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No matter what is going on in your career, good advice is universal. No matter what problems you are trying to solve, chances are someone else before you had a similar problem.

When companies set out to design logos to brand their products, they often go above and beyond to create recognizable and memorable graphics.

Over and over again we see examples of corporate logos with hidden visual messages buried inside.

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New Years Eve is pretty much the most decadent holiday begin with, but what makes doing it NYC special is that every year the city's bars, hotels and clubs are in a competition to out-do each other (and whatever they themselves did the year before).

So to get a sense of the madness, Business Insider did a quick fly-around to some city hotspots to see what they came up with to make this New Year's more luxurious than the last. If you haven't made plans yet, maybe this will give you some inspiration.

The Viceroy Hotel will give you your own champagne butler...

At the Viceroy Hotel you'll be able to party with a "champagne butler," watch fireworks on the rooftop, and ring in the New Year with a truffle and caviar-heavy four-course meal.

The evening will start at the hotel's luxurious suite 57, which will be fully stock with champagne: Dom Perignon, served by the butler at your service all night long.

Following a round or two of clinking flutes, The Viceroy has set up a sumptuous 4-course meal including lobster agnolotti, white truffles, roasted duck breast, Wagyu strip steak in red wine sauce and bone marrow au gratin.

After all that, you can make your way up to a private oasis on the rooftop, were you can party all the way into the early morning while watching the fireworks over Central Park. 

And of course the Kings of NYC bottle service are always up to something...

If you want to know what's up at night in NYC, it's always a good idea to ask the folks at Strategic Group. They manage venues like Marquee, The Electric Room and PH-D in The Dream Hotel Downtown. It is their responsibility to ensure that these spots please partiers from all over the globe, and in the last few years competition has gotten more and more intense. 

You see, several years ago, everyone used to run for the warm weather come the holiday season.

But now, "New York's become more of a destination than in the past," Strategic Group's Jonathan Schwartz told Business Insider.

Tables at PH-D start at $4,000 and end with a $30,000 table called the 'Living the Dream' package. It comes with 18 Bottles of Belvedere Vodka and 18 Bottles of Perrier Jouet Nuit Blanche Rose for you and 25 of your closest, luckiest friends. You'll have the spot's epic view of the Empire State building to top it all off.

Of course, that's nothing compared to Marquee, where a center table in front of the DJ will cost you $50,000. It puts you in the middle of all the action, after all.

"What we're doing at Marquee," Schwartz told Business Insider, "Vegas and Miami have been doing. So this is something new — for New York to be doing the same thing."

The celebrations begin on the 24th, continue on the 27th and 30th — featuring some of the top DJ talent. And on the 31st, Sebastian Ingrosso (of Swedish House Mafia fame) will be headlining New Years.

"Marquee is going to be that post ball drop spot where all the DJs will go to hang out after," Schwartz told BI.

So consider that.

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This was a tumultuous year. From revolution and war in Ukraine, Syria, and Israel to social unrest across the US and the Ebola outbreak in Africa, 2014 was anything but quiet. 

And, as the old adage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

We compiled the most unforgettable images from the past 12 months, captured by photographers from around the world.

Beginning in November 2013, Ukrainians protested the government's decision to distance itself economically from Europe in a movement that became known as EuroMaidan. The protests exploded into violence and burning tires in January after anti-protest laws went into effect. Here, protesters took cover from water sprayed by a fire engine on Jan. 23.

The anti-protest laws banned "face concealments." Protesters, like this one, deliberately disobeyed the law by wearing gas masks.

The Tower of David in Caracas, Venezuela, is the tallest slum in the world. In February, Reuters photographer Jorge Silva went there to capture what life was actually like for those living there. Here, men rested after salvaging metal on the 30th floor.

In five years, Bethany Mota has become a bona fde Youtube superstar whose channel amassed more than 7.8 million subscribers.

We caught up with Mota at the IGNITION 2014 event and we asked her to share some of her favorite fellow "YouTubers."

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Shutterstock paid homage to the visual style of five present-day legends using only footage and music found in the Shutterstock library. The video mimics the styles of Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, Alfonso Cuarón, and Terrance Malick.

