When Sebastian Bergne was asked to design a soap dish, he came up with a new soap design instead. Ring Soap fixes the most annoying thing about traditional bar soap — ruining your bathroom sink with gooey residue. It can be purchased through Gessato.
Follow Tech Insider: On Facebook
Join the conversation about this story »
If you want to join the ranks of billionaires like Richard Branson, the Barclay brothers, and media mogul John Malone, then you need to get your own private island.
Luckily, there are many islands on the market for under $1 million, which means your dream of having a completely private vacation spot — far from the noise of today's news cylce — could become a reality. Prices vary greatly based on where they're located, whether homes have already been built on the property, and how many acres are available.
Ahead, see 12 of our favorite islands that are currently for sale via Private Islands Inc.
SEE ALSO: 17 photos that show why the rich and famous flock to St. Barts in the winter
Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio sold his eco-friendly Greenwich Village condo for $8 million The Real Deal reported– $2 million less than the $10 million he paid for it in 2014.
Follow BI Video: On Twitter
Join the conversation about this story »
President-elect Donald J. Trump reportedly only needs a few hours of sleep every night.
While on the campaign trail, he said, "You know, I’m not a big sleeper. I like three hours, four hours, I toss, I turn, I beep-de-beep, I want to find out what’s going on."
Trump's not the only one: Corporate executives like PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and even President Barack Obama rarely — if ever — get what's considered a full night of sleep.
While for many of us, getting too little sleep can have some nasty consequences such as headaches and stomach problems, others are able to thrive off of just four-to-six hours of shut-eye, something called "short sleeping."
Short sleepers, a group the Wall Street Journal once called the "sleepless elite," need only a short amount of sleep every night instead of the average 7-8 hours. Scientists estimate they make up only about 1% of the population.
The reason these leaders seem to thrive in their careers despite their short sleeping hours may be because apart from their extremely long days, there are a few characteristics that most short sleepers that have been identified thus far appear to have:
It's a relatively new area of study. There's still a lot that's unknown about short sleepers and its genetic links. Having some of these traits doesn't necessarily mean you're genetically a short sleeper, nor does not having some of these traits mean you're not a short sleeper.
Even though it has no apparent negative health effects, short sleeping is considered a sleep disorder.
And although many people think they can get by with just four hours of sleep, for the most part they aren't true short sleepers — they're just chronically sleep deprived.
Ying-Hui Fu, a biologist and human genetics professor at the University of California, San Francisco started studying short sleepers in 1996, when a woman came into the lab asking them to investigate why her whole family woke up at extremely early hours every day. Fu started investigating the traits relating to that family and others who came into the clinic. Soon, she learned that there were three types of people: early risers, night owls, and people who are somewhere in between. Perhaps most importantly, she also learned that there were specific traits linked with all three types.
That launched 20 years of studying these sleep behaviors to learn more about how people sleep and how genetics may play a role in that behavior.
"We know almost nothing about how sleep is regulated," Fu told Business Insider last year.
That's at least partially because the research money isn't there. With other disease areas to focus on, it's hard to see the value in exploring the complicated topic of sleep, though it could be a great area for a potential gene therapy, which is an ever-growing research area. For now, most sleep research money goes into funding treatments for sleeping disorders that deprive them of sleep, and those treatments are focused on helping people sleep more, not less.
But Fu thinks that belies how critical this research is. "Other than water and air, nothing is more important" than sleep, she said. Which is why she's dedicated her lab to learning everything she can.
Abby Ross has never needed what's considered a full night of sleep.
And for years, Ross didn't have an answer to why she woke up feeling chipper and ready for the day, even after just four hours of sleep. That's when she went to Fu's lab and learned she was a short sleeper.
She began reading about short sleepers and quickly realized she fit the bill. So she decided to contribute to research at Fu's lab, giving blood and answering questions from psychologists and doctors from all over the world. Ross still doesn't know if she has the genes that have since been linked with being a short sleeper. When she joined Fu's study, she agreed that any information the researchers gathered about her genes linked with short sleeping wouldn't be shared with her.
The lab's rationale for this, as they described it to Ross, is that if someone who came in with short sleeping symptoms didn't have any of the already-identified short-sleeper genes, that wouldn't mean they weren't technically a short sleeper. Rather, they may have another gene linked with the disorder that Fu's lab has yet to identify. Ross won't ever get her results, though she says the information she's gotten so far is enough.
