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The height differences between all the US presidents and first ladies

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George martha washington height difference 2x1

While every American president and first lady has reached the same heights of political office and public service, not all reached the White House at the same physical height.

The average height of US presidents was 5-foot-10-inches, and the typical height difference between presidents and first ladies was 6.5 inches.

Scientific studies suggest that men have it better when it comes to success in the workplace, and that women are more likely to choose taller men than shorter men.

John Adams and Abigail Adams were only separated in height by an inch, while Thomas Jefferson was over a foot taller than his wife Martha Jefferson.

We found the heights through online research and speaking with presidential historical sites and libraries. But a few first ladies' heights have been lost to history.

Here is the height difference of every US president and first lady we could find:

SEE ALSO: Here's what every president's signature looks like

DON'T MISS: All of the US presidents, ranked from tallest to shortest in one animation

George and Martha Washington: 1-foot-2-inches (36 cm)



John and Abigail Adams: 1 inch (2 cm)



Thomas and Martha Jefferson: 1-foot-2.5-inches (37 cm)

Jefferson was a widower when his presidency began, and his daughter, Martha, acted as first lady, along with wives of the Cabinet secretaries.



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Relationship experts agree that dating apps can be useful — but not necessarily for finding love

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  • Dating apps probably won't help you find a serious relationship, said Miami-based matchmaker Claudia Duran.
  • Duran said dating apps make you think there are infinite fish in the sea (there aren't) and give you an irresistible ego boost when you find out someone likes you.
  • Other relationship experts say dating apps are helpful precisely because they show you how many options are out there.


Talk to two people — even two relationship experts — about the function of dating apps and you can easily get two very different opinions.

Claudia Duran is in the sometimes-helpful-but-mostly-making-things-worse camp: She uses the term "swipe vulture culture" to describe people's behavior on these services.

Duran is a Miami-based matchmaker at dating service Elite Connections, where she charges $15,000 for a six-month membership. When I spoke with her by phone in July, she said "this digital saturation" has led more and more clients to her door, looking for something more effective and less frustrating.

The main problem with dating apps is the "illusion of overabundance of fish in the sea," Duran said, "when really there isn't an overabundance. To find someone special is so very rare."

Another, related issue Duran has observed is that "it's very easy to fall into the trap of swiping and likes. It's that instant gratification."

Duran went on: "People start to become reliant on that sort of high and instant 'Wow! They like me!'" It doesn't take long, she said, before "it really becomes an ego-feeding thing, rather than going out there, sitting with someone, and really just starting to get honest and vulnerable."

Duran's perspective differs somewhat from that of another relationship expert I've interviewed, Eli Finkel, who is a psychologist at Northwestern University, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management, and the author of "The All-Or-Nothing Marriage."

When I spoke with Finkel last September, he said the best thing about online dating is that it widens your pool of prospective mates — i.e. shows you that there are plenty of fish in the sea. Apps like Tinder, he has said, are the best way to go, precisely because you get tons of options.

Meanwhile, Jess Carbino, Bumble's in-house sociologist (she used to work at Tinder) previously told me that you shouldn't be spending hours every day swiping through profiles without actually communicating with anyone.

Instead, Carbino recommend spending 30 minutes a day and then using the rest of your time to actually go on dates with people you've matched with.

Duran isn't against dating apps per se — but she doesn't think they're conducive to finding a long-term relationship. "It's fine to use the services if you're having fun and looking for adventure," she said. For "extending your network, hookups — this kind of thing is a very good tool."

SEE ALSO: A matchmaker says there's a simple but overlooked way to boost your chances of finding a relationship

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 definitive rules for texting someone you want to date

One of the 7 wonders of the world is a 10,000-year-old city hidden in the desert — and in real life, it's more incredible than you can imagine

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  • The ancient city of Petra in Jordan became one of the 7 New Wonders of the World when it was chosen in 2007 by a vote of 100 million people.
  • The city's carved rose-red sandstone rock facades, tombs, and temples became known around the world with its appearance in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade in 1989.
  • Ever since, Petra has become the most visited tourist attraction in Jordan and one of the most visited archeological sites in the world.
  • I recently fulfilled a childhood dream to visit the archeological site during a trip to the Middle East. It was even more epic and awe-inspiring than I could imagine.

While only one of the ancient seven wonders of the world still stands — the Pyramids of Giza — 100 million people voted in 2007 to select a New Seven Wonders of the World.

Among the winners: the Great Wall of China, the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome, and the Taj Mahal in India.

The seventh and final site was the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, unknown to much of the world before 1989. That year, the city’s carved rose-red sandstone facades were featured in the blockbuster film Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

In the film, Petra stood in for where Indiana Jones finds the Holy Grail. I can recall being blown away, as a child, by the setting's grandeur and beauty. I have been dreaming of visiting it ever since. 

Petra was the capital of the Nabatean Empire, an ancient Arab state that grew rich due to its control of the Spice Road, the main caravan trading route that brought spices, incense, and textiles from Arabia, Africa, and India to the West. The carved rock faces of Petra were a testament to the civilization's prosperity and grandeur that has lasted to the present day.

I recently got a chance to visit while on a trip to Israel. Petra is about a day's drive from Tel Aviv, Israel, making it the perfect weekend excursion.

Here's what the experience was like:

SEE ALSO: I visited the most contested city in Israel, where Israelis and Palestinians are separated by a gauntlet of military checkpoints — and the harsh, complicated truth of the conflict was immediately clear

SEE ALSO: I rode superfast bullet trains in China, Japan, Korea, and Russia, and one is better than the rest

I've been dreaming of visiting the city of Petra ever since I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a kid. It seems silly now — the city has a far more interesting history — but I was amazed when they come upon the red-rock structure in the film.



