Pop culture is like a disturbing science fiction movie this week. Young people are intentionally styling themselves as nightmarish quasi-humans, having their eyes burned at weird parties in Hong Kong, and sharing the trailer for a new Mean Girls movie.
When you learn and use a studying method, you’re making it easier for your brain to synthesize new information. Great! Now think of how much more you could learn and retain if you could double up on the methods you’re using. You can do that. It’s called “dual coding” and it’s a popular teaching and studying technique…
Now that Google owns Fitbit, buying something like the Charge 6 officially puts you in the company’s ecosystem. But that doesn’t mean the Fitbit Charge 6 is the same as the Pixel Watch 2. In fact, the experience you’ll get on both of these wearables will be completely different. If you find yourself stuck choosing…
If your open floor plan is a little too open, or if you want to carve out some defined space for focused use, room dividers can come in handy. Since most types of room dividers are much simpler and less expensive than a renovation, they’re a good solution for a tight budget. In addition, room dividers can often be…
Before we all begin the long, excruciating march through the holidays, let’s take one last look back at Halloween, the lowest-expectation holiday of all, by checking out the most meme-tactic costumes of 2023 and melting all our Halloween candy together into one super-bar. Also: Taylor Swift implies she’s straight…
The holiday season seems to start around June, and Christmas movies have become a mostly cozy preoccupation through much of the year. Though there’s still a bit of variety in seasonal fare, gone are the days when you watched one Christmas movie a year, and it was either about a guy trying to jump off of a bridge or a…
Maybe this is just me being Extremely Online, but whenever I see someone squatting in running shoes, a comment section goes off in my head. “Ditch the shoes!” “You’ll hurt yourself!” “You don’t want cushions under your feet when there’s a heavy bar on your back!”
The ASUS ROG Ally Z1 Extreme was quickly dubbed a “Steam Deck killer” when it launched earlier this year, offering better performance than the Steam Deck, a higher resolution display, and easy access to the full version of Windows 11.
November is National Adoption Month, and a great time to highlight stories from adoptees, adoptive parents, or people who want to better understand what it’s like to be involved in the adoption process.
If I’ve learned nothing else from heavy metal, horror movies, and Dungeons and Dragons, I’ve learned that demons are awesome. I want to invite as many as possible into my life to do my bidding and compete in fiddle contests. I’m sure you do, too, so I’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to summoning otherworldly…
The ASUS ROG Ally Z1 Extreme PC gaming handheld grabbed gamers’ attention when it arrived in June 2023, and since then, the company has released a slightly cheaper version of the device: the ASUS ROG Ally Z1. At first glance, the only difference between them is the “Extreme” on the end of the name, but there are some…
Welcome to Evil Week, our annual dive into all the slightly sketchy hacks we’d usually refrain from recommending. Want to weasel your way into free drinks, play elaborate mind games, or, er, launder some money? We’ve got all the info you need to be successfully unsavory.
Cold weather is coming, which means it’s time to light up your fireplace or firepit and build up your woodpile for the season. Whether you’re chopping firewood yourself or buying it and bringing it home, make sure you’re storing it correctly—don’t just dump it on the ground.
Welcome to Evil Week, our annual dive into all the slightly sketchy hacks we’d usually refrain from recommending. Want to weasel your way into free drinks, play elaborate mind games, or, er, launder some money? We’ve got all the info you need to be successfully unsavory.
While there’s a lot of appeal to having a full-built desktop computer, sometimes you need something that offers a monitor and processing tower all in one machine. That’s where all-in-one computers come in. Over the years, these sleek machines have seen some huge advances, and if you’re looking to buy a great…
Whether Halloween is a hectic day in your household—getting people in costume, making sure the candy bowl is stocked, and putting the finishing touches on your spooky outdoor decor—or it’s just another day for you, you’re going to have to eat at some point.
