutting jobs.

The aim was to deliver up to $2 billion in savings over the next three years, which "will be invested to fuel future growth, accelerate innovation at speed and scale, and drive greater long-term profitability."

Two quarters on, Nike still appears to be looking for ways to turn its business around.

The latest effort is rehiring Tom Peddie, an executive with 30 years of experience at Nike who came back out of retirement, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Peddie will serve as vice president of marketplace partners, which involves managing Nike's relationships with retailers like Foot Locker. Nike spent years trying to sell less at third-party retailers and more through its own website and stores, which hasn't been going well recently.

More recently, though, Nike has changed course and tried to mend fences with those retailers.

The new old hire comes hot on the heels of an earnings report that laid bare some of Nike's biggest challenges.

In late June, Nike delivered a lackluster set of Q4 results and said it expects sales for its 2025 fiscal year to fall by mid-single digits, including a 10% drop in the first quarter alone. That shocked investors, especially as analysts had expected a 1% increase this year, according to Reuters.

None of it impressed investors much. Nike's shares closed down 20% that day; the company has dropped more than 30% since the start of the year.

Some major reasons included a tougher sales environment in China, ongoing challenges with its digital platform, and what Nike CFO Matthew Friend described as "muted" forward wholesale orders with "newness not yet at scale."

It doesn't look like it's going to get better very quickly, either, with Friend saying on the earnings call that the "next few quarters will be challenging."

Meantime, CEO John Donahue said that 2025 "will be a transition year for our business."

After the report, Nike cofounder and former CEO Phil Knight expressed "unwavering support" for Donahue in a statement.

Nike needs more key sports products

So, how can the biggest name in sneakers get its stride back?

One answer rests in what the company calls its "lifestyle" business — basically, shoes and clothing meant for casual wear. Nike's "performance" segment, meanwhile, includes many of its core sports products, such as basketball shoes.

While revenue from performance products grew in Q4, declines in its lifestyle business overshadowed them, contributing to the worse-than-expected results.

In its last fiscal year, lifestyle products have grown to about 60% of Nike's business, UBS analyst Jay Sole estimates.

Dividing sales more evenly between performance and lifestyle products would help Nike "restore its image as a sports brand and make its top-line growth rate more sustainable for the long term," he wrote in a note.

"One of our big takeaways from Nike's 4Q report is its lifestyle business needs a major reset," Sole said.

The company has also lost ground to rivals when it comes to connecting directly with customers.

Members of run clubs in Portland, near Nike's headquarters, say that they have been visited by representatives from smaller brands like Hoka and New Balance — but no one from Nike, The Wall Street Journal reported in June.

CEO Donahue noted that road running "remains a competitive battlefield that we are playing to win" on the call.

Another issue is Nike's pipeline of new products.

Nike has been cutting back on some popular shoe lines to get people hyped about new ones. On the latest earnings call, Donahue pointed to areas where Nike has introduced new products, from fitness leggings aimed at female consumers to shoes specifically for road runners.

That could help drive performance sales — especially those through Nike's digital business, a major pain point at the moment for the company. It could also help the re-instated Peddie rebuild relationships with and sales through retail partners.

But Donahue also referenced products that were still in development or months away from release. He teased new versions of Nike's Pegasus and Vomero running shoes, for instance, that aren't scheduled to hit shelves until the second half of fiscal 2025 while referencing a "strong wholesale order book" for coming seasons.

"Talking about newness not in stores doesn't work anymore," Jefferies analyst Randal Konik wrote.

While CFO Friend said management is "confident that we are repositioning Nike to be more competitive," investors have yet to be convinced.

"This is still [Nike] and the right strategy could turn the business," BMO analyst Simeon Siegel wrote in a note after June's earnings report. "But we're not convinced that strategy is presently in place."

• Former GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma has died at age 89.
• Before his election in 1994, he served in the US House, as mayor of Tulsa, and in both state legislative chambers.
• He famously threw a snowball in the Senate in an attempt to debunk climate change in 2015.

Former Sen. Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, has died at age 89, Tulsa World and Politico report. He is survived by his wife, Kay, along with 4 children and over a dozen grandchildren.

He died after suffering a stroke on July 4, according to Politico.

First elected to the Senate in 1994 in a special election to replace the retiring Sen. David Boren, Inhofe himself triggered a special election when he abruptly announcement his retirement in February 2022.