I took a tour that left from Tel Aviv. After a seven-hour drive, we stopped at this viewpoint in Jordan over looking the valley where Petra is located. Even from this vantage point, the desert is stunning.



Our guide was a Jordanian man named Nizar Alhasani. Alhasani studied international relations at the University of Wisconsin and in Chicago. He told us that he'd spent some time advising the US military during the War in Iraq, but gave that up for tour guiding after his vehicle hit an IED.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

People are obsessed with buying cars through Costco instead of just going to a dealership — here's the verdict (COST)

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  • The Costco Auto Program allows Costco members to buy discounted cars through participating dealerships.
  • The program makes a lot of the hardest parts of buying a car — like research and negotiation — easier.
  • But it also limits the customer's options in some areas.

Shopping for a car can be overwhelming.

Even if you know what kind of vehicle you're looking for, you have to decide on the brand, model, and model year you'd like, as well as the dealership you want to use, whether you'd like to buy new or used, and whether you want to buy or lease.

Where do you start your research? Which sources can you trust? What's a reasonable price?

The Costco Auto Program attempts to eliminate some of that uncertainty.

In the past five years, over 1 million Costco members have purchased a vehicle through the program, which allows members to research and compare vehicles, calculate monthly payments, and get a discount at participating dealerships through the program's website or call center.

While the size of the discount varies based on the vehicle's class, brand, and model, a Costco Auto Program representative told Business Insider that the average discount was over $1,000 off a vehicle's average transaction price.

And since the program is available only to its members, Costco has plenty of reasons to vet dealers and salespeople so their customers don't end up feeling tricked — and blaming Costco.

"We're not just providing leads to dealers — we're creating a referral," Rick Borg, a Costco Auto Program senior executive, told Business Insider.

Here's how using the Costco Auto Program is different from the average car shopping process.

SEE ALSO: We tried the new vegan items that Costco just replaced the beloved Polish hot dog with. Here's the verdict.

1. You have to be a Costco member to use the auto program.

This may sound obvious, but while nonmembers can use some of the program's research tools, only Costco members are eligible to get the discounted price.



2. Multiple strands of research are condensed into one place.

One of the most difficult parts of shopping for a car is figuring out where to start and end your research, especially if you don't read car reviews for fun.

The Costco Auto Program brings reviews, safety ratings, a financial calculator, and a vehicle-comparison tool under one roof.

While it never hurts to compare research from multiple sources, the program's website provides a good place to start.



3. Your choice of dealerships and salespeople is limited.

Borg said Costco works with one dealership per brand in a defined geographic area around a Costco warehouse — and at each participating dealership, only a handful of salespeople are authorized to work with customers shopping through the program.

He said Costco picks dealerships based on prices, customer satisfaction index scores, and reputations on social media. Authorized salespeople are also evaluated based on their customer satisfaction scores and must work at their dealership for at least six months before they are eligible to work with the program.

But the limited number of dealerships and salespeople makes things a little more difficult for customers who don't end up satisfied with the first dealership Costco recommends. While Borg says Costco can point customers to other participating dealerships, they may not be geographically convenient.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Ivanka Trump's fashion company is shutting down. Here's the full story of the first daughter's business from its founding to the end.

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  • Ivanka Trump's fashion company announced on Tuesday that it would be shutting down.
  • "After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she said in a statement. 
  • Here is a look back at her fashion business career.

Ivanka Trump's fashion label is closing up shop. 

On Tuesday, the first daughter and White House adviser informed fans that she would be closing down her business of seven years to focus on her work in Washington. 

"After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington," she said in a statement. "So making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."

Abigail Klem, who took over as president of the company when Trump stepped down from day-to-day operations in 2017, said in a statement that she and others at the company are "incredibly proud of the brand we have built and the content and product we've developed."

"We've seen strong sales since the brand's inception, which continued through this year with the successful launch of our rapidly growing e-commerce business," Klem said.

The brand was thrust into the limelight when Trump's father, Donald Trump, was elected president in November 2016. Initially, this played in its favor: according to The Wall Street Journal, online sales surged at the company in 2016 and early 2017.

Since then, it has come under increased pressure as anti-Trump supporters call for consumers to boycott the brand and any of the stores that stock it. 

Take a look at the story behind the brand below:

SEE ALSO: Ivanka Trump's fashion company is shutting down

Trump made her first foray into the fashion business with the launch of her fine jewelry company. She opened her first boutique on Manhattan's Upper East Side in 2007.

The pricey collection consisted of rings, necklaces, and bangles that cost up to $25,000.



At the end of 2010, she launched her new collection of shoes, which included 150 styles from "office-friendly pumps and special-occasion looks to sandals and sneakers," Footwear News reported at the time.

Source: Footwear News 



The shoes were sold at department stores such as Macy's and Lord & Taylor.

Shoes and handbags paved the way for her apparel collection, which launched in 2011 just after her first child, Arabella Rose, was born.

"I wanted to build a strong and sustainable collection that is not overly trend-conscious," Trump told InStyle.com in 2011. "I wanted timeless glamour."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We tried the world's first robot-made burger restaurant that's backed by Google's parent company — here's the verdict

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You could say I'm a connoisseur of California burgers.

I've reviewed burger chains from In-N-Out to Super Duper Burgers, as well as the meatless Impossible Burger at locations around the San Francisco Bay Area.

There's one burger joint I've been anxiously waiting to try for years, and it's finally opening in San Francisco. Creator, formerly known as Momentum Machines, serves a $6 burger that is prepped, cooked, and assembled with no human help.

A 14-foot-long robot in the center of the restaurant uses an array of sensors and computers to make approximately 130 burgers an hour. Efficient. But tasty?

