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Big, Beautiful Photos Of A Nearly Perfect Classic Ferrari Replica

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Ferrari outside

RM Wilson Engineering, a specialty car restoration plant in Leicester, England, just finished a monumental project: replicating the famous Ferrari P4.

The company has 45 years of experience restoring classic Ferraris, but the P4 is particularly special for its association with James Glickenhaus, a former movie director and exotic car collector, and its value as one of the world's most expensive classic cars.

The nearly perfect replica of the Ferrari P4 was made from scratch to look identical to the original.

On the inside, RM Wilson Engineering used a ZF gearbox and created its own fuel injection system. With a 400i 4 cam engine, this P4 produces more brake horsepower than the original. 

Amy Shore, a photographer also from Leicester, visited RM Wilson to document the Ferrari. She shared some of her photos with Business Insider. 

The Ferrari P4 replica was made at RM Wilson Engineering in Leicester, England.



It's a near-perfect replica, externally matching the original Ferrari P4 with some internal upgrades.



The replica P4 has a 400i 4 cam Ferrari engine.



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I Took A Long, Memorable Walk Through Hong Kong — Here's What I Saw

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Hiking Victoria Peak 72

Last Saturday morning in Hong Kong, I went to brunch with friends at a restaurant called The Square.

The Square serves dim sum, a type of breakfast food oriented around pastries with meats in them and sweet rice confections.

Then I walked back to my hotel, the Courtyard Marriott in the Western district.

It was a long, meandering walk.

During my walk, I saw a bright green Lamborghini, stood on an escalator that took me across the city, and walked past a flattened pig face hanging from a storefront. 

There were also million-dollar antiques and some squid.

I'll never forget any of it.

My day started with brunch in this city, Hong Kong.



See the twin towers next to the really tall tower? My restaurant was in one of those.



Then I walked back to my hotel, the Courtyard Marriott.



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Why Anyone In Their Right Mind Would Pay $142 Million For A Piece Of Art, In One Great Paragraph

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lucien freud baconEarlier this month, someone paid a record $142 million at auction for a triptych portrait by Francis Bacon of fellow artist Lucian Freud. 

We offered up an explanation of how that painting in particular ended up as the new global benchmark. 

There may be an even simpler explanation: We are now in an era where someone will drop a hundred-million-plus for a painting in general, without much hesitation. 

In his profile for this week's New Yorker of the world's second-most successful art dealer, a relatively level-headed sounding German named David Zwirner, Nick Paumgarten beautifully articulates what the art world in 2013 in general is all about:

The accumulation of greater wealth in the hands of a smaller percentage of the world’s population has created immense fortunes with a limitless capacity to pursue a limited supply of art work. The globalization of the art market—the interest in contemporary art among newly wealthy Asians, Latin Americans, Arabs, and Russians—has furnished it with scores of new buyers, and perhaps fresh supplies of greater fools. Once you have hundreds of millions of dollars, it’s hard to know where to put it all. Art is transportable, unregulated, glamorous, arcane, beautiful, difficult. It is easier to store than oil, more esoteric than diamonds, more durable than political influence. Its elusive valuation makes it conducive to extremely creative tax accounting.

Paumgarten is arguably the New Yorker's most talented writer and the whole piece is worth checking out.

Anyway, that's a pretty good summation of where things stand these days.

SEE ALSO: All About Bacon's Freud Triptych

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Heathrow Opened A Lounge Just For E-Cigarette Smokers, And Passengers Approve

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E Cigarette Chris Anderson Business Insider 12

At the beginning of one of the busiest weeks for airline travel, London Heathrow Airport opened the first zone for smoking electronic cigarettes.

The 323-square-foot e-smoking section is operated by e-cigarette manufacturer Gamucci, and is located in the International Departures Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4, next to the duty free shops, The Telegraph reports.   

E-cigarettes produce a vapor similar to smoke without the heavy tobacco smell. Some contain a mixture of flavorings and nicotine while others have no nicotine.

Skyscanner, a global travel search site, just conducted a survey of 1,000 travelers and found 57% wouldn't object to more airports adopting an indoor e-smoking section, also called a "vaping zone," after the vapor the e-cigarettes produce. 70% of smokers questioned favored vaping zones and 50% of nonsmokers favored them.

E-cigarette smoking is on the rise, with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the UK estimating 1.3 million users as of this year. 

Heathrow continues to maintain designated sections to smoke traditional cigarettes outside the terminal, while allowing e-cigarette smoking in just one indoor area so far. 

But not everyone's happy about the compromise. The British Medical Association told The Telegraph that smoking e-cigarettes indoors should be banned along with traditional cigarettes. Otherwise, it makes "cigarette use seem normal in public and at work." 

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See How The Biggest Jewelry Heist In History Went Down In Under A Minute [VIDEO]

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One of the world's biggest jewelry heists occurred back in July, when a thief stole $136 million worth of jewels from the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in the French Riviera resort town of Cannes. 

Now, security footage of the theft has emerged, and was published by French newspaper Nice Matin.

The video appears to show the brazen thief breaking into the hotel and calmly stealing a briefcase and small box from a temporary jewelry exhibit by the Leviev diamond house, which is owned by Israeli billionaire Lev Leviev, all while holding the two vendors, a manager, and three security guards at gun point.

The entire ordeal was over in less than a minute. The thief escaped with 72 pieces of jewelry and remains at large.