"It has been the greatest honor to serve the people of Oklahoma since I first entered public service in 1967, but after much prayer and consideration, Kay and I feel the time has come to stand aside," wrote Inhofe in a letter to Oklahoma's Secretary of State announcing his resignation.

Inhofe was among the chamber's most conservative members, and was known for his hawkish views on national security and his denial of the science behind climate change.

Following the late Sen. John McCain's death in 2018, Inhofe led Senate oversight of the nation's military as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee before becoming ranking member when Democrats retook the Senate majority in January 2021. 

'The greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people'

Born in Iowa in 1934, Inhofe served in the military from 1957 to 1958 and embarked on a career in real estate, insurance, and aviation; even into 80s, Inhofe was an avid pilot himself and frequently piloted his own small plane.

His career in public service began over 55 years ago, when he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1967. He went on to hold numerous offices, including stints as a state senator (1969-1977), mayor of Tulsa, the state's second largest city (1978-1984), and as a member of the US House of Representatives (1987-1994).

The Oklahoma Republican first became chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in 2003, and served as the committee's top Republican until 2017. His time on the committee overlapped significantly with that of former Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, who served as chair of the committee from 2007 to 2015.

Inhofe's position as chair of the environmental committee offered him a prominent platform from which he denied the science behind climate change.

"With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people?" asked Inhofe in a July 2003 floor speech. "It sure sounds like it.''

In 2009, he claimed that a trove of leaked emails from a group of researchers at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom had proven that the science behind climate change "has been pretty well debunked."

Former Democratic Vice President Al Gore, who's focused on advocating for solutions to climate change and global warming since his time in office, was also a frequent target of Inhofe's. In 2010, the senator told ABC News that the planet is "in a cycle now that all the scientists agree is going into a cooling period" after giving a speech earlier that year drawing attention to an igloo built by his grandchildren dubbed "Al Gore's New Home."

He even wrote an entire book, "The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future," in 2012.

But Inhofe's most infamous moment may have come in February 2015, when he tossed a snowball on the Senate floor as part of a speech aimed at disproving climate change.

"We keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record," said Inhofe as he removed the snowball from a plastic bag. "It's very, very cold out. Very unseasonable."

But despite his record on climate change, Inhofe notably had a warm friendship with his counterpart Boxer, a liberal Democrat who was outspoken about the need to address climate change. The duo worked together on legislation to regulate toxic chemicals, improve transportation systems, and securing $200 million in emergency funds to address the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

"She has every right to be wrong," Inhofe quipped in an interview with the Associated Press in 2016. Boxer, for her part, said she and Inhofe "respect each other and we don't waste a lot of time arguing."

And that partnership was widely recognized in the Senate.

"I hate to see the Boxer-Inhofe team come to an end," said then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the time, remarking on Boxer's planned retirement.

And Inhofe even earned praise from Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a liberal firebrand and 2-time Democratic presidential candidate. Asked in March 2016 which Republican he is closest to, yet shares significant disagreements with, Sanders named Inhofe.

"Jim is a climate change denier, he is really, really conservative," said Sanders, noted that even praising Inhofe had the potential to "probably ruin his political career."

"But you know what? He's a decent guy, and I like him, and he and I are friends," he said.

• Hikers and mountaineers are finding ancient human artifacts in the melting glaciers of the Alps.
• Some discoveries are valuable snapshots of ancient economies, while others are total mysteries.
• Glacial archaeologists must race against time, decipher puzzling clues, and avoid dangerous viruses.

Hikers and mountaineers are stumbling on mysterious ancient objects in the Swiss Alps, and their discoveries are keeping archaeologists busy.

From the Iron Age to the Ancient Romans to the Middle Ages, people traveled across the Alps's icy mountain passes with cows, mules, oil, wine, skis, weapons, and more.

Their lost or abandoned belongings are now surfacing as the mountains' glaciers melt, revealing clues about past civilizations and eras.

Archaeologists gave Business Insider an inside look at some of their most mysterious and most revealing discoveries.

• Couples, friends, and pet parents are sharing DIY beaded bracelets on TikTok and Instagram reels.
• The carefully chosen beads in each bracelet match their loved one's eye color.
• This trend echoes the sentiment and imagery of Georgian "lover's eye" jewelry.

If you stumble across the song "Trees and Flowers" by '80s group Strawberry Switchblade on TikTok or Instagram reels, you'll find a slew of beaded bracelets looking back at you — literally.

