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9 Cool Siri Tricks You Never Knew Existed

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Siri is a way more powerful tool than you might think. Apple's intelligent and sometimes snarky personal assistant has plenty of little tricks built in to make your life easier, and maybe even a little more fun.

Produced by Matt Johnston

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Control Your Home Theater Equipment From Your iOS & Android Devices [34% Off + Free Shipping]

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blumooThe dream of an affordable, truly universal remote looks like it is finally coming true. Blumoo hooks up to more than 225,000 A/V components, letting you control your equipment from your smartphone. Right now, it's also 34% off.

The sleekly-designed Blumoo works by talking to your phone via Bluetooth on behalf of your speakers, home theater, TV, satellite, and so on. Setup is very straightfoward, and it has a range of 150 feet, but it is intelligent, too.

When you select each A/V component via Blumoo’s app, you only get controls that are relevant to that piece of equipment. The best example is the TV guide, which shows you a schedule that is customized to your service, zip code, and preferences. The app also supports streaming from the likes of YouTube and Spotify to your Hi-Fi or sound system, and new options are being added all the time via updates.

At the current reduced price of $84.99, the Blumoo blows the similar Logitech Harmony out of the water, price-wise. To grab one, check out the link below.

Get 34% off the Blumoo Bluetooth Universal Remote ($84.99 incl. shipping)

 

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

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Moving Photos Of Auschwitz Survivors, 70 Years Later

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Auschwitz death camp survivors

Jan. 27th marks the 70th anniversary of the Red Army's liberation of the infamous Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz.

An estimated 1.1 million people, most of them Jewish, were killed behind the massive walls of Auschwitz, and in the years since its liberation, Auschwitz has become a heartbreaking symbol of the atrocities of World War II. 

When the camp was taken from the Third Reich, 200,000 prisoners were still alive and freed. To commemorate the anniversary, Reuters photographer Laszlo Balogh photographed 20 survivors, along with photographs and artifacts from the nightmarish camp.

Eva Fahidi, 90, holds a picture of her family, who were all killed in the concentration camp during World War II, as she poses for a portrait in Budapest. Fahidi was 18 in 1944 when she and her family were moved from Debrecen, Budapest, to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Marian Majerowicz, 88, who was registered with camp number 157715, is originally from Myszkow, Poland. Majerowicz was 17 when he was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. At the camp he was briefly reunited with his father, who told him that his mother and younger brother were both killed in the gas chambers. Majerowicz's father didn't survive the war. 

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Jadwiga Bogucka (maiden name Regulska), 89, was registered with camp number 86356. During the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944, when Bogucka was 19, she and her mother were sent from their house to a camp in Pruszkow, Poland, and then moved on Aug. 12, 1944 by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were liberated by the Red Army on Jan. 27, 1945.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Below, Bogucka holds a picture of herself from 1944.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

lzbieta Sobczynska (maiden name Gremblicka), 80, who was registered with camp number 85536, gestures as she poses for a portrait in Warsaw. During the Warsaw Uprising, when Sobczynska was 10 years old, she was sent with her mother and brother from their home to a camp in Pruszkow and then moved by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. There they were separated into blocks for woman, girls and boys. Sobczynska said that she was robbed of her childhood, and lost the chance to experience a different kind of life.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here, she holds her father's watch, which was kept by her brother while they were in the camp.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Stefan Sot, 83, who was registered with camp number 192705, was 13 years old during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. He was sent from his home to a camp in Pruszkow prior to being sent by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. He was later moved to a labor sub-camp, where he worked in a kitchen for SS officers. After the war he worked as a typesetter at a printing house.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here's a picture of Sot taken during the wartime.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Maria Stroinska, 82, gestures as she poses for a portrait in Warsaw. Stroinska was 12 years old during the Warsaw Uprising when she and her sister were sent from their house to a camp in Pruszkow before she was moved alone by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Below, Stroinska holds a family photo taken before the war.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Henryk Duszyk, 80, was 10 years old during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. He was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau with his father, brother, and stepmother. The family was separated and Duszyk only saw his father once more before he was killed at the camp. Duszyk, his brother, and his stepmother were kept at Auschwitz-Birkenau until the camp was liberated.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here is a wartime photo of his family.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Auschwitz survivor Lajos Erdelyi, 87, holds a drawing made by a campmate. Erdelyi was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944 and was later moved to another camp. When he was freed he weighed under 66 pounds, but tried to walk home. He collapsed, and was taken to a hospital by a farmer.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Barbara Doniecka, 80, who was registered with camp number 86341, poses for a photo in Warsaw. Doniecka was 12 years old during the Warsaw Uprising when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau with her mother.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here, she holds a wartime photo of herself.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Janos Forgacs, 87, holds a document from Auschwitz below. Forgacs recalls that he was in a group transported to a camp in a cattle wagon, with the windows sealed with barbed wire. A military officer told them to hand over their belongings, telling them they would not need them anymore. 

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Survivor Halina Brzozowska, 82, was 12 years old during the Warsaw Uprising when her family was sent to a camp in Pruszkow. She and her 6-year-old sister were then moved by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Brzozowska said that it was hard to say what had happened to them, that they were taken from their homes, family and lost their childhood. 