"I learned that what I have is truly a gift," she told Business Insider in 2015.
As long as she can remember, Ross said, she's been a short sleeper, even she didn't have a label for it until recently. When she was young, she'd always be up early to get bagels and coffee with her parents. This early development of short sleeping habits is consistent with other short sleepers, who typically develop the habit sometime in childhood or as a young adult.
At Northwestern University, Ross got her undergraduate degree in three years by taking more classes than the average course load, which just happened naturally for her. To her, an "all-nighter" wasn't a dreaded way to cram in some last-minute studying before a midterm; it was just a regular night. Plus, Ross says, she's always had an easy time falling asleep, so if her body needed an hour or two, she'd take a nap, then pick up right where she left off. After Northwestern, Ross went on to graduate school to study psychology. At the same time, she started a family. And when her daughter was in kindergarten, Ross started her doctorate.
At 35, Ross had two more kids, all while writing her dissertation and raising the first. "If I got up to feed the baby," she recalled, "I could stay up studying psychology."
Ross went on to work at two universities, while staying active in a number of organizations. She did it all, she said, by developing a respect for her body clock.
"It gave me permission to accept that if my husband goes to bed at 10:30, then I stay up," she said. "It's just the way it is."
In true short sleeper form, Ross has led an incredibly active life. Ten years ago, she ran 37 marathons in as many months. In one of those months, she did three marathons. Even now, she tends to log about five miles of walking and other activity on her Fitbit each day.
Ross puts her extra hours to good use, using them to do everything from catalog family photos to catch up with loved ones.
And it runs in the family: Ross' 92-year-old father is also a short sleeper. For years, the two have emailed each other around 5 a.m. every morning to start their days.
For the most part, Ross has embraced her short sleeping gift, in all but name.
"I think the name is really weird" she said, since it sounds like people are referring to her height.
Instead of a short sleeper, Ross would like to be called an "awaker."
Being a short sleeper is, for the most part, genetic.
So far, Fu has pinpointed several genes connected to the disorder. One such gene is DEC2, a gene known to effect our circadian rhythm, the biological process influenced by light and temperature that helps determine when we sleep and when we wake up. The other genes have yet to be published.
One of the main reasons Fu's lab hasn't been able to publish their latest findings is because it takes quite a long time — 10 years, she said — to publish the type of sleep-related paper she is looking to publish. For these studies, researchers have to find and recruit short sleepers, which as only 1% of the population aren't easy to come by.
Plus, running the tests can be a lengthy process, as can funding all of the specialists who come in to run the tests and conduct interviews. Finally, processing the data and getting the paper peer reviewed and accepted into a journal can be time consuming as well. In an email Wednesday, Fu said that funding is still a major roadblock, but she's hopeful this won't be the case for much longer.
There isn't a ton of money going into sleep studies, which Fu said is the wrong approach, since understanding sleep habits could help people avoid diseases that are worsened by sleep deprivation.
"Instead of putting the fire out, let’s try to avoid fire," she said.
No official long-term health effects have been linked to being a short sleeper, though Fu said that is one concern her lab is looking into. For the most part, the people coming into Fu's lab are generally anywhere from 40 to 70 years old and in good health. Most stay active into their later years, and Fu said she's even had one volunteer in her lab who was 90 years old, so she hypothesizes that longevity could also be linked with being a short sleeper.
Ideally, Fu hopes to one day crack the code on how to become a short sleeper without being born with it. Then, maybe there will be more research focus to develop a gene therapy that can adapt people into short sleepers.
"I feel someday in the long-distance future, we can all sleep efficiently, and be healthy and smart," she said. "It's appealing to me."
SEE ALSO: What too little sleep does to your brain and body
DON'T MISS: Here's how much an IUD costs with Obamacare — and without
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Jim Cramer reveals the secret to surviving on less than 4 hours of sleep
American inventor Theophilus Van Kennel reportedly hated holding doors open for women, so he created energy-efficient revolving doors to cure his social phobia.
Follow BI Video: On Twitter
Join the conversation about this story »
Unlike vitamin C, which studies have found likely does nothing to prevent or treat the common cold, zinc may actually be worth a shot this season. The mineral seems to interfere with the replication of rhinoviruses, the bugs that cause the common cold.
