• There's something comforting about poetic, funny, or interesting last words.
• These quotations give us hope about facing death with dignity or even humor.
• From an early American patriot to a famous rock star, these individuals all died after uttering some particularly memorable last words.

We love famous last words.

There's a reason there are so many books listing memorable deathbed sayings throughout history out there. Perhaps we'd just rather believe well-known figures tend to die saying something clever and profound. It makes death itself a little less scary.

But, for that reason, final words can be quite tricky. As with any quotes on the internet — and historical quotes, in general — it's hard to sort out what's true and what's phony or exaggerated.

Here are several poignant, strange, or otherwise memorable last words from throughout history:

SEE ALSO: 18 people who accomplished incredible things at a shockingly young age

Jane Austen

At the age of 41, the celebrated novelist suffered a painful death in 1817 from an unidentified disease — although Addison's or Hodgkin's lymphoma are potential culprits, according to the blog Science-Based Writing. Her final words were recorded by her brother Henry, according to "The New Oxford Book of Literary Anecdotes."

Winston Churchill

In 1965, the British Prime Minister fell into a coma and died in his London home at the age of 90, according to the Phrase Finder. According to "The Private Lives of Winston Churchill," he was speaking to his son-in-law Christopher Soames, who had offered him some champagne.

Nathan Hale

Historians believe the 21-year-old school teacher-turned-spy was paraphrasing a line from the popular 18th century play "Cato" as he stood on the scaffold, according to the book "Cato's Tears and the Making of Anglo-American Emotion." The British hanged Hale after he was captured during a failed 1776 espionage mission in Long Island.

• The UK and US may share a common language, but the cultural differences between America and Britain can make the two places feel like they're worlds apart.
• When it comes to work-life balance and careers, there are some major differences between American and British work styles.
• As a British person living and working in America, one of the biggest culture shocks for me was the attitude Americans have about vacation days and the lack of paid time off available to workers.

America. The land of the free and home of the brave.

Where your rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That is, except if your pursuit of happiness takes you away from your desk for a few days.

Because when it comes to paid time off, Americans are dealt a pretty unfair hand.

Two years ago, I packed all my belongings into a shipping container, waved goodbye to the English countryside, and moved across the pond to live amongst the bright lights and busy sidewalks of New York.

Born and raised in Birmingham, the UK's second city and one of the most multicultural places in Britain, I was moving to a country I'd already visited plenty of times before (what is it with the UK and family holidays to Orlando?). And with the ever-increasing spread of American culture — from TV and movies to politics — I thought I knew what I was getting myself in for.

Despite all my preparation, and even with a big old book about American customs the relocation company provided, I was woefully under-prepared for the various lifestyle adjustments and cultural differences between my old life in the UK and my new life in the States.

Because while we may speak the same language, that's where the similarities end. At least for me, anyway.

I've never felt more displaced than when I'm trying to navigate the healthcare system, on the hunt for a decent bar of chocolate, or realizing that Americans will talk to you absolutely anywhere. Stuck in an elevator for 33 floors? Get ready to make an agonizing amount of small talk. Sitting at a bar by yourself? You can bet your next drink that a fellow bar patron will ask how your day has been.

SEE ALSO: 18 British words and phrases that don't mean what you think they do in America

DON'T MISS: 10 differences and similarities between American and British daily routines

Living the dream

The biggest culture shock though, came when I entered the workforce.

It's well documented that the American office culture is pretty different to the way we work back in the UK, in part fueled by the notion of the 'American Dream' — that unwavering belief that absolutely anyone can become successful if they're determined and willing to work hard enough to achieve their dream.

And it seems that an all-work-and-no-play mentality has bred a workplace that's underpinned by a sense of fear that you're never quite working hard enough.

And nowhere is this quite as obvious, to me at least, as the American attitude towards vacation days.

In the UK, almost all full-time workers are legally entitled to at least 28 days of paid vacation per year. Most employers will include the eight Bank and public holidays into that figure, which leaves the average British worker with a minimum of 20 days of vacation to use.

At my previous job, I had 25 days' vacation, eight paid Bank holidays, a day off for my birthday, and the opportunity to buy an additional five days off. We worked hard. But we were given adequate time away from the office to rest, reset, and rejuvenate.

So you can imagine my horror when I was offered my first job here in the States and found out my paid time off was an accrued total of 10 days — a measly two weeks, which included both vacation and sick time.

And the worst part was the employer seemed to think that was generous. They prefaced the section about PTO with, "we know how hard you work and recognize the importance of providing you with time for rest and relaxation."

Vacation deprivation

To me, 10 days was a deal breaker. But I know I was lucky to have even been offered that.

According to a 2013 study by the Center for Economic Policy Research, the US is the only advanced economy in the world that doesn't mandate any paid vacation for the workforce. Almost one in four Americans have no paid vacations and no paid holidays.

And those who are blessed with time off average just ten days of paid vacation and about six paid holidays per year. That's less than the minimum legal standard for most of all of the world's richest economies— the exception being Japan, which guarantees 10 paid vacation days but no paid holidays, according to the study.

A survey by Glassdoor found that out of those who receive vacation days, only 24% of workers used their full allowance, in part due to a corporate culture that has come to view taking time off as slacking.

For many Americans, the fear of returning to a mountain of work keeps them at their desk instead of the beach. And in a world of "at will" employment, where the work contract can be terminated at any time, almost a quarter of American employees don't want to be seen as replaceable.

Work smarter to work harder

More hours doesn't always mean more output. Just take a look at Greece and Germany.

According to the Organisation for Co-Operation and Development (OECD) the Greeks work longer hours than any other country in Europe, have an unemployment rate of 23.5% and a GDP of 26 765 US$ per capita. In Germany, they work less hours but are much more productive, with a GDP of 48 943 US$ per capita and an unemployment rate of just 4.1%,

There are multiple studies that show taking time away from work can improve productivity, increase happiness, and spark creativity. In other words, taking time off is a win for everyone: you, your boss, and even the economy.

If it's simply an issue of not knowing how to spend your time off, this list of well-reviewed places around the world may offer some inspiration. And if you're worried about returning to work with a mountain of emails to tackle, we've got some tips on managing that, too. Now you have no excuse.