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here is a picture of her during the war.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Danuta Bogdaniuk-Bogucka (maiden name Kaminska), 80, was 10 years old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau camp with her mother. Bogdaniuk-Bogucka was part of Josef Mengele's experiments when she was in Auschwitz. After the war she met her mother again and they discovered they had both been at Ravensbruck camp at the same time, but they had not realized this.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Below, she holds a photo of her family during the war.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Survivor Jacek Nadolny, 77, who was registered with camp number 192685, poses for a portrait in Poland. Nadolny was 7 during the Warsaw Uprising, when he was sent with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train. In January 1945 the family was moved to a labor camp in Berlin.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Imre Varsanyi, 86, holds up a photo of fellow survivors during World War II. Varsanyi was 14 when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. He was the only member of his family to survive. After the war Varsanyi did not talk about Auschwitz for 60 years because he felt ashamed of having survived.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Bogdan Bartnikowski, 82, was 12 years old during the Warsaw Uprising, when he and his mother were sent to Auschwitz Birkenau camp. They were moved between camps several times. After the war Bartnikowski worked as a pilot and then became a journalist and writer. 

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Laszlo Bernath, 87, credits his father being a practical man for his survival of Auschwitz. He was 15 when they were taken but his father told him to lie about his age so that they would not be separated. Even while in the camp, Bernath had no idea about the gas chambers.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here, Bernath holds up a picture of his family, who were all killed in the concentration camp during the war.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Janina Reklajtis, 80, was 12 years old during the Warsaw Uprising when she and her mother were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. They were sent to a labor camp in Berlin in January 1945 and were kept there until they were liberated.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Jerzy Ulatowski, 83, was taken by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau when he was 13 years old. In January 1945 he managed to escape with his family, as there was a lack of power in the barbed wire surrounding the camp.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Erzsebet Brodt, 89, poses for a portrait in Budapest Jan. 12, 2015. Brodt was 17 years old when she was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau along with her family. Remembering the journey to the camp she said that those who were "sick or about to give birth were forced out and put into one wagon. When the wagon was opened in Auschwitz we saw that everyone was dead inside."

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Here, Brodt shows a photograph of her family, who were killed in the concentration camp during the war.

Auschwitz death camp survivors

Survivor Zofia Wareluk, 70, was born in Auschwitz two weeks before the camp was liberated. Her mother was sent to Auschwitz when she was four months pregnant. 

Auschwitz death camp survivors

SEE ALSO: Check Out The Incredible Armored Trains Of World War I And World War II

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This Photograph Was The Most Agonizing Thing I Saw At Auschwitz

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I'd been dreading my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau for months. It would be the hardest part of an already-difficult group trip through Poland and the Czech Republic that I'd signed up for on a whim before my 24th birthday.

Auschwitz was the biggest of the Nazi concentration camps, where some 1.1 million people died before it was liberated on Jan. 27, 1945, 70 years ago TuesdayI'd learned about the death camp in Hebrew school, seen pictures at the Holocaust memorial in Israel, and read Elie Wiesel's memoir "Night."

But I knew the visit would bring a painful reality to my abstract understanding of the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were exterminated by Nazis.

auschwitz railroadLike many of the 40 young, Jewish New Yorkers on my trip, which was organized by a nonprofit that ran programs for alumni of Birthright Israel, I did not have relatives who died in the Holocaust. (Mine had escaped the anti-Jewish pogroms of Russia, arriving at Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century.)

Even so, my stomach turned at the idea of seeing the stacked bunks, the abruptly ending railroad tracks, and the "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate I had seen in so many photographs.

The first thing that struck me when we arrived on that crystal-clear day in March 2009 was the sheer size of the complex. It stretches farther than the eye can see, covering more than 15 square miles. And it was clearly designed for evil efficiency, with its railroad hub, gas chambers, and ovens laid out in a row, a twisted assembly line.auschwitz barbed wire

At Birkenau, the death camp, we followed the path taken by so many prisoners, who arrived by the thousands in cattle cars from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. It led nearly a mile down a dirt path surrounded by barbed wire; on either side, hundreds of decrepit brick chimneys rose from the ground, the only remains of the wooden barracks that were torched by fleeing Nazis as the Soviet troops approached.

We paused in a green clearing, a cool respite from the dusty stretch. Then we were told: This was the last stop for prisoners before they were ordered to undress and handed a piece of soap for a supposed shower. Then they were marched into the gas chamber and hit with Zyklon B, a cyanide-based pesticide. 

When our guide explained that Nazis would bring prisoners to this birch grove 200 at a time, I was struck with a horrifying thought. That was the number of guests at my Bat Mitzvah, 10 years before. That was all my friends and family huddled among those trees, naked, waiting to die. When I pictured it like that, I got it. It would have been all of them, and it would have been me.

auschwitz clearing

The afternoon was spent at Auschwitz I, the main camp (now a museum) built in a former Polish army barracks. We walked beneath the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate and past the block where the notorious Nazi physician Josef Mengele performed experiments on prisoners.