In a 2011 review of studies of people who'd recently gotten sick, researchers looked at those who'd started taking zinc and compared them with those who just took a placebo. The ones on zinc had shorter colds and less severe symptoms.
Zinc is a trace element that the cells of our immune system rely on to function. Not getting enough zinc (Harvard Medical School researchers recommend 15-25 mg of zinc per day) can affect the functioning of our T-cells and other immune cells. But it's also important not to get too much: an excess of the supplement may actually interfere with the immune system's functioning and have the opposite of the intended result.
The vitamin C hype — which started with a suggestion made by chemist Linus Pauling in the 1970s and has peaked with supplements like Airborne and Emergen-C touting its benefits along grocery store shelves — is just that: hype.
Study after study has shown that vitamin C does little to nothing to prevent the common cold.
A 2013 review of 29 trials which involved more than 11,300 people, for example, found "no consistent effect of vitamin C ... on the duration or severity of colds." The only place the authors observed some benefits of vitamin C supplementation was in marathon runners, skiers, and soldiers on "subarctic exercise" — and even in those small populations, the observed effect was small. According to the study authors, "The failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the general population indicates that routine vitamin C supplementation is not justified."
Plus, megadoses of 2,000 milligrams or more may actually raise your risk of painful kidney stones.
So instead of chugging fizzy drinks loaded with vitamin C, stick to getting the nutrient from food. Strawberries and many other fruits and veggies are a great source. And if you aren't getting enough zinc in your diet, try a zinc supplement. Chickpeas, kidney beans, mushrooms, crab, and chicken are all rich in zinc, and lozenges like Cold-Eeze can also help boost your intake.
SEE ALSO: Most vitamins are useless, but here are the ones you should take
DON'T MISS: 25 'superfoods' you should be eating more of right now
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: These are the only vitamins you should be taking — and the ones you should skip
Don't just bring the boring old champagne. Jonathan Ross, the head sommelier at Eleven Madison Park, gives his suggestions for unique wines that are often overlooked to bring to parties.
Follow BI Video: On Twitter
Join the conversation about this story »
With traditionally lower wages and less than ample perks, the retail industry gets a bad rap as far as employers go.
In fact, Scott Dobroski, Glassdoor's community expert, says that Glassdoor was surprised to see so many retail companies make this year's Employees' Choice Awards list.
To find the companies with the most satisfied workers, Glassdoor scanned its massive database of company reviews and ratings from current and former employees.
Based on employees' reviews, companies received overall ratings on a scale of one to five, with five representing the most satisfied employees. Though Glassdoor's calculations extend beyond the thousandth to determine final rank order, ratings displayed are limited to one decimal space.
Based on Glassdoor's anonymous employee reviews, there are a few crucial things the most favorable retailers have been doing that makes them so beloved by their people.
"Employees love working at these companies, often citing great career opportunities, flexible work schedules, and competitive pay for this industry," Dobroski tells Business Insider.
Below are the 10 best retail companies to work for in 2017 and what employees say make them such a shining beacon for other retail companies:
SEE ALSO: The 50 best places to work in 2017, according to employees
Score: 4.2
Wegmans Food Markets is a regional supermarket chain with stores in the mid-Atlantic and New England.
"Great employer that looks out for employees. Great benefits. Great pay. Easy to move up and advance." — Wegmans Food Markets service team leader (Charlottesville, Virginia)
Score: 4.2
QuikTrip is a regional chain of convenience stores in the Midwest and South.
"Full benefits, excellent full-time weekly hours, set schedule, focused on employee growth and wellbeing. Charity- and donation-centered." — QuikTrip night assistant (Tucson, Arizona)
Score: 4.2
Ikea is a multinational group of companies that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories.
"Flexible, very friendly environment with coworkers. Great benefits including health and education assistance and holiday and social gatherings. Great environment for working moms." — Ikea shopkeeper (Detroit, Michigan)
Nike is breaking new ground with the HyperAdapt 1.0, its first self-lacing sneaker for the general public.
The sneakers are pretty slick and easy to use for a first-generation product, and they're full of promise for things to come, as I said in my hands-on review of the shoe.
For most buyers, however, there remains a $720 barrier to purchase.
Though the shoe is not part of a limited-time collection, it's being rolled out slowly, in waves, and only in particular stores in the US. Interested customers need an appointment to test out or purchase the shoe, and stock can be hard to come by depending on how you time your visit.
