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12 healthy eating habits that work, according to science

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healthy eating habits that work_2016

There's a fad diet for practically everyone.

But as fun as the diets may seem, it's often difficult to stick with them for more than a few weeks. As a result few people actually see any long-term results.

Rather than trying one of those, here are 12 science-backed habits that can help boost your health and may help with weight loss as well.

RELATED: How to have perfect hygiene — according to science

NEXT: Grit may be more important to success than talent — here's how to get it

Eat food you enjoy.

It may seem as if the easiest way to lose weight is to stop eating the foods you overindulge in. But this can be short-sighted, Lisa Sasson, a New York University nutrition professor, told Business Insider in 2015. "If you pick a diet with foods you don't like, you're doomed to fail," Sasson said. Food is a pleasurable experience; if you cut out all the foods you like, you probably won't stick to your plan.

And as studiescontinue to show, coming up with an eating regimen you can stick with is critical.



Portion sizes are key.

There's a psychological component to eating, especially when you have weight loss in mind. Being conscious of losing weight and sticking to the right portion sizes is half the battle, Sasson said. This phenomenon is why most people in studies lose weight, regardless of whether they're in the group assigned a special diet. Simply being studied can lead to people being more conscious of what they're eating.

But overall, keeping an eye on portion sizes is a great way to help avoid overeating— especially with portion sizes rising since the 1970s.



Pack your lunch.

Portion sizes in American restaurants have increased by as much as three times in the past 20 years, and it is changing what we think of as a normal meal.

"One way to keep calories in check is to keep food portions no larger than the size of your fist," Elizabeth G. Nabel, director of NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, writes.

If you're trying to control your portion sizes, it is best to pack your own lunch because restaurants will give you more calories than you need.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 29 most successful UPenn alumni alive today

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Donald Trump

An Ivy League university and one of the best colleges in America, the University of Pennsylvania has produced some of the most successful entertainers, entrepreneurs, and politicians in American history.

And soon, the school will count a US president among its alma mater. 

President-elect Donald Trump graduated from UPenn's Wharton School of Finance in 1968 after transferring there in his junior year. 

Trump joins a host of other successful alumni, ranging from business magnate Warren Buffett to fashion designer Tory Burch to tech mogul Elon Musk. 

The Philadelphia Ivy has also produced 25 billionaires — more than any other school in the world. Here are some of the most notable names on the list:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best colleges in America

DON'T MISS: The 14 best colleges where graduates earn high salaries right away

President-elect Donald Trump started at Fordham University but transferred to UPenn after two years, graduating in the class of 1968. "I decided that as long as I had to be in college, I might as well test myself against the best," Trump said in his book "Trump: The Art of the Deal."

Source:"The Art of the Deal"



American civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred earned her Bachelor of Arts in English at UPenn in the early 1960s. Her senior honors thesis on Armenian writers opened the door to her civil rights work.

Source: Gloria Allred.com



Indian business magnate Anil Ambani got his MBA from UPenn's Wharton School of Business in 1983. The former Reliance Group CEO was the first recipient of the Wharton Indian Alumni Award and serves on Wharton’s Board of Overseers.

Source: Wharton Alumni Magazine



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A steel wristwatch just shattered the record for the most expensive watch ever sold

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PATEK PHILIPPE 1518

As the Swiss watch industry continues to flag, the vintage market just gets hotter and hotter.

The latest example: a 1943 Patek Philippe ref. 1518 perpetual calendar chronograph that just sold for $11 million at a Phillips auction in Geneva on Saturday.

No diamonds or precious metals here — just one of the greatest examples of watchmaking in an extremely rare model.

The steel-cased watch is one of only four known to exist in the world, and it sold for more than three times its $3 million hidden auction estimate. The winner was an unnamed private collector.

How can such an anti-bling watch be worth so much? Credit a combination of rarity, originality, and condition, says Aurel Bacs,head of watch auction expertise firm Bacs & Russo, which has partnered with Phillips. This model also has the distinction of being the first perpetual calendar chronograph ever made, according to Forbes. The watch's calendar will never need to be adjusted, as it even accounts for leap years.

It's enough to knock out the previous most expensive watch in the world, another steel-cased Patek that sold for a notable $7 million a year ago.

SEE ALSO: This may be the end of the Swiss watch as we know it

DON'T MISS: How 7 Rolex models got their unique nicknames

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These are the best watches at every price point

Nike's new science fiction-inspired, self-lacing sneakers will cost $720 a pair

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Nike HyperAdapt 1.0

To live in the future, you've got to pay the price.

The Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 — the first mass-market sneaker to use Nike's new self-lacing technology — will cost $720 a pair, a spokesperson for the company has confirmed with Business Insider.

Interested customers can make appointments to see and purchase the shoe in person starting December 1. It will come in three colors: black, white, and a black/gray.

The shoes were first announced by Nike to great fanfare at its innovation conference in March. Nike CEO Mark Parker later went on CNBC to claim that self-lacing sneakers will be as big as self-driving cars in the future, with both mainstream appeal and application.

The first shoe, the HyperAdapt 1.0, will feature the signature adaptive fit, which senses when the wearer's foot is in the shoe using a pressure sensor, and automatically tightens the straps until it senses resistance based on an "algorithmic pressure equation," according to Wired. Buttons near the tongue of the shoe provide customized adjustment if the shoe feels too tight or too loose.

LED lights on the sole will tell you when the shoe is tightening and low on battery charge. The shoes will need to be charged like a gadget to work. It will take three hours to achieve a full charge, which will last two weeks.

The technology took 11 years for Nike to research and develop.

"We're talking about a project that's maybe the most difficult in the history of footwear," Nike VP Tinker Hatfield told Wired.

Self-lacing sneakers first entered the public consciousness in 1989's "Back to the Future II," which featured a futuristic version of self-lacing sneakers called the Nike Mag. Nike produced a few Nike Mag versions and raffled them off for charity, and it even sent Michael J. Fox a pair. The shoes raised a total of $6.75 million for Parkinson's disease research.

SEE ALSO: Adidas and Under Armour are locked in a bitter battle to be Nike's top US competitor — here's who's likely to win

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo just signed a lifetime deal with Nike reportedly worth $1 billion — here's how he makes and spends his money

9 ways to get better at small talk

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BI_Graphics_9 Ways Small talk 01

In a recent article for Wired magazine, Kristen Berman and behavioral economist Dan Ariely share their experience hosting a dinner party with one key rule: "Absolutely no small talk."

Apparently, the guests were all the happier for it — and the authors conclude in their headline that "small talk should be banned."

Whether this sounds to you like a great idea or a terrifying prospect, the fact is that most event organizers won't go so far as to prohibit small talk — so you'd best get good at it.