Warning: This video contains blood and gore. 

Video courtesy of Shutterstock

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This amazing footage of a firework show over West Palm Beach, Florida was filmed with a GoPro Hero 3 silver using a DJI Phantom 2 drone.

Video courtesy of Jos Stiglingh

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If you're having trouble nailing down your New Year's resolutions, here's a good place to start. 

Seventy-one years ago, American folk legend Woody Guthrie scribbled in his journal a list of 33 tasks he would dedicate himself to in the coming year.  According to WoodyGuthrie.org, he called them "Rulin's."

At age 31, he was in the prime of his life, with a wife and three kids, as well as a good deal of life experience, having survived the Dust Bowl to make it out to California. 

As a result, it's a pretty unbeatable list. Check it out:

This post was originally written by Rob Wile.

SEE ALSO: 43 Meals Everyone Should Eat In Their Lifetime

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It was an unseasonably and even historically warm Christmas week for much of the US. But we're only a month into winter, and more intense weather could be just around the corner.

In extreme enough cold — like the conditions that gripped some parts of the US during last year's "polar vortex"— exposed skin can freeze in only 10 minutes. People also risk hypothermia just by going outside.

Besides desert climates, winter is the worst to endure. The US military has whole courses designed to teach its people how to survive.

Here are a few tips and some items the Marine Corps considers essential to combating the cold. They come from the Winter Survival Course Handbook, which draws reference from the UK's SAS Survival Handbook.

Here's what the Marines say to take with you if you venture deep into the cold this winter.

Key Items:

1. Water/Food: At least a few gallons of water is advisable in harsh conditions.

2. Fire-starting material: Flint, matches, or a lighter.

3. 550 Cord: This gets its name from the weight it can bear. Good for making shelters, trapping animals, and treating wounds.

4. Blankets/Poncho

5. A metal container: For boiling water. It's not safe to eat mass amounts of snow off the ground. Must be a non-petrol carrying container. Kill two birds with one stone and carry a can of beans.

6. Tape: Electrical or gorilla duct tape has near-infinite uses.

7. A knife and/or multipurpose tool: Some of these actually contain a flint.

8. First Aid kit

9. Compass

10. A mirror: For signaling. In a pinch, a makeup mirror will suffice.

11. Pocket sewing kit

These items can be packed differently for travel in a car or on foot. Obviously, one for a car can be a bit more robust.

Considering you probably won't be "caught behind enemy lines," we can dispense with the war-time survival tips and get right to more generic survival.

Essential Tips:

1. Planning: First you have to assemble your kit. If it's mobile, make sure it's kept in a water proof container or bag.

As for the first 24 hours of being lost or stuck:

2. Shelter: If you're in a car, don't leave it. If you're on foot, build a shelter, or find one: Finding shelter is the paramount consideration when stranded in extreme weather.

Hollowed-out logs can be cleaned out and enhanced. Caves work as well. Reduced living space means warmer living space. Beware of occupying animals, and consider ventilation.

Here's an example of a snow cave, dug from beneath a tree caught in a snowdrift:

3. Start a fire: And plan to maintain that fire. Dig a hole and use dry pencil-thick branches and evergreen limbs as kindling. Evergreens burn fast and hot.

Fuel should be thicker limbs that have broken off a tree — found near the ground, but not submerged in snow.

Now for the second 24 hours:

4. Find water: Nearby lakes and rivers are great but snow and ice will do. Ice is better because it has a higher water content by volume.

You can build a water generator out of three sturdy sticks, some binding, and a plastic bag, sock, or shirt:

5. Conserve food: Given that you told people where you were going, they'll be out looking for you within a day or so. Catching food in the wild is not difficult though.

550 cord (or better yet, fishing line, if any is handy) can be used for snares. Paper clips, hairpins and sewing kits all yield hasty fishing hooks.

Here's a brief how-to on building a quick snare.

And here's what to do if you aren't found after a couple of days:

6. Improve survival conditions: This doesn't just mean upgrading your shelter with new additions. It also means preparing to be seen by anyone looking for you.