At the time, police said security cameras caught the man on camera, but it didn't help since he had covered his face with a scarf and cap. 

Watch the biggest jewelry heist in history go down in less than one minute below. The action starts around the 16 second mark.

SEE ALSO: Tour An Eerie African Diamond Mining Town That's Slowly Filling With Sand

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An Indian Developer Paid $530 Million For Canada's Embassy In London, And Plans to Turn It Into Apartments For The Super-Rich

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586c902d3057fc52931982c21dcc95d5

India's largest real estate developer Lodha Group said Friday it has bought Canada's embassy building in London's prime Mayfair district for around $530 million.

The seven-storey Canadian High Commission in Grosvenor Square, known as Macdonald House, will be converted into luxury residences for the super-rich, Indian media said.

"We will create a world-class development, which befits the status of the address," said Abhishek Lodha, managing director of Lodha Group.

The Lodha group was chosen as the buyer of the property by the Canadian government after a competitive bidding involving global developers and sovereign wealth funds, the Lodha group said.

The Indian firm is buying the property through internal funds and does not plan to raise debt to finance the deal, officials said.

In 2010, India's Sahara group had acquired the Grosvenor House hotel in London for around $750 million from the Royal Bank of Scotland.

In December last year, the Lodha group bought the US Consulate's Washington House property in Mumbai for $54 million.

The Lodha group is building what it claims is the world's tallest purely residential tower in Mumbai, called "World One", set to be completed in 2014.

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Four Ways Changing When You Eat Could Help You Lose Weight

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Eating competition _ fat man

This post originally appeared on Details.com.

In the beginning, eating was simple — consume three square meals a day and you're done (thanks, Mom!). But then diets got more complicated. Instead of having proper meals, we now fit food in whenever we have time — and usually end up so famished by 3 P.M. that we're stalking the office vending machine like zombies.

You don't need us to tell you that this is no way to stay healthy, but when it comes to losing weight and getting in shape, what is the proper eating regimen?

Nibble

Snackers, rejoice! The pure act of eating and digesting increases your resting metabolic rate — the number of calories your body burns just to support basic functions like thinking, breathing, and talking, says Joan Salge Blake R.D., L.D.N., clinical associate professor of nutrition at Boston University and the author of Nutrition and You: Core Concepts for Good Health. (Check out our other tips to increase your metabolism.)

No wonder one classic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nibbling leads to more weight lost. Researchers had men eat a whopping 17 small snacks a day and found that in just two weeks — and without eating any fewer calories — the participants had lower cholesterol and insulin levels, decreasing their risks not only of weight gain but of heart disease and metabolic diseases like diabetes, too.

Do It Right: Snacking doesn't mean slowly working your way through a bag of chips. But even reaching for so-called "health" bars, nuts, and fruit still leaves you low on certain good-for-you foods like vegetables and lean protein, Blake says. Make sure your snacks involve the nutrients you really need and aren't geared toward convenience alone.

Increase meals, not calories

Fact: People who eat more than three times a day tend to weigh less, according to University of Massachusetts Medical School research.

While it's true that eating more often is the key to preventing hunger (and the resulting refrigerator raids), if you don't cut the total number of calories you eat each day, you won't shed pounds, according to a 2010 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Problem is, when many people double their number of daily meals, they keep each one the same size, effectively doubling their caloric intake, Blake says.

Do It Right: Eat more meals, but cap them at about 300 to 400 calories. When it comes to timing, Blake suggests following your stomach. Eat when you feel slightly hungry and stop when you feel just slightly full. Remember: It takes about 20 minutes for your body to register when it's satiated, she says.

Eat only two full meals a day (Bye-bye, dinner)

A study presented at the American Diabetes Association 2013 meeting revealed that eating only breakfast and lunch helps to lower body mass index (BMI) in people with type 2 diabetes.

After 12 weeks, researchers found that those who ate just breakfast and lunch lost an average of 1.23 points off of their BMI, while those who ate six small meals lost 0.82 pounds — even though both groups ate the same number of calories and macronutrients.

Unfortunately for the masses, the study was conducted only on type 2 diabetics and hasn't yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, so its wider significance is still TBD.

Do It Right: Big dinners don't usually do your body much good since you need the bulk of your energy (aka calories) during the day when you're up and running, Blake says. While heading to bed hungry certainly isn't sustainable or healthy, scaling back your evening portion sizes may help you cut overall calorie consumption, and allow you to eat more during the day to better fuel your workouts.

Fast intermittently

Stop-eating strategies found in books like "The 8-Hour Diet" and "The Fast Diet" might seem more like fads than regimes based on fact, but one 2010 study showed intermittent fasting really is effective at helping people lose weight.

For the study, 16 obese adults were allowed to eat whatever they wanted every other day. On the remaining days they ate only a roughly 500-calorie lunch. Over eight weeks, the participants lost an average of 12.3 pounds. In the end, the success comes down to simple calorie math: subjects only ate about 10 to 15 percent more calories on their "splurge" days than they ate before the diet. Combined with the fasting-day savings, the overall calorie cuts were huge.

Similarly in a 2013 study from Cornell University, when participants skipped breakfast, they ate more at lunch, sure, but their daily caloric intake was still 408 calories lower than when they did eat breakfast.