To help you out, we checked out Quora, Reddit, and other resources, and highlighted some of the best tips for upping your small-talk game. You can even make a habit of practicing with strangers you'll probably never see again, since research suggests that making conversation with fellow commuters leaves people happier.

Read on to impress new acquaintances — and yourself — with your masterful conversation skills.

1. Demonstrate interest in your conversation partner

Several Quora users said the best way to keep a conversation rolling was to show you care about what the other person has to say.

"If you don't fundamentally care about the person you are speaking with, that will show, and that may be the primary reason why you are running out of things to discuss," Kai Peter Chang writes.

That also means letting your conversation partner share information about himself or herself.

"Let the other person speak more," Anam Gulraiz writes. "People LOVE talking about themselves."



2. Ask open-ended questions

Instead of asking yes/no questions that lead to dead ends, encourage your conversation partner to share some more detail about his or her life.

"In general, open-ended questions lead to more conversational paths,"Craig Weiland says.

For example, instead of asking a fellow party guest, "Are you here with your family?" you might ask, "How did you meet the host?"



3. Allow your conversation partner to teach you

"If there's a subject you're not familiar with, just be honest with that person and nine out of 10 times they'll teach you about it," Michael Wong writes.

It goes back to that central idea of letting other people do most of the talking. Asking other people to explain what they mean might prompt them to talk for at least another few minutes.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

David Bowie's out-of-this-world art collection just sold for over $41 million — see 21 of his best furniture pieces

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David Bowie Memphis Collection 15

Over the weekend, the late David Bowie's art collection — including his many Memphis Design furniture pieces — was auctioned off at Sotheby's in London.   

Little was known about Bowie's private collection until after his death, when his estate reached out to Sotheby's about putting it up for auction. Apparently, the musician had an obsession with Memphis Design, a colorful and bold form of architecture and design founded by Ettore Sottsass in the early 1980s.

The Memphis Design collection, which was made up of over 100 pieces, sold collectively for more than $1.7 million on the second day of the auction. All together, Bowie's art sold for $41.1 million over the course of the two-day auction, according to Pitchfork.

Below, see 20 of his most interesting and valuable furniture pieces, plus what they ended up selling for. 

SEE ALSO: Gorgeous photos give a look inside the closets of 4 famous entrepreneurs

Designer Ettore Sottsass' "Carlton" room divider was estimated to sell at auction for $9,258 — it sold for $65,993.



The "Adesso Pèro" Bookcase from Sottsass' "Ruins" series was estimated to sell at auction for $9,258. It sold for $43,995.



Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni's radio-phonograph, Model No. Rr126, was estimated to sell for $1,587. It sold for $323,049.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what the maximum amount of sugar you should be eating in a day looks like

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Sugar: Love it, hate it, but you certainly can't ignore it.

The FDA proposed that nutrition labels on foods be required to list the amount of added sugar as a percentage of the recommended maximum daily intake, or about 50 grams of sugar.

Since "50 grams" isn't exactly easy to picture, we decided to show you what that looks like (based on data from the nutrition website Caloriecount.com):

Tanya Lewis contributed to an earlier version of this story.

 

SEE ALSO: Here are all of the harmful effects sugar has on your body and brain

A single can of soda

If you're a fan of soda, you may want to consider kicking your habit. A 12-ounce can of Coke contains 39 grams of sugar — four-fifths of the FDA's recommended limit, while the new "cold activated" 16-ounce can has a whopping 52 grams. You might consider drinking diet soda instead, although some studies suggest diet drinks may be not be healthy either in the long run.



One fancy coffee drink

Many of us nurse a Starbucks habit, but you may be surprised to realize just how unhealthy this can be. For example, one grande Caramel Frappuccino with whipped cream contains 52 grams of sugar — and that's all you're supposed to have all day!

Not only that, but one of these drinks contains 430 calories and 16 grams of fat — about a quarter of the recommended daily limit (and half of your daily saturated fat). The "light" frappuccino fares slightly better, with 29 grams of sugar and 140 calories.



Two yogurts

Yogurt is one of the stealthiest places for sugar to hide. Those Yoplait yogurts your mom packed in your school lunches? Those contain about 26 grams of sugar each, which is half of your daily allowance. One yogurt contains 4.9 grams of protein, which isn't that much considering that experts say you should get about 80 grams of protein per day.

Better to stick with a plain, Greek yogurt like Chobani, which contains 14.5 grams of protein and just 4 grams of sugar.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The best suburb in every state

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Franklin Tennessee

There's a widespread stereotype that living in the suburbs is boring. But that's not always the case. The best suburbs offer access to parks and cultural activities, good job prospects, and top restaurants — in addition to low crime rates and noteworthy public schools. 

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools and places to live, recently released its list of the best suburbs in the US. Using Niche's sorting tool, we found the highest-ranking area in each state.

The rankings assessed the overall livability of each suburb, taking into account the cost of living, public school quality, the percentage of residents who hold at least a bachelor's degree, and the overall strength of the area's real estate market. Niche also factored in things like diversity, average commute time, crime rates, and access to amenities. You can read a full breakdown of the methodology here.  

From a beachside town in Hawaii to the home of the Minnesota state fair, read on to see the best suburb in every US state.

Note: Due to insufficient data, there aren't entries for Montana, North Dakota, or Wyoming. 

SEE ALSO: The best public college in every state

DON'T MISS: The 50 best restaurants in America

ALABAMA: Homewood

Nearest city: Birmingham

Population: 25,420

Cost of living: C+

Public schools: A+

Health and fitness: B+

Crime and safety: B-

Diversity: A-



ALASKA: Palmer

Nearest city: Anchorage

Population: 6,250

Cost of living: C+

Public schools: B

Health and fitness: B+

Crime and safety: B

Diversity: A-



ARIZONA: Flowing Wells

Nearest city: Tucson

Population: 16,062

Cost of living: B-

Public schools: A-

Health and fitness: A+

Crime and safety: N/A

Diversity: A+



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I just ran my first half marathon — here's what I tell my friends when they say they could never start running

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Emmie half marathon

In October, after four months of training and endless hours spent traversing every sidewalk in Brooklyn, New York, I ran an uninterrupted 13.1 miles to finish my first half marathon.

It was hard, but worth the effort.

However, when I first started running four summers ago, I could barely make it two blocks without stopping. I questioned if I'd be able to finish the 5K I'd impulsively signed up for and laughed at the prospect of even attempting a half marathon.

But despite not being a natural runner, I stuck with it, gradually upping my distance and dropping minutes off my mile time. I'm by no means an elite athlete, so if I can do it, anyone can — seriously.

I've had several conversations with friends who say things along the lines of "I could never do that!" or "I can barely run a mile." But thing is, I always say, you can!

Here's the advice I'd give to anyone who wants to start running, even if you've never put on a pair of sneakers before. 