Some of the barracks had been converted into exhibitions, filled with the possessions of the prisoners. One entire room contained piles of leather shoes; another, eyeglasses. The leather had faded over time but a few red shoes stood out. I saw one shoe with a small heel, not very different from a pair I had recently purchased. There were thousands of suitcases, display cases filled with human hair, even stacks of artificial limbs.Auschwitz Shoes new.JPG

Before departing, we stopped in a memorial near the bombed-out ruins of the crematoria back at Birkenau. The walls were covered in photos, mementos left by those who perished at the camp. A friend paused by a portrait of a young woman and I heard her say, "Doesn't she look a lot like Julie?" People wandered over and started to nod. 

Staring solemnly into the camera, with her hair pinned to her head, she did look like me, perhaps a few years younger. I didn't know her name or her age in the photo or where she was born. But the feeling was overwhelming: That would have been me.

auschwitz photo

When I think now about the Holocaust, I picture these two things: my Bat Mitzvah guests in the woods, and the solemn girl with the familiar face. It's impossible to comprehend the death of 6 million Jews. But those two visions make it a little more real.julie z.

SEE ALSO: Moving Photos Of Auschwitz Survivors, 70 Years Later

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The 25 Best Caribbean Islands, Ranked

HOUSE OF THE DAY: Old Paris Factory Built By Gustave Eiffel Turned Into A Gorgeous $11.5 Million Mansion

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When the current owners of this Paris mansion bought a dilapidated workshop built by Gustave Eiffel (yes, that Eiffel), they intended to turn it into a commercial space.

However, the correct permits were tough to obtain, so they instead converted the former factory into a gorgeous three-floor mansion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The roof and many of the details are original, but are tastefully mixed throughout the home with added consciences. Wrought iron is on display throughout, and the light let in by the huge windows brightens up the entire home.

The current owners are selling the property for $11.5 million because it is now too big for them. They will use the proceeds to sail around the world.

France's Emile Garcin Properties has the listing.

This isn't your typical loft-style conversion. This spectacular space was converted from a factory built in the early 20th century roughly 3 years ago.



The gabled glass roof over the living room rests on the original steel structure. The blinds dressing the glass roof open and close automatically.



The living room sits between two terraces.



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Why The Chinese Are Obsessed With Korean Culture

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Chinese tourists Seoul, South Korea.

The Chinese inbound tourists in 2013 have become the first nationality of visitors to South Korea, ahead of the Japanese, and accounted for more than 35% of total visitors. Economics and currency haven't helped the Japanese flows—notably a weak yen has hurt—but political tensions have probably not been great either. As reported by the Chosun Ilbo, Chinese visitors now fuel the economy of resort island Jeju, and virtually all restaurants on the island now have a menu in Chinese. Regardless of yen fluctuations and political tensions (or lack of), there is probably no changing the fact that Chinese will dominate Korean tourism now.

It's clear that Korea is to a certain extent the new Japan, the new land of the cool. Talk to Western expats in Hong Kong and ask them where they go on weekends or weeklong trips: mostly the so-called LVMC countries (Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia) as well as Thailand.

Ask Hong Kong or Chinese colleagues where they go: they will mention Tokyo, Taiwan and Singapore but by far their favorite destination is almost invariably Seoul, Korea. Why? Because it's got what I would call the ‘4 Cs': clean (streets), close (destination), cuisine (reliable) and above all it's just cool. Cool in the sense that music, movies, soap operas, brands, the general vibe from Korea is really loved in the region. It's not rare to see youngsters who are not Korean listening to and dressing up like K-pop singers.

When I came back from trips to Laos or Myanmar, the two recurring questions my Asian colleagues asked were: ‘Oh, right, is it clean? Is the food safe?' When I came back from Seoul, they just said: ‘Cool, right?'

I have also met Chinese inhabitants of third-tier cities who learn Korean before they think about learning English.

And in late 2013–early 2014, Saint Laurent lipsticks, Burberry trench coats and Samsonite Red (the casual sub-label of the suitcase giant) bags were out of stock in Korea and some parts of China, as the products had been used as product placements in some of the greatest Korean soap opera successes, such as My Love from the Star and Reply 1994.

my love from another starFrom a consumer point of view, if you don't know Seoul but have been to Japan and thought the Japanese were the most spoilt consumers in terms of choice for consumer goods, think again. Not only does Korea carry all of the international brands in a broad distribution footprint, but also there are a multitude of very edgy, very relevant local Korean brands doing well.

To get the better deals on both imported and local brands, the Chinese spend mainly in the duty-free channel in airports and more importantly in downtown locations, notably in Seoul's Lotte Department store duty-free section and at Shilla Duty Free. Regulations have made it difficult for foreign duty-free operators to develop in the duty-free market in Korea for now, although a third concession will be up for grabs in 2018 in Incheon airport.

Incheon is both the international airport that serves the capital, Seoul—the largest city in the developed world, with more than 10 million inhabitants—and also the third South Korean city in its own right, with close to 3 million people.

The duty-free market is dominated by a quasi-duopoly between Lotte Duty Free, part of the Lotte group that owns the department stores, and Hotel Shilla. In 2013, the two controlled about 80% of duty-free sales, or around KRW 5 trillion in sales (close to USD5 billion). About KRW 1.5 trillion of that was made by luxury goods alone (close to USD1.5 billion).

This means the duty-free channel alone probably represents not far from 40% of the total luxury goods market in Korea.