Do It Right: Following an alternating fast day/feast day program doesn't guarantee you'll get the nutrients you need — or support a healthy relationship with food, for that matter — but remember that the splurge days can be crucial to keeping you motivated, Blake says. To establish better eating habits and still get your foodie on, try the 80-20 rule: Eat healthy 80 percent of the time and then treat yourself the rest.

dec jan 2013 baleMore From Details:

SEE ALSO: THE FAST DIET: Get Thin Quick By Starving Yourself Two Days A Week

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The 66 Most Stunning Science Pictures Of 2013

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Lightning Storm over the Grand Canyon

Anyone who says science is boring has not seen images like these.

Throughout 2013, there have been countless discoveries, phenomena, and moments of natural beauty that amazed and stunned us.

Scientists, professional photographers, and even regular people captured these events in eye-opening pictures that remind us how incredible science really is.

In September, visitors took pictures of tidal waves created by a severe typhoon in Hangzhou, in the Zhejiang province of China. The storm killed two people in the Philippines and injured nine people in Taiwan.

Source: Stunning Picture Of A Tidal Wave In China Caused By A Powerful Typhoon



British photographer Tim Flach created a series called "More Than Human," which captures the emotions of wild creatures through intensely close shots, including this stunning picture of a tiger drying off.

Source: Photographer Captures Incredible Human Side Of Animals



In January, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his five-man team set off to cross the Antarctic continent during the winter months — a trek that had never been attempted before. Here, their ship reaches the first pack ice, large pieces of ice that have been pushed together into a single mass.

Source: 'Suicidal' Antarctic Journey Reaches First Milestone



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






Gramercy Tavern's Head Chef Reveals His Holiday Wish List

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Mike Anthony Color Ellen Silverman

Michael Anthony knows a thing or two about what chefs want for the holidays. He's the executive chef and a partner at Gramercy Tavern, and last year he won a prestigious James Beard Award for "Best Chef in New York City."

We caught up with Anthony on the heels of publishing his first book, "The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook." With the upcoming holidays, he recommended six must-haves for the foodie in your life. 

Often employing a farm-to-table cooking philosophy, Anthony believes in a simple kitchen: "A couple of pots, a sharp knife, a good mixer."

His picks reflect the staples for any self-respecting food lover. You won't find the "very expensive, very specific," Thermomix on his wish list. 

1. Middleton Made Steak Knives

Quintin Middleton Middleton Made Knives Facebook"Quintin Middleton hand forges all his knives outside of Charleston, S.C.," Anthony said. "His knives are gorgeous pieces of art. They're balanced, sharp, made out of beautiful materials and have a point of view that adds to the experience of being at the table."

"Most chefs hold their knives higher up the blade," Anthony said, "so Quintin gives a place to hold the knife higher up. It fits like a good handshake."

Price: $600 for a set of six

2. Besh Box

Besh Box Chef John Besh Facebook"The Besh Box is a small cooking kit with a curated list of ingredients," Anthony said. "Each month you get really beautiful food to make things like apple pies."  

The item, from celebrity chef John Besh, has a limited edition Holidays from the Heart box for December featuring a recipe inspired by Besh's new cookbook, "Cooking from the Heart."

Price: $55 for one month; $660 for one year

3.  Benton's Hickory Smoked Country Ham

Hickory Smoked Country Ham Bentons Country Ham Com"Allan Benton has been smoking hams in the style of his family for years and years," Anthony said. "We're used to thinking of country ham as prosciutto, but why would we only associate these really delicious food traditions with a foreign culture? I can't think of a better way to spend an American holiday than with this smoky ham, as long as you enjoy eating meat."  

Price: $65 for a whole smoked ham

4. Norwich Meadows Community Supported Agriculture Box

Norwich Meadows Farm"Gramercy Taverns partnered with Norwich Meadows for a CSA box," Anthony said. "You pay a membership fee and in return you receive a weekly delivery during the harvest of what's being produced by the farmer. It's a great way to pay up front for a share of the harvest."

Anthony also noted that this is a great gift for vegetarians since Norwich Meadows Farm deals in certified organically grown produce. The farm also lists recipes on its website.

Price: $370 for an individual box; other plans available

5. Breville Immersion Blender

Breville"Breville makes an awesome hand blender," Anthony said. "It doesn't take up too much space and you can blend right in the same pot you're cooking in." 

Price: $100

6. Le Creuset Roasting Pan

Le Creuset Roasting Pan cookware.lecreuset.com"You want a high-sided roasting pan with a lid," Anthony said. "I say large because a lot of people have some kind of small pot ware, but Le Creuset makes such a great cast iron, enamel lined roaster that lasts a lifetime. It's traditional. If you're going to have something to cook in for special occasions, this is the one."  

Price: $250

SEE ALSO: OpenTable Says These Are The Best US Restaurants For Foodies

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A History Of The World's Tallest Skyscrapers

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New York City kicked off the world's fascination with skyscrapers in 1908 thanks to the combination of steel-frame construction and the elevator. 

The Singer Building, the city's first skyscraper, topped out at 612 feet. 

New York played host to the world's tallest building for the next 66 years, until Chicago's Willis Tower took the title in 1974.  It wasn't until 1998 that Asia produced an even taller building, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Building database Emporis.com shows how the world's tallest buildings gradually moved from the U.S. to the Middle East and Asia in the graphic below. 

1 meter equals about 3.3 feet with the tallest building  the Burj Khalifa, a mixed-use facility in Dubai  reaching 2,717 feet.

