Russia has been all over the news lately – from the Sochi Winter Olympics to the tension in Crimea, but how well do you really know this country? Impress everyone around the water cooler with these incredible facts, compiled by Markets reporter Mamta Badkar.
Produced by Sam Rega. Research by Mamta Badkar
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A mysterious Princeton University secret society that allegedly forces members to drink 21 beers in 42 minutes is making campus news after members reportedly trashed one of the school's eating clubs this weekend, The Daily Princetonian reports.
Called the "21 Club," the secret society reportedly gathers together the heaviest drinkers on campus — 21 juniors and 21 seniors — for at least one annual drinking contest. In a 2009 profile of the group titled "An Elusive Institution," The Princetonian reported that "incoming members participate in a drinking contest in which they consume 21 beers, one every other minute for 42 minutes."
Members reportedly represent four of Princeton's oldest and most elite eating clubs — five students each from Cottage Club, Cap and Gown Club, Ivy Club, and Tiger Inn — as well as one independent member. "Most of these people [who receive bids] go out multiple times a week and are completely blacked out, so they're chosen for a reason," one 21 Club member told The Princetonian.
This year, the contest was reportedly held at Tiger Inn. However, the space was so badly wrecked — The Princeton reports that "21 Club members were allegedly 'throwing the place apart' and 'throwing up everywhere'" — that most of Tiger Inn's student leadership has resigned their positions.
The Princetonian described the 21 Club's annual drinking contest in depth in their 2009 profile, speaking with "Matthew," an anonymous student member:
The members assemble at one of the eating clubs on the morning of the contest, Matthew said, adding that each club provides one or two kegs.
"It's a scary thing … We're all sitting there with a big dumpster in the middle, and the older brothers are behind you feeding you beers, and you have to [drink one] every [other] minute, no stopping, and people are yelling at you," Matthew explained.
Even before the contest begins, the juniors must each drink seven social beers in addition to the 21 they will later consume.
"Keeping it down is not the point," Matthew said, adding that there was a certain sense of apprehension among the new members.
"There were only five people per club, and we finished a keg, like, a half-hour in," Matthew said. "They had to go and get another one. That was my first realization: I was, like, 'Oh, sh*t.'"
According to Matthew, the eating club of the first person to vomit has to host the contest the following year, an unfortunate responsibility due to the amount of members puking. As The Princetonian reports, "By the end of the contest, Matthew said he had consumed between 30 and 35 beers in just more than an hour. He added that most members puke '20 to 30 times.'"
Read more about 21 Club at The Daily Princetonian >>
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Seattle bucked a national trend of declining illicit sex revenue with local spending rising from $50 million in 2003 to $112 million in 2007, according to a report from the Urban Institute.
At the same time, the city has seen a big shift in prostitution solicitation from the street to the Internet — both in response to a police crackdown and as part of a shift that is happening around the country.
In the words of on Seattle law enforcement official interviewed in the report:
"I think that because of the Internet, it's just really exploded. And because it is just hitting now, I mean my wife would never go to Backpage or anything like that, so to her, she would have never known that this went on had she not been married to me, unless you are the hobbyist or the exploiter or the young girl involved in it. And then when people hear about Backpage or Craigslist, people are shocked. I’m like, 'Really you’re shocked?!' I mean, you can buy anything on the Internet!"
Cities around the country have seen a spike in Internet-based prostitution because of websites like Backpage and Craigslist, partly because the Internet provides some perceived advantages over street prostitution. Prostitutes tend to make more money online, and pimps believe it's safer to post ads online than to put their girls out on the street. While most street prostitutes have drug problems and work for pimps, more women in Seattle appear to be placing independent ads online to postitute themselves, the report found.
The Internet, however, can be a double-edged sword for sex workers, as cops can scour websites like Backpage and Craigslist to root out illegal activity with relatively little manpower.