Why so much? For a long time, the Japanese represented the biggest clients and were big spenders. Now the Chinese dominate tourism, and they are even bigger spenders. The good thing for retailers is that the Japanese spend a lot on high-end accommodation whereas the Chinese spend less on hotels and more on retail.

Looking at Shilla's split of sales by nationality—more than a third of sales with the Chinese—it seems that the shift from Japanese to Chinese shoppers has taken place quickly.

The substantial increase of Chinese inbound travel in Korea had led to the funniest (or you might say saddest) developments one can think of. As odd as it may sound, there is a project to develop a number of locations in downtown areas for ‘foreigners only'. The aim is to tap into the Chinese potential, counter the opening of Chinese duty-free areas in China itself—as in China's island Hainan (avatar Lewis Wang calls it the ‘Chinese Hawaii')—and answer the complaint amongst foreigners that Korean downtown duty-free locations were crowded with too many . . . Korean consumers.

Surprise comes full circle when the project includes the obligation to carry not 30% but 40% of Korean products. In other words, you please the Chinese tourists by offering more, cool Korean products but, if possible, with fewer Koreans in the store actually shopping there.

A travel law was implemented late 2013 for all tour operators, banning shopping tour programs from charging extra and demanding tips. According to the Chosun Ilbo, Korea's biggest travel agency, Hana Tour saw the number of Chinese tourists it handled go from 10,000 in September to 4,000 in October 2013. But selfishly, looking at the luxury shoppers, this law has not massively affected shopping on the high end.

Indeed, in a move that is a bit like raising minimum bets in Macau, monitoring group travel means you will retain more ‘qualified' shoppers for the sector. As long as Korean culture and corporations continue to influence consumers across the Asian region (and sometimes beyond), the duty-free market in luxury should continue to thrive. Korea is by no means an emerging market for luxury if you look at local consumption, but it is still a vibrant one.

Text and figures taken from "The Bling Dynasty: Why the Reign of Chinese Luxury Shoppers Has Only Just Begun" by Erwan Rambourg; ISBN: 978-1-118-95029-6. Copyright © 2014 by Erwan Rambourg. Reprinted with permission of Wiley.

SEE ALSO: China's luxury boom is nothing like very different from Japan's luxury boom

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Incredible Video Of A Teenager Catching A 440-Pound Shark On A Beach

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An amazing video has emerged of a teenager catching a huge shark off the coast of South Australia. In the footage, captured at Tumby Bay earlier this month, a young fisherman reels in a 10-ft bronze whaler shark.

The fisherman wrote: "The shark was over ten feet long and weighed 440lbs plus. The bait was taken out on the back of a kayak and dropped in deep water and it was an epic fight taking almost two hours to reel in. The shark was tagged and released unharmed after measurements and photos were taken."

Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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Here's What Commuting To Work Was Like In New York This Morning

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As we all know at this point, #Juno was a bit of a fluke. This was no exception even in the outskirts of Astoria, Queens where I walked a fairly normal commute to my NQ train. Although there was little foot traffic, sidewalks were starting to be cleared, there was an abundance of snowplows doing their thing, and even my favorite bagel shop was open as always for business early. I took my walk around 8:30 am, when commuters were just on their way to the reinstated subway system. 

Produced by: Justin Gmoser

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Here's How Much Snow There Was On The Streets Of Manhattan This Morning

The 20 Most Expensive Zip Codes In Silicon Valley

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atherton house

Silicon Valley has one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country, thanks in part to a high concentration of high-salaried tech workers. 

The data team at real estate listings site PropertyShark recently shared a list of the most expensive zip codes in Silicon Valley. They compiled the ranking by comparing the median prices for home sales that were completed in 2014.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, ritzy San Mateo County town Atherton ranked at the top of the list with a median sale price of $3.9 million.

Several wealthy tech executives, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, Google chairman Eric Schmidt, and HP CEO Meg Whitman, currently own homes here. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg also lived in Atherton before she moved into her new waterfall-equipped home in nearby Menlo Park last year. 

PropertyShark's complete rankings are in the chart below.

priciest silicon valley

SEE ALSO: Here's What Median Rent Will Get You In Silicon Valley

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What It's Like To Found A $750 Million Startup, Go Through A Sexual-Harassment Lawsuit, And Start All Over By Age 25

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whitney wolfe bumble

"I'm healthy. I have a great family. I have a great group of friends."

Whitney Wolfe had to remind herself of that often in August when she was in the middle of a very public sexual-harassment lawsuit with a company she cofounded, Tinder.

Tinder is one of the world's hottest new companies. Founded in 2012 by Wolfe, Sean Rad, Chris Gulzcynski, and Justin Mateen in an IAC startup incubator, Tinder is now valued by Silicon Valley investors at about $750 million.

"I don’t wish for anyone to go through that, especially right as you’re turning 25," Wolfe says of the lawsuit.

Wolfe joined Hatch Labs, the IAC incubator that yielded Tinder, when she was 22. She met Sean Rad, a Tinder cofounder, at a dinner with mutual friends in Los Angeles. Rad was leading a project in the incubator, a customer-service startup called Cardify and hired Wolfe. But when Cardify failed to gain traction, the team began spinning its wheels on other projects, including a dating app that allowed users to quickly swipe through Facebook profiles of local single people, like Hot or Not.

