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In France, lots of people cheat on their spouses — but that's not necessarily a problem

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French Love

Infidelity is common in France, but no one in the country seems to mind.

In Aziz Ansari's new book on romance in the digital age, "Modern Romance," the comedian/actor points to a 2014 study by the French Institute of Public Opinion, which found that 55% of French men and 32% of French women had admitted to cheating on their spouse or significant other.

Fortunately for the men, only 47% of the French see infidelity as "morally unacceptable," according to a Pew Research study Ansari cites.

To better understand the country's unique relationship with infidelity, Ansari traveled to France and interviewed young Frenchmen about their thoughts on the matter.

Respondents said cheating was often seen as "natural" or "inevitable" to seek novel sexual experiences. One young man said: "In the subconscious of French people is an idea that everyone cheats."

In Paris, a woman told Ansari she didn't think it was possible to be faithful to one person forever, while a Parisian man said "you can be a good guy and still have affairs."

Affairs are so common in France that one person even told Ansari that French flower shops advertised with "don't forget your mistress!"

What Ansari found in his visit wasn't that French people didn't care if their spouses cheat, but that they weren't as shattered by the betrayal. Because of their cultural attitude, the French are also the most likely to forgive a cheater.

In fact, 63% of French people "believe they can love someone even if he or she has cheated," according to the French Institute of Public Opinion, and the French were the most forgiving of the 39 countries surveyed by a Pew Research study noted by the Telegraph.

C'est la vie.

SEE ALSO: Ask your date these 3 questions if you want to know whether they're relationship material

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We just stayed at an Airbnb in Cuba and this one thing was a big surprise

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Business Insider recently sent three reporters to Havana, Cuba to experience the city as tourists. Instead of booking rooms in one of the state-run hotels, we decided to rent a three-bedroom apartment through Airbnb, which recently started offering accommodations in Havana.

This is what it was like to stay in the apartment, which was located in the Vedado neighborhood, just steps from the Hotel Habana Libre. 

We'll have lots of stories about our adventures on the island, which you'll be able to find here.

Produced by Graham Flanagan. Camera by Tyler Greenfield.

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SEE ALSO: We sent 3 reporters to Cuba for a week, and it was a wild adventure from the moment they arrived

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The most powerful whiskey brands in the world

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Sure, craft whiskeys are growing in popularity.

But one whiskey brand dominates the market: Johnnie Walker.

Johnnie Walker's retail value was $5.3 billion in 2014, according to a research note from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. That brand is owned by British multinational Diageo.

It was followed by Jack Daniel's, a Brown-Forman company, at $2.7 billion, and ABD's Officer's Choice, at $2.1 billion.

Importantly, though, some smaller brands were growing faster last year, including Imperial Blue and Haywards, both of which benefitted from the growing Indian whiskey market, according to the note.

Here's how they stack up:

Screen Shot 2015 06 24 at 9.51.30 AM

And by retail value:

Screen Shot 2015 06 24 at 9.51.34 AM

SEE ALSO: Here are the 30 most valuable liquor brands in the world

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Here's how Jeff Goldblum thinks men should answer when women ask 'Do you like my outfit?'

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Jeff Goldblum fingersActor Jeff Goldlum was recently named to GQ’s list of the 20 Most Stylish Men Alive.

In an interview with the magazine about his personal style, the newly married actor was asked how he responds when a woman asks what you think of her outfit.

Here's his advice for men everywhere:

“The traditional wisdom is of course to be positive. Because, even though I embrace truthfulness—I'd say I am a truth seeker, and truth teller, and person who's devoted his life to authenticity (under imaginary circumstances and in real life, frankly; it's an ideal toward which I aspire, and I'm a humble student of it)—I also feel that in human relations (when not under imaginary circumstances, especially), the way to skin the cat—and the way toward integrity, in fact—is not necessarily always to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If they really ask, and you have some kind of opinion that you think can be constructive, maybe then. But err on the side of restraint. Restraaaaaint. And say ‘Mm-mm-mm. Well, you look good in everything! Da-da da-da da-da. Et cetera et cetera.’”