Prep a platform of dry interlocking green limbs to be set ablaze at a moment's notice, and bright pieces of clothing or material could be placed in visible places.

This post is originally by Geoffrey Ingersoll.

SEE ALSO: Here's How Long You Can Stay Outside In Extreme Temperatures Before Getting Frostbite

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Shake Shack is the hottest burger chain in America. 

The quickly expanding company filed for a $100 million initial public offering on Monday.

Shake Shack is known for long lines at its 34 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Massachusetts. The brand has also been expanding domestically (with new locations in Chicago and Las Vegas) and internationally. 

Here's why people are so obsessed with the burger chain. 

1. Gourmet Burgers 

Shake Shack's burgers are more elevated than the offerings at the typical fast-food burger chain, thanks to the 100% antibiotic-free Angus beef and buttered buns. Toppings include Applewood-smoked bacon and cherry peppers. This experience aligns with the values of modern consumers, who are demanding better food quality. 

2. ShackSauce

Many of Shake Shack's burgers are topped with the signature sauce, which USA Today describes as "a slightly spicy, sweet and sour blend of mayo, ketchup, mustard and spices." Some copycat recipes online also call for blended dill pickles. Regardless of the ingredients, the sauce adds to the unique Shake Shack experience. 

3. Crinkle Fries

Shake Shack controversially changed its fries from crinkle cut to traditional hand cut last year, leading to many customer complaints. Last month, CEO Randy Garutti announced that the brand was going to stick to crinkle fries, which are more popular and easier to prepare.

Many Yelp reviewers recommend adding Shake Shack's homemade cheese sauce to your fries.

4. "Anti-Chain Chain" Image

The New York Times calls Shake Shack the "anti-chain chain," saying that its dedication to quality and customer service bucked stereotypes of traditional fast food. 

Shake Shack spends barely any money on marketing, focusing instead on the quality of food. This message has helped Shake Shack stay popular in an era when diners prefer Chipotle to McDonald's. 

Shake Shack "disposed of the notion that fast food had to be precooked or even prepared quickly in favor of quality ingredients and customer experience," QSR Magazine writes.

5. Delicious Milkshakes

Shake Shack's signature custard is the base for these frozen treats. Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, strawberry, and some creative specials like Nutella. 

Gothamist ranks the black-and-white shake, a combination of chocolate and vanilla, among the best in New York City.

6. Flat-Top Hot Dogs

Shake Shack began as a hot dog stand in New York's Madison Square Park. Many food writers say the hot dogs, which are made of 100% hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, are an underrated treat. 

"I was never let down by the hot dogs, bought from Chicago’s irreplaceable Vienna Beef, which were split down the middle, griddled and laid in a toasted potato bun with or without the classic Chicago garnishes," writes Pete Wells at The New York Times. "Better yet is the Bird Dog, a smoked chicken and apple bratwurst from Usinger’s of Milwaukee."

Fried pickles on a hot dog? Oh no, you didn't. Oh yes, we did: http://t.co/PtL7Po8nBQpic.twitter.com/KDOo62smVd

— SHAKE SHACK (@shakeshack) March 19, 2014

7. Regional Specialties 

In addition to its classic menu, Shake Shack also offers special frozen dessert items at different locations.

The chain serves a "Liberty Shell" custard at its Philadelphia location featuring a cannoli shell, strawberry puree, and lemon ricotta. The New Haven location serves a "Skull and Cones Concrete," which is a similar consistency to a Dairy Queen Blizzard with peanut butter, ice cream cone, and chocolate truffle cookie dough blended in. 

8. Secret Menu

Shake Shack has a secret menu, which Thrillist successfully tested. Items include a burger topped with bacon and peanut butter, and a grilled cheese made from buns. 

Love the Peanut butter bacon burger from @shakeshack secret menu. Awesome! pic.twitter.com/XvkiJFrPJP

— Mike (@MikeCips) August 22, 2014

9. Vegetarian Options

Founder Danny Meyer said the chain was discriminating about its meat-free options.

