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Spain's '100 Sandwiches' Chain Has Finally Arrived In NYC, And It's Worth The Hype

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100 Montaditos

If you want sandwiches, Spanish chain restaurant 100 Montaditos is the place to be.

Founded in Spain in 2001, 100 Montaditos (which translates to "100 sandwiches") expanded across the country, throughout Europe and Latin America, and eventually made its way to the United States in 2011 with a midtown Miami locale.

After several years of testing out its North American locations down in Florida, the sandwich haven has finally made its way to the Big Apple, and we could not be happier.

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Located at 176 Bleecker St. in Manhattan's West Village, 100 Montaditos serves up little fresh-to-order sandwiches (or montaditos in Spanish) with ingredients ranging from traditional Spanish tortilla, Serrano ham, and Manchego cheese, to more North American options like steak and cheese and barbeque pork.

They also have appetizers and desserts, where customers choose among dulce de leche, chocolate, and oreos, all served between slices of bread, of course.

But the best part is the prices: All the montaditos range from $1 to $2.50, except on Wednesdays when all montaditos, soft drinks, and appetizers (try the brava potatoes) are $1 each. 

When we recently visited the new location, the ordering system was incredibly streamlined. We scribbled down the numbered sandwiches of our choice on a provided pad of paper, handed it to the cashier, paid, and then proceeded to our table. A simple and smart process, considering the restaurant sells more than 100 different items.

We ordered the #54, a combination of brie cheese, slices of chorizo, and a dollop of aioli, and #35, grilled chicken mixed with lettuce and chipotle aioli. Though both were equally delicious — just the right proportions of bread, meat, and sauce — our favorite by far was #22, a Spanish tortilla and brava sauce sandwich. 

100 Montaditos

And while the sandwiches were all fairly tiny (roughly the length of an iPhone 5), they were also surprisingly filling. For five sandwiches, a side of brava potatoes, and a classic sangria, we paid just $8.60.

If you're planning to try 100 Montaditos, make sure to get there on the earlier side. When we arrived at 5:30 p.m., the restaurant was fairly empty and the wait for food was less than 10 minutes. But an hour later, at 6:30 p.m., the small back dining patio was full and the line to order ran 25 people deep.

Wait or not, the price, variety, and taste make it worth your while to stop at this new West Village sandwich shop. 

SEE ALSO: See What It's Like To Eat At Chipotle's New Pizzeria In Denver

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This Ancient Pagan Celebration In Macedonia Looks Truly Bizarre

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Every year in January, the village of Vevcani celebrates Saint Vasijil's Day (anglicized as Saint Basil's Day) with a massive festival where the villagers dress in elaborate, strange, and terrifying costumes.

Without fail, the 1,400-year-old pagan festival draws tourists and the media to the village, located a little more than 100 miles from the Macedonian capital of Skopje.

Vevcani is a surprisingly well-known village despite its small size (pop: 2,500). In the late '80s, while Macedonia was still under communist rule, the government tried to redirect the village's springs to nearby Struga. Villagers set up barricades to prevent it and the government sent in special police to beat the village into submission. After weeks of conflict, the government gave up. 

In 1991, shortly after Macedonia established its independence, the village declared itself an independent republic, going so far as to issue special red passports, creating its own coat of arms, and printing its own currency, the licnik. The town's independence is mostly in-name however. Their currency is a souvenir and both the town and the Macedonian government try to stay out each other's way.

Since, the village's independent character and provocative yearly festival has continued to raise the popularity of the town. In an area where most villages are destitute and poor, Vevcani continues to thrive.

Check it out: 

The St. Vasilij's Day Festival occurs on the Orthodox Christian New Year, usually on January 14th.st vasilij festival 16During the festival, revelers put on vivid masks to express themselves. Villagers keep their masks and costumes hidden during the year so that it is a surprise on the day of the festival. st vasilij festival8Costumes often mock politicians or world figures. The center of the festival is a political satire where villagers act out current events. Here, a villager is dressed as Greece, in the form of a beggar with a baby, to mock the country's failing economy. st vasilij festival 15"We have had (masks of) Muslims, priests, world leaders, terrorists," Mayor Pero Ilieski, told the Associated Press last year. "It is only a carnival, so it is something that is not real.st vasilij festival6Costumes are usually whimsical or meant to be tongue-in-cheek.st vasilij festival14Some costumes are meant to be haunting or terrifying. They symbolize the evil spirits in the world.st vasilij festival13During the festival, villagers consider their entire town a stage and every villager a performer. Revelers often scream, wave their bodies wildly, and try to improvise with peculiar movements to express themselves.st vasilij festival12There are four traditional costumes in the festival —The Musicians, The Bride and Groom, August the Stupid, and The Devils.st vasilij festival9When festival-goers arrive, they are not allowed to speak so that others won't guess who they are. Once someone guesses correctly, the villager must remove their mask. st vasilij festival7Women do not traditionally participate in the festival. However, many disguise themselves in costume and simply do not participate in the guessing game. st vasilij festival5It makes for one crazy party. It's been described as "drowned in red wine."st vasilij festival4At the end of the festival, all masks and costumes are taken to the village square and burned in a symbolic act of purification. st vasilij festival10It's meant to chase out the evil spirits.