In a recent trend, romantic partners, friends, and pet owners are using each other's eyes as inspiration for their DIY summertime accessory of choice.

Some of the most popular videos are racking up over a million likes and over 15 million views on Instagram and TikTok.

And whether the creators know it or not, they're connecting to a rich history of eye-related tokens of affection, too.

The trend starts with color-matching beads to a loved one's eyes

This modern trend starts at a craft store. There, creators root around for the beads that most resemble their loved one's eye color — a step executed with varying degrees of success.

Some of the beads, though, are striking matches, with the chosen eye reflected down to the undertones and small flecks of color.

Then, it's time to string them together. Among the finished products, you might see a pair of besties rotating back and forth between their green- and blue-eye-inspired beads or find pet parents incorporating their fur babies' eye colors into their jewelry strands.

After all, wearing the colors of someone's eye is even more personal and less obvious than wearing their initial.

As antique jewelry dealer and owner of 21st Finds Anne Bos put it, knowing the fine details of someone's eye color is a sign of a deep, intimate connection.

"To know someone that closely that you know their eye color is a sign of personal connection," she told BI. "For instance, I know the color of my husband's eyes pretty well, but I don't know the color of my neighbor's eyes — even though we chat quite frequently."

Gen Z isn't the first generation to incorporate eyes into jewelry

Eye imagery has been integrated into jewelry for thousands of years.

The style and sentiment behind this modern occurrence, though, is particularly reminiscent of Georgian eye miniatures, later termed "lover's eyes."

"They were sentimental pieces of jewelry created with the notion that an individual's eye conveys something intimate and deeply personal about an individual," said Graham Boettcher, art historian and coauthor of "Lover's Eyes: Eye Miniatures from the Skier Collection."

Lover's eyes became particularly popular in the late 18th century.

Social customs at the time often required young people to be separated from their potential romantic partners, which is why Bos describes one's gaze as far more intimate and powerful.

You may be most familiar with such formalities from "Bridgerton" and its "Queen Charlotte" spin-off. Incidentally, the mythology behind lover's eye jewelry is rooted in the tangled love story of Queen Charlotte and King George III's son, the future King George IV.

George, then the Prince of Wales, became enraptured by a woman named Maria Fitzherbert. This royal romance was controversial at the time because Fitzherbert was twice-widowed and Catholic.

As the story goes, George still pursued her and professed his love by sending her a miniature portrait of his eye.

Bos said a portrait of his eye was seen as far more romantic and intimate than a full portrait of himself. Apparently, it worked. Maria eventually became George's longtime companion.

After the royal's big move, lover's eyes became an even bigger trend.

"You'd go to a miniaturist and say, 'I want to give my eye to my wife, my mistress,'" Boettcher told BI. "Both genders were commissioning them."

Bos said lover's eyes were huge for about 50 years — until around the time the photograph was invented.

The beauty of the current and past trend is that it can be a secret for the person wearing it

Some lover's eyes were worn openly as bracelets or brooches, and others were tucked away in layers of clothing or hidden inside lockets.

Regardless, part of the charm of this jewelry was that the identity of the eye was a secret kept between the subject and the wearer — or, as Boettcher added, an open secret (as was the case with the Prince of Wales).

With Gen Z's modern take, the fact that the eye "has been reduced to just the eye color adds that element of secrecy even with it being out in the open because only the wearer knows who it refers to," Boettcher added.

Like a Georgian lover's eye, the modern bracelets are a physical link of love — and they can still carry a secret (but perhaps only if your video about making them doesn't go viral).

• Larry Ellison, the 79-year-old cofounder of Oracle, is one of the most interesting men in tech.
• Whether yacht racing, buying Hawaiian islands, or trash-talking competitors, he keeps it lively.
• Now, he's one of the world's richest people with a net worth of about $152 billion.

Larry Ellison is the founder and chief technology officer at software company Oracle. Now, he's also the world's seventh richest man and has a net worth of $160 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The billionaire's fortunes have surged by $14 billion thanks to spiking demand for generative AI. The windfall puts him ahead of tech execs like Google cofounder Sergey Brin and former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer. 

The 79-year-old started Oracle in 1977, and decades later he's still one of the top dogs in Silicon Valley despite living in Hawaii full time — and owning an entire island. Ellison has also been a major investor in Tesla, Salesforce, and even reportedly had a seat on Apple's board of directors for a while.