"It’s only going to go on the menu if you would crave it even if you were not a vegetarian," he told Bon Appetit.

Shake Shack is renowned for its 'shroom burger, a portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese. 

10. Beer and Wine

Shake Shack sells beer and wine, meaning that it can double as a happy hour destination. 

Selling alcohol is becoming popular among fast-casual chains who want to find another way to draw in consumers.

The beer is aimed toward craft enthusiasts and includes a special collaboration with the Brooklyn Brewery. 

11. Customer Service

"Unlike the workers at most fast-food outlets, Shake Shack employees give the impression that they truly like their customers," The Times' Wells writes. 

Shake Shack pays workers an average hourly wage of $10.70, and it offers health benefits and paid time off.

Company executives say these policies help them attract better talent, and turnover is lower than industry averages. 

Bonus — waiting in line makes them feel cool.

Waiting in Shake Shack's long line might seem like a deterrent. But many people actually like the gratification of waiting in long lines for hot products, many consumer experts told Business Insider.

"There are people in the world whose identity is tied up with being a consumer of such items and who derive satisfaction from going the extra mile, or five miles, to demonstrate their dedication," David Gibson, professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, said. 

NOW WATCH: 7 Subliminal Messages In Corporate Logos

SEE ALSO: How McDonald's Cheeseburgers Are Made

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With over 30 million subscribers, Smosh is more popular than Katy Perry and Jennifer Lawrence among teens. The online comedy duo, made up of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla, began in 2005 and quickly took the internet by storm – becoming one of the first YouTube sensations. Now with nine YouTube channels and a movie in the works with Lionsgate, Smosh is bigger than ever.

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When George Stephanopoulos greets viewers each weekday morning on ABC's "Good Morning America" at 7 a.m., he's been awake for a full five hours, the New York Times reports.

In a behind-the-scenes feature on the top morning shows — including NBC's "Today" and "CBS This Morning" — the Times reveals that Stephanopoulos gets out of bed at 2:15 a.m. on workdays, earlier than any of his peers. He immediately begins meditating to focus his mind and energy.

Stephanopoulos then commutes to ABC's Times Square offices to catch up on the news in preparation for the show, which he continues through wardrobe and makeup up until the cameras go live.

He's one of many high-performing professionals who begins each morning with meditation, a practice that can take many forms but tends to be a minimum of 10 minutes spent focusing solely on deep and slow breaths.

Twitter cofounder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, and media mogul Oprah Winfrey have all said that starting the day with meditation allows them to rid their bodies of stress so that they can immediately begin working intensely without nervous energy.

And there are plenty of studies that suggest that mediation activates parts of the brain related to stress relief, attention span, and memory processing.

It was this scientific evidence that convinced Stephanopoulos to give meditation a shot, specifically Transcendental Meditation, he told The Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington at her Third Metric conference in 2013. Now he can't live without it.

"It's the equivalent of a couple hours more sleep," Stephanopoulos told Huffington. "I feel more space in my life even when it's not there."

SEE ALSO: 9 Bad Habits You Need To Break

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It just makes sense that the most entertaining books are written by or about — well, entertainers.

Amazon just released its list of the best humor and entertainment books of 2014.

Written by comedians, historians, musicians, and more, these books will delight from the first page to the last.

1. "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler: Whether you're a fan of "Parks and Rec," "Saturday Night Live," or you've been following Poehler since her "Second City" days, you'll find her anecdotes about parenting, love, sex, and life as hilarious as her work on screen.

2. "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride" by Cary Elwes: From the star of cult classic "The Princess Bride," "As You Wish" gives readers an exclusive look at interviews with co-stars, photos from behind the scenes, and details from this enchanting love story.

3. "Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography" by Neil Patrick Harris: Told in the choose-your-own-adventure second-person voice, NPH narrates his life as if you, the reader, were living it. It's a hysterical and heartwarming memoir that makes you think you were flipping through Patrick Harris' own family photo albums.

4. "The Secret History of Wonder Woman" by Jill Lepore: Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore dissects the backstory of one of the most popular superheroes, and her creator, of all time. Steeped in feminism and the struggle for women's rights, Wonder Woman's story will resonate with all readers.