Skyscraper History ENG

SEE ALSO: The Best New Skyscrapers On Earth

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10 Of The Biggest Lies Students Hear Before They Get To College

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Students Taking Test Teacher

For many students, your college years are supposed to be some of the best in your life; the peak of intellectual inquiry and social opportunities.

However, many students find that once they get on campus, the reality does not match their expectations. A recent Reddit thread — titled "What was the biggest lie told to you about college before actually going?" — gave some people the chance to voice what they saw as the biggest falsehoods about college.

We've collected some of the best answers below, with a few edits for clarity:

That professors don't care about students.

"That professors won't care about you. Even in graduate school, some of my professors are quite accommodating and caring." — lisadisa

That there are no multiple choice tests in college.

"My AP English teacher said that the multiple choice questions we had on a test towards the end of the year was the last time we would have multiple choice questions on a test. Couldn't have been farther from the truth." — kfuller515

Law School Students in the Classroom 2011That your major doesn't matter.

"'Your major doesn't matter.' THIS. Everyone told me to major in something I loved, now I'm saving up to go back to school to do something that will earn a living." — amkamins

That you'll gain the "Freshman 15."

"'You would gain 15 pounds from drinking.' False. You would gain 30 pounds from eating a buffet every day in the dorms." — ivegotagoldenticket

That you have to buy all your textbooks.

"Biggest lie in college: This book is required." — HappyMusicc

That you're special.

"That I was smart. I've come to realize in university that I am exceedingly average, possibly less than average in some areas." — Readys

That the workload is heavier than it is in high school.

"I had an AP [teacher] in high school [who] would give us hours of homework a night and she said it was nothing compared to college classes. It was a government class for god's sake. I minored in History and Government in college and I never had that much work from any class." — AfghanHokie

That you can wait to declare a major.

Students Neon Posing Rave"That you don't need to declare your major until a couple years in. While you can technically wait to declare a major the longer you wait the less likely it is that you'll be able to finish it within 4 years." — Rtgfvbnmjhyu

That you'll meet your best friends.

"That I'd meet my best friends for the rest of my life. I graduated two years ago and have only seen my two roommates/best friends from college once each. Don't get me wrong, I met a lot of great people, but no one that I would consider a life long best friend. I hang out with my best friends from high school way more frequently and they both live at least two states away." — BrokenPug

That you'll be busy all the time.

"'You're going to be busy and won't have a lot of free time.' I should have been told, 'You're going to have a sh*t load of free time. Time management is the most important skill you will need to learn.'" — TrollinForDownvotes

SEE ALSO: 12 Reasons Why Ithaca, New York Is The Best College Town In America

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HOUSE OF THE DAY: This Historic Hamptons Estate Just Sold For $28 Million

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Normandy exterior

The 20 villages of the Hamptons have long been a destination for New York's "it" crowd, and there are plenty of historic mansions to prove it. 

Southampton's Normandy House, designed in 1923 and constructed over a seven-year period, was just sold to an unknown buyer for $28 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The six-bedroom mansion lies on 8.4 acres of land that front Lake Agawam. There are plenty of intricate, elegant details that are a reminder of the house's past — plus, there's a lakefront pool and a three-bedroom guest house. 

Enter the estate on a path lined with apple trees.

Source: Corcoran Group Real Estate



The mansion lies on 8.4 acres of land.

Source: Corcoran Group Real Estate



The main house is secluded behind old walls and lush foliage.

Source: Corcoran Group Real Estate



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This Chart Tells You Everything You Need To Know About Pairing Wine With Food

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Wine can be an integral part of a meal. But for those who aren't sure what to serve at their next dinner party, Wine Folly has created the perfect beginners' wine chart.

Originally found through Visual.ly, the experts at Wine Folly made an infographic that breaks down the basics of every type of wine, including calorie count, alcohol content, and most importantly, which wines pair best with which food.

Having pizza? Try a nice Merlot. Ordering in some spicy Thai cuisine? Go with a sweet white, like a Moscato. Vegetarian? A dry white such as Pinot Gris will pair well with sautéed vegetables or flaky fish. 

Never pair your dinner with the wrong wine again. Check out the chart below (click to enlarge).

basic wine 101 guide infographic poster

SEE ALSO: How To Sound Like A Wine Expert In Nine Basic Steps

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Three Ways To Open A Champagne, Wine, Or Beer Bottle Without An Opener


Saudi Arabia: Paradigm Shift

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Saudi Arabia woman drivingSaudis are internationally renowned for their lavish lifestyles and their taste for luxury goods. Yet in recent years the country has also seen an increasing demand for less expensive goods. In the auto sector in particular, cheaper Chinese car brands are now posing a serious threat to established carmakers from Japan, Korea & the US.

Most prominent of these is Geely, the owner of Sweden's Volvo Cars and one of China's biggest carmakers. With four own-brand models in its portfolio (the LC Panda, GX2, EC7 & EC8), Geely sold 13,000 units in Saudi Arabia in 2012, earning a market share of 1.7%. Now with the addition of Emgrand X7 SUV model, the brand is confident it can top 2%.

Geely's success is partly down to its choice of partner, after it teamed up with experienced Saudi dealer Haji Hussein & Alireza Group. The latter has followed its success by securing the rights to sell another Chinese brand, this time a commercial vehicle maker. Maxus offers two variants of its V80 model: one a 15-seater passenger van and the other a cargo van. Both vehicles come with 2.5L diesel turbocharged engine with direct fuel injection system.

