NBC's huge bet on Megyn Kelly seems to be floundering, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint.

NBC paid a hefty $69 million salary (over three years) to lure Kelly from Fox News, but since then "her ratings declines and higher production costs have been a drag on a critical franchise for NBC," The Journal reports.

Her daytime show “Megyn Kelly Today,” which airs at 9 a.m., has seen underwhelming viewership, and her Sunday newsmagazine has been downgraded to "occasional prime-time specials."

The Journal called Kelly's $23-million-a-year contract a "throwback to the golden age of broadcast news," but how does it stack up next to other top TV hosts today?

In August, Variety compiled the biggest estimated annual salaries of reality, news, and talk show hosts. There were newbies to the game like Mike Meyers and Jamie Foxx, and big hitters like Ryan Seacrest, Ellen DeGeneres, and Judith Sheindlin (you know her better as Judge Judy).

Here were the top paid hosts, as estimated by Variety last summer (excluding Megyn Kelly):

Note: Some of these figures below include fees for producing and back-end compensation. 

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Mike Myers (“The Gong Show”) - $3 million

Jamie Foxx (“Beat Shazam”) - $ 3 million

Alec Baldwin (“Match Game”) - $3 million

• Donald Trump just feted French president Emmanuel Macron with a lavish state dinner in the White House.
• Four years ago, Barack Obama hosted Macron's predecessor François Hollande for a similarly fancy state dinner.
• The events were both opulent, but differed in a number of key ways.

Donald Trump wined and dined French president Emmanuel Macron at the White House last night.

But how did Trump's state dinner for Macron compare with the one their predecessors shared in 2014?

Well, for one thing, the state dinner that Barack Obama hosted for then French president François Hollande was far bigger. Around 350 people attended, and the event was held in a large tent on the South Lawn of the White House, CNN reported.

Trump's guest list was tighter, with about 150 attendees, Politico reported. As such, the celebrations were largely contained to the State Dining Room in the White House.

Back in 2014, the Washington Post reported that these diplomatic soirees can come with hefty price tags — up to $500,000. They're also traditionally planned with a ton of input from the first lady, so Michelle Obama and Melania Trump and their respective staffers deserve much of the credit for the two events.

Here's a quick breakdown of how Trump's state dinner compares to Obama's:

SEE ALSO: Trump and Macron are meeting up for a state dinner — here are 9 US presidents who previously hosted French leaders

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Trump broke with tradition by largely excluding everyone except for Republican-friendly figures

Obama's 2014 guest list was remarkable in one respect: the French president went stag.

Hollande's relationship with Valerie Trierweiler had just ended, so he opted to attend the event. solo.

The state dinner drew in attendees from a range of industries. Well-known figures like Elon Musk, Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jill Abramson, Jeff Zucker, Bradley Cooper, and J.J. Abrams all mingled with Hollande and the US president.

Obama also invited Republican politicians like Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor, and Bill Haslam, as well as figures from his own party like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

Trump didn't extend the same courtesy to most Democratic figures. CNN reported that Louisiana's Democratic governor John Bel Edwards did snag an invite, however.

Trump's guest list mostly featured notable figures in his own orbit — like first daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kusher, adviser Stephen Miller, CIA director Mike Pompeo, White House chief of staff John Kelly, and Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton. Other conservative icons included Rupert Murdoch amd Henry Kissinger made appearances.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was one notable exception.

Michelle Obama and Melania Trump both attended the event in style — but Obama's gown was likely much less expensive

At her husband's 2014 soiree, Michelle Obama wore a black and blue gown from designer Carolina Herrera. The dress was given as a gift to the first lady, and was estimated to have a price tag around $12,000.

The New York Times reported that Melania Trump's sequined silver dress was a haute couture Chanel gown, while Brigitte Macron donned a cream and gold Louis Vuitton number.

It's currently unclear how much their dresses cost — and whether or not they were gifts from the designers — although the Sidney Morning Herald reported that haute couture can run from $30,000 to $100,000.

On the other hand, Obama, Hollande, Trump, and Macron all went with black tuxes.

Obama's state dinner included more courses than Trump's

Both presidents decided to put out a menu that promised gourmet American cuisine with a French twist. The Obama administration's table decor featured a classic blue and white color palette, with gold highlights.

Unsurprisingly, the Trumps went with lots of gold.

Hollande and the Obamas tucked into four courses. Dishes included "American osetra caviar," "fingerling potato velouté," quail eggs, and a salad dubbed "the winter garden salad." Guests chowed down on a main course of dry-aged rib eye beef, and then wrapped up with a dessert of Hawaiian chocolate-malted ganache, served with vanilla ice cream and tangerines.

Meanwhile, at Trump's three course state dinner, "goat cheese gateau," "buttermilk biscuit crumbles," and "Carolina gold rice jambalaya" were all served up. The main course consisted of a rack of spring lamb, and desert featured crème fraîche ice cream and a nectarine tart, according to a menu obtained by CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller.

It's unclear whether or not the president took two scoops of the crème fraîche.

• Being nice at work seems like a no brainer, right?
• Well, if you're too friendly, you might end up holding yourself back in the workplace.
• Don't ever let people take advantage of your kindness in the office.

From a young age we're taught to play nice with others and treat people as we'd like to be treated.

As we get older, this mindset translates into how we behave at work. But is it possible to be too nice in the workplace?

Quora users discussed this question in the 2014 thread: "What are the disadvantages of being too nice to people?" As it turns out, the respondents found that there are quite a few ways that being overly friendly might be holding you back at work.

Business Insider rounded up some of the best answers to show how being too nice can backfire. To be clear, you shouldn't stop being friendly — just don't be afraid to stand up for yourself.

SEE ALSO: The personality trait most people see as a weakness may actually be a huge asset in business

You may seem boring

Being too nice can come across as passive and bland. "People will soon start finding you boring," said Manish Barnwal. It's great to be polite, but let your personality show.

People might not listen to you

"If you find it hard to say no, people will eventually assume you mean yes even when you say no, and repeatedly pester or coax you to do something you actually don't want to do," said Adrija Subramanian.

Coworkers will start to see you as someone who can't say no, and try and talk you into helping with everything — even when you have your hands full. 

Quora user Borang Touch agreed, noting that you'll start to attract the type of people who will guilt trip you when you say no to something.

People may take advantage of you

Some people might perceive your niceness as a sign of weakness, said Christopher Kosel. This leads them to believe that you won't stand up for yourself, so you'll be easy to manipulate. 

And once you start doing everything people ask of you, they'll come to expect it. "They'll just walk all over you!" said Quora user Niharika Kishore. "If once you give them the message 'it's okay,' they'll think it's their right to do that every time."

• Apple changed the design of the gun emoji into a squirt gun back in 2016.
• At the time, it was a controversial choice, but tech companies have since followed suit.
• The latest companies to redesign their gun emojis are Facebook and Microsoft, which announced the upcoming changes this week.

A small decision that Apple made back in 2016 has spurred a domino effect that has pushed some of its biggest competitors in the tech industry, including Samsung, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, to make changes to their platforms. 