As to why Seattle's underground sex economy is outperforming, a federal law enforcement officer pointed to the local economy:
"[T]hey used to say, as Boeing goes, Seattle goes. Boeing’s making record orders. Microsoft’s doing pretty damn well. Costco’s doing very well. Amazon’s doing well. So as a whole, there's a lot of, pretty much all the major Seattle-based companies, those are doing [well]. They will have people who are making good money that are getting paid.”
Atlanta's sex economy is also booming.
SEE ALSO: How Much 7 US Cities Spend On Illegal Sex, Drugs, And Guns
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Many chefs and restaurateurs believe Yelp is the bane of their existence.
The crowdsourced business review site has spawned lawsuits, been accused of killing businesses, and been criticized over the way reviews are policed.
It's also been decried by restaurant royalty. Ruth Reichl, the last editor-in-chief of the now defunct Gourmet magazine, has said: "Anybody who believes Yelp is an idiot. Most people on Yelp have no idea what they’re talking about." And Travel Channel host Andrew Zimmern once ranted, "I don't like the idea of Yelp. The problem for me is that crowd sourcing is very beneficial except when it comes to things like restaurant criticism and restaurant reviews and restaurant recommenders…Yelp essentially gives a tremendous forum for a bunch of uninformed morons to take down restaurants."
Yet we found a surprising person who actually approved of Yelp — acclaimed chef and restaurateur Joël Robuchon. Robuchon, who's restaurant empire includes 22 locations around the world and has racked up 28 Michelin stars, knows what he's talking about when it comes to food.
In a recent interview with Business Insider in Las Vegas, he expressed support for the restaurant rating site. Robuchon explained in French (translated):
These types of sites I don't look at, it's not something that bothers me. If it gives guests satisfaction to say what they think then that's great, but it certainly doesn't bother me. Why not give a voice to the people you are feeding?
Traveling around the world, we hear quite a few things. But it's like life in general: there are crazies, there are intelligent people, and there are people who don't know anything. And there's always going to be a percentage attributed to each.
And I know, I've heard of people who own restaurants and who write reviews of other restaurants. But to the contrary, I believe that Yelp is a very good thing, I think it can guide people to the right venues.
It should be noted, however, that Robuchon — whose U.S. restaurants almost all have 5-star ratings on Yelp— has nothing to worry about when it comes to the online review site.
Disclosure: Our trip to Las Vegas, including travel, food, and lodging expenses, was sponsored by MGM Resorts International.
SEE ALSO: Here's What It's Like To Dine At The Most Remarkable Restaurant In Las Vegas
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A new terminal at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Shenzhen,which opened late last year, is helping to alleviate the problem of China's overcrowded airports.
Terminal 3 mirrors the look of a manta ray, a fish that can change its own shape. Designed by the Italian Studio Fuksas, the three-floor, 123-acre facility cost about $1.4 billion to construct, according to the South China Morning Post.
Passengers reported issues with miscommunication and missed flights in the opening days, but The Verge reports the issues seem more due to the growing pains of a new facility and will probably rebound more quickly than other airports in the country, like the Beijing Capital International Airport, where more than 80% of flights take off late.
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No place captures the warmth and friendliness of the Irish quite like an Irish pub, but you don't have to head to Dublin to find that kind of authenticity.
With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner, we rounded up 32 Irish pubs in 20 big cities right here in the U.S. that have the best drinks, the best food, and the best craic (that's Gaelic for "good times").
Sláinte!
426 W. Ponce De Leon Avenue (Decatur)
Irish owned and operated, The Marlay is "a little bit of Dublin in Decatur." They serve tasty, traditional Irish pub fare, brunch on the weekends, and have over 20 beers on draft. Known for their Atlantic cod fish and chips, The Marlay also operates "The Mobile Marlay" to bring this specialty all over Atlanta.
On St. Patrick's Day, The Marlay has a full line-up of live Irish music, dancing, and face painting for the kids.