5. "Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page" by Jimmy Page: Legendary guitarist Jimmy Page's career is represented in a series of telling  photographs taken from his time with Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, and more. Photos from his boyhood and beyond give a glimpse into the life of the man behind the guitar.

6. "Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story" by Rick Bragg: Bestselling author Rick Bragg details the life of a man as interesting and complex as the music he played. From his rebellious Southern childhood to multiple marriages, brushes with death, and record hits, the life and times of "the Killer" is a hard read to put down.

7. "The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs" by Greil Marcus: Rather than focus on the people that shaped rock 'n' roll, Marcus's book takes an in-depth look at 10 of the most iconic rock songs recorded between 1956 and 2008 and discusses how they shaped this historic genre of music.

8. "Not My Father's Son: A Memoir" by Alan Cumming: Raised by an emotionally and physically abusive father, award-winning Scottish actor Alan Cumming writes how his upbringing shaped him as a performer and a person.

9. "Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America" by John Waters: Filmmaker John Waters wants to know what would happen if he attempted to hitchhike from his house in Baltimore to his apartment in San Francisco — so he tries it to find out himself. Full of wit and sarcasm, Waters's book is like a road trip gone hilariously wrong.

10. "Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina" by Misty Copeland: Despite an underprivileged childhood, Misty Copeland proved herself a ballet-dancing prodigy. Copeland's moving memoir shows the reader how, even in the face of adversity and struggle, it's still possible to come out on top.

11. "Star Wars Art: Posters" by Lucasfilm LTD, Roger Kastel and Drew Struzan: Just in time to get you excited for next year's new movie release, this stunning coffee table book features big, beautiful pictures and scenes from one of the most popular sci-fi trilogies of all time.

12. "Easy Street (the Hard Way)" by Ron Perlman: Perlman, a critically acclaimed actor, grew up with self-image issues and very little money. His book is a revealing look at his life, as well as the lives of others in the public eye, which may not be as perfect as they seem from the outside.

13. "Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and the Advent of Punk" by Chris Stein: Stein was a photography student at the School of Visual Arts when he met Debbie Harry, and Blondie was born. One of the cornerstone punk bands of the '70s, Stein's gorgeous photo collection looks back on one of the coolest decades to be in New York.

14. "Man on the Run: Paul McCartney in the 1970s" by Tom Doyle: When The Beatles broke up, McCartney was lost and out of place. Doyle's biography reveals McCartney's journey from being loved as a Beatle to being loved as a solo artist.

15. "The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky, and Death" by Colson Whitehead: Pulitzer prize-winning author Colson Whitehead describes his search for meaning in the casino. He discovers that when everything is on the line, and you're sore from sitting at the poker table for 12 hours straight, you can come to a number of existential conclusions.

MORE FROM AMAZON: The 20 Most Popular Books Of The Year

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It turns out that the most popular word of 2014 wasn't actually a word at all.

According to a new list by the Global Language Monitor, the heart emoji was the most commonly used word in the English language this year. 

GLM analyzed social media, blogs, and 275,000 print and electronic publications to determine its ranking.

Words had to be used at least 25,000 times globally to qualify for the list. They also had to be used across industries and in several different forms of media.

The heart emoji was used billions of times a day around the globe. It was the first time in the ranking's 15-year history that a symbol earned the top honors. 

"Hashtag" came in second, and "vape" was third. 

Of course, words like "the" were used way more frequently than some of the words on the list, but Paul JJ Payack, the founder of GLM, told Business Insider last year that GLM's rankings "distilled words that impact language in the news and global discussion." 

Last's year's top word was also not technically a word; it was 404" — as in the error message that appears when a web page can't load.

The Top Words of 2014

1. The Heart ♥ Emoji (for love) — People usually use the heart emoji to express love or warm feelings. 

2. Hashtag — A repurposed pound sign, still powerful thanks to Twitter and Instagram.

3. Vape — Short for vaporize, or vaping, the act of smoking an electronic or e-cigarette.

4. Blood Moon — Four total eclipses of the moon in an eighteen-month span. Some Christians see it as presaging a lunar apocalypse.

