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Brit Morin, the Martha Stewart of Silicon Valley, explains what it means to be a homemaker in the digital age

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brit morin

In the introduction to her new book, "Homemakers," Brit Morin says she never expected to be undertaking such a big writing project.

"After all, I come from the digital generation. You know, the generation that prefers Instagram to Kodak cameras and can't focus on anything for longer than two minutes. The generation of which 72% downloaded at least one app in the past week," she writes.

"Yes, that generation." 

As a former employee of both Apple and Google, Morin is thoroughly entrenched in the tech world of Silicon Valley. Her husband, Dave Morin, is a former Facebook employee and the founder of social networking app Path. 

Brit's personal brand, however, is best defined as a blend between the digital and analog worlds.

She's the founder and CEO of Brit + Co., a DIY content and ecommerce site that's scored $7.6 million in funding from Index Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, Lerer Ventures, Marissa Meyer, and Oak Investment Partners. 

Brit + Co. features fun articles, recipes, tutorials and even online classes that teach skills like knitting, hand-lettering, and 3D printing.

Her book, which was published by HarperCollins' William Morrow Paperbacks imprint and officially hits shelves Tuesday, has more of the same content, with each chapter addressing a different room in the home. 

"So for example, you take the kitchen. I look at what has happened over the past decade — the way we cook, the way we entertain, and how that has evolved with technology," Morin told Business Insider.

She added that home automation and the Internet of Things will have an enormous effect on people's definition of home.

"I’m not sure people fully realize how advanced our homes are becoming," she said. "This is the new reality as of today, and it’s only going to advance more."

After Morin left her product marketing job at Google in 2011, she joined TechShop, a studio in San Francisco where you can pay a monthly fee for access to 3D printers, woodworking equipment, silk screening machines, and laser cutters. 

"I started taking classes and got obsessed. I loved that all you needed to know was how to design it online, then send it to print," she said. "It’s exciting to see the intersection of creativity and technology play out in real life."

techshop

Morin had officially joined the Maker movement, a name given to the use of new technology to create and build things. 

"The Maker movement is really just a new definition for a cultural shift that has been happening for decades," Morin said. "I like to use this example. At first people thought it was cheating to use cake mix instead of baking from scratch, but sales were soaring, so there was obviously demand for it. It was the same with the microwave, icebox, and the iPhone."

brit morin

Most projects in her book —  tassel garlands, patterned tea towels, swirled cakes — aren't too time-intensive.

But with others, like a gadget-charging nightstand that requires using a charging mat and router, Morin shows off some of her Maker skills.

That combination of craftiness and tech has led some people dub her the "Martha Stewart of Silicon Valley."

She says she's flattered by the comparison.

"It’s definitely a huge compliment," Morin said. "She's really nice."

While brainstorming a title for her book, Morin found that some considered the word "homemaker" a derogatory term. She says that's because the term has carried a different meaning for previous generations of women, some more positive than others.

"Our grandmothers' generation was kind of forced to stay home and be a homemaker. For our mothers' generation, women were leaving the home and working," Morin said. "Now women have the choice, and it's OK to do both, and they want to do both."

Morin knows firsthand just how difficult that can be. She had her first child, a boy named Ansel, in October. 

"I do prescribe to outsourcing certain services. I don’t go grocery shopping — I use Blue Apron and Foraged for ingredients," she said. "I love having free afternoons to paint or 3D print. It's OK to make time to create and build with my hands."

SEE ALSO: How WhatsApp's billionaire CEO spent the year after the $19 billion Facebook acquisition

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17 awesome tennis clubs that all serious players should visit

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Cloister Tennis Center

Whether it's to prepare for an upcoming tournament or just to blow off some steam, playing tennis can be about so much more than what happens on the court. 

It's also about the experience of your surroundings, which is why we reached out to 15 current and former top-ranked tennis players and aficionados to find the very best places to play tennis.

Here we've compiled a list of 17 breathtaking tennis clubs, to provide both a beautiful setting to play tennis and a great work out.