Try also: Mac McGee, which gives free Jell-O shots to anyone who dresses like a leprechaun (but only on St. Paddy's Day).
Except for the building itself, everything in B.D. Riley's pub comes straight from the motherland. They take particular pride in pouring the perfect pint, and feature a number of Irish whiskeys behind the bar.
B.D.'s has live music all day long On St. Patrick's Day, as well as a menu full of Irish favorites, and promises "no green beer."
Mick O'Shea's happily mixes its Irish heritage with a liberal sprinkling of Baltimore pride. Regulars rave about the happy hour deals, as well as the local Maryland crab soup.
On St. Paddy's Day grab yourself a traditional Irish breakfast, starting at 9am, and then come back at 5pm for live music.
Or try: The Life of Reilly Irish Pub & Restaurant, which has a "stew and a brew" special — half an order of Guinness Stew and a pint of Guinness for less than $10.
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Pete Sampras and his wife, actress Bridgette Wilson, bought Albert Brooks' former Bel Air estate for $5,996,000, according to Trulia.
The 5,100-square-foot home has a living room with 20-foot wood-paneled ceilings, skylights, and massive floor to ceiling windows.
Outside, a serene and spacious yard features an infinity pool with a view of Los Angeles.
Previous owners of the home include Merv Griffin and Brooks, who purchased the property for $3,650,000 in 1992.
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Arch Daily recently featured photos of a school gymnasium in north-eastern France by architects Giovanni PACE architecte and abc-studio.
From the angular exterior and meticulous landscaping, one could easily confuse it with a contemporary art museum. However the design is meant to show "sustainability in a heterogeneous context," according to the architects. It certainly puts our school gyms to shame.
Take a look at the photos below:
The exterior is made up of raw concrete.
The walls and ceiling are natural wood coated inside.
The windows allow natural light to come in through the roof.
The architects were aiming for a "warm and acoustic ambience."
There are concrete floors in changing rooms and funky tile designs for the showers.
The orange walls pack a punch against the wood.
SEE ALSO: Swedish DJ Avicii Spent $15.5 Million On This Bonkers Mansion In The Hollywood Hills
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People living in Vermont must be lookin' svelte.
According to the new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, adults living in the "Green Mountain" state are the most likely in the U.S. to report exercising three or more days a week for at least 30 minutes.
Hawaii came in second place, and Montana, Alaska, and Colorado rounded out the top five.
This is the third time Vermont has taken the top spot, earning the title for most active state in 2008 and 2009. Last year's winner, Alaska, fell three places to number four.
Here are the top 10 states for exercise in 2013 along with the percent of people who said they exercised three or more days per week for 30 minutes:
Vermont (65.3%)
Hawaii (62.2%)
Montana (60.1%)
Alaska (60.1%)
Colorado (59.8%)
Oregon (58%)
Idaho (57.7%)
New Mexico (57.4%)
Nebraska (56.3%)
North Dakota (56%)
On the other end of the spectrum, four states — Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, and Alabama — continued their five-year streak of placing in the bottom 10 most active states. Delaware was the worst offender, however, with only 46.5% of adults saying they exercised three or more times a week.
Here's the full bottom 10, none of which made it above the United States average of 51.6%.
Delaware (46.5%)
West Virginia (47.1%)
Alabama (47.5%)
New Jersey (47.7%)
Rhode Island (48.2%)
Tennessee (49.2%)
New York (49.3%)
Ohio (49.3%)
Indiana (49.4%)
To see the complete set of data, click here.
SEE ALSO: What Life Is Like In North Dakota, America's New Happiest State
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Working as an engineer at a high-profile tech company can involve some crazy long hours. It can be tough to even think about something unrelated to work.
But Makinde Adeagbo, an engineering manager at Pinterest, has a rather time-consuming hobby, one that may seem insane to some.
He's a distance runner, competing in races of up to 50 miles.