5. Nano — From Greek for dwarf, small; now 1 billionth of a meter. It's used in any number of words surrounding nano technology.

6. Photobomb — Breaking into a photograph without permission.  

7. Caliphate — A land ruled by an Islamic Caliph, typically governed under Sharia Law.

8. Privilege — The alleged advantages of having lighter colored skin in a diverse society.

9. Bae — A millennial's term of endearment.

10. "Bash" Tag — Co-opting a brand's hashtag to undermine it.

11. Transparency — A state of openness, usually used in reference to the government.

12. Sustainable — Environmentally conscious lifestyle choices.

13. Clickbait — A link structured so that you just have to click on it.

14. Quindecennial — Fifteen-year anniversary of an event.

15. Comet — Comet 67p had a visitor from the Rosetta Spacecraft this fall.

SEE ALSO: The Creator Of Minecraft Outbid Beyonce And Jay Z For This Bonkers $70 Million LA Mansion

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The more devices you have, the more outlets you need. The quickest solution to the expanding number of devices that need a plug is power strips, but they can be bulky, ugly, and often times the outlets are too close together for many three pronged plugs to play nicely together. Enter the PowerCube.

PowerCube is a sleek, compact, efficient outlet expander. It's designed so that plugs never block each other, and it comes with two USB ports for cell phones, cameras, tablets and anything else, meaning you won't need those USB to AC adapters anymore. It also has a resettable fuse feature so your devices are protected if you exceed the power limit. You can grab it here for 10% off thanks to our friends at Stack Commerce.

Get 10% off the PowerCube Outlet Expander ($17.95 + Free Shipping. US Only)

Get 9% off the PowerCube Extended Outlet Expander ($22.50+ Free Shipping. US Only)

You can also get the extended version so that you can charge things wherever it's convenient, not just by the wall.

Full Specs below:

• Works with any USB/AC-powered devices
• 7.9"L x 2.5"W x 2.5"H
• Color: trolley grey/white
• Voltage: 125V
• Resettable fuse: yes
• Child proofing: yes
• Cable: 1.5m/5ft
• USB output (V): 2 × 5V
• USB output (A): 2100 mA

Get 10% off the PowerCube Outlet Expander ($17.95 + Free Shipping. US Only)

Get 9% off the PowerCube Extended Outlet Expander ($22.50+ Free Shipping. US Only)

SEE ALSO:  New iPhone? Grab This Awesome Battery Case For The 6 Or 6+ [33% And 26% Off]

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In New York City, things can get old pretty fast. So we've taken it upon ourselves to revamp last year's list of the most obnoxious Wall Street bars. Several have since closed, but many are still kicking and as annoying as ever.

Frequented by financiers, these Manhattan bars are loud, rowdy, and ridiculous. If you're into sweaty crowds, flashing lights, or absurd conversations, it's time to scope some of these out.

Otherwise, we've done the rounds on these bars so you don't have to. You're welcome.

If we left out any of your favorites, let us know in the comments!

230 Fifth

Location: 230 5th Ave, Gramercy

Vibe: Probably the biggest draw about 230 Fifth is that you're going to get a great Instagram photo of the Empire State Building. It's a huge rooftop space that can service a large crowd.  The later it gets, the more packed this place gets.

Popular Days: Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Popular Drinks: Raspberry mojitos "in the summer".

Overheard: "Oh my gawd, the Empire State building is so beeaaauuuutiful."

Turtle Bay

Location: 987 2nd Ave, Midtown

Vibe: Turtle Bay is your "typical bar" with beer chuggers, cheerleader look-alikes, and even a handful of Mets fans watching games on the TVs. The front section is supersaturated with summer interns and young professionals. People over the age of 25 should seriously consider the pros and cons before they enter.

Popular Days: Thursday

Popular Drinks: Beer

Overheard: "Pound it dude! 3... 2... 1... " *erupts in laughter*

Irish Punt

Location: 40 Exchange Place, Financial District

Vibe: The dim Irish bar is more calm during the summer, but come August and September, the bar is filled with finance guys that could have come straight out of "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Popular Days: Friday, Saturday

Popular Drinks: Skittle bombs

Overheard: "Shots! Shots! Shots!"