I set out into San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood to try Creator for myself.

SEE ALSO: We put In-N-Out and Five Guys to the test in a battle of the burger chains — and the winner surprised us

Creator is the world's first robot-made burger joint.



On a weekday afternoon during the company's soft opening, the place was packed with tech bros and gals munching down.



Around the corner from the dining area is the inhuman star chef.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

People are being victimized by a terrifying new email scam where attackers claim they stole your password and hacked your webcam while you were watching porn — here's how to protect yourself

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  • Did you recently receive an email with one of your old passwords in the subject line and a request for bitcoin?
  • It's a new kind of scam.
  • The attacker probably took your password from a publicly available database of old leaked passwords and email addresses.
  • Here's how to keep yourself safe. 

There's a new scam going around that would terrify most people if it ever landed in their inbox.

The emails are slightly different depending on who's being attacked, but they all have a few similar features:

  • The subject line includes a password that you probably have used at some point.
  • The sender says they have used that password to hack your computer, install malware, and record video of you through your webcam.
  • They say they will reveal your adult-website habits and send video of you to your contacts unless you send them bitcoin, usually $1,200 or $1,600 worth.

Here's one example of these scam emails, sent in the past month:

scam email

Ian Kar, a New York-based product manager who was sent the scammy email, said that after he received this threat, he spent an entire day changing all his passwords and buying 1Password, a password manager.

He said he was pretty sure his password was included in one of the big leaks in the past few years — databases have been stolen from LinkedIn, Yahoo, and eBay, for example. You can check whether your password is in one of these leaked databases over at the website Have I Been Pwned.

Basically, the attackers don't actually have video of you or access to your contacts, and they haven't been able to install malicious code on your computer. In reality, they're taking a password from a database that's available online, sending it to you, and hoping you're scared enough to believe their story and send them bitcoin.

Some scammers have even made over $50,000 from the blackmail scheme, based on an analysis of bitcoin wallets, Bleeping Computer reported.

As Brian Krebs, a leading security journalist, writes, this scam is probably automated, meaning you haven't been specifically targeted:

"It is likely that this improved sextortion attempt is at least semi-automated: My guess is that the perpetrator has created some kind of script that draws directly from the usernames and passwords from a given data breach at a popular Web site that happened more than a decade ago, and that every victim who had their password compromised as part of that breach is getting this same email at the address used to sign up at that hacked Web site."

For now, the scammers seem to be using really old passwords — maybe one you haven't used in years. But as the scam develops, there's a good chance it may include credentials from a fresh breach, according to Krebs.

Other good ideas to keep yourself safe: use long and strong passwords, get a password manager to ensure each account has a unique password, and turn on two-factor authentication on your important accounts. The FBI also recommends you turn off or cover any web cameras when you're not using them to prevent sex-based extortion schemes, even if this kind of scam ends up being a hollow threat.

And no matter what you do, don't send bitcoin to the scammers.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This conveyor belt can move in any direction

Panera Bread employees share their 11 favorite menu items — and a few secret hacks you have to try for yourself

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  • Panera Bread's menu looks like a lot at first glance.
  • The chain boasts everything from soups to salads to sandwiches. And then there's the bread, too.
  • A number of current and former employees have posted about their favorite orders on social media.
  • Business Insider also spoke with a number of current and former employees about their favorite menu options.
  • Here are their recommendations for your next Panera Bread run.


Panera Bread's menu has a ton of options for everyone.

But, given that Panera Bread employees spend so much time preparing these meals, they're natural experts in what's worth buying at the casual dining chain.

Panera Bread employees also receive a discount of anywhere from 50% to 75% off meals up to $10, so many of them opt to eat at the restaurant while they're on break.

Business Insider recently spoke to a number of current and former Panera Bread employees about their favorite meals. We also scoured the web to find more recommendations from employees on Quora and Reddit.

Here's what the employees had to say:

SEE ALSO: McDonald's employees share their 8 best tips for customers

DON'T MISS: 7 insider facts about Panera Bread that employees know and most customers don't

SEE ALSO: Trader Joe's is one of the best places to work in the US — employees share the 7 best parts of the job

The steak and arugula sandwich

One Panera Bread associate of one year told Business Insider that they prefer this meaty offering.

"It's super unique and has so many flavors," the employee told Business Insider, adding that they'd award the meal ten out of ten stars.



The squash soup

Associate Dorian Bach wrote in a 2016 Quora post that this particular option is the best soup in Panera Bread.

But, alas, fans of this autumnal-gourd-based dish will have to wait until fall to partake once more. It's a seasonal item at Panera Bread. 



The chipotle chicken avocado melt

A former Panera Bread associate trainer told Business Insider that they "used to always get the chipotle chicken avocado melt."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See stunning photos of the longest 'blood moon' lunar eclipse of the century that swept across the Eastern Hemisphere

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On the night of July 27 and the early morning hours of July 28, sky-watchers across the Eastern Hemisphere were treated to the longest lunar eclipseset to occur in the 21st century.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon are directly aligned, and the moon's orbit brings it directly into Earth's shadow. During the eclipse, the moon will pass through the darkest region of Earth's shadow, known as the umbra, which will give the moon a reddish "blood moon" sheen.

The eclipse, which was visible across parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, happened at the same time as the moon's apogee — which is when the moon hits its furthest point from Earth in its monthly orbit.

The eclipse colored the moon orange-red due to sunlight passing through our planet's atmosphere and bouncing off the moon.

See below for stunning pictures of the eclipse from around the world:

 

SEE ALSO: A glowing red 'blood moon' this week will be the longest lunar eclipse in a century — here's how to see it

Skywatchers in Europe and Africa were first to see the fantastic eclipse.