You got that? "err on the side of restraint" and when in doubt, "You look good in everything!"

Read Goldblum's full interview with GQ here.

SEE ALSO: Don't listen to GQ — George Clooney is still incredibly stylish and these 15 photos prove it

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12 incredible US destinations that haven't been discovered by tourists

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false kivaBesides its more well-known locations, the United States is home to stunning sites that offer an escape from the masses.

A recent Quora thread discussed unique places in the United States that aren't frequently visited by tourists. 

From the picturesque False Kiva in Utah's Canyonlands National Park, whose exact destination remains a secret, to the crystal-blue Havasupai Falls in Grand Canyon National Park, here are 12 US destinations that you can explore without a massive crowd.

False Kiva is a human-made stone circle located in a remote area of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. It has become popular among photographers thanks to its unique frame that captures clear skies and dramatic thunderstorms of the area, but debates range on whether or not to disclose its exact location (which does not appear on official maps).

Learn more about Canyonlands National Park.



Alvord Desert, located in Harney County in southeastern Oregon, is a dry lake bed offering views of the majestic Steens Mountain and wilderness hiking trails. While parts of the area are privately owned, areas operated by the Bureau of Land Management are open for camping and explore the scenery as long as you come prepared with water, food, and equipment.

Learn more about the Alvord Desert.



The Havasupai Falls, located in the Havasupai Reservation of Coconino County at the southwest corner of the Grand Canyon National Park, are known for their clear blue waterfalls adorned with travertine columns. Hidden amidst the popular Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Falls are not as nearly as crowded as the park considering the eight mile hiking trail you’ll need to take to Supai Village.

Learn more about the Havasupai Indian Reservation.



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The architect of the original Twin Towers would hate the new World Trade Center

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02_2 WTC HotelRoof_Image by DBOX_original

Made of concrete and featuring tiny, slit-shaped windows, the design of the original Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan reflected architect Minoru Yamasaki's penchant for gothic design and his fear of heights.

But critics hated it — especially the New York Times' Ada Louise Huxtable, who penned a harsh review of the towers in 1973.

Yamasaki responded to Huxtable's review in a letter that was recently found by the Guggenheim Museum’s architecture publication, CLOG and screenshotted by The Awl

In his defense of the Twin Towers, the architect, who passed away in 1986, actually delivers a posthumous critique of the yet-to-be-completed World Trade Center complex.

"For me, the day of the all-glass building is finished," Yamasaki wrote. "As for mirror glass, I detest it."

Fast-forward to the 2010s and it seems all the buildings going up in Manhattan are glass towers — including the completed One World Trade Center, which stands adjacent to the memorialized sites of the fallen Twin Towers.

While reviews of 1 WTC have been mixed (mostly to the tune of a quote that called it "not so bad"), critics pretty much universally loathed the design of the Twin Towers when they debuted. 

twin towers world trade center

Here's the entirety of Yamasaki's letter excerpt on glass buildings, as found by CLOG and noted by the Awl:

For me, the day of the all-glass building is finished. The problems which come for lifting and installing enormous panes of glass, which are then shaded by curtains more than half of the day, are almost ridiculous. When glass size is pushed unreasonably, there are structural problems which arise; as you are aware, on several recent occasions in two of our major cities, large panes of glass have been blown out, to the point where buildings had to be barricaded and the pedestrians protected. Large glass, as lovely as it may be, requires a tremendous consumption of energy for heating and air conditioning to combat the extremes of temperature. Moreover, glassy buildings tend to be “curtain displays” — some closed, some half-open, some open — which adds a more restless quality to an already restless city.I certainly agree that there should be large glass in observation areas where the prime purpose is just that, to give a pan aroma of spectacularly beautiful views. In normal working conditions a reasonable amount of glass is of course necessary, so that people may be aware of whether is beautiful and sunny or rainy and miserable outdoors, giving them contact with the outside world. It also should be present in sufficient quantities to give relief to the frequently monotonous work which goes on in the normal office. In many all glass buildings the people who work and live there have a strong sense of acrophobia, which makes their lives uncomfortable.I must ask myself if we want to design buildings for people to fit some preconceived idea of a glass world. Is this really the future of cities? As for mirror glass, I detest it, because buildings with it look to me as if they have cataracts, showing no live within. On the interior, it produces strange reflections of lights, objects and people which gives me a feeling I can only describe as eerie.