Wolfe took the idea for Tinder under her wing. She says she came up with the name of the app and initially promoted it on college campuses. She was given a cofounder title. 

tinder lawsuit texts 4Then, her direct manager and fellow cofounder, Justin Mateen, took a liking to her. The pair dated in February 2013 and dated on and off for the remainder of the year. Wolfe says her relationship with Mateen ended for good when he became “verbally controlling and abusive.”

The way he acted after their breakup allegedly forced her to resign from the company, resulting in a lawsuit that has since been settled, netting Wolfe more than $1 million and stock in Tinder.

"It wasn’t about the money," Wolfe says, insisting she tried to resolve the matter privately for a long time before the lawsuit was filed. "It was about my hard work. I had been erased from the company's history ... I’m not here to take credit fully for Tinder. It’s about the team, and I think I played a really important role in the team. I was there from inception of this app that’s now known by the world."

The lawsuit attracted a lot of attention with the media, and some accused Wolfe of being equally nasty to Mateen and trying to get rich off of someone else's success. 

"It’s easy to say, 'She asked for it,' or 'Oh, she was dramatic,'" Wolfe says. "I think insecurities sometimes are extremely loud. The average person out there reading an article [about me] wants to say whatever they want. I know my truth and I know what really matters to me."

Wolfe received notes of encouragement too. One person who reached out to Wolfe in August was Andrey Andreev, whom Wolfe had met briefly at Tinder. Andreev is the cofounder of Badoo, a dating website that has 250 million users. He asked Wolfe to meet, and the two discussed what she planned to work on next. 

Wolfe initially wanted to make an Instagram competitor for a younger audience, where only positive comments could be left. Andreev encouraged her to think about getting back into the dating space.

"I wanted to do something that would promote a responsible user online. There’s a lot of room to be negligent and nasty to each other," Wolfe says. "I figured, whatever I do next I want to narrow that down. I wasn’t going to do it in the dating space at all."

Andreev got her to reconsider, and now he's partnered with her on a new dating app that resembles Tinder, Bumble. They recruited another Tinder cofounder who departed, Chris Gulzcynski, and Tinder's former VP of Design, Sarah Mick.

bumble

In late 2014, the four launched Bumble. Wolfe is marketing the app to young adults and college sororities (Wolfe was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma). Her efforts have created traction at a few southern schools like Auburn and UT Austin where thousands of students are on the app.

Bumble, like Tinder, uses profile swiping to match single people in the same town. But on Bumble, women are forced to make the first move. They have 24 hours to message a match, otherwise the match disappears. Men are left to pine over women, powerless, unless they're reached out to. If a relationship is same-sex however, either person who's matched can reach out.

Wolfe says the decision to empower women was inspired by Sadie Hawkins dances.

"We're definitely not trying to be sexist, that’s not the goal," Wolfe says. "I know guys get sick of making the first move all the time. Why does a girl feel like she should sit and wait around? Why is there this standard that, as a woman, you can get your dream job but you can’t talk to a guy first? Let’s make dating feel more modern."

The ephemeral nature of Bumble is meant to eliminate dead-end matches.

"On Tinder, maybe you get 100 matches, then the guy either feels like he has to do 100 chats or the girl feels uncomfortable starting a chat, so I think it gets convoluted for the user and results in dead-end matches [where no one reaches out]," says Wolfe. "60% of matches on Bumble are turning into conversations. That means women are saving 60% of their matches."

While Wolfe says founding Tinder was exciting, it's easy to take a startup rocket ship for granted. With Bumble, she's hoping she'll get a second chance to witness success

"I remember when we were starting Tinder we were like, 'We’re going to be the next Instagram!,'" Wolfe says. "I remember sending my parents emails being like, 'We got 300 members!' It was crazy, but as much as we appreciated it, you take [that kind of growth] for granted a little bit too ... To go from zero to [tens of millions of users] in a short amount of time ... it’s like the human mind can’t understand success on that level ... It was phenomenal and so surreal."

Bumble's launch looks promising. Wolfe says the initial traction is even better than Tinder's was, with nearly 100,000 downloads in a little over one month, and high user engagement.

"Any startup would dream for what we’re seeing," says Wolfe. "I know everyone wants to refute my roll at tinder but the truth is the truth. I played my roll at that company and I’m going to do it again in a different way. I don’t think anyone should be limited in continuing on in their career."

Wolfe adds, "I realize, yes, maybe Tinder ended in a lawsuit and we all went our own ways. But two years ago we were all just kids who were working on a company that didn't have users yet. It was just a really crazy ride."

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13 Awesome Mexican Chain Restaurants That Aren't Chipotle

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Rubio'sChipotle is becoming ubiquitous. 

Even though Chipotle will always be delicious, there are other restaurants that are can satiate your appetite for chips and guacamole.

It's always good to explore your burrito options, especially if you're hungry.

Moe's Southwest Grill is known for huge portions.

