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    Dele Alli of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring their second goal with Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur at St. James Park on August 11, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.

    • The Dele Alli challenge is infuriating people all over the UK.
    • It looks so simple, but is agonisingly difficult to get your head around.
    • Scroll down to see the author break down how it's done.


    In the UK, the "In My Feelings" challenge is already dead and buried.

    Instead, everyone is trying to replicate the soccer celebration of Tottenham Hotspur's mercurial midfielder Dele Alli.

    Like most viral challenges, Alli's celebration looks simple at first glance — like an upside down "OK" gesture — but it's infuriatingly difficult to master.

    👁

    A post shared by Dele (@dele) on Aug 11, 2018 at 12:51pm PDT on

    Over the last few days, celebrities and the general public alike have tried with varying levels of success to recreate the celebration.

    The #DeleChallenge has even made it across the pond to the US:

    Some people have even speculated that you need to be double-jointed to master the post — but that's not the case.

    If you're still struggling to get your fingers in the right place, scroll down to see the author show you how it's done...

    SEE ALSO: Dele Alli rapped about being overpaid as he landed a private jet in LA for an 8-day party

    Start off with a regular "OK" gesture...



    ... Then, push your thumb upwards so that your thumb and your index finger are now above your third, fourth and fifth finger...



    ... Now, flip your hand, rotating about 180 degrees towards you.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus scores the opening goal during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Juventus and Juventus U19 on August 12, 2018 in Villar Perosa, Italy.

    Earlier this year, financial services firm Deloitte released its annual Football Money League, charting the massive revenues of Europe's biggest football clubs.

    As the wallets of the continent's biggest teams continue to grow, so too do their online presences.

    Social media has become a crucial part of the way the largest clubs connect with their fans around the world, with some even hosting foreign language Twitter accounts.

    Social media is also increasingly driving revenue for clubs as brands target players with large followings for sponsorships.

    There is still some disparity, though, between the clubs with the most money and the clubs with the most fans (on social media, anyway).

    Scroll down to see who are the most popular teams from Deloitte's rich list, ranked in ascending order of combined followers on Facebook, Instagram and their biggest Twitter page — rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.

    SEE ALSO: The 20 richest football clubs in the world

    20. Schalke 04 — 4.1 million followers

    Followers (millions):

    Facebook: 2.9

    Instagram: 0.5

    Twitter: 0.7

    The "04" stands for when the Club was founded… in 1904. With that much history, you can bet the team has built up a huge fanbase, and much of that has migrated online.

    Though the club is one of Germany's wealthiest and most stable, its place in the Money League is under threat because of its absence from UEFA competitions this season.



    19. West Ham United — 4.3 million followers

    Followers (millions):

    Facebook: 2.3

    Instagram: 0.6

    Twitter: 1.4

    A surprisingly low Facebook following puts East London's West Ham near the bottom of the list.

    Their most-followed player is the Mexican forward Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, who has 5.2 million followers on Instagram.



    18. Southampton FC — 4.5 million followers

    Followers (millions):

    Facebook: 3.1

    Instagram: 0.3

    Twitter: 1

    This is Southampton's first ever appearance in the Money League and it is largely because of broadcasting revenue, which accounts for £143 million of the club's total revenue.

    The club signed Danny Ings during the transfer window who has almost 700,000 followers on Instagram.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    lord of the rings

    Over the past decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has built an expansive set of films while raising the critical and commercial expectations for ongoing movie series.

    But extensive film franchises have been around for awhile, and several older series, like the film adaptations from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, have received more positive critical acclaim on average than Marvel's. And some are only getting better as time goes on, like "Mission: Impossible," which reached its critical zenith with "Fallout."

    Stretching from the first James Bond film, 1962's "Dr. No;" to the latest MCU and "Star Wars" entries; this list we compiled from Metacritic data ranks prominent film franchises by their average critical reception (derived from the critical scores for each movie in a franchise).

    Note: Metacritic only included franchises that had more than four films with scores on its site, and it excluded horror films and animated series.

    Here are the 27 greatest movie franchises of all time, according to critics:

    SEE ALSO: The 100 best science fiction movies of all time, according to critics

    27. "Die Hard" — 58.4%

    "Die Hard" (1988) — 70%
    "Die Hard 2: Die Harder" (1990) — 67%
    "Die Hard: With a Vengeance" (1995) — 58%
    "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007)  — 69%
    "A Good Day to Die Hard" (2013) — 28%



    26. "Alien" — 59.5%

    "Alien" (1979) — 83%
    "Aliens" (1986) — 84%
    "Alien 3" (1992) — 59%
    "Alien Resurrection" (1997) — 63%
    "Alien vs. Predator" (2004) — 29%
    "Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem" (2007) — 29%
    "Prometheus" (2012) — 64%
    "Alien: Covenant" (2017) — 65%



    25. "Jack Ryan" — 59.6%

    "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) — 58%
    "Patriot Games" (1992) — 64%
    "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) — 74%
    "The Sum of All Fears" (2002) — 45%
    "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014) — 57%



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    Melbourne 01

    • The Economist Intelligence Unit released its annual Global Livability Index, measuring the most livable cities in the world.
    • For the first time in eight years, Melbourne, Australia, did not finish in the No. 1 spot.
    • The cities were judged by metrics like crime rates, healthcare quality, infrastructure, and levels of corruption. 
    • The US had several cities on the list, but none in the top 20.


    When it comes to choosing a place to live, there are several factors to consider — climate, transportation options, and crime rates, to name a few.

    Although it's hard to find a perfect match, a few select cities have the perfect combination of factors that make them the most livable in the world. 

    The Economist Intelligence Unit released its annual Global Livability Index, and for the first time in eight years, Melbourne, Australia, did not take the top spot on the list.

    The Economist ranked 140 major cities by averaging the results of five metrics:

    • Stability, including the prevalence of petty and violent crime, the threat of terror, and the threat of military conflict
    • Healthcare, including the availability and quality of healthcare, both public and private
    • Culture and environment, including climate, level of corruption, level of censorship, and sporting availability
    • Education, including the availability and quality of private education
    • Infrastructure, including the quality of road networks and public transport, the availability of good quality housing, the quality of telecommunications, and the quality of water and energy provisions

    If you're looking for an American city, you won't find one near the top — Honolulu was the highest American city on the list at 23, and the next one on the list was Pittsburgh at 32.

    Read on to see the 50 most livable cities in the world for 2018.

    SEE ALSO: The 50 best places to live in America for 2018

    DON'T MISS: The most surprising things about America, according to a Silicon Valley engineer who moved from India 7 years ago

    T-50. Los Angeles, USA

    Overall rating (out of 100): 88.6

    Stability: 75.0

    Healthcare: 91.7