"People will tell me that they don't even like to drive that far," he said to Business Insider. "I guess it's pretty crazy. It's out there, but there's actually a large community of people who do it."
He completed his first 50-mile race in 2012, a competition in the Sacramento area known as the American River Endurance Run. He finished in just over 10 hours of running.
That ultra-marathon, however, was just the culmination of a series of long-distance races.
He had set a four-year plan for himself: the first year, he'd run a half-marathon. The second year, a full marathon. The third, a half Ironman, and the fourth, a full Ironman — an extreme triathalon that includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride, and 26.2-mile marathon, all without a break.
"Then I took a step back and said, 'OK, what's next?'" Adeagbo said. "Some of my friends were a little bit crazy and had talked about ultra-marathons, so I said, 'Why not? This seems like a perfect fifth year exercise.'"
Running fifty miles in one go can be a hard concept to wrap your head around, but Adeagbo has some tactics for getting through it.
"I try to focus a lot on my eating schedule. When you think of how much time passes during the race, you would have eaten two meals by then. I work on maintaining a schedule, which keeps me distracted from how much left there is to go," he said. "And I spend a lot of time thinking about what I'm going to do at the finish line."
The training can be just as grueling as the race itself. Before he did the fifty-miler, Adeagbo aimed for 10 to 15 hours of running during the week, doubling down on longer runs on the weekend. At the peak of training, that meant running a marathon on Saturday before running another one on Sunday.
All of this training was happening while he was employed full-time at Dropbox, where he went after previously working at Facebook. He's worked as an engineering manager at Pinterest's San Francisco headquarters since July 2013.
"When you're training for a race, it's almost like a full-time job," he said. "I've always liked running in that it's a goal you can take it on yourself. How much you get out is based on how much you put in."
And, of course, he keeps a Pinterest board filled with inspirational quotes and stories from running legends like Jesse Owens and Steve Prefontaine. He says that working with other fitness-oriented people at Pinterest also encourages him to keep going.
"Pinterest is a really flexible place to work. We have showers here in the office, for example. People will shoot out an email to the whole company saying, 'Hey, does anyone want to go for a run at the Embarcadero?' Or people take bike rides up from the Peninsula in the morning," he said. "There are so many people that are active on the fitness at Pinterest list, doing yoga or running. It makes you think that if all of these people are fitting it in, I can as well."
Adeagbo had signed up for a 100-mile race but was injured before he could attempt it. He hopes to one day complete another ultra-marathon. But for now, he's training with Pinterest's running team ("Sprinterest") to compete in "The Relay," a 191-mile race from Calistoga to Santa Cruz, with the distance divided among 12 teammates. They'll be competing against organized groups of friends and other Bay Area companies, including Google, whose team has apparently dominated the race for a number of years.
"It's hard for a small company to compete when they have a pool of 20,000," he said with a laugh.
Adeagbo also plans to run some of the same ultra-marathon he completed in 2012 when a few of his friends attempt it in April.
"It's good to have someone run with you and distract you from the pain," he said.
SEE ALSO: Why Two Top Chefs Left The Restaurant World To Cook Lunch At A New York Startup
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Many men wear cologne in the workplace or out on the town, but they often don't know how to wear it.
How much to put on? And, wear do you put it?
We went to visit the experts at Bloomingdale's in Manhattan to get some answers.
ALSO WATCH: 5 Essential Men's Shoes For Work And Play
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Scribd, an e-book subscription service with an expansive e-book library, has compiled a list of the most downloaded e-book in each state.
The results below were determined by calculating how many times a book was read by readers with Scribd accounts registered in that state.
What book does your state love?
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If you're bored ordering the same Mocha Frappuccino, we have a solution.
The website Starbucks Secret Menu lists dozens of new combinations for the frozen favorite.
If you try this in stores, baristas recommend knowing which ingredients come in the Frappuccino when you order. Starbucks workers aren't briefed on the secret menu, and so instructions are a must.