While we like to think that people get ahead because of some magical combination of effort, talent, and knowing the right people, research shows that success is partly skin deep. 

Studies show that you're more likely to get hired if you look well-groomed, that good-looking people make about 12% more money than less appealing folks, and that attractive real-estate brokers bring in more money than their less attractive peers. 

Psychologists call it the "beauty premium." Essentially, the income gap between attractive and unattractive people is comparable to the gap between genders or ethnicities. 

In a paper called "Why Beauty Matters," University of Michigan information scientists Markus Mobius and Tanya Rosenblat identified three reasons why. 

1. Physically attractive workers are (wrongly) considered more able by employers. 

We're inclined to pay people more depending on how they look. In one of Mobius and Rosenblat's experiments modeling the hiring process, would-be employers looking at photographs of would-be employees were ready to give 10.5% higher salaries to attractive people over unattractive people.

Hiring managers carried that premium over to interactions that only happened on the phone. In other words, you only need to sound attractive to benefit from our biases toward beauty.

2. Physically attractive workers are more confident, and higher confidence increases wages. 

We all suffer from the "halo effect" — without realizing it, we take someone's appearance to be telling of their overall character.

Experiments have shown that we consider attractive people "as more sociable, dominant, sexually warm, mentally healthy, intelligent, and socially skilled" than unattractive people. 

By the time cute kids become attractive adults, they've benefited from this bias for years, giving them higher levels of confidence. 

It's a "self-fulfilling prophecy," Mobius and Rosenblat say. 

"Teachers expect better-looking kids to outperform in school and devote more attention to children who are perceived to have greater potential," they write. "Preferential treatment in return builds confidence as well as social and communication skills."

That confidence, the literature suggests, translates into academic achievement and professional success. 

3. Physically attractive workers have social skills that raise their wages when they interact with employers. 

Mobius and Rosenblat's experiments also found that attractive people had higher-rated communication skills than unattractive people.

"Physical attractiveness raises social and communication skills, which in return raise an employer's estimate of the worker's productivity," they write. "We assume that the employer is unaware of these biases and hence does not correct for them."

This has a major impact over the course of a career. Research shows that raising kids' social skills is a better predictor of lifetime earnings than raising their intellectual ability.

Beautiful people are more sociable than everybody else, the science says, or at least we're biased to think so. 

SEE ALSO: This Cognitive Bias Explains Why Pretty People Make 12% More Money Than Everybody Else

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Last year, The New Yorker released a fantastic video tour of the building that houses the New Year's Eve Ball in New York City.

While it's located in Times Square at the so-called "center of the universe," the billboard-covered building is mostly empty. According to The New Yorker, The New York Times constructed the building at One Times Square as its headquarters in 1904, and staged a massive New Year's Eve fireworks display to celebrate.

But when the city outlawed the fireworks, The Times' chief electrician Walter Palmer came up with the idea to drop a lighted ball from the top of the tower instead.

The New York Times owned the building for less than 10 years, and it fell into disrepair as Midtown grew seedy. According to a 1961 "Talk of the Town" piece, "There was a time when a speakeasy was going full blast in one of the basements (of One Times Square)...when the F.B.I. – this was during the Second World War – was holding pistol practice in a basement and using a 7th floor office to trap German spies."

In 1995, Lehman Brothers bought the building, but instead of leasing office space, it turned the 25-story tower into a billboard and made a 300% profit in two years, according to The New Yorker.

Jamestown Properties has owned One Times Square since 1997. Filings from 2012 show that the billboards covering the building generate over $23 million annually, which represents 85% of the building's total revenue. The building itself has an estimated value between $378 million and $495 million.

Walgreens leases the first three floors, with some storage space above that. The upper floors are used by the One Times Square Production Management Team for New Year's Eve. But in between, there's not much else.

Check out The New Yorker's video below:

Paige Cooperstein wrote the original version of this story.

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