We're discussing emoji, of course.

An update rolling out to Android users this week changes the gun emoji from a traditional, metal-and-bullets sort of gun into a squirt gun, according to Emojipedia, a widely respected emoji resource. 

Basically, it turns the emoji from a weapon into a toy. 

And none of it would have happened if Apple hadn't first decided to introduce the water pistol design back in 2016. 

"It was only after Apple went with their water pistol design that we started to see other vendors following suit," Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge told Business Insider. 

"Apple clearly has the most mindshare when it comes to emoji designs," he continued. 

Facebook will change its emoji 

Looking at a chart of the same emoji from six top tech companies, you can see that tech companies started following Apple's lead about a year after Apple made its change: 

There are two big tech companies left with the literal gun design, Facebook and Microsoft, but even that's changing.

Facebook plans to provide a new image for the gun emoji more in line with the Apple, Samsung, and Android images, a Facebook spokesperson told Business Insider. The change is going to be made in the interest of consistency, to prevent confusion, but the company plans to bring consistency across different tech brands up as a discussion topic with the Unicode Consortium, the organization that oversees emoji, the spokesperson said. 

Microsoft says it's "in the process of evolving our emojis to reflect our values and the feedback we've received." The company also tweeted out a preview of its new water-gun emoji as "a preview."

It's also worth highlighting that back in 2013, Microsoft was trying to make a ray gun emoji its default design, but it didn't catch on with the rest of the industry.

"While Microsoft was technically first with a non-weapon interpretation of this emoji, no other vendors followed their lead," Burge, the emoji expert, said. 

Activists discover the emoji

The design for the gun emoji first became a symbol for gun control in 2015, when an activist group started organizing gun control campaigns centered around the emoji.

In 2015, an anti-gun group called on Apple to completely delete the gun emoji from user keyboards. They were associated with New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, an activist group. 

Although the campaign called for Apple to remove the emoji, not redesign it, it can still be seen as a victory for the organizers of the campaign. 

"Of course, I do consider this to be a success for the 'Disarm the iPhone campaign' conducted in the summer of 2015 and I welcome the change," Leah Barrett, who was involved with the campaign, told Business Insider. (She lives overseas now; New Yorkers Against Gun Violence did not respond to an email.)

The campaign was designed to activate Americans to contact their elected representatives about the issue and to push for background checks and a ban on semi-automatic rifles. When Apple made the change to the emoji in 2016, some guns rights activists tried to organize a social media protest. 

"We of course understood that emojis per se don't affect the nation's level of gun violence. We used the ubiquitous pistol emoji as a way to bring attention to the gun violence crisis that kills over 36k and wounds over 89k Americans every year," she continued.

Gun violence remains a hot-button issue in the United States, especially after a recent rash of mass shootings. But still, the fact that the tech companies are changing a design — along with all the meetings and work that goes along with it — shows the level of consciousness that Silicon Valley now has about the issue.

Which emoji will I see?

Emoji is overseen by the Unicode Consortium, an organization that counts companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook as members.

Basically, it defines what an emoji is, and lets the companies design their own little pictures for each symbol, which is why each company has to come up with it's own gun emoji design.

So an emoji, like this one 🔫  , looks different on different platforms. It's sort of like how fonts are different on Microsoft Windows versus MacOS. 

But the difference between platforms can cause confusion if one person texts someone a message thinking they're sending a squirt gun and it comes out as a gun on the other side.

It's an issue Business Insider's Rob Price noted in 2016 when Apple first changed its emoji. "Apple, by changing an existing emoji's design so radically, could cause widespread confusion across platforms," he wrote. 

"And more worryingly, it will retroactively change the meaning of countless historic messages and texts — setting a dangerous precedent with unpredictable results," he continued.

Even though Google and Samsung have changed their emoji designs, many of their users are on older software, meaning that emoji miscommunications can still happen. The new Android squirt gun comes with the latest version, which less than 5% of users are currently have installed — so even though all the big tech companies seem to be converging on the same meaning, there's still a chance for miscommunication. 

"For Android, many users are still seeing Android designs from 2016. The same goes for Samsung," Burge said. 

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Erica Garza is a recovering sex addict.
• In her new book, she details many of the experiences that led up to her realising she had a problem.
• She used to prioritise staying at home watching porn over leaving the house, and sought out a string of partners for unprotected sex.
• Ultimately, she struggled to separate pleasure and shame.
• She told Business Insider there are many misconceptions about sex addiction.
• For example, it's not just men who have it — it affects nearly as many women.
• Also, you don't have to have been through any sort of trauma to develop a sex addiction.

Having a string of partners and watching hours of porn isn't necessarily the way to achieve sexual liberation. While many people are empowered by owning their own sexuality in this way, for some, it can mean the exact opposite. Rather than enjoyment and affection, sex can be intertwined with shame and used as a weapon on the path to self destruction.

For Erica Garza, life was about pursuing romantic partners, watching porn, and putting herself in potentially dangerous situations, all for the sexual release that helped her forget about everything else she was trying to ignore.

"The best way to put it is just feeling a lack of a powerlessness and a lack of control when it comes to expressing your sexuality," she told Business Insider.

In her book "Getting Off: One Woman's Journey Through Sex and Porn Addiction," Garza, 35, tells her story of how she would continually cancel plans to stay in a dark room and masturbate, and have strings of partners who she didn't use protection with.

Sex and shame were so fused together, she would seek out situations that she thought were "revolting," and other adjectives like it, just to be able to orgasm. Unprotected sex, for example, gave her an extra charge of adrenaline.

"I felt like I needed to have a combination of shame and pleasure in order to feel satisfied with a sexual experience," Garza said. "And so if I didn't use protection, it was something I felt really bad about because I knew I should be treating my body better. I knew that something could happen, and I couldn't believe I was putting myself in those destructive situations — but it felt too good not to."

Women are nearly just as likely to be sex addicts as men

Garza's book has received a lot of publicity since it was released, largely because it provides a side of sex addiction many people haven't previously been made aware of. Women in particular are thought to be under-represented in seeking help for sex addiction because of the stigma and shame they may feel about it. In fact, a third of all sex addicts are women— but this figure is thought to be lower than reality.

Also, in the media it's almost always a man who claims to be going to rehab for a sex problem, like Harvey Weinstein did last year.

After all, going to a Times Square peep show and slipping a woman $20 notes isn't something people often associate with women — but that was one of the many ways Garza escaped from life.

She said women probably have an extra layer of shame if they are addicted to sex, or even in relation to sex in general. It's still something of a taboo to be a woman who needs, or even just likes, sex.

"Because of that idea that men want sex more, when women don't fit that narrative, they feel bad about it," Garza said. "We know the language that we have associated in our culture with women who have a lot of sex. We use terms like 'sluts' and 'whores,' while with men we just shrug it off and say that's normal. It's just 'boys being boys,' that sort of mentality. And I'm really hoping my story is going to open that up a bit more."