st vasilij festival3

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New York Photographer Captures The 'Real' Faces Of America

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New York-based photographer Leland Bobbé has captured many faces of America, from the high society ladies of Fifth Avenue to drag queens.

In his latest series, called "Americana Portraits," he sought to capture the faces of people he sees as being "typically American."

As he explains in his artist's statement:

With this series of portraits I have tried to capture what I call Americana portraits. These are people that I see as being typically American. Obviously these images don’t represent every type of American. Personally I find these very “real” faces” more interesting than most doctors, lawyers and other white collar professionals. To my eye I believe it is their own personal style and character that sets them apart.

Bobbé shared some of his photos from upstate New York and New Orleans with Business Insider. You can see more of his work on his website and Facebook page.

New Orleans_3

Afton_NY_2

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Whitney Point_NY_1

Walton,_NY_4

New Orleans_2

Whitney Point_NY_2

Walton_NY_2

Walton, NY_3Walton_NY_1

Otsego_NY_1Otsego_NY_2Afton_NY_1Deposit_NY_2Deposit_NY_1Deposit_NY_3

SEE ALSO: Now Meet The High-Society Ladies Of Fifth Avenue

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China Is Finding New Ways To Crack Down On Foreign Luxury Automakers

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Audi A8 China

China’s ongoing anti-corruption crackdown hit luxury sales hard in 2013, but new sales reports show that foreign luxury auto companies still had a banner year.

However, a new Chinese government regulation restricting military use of foreign autos shows that efforts to create a thorny environment for these brands is likely to continue—and possibly intensify—in 2014.

The Chinese government and state-run media made several efforts at bad PR for foreign luxury auto brands in 2013, and a newly announced restriction strongly suggests that this trend will continue in the coming year.

According to a report in Bloomberg today, Xinhua News Agency reported that China’s military will no longer purchase foreign-branded vehicles, a measure approved by President Xi Jinping and the central military commission.

This new regulation is a more explicit critique of purchasing foreign auto brands than a previous rule enacted in April banning the use of military license plates on luxury autos. It’s not just sales to government officials that have been a focus—this summer, Chinese state-run media outlets released several reports accusing foreign auto companies of price-gouging on models exported to China.

Nonetheless, Chinese consumers continued the mad rush to buy foreign luxury cars in 2013, especially in the mass luxury segment. BMW Group, which just reported its 2013 earnings report, saw a 19.7 percent increase in mainland China deliveries of BMW and MINI vehicles, for a total of 390,713. Meanwhile, competitor and government official favorite Audi saw China sales rise by 21.2 percent in 2013, helping to propel parent company Volkswagen to the position of top foreign auto maker in China. In addition, Daimler reported an 11 percent jump in Mercedes-Benz China sales.

The ultra-luxury segment remained a mixed bag in 2013 as ostentatious displays of wealth were a direct target of the anti-corruption campaign. While Volkswagen’s Porsche posted 20 percent annual growth in the China market, Bentley’s deliveries to China went down from 2,253 cars in 2012 to 2,191 in 2013, despite posting 19 percent global growth overall. Volkswagen reported today that China remains the second-largest market for Lamborghini, but has not reported the total number of China deliveries, and BMW also excluded China-specific sales numbers for Rolls-Royce in 2013, instead stating that it had been “an outstanding year” for the brand.

However, as the government continues to go after foreign luxury auto brands, expectations are lower for the year to come. BMW just stated that it is expecting “low” double-digit growth in 2014, in contrast to this year’s numbers.

The Chinese government’s dream is likely to see a day when homegrown luxury models such as Hongqi are able to compete with these foreign brands, but popular sentiment still remains opposed to purchasing a high-end Chinese vehicle. According to a McKinsey survey of Chinese car customers from earlier this year, 59 percent said they wouldn’t choose a Chinese brand, and 16 percent said they believed that a Chinese brand will never be able to produce a luxury model that receives global recognition.

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Skip The Drugstore Umbrella And Try A Top-Notch Model That Won't Break In The Wind

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Shedrain Facebook

With rain, wind and some snow in the forecast for the next week in the Northeast, it's time to find an umbrella that doesn't suck.