From New York to San Francisco, check out these luxurious tennis courts that include top-notch views and facilities for the optimum sporting experience.

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

Manursing Island Club

Location: Long Island Sound in Rye, New York

Facilities: 12 Har-tru tennis courts and 4 paddle courts.

Bonus tip: The Manursing Island club lies along the Long Island Sound beach, with a great view of the water. The club opened in 1912.



Fisher Island Club

Location: Miami, Florida

Facilities: 14 Har-Tru courts, 2 grass courts, and 2 hard courts.

Bonus tip: According to the Wall Street Journal, an equity membership costs $250,000 to join and another $18,000 in annual fees. The WSJ also reported that Fisher Island Club recently underwent a $60 million renovation.



The Cloister Tennis Center at Sea Island

Location: Sea Island, Georgia

Facilities: 16 Har-Tru clay courts.

Bonus tip: Professional tennis players Murphy and Luke Jensen provide year-round instruction at The Cloister's tennis program.



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You've been loading your dishwasher all wrong

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If you're like most people, you just throw your dishes in the dishwasher wherever they may fit. That's the luxury of having a washer in the first place right? But being lazy with your placement of dishes ultimately leads to additional wasted time and water trying to rewash what didn't get cleaned properly. Follow this dish placement advice if you want clean dishes every time. 

Produced by Justin Gmoser. Additional camera by Jason Gaines. Narrated by Sara Silverstein

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The 10 most expensive cities in the world

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singapore

An island nation slightly smaller than New York City and Hong Kong remains the world's most expensive city for a second year in a row, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) bi-annual Worldwide Cost of Living report.

Singapore holds the undeniable top spot as the priciest city, followed in order by Paris, Oslo, Zurich, and Sydney.

eiu richest cities

The EIU's survey compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services, including groceries, clothing, household supplies, personal care items, home rental prices, transportation, utility bills, private schools, domestic help, and recreational costs.

The report includes 133 cities and is designed to offer city-to-city comparisons with New York City set as the standard base of the study.

According to the report, Singapore has absurdly expensive prices in the following categories:

  • Clothes: Approximately 50% more compared with New York City
  • Groceries: Approximately 11% more compared with New York City
  • Cars and transportation: Approximately three times as high compared with New York City

Here is a chart of average prices from the top 10 cities over the past decade:eiu worlds richest city

While Asia is home to the world's most expensive city, the region also boasts the world's most affordable cities, including Karachi and Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore), Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, and Tehran.

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Whiskey essentials that everyone should have in their home bar

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whiskey

There's nothing quite like a sip of whiskey.

Just imagine those rich dried fruits and sherry flavors balanced with wood smoke and spice.

Divine.

But if you want to enjoy the flavors of the drink, you're going to need the right things in your home bar. 

Because when it comes to alcohol, the wrong glassware can completely ruin the taste.

We've put together a guide of what kind of things you'll need in your home for optimal whiskey drinking. Enjoy.


Whiskey glasses

whiskey glassesThis is how the pros drink their whiskey. The slightly tighter top of the glass keeps the aromas inside. And the curved bottom is perfect for cupping, which will keep the whiskey warm as you drink it. 

Pro-tip: use these if you are drinking your whiskey neat, and truly want to appreciate the flavors of the drink.

The Glencairn Whiskey Glass (set of 4): $28.00


Whiskey tumblers

whiskey tumblersMovies always show the Cool Guy drinking his whiskey out of a tumbler. But, technically speaking, this glass shape is best used for whiskey on the rocks or whiskey cocktails.

Ravenscroft Crystal Taylor double old fashioned glasses (set of 4): $42.99


A decanter

whiskey decanterAs with wine, a decanter helps bring out the flavors of the drink. We recommend getting a nicely designed bottle that can act like a decorative piece in your living room or liquor cabinet.

James Scott crystal decanter, 750 ml:$34.98


Whiskey barrel

whiskey barrelIf you prefer the more casual Americana feel, we recommend going for a whiskey barrel instead of a decanter. The woodiness gives off that classic, rustic vibe.