Another common misconception about sex addiction is that you have to have gone through some sort of trauma early on in your life. For Garza at least, that wasn't the case at all. She grew up in a Catholic Latino household, which meant sex was very much off the table as a conversation topic, leading her to associate it with more shameful feelings. But all in all, Garza was raised in a safe, supportive home and she felt loved and cared for.

"When your story doesn't sit into that narrative of trauma or sexual abuse, you feel this extra layer of shame because you feel like you can't talk about it," she said. "Like your pain isn't justified. And I don't think anything diffuses shame more than being able to talk about it."

Like all teenagers, Garza did face her own struggles with self-esteem. For example, she was diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear a back brace for two years, which made her feel really insecure and self-conscious. She found that if she watched more porn and masturbated, she could get a break from those feelings. After that she continued using sex as a crutch, until she was truly ready to face everything.

Sex addiction has its skeptics because it's hard to define

Unlike other addictions, like heroin or alcohol, you don't have to go cold turkey to recover from a sex addiction. You don't have to stop having sex or even watching porn. It's more about developing a healthier relationship with sex, and learning not to use it in destructive ways.

"I think a lot of people who go into a 12-step program are so scared they'll go back into their old patterns of behaviour, they cut themselves off completely," Garza said. "That's not living either. That's not happiness either. And that becomes a whole other problem. It's a lot more about finding balance and forging a new pathway with your sexuality rather than giving up sex completely."

Finding this balance was one of the most challenging parts of Garza's recovery, particularly when it came to setting her own boundaries and stepping over them occasionally. But over time, she began to realise it wasn't her sexuality that was the issue. It was the shame, the lies, and putting herself in unnecessary danger.

Because sex addiction is so completely personal and different for everyone who suffers with it, it is a hard thing to define. Garza said this is probably why there is doubt in the psychological community that it exists at all. But, she said, this isn't really the point.

"I think that's unfortunate, because its a hard thing for a person to admit that they have a problem with sex," she said. "Saying it doesn't exist just makes people feel like they should just stop talking about it, and they don't have a problem, and they don't know how to change. They cant take any actions to change because there's no context for helping them."

Once someone can admit to the problem, there are resources available. By taking that off the table and saying it doesn't exist, people don't know what to do for help.

As certified sex addiction treatment specialist Robert Weiss told me in a previous article, when a person comes into treatment, that individual is in crisis. As a therapist, it is his duty to do what he can to help, regardless of definitions or how they have gotten to that point.

"Is the client coming to treatment in an attempt to appear sympathetic, or does he really want help? I say who cares," he said. "Whatever it is that motivates the client to enter treatment, once [they are] there, we can perform a clinical assessment to see and understand what we're really dealing with, and we can implement a treatment plan to help the individual based on that."

Research has shown that the part of the brain associated with reward is activated in the same way whether you are addicted to anything; cocaine, food, gambling, or sex.

"It's just the way of using a normal human behaviour in a destructive way," Garza said. "And fine, if they want to say sex addiction doesn't exist, then I think we need to call it something else. I think there needs to be a larger conversation to explain how people feel powerlessness with their sexuality in some ways and they engage in destructive behaviours in a compulsive way."

Recovery is an ongoing process

Garza is now happily married with a young daughter. She said she plans to be incredibly open with her daughter about sex in the future, so she can always come to her with questions when she's making the same discoveries Garza felt she had to hide away from and feel ashamed of.

"I don't want to be a source of shame for her. I don't want to be a source of silence. She's going to get that from the world around her and I don't want to be that place for her," Garza said. "I'm certainly going to be as honest and open as I can be with her, and just be real."

Hopefully this means she will grow up knowing she is worthy of pleasure and desire isn't a bad thing, she said. Unfortunately, a sex-positive upbringing is something people in even the most progressive societies can struggle with. It may take a while for parents to openly discuss the existence of porn with their adolescent children.

Nonetheless, the conversation is broadening, and Garza is playing her own part in that. She's grateful for how her recovery has gone, but it's an ongoing process, and there have been stumbles along the way.

"I do feel like I'm in a much better place, because when I feel triggered, I don't feel the need to just destroy my life again," she said. "I don't need to just close the shades and binge on porn.

"I'd rather talk about my feelings and talk about whats triggering me and what I'm feeling... I keep taking steps in that direction of revealing and being vulnerable, and that's being the biggest help, rather than closing off and shutting down — which I used to do."

SEE ALSO: Sex addiction might not be a real condition — here's why

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Bed Bath & Beyond has been struggling to keep up with competition, while The Container Store has been slowly working to improve its sales, according to Retail Dive.
• The stores have a few obvious differences, with Bed Bath & Beyond having more bedding, decor, and personal care, while The Container Store has a greater focus on custom closets and storage solutions. 
• After visiting both stores, we found that beyond the obvious differences, The Container Store ultimately has a better variety of the products it carries and is much easier to shop at than Bed Bath & Beyond. 

Bed Bath & Beyond and The Container Store have championed the art of organization, selling everything from kitchenware to clothing storage and are known for their endless solutions to combat clutter.

But both retailers have faced challenges recently. 

Bed Bath & Beyond stock plunged more than 18% after the company reported disappointing 2018 guidance last Thursday. Also last week, the credit-ratings agency Standard & Poor downgraded its bonds to the lowest level still considered investment grade, according to CNN Money. Retail experts say the biggest issue may be with Bed Bath & Beyond's stores — "Too many of Bed Bath & Beyond's stores — especially older ones — are a mess," Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, wrote in an email to CNBC. 

The Container Store is doing slightly better than Bed Bath & Beyond — as reported by Retail Dive, in late 2017 there was an increase in both net sales and same-store sales, and the company has been actively working to improve its web presence. The stores themselves have not received the same harsh criticisms as Bed Bath & Beyond stores have.

We shopped at both stores to see which retailer was better — here's what we found: 

SEE ALSO: We shopped at Sephora and Ulta to see which was a better beauty store — and the winner was clear

The first store I visited was Bed Bath & Beyond in NYC's Tribeca neighborhood.

This particular location was only one floor. 

The customer service center was immediately next to the entrance. Bed Bath & Beyond allows returns of almost any product at any time, with or without a receipt, for a refund.

Without any record of a purchase, customers can get an 80% refund. The customer service center also had a station for online order pick-ups.

The kitchen department was the first section of the store. It was very well labeled and organized, despite reports saying that Bed Bath & Beyond stores tend to be a mess.

I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of everything there was — merchandise was stacked from floor to ceiling in almost every part of the store.

• Hodlmoon makes $59 "ugly sweaters" emblazoned with the logos of popular cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
• The garment is becoming the unofficial uniform for crypto investors.
• After launching last October, Hodlmoon sold more than 2,000 ugly sweaters and generated approximately $200,000 in revenue in 2017.

You might have guessed that the business at UglyChristmasSweater.com is seasonal, but there's one garment that's keeping the fashion faux pas in style year-round.

Fully-knit sweaters emblazoned with the logos of popular digital currencies, including bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin — known as "ugly crypto sweaters" — are sweeping the online crypto community. Their maker, Hodlmoon, a spinoff of UglyChristmasSweater.com, sold more than 2,000 sweaters in 2017.

