10 Things You Need To Know For July 14

Good morning — Andrew from Narcity here! ☕

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In Case You Missed It

1. To Tip Or Not To Tip? That Is The Takeout Counter Question

Nothing unites quite like the never-ending debate over the pressure to tip, particularly at businesses where gratuities were once not customary. In a viral TikTok skit, two actors recreated the awkward moment where a takeout counter barista hovers over a customer while they're trying to navigate the electronic payment page. As Josh Elliott writes, reactions to the clip were mixed but more than a few commenters shared their cringe horror stories with tipping.

• My Take: While staff and customers are distracted, food business owners continue to pass the buck on paying fair wages.

2. A Class-Action Lawsuit Takes Aim At The Rogers Outage

Following the country-wide service disruptions for Rogers mobile and internet services last week, a lawsuit filed to the Quebec Superior Court is seeking $400 for every customer impacted by the outage. Additionally, Helena Hanson reports that should the suit be authorized by a judge, customers of sub-brands that are reliant on the Rogers network, like Fido and Chatr, could also be entitled to compensation. Read the full story here.

3. IKEA Is Apparently Also Swedish For Weird, Unexplainable Clutter

In the spirit of deeply immersive journalism, our Tristan Wheeler spent six (six!) hours at his local IKEA, presumably to shop for a new futon while on the company dime. In any event, our intrepid reporter's trip to the unofficial Swedish embassy was not in vain. Within "the fugue state that is IKEA," Tristan discovered a number of curious items and phenomena of undeterminable origin. Here are the highlights.

4. Statistics Canada Needs To Hire More Staff Fast & You're Probably Qualified

Are you reading this newsletter on a computer? Congrats! You have the technical know-how required for a job at Statistics Canada. The country's federal stats agency has a pressing need for interviewers and the jobs don't even require a post-secondary degree or diploma, Lisa Belmonte reports. Here's what interviewers do — and how much they get paid.

5. Review: Which Fast-Food Giant Has The Best Fried Chicken?

From Narcity's Georgia desk comes the ultimate taste test. Self-professed foodie and Southerner Maeve Browne wanted to settle one of America's great debates once and for all: does Kentucky Fried Chicken or Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen offer the best bone-in chicken? After a side-by-side breakdown of appearance, taste and price, Maeve thinks there's a clear winner.

What Else You Need To Know Today

🇫🇷 BASTILLE DAY
July 14 (or le 14 juillet, if you prefer) marks the storming of the Bastille in France in 1789, a landmark moment in the French Revolution. If you're in Toronto, it's a good time to revisit our 2020 piece on the city's best French bakeries.

🎧 TECHNALITY
The latest episode of Narcity's flagship tech podcast has dropped. Join host Jacqueline Swan and the Technality team over on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to learn how artificial intelligence could help us save the whales.

🏦 MONEY MATTERS
As expected, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by a full percentage point on Wednesday, bringing the figure to 2.5% overall — a 14-year high. Here's what that means for anyone looking to borrow cash.

🏠 SURREAL ESTATE
If you've ever wondered what the Shire from Lord of the Rings would look like in stunning 240p resolution, this geodesic dome cottage near Parry Sound, ON, can be yours for about $800,000.

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Phoebe Waller-Bridge was born on this day in 1985, announcing her arrival with a wink to the camera. Taboo, one of the top four members of Black Eyed Peas, turns 47. If you can find him and interpret whether he's living, dead or merely in some sort of limbo state, Lost lead Matthew Fox is 56.

Thanks for reading Narcity's Canada Morning Brief — the only newsletter with a proprietary system for ranking the Black Eyed Peas.

Let me know what you liked (and disliked) about today's edition at andrew.potter@narcity.com.

Have a great day and see you back here tomorrow!