Private equity exec Marc Holtzman is selling his New Zealand home for $3.94 million (NZD$4.75 million), newspaper Mountain Scene reports.

Holtzman is the chairman of Hong Kong-based private equity firm Meridian Capital. He previously served as Vice Chairman of Barclays. In 2006, he made a run for Governor of Colorado as a Republican. 

Sotheby's International Realty in Queenstown has the listing. 

The home has slightly more than 5,812 square feet of living space.

The home sits on more than 14.5 acres.

Seen here is the entry to the home.

Gowanus, the southwestern Brooklyn neighborhood named for the toxic canal that snakes its way through it, doesn't sound like a hot destination. But this neighborhood is thriving — small businesses, artists, and tech startups are moving into the area in droves, taking advantage of the neighborhood's relatively low office rents and fundamentally changing its character.

Genius, a website that annotates music lyrics, literature, and news, made headlines in July when it announced the team would be moving to an extensively renovated warehouse building in Gowanus.

Could this industrial neighborhood, currently undergoing a Superfund cleanup, be the next frontier for New York City tech companies? We headed to Brooklyn to find out.

Gowanus is located in southwest Brooklyn, bordered by Carroll Gardens to the west, Boerum Hill to the north, and Park Slope to the east.

As you walk through the neighborhood's more residential areas, you'll find wide, leafy streets and classic Brooklyn brownstones. Though the streets of Gowanus may seem relatively pleasant now, it hasn't always been that way. Gowanus has long been overshadowed by the affluent neighborhoods that surround it, at times becoming a hotbed for mob violence and crime.

Source: Village Voice

That's due, in part, to the polluted waterway that snakes its way through the neighborhood. Built in 1869, the Gowanus Canal was once a major transportation route connecting the Upper New York Bay and the interior of Brooklyn. For decades, the 1.8-mile channel served as a landing point for mills, tanneries, chemical plants, and other heavy industries. But local legend holds that the canal also served another, darker purpose as a dumping ground for unlucky mobsters.

Source: EPA

Transitioning from a lifestyle without significant responsibilities into the "real world" makes your 20s a decade of tough lessons.

Wherever you're at in your 20s — whether you're on your own or still with your parents, figuring out your career or going through grad school — you can learn from those who have already been through it.

We took at look at the Quora thread "What are the most difficult things people have to learn in their 20s" and highlighted the best answers.

Here are 20 hard lessons that everyone should learn in their 20s:

1. Your world view may be seriously flawed.

It's natural to feel like you've got a solid life philosophy figured out by the time you graduate college, but you'll likely redefine how you see relationships, politics, your career, and anything else you can think of. As Rachel Laine puts it, "[Y]ou discover everything that you thought you had all figured out was tragically wrong, laughably confused, or utterly delusional."

2. It's harder to get away with lies and excuses.

Maybe you made a habit of getting away with things by making up stories for your parents or professors. But lies and deceit won't fly in your professional or personal life anymore.

"The truth has a way of rearing its ugly head, so the sooner you can come to integrity with yourself and the world at large, the sooner you'll be able to get working towards what you really want, who you really want to be," says Arjuna Perkins.

3. You can't party like you used to.

Back in college you may have been able to spend a night binge drinking until two in the morning and make it to class by 11 a.m. That sort of lifestyle is incompatible with most careers. And you'll come to find that as you progress through your 20s, your body has a harder time dealing with excess, Perkins says.

Enjoy your vices in moderation, exercise, and eat well. Your future self will thank you.

4. People will resent you if you try to always be right.

"Let go of having to be right about things — this isn't a contest," Perkins says. "It's not a game. You don't win at life. So say, 'Thanks for your perspective. I'll think about that,' or, 'I was wrong. I'm sorry.'"

5. Life is hard, and it never gets much easier.

As your responsibilities begin to pile up in your 20s, you'll realize that just getting by — let alone becoming very successful — requires a lot of work. And there will always be failures and setbacks.

"You will fail in life, over and over and over. It won't feel fair. Maybe for decades. You've got to keep moving forward. Keep going," Perkins says.

6. Meaningful relationships are difficult to maintain.

If and when you decide to consider marriage or at least a serious romantic relationship, you're going to realize that it requires plenty of sacrifices and work. You'll realize the same goes for your closest friends, who will also be changing as you grow older. But these relationships are more important to your happiness and fulfillment than anything else in your life, says Rich Tatum.

7. You're replaceable at work.

Many companies like to portray themselves as families, but at the end of the day that's just semantics. If your company can no longer afford you or thinks it can invest more wisely in someone else, you'll be cut from that family pretty easily.

"The company does not love you. It has no heart," Tatum says.

8. You don't have forever to find and pursue your passion.

The money you make from your job will mean nothing if you're not actually enjoying life, Tatum says.

If you pursue a career solely for a big check and set aside the things you love to pursue later, you'll find it becomes significantly harder to change careers or dedicate yourself to a passion project the older you get.