Here are some of the best "secret" Frappuccinos:
SEE ALSO: 35 Companies Changing The Way We Shop And Eat
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Your salary is only acceptable if it's higher than your neighbor's. At least that's what Yale cognitive scientist Paul Bloom's research might suggest.
On March 11 he gave a talk at The Bell House in Brooklyn for the Secret Science Club. In the talk, Bloom gave some short highlights from his book, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, which looks at where our sense of morality comes from.
During the talk, Bloom made it clear just how badly humans want to get the upper hand over our neighbors, even at a young age.
We have an "exquisite sensitivity to getting less," Bloom said Tuesday.
He described one experiment, in which researchers let kids from four to seven choose between two options: The kid and a stranger could both get a large number of poker chips that could be exchanged for toys (the "fair option"), or the kid could get fewer chips, but their partner would get an even smaller number ("the relative advantage option").
The children preferred getting fewer chips as long as they still have more chips than their partner.
"They don't care about fairness. What they want is relatively more," Bloom said in an interview with 60 Minutes. We can see this in our evolutionary cousins, the capuchin monkeys in the video below. They are perfectly happy getting cucumbers as treats, until their neighbor got ahold of some tasty grapes.
Then, they went berserk because of the extreme unfairness, even tossing the cucumber at the experimenter:
But luckily for society's peacefulness, it seems that we train ourselves not to think this way as we age.
When Bloom and his colleagues tried the experiment again with older children, they found the reverse. By around eight, more children began choosing the fair option (six chips for me and six for you) rather than the relative-advantage option (four for me, but two for you). By nine or ten years of age, children would even take a lower reward in order to give the other person more.
"They've been educated. They've been acculturated. They've had their heads stuffed full of the virtues that we might want to have their heads stuffed with," Bloom told 60 Minutes.
Even as adults, we know that we are influenced by natural biases and we work hard to subvert them. For example, the constitution was designed to block our worst impulses, Bloom suggested Tuesday. "We are smart enough to create social institutions like blind auditions to override the parts of ourselves we hate the most" he said.
For more on his work, check out the 60 Minutes interview with Bloom below:
SEE ALSO: A College Student Has Figured Out How To Grow Food Using Your Old Fish Tank
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The days of MTV Cribs are over, but a few of the NBA's highest-paid players still own some lavish houses.
HoopsHype recently put together an NBA real estate database.
Using that resource, we boiled down a list of the 16 most expensive houses currently owned by active NBA players.
One thing is clear: Chris Bosh is the league's real estate king.
Career earnings: $123.4 million
Bosh's house on North Bay Road is 12,000-square feet and has an infinity pool, elevator, and all-white interior.
Source: HoopsHype
Career earnings: $123.4 million
The 20,000-square-foot house includes a gym, shark tank, and outdoor entertaining area with a pool and a hot tub.
Source: HoopsHype
Career earnings: $123.4 million
The house features an amazing outdoor space, as well as a master bedroom with a few of the ocean. Bosh rents it out for $45,000 a month.
Source: HoopsHype
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Reuters photographer David Gray took some new stunning aerial photos of Australia, showing wide open regions of dry, untouched land. At the beginning of the year, a heat wave gripped large parts of south Australia, sparking wildfires and blackouts.
Burnt trees line a small creek in a field charred by a fire on the outskirts of Melbourne in a photo taken in March.
A small dam is seen on the left in a patch of dry grassland, beside a field where a fire recently occurred. Australia experienced the hottest year on record in 2013 and the extreme has continued into this year.
Roads go off in various directions next to sand dunes covered in trees and other vegetation in Western Australia's Pilbara region.
A view of dried-up rivers and a road in the Pilbara region.
The Pilbara region is about the size of Spain.
It has the world's largest known deposits of iron ore.
The area supplies nearly 45% of global trade in iron ore.
