Whether you run a company or a household, time is often your most valuable resource.

For those who can afford to, hiring help — from assistants to nannies to chauffeurs — can make life a lot easier.

Business Insider spoke with David Youdovin, the founder and CEO of Hire Society, a recruitment firm that helps high-net-worth individuals and families in New York City, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach, staff their homes and businesses.

"The vast majority of our clients are the .01% — they have multiple homes, private aircraft, and several members of domestic staff," said Youdovin, who worked as a butler and estate manager for a billionaire family before founding Hire Society in 2012.

"There's major altruism in putting good people to work with these families," Youdovin said. "These salaries can be life-changing, especially for people not originally from the United States."

Below, Youdovin provided us with a list of the most common positions wealthy families are looking to hire for, and how much they pay annually. Youdovin says the salaries range based on previous experience and references.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco rent is so expensive that a law firm bought a $3 million plane to fly its people in from Texas instead of having them live there

DON'T MISS: The 17 cities where the world's richest people want to live

Chief of staff

Salary range: $200,000 - $500,000

Management team

Estate manager

• Salary range: $150,000 - $300,000

Executive house manager

• Salary range: $100,000 - $150,000

Assistant house manager

• Salary range: $80,000 - $110,000

Office manager

• Salary range: $100,000 - $175,000

Butler

Salary range: $80,000 - $120,000

• Chipotle is giving away free queso on Tuesday.
• All customers have to do is wear a "cheesy sweater" to get free queso with an order of a burrito, bowl, salad, or tacos. 
• Earlier in December, Business Insider reported that Chipotle had revamped its queso recipe after facing intense backlash.

Chipotle is giving away free queso on Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, December 12, the chain is offering free queso with the purchase of burritos, bowls, salads, or tacos. The one catch: customers have to wear a "cheesy sweater," as part of the holiday festivities. 

Chipotle's queso roll-out has been a nightmare for the chain. Since September, customers have slammed the dip as a "crime against cheese," "expired Velveeta," and "dumpster juice." 

However, the chain recently rolled out a revamped recipe that fixes some of the original queso's textural issues. The new queso still doesn't have the exact goopiness that makes the Tex-Mex classic so beloved, but it is a marked improvement. 

While the new queso still isn't the ideal dip, it does provide a hearty topping for a burrito or burrito bowl. So, it makes sense that Chipotle is only giving free queso as a topping with entrees on Tuesday. Customers are additionally limited to one free queso per person. 

SEE ALSO: People are slamming Chipotle's queso — but the cheesy dip is actually good now if you order it correctly

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NOW WATCH: What 'Dilly Dilly' means — and how Bud Light came up with its viral campaign

Lake Erie may be the warmest and shallowest of North America's Great Lakes, but it's more beast than beauty. The world's 12th largest lake is notoriously stormy and has been known to pound boats, break walls, and beaches with waves reaching 25 feet.

While gusts of wind over 50 miles per hour might send most running for the shore, professional photographer Dave Sandford suits up and wades in. His work captures Lake Erie at its most turbulent, creating mesmerizing images that show the grace and power of the natural world.

In December 2015, Sandford shared some of his photos with us. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook for more.

SEE ALSO: We spent the day with a professional mushroom-hunter who forages ingredients for top fine-dining restaurants

For former sports photographer Dave Sandford, shooting Lake Erie's monstrous waves is not unlike his past job. "Things happen very fast, in the blink of an eye," Sandford said.

Anticipation is key. Before heading out for a shoot, he reads the weather and surf reports.

Sandford wears a wet suit, life vest, gloves, and neoprene boots "on set." His camera gear is protected with underwater photography gear from Aquatech Imaging Solutions.

Do you ever wonder if there's a difference between sugar and all those artificial sweeteners you put in your coffee? It turns out, there are a number of key distinctions between them. Following is a transcript of the video.

What's the difference between artificial sweeteners and sugar? Turns out, the main difference is sweetness and sugar is probably the least-sweet option. That's right, artificial sweeteners are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. And they offer a low-cal alternative to sugar. 