This particular eclipse occurred during what's called a "micro" moon, or the opposite of a super moon.

Source: Business Insider



This happens because the moon's orbit isn't perfectly circular, so it appears larger at times and smaller at others during its roughly 29-day-long orbit around Earth.

Source: Business Insider 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

You can now buy Roger Federer's entire 5-piece Uniqlo tennis outfit for $120

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Roger Federer Uniqlo

  • Roger Federer's five-piece Uniqlo uniform is available to pre-order for $120.
  • The Uniqlo outfit includes a shirt, shorts, socks, wristbands, and a sweatband.
  • Federer left clothing giant Nike for Uniqlo, a lesser-known brand, last month — and the deal earned him a 300% pay increase.

 

Roger Federer is renowned for his elegance on and off the courts, and now fans can imitate the 20-time Grand Slam champion's fashion sense.

Federer's five-piece Uniqlo uniform is now on sale — or is available for pre-order, at least.

Roger Federer left Nike for Uniqlo, a lesser-known brand, in a deal reportedly worth $30 million a year— an astonishing 300% pay increase on the deal he had previously.

His five-piece Uniqlo outfit will cost $120 for the shirt, shorts, socks, wristbands, and sweatband.

Roger Federer Uniqlo 2

The new sponsorship contract does not include tennis shoes, which explains why Federer wore customised Nikes during the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.

It is also conceivable that he agrees a shoe deal with Nike, a company he is still in contact with, as he looks to secure the rights to the lucrative "RF" logo— a personalised branding that was originally designed by Nike, rather than Federer.

SEE ALSO: Roger Federer lost his iconic 'RF' logo when he terminated his contract with Nike — but he wants it back

DON'T MISS: Roger Federer is set to end his $7.5 million Nike sponsorship contract — a sum he could nearly triple with a lesser-known brand

UP NEXT: Everything tennis icon Roger Federer eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This controversial Supercross star has 20 minutes to make $1 million

China is so desperate to win its war on drugs, it's started analyzing people's sewage for contaminated pee

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  • China has been going hard in its war on drugs.
  • Its efforts are so intense that some cities have started analyzing sewage for traces of drugs to root out users and dealers.
  • That work has helped catch at least one drug manufacturer, and the country plans to expand the program in the future.
  • This raises the question: Does a person's sewage belong to them, or to the Chinese state?


China is so desperate to crack down on illegal drug use that some of its cities are analyzing people's sewage in the hope of finding drug users by analyzing their waste.

Officials have been chemically examining sewage for traces of drugs or metabolites — bodily substances created after the human body interacts with certain drugs — in people's urine, according to a report in Nature magazine, which cites a Chinese environmental chemist involved in the efforts.

It's not clear exactly how many cities have rolled out the operation, but it appears to be working already in the southern city of Zhongshan, where drug use is reportedly rife. The waste-analysis program has already helped police in the city track down and arrest a drug manufacturer, said Li Xiqing, the chemist involved in the efforts.

The program appears to be seen as a success, and city authorities across China are now planning to use the data to set targets for police arrests of drug users next year, Nature reported.

Local governments also plan to invest at least 10 million yuan ($1.5 million/£1.1 million) on the wastewater-monitoring program this year, Li said.

Xi Jinping

The science of finding drugs in your pee

This method of rooting out specific substances in a large pool of matter is known as wastewater-based epidemiology, or WBE.

Samples are typically collected at a wastewater treatment plant and analyzed for atypical excretions — in China's case, those formed by the body's reaction to drugs.

But because these treatment plants typically service thousands to tens of millions of people, it's difficult to single out specific people, as China hopes to do in its search for drug dealers.

Daniel Burgard, a chemistry professor at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state, told Business Insider: "If the city is large, there is no way to single out a specific person by using a sample from a treatment plant. However, if the sampling occurs further up the sewer line from the treatment plant, neighborhoods can start to be compared to each other."

china shanghai aerial view

Wastewater-based epidemiology is not a particularly new science. Scientists first analyzed wastewater in the 1990s to measure the impact of liquid household waste, according to the EU's drug monitoring agency. That effort expanded to analyze human consumption of other substances, including drugs, alcohol, and pesticide in later years.

But WBE has never found its way into real-life policy before. As Burgard told Nature, "the noteworthy part is that China seems to be actually acting on the technique."

Zhang Lei, an environmental policy researcher in Beijing, told Nature that WBE is a more objective way of measuring whether the government's anti-drug policies are working in a particular area. In other words, testing human waste is a more efficient indicator of drug use than police arrests and seizures.

cocaine

China's war on drugs

China's growing investment in WBE-based drug monitoring demonstrates the country's commitment to its war on drugs.

There were more than 2.5 million known drug addicts in China as of the end of 2017, more than half of whom were between 18 and 35, according to China Daily. Police arrested 168,000 suspected drug users, seized 82.1 tons of drugs, and destroyed more than 400 labs in 2016, the paper added.

China was a main recipient of Myanmar- and Laos-made heroin, and Central and Latin America-made cocaine between 2011 and 2015, the UN reported last year. It was also cited as a country of origin, transit, or destination in the international flow of methamphetamine and ecstasy between 2012 and 2015.

Drug control was a matter of national security, the "rise and fall of a the nation," state-run China Daily reported in June, paraphrasing President Xi Jinping. Xi called on authorities to destroy drug-production gangs, trafficking networks, and dealer syndicates.

"Xi requires that the soil that breeds drug problems be eradicated," the newspaper added.

police, china, watching

Does a person's waste belong to them, or to the Chinese Communist Party?

China's use of WBE will likely raise questions about privacy and human rights. It's not clear whether local authorities sought residents' permissions before analyzing their waste.