SEE ALSO: 8 ways I trick myself into waking up early to go to the gym

DON'T MISS: 7 things I wish I knew before training for my first half marathon

Commit

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Whether your goal is to run a mile or a marathon, you have to want it and commit yourself to reaching that goal. Running gets easier with practice, but you'll make zero progress if you only attempt it sporadically. Decide mentally that you will become a runner and don't let yourself stop — even if you have to trick yourself into making it happen some days.

Yes, running requires a certain level of physical fitness, but there's a point where it becomes completely mental: If you believe you can do it, you can.



Start small

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Don't hit the pavement on your first day and expect to run six miles. Aim for one mile, half a mile, or even one block if that's all you can do, and go from there. Once you start running regularly, you'll gradually build up mileage, a little bit at a time.



Stick with it

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It's okay if you can only run half a block on your first day. Just don't give up. Conditioning is a key factor in building up mileage; The more you run, the easier it gets.

When I first decided to train for a 5K, I could barely make it a few blocks without stopping to catch my breath, but I kept going. I faithfully got up early four days a week, and after a couple of months I had worked my way up to running three miles without stopping. It took me weeks to make it a mile straight, but had I quit early on, I never would have reached that milestone.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These 100 photos portray each culture’s definition of perfect beauty

Game 3 of the World Chess Championship was monumental — but still a draw

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Magnus Carlsen WCC 2016

NEW YORK — The "Grandmaster draw" has come under fire in the world of elite chess.

The way it works is that GMs know certain positions and outcomes so well that will sometimes agree to a draw after just 15 or 20 moves.

This is dismaying to fans of "fighting chess," although it's understandable given how well-prepared, using powerful computers, GMs now are.

At Game 3 of the 2016 World Chess Championship in New York, title holder Magnus Carson of Norway and challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia played to a draw, matching the result of each of the first two games.

But it was anything but a tame agreement between GMs. 

It was one of the most epic draws in WCC history, a 78-move ordeal that lasted seven hours. For Carlsen, who was strongly favored at one point to win by the analysis engines running on computers, it was a huge missed opportunity, both with white and in a complicated, stressful endgame, with his opponent under time pressure.

For Karjakin, it was a vindication of his renowned defensive skills and blow for Carlsen, considered by some to be the best endgame player on the planet.

Endgames in chess are interesting because although computers haven't yet "solved" chess, they have worked out certain endgames. This is because there are so few pieces left on the board, typically, and computers are able to crunch the available options down to "best play" sequences. 

But endgames are tough for even the finest players because humans aren't as good at pure calculation as computers — and because while algorithms never tire, after hours of furious thinking, humans do. Throw in clock pressure and you have ample opportunity for even a chess genius like Carlsen to screw up.

The game itself was the Ruy Lopez opening for white, transposing into a Berlin Defense, a reliably drawish choice for black.

However, anything goes in an endgame, so I'll just run through the sequence where Carlsen blew it (in Carlsen's defense, in St. Louis where two former world champs and a couple of contenders were following the game at dinner on a smartphone, there was furious debate and analysis taking place about whether it was a win or a draw, as GM Yasser Seirawan recounted in his ChessBase breakdown of Game 3).

As you can see, an analysis engine is giving Carlsen a 75% chance of winning here:

WCC 2016 Game 3

But then he decides again checking the black king by playing rf7+, instead attacking the white pawn by playing rb7:

WCC 2016 Game 3

That move doomed his clear chances for a win and set the stage for Karjakin to go for a technically difficult but far from impossible draw.

The WCC now stands tied, 1.5-1.5, with Game 4 starting at 2PM ET on Wednesday.

Here's the final Game 3 position on the board:

WCC 2016 Game 3

 

SEE ALSO: Magnus Carlsen is trying to avoid expectations at the World Chess Championship

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How to win a game of chess in two moves

Inside Leonardo DiCaprio's eco-resort on a private island off the coast of Belize

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Blackadore Caye Estate DiCaprio

In recent years, Leonardo DiCaprio has become an outspoken environmental voice. Earlier in 2016, he hosted “Before the Flood,” a National Geographic documentary about climate change, and interviewed President Obama about climate action at the White House’s South by South Lawn festival.

Now the actor-turned-activist is hoping to create a new model for green hospitality. DiCaprio is helping design a new resort called Blackadore Caye, A Restorative Island. Slated to open in late 2018, it will be located on a small island off the coast of Belize.

Blackadore Caye (which is also the name of the island) will feature 36 resort bungalows and 36 estate homes, all of which will be powered by 100% renewable energy harvested from solar panels. Rainwater will be collected and filtered on-site and combined with solar-powered desalinization devices to meet the resort’s water needs.

Blackadore Caye Master Plan

DiCaprio purchased the island more than 10 years ago for $1.75 million. Though its 104 acres are unpopulated, the island's beaches and reefs suffer from overfishing, an eroding coastline, and deforestation of the native mangrove tree population.

According to the New York Times, fisherman have cut down the coastal mangroves over the years, using the wood for fires to cook fish and conch from the reef. The depletion of the mangroves has allowed more seawater to breach the island’s shores and wash away nutrient-rich soil. Without the natural storm barrier the trees provided, saltwater has also penetrated the island during extreme weather events, and the lingering saline has caused some plant species to die.

To reverse that trend, the development team has assembled a group of scientists to set baseline levels of resilience and biodiversity, and monitor those factors over time. The project’s plans include planting approximately 20,000 new red mangrove trees around the island's perimeter, and fortifying the shoreline by adding strategically placed rocks and sand. Native species will also be reintroduced to restore the island's vegetated cover.

Half of the land will be set aside as a wildlife preserve, and a research station will be established to host scientists conducting ecological studies. Guests will also be invited to work on some restoration projects if they choose.

Blackadore Caye Estate C Pool View

Blackadore Caye will be the first luxury resort to adhere to Living Building Challenge standards, the most rigorous sustainability certification for buildings. Though the square footage of the bungalows and homes has not yet been released, all of the energy-efficient buildings are being designed to capture breezes and keep out heat from the sun. Both human and food waste will be treated on site and composted when possible to improve the island’s topsoil.

There will also be a strict list of items and technologies not permitted on the island. All recreational vehicles (boats, cars, scooters, etc) will have to use clean energy, and guests will be forbidden from bringing non-reusable plastic water bottles.

The food served to resort-goers will be organic and locally sourced — the developers plan to partner with local fisherman and farmers to stock the kitchen. Some greens and produce will also be grown hydroponically on-site.

Blackadore Caye estate rendering

Rental rates for the bungalows and prices for the houses have not yet been determined, but in all likelihood Blackadore Caye’s unparalleled level of eco-consciousness and sustainability won’t come cheap. The Times estimated in 2015 that estate home prices will range from $5-$15 million. Beaches that perfect deserve all the help they can get.

