'6-7,' Dubai chocolate, Labubu: You took 2025, now scat!

NEW YORK (AP) — With Labubus hanging from our bags, Dubai chocolate in our bellies and “6-7” ringing in our ears, it's almost time to bid farewell to a few things that went hard in 2025.

Scat. Don't follow us into the new year. You've had your 15 minutes. We're over you.

The young have made up slang for centuries. For Gen Alpha and their juniors, it's skibidi and rizz and, yes, “6-7.” The numbers come with a juggling-esque, palms-up hand gesture and serve to annoy lots of teachers and parents (it's the frequency, group pile on and decibel level that really gets 'em).

Just breathe, dear grownies. Your youth-speak also served to annoy. It’s just, that was a long time ago and you don’t really remember it. But wait. There's a whole ‘nother contingent of adults who are all in on “6-7.” Please stop. It's not yours. You don't get to say it. You receive zero cool parent points.

Like most memes, there’s an origin story: rapper Skrilla’s “6-7” lyric in “Doot Doot (6 7),” for starters, along with Charlotte Hornet LaMelo Ball’s height. The 6-7-ness of it all blew up on TikTok and stayed put throughout 2025.

So what does it actually mean? Nothing, but it serves its purpose: To be random and to confuse the unfamiliar. It also did well as clickbait for Dictionary.com, which made the two numbers its word of the year.

Mission accomplished, “6-7.” Farewell.

Maintain a positive mindset. At all times. No matter what.

Sorry, toxic positivity people, but that's not how human emotion works, especially in these divisive times. Emotion shaming, in many ways, was on the march in 2025.

“Good vibes only.” “Don't be so negative.” “It could be worse.” Sounds harmless, or even helpful, with empathy. Often, though, those words are shot like arrows to quelch legit feelings for no good reason.

Optimism in itself is a great thing, with numerous studies over the decades demonstrating a link between a positive outlook and good health outcomes. That said, check your “positive vibes only” demand at the door as we head into a new year. In other words, just let them...

Feel the feels. Get help if you need it. Suppression is oppression.

Protein is a fundamental building block. We need protein. But does the average healthy adult need THIS much added protein? Big Food has produced an onslaught of high-protein processed foods, from Starbucks foam for drinks to Pop-Tarts, popcorn, cookies and muffins.

Here's the thing, according to nutritionists: Your body is pretty good at making protein. You do need a small amount from food, unless you're bulking or maxing. In which case, do you.

The amount of protein you need depends on your age, weight and personal nutritional needs. It's especially important to make sure children and older adults get enough protein-rich foods.

That said, let's leave behind the mass commodification of added protein in processed foods that just might not be so healthy to begin with.

Logic.

The plush toy/charm/collectible famously known as Labubu has been around for a decade, but it's only in the last year or so the thing reached craze level in the U.S.

China's Pop Mart began U.S. sales of the furry little monsters on key rings back in 2023. Now, they're everywhere. Labubu hashtags on TikTok and Instagram have morphed into numerous search word combinations with millions of hits.

Boomers on down to kids collect Labubu and its pals, all of which sport pointy ears and serrated teeth. Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Lisa of Blackpink have shown theirs off. So have David Beckham and Dillon Brooks.

Thank you Kasing Lung. Back in 2015, the Hong Kong-born artist and illustrator raised in the Netherlands created the character and a universe of monsters for picture books inspired by the tales of Nordic mythology he enjoyed as a child.

Peak saturation has been achieved. The new year may be just the right time to say labu-bye.

“There is unrest in the Forest. There is trouble with the trees. For the Maples want more sunlight. And the Oaks ignore their pleas.”

Consider that a parable, courtesy of a little band called Rush in the 1978 song “The Trees.” Sound familiar?

If 2025 was anything, it was about taking sides, as opposed to, oh let's see, meaningful negotiation, civil discourse. How about just plain manners?

We fought over The Cracker Barrel logo. There was a protracted U.S. government shutdown amid the high-stakes schism that is politics and culture war in America.