Great Wall, another Chinese carmaker, is also making inroads, bringing in its medium weight pick-ups to the market. Meanwhile JAC Motors is racking up market share, thanks to its dealers in Saudi Arabia, Al-Jedaie Motors (owned by Al-Jedaie Group).

Price is right

The Saudi auto market is used to waves of new competitors. Until recently, the market was dominated by Japanese brands, which had moved in during the 1980s to take sales off their US and European rivals. Toyota now holds a 40% market share, followed by Nissan on 9.5% share. US and European brands make up 6.5% and 18% respectively.

Only a few years ago, however, South Korean automotive brands, notably Hyundai and its sister company Kia, started capturing market share for both passenger car range and, to a lesser extent, commercial vehicles. Helped by a reputation of value for money, South Korea has now become the second highest source of car imports in Saudi Arabia, although its share is now under threat fro the Chinese.

The main attraction of Chinese cars, in Saudi Arabia as elsewhere, is price. Rising inflation has made the Saudi middle class far more careful with their money, and keen to snap up a new car with decent features and usually backed by a good service and maintenance plan. The low-cost car market is also helped by a ban on imports of second-hand cars over five years old. Chinese cars are particularly popular with expatriate buyers, fleet buyers and as a second car for school runs.

Demand could get an extra fillip if Saudi women ever gain the right to drive. Even without that, the Economist Intelligence Unit expects sales to rise by around 6.5% a year, reaching 1m by 2017. Chinese carmakers should continue to profit from that.

Nevertheless, overhauling Toyota's market lead will not be easy. The Japanese carmaker is backed by the by far the biggest local distributor, the giant Abdul Latif Jameel, which has the clout to offer great financing deals. The Chinese will also have to cope with the launch of a joint Saudi-South Korean project to build low-cost cars in the kingdom.

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More Than A Dozen Kids And Adult Guests Fall Sick At Vegas Hotel

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Las vegas strip13 kids, 5 adult guests at Rio casino in Vegas taken to hospital with flu-like symptoms

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Clark County firefighters say they responded to the Rio casino in Las Vegas after 20 adults and children in town with a traveling football team came down with flu-like symptoms.

Clark County Fire Deputy Chief Erik Newman says officials were called Friday morning to help the group members, who were staying on the sixth floor of the hotel-casino.

Deputy Chief Fernandez Leary says 18 people were taken to hospitals, including 13 children between the ages of 7 and 9.

It wasn't immediately clear why the group members were sick.

The football team is from Santa Monica, Calif.

Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The Most Surprising Things About America, According To An Indian International Student

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Aniruddh Chaturvedi

Aniruddh Chaturvedi came from Mumbai to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he is majoring in computer science. This past summer he interned at a tech company in Silicon Valley.

During two years in the U.S., Chaturvedi has been surprised by various aspects of society, as he explained last year in a post on Quora.

Chaturvedi offered his latest thoughts on America in an email to Business Insider.

The most surprising things about America: 

  • Nobody talks about grades here. 
  • Everyone is highly private about their accomplishments and failures. Someone's performance in any field is their performance alone. This is different compared to India where people flaunt their riches and share their accomplishments with everybody else.
  • The retail experience is nowhere near as fun/nice as it is in India. Because labor is cheap in India, there is always someone who will act as a "personal shopper" to assist you with holding your clothes, giving suggestions, etc. In America, on the other hand, even if you go to a Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, there is almost nobody to help you out while you're shopping. Shopping in America is more of a commodity / chore than it is a pleasurable activity 
  • This may be biased/wrong because I was an intern, but at least in the tech world, nobody wants to put you under the bus for something that you didn't do correctly or didn't understand how to do. People will sit with you patiently till you get it. If you aren't able to finish something within the stipulated deadline, a person on your team would graciously offer to take it off your plate.
  • The same applies to school. Before I came to the United States, I heard stories about how students at Johns Hopkins were so competitive with each other that they used to tear important pages from books in the library just so other students didn't have access to it. In reality, I experienced the complete opposite. Students were highly collaborative, formed study groups, and studied / did assignments till everyone in the group "got it". I think the reason for this is that the classes are / material is so hard that it makes sense to work collaboratively to the point that students learn from each other. 
  • Strong ethics — everyone has a lot of integrity. If someone cannot submit their completed assignment in time, they will turn in the assignment incomplete rather than asking for answers at the last minute. People take pride in their hard work and usually do not cheat. This is different from students from India and China as well as back home in India, where everyone collaborates to the extent that it can be categorized as cheating.
  • Rich people are thin/ well maintained, poor people are fat. This stems from the fact that cheap food is fatty, rich people don't eat cheap food — they tend to eat either home-cooked food which is expensive or eat at expensive / healthy places. Unfortunately, it is expensive to be healthy in America.
  • Fat people are not respected much in society. Being fat often has the same connotations as being irresponsible towards your body. If you're thin (and tall, but not as much), people will respect you a lot more and treat you better. You will also receive better customer service if you're well maintained. This extends my previous point which mentioned that if you're thin, you're statistically likely to be rich. Reason why I know this is that I went down from being 210lbs to 148-150lbs. The way people started treating me when I was thin was generally way better than the way I was treated when I was fat. As a small example, the Starbucks baristas were much nicer to me and made me drinks with more care / love. 
  • Girls are not very promiscuous, contrary to most Hollywood films
  • Almost every single person in America has access to basic food, clothing, water and sanitation. I haven't been to states like Louisiana and cities like Detroit, but from what I can tell, nobody is scrambling for the basic necessities required for sustenance. 
  • Dearth of African Americans in technical fields. This probably stems from the fact that they aren't given enough opportunity, broken families, etc. I'm pretty sure you can extend upon this if you'd like.
  • It's expensive to have brick houses in America, contrary to India where brick houses are the norm
  • Emphasis on physical fitness / being outdoorsy — this is more of a California thing but I noticed families going on biking trips, boat trips, hiking, camping, barbecuing, etc. Americans take pride in the natural beauty of their surroundings and tend to make the most of it
  • Americans waste a lot of food. It is very easy to buy in bulk because it's so much cheaper and as a result a lot of wastage occurs. 
  • Obsession with coffee — Starbucks, Dunkin' etc is crowded with office-goers and students every morning. I don't understand why they can't drink or make coffee before leaving for work. Such a waste of money! ($5/day * 5days / week * 52weeks/year)!
  • Split families, not having married parents, etc is not seen differently than the contrary. 
  • Support towards the LGBT community — it's fairly normal to be part of the LGBT community; it's not considered a mortal sin if you like someone in your own gender or if you aren't comfortable being male/female/etc. Proof of this is the LGBT Pride Day held in every city etc. 
  • Smoking weed is seen the same as smoking cigarettes. 