SEE ALSO: The 70 coolest new buildings in the world, according to architecture fans and experts

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This map shows where the world's happiest countries are located

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Panama, Costa Rica, and Puerto Rico are full of people who feel pretty good about life.

The 2014 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being ranking is based on a global survey of about 146,000 people. Respondents are asked about different aspects of how they feel about their lives. Gallup and Healthways combine those into five major dimensions:

  • Purpose: Feeling good about what you do and that you can achieve your goals
  • Social: Having strong relationships with others
  • Financial: Having low economic stress and high economic security
  • Community: Liking where you live
  • Physical: Having good health

The main ranking is based on the percentage of people in a country who are "thriving" in at least three of those five categories. The Americas were the most overall thriving region in the world in 2014, while China and sub-Saharan Africa did worse in the ranking:

gallup healthways world well being map taiwan fixed

Here are the 25 countries that scored the highest in the overall ranking:

best countries gallup healthways

For more detail, check out the full report here.

SEE ALSO: This map shows that each US state is basically its own country

DON'T MISS: The happiest countries in the world, according to neuroscientists, statisticians, and economists

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Here's what alcohol preferences look like around the world

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Depending on where you are in the world, the bottle that you reach for at the end of a day and how much of it you drink could be very different.

Alcoholic beverages is a huge industry. US consumers spend almost $200 billion a year on alcohol. Jockeying for position for consumers tastes is huge for alcohol producers. In order to measure different types of alcohol against each other, researchers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch looked into the consumption of various regions in pure alcohol consumed.

In the US and Canada, most people cracked open a cold brew. 54% of all alcohol consumed was from beer, while just 28% came from spirits, the second lowest percentage in the world. 

Western Europeans were most likely to pour a glass of wine, which accounted for 44% of their alcohol consumption.

Liquor dominates in Asia, making up 61% of alcohol consumed in China and 83% in all other Asian nations. "There is clearly a cultural overlay to the data with many countries in Asia, for example, having a significant spirits culture (eg, gin in the Philippines and rum in India)," BAML analysts wrote.

typed of alcohol consumption

Additionally, BAML computed the amount of pure alcohol an average person in each of the regions drank in a year. Western Europe lead the way with just over 8 liters per person. The US and Canada came in third with around 6.5 liters per person.

amount of alcohol consumed per capita

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What it's like to dine at Dubai's incredibly luxurious Burj Al Arab hotel

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Al Mahara Restaurant Instagram

It doesn't get any more high-end than the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

The Burj even describes itself as the "world's most luxurious hotel."

So it's no wonder that the hotel is also home to a seafood restaurant — Al Mahara — complete with a floor-to-ceiling aquarium where diners can enjoy delicious food while watching colorful fish swim among luscious plants in bright blue water.

I had the chance to eat at Al Mahara on a visit to Dubai years ago and I still consider the lobster I ate there to be the best I've ever had.

It's one of the best fine dining restaurants in the world, but a meal there isn't cheap. According to TripAdvisor reviews for the restaurant, a dinner for two with a bottle of wine costs around $600.

For some context, here's the hotel itself in all its sail-shaped glory. It sits on its own island, connected to the rest of Dubai's mainland by a long driveway.

Burj Al Arab

Guests enter the hotel through the mesmerizing atrium, complete with a fountain, escalator, and a clear view of some of the hotel's rooms outlined in varying shades of blue and green.

Burj Al Arab Atrium

Al Mahara means "the oyster shell" in Arabic, and the restaurant's entrance actually looks and feels like an oyster shell. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the hotel.

