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Scientifically proven features men find attractive in women

11 facts that show how different Russia is from the rest of the world

How to use math to pick your perfect spouse

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Some people believe that when you find the right person you just know. The rest of us could use a little help figuring out how to choose the right spouse.

You can actually optimize your chances of marrying the best person using the solution to the famous Secretary Problem. This problem has many applications (including how to choose the best secretary), but this one is the most fun.

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The 8 most memorable internet challenges of 2016

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2016 was a strange year for viral internet challenges. Arguably, the most popular one was called the "mannequin challenge," which had large groups of people — including Hillary Clinton — freezing in place while a camera panned around the room and "Black Beatles" played in the background. While this may be the most memorable, there were plenty of other bizarre trends that kept people busy all year on social media. Here's a look at a few of them.

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We did a blind taste test of Bud, Coors, Miller, and Natty Light — here's the verdict

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What's the best light beer to drink at the ball game or at a party with friends? You may have a favorite, but what is the definitive choice? In a blind taste test, we had people try Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Natty Light to see which cheap, light beer reigns supreme.

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Everything you need to know about beer, in one chart

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There are dozens upon dozens of different styles of beer out there, from pale ales to stouts to bocks — and those are just a few.

Being that there are so many styles, and so many exceptions to the rules, it's incredibly difficult (not to mention time-consuming) to get to know them all, but knowing your favorites will make drinking them a lot more enjoyable.

We've created a taxonomy of most major beer styles to help you put your favorite cold ones into context.

BI Graphics_Beer Taxonomy

Melissa Stanger contributed to an earlier version of this story.

DON'T MISS: How to order whiskey like a pro

SEE ALSO: 6 strange things love does to your brain and body

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NOW WATCH: Belgium has opened the world's first beer pipeline that pumps 1,000 gallons per hour every day

Hugh Hefner's son reveals what it was like growing up in the Playboy Mansion

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While most people associate the Playboy Mansion with scantily clad playmates and sex-fueled debauchery, it served as the childhood home for Hugh Hefner's sons. 

Now 25, Hefner's youngest son, Cooper, recounts his childhood spent in what many consider to be a sort of adult fantasyland. For Cooper, it was quite the opposite: a child's wonderland fueled by Indiana Jones-inspired adventures in the Grotto, a zoo full of exotic animals, and epic games of hide-and-seek played in the mansion's private forest of redwood trees.

Cooper shared his experiences growing up inside the mansion, and invited Business Insider along on a private tour of the grounds.

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Trump focuses New Year's tweet on 'many enemies' and everyone who 'lost so badly'

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Donald Trump

On the final day of 2016, President-elect Donald Trump sent a New Year's message of "love!" on Twitter, including to his "many enemies" and everyone who has "lost so badly."

The tweet came after another that praised Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for not launching a tit-for-tat sanctions to respond to those issued by US President Barack Obama's administration this week in retaliation for Russia's suspected election-related hacking.

In his New Year's address on Saturday, Putin expressed hope that the two countries will "take their interaction in the international arena to a whole new level" once Trump takes office January 20 and Obama is no longer in power.

"It is regrettable that the Obama administration is ending its term in this manner," Putin said in a statement addressing the sanctions on Friday. "Nevertheless, I offer my New Year greetings to President Obama and his family."

This year's tweet followed a tradition of Trump including "haters and losers" in his New Year's wishes, as he did in 2014 and 2013:

In 2015, 2013, 2012, 2010, and 2009, Trump was more measured:

SEE ALSO: Trump praises Putin for 'great move' not responding to Russia sanctions: 'I always knew he was very smart!'

DON'T MISS: Vermont utility targeted by Russian hackers

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NOW WATCH: The last time a losing candidate had a wider popular vote margin than Clinton was in 1876 — here's the bizarre story

Four signs your relationship is headed toward its demise

A couple who quit work at 43 to travel Europe on $18,000 a year share their best advice for retiring early

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Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Reaching financial independence before typical retirement age is an increasinglypopular trend.

