Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that's spread primarily though the bite of an infected black-legged tick. These tiny insects, which can carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, typically live in wooded and grassy areas.

While lyme disease was once thought of as fairly rare, recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest it's actually 10 times more common than we'd assumed, infecting roughly 300,000 Americans each year.

Common symptoms of lyme disease (in blue) include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic bulls-eye skin rash. But if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system and cause more serious problems. Luckily, most cases can be treated successfully with antibiotics. 

SEE ALSO: I spent a day at a Costa Rican sloth sanctuary, and it was one of the most magical moments of my life

DON'T MISS: We're on the cusp of an explosive change in how we treat one of America's most ignored health problems

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Otis Johnson was released from prison in 2014 after being locked away for 44 years. He was 25 when his sentence started, and 69 when he was released.

On the outside, he quickly realized the world was a very different place — downright futuristic compared to the world he left behind back in the late 1960s.

In an interview and video for Al Jazeera, Johnson visited Times Square in New York City, where he was surprised and confused by the modern technology surrounding him: People "with wires in their ears" listening to music who looked like CIA agents, pedestrians "talking to themselves" on their iPhones, and neon video billboards illuminating storefront windows.

Johnson offers a fascinating perspective on our world today and the modern technology that many shrug off and take for granted. You can watch the entire video below, or read Al Jazeera's original, in-depth interview with him here.

SEE ALSO: I'm 22 years old, and I grew up without the internet

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GIF by Skye Gould/Tech Insider

A text pops up from your crush.

You see it immediately — but when do you text back? You don't want to reveal that you're waiting by the phone, but you also don't want to come across as rude or uninterested.

To get some guidance, Tech Insider consulted Daniel Post Senning, Emily Post's great-great grandson and author of "Manners in a Digital World." He works for the Emily Post Institute, which has published etiquette guides since the 1940s.

Post Senning's general rule is to not wait longer than one to three hours to reply, he tells TI.

"A text conversation can go stale in a few hours," he says. "Don't just make them wait."

If you're crushing on someone, don't play mind games, he says. Healthy relationships aren't built on gaining emotional power over people by not texting them back.

The appropriate time lapse depends on a mutual (and unspoken) set of emotional expectations, Post Senning says. The longer you date and build a relationship with someone, the larger the expectations for a quicker text reply.

If you just started dating someone, this can be tricky. In the beginning, you shouldn't expect each other to text back immediately, he says. But if you've dated someone for multiple months or a year, you should generally text each other back within the hour that you see the message.

When it comes to modern romance and texting, Post Senning says to present yourself as considerate, respectful, and honest. 

"Make explicit your intentions," he says. "There's something fundamentally attractive about someone who has it together and is sincere."

In the end, Post Senning also reminds us to not take things too seriously. Just go for it — text them back.

"If you know they're the one, and if they matter to you, you can break the rules," he says.

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A group of offices in lower Manhattan have started a very colorful war.

Since early May, workers have been creating massive designs — from the Snapchat ghost to Superman logo — by sticking Post-its to their Tribeca office windows.

According to The New York Post, the managers of one building have asked workers to remove their creations by May 28. But until then, they will compete to see who can make the most spectacular Post-it collages.

Keep scrolling to check them out.

As The New York Times reports, the feud started some time during the week of May 9, when an employee used Post-its to spell out "Hi" on one window. Later that day, someone else responded by posting "Sup" across the street.

Source: The New York Times

And so the war began. A week later, the windows of the office buildings on both sides of the street were covered in sticky notes. Pictured below are two red Angry Birds.

The workers at healthcare advertising company Biolumina recreated Marge and Maggie from "The Simpsons" on these windows ...

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"Living tiny" — whether in a van, houseboat, or 98-square-foot home on wheels— can save a lot on housing.

But a compact, minimalist lifestyle offers more than just substantial savings.

Here are a handful of refreshing insights about money, happiness, and life from van dwellers, tiny-home owners, and people living off the grid.

SEE ALSO: From living in a van to commuting 700 miles: 12 people who go to extreme measures to save money on housing

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Society's definition of luxury doesn't have to be your definition

Daniel Norris, MLB pitcher who lives in a 1978 Volkswagen camper during the off-season

"I grew up with a simple lifestyle, and I knew going into professional baseball that would be tested," Norris told GrindTV. "In my mind there's no need for luxury, or at least society's sense of the word. I consider my life luxurious — I live on a beach with an ocean-front view, hearty meals, and hot French-pressed coffee at my disposal. That's fancy, right?"

