What temperature do you like your fruit? What is the correct way to peel a banana? This week on Endless Thread, Ben and Amory cherry pick a couple of the hottest fruit debates taking place on Reddit.

• My husband is mildly infuriated that I open a banana from the antenna side! (Reddit)
• CMV: The only correct way to peel and eat a banana is from the bottom. (Reddit)
• Microwaving fruit is the way to go (Reddit)
• I believe that fruit is better microwaved. (Reddit)

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In 1970, a young biologist named David Mech published what could be the most consequential book on wolves ever written. At the time, The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, was the most complete collection of scientific knowledge on wolves money could buy, and it became best seller for Dave's publishers. But outside of the world of wolf biology, the book is also credited with unleashing a certain idea into our popular lexicon: The Alpha.

The thing is, Dave made a mistake – and the alpha wolf, doesn't exist.

This week on Endless Thread, Ben and Amory track down the origins of "the alpha," and whether this idea – which has been recanted by the very scientist who popularized it – has any legitimacy when talking about people.

• The Myth of the Alpha Wolf (The New Yorker)*
• Do alpha males even exist? (The Guardian)
• Elon Musk Shares Theory That Only ‘Alpha Males’ Should Vote (Newsweek)

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Fast-and-cheap shipping is now foundational to the American way of life, thanks in large part to Amazon Prime. Still, when producer Grace Tatter sees a video of a man claiming that he's continuously ordering and returning an 110-pound anvil from Amazon with no repercussions from the tech giant, she has questions. Is this legit, or is it a Wile E. Coyote-level scheme? Unlike an anvil, the answer can't be found online.

Show notes:

• "this guy has been buying and returning 110lb anvils on Amazon for 8 months now" (Reddit)
• This man keeps buying and returning 110- anvils on Amazon (Fast Company)
• Johnbo's TikTok

*** Survey alert: Tell us what you love about the show, what you want more of; what you could stand a little less of. And if you complete the survey, we'll send you an extra episode (what Ben's calling a "dashboard confessional") in January.

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