Long after the holiday office parties ended, crypto investors are still sharing photos of the garment on Twitter. 

We talked to the sweater's creator to learn how the unofficial crypto-uniform came to be.

Hodlmoon was born out of a crypto-buying frenzy

Zac Cohen, a web developer at UglyChristmasSweater.com, said he got the idea for bitcoin-themed sweaters after he turned a $100 investment in bitcoin into $5,000, as the price per coin soared. He bought one bitcoin in 2013, because he said the basic math behind it made sense to him.

Like gold, bitcoin has a limited and finite supply. Because there will only ever be 21 million coins, people buy bitcoin with the expectation that its value will increase as supply decreases.

"I was just like, I'm going to buy one so I can say I have one of 21 million,'" Cohen said.

He watched the price per coin rise steadily until last summer, when bitcoin began to gain hundreds of dollars in value by the day. Suddenly, bitcoin was everywhere, he said. Bullish investors and mainstream media attention ensured that pretty much everyone heard about bitcoin. A buying frenzy around the digital currency ensued, sending the price sky-high.

Cohen saw a business opportunity for UglyChristmasSweater.com in the chaos. He pitched the idea of ugly bitcoin-themed sweaters to the company's owners, brothers Fred and Mark Hajjar.

The unofficial uniform for bitcoin boosters

The Hajjars gave Cohen creative control over a spinoff company that specializes in fully-knit sweaters emblazoned with the logos of popular cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum and Litecoin. They called it Hodlmoon.

("Hodl" means to stay invested in cryptocurrency and resist selling when the price slides. If an investor holds, their investment might spike in value "to the moon," as the saying goes.)

"It's everyone's hope," Cohen said. "That's what I've been doing. So far so good."

After the first samples came back from the company's manufacturing facility in China, he shared a photo of the sweaters branded with bitcoin and Ethereum logos to Reddit. It shot to the front page of the site and received over 2,000 "upvotes," Reddit's rough equivalent of "likes."

During the first weekend of online sales in October, Hodlmoon sold 200 sweaters.

The company went on to sell over 2,000 sweaters in 2017, before it completely sold out about two weeks before Christmas. The sweaters retail for $59.99, generating roughly $200,000 in revenue in fewer than three months. Hodlmoon accepts credit and cryptocurrency as payment.

Even Dmitry Buterin, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and father of Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, sports Hodlmoon's Ethereum-themed sweater in his Twitter profile picture.

Cohen said the sweater's success stems from a passionate community of crypto investors.

"It's a niche inside a niche," he said.

SEE ALSO: After making a fortune in bitcoin, this 28-year-old realtor became a rapper known as CoinDaddy

Join the conversation about this story »

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• Combat sports are more popular than ever in the fitness world.
• Boxing is on the radar of most mainstream gym-goers these days, but kickboxing classes are also on the rise.
• We visited a boutique kickboxing studio in central London to put the workout to the test.
• Flykick's founders spoke to Business Insider about the muscles you work in a kickboxing class compared to boxing.
• Scroll down for our verdict.

Boxing was one of the biggest fitness trends of 2017 — and if you're partial to throwing a punch or two on the bag, then you might want to give kickboxing a go.

Its champions say you'll get a better full body workout and ultimately burn more calories in a kickboxing class — so we went to Flykick, a new pay-as-you-go kickboxing gym that recently opened in Central London, to see how it compares to boxing.

The gym is owned by American former venture capitalist Charlie Kemper and Irishman Ben Leonard-Kane, an ex-management consultant and COO.

The pair, who had both been practising kickboxing or Muay Thai for a number of years, left the corporate world to embrace their passions for fitness.

They've also brought Greg Wootton, a professional Thai boxer and two-time world champion, on board as a coach.

Boxing vs. kickboxing

Thanks to the likes of the Victoria's Secret crowd, boxing is on the radar of most mainstream gym-goers these days. Many celebrities and influencers claim it's the best way to get shredded.

However, Leonard-Kane argues that you'll gain significantly more from a kickboxing class.

When you first start out boxing, you won't initially get a good full body workout, he said. "Obviously the conditioning side of it it is, but you’re not kicking, and you're probably not transferring your weight properly. You're not ducking shots, so your legs aren’t getting a workout.

"From day one here, even if you haven’t done a kickboxing class before, your legs are going to get a good workout. If you're standing on one leg, you're strengthening that leg, and kicking with the other — you're engaging all of the big muscles in your legs, the quads, glutes, hamstrings, that are much bigger than the muscles in our upper body."

Three classes in one

As with many boutique boxing classes, Flykick's 55-minute session is divided into sections, in this case three.

You begin with a high-intensity-interval training session — which is like a hard HIIT class in and of itself. Think one-minute non-stop tuck jumps, then another of burpees, and another of squat jumps — the jumping is relentless.

Once you've got your heart racing – which trust me, you will – it's eight minutes of flow before hitting the bag.

"Stretching is the element that gets neglected most in high-intensity workouts because people put it at the end," said Leonard-Kane. "People nip out because they want to be the first in the showers. I've put it in the middle so it's compulsory. You can't miss it by coming in late or leaving early."

He added that it's particularly important to stretch your legs properly if you're kicking at rib height, but that it also allows for social interactions: "I can't ask you what you did at the weekend when I'm asking you to do one minute of burpees!"

They also throw a mini-ab burning circuit in right at the end, just for fun.

Disguising the burn

Kickboxing is very core-centric, added Kemper. He says you spend most of the class engaging your abs like you would in a plank, but you last longer because you're kicking and punching, which in turn distracts you from how much you're working the core, "try holding a plank for 55 minutes," he said.

"It’s just disguised," Leonard-Kane went on. "You're standing on one leg and rotating the weight of your body around that one leg. It’s almost impossible to do an isolated core exercise that's going to pull in so many muscle groups."

He added that everyone will come out of a kickboxing class feeling different little muscles that they never knew they had.

The personal touch

With the added kicks, there's more choreography to learn in a kickboxing class than your average boxing class.

And Leonard-Kane and his team of trainers are meticulous about correcting your moves. They man each class with at least two trainers, to the point where after a few 2.5 minute rounds on the bag, you might actually start to dread seeing the blue vested-instructor approach you.

"Learning a skill is what makes young professionals tick," Leonard-Kane said. "That's why we'll always have two to three instructors in a class, to actually give people at least one, if not two, meaningful interactions while they're on the bag to help them progress — that's a real USP for us.

Kemper added: "If someone can give you one tip every class, you’ll want to come back for one more tip next time."

'When you strike something, it feels good'

Leonard-Kane says that as you learn the craft, the class will become more enjoyable.

"Once you put a bit of concentrated effort into getting the basics right, when you learn to transfer your weight you’ll be able to hit harder, which is enjoyable and a stress release. It also makes you stronger and means you're burning more calories — it’s all self-propelling."

"And kicking is fun," Kemper added. "Even if you’re not doing it right, football is built around people kicking a ball because when you strike something it feels good. A lot of people [that come here] say they've never kicked something before."