Al Mahara Restaurant Entrance

The illuminated golden archway opens into an elegant but modern dining room of red carpet, plush seating, and white table cloths.

Al Mahara Restaurant

Diners can get up close and personal with the creatures that are housed in Al Mahara's aquarium, the centerpiece that the restaurant is built around.

Al Mahara Aquarium

Diners will see everything from sharks...

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To fish...

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To stingrays.

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Al Mahara claims to have the best seafood in Dubai. The restaurant's specialties include Alaskan king crab with foie gras ravioli, Wagyu beef with potato gnocchi, line caught sea bass, and dark brown sugar shortbread for dessert.

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Tsarkaya Oysters in cucumber and apple broth is another one of the restaurant's specialties.

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Al Mahara is fine dining at its finest.

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Even the bread looks exquisite.

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The cocktails look delicious too. Here's one of the restaurant's strawberry daiquiris.

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Diners can then end their meal with a sampling of small dessert treats.

Al Mahara Dessert

 

SEE ALSO: Take A Tour Of The World's Most Luxurious Hotel

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A psychologist identified the six reasons people flirt — and one of them is pretty disturbing

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nicki minaj

Humans love to flirt. 

It's even good for couples: According to a 2012 study, couples who flirt regularly tend to feel more satisfied with their relationships. The author of that study theorized that's because it helps partners "create a private world."

But flirting is more complex than it looks. And the reasons we do it can range from logical to downright creepy.

In a 2004 review of the literature on flirting, Northern Illinois University professor David Dryden Henningsen identified six different motivations for flirting and categorized them with a single word: 

• Sex: trying to get into bed 
• Fun: treating it like a sport
• Exploring: trying to see what it would be like to be in a relationship
• Relational: trying to increase the intimacy of a relationship
• Esteem: increasing one's own self esteem
• Instrumental: trying to get something from the other person

The most troubling of all these motivations — to us, at least — was the "instrumental" one. 

It happens in and out of the workplace: 

• A 1998 British study found that women in the hospitality industry are often pressured by management to flirt with customers in order to cultivate repeat business and get better tips. 

• According to a 1982 study of American college students, 60% of female and 41% of male students reported that they had flirted with instructors. About 75% of students thought that flirting could increase a female student's grade, and 50% thought that flirting could increase a male student's grade. 

• In a 2007 survey of 500 professional women, 86% said they "would happily flirt with a male colleague if it meant they got their own way." A 2008 study found that women who flirt in negotiations are viewed as more likeable but less authentic, and a 2005 study found that women who didn't flirt at work were more likely to get promoted.  

If all this seems strangely confined to results about women, that's because it is. Compared with all the research about how women use flirting to get ahead, there's almost none for how guys do it. Of that small body of knowledge, the main takeaways include that men who flirt at work tend to be less satisfied with their jobs.

There is a larger lesson here, too: attraction is its own sort of power.

UP NEXT: 6 strange things love does to your brain and body

NOW READ: Psychologist says these 2 patterns of behavior are the most common signs that a couple is going to divorce

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We sent 3 reporters to Cuba for a week, and it was a wild adventure from the moment they arrived

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cuba cigars amanda havanaWhile political and economic negotiations are underway to end the stiff US-Cuban relationship, the world is flocking to Cuba to experience the surreal time-warp of this tropical nation.

Business Insider decided to do the same and sent three reporters to Cuba's capital, Havana.

We'll have lots of stories about our adventures on the island, which you'll be able to find here. Keep scrolling for an overview of our week in Cuba.

Graham Flanagan and Tyler Greenfield contributed to this report.

Now Watch: We just stayed at an Airbnb in Cuba and this one thing was a big surprise

We booked our visa with Cuba Travel Services and paid $900 for a roundtrip charter flight with Sun Country Airlines from JFK in New York City to José Martí in Havana. We noticed a lot of people on our flight brought flat-screen TVs and other large electronics for their Cuban relatives.