SEE ALSO: The 7 biggest threats Trump poses to the environment

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Private infinity pools are the best part of this resort in Thailand

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What it's like to have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, an illness that makes you feel exhausted all the time

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Tired woman at desk

After months of struggling both mentally and physically to do simple tasks, dealing with a constantly foggy brain and serious exhaustion that wouldn’t go away no matter how much I slept, a doctor told me I had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

Having never heard of it, my response was skeptical, and somewhat annoyed – similar to when you’re told "it’s only a virus" after having a miserable cold for weeks on end.

It felt like a cop-out. But when she told me that there was a chance it would never go away, and the only way to help it was to "avoid exerting too much energy," I decided to do my research.

That was two and a half years ago. Since then, I've learned many things about CFS, including what it is and, just as importantly, what it isn't.

So, what is it?

Officially called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), the condition involves extreme levels of fatigue which last a long period of time, disrupting your daily life. Rest does not help alleviate the symptoms. It is thought to effect 17 million people worldwide, and four times as many women as men.

In 2015, a report by the American Institute of Medicine defined ME as "an acquired, chronic multi-systemic diseases biological in nature." It added that the symptoms included "immune, neurological and cognitive impairment." 

While there is no proven cause (and no official diagnostic test), it appears that most cases seem to be triggered by viral infections like glandular fever. 

The condition has been around since the 20th century. An outbreak hit the Royal Free Hospital in London in the 1950s, followed by Lake Tahoe, Nevada in the 1980s where the epidemic was nicknamed "Raggedy Ann." After that, cases started to crop up all over the world. 

Living with CFS feels like being tired all the time.

But CFS is so much more than just being tired.

Like many others, my CFS was triggered by a miserable bout of the Mumps (yes, people still get the Mumps). Once the virus was gone, I was left feeling completely wiped for weeks, to the point where even walking up the stairs to my flat made me need to lie down. It also came along with headaches and a foggy feeling in my brain which made it hard to concentrate.

All in all, staying in bed seemed like the best (or sometimes only) option — yet sleeping didn't make me feel better.

Potentially the worst part was the likelihood that it might not go away.

A 2011 study published in medical journal The Lancet had originally suggested that the illness could be made better with exercise, but an analysis of the data years later showed that as long as you’re already getting standard medical care, the chances of being helped by treatment are 10% at best. The chances of recovery are almost none.

As a Master’s student at the time of diagnosis, I faced a challenging few months trying to stay on top of course work. Luckily, good relationships with my professors, hard work and the timing of the illness – it hit me right as course work was finishing – saw me through, but not everyone is as lucky.

A student at Oxford University who got ME during the final year of her degree following a bout of glandular fever had requests for extensions on her course work denied, and many others have faced similar problems. According to the BBC, one in 100 children also miss at least one day of class a week because of CFS. 

This becomes a bit more complicated for working adults. In the first full-time reporting role I took on after graduating, I found it difficult to explain to a manager that some days I was too exhausted to come in to work, but the likelihood was I wouldn't feel better after some rest.

There was little I could do. Working out, which I loved to do, made it worse, and eating only provided me with fleeting bursts of caloric energy.

Luckily, by giving myself the time I needed and trying not to push myself too hard, I started to feel better with time, staying home or cancelling plans when I didn't feel up to it. Eventually I hardly struggled with the fatigue and started exercising regularly again – I had close to a year with no symptoms at all, and felt better and became fitter than I ever had been. I even managed to train for and complete a half-marathon.

Although it's much better than before, it still comes back in bursts.

The worst part, though, is that sometimes when I see new doctors, they suggest my illness is purely psychological. This happened to me earlier this year, when I visited a different doctor for advice. She suggested, as many do, that the illness was all in my mind, and that I should see a therapist.

Many health professionals continue to have a similar response, and dismiss the disease as "all in the mind."

According to The Guardian, a survey in the UK carried out by the ME Association early this year found that 46% of patients thought that the care provided by their GP for CFS was "poor" or "dreadful." Some 18% had no contact with their GP at all as they found they made their illness worse by not taking them seriously.

The National Institute of Health in the US launched plans to research people with CFS in 2015, with director Francis Collins stating:

"Of the many mysterious human illnesses that science has yet to unravel, ME/CFS has proven to be one of the most challenging.

"I am hopeful that renewed research focus will lead us toward identifying the cause of this perplexing and debilitating disease so that new prevention and treatment strategies can be developed." 

And it does seem that the disease is starting to get the attention it deserves. Earlier this month, the NHS announced that is is trial ling a therapy to treat two-thirds of the children who suffer from CFS. By using online behavioral therapy sessions on 734 children, the trial aims to adjust children’s sleeping habits and activity levels to try and adapt the way they live and alleviate the symptoms.

However, for me, being pushed to do more exercise, sleep more, or try therapy certainly wasn’t the answer.

While any research or trial on the topic can only be a good thing, the next step should be encouraging people to take the time and rest they need when they need it, both physically and mentally – and fostering an environment in schools and workplaces that allows them to do so.

SEE ALSO: There's a debilitating illness that makes you feel exhausted all the time — and we know very little about it

DON'T MISS: I've been on antidepressants for a decade — here's what everyone gets wrong about them

Join the conversation about this story »

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This $665 million skyscraper in San Francisco will be the tallest residential building on the West Coast

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181 Fremont residential tower building renderings

A new skyscraper in San Francisco tops off this month, rising 70 stories over the city's financial center. Upon completion in 2017, 181 Fremont will be the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi River — and possibly the most lavish and exclusive.

Renowned designer Orlando Diaz-Azcuy set out to make the building the epitome of luxury. The $665 million tower spares no expense, from gold-plated door handles to hovering walls.

Business Insider recently toured a model unit located up the street. Take a look.

181 Fremont has been called the most luxurious building on the West Coast by Forbes.

"The vision for 181 Fremont is not simply to raise the bar for luxury living in San Francisco, but to set an entirely new one," according to a brochure for interested buyers.

Source: Forbes



It also happens to be one of the most expensive. The building's 55 ultra-luxe condos start at $2,400 per square foot, more than double the city's median home average.

Sources: San Francisco Business Times and Trulia



Cuban-born Orlando Diaz-Azcuy is one of America's most awarded designers. He selected craftsmen from around the world to provide the finest materials and finishes.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

It would be incredibly difficult for California to pull off a 'Calexit' and secede from the US

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UT Austin Texas Longhorns mascot

The last time a state seceded from the US, it was the 1860s and a civil war broke out.

Still, history hasn't stopped a small group of Californians from pursuing a breakaway from the union in the wake of a Donald Trump presidency. They're calling the movement "Calexit."