On June 2, 2015, I emailed Whitson Gordon, then editor-in-chief of Lifehacker, about a freelance writing opportunity on a fairly new, food-focused blog called “Skillet.” Eight years, five EICs, four corporate owners, at least as many CEOs, and two union contract negotiations later, I’m moving on. I’m just as surprised…
Before the 1950s, filmmakers didn’t think about teenagers as anything other than adults-in-waiting—accessories to the adult characters in films. That changed circa the release of Nicholas Ray’s 1955 James Dean star vehicle Rebel Without a Cause, the success of which made studios realize that teens were driving around…
The method of loci (or the loci technique) is a mnemonic memorization trickwith a number of uses, from helping people with mild cognitive impairment learn and remember information to getting someone ready to give a speech. You can use it, too—for whatever you need to remember.
The keys to an inoffensive last-minute Halloween costume are simple: People need to be able to tell what you are, and it has to be something you can pull together quickly using what’s already lying around the house. Googling “last minute DIY costume” will serve you up a bunch of blog posts that assume you have sewing…
Halloween is our darkest holiday, so it naturally spawns dark misinformation, whether it’s the famous razor-blade-in-the-apple myth, the persistent rumors about black-cat butchery, or the specter of “mischief night” arsonists. At the risk of dampening the mystique of Halloween, here are four things people are getting…
Paramount+ has a handful of original titles worth watching in November. On one end is Lawmen: Bass Reeves (November 5), a Wild West drama starring David Oyelowo as the real-life Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy U.S. marshal to work west of the Mississippi. On the other is Colin From Accounts (November 9), an…
If you’re tired of static wallpapers, you can add a bit of flair to your smartphone by choosing a live wallpaper—that is, using a Live Photo, gif, or short video as your wallpaper. Before you opt to go live, though, you should know it comes with a small hit to your phone’s battery life, and on older phones, it may…
In terms of themed food, Halloween allows for the most creativity. It’s the only time of year you’re encouraged to be off-putting and gross; as a kind of creepy woman, it’s a nice change of pace. I don’t have to hide my freaky proclivities. I can lean into them. Here are a few of my favorite (culinary) ways to do just…
Time to cozy up indoors: Netflix is dropping several anticipated dramas in November. At the beginning of the month, there’s the four-part miniseries All The Light We Cannot See (November 2), an adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Set during WWII, the story follows a blind…
This month on Prime Video brings the second season of the animated adult superhero series Invincible. Based on Robert Kirkman’s graphic novel, the first half of the season will stream on November 3, while the second is expected sometime in 2024.
When they aren’t working perfectly, toilets let you know by hissing, squealing, banging, and moaning loudly. Odd toilet noises have a number of causes—from water-flow issues caused by debris and clogs in your plumbing to failing tubes and valves in and around your toilet—which is why it’s important to identify the…
Want to make a jack-o-lantern last until Halloween and beyond? Carving pumpkins is a quintessential Halloween act—but anyone who’s ever attempted it knows that once a pumpkin is carved, its lifespan is nearing its end. Squirrels will eat them (though there are ways to prevent that), and unless you’re careful, your jack…
Cash is king, even if the jury is still out on how much you should carry on you at any given moment. What’s not up for debate is how frustrating it is to walk up to an ATM and have to authorize a charge for $2 or $3 for the privilege of accessing your own money. Yes, you can go to one of your bank’s ATMs to avoid the…
I’m no good at carving pumpkins, but I’m quite skilled at making delicious things out of them, like mini crustless pumpkin pie and beer-brined pumpkin seeds. Still, I usually end up at least one Jack-o’-lantern, because that’s what people do this time of year (and because I need those tangy, salty pumpkin seeds). I…
Google’s Pixel Watch 2 and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 are two of the best smartwatches on the market right now. But when it comes down to it, you’re likely only going to choose one to buy, and that decision begs questions: How exactly are these two watches different? Are there features that make one stand out over the…
In today’s fast-paced world, as glaring screens and blaring social media notification demand our attention, the allure of a cozy podcast offers a soothing respite. Picture yourself nestled under a warm blanket, a steaming cup of your favorite drink in hand, and the gentle voice of a host guiding you through a world of…
If you’re to believe what you see in porn, the typical script for sex looks something like this: A man’s partner stimulates him until he has an erection, he penetrates his partner, he comes and loses his erection, then sex is over. Basically, the encounter is bookended by the appearance and disappearance of his…
You’ve probably heard that strong, small magnets are dangerous for children. You would not give a toddler a neodymium magnet for any reason; you know that two of them, if swallowed, can connect inside their body, potentially causing severe injury. And yet, according to a recent survey presented to the American Academy…
North Carolina and Virginia are scheduled to play in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game is scheduled for kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET.