Skip the street vendors (whose umbrellas will probably end up crushed and inverted in a few blocks) and go straight for ShedRain's Windjammer. It earned top honors as the most durable umbrella from several product review outlets, including a grade-A report from the genre's Holy Grail, Good Housekeeping.

ShedRain — headquartered in Portland, Ore. — knows a thing or two about how to make an umbrella that will weather any storm. The key to the Windjammer is its vented design, which helps it withstand wind gusts. The material also dries within seconds of getting wet.

Canopy size starts at 39 inches and the whole thing weighs 0.8 pounds, which is a little on the heavy side. But it gives you the strength and durability that helped make the umbrella popular with pro golfers. It folds down to 12 inches and comes with a lifetime guarantee, so you'll get a free replacement if it ever breaks in the wind.    

The best part is, you don't have to break the bank for a top-of-the-line umbrella. The Windjammer starts under $35 and the comparable GustBuster Metrostarts under $40

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These Wild Instagram Pictures Could Help Bust An Alleged Drug Cartel Enforcer

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If you're involved with a major drug cartel, you might not want to plaster your exploits on social media.

Recently police arrested Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, who is allegedly the top enforcer for Sinaloa cartel No.2 Ismael "Mayo" Zambada, as he tried to enter Netherlands.

Gamboa is famous for two reasons: He's reportedly a leader of a group of hit men who call themselves the “Anthrax” cartel hitman, and he has a strong social media presence.

Going by the moniker "El Chino Antrax," Gamboa has 11,000 Twitter followers and is mentioned by the sons of Sinaloa's leaders. (Sinaloa is considered the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world.)

Authorities say the social media postings can aid prosecution.

"If it helps us put a puzzle together," Payne told McClatchy when discussing the arrest of 23-year-old Serafin Zambada Ortiz, who is one of the sons of Gamboa's boss. "There’s a lot of open source stuff out there."

Gamboa posted this picture apparently showing him next to Paris Hilton at the MGM Grand in Vegas:

Another son of "Mayo" Zambada is being held in Chicago on charges of trafficking more than a billion dollars in cocaine and heroin. He claims that he, like the leaders of Sinaloa, has immunity from prosecution because of an arrangement between the DEA and Sinaloa.

So it's clear that "El Chino Antrax" is near the top of the pyramid, and Gomboa's globetrotting shows that he lived the high life before he got nabbed:

The Daily Dot notes that "El Anthrax" is mentioned in several folk songs, or narcocorridos, that glorify cartels. AP notes that they describe him as "an elegant and fit man with a taste for sports cars, yachts and Champagne."

Basically, all signs suggest that he was at the forefront of Sinaloa-perpetrated drug violence and reaping the benefits.

SEE ALSO: CONFIRMED: The DEA Struck A Deal With Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Cartel

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The 14 Most Beautiful And Iconic American College Quads

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Although the college quad first became associated with academia on the campuses of Oxford and Cambridge, most of America's great universities are now built around a similar model of surrounding a central space with residence halls and classrooms.

Many of these collegiate spaces have been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and are considered among the most iconic examples of American architecture and design.

We've compiled a list of some of the most beautiful and iconic examples of American campus quads:

Harvard University — Harvard Yard

Harvard Yard is the oldest part of Harvard's campus, and the buildings surrounding it include freshman residence halls and some of the school's main libraries.

Harvard Yard

University of Alabama — The Quad

The Quad at the center of UA's campus used to host football games, but now might be best known as the home of Denny Chimes.

University Alabama Quad Denny Chimes Campus

Cornell University — Arts Quad

Cornell's Arts Quad is the academic home of the Arts and Sciences college, and is watched over by two statues of the university's founders, Ezra Cornell and A.D. White.

Cornell University Arts Quad Campus

University of Virginia — The Lawn

The Lawn at UVA was designed by school founder Thomas Jefferson and the Rotunda at the north-end of the quad was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.

University Virginia Lawn Rotunda Quad Campus

University of Missouri — Francis Quadrangle

Mizzou's Francis Quadrangle — known on campus as The Quad — features two of the school's most recognizable structures, Jesse Hall and The Columns.

University Missouri Mizzou Francis Quad Columns Campus

Yale University — Branford Courtyard

The courtyard of Yale's Branford residential college is considered by many — including, reportedly, poet Robert Frost — to be one of the most beautiful spaces of any college in America.

Yale University Campus Branford Courtyard

University of Washington — The Quad

The UW Quad is known for the scenic cherry trees that bloom in the springtime, bringing a beautiful light pink overtone to campus.