Personalized 2-liter oak whiskey barrel: $59.96


 

 

Spherical ice

ice ball roller whiskeyIf you must put ice in your drink (or if you're drinking a whiskey cocktail that calls for ice), we recommend keeping it spherical.

This shape adds a certain glamour that you just don't get from your everyday ice cubes.

CoolPartee ice ball maker mold: $12.99$9.99


Whiskey stones

whiskey stonesWhiskey stones are a great alternative to ice, as they don't water down the drink. However, be careful with them because they can scratch up your glasses.

Whiskey magic arctic stones (9 piece): $19.95


 

 

SEE ALSO: 6 shampoos to use if you're worried about hair loss

SEE ALSO: The 5 must-have books on whiskey, American cocktails, and moonshine

SEE ALSO: 'Carnivore' is the ultimate cookbook for meat lovers

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An ingenious 11th-hour bid just came in for Atlantic City's troubled Revel Casino

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revel casino chips

A Los Angeles developer involved in numerous downtown projects there has made an 11th-hour bid to buy Atlantic City's former Revel Casino Hotel.

Izek Shomov has submitted a letter of interest to Revel AC offering to buy the casino for $80 million.

A bankruptcy court judge is due to rule Wednesday on a proposed sale of Revel to the Florida developer Glenn Straub for $82 million.

According to NJ.com, Shomov and his partner, Leo Pustilnikov, say their offer is worth more even though it appears to be $2 million less.

They are citing a forfeited $10 million deposit by Straub that would take away from the total worth of the deal.

Shomov's offer was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Shomov's partner told the newspaper he supported letting business tenants at Revel continue to operate in a reopened casino. According to NJ.com, Straub wants to cancel existing leases.

Opposition from tenants has been a key obstacle to two previous sales that fell through.

Revel, which cost $2.4 billion to build, closed in September after little more than two years of operation.

revel casino

Straub last summer made an initial bid that set a floor for the bankruptcy-court auction — that was outbid by the Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management.

Two major problems that scuttled previous proposed sales remain unresolved: whether Straub will be forced to accept former business tenants that operated at Revel before it shut down on Sept. 2 and the millions of dollars in debt relating to the casino's costly power plant, its only source of electricity, heat and air conditioning. ACR Energy Partners has threatened to cut off service without assurances its bills will be paid.

Brookfield bid $110 million but dropped out of the deal in November because of the dispute over the power-plant debt.

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The Keurig K-Cup's inventor says that he feels bad that he made it — here's why

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k cups

Keurig Green Mountain made $4.7 billion in revenue last year. 

Much of that money came thanks to K-Cups, the coffee-in-a-pod system invented by cofounder John Sylvan. 

The product is everywhere. 

And its waste is, too, thanks to the fact that the cups are almost impossible to recycle.

"I feel bad sometimes that I ever [invented the K-Cup]," Sylvan said. 

His creation is both a blessing and a curse. 

"[Coffee pods are] the poster-child dilemma of the American economy," beverage consultant James Ewell said in an interview. "People want convenience, even if it's not sustainable."

Sylvan knew he had a hit on his hands when he was figuring out the pod mechanism back in the '90s.

"It's like a cigarette for coffee, a single-serve delivery mechanism for an addictive substance," he tells the Atlantic.  

But Syvlan, who sold his stake in the company for $50,000 back in 1997, doesn't own the machine. 

"I don't have one," he says. "They're kind of expensive to use ... plus it’s not like drip coffee is tough to make."

Yet the mix of ease and addictiveness has made Keurig and its peers massively — and quickly — successful:

•  In 2008 only 1.8 million coffee pod machines were sold in the US. In 2013 11.6 million were sold. 

• A 2013 poll found that 1 in 3 Americans have a single-serve coffeemaker either at home or at work. 

• If all the K-cups that were sold in 2014 were laid end-to-end, the Atlantic reports, it would be enough to circle the Earth more than 10 times.