Equal (brand name for Aspartame) 

• Discovered in 1965
• First approved by the FDA in 1981
• Is the only FDA approved nutritive sweetener, meaning it adds caloric value to a meal
• It loses its sweetness when heated and therefore is not used in baked goods
• People w/ advanced liver disease and a metabolic condition called phenylketonuria

Splenda (brand name for Sucralose)

• Discovered in 1976
• First approved by the FDA IN 1998
• Starts out as sugar, but is chemically modified to have 0 calories
• It keeps its sweetness when heated and therefore is used in baked goods

Sweet’N Low (brand name for saccharin)

• Discovered in 1879
• Earliest artificial sweetener on the market
• Although it contains 4 calories per packet, the body can’t metabolize it
• So it adds no caloric or nutritional value to a meal
• Theodore Roosevelt reportedly was a fan of saccharin

This video was originally published on November 6, 2016. 

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New Yorkers rarely explore the tourist destinations in their own city.

I've never been to the Statue of Liberty, for example, and have visited the Empire State Building only once, when I was barely old enough to walk.

But there's a destination in the city that New Yorkers and tourists alike have probably never been to or even heard of: City Island.

A tiny island in the Long Island Sound, the neighborhood feels closer to a quaint New England village than anywhere else in New York City. We recently visited to see what it's all about.

City Island is a 1.5-mile-long island that is part of the Bronx in New York City. It was first settled in the 1600s by Europeans who forced the Siwanoy people off the land.

You can drive there by heading through Pelham Bay Park, New York City's largest public park. Earlier this year, a new bridge to the island replaced the previous one, which dated to 1901.

It's accessible by public transit. Take the 6 train to the last stop — Pelham Bay Park — and transfer to the Bx29 bus. It comes about every 30 minutes.

• SantaCon is a massive bar crawl that takes place across the world each year.
• The event has become widely hated in New York, where drunken Santas crowd the city's bars.  
• We visited Midtown in the afternoon of December 9 to see what this year's festivities were like.

SantaCon, a giant bar crawl that encourages grown men and women to dress in Santa Claus costumes in more than 100 cities around the world, descended on New York City this weekend. Dating back to 1994 and created by the same group that started Burning Man, SantaCon was originally meant to serve as a commentary on consumerism.

But, the event has taken on a life of its own, with an estimated 30,000 Santas attending — some even coming from other states to do so. It has now become one of the most hated bar crawls in New York, often leading to public urinating, fights, and Santas passing out in subway stations. 

This year, New York's version of the annual crawl took place in Midtown, during the season's first snow. 

Chris Metts, an event coordinator at The Liberty, was excited that the crawl was happening in Midtown again this year. Metts told Business Insider that the bar orders more alcohol — specifically, Jameson and Fireball — in preparation.

"There's a lot of Fireball at SantaCon," he said. The bar also prefers canned beers over draft because, according to Metts, "they're easier to go, and quicker to give out."

When asked about the crackdown on open containers that was planned for the subway and the area's commuter train systems ahead of SantaCon this year, Metts said he hadn't heard about it.

"Good luck to them," he said. 

Having never been to SantaCon, I bravely ventured out, walking the streets of Midtown in the early afternoon to see what kind of debauchery had already started in the city.

SEE ALSO: 34 of the weirdest photos taken in 2017

It started snowing in the early morning on Saturday, and although temperatures were in the lower 30s, it didn't stop the Santas from enjoying themselves.

By 1 p.m., people were already in long lines outside of various bars, including John Sullivan's Bar and Grill on 35th Street and 7th Avenue.

Trying to coordinate your crew during SantaCon can be tricky.

• Kelley Blue Book gave the Audi Q5 its 2018 Best Auto Tech Award for luxury brands.
• The car has three available trims that start between $41,500-$50,800.
• It has an impressive array of safety features that can detect surrounding cars and pedestrians to prevent or limit the damage from collisions.

If you're looking for a luxury car with advanced technology, it can be difficult to find an option that has standout features without breaking six figures.

That's why Kelley Blue Book gave the Audi Q5 its 2018 Best Auto Tech Award for a luxury brand. With its standard set of features, the car costs under $45,000, and fully loaded, it still doesn't reach $60,000.