And here are some more things he found surprising about America, excerpted from his post last summer on Quora :

The way that stores price their products makes no apparent economic sense, and is not linear at all.

For example, at a typical store: 
 - 1 can of coke : $1.00
 - 12 cans of coke : $3.00
 - 1 Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar : $3.00
 - 12 Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars : $7.00

The return policy on almost everything: None of my friends back in India believed me when I told them that you can literally buy anything, including food, and return it within ninety days for a full refund even if you don't have a specific reason for doing so (most stores actually have a "Buyer's Remorse" category under Reason for Return options while returning the product).

The pervasiveness of fast food and the sheer variety of products available: The typical supermarket has at least a hundred varieties of frozen pizza, 50 brands of trail mix, etc. I was just astounded by the different kinds of products available even at small gas station convenience stores. 

Soda being cheaper than bottled water: It makes no sense that carbonated and flavored water with HFCS are cheaper than regular water, but hey, that's just how it is.

The fact that there are full service rest stops with decent chain restaurants and big supermarkets every couple of miles on interstate highways 

Fruit and vegetable prices, as compared to fast food prices:

- Bag of grapes : $6.00
 - Box of strawberries : $5.00
 - 1 lb tomatoes : $3.00

 - McChicken : $1.00
 - [McDouble] : $1.00

Unlimited soda refills:

The first time (and one of the last times...) I visited McDonalds in 2007, the cashier gave me an empty cup when I ordered soda. The concept of virtually unlimited soda refills was alien to me, and I thought there was a catch to it, but apparently not. 

Slightly digressing, I've noticed that the typical fountain machine has a huge selection, including Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Hi-C, Powerade, Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade (and/or their coca-cola counterparts)... The list goes on. This may not seem like much, but it is actually a lot more compared to the 3-4 options (coca-cola, sprite, fanta, limca) that most Indian soda fountain machines have. 

Serving Sizes: American serving sizes are HUGE! I've noticed that entree sizes are huge as well. I am by no means a small eater, but it usually takes me at least 1.5 meals to finish the entree. 

US Flag displayed everywhere: I was surprised to see that the US flag is displayed in schools, on rooftops of houses, etc. India has very strict rules governing the display and use of the national flag. Also, something that struck out to me was how it was completely normal to wear the US flag or a US flag-like pattern as a bikini. 

Over-commercialization of festivals: I'm not denying that festivals like Diwali and Eid aren't extremely commercialized in India, but America takes it to a whole new level.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc., and an almost year-round sale of Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc. items.

An almost-classless society: I've noticed that most Americans roughly have the same standard of living.  Everybody has access to ample food, everybody shops at the same supermarkets, malls, stores, etc. I've seen plumbers, construction workers and janitors driving their own sedans, which was quite difficult for me to digest at first since I came from a country where construction workers and plumbers lived hand to mouth. 

Also, (almost) all sections of society are roughly equal. You'll see service professionals owning iPhones, etc. as well. This may be wrong but part of it has to do with the fact that obtaining credit in this country is extremely easy. Anybody can buy anything, for the most part, except for something like a Maserati, obviously. As a result, most monetary possessions aren't really status symbols. I believe that the only status symbol in America is your job, and possibly your educational qualifications.

Chaturvedi ended his post with a link to a video of "America F--- Yeah" from the movie "Team America." 

SEE ALSO: 17 crazy things that only happen in India

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The Most Surprising Things About America, According To An Indian International Student

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Aniruddh Chaturvedi

Aniruddh Chaturvedi came from Mumbai to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn., where he is majoring in computer science. This past summer he interned at a tech company in Silicon Valley.

During two years in the U.S., Chaturvedi has been surprised by various aspects of society, as he explained last year in a post on Quora.

Chaturvedi offered his latest thoughts on America in an email to Business Insider.