For Jason and Julie Buckley, retiring last year at age 43 meant relinquishing the stress of the corporate world and jumping into a life of full-time travel.

Shepherded by meticulous spreadsheet estimates and years of tracking their pennies, the British couple retired with about £30,000 (~ $36,800) in cash savings and set a modest retirement budget of £15,000 (~ $18,400) a year, Jason told Business Insider in an email.

The rest of their net worth is invested in rented-out residential property, private pensions, and investments including ETFs and bonds.

For the past 10 months, the Buckleys have been touring Europe and North Africa in their motor home, which enables them to visit expensive countries "for a fraction of the cost."

"We developed a strategy to avoid living off savings. In theory, and in practice so far, our savings will increase over time," Jason said. Currently, the couple lives off of cash flow from investments — rental income, dividends, and interest — as well as advertising and book sales on their travel blog, which they spend just two hours a day maintaining.

If you're aiming to achieve early retirement yourself, Jason says, "You’re most likely going to be swimming against a very strong tide of opinion! If you're infected with an insatiable desire to do it, then be confident you can do it."

They suggest starting with educating yourself financially and putting your plan on paper, tracking spending and cutting all unnecessary costs, and investing.

"As your costs come down, and income from your investments gets re-invested in more investments, at some point you will experience the bewildering and joyful moment when your wealth starts to spiral upwards," Jason said. "At that point your freedom is all but inevitable."

Access a test copy of the Buckleys' spreadsheet to track your own viability for early retirement. Check out their blog Our Tour for more advice, tips, and information on reaching financial independence.

DON'T MISS: This couple retired at 43 to travel Europe full time on $18,000 a year — here's the spreadsheet that helped them get there

SEE ALSO: How one 26-year-old banked nearly $150,000 in savings as part of a plan to retire by age 37

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NOW WATCH: The most important things to do with your money before 2016 ends

14 of your biggest questions about wine, answered with science

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cheers with wine glasses

We've all been there.

You're in a liquor or grocery store, trying to pick out wine with a group of friends when, inevitably, some unexpected member offers up their expert opinion.

Truth be told, there's a whole lot of science behind wine. Genetics, chemistry, microbiology, and even psychology all play a role in everything from how it's produced to which ones we buy and when.

To get a better sense of what goes into making that glass of red or white, we chatted with James Harbertson, a Washington State University professor of enology — that's the study of wine.

SEE ALSO: The definitive, scientific answers to 20 health questions everyone has

DON'T MISS: 15 simple ways to relax, according to scientists

Is cheap wine bad for you?

No way. Last year, rumors of a lawsuit that claimed that cheap wines had high levels of arsenic in it began circulating. One small detail the rumors left out: The lawsuit compared the levels of arsenic in wine to that of drinking water. To have any kind of negative experience as a result of this, you'd most likely have to drink about 2 liters of wine — a little more than 13 servings' worth.

That's an awful lot of wine.



What's the difference between a wine that costs $50 and a wine that costs $500?

The short answer? Not a lot — so long as you're just drinking it.

The price comes from a number of different factors — the maker, the type of grape, how long it's aged, etc. But if you're just looking for a solid bottle of wine, an inexpensive bottle could taste just as good if not better than a thousand-dollar bottle.

If anything, there's a bigger psychological component at play. A study that conducted a blind taste test in which people were given samples of wine found that they did not get any more enjoyment from a more expensive wine compared to a less expensive version. In another study, researchers found that untrained wine tasters actually liked the more expensive wines less than the cheaper ones.

If you're collecting, on the other hand, of course the price tag will make a difference.

"In the end, it's just wine," said Harbertson.



What are tannins and what are they doing in my wine?

You know that dry feeling you get in your mouth after a sip of red wine? You can thank tannins, naturally occurring chemicals that are found in wine and other beverages, like black tea.

Tannins give wine its weight — what makes it more milky than watery — so they're integral to all red wines, Harbertson said. They bind to proteins like the ones in saliva, which is what makes your mouth dry out. It's not as simple an experience as tasting something that's bitter, he said. The interaction of red wine in your mouth ends up feeling more like a texture than just a taste, something known as a "mouthfeel."