• Brookfield Place is an upscale shopping and office complex in Lower Manhattan. The luxury shopping center is attached to several banking offices and located near Wall Street and the World Trade Center. 
• Its desirable location has helped it attract high-end designer brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
• Brookfield Place also has two food courts, fine dining, and an ice-skating rink.

Brookfield Place is not your typical mall.

The complex is home to 300,000 square feet of luxury shopping and dining. With stores from designers like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, restaurants like Umami Burger and Dos Toros, and an ice-skating rink overlooking the Hudson River, Brookfield Place has become a popular destination for affluent shoppers in Downtown Manhattan.

The former World Financial Center reopened under the name Brookfield Place in 2015, after four years and $300 million of renovations. In addition to the luxury retail space, Brookfield Place has over eight million square feet of office space and hosts free art shows and events through its arts program, Arts Brookfield. 

More than 95% of the space at Brookfield Place is leased to luxury retailers and financial offices, and its location near Wall Street is a big part of that. Beyond being steps away from the World Trade Center and Fulton Center transportation hubs, the mall is designed to attract weathly shoppers who live and work in the Financial District and Battery Park City, as well as the millions of tourists who visit. 

Take a look inside Brookfield Place:

SEE ALSO: Take a look inside the most valuable mall in America, a massive $6 billion shopping center in Hawaii with more than 350 stores

Brookfield Place is located in Downtown Manhattan, across the street from the World Trade Center.

It functions as office space to companies such as American Express and Bank of America.

But it's also a luxury shopping mall full of high-end stores.

• Meghan Markle will become a member of the British royal family, which commands a fortune of over $500 million, on May 19.
• Markle will remain a US citizen for at least five years and will still have to pay taxes to the IRS on any income earned.
• If Markle accepts an allowance or other form of "income" in the UK exceeding $104,100, she will have to pay US taxes on that money.

Meghan Markle will soon become the newest member of the British royal family, which commands a fortune over $500 million. But romping in their riches may cost her extra.

Markle and Prince Harry will wed on May 19 at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor, and begin a carriage procession immediately after the ceremony. Though Markle will likely obtain the title of Duchess, she won't become a UK citizen for years.

As The Washington Post first reported in November, Markle could "cause tax headaches" and create some "mundane hurdles" for the royal family.

Markle is a citizen of the US and is purportedly living in the UK on a family visa, according to the BBC. As the fiancée of a British citizen — Prince Harry — Markle will have to marry within six months of obtaining the visa to maintain her status.

Markle's family visa will be effective in 2.5-year increments and she won't be granted permanent residency until she's lived in the UK for five years. After that, she can finally apply for UK citizenship and potentially become a dual citizen of the US and the UK.

If she becomes a dual US-UK citizen, Markle will have to continue filing her taxes each year with the IRS. If she has more than $300,000 in assets at any point during the year, she will have to file a specific form that details foreign assets, which could include foreign trusts, subjecting the royal family "to outside scrutiny," according to the Post.

All the while, the "Suits" actress will be paying taxes to the IRS on any income she makes — regardless of where she earns it.

"US citizens, green-card holders, and permanent residents are required to file tax returns with the IRS every year no matter where they reside," Avani Ramnani, director of financial planning and wealth management at Francis Financial, told Business Insider.

"This is a special tax return called the expatriate tax return," she said. "US citizens, including Meghan Markle, get taxed on international income earned outside the US."

But Markle may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, Ramnani said, which in 2018 waives taxes on the first $104,100 of income earned in the residing country. But that doesn't include income from investments.

Since age 21, Prince Harry and Prince William have been receiving a $450,000 a year investment profit from their late mother's estate, which they pay taxes on to the UK government. They, and Kate Middleton, also receive an annual seven-figure allowance from their father, Prince Charles, which is used to cover expenses like travel and wardrobe.

"The key for Meghan and her advisors would be to figure out what type of income she will be getting," Ramnani said. "Will this income be from the investments of a trust, or 'wages' for any work that she does, or any other type of income? Sometimes, getting one form of income is more advantageous than another."

Markle may also qualify for a foreign tax credit, which allows tax on any income exceeding $104,100 to be reduced depending on the amount of taxes paid in the expat's country of residence. But, Ramnani said, "this credit may not be dollar-for-dollar as there are a lot of factors that come into play."

There's another US tax provision called the foreign housing exclusion, which gives the taxpayer an additional deduction or credit for living expenses abroad. It does not include "expenses that are lavish or extravagant under the circumstances."

Nottingham Cottage, the future homestead of Markle and Prince Harry, is located on the sprawling grounds of Kensington Palace, and would probably be considered lavish.

SEE ALSO: Prince Harry poached Kate Middleton's and Prince William's communications officer to become Meghan Markle's new assistant

DON'T MISS: Meghan Markle has proved her dominance over the 'Kate effect' — and it's worth $677 million

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Kate Middleton fed one of the world's last one-horned rhinos by hand

• The Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912 — killing over 1,500 people and becoming one of the most famous maritime disasters in history.
• But the Titanic was just one of countless passenger liners that dotted the seas and dominated the travel industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• These ships carried immigrants, cargo, and, oftentimes, very wealthy travelers.

The period of time spanning between the beginning of the 20th century and the start of WWII can be called the "golden age of ocean liners." Driven on by immigration to the US and an increased enthusiasm for recreational nautical travel, companies like the White Star Line began building bigger, faster, and fancier ships to accommodate passengers.

The most famous of these ships is the RMS Titanic, which famously struck an iceberg and sank during its maiden voyage in 1912. However, there were countless other liners during this time, plugging back and forth across the oceans and transporting immigrants, cargo, and travelers.

The age of ocean liners was disrupted by the worldwide Great Depression in the 1930s, only to sputter out entirely during the Second World War, which saw many of the ships converted to suit more wartime purposes.

Business Insider plumbed the depths of Flickr to find photos of what life was like for the wealthiest passengers on these ships. Here are 17 photos that highlight the often-extravagant experience:

SEE ALSO: These Original Ads For The Titanic Ran Right Before The Ship's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Ocean

The RMS Celtic launches on April 4, 1901 on a maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York.

A passenger reclines on a deckchair on an unknown passenger ship. He is enjoying a pipe and a bottle of Scotch whiskey labeled "W. Lumsden & Co, Aberdeen."The voyage likely took place around 1900.