Our verdict?

When I put the class to the test, I found it challenging. The kicks make the sequences trickier to get a hang of, and coordination really is key, so it might be easier if you've done a few boxing classes to begin with.

The class felt much longer than my usual HIIT class — which admittedly is only 30 minutes — and I was definitely worked harder than I have been for a while in a class. There was no slacking allowed!

I saw a few seemingly fit men and women taking breaths with their heads in their hands or leaning on the walls in between pounding the bag — so I certainly wasn't alone.

But the following day I could feel muscles in my back that I haven't felt since the time I kayaked down a river for four hours straight— and my glutes and backs of my legs felt noticeably tighter after just one session.

I'll be back — but maybe after a few more boxing classes, to get a grounding first.

SEE ALSO: The personal trainer brothers of Jourdan Dunn and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley share the single most important thing you should do after a workout

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Google, Apple, and Amazon are in a war that no one will win

• President Donald Trump said he gave first lady Melania Trump "a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers" for her 48th birthday on Thursday.
• Trump fretted during a "Fox & Friends" interview that he would get in trouble for the simple gift, and said, "maybe I didn't get her so much."
• Trump may not need to worry — the simple card-and-flowers combination is a popular gift presidents give to their first ladies.

President Donald Trump fretted during a Thursday morning "Fox and Friends" appearance about his birthday gift to first lady Melania Trump, which he admitted he was too busy to buy.

At the beginning of the interview, Trump even suggested that the Fox News appearance itself might be considered a gift.

"I picked a very, very special day because it's Melania's birthday," he said. "So I said, 'Let's do it, on Melania's birthday,' so Happy Birthday to Melania."

When host Brian Kilmeade asked Trump to share the gift he'd chosen, Trump paused for a moment.

"Well I better not get into that, because I may get in trouble," he said. "Maybe I didn't get her so much … You know, I'm very busy to be running out looking for presents, okay?"

But Trump added that he got her "a beautiful card and some beautiful flowers," before praising his wife for orchestrating Tuesday's state dinner, which honored the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.

"And she did a fantastic job with France. I'll tell you what, the people of France are just — were spellbound with what happened with their great president who just left, Emmanuel," Trump said.

But Trump may not need to worry after all — the card-and-flowers combination is a popular birthday gift for first ladies.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, for instance, received that exact gift from her husband on her 54th birthday in January. Judging from this Instagram photo, she loved it:

SEE ALSO: Melania Trump wore a huge white hat for the French president's arrival ceremony — and people are freaking out and comparing her to Beyoncé

DON'T MISS: Melania Trump and French First Lady Brigitte Macron seem to be coordinating their outfits — and it's an unusual show of unity for the Trump White House

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NOW WATCH: Stop blaming violent video games for mass shootings

After Kanye West posted a series of tweets on Wednesday in which he voiced support for President Donald Trump, several prominent musicians criticized or unfollowed West on Twitter.

Drake, Rihanna, and The Weeknd were among the many artists who unfollowed the rapper, according to the Twitter analytics app Does Follow.

In his tweets, West called Trump his "brother" and posted a picture of himself wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat.

Chance the Rapper, who frequently collaborates with West, also drew criticism from left-leaning fans for being one of the few artists to defend West amid the controversy and for tweeting: "Black people don't have to be democrats."

Here are some of the artists who unfollowed West soon after his tweets about Trump.

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

Drake

Unfollowed West on Thursday.

Rihanna

Unfollowed West on Thursday.

Nicki Minaj

Unfollowed West on Thursday.

• The family of DJ and producer Tim Bergling, aka Avicii, has released a statement implying his death was a suicide.
• Bergling was found dead at age 28 in Muscat, Oman, on Friday.
• The statement reads: "He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace."
• He had previously warned he was "going to die" in a documentary released in October.

The family of DJ and producer Avicii, who was found dead in Muscat, Oman, last Friday at the age of 28, has issued a statement implying his death was a suicide.

Variety published the statement, which says the DJ, full name Tim Bergling, "could not go on any longer" and "wanted to find peace."

Here's the statement in full:

Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions.

An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress.

When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most – music.

He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness.

He could not go on any longer.

He wanted to find peace.

Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight.

Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed.

The person you were and your music will keep your memory alive.

We love you,

Your family

While a representative did not immediately reply to Variety's request for clarification, the statement's original wording in Swedish reportedly made the implication of suicide "more overt."

Avicii had previously warned that he was "going to die" in a documentary released in October.

He had retired from touring in 2016, citing a series of health concerns that included acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking.

In a documentary titled "Avicii: True Stories," released in October last year, he also repeatedly warned that the touring lifestyle was going to kill him — but that he was being pressured to continue.

The family's previous statement, issued Monday, had said: "We would like to thank you for the support and the loving words about our son and brother. We are so grateful for everyone who loved Tim’s music and have precious memories of his songs."

An official police report and cause of death have not yet been released.

SEE ALSO: DJ and producer Avicii warned 'I'm going to die' in a documentary released 6 months before he was found dead at 28

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NOW WATCH: This incredible animation shows how humans evolved from early life

Melania Knavs came to New York in the '90s to pursue a career in modeling. Little did the 26-year-old know, she would soon cross paths with the famous real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Although she was wary at first of entering in a relationship with Trump considering his reputation as a womanizer, Knavs fell in love with "a real man." Seven years later, they married. Today, she is the first lady of the United States.

Here's a look at the 13-year marriage of America's first couple:

SEE ALSO: The mysterious life of first lady Melania Trump, a former supermodel who is the subject of fashion scandals and bizarre conspiracy theories

DON'T MISS: Inside the marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates, who met at work, live in a $124 million home, and will leave their children only a small fraction of their fortune

Trump met Melania at a party during New York's Fashion Week in September 1998. He was 52; she was 28.

Source: Vanity Fair

He came to the party with another woman, but reportedly talked to Melania while his date was in the bathroom.

Source: GQ

After seeing Melania for the first time, Trump said he "went crazy." He asked for her number, but she asked for his number instead.

Sources: CNN, Vanity Fair

• Amazon's second headquarters will drive up housing costs. 
• Some cities will be hit harder than others, according to a new analysis by Zillow. 
• In Nashville, rents would rise 3.3% next year, about four times faster than currently projected. That translates into about $49 more monthly on Nashville's median rent of $1,497.
• Amazon's second headquarters will drive up housing costs. In Los Angeles, rents would rise 4.9%, or $52, on top of the expected increase of 3%, or $82, for those paying the city's median rent of $2,746.

Amazon is expected to bring skyrocketing housing costs along with the thousands of high-paying jobs it's promising to the city it selects as the home of its second headquarters.

If the new campus is built in Nashville, rents would rise 3.3% next year — about four times faster than currently projected, according to a new analysis by the real estate site Zillow. That translates into about $49 more monthly on Nashville's median rent of $1,497.

In Los Angeles, rents would rise 4.9%, or $52, on top of the expected increase of 3%, or $82, for those paying the city's median rent of $2,746.