Here's why Kelley Blue Book was so excited about the car:

SEE ALSO: We drove a $35,000 Mustang and a $120,000 Porsche to see which we liked better — here's the verdict

Audi's Q5 has been one of the brand's best-selling models since it was introduced in 2009. The 2018 edition received a significant overhaul, earning a rating of 9.6 out of 10 from Kelley Blue Book.

The car has three available trims, which start between $42,475-$51,775. Kelley Blue Book recommends the middle-priced option, the Premium Plus.

The car's "pre-sense" system boasts a number advanced safety features that come standard with any configuration, including the ability to sense other vehicles or pedestrians while driving up to 52 mph and automatically engage the brakes to lessen the chance or impact of a collision.

Christmas trees could start fires if you don't don't take the proper precautions. Keep your loved ones safe this holiday season to avoid an unnecessary fire. Following is a transcript of the video.

Christmas trees can be a big fire hazard. Dry trees light up very quickly. Here's how to avoid it: Keep your trees watered. Don't overcrowd outlets.

Do not use faulty or cheap extension cords. That includes lights you put on your tree. Space heaters can also be an issue around the holidays. Bottom line: Be safe this holiday season!

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• Rob Rhinehart, the founder of Soylent, a startup that makes a soy-based food replacement drink, is out as the company's CEO.
• Bryan Crowley, president of Soylent's parent company, is replacing him.
• Soylent saw major setbacks over the past two years, including a temporary halt to sales after customers reported becoming violently ill.

Rob Rhinehart, founder of the much-maligned food-replacement startup Soylent, is stepping down as CEO effectively immediately, he announced in a blog post on Monday.

Bryan Crowley, who was appointed president of Soylent parent company Rosa Foods in June, will take over as CEO. In a blog post, Rhinehart said he decided to hand the reins to Crowley because of Crowley's management and industry experience.

"I have seen the company evolve with scale, and done my best to guide it toward my vision and support those involved," Rhinehart said.

He continues: "Along the way I have seen my role as CEO evolve, especially enjoying the process of delegating my responsibilities to more skilled and experienced scientists, managers, and executives. These specialists are clearly better at their roles than I would be, especially if I were handling tons of other responsibilities simultaneously, which is the exciting early stage of a startup. But that time has passed."

Rhinehart will stay on as Soylent's executive chairman, and he remains the company's largest shareholder.

Soylent has had a bumpy ride over the last year. 

In 2016, in a bid to go mainstream, the venture-backed startup launched several new products, including "Coffiest," a caffeinated meal-shake, and the "Soylent Bar," its first solid-food product. Soylent Drink became the best-selling product in the meal-replacement category on Amazon, and even started being carried in 7-Eleven stores.

But Soylent suffered a public black eye after some of its products made a small number of customers violently ill. The company briefly halted sales of the Soylent Bar and its flagship powdered food-replacement.

Soylent saw a better start to 2017. It raised $50 million in a Series B round of funding led by GV (formerly Google Ventures). The Los Angeles-based company has raised $74.5 million to date.

SEE ALSO: Soylent has raised another $50 million to change how we eat — here are 31 quotes that show its founder's distinctive worldview

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NOW WATCH: Soylent’s founder tested the original formula on himself — here are the unusual side effects he experienced

Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein fell from his lofty pedestal atop the entertainment industry in October after more than 80 women accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct.

Since the accusations against Weinstein came to light, the floodgates have opened and scores of women have come out with allegations against some of the most powerful figures in media and politics.

Here are some of the biggest names in the industry who have been accused of sexual misconduct. This list includes men who were accused after the Weinstein allegations came to light, but also some prominent men in media and politics whose accusations resurfaced after Weinstein's accusers came forward.

SEE ALSO: 36 powerful men accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of Harvey Weinstein

DON'T MISS: Democrats are setting themselves up perfectly to pummel Republicans on sexual harassment in 2018

New Yorker staff writer Ryan Lizza

The New Yorker announced on December 11 that it had severed ties with Lizza after being made aware of "improper sexual conduct" on Lizza's part.