Your material goods don't define your level of wealth

Brandon, lives in a 128-square-foot truck in Google's parking lot in the Bay Area

"I get the most enjoyment from self-improvement, and for me, that comes from books, exercise, and working on personal projects," he writes on his blog. "I wouldn't be any happier with a 50 inch television or a PlayStation 4, because those don't align with my goals for life. Being wealthy isn't a function of material, it's a function of contentedness."

Having money is secondary to living the lifestyle you desire

Dan Timmerman, professional cyclist living off the grid in a cabin in rural New York with his wife, Sam

"The best thing is the direct access to nature, being able to do all the stuff we do,"Timmerman tells Business Insider. "And the financial aspect. We're really comfortable financially. It really gives us a lot freedom. Like, if one of us wanted to start a business or something, and we had to invest in it, we'd have the freedom to do that because we don't have all the overhead where we live. That's secondary to just being able to live the lifestyle. But they are both big advantages."

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NOW WATCH: The 5 Most Exotic Hotels In The World

If you’re going to purchase a $19,500 3D-printed faucet, you'll likely want to try it out before you buy.

You can do that at Pirch, a retail chain that sells luxury home and bath appliances in massive showrooms. 

Like Ikea, the products at Pirch are organized into small, life-like displays, called vignettes. Most items on display — from the showers to the pizza ovens — are fully functional, so anyone can turn on the appliances, watch them in action, and imagine them in their own homes. 

The company, which has raised $127 million in venture capital, has locations in nine US cities.

On May 21, Pirch opened its newest location in Manhattan, a three-floor, 32,000-square-foot showroom inside a former metalworks building. CMO Laith Murad tells Tech Insider that the new space houses over 2,500 luxury home appliances from dozens of brands.

Here are the most innovative appliances I saw on my tour.

Note: The listed prices of the items include the features shown in the photos. Starting prices may be lower.

The new Pirch store is located at 200 Lafayette Street in SoHo, Manhattan's premiere shopping neighborhood.

The store sells appliances for three areas of the home: kitchen, bathroom, and outdoors.

Customers can order complimentary cappuccinos or iced coffee in the Bliss Café on the showroom's first floor.

See story here.

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NOW WATCH: This behavior could kill your chances in a Goldman Sachs interview

Every year, Consumer Reports and its team of automotive experts test and scrutinize virtually every car sold in the US.

Of those cars, a select few stand above the rest and join the vaunted group of vehicles known as Consumer Reports' Top Picks.

To become a Top Pick, a car must excel at the publication's track tests, offer average or better reliability, perform effectively in government or industry crash tests, and return high owner-satisfaction scores in Consumer Reports' surveys. 

This year's Top Picks cover a wide variety of models, ranging from small roadsters to full-size pickup trucks.

In total, 10 cars were chosen, with seven from Japanese brands, two from American brands, and one from a Korean brand. 

So here they are: Consumer Reports' Top Picks of 2016.

SEE ALSO: The Range Rover TD6 reminds America of what it's been missing out on

Best Midsize car: Toyota Camry

Price as tested: $24,089 - $32,603

Why it's on the list: The Toyota Camry has long been one of America's most popular and trusted family sedans. And the latest generation is no different.

"The solid Camry delivers year after year of outstanding reliability, which when combined with impressive crash-tests results, make it a near-perfect sedan," Consumer Reports wrote.

Best Subcompact Car: Honda Fit

Price as tested: $19,025

Why it's on the list: Although the publication criticized the Fit for its excessive road noise and harsh ride, Consumer Reports found the subcompact's great fuel economy, nimble handling, and great interior space to be truly impressive. 

Best Compact Car: Subaru Impreza

Price as tested: $21,345 - $22,345

Why it's on the list: The Subaru Impreza is back on Consumer Reports' Top Picks list once again. So what did the publication like about the sedan?

Well, what didn't they like about the Impreza: Consumer Reports praised the Subaru for its ride, handling, interior space, intuitive controls, safety tech, great crash-test results, its all-wheel-drive system, and the cargo-hauling ability of its hatchback variant. 

After a week of the Subway diet, I know more about the sandwich chain than most — and certainly more than I want to know.

Given falling sales, Subway has been trying to win over consumers with new menu items and all-natural adjustments like removing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from its US menu.

Looking at Subway's sales slump, I wondered if Jared Fogle's diet plan holds up over time — or is it obsolete given the evolution of Americans' dietary preferences?

In a quest to find out, I decided to try one of the most (in)famous diet plans of the 21st century: the Subway diet.