The two campaigns — one established long before Election Day (the Yes California Independence Campaign) and one nascent group backed by well-known angel investor Shervin Pishevar— have attracted an overnight social media following in response to the president-elect. Both parties aim to make California an independent nation.

Many opponents have taken to Twitter to express that the Calexit backers are forgetting one other thing that Texas already tried and failed miserably.

Texas has attempted a "Texit" time and time again. Residents of the Lone Star State passed resolutions calling for a vote on secession recent as March.

One big obstacle: The US Constitution lays out procedures for how a new state may enter the union, but there are no protocols for a nation to exit.

"There's no legal path to secession," Cynthia Nicoletti, an associate professor of law at University of Virginia School of Law and author of the upcoming book, "The Treason Trial of Jefferson Davis: Secession in the Aftermath of the Civil War," tells Business Insider.

Shortly after Barack Obama was re-elected to the presidency in 2012, disgruntled Texans filed a petition to the White House asking that the administration "peacefully grant" the state the right to withdraw from the union. It racked up over 125,000 signatures. The director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Jon Carson, dashed their dreams in his response.

Carson wrote that our founding fathers established in the US Constitution "the right to change our national government ... But they did not provide a right to walk away from it."

Texas Longhorns cheerleader

That leaves two paths, according to Nicoletti. "You're going to need a constitutional amendment or you're going to need a revolution."

In 1861, Texas rallied with 10 other southern states to leave the union and form the Confederate States of America. It didn't turn out as they hoped, needless to say. About 700,000 people died in the Civil War, and by 1870, all 11 states rejoined the US.

According to a significant case argued before the US Supreme Court in 1869, they never had the right to exit in the first place.

Nicoletti, a legal historian who said she was surprised to find her subject of expertise relevant once again, explains that while the issue of a state's legal right to secede may have played out on the battlefield when the North defeated the South, Texas v. White made it crystal clear that individual states could not just leave — even if agreed upon by a majority of Texans.

Still, "saying that something is illegal is not the same as saying it's impossible," Nicoletti said.

A state can pass a constitutional amendment that legalizes secession with the blessings of the other 49 states. However, a recent Fusion article pointed out that amending the Constitution "is a feat difficult enough that it has happened only 17 times in 227 years."

Marcus Ruiz Evans, Yes California Independence Campaign, calexit

In the case of Calexit, the Yes California Independence Campaign wants to put a measure on the ballot in 2018, when residents of the state will choose their next governor, that would allow Californias to voice their support for a Brexit-style departure.

If it passes, which is highly implausible, the group may do a few things.

A member of the California federal delegation could go to Washington, DC, and propose an amendment to the US Constitution that would permit the state to bounce the union.

Alternatively, California could call for a convention of the states and the amendment granting California its independence could be voted upon by the delegates to the convention.

Either option ends with a call for congressional approval. Nicoletti said the chances Calexit succeeds are slim to none, and the potential consequences are grim.

"The last time [a state seceded], the consequence was the Union Army," Nicolleti said. "Do I think that there will be troops in the center of San Francisco? I don't know, I mean, I don't know that I take this idea of secession all that seriously."

SEE ALSO: Silicon Valley is divided on whether California should secede from the US in a 'Calexit'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: People in California are calling for a 'Calexit' after Trump’s victory

Holding a baby can make you feel bodaciously high — and it's a scientific mystery

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A father loving his baby in a chest harness.

I was clueless the first time my baby made me feel high.

My wife and I were headed out the door on a beautiful summer day, and I was carrying our then 2-month-old daughter in a harness, her squishy baby belly pressing against my chest while she grew heavy with sleep.

Suddenly, as I stepped into the shade of our tree-lined street, it hit me: an incredibly warm, melty glow of euphoria. It began in my heart and rushed through every appendage, leaving me giddy yet deeply at peace — and on the verge of tears. Everything seemed to slow down. I almost stopped to catch my breath.

It was powerful, and it was weird. Yet at the time I wrote it off as internalizing a nice moment: My wife and I had started a family, I was a dad, and it felt amazing.

But my next moment of ooey-gooey euphoria couldn't have been less sentimental.

The weather was hot and muggy. I was sweaty, frazzled, and running late. Into the harness my daughter went — bawling. There it was again, though, washing over me again after a few minutes of carrying her, and this time even more strongly.

"I feel high and my baby is the drug," I thought.

Strong feelings of bonding and love are well-known to me. I've shared plenty with family and friends throughout my life, most recently when I cuddle my wife or (with apologies to my wife) our dog. That close contact can trigger a satisfying, heartfelt glow.

I've also felt the euphoria of getting drunk and have, on a few rare occasions, experimented with marijuana and felt its mood-boosting effects. And when my dentist yanked out my wisdom teeth, he prescribed me hydrocodone (also known as Vicodin) — an opiate pain reliever that made me feel happy, floaty, and disconnected.

The feeling my daughter uniquely and almost instantly triggers is one apart from all of the above. While not as powerful as a drug, it isn't a far cry, either. The "baby high," as I call it, hits me like a freight train from Rainbow Happy Land. Every time.

It enhances my experience of living in the moment while engaging a grab-bag of pleasurable senses, each of which is far stronger than any feel-good buzz I have ever gotten from social interaction. And apparently it lacks side effects — no sad comedown, no aloofness, no confusion, no irritability.

baby harness dadI enjoy it so much that I started carrying our daughter around in the harness as often as I could, including while vacuuming the apartment. (Pro tip: This is a great way to get fussy infants to fall asleep.)

And I occasionally got testy with my wife when she insisted — for perfectly valid reasons — that we put our daughter in the stroller instead of the harness.

This might seem unsurprising and obvious: "A parent who loves the feeling of holding his baby close? And craves it? Duh."

But no parents I've met openly mentioned this euphoric surge. Why does it happen — even when I'm in a terrible mood? Why haven't I felt it until now? Do all parents feel it? And how does it work, exactly?

After speaking with experts and trawling for relevant scientific studies, I learned the baby high is real, but that no simple explanations exist.

I found some alluring clues, though.

For one, babies can subtly hack the biochemistry of their parents, even before they're born. (At least with biological parents — we don't know enough about the changes that may occur in non-biological parents to make any conclusions yet.) Such changes may tune the brain's deeply rooted pleasure center to reward parenting behaviors.

"Nature's goal is to get you addicted to the baby," Maia Szalavitz, a science journalist who co-authored a book about the science of bonding, called "Born for Love", told Business Insider. "Addiction, in fact, is what happens when this [reward] system gets attached to a drug rather than a person." (Szalavitz has also written extensively about her own experiences with addiction and recently authored a book on the topic, called "Unbroken Brain".)

I also learned the baby high may be more of a spectrum.