Passengers pose on the deck of a ship around 1900. The woman seated second to the left is wearing a sailor's hat with the symbol of the Aberdeen White Star Line.

• The more people sit, the more thinning there tends to be in a region of the brain associated with memory, according to a new study.
• Thinning in this brain region can be a precursor to cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer's, according to the researchers.
• The study couldn't tell whether sitting caused the brain thinning. But for now, the researchers suggest this is a good reason to try to be less sedentary.

Sitting too much is not just hazardous for your heart and waistline — it may also harm the brain.

People who spend more time sitting or engaged in sedentary behavior have thinner brain structures in a region of the brain associated with memory, according to a study newly published in the journal PLOS One.

Thinning in this part of the brain could be a precursor to cognitive decline, dementia, or Alzheimer's, according to the researchers.

Unfortunately, they wrote in the study that high levels of physical activity aren't enough to offset the effects of that sedentary behavior.

The UCLA scientists behind the new research recruited 35 healthy middle-aged and older adults between the ages of 45 and 75. Researchers asked about the participants' physical-activity levels and about how much time they spent sitting during the work week. 

To assess people's brain health, the researchers conducted high-resolution MRI scans of the participants' brains so they could get a close look at the medial temporal lobe (MTL) — a brain region important for memory formation.

Contrary to what some previous researchers have found, the amount of exercise study participants got didn't seem to have a significant effect on MTL thickness. But sedentary behavior did.

On average, the participants sat between three and seven hours per day. But the more people sat, the thinner their MTL and connected sub-regions of the brain tended to be. Thinning in this brain region can be a sign of cognitive decline, the researchers said in a statement. Reducing sedentary behavior may therefore be a way to improve brain health in people at risk for Alzheimer's.

A few caveats to note: this isn't a particularly large study, and since the researchers just assessed participants at one point in time, they can't be sure that the brain thinning was caused by sedentary behavior (just that the two were connected). But the fact that more sedentary behavior was associated with more thinning implies that there could very well be a causal connection.

In follow-up studies, the researchers would like to follow a group over time to better understand if sitting is causing the thinning and if other demographic or behavioral factors play a role. They also need to see if getting up and walking around — taking a break from sitting — makes a difference in terms of MTL thickness.

In the meantime, the researchers suggest that reducing sedentary behavior may provide cognitive benefits. So if you can find a way to make your lifestyle more active, give it a shot.

SEE ALSO: Even one night of bad sleep causes dangerous changes in your brain, a new study found

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The science of why sitting all day is bad for your health

• The viral 'yodeling kid' just performed at Coachella.
• 11-year-old Mason Ramsey became a YouTube sensation after performing a Hank Williams country song at an Illinois Walmart last week.
• On Friday afternoon, he appeared on the Coachella stage wearing a cowboy hat.
• He performed 'Lovesick Blues' in front of a cheering crowd of thousands.
• You can watch the video below.

The 11-year-old boy who went viral for yodelling a Hank Williams country song in a Walmart just performed at one of the biggest music festivals in the world.

YouTube sensation Mason Ramsey appeared on stage alongside DJ Whethan at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California on Friday afternoon — and the crowd went wild.

Wearing a massive cowboy hat, he performed "Lovesick Blues" in front of thousands of cheering fans — and Justin Bieber was reportedly one of them.

You can see a TMZ video of the performance here:

Williams had announced he would be appeared at the festival in an Instagram post yesterday. TMZ had also confirmed he would be appearing.

You can watch Ramsey's original Walmart performance here:

SEE ALSO: A 96-year-old country song is back on the charts after the Walmart yodeling kid turned it into a viral meme

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A neuroscientist explains why reality may just be a hallucination

• We've been told for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that not eating it can even make you put on weight.
• Some people argue the link between breakfast and good health is a myth spun by breakfast companies.
• There’s growing evidence to suggest that there are real health benefits to fasting for both the body and brain.
• Inspired by fasting diets, I decided to make a small, manageable tweak to my routine by skipping breakfast, creating a fasting window of about 16 hours a day. 
• It was harder than expected but I noticed some surprisingly positive changes in my eating and drinking habits that have since stuck with me since.
• It also made me question why I was eating: habit, boredom, or actual hunger? 

SEE ALSO: Intermittent fasting was one of the biggest diet trends of 2017 — here's what you should know if you're planning to try it in the New Year

SEE ALSO: A stockbroker turned personal trainer tells us why breakfast actually isn't the most important meal of the day

With growing evidence to suggest there are real health benefits to fasting, I decided to make a small tweak to my daily routine by skipping breakfast for two weeks to see how — or if — it had any impact.

Many models and celebrities, including Miranda Kerr and Beyonce, reportedly swear by variations of fasting regimens.

There's the 5:2, where you eat what you want for five days of the week but restrict your calorie intake to just 500 a day for two "fasting" days, or the 16:8, which sees you eat within an eight-hour period, then fast for the remaining 16. There's also The 2 Meal Day— which, as the name suggests, requires eating just two meals in a day, and skipping either breakfast or dinner.

I've always struggled to stick to a strict diet. Restricting certain foods just makes me crave them even more, and calorie counting has always bored me. Advocates say that fasting can give you more energy, make you eat less, and even lose weight — so I was intrigued as to whether it would suit my lifestyle.

I made a small, manageable tweak to my daily routine by skipping breakfast each morning, thus creating a fasting window of between 15 and 16 hours a day. This meant eating my evening meal by 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. at the latest, and breaking my fast at midday each day. The plan was to do it for two weeks — but it turned into three.

Because I wasn't eating until noon, I had to rely on coffee to get me through the mornings — but my intake didn't change.

I normally eat breakfast every day, and I crave savoury food. I'll often take boiled eggs and avocados to work to eat with toast in the mornings. 

Many personal trainers have told me that they go big at breakfast, which is when they factor carbs into their day because they'll have the rest of the day to work it off. I'd often assumed that eating a bigger breakfast would make me eat less over the course of the day — although I'd never tested the theory.

On this trial I had to survive on coffee until 12 p.m. I usually drink at least one, usually two, coffees each morning, so I expected to be drinking a lot more while fasting. I was previously told that caffeine can be used as an appetite suppressant while fasting, but I found my coffee intake didn't really change at all.

This was perhaps because I was drinking almost a gallon of water a day.