Craving an enormous burrito? Head to Moe's Southwest Grill. The fast casual chain, which is located across the US with approximately 550 locations, is known for having huge portions of everything, and their burritos are named accordingly (in a tongue-in-cheek fashion), like the Homewrecker burrito. It's perfect for when you have a serious craving. Their burritos also have fresh ingredients, and the food is made-to-order.



Qdoba is renowned for its burrito.

Qdoba won "Best Burrito" in a Zagat smackdown against Chipotle. Maybe it's the smothered burritos, which are doused in delicious sauces. The restaurant has over 600 locations throughout the United States.



Chevy's Fresh Mex can accommodate a big party.

Chevy's is a sit-down dining experience with lots of sharable menu items and a long margarita list. You can get a few drinks, eat some food, and keep your bill at a reasonable price. The chain has more than 100 locations in the US.



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See The Faces Of The World's Most Photographed Hand Models

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Oli Kellett hand models federico

Hand modeling is big business. The models are featured in multi-million dollar ad campaigns, and their mitts are insured for large figures. They can see their hands on massive billboards and in TV commercials.

Alex Holder, part of the creative team of Oli+Alex, says he has always been intrigued by the people attached to these famous hands. "I’m an Advertising Creative, and after spending lots of time on sets with hand and feet models, I became fascinated with this strange industry.  How did they become hand models? Were they ‘spotted’? Do they become affected by the job?" he says.

So, along with his creative partner Oli Kellett, the two set out to meet, interview, and photograph some of the world's hand models. The models' stories surprised them.

"Nina is a hand supermodel and is Kate Moss’s hand double — she moisturizes her hands about 30 times a day," said Holder. "One of the models had to be taken off the books for a year as they had a wart."

Oli+Alex shared more of the hand models' interviews with us, along with their portraits. You can see more cool stuff on their site.

Guilia: "I stand in for little boys hands, so if you see someone playing with a Power Ranger model on TV, it’s probably me."



Adnan: "I’m the only double-jointed, Middle Eastern hand model on my agency's books."



Nina: "I never thought I’d become a hand supermodel and that [my hands] would be insured for a seven-figure sum."



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13 Surprising Ways Your Name Affects Your Success

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Name tags

What's in a name? Potentially your future.

A host of research shows just how much your name can affect your lifetime success, from your hireability to your spending habits.

We took a look at the research and have highlighted some of the surprising findings below:

If your name is easy to pronounce, people will favor you more.

In a New York University study, researchers found that people with easier-to-pronounce names often have higher-status positions at work. One of the psychologists, Adam Alter, explains to Wired, "When we can process a piece of information more easily, when it's easier to comprehend, we come to like it more." In a further study, Alter also found that companies with simpler names and ticker symbols performed better in the stock market. 

If your name is common, you are more likely to be hired.

In a study by Marquette University, names that were viewed as the least unique were more likable. People with common names were more likely to be hired, and those with rare names were least likely to be hired. That means that the Jameses, Marys, Johns, and Patricias of the world are in luck.

If your name is uncommon, you are more likely to be a delinquent.

A study at Shippensburg University revealed that there is a strong relationship between the popularity of one's first name and juvenile delinquency. Researchers found that unpopular names were positively correlated with juvenile delinquency. While the names themselves are probably not the cause of the criminal activity, they may be related to factors that increase one's tendency toward juvenile delinquency, such as low socioeconomic status.

If you have a white-sounding name, you're more likely to get hired.

In one study cited by The Atlantic, white-sounding names like Emily Walsh and Greg Baker got nearly 50% more callbacks than candidates with black-sounding names like Lakisha Washington and Jamal Jones. Researchers determined that having a white-sounding name is worth as much as eight years of work experience.

If your name is closer to the beginning of the alphabet, you might get into a better school.

In a study published in the Economics of Education Review, researchers studied the relationship between the position in the alphabet of students' names and their admission chances at competitive schools. The earlier in the alphabet a name came, the more likely they were to be admitted.

If your last name is closer to the end of the alphabet, you're more likely to be an impulse spender.

According to one study, people with last names such as Yardley or Zabar may be more susceptible to promotional strategies like limited-time offers. The authors speculate that spending your childhood at the end of the roll call may make you want to jump on offers before you miss the chance.

You are more likely to work in a company that matches your initials.

Since we identify with our names, we prefer things that are similar to them. In a Ghent University study, researchers found that people are more likely to work for companies matching their own initials. For example, Amanda might work for Amazon. The rarer the initials, the more likely people were to work for companies with names similar to their own. 

Using your middle initial makes people think you're smarter and more competent.

According to research published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, using a middle initial increases people's perceptions of your intellectual capacity and performance. In one study, students were asked to rate an essay with one of four styles of author names. Not only did the authors with a middle initial receive top marks, but the one with the most initials, David F.P.R. Clark, received the best reviews.

If your name sounds noble, you are more likely to work in a high-ranking position.

In a European study, researchers studied German names and ranks within companies. Those with last names such as Kaiser ("emperor") or König ("king") were in more managerial positions than those with last names that referred to common occupations, such as Koch ("cook") or Bauer ("farmer"). This is because of associative cognition, which means that the status linked to your name may influence how people view you. 

If you are a boy with a girl's name, you are more likely to be suspended from school.