The most surprising things about America: 

  • Nobody talks about grades here. 
  • Everyone is highly private about their accomplishments and failures. Someone's performance in any field is their performance alone. This is different compared to India where people flaunt their riches and share their accomplishments with everybody else.
  • The retail experience is nowhere near as fun/nice as it is in India. Because labor is cheap in India, there is always someone who will act as a "personal shopper" to assist you with holding your clothes, giving suggestions, etc. In America, on the other hand, even if you go to a Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, there is almost nobody to help you out while you're shopping. Shopping in America is more of a commodity / chore than it is a pleasurable activity 
  • This may be biased/wrong because I was an intern, but at least in the tech world, nobody wants to put you under the bus for something that you didn't do correctly or didn't understand how to do. People will sit with you patiently till you get it. If you aren't able to finish something within the stipulated deadline, a person on your team would graciously offer to take it off your plate.
  • The same applies to school. Before I came to the United States, I heard stories about how students at Johns Hopkins were so competitive with each other that they used to tear important pages from books in the library just so other students didn't have access to it. In reality, I experienced the complete opposite. Students were highly collaborative, formed study groups, and studied / did assignments till everyone in the group "got it". I think the reason for this is that the classes are / material is so hard that it makes sense to work collaboratively to the point that students learn from each other. 
  • Strong ethics — everyone has a lot of integrity. If someone cannot submit their completed assignment in time, they will turn in the assignment incomplete rather than asking for answers at the last minute. People take pride in their hard work and usually do not cheat. This is different from students from India and China as well as back home in India, where everyone collaborates to the extent that it can be categorized as cheating.
  • Rich people are thin/ well maintained, poor people are fat. This stems from the fact that cheap food is fatty, rich people don't eat cheap food — they tend to eat either home-cooked food which is expensive or eat at expensive / healthy places. Unfortunately, it is expensive to be healthy in America.
  • Fat people are not respected much in society. Being fat often has the same connotations as being irresponsible towards your body. If you're thin (and tall, but not as much), people will respect you a lot more and treat you better. You will also receive better customer service if you're well maintained. This extends my previous point which mentioned that if you're thin, you're statistically likely to be rich. Reason why I know this is that I went down from being 210lbs to 148-150lbs. The way people started treating me when I was thin was generally way better than the way I was treated when I was fat. As a small example, the Starbucks baristas were much nicer to me and made me drinks with more care / love. 
  • Girls are not very promiscuous, contrary to most Hollywood films
  • Almost every single person in America has access to basic food, clothing, water and sanitation. I haven't been to states like Louisiana and cities like Detroit, but from what I can tell, nobody is scrambling for the basic necessities required for sustenance. 
  • Dearth of African Americans in technical fields. This probably stems from the fact that they aren't given enough opportunity, broken families, etc. I'm pretty sure you can extend upon this if you'd like.
  • It's expensive to have brick houses in America, contrary to India where brick houses are the norm
  • Emphasis on physical fitness / being outdoorsy — this is more of a California thing but I noticed families going on biking trips, boat trips, hiking, camping, barbecuing, etc. Americans take pride in the natural beauty of their surroundings and tend to make the most of it
  • Americans waste a lot of food. It is very easy to buy in bulk because it's so much cheaper and as a result a lot of wastage occurs. 
  • Obsession with coffee — Starbucks, Dunkin' etc is crowded with office-goers and students every morning. I don't understand why they can't drink or make coffee before leaving for work. Such a waste of money! ($5/day * 5days / week * 52weeks/year)!
  • Split families, not having married parents, etc is not seen differently than the contrary. 
  • Support towards the LGBT community — it's fairly normal to be part of the LGBT community; it's not considered a mortal sin if you like someone in your own gender or if you aren't comfortable being male/female/etc. Proof of this is the LGBT Pride Day held in every city etc. 
  • Smoking weed is seen the same as smoking cigarettes. 

And here are some more things he found surprising about America, excerpted from his post last summer on Quora :

The way that stores price their products makes no apparent economic sense, and is not linear at all.

For example, at a typical store: 
 - 1 can of coke : $1.00
 - 12 cans of coke : $3.00
 - 1 Häagen-Dazs ice cream bar : $3.00
 - 12 Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars : $7.00

The return policy on almost everything: None of my friends back in India believed me when I told them that you can literally buy anything, including food, and return it within ninety days for a full refund even if you don't have a specific reason for doing so (most stores actually have a "Buyer's Remorse" category under Reason for Return options while returning the product).

The pervasiveness of fast food and the sheer variety of products available: The typical supermarket has at least a hundred varieties of frozen pizza, 50 brands of trail mix, etc. I was just astounded by the different kinds of products available even at small gas station convenience stores. 

Soda being cheaper than bottled water: It makes no sense that carbonated and flavored water with HFCS are cheaper than regular water, but hey, that's just how it is.

The fact that there are full service rest stops with decent chain restaurants and big supermarkets every couple of miles on interstate highways 

Fruit and vegetable prices, as compared to fast food prices:

- Bag of grapes : $6.00
 - Box of strawberries : $5.00
 - 1 lb tomatoes : $3.00

 - McChicken : $1.00
 - [McDouble] : $1.00

Unlimited soda refills:

The first time (and one of the last times...) I visited McDonalds in 2007, the cashier gave me an empty cup when I ordered soda. The concept of virtually unlimited soda refills was alien to me, and I thought there was a catch to it, but apparently not. 

Slightly digressing, I've noticed that the typical fountain machine has a huge selection, including Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Hi-C, Powerade, Lemonade, Raspberry Lemonade (and/or their coca-cola counterparts)... The list goes on. This may not seem like much, but it is actually a lot more compared to the 3-4 options (coca-cola, sprite, fanta, limca) that most Indian soda fountain machines have. 