While fasting I drank way more water than I usually do. On a normal day I was guilty of not always getting the advised two litres, but in this experiment I was drinking 1.5 to 2 litres of water in the morning before I had even broken my fast.

I'd continue drinking water throughout the afternoon, so I was drinking almost a gallon of water a day by the second half of my three-week trial. It's a habit that has stuck with me since.

• The average person gets between 65 and 80 phone notifications a day, according to research being conducted at Duke University that was presented at a recent American Psychological Association Conference.
• The researchers found that giving people notifications in three batches during the day made them happier than getting them normally, getting them once an hour, or turning them off completely.
• Turning notifications off completely made people feel stressed and worried about what they were missing.

After you feel a buzz in your pocket or see a flash on your phone, your attention is already fractured.

You could pick up your phone and see if what's called you away is something you really need to address immediately — or you could try and focus on your work, all the while wondering what you're missing out on.

Since it can take close to 25 minutes to get back on track after a distraction, according to researchers who study productivity, this is obviously a recipe for a distracted day where not much gets done.

Fortunately, we are learning better ways to handle smartphone notifications, according to research being conducted at Duke University's Center for Advanced Hindsight, which was presented by senior behavioral researcher Nick Fitz at a recent American Psychological Association conference.

Fitz and collaborators have found that batching notifications into sets that study participants receive three times a day makes them happier, less stressed, feeling more productive, and more in control. That works better than getting notifications normally, getting them once per hour, or even than blocking them of completely.

"Turning them off doesn't really work," Fitz said in a follow-up interview after the conference. "But we can [get notifications] in a smarter way."

So many notifications

For the particular study Fitz discussed at the conference, they analyzed the notifications that people got on their phones and found that the average person got between 65 and 80 notifications per day (people may check their phones more frequently, that's just the number of notifications that show up).

So for their study, for two weeks they had a control group check their phones normally, one group receive notifications in a batch every hour, another group that received three batches of notifications (at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m.), and one group that got no notifications.

While not receiving notifications people could check their phones normally but wouldn't see anything on their lock screen — the phone would ring for calls but not leave a "missed call" on the lock screen. The Duke team had a company called Synapse that's incubated at their startup lab build the app that regulated notifications. That team is currently working on an app to release to the public. (The study was conducted only with Android phones, since it wasn't possible to have that level of control over Apple devices for now.)

In general, people report that phone notifications make them feel stressed, unhappy, interrupted, and non-productive. That held true for the study control group. Receiving notifications even once an hour was so similar to this that it didn't make much of a difference.

Surprisingly for Fitz, turning notifications off completely didn't work either. People did feel that they checked their phones more "intentionally," which the researchers considered positive, but people were also anxious about what they were missing out on. It's possible that over a longer period of time, several months, people may have adjusted and enjoyed this experience more, according to Fitz. Or, perhaps a system that let some notifications through — emails from a boss or calendar reminders about important meetings — could have assuaged that anxiety.

But three batches of notifications seemed to be the sweet spot, with people feeling more productive, positive, and in control.

Building an even better system

According to Fitz, the ideal system would be context-aware — it would recognize the best times for a person to get a batch of notifications and might allow certain particularly important notifications through.

"Interruptions in general aren't great but it's better if they come at opportune times," said Fitz.

The ideal system might be location aware and give you your first batch of notifications as you arrive at work or hop on the subway, a second batch at the end of a lunchbreak, and a third batch as you head home for the evening. Perhaps emails might come through that way, but less-important notifications from Facebook would only be delivered once per day in the evening.

The fact that this worked was somewhat surprising for Fitz, as notifications are just one component that can add stress to complicated lives. But it turns out that even adding some element of control can really improve people's lives.

"It's not as if this is some panacea, we're not going to solve ADD with this," said Fitz. "But it certainly has an effect on people."

SEE ALSO: Night owls have a higher risk of dying than morning people, according to a study of nearly half a million people

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How humans evolved to become the best runners on the planet

If you're looking for a cheap beach holiday this summer, you should head to Bulgaria and Turkey, according to the 12th annual Post Office Travel Money Holiday Costs Barometer.

The ranking looked at the price of nine typical holiday items – a cup of coffee, a bottle of local beer, a Coca-Cola, a glass of wine, a bottle of water, suncream, insect repellent, a two-course lunch for two, and a three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine – in order to produce a total cost for a holiday in each European beach destination.

While the ranking doesn't include the cost of flights or accommodation, it gives an idea of the total cost of purchases UK tourists are likely to make in each popular beach spot.

Scroll down to see the 18 cheapest beach holiday destinations in Europe, ranked in ascending order by the total cost of typical holiday expenses.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 19 cheapest holiday destinations in Europe

18. Sorrento, Italy — £122.65 ($174.90).

Cup of coffee: £1.78

Bottle of local beer: £2.68

Coca-Cola: £2.23

Glass of wine: £2.68

Bottle of water: £0.89

Suncream: £8.92

Insect repellent: £7.14

Two-course lunch for two: £32.11

Three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine: £64.22

17. Ibiza, Spain — £117.91 ($168.14).

Cup of coffee: £1.34

Bottle of local beer: £3.12

Coca-Cola: £2.23

Glass of wine: £3.57

Bottle of water: £0.80

Suncream: £17.75

Insect repellent: £8.83

Two-course lunch for two: £16.05

Three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine: £64.22

16. Limassol, Cyprus — £116.71 ($166.43).

Cup of coffee: £2.68

Bottle of local beer: £2.68

Coca-Cola: £1.78

Glass of wine: £3.12

Bottle of water: £0.76

Suncream: £12.04

Insect repellent: £6.33

Two-course lunch for two: £23.10

Three-course evening meal for two with a bottle of house wine: £64.22

• Ritz-Carlton cruise ships are designed like yachts and come with 149 suites — each with their own private terrace — accommodating up to 298 guests.
• The Ritz-Carlton cruise line will begin sailing in 2020. 
• This May, reservations will be open to Ritz-Carlton reward members, and all others in June.

Last year the Ritz-Carlton Hotel revealed plans for a luxury cruise line, with three cruise ships set to begin sailing in 2020. This May, reservations will be open to Ritz-Carlton reward members, and all others in June 2018. 

Somewhere between a private super yacht and a small ocean liner, the Ritz-Carlton cruise ships will accommodate the "the 1% of global travelers," according to Bloomberg.