Northwestern Universityresearchers studied a large Florida school district from 1996 to 2000 and found that boys with names most commonly given to girls misbehaved more in middle school and were more likely to disrupt their peers. Their behavioral problems also led to increased disciplinary problems and lower test scores for their friends as well.

If you are a woman with a sexually ambiguous name, you are more likely to succeed.

According to The Atlantic, in male-dominated fields such as engineering and law, women with "sexually ambiguous" names are more successful. One studyfound that women with masculine names, such as Leslie, Jan, or Cameron, are more successful in legal careers.

Men with shorter first names are overrepresented in the c-suite.

In 2011, LinkedIn analyzed more than 100 million user profiles to find out which names are most associated with the CEO position. The most common names for men were short, often one-syllable names like Bob, Jack, and Bruce. A name specialist speculates that men in power may use nicknames to offer a sense of friendliness and openness. 

Women at the top are more likely to use their full names.

In the same study, LinkedIn researchers found that the most common names of female CEOs include Deborah, Cynthia, and Carolyn. Unlike the men, women may use their full names in an attempt to project professionalism and gravitas, according to the report. 


NOW WATCH: We Can Guess Your Name Based On What State You Live In

SEE ALSO: Here's Why Using Your Middle Initial Makes You Look Smarter

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Airbnb Is Offering A Chance To Stay In a Luxury Cable Car 9,000 Feet Above The French Alps

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Airbnb Cable Car

If staying in a cable car 9,000 feet in the air sounds like a relaxing vacation to you, Airbnb may have you covered.

The tech startup that connects empty rooms and homes with people who would like to occupy them has announced a new contest for an exclusive stay in a gondola-turned luxury hotel room above the French Alps ski resort of Courchevel.

Airbnb Cable CarThe Airbnb sleeps four and features two beds and a surprisingly cozy set up than any cable car has any right to be.

It all starts with a run up the ski hills via snowmobile, to the cable car. There, mulled wine and a typical Savoyard dinner of cheese fondue welcomes guests to their one-night digs.

You will then be able to spend the night in the cozy cable car overnight above Combe de Saulire, which is the highest point of the Courchevel resort.

Since the cable car will be in the station at the top of the mountain all night, the guests will be able to use the facilities in the station as well — including the washroom.

Airbnb Cable CarThe next day, the car's occupants will be in the perfect position to lay first tracks over the fresh snow at dawn, before the lifts even start operating.

The contest is only choosing one lucky winner and the only way to enter is through the fake Airbnb listing, by writing a 100-word paragraph about why you should be chosen as the winner. The listing is available for one night only.

It's part of Airbnb's "Night At The.." series, which previously offered a night in a KLM plane in Amsterdam, an Ikea in Australia, and a bookstore in London.

Airbnb Cable Car Airbnb Cable Car

SEE ALSO: The Best Airbnb Rentals In 18 Big Cities Around The US

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18 Reasons Why Denmark Is A Wonderful Place To Live

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copenhagen

My own ignorance of Denmark was almost total before I started coming here a decade and a half ago, so, before we attempt to divine the secrets of the Danes' success in greater depth, I am going to take a moment to fill you in on some of the aspects of contemporary Danish life that I believe make it such a wonderful place to live, but of which you might not be aware. It is a bit random, but bear with me—I think it gives a good overview: 

1. The landscape of southern Funen (Fyn, Denmark’s central island), which undulates like a reclining nude:fyn denmark2. The pleasantly woozy feeling after a lunch of pickled herring with red onion on rye, a Tuborg beer, and an icy schnapps.

3. Flødebolle—a chocolate-covered Italian meringue with a wafer base (sometimes they have a marzipan base, but those are to be avoided):Flødebolle

4. There's parking.

5. The view from the room that houses the numismatic collection at the National Museum of Denmark (the Nationalmuseet) looking across to the royal stables at the rear of Christiansborg Palace, the Danish parliament building:Christiansborg Palace

6. The word overskud, meaning a kind of surplus of energy. As in, "I can't cut the lawn now—after that great big boozy lunch I simply don’t have the overskud." I don't know how I managed without this word for so many years. Smaskis another great Danish word: it’s the annoying mouth noise some people make when they eat, say, an apple, or breakfast cereal, or when radio presenters have dry tongues.

7. The bittern that is honking like a foghorn outside my window as I write this.

8. The fact that I once saw the Danish prime minister on a pre-election walkabout in Copenhagen, on the equivalent of Times Square, and no one was paying him the slightest bit of attention.

9. Arne Jacobsen's gas station on Strandvejen, the most elegant gas station in the world:arne jacobsen gas station10. The TV series Klovn—a Scandinavian Curb Your Enthusiasm, only far ruder.

11. A visit to Bakken, the old amusement park to the north of the city. It is the best way I know of traveling back in time to 1968:bakken amusement park roller coaster12. Babies left sleeping outside cafés; a perfectly normal occurrence throughout the country and one that happens in all weathers. (The former US housing commissioner Catherine Austin Fitts once came up with something called the Popsicle Index, which ranks countries according to the percentage of people in a community who believe that their children can safely leave their home, walk to the nearest possible location to buy a popsicle, and walk back home again. Denmark must surely rank at, or near, the top of this index. But as one Danish mother, the actress Annette Sørensen, discovered in 1997, this approach does not work in New York: her child was taken into protective care when Sørensen left it sleeping in a stroller outside a restaurant in Manhattan.)

almost nearly perfect people13. The word Pyt. A dismissive exhalation that roughly translates as "Let it go, it's not worth bothering with." Midsummer party threatened by rain? Pyt med det! ("Pytwith that!")