CNN, where Lizza is a political analyst, suspended him while it investigated the matter.

In a statement, Lizza said he was "dismayed that The New Yorker has decided to characterize a respectful relationship with a woman I dated as somehow inappropriate."

"The New Yorker was unable to cite any company policy that was violated," he said. "I am sorry to my friends, workplace colleagues, and loved ones for any embarrassment this episode may cause. I love The New Yorker, my home for the last decade, and I have the highest regard for the people who work there. But this decision, which was made hastily and without a full investigation of the relevant facts, was a terrible mistake."

Lizza was the reporter who recorded Anthony Scaramucci's expletive-ridden, late-night phone call that led to his quick ouster as White House communications director in July.

Longtime NBC host Matt Lauer

NBC announced on November 29 that it had fired Lauer after a colleague reported he had engaged in "inappropriate sexual behavior" in the workplace.

Before being dismissed, Lauer had long been a staple at NBC and on the "Today" show. He joined the network in the early 1990s and hosted "Today" for 20 years.

NBC News' chairman, Andy Lack, sent staff a memo on Monday saying he had "received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer."

Lack added that NBC had reason to believe "this may not have been an isolated incident."

Savannah Guthrie, Lauer's co-host on the "Today" show, announced Lauer's departure from the network on Wednesday and read Lack's statement on air.

"This is a sad morning for 'Today' and NBC News," she said. "We just learned this moments ago, just this morning. As I'm sure you can imagine, we are devastated, and we are still processing all of this."

Lauer has yet to comment.

Democratic Rep. John Conyers of Michigan

Conyers, 88, has been accused of sexually harassing several former staffers. He denies the allegations but announced earlier this month that he would resign from Congress in light of the controversy.

When the accusations first began coming out late last month, Conyers said he would step down as ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee pending an investigation into his conduct.

House minority leader Nancy Pelosi drew sharp criticism when she defended Conyers and told NBC's Chuck Todd that the congressman was an "icon." She quickly changed course after Conyers announced he would step down as ranking member.

"We are at a watershed moment on the issue, and no matter how great an individual's legacy, it is not a license for harassment," Pelosi said in a follow-up statement. "I commend the women coming forward."

• The fitness app POPiN allows users to pay by the minute at eight participating gyms in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
• CEO Dalton Han had to convince gyms he wouldn't ruin their ability to sell memberships.
• He thinks the app helps boutique gyms compete with national chains by allowing users to see what makes them special.

As CEO of the new fitness app POPiN, Dalton Han is trying to solve two problems for gyms and their users: expensive drop-in fees that make it difficult to develop a flexible fitness routine, and usage patterns that leave many gyms empty on weekday afternoons.

POPiN, which launched in August, allows users to pay by the minute at participating gyms, which can cut the price for a 60-minute workout in half. The app currently gives users access to seven gyms in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn.

A former consultant for companies like Microsoft and Cisco, Han began developing the app with his co-founder and CTO, John Wu, in the summer of 2016. They knew that for the app to have any chance of success, they would have to convince gyms it wouldn't eliminate their ability to sell memberships.

"What I'm setting out to prove to them is that there is a bigger market of people out there that would never become [their] member," Han said.

Gyms make money from people who don't exercise

Gyms make money by selling memberships to people who won't use their facilities. They do this by designing their lobbies to look like cocktail lounges, emphasizing benefits that don't involve exercise, and offering annual contracts to people who want to get in shape, but probably won't stick to an exercise routine for more than a few weeks.

For this strategy to work, gyms need to incentivize long-term commitment. This is why drop-in fees often start at $20, even if you only intend to use the gym for 30 minutes. They don't want you to pay for the amount of time you actually spend in the gym, but the amount of time you think you'll spend in the gym.

Han says that gyms are too optimistic about their ability to convert occasional customers into full-time members. Rather than taking away potential revenue from unsold memberships, POPiN would bring the gyms customers who know they won't use the gym enough to justify a membership and can't be convinced otherwise without an extended trial. Gyms would receive a new revenue stream instead of replacing an existing one.