The increases in rental costs will kick off next year, assuming Amazon starts hiring for its second headquarters in 2019, a Zillow spokeswoman told Business Insider. 

Here's how much annual rental costs will increase for each city next year if it wins the contest for Amazon's second headquarters. The dollar value shown is how much rent will increase on an annual basis, according to each city's median rent.

SEE ALSO: Amazon now lets shoppers track the exact location of delivery drivers in a 'creepy, but convenient' map

Atlanta: 3.6% ($602 increase)

Median rent: $1,394

Rent forecast in 2019: 3.2% ($45 more monthly)

Rent forecast with HQ2: 3.6% ($50 more monthly)

Austin: 1.5% ($303 increase)

Median rent: $1,686

Rent forecast in 2019: 0.7% ($12 more monthly)

Rent forecast with HQ2: 1.5% ($25 more monthly)

Boston: 5% ($1,423 increase)

Median rent: $2,371

Rent forecast in 2019: 3.6% ($85 more monthly)

Rent forecast with HQ2: 5% ($119 more monthly)

• There are powerful health benefits associated with fasting, including disease-fighting changes in the body, weight loss, and potential anti-aging effects.
• To get the health benefits of fasting without cutting food out entirely, one anti-aging researcher has designed a diet where people dramatically reduce their caloric intake for five days at a time and only eat specific meals for those days.
• The idea behind this "fasting-mimicking diet" is for people to see the same changes in their bodies that they would if they fasted for those five days.
• Meal kits designed to give people the right ratio of nutrients for their fasting-mimicking days are expensive, costing between $250 and $300.

When people stop eating for a time, it triggers physical changes in the body.

Going without food for too long is, of course, dangerous — or fatal. But the potential health benefits of fasting go beyond weight loss. The practice may stave off some of the effects of aging, prolonging life and preventing diseases including some forms of cancer.

Those observed health effects have led many people to try eating regimens like intermittent fasting — in which people go without food for 12 to 18 hours in a day or for 36 hours each week.

But as beneficial as fasting might be, it's hard to do. Even intermittent fasting schedules are inconvenient and hard to adhere to over time. Plus, medical professionals generally don't recommend that people go days without eating. 

To help people achieve the benefits of fasting while still letting them eat normally most days, Valter Longo, the director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, has designed a diet called the "fasting-mimicking diet." This plan lets people eat what they want most of the time, but every so often, they're supposed to cut calories drastically and eat a specific blend of nutrients for five days.

Through a company called L-Nutra, Longo sells what he calls the ProLon meal kit, which he says his research indicates has the right mix of nutrients to mimic the effects of fasting. Eat set of meals costs between $250 and $300, depending on how many kits are purchased at a time.

According to a report in Bloomberg, more than 52,000 people have tried ProLon so far. But whether purchasing a meal kit is necessarily better than other fasts — or whether it really has the long-term health effects Longo and others hope — is not yet proven.

What's in the box

The ProLon meals are plant-based and low-protein — the kit includes soups, bars, crackers, olives, drinks, and supplements. The meals are designed to theoretically trick your body into going into "fasting mode" while still getting some food.

The exact foods can vary depending on the weight of the subject, but the basic idea is that people consume approximately 1,100 calories the first day and 750 calories on days two through five.

In one study of the diet, participants consumed 1,090 calories on day one (10% protein, 56% fat, 34% carbohydrate). For days two through five they consumed just 725 calories (9% protein, 44% fat, 47% carbohydrate). Most of those carbohydrates came in the form of vegetables.

In a story for Stat, Usha Lee McFarling detailed exactly what she ate during the five days of the diet.

Her meals included nut bars, olives, kale-and-seed crackers, "choco-crisp" desserts, and soups with tomato, quinoa, and vegetables.

Beverages included spearmint and hibiscus tea and a kind of energy drink.

Worth it?

The fasting-mimicking diet is supposed to be about more than weight loss. The goal is that by affecting various biological pathways, especially one called insulin-like growth factor-1, or IGF-1, people can better regulate blood sugar and gain some protection from cancer and other diseases.

But more research is needed before scientists can definitively say that this diet — or any fasting diet — reduces risk factors for these diseases over the long term.

The data that exists so far is promising, though. Human trials of the fasting-mimicking diet have shown that at least in the short term, risk factors for disease seem to go down, people lose weight and fat, and the diet appears to be safe.

Longo previously told Business Insider that he thinks this sort of fasting regimen should become part of medical care, the sort of thing your insurance might cover. (For now, people are supposed to get approval from a dietitian or medical professional before purchasing ProLon.) 

But at the current price point, the ProLon meal kits are not affordable for many people. More research will be needed to tell if this sort of fast can truly transform health.

SEE ALSO: A world-record holder who runs 100-mile races says the high-fat diet Silicon Valley loves transformed his body and performance

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NOW WATCH: Animated map of Mars reveals where humans should build the first Martian cities

• The keto diet recommends foods high in fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrates.
• Having struggled with weight and weight-related health problems the majority of her life, author Jennifer Still was looking to shed some pounds and restore her health with the keto diet.
• After four years, the keto diet has not only helped Still lose weight, but it also changed her life in a variety of ways — here's how.

I've struggled with my weight for the majority of my life. About four years ago, I was looking to make a permanent change that would not only help me shed pounds but also restore my health without being unsustainable, harmful, or faddish. That's when I first discovered the ketogenic — or "keto" — diet, which prescribes a diet of high fat, moderate protein, and extremely low carbohydrate foods.

While it comes with its fair share of challenges — and I've definitely fallen off the wagon many times since that fateful day— the ketogenic diet is one of the healthiest and sustainable ways of eating I’ve ever tried. As an added bonus, I’ve shed over 50 pounds.

While it won't be right for everyone, I truly feel that the keto diet is a great choice not only for those who are significantly overweight, but also for anyone who’s looking to simplify and streamline their diet with real, tasty foods.

After four years strong on the keto diet, here’s how it changed my life.

SEE ALSO: 7 health benefits of Silicon Valley's favorite diet — a high-fat fad that has techies eating bacon and butter

1. I finally broke my addiction to sugar

I used to eat a ridiculous amount of sugar on a daily basis. From obvious sources like candy and pastries to less overt but still harmful ones like sauces and savory snacks, I was on a constant sugar-high, always chasing my next "fix."

The keto diet allows little to no sugar at all, and going cold turkey turned out to be the only thing that could break my addiction and restore my sanity.

2. I started eating really, really good food

I've always loved vegetables and conventionally "healthy" things, but admittedly, the majority of my diet was made up of quick, easy foods that came from boxes or were heavy on carbs but low on the nutritional scale.

With keto — while there are no real restrictions on what you can and can't eat as long as it falls within your macros (the amount of calories, carbs, protein, fat, etc. you should be eating per day) — the general idea is to start eating foods that are what they say they are instead of options that are made up of  a long list of ingredients you can't pronounce.