SEE ALSO: The 32 Most Spectacular New Images Of Earth
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A "well-known" U.S. billionaire has purchased the most expensive single-life-insurance policy in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
The life insurance policy the billionaire purchased is valued at $201 million.
Guinness World Records didn't reveal the billionaire's identity, but they did provide a couple clues.
The billionaire lives in Silicon Valley and they're "actively known in the technology space." (That still doesn't really narrow it down.)
The record-breaking life insurance policy was sold by Dovi Frances, a managing partner of Santa Barbara-based SG LLC—a firm that advises high-networth clients on their complex financial needs.
Putting together the policy required over two dozen insurance companies, he said in a statement.
"Bringing this transaction together required negotiating concurrently with over two dozen insurance companies and complex underwriting requests from each insurance company."
The previous record holding life insurance policy was $100 million.
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Hal Douglas, 89, a titan and go-to talent in the voice-over industry died last week from complications of pancreatic cancer, the New York Times reports.
Douglas, who has narrated thousands of trailers for major flicks like Forest Gump, Men in Black, and Lethal Weapon — retired two years ago and never considered himself to have 'a great voice.'
"This is what you get, this is how I sound. It's a unique sound, it's my sound," Douglas said in “A Great Voice,” a short film about his career.
His career began as an announcer on radio programs in the 1950s which led him to an advertising career in New York. He is best known for his work on film trailers which he started in the 1970s.
“You get the description of the movie, the contexts of the lines that you are doing, and the rest of it is intuitive,” Douglas said. “Movies, particularly, fall into departments. You have an action film, you have a romantic film, you have the dark films. They all suggest an attitude and a voice quality," the Daily Telegraph reports.
Here is a video highlighting his work:
Douglas was known for his sense of humor and agreed to played a cliché voice-over artist named Jack in a rare on-camera role in the trailer for Jerry Seinfeld’s 2002 documentary, “Comedian.”
Here is a clip of the trailer:
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Recent instances of gastrointestinal illnesses at sea have been making headlines and leaving some travelers wary of setting sail. But thankfully, you're not as likely to contract norovirus — marked by symptoms like vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain — as you may think.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, seven norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships were reported in 2013. These cases affected only 1,238 of 21.3 million total passengers who sailed on CLIA-affiliated ships last year.
And if an outbreak does occur, cruise ship crew members are required to report all cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before entering a U.S. port.
Furthermore, CDC-mandated Outbreak Prevention and Response Plans enforce each crew member's role in thwarting the spread of norovirus via contaminated surfaces, tainted food and water, or infected passengers.
Of course, illness on cruise ships can't be fully prevented, but a few extra safety measures can make a big difference. U.S. News spoke with Assistant Deputy Chief of the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program, Cmdr. Aimee Treffiletti to find out what cruise lines and passengers can do to ensure healthy travel at sea.
The CDC conducts twice-yearly sanitation inspections of cruise ships operating under the Vessel Sanitation Program's jurisdiction to determine their compliance with a long list of health and safety measures.
Inspectors check nearly every inch of a ship, including all common areas, dining rooms, swimming pools and medical facilities, and score each ship on a 100-point scale. To score above the required 85 points — and to decrease the likelihood that passengers end up with the stomach flu — crews take the following measures.
It may seem obvious, but thorough cleaning can make a huge difference when it comes to transmitting viruses. And that's not just on surfaces in kitchens and bathrooms where norovirus tends to be most prevalent.
"If they have a casino on board, a casino manager might be in charge of frequently sanitizing things like the casino chips, and changing the playing cards and sanitizing the slot machines," Treffiletti said.
Areas where people have been sick are meticulously cleaned with sanitizer or disinfectant that is effective against norovirus, she added.
Cruise ships are required to comply with the CDC's rules for safe food preparation. CDC inspectors evaluate everything from food sourcing to storage methods and cooking temperatures. Ships are also required to clean equipment and dishes in hot water with specific disinfectants.