We're a house haunted by taking sides. We all know the issues. Will it take a generation to get us back to the table? Here's hoping it happens sooner rather than later. While unlikely, we implore: Do better 2026.

“There is trouble in the Forest. And the creatures all have fled. As the Maples scream, 'Oppression!' And the Oaks, just shake their heads.”

They hug the hips. They widen at the thighs. They reach peak circumference around the knees. They taper at the ankles.

So wrote Vogue in 2023 about barrel jeans, a puzzling style then and now. The stakes got higher for the divisive look when Alaïa put them on the runway for fall-winter that year. There were others, too, with some saying the look was reminiscent of jodhpurs and 1920s workwear.

As Vogue noted, quite a few fashion editors loved them. So did Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively. Could it have anything to do with the notion that barrel pants look good on exactly one body type: theirs. Tall. Slim. Leggy.

Here in 2025, the rest of us try. We really, really do. Amplified volume is just so, well, troubling, for oh so many.

So where will our pants go in the new year? Somewhere a little less, well, weird would be nice.

When we weren't navigating Labubu mania this year, what were we doing? Why, eating, making and procuring Dubai chocolate, of course. Or some variant thereof.

Dubai chocolate is to 2025 what sourdough starter was to pandemic lockdowns. Relentless. And, really, does anybody like/need that much filling in chocolate bars?

What is pistachio cream, tahini and crunchy kataifi pastry for the original filling has spun off wildly into other flavor profiles and products, including milkshakes and brownies. Amazon, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Costco are in on the bonanza.

How did it all begin? With a pregnancy craving for Sarah Hamouda, the British Egyptian co-founder of FIX Dessert Chocolatier. She wanted creamy, crunchy and familiar, and came up with the “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” chocolate bar in 2022, with help from chef Nouel Catis Omamalin.

Knafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern treat made of noodle-shaped toasted kataifi with a cheese layer, all soaked in a sweet syrup. Kataifi is a type of phyllo dough.

Hamouda and her husband, Yezen Alani, were working full-time corporate jobs in Dubai but left those gigs once their chocolate took over the world. They were helped along in a huge way by ASMR TikToker Maria Vehera, who crunched her way through one of their bars in 2023.

Vehera's video has been viewed more than 140 million times.

Stuff yourselves silly with Dubai chocolate if you must, for now. But let's modulate the craziness when 2026, and the next big thing, rolls around.

I'm available: Don't be a 24-hour availability person in the new year. It's not good for your health, and it shouldn't be necessary to get ahead in life. Break the cycle!

AI slop: There's no escaping AI, it seems, so get it right. Quality matters. Effort matters. Substance counts. Verbosity. Fabrications. Junk AI no more in 2026.

Sneaky little terms of agreement: Especially the ones that say, in their own words, “We can harass you with texts and emails forever, even if you unsubscribe.” Be gone!

This combination of images shows examples of barrel pants from the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2026 fashion show in New York on Sept. 11, 2025, left, the Ralph Lauren Spring 2026 fashion show in New York on Sept. 10, 2025, center, and on actor Joey King as she attends the Ralph Lauren Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show in Bridgehampton, N.Y. on Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo)

This combination of images shows the original a Cracker Barrel restaurant logo at a restaurant in Binghamton, N.Y., on Aug. 23, 2025, top, and the new Cracker Barrel logo displayed in New York on Aug. 21, 2025. (AP Photo)

FILE - Pieces of Dubai chocolate appear in a Lindt shop in Aachen, Germany on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Niemann, File)

Diep Nguyen shows a Labubu doll to media during the opening of Germany's first shop for Labubu plush dolls in Berlin, Germany, Friday, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

FILE - A woman holds a protein shake and a kettlebell as she poses at her home in Tyngsborough, Mass., on May 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

This Dictionary.com page shows the newest word of the year "6-7" on a computer screen, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 19, 2025--