That means lots of fresh veggies, lean and fatty meats, eggs, cheese, and even butter. Fruit has also become part of my diet in moderation, though I stick with low-sugar varieties like raspberries and blueberries over higher carb options, such as pineapples and bananas.

3. I actually found a diet I could stick to for the first time in my life

As I mentioned previously, the ketogenic diet definitely isn’t for everyone, and there have been times that it wasn't even for me. Given that it’s somewhat restrictive, it can be difficult to maintain while eating out, on vacation, with small children, and/or a full-time job.

While I’ve spent stints doing the Whole30, the paleo diet, and more general "clean eating," I always come back to keto to reset my body and mind and get back on track when my nutrition seems like it’s veering out of control.

• Kate Middleton and Prince William will spend $1 million to raise Prince George to adulthood, according to one estimate. 
• Factoring in Princess Charlotte and the new royal baby, that brings the total cost to $3 million. 
• The average cost to raise one child in London is $354,000.

The cost of raising a princess and two princes is a bit heir-raising.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a combined net worth of $50 million— a portion of which will be spent on bringing Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and their third child, a son born on Monday and whose name has yet to be announced, to adulthood. 

CNN reports that the cost of raising one child to age 21 in the UK is $323,000. In London specifically, that number increases to $354,000. With three children, that's a total cost of more than $1 million — and that's not counting private school or university tuition, which can tack on an additional $200,000 per child.

For the royal family, that number is much higher — they'll pay at least $1 million for Prince George alone, according to one estimate. Add in his siblings, and that number could easily exceed $3 million.

Here are a few of the costs they're likely to incur while raising three royal children:

• Education: $19,492 tuition for Princess Charlotte's nursery school, $240,767 for Prince George's attendance through year eight at Thomas's Battersea in London, $55,772 tuition per year if Prince George attends Eton College like his father
• Nannies: a minimum of between $36,493 and $58,552 for nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, but most likely more
• Clothing and Feeding: at least $200,000 per child, and $514.10 for Prince George's uniform with optional accessories
• Maternity Care: a minimum of $24,910 for baby delivery at the Lindo Wing, $2,109 for antenatal care, and $25,500 for gynecologist consultations (all figures are totals based on the cost of all three royal babies)
• Baby gear: $75 for one christening shawl used for all the royal children, at least $480 for infant carriers, a minimum of $4,000 for strollers and accessories, and at least $6,000 for three nurseries

Take a closer look below for a more specific breakdown of just how much it may cost to raise three royal children. 

SEE ALSO: Kate Middleton's delivery of her third baby probably cost less than a typical birth in the US

DON'T MISS: Queen Elizabeth has a fortune worth over $500 million — here's how much the British royal family is worth

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly have a combined net worth of $50 million.

Source: Business Insider

It's estimated that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will end up paying $1 million for schooling, childcare, and other costs to raise Prince George to adulthood. Add Princess Charlotte and the new royal baby boy to the mix, and that's $3 million — and that's only if they stop at three royal children.

Source: CNN

Princess Charlotte started nursery in January 2018 at the female-run Willcocks Nursery School, which is difficult to get into. Parents must pay a nonrefundable registration fee of $167, which they can do upon the child's birth. If accepted with an "Offer of a Place," parents must put down a security deposit of $2,009.

Source: MONEY

• Dermatologists say you should re-apply sunscreen every two hours, especially when you're at the beach or outside for extended periods of time.
• You can still get a tan with sunscreen on, because while sun creams block many damaging skin-burning rays, they're not as great at filtering out the milder rays, which penetrate deeper into the skin.
• Sun burns can lead to skin cancer, which is why it's important to wear some protection when you're exposed to the sun, whether it's at the beach, or on a stroll around town.

It's getting warmer out there, and that can only mean one thing: sunburn season is just around the corner.

Americans tend to be pretty terrible at protecting skin from getting burned in the summer sun. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year in the US than all other cancer diagnoses combined, making it the most common— and arguably one of the most preventable — forms of cancer.

The good news is that sunburns are avoidable, if you know how and when to apply your sunscreen.

Some dermatologists will tell you that any sun exposure that changes the color of your skin is too much. After all, this is a sign that DNA damage is taking place in your skin.

But NYU Langone Health Dermatologist John Zampella told Business Insider that he's not a "mean dermatologist" here to ruin your outdoor summer fun. He understands that a little sun exposure can be a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle, and he applauds his patients who get out to run and exercise outdoors, as long as they do it safely. 

"It's a good idea just to get into the habit of putting sunscreen on every day, no matter the weather," Zampella said.

He tells his patients to make SPF a part of their morning skin care ritual. "That's going to give you the best long-term benefits of both skin cancer prevention, and also anti-aging protection." 

Staying active and soaking up a little vitamin D isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you're minimizing sun exposure time, and protecting your skin with an SPF, Zampella said.

Scientific studies suggest that avoiding the sun at all costs is not a good recipe for a long and happy life. One 2016 longitudinal study of more than 29,500 Swedish women found that the Swedes who avoided the sun altogether tended to die earlier than those who caught a few rays. Other recent research suggests that a little time in the sun on a regular basis can be good for your bones, your mood, and your waistline.

Here are a few tips from the skin pros about how to enjoy the sun the right way: 

Lathering up with sunscreen every two hours is a good benchmark, especially when you're at the beach or out all day basking in the sun's rays.

That's because a sunscreen's sun protection factor (SPF) value is only fully effective for two hours after you put it on. In other words, after two hours, your sunscreen isn't entirely doing its job anymore. For example, if you put on an SPF of 50 at 10 a.m., by noon, "you're probably still getting some protection, but your SPF 50 is no longer accurate," Zampella said. "Maybe you're getting SPF 10 at that point." 

Speaking of SPF, The American Academy of Dermatologists suggests sunbathers go with a SPF of at least 30. Zampella carries a bottle of sunscreen with him every day, and says he probably applies it at least twice a day, even when he's not outside a lot. 

People tend to be pretty good at lathering up their faces, but there are a few key spots that Zampella says patients tend to forget while they're putting on cream: don't forget to wipe your neck, as well as the tops of the ears.

Those are common places Zampella sees skin cancer pop up, so don't neglect to give them a good rub. And if you don't have as much hair as you used to, don't neglect the top of the head, either. Everyone could probably use a little bit of cream on the scalp line to keep it from turning red, anyway.

Finally, don't rely too heavily on sunscreen sprays. Zampella says they tend to disperse a lot of sunscreen into the air, instead of onto your skin, and what does land on your body tends to be a less even coverage layer than what comes out of a bottle of sunscreen.

SEE ALSO: How often to clean everything you own, from your toilet to your phone, according to science

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Skin peeling from sunburn is actually your body’s way of protecting you from cancer

• Bill Cosby has been found guilty of sexual assault. 
• Cosby was accused of giving sedative drugs to women he wanted to have sex with.
• Here are the potential drugs he used and the effects they have. 

Shortly before Bill Cosby sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, she said, he passed her three blue pills that he called "friends to help you relax."