"It's like a drug and calms me," said one relative and mother, who said she feels it as strongly as I do, in an email. "This is also similar to what women feel when they are breast-feeding."

Conversely, my wife only sort of feels it. A subtle and warm "gushy" feeling bubbles up when she's breastfeeding, and a slightly stronger one when our daughter falls asleep in her arms. But she said neither sensation seems worth writing home about.

Other parents don't seem to feel it at all. At a recent family party, I described the sensation to one dad, who was carrying his toddler-age daughter — he said he had no idea what I was talking about. And a mom wrote, "[U]uuhhh no?" in response to my open query on Twitter:

I even asked a couple of brain researchers with kids if they've ever felt it. "[M]uch as I would love to experience what you describe, I have not," James K. Rilling, a father of two who studies the neuroscience of social behavior at Emory University, told Business Insider in an email.

Scientists have no doubt the baby high exists, though, even if they know little about it.

"There are not a ton of studies on this," Heather Caldwell, a hormone biologist at Kent State University who studies how biochemistry regulates behavior, told Busines Insider. "Maybe you hung out with kids before and you didn't get that feeling. There's something special about fatherhood, though maybe not for all men. We don't really know yet."

Here's what we do know about the baby high, how it might work, and a surprising if not controversial reason we may understand it so poorly.

An ancient and powerful reward system

brain structures cross section anatomy shutterstock_305272955

Every emotion or feeling we experience originates in the brain.

Some of these affective experiences manifest in the mind's outermost "thinking" layers, called the neocortex. While standing on a mountaintop, you might pause to consider how lucky you are not to be working, then feel elated at your freedom. Or we may trigger our own stress and grief when we ponder a coworker's recent silence toward us, deciding it's hostility or cold disregard.

Then there are more deeply rooted, automatic, and instinctive experiences. It feels good to laugh or have sore muscles massaged. It hurts to get cut, pricked, or punched. The slither of a snake (or what we think is a snake) out of the corner of our eyes makes us fearful and alert.

The baby high may have more in common with the latter, since parenting instincts are so reflexive in mammals.

During a key experiment in the 1990s, for example, researchers damaged the neocortex of female hamsters after birth but spared deeper brain structures. Surprisingly, these hamsters could still breed and effectively parent their offspring.

However, when the researchers damaged a more central brain region called the limbic system, which is the source of emotions and pleasure (among other things), the hamsters' maternal behaviors — like nest-building, picking up pups, and nursing — never developed.

dopamineOne of the limbic system's most crucial parts is a reward pathway called the mesolimbic dopamine system. Its core function is to cherry-pick activities (like eating, having sex, or playing with kids), and make them feel rewarding. It also drives neurons to grow to motivate us to feel those good sensations again, plus avoid any bad ones.

A key to making it all work is dopamine. The chemical tells individual neurons to fire off a signal or not, influencing other brain signals and pathways, and essentially serves as a traffic cop of motivation, emotion, and social behavior.

There's a powerful partner to dopamine, though: opioids. These pain-relieving chemicals are also made by the limbic system, and alone can cause feelings of relaxation, calm, and satiation with their own receptors, Szalavitz said. But they also trigger the release of dopamine.

Our minds don't make enough natural opioids to overdose us, either alone or with dopamine, which is in contrast to heroin, oxycodone, fentanyl, and other opioid drugs that a user can control the dosage of.

"Having too much dopamine in the wrong place can make you psychotic. Illicit drugs that dump loads of dopamine (or strongly inhibit its reuptake, which is similar to dumping loads of dopamine) include cocaine and methamphetamines," Dr. Emily Deans wrote at Psychology Today. "Therefore high amounts of dopamine can cause euphoria, aggression and intense sexual feelings."

Which might partly explain the nature of the baby high.

"There are lots of social situations that are very rewarding, including food. But there are some new dads that have the same pathways activated as drugs," Caldwell says.

This is why a few scientists I spoke with think holding my daughter releases a lot of natural opioids in my brain; that'd explain why it feels so good and satisfying. But a lot of dopamine may be released, too, which would explain the warm-and-mushy euphoria (because it feels so rewarding) — and why I want to hold my baby all the time.

But why don't all of my friends and family members feel it while holding my daughter? And conversely: Why, after holding a small army of nieces and nephews, am I only now able to experience the baby high?

Part of the answer may be that pregnancy and, more importantly, caring for babies full-time, hacks the biochemistry and brains of parents.

Pregnancy seems to rub off on expectant dads

Pregnant acroyoga

Hormonal changes during pregnancy are often talked about only in the context of women. But if you're an expectant father living with your pregnant partner, your hormone levels are almost certainly changing, too.

Scientists don't yet know how this works, only that it happens.

Moms might give off airborne molecules called pheromones that spur changes in the biochemistry of dads. Or the extra empathy and attention fathers (hopefully) pay toward their partners might change their hormone levels. Or significant dips or boosts in sexual activity. Or the shared stress of trying to make way for a new family member. Or some mix of the above.

And while hormones don't directly cause people to feel or behave a certain way, they do grease the wheels for certain experiences and motivations. This is why some scientists think male hormonal changes associated with a pregnancy might help prepare men for fatherhood (and in my case, contribute to the strong buzz I feel while holding my baby).

Moms see very dramatic hormonal changes during pregnancy, primarily in estrogen, a female sex hormone that helps grow the uterus and powers maternal behaviors, and progesterone, which helps grow the breasts and softens ligaments, including those of the cervix. Levels of each can skyrocket more than 20, 30, or 40 times before a baby is born.

While hormonal changes in dads are much smaller, they're nothing to sneeze at.

For example, a 2001 study compared the hormone levels of Canadian fathers-to-be to those of single men. Researchers found that an expectant dad's levels of testosterone, which helps regulate sex drive and metabolism in men, was about 1/3 lower than average. And about 2/3 of dads had higher levels of estrogen, compared with 1/2 of single men in the study.

A more recent 2014 study of a few dozen men and their expectant partners also saw the testosterone dip, but instead saw estrogen levels in dads fall just before birth. (Hormone levels fluctuate often, so this wasn't totally unexpected.) It also found a correlation in changing progesterone levels between men and their partners.

Expecting fathers also tend to see a boost in a hormone called prolactin.

"It's mostly associated with women for milk production," Caldwell said. "But it does come up in dads right before their partner gives birth. We don't know what it's doing in men, though your behaviors can also change your hormones." (One study suggests higher prolactin levels helps dads be more attentive to infant cries.)

But nothing really compares to the effect that newborn babies can have on parents.

Babies hack our brains

newborn baby parents ann price photography

Things get really nuts once a baby arrives, chemically speaking, and this may further "prime" my reflexive baby high.