The new Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection is designed to defy all cruise ship stereotypes, with larger rooms, relaxing common spaces, and an on-board spa. The cruise ships boast 149 suites — each with their own private terrace — accommodating up to 298 guests. There will also be high-end dining options, including a restaurant from Sven Elverfeld of Aqua— the three Michelin-starred restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Wolfsburg.

"This unique combination of yachting and cruising will usher in a new way of luxury travel for guests seeking to discover the world," said Herve Humler, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in the press release.

Ahead, a look at one of the designs for the Ritz-Carlton cruise ship, created by the firm Tillberg Design of Sweden.

SEE ALSO: Forget the Four Seasons and The Ritz-Carlton: The most luxurious hotel brands in the world are ones you've likely never heard of

The Ritz-Carlton cruise ships will explore the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and New England. Trip itineraries will offer less time at sea, and more time to explore the smaller ports.

Unlike most cruises, rooms will not be called staterooms, but rather, suites. Each will have its own private terrace.

There will be 149 suites onboard, accommodating up to 298 passengers — as well as two 138 square-meter duplex penthouse suites.

• Costco products are famous for being bulk-sized and cost-effective.
• Business Insider reached out to Costco employees to find out what items they would never buy at the store.
• Most workers cited the chain's bulk sizes as the reason they'd skip over certain products — especially perishables.

Costco products are known primarily for their bulk sizes.

The retail chain is also famous for selling just about everything, from giant teddy bears to enough pizza slices to qualify as the 14th largest pizza chain in the US. There are always a few surprises thrown in with the staples, too.

But Costco employees themselves know firsthand which deals are worth it — and which are best to skip.

That's why Business Insider spoke with 27 Costco employees to learn what products they never buy at the store. Eight of those employees — who hailed from California, Kentucky, Nebraska, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio, and Florida — didn't have a response for us. They all said that they buy everything at the chain.

"I can honestly say I can't think of anything I wouldn't buy," a worker from Ohio told Business Insider. "Some items are out of my price range. But, if I had disposable income, I would buy everything from Costco."

Here's a look at which products other employees tend to skip:

SEE ALSO: Costco employees reveal the worst, grossest, and most bizarre things they've seen on the job

DON'T MISS: The best deals you can find at Costco, according to employees

DON'T FORGET: Why Costco food courts have charged $1.50 for hot dogs since 1985, according to employees

Protein powder, bars, or supplements

Produce

— a Costco worker from Idaho, an employee from Hawaii, and a worker from Minnesota, who added, "While our produce department is one of the best in the business, I personally don't eat veggies fast enough to buy in bulk."

Tires

— a Costco worker who just said they'd been working for the chain "too long"

The things we look for in an airline are usually comfort, good service, and good value — but a recent travel ranking also put the attractiveness of the crew at the top of the list.

Monocle's Travel Top 50 — an annual list selected by the magazine's editors — awarded Portugal's TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses) airline the accolade of "most handsome crew."

In the December/January edition of the magazine, Monocle wrote: "It feels a bit 1950s to be talking about attractive flight crew but let's be honest, who doesn't enjoy being served by a handsome fella with a nice smile and a twinkle in his eye?"

Scroll down for a look at what it's like to fly on TAP, which apparently has the most handsome crew in the world.

SEE ALSO: 10 easy ways to make a standard hotel room feel like a suite

This is TAP Air Portugal, the airline that was recently given the accolade of "most handsome crew" by Monocle.

Monocle's Travel Top 50 — an annual list selected by the magazine's editors of their "favourite fifty finds from the fast-moving world of travel" across 50 categories — awarded Portugal's TAP airline the accolade in the December/January edition of the magazine.

Founded in 1945, TAP — which has its hub in Lisbon — is Portugal's national airline, and it flies to numerous European and international destinations.

It's the only airline to connect London City Airport and Lisbon.

According to Monocle, the airline employs more than 2,800 people across its routes.

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At this point, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a lot of characters. Some might even say too many.

A lot of its heroes are pretty similar: men who are full of themselves, get superpowers (or great technology), become heroes, and go through a lot of personal growth (or not).

In anticipation of "Avengers: Infinity War," we ranked all the superheroes who have been main characters in their own movies, and significant side characters who have fought with the Avengers. 

In February, we ranked the MCU villains, and since they were all bad, the ranking wasn't as fraught. But this one was a little more tricky because the majority of the MCU heroes are compelling characters with many layers to unpack, who leave a lot to look forward to in every scene. But that doesn't mean that all of these MCU heroes are great. Some, like Hawkeye and Black Widow, are forgettable despite appearing in several films over nearly a decade. 

Here's our ranking of the MCU heroes, from worst to best:

SEE ALSO: The top 20 Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, ranked from worst to best

18. Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff — played by Aaron Taylor Johnson

Who? Quicksilver was Scarlet Witch's annoying brother, who Ultron killed during the Battle of Sokovia. He didn't even last an entire movie, and that's a good thing. He wasn't a fully fleshed-out character, and "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014) used this character in a much more clever way the same year. 

17. Tony Stark/Iron Man — played by Robert Downey Jr.

Flaws are good for any character, especially a superhero — and a lack of them is one of the reasons Superman is so hard to translate to the big screen. Tony Stark is probably the most flawed hero in the MCU, which was fun for a few movies, along with his one-liners. But over time, he became relentlessly arrogant, ignoring the needs of others unless they related to his need to feel glorified.

16. Hawkeye/Clint Barton — played by Jeremy Renner

The only thing that makes Hawkeye any different from arrow-slinging heroes like Legolas or Katniss Everdeen is that he has a secret family, which is not even a secret anymore because he introduced them to the Avengers in “Age of Ultron.” The most personality we’ve seen from Hawkeye was in “Captain America: Civil War” when he shows up out of retirement to help fight on team Cap. Why? We don’t know and probably never will.

• After an extended period of stagnation, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio, has seen significant growth in recent years under the Hall's CEO and president Greg Harris.
• Harris spoke to Business Insider about how the Hall has bloomed to become a "major international attraction," while generating an annual record of $199 million in economic impact to the region last year.

When Rock & Roll Hall of Fame CEO and president Greg Harris took on his job as the head of the renowned music foundation and museum in 2012, he saw significant room for improvement.  