On Thursday, Cosby was found guilty in a Pennsylvania court on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

To strengthen Constand’s case against Cosby, prosecutors in the trial used information that he'd previously admitted about those pills and their role in his sexual encounters, the Associated Press reported.

Cosby said in an earlier deposition that the pills were the allergy medication Benadryl. But prosecutors in his sexual-assault trial suggested there was reason to believe the drugs were something else, The Los Angeles Times reported last June.

In testimony given last year, Cosby acknowledged that decades ago he got seven prescriptions for sedative drugs called quaaludes to give to women he wanted to have sex with.

A toxicologist who testified for the prosecution said both drugs could have sedative effects that would make a user feel foggy-headed or sleepy.

Benadryl versus quaaludes

After Cosby gave Constand the pills at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004, she said, he penetrated her with his fingers against her will.

She felt so limp, according to her deposition, that she could not push him away or tell him to stop.

When Constand called Cosby a year later to ask what the drugs he gave her were, she said he told her he didn't have the name on hand.

"He said he would write it down on a piece of paper and mail it to us," Constand said. "He said that he could not see right now the bottle that he wanted to see."

Regular Benadryl is pink, though the kind marketed for allergies "and sinus" is blue.

In 2005, when Cosby provided police with some of the medication to show that he kept them on hand, the pills he handed over were pink. Montgomery County police officer James Reape, who investigated the case, said on the stand that he "found that to be odd," according to the LA Times.

Quaaludes, on the other hand, are more powerful sedatives that are now illegal.

By suppressing the central nervous system, quaaludes slow breathing and heart rate, often making users feel relaxed or sedated. The effects are similar to those of modern so-called date-rape drugs like "roofies" or Rohypnol, which that did not exist when most of Cosby's accusers say he assaulted them. More than 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault and related abuses, but most of those women can't pursue charges because of statute-of-limitations laws. Five additional accusers testified in the recent trial, however.

After quaaludes were produced in labs in India in 1955, doctors in the UK began prescribing them to patients who had trouble sleeping. Quaaludes didn't hit peak popularity in the US until the 1970s — people at dance clubs who took them called them "disco biscuits." Ten years later, the drugs were outlawed after they were found to be dangerous and potentially deadly.

On June 9, forensic toxicologist Timothy Rohrig testified for the prosecution that Constand's symptoms could have been linked to several drugs, including quaaludes and Benadryl, according to The Times.

"Most people think of [Benadryl] as an antihistamine … but one of the actions is it can cause significant sedation," Rohrig said. Prosecutors then asked if the drugs could be strong enough to be used with criminal intent.

"It has been used in a drug to facilitate sexual assault," Rohrig said.

In February, the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center warned the public about the increasing prevalence of predators using Benadryl to incapacitate their victims, describing a mixture that people had created as a "Benadryl Cocktail."

While the jury in Cosby's previous trial ended in a deadlock, the one in this second trial returned the verdict on its second day of deliberations. All three counts are felonies.

SEE ALSO: An app that links you to a therapist by text has plans for a major expansion — starting with prescribing drugs

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: What will happen when Earth's north and south poles flip

• A glass gondola is installed and being tested above Salesforce Park in San Francisco.
• The "aerial tram" is designed to transport 20 people at a time from the public park up to the rooftop park covering the city's Salesforce Transit Center, formerly known as the Transbay Transit Center before the tech company purchased the naming rights.
• The gondola will be open in June when the transportation system becomes available to the public.

San Francisco sometimes feels like a tech industry theme park. Now it's even got a ride. 

A gondola was recently installed and is currently being tested at Salesforce Park, the multi-block public rooftop space at the top of the city's new Transbay Transit Center. 

The gondola's glass cabin will transport up to 20 people at a time from street level to the top of the transit center, which is next door to Salesforce Tower, the recently erected skyscraper that serves as the cloud computing company's headquarters and now stands as the tallest building in San Francisco. 

According to the Gondola Project website, the gondola, or the "aerial tram" as the website calls it, is 45 meters (148 feet) in length and 21 meters (69 feet) in height. The project says the gondola will hopefully serve as an "architectural link," persuading passerby to ascend to the amenities, restaurants, shops and whatnot, that will be located on top.

The ropes for the gondola were strung and installed in March, according to the Gondola Project. It will be open to the public in June, when the transportation system is expected to open as well.

Business Insider visited the site of the gondola in hopes of taking an early ride, but was denied by a gruff security guard. According to the guard, the gondola lurches into action for a test run about once a day, usually without passengers but sometimes ferrying construction workers. Otherwise, the gondola sits still, resting on its two-story perch while construction on the transit center is completed. 

The $2.3 billion Transbay Transit Center, which will connect eight Bay Area counties with 11 transportation systems, was renamed the Salesforce Transit Center after the tech company invested $110 million into the project.

The gondola won't be the only method of reaching the rooftop park: there will be other elevators and escalators in the transit's lobby for the expected 45 million annual passengers. 

The rooftop park also has some other links to the tech world — the project developers' efforts to obtain trees for the park apparently caused a cuthroat battle with Apple, which was snatching up thousands of trees for its recently completed "Spaceship headquarters" in Cupertino, Calif.

Once complete, the transit center's roof will boast a 5.4-acre park, complete with winding footpaths and botanical gardens. A mini-version of New York City's famed Highline.

The gondola will add a nice accent on Salesforce Park, though it's not clear how useful it will be. With the transit center's anticipated foot traffic of 45 million people, the 20-person glass cabin could get bogged down with long lines. And given that the gondola only rises a couple of stories high, the ride might not necessarily provide the most stunning views. 

SEE ALSO: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff: How to be successful when the world thinks you'll fail

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• Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, and the comedian could face 1o years in prison for each count.
• The sexual-assault allegations that brought Bill Cosby to trial were largely reignited by a stand-up comedy bit in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress joked about Cosby's "rape" at a comedy club in Philadelphia.
• After footage of Buress' joke went viral, more than 60 women came forward to accuse Cosby of sexual abuse.

Bill Cosby, 80, was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in a Pennsylvania court on Thursday, and the comedian could face up to 10 years in prison for each count.

The sexual-assault allegations that brought Cosby to trial were largely reignited by a stand-up comedy bit in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress joked about Cosby's "rape" at a club in Philadelphia.

"Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the '80s," Buress said in the bit, mocking Bill Cosby's public persona. "Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby," Buress added, "so turn the crazy down a couple notches."

Shaky, fan-shot footage of Buress' Cosby joke subsequently went viral.

As Buress' joke went viral, Cosby was vilified by many on social media and the subject was picked up by and discussed frequently on cable news outlets like CNN. Cosby then faced persistent criticism from other notable comedians, including Judd Apatow.

In the years following Buress' joke, more than 60 women would come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault.

And on Thursday, Cosby was convicted of drugging and violating Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. The verdict came after a two-week retrial in which prosecutors put five other women on the stand who testified that Cosby drugged and violated them, too.

It was the only criminal case to arise from allegations from his more than 60 accusers.

Additional reporting by the AP.

SEE ALSO: Judd Apatow skewers Bill Cosby while doing a perfect impression of him

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