The hormones in mom that helped keep her pregnancy going (like estrogen and progesterone) suddenly plummet, while others related to maternal behaviors (like prolactin) rise dramatically. These shifts prime mom's brain for significant changes and, as researchers are increasingly discovering, dads too. (Also like moms, rapid hormonal changes in dads can raise the risk for postpartum depression.)

Vasopressin in mammalian fathers is one example. While there's hardly any research yet on the hormone in human dads, findings elsewhere in the animal kingdom are strong and suggestive that it works in a similar way in people.

Just look at prairie voles and marmosets. Along with humans, they're among the 5% share of all mammals that biparent, or when both mom and dad tend to care for their offspring. (Dad is always out of the picture in the other 95% of mammalian species.)

In both prairie voles and marmosets, vasopressin jumps after offspring are born and is correlated with nurturing behaviors.

prairie volesA 1994 study, for instance, showed that injecting vasopressin into single male prairie voles made them act just like dads. Instead of ignoring a litter of pups, the bachelor voles cuddled, groomed, and protected the pups. (Male voles injected with a saline solution didn't show any daddy-like tendencies.)

Likewise in marmosets, receptors for vasopressin in experienced dads were far more numerous compared to non-dads. This suggests there's a lot of the hormone floating around in their brains, possibly helping to explain their paternal instincts.

A similar trend likely exists in human fathers, to the point some researchers think elevated levels of vasopressin in dads helps explain why they tend to be more tactile and stimulatory with infants as opposed to soothing and comforting (as is more typical with moms).

"I think of vasopressin as something that promotes the animal being active, brave, and investigating things," Karen Bales, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of California at Davis, told Susan Kuchinskas at the Huffington Post.

Dads also see a boost in the hormone oxytocin after birth, even though it's a bigger player in moms. The hormone first surges in women during birth, helping coax their breasts to produce milk. Oxytocin levels also go up in mom and baby each time they breastfeed.

While not really a "cuddle chemical", as is often written, the hormone does seem important in weaving the social tapestry of people and their children. (But context is important; oxytocin plays a bewildering number of roles in animals, and possibly some nefariousones in humans.)

family dad kids baby playing grass home shutterstock_113090740"Oxytocin can facilitate a bond between mother and infant, and it may also play a role in fathers," Caldwell said.

In dads, playing with or simply gazing at kids raises oxytocin levels of everyone involved.

And, as it turns out, increased levels of vasopressin and oxytocin lubricate the brain's reward system— and feelings of pleasure — for social interaction.

"Babies can elicit oxytocin release and we know that the oxytocin system interacts with the dopamine reward system," Rilling said. "Excess dopamine (as with cocaine use) can lead to euphoria, so perhaps oxytocin-mediated dopamine release is responsible for the feeling you describe."

Szalavitz said "when you get [oxytocin] increase plus opioids and dopamine in some sequence, you get bonded to whoever you associate with that. This is why tons of [oxytocin] is released at orgasm."

Caldwell agreed, though she noted the "full sequence" of events with a baby high is a mystery. "How it does that, we just don't know," she said.

We're also left without an explanation as to why some parents don't feel it, or do so in different ways or to a different extent.

So there's undoubtedly much more to the story.

Getting a true answer will be difficult — and possibly controversial

opioid treatment

Unfortunately, clearly and logically explaining the basis of any behavior, emotion, or sensation is never simple, no matter how primal the human experience in question may seem.

That's because the brain is involved, and — as an astoundingly complex network of 100 billion cells and their 100 trillion connections — the organ does not easily loose its secrets.

Even if our minds could tell us how they work, they are ultra-idiosyncratic when it comes to affective experience. This is because whether you personally feel something and the way that you feel it, Szalavitz said, "depends to some degree on how you were parented and early life stress."

So while my quest to understand the nature of a powerful, lock-and-key euphoria I call the "baby high" might seem silly, researchers told me the mystery does intersect with two gravely important and possibly interconnected issues facing our society today.

One relates to addiction and its close siblings, depression and suicide.

oxycodoneOur brain's reward system is a gift that drives natural pleasures and motivations, like cuddling, raising kids and baby highs. But for nearly 2 million Americans with a prescription opioid drug disorder — also called the opioid epidemic— it has also become a trap with few meaningful treatment options.

"The reason people get addicted to opioids is because they carry the message of social bonding," Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist who studies psychiatric disorders and behavior, told Business Insider. "Too much psychological pain, too much social loss, we've argued for a long time, has fueled opioid addiction. It is people self-medicating themselves for depression and psychological pain."

Our culture's stigma against addiction since the 1970s, says Panksepp, hadn't made it easy to investigate solutions, nor has a dearth of government funding. That includes his team's most recent study of a withdrawal-free antidepressant opioid, called buprenorphine (which is normally prescribed to help treat heroin addictions).

Despite the study's potential to show buprenorphine "could become the first fast-acting anti-suicide drug," as Business Insider previously reported, Szalavitz said "Panksepp was rejected by major journals when he tried to publish [...] because [the manuscript] compared mother love to heroin."

The other hot-button issue, says Caldwell, is getting lawmakers and employers to understand the importance of family bonding and attachment — something which feeds into the aforementioned issue.

"We should spend more time in this country focusing on family leave," Caldwell said, and she doesn't just mean mom.

"There's more and more evidence that there's big value to having fathers form strong bonds with their children," she said. "And that requires something important: Spending time with their children."

SEE ALSO: Babies cry in the womb and 18 other surprising facts I learned when I became a dad

DON'T MISS: Male birth control shots exist and they work — here's why you can't get one

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How NASA’s groundbreaking work on human blood can predict your reaction to certain drugs

Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas are selling 'dad shoes' — and it seems to be a brilliant move

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White Sneakers

Like most retail companies, Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour frequently trumpet their latest and greatest models.

But don't confuse a sneaker's ability to attract attention with its ability to rake in money. In many cases the shoes that are padding these company's bottom lines are much more humble.

Sneaker sales in the US hit $17.2 billion in 2015, according to industry analyst NPD Group. Part of the secret to that success may be shoes you would never expect to be so popular.

Take, for example, the Nike Air Monarch IV. The $65 sneaker is one of the brand's best-selling shoe by pairs sold, but you won't find the shoe at Nike's trendy 5th Avenue boutique store. It's more likely you'll find the cross-trainer on the more humble shelves of Kohl's, DSW, and JCPenney. It's a favorite of notables like Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll because of its comfort.

The Air Monarch is frequently referred to as one of the most popular in Nike's portfolio, and was even the top seller of 2013, according to Complex.

"Nike sells millions of pairs [of the Nike Air Monarch]," Matt Powell of NPD Group recently told the Baltimore Sun.