Items like meats, eggs and seafood have heating, cooling and serving requirements designed to eliminate or significantly reduce the likelihood of transmitting food borne illness. If you do order raw or undercooked meat, crew members are obligated to warn you of the risks.
Often, a norovirus outbreak comes down to someone who knowingly or unknowingly brings a contagious virus on the ship. That's why one key to prevention can be ensuring that everyone on board is healthy from the get-go.
Many ships have medical professionals on hand to screen passengers for signs of illness as they board, while other ships require that passengers fill out a form inquiring about vomiting or diarrhea in the 72 hours prior to sailing.
If you get sick on board, you may be quarantined to your room to reduce the likelihood of spreading the virus to others. In some cases, guests may be asked to disembark due to illness; know your rights by reviewing your cruise ticket contract before you board.
Cruise ships must keep track of instances when passengers or crew members report multiple symptoms of the stomach flu. The ship must notify the CDC when 2 percent of the passengers on board have symptoms.
Once 3 percent of people on board (on cruise ships carrying 100 or more passengers) have signs of illness, the CDC classifies the case as an outbreak. At that point, the CDC conducts an investigation to determine the cause of the pattern and to help prevent the virus from spreading further.
"We go on board, we look through [the ship's] records, and we also watch their sanitation barrier to ensure that they're following their plan — [we're] just another set of eyes to watch," Treffiletti said of the CDC's role during an outbreak.
Although the crew members work hard at prevention, their methods simply can't account for every germ.
Passengers can take their health and safety into their own hands with a few key recommendations from the CDC.
Proper hygiene can go a long way when it comes to protecting yourself from norovirus.
"The No. 1 way to prevent the spread of a transmissible illness like norovirus is with proper and frequent hand-washing," Treffiletti emphasized.
It is especially important to wash your hands before touching your mouth, after touching communal surfaces like railings or bathroom doors, and after contact with people who are sick.
A healthy immune system is one of your best defenses against contracting viruses on board. A good amount of sleep will help your body repair and rejuvenate, so try to catch plenty of shut-eye before and during your trip.
It's also important to stay hydrated: You'll flush any potential pathogens out of your system and prevent worsening symptoms due to dehydration.
"You're out of your routine and maybe not drinking as much water as possible, but that's always really important," Treffiletti said.
The CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program collects records of cruise ship norovirus outbreaks, and publishes all reports and inspection results on itswebsite. Use the CDC's search tool to find the health records and history of any ship before you book a cruise.
You can discover which ships score highest in cleanliness and which ships have had virus outbreaks in the past. U.S. News also uses ships’ average CDC health ratings to calculate the Best Cruises rankings; the scores are displayed on each ship’s profile.
Before you choose an itinerary, consider this: You’re no more likely to contract norovirus by traveling to one particular port versus another. However, Treffiletti notes that norovirus is more often found on cruises that leave during the winter months (coinciding with a seasonal increase in norovirus on U.S. shores).
Cruises have a reputation for dishing out copious amounts of food, often served buffet style. But sometimes food can grow tepid if it's sitting out for too long.
One trick to staying healthy at the buffet is to make sure you steer clear of anything lukewarm, especially food items you would expect to be piping hot or very cold. Also, let crew members know if you spot someone failing to use proper utensils or otherwise contaminating the food.
Overall, the best way to stay healthy at sea is to follow the best practices for staying healthy ashore. Gastrointestinal illness is no more common on cruises than on land, Treffiletti said.
"Anytime where you have a large group of people together in a lot of shared spaces," she said, "you tend to see an increase in illnesses like norovirus."
7 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do on a Cruise
Stomach Flu Survival Guide: Family Edition
7 Tips for Traveling While Pregnant
The World’s Largest Cruise Ships
SEE ALSO: Nearly 300 People On A Royal Caribbean Cruise Are Really Sick
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Before last weekend, I was a Las Vegas virgin.