9. You're not entitled to anything.

It's necessary to be humble, Tatum says, especially about advantages you may have received through sheer luck. And never think that just because you put in work for things like degrees from elite universities that they guarantee you privileges in life.

Be grateful for what you have, and realize that in a single moment you can lose the things you take for granted.

10. Picking fights and holding grudges will make you miserable.

"Avoid fights. Seriously. Avoid them like a plague: Nobody wins in a fight, even if you walk away unscathed," Tatum writes.

Accept apologies and apologize when you make a mistake. Don't fill your life with negativity.

11. You must keep learning if you want to be successful.

Your education is far from over after you leave a classroom for the last time. Dedicate yourself to learning things that will help you in your career, including "the abilities to assimilate, communicate, and persuade," Tatum says.

12. Decisions that take a few seconds to make can have long-term ramifications.

Never make a decision on an emotional impulse. "[S]tupid decisions made in the moment can rob you of years of joy and happiness," Tatum writes.

13. Money is hard to earn.

When your family is supporting you, it can be difficult to grasp how much a dollar is worth, even if you are not spoiled or selfish, says Rahul Bhatt.

As you start living on your own, however, you'll soon realize that frivolous things you would normally not give a second thought about purchasing are not worth the hours of work equivalent to the price tag.

14. Your friend circle will likely get smaller.

As you go through your 20s, you'll naturally start to drift away from some of your friends. Gone are the days of partying with a room full of your buddies, Bhatt says. You will realize, though, that the friends you put the effort into staying in touch with are the ones who mean the most to you.

15. You'll probably have a bigger role to play in your family.

"Family is very important. Till now they supported you, now it's your turn," Bhatt writes.

Your parents may always try to nurture you as if you were a child, but they will need your emotional — and perhaps even financial — help as they get older and you become your own person.

16. Hard work isn't always recognized.

You should accept that your boss may not always notice your contributions, Bhatt says.

Do not let that be an excuse to become lazy, and don't protest if someone else gets credit for your work.

17. Debt will haunt you.

A full 70% of college students graduated with debt last year, averaging $30,000 in loans. But the fact that most young professionals are living with debt doesn't make it something you should live with for a long time. Prioritize your spending to get rid of it as quickly as you are able to.

And at some point in your 20s you're probably going to get a credit card — use it wisely. "Realize that you will end up paying double, maybe more, for that round of drinks at the bar because you put it on credit instead of saving the cash," says Thea Pilarczyk.

18. There is always someone "better" than you.

"There are always going to be people who are smarter, better looking, more sociable, and just all around 'better' than you... To be happy, then, you have to learn to accept yourself and your shortcomings," says Brandon Chu.

Pursue success on your own terms, not by living someone else's life or forever living in the shadow of someone else.

19. You'll never have it "all sorted out."

"Remember when you thought you'd have it all sorted out by 30?" Chu asks. You'll realize how silly that is as your 30th birthday draws closer. The truth is, you'll become wiser with age, but you'll always question your decisions.

20. Becoming an adult is not some magical transformation.

Being an adult is more a matter of heightened expectations than any tangible change, says Hugh Powell. As he bluntly puts it: "[N]o matter how good you get at playing the adult, you won't forget that underneath it all, at any age, you are always a scared little child, with no real idea of what you are doing."

Use this knowledge to recognize that everyone else is in the same position as you, no matter what image they project to the world. This can help you become more insightful, compassionate, and forgiving, Powell says.

SEE ALSO: 11 Ways To Set Yourself Up For Success In Your Early 20s

DON'T MISS: The 13 Worst Mistakes People Make In Their 20s

Join the conversation about this story »

A London home being billed as the "smallest house in the world" can be yours for £275,000 ($450,000), according to The Guardian.

The modern micro-home, set in the pricey North London neighborhood of Islington, has only one room and is 188 square feet.The tiny house includes a lofted bed, accessible by way of the kitchen counter, a toilet in the shower, and a platform that acts as both a living room and dining room.

"It's possibly the smallest house in the world," the listing agent told the Guardian. "It's just been developed and put on the market. I think it will probably sell to an investor who'll let it as a short-let on Airbnb. It's a great crash pad for the area. It's got everything a house would have and the space is cleverly used. There's storage under the raised part of the living area, a patio out the front and a window. I've been to the property and it's a really sweet house – it works."

SEE ALSO: My Mom And I Spent 3 Days Together In A 'Tiny House'

FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Pinterest!

Join the conversation about this story »

If you’re a “relatively young, hetero, professional male bachelor who grew up in America,” then we may have just found the apartment of your dreams. 

First spotted by Gothamist, the ludicrous Craigslist listing (which has since been deleted) is for a three bedroom in Long Island City’s Arris Lofts. The “palace” is 2,000 square feet with two floors, a washer and dryer, enclosed garden area with koi pond, roof deck, gym, pool, and sauna.

Though the amenities and room sound awesome, the two 30-something men who live there do not. “Do not respond to this ad unless you make, at minimum, six-figures a year,” the now-deleted listing reads. “You will not be able to afford to live here or maintain the lifestyle that is necessary to keep up with the rest of us."