Theoretically, if Chinese authorities want to further narrow their search for drug users and dealers, they could place samplers at points in sewage systems where waste leaves a home before entering the municipal sewer line, Burgard said.

"But sampling at this level would bring up some privacy/ethical questions and be expensive and not very efficient to measure a lot of homes that way," he said. "It does bring up an interesting question of when a person’s waste is no longer their property."

As Carsten Prasse, an environmental health researcher at Johns Hopkins University, told Nature: "In China, the general population is used to following the directions given by the government, and privacy related issues don't seem to be a major concern — the situation is totally different in the United States."

SEE ALSO: Planting spies, paying people to post on social media, and pretending the news doesn't exist: How China tries to distract people from human rights abuses

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: I spent a day with Border Patrol agents at the US-Mexico border

A look inside the amazing smart-home systems that rich people use

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  • Smart home systems that rich people use are wildly different from the Amazon Alexa you may have just bought for your home.
  • Oprah Winfrey has a radiant heat system that automatically melts snow off of her winter home's driveway, while Mark Zuckerberg's custom AI-powered specialty app acts as his own personal butler voiced by actor Morgan Freeman.
  • Here are the major differences in the smart home systems owned by rich people.

Rich people don't skimp when it comes to outfitting their homes with the latest tech.

A "prominent Upper East Side" family was willing to pay a couple $100,000-$150,000 a year to oversee cooking, cleaning, personal shopping, and other household duties, according to a 2017 listing in Hire Society, as Business Insider previously reported.

In addition to housekeeping, the position required the pair to be familiar with three modern smart-home technology systems: Lutron, Crestron, and Kaleidescape.

If those brand names left you scratching your head, Lutron is a smart-home manufacturer that offers energy-saving light dimmers, switches, and shades that can control anywhere 50 to 10,000 devicesCrestron programs offer integrated lighting control, home security, speakers, and other technologies. Kaleidescape's multi-room entertainment server technologies that stream video and audio are the perfect systems for a rich person's at-home movie theater.

Many of us have dreamed about living in a home where mundane tasks — like washing the dishes or turning on the TV — can be outsourced to a device.

With the creation of products like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, that dream is closer to becoming a reality for the mass market. But if a couple of hundred of dollars can buy the average consumer these gadgets, what can those who have unlimited resources get out of their smart home systems? The answer: pretty much everything and anything they want.

"Affluent households are far more likely to become early adopters of new technology than the average consumer, and smart home systems are no different," Winnie Bekmanis, who works in product marketing for the Internet of Things (IoT) at Qualcomm, told Business Insider. "What differentiates the pricier smart home systems is the scale of installation and personalization."

Personalization is the key in smart homes of rich people

Celebrity homes are the perfect examples of what personalized smart home systems can look like. In an interview with CNET, actress Sofia Vergara talked about building a smart house that lets her not only watch movies in her at-home theater, but also allows her to Skype with family and use her social media on a mega screen.

According to the LA Times, media mogul Oprah Winfrey spent $14 million on a high-tech ski home in Telluride where a radiant heat system keeps the driveway completely snow free.

Oprah

Bekmanis said that when it comes to luxurious homes, those systems that can intuitively adapt to the entertainment or security preferences of the homeowner are naturally more desirable.

"Smart home systems are key to connecting every disparate smart device in the house together smoothly," she said. "When these systems are automating trivial chores and tasks for the homeowner, such as turning off the house lights or making coffee in the morning, they can add up to serious time savings."

Guests in the home of Microsoft founder Bill Gates receive devices to connect them to the smart house technology, which includes controlling temperature, lighting, and music, Business Insider previously reported.

Smart home tech

In a Facebook video, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg showed off his very own AI-powered home system, J.A.R.V.I.S, which is controlled through a specialty app that Zuckerberg created and is voiced by actor Morgan Freeman.

Their smart homes are controlled from one interface

According to Bekmanis, smart home systems make it easy to precisely control and customize nearly everything in your house from one interface.

"One of the early markets to benefit from smart home technology was home security — encompassing everything from automated door and window locks to intelligent lighting and cameras. Advancements in artificial intelligence are making a notable impact on the development of these smart home security systems as well," Bekmanis said.

"Imagine security cameras that recognize the difference between an intruder and Grandma, or send a notification when a child has lost their key and needs help with remote access," she said.

Smart home

If you want to make your home smarter ...

If you're thinking of investing in your own fancy at-home smart system, Bekmanis said you should plan it out thoroughly. "People often forget to keep the strength of their home WiFi network in mind as they invest in a smart home system," she said. "As connected devices continue to grow in popularity, they become more deeply integrated into every room of the home."

She recommended looking out for any spots in your home where it is difficult for devices to connect to WiFi, and to buy appropriate technology to fix that problem.

"Traditional stand-alone routers do this technology a disservice by creating dead spots in notoriously difficult areas like the bathroom or basement," she said, which can affect smart refrigerators and washing machines.

"Especially for larger homes, mesh WiFi systems are better suited for the job. The technology alleviates dead spots by scattering nodes throughout the home to keep the technology in each and every room reliably connected."

With so many smart products out there today, smart home systems make it easy to sync our physical and digital lifestyles. So if Zuckerberg's AI system inspires you to want to create your very own at-home butler voiced by an actor of your choosing (I'd love Helen Mirren, personally), you better start saving. It's going to cost you.

SEE ALSO: Inside the insanely competitive world of elite New York City preschools

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5 legendary political bromances that shaped US history

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Politicians have alliances and rivalries in their own political parties, across the aisle, and with other leaders across the world.

But some take their allegiance to a different level. A select few enter the realm of bromance.

From rivals to best buddies, here are five of the greatest political bromances that shaped US history.