14. They sell wine and beer in movie theaters, and you are usually allowed to take it into the theater with you. Is  there any greater litmus test of a civilized society?

15. The actor Jesper Christensen (Mr. White in CasinoRoyale), upon whose wry, weary face is etched all the tragedy of the world.

16. The hollyhocks that spring up from between the cobbles of Christianshavn, the canal quarter of Copenhagen.

17. The rainbow of gray in a Hammershøi interior.

18. The Lego DeathStar.  

Do great confectionery, pickled herring, and complex modular construction toys amount to the recipe for human happiness? Probably not (although for me, yes). There is more to Denmark's success and the enduring Olympic-gold-level happiness of its people. Much more.

Christianshavn denmarkExcerpt from The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth. The Almost Nearly Perfect People copyright © 2014 by Michael Booth. Originally published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape, a division of the Random House Group, Ltd. First U.S. hardcover edition published January 27, 2015, by Picador USA. All rights reserved. 

SEE ALSO: Bill Gates Reveals His Favorite Business Book

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How Fancy 'Gated' Communities Can Make Cities More Violent

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nelson mandela

Many of the world's most violent cities are filled with gated communities for well-off residents.

But these residential fortresses may be foster suspicion and social division that lead to violent crime in the first place, according to a new report out from The Economist.

While gated communities aim to provide the highest possible level of security, they can't guarantee their residents are impervious to crime. A 2013 study of South Africa’s gated neighborhoods found that moving to these residences actually increased the risk of burglary, according to the Economist's report, called "The Safe Cities Index 2015."

High walls and 24/7 surveillance may give residents a sense of security, but the barrier these enclosed neighborhoods create often leaves public spaces deserted and vulnerable to lawlessness. This vicious cycle exists in cities such as Johannesburg, South Africa and Santiago, Chile, according to the report in the Economist.

Johannesburg, for example, it considered unsafe despite having a number of gated communities throughout the city. Johannesburg is littered with enclosed compounds and security estates, which regularly feature camera surveillance and security personnel, as well as walls or fences. The city still has one of the highest crime rates in South Africa and ranks 47th out of 50 on the Economist's Safe City Index.

Santiago, Chile, which also ranks at the bottom of the index in the category of personal safety, has also seen the number of gated communities flourish in recent years. People have moved to enclosed communities in response to the city's rise in home invasions, which have become a serious problem in Santiago, according to a 2013 OSAC Crime and Safety Report. Private highways linking several exclusive neighborhoods to others are also being built in Santiago, accessible only to the citizens of these compounds and not to the general public, according to a report by ScienceDirect. 

As the Economist's report points out, gated communities often serve as enclaves that maintain and increase segregation.

These gated communities can make the poor feel like outsiders, according to the Economist, leading to misunderstanding, distrust, and social division.

SEE ALSO: 20 Of The Safest Cities In The World

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Marrying Someone With This Personality Trait May Make You Less Happy

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mandy moore

New research shows that people who get married are more satisfied with their lives than people who stay single

But not every possible partner is a good bet for your well-being. 

The research suggests that if you care about your happiness, you should avoid marrying a neurotic person. 

This insight comes care of Bruce Headey, a psychologist at Melbourne University in Australia.

In a 2010 study, Headey and his team used data from the German Socio-Economic Panel study, which covered some 30,000 people living in 11,000 households from 1984 to 2009. In one part of their analysis, Headey and his colleagues looked at how the personality traits of married people affect life satisfaction.

"The trait that matters most is neuroticism," the authors write. "A panel regression analysis ... indicates that individuals with relatively neurotic partners are significantly less happy than those with more emotionally stable partners." 

Neuroticism, which is one of the Big 5 personality traits along with extroversionconscientiousnessagreeableness, and openness to experienceis the opposite of emotional stability

It's usually defined as a predilection toward being fearful or worried. 

Neurotic people are more likely to detect threats in their environments, which can lead to mood swings and obsessive thinking about what could go wrong. They have been found to be more easily distracted, less self confident, and to have lower salaries than their more emotionally stable peers. 

And according to Headey's research, marrying someone with strong neurotic tendencies makes for a tough marriage. The researchers analyzed partners who lived together for less than five years, between five and 10 years, between 10 and 20 years, and over 20 years. In each longevity cohort, neuroticism had a "substantial effect" on life satisfaction. 

"It is worth stressing that, because adult personality is stable, our findings suggest that partnering/marrying a person with favorable traits will probably bring a long-term gain in one's happiness (if the partnership lasts), whereas partnering with a person with unfavorable traits will probably cause long-term loss," the authors conclude. 

What's the lesson here? 

Before you put a ring on it, you may want to ask your beau to take a personality test.

SEE ALSO: Psychologists Say You Need These 3 Compatibilities To Have A Successful Marriage

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Hilarious Video Shows What To Do And What Not To Do On The NYC Subway

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