Those fresh out of college are not welcome either, along with anyone who can’t speak English, is passive aggressive, or is sensitive to “awesome music played at high decibel levels, the aroma of amazing gourmet cooking emanating through the house, lengthy intellectual debates with people who have an amazing sense of humor, or loud moans of sexual delight creeping out from the various bedrooms at any given hour of the day.”

But don’t worry. They’re also accepting of ladies if you are “an extremely hot (at least a 9), lipstick lesbian with bi tendencies and an exhibitionist streak when you get hammered.”

Charming. And while the listing is now gone, thankfully Gothamist took screenshots of the outrageous ad. Enjoy.

SEE ALSO: New York City's 2-Bedroom, 22-Person Apartment Is Your Worst Nightmare

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

It's been 81 years since the repeal of Prohibition, when the nation dried up and hidden bars called speakeasies popped up all over the country.

While the temperance movement is long gone, the secret watering holes haven't changed much, from the passwords required on entry to the caliber of handcrafted cocktails served.

We dug up the hottest and most exclusive speakeasies in the U.S., and even gave away their addresses. Let's keep this one on the DL.

Did we forget your favorite speakeasy? Let us know in the comments.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

The Chapter Room
5600 Roswell Rd., Sandy Springs

Join the Brewniversity craft beer loyalty club to gain access to this modern-day speakeasy in the basement of the Taco Mac, which puts a large emphasis on craft beer. The Chapter Room maintains no fewer than 18 different kinds on draft at a time, as well as many others in bottles. Cozy up to Bobb, the bar's "overseer," and you may also have access to the rare and limited edition beers in his secret stash.

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Midnight Cowboy
313 E. 6th St.

Midnight Cowboy was formerly a massage parlor, and still sports the original "Midnight Cowboy Modeling Oriental Massage" sign out front. Reservations are required, and when you get there you're free to enjoy classic and creative cocktails, as long as you leave all your mobile devices behind — they have no place at this lounge.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

The Owl Bar
1 E. Chase St.

The historic Hotel Belvedere is the resting place of the Owl Bar, which has been serving fancy mixed drinks, beer, and wine for the last 100+ years. The bar served as the stomping grounds for a number of famous and non-famous Baltimore natives, and remained unnamed until after Prohibition. The Owl Bar also has an exquisite food menu, including weekend brunch.

Online ticketing platform Eventbrite has moved into some bright new offices in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood. 

When Rapt Studio set out to design the space — the company's fifth in just eight years — they used Pinterest boards to find out what Eventbrite employees wanted most in their office. 

The result was a space that's both fun and functional, with a fully stocked kitchen, in-office bike racks, and desk arrangements that include hammocks and stadium seating.

Eventbrite's new offices are located on the sixth and seventh floors of a building on 5th Street, in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood.

A lot of Eventbrite employees bike to and from work, so the company added this in-office hanging bike rack.

The office's design is open, with a wide variety of seating arrangements.

Model, designers, socialites, and celebrities all gathered at the Plaza Hotel Friday night for the Harper's BAZAAR Fashion Week party celebrating ICONS — a portfolio spotlighting unforgettable women who are always in fashion — by Carine Roitfeld.

Roitfeld, the former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris, is now the Global Fashion Director for Harper’s BAZAAR and editor-in-chief of CR Fashion Book. She arrived to the event with Harper's Bazaar Creative Director Stephen Gan and Lady Gaga.Gaga brought her actor-boyfriend, Taylor Kinney, as her date.

Guests were immediately greeted by giant bottles of custom-made Moët & Chandon.There was also a Belvedere Vodka bar offering four specialty cocktails. 

Soon, the party was in full swing.

The highlight of the evening was a performance by Lady Gaga, who took the stage with her band for a live jazz performance in support of her upcoming collaborative album with Tony Bennett, "Cheek to Cheek."

Tons of famous faces were in the audience, including Nicki Minaj.

Designer Donatella Versace and her daughter, Allegra.

Model/reality star Kendall Jenner.

Model Gigi Hadid.Model Karlie Kloss.Model Hilary Rhoda.

Model Alessandra Ambrosio.

Model Karolina Kurkova. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition covergirl Candice Swanepoel.Model Lily Aldridge.

Model Jessica Hart showcased an Edie Parker bag with her name on it.Leonardo DiCaprio's Sport's Illustrated swimsuit model girlfriend, Tori Garrn.

Model Liu Wen.

Carine Roitfeld's model-daughter, Julia Restoin Roitfeld.

And actress Brooke Shields.

SEE ALSO: Tons Of Celebrities Showed Up For Joan Rivers' NYC Funeral On Sunday

Join the conversation about this story »

A new kind of spa is taking over and it is exclusively for babies.

Float Baby in Houston, Texas, has gained international attention after opening this past February. So far, 330 clients have visited the spa according to owner and founder Kristi Ison, who claims that the service improves physical and cognitive development “by as much as 50% ahead of non-water peers.”