University Washington Quad Campus Cherry Trees

Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Killian Court

The center of MIT's Killian Court is the Great Dome, which is surrounded by marble buildings engraved with the names of prominent thinkers and philosophers.

Massachusetts Institute Technology MIT Killian Court Great Dome Campus

University of Pennsylvania — The Quad

The UPenn Quad hosts the majority of freshman residence halls and is the most desirable place to live your first year on campus.

University Pennsylvania UPenn Quad Campus Snow

University of Maryland — McKeldin Mall

UMD's McKeldin Mall is flanked on either end by the school's main library and a statue of its mascot — Testudo — a diamondback terrapin turtle.

University Maryland McKeldin Library Mall Campus

Stanford University — Main Quad

The Main Quad is home to the Stanford Memorial Church, considered to be the earliest nondenominational church on the West Coast.

Stanford University Church Quad Campus

University of Wisconsin–Madison — Bascom Hill

Bascom Hill is actually a drumlin — literally a "small hill" — that was likely formed by a glacier 20,000 years ago.

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University of Michigan — The Diag

The Diag — known for the diagonal walkways that cut through the square — is a central meeting place at UMich.

University Michigan The Diag Quad Campus

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign — Main Quad

The UIUC Main Quad houses Foellinger Auditorium, a concert space and lecture hall that can seat over 1,500 students.

University Illinois Campus Quad

Since this article was published, we've received several suggestions that readers felt we may have missed. Here are a couple of honorable mentions that didn't make our original list:

University of Texas at Austin — South Lawn

University Texas Austin Campus

Southern Methodist University — Main Quad

Southern Methodist University Campus Quad Graduate Student

SEE ALSO: The 20 Best College Campuses In The US

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Why You Shouldn't Feed Monkeys Bananas

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Monkey Zoo Banana

What are you supposed to feed a monkey?

If you answered bananas, you are wrong.

That is, according to Paignton Zoo in Devon, U.K., where zookeepers have banned their monkeys from having bananas. 

Wild monkeys do eat bananas, but the bananas that monkeys are fed in zoos are cultivated for humans to have more sugar. These bananas are just too sweet for primates. Head of Conservation and Advocacy at the Paignton Zoo, Dr. Amy Plowman, says that giving the bananas to monkeys is like feeding them cake or chocolate.

"Compared to the food they would eat in the wild, bananas are much more energy dense — they have lots of calories — and contain much more sugar that’s bad for their teeth and can lead to diabetes and similar conditions," Dr. Plowman said in a statement on the zoo's website. "It can also cause gastrointestinal problems as their stomachs are mostly adapted to eating fibrous foods with very low digestibility."

The monkeys have now been weened off bananas and other fruit, and are instead being served green leafy vegetables and lots leafy branches, called browse. The monkeys are only fed bananas when they need to take medication, which is hidden inside the fruit. 

The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, a body that advises zoos on animal diet, also supports the vegetable-heavy diet. The organization found that while primates do eat bananas and other fruits in the wild, the "fruits consumed by wild primates are more comparable in their nutrient composition to vegetables used in zoos."

This doesn't mean that monkeys don't like bananas. Like children who love cake and chocolate, studies show that primates will choose sweet fruit over others.

In one experiment from 1936, a number of monkeys from different species were given a variety of foods and their reactions recorded. The resulting paper, titled "Some Problems Regarding The Feeding Behavior Of Monkeys," found the primates were pretty much unanimous in their preferences: (1) Grape, (2) Banana, (3) Apple, (4) Carrot, (5) Lettuce or Cabbage, (6) Nuts, (7) Bread.

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Here's Why Infiniti Should Put Its Outstanding New Concept Car Into Production

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Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept

Infiniti is in the midst of a reinvention. Nissan's luxury brand is putting some distance between itself and its parent company by producing some truly premium automobiles.  

With the 2014 Q50 sedan, Infinito finally made a true luxury car, and its reputation among American consumers is improving

Now if only it would put the Q50 Eau Rouge concept — the gorgeous car it unveiled this morning at the Detroit Auto Show— into production, things could really get cranking. 

The car is gorgeous. More importantly, it's powerful. Or it will be, if Infiniti makes it a reality.

Which it almost certainly will, and definitely should — not just for our happiness, but for its own good. 

Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen, stolen from Audi a year and a half ago, said "if we built this car," it would have over 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers, combined with these looks, could make the Eau Rouge a terrific performance car.

Infiniti says it wants to seriously compete with top tier automakers — BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus. To make that transition, it needs more products. (Right now, it has offerings for less than 60% of market segments.)