Outside the office, the billionaire boasts an impressive watch collection and indulges in hobbies like yacht racing. His children have made their own names in the film industry, and his son David Ellison is set to become the CEO of Paramount after its merger with his Skydance Media production company.

Here's a look at the life and career of Ellison so far.

• This post originally appeared in the Insider Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Hello! I'm Jordan Parker Erb, and I'll be filling in for Dan DeFrancesco all week while he's on vacation. Have you been seeing a lot of Alo accessories and Asics sneakers lately? They're just two of the status symbols that men are obsessed with this year.

By the way — if you have a minute, consider taking Business Insider's survey. Your feedback can help shape BI's future.

In today's big story, we're looking at how new AI tools are helping workers bluff their way through interviews.

What's on deck:

• Markets: Biden's top labor official says the "coveted soft landing" is here.
• Tech: Everyone from Amazon to Uber is using artificial intelligence to gouge you on prices.
• Business: A $300,000 scam killed one septuagenarian's dreams of retirement.

But first, is it really cheating if there are no rules?

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The big story

A new interview hack

It's really hard to get a job right now. After a few years of employees calling the shots, employers once again have the upper hand — and they're making sure applicants know it.

In some cases, landing a job requires personality tests, on-site assessments, and several rounds of interviews (and that's assuming you don't get ghosted midway through).

But a new cohort of AI tools and startups is looking to make the interview process easier for candidates, Business Insider's Rob Price writes — by quietly telling them the right answers to interview questions in real time.

Some people have built homemade AI tools to help interviewees, releasing them online for free. Others, like Final Round AI, are trying to bring it into the mainstream.

A startup developing AI-powered tools for job seekers, Final Round AI offers an AI résumé builder, a cover letter writing service, and a mock interview tool. More controversially, it has its Copilot: an app that listens in on an interview and feeds answers to the interviewee.

Michael Guan, the startup's CEO, called it a "magical teleprompter" — but made it clear he doesn't consider it cheating. He's not the only one looking to AI to change the interview process.

The use of artificial intelligence in job interviews is at the center of a heated debate in Silicon Valley.

Gaming the interview process is nothing new. As Rob reported in 2022, some people go as far as to hire stand-ins to do the interviews for them in risky bait-and-switch schemes.

But the use of AI, in particular, has the industry up in arms.

BI's Melia Russell found that no one can seem to agree upon the use of AI chatbots in technical interviews. Some say they want to see a candidate's abilities without a technical crutch. Others say banning AI chatbots in interviews is like prohibiting calculators during math tests — if workers can use the tech in their jobs, why not in the interview process, too?

Some startups, Melia found, are now changing their tests and asking applicants to complete chatbot-resistant tasks.

But for those who don't see AI assistance as cheating, it's irrelevant. Guan, the Final Round AI CEO, told Rob that if an applicant can use AI to ace an interview, then they should be able to use it "to become the top performer in their daily jobs."

Regardless of their take on AI-assisted interviews, several of the people who spoke with Rob and Melia said the industry's technical-interview process is broken. The question now, Rob writes, is whether chatbots will change the technical-interview process — for better or worse.

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3 things in markets

1. Fed tees up for potential interest rate cut. The "coveted soft landing" is here, President Joe Biden's top labor official told BI, as the US continues to see a strong yet slowing jobs market. That could give the Fed the confidence it needs to cut rates in September.
2. Meet the Brevan Howard portfolio managers with the most capital. Since cofounder Alan Howard's departure in 2019, the $35 billion hedge fund Brevan Howard has changed considerably. Its five biggest portfolio managers are part of a much larger and diversified talent roster than when Howard had the reins.
3. TSMC rides Nvidia's hype to $1 trillion. Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of Nvidia's suppliers, briefly crossed the $1 trillion valuation mark on Monday after gaining as much as 4.8%. It comes after Nvidia's meteoric rise this year, which led it to surpass Apple to become the world's second-most-valuable company.

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3 things in tech

1. Personalized pricing makes it hell to pay. You might be willing to pay more for an airplane seat than the guy next to you — and airlines know it. In a world ruled by personalized pricing, you never know if you're being ripped off.
2. Robots in the real world. Startups are building robots that can perceive and react to the human world, and venture firms predict spatial intelligence will be the next big thing in AI. The goal is to develop robots that can handle a variety of complex tasks rather than a single repetitive motion.
3. Be there or be square. After pandemic-era lockdowns, San Francisco's techies are ready to hang out IRL. As they embrace an in-person culture, startup founders, venture capitalists, and tech workers are hanging out at these five hot spots.