The spa has babies from two weeks old up to eight months old float for 20 minutes in a small pool while wearing waterproof swim diapers and a specially-designed (and patent-pending) donut-shaped flotation device around their necks to keep their heads above water. The inflatable tubes are sized by staff every visit to keep babies comfortable.

Known as hydrotherapy, the inflatable ring allows the babies to move around easily, all while strengthening muscle and bone structure, according to Ison. The water of the tiny pool is purified and kept at a comfortable 95-98 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pools are washed out daily.

The babies are then taken out of the pool and get a neonatal massage performed by their parents who are coached by Ison, who is a certified instructor in infant massage.

All in all the service costs $65 and runs roughly an hour.

“Parents consistently report that their babies are sleeping better, eating more, and are generally happier and stronger,” she told Business Insider.

As of yet, there's been no research to support Ison's claims that the water will improve strength and cardiovascular health of the infants more than any other exercise. But if the Float Baby testimonials are to be believed, parents love the service, saying that their children are eating and sleeping better.

Ison got the idea from Baby Spa in Kensington London, according to NBC News TODAY, which also has water immersion and massages for infant (given by neonatal and pediatric nurses). The U.K. service costs £60 for one hour.

Ison is now planning to improve her Houston studio experience by adding individual tubs for younger babies this fall, and hopes to open 10 more franchises across the US in early 2015. Get used to baby spas, America.

SEE ALSO: 9 Things That Surprised Me About Being A New Parent

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

We all want what we want, but it's always difficult to figure out how to get it.

Psychology has some answers for us, though. Research has unlocked a few words that, when used, can have a big influence on people.

Join the conversation about this story »

Princeton University and Williams College are once again the best schools in America, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2015 rankings.

U.S. News divides schools into two major national lists — universities and liberal arts colleges— based on the degrees and research opportunities they offer. Princeton topped the university list for the second year in a row, while Williams has held the top college spot for the past 12 years, according to a U.S. News press release.

Last year, U.S. News changed its methodology to emphasize "outcome-related measures" — such as graduation and retention rates — which now account for 30% of a school's ranking. As U.S. News noted last year, incorporating graduation rate performance data for all schools "improves the Best Colleges ranking methodology as it's an important outcome measure that focuses on the difference between each school's predicted graduation rate ... and its actual graduation rate."

Here are the national universities that U.S. News rated in the top 10 for 2015:

1. Princeton University

2. Harvard University

3. Yale University

4. Columbia University

4. Stanford University

4. University of Chicago

7. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

8. Duke University

8. University of Pennsylvania

10. California Institute of Technology

Here are the liberal arts colleges that U.S. News rated in the top 10 for 2015:

1. Williams College

2. Amherst College

3. Swarthmore College

4. Wellesley College

5. Bowdoin College

5. Pomona College

7. Middlebury College

7. Carlton College

8. Claremont McKenna College

8. Haverford College

SEE ALSO: A Former Hedge-Funder Guarantees He Can Get Your Kid Into An Ivy League School

FOLLOW US! Check Out BI Colleges On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Apple has long been revered for its amazing attention to design, from its iconic glass-and-steel retail stores to the sleek gadgets they sell inside. 

Apple was recently granted a patent for its glass cube store design, and it trademarked its store layout in 2013.

That minimalist aesthetic has become so well-known that it's difficult to see a boxy, contemporary home without comparing it to an Apple store. 

In honor of Apple's big product announcement today, our friends at Estately helped us round up 12 houses that feature the design details we've come to associate with this iconic company.

This home's boxy design is reminiscent of Apple's glass cube.

Address: 83 South River Road, Stuart, Florida

Price: $7.35 million

It has five bedrooms, 9.5 bathrooms, and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that look out on the Atlantic Ocean.

This stunningly modern home looks out over the Los Angeles skyline.

Address: 9133 Oriole Way, Los Angeles, California

Price: $38 million

Its wide-open spaces include a chef's kitchen, screening room, wine cellar, and eight-car garage.

A glass-enclosed elevator provides access to all six of the bedrooms in this home.

Address:15210 Antelo Place, Los Angeles, California

Price: $16.5 million

The house, which sits behind heavy iron gates, was designed by architect Ted Tanaka in 1986 and remodeled in 2008.

Forget looking sexy at the gym. At the Soldierfit gym in Gaithersburg, Maryland, the first thing youre told to do is don a T-shirt bearing two dog tags and the words: "I am."

The trainer snaps the class to attention, saying, "Troops, you are." And your response? "We are, I am."

The lesson here? "We have a saying: Pride, not ego," says Danny Farrar, the founder and co-owner of Soldierfit gyms, of which there are four in the Washington, D.C. area. "You're not worried about the shirtless guy taking selfies or the cute girl in short shorts and a sports bra. My main thing is create an environment where you put the team before self. That comes from the military."