For about the previous dozen years, attendance at the Hall's museum in Cleveland, Ohio, had been flat. Harris' predecessors, he said, were getting by managing expenses, but there was more that the museum could do to reach an international audience of music fans. 

"We dug in deep to better understand our customers, understand our different audience segments," Harris told Business Insider. "And then we started running after our targeted segments hard."

The Hall identified that prospective visitors wanted more immersive activities and more modern forms of storytelling, along with more of the museum's longtime staple of music artifacts.

Among its recent renovations addressing these goals, the museum opened a new exhibit last summer that included a state-of-the-art, three-screen theater, which premiered with the release of the final film from the late, Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme, a documentary about the Hall's induction ceremonies.

This week, tied to its latest induction ceremony on Saturday, the museum unveiled a renovated "Hall of Fame" floor and interactive voting stations for visitors to weigh in on the Hall's next class of inductees. 

Overall, the Hall's series of changes have proven to be a considerable success, as the museum's attendance has increased 64% over the four years since Harris implemented his plan in 2014. The Hall has also grown to be a greater boon to the Cleveland economy over the same period, with an estimated annual record of $199 million in economic impact generated for the region in 2017. 

While the Hall was gearing up to induct its 33rd set of artists on Saturday — a class of inductees that includes acts like Nina Simone, Bon Jovi, and The Cars — Harris spoke to Business Insider earlier this week about how the museum has grown to become a "major international attraction."

"In Cleveland, it's a jewel" 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened in Cleveland in 1995, after the city beat out several larger locations for the museum, including New York, San Francisco, Memphis, and Chicago, through a groundswell of local support and a multi-million-dollar investment from city officials. 

In Cleveland, just the 51st most-populated city in the US, the museum stands out in a number of ways.

While the Hall's distinct, modern architecture makes it a conspicuous sight in the city's skyline on the shore of Lake Erie, the museum's business has made a significant mark on Cleveland's economy for more than two decades — and particularly in recent years.

"We opened 22 years ago, and the initial investment to build the place was $92 million," Harris said. "We've returned that amount to the regional economy every year since opening. It's been a great investment for northeast Ohio, and a great draw for the region." 

But since 2014, when Harris instituted his targeted four-year plan to "spur growth and engagement" for the museum, he said the Hall has seen significant attendance growth and a furthered economic impact.

The museum's website touts an infographic on the Hall's estimated total economic impact of $199 million in 2017, a figure which includes nearly $60 million in wages generated to 1,872 jobs, and $127.4 million in visitor spending from an annual record of 568,000 visitors.

Harris, in calling the Hall one of Cleveland's "major international attractions," said that between 80 to 90 percent of the museum's visitors come from out of town.

"In Cleveland, it's a jewel," he said of the museum. "In a bigger market, we would be one of numerous attractions. But here, we've become symbolic as the signature piece for this city. When you walk through the airport in Cleveland, you know you're in the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." 

Finding success "through the power of rock and roll"

From its opening, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has benefited greatly from an inherent marketing edge: its access to the 323 legendary artists it has inducted.  

"One of the greatest advantages is having artists themselves telling your story. When you have U2 pushing out your message, or Pearl Jam pushing out your message," Harris said. "Or Ronnie Wood sharing it with all the Rolling Stones fans. That creates a great connection and relevance, and we do look to our inductees to help get the word out." 

With each annual induction class, the Hall becomes decked out with exclusive music artifacts from the inducted acts, including displays of performance outfits, instruments, and, specifically in the case of this year's induction, a notebook of Jon Bon Jovi's handwritten lyrics to his 1986 hit, "Livin' On a Prayer."

Each year's induction ceremony and performances are recorded by and later broadcasted on HBO, yet another outlet that Harris said has helped spread the word for the museum's goal to "engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll." 

When asked to name his single most memorable experience with an inductee over the course of his tenure, Harris instead listed a long series of induction performances he has witnessed from artists like Stevie Wonder, U2, and Bruce Springsteen.

"Though I might say, in Cleveland," Harris added, "in 2015, having Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney reunite on the same stage that they'd performed on 50 years earlier, in 1965, in Cleveland, was quite special."

SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

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• At Art Basel Hong Kong this year, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art held an exclusive, star-studded party to celebrate its presence at the premier art fair in Asia.
• The event was held at Hong Kong's Jumbo Kingdom, the world's largest floating restaurant, and featured an elaborate 1930s theme and storyline centered around the disappearance of the character Scarlett Li.
• I attended the party, which was full of stunning visuals, a brass funk band, classic dim sum appetizers, and impromptu performances from dancers and actors. 

Imagine Hong Kong in 1931 — the British still dominated the island, one of the few free ports in the world at the time. The alleys are lined with opium bars and courtesans and everyone dresses like Dean Martin or Suzie Wong.

That's the world the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) sought to conjure up at its most recent soiree celebrating the museum's presence at this year's Art Basel Hong Kong, the premier art fair in Asia for millionaire and billionaire collectors to buy and sell art.

LACMA has been working in recent years to become the authority on both classic and contemporary Chinese art, in an effort to become the "bridge between technology, entertainment, and culture in the United States and China."

LACMA's "In the Mood for LACMA: The Story of the Elusive Scarlett Li" party featured an elaborate theme and story centered around the disappearance of "the most legendary madam of the West Coast."

The star-studded event, held at Hong Kong's Jumbo Kingdom, the world's largest floating restaurant, featured a mix of celebrities, art world big shots, artists, collectors, and  — thanks to a last minute invite — yours truly. 

I attended to get an inside look at one of this year's most exclusive parties. It did not disappoint. 

SEE ALSO: Inside the secret masquerade yacht party that brings the wildest techies and Wall Streeters together for a night of debauchery

The party was located at the Jumbo Kingdom, a 62,000-square-foot floating restaurant off Hong Kong's Aberdeen Harbour. The restaurant, the largest of its kind, has long been an iconic part of the city frequented by celebrities, royalty, and politicians.

We were told to arrive on time, lest we miss "part of the odyssey," which promised to include period decorations and performances evoking the mysterious story of Scarlett Li. I must admit we arrived late. But from the line out front, it looked like we weren't the only ones.

To get to the restaurant, you have to take a ferry that looks like something out of a Hollywood Golden Age vision of Hong Kong. It fit the theme, which called for party attire that combined "old Hollywood glamour juxtaposed with Hong Kong heritage."

