How used tennis balls come back to life

Welcome to Round Table's video podcast! Round Table talks about what's buzzing on the Internet and the main streets, see the latest lifestyle trends, and feel the pulse of life in China. On the show: Steve Hatherly, Yushan & Yushun. Topics we covered in this episode: 00:00 Intro: Qingdao's recycled tennis ball court, and why Gen Z's "blunt" emails are driving HR departments crazy. 01:20 Steve's tennis days: Reminiscing about his youth spent obsessing over the sport and binge-watching Grand Slam tournaments in Canada. 03:00 Qingdao's green miracle: How 20,000 dead tennis balls were crushed and paved into China's first eco-friendly tennis court. 06:17 A 400-year environmental nightmare: Why the classic rubber-and-wool design of tennis balls makes them nearly impossible to decompose. 12:21 Household life hack: Steve explains how to cut old tennis balls in half and put them under heavy furniture legs to protect your floors. 16:36 "Wait, they're hollow inside?": Non-tennis players Yushun and Yushan are shocked to discover that tennis balls aren't completely solid. 23:33 AI recycling sorter: How the China Open is using artificial intelligence to collect and assess the wear and tear of 2,000 used tennis balls. 30:48 The wild baseball field: A field in Dongguan built out of plastic bottles, old tires, and 450 recycled shoe soles. 34:22 Yushan's email secret: Using ChatGPT to polish and perfect a highly professional interview invitation. 35:35 Yushun’s "email anxiety": Why seeing a new email notification instantly makes him assume another department is demanding video edits. 38:30 "Final version really final.pdf": Steve hilariously admits he names his scripts the exact same way as the college students getting roasted by HR. 49:09 An unexpected survey result: Why young Gen Z workers in the US actually prefer using email to escape the pressure of instant messaging replies. 56:54 The designated "people pleaser": Yushan shares how she was appointed as the official "email mentor" at her old publishing job to teach colleagues how to write properly. 59:45 The real academic expert: Yushun flexes his Business English major skills by reciting the "4 Cs" of professional email writing from memory. 01:01:16 The "Bad News Sandwich": Steve shares a high-EQ email rejection technique he learned in economics class—and realizes it works perfectly for breakups, too. Subscribe for more updates on what's trending in China @Round Table Also find the Round Table China podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeartRadio and 小宇宙. #roundtabletalk #china #chinaexplained #sustainability #recycling #greentechnology #circulareconomy #ecofriendly #tennis #ai #genz #emailetiquette