Farrar established the gyms in 2007, just a year after returning from Baghdad, where he was in more than 700 convoy missions. After having been in the military for 13 years, and suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Farrar was looking for a project that would revitalize his own American dream. So he took military-inspired exercises and training ethos and came up with Soldierfit.

Military-inspired fitness classes have gained ground in the fitness world over the past decade. Boot camp, CrossFit and other off-shoots have introduced rigor and teamwork into mainstream workouts, displacing the allure of fancy gyms with warehouse-style facilities. What makes Soldierfit unique is that it's taken the military inspiration and made it literal.

"Our entire facility is outfitted to work. We have a full Humvee for a front desk. Every room is dedicated to fallen soldiers. We're extremely patriotic," Farrar says.

Servant-based Model of Fitness Training

After the call to order, class begins with a 15 minute warm-up that includes a five-minute jog and calisthenics such as planks, squats and pushups. The gym prides itself on variety. There are 400-some exercises, including battle ropes, sledgehammers and the infamous burpees. "Every workout is different," Farrar says. "We do everything other than Olympic lifts and bench presses." The gyms do include weight rooms, but the trademark workout doesn't use weights, and instead focuses on metabolic training that maximizes weight-loss goals. Participants typically burn between 750 and 1,000 calories per hour-long session, depending on their body weight and level of exertion.

"We've had people lose hundreds of pounds," Farrar says, adding that the novelty of the program is that it places conditioned athletes next to novices. The trainers work with everyone on an individual level, making people accountable much like an officer in the military would.

"Your NCO [noncommissioned officer] in the military talks to you every 30 days, calling soldiers out if they've bounced a check or stayed out too late drinking," Farrar says. At the gym, the trainers also check in with clients every 30 days, counseling them on nutrition and staying on top of whats going on in their lives, in addition to keeping tabs on their fitness levels. "It's a very servant-based model," Farrar says. "We're here to help people discover their mission and push them."

What they don’t do at Soldierfit – and what distinguishes the model from other military-inspired classes like CrossFit, Farrar says – is pin people against each other. At those classes, he adds, "it's all competition-based. You come out of facility ranked every single day. That doesn't work too well for a lot of people that are scared to come into a gym."

Yelling – of the drill sergeant genre – is also notably absent at the Soldierfit facilities. "We joke and play," Farrar says. "The troop of the month is a person who has accomplished their mission and motivated others to accomplish theirs."

Life in the Trenches

With mainstream Americans now working out like their military counterparts, just how much does a military-inspired workout resemble the real deal? "At this point, the military is doing all of the exercises [that we do]," Farrar says. "They’re just doing it in adverse conditions, or with extra battle rattle."

And oddly, mainstream fitness culture has actually outpaced the military when it comes to working out, he adds. "The military kind of plays catch-up when it comes to fitness. They wouldn’t let you in the weight room. They were all for: Lets go run five, six miles."

But swinging kettlebells and holding your plank is what actually prepares you better for the battlefield– say if you have to drag your buddies to safety, he adds.

Those real-life scenarios are what inspired exercise physiologist Josh Henkin to create a routine that is inspired by the needs of the military – but also for the military. Henkin’s Ultimate Sandbag workouts have been used by professional athletes, fitness facilities and rehabilitation clinics in several countries, in addition to the U.S. Army.

"The Army was taking Army duffel bags, filling garbage bags with sand and putting them in the duffel bags for training," Henkin says.

Henkin essentially made this scientific. He created different-sized bags, filled with sand, which could be used in about 400 different exercise moves. "It's a full-body workout," he says. "Theres a huge cardio component."

While some of the moves directly mimic those in the Army, others are tailored to the nuanced moves of everyday life.

"Most things in life are not perfectly balanced …​picking up groceries, holding a kid," Henkin says. "We change how the Ultimate Sandbag is held. That way we can really address specific needs of people."

Personalized training is something that Soldierfit emphasizes as well. David Daniels, of Frederick, Maryland, has been going to classes for three years and hasn't done the same class twice. Burpees, kettlebell swings, penguins, pushups – the variety of exercises makes working out interesting, and the positive re-enforcement has kept Daniels coming back for more. "I'm mentally and physically in better shape than I was in my 20s and 30s," the 47-year-old says, adding that notably absent from the class is "the competitive gym scene." Instead, it's family-oriented, much like how the military can be considered a family.

"Since the first class I've been hooked," Daniels says. "It's an addiction – a really good one."

SEE ALSO: Running Just 5 Minutes A Day Could Add Years To Your Life

Join the conversation about this story »

Aram Pan has always been intrigued by North Korea. Everything he saw in the media relating to the country, though, revolved around its leaders, military might, and confidentiality. Pan wondered what he would see if he simply asked nicely to look around. He found out the answer was more than he ever expected.

Pan, who is from Singapore, makes 360-degree panoramas for various clients, including real estate brokers, hotels, and retail stores. Utilizing fairly simple technology and setup (just a DSLR digital camera and a tripod), he creates high resolution, immersive panoramas that allow viewers to virtually explore a space.