• Bluesound offers wireless, streaming speakers that compete with Sonos as a higher price point.
• I tested a speaker against my own Sonos system.
• The Bluesound Pulse 2 is a superb choice for about $700.

We're a Sonos family. After literally years of research, I took the plunge in 2017. My first speaker was a Play:5, and a few months ago, I added a Play:1. Another Play:1 and possibly a Play:3 are on the horizon.

But that doesn't mean my immersion in high-end, wifi-based home audio systems has ended. A while back, a company called Bluesound — owned by Canada-based Lenbrook Industries — sent me some speakers to try out. I spent my time focused on the closest competitor to my Sonos Play:5 and, due to various other responsibilities and Bluesound's patience, was able to engage in some pretty extensive A-B testing.

I won't beat around the bush. The Bluesound Pulse 2 is significantly better than the Sonos Play:5. I could hear the difference, vividly, every time I sampled the device's talents. 

The Pulse 2 is also $200 more expensive than the Play:5 — $700 versus $500 — and with an interface that's somewhat more difficult to use.

But if sound quality matters to you, the choice is easy: go with the Pulse 2. 

Bluesound is a great choice for hardcore audiophiles on a budget

Don't get me wrong; the sound quality of the Play:5 is exceptionally good. That's why I chose it, and in fact I briefly considered the Bluesound setup before making the Sonos leap. I don't regret my decision. Mostly.

But if you're just beginning your streaming odyssey and want to upgrade from rudimentary Bluetooth options (without losing Bluetooth as an option — the Pulse 2 offers it, while the Play:5 doesn't), there's no question in my mind that the Pulse 2 is worth an extra 200 bucks and then some.

What we're really looking at here is the difference between a system designed for audio enthusiasts who also appreciate Apple-like ease of use — Sonos — and a system engineered by audiophiles who didn't want to go entirely in the direction of majestic and very expensive setups like the Naim products I reviewed in 2016.

SEE ALSO: Sonos with Tidal is the best high-end, user-friendly wireless audio setup I've ever used

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This might come as a shock for those in the Northeast, but summer is just around the corner.

That means we're coming up on the multiplexes being filled with Hollywood's big blockbusters. 

In the coming months that includes titles like "Deadpool 2," "Solo: A Star Wars Story," and "Incredibles 2."

And we can't leave out the movie a decade in the making: "Avengers: Infinity War."

Here are 32 movies we think you should go out and see this summer:

SEE ALSO: 12 of the worst TV reboots of all time, ranked from bad to unbearable

April 27 - “Avengers: Infinity War”

You might have heard about this little movie. It has a few superheroes in it and they finally battle a big purple guy. Yes, it’s going to make a couple of dollars at the movie theaters. Get ready for the most ambitious crossover event in history.

May 4 - “Overboard”

The classic Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell 1987 romantic comedy gets a gender swap for its reboot, as Anna Faris plays the overworked employee of a spoiled Mexican playboy (Eugenio Derbez) who gets some payback when he gets amnesia after falling off his yacht.

May 4 - “Tully”

Jason Reitman reteams with "Young Adult" screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) and star Charlize Theron for his latest movie about a mother (Theron) who forms a unique bond with her nanny (played by Mackenzie Davis).

The director Jason Hehir spent over a year doing the ultimate deep dive into the life of the legendary professional wrestler Andre the Giant to separate the man from the myth for his HBO documentary, "Andre the Giant."

The journey took Hehir all over the globe and face-to-face with some of the biggest names in wrestling.

Business Insider talked to Hehir to break down some of the biggest revelations, talk  about his emotional encounter with Vince McMahon, and ask why the Samuel Beckett story isn't in the movie.

SEE ALSO: The 32 movies coming out this summer you can't miss

Finding Andre's real hometown.

Until the day "Andre the Giant" aired on HBO, the wrestler's Wikipedia page stated that he was born and raised in Grenoble, France. Like most of the world, whoever contributed that piece to his Wikipedia page thought the hometown given during his introduction to the ring was the truth. But that was just one of many inaccuracies about Andre Roussimoff.

Hehir discovered that Andre was born in Moliens, a small village of 40 people 6 miles outside Paris. The wrestling backstory of Andre's coming from Grenoble was created early in his wrestling career when he was touted by promoters as a friendly lumberjack found in the mountains.

"The most recognizable town in the Alps to a North American audience was Grenoble because they hosted the Olympics," Hehir said.

Once Andre's real hometown was discovered, Hehir and his crew traveled to Moliens with a few pictures of Andre with family friends.

"We literally went door-to-door and just walked the streets of that village showing these photos to people via a translator, because the people there spoke zero English," Hehir said.


They also found Andre's two brothers. One let Hehir and his crew into the family's home where Andre grew up, and there they found a treasure trove of old photos and wrestling memorabilia of Andre's that had never been seen by the public. They also filmed the giant chair for Andre in the kitchen, which is featured in the documentary. Andre's mother had it specifically made for him.

"Andre the Giant is a mythical character, but Andre Roussimoff is a mother's son, and she wanted him to be comfortable when he came home," Hehir said. "She had that made for him. He was still her baby though he could barely fit through the door."

Vince McMahon's emotional recollection of Andre.

One of the most shocking moments of the documentary is toward the end when the WWE owner Vince McMahon begins to choke up and hold back tears during an interview in which he discusses how much Andre meant to him and his company (despite the two having a falling out at the end of Andre's career).

Hehir said that wasn't the first time McMahon, known for his tough-guy swagger, showed a softer side in front of him.


"He got emotional when no cameras were there," Hehir said. "The first meeting I had with him I mentioned that Andre had a really close relationship with his daughter, and he got pretty emotional there."

Hehir said McMahon agreed to a 45-minute interview for the movie, with Hehir allowed to come back later in production to shoot any follow-ups. The 45-minute shoot turned into a three-hour interview.

McMahon getting emotional on camera was hard to film, Hehir said.

"Vince seemed to be trying to keep it together, and as an interviewer it's excruciating because your instinct is to turn the camera off," he said. "But you have a responsibility to the viewer to let them experience this feeling vicariously through the person who knows the subject well, so we included that in the film."