I had never walked the Strip, taken a ride on the New York New York roller coaster, or even gambled. The only things I knew about Vegas were what I had seen on TV.
I ended up having a blast — it's impossible not to in Sin City. But there were quite a few things I didn't realize about Vegas until I went.
These are the 9 things everyone should know before they travel to Las Vegas for the first time.
All the hotels are much farther apart than they first appear. Technically, the entire Strip is over four miles long, and it will take you at least a 15-30 minute walk to get to a different hotel than your own. Before the weekend is over, you will end up taking a few cabs.
But you should walk at least part of the Strip once. There are fun elevated walkways and outdoor elevators, not to mention plenty of photo opportunities. Just don't do it in 4-inch-heels (better yet — leave those heels at home).
Are you headed to another club or restaurant, but you're not quite finished with your drink? Ask for a to-go cup!
Seriously — even classy establishments will let you take your drink outside as long as you use a disposable cup instead of their fancy glassware.
Oh, and once outside, you can imbibe with impunity since Vegas lets you drink (most) everywhere.
Unless you can find your own bank ATM, the standard fee at most Vegas ATMs is a staggering $5.99 — a charge that may not bother the high rollers, but gets really old, really fast for the rest of us.
If I ever went to Vegas again, I'd bring plenty of cash.
There are a few things Vegas casinos do to keep you gambling (no clocks, no windows, plenty of lights and sounds), but the trick that works the best is plying customers with free drinks to keep them playing, and playing poorly.
While I'm not much of gambler, my friend told me to go sit at the bars with the gambling machines built into the counter. You stick in a $20, order a drink, and make minor bets of $.25. I played until I had won all my money back and knocked back a few glasses of wine while I was at it.
Basically, you can just drink for free (but don't forget to tip your bartender).
Most of us go to Vegas to gamble, drink, and party. But take a moment to realize there's art all around you on the Strip.
There are sculptures by famous artists behind the check-in desks, in the hotel lobbies, on the street, not to mention the fact that certain hotels like the Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan have their own galleries that display touring collections from around the world.
There's even the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio, which is filled with sculptures, drawings, and paintings from the late artist.
In Vegas, it's permissible for people to smoke inside casinos. To try and counteract that, the casinos will attempt to cover up the smell with what they call "signature scents."
The smell isn't incredibly offensive (especially if you're in a nice hotel), but if you're sensitive to cigarette smoke, you may want to stay somewhere that is non-gaming, such as the Trump International Hotel.
Almost every single Vegas hotel restaurant on the strip was phenomenal. No one thinks of Vegas as a foodie city, but from sports bars to three-star Michelin establishments, Vegas delivers.
Many of these huge hotels have fantastic relationships with seafood and produce providers, and prepare their meat and make their breads in-house. Personally, I'd make the trip back just for the food.
Vegas may be bachelor-party central, but no group of guys is going to get into a club without buying tickets, bottle service, or a table. Period.
I saw several groups of rejected men begging women to join their group to try and get in for free, but at the bigger clubs like XS, TAO, LAVO, and Marquee, that's just not going to happen.
Either chip in together for bottle/table service, buy a ticket to a DJ show, or don't try to go to clubs. You'll just be disappointed.
Ladies, you probably won't pay for anything. Enjoy.
My friend who I traveled with was a seasoned Vegas veteran, but she had never been to downtown Vegas. Neither of us knew what to expect.
Turns out, it's nice to get away from the expensive strip and see a different side of the city. Plus, there's a Mob Museum, you can see the remnants of Old Vegas before the Strip was built (there's still gambling, too), and you can try some kitschy establishments like the Heart Attack Grill.
It's worth seeing at least once, even though it is a $30 cab drive away.
Disclosure: Our trip to Las Vegas, including travel, food, and lodging expenses, was sponsored by MGM Resorts International.
SEE ALSO: We Ate Lunch At Heart Attack Grill, The Las Vegas Burger Joint That Tries To Kill Its Customers
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