Pan wanted to create these in the DPRK, so after submitting a proposal to the government, he was "given unrestricted freedom to photograph just about anything except military personnel, vehicles, and infrastructure," he told Business Insider. His resulting panoramas and photographs, featured at DPRK360, give a totally fresh look into life in North Korea. 

Pan would often ask his appointed tour guides about a certain aspect of everyday life in North Korea and, many times, the guides would lead him directly to it. For example, Pan asked if he could "swim with the locals." His guides took him to a local water park and spa, the Mansu Water Park (be sure to click the links to fully explore Pan's panoramas).

Similarly, Pan wanted to see where people got their hair cut. His tour guides took him to the hair salon at Changgwangwon Health Complex, which has been in existence since 1980.

Pan says going to North Korea for the first time was like "entering an alternative universe." "Suddenly, there are no advertisements or billboards, no internet, and nobody is rushing around at double speed," he told Business Insider. There are certainly no billboards at the Mansudae Grand Monument, which features massive bronze statues of former Presidents Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.

Another thing that surprised Pan was a large trade fair in Pyongyang he attended. "I did not expect to see the sheer amount of businesses entering North Korea and how so much foreign currency was moving about," he says.

Other interesting places Pan visited included the Meari Shooting Range, which allows participants to bring the fowl they shoot at the range to an adjacent restaurant where it can then be cooked for them.

He also checked out the Rungna Dolphinarium, North Korea's equivalent to Sea World.

He even got to visit the newly renovated Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, a place with a strict "no photography policy." The museum documents the history of the Korean wars, from the perspective of North Korea, of course.

Pan tells us this project was an attempt to demystify North Korea. However, Pan says after months of travel all over the country, he didn't see any work camps or starvation, which left him with more questions than answers. In fact, many aspects, such as this beach near Wonsan, seemed almost normal.

Pan hopes the North Korean government will start to trust him more and show him even further behind the curtain, like in the Grand People's Study House, seen below. Pan says that the North Korean government is actually very connected to the outside world, adding that "Yes, they will most definitely be reading this article, too."

Be sure to visit Pan's website to see tons more pictures, videos, and 360-panoramas, and check back often; Pan is planning on going back to North Korea this week. 

(All GIFS courtesy of Aram Pan/DPRK360)

SEE ALSO: The Korean DMZ Is A Surprisingly Popular Spot For Tourists

FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Twitter!

Join the conversation about this story »

Americans often get a bad rap for having little knowledge of the world outside the 50 states, but some countries are so obscure that many people haven't heard of them.

In the United Nations, though, where all 193 member states get a vote, even the smallest countries have a voice. Here are six obscure countries you should get to know, even small countries can be remarkable.

Lesotho

More than once, my friend from the tiny nation of Lesotho has had customs and immigration officers stare quizzically at her passport before Googling to see if the country was real. 

Lesotho is both in south Africa and, quite literally, in South Africa. The country, about 100 miles wide, is entirely surrounded by the larger nation of South Africa.

Lesotho's economy and security is almost entirely dependent on South Africa, and the UnitedNations says more than 40% of the population is "ultra-poor."

Although Lesotho is tiny, the country has spectacular canyons and mountains. It is one of the very few African nations that regularly sees snow.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

No, it's not a hipster cover band; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is actually an archipelago of Islands in the Caribbean. 

St. Vincent refers to the country's main island, and the Grenadines refers to the top two-thirds of a chain of islands to the south.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is amazingly beautiful. In fact, you've almost definitely already admired its sparkling seas, rugged jungles, and sandy shores. St. Vincent was the location used for Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.  

Benin

According to the BBC, Benin is one of Africa's most stable democracies.

Located in West Africa, Benin was once part of the Slave Coast, where imprisoned Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to slave-drivers.

Despite recent economic growth, Benin is one of the world's poorest countries. Cotton is one of its primary exports, and Benin continues to press Western countries to cut their subsidies to enable it to compete more fairly. 

Although you may not have heard of Benin, you have definitely heard of one of its major religions: Voodoo. 

Voodooism is said to have originated in Benin, and while it was banned for a time, it is now celebrated at an annual Voodoo Day (below). Far from being a mysterious and dark cult, Voodoo actually describes a range of indigenous beliefs and traditional rituals. 

Nauru

Nauru is minuscule. At its widest point, the pacific island only measures 3.5 miles across. 

With fewer than 9,400 residents, it is also the second smallest country by population, beaten only by the Vatican City.

Despite its small size and remote location, Nauru is no stranger to conflict. In 1878, a disagreement at a wedding escalated into a decade-long civil war that killed 500 people — roughly a third of the population.

The country was taken over by the Germans before World War I, liberated by Australia during the war, taken over by the Japanese in World War II, and then liberated again at the end of the war.

Nauru's historical chief export has given it a not-so-flattering nickname, "Bird S--- Island." Thousands of years of bird droppings meant that until recently, the country could rely on its phosphate reserves to keep the economy going.  