That was really Hulk Hogan's handwriting on the choreographed outline of his WrestleMania III match with Andre.

For wrestling die-hards, the recollections by Hulk Hogan of the lead-up to his match with Andre at WrestleMania III are something special. One great detail is his explaining how he wrote out the entire match on a yellow legal pad McMahon gave him when McMahon asked the wrestler how he thought the match should go down. Hogan scripted the entire match — but left how it would end empty for Andre to decide. Andre didn't reveal the ending until during the match, according to Hogan.


In the movie, while Hogan is telling the story, there are shots of yellow legal-pad sheets with handwriting on them. Hehir said that was really Hogan's handwriting of the match.


"That yellow legal pad is crucial to the telling of that story," he said. "But that has been long crumbled and thrown into the trash. Probably the night of the event. So for months I tried to get Hogan to re-create to the best of his recollection what he wrote down."

Hehir interviewed Hogan for the movie in April of last year. He said he finally got the pages from Hogan in the middle of December on the final day they could possibly get it in the movie before handing a finished version over to HBO.

"When we got it you could feel your heart beat opening the envelope," Hehir said. "I told Hogan even if he could write a few lines, we could shoot them really tight. He ended up writing all those pages you see in the shot — two single-spaced pages. And he wrote it as if he was in the moment, so if you freeze-frame it, you can see it says something like, 'Don't let Andre see this.'"

"Any of us could have written those pages and no one would know whose handwriting it was," Hehir continued. "But I just thought it would be a cool wink to people who do know this world that they would recognize Hogan's handwriting."

• A diet rich in vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats is increasingly being recognized as the healthiest for your brain and body.
• This diet is known by many different names — from "plant-based" to "Mediterranean" — and can come in a range of variations, but at its core, it is focused on veggies, protein, and healthy fats.
• In the latest issue of the Journals of Gerontology, researchers take an extensive look at the Mediterranean diet and suggest it could have some key benefits for healthy aging.

In a world dominated by celebrity fad diets that range from absurd, like Reese Witherspoon's alleged "baby-food diet," to absurdly unaffordable, such as the $200 "moon dust"-infused smoothie that Gwyneth Paltrow drinks, many people don't believe there's a single best diet for your health.

But a growing body of research suggests that a meal plan focusing on vegetables, protein, and healthy fats has key benefits for losing weight, keeping your mind sharp, and protecting your heart and brain as you age.

This type of eating regimen is called by many names and comes in many different iterations, from "plant-based" to "Mediterranean." Some people on the diet eat eggs and dairy, meat and fish, or all of the above; others are vegetarian and abstain from meat and animal products altogether.

At its core, however, most of these meal plans are very similar and have two main characteristics: they are rich in vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats and low in heavily processed foods and refined carbohydrates like white bread.

In the latest issue of the Journal of Gerontology, scientists outline six recent studies of one version of the diet— the Mediterranean meal plan — and suggest that the eating regimen is closely linked with a variety of beneficial outcomes. Positive impacts include healthy aging, better mobility, a lower risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, and improved cognitive functioning.

That comes on the heels of a recent preliminary study presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference, which took a deep dive into the potential benefits of two Mediterranean-style eating plans. The study looked at how the Mediterranean diet and the MIND diet (a version of the Mediterranean plan that focuses on "brain-healthy" foods) impact brain health overall.

Mediterranean and MIND for the mind

Eating like you live on the coast of Naples or Athens sounds intuitively appealing. Meals would include fresh fish, vegetables drizzled in olive oil, nuts, beans, and whole grains.

Recent research suggests that diets like these, which are also low in processed foods and red meat, are great for your brain and body — both in the near-term and into older age.

The MIND diet is catching researchers' eyes for its potential to benefit people who've survived a stroke. Just like the Mediterranean diet, the MIND diet emphasizes vegetables, seafood, olive oil, and wine. It puts added focus on green leafy veggies, berries, beans, whole grains, and poultry. Adherents to both plans limit or eliminate processed foods, pastries, sweets, anything fried, red meat, cheese, butter, and margarine.

In people who've survived a stroke — a severe episode that doubles the risk of developing dementia — the MIND diet may help slow cognitive decline, according to the most recent study. That finding builds on the conclusions from research published last summer in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and jibes with a series of six studies highlighted in the most recent issue of the Journal of Gerontology.

For the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers looked at data from close to 6,000 older adults. Participants were asked about their diet and the types of foods they ate or did not eat. Then researchers measured their memory and attention skills using reliable tests like word lists and backward counting exercises.

The researchers compared the participants' diets to how they performed on the cognitive tests. Those whose eating plans lined up with Mediterranean and MIND-style diets did significantly better than those on other types of diets.

In fact, the more closely aligned people's diets were with a Mediterranean-style plan, the lower their risk of scoring poorly on the brain tests.

"These findings lend support to the hypothesis that diet modification may be an important public health strategy to protect against neurodegeneration during aging," Claire McEvoy, the lead author of the paper and a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of California San Francisco, wrote in the paper.

Researchers still aren't sure why these type of eating plans appear to be so beneficial for the brain, but they have some clues.

Both diets are rich in antioxidants and two types of healthy fat: monounsaturated and omega-3 fatty acids. Previous studies have found a link between these ingredients and a reduced risk of dementia, as well as higher cognitive performance.

The green vegetables and berries emphasized in the MIND diet have also been shown to help protect against progressive loss of the structure or function of brain cells. This loss, known as neurodegeneration, is a key characteristic of diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

But plant-based diets aren't just good for the brain — they have key benefits for the body as well.

Why plant-based diets are good for the body

To keep your energy levels up and help you feel healthy in the long term, your diet needs to feed more than your stomach.

It has to satiate your muscles, which crave protein; your digestive system, which runs best with fiber; and your tissues and bones, which work optimally when they're getting vitamins from food.

A plant-based diet's combination of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins, and fats accomplishes that goal.

This balance is also key to keeping you full after a meal and energized throughout the day so you don't feel the need to overeat, Nichola Whitehead, a registered dietitian in the UK, previously told Business Insider.

"You need to have a balanced meal — things like whole grains, fiber, and vegetables — in order to sustain your blood sugar. Empty calories [like white bread or white rice] give a temporary fix," she said.

SEE ALSO: Americans have been making a huge diet mistake for 100 years — here's what they should do instead

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