 



We arrived five hours before our flight and needed every minute to pick up our tickets, visas, check in, and go through security. Here we are moments before we boarded our flight to Havana.



I ate half of the ham and cheese sandwich that was served during the flight. I kicked myself later for not finishing my food because we were in for a real surprise at the Havana airport.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






WeWork, which rents space to startups, is reportedly worth $10 billion — step inside and find out why

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business insider west san francisco wework new office 5077

WeWork, a startup which rents office space to other startups, is reportedly worth $10 billion— that's twice as much as it was reportedly worth in December.

What's so great about it?

Business Insider's San Francisco office just moved into WeWork's newest building, and we absolutely love it. Step inside and find out why...

The newest WeWork facility in San Francisco is at 535 Mission St., a brand-spanking-new skyscraper just south of Market Street.



Here it is, in all its majestic glory.



You exit the elevator into the lobby.



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Sales of Crocs are skyrocketing because of the royal baby

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Prince george

Crocs are having a resurgence.

It's in part thanks to Prince George, who is just shy of his second birthday.

Sales have surged because of what people are calling the 'Prince George effect,' reports WWD.

"Prince George proves there's no age limit on being a fashion icon," Daniel Silverfield, Amazon UK's head of vendor management, told WWD. "We've seen a 16-fold increase in sales of kids' Crocband shoes at Amazon.co.uk since the photo of him wearing a pair [at the Beaufort Polo Club in June] was released." He cited specifics, telling the website sales have spiked "1,500 percent."

The footwear company is known for its notorious signature shoes, which are very polarizing. People either love them or they valiantly despise them. (However, Bloomberg reported in 2013 that the brand was trying to lure customers away from the clunky shoe with other styles of shoes.) The brand tried to be more fashionable with these other styles, such as ballet flats and pumps.

crocs crocbandOnly a year ago, the brand was failing to make a revival.

In December, Crocs hired a new CEO, Gregg Ribatt, to help the footwear company's earning increase.

Prince George aside, ugly shoes are all the rage right now. Birkenstocks and Tevas are popular, even amongs key players in fashion media, like former Lucky Editor-in-Chief Eva Chen.

 

SEE ALSO: Here's why Birkenstocks and other 'ugly-chic' shoe trends aren't fading anytime soon

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Here's what it might look like if your spam emails came to life

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Grace Smith

For Spanish photographer Cristina de Middel, spam emails are more than just a nuisance filtered out of your email inbox every day; they're inspiration.

After seeing an open call for work at a photo gallery in 2008, de Middel — inspired by those phony email requests for money — saw an opportunity to venture outside of her usual sphere of documentary photography.

She began saving her spam emails and soon amassed a collection of over 1,000 of them. Mining outlandish stories of Russian widows and Nigerian lawyers, she imagined how these characters in distress appeared and set about creating for her “Poly Spam” series. 

"I started collecting these emails because I realized they could reflect the state of things in the world … from a very interesting point of view," de Middel told Business Insider.

The real challenge arose when de Middel had to imagine foreign people and places. "I knew what a lion in the Kalahari looked like ... but I had no clue how judges, barristers, and bank employees looked," she said. 

De Middel also discovered that pairing the emails with her photos changed how people saw them. Some people who saw the series asked ask how de Middel found time to travel the world to find these characters. The implausible emails — and photographs made in the studio — suddenly became believable.

As the first non-documentary project she did, it marked the beginning of a long learning process. “I realized I was full of clichés and stereotypes about the world myself and this was a subject that needed to be addressed,” she says. 

De Middel has shared the incredible images and accompanying email texts with us here.

This image was inspired by an email supposedly sent by the grieving widow of a Russian oligarch, her life in danger due to her inheritance.



Here, a banker in the Republic of Togo is looking to dump a cool $18 million in the bank account of the lucky recipient.



For this photo, de Middel used an email apparently sent by a mystical Spanish psychic named Marisol.



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The state most plagued by gun violence is one of the most beautiful places on earth

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fox alaska

Oh, Alaska.