However, corruption, poor planning, falling prices, and depleted reserves mean that Nauru increasingly depends on foreign aid. Countries like Australia, Russia, and China all compete to buy its diplomatic support internationally.

Suriname

Unless you're Dutch or from South America, there's a decent chance you've never heard of Suriname. 

The country lies in northern South America and only achieved independence in 1975. Unlike its neighbors who speak Spanish, Portuguese, or French, the Surinamese speak Dutch. 

A former colony of the Netherlands, Suriname is notable because of its banana republic politics. The current President of Suriname, dictator Dési Bouterse (below), is a military colonel who has controlled the country from behind the scenes for years, taking center stage as president in 2010. 

President Bouterse, leader of the deeply ironic National Democratic Party, has been convictedof drug smuggling and accused of murder.  

Last month his son, Dino Bouterse, admitted to a federal court in New York that he was involved in drug trafficking, illegal firearms, and a strange plan to allow Hezbollah operatives to attack the U.S. from a base in Suriname in return for a $2 million. The operatives were actually undercover U.S. agents.

Mauritania

Mauritania, which lies in the Sahara desert, is a depressing place with a horrific human rights record.  

Its government has been accused of torture. Female genital mutilation is widespread. Although owning slaves was made illegal in 2007, 10-20% of the country is still enslaved. 

Mauritania was the last country to make slavery illegal in 1981, but it took another 26 years before owning slaves was actually made a crime. Despite increasing protests against slavery, The New York Times reports the government — which administers fundamentalist Islamic law — shows little commitment to actually do anything about the practice.  

As well as forced labor, masters frequently rape slaves with authorities almost invariably turning a blind eye.

SEE ALSO: This Footage Of A Gunman's Mall Siege In Australia Shows Cops' Amazing Restraint

Join the conversation about this story »

Today's women are CEO's of tech companies; they are starring in their own TV shows; and they are managing directors at investment banks.

That means they need some help organizing and simplifying their daily lives.

So Business Insider decided to come up with a list of apps that will give a modern lady a hand or two.

These apps cover everything from planning a night out to tracking your sleep. You can learn new skills, cook a meal, and track workouts.

Enjoy.

Awesome Note

Usually personal organizer apps are pretty inconvenient to use. They're over-cluttered with features and poorly designed.

But Awesome Note is a well-designed organizer with a built in calendar, to-do list, party planning section, and photo journal. Plus there are tabs for anniversary reminders and travel diaries. You'll actually want to use this one.

You can download Awesome Note here.

Evernote

It's not only the men that need to stay professionally organized in a digital fashion. 

While Awesome Note is great for life organization, you're going to want to use Evernote for your professional life. The app can sync all your notes across multiple devices and computers, and it helps you scan business cards and search for anything. Evernote converts swear by it.

You can download Evernote here.

Nike Training Club

Instead of struggling to rearrange your schedule so that maybe you'll make it to that kick-boxing class next Thursday, you can use the Nike Training Club app and get your workouts done whenever you have a free second — right in your own room.

There are over 100 workout videos by Nike trainers and superstar athletes on the app so that you can actually see what to do, without the hassle of going to a gym.

You can download Nike Training Club here.

If you've been on Facebook sometime in the last few weeks, you may have seen your friends posting lists of 10 books that have had an impact on them. 

The introduction to the post goes something like this: "List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes, and don't think too hard. They do not have to be the 'right' books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way."

Each person then shares 10 books and then challenges a few friends to do the same. 

Now, thanks to data from researchers Lada Adamic and Pinkesh Patel, we know which books Facebook users say have made a most memorable impact. To compile the list, Adamic and Patel analyzed 130,000 status updates that contained the words "10 books" or "ten books" and that were posted in the last two weeks of August 2014. 

They also included a percentage that indicated just how many of the 130,000 lists included each of the books. 

Here are the top 20 books, ranked by how often they were named in Facebook statuses:

1. "Harry Potter" series, J.K. Rowling (named in 21.08% of lists)

2. "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee (named in 14.48% of lists)

3. "The Lord of the Rings," J.R.R. Tolkien (named in 13.86% of lists)

4. "The Hobbit," J.R.R. Tolkien (named in 7.48% of lists)

5. "Pride and Prejudice," Jane Austen (named in 7.28% of lists)

6. "The Holy Bible" (named in 7.21% of lists)

7. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Douglas Adams (named in 5.97% of lists)

8. "The Hunger Games" trilogy, Suzanne Collins (named in 5.82% of lists)

9. "The Catcher in the Rye," J.D. Salinger (named in 5.7% of lists)

10. "The Chronicles of Narnia," C.S. Lewis (named in 5.63% of lists)

11. "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald (named in 5.61% of lists)

12. "1984," George Orwell (named in 5.37% of lists)

13. "Little Women," Louisa May Alcott (named in 5.26% of lists)

14. "Jane Eyre," Charlotte Bronte (named in 5.23% of lists)

15. "The Stand," Stephen King (named in 5.11% of lists)

16. "Gone with the Wind," Margaret Mitchell (named in 4.95% of lists)

17. "A Wrinkle in Time," Madeleine L'Engle (named in 4.38% of lists)

18. "The Handmaid's Tale," Margaret Atwood (named in 4.27% of lists)

19. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," C.S. Lewis (named in 4.05% of lists)

20. "The Alchemist," Paulo Coelho (named in 4.01% of lists)

The researches also created this neat graphic showing the connections among the books: "In the network visualization, each node represents a book, sized by the frequency with which it was mentioned, as an edge represents an unusual number of co-occurrences of the two books in the lists."