"I walk past this 24 Hour Fitness all the time by Madison Square Park. I don't think I've ever seen more than just a couple of users there at one time. And how much is that space costing them?" Han said.

POPiN helps boutique gyms compete with national chains

Han believes the app is better suited to the small, boutique gyms who were more receptive to his logic than the chains, like New York Sports Club, they compete with. Since they don't have brand names and large marketing budgets, boutique gyms have to attract members by offering an exercise experience the big names can't match, whether through a better selection of equipment or unique classes. POPiN would allow them to demonstrate that value to people who would never try them without a low-cost, no-commitment option.

"One of the things, as we get more locations, that's really cool is the sense of discovery, that we're offering users not your run-of-the-mill chain gym that's all over the place. They're actually going into someplace different, someplace interesting," Han said.

The current per-minute rates range from $0.14 to $0.26, which means that a sixty-minute workout at Tribeca Health & Fitness costs $10.80, instead of the $20 one would have to pay for a day pass.

But, if you do that same, 60-minute workout four times each week, you'd end up paying around $172 per month, which is $83 more than the gym's rate for a month-to-month membership. If a user visits a single gym often enough, POPiN will recommend that user buy a membership.

“I'm not against membership," he said. "I'm against membership if you don't use it." 

SEE ALSO: I tried a new fitness app that charges you for every minute you spend at the gym — here's what it's like to use

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NOW WATCH: The right way to eat sushi, according to renowned Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa

• We're in "cuffing season," where people put in extra effort to find someone to cuddle during the winter.
• According to a new poll, single men are more worried about finding a partner than women.
• This could be because men don't necessarily share the same level of emotional connection with their friends.

If you're familiar with your dating terms, you'll know we're currently in the middle of "cuffing season."

It basically refers to when people actively seek out a partner for the winter months, because it's more fun to stay in watching TV when you have someone to do it with.

A cliché about the dating world is that it's the women who feel the pressure to find someone and settle down — probably because of some outdated theory about a biological clock ticking away.

But a new study by dating website eHarmony and relationship support charity Relate has found that as Christmas approaches, it's the men who feel more worried about finding someone.

Of the 4,054 people who were surveyed, 71% of men were concerned about starting a new relationship, compared to 58% of women.

Over three quarters of the participants, male and female, admitted to feeling lonely at times, but men were slightly more likely to say it was a negative part of being single (47% compared to 53%).

"This challenges the traditional idea of the happy-go-lucky bachelor who is more suited to single life than his female equivalent," said eHarmony psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos. "The reality is that single women tend to be more robust on their own. They often capitalise on strong friendships which meet many of their needs for intimacy and prevent loneliness creeping in.

"Men on the other hand, perhaps don't necessarily share the same level of emotional connection with their friends, or even family members. Research suggests they also tend to miss physical intimacy slightly more than women. But there's really no need for anyone to feel disheartened."

The things participants listed as some benefits of being single were personal independence, time for new hobbies, freedom on nights out, and hooking up with other people. Two fifths (41%) of them agreed they would rather be alone than with the wrong person.

"It's important that we regard being single as a lifestyle choice which may change at any time and avoid making judgments about people's relationship status," said Chris Sherwood, the chief executive at Relate. "Unnecessary pressure from friends, family, and society can lead people to start a relationship before they're ready or understand what they want from it."

SEE ALSO: The scientific reasons we give our partners pet names — and what they could say about your relationship

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NOW WATCH: Here's why Boeing 747s have a giant hump in the front

• The Porsche 911 Carrera GTS is both powerful and expensive.
• But given the performance on offer, it's worth it.
• There's a reason why the 911 is considered by many to be the greatest car ever made.

We like Porsches at Business Insider, and we especially like the legendary 911. In continuous production for over 50 years, it's an icon. 

Porsche makes numerous different versions of its rear-engined sports-car stalwart. One of the more noteworthy is the 911 Carrera GTS: it ain't cheap, but it has a lot of oomph under the hood. 

We borrowed one from Porsche for a few days and did our best to grapple with its glories without the benefit of a race track. The New Jersey suburbs and the mean street of New York City had to be enough. Here's how it went:

Photos by Hollis Johnson.