Serving Sizes: American serving sizes are HUGE! I've noticed that entree sizes are huge as well. I am by no means a small eater, but it usually takes me at least 1.5 meals to finish the entree. 

US Flag displayed everywhere: I was surprised to see that the US flag is displayed in schools, on rooftops of houses, etc. India has very strict rules governing the display and use of the national flag. Also, something that struck out to me was how it was completely normal to wear the US flag or a US flag-like pattern as a bikini. 

Over-commercialization of festivals: I'm not denying that festivals like Diwali and Eid aren't extremely commercialized in India, but America takes it to a whole new level.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc., and an almost year-round sale of Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc. items.

An almost-classless society: I've noticed that most Americans roughly have the same standard of living.  Everybody has access to ample food, everybody shops at the same supermarkets, malls, stores, etc. I've seen plumbers, construction workers and janitors driving their own sedans, which was quite difficult for me to digest at first since I came from a country where construction workers and plumbers lived hand to mouth. 

Also, (almost) all sections of society are roughly equal. You'll see service professionals owning iPhones, etc. as well. This may be wrong but part of it has to do with the fact that obtaining credit in this country is extremely easy. Anybody can buy anything, for the most part, except for something like a Maserati, obviously. As a result, most monetary possessions aren't really status symbols. I believe that the only status symbol in America is your job, and possibly your educational qualifications.

Chaturvedi ended his post with a link to a video of "America F--- Yeah" from the movie "Team America." 

SEE ALSO: 17 crazy things that only happen in India

Join the conversation about this story »


    

An Amazing Letter Of Thanks From An American Student Studying Abroad

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MaddieEvery year during Thanksgiving dinner, 30 or so of my family members have a tradition of temporarily putting down our forks as we go around the room to say what we are thankful for.

This year, my 20-year-old cousin, Maddie, was unable to attend the annual feast because she has 10 days left in her study abroad program in Spain. Before that, she spent the summer studying in China.

So this year, Maddie  a junior at the University of Richmond  emailed in what she was thankful for as her mom read the letter of gratitude aloud. 

Not only has Maddie traveled the world and seen so much that makes her appreciative of where she comes from, but she discussed how thankful she is for modern technology that allows her to keep in contact with family.

Her letter serves as a wonderful reminder of being thankful for things that take us out of our comfort zones and don't necessarily go our way, and she is allowing me to share it with you (sans the inside family jokes) below:

Since this time last year, I have been to Beijing, Vietnam, Shanghai, Kunming, Dali, Shangri-la, Lijiang. I have been to Madrid, Ibiza, Copenhagen, Munich, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Switzerland.

I have climbed the Great Wall, backpacked across paradise (or hell, beauty is the eye of the beholder, no?), seen a kingdom of midgets. I have played with monkeys, been to beautiful beaches, seen where Disney got his magic. I have been to Oktoberfest, eaten far too many pretzels and schnitzel and learned the importance of double checking the direction of the train, missing my flight home. I have seen the greatest modern DJs perform, seen more prostitutes than the majority of young girls should ever see, and stayed up until 8 am in a city that never sleeps.

MaddieI have learned to cook paella and seen the greatest soccer players in the world play in the greatest soccer game, with the greatest people. I have seen the Vatican, the Spanish steps and sealed lifelong friendships. I have skied the Swiss alps and paraglided over Interlaken, Switzerland.

It is evident I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am by far the luckiest girl in the world.

I am thankful for tap water, for hot water, for water that turns on. I love my shower. I am thankful for white rice, for silverware, for restaurants that don’t serve dog. I am thankful for spontaneity and for alcohol, both of which were necessary to get me through the lack of water and all the white rice.

I am thankful for Google Translate, really, THANK YOU Google Translate. I do not know what I would do without you, you are my everything.

I am thankful for my landlord Begoña, your English is flawed but you try and that makes me smile. I am thankful for the sanitation workers, don’t you dare go on strike again. I am thankful for the cab driver who, though I denied a ride, followed me home one night to make sure I got in safely and expected nothing in return.

MaddieOn this Thanksgiving, thank you to the street vendors who call us “beautiful” and “pretty” as we walk to and from school every day, you do great things for our self esteems. We might even miss you one day.  

I am thankful for Facetime and for Viber, for making those I love the most not seem so far away. I am thankful that my parents love me for who I am, sorry for not making an abroad blog.

I am thankful for my brothers. For Granny and for Papa, for enjoying the simple things. I am thankful that the wisest and those with the most experiences are not jaded by the world, that they still get excited over a phone call and of course, I am thankful for speaker phone.  

For Mom and for Dad, there are no words. I am thankful for their sense of adventure, for passing it down onto me.  It is obvious, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. My passport may be full, but my life has been fuller.

I am thankful for the times without hot water, I  learned to be flexible. I am thankful for the times without girls, I have never loved my girlfriends more. For the missed flights, for the homesickness, for the letdowns, I am thankful for them all. I have learned from every experience and for that, I am the luckiest girl in the world.  

Thank you does not begin to express my gratitude, there is no way to articulate how thankful I am. This past year has introduced me to new people, taught me new things and brought me to new places. But in 10 days I get to send “Strings, Home” and for that, I am by far the most thankful.

SEE ALSO: Here's Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving When We Do

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