Sunday Soup: AI Slop, Prime Day Answers, Godzilla's Owner, Living in a Simulation?

In this edition of the Sunday Soup, we’ve got more articles and streams that caught our attention over the last few days. Some we’ve collected this week include the growing usage of robots and drones for food delivery, a potential cure for our internet addiction, and how the company behind Godzilla is plotting its expansion. 

We also get eMarketer’s take on Amazon AMZN 2025 Prime Day results, a discussion about whether we’re just living in a simulation, and why you may want to buy frozen, not fresh berries. 

If you have a recommendation to share, we’d love to hear about it in the Comments section below. 

Now enjoy this latest offering of Sunday Soup.

Articles 📰

How a Bottled Water Goes Social Media Viral and the Real Differences Between Them

"In early 2025, the bottled water brand Saratoga went viral. Long before the advent of social media, 125 years ago, the sparkling mineral water brand Apollinaris was one of the first bottled waters to achieve viral stardom. Both were associated with health fads."

The Robots That Are Taking Over Your Food Delivery

"Robots are carting fried chicken through Chicago streets. Drones are parachuting Panera strawberry lemonade down to homes in Charlotte, N.C. AI-powered scales at fast-food restaurants are making sure delivery orders that go out aren’t missing burgers. Billions of dollars in investment and years of research are going into efforts to fix a modern convenience: food delivery."

Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover

"Godzilla, arguably the most famous symbol of Tokyo’s storied film industry, has appeared in more than three dozen movies since its 1954 debut. The films have grossed billions of dollars at the box office, spawning legions of merchandise, from thermoses to plushies, and turning the fictional creature into a global household name. But outside Japan, few can name Toho Co., the media company that put the havoc-wreaking monster on the big screen more than 70 years ago."

The World Is Choking on Screens. Just as This Book Foretold.

"Forty years ago, the cultural critic wrote “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” a pessimistic yet prescient polemic worth revisiting in the age of algorithm-driven political hysteria. Postman, who died in 2003, predicted that America wasn’t trending toward existence under the boot of totalitarianism, as in George Orwell’s “1984,” but drifting through the languorous haze of a feel-good dystopia that instead resembled Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” Postman was right. Democracy was in danger of being not overthrown but overentertained."

AI Slop Might Finally Cure Our Internet Addiction

"The internet’s slide toward AI happened quickly and deliberately. Most major platforms have integrated the technology whether users want it or not, just at the moment that some AI photos and videos have become indistinguishable from reality, making it that much harder to trust anything online. Over time, LLMs might get more accurate, or people might simply get better at spotting their tells. In the meantime, a real possibility is that people will turn to the real world as a more trustworthy alternative. We’ve been telling one another to “touch grass” for years now, all while downloading app- and website-blocking software and lockable phone safes to try to wean ourselves off constant internet use. Maybe the AI-slop era will actually help us log off."

Why You Should Buy Your Berries in the Freezer Aisle

"Berries are at their best at harvest. During the individually quick-frozen process in which foods are passed through a freezing chamber, berries are picked at peak freshness, washed and frozen, sealing in the nutrients, experts said. These berries can be kept in a freezer for eight to 12 months without losing their nutritional content, said Laura Strawn, a professor in the food science and technology department at Virginia Tech."

How People Decided It’s OK to Wear AirPods Anywhere, Anytime

"Earbuds have so infiltrated daily life that even doctors can’t get your full attention."

What We’re Streaming 📺📲