Today, Sylvan's work is very much environmental — he runs ZonBak, a solar company that claims to make the most cost-efficient solar panel in the world. 

SEE ALSO: 9 science-backed tricks for appearing smarter than you are

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A group of protestors will try to levitate Vice's Brooklyn headquarters into the East River today

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vice williamsburg

A Brooklyn-based musical collective called Talibam! will pay a visit to the Williamsburg headquarters of Vice Media today.

According to a Facebook page dedicated to the event, the group will apparently be attempting to levitate Vice's building into the East River, after which the "spirits of the Displaced and dormant creative energies underneath the foundation of Vice's Media HQ will be unleashed" and "a creative re-flowering of the Williamsburg Waterfront Communities will regenerate." 

The event's organizer, Matt Mottel, told Brokelyn that the exorcism-like event is not a protest but "an act of public assembly, using levitation as the mechanism to channel public awareness to a situation that has displaced and effected many.

Vice's plans to move into a complex of warehouses along the East River have upset some in the Williamsburg creative community. Two indie music clubs — Death by Audio and Glasslands — recently moved out to make room for the media company. Vice has said they played no role in their displacement. 

"It was the landlord’s decision to not renew their leases," Hosi Simon, general manager at Vice, told the New York Times. "And it was the tenants’ decision to take buyouts."

With their levitation ceremony today, Talibam! hopes to create "an open dialog between Vice, the directly displaced live/work communities in the Kent ave building, the long term Latino communities being displaced via the 2005 Williamsburg Rezoning and the greater New York city artistic community that Vice has cannibalized with their take over of that building."  

The group will have a rehearsal before beginning the levitation at 3:35 this afternoon.

SEE ALSO: The wild and crazy life of Shane Smith, cofounder and CEO of Vice

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A simple explanation for why it's poor form to wear a wristwatch with a tuxedo

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tuxedo no watchAt a black tie event I attended recently I heard that it's poor form for a guy to wear a wristwatch with a tuxedo.

I had never heard this before, but apparently it's a topic that's been debated heavily in the men's fashion world.

Our friend Justin Jeffers, who runs The Fine Young Gentleman andis the founder of Jay Butler shoes, gave us a very simple explanation as to why it's a fashion faux pas. 

"It goes back to the old days. It's disrespectful to your host to be checking the time when you should be focusing on having a good time and socializing, not what you have to do next."

Makes sense.

Leave those timepieces at home, fellas.  

SEE ALSO: 32 rules you must know for wearing a tuxedo

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NOW WATCH: 10 fashion mistakes men make over and over at the office








Here's the salary you have to earn to buy a home in 15 major US cities

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san francisco painted ladies

The mortgage website HSH.com has updated its estimate of how much annual income a household would need to buy a home in major cities in the US according to fourth-quarter 2014 data.

Compared to the previous quarter, home prices, monthly mortgage payments, and estimated salaries decreased across the board.

The site looked at median home prices from the National Association of Realtors, along with interest rates for common 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages and property taxes and insurance costs, to figure out how much money it would take to pay a median-priced home's mortgage principal, taxes, and insurance — and how much you would have to earn to afford it.

Salaries listed are rounded to the nearest $500.

15. Detroit

Population: 921,147

Median Home Price: $135,800

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $828

Salary Needed To Buy: $35,500



14. Phoenix

Population: 1,476,331

Median Home Price: $200,300

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $948

Salary Needed To Buy: $40,500



13. San Antonio

Population: 1,258,733

Median Home Price: $185,500

Monthly Mortgage Payment: $1,058

Salary Needed To Buy: $45,500



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The 19 richest people in sports

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michael jordan

Michael Jordan is now a billionaire. Jordan made $90 million in salary throughout his NBA career.

Now, Jordan reportedly still makes $100 million a year on his Nike brand, and owns the Charolette Hornets, valued at $725 million.

Forbes put out its annual Billionaires list on Monday and the billionaires of the sports world aren't out there on the field, they're the ones behind the scenes. These are some of the most well-known billionaires in sports.

