Plastic-free Tip #418: Birthdays mean birthday candles, and not all birthday candles are food safe. Soy wax is probably safest, but that's not your only concern — some novelty candles use plastic holders to keep them upright. Get regular, all-natural wax candles instead!

Grok is often superior to Google search, because Grok is actually motivated to find you what you're looking for. I was trying to remember some kind of movie with a virus. All I remembered was that a woman wore a biohazard suit and they traveled in a bus at one point. I asked the following to both Grok and Google: "What is the movie where a woman wears a biohazard suit and travels on a bus at one point?" Grok immediately got the answer correct — the 2016 film Pandemic. Google, meanwhile, buried the correct answer in a snippet at the top right. Its AI wrongly suggested 10 Cloverfield Lane before giving the actual correct answer. The first six search results are entirely useless and completely wrong. Will this last forever? I don't know. Google used to be king, once, and then it was Yahoo! and other companies before that. Grok might supplant them, and it may be replaced itself one day. It seems to be the nature of these things.

Plastic-free Tip #417: Since we've been talking about cakes, it's as good a time as any to bring up spatulas. There is no such thing as "food-safe" or "food-grade" plastic, and silicone may one day have problems of its own. Only use wooden or all-metal spatulas!

Plastic-free Tip #416: Cakes are nothing without icing, and virtually all icing on grocery store shelves is shipped in plastic tubs to save costs. Spend a little more on higher-quality icing in glass containers, or make your own; you can do it with a handful of ingredients!

There is, of course, absolutely no evidence that Tallan Metcal is related to Austin Metcalf's family in any way, or that he ordered any kind of special treatment. x.com/grok/status/2064862631…

Plastic-free Tip #415: Cake is delicious, but convenience comes at a price: most boxed cake mixes are wrapped in plastic bags and produced at facilities that aren't plastic-free. Instead, bake cakes from scratch with cleaner, plastic-free ingredients such as flour and eggs.

Plastic-free Tip #413: Water gun fights are a summer tradition. Unfortunately, this is one of those times where there are no good alternatives. Virtually all water guns are made of plastic. Your only alternative is reusable cloth water balloons; try those instead!

Over thousands of years, successful civilizations have always maintained hard boundaries, a dominant culture & a strict distinction between citizens & foreigners. When they abandon these core principles & allow internal cohesion to dissolve, they collapse. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

Plastic-free Tip #412: As we've realized the dangers of plastic, more resources have become available to protect us. PlasticList is a website that shows you the amounts of plastic-based chemicals in many popular products. Check it out! (This is not an endorsement or ad.)

Plastic-free Tip #411: I like lifting weights as much as the next guy. Thankfully, most weight sets are made entirely of metal. That is, unless, you buy crappy plastic barbell plates. Sure, they're cheaper, but they're going to shed plastic everywhere. Only buy metal plates!

Plastic-free Tip #410: I like wearing hats. Like most modern things, they're often made of synthetic, plastic-based fibers. As an alternative, seek out all-natural cloth caps with a metal band at the back. You should especially avoid plastic mesh "trucker hats!"