Famed for its untamed wilderness, gigantic size, and Sarah Palin, the 49th state has another, less illustrious distinction to add its resume: the place where you're most likely to be killed by gun violence

As we recently detailed, the Kaiser Family Foundation assembled a table of statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on 2013 mortality rates from firearms in each state.

According to Kaiser's analysis, Alaska has the highest rate of gun-related deaths of any state.

It's 19.8 deaths per 100,000 residents.

For the sake of comparison, the national average is 10.6 gun deaths per 100,000 people, and the lowest rate is in Hawaii, with 2.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

Which prompts a basic question: why is the rate so high?

There are a few reasons:

• Alaska has a ton of guns.A full 60% of homes in Alaska have a gun. It's topped by Wyoming, where 62.8% of homes have guns. (And unsurprisingly, Wyoming had 17.51 gun deaths per 100,000 residents.) 

• Alaska is sparsely populated. The total area is 586,000 square miles, or over twice the size of the next-largest state, Texas. It has a population of 736,732, meaning that there's 1.2 persons per square mile. 

• Alaska has really liberal gun laws.It's one of four states that have "concealed carry" without a permit, and the Violence Policy Center says that Alaska has "extremely lax gun violence prevention laws."

• Alaska has a lot of suicide.Over 80% of firearm deaths in Alaska were self-inflicted, and Alaska has the highest suicide rate in the US — nearly double the average

So between the availability of guns, liberal laws, and unchecked mental health issues, Alaska is especially vulnerable to firearm-related deaths. 

SEE ALSO: Here's where Americans are most likely to be killed by gun violence

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This empty, 46-bedroom mansion in Texas would make one heck of a haunted house

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46-bedroom Texas mansion

This eerily enormous "house" in Manvel, Texas is the strangest listing we've seen in a long time. 

A physician and his wife started building it in 2001; it was intended to be a post-surgical rehab clinic. Today, the structure sits unfinished and empty.

RE/MAX Top Realty is listing it as a shell for $3.5 million.  

No one's quite sure how many rooms it has: some say 46, but RE/MAX realtor Mona Miller told the Houston Chronicle that "it's probably more like 70 bedrooms," as the inside of the house is incomplete.

"It would be ideal for some type of institutional use," said Miller, who has had bites from parties who see it as a possible assisted living facility, which would actually make use of all that space. 

Here's an outside-in tour of the so-called "disaster house."

No driveway, landscaping, or sidewalk adorns the outside of this gigantic piece of real estate.



An unobstructed rear view of the mansion really shows how far 60,000 square feet stretches.



There's a nine-car attached garage — for all those medical transport vehicles that the good doctor never bought.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






A Georgetown law professor just perfectly captured the absurdity of Confederate pride

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confederate flag nazi sign

It's been 150 years since the Civil War officially ended, but take a trip to certain regions in the south and you might get a different impression.

Especially in the wake of last week's shooting in South Carolina, the Confederate battle flag has become an iconic and often unwelcome reminder that race relations in the US still face a staggering uphill battle.

But some people still wave the flag with pride, and Georgetown University law professor Paul Butler has some words for those people.

On a Monday episode of "The Diane Rehm Show," a caller said that her Confederate ancestors deserve respect, even though the Confederate flag represents "racial hatred."

To which Butler replied:

"I have no respect for your ancestors. As far as your ancestors are concerned, I shouldn't be a law professor at Georgetown. I should be a slave. That's why they fought that war. I don't understand what it means to be proud of a legacy of terrorism and violence.

Last week at this time, I was in Israel. The idea that a German would say, you know, that thing we did called the Holocaust, that was wrong, but I respect the courage of my Nazi ancestors. That wouldn't happen.

The reason people can say what you said in the United States, is because, again, black life just doesn't matter to a lot of people." 

Butler isn't alone in that bleak assessment.

Just ask the students at the University of Texas, who recently spray-painted "Black Lives Matter" on a Confederate statue.