#1 Steve Ballmer

Net Worth: $21.5 billion

Age: 58

Former CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer bought the L.A. Clippers in 2014 for a record $2 billion. The eccentric billionaire is known for going absolutely nuts cheering at games.

Forbes



#2 Paul Allen

Net Worth: $17.5 billion

Age: 62

Paul Allen has a stronghold on professional sports in the Pacific Northwest. Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks (NFL), the Portland Trailblazers (NBA), and the Seattle Sounders (MLS).

Allen's Seahawks won their first Super Bowl in 2014, and made their second appearance in 2015, losing to the Patriots.

Forbes

 



#3 Mikhail Prokhorov

Net Worth: $9.9 billion

Age: 49

Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian politician, owns the Brooklyn Nets but rumors have circulated that he is looking to sell the team. If Prokhorov does sell the team, he could make a killing as people are estimating the team is worth between $1.3 and 2.7 billion.

Forbes



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The billionaire founder of Minecraft says he got an anonymous offer to buy his mansion for $80 million shortly after he got it

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minecraft mansion

In December, Minecraft founder Markus Persson reportedly outbid Jay-Z and Beyonce for an amazing home in Beverly Hills.

He paid $70 million for the over-the-top, 23,000-square-foot home.

In an interview with Forbes, Persson said he received a mysterious offer just a few weeks later. 

"Someone anonymously offered me $10 million more than I paid for it a couple weeks after I got it. I don’t know who it is. You could probably guess," Persson said. "At least I know now it was a good investment because it’s worth $10 million more than I paid."

Persson seems to be enjoying life in his swanky new pad. 

"I threw a crazy party with amazing guests," he told Forbes. "Then I kind of sat around in that house and played Infinifactory. So I guess there are elements of excess in my life now, but in general day-to-day stuff, I still do the same old wonderfully nerdy introvert stuff I did before."

There are some things about the house he doesn't love, however.

"One of the floors has a bunch of things I don’t like — like candy machines, [bottles of] Patrón and a gym," he said. "Come on. Look at me. Does it look like I use the gym?"

Persson tweeted a photo of himself next to the home's enormous candy wall.

 

SEE ALSO: The Fabulous Life Of Notch, The Hard-Partying Founder Of Minecraft

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NOW WATCH: Here's Video Of That Bonkers $70 Million Mansion That The Minecraft Creator Bought, Outbidding Jay Z And Beyoncé








If you're over 30, you're going to have to pay more for Tinder's new sub service

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The dating app Tinder has released a new premium service called Tinder Plus. The app has added features like "Rewind" which allows users to undo an accidental swipe left (skipping a potential match) and a new "Passport" feature allows users to widen their search criteria beyond their city. The app currently costs $9.99 for those under 30, and $19.99 for those 30 and above. Watch the ad for their new service above.

Video courtesy of Tinder

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An entire 154,139 square-foot Italian castle is on the market for $32 million

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Tuscan Castle

The Italian housing market is flooded with historical buildings that owners no longer want to pay taxes on or keep up, according to Curbed.

Fortunately, the upside to this comes in the form of a giant Italian castle brand new to the market.

There's never been a better time to fulfill your dreams of owning 1556-acres of pristine Tuscan countryside in northern Italy with a 12th century castle on it. Just $32 million nets you a 115-bedroom castello, with an olive grove, vineyard and rooms updated in the 18th century.

Sotheby's International Realty has the listing.

The first thing you should know about this castle: It's absolutely huge.



By the numbers, the house has a whopping 154,139 square-feet of living space...



On an incredibly expansive 1556-acres of pristine Tuscan countryside in northern Italy.



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Welcome to Singapore, the most expensive city in the world

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Singapore Formula 1 grandstand

Singapore was just named the world's most expensive city by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

The cosmopolitan city-state is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, but it's also one of the wealthiest, with about 105,000 millionaires living there— and that means that it has prices to match. 

The EIU reported that Singapore is the most expensive place in the world to buy clothes, but the upscale malls of Orchard Road are still bustling as shoppers vie for designer goods. 