Nike says it has seen an "extremely strong response" from customers interested in the product.
Though it's not the newest Jordan-branded shoe or a limited-time collaboration, it's clear who the shoe is targeting with its high price and limited supply: collectors, according to NPD sports retail analyst Matt Powell.
"I think the shoe will sell very well," Powell told Business Insider.
Flight Club, one of the biggest shoe resellers both in New York City and online, has noticed that demand for the shoe has been high.
"Since its release, the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0s have sold extremely well for us," Flight Club spokesman Steven Luna told Business Insider. "Being the first of its kind, a self-lacing sportswear shoe, we were certain it would generate much fanfare amongst sneaker and technology enthusiasts."
According to Flight Club's systematic pricing, which takes into account pricing history, what people are saying about the product on social media, and other recognized sale patterns in order to tell what a shoe is worth, the sneakers are worth about $4,000 to resellers, depending on the size.
That pricing is corroborated by a cursory look at listings for the HyperAdapt 1.0 on eBay, which show a similar range.
Stadium Goods, another big name in reselling in New York City, is seeing a high demand for the shoes as well as "tons of curiosity around how it functions," according to John McPheters, the founder of the store.
McPheters theorizes that buyers so far have been motivated by the technology and rarity of the sneakers, and less so their athletic functions.
"I'm doubtful there's a lot of sporting interest in these shoes at the moment, given that they have a very prototype-y feel," McPheters said.
The technology used in the shoes originated from a "what-if" technology-focused scenario first dreamed up in "Back to the Future II." That's a slight deviation from Nike's usual mandate of making the training or sport experience better for the athlete who wears its shoes.
Once the tech does progress into truly adaptive functions — constantly tightening and loosening based on the wearer's movement — that mandate will be fulfilled.
While it is currently available in New York City at the Nike Soho store and Nike+ Clubhouse, the shoe's release will soon be a bit wider, as customers will be able to try it on in Los Angeles and Chicago starting December 20. A new gray color in addition to the current black will also be launching that day.
McPheters noted that, if or when the shoe enters a wider release, the prices could fall, though the 1.0 will always have the unique designation of being the first self-lacing sneaker on the market.
The shoe has broader implications for the brand moving forward. Nike CEO Mark Parker went On CNBC earlier this year, Nike CEO Mark Parker claimed that self-lacing sneakers will be as big as self-driving cars in the future, with mainstream appeal, application, and pricing.
SEE ALSO: Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas are selling 'dad shoes' — and it seems to be a brilliant move
DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Sneaker fanatics are driving a massive $1 billion resale market
Business Insider is hiring an intern to work with our news team this winter.
We're looking for applicants who are news-obsessed, quick to learn, cool under pressure, careful, and appreciative of our approach to journalism.
This is an important internship that will involve working closely with top editors and journalists across our team.
Responsibilities will include spotting and covering important breaking news stories as they unfold.
As for qualifications, a journalism background and experience writing for a news site always helps, as do copy-editing skills and light HTML and Photoshop experience. Knowledge of social media and previous writing experience are both useful, too.
APPLY HERE with your resume, a cover letter, and links to several clips.
Please note that this internship requires that you work in our Manhattan office. Interns are encouraged to work full-time (40 hours a week) if their schedule allows, and the internship can run for up to six months.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: 7 smart questions to ask at the end of every job interview
As the holidays approach, it's typical to have questions: What should you get your cousin Katie? Where can you find the perfect sweater for your college roommate's ugly sweater party?
And perhaps most importantly, how much should you tip?
"The holidays are the traditional time to show appreciation for the people who make our lives more pleasant throughout the year," says etiquette expert Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick of The Etiquette School of New York. "Always show your gratitude in some form, whether it's a monetary gift or a handwritten thank you note."
Here are a few best practices when it comes to holiday tipping, according to Napier-Fitzpatrick:
Below, she helped Business Insider outline the appropriate tip amounts for everyone in your life. If you don't see a specific service provider you want to appreciate, a rule of thumb is to tip the cost of one extra service.
Megan Willett contributed to an earlier version of this post.
SEE ALSO: Here's how to split the restaurant bill in any situation
DON'T MISS: 21 do's and don'ts of holiday shopping
It can be tough to find a gym with a view.