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3 things in business

1. How a scam killed a grandpa's retirement dreams. Leonid Shteyn was scammed out of $300,000 at 70 years old, forcing him to start from scratch in advanced age. He says Bank of America, which the deceptive transactions went through, and a lack of government oversight are to blame.
2. Confusion following the Paramount-Skydance merger. Paramount's top execs insisted it was "business as usual" following the mega media deal. But in the same breath, it notified employees of looming layoffs without saying who would be cut. Meanwhile, the company's CEO-to-be keeps calling it a "tech enterprise," raising doubts about his strategy.
3. How a sexting scandal rocked the romance world — and unmasked its most popular narrator. Joe Arden, known for narrating innumerable smutty audiobooks, built a career seducing women with his voice. Then, a sexting scandal turned BookTok against him.

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In other news

• Read the letter: Biden tells House Democrats to stop calling on him to drop out.
• Retiring early sounds like the dream — but not achieving FIRE could actually help you live longer.
• The Arizona primary where the MAGA movement is devouring itself.
• Videos show what hit a Ukrainian children's hospital, and Russia is 'gaslighting,' war and weapons experts say.
• The Apple Watch is reportedly getting a birthday makeover.
• Gen Z doesn't know how to flirt.
• Waymo's robotaxis are better than some San Francisco drivers.
• Companies are going bankrupt at the fastest pace since the pandemic.
• This old 2020 email from Mark Zuckerberg might just be the explanation for his extreme makeover.

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What's happening today

• Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testifies on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report in Congress.
• NATO summit begins. The stakes are high for Joe Biden, whose poor debate performance last week put his political future in peril.
• Harvey Weinstein appears at court in New York. Prosecutors are seeking a retrial for the entertainment mogul's overturned rape and sexual assault conviction.

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The Insider Today team: Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Annie Smith, associate producer, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York.

• A "90 Day Fiancé" contestant is also one of the sperm donors in Netflix's "The Man with 1000 Kids."
• Kyle Gordy appeared on "90 Day Fiancé: Love in Paradise" earlier this year.
• Gordy, who claims to have fathered over 70 kids, also runs a sperm donation website.

Viewers who have watched the latest conversation-starting Netflix docuseries, "The Man with 1000 Kids," may be wondering what happened to the other prolific sperm donors featured.

For Kyle Gordy, the show wasn't his first brush with fame. He appeared on "90 Day Fiancé" earlier this year, and was the focus of a 2021 Vice documentary about sperm donation.

"The Man with 1000 Kids" docuseries spotlights Jonathan Jacob Meijer, a man from The Netherlands who has admitted to having 550 children around the world. In 2023, he was banned from donating sperm to new families.

The third episode suggests that Meijer was involved with a Facebook group, "Kenya Sperm Donors," made up of men who traveled the world to donate to fertility clinics. Gordy is an admin of this group.

It's unclear what motivated the men to donate repeatedly around the world, although the families who used Meijer as a donor suggest in the docuseries that they're driven by ego rather than profit or fame.

In the 2021 Vice documentary "36 Kids & Counting: The DIY Sperm Donor," he said: "Women want to have kids and I'm obviously not using my sperm so I mean… I figure I can help them out."

Fast forward three years, and Gordy was paired up with a German woman named Ani on "90 Day Fiancé." He was open with her about being a sperm donor and claimed that he had fathered over 70 children.

Gordy was criticized online after the third episode of the reality series aired, because he kept rearranging his genitals while on a date with Ani, claiming this would prevent his sperm from overheating.

"Sitting down too much kills your sperm. So I try to adjust them so they're not like getting overheated," he said. The couple broke up at the end of the series.

Kyle Gordy's social media accounts show him traveling the world

According to his Facebook and Instagram accounts, Gordy continued to travel the world after his appearance on "90 Day Fiancé."

This year, he has posted photos from Singapore, Japan, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, France, and Norway.

It's not clear whether the photos are from consecutive trips or if some are older photos from previous vacations.

Gordy also runs a website, Be Pregnant Now, where he offers fertility advice to couples who are trying to have a baby.