And there are deals to be had: Singapore is world-famous for its inexpensive street food. And driving may cost a fortune, there's no need to own a car since the city has one of the most efficient and cleanest metro systems in the world. There are also dozens of free parks to wander in — Singapore is called the "garden city" for a reason, after all.

Downtown Singapore's skyline is dominated by massive modern towers.



The Marina Bay Sands isn't necessarily the top hotel in the city, but it's now become one of the most recognizable landmarks of the Singapore skyline.



It's most famous for its rooftop pool, which overlooks the city from the 57th floor.



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Here's how people and dogs reacted to eating fake meat and food made from crickets

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Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown

Not every startup in Silicon Valley is focused on social networking or enterprise collaboration.

On Tuesday at the Launch Festival in San Francisco, several companies stood in front of an audience full of tech enthusiasts and declared that the future of food had arrived. 

Then, to prove it, they fed their food to some test subjects.

Bitty Foods founder Megan Miller is betting big on insects. The company uses crickets to make cricket flour, which it uses for multiple types of food. Crickets are not only a great source of protein — they are also highly sustainable and eating them will help "cut out 18% of carbon emissions," Miller said on stage. If this 2013 study by the United Nations is any indication, people should prepare themselves for the coming food invasion. 

But still, they're bugs. On stage, moderator Jason Calacanis ended up trying a cricket, and remarked that it tasted like a "salty cracker."

He then brought a small girl up to the stage and gave her a cookie made of cricket flour. The girl didn't say anything and kept on eating, which apparently meant she liked it. Unfortunately, the audience was not able to try any cricket food — or perhaps that was a relief to many.

Another startup, Beyond Meat, engineers meat scientifically. They "add in all the best things about meat...and avoid the bad things."

How do they do this? Founder Ethan Brown — a lifelong vegan — states on the company's website that they "take plant-based proteins and realign them to mimic the mouthfeel, appearance, and overall sensory experience of animal meats."

They say that the sensory experience of their burgers lie somewhere between a McDonalds burger and a homemade burger. 

The moderator, acting as a judge, took a bite of the meat,  and it was obvious that he wasn't too enthusiastic about what he had just tasted. He declared that the meat was "almost there" but nonetheless very believable as meat.

Soon after, two pit bulls were brought up on stage and given some of meat. They ended up devouring the meat in one bite and seemed to want more. 

The demonstrations were a little silly, but the startups are dead serious about the sustainability of food in a world with a rapidly growing population, and these were probably the most forward-looking startups that we've seen at the Launch Festival so far. There might be a market for these kinds of foods in the future — not out of want, but out of need.

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NOW WATCH: Two kids were given only one sandwich — what they did next will make you smile








Watch zoo visitors in the Philippines get a massage from 4 enormous pythons

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Visitors to Cebu City Zoo in the Philippines can get a free massage treatment from four giant Burmese pythons, which weigh a combined 550 lbs and can be over 16 feet long. Each python is fed ten or more chickens prior to each massage to curb their appetite.

The snakes slowly move across human limbs for 10 to 15 minutes under the watchful eye of zoo keepers. The slithering motion is said to be therapeutic and calming, while the flickering of the python's tongue can mimic a tickling sensation on skin.

Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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A controversial low-cost eBike has now raised over $3.8 million on Indiegogo

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Storm eBike

An controversial electric bike which raised $3.2 million in 11 days by billing itself as the world's most affordable eBike, is still going so strong on crowdfunding site Indiegogo that the company will extend its fund-raising for another 30 days, it announced on Tuesday.

Sondors Electric bike has raised $3.8 million so far.

This is despite the controversy surrounding the bike where critics have claimed that it can't be sold for the original low advertised price.

The campaign originally made it sound like the bike would sell for under $600. But Sondors clarified that only people who got in on the IndieGogo campaign will get the bike for the super low price. Everybody else will pay around $1,300, the company confirmed to Business Insider. (At one point, the company warned in the fine-print that it could be around $2,000.)