One of those products needs to be on the level of the BMW M3, Lexus IS F, or Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG. It's not about volume of sales, it's about proving that you can make an outstanding car. It's about being taken seriously, and getting attention.

The Eau Rouge can be that car for Infiniti. The name, taken from a famous curve at Belgium's Spa Francorchamps Formula 1 track, drives home that message.

The body is there — Infiniti's executive design director Alfonso Albaisa told Business Insider it won't take much work to turn the concept into a production design.

De Nysschen said the key issue is finding the right engine — probably a turbocharged V6 or a naturally aspirated V8. Unfortunately, the engine that powers Nissan's terrific GT-R will be very hard to fit into a Q50-sized sedan. But the engineers can borrow a design from Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes and has a partnership with Nissan.

So enough talking. Make it happen. Then let us drive it.

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge concept

SEE ALSO: Toyota's New Sports Car Concept Has The Coolest Mirrors We've Ever Seen

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Pizza Hut In Luxembourg Is Surprisingly Fancy

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On New Year's Day in Luxembourg, when most local restaurants were closed, I ate a late lunch in one of the six Pizza Huts in the tiny and extremely wealthy country. The meal was surprisingly fancy, costing more than $100 for an appetizer, two large pizzas, and soft drinks.

Check it out:

The dining area was modern with red leather seating and recessed lighting. There were three families in the restaurant during our meal.

pizza hut luxembourgI have never noticed artwork in a Pizza Hut restaurant before. 

pizza hut luxembourg

I've never seen imported apéritifs at Pizza Hut, much less a bar area. pizza hut luxembourg

There was an extensive wine, beer, and liquor selection in our trilingual menus. 

pizza hut luxembourg

I ended up getting a small and ridiculously expensive ice tea.

pizza hut luxembourg

I skipped the $15 salad bar and flipped through the 19-page menu to find a pizza.

pizza hut luxembourg

Most of the pizza combinations were similar to what you would find in a Pizza Hut in America, but the goat cheese and honey pizza caught my eye. A large pan cost almost $28.

pizza hut luxembourg

We got an appetizer of different types of garlic bread which was about $10. We spent almost an hour waiting for our pizzas but the restaurant offered free wifi so we were distracted. pizza hut luxembourg

I was told that the restaurant was also open on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve unlike local establishments. pizza hut luxembourg

SEE ALSO: 16 fast food chains that should come to the US

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Check Out The Stunning New $10,000-A-Night Suite At Billionaire Prince Alwaleed's Riyadh Hotel

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The Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh recently unveiled their Kingdom Suite, a duplex that spans the 48th and 50th floors of the hotel and offers incredible views of the Saudi Arabian capital city. 

The 35,000-square-foot+ suite is part of a multimillion-dollar renovation the luxury hotel, owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, completed over the course of the last 18 months. The Kingdom Suite can be booked for $10,665 a night, and a private butler may be assigned to your room during your stay. 

The suite is opulent, with gold-toned decor and dramatic light fixtures taking center stage in the living room.

four seasons riyadh kingdom suiteHigh ceilings make for a dramatic entrance. 

four seasons riyadh kingdom suiteBeautiful views of the Saudi Arabian city are a guarantee at this height. 

four seasons riyadh kingdom suiteThe luxurious bedroom also includes a dressing room, makeup area, and walk-in closet. 

four seasons riyadh kingdom suiteThe marble bath tub overlooks the cityscape as well. 

four seasons riyadh kingdom suite

SEE ALSO: 17 Crazy Hotel Suites You Have To Spend A Night In Before You Die

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Alternate Survey Suggests Pakistanis Support More Liberal Dress For Women

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islamabad fashion week pakistani women models

A Pakistan newspaper has conducted its own online survey to test the results of a study that shows 98% of Pakistanis think women should cover their heads in public.

This graphic illustrating the University of Michigan research got a lot of attention online last week:

How Muslim women should dress chart

But the survey from The Express Tribune, which asked some of the same questions as the University of Michigan survey, shows that only 62% of respondents thought women should be covered up in public.

In the Express Tribune poll, the most popular choice was the woman with no head covering, whereas in the University of Michigan survey, only 2% of respondents chose that option for most appropriately dressed.

It should be noted, however, that the newspaper survey of 2,235 people was a non-scientific online poll, which may have been biased toward the wealthier minority with Internet access. The University of Michigan polled 3,523 Pakistanis in a more scientific study.

This interactive graphic from the newspaper compares the results:

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This Bicycle Desk Generates Enough Energy To Charge Your Computer While You Work

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You may have seen coworkers use standing desks, and here at Business Insider we've even tested a treadmill desk, but a tiny upstate New York startup has come up with an alternative work space that tops them all.  