SEE ALSO: How To Choose The Best Photos For Your Online Dating Profile

WE'RE ON PINTEREST: Click Here To Follow Us

Join the conversation about this story »

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick just re-listed their Greenwich Village brownstone for a whopping $22 million, according to Zillow.

The 6,800-square-foot townhouse, which is located on East 10th Street, has five bedrooms, seven fireplaces, a landscaped garden, and a hand-carved stone tub (score!). 

The historic house was originally put on the market in 2012 for $25 million, but they took it off this April. The celebrity couple bought the place in 2011 for $19 million.

The listing is exclusive with John Gomes and Fredrik Eklund of Douglas Elliman.

Welcome to Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's 25-foot-wide Greenwich Village townhouse.

The bottom floor, or 'Garden Floor' includes the stainless steel and walnut eat-in kitchen.

The dining room contains direct access to the split-level garden.

It's straight out of a fairytale, or Harry Potter book: a mysterious castle in Woodstock, Connecticut just hit the market for $45 million .

Known as Chrismark Castle, the home has eight bedrooms and comes with 75 acres of land, including its own lake (via Estately).

It's owned by Christopher Mark, the great-grandson of Chicago steel tycoon Clayton Mark Senior.

Mark caused a ruckus in the small town of Woodstock when he bought the parcel and began building the 20-room castle back in 2003. According to Connecticut Magazine, it took 7 years and $4.1 million to build, and people from the town would often stop by for a glimpse.

The house has also seen a fair amount of drama. Mark reportedly lived there with his now ex-wife and their two children, until Galt filed for divorce in 2010. Mark later moved his pregnant girlfriend into the castle with her older daughter, according to Connecticut Magazine.

That relationship also ended and that girlfriend took Mark to court in New York City to pay additional child support, according to The New York Post. Mark was rumored to have tried to start multiple business on the property, including a modeling business, a bed and breakfast, and a private zoo.

The home is currently listed on Coldwell Banker.

Welcome to Chrismark Castle in Woodstock, Connecticut.

The bizarre home took 7 years to build and cost $4.1 million. It has stone walls, towers, and even a moat.

The property was built on a 354-acre parcel of land. It is being sold with 75 of those acres as well as a lake called Lake Porter.

There are those who see everyone's constant stream of tweets, Instagram pics, and Facebook posts as a sign that the rise of social media has created a culture of self-promotion that's gotten out of control.

And they may be right, to an extent. But what if all of those dinner-plate photos and tweets about weird things that happened during your commute actually made you happier rather than more detached?

A new study, published in Psychological Science, from a group of Harvard Business School researchers led by Ting Zhang suggests that there is value to capturing the mundane moments in life. According to a summary of the study, "Rediscovering Our Mundane Moments Brings Us Unexpected Pleasure":

In one study, the researchers had 135 college students create time capsules at the beginning of the summer; they wrote about a range of different experiences they recently had, including the last social event they attended, a recent conversation, three songs they were currently listening to, and an excerpt from a final paper they had written.

For each memory, the students were asked to predict how curious and surprised they would be to read about it later, and how meaningful and interesting they would find it. The students “opened” these time capsules three months later, at the beginning of the following school year, and rated the memories again.

The results showed that students had significantly underestimated their curiosity and interest in the time capsules, findings that were echoed in a second online study...

A final study revealed that only 27% of participants chose to write about a recent conversation over watching a video of a talk-show interview. However, when it came time to decide which one they'd rather revisit 1 month later, 58% of participants chose to read about the conversation they had had.

In an email, Zhang tells us that she wants the main takeaway to be that we should not take the present for granted, even if we're just going through an ordinary day. She writes:

We tend to overlook the present moment as worthy of being rediscovered in the future. However, our studies show that we are often wrong: what is ordinary now actually becomes more extraordinary in the future — and more extraordinary than we might expect. So, it's not that people necessarily enjoy rediscovering ordinary moments more than extraordinary moments — it's just that the ordinary moments are what we tend to undervalue.

Basically, the findings suggest you shouldn't feel bad if you're compelled to blog about your day, tweet about what you had for lunch, or Instagram that photo of a pretty sunset. The post may come in handy when you're in a bad mood sometime down the line.

SEE ALSO: 20 Hard Lessons Everyone Should Learn In Their 20s

Join the conversation about this story »