In the process I picked up a few key tips to up your sandwich game. Here are five ways to improve your Subway experience every time. 

1. Order carved turkey

Subway has been updating its menu to add more premium and authentic meat choices, with new options including carved turkey breast meat, applewood smoked bacon, and rotisserie-style chicken.

Chief among these (in my mind) is the carved turkey — a solid protein, with none of the slimy lunch-meat quality of some inferior options. If you're craving turkey at Subway, get the carved option. It's worth the extra $0.25.

2. Don't forget banana peppers

By the end of my week on the Subway diet, most toppings had lost their taste, with bread, meat, and vegetables blended together in a forgettable deluge of Subway foodstuff. The one thing that remained: banana peppers.

The tangy peppers were able to cut through, adding needed flavor to any sandwich. In all honesty, the banana peppers were the best part of almost every Subway sandwich I ate. Since quitting the Subway diet, they're the only thing I have even slightly craved.

3. Don't be an idiot — get the dressing

When complaining about how flavorless my sandwiches had been, I mentioned to a friend that, in attempt to follow the Subway diet, I had forgone dressings. She looked at me aghast.

"No wonder the sandwiches don't taste like anything," she said. "You need to add dressing."

If you're on a diet, dressings are often an obvious deal breaker — adding mayonnaise, ranch, or Chipotle Southwest sauce adds at least 100 calories. Usually it adds more, depending on how generous your local Subway employee is on that particular day. Even low-calories options, like fat-free Italian Dressing, can be dangerous, with 720 grams of sodium in a single serving.

Ultimately, my new favorite dressing is the sweet onion, a fat-free and low-sodium choice. The dressing can be overly sweet when applied too aggressively, but, like banana peppers, offers a welcome burst of flavor to your sandwich.

4. Toast the sandwich

The warmth and the slight crispiness offers an automatic upgrade.

One caveat: Do not toast your sandwich if you're not going to eat it fresh, a mistake I made more than once. A cold piece of toast is somehow inferior to a simple sub.

5. Don't go on the Subway diet

While eating basically nothing but Subway for a week taught me a lot about the sandwich chain, it also left me slightly scarred. Walking down a New York City street, the familiar and peculiar smell of baking Subway bread will hit my nostrils, triggering immediate flashbacks.

Subway emphatically does not recommend that people go on the Subway diet — and I agree.

If you want to try out new items at the chain, like carved turkey, or fulfill your craving for old favorites, like banana peppers, I highly recommend behaving like a normal person, and just getting a single sandwich. Subway can be a healthy lunch option — as long as it's not your only option.

SEE ALSO: I went on the Subway Diet for a week — and it's clear why the chain is no longer America's destination for healthy fast food

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NOW WATCH: Subway is trying to turn around business by making this major change to its menu

Most steak gurus will tell you that a dry rub is best. But when you are feeling bold, try this marinade recipe from Quality Meats Steakhouse of NYC. It is the perfect tangy mixture that explodes with flavor. 

Produced by Justin Gmoser. Additional camera by Eames Yates. 

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NOW WATCH: How Merrill Lynch changed the way people are paid on Wall Street

Use these scientific strategies to step up your game and attract the objects of your desire more effectively. 

Produced by Graham Flanagan.

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Duane Jackson, a 21-year-old from east London, arrived at Atlanta airport in 1999. Head down, he collected his suitcase from the conveyor belt and darted straight toward the "Nothing to Declare" lane.

"Step this way please," a member of airport security interrupted, before Jackson had reached the anonymity of the arrival lounge.

After a close but inconsequential inspection of his suitcase, Jackson nervously nudged his shoulder bag behind him, hoping it would be ignored.

"And that one," the officer snapped.

Jackson's suitcase was clean, but inside his shoulder bag were 6,500 Ecstasy pills, hidden in a big bottle of talcum powder and a pair of gutted Walkman speakers.

As the airport security officer ripped open the talcum-powder bottle, hundreds of Ecstasy pills wrapped in cling film dropped out. The eruption of powder hid nothing: Jackson's guilt was obvious.

"There was no cleverness to it at all," Jackson told Business Insider, in the lounge of the Hilton Hotel near London Bridge, 17 years later.

In the years since he got arrested at Atlanta airport, Jackson has spent time locked up on both sides of the Atlantic as a convicted drug smuggler. On release, he built KashFlow, an online accountancy business The Guardian reported was sold in 2013 for around £20 million ($30 million.)