"I live in Los Angeles and I have been donating for a few years and have had multiple pregnancies. I have helped create many happy families," the website reads.

It adds: "My fertility has increased since I started donating. This large increase in fertility has allowed me to help get many women pregnant; my years of being a sperm donor attribute to this success. I live a very strict lifestyle and avoid any factors that may harm my fertility."

Representatives for TLC did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Mark Zuckerberg said in a newly revealed email, "I am the most well-known person of my generation."
• It's a bold statement, and it might be true.
• But is he more popular than Taylor Swift and Cristiano Ronaldo? It's basically impossible to know.

Mark Zuckerberg, who just celebrated his 40th birthday, is a millennial. But is he the most famous millennial? He thinks so.

In a 2020 email exchange posted by the Tech Emails newsletter, Zuckerberg sent an email to Meta public policy head Nick Clegg, Peter Thiel (who was on the Facebook board at the time), Sheryl Sandberg, Antonio Lucio, and Marc Andreessen, discussing his public image as a millennial.

The emails were released as part of legal documents in Tennesee v. Meta, one of several lawsuits in which states are suing Meta over its role in harm to children.

In the email exchange, Zuckerberg said that he and Thiel have been having discussions about the future, how power will shift from baby boomers to millennials (sorry, Gen X, erased again), and how they should focus on thinking about policies that will affect the younger generation. (Meta declined to comment on these emails or Zuckerberg's fame standings.)

Then, Zuckerberg writes:

Finally, I think there's also some distinction between me and the company here. While our company has a special role in the lives of this generation, this is likely particularly important for how I show up because I am the most well-known person of my generation.

So, is he the most well-known person of his generation?

Put aside for a moment the ick of seeing someone say that in an email. And well, he does have a point. He's got to be at least one of the most famous millennials — especially if you're thinking globally, not just in the US.

Globally, there are billions of people who use Facebook. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone knows that it's run by a guy named Mark, but probably a good chunk of them do. Young people, old people, people in every country.

It's nearly impossible to fact-check his claim, however, because there isn't a clear way to quantify fame.

You can look at social media followings, focus group surveys like Q Score, or how many pages of Google results there are. There are also several academic papers that attempt to come up with new mathematical formulas to measure fame. A 2018 physics paper created a new model that attempted to calculate the fame of people who had died between 2016 and 2017, and came up with Muhammad Ali as the most famous (sounds about right).

Without a concrete measurement of fame, we can speculate on some other top contenders.

Who else could be the most well-known millennial?

Justin Bieber: Unlikely to be the most famous. Although he was intensely famous for a few years, I don't think his fame permeated enough past the membrane of his fellow millennial pop music fans.

LeBron James: He's a strong contender, but basketball isn't the most popular sport globally.

Cristiano Ronaldo: He has the most Instagram followers, although I think that's not a perfect measurement because it doesn't encompass all the young kids and others not using the app. His notoriety in the US is likely less than Zuckerberg's, but I'm pretty sure he'd beat the Meta chief on a global scale.

Lionel Messi: As a non-soccer fan, I don't want to attempt to litigate the popularity between Messi and Ronaldo, although I will say Ronaldo's Instagram stats seem to put him ahead.

Beyoncé: She is very, very famous. More famous than Zuck? Maybe. Probably? I think so.

Taylor Swift: Today, I think Swift would be the answer for most famous. But this email was from early 2020, just between "Lover" and "Folklore." Very well-known, but more so today than four years ago.

Shakira: Born in 1977! Not a millennial!

Prince William: Pretty well-known! But between him and Zuckerberg in 2020? I think it's a toss-up.

Kim Jung Un: I mean, he is a very well-known millennial.

Ultimately, reasonable people can disagree on who is the most well-known millennial. But Zuckerberg probably isn't too far off.

• John Jacob Astor built his fortune in the fur business and New York real estate.
• John Jacob Astor III and William Backhouse Astor Jr. cofounded the Waldorf-Astoria after a feud.
• Modern Astor descendants have been politicians, philanthropists, and British royal associates.

Astoria, Queens. Astor Place. The Waldorf-Astoria. Even if you're not a New Yorker, you've heard of these iconic places. You also probably know they're named for one very powerful family: the Astors.

To this day, the Astors' money and influence still make waves in society.

So how do you build a dynasty like this one, with money that lasts for generations? Take a look at how the Astors made their fortune.

This story was originally published in April 2012. It was updated in July 2024.