SEE ALSO: FOLLOW US on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

SEE ALSO: The Porsche 911 Carrera is almost impossible to beat when it comes to sports cars

Our Porsche 911 Carrera GTS test car landed in Midtown Manhattan wearing an absolutely dashing Carmine Red paint job. That $3,000-plus option, along with a few additional extras, brought the sticker price up to $129,000.

The distinctive Porsche fascia — you either love it or hate it. Some call it "bug-eyed." I call it a masterstroke of design that's been with us for ever 50 years.

The 911 once brought with it a sort of featherweight-boxer style, and sort of still does with the base models. But once you move up the cost ladder, the car gives off a burlier vibe.

• I recently took a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, where I visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
• The project started in 1977 as a way to rescue orphaned elephants and rhinos.
• More than 200 elephants have been rescued and reintroduced into the wild.

The clapping started immediately.

Behind a roped-off mud pit, over 100 tourists and I watched as a small parade of baby elephants walked single-file from the thick bush, down a dirt road, and up to the handlers awaiting them. They were soon rewarded for their brave entrance with oversized milk bottles and reassuring pats on the head.

I was at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, in Nairobi, Kenya. There was little structure to my visit: Stand behind a rope for two hours as about a dozen 200-lb. toddlers frolicked in the mud, guzzled milk, and carried branches from one spot to another.

In these tumultuous times, I felt lucky to experience such innocence firsthand. Here's what I saw.

SEE ALSO: I spent 34 hours flying coach on Ethiopian Airlines, the best airline in Africa — here's what it was like

It's a long, suspense-filled walk from the parking lot to the entrance of the elephant pen. I could sense everyone's excitement as we struggled to walk in an orderly fashion.

We walked past the emergency vehicles garage, past the gift shop, down through a narrow canopy — until finally the scene unfolded before us.

I was one of the first people to nab a spot behind the rope. The people beside me clutched iPhones, GoPros on extended handles, and long-lens cameras.

Meditation is a challenging but rewarding experience.

When I was in college, I used to meditate often, and found it was a highly effective way for me to quiet my stress and reset my mind.

But as I've made my way through the always-on world that we live in today, it's become a lot harder to find even 10 minutes to disconnect. There's always that nagging inner voice: what if that important person responded to your email? 

That's why I was intrigued when I heard about the Somadome on a recent tour of CORE: Club, the ultra exclusive social club frequented by New York's elite. 

The Somadome, a spaceship-like pod that retails for $35,000, promises to make meditation easy by enveloping users in a combination of  LED color therapy, guided meditation, binaural beats, and energy healing.

I decided to give it a try.

I first encountered the Somadome at the Institute of Skinovation, a high-end skincare clinic located in CORE: Club, an exclusive social club in Midtown Manhattan.

I was told that the pod is made up of "microcrystalline tiles" developed by French geophysicist Pierre Nicolas to channel healing energies. I cannot attest to how grounded in science the tiles are.

The pod uses guided meditation or binaural beat meditation (or a combo). I've done both before. The idea behind binaural meditation is that you listen to some admittedly strange sound patterns to induce your brain to output certain wavelengths associated with a certain mental state.

You can try out binaural sound meditation for yourself at Square Eater. There's not a ton of scientific evidence examining the effects of binaural beats and the studies that exist are mixed at best.

I've had some success with it, but that amounts to a big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ because it could just be a placebo effect.

Oriental Science Fiction Valley Theme Park is a massive virtual reality theme park coming to one of China's poorest areas. The creators hope the economy will greatly benefit from this new attraction. However, some residents are worried about the consequences this major construction could bring. Following is a transcript of the video.

This is Oriental Science Fiction Valley. It will be China's first virtual reality theme park. Located outside Guiyang, the capital of one of China's poorest provinces.

The park is decorated with giant robots and futuristic castles. It'll have 35 different VR attractions, including virtual roller coasters and a futuristic space battle. There are also experiential tours. Visitors will be able to bungee jump from the giant robot.

The park is expected to bring economic growth to the area. But, local farmers are worried about pollution from construction. It's set to open in February 2018.