Path Robotics, the global leader in physical AI for manufacturing, announced today the appointment of two industry leaders as independent members of its board of directors: Frank Klein, chief operations officer at Rocket Lab Corporation, and Geoffrey Chatas, senior vice president for operations at Yale University. The appointments reflect Path’s continued momentum and reinforce the company’s mission to integrate physical AI into traditional manufacturing processes, enabling manufacturers to build more, reshore production, and improve quality, despite increasing labor constraints.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251219049319/en/

Frank Klein, Chief Operations Officer, Rocket Lab

Klein is widely recognized for scaling some of the world's largest technical, manufacturing-heavy corporations, spending the last 30 years in the automotive industry. His leadership includes launching electric vehicles at Rivian, overseeing global production for Mercedes-Benz Vans, leading full vehicle engineering and manufacturing at Magna Steyr as the first contract manufacturer to produce an electric vehicle, and he now directs worldwide operations at Rocket Lab.

“Frank embodies the kind of bold, mission-driven leadership we value,” said Andy Lonsberry, co-founder and CEO of Path Robotics. “He is unafraid to take risks, driven by results, and relentlessly committed to building things that last. His deep expertise in scaling technically complex systems across continents, teams, and technologies makes him an invaluable addition as we scale physical AI for manufacturing and exponentially expand deployments."

According to Klein, Path is addressing the very challenges he has confronted repeatedly on factory floors worldwide.

“I’ve spent decades in manufacturing plants and have felt firsthand the pain of missing production targets because we couldn’t hire or retain enough skilled welders,” said Klein. “What Path is building with physical AI directly addresses that challenge and has, and will continue to, truly revolutionize modern manufacturing. Helping Path to grow and solidify its leadership in the industry is an honor and a privilege.”

Geoffrey Chatas, Senior Vice President for Operations, Yale University

Chatas brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across finance, operations, and higher education, with a proven track record of stewarding large, complex institutions through periods of growth. Prior to his current role at Yale University, Chatas held senior leadership roles at several major institutions, including executive vice president at the University of Michigan, chief operating officer at Georgetown University, and chief financial officer at The Ohio State University. Before entering higher education, he held senior finance roles at J.P. Morgan, Progress Energy, American Electric Power, Banc One Capital Corporation, and Citibank.

“Geoff brings a disciplined, long-term perspective shaped by decades of leading complex institutions at scale,” said Lonsberry. “His expertise in capital strategy, governance, and operational excellence will be invaluable as we continue to grow and position Path for its next phase.”

“Path is advancing solutions that are delivering meaningful impact across industrial manufacturing,” said Chatas. “Drawing on my experience across finance, operations, the energy sector, and startup environments, I’m eager to work alongside the team in support of its continued growth and innovation, while delivering long-term value for Path’s customers and partners.”

Klein’s and Chatas’ appointments come during a period of rapid growth for Path as the company accelerates adoption of its physical AI solutions across manufacturing sectors worldwide. Together, Klein and Chatas strengthen the board’s operational, financial, and strategic depth as Path enters its next phase of growth.

For more information on Path’s leadership team and board of directors, click here.

About Path Robotics

Path Robotics builds physical AI for manufacturing, starting with its welding model, Obsidian­™. Path’s intelligent welding cells perform the complex, variable welds that traditional automation cannot, enabling manufacturers to overcome chronic labor shortages while increasing production capacity, and improving quality. Since its founding in 2018, the company has raised more than $300 million to incorporate intelligence through physical AI into legacy manufacturing processes, turning traditionally impossible-to-automate work into reliable, high-throughput, and high-quality production. By combining artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision, Path’s physical AI enables legacy manufacturing processes to see, think, and adapt, in real time, turning the complexity that made automating these traditional processes impossible into a reality.

Geoffrey Chatas, senior vice president for operations at Yale University, joins the Path Robotics board of directors.

Frank Klein, chief operations officer for Rocket Lab, joins the Path Robotics board of directors.

Path Robotics intelligent welding cell in action.