Now he is campaigning for prisoners to be encouraged to make use of their misused entrepreneurial urges on release. According to a new report from the Centre for Entrepreneurs, this could save the UK taxpayer £1.4 billion (about $2 billion) a year, through dramatically lowering recidivism rates.

We sat down with Jackson to ask more about his own incredible journey from convict with no qualifications to multimillionaire tech entrepreneur.

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Jackson grew up in Newham, in the east end of London. From early on, family life was difficult.

Aged 11, he was separated from his mum and sent to a children’s home.

"It certainly wasn't a loving environment, but nor was it an abusive environment. It was a safe environment I guess," Jackson said, describing the home.

Jackson, who comes across calm and confident during the interview, admits that his time at children's homes made him "emotionally detached."

However, he thinks this may have helped him in the business world, comparing his own coolness to that of Bill Gates and British entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar.

Jackson said his time at the home was "neutral."

However, this description clearly hides real difficulties. He explained that he was kicked out of various schools before being left to spend his whole day with social workers at the children's home.

This was a problem for the staff at the home, because they were legally obliged to make sure that children between ages 3 and 9, like Jackson, were "doing something classed as education."

One day, aged 14, Jackson spotted an unopened ZX Spectrum computer lying in the corner.

Timidly, he asked if he could use it.

Staff at the home were pleased to let him do so: They were glad he was doing anything other than watching TV.

The teenager quickly became obsessed with the Spectrum, spending hours each day trawling through the manual that came with the computer, learning to code.

"The thing I loved about it was if the computer does something wrong, or not what you were expecting, there's a very simple reason for it: You programmed it wrong. It was your fault," Jackson explained.

"Whereas normally in my life, if someone had done something wrong or not what I expected, it could have been because they didn't get laid last night. It could have been because they shouldn't have been a social worker in the first place. It could have been because they think you're an arrogant little s--- that they don't like. It could be for a million different reasons that I couldn't decipher," he said.

A new study suggests that a stimulant drug used in the ADHD medication Adderall could be useful in helping to treat cocaine addiction.

This isn't the first time the drug, called dexamfetamine, has been studied as a potential component of addiction treatment.

The problem is most of these studies have been very small, as neuroscience journalist Maia Szalavitz reported for Time in 2008. Some of them found no effect.

Until now, that is.

Essentially, the drug would treat cocaine addicts with a chemically similar (albeit somewhat different) version of the very drug they're hooked on.

It might seem counterintuitive, but years of research suggest the method is one of the best options available for certain types of addiction, like heroin addiction. Methadone clinics operate on this principal. They offer people addicted to heroin and opioid painkillers a lab-made version of the drug in smaller, sustained doses. And so far, the treatment has been found to work better than any other heroin-addiction therapy.

That success has had scientists wondering for years: Would a similar approach work for other drugs like cocaine?

A new high-caliber study published Friday in the journal The Lancet has some promising results. The randomized, double-blind trial of 73 people found that, as compared with participants who were given a placebo, those who were given the stimulant drug dexamfetamine along with two lab-produced opioid medications used cocaine significantly less frequently over the course of the trial.

Like any treatment, though, this one comes with some potential downsides. Treating cocaine addicts with amphetamines is not the same as treating heroin addicts with methadone. For one thing, high doses of the main active ingredient in dexamfetamine (amphetamines) have been linked with serious health risks, from brain damage to heart attacks and strokes.

The reason this isn't a huge problem with methadone treatments for heroin and opioid-painkiller addiction, Szalavitz writes, is because people develop tolerance to opioid medications, blocking high doses of the drug from being lethal.

Some other limitations of the study include the fact that most of its participants were male and white, so the effect of the treatment on other groups could be different. Plus, all of the participants also tested positive for cocaine and heroin and had a history of addiction to both drugs. Many reported regularly using other drugs as well, including alcohol and/or marijuana.

Still, the results are promising.

"Our findings are an important contribution to the search for effective pharmacotherapies for cocaine dependence," the researchers write in their paper. "It is the first study that shows the benefits of a robust dose of sustained-release dexamfetamine as a valuable ... medication in the treatment of cocaine dependence."

Others agree that while the study has some weaknesses, it is hopeful, too.

"The more small groups of people that find something that works, the better off we'll be," Szalavitz told Business Insider in an email.

SEE ALSO: A new book will change everything you think you know about drugs, alcohol, and addiction

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Here at Business Insider, we love to learn more about the science behind everyday things.

That's why we asked Dan Souza, the executive editor of "Cook's Science" at America's Test Kitchen and one of the authors of "The Science of Good Cooking," for some science hacks he uses to take his cooking to the next level.