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• The BMW X1 is the ultimate driving cute ute.
• The Buick Encore has been selling like hotcakes.
• The bimmer is a decent luxury performer, but we preferred the Buick
  

Crossover SUVs are the hottest segment in the car business right now, and an especially appealing subset of the segment is small utility vehicles. 

These are the new entry points to brands; it used to be that small sedans were the starter cars. But increasingly that's not the case, and the market may never reverse the trend.

Luxury and near-luxury brands are both jumping in. BMW has the X1 as its entry-level crossover, and Buick has the Encore. This isn't going to be an apples-to-apples comparison, by the way.

The Bimmer is a true luxury brand, while Buick resides below Cadillac in the General Motors hierarchy.

But the two vehicles, separated by price — more than $10,000, in fact — can be usefully compared.

They both provide good utility and have about the same amount of passenger and cargo space. What's more, they both come equipped with a nice lineup of tech features and can even be compared in terms of how they drive.

The biggest difference is really one of impressions and expectations. The BMW is supposed to be the small-crossover version of the "ultimate driving machine."

The Buick, on the other hand, needs to bring younger buyers into the brand and not deviate too much from what makes a Buick a Buick: quietness, composure, and low-key style.

So what we ultimately have here is a pair of vehicles equally burdened by their respective automotive DNA. The BMW, for example, needs to satisfy the person behind the wheel. The Buick needs to soothe the driver. The BMW has to carry a certain amount of design weight — this crossover needs to fit into the BMW family, which includes the X3 and the X5. 

The Buick has to exude some of the Tri-Shield's unforced elegance and country-club vibe without coming off as stuffy. Buick has done yeoman work in the last decade changing the idea that its cars are strictly for the retirement community demographic. 

So the two crossovers are easier to compare than it appears.

And there might even be a surprise or two about the one we liked better.

SEE ALSO: The BMW X1 is controversial — but it might be the perfect new entry-level BMW

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Here's the X1. Specifically, the 2016 X1 xDrive28i, priced at about $44,000 and nicely equipped. I tested and reviewed the crossover late last year. Base price is roughly $10,000 less.

Read the review here.

And here's the 2017 Encore. My tester was the Sport Touring trim level, and it tipped the costs scales at just over $31,000, with several thousand bucks worth of options. Base price? $27,000.

You have to give it to the Bimmer when it comes to styling: in "Alpine White" it's very sharp, and it lacks for none of the usual BMW design cues, including the famous kidney grille.

From fidget spinners to feminism, 2017 was a year unlike any other.

And although it's hard to find a single word to sum up the entire year, there are certain words that popped up time and time again, shaping the way we talk about current events and enriching our conversations.

Several dictionaries have crunched the numbers and revealed their "words of the year," the words that were looked up more than any others and enjoyed a moment in the spotlight in 2017.

Here are your 2017 words of the year:

SEE ALSO: 'Snowflake,' 'unicorn,' and all the other words that changed meaning in 2017

'Fake news'

Collins dictionary named "fake news" its 2017 word of the year for what it called the term's "ubiquitous presence" over the past year.

A favorite of President Donald Trump and other right-wing politicians, "fake news" is defined as "false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting."

However, as political observers and linguists have noted, Trump often uses the term to describe news coverage that is critical of him or the White House, regardless of its accuracy or truth.

According to the dictionary, lookups for the word shot up 365% this year compared to 2016.

'Complicit'

Dictionary.com's word of the year was "complicit," meaning "choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having partnership or involvement in wrongdoing."

The word soared in popularity in 2017 thanks to two key moments. The first was a "Saturday Night Live" satirical ad for an Ivanka Trump-branded perfume called "Complicit" — "the fragrance for the woman who could stop all this, but won't."

Three weeks later, Trump herself attempted to redefine the word in a CBS interview, saying, "If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then I’m complicit."

From people speaking out against sexual harassment to NFL players protesting the treatment of minorities, people who refused to be complicit were at the center of some of the biggest news stories of the year, the dictionary said in a blog post.

"In the face of oppression and wrongdoing, this refusal to be complicit has been a grounding force of 2017," the dictionary said.