SEE ALSO: Confederate flag sales are skyrocketing

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7 outdated fashion rules that men can now ignore

10 tourist traps you should avoid in Italy — and where to go instead

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Venice gondolas

Ask almost anyone and they'll tell you that Italy is on their bucket list: the art, the culture, and the food is world famous for a reason.

But Italy is big, and it can be overwhelming for first timers, who inevitably, bowled over by choice, fall into overpriced tourist traps.

Here are the places you should avoid, and the often cheaper, always more authentic alternatives you should hit instead. 

Instead of getting disappointed by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, check out the medieval towers in the town of San Gimignano.San Gimignano

If we told you to go see a tilting old tower that wasn't Pisa would you? Probably not, and you should avoid the surprisingly small and devastatingly disappointing Leaning Tower of Pisa too.

Want to see old towers? Visit San Gimignano, a mostly tourist-free haven in Tuscany that's known for its medieval architecture and perfectly preserved ancient tower houses — in fact, it's often referred to as "the city of beautiful towers" or even "medieval Manhattan." And if that wasn't enough, the city is also famous among locals for its Vernaccia di San Gimignano white wine.

Instead of illegally dipping your feet in the Trevi fountain, go swimming in Saturnia's natural spas.Terme_di_Saturnia_ _Cascate_del_Mulino 0518

It's hot and you've walked all over Rome's many, many sites, including the beautiful Trevi fountain. We can't blame you for wanting to cool your heels in it, but don't, because that's illegal.

If you need to take a dip, check out the Terme di Saturnia in Tuscany. These stunning, 98 degree geothermal springs were said to have been created by Jupiter carelessly throwing lightning bolts. The hot springs were popular with ancient Roman nobles way back when, and are still a popular spot with Romans today.

Instead of taking a cheesy gondola in Venice, take a local-approved traghetto.Traghetto in Venice

Taking an overpriced gondola captained by someone dressed like what foreigners imagine Italians to look like is one of the most corny and touristy things to do in Venice — and that's before the gondolier starts singing (which costs extra, mind you).

Instead, take a much cheaper traghetto, which is basically just a less frilly gondola that locals use to get across the canals. Traghettos look like gondolas, but instead of cruising up and down the canals, they cross the canals at seven points, where there are no bridges. And they cost just a few euros, instead of hundreds of dollars.

Instead of checking out Florence from the Duomo, take in the views at the Piazzale Michelangelo.Piazzale Michelangelo Florence

The Duomo is one of Florence's most famous and most-visited sites, and definitely worth a look. However, save yourself the 463-step climb to the top (no, there's no elevator), where you'll be jostling for shots of the city with dozens of other panting tourists.

For equally stunning views minus the climb, check out the Piazzale Michelangelo. Plus, the best part of the views there? You actually get the Duomo in your pics.

Instead of picking up Murano glass tchotkes in Venice, go to Murano.murano island glass blowing

Venice is almost as famous for its Murano glass wares as it is for its intricate Venetian masks, so shops selling overpriced glass figurines and baubles are a dime a dozen, especially around the touristy Rialto Bridge area. Because only tourists buy glass items in those shops, prices are literally double what they should be, and some of the wares aren't even authentic, but made in China.

Why not go straight to the source? Murano glass is named for Murano, an island off of Venice that's been making glass products since 1291. Only a scenic, 20-minute water bus ride from Venice, this day trip allows you to wander about authentic shops, and even check out factories and watch glass blowers at work.

Instead of getting herded through Pompeii, get a blast from the past in Taormina.Taormina ruins

Ok, Pompeii isn’t a tourist trap, but it is overrun by tourists. The ancient city is perfectly preserved after it was covered in ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

To get some breathing room, as well as your fill of ancient ruins, visit Taormina in Sicily instead. The beautiful town carved into the Monte Tauro hillside has sweeping views of Mount Etna, Europe's highest active volcano, as well as beautiful beaches, which are accessible by gondola. Goethe himself called Taormina "a patch of paradise." While ancient Roman buildings and ruins are sprinkled across town, the most famous ones are the Teatro Greco and the Naumachia.