One of his favorites? Changing up the acidity of foods using baking soda.

A lot of the foods we eat every day have a pretty high acidity — citrus fruits, for example, are seriously acidic, as is vinegar. But there's not a whole lot you can do to make a food more basic or alkaline.

"Most things we deal with in the kitchen are pretty acidic, so it's easy to go that way, there's not a lot that takes it in the other direction," Souza said. That's why he turns to baking soda, which is very basic. (Its pH level is 9, while lemons have a pH level of 2.) "We actually use baking soda in some really unique ways, not just in cakes and cookies, but we apply it to meat when we're marinating as well."

When you apply baking soda to the meat, Souza said, it helps the meat brown better, a reaction you can see in your cakes and cookies too. "As things become more alkaline they brown better, so if the cake has baking soda in it, you'll see that it has better browning," he said.

And that's not the only thing that happens. Adding baking soda to your marinade also helps the meat hold water better. Souza pointed to a technique called "velveting" that's typically used in Chinese cooking before tossing the meat into a wok to be stir fried. Velveting often uses a combination of cornstarch and egg whites to raise the pH and tenderize the meat.

"We mimic that in the kitchen a lot," Souza said. "If we're doing a stir fry with beef, we'll toss it with baking soda and a little bit of water and let it sit for 15 minutes and then add the rest of the marinating ingredients and cook from there. We get really tender meats that's hard to overcook at that point."

SEE ALSO: A popular way to cook broccoli removes potentially cancer-fighting compounds from it — here's what you should do instead

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With all of the things going on in life, finding the time to plan a trip can be tough.

That's why Paul English, a co-founder of Kayak, recently launched Lola, an app with a messaging interface that connects users with a team of travel consultants who can take care of every step of the planning process. The app utilizes a combination of AI technology and an experienced staff to provide travelers with an alternative to many of the DIY travel websites out there today. 

I had the chance to test the app on a recent trip to Los Angeles. I had previously booked my flights and accommodations, so I used the app to get real-time airport information and activity suggestions. Here's how it went.

SEE ALSO: We tested out the app that allows you to make free international calls without an Internet connection

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The app is invitation-only and works on a first-come, first-serve basis. When you sign up, you'll most likely be put on a waitlist for a few weeks. The company is planning to offer memberships later in the year, but right now, users get a year for free when they sign up.

Next, you’ll be asked to note your travel preferences so that the team over at Lola can determine the options best suited to your needs. You'll be asked to select the type of hotel you prefer, from luxury hotels to family-friendly accommodations.

You can choose which amenities are most important to you at a hotel, from Wi-Fi and pool access to the restaurant selection. You'll also be asked to select your favorite hotels, with options that include various major hotel brands as well as Airbnb, independent hotels, and B&Bs.

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The weather is getting warmer, and the smell of people grilling is starting to fill the evening air.

And while that cooking method does produce a delicious, smoky flavor for the meat, it's also potentially increasing your risk of certain kinds of cancer.

On the heels of its April report with the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) that looked at factors that have a relationship to stomach cancer, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) has come out with guidelines about grilling. 

In that report, they found in particular that three factors were linked with a higher-than-average risk of developing stomach cancer: a high body fat percentage, a high alcohol intake, and a high intake of processed meats. That means that while the average risk for stomach cancer for most people remains fairly low, it may be somewhat higher in people who can check off all of these factors. 

And while the evidence is still limited, some research suggests that grilled or barbecued meats may be especially unhealthy. One reason?

Cooking meat at high temperatures, which is what you do when you grill something, can lead to the formation of substances called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute, these substances may be carcinogenic; severalstudies have documented this link. 

"Smoking or charring meat also contributes to the formation of PAHs," AICR's head of nutrition Alice Bender said in a release.

That's not to say though that you have to ditch grilling entirely, just that there are some steps you can take to avoid having your meat on high temperatures for such a long time.

Instead, the AICR suggests:

1. Marinading your meat, which has been linked to less HCA formation during the cooking process.
2. Pre-cooking in the oven or stovetop first before exposing it to flames of the grill.
3. Going lean to avoid charring and flare-ups that occur as the fire burns up fat.
4. Mixing in veggies with smaller cuts of meat for a shorter cooking time.
5. Sticking to grilling fruits and vegetables (those don't produce HCAs). 

RELATED: Yes, bacon has been linked to cancer AGAIN — here's how bad processed meats actually are for you

NEXT: 3 behaviors are linked to your risk of developing the 5th most common type of cancer

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