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The 'golden years' of New York City's luxury real-estate market are over

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30 Park Place Four Seasons 4675

It took two months longer on average to sell a New York City luxury apartment in 2016 compared with 2015.

That's according to the real-estate agency Olshan Realty, which on Wednesday published its year-end report on the New York residential market.

It backed up other reports released earlier in 2016 that showed the luxury market in Manhattan, New York's most expensive borough, had a tough year. Unlike other price segments of the housing market, there's an excess of luxury apartments, giving buyers power to negotiate asking prices lower.

"New York City's rental market has been mostly steady, except at the high end, where the inventory has risen and rents have drifted down," the Federal Reserve said in a recent Beige Book based on comments from its contacts.

According to Donna Olshan, the company's president, contract signings fell 18% in 2016 through Christmas Day, to a value of $8.94 trillion, "below the golden years of new condo development: 2013-2015."

"The decline reflects classic price resistance," said the report.

Olshan said luxury co-ops, which tend to have tougher criteria for ownership and resale, had the steepest drop in contract signings. Contracts fell 25% year-on-year for apartments worth $4 million and up. This showed "a continuing market shift in the luxury market to new condos that offer freedom of ownership, new infrastructure, robust amenities, and some hip architecture — particularly seen downtown," Olshan said.

The top contract signed in the week ending December 23 was in 432 Park Ave., the world's tallest residential building. It was a three-bedroom apartment with an asking price of $17.625 million, Olshan said. Bloomberg had reported that the building sold units this year for an average of 10% less than the original listing price and may have sponsored some buyers' taxes.

SEE ALSO: The world's tallest luxury building can't get the superrich to pay full price

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NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates

This is why you should go ahead and warm your car up when it's cold

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snow car

There's a "you're doing it wrong" meme that's showing some strong staying power these days: You don't need to warm up your car when it's cold — in fact, if you do, you could harm your engine.

The engineering behind this revision of what many folks have been told their whole lives is solid, and you can watch this Business Insider video to get the lowdown.

Modern cars don't use carburetors to blend the fuel-air mixture. They use electronic fuel injection, so a warm-up in cold weather isn't mechanically necessary.

But here's the thing: If you can't run your modern car for 10 minutes or so when it's cold, you should be asking some serious questions about the supposed advanced state of automaking in the 21st century. It's possible that the old-school warm-up would marginally degrade your engine oil, but in 35 years of driving I've never heard of or experienced this.

Bottom line: Your car should be able to handle some serious extremes of temperature, as long as you aren't spending a lot of time in Death Valley or the Arctic Circle.

Here's why I often warm my car up when it's cold — in fact, why I have been avidly warming up my car since it began to get a bit frosty in the Northeast:

  • I want a nice warm car to drive in.
  • I want the seat heaters to be good and hot.
  • I want the steering-wheel heater to be all fired up.
  • I want any snow or ice that's accumulated on the windows to be easy to remove.

The first three are about comfort; the last one is about safety. Plus, I think a warm and comfortable driver is a much safer driver than one who is hunched and shivering and has to wear gloves.

Additionally, you won't waste all that much gas with a warm-up at idle. You'd have to run the engine for an hour to burn a gallon.

So go ahead, warm up your car! It's getting colder in much of the US. Warm away!

SEE ALSO: Stop wasting gas by 'warming up' your car when it's cold out

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NOW WATCH: Stop wasting gas by 'warming up' your car when it's cold out

15 daily habits that are easy to practice and can significantly improve your life

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Selfie Mirror

Want to pick up some good habits? The best approach is to start small.

In the Quora thread "What are some good 'mini habits' to practice each day?" readers shared the simple habits you should follow every day to become a happier, healthier, or more productive person.

The best part is, each one takes only about five minutes to complete.