The Air Monarch is by all accounts a boring shoe, meant neither to inspire nor offend. This makes it stand out in terms of the other shoes on the usual lists of bestsellers, including this ranking of the best-selling sneakers of August 2014, where it appears at number seven. But the shoe's mundane design could be precisely what attracts both older customers seeking something comfortable and acceptable, as well as some younger consumers looking to subvert trend-obsessed fashion attitudes. It's a crossover hit, which Racked called "the holy grail."

A photo posted by Tyler Glickman (@t_glick) on

Adidas' Stan Smiths, similarly, have been flying off the shelves for years now. The shoe is distinctive enough that designers, models, and moguls want to be seen with them on their feet, but they're not so outlandish and colorful that the average person would be wary of buying and wearing them.

And indeed they do buy them, as the shoe has sold an estimated 40 million pairs since 1973. 

Stan Smith

Then take NBA MVP Steph Curry's partnership with Under Armour. The "Chef" Curry Two Low was torn apart on Twitter after its debut because of its "boring" appearance.

But the shoes ended up performing very well, selling out in two days even though the shoes are not on limited offer like many of the collaborations that have star power behind them.

Curry

Yes, it's true that more athletic and fashion-oriented sneakers still sell extremely well. Jordan and Nike dominated the best-selling shoes in 2014, and at least seven of the top 10 could be considered to fall in the more fashion-forward bucket. But it's important to remember the unsung sales heroes that often go neglected — these companies could not reach the sales numbers they tout without them.

After all, "boring" is what many shoppers actually want. 

"Quite frankly, we want to make stuff people will wear," Ryan Kuehl, Under Armour's vice president for sports marketing and sponsorships, told Business Insider earlier this year. He explained that Under Armour has found that consumers will generally choose blue, black, gray, or white clothing over another color like green or purple if they have a choice.

The flashier shoes are designed to create a halo effect, enshrining the brands in a holy glow that makes it feel trendy and cool, even if you are buying a sneaker from the discount section of Sears. The halo shoes are the ones that make the headlines and sell out in an hour, but it's the consistent and reliable success of dad-approved shoes like the Air Monarch, Stan Smith, and Chef Curry Two Low that are helping to make these brands real money.

SEE ALSO: Nike's new science fiction-inspired, self-lacing sneakers will cost $720 a pair

DON'T MISS: Adidas and Under Armour are locked in a bitter battle to be Nike's top US competitor — here's who's like

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$3.7 BILLION HEDGE FUND: 'Perhaps we need to put our phones down and get back to work'

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Young Brazilian women taking selfies

Cellphone addiction, particularly among millennials, may be hurting the labor force and the economy at large.

That's according to a $3.7 billion New York hedge fund, Tourbillon Capital Partners.

"Perhaps we aren't in secular stagnation. Perhaps we need to put our phones down and get back to work," founder Jason Karp wrote in the firm's third-quarter investor letter, a copy of which was obtained by Business Insider.

"At the risk of sounding like an old-man curmudgeon and a Luddite, I believe this to be a massive problem for society at large," Karp added. "All businesses globally, where employees have smartphones, are not getting as many true labor hours as we think."

Karp lists several concerns, including that millennials and teens are addicted to their smartphones and computers. Millennials check their phones over 150 times per day compared with about 30 times for the average adult, Karp wrote, citing Facebook data. Meanwhile, the average human's attention span has dropped.

"Undoubtedly, access to such time-saving technologies has dramatically increased our potential productivity," Karp wrote. "But what if we are spending those saved hours on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and the like. As much of the above data shows, we unfortunately are spending those hours on our phones."

That's making people less productive at work, and it might be keeping wages down, according to Tourbillon. Since the financial crisis, wages have been growing, but at a slow pace, federal data shows. That's even as wages surged in the latest figures, reported earlier this month.

Screen Shot 2016 11 15 at 1.18.41 PM

Here's more from the Tourbillon letter:

  • "In an odd way, the democratization of the smartphone has led to increased 'wealth' and decreased hours work despite the economic data showing no such drop in hours worked."
  • "There are enormous implications for this, both long and short. This ability to consume leisure and goods so easily has forever altered our attitudes toward convenience and avoiding hassle."
  • "While most employers think they are paying their employees for 10 hours of labor a day, they are, in fact, only getting 8 or fewer hours of actual labor. Perhaps the lack of rising wages and anemic growth in most sectors is not a function of any true stagnation, but really it is because people have chosen to consume far more leisure during the workday. ... When true hours worked equals what the employers are paying for, wages will rise, slack will be reduced and our increased productivity will really be evident once and for all."
  • "Even 18 years ago, when I joined the workforce, it was far more difficult to consume leisure at work. If I wanted to see what a friend was up to, I had to call him (and others could see or overhear). Or I would visit them at night or on the weekends. ... Getting groceries, doing errands, planning big things had to be done on weekends or outside the office. Not anymore."

Tourbillon's master fund was up 9.1% net of fees for the third quarter, compared with 3.3% with the S&P 500, according to the letter. Year to date through October 30, the fund was down 7.4% net of fees, according to a person familiar with the matter.

SEE ALSO: One brutal chart from the world's biggest hedge fund explains everything

MUST READ: WORLD'S BIGGEST HEDGE FUND: Global stock markets will tank if Trump wins

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Here's the salary you have to earn to buy a home in 19 major US cities

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denver neighborhood houses autumn

How much does it take to buy a home?

Mortgage site HSH.com has updated its estimate of how much annual income a household would need to buy a home in major metropolitan areas in the US, according to third-quarter 2016 data.

In Q3, mortgage rates fell across the board for the second quarter in a row, which offset small increases in home prices in all but four major markets, making it more affordable to buy a home in the majority of major US cities.

However, a shortage of homes on the market means that if mortgage rates were to rise, buyers would find themselves in an expensive, tight spot.

HSH.com looked at median home prices from the National Association of Realtors. It took into account interest rates for common 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and property taxes and insurance costs to figure out how much money it would take to pay a median-priced home's mortgage, taxes, and insurance in each city, and how much you'd have to earn to afford it.

HSH.com emphasizes that this is only the base cost of owning a home, without taking into account maintenance and other incidentals.

The site also calculated how it would change the salary needed to buy a home if a buyer were to put 10% down instead of the recommended 20%. No matter where you are, putting down less makes things more expensive — you can visit HSH.com to see both numbers.

Salaries are listed from lowest to highest needed and are rounded to the nearest $500.

SEE ALSO: Here's how much you need to earn to live comfortably in 15 major US cities while still saving money

19. San Antonio

Population: 1,409,000

Median home price: $212,300

Monthly mortgage payment: $1,127

Salary needed to buy: $48,500



18. Orlando

Population: 255,483

Median home price: $229,900

Monthly mortgage payment: $1,162

Salary needed to buy: $50,000



17. Minneapolis

Population: 407,207

Median home price: $240,300

Monthly mortgage payment: $1,181

Salary needed to buy: $50,500



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