Developed by a two-man team called Pedal Power, the Big Rig is a bicycle desk that generates an electrical current as you pedal. 

big rig bicycle desk

big rig bicycle desk

The energy generated by pedaling is enough to power your computer, charge your phone, and perform other office-related tasks. Plus, the design is stable enough that you may actually be able to get some work done. 

Building their machine into a desk isn't the only thing Pedal Power has in mind, however. In fact, that wasn't even the idea behind the duo's original human-powered machine, which they built back in 2008. 

"Part of the motivation at that point was the major oil crisis, and energy was on everyone's mind. And we were thinking about our impact on this planet and what we were doing about it," Steve Blood, one of the founders of the project, explained to Business Insider. "We wanted to set out to make something that could do a variety of tasks."

So far, those other tasks have included pumping water, chopping wood, and churning butter. Blood and cofounder Andy Wekin even developed a custom milling machine to help a nearby farm cut costs. 

"A lot of these applications are in Vermont, the Lake Champlain area, and the Adirondacks, where a lot of people are doing homesteading and small-scale farms, and they come to us for these sorts of requests," Wekin said. "We started the idea that we could do a human-powered plant, and then people came to us." 

Check out this video that shows off all of the machine's capabilities. 

The two of them build each machine together by hand, though Wekin, who comes from an engineering background, claims that he may weld a little more cleanly than Blood, who did not. 

They hope to one day get the machine manufactured, especially since the current $2,000 price tag is pretty steep. 

The Pedal Power team launched a Kickstarter back in August with the hopes of bringing their idea to a wider audience. They raised three times the amount they had hoped for, in addition to a huge increase in orders. And now that their campaign has brought so much attention to the project, they're focusing on making the machine quieter, since its squeaky bicycle sound may make it less appealing to office workers. 

An obvious benefit to using the Pedal Power machine is the extra movement it requires, which workers sitting at desks all day would appreciate. Doing something as simple as charging a phone requires little exertion, while churning water will give you a better workout.

However, Blood and Wekin both say that the ability to create clean energy is the best part of their machine. 

"When you start to generate your own electricity, it gives you a very tangible understanding of how much energy you use and how hard it is to produce it," Blood said. 

Wekin agreed: "It starts to give them this appreciation for what we take for granted when we flip a light switch or use something that's just plugged into the wall. Increasing awareness is a nice thing that's come out of this project."

Watch their Kickstarter campaign video here

SEE ALSO: The Guggenheim Is Asking People To Submit Designs For A New Museum In This Helsinki Parking Lot

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Why Hollande Could Get Away With An Affair, In One Chart

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Francois Hollande France

Francois Hollande probably had a horrible day today. After giving a long speech on France's economic situation and his plan for reform, the people in the room only wanted to ask about his love life.

Last week Closer Magazine, a French publication formerly known for publishing pictures of a topless Kate Middleton, published photographs that appeared to show the French President riding a motorbike across the city to spend the night with a 41-year-old actress, Julie Gayet. French first lady Valerie Trierweiler is reported to have been hospitalized for fatigue following the revelations.

The affair was the only real reason the world's press was watching the press conference, but Hollande refused to answer questions about the alleged affair, only saying that he was having a "difficult moment" and that that "private matters should be dealt with privately."

Of course, that won't satiate anyone, and it's a big problem for Hollande. His presidency is beginning to look like a disaster, with the economy in terrible shape, his popularity continuing to set record lows, and a Dutch newspaper even making fun of his handshake.

Is there any hope? Well, there's a glimmer: If you're going to be a politician having an affair, France is certainly the place to do it. Not only is there a history of it (Valérie Giscard d'Estaing, François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, and Nicolas Sarkozy have all been accused) but the French public seems to have a remarkable tolerance for it. When Pew Research Center surveyed citizens of different countries about infidelity last year, they found that a median of 79% felt affairs were morally unacceptable. By far the lowest recorded number was in France, where just 47% called it unacceptable.

Hollande Affairs

Could it be working already? According to one poll, the French president's approval ratings have grown by 2% since the scandal broke.

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Cadillac Has Changed The Logo On All Its Cars

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Cadillac ATS Coupe Detroit Auto Show 2014

Cadillac is in the midst of a resurgence, and the debut of the gorgeous ATS Coupe at the Detroit Auto Show today makes its future look even brighter.

At the reveal, GM's luxury brand made another, less spectacular announcement: It's changing its logo. The new look was first shown in August on the Elmiraj concept, and now we know it will be on all new cars starting mid-2014.

The wreath is gone, and the crest is lower and wider. "Sleek and streamlined," Cadillac says, just like its current lineup.