Here are some of our favorites:

SEE ALSO: 11 skills that are hard to learn but pay off forever

DON'T MISS: 13 highly useful life hacks you can learn in a minute or less

1. Brush your teeth and floss

Brushing and flossing your teeth not only prevents gingivitis and tooth decay, but it can also save your life.

The American Dental Association recommends you brush twice a day for two minutes and floss once a day. If you don't, you could be putting yourself at greater risk for developing dementia, diabetes, kidney disease, and cancer, among other things. — Pankesh Bamotra



2. Smile at yourself in the mirror

Just after you brush your teeth, look at yourself in the mirror and smile, holding the smile for 10 seconds. Dr. Robert Zajonc, a famous psychologist, believed facial action leads to changes in mood, and in a 1989 study he found that participants who watched themselves smile in a mirror experienced a greater boost in mood than those who simply smiled. — Nistha Tripathi



3. Write down the day's most important task

Also known as "eating the frog," decide on the one task you must perform that day to be successful and do it first thing when you get to work. — Patrick Mathieson



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It's the busiest time of the year for dating apps — here are 4 research-backed and expert tips to get the date you want

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woman using smartphone

The first week of the year is generally the busiest time for online-dating services.

PlentyofFish, for example, expects to see a whopping 48% increase in traffic on January 1, according to a press release. And Bustle reports that other services — including Hinge, Match, and Happn — see huge spikes in signups and activity in the week after New Year's.

But just because you're open to finding love online doesn't mean it's easy. In fact, it can be terrifying to wade through thousands of nearby matches in the hopes of finding someone decent (who thinks you're decent, too).

To make things a little less intimidating, we rounded up some of the most practical online-dating advice we published this year. Read on to learn the tricks of the trade — and the biggest mistakes to avoid.

1. Choose a photo where you're taking up space

Research suggests that we're more attracted to people in expansive — as opposed to contracted — postures, even if we don't consciously realize it. Men especially appear more attractive to women when they're holding their arms upward in a "V," reaching out to grab something, or standing in another expansive position.

Whatever you do, avoid choosing a profile photo where you're crossing your arms or hunched over.

2. Don't choose a photo where you're covering your face

sunglasses smile race wealthyTinder's in-house sociologist, Jess Carbino, told Business Insider that one of the biggest mistakes Tinder users make is obscuring their face in their profile photo. That includes wearing glasses or sunglasses, or even a hat.

The same logic likely applies to users on other dating services.

According to Carbino, we use people's faces to make judgments about their personality, which are sometimes (but not always) accurate. So if people can't fully see your face, they might not be able to assess whether you're extroverted or kind, for example. Meaning they just might move on to the next option.

3. Include a question in your profile

Carbino also told Business Insider that adding a question to your profile can make it easier for someone to message you, because they already have something to talk about.

For example, if you mention in your profile that you like to travel, list a few places you've been and then ask: "What's your next destination?"

If you're an art fan, cite artists whose work you enjoy and then ask: "Who's your favorite artist?"

4. If you're a woman, take the initiative to message a man

Recent data from OKCupid suggests that women (those who want to date men, anyway) fare a lot better when they muster the courage to message men.

In fact, OKCupid found that women are 2.5 times more likely to receive a response to their messages than men are.

Moreover, women who send the first message wind up meeting more attractive men than women who wait for a man to ping them, the report finds. That's because women generally message men who are five points more attractive (as rated by OKCupid users) than they are, while they typically receive messages from men who are seven points less attractive than they are.

Interestingly, OKCupid also found that men send 3.5 times the number of messages women send, suggesting that few women are aware of the advantages of stepping up to the plate.

That's possibly because of lingering social stigma about women making the first move. Whitney Wolfe, the founder of dating app Bumble, on which women can message men but not the other way around, told Sophia Amoruso

"I can't tell you how many times in college I had a crush on a guy, or I thought a guy was cute, and I would text him, and my friends would be like, 'You just committed the ultimate sin.' Like, 'What have you done? You texted him first?'"

Wolfe went on: "No thank you. … It's so outdated, and it's so needed for something to come in and say 'enough.'"