SEE ALSO: Here's what every president's signature looks like

DON'T MISS: The top 20 presidents in US history, according to historians

Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Adams and Jefferson were the original American bromance. But the two men were also political rivals from very different backgrounds.

Adams was a Federalist from Massachusetts, while Jefferson was an Anti-Federalist from Virginia. The two Founding Fathers, who would both serve as president, were pen pals and frequently wrote letters to each other over the years.

After George Washington stepped down after his second term, the two ran against each other for the presidency. Even though Adams won that race, the two men eventually put their differences aside.

Adams once wrote to Jefferson: "intimate Correspondence with you ... is one of the most agreeable Events in my Life."

And on July 4, 1826 — which happened to be the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — Adams and Jefferson both died within hours of each other. 

Sources: Thomas Jefferson FoundationBoston University, History.com



Sens. John McCain and Ted Kennedy

Two senators who put party politics aside and reached across the aisle to work on legislation were Arizona Republican John McCain and Massachusetts Democrat Ted Kennedy.

The two men worked closely together on several issues and pieces of legislation, including immigration reform.

In his latest memoir, McCain said Kennedy "gave value no other senator had" when crafting legislation because of his outsize role in the Democratic party and because he was respected by all in the Senate.

When Kennedy passed away in 2009, McCain gave a heartfelt eulogy at his funeral. "Ted and I shared the sentiment that a fight not joined was a fight not enjoyed," McCain said.

McCain is now suffering from the same form of brain cancer as his former Senate colleague. After receiving the cancer diagnosis, McCain told CBS's "60 Minutes" that he still thinks about Kennedy a lot.

Sources: Business Insider, NPR, The New York Times, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution



Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Two Supreme Court justices with very different ideologies were actually two of the closest on the highest court in the United States.

Even though liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not a "bro", she and the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia formed a tight bond during their time on the court together despite agreeing on very few issues.

"We were best buddies," Ginsburg wrote after Scalia passed away in 2016. Both justices enjoyed opera, and Ginsburg has even said Scalia made her better as a justice.

The two celebrated New Years and vacationed together every year with their spouses, too. Ginsburg recently said that she misses Scalia very much.

Sources: Business InsiderNPRForward



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The latest internet craze includes dancing alongside moving cars — and, surprise, people are getting badly hurt

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Just when you think the internet can't get any weirder, it always does.

A recent internet trend is inspiring drivers all over the world to jump out of moving vehicles and dance in the street while a friend in the passenger seat films, and now transpiration officials and law enforcement are starting to speak out against the dangerous fad.

The viral phenomenon is called the #InMyFeelings Challenge, and is the latest — and possibly most dangerous — of the viral video dares, similar to the Cinnamon Challenge (which led to hundreds of teenagers eating a spoonful of pure cinnamon) or the Mannequin Challenge (in which a room full of people hold perfectly still while a moving camera person pans over each). 

The challenge, sometimes also known as the #Keke, has caught the attention of social media users everywhere, along with cable news outlets like ABC and talk shows like Kelly and Ryan and The View, and is starting to be called out by law enforcement all over the country. 

Police Chief Joseph Solomon of Methuen, Massachusetts told CBS: “It’s only a matter of time before someone gets sucked into the wheels of the car or dragged or the driver who is recording it with their phone hits somebody crossing the street.”

Fads like these always have a few iterations, but the videos all feature a short dance routine accompanied by the song "In my Feelings" from Drake's latest album, "Scorpion," released July 29th. The dance was pioneered by online personality and comedian Shiggy, who posted this video of himself dancing in the street on Instagram the same night the song was released:

#Mood : KEKE Do You Love Me ? 😂😂😂 @champagnepapi #DoTheShiggy #InMyFeelings

A post shared by Shoker🃏 (@theshiggyshow) on Jun 29, 2018 at 6:15pm PDT on

The clip went viral, and countless fans and viewers — including celebrities like Will Smith, Ciara, and DJ Khaled— decided to imitate the stunt by dancing in increasingly impressive locations and under dangerous circumstances.

At some point, the challenge most commonly began to include people slowing their cars to a crawl, and then encouraging their friends to hop out and dance alongside the vehicle.

Here's Jung "J-Hope" Ho-seok, a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, doing the challenge in its most commonly seen form:

Things took a turn for the worst when people started upping the ante, as always happens with internet challenges like these. People started doing the dance after hopping out of the driver's seat, and simply letting the car roll. 

Here's YouTube Creator Liza Koshy, performing the dangerous stunt, along with some extra theatrics:

It's easy to imagine how this can go really wrong really fast. As a result of the challenge, there are now many videos of people falling on pavement, causing car accidents, and getting hit by oncoming vehicles on YouTube.

Connecticut State Police called the practice "distracted driving" and said it could lead to a reckless endangerment charge if a driver is caught in the act, according to FOX21.

Even the National Transportation Safety Board posted a warning about the challenge on their official Twitter early this week:

 

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These are the most unhealthy meals in America, ranked

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Xtreme eating

  • The "Xtreme Eating" list from the Center for Science in the Public Interest ranks the most unhealthy meals in America.
  • Some of the meals on the list for 2018 contain almost four days' worth of the recommended fat content. 
  • Among the nation's most unhealthy dishes is a 1.5-pound pretzel that contains 1,920 calories.

If you've ever wondered what four days' worth of fat content in one meal looks like, you finally have your answer.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has put together a list of the most unhealthy meals in America, known as the "Xtreme Eating" list. These highly calorific, artery-clogging meals make a KFC family bucket look like child's play.

The list is collated by nutrition experts who reviewed menus at 200 restaurant chains in the United States to find the meals heaviest in calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the daily recommended intake is 2,000 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 2,300 milligrams of sodium, and 50 grams of added sugar. 