Instead of trying to find love at Romeo and Juliet's balcony in Verona, find the stone heart under the arch inside the Sotoportego dei Preti in Venice.

Sotoportego dei pretiLovers around the world flock to Romeo and Juliet's balcony in the Casa di Giulietta in Verona, but the site is really just a mess of gum and scraps of paper, as people leave love notes on the wall by tacking them up with chewed gum.

How about giving something else a shot? Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world, so it comes as no surprise that it houses many local traditions pertaining to finding everlasting love. Head to Sotoportego dei Preti, a narrow alley between two houses that has a stone heart embedded under its arch. According to local lore, touching the heart with your partner means eternal love, while touching it alones means you'll be finding love within the year.

Instead of Lake Como, visit Lake Orta.Lake Orta

Sure, Lake Como’s beauty is world famous and you might get a George Clooney sighting, but everyone and their mother knows about it, which has turned the serene lake into a flashy, see-and-be-seen kind of scene.

In contrast, Lake Orta beckons with its serenity, even boasting an island monastery in its center. Only about a mile wide, the lake is a secluded gem, unknown even to many locals, despite its beauty having been touted by writers and philosophers like Nietzsche, Byron, and de Balzac.

Instead of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, take a tour of the beautiful Palladian Villas of the Veneto.Palladio Villa

The Palazzo Vecchio is a beautiful palace overlooking the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, and features stunning Renaissance chambers full of incredible paintings. However, it's world-famous and can get packed.

The Palladian Villas of the Veneto are lesser known, but equally stunning. Designed by Andrea Palladio, the unique buildings are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and have become so iconic that they inspired an architectural style known as Palladian, which spread across Europe, and even as far as England and North America. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia and Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England, were inspired by Palladio.

Instead of having an espresso by the Duomo/Leaning Tower of Pisa/Colosseum, have one literally anywhere else.Espresso

Eating or drinking anything within a stone's throw of any famous attraction means that you will be paying prices marked up to infinity.

Instead, take a little walk, follow some locals around for a bit and eat literally anywhere else. If there's an English menu and no one around you is speaking Italian, leave. Plus, you should know that having a coffee at the table costs more than having it at the counter in Italy, so another tip is to just drink at the bar. 

SEE ALSO: How to drink espresso like an Italian

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9 beautiful watches that will last a lot longer than the Apple Watch

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Rolex Daytona

You cab now buy the Apple Watch in Apple Stores. And in a select number of Apple Stores, you can buy the $10,000 Apple Watch Edition, in 18k gold.

This is Apple's first true luxury product, and it's priced accordingly.

In the world of fine watches, $10,000 is an important threshold. Once you cross that line, you start buying for investment. These are the watches that become family heirlooms: timepieces that are kept forever, worn on special occasions, and eventually passed down to children.

It's virtually guaranteed your children are not going to want a first generation Apple Watch. In fact, in only a few short years the Apple Watch Edition may only be attractive as a collectible, a first-of-its-kind device. Or it may be worth only as much as the precious metal its made from.

Luxury watch brands, on the other hand, have been making mechanical movements and gorgeous watch cases for centuries.

Their intricate movements and insanely strong pedigree helps them maintain their value. And the best part is: the technology changes very slowly.

Here are just a few smart purchases for those in the market for an investment-grade watch.

IWC Portugieser Automatic IW5007

The Portugieser is one of IWC's most popular models. With its legendary Pellaton winding system and select ceramic components, this watch is sure to hold its value.

Suggested Retail: $13,700



Rolex Datejust

Rolex is probably the most recognized watch brand in the world. This means that everyone knows how great the Datejust is — and everyone wants one.

Suggested Retail$12,750



Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Memovox

Jaeger-LeCoultre is a watch name that needs no introduction. It's been making spectacular watches with insanely precise movements since 1833 and the elegantly designed Master Memovox continues that tradition.

Suggested Retail: $11,100



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