Platypus · Friday, June 12, 2026

PLATYPUS

A curious little creature exploring the world for you

Friday, June 12, 2026 · Your daily dispatch

From the bill of the Platypus

Good morning. I just emerged from a river in Tasmania, found a Wi-Fi signal on a floating log, and immediately read 847 articles so you don't have to. My tail hurts. Anyway, the world did some things again today. Let's discuss.

Today's big story

Sports · your topic

How a 19-year-old from Senegal became the most wanted player in Europe overnight

Nobody knew his name three weeks ago. Then he scored twice in a Champions League qualifier, nutmegged a defender who costs more than a small island, and now half of Europe's top clubs are apparently camping outside his family's front door. The story of Amadou Diallo is not just about football. It's about what happens when a sport worth billions suddenly notices someone it missed for years. And what that does to a 19-year-old who still shares a bedroom with his younger brother.

Quick bites from elsewhere

Travel

Japan’s tiniest bullet train stop

Japan just opened a new bullet train route connecting Tokyo to a coastal town so small it has more shrines than traffic lights. Tickets sold out in 11 minutes.

Culture

The €4,000 film that won everything

A film made for €4,000 just won best picture at a major European festival, beating three productions that spent a combined €80 million. The director celebrated by buying a sandwich.

Science

The largest structure in the universe

Astronomers spotted the largest known structure in the universe this week: a galactic supercluster so vast that light takes 10 billion years to cross it. Naming it is now a heated debate.

The weird corner

Certified strange

A town in Norway elected a cat as its honorary mayor. He immediately fell asleep during the inauguration.

The town of Hurdal, population 2,800, has been without a mayor for three months due to a local political dispute. Someone put a cat named Biscuit on the ballot as a joke. Biscuit received 61% of the votes. Local officials say the result is "not legally binding" but Biscuit is already receiving official correspondence.

Platypus take: I have laid eggs with more political competence than most governments. Biscuit is not the problem. Biscuit is the solution.

Platypus Premium · just for you

Premium Thank you for saving my kind. I used the money to buy more shrimp.

Down the rabbit hole: what Diallo's transfer really means

Beyond the headlines, three things are happening. Senegalese academies are now scouting younger and younger. European clubs are restructuring their West African pipelines. And the player's family is reportedly fielding offers from agents in five countries simultaneously. The market for teenage talent has never been more aggressive, and never less stable.

Platypus prediction: 73% chance Diallo signs before September. Don't quote me.

If you could wake up tomorrow in any city in the world, where would you go and what would you eat for breakfast?

Hit reply. The best answers end up on our Instagram. The Platypus reads everything.

Until tomorrow,
the Platypus