Unfortunately for the chains on this list, chain restaurants nationwide are now required to list calories on all menus and menu boards. 

Here's the list, ranked lowest to highest by calories:

SEE ALSO: Chain restaurants are now required to post calorie counts — and these meals are the biggest offenders

8. BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse: Peanut Butter S’mores Pizookie (1,580 calories)

This extravagant-looking dessert is the least calorific of all but has a massive sugar content at an estimate 135g.  

At the base is a triple chocolate cookie topped with peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, marshmallows, and vanilla ice cream.



7. The Cheesecake Factory: Chicken Parmesan "Pizza Style" (1,870 calories)

This is one of two Cheesecake Factory dishes to make the list. It ranks high in terms of fat, sodium, and calorie content. 

It's made of chicken coated with breadcrumbs, covered with marinara sauce and melted cheese and topped off with angel hair pasta in an Alfredo cream sauce. It's the best of all worlds. 

 



6. AMC Cinemas: Bavarian Legend Soft Pretzel (1,920 calories)

This 1.5-pound pretzel is sprinkled with salt and served warm with nacho cheese and mustard.

It's a salt sprinkling that it definitely doesn't need, as the sodium content in one portion is nearly equivalent to four days' worth of the recommended amount. 



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I asked a matchmaker about the 3 biggest mistakes people make when dating — and you're probably guilty of at least one

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claudia duran matchmaker dating relationships

  • Common dating mistakes include texting instead of talking and playing games instead of being upfront with their feelings.
  • That's according to Claudia Duran, a Miami-based matchmaker with dating service Elite Connections.
  • This post is part of Relationships 101, a series which aims to help us all be happier and healthier in love — and to stop fighting over who should take out the trash.


Claudia Duran has seen it all.

The Miami-based matchmaker works with dating service Elite Connections, and she's helped everyone from a 35-year-old MBA whose family is paying for his membership to a 73-year-old widower who is the CEO of a commercial real-estate company.

But Duran has watched people of all backgrounds fall into the same traps when it comes to finding a relationship. We chatted by phone this summer, and she told me about some of the most common pitfalls — plus how to avoid them.

Being too embarrassed to tell friends you're looking for a relationship

Friends are a great resource for finding potential dates, Duran said. But people can be unnecessarily shy about their romantic ambitions.

It's all about "being a little more communicative and vulnerable," Duran said. In other words, telling your friends, "Hey. I'm really looking to meet someone special. Do you know somebody you could introduce me to?"

As Duran put it, "Ask and you shall receive."

Another alternative Duran suggested is hanging out at clubs, sports games, charity events, and the like — the point is to find someone who shares your interests.

Playing games instead of being upfront about your feelings

Too many of Duran's clients complain to her, "He [or she] hasn't called" or, "Why hasn't he [or she] made a date?" 

A better option, Duran said, is to simply tell the person you're seeing, "I like you. I really like you. I think you're super cool."

Chances are, they'll be pleased with your honesty — and might even reciprocate your feelings. "People like that, and they respond well to that," Duran said.

Texting everything instead of talking on the phone or in person

Duran's personal term is "death by text." It happens when two people like each other, but are hesitant to make their feelings too obvious. So they hide behind a screen.

Yet Duran said the meaning of a text message can be easily "misconstrued." And some people take offense if their partner waits a (seemingly) long time before writing back.

Duran encourages all her clients to either speak on the phone or meet up in person whenever possible. "Particularly when they start having feelings for each other," she said. "It's really important."

SEE ALSO: I asked 3 sex and relationship therapists how to spice up a boring marriage — in and out of the bedroom

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All the TV shows that have been canceled in 2018

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As the year flies by, the list of canceled TV shows piles up.

While there's been somewhat of a quiet period since May, some networks are still cutting shows throughout the summer, including USA, which recently canceled sci-fi series "Colony" after three seasons. In June, Freeform canceled the supernatural teen drama, "Shadowhunters."

ABC also canceled the previously renewed "Roseanne" revival in late May, after Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet about former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. However, ABC announced a spin-off called "The Conners" without Barr coming this fall.

Amazon kicked off the year with a slew of cancellations, announcing the end of three quirky comedies, including the Golden Globe nominee "I Love Dick" and the comedian Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical show, "One Mississippi." It canceled Golden Globe nominee "Mozart in the Jungle" in April, after four seasons, and recently canceled "Transparent," which will end after the upcoming fifth season.

The long-running "The Jerry Springer Show" is ending after 27 seasons and 4,000 episodes. NBC's "Timeless," was also canceled for the second year in a row. NBC reversed its first decision to cancel the show last year after fan outcry. However, fans may have a movie to look forward to that gives the series a proper finale, though no official decision has been made.

We'll update this list as more are announced.

Here are all the shows that have been canceled this year, including those from networks and Netflix:

SEE ALSO: The worst TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics

Amazon



"Jean-Claude Van Johnson" — Amazon, one season



"I Love Dick" — Amazon, one season



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'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' has the biggest opening weekend ever for the franchise with $61.5 million (VIA)

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Mission Impossible Fallout 2 Paramount

  • "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" wins the weekend box office with $61.5 million.
  • That's the biggest opening ever for the "M:I" franchise.
  • It's the second-biggest opening ever for franchise star Tom Cruise.


"Mission: Impossible -Fallout" marks the sixth installment in the franchise from Paramount, and it's turning out to be the most successful yet.

The movie won the weekend box office handedly with an estimated $61.5 million take, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's the biggest opening ever for the franchise, which spans all the way back to the Brian De Palma-directed 1996 first "M:I." Boy, have we come a long way.