Under scrutiny, the bike's makers started touring around Southern California with a demo prototype to assure would-be backers that the bike was real and the naysayers were wrong.

And, because several news reports pointed out that Indiegogo collects its pledges up front, and has no-refund, buyer-beware policy, the campaign is also selling "insurance" from Indiegogo. For a $150 fee, Indiegogo will refund your money if the bike isn't delivered as promised.

With that, the wildly successful crowdfunding campaign, which was supposed to close on Tuesday, has been extended for another 30 days, the Sondor's folks announced.

Storm eBike

When that extension kicks in on Wednesday, they will also raised the price of the bike by $50, and those folks will get their bikes on the second round of manufacturing, to be delivered in July or August 2015, instead of around May, the promised date for the first batch. The company has promised that manufacturing is on target and going as planned.

Since our story first ran on the bike, we've heard from a a few naysayers. Many of them are talking about their concerns on this electric vehicle forum thread.

It will be interesting to watch who gets to say "I told you so" in a few months when this all plays out: the ones that always believed in the company, or the ones that cried foul.

SEE ALSO: There's a big controversy over the electric bike that raised $3.3 million on Indiegogo

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6 shampoos to use if you're worried about hair loss

From Switzerland to Nigeria, here are the most and least punctual countries

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Every country in the world can be placed on a spectrum when it comes to scheduling, according to INSEAD professor Erin Meyer. From most punctual on the left to least punctual on the right, here it is:culture map schedulingAs with the other cultural scales we’ve examined in "The Culture Map," the Scheduling scale is profoundly affected by a number of historic factors that shape the ways people live, work, think, and interact with one another. Positions on the Scheduling scale are partially affected by how fixed and reliable, versus dynamic and unpredictable, daily life is in a particular country.

If you live in Germany, you probably find that things pretty much go according to plan. Trains are reliable; traffic is manageable; systems are dependable; government rules are clear and enforced more or less consistently. You can probably schedule your entire year on the assumption that your environment is not likely to interfere greatly with your plans.

clocks clusterThere’s a clear link between this cultural pattern and Germany’s place in history as one of the first countries in the world to become heavily industrialized. Imagine being a factory worker in the German automotive industry. If you arrive at work four minutes late, the machine for which you are responsible gets started late, which exacts a real, measurable financial cost. To this day, the perception of time in Germany is partially rooted in the early impact of the industrial revolution, where factory work required the labor force to be on hand and in place at a precisely appointed moment.

In other societies — particularly in the developing world — life centers around the fact of constant change. As political systems shift and financial systems alter, as traffic surges and wanes, as monsoons or water shortages raise unforeseeable challenges, the successful managers are those who have developed the ability to ride out the changes with ease and flexibility. Scheduling things in advance is fine — but only if the time horizon is forty-eight hours or less.

For example, if you are a farmer in the Nigerian countryside, most of the farm work is done by people, and you likely have few machines. In this environment, it doesn’t matter much if you start work at 7:00 or 7:12 or even 7:32. What matters is that your work structure is flexible enough to adapt with changes in the natural environment, and that you have invested in the critical relationships needed to keep your workers loyal in times of drought or flooding, erosion or insect infestation. In this environment, productivity and profit are directly linked to the flexibility and the relationships of the person in charge.

As usual, all positions on the scale should be considered in relative terms. Germans may complain bitterly about the British lack of punctuality, and Indians often feel the French are rigid with their scheduling. However, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, and Northern European countries generally fall on the linear-time side of the scale. Latin cultures (both Latin European and Latin American) tend to fall on the flexible-time side, with Middle Eastern and many African cultures on the far right. Asian cultures are scattered on this scale. Japan is linear-time, but China and (especially) India practice flexible-time.

When you work with people from varying cultures, you find that the scheduling dimension affects a remarkable number of aspects of daily life, from how meetings are run to how people wait in line.

This excerpt adapted with permission from "The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business" (2014) by INSEAD professor Erin Meyer, from PublicAffairs.

SEE ALSO: The truth about British irony, Americans on planes, and Russian leadership

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