As more and more fitness trackers and smartwatches come out, I’ve noticed that manufacturers are leaning more into their own ecosystems. Apple, of course, has been doing this for years, but Google is starting to do it with its new devices, too, and the Fitbit Charge 6 is a perfect example of how choosing a fitness…
Today is a fun-fest of F-word foursomes, and one of the trickier puzzles we’ve had lately. If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Thursday, October 19, 2023, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Along the way, I’ll explain the meanings of the…
As soon as we’re done celebrating Halloween, Disney+ is switching gears to the winter holidays, with a handful of Christmas-themed premieres slated throughout November.
After going heavy on horror in October, Hulu has something for nearly everyone in November. There’s Hulu Original comedy Quiz Lady, starring Sandra Oh and Awkwafina as sisters on a journey to pay off debt by winning game shows (Nov. 3); and Black Cake, a serial drama based on Charmaine Wilkerson’s book of the same…
Between credit and debit cards, digital wallets, peer-to-peer apps, and bank transfers, sending money digitally has become the norm these days. While this convenience is great, it also comes with risks, especially if you don’t take the proper security precautions. And when it comes to choosing a specific payment…
No vehicle is completely immune to the risk of a flat tire or a dead battery, which can be inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst. Roadside assistance does the work of locating and dispatching a tow truck or service vehicle for you, which comes in handy at odd hours or in unfamiliar locations. A service call,…
AI is everywhere, and it’s only going to continue taking over our lives. You don’t even need to download anything AI-specific in order to try it out for yourself. In fact, you can do it right from Instagram. Meta is now rolling out its AI chatbots to its various products—including Instagram, WhatsApp, and…
Nonstick cookware makes cooking easier, but it doesn’t necessarily make cooking better. It doesn’t sear as well as cast iron or stainless steel, its finicky finish is at odds with both the dishwasher and metal utensils, and Teflon has a reputation for being less than safe.
Hello, and welcome to The Grown-up Kitchen. While Allie and I usually focus on helping people cook better, smarter, and faster through tips, tricks, and (of course) hacks, we’re getting back to basics here, and giving true culinary beginners the attention they deserve.
In this homecoming game, Penn State’s Nittany Lions are hosting Umass’ Minutemen in a cross-conference game. This is only the second time these teams have ever faced each other, and it seems tailor made for returning alumni who want to see Penn destroy another team. The spread is a massive 42.5 points in Penn’s favor,…
The imaginatively named Utah Utes are hosting the California Golden Bears this weekend at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Both teams are coming from losses last week with scores that highlight each team’s strength—Cal went down 52-40 and Utah was beaten 21-7, so it’s offense versus defense, Utah’s immovable…
I can say without fear of contradiction that this Saturday’s game between USC and Notre Dame will be the most dramatic football contest since Knute Rockne’s inspirational “win one for the Gipper” halftime speech in 1928.
The Ohio State Buckeyes travel to West Lafayette, Indiana this Saturday with the intention of thrashing the outmatched Purdue Boilermakers.
Even though the Colorado Buffaloes won their game against ASU last week by three, according to coach Deion Sanders, the team was “playing like hot garbage.”
You’ve probably gotten a call like this a dozen times: An authoritative voice announces: “I’m calling on behalf of the [YOUR TOWN] Fraternal Order of Police…” followed by a heartstring-pulling beg for donations to help the families of injured or killed police or firefighters, as well as a suggestion of special…