Though the franchise's star, Tom Cruise, has always been a thrill seeker, since 2011's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" — where he climbed the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai — the movies have become a destination to see Cruise pull off some of the most insane stunts ever put on screen, and "Fallout" was no different.

Cruise has proven once again that though the conventional wisdom is that movie stars are not a box office draw anymore, it does not apply to him. Especially when it comes to "M:I" movies.

Mission Impossible FalloutTeaming up for a second-straight time with director Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise heads a thrilling two-and-a-half-hours with stunts that include a skydive, motorcycle chase through Paris, helicopter chase, and lots of running (of course). That all led to a franchise best 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for the movie and the second-best opening for Cruise (just behind the $64.8 million take for 2005's "War of the Worlds").

With the movie's strong box office overseas as well, it's looking at around a $140 million worldwide opening, another franchise best. And with a China release coming in August, Paramount is looking for a strong earner the rest of the summer.

The studio, which always is trailing most of the major studios in box office due to its lack of IPs, will be able to stick its chest out around Hollywood this week.

It's also a good time to be a movie star at the moment. With both Denzel Washington leading the domestic box office win for "The Equalizer 2" and Dwayne Johnson the face of global winner "Skyscraper" last weekend, Cruise's "Fallout" shows that, at least at the moment, audiences want to go and see these stars do some action-packed thrills.

SEE ALSO: All 42 Tom Cruise movies, ranked from worst to best

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An otherworldly desert in Jordan has doubled as distant planets in movies like 'Star Wars' and 'The Martian' — after seeing it myself, I can tell you it's just as breathtaking in person

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  • Wadi Rum, a desert valley in Jordan, has played the part of Mars and distant planets in countless movies, including "The Martian," "Star Wars: Rogue One," "Prometheus," and Red Planet."
  • The reddish hue of the sand combined with the massive granite rock faces and sandstone mesas makes for an otherworldly landscape.
  • I recently visited, and it was breathtaking. I'm already planning a return trip so I can spend more time in Wadi Rum.

Don't tell Elon Musk, but you don't have to fire off into space to visit Mars. Just get on a plane — or a bus — to the Middle Eastern country of Jordan.

Jordan is a small, dry, mostly landlocked country that neighbors Israel to the east. Within its rugged terrain is Wadi Rum, a desert valley known for its dramatic sandstone and granite rock faces and the reddish hue of its sand.

The landscape is so otherworldly that countless filmmakers have used the desert as a location for films taking place on distant planets.

Most recently, the desert served as the backdrop for Mars in the Matt Damon-starring space-survival film "The Martian."

But "The Martian" is far from the only film to use the desert. Wadi Rum played the part of Mars in the 2000 film "Red Planet" and the 2013 film "The Last Days on Mars." It played the part of the alien world in the 2012 horror film "Prometheus" and the planet of Jedha in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

On a recent trip to Jordan, I decided to take a road trip through Wadi Rum. After barreling through the desert in jeeps, sprinting down sand dunes, and riding on ATVs, I think I can say I've officially visited another planet.

Here's what it was like:

SEE ALSO: One of the 7 wonders of the world is a 10,000-year-old city hidden in the desert — and in real life, it's more incredible than you can imagine

To start with, on the left is an actual photo of Wadi Rum. On the right is a picture of the same rock formation with some visual effects to make it look a bit more like Mars. But as you can see, it's not a stretch.

Read more about my visit to Petra »



I decided to take a tour through Jordan to visit the desert of Wadi Rum and the ancient archeological site of Petra in two days. After being blown away by Petra, I was skeptical that Wadi Rum could top it.



But when we arrived at the Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum after visiting Petra, I knew I was wrong. While Wadi Rum is mostly uninhabitable, Bedouins have lived in different parts of the desert for centuries. Today, many run luxury campsites for tourists and Jordanians.



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A 30-step plan to getting the raise you deserve

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  • It's crucial to know how to ask for a raise, but many Americans have never done it.
  • Knowing when to ask for a raise can also be tricky.
  • Asking for a raise could improve your income in the short- and long-term. And if you don't ever ask, failing to negotiate could potentially cost you more than a million dollars over the course of your career.

 

It's crucial to know how to ask for a raise and negotiate your salary.

"The important thing to remember is that if you don't ask the answer is always no," Joanna Echols, a career and wellness coach, told Business Insider. 

But most Americans have never asked for a raise. And an analysis by Salary.com found that failing to negotiate could potentially cost you more than a million dollars over the course of your career.

It can be intimidating to ask for a raise. But here are 28 tips on how to navigate the pay bump process.

First, you need to prepare your case ...

SEE ALSO: 16 signs you're underpaid — and what to do about it

DON'T MISS: 15 signs you're about to be promoted at work — even if it doesn't feel like it

Ask yourself if you actually deserve the raise

You need to determine if you have an important role at the company or not, Comparably CEO and co-founder Jason Nazarwrote for Inc.

"Take an honest and objective look at your value to the business and negotiate accordingly," Nazar wrote. 

He shared a quick way to judge just how valuable you are at the business: "If you were to leave your company tomorrow, would there be any meaningful disruption to the business? If the answer is no, you don't have any leverage to get a raise."



Don't ask if you've been at the company for less than a year

Don't mention the need for a pay raise if you've been there for less than a year, wrote Alison Green of US News & World Report's Ask a Manager blog.

There's one exception — if your responsibilities are dramatically different from what was outlined in the interview process, you might be eligible for a raise, Green wrote.



Understand the goals that you need to accomplish

Career strategist Miriam Salpeter told Business Insider that it's important to have goals that you can use to measure your success. Make sure you and your supervisor both understand how success looks in your organization and what is expected.

If your employer does not make this clear, it is up to you to identify these targets and pursue these goals.

 



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