But the Paris Navigating Gym, a new design proposal, would let exercisers sail along the Seine, looking out at the French city’s riverbanks and skyline. That is, if they help to power it.
The 65-foot-long boat would be outfitted with bikes and cross-trainer machines that would harness the energy generated by passengers’ workouts. That, in turn, would fuel the vessel’s electric propellers.
The proposal is the product of a collaboration between design and innovation firm Carlo Ratti Associati, fitness equipment manufacturer Technogym, architecture nonprofit Terraform One, and urban regeneration institute URBEM.
The work-out powered boat could hold up to 45 people, and augmented-reality displays in the boat would show them how much energy was being generated by their workouts in real time. Of course, it wouldn’t be entirely up to those on the fitness machines to move the boat — supplementary photovoltaic solar cells on the roof would provide energy as well, so passengers don’t have to run or pedal themselves all the way back to shore if they don’t want to.
The boat isn't the first technology that would harness the power of human motion — a bicycle generator created by 5-Hour Energy founder Manoj Bhargaa yields 24 hours of power after a one-hour workout, and a bicycle desk can charge your computer while you work.
The gym boat takes the same concept to a new level. The roof on the glass exterior would be closed during the winter, but the covering would be removed in summer months. The design was inspired by the Seine’s traditional ferry boats, called Bateaux Mouches.
Further feasibility analyses would need to be conducted before the vision could become a reality, but the design team estimates that the boat could be fully designed, built, and tested in 18 months.
The price of a floating workout, however, is still undetermined.
SEE ALSO: This underground tunnel for cars could cut an hour-long commute down to 15 minutes
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: This bicycle generator could bring electricity to millions of people living without it
Drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and MDMA can remain in your system for days, weeks, and even months. But they vary drastically in how long they can be detected in your urine, blood, and hair.
Jenner Deal contributed reporting on an earlier version of this article.
Follow BI Video: On Twitter
Join the conversation about this story »
Buying gifts for men can be difficult. Many are demure when asked what they would like to receive, and others offer nothing in the way of hints or suggestions.
Let us help.
To that end, Loop Commerce— the e-gifting platform used by Ralph Lauren, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, and others — shared with us the gifts that were exchanged the most and least often on its platform.
When an e-gift is sent via Loop, it is bought and paid for on the retail site. The recipient is then notified via email, and they can either accept the gift by entering in their details or exchange it and receive a store gift card of the same value instead.
According to Loop's data — which is based on "thousands of transactions," a spokesperson said — the most commonly exchanged gift when women are buying for men is the smallest size of spray cologne, pocket size .67 oz. It made up 2.1% of all exchanges on Loop's platform.
Fragrance in particular is a bad gift, especially online, where neither party has actually tested the scent. At most you're aiming to buy a pretty (and not very large) bottle. Fragrance is used less frequently among men these days, so it's unsurprising that most men wouldn't even want to give it a chance.
Men, on the other hand, were particularly fond of cashmere (surprise, surprise). It had the highest acceptance rate of all gifts: 1.4% of all gifts given on the platform. Yeah, we'd take it too.
From this, it's pretty clear what makes a good gift and what a bad one, and a super-soft sweater beats mediocre, cheap fragrance every time.
SEE ALSO: What no woman wants to get for the holidays — and what to buy her instead
DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: These are the best watches at every price point
The Apple Watch may be the stepchild of the tech giant's product suite.
While iPhones seem ubiquitous in cities like San Francisco and New York City, their sibling, the Apple Watch, never took off outside Apple fanboys and girls and startup employees. It's essentially a mini computer strapped across your wrist, which leaves some consumers asking, "Why do I need a device that does things my phone can do — just not as well?"
The company sold 1.1 million Apple Watches in the third quarter of 2016, down from 3.9 million a year earlier, and its lion's share of the smartwatch market is starting to slip.
I got an Apple Watch Series 2 soon after it was released in September. Here's what my experience has been like.
The Apple Watch Series 2 packs processing power, clean design, and elegance.
It looks and feels like an Apple product.
I am someone who puts her phone away at dinnertime and doesn't panic if she forgets it at home. Owning an Apple Watch allows me to loosen the leash even more.
The guys from AsapSCIENCE came by to help us explain.
Alex Kuzoian contributed reporting on an earlier version of this article. Special thanks to Kevin Loria.
Follow BI Video:On Facebook
Join the conversation about this story »