“This new Crest matches the lower, longer, leaner mantra of our current car designs," Andrew Smith, Cadillac's executive design director, said in a press release. The crown last seen before the 2000 redesign has not reappeared — no need to look cocky.

Here's a closer look:

Cadillac ATS Coupe Detroit Auto Show 2014

And the evolution. Click to enlarge:

Cadillac logo crest history

SEE ALSO: More From The 2014 Detroit Auto Show

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An Art Installation In Sochi Will Render Your Face On The Side Of A Building In 3D

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Megaface Sochi

If you've ever dreamed of having your face on the side of a building, an art installation planned for the Olympic Park in Sochi has got you covered. 

"Megaface" is made up of 10,000 actuators that move around according to the shape they're imitating, extending up to 6.5 feet outwards. Visitors to Olympic Park can take photos of themselves in on-site 3D photo booths before having their faces rendered on the giant facade, which is basically a large-scale pinscreen.

Each face will measure nearly 500 square feet and be displayed for 20 seconds before morphing into a new one. The facade will be mounted on one of the buildings in a pavilion belonging to Russian telecommunications group Megafon.

"Megaface" was designed by London architect Asif Khan and developed by Swiss firm iart

Here's a video of one of the small-scale tests of the installation. In the video, 1,000 actuators are tested — in the pavilion, it will be 10,000. If the testers' reactions are any indication, this will be pretty cool in real life. 

SEE ALSO: 2014 Olympic Host City Sochi Is A Strange Place [PHOTOS]

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Ripley's Bought This Portrait Of Steve Jobs Made From 6,000 Computer Keys

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We've seen loads of amazing and unusual artistic renderings of Steve Jobs. But this one, created from 6,000 computer keys, is so spectacular that Ripley's Entertainment, of Ripley's Believe It Or Not fame, recently bought it.

The portrait is the work of Orlando-based artist, Doug Powell, known for creating portraits from puzzle pieces. He's sold other pieces to Ripley's, reports The Orlando Sentinel's Dewayne Bevil, including portraits of Frankenstein and John Lennon.

But the Steve Jobs portrait is his most ambitious project to date, he said on Facebook.

That's because, in addition to creating the 7-foot tall, 5-foot-wide piece of artwork, he used the keys to hide a bunch of words and phrases like I WANT TO PUT A DING IN THE UNIVERSE, STAY HUNGRY, STAY FOOLISH, MACINTOSH, APPLE, LISA, PIXAR, iMAC, ITUNES, IPOD, IPHONE and IPAD.

The Jobs portrait is currently on display Ripley's corporate headquarters in south Orlando, and will eventually be put on display at various Ripley's attractions worldwide, Bevil reports.

Steve Jobs keyboard portrait

SEE ALSO: A Great Collection Of Steve Jobs Artwork

SEE ALSO: This 14-Year-Old Coding Prodigy Raised $200,000 For His Budding Tech Empire

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The New York Times Just Dropped A Scathing Review On A Fancy Hotel Restaurant In Manhattan

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VILLARD MICHEL RICHARD

New York Times' food critic Pete Wells has just come out with a blistering review of the Bistro at Villard Michel Richard, the fancy new restaurant at the newly renovated New York Palace in Midtown.

The Madison Avenue restaurant, which opened in October, looks as though it could be a two- or three-star eatery with chandeliers, gilded walls, and well-dressed diners. Plus, it is helmed by Michel Richard, one of the world's most respected chefs. In the words of Wells, "Michel Richard was serious. He would not have come to New York last fall to open an awful hotel restaurant."

And yet, according to Wells, it seems that's exactly what he's done.

The entire review is dripping with vitriol, and well worth a read. For those who want the gist, here are some of his most scathing lines:

  • On the wine: "One night, when my table of three wanted a little Beaujolais, the sommelier tried to sell us a magnum. Another time, when I asked for help choosing among more than 80 German whites, a manager said apologetically that he didn’t know much about them, and that the people who did weren’t around."

  • On the fried chicken: "Think of everything that’s great about fried chicken. Now take it all away. In its place, right between dried-out strands of gray meat and a shell of fried bread crumbs, imagine a gummy white paste about a quarter-inch deep. This unidentifiable paste coats your mouth until you can’t perceive textures or flavors. It is like edible Novocain."

  • On the veal cheeks: "A classic blanquette is a gentle, reassuring white stew of sublimely tender veal. In this version, the veal cheeks had the dense, rubbery consistency of overcooked liver. Slithering around the meat was a terrifying sauce the color of jarred turkey gravy mixed with cigar ashes. If soldiers had killed Escoffier’s family in front of him and then forced him to make dinner, this is what he would have cooked."