'Feminism'

"Feminism" was Merriam-Webster's word of the year, the dictionary announced on Tuesday.

Lookups for the word increased 70% in 2017 over the previous year, the dictionary said, and spiked after key events like the Women's March on Washington and during the "Me Too" movement.

The dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes" and "organized activities on behalf of women's rights and interests."

There's an abandoned monument in Bulgaria filled with communist propaganda. Construction cost the equivalent of $35 million today. Earlier this year, a group of adventurers visited the monument and documented their experience on YouTube at "Exploring the Unbeaten Path." Following is a transcript of the video.

Welcome to Buzludzha Monument — a historical monument built for the Bulgarian Communist Party. It was finished in 1981 after 8 years of construction, made out 70,000 tons of concrete and 3,000 tons of steel. But it was abandoned in 1989, the same year that the Bulgarian Communist regime fell. 

Today, it's off-limits to the public but that didn't stop a crew of videographer. They explore abandoned places worldwide and document it on YouTube at "Exploring the Unbeaten Path." Surprisingly, many of the monument's distinct features remain intact. The whole place is filled with communist propaganda. It features communist legends like Lenin and Karl Marx, as well as the famous hammer and sickle communist symbol boldly placed in the center of its vast ceremonial hall. The monument is a relic of a time not too long ago and a testament to how quickly times change.

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• A security robot has been put to work in San Francisco in an attempt to deter homeless people from forming tent cities.
• The robot uses lasers and sensors to monitor an area for criminal activity. Rather than intervene during a crime, it alerts human authorities.
• The robot's owner, the San Francisco SPCA, said it has seen fewer tents and car break-ins since it deployed the robot in the city's Mission neighborhood.

In San Francisco, autonomous crime-fighting robots that are used to patrol parking lots, sports arenas, and tech company campuses are now being deployed to keep away homeless people.

The San Francisco Business Times reported last week that the San Francisco SPCA, an animal advocacy and pet adoption group, put a security robot to work outside its facilities in the gentrifying Mission neighborhood. The robot's presence is meant to deter homeless people from setting up camps along the sidewalks.

Last week, the City of San Francisco ordered the SF SPCA to keep its robot off the streets or be fined up to $1,000 per day for operating on sidewalks without a permit, according to the Business Times.

Krista Maloney, media relations manager for the SF SPCA, told Business Insider that staff wasn't able to safely use the sidewalks at times because of the encampments. Maloney added that since the SPCA started guarding its facilities with the robot — known as K9 — a month ago, the homeless encampments have dwindled and there have been fewer car break-ins.

K9 is part of a crime-fighting robot fleet manufactured and managed by startup Knightscope in Mountain View, California. The company's robots don't fight humans; they use equipment like lasers, cameras, a thermal sensor, and GPS to detect criminal activity and alert the authorities.

Their intent is to give human security guards "superhuman" eyes and ears, according to Bill Santana Li, CEO of Knightscope, who spoke with Business Insider earlier this year.

Knightscope rents out the robots for $7 an hour — less than a security guard's hourly wage. The company has over 19 clients in five US states. Most customers, including Microsoft, Uber, and Juniper Networks, put the robots to work patrolling parking lots and office buildings.

Preventing crime is part of the pitch that Knightscope makes to prospective customers. (Increased police presence can reduce crime, though this is not always the case.)

"If I put a marked law enforcement vehicle in front of your home or your office, criminal behavior changes," Li told Business Insider earlier this year.

The K9 robot circling the SF SPCA has drawn mixed responses. Within the first week of the robot's deployment, some people who were setting up a homeless encampment nearby allegedly "put a tarp over it, knocked it over, and put barbecue sauce on all the sensors," according to Jennifer Scarlett, president of the SF SPCA. A Twitter user reported seeing feces smeared on the robot.

Some people took to Twitter to express their disappointment in the group. 

Others commended the robot for cleaning up their streets.

A spokesperson for Knightscope declined to comment.

SEE ALSO: Photos show what it's like for Silicon Valley's 'working homeless' who live down the street from tech giants

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