SEE ALSO: The 15 US cities where it's easiest to find a date

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NOW WATCH: A dating app founder reveals how to make your response rates go up 60%

How to saber a bottle of champagne with an iPhone

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Sabering a bottle of champagne is the ultimate party trick. But what do you do when your trusty saber is missing? Well, use the phone in your pocket of course. We used the iPhone 5 because of its blunt edge.

Disclaimer: Sabering a bottle of champagne with a iPhone could put you or your device at risk.

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An exercise scientist reveals exactly how long you need to work out to get in great shape

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Have a reunion or a wedding coming up, and you'd like to get in top shape before running into your ex? Exercise Scientist Shawn Arent tells us just how long you'll need to lose those pounds.

Shawn Arent is the director of the Center for Health and Human Performance at Rutgers University and a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine.

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Here are our biggest men's style predictions for 2017

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Plaid suit

The only way to truly stay ahead of a trend is to predict it. We've gotten ahead of the curve and outlined some of the hottest styles you'll see blowing up this year.

From what we've seen on the street, runways, and screen and in stores, here are 10 of our best predictions for the trends that will live and die in the new year.

SEE ALSO: 8 New Year's style resolutions every guy should make

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Suits will also continue to embrace more color, as well as incorporate patterns.

While navy and charcoal will still be the most common suit colors you'll see in 2017, don't be surprised if you see brighter, more festive colors throughout the year. Even patterns like plaid suits, or paisley tuxedo jackets are not out of the question.

Remember Obama's khaki suit from 2014? It's like that, but taken up a few notches.



Formal wear taking cues from the 20th century will hit the mainstream.

Tuxedos are already a bit nostalgic, and in 2017 we're going to see more men leaning into that.

Double breasted jackets, navy, contrasting white jackets, and more will be commonplace in black tie events.



For casual wear, get ready for black and white to take over.

Get ready to see a lot of black, white, and gray in the coming year. To mix the changing of athleisure, we're predicting many men will stick to the colorless look in the new year.

 



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The definitive, scientific answers to 20 health questions everyone has

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Candy halloween coma

It seems every week there's a new study or report that contradicts everything you know about how to manage your health.

In 2016 alone, we got more evidence that coffee isn't a cause of cancer and the debate over the health effects of sugar became even more heated.

To help you parse out what works from what's merely myth, we compiled the definitive (at least for now) answers to some of the most pressing health questions, based on the book "Your Health: What Works, What Doesn't."

Here's what the science has to say.

SEE ALSO: 15 simple ways to relax, according to scientists

DON'T MISS: Not all leafy greens are created equal — here's the definitive ranking of the best ones for you

Does sugar make you hyper?

Short answer: No

The National Institute of Health has made it pretty clear that additives and dyes added to food have effects that are "small and do not account for most cases of ADHD."

The myth started back in the 1970s when a doctor wrote into the American Academy of Pediatrics that he had become aware that sugar was a leading cause of hyperactivity. But research has shown otherwise: A 1995 meta-analysis of sugar studies found that it didn't have an effect on the behavior or cognitive performance of children.



Does cough syrup work?

Short answer: No

It's been a while since doctors came to agree that most over-the-counter cough medicines don't work. In 2014, Australian researchers published similar conclusions that the syrups typically contain doses of codeine and antihistamines that are too small to be effective and can be harmful for children.

Prescription cough suppressants such as levodropropizine, however, might have a better shot. 

 



Does olive oil prevent heart disease?

Short answer: Yes

As if you need more of an excuse to put olive oil on everything, scientists have found a connection between eating more olive oil and a lower risk of coronary artery disease. Studies that are happening right now are testing out how a Mediterranean diet rich in olive oil compares to low-fat diets when it comes to heart disease recurrence.

In general, olive oil's antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects have also been well documentedAnd in a study of older women published in 2015 in the medical journal JAMA, Spanish scientists found that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra olive oil appeared to help reduce the participants' risk of breast cancer when compared with two other groups of women on a low-fat diet and a Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts.



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