  • On the seafood pasta: "The seafood pasta, after all, is almost a direct quote from the 1980s, when doughy, gluey, overcooked fresh pasta and washed-out bits of unidentifiable seafood drooped in flavorless pink sauces. Of the same vintage, and just as bizarre, were the mushrooms under a tower of puff pastry ringed with cold, mud-colored sauce that tasted of uncooked wine. (If Villard Michel Richard doesn’t make it as a restaurant, it could reopen as the Museum of Unappetizing Brown Sauces.)"

Wells reviewed only the Bistro (a la carte) portion of the restaurant, not the Gallery, where the 9-course tasting menu costs $185 per person.

The last time Wells dropped such a scathing review on a restaurant, his target was Guy Fieri's Guy's American Bar and Grill, which included the zinger: "Hey, did you try that blue drink, the one that glows like nuclear waste? The watermelon margarita? Any idea why it tastes like some combination of radiator fluid and formaldehyde?"

Do yourself a favor and read the entire review of Villard Michel Richard at The New York Times.

SEE ALSO: The Best New York Restaurant For Every Kind of Cuisine

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This Beautiful Washington House Could Withstand A Tsunami

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tsunami house

The Tsunami House in Camano Island, Washington looks beautiful, but that's not what makes it special.

"This home was designed with the most stringent disaster FEMA building codes and it's incredibly safe," said architect Dan Nelson of Designs Northwest ArchitectsThese are the kinds of things one must consider when building in a high-risk flood area.

The project was started in 2006 and completed last summer.

Steps away from the water, Tsunami House is located on a FEMA-designated high velocity flood zone.



The homeowners lived in a cabin on this 30-feet by 30-feet area before designers cleared the land and began the 7-year project.



The waterfront home has beautiful views of the Puget Sound but is located in an area prone to earthquakes, severe winds, and flooding.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






Where To Hide If A Nuclear Bomb Is Dropped On Your City

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nuclear blast

If you find yourself in the vicinity of a recently detonated nuclear bomb, you might be wondering, what should I do?

In a paper published Jan 14 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Michael Dillon did some math to figure this out.

First, the scenario. You are in a large city that has just been subjected to a single, low-yield nuclear detonation, between 0.1 and 10 kilotons (that's a little smaller than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima).

Studies have shown that you and up to 100,000 of your fellow citizens can be saved if you keep your radiation exposure low enough. That requires you to find a good place to hide and wait until the rescuers can make their way to you.

The U.S. government guidance suggests hiding in a nearby building, but not all of them provide much shelter from nuclear fallout.

Poor shelters, which include about 20% of houses, are constructed of lightweight materials and lack basements. The best shelters are thick brick or concrete and lack windows. Like a bomb shelter.

This infographic from this government guide to the aftermath of nuclear attacks gives a rough idea on what makes a building a good or bad place to hide from fallout:

EPA fallout protection factorsSo, hiding in the sub-basement of a brick five story apartment building will leave you exposed to just 1/200 the amount of fallout radiation outside; hanging out in the living room of your one story wood frame house will only cut down the radiation by about 1/2, which, if you are next to a nuclear explosion, will not do much to help you.

Ways to respond to a nuclear blast

So, what do you do if there isn't a good shelter right near you? Should you stay in a crappy shelter, or risk exposure to find a better one? And how long should you wait?

The researchers developed models to determine your best options.

If you are immediately next to or in a solid shelter when the bomb goes off, stay there until the rescuers come to evacuate you to less radioactive vistas.

If you aren't already in a bomb shelter, but know a good shelter is about five minutes away — say you can see a large apartment building a few blocks away that would have a basement — the calculations suggest hoofing it over there quick and staying in place.

But, if the nice, thick-walled building would take about 15 minutes travel time, you can hole up in the flimsy shelter for a bit, but you should probably leave for better shelter before the timer hits 30 minutes.

And while you are hoofing it around your now-radioactive neighborhood, pick up some beers and sodas. A study in the 50s found they still tasted fine after a blast.

Here are some general guidelines based on how decent your first and second shelters are:

time to wait in shelter based on quality One of the big advantages of the approach that this paper uses is that, to decide on a strategy, evacuation officials need to consider only the radiation levels near shelters and along evacuation routes — the overall pattern of the radioactive death cloud does not factor into the models, and so decisions can be made quickly and in a decentralized way.

Other researchers have analyzed other similar scenarios in papers, whose findings are summarized in the chart below:

Previous findings two previous findings one

SEE ALSO: Scientists Nuked Beers To See If They Would Still Be Drinkable After An Atomic Blast

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