TangoZippo

turned a pinecone in a bomb

I think that's from Pokemon

Just anecdotal, but it seems like they've given up on trying to get large numbers of new recruits (at least for the time being). I remember 15+ years ago commonly seeing their people around big cities doing their usual schtick (giving out books, offering "stress tests"). But I haven't seen any for years. If their still trying to get large numbers of new recruits, I think they're doing it quietly.

Edit: as per below, plenty of anecdotes are saying the opposite. As always, one should be skeptical of anecdotal information (even your own)

People pay to have their documents crowd-translated.

Instead you could say that it's about 5 times the number of wild, free-range American buffalo

Just like horses were able to take on more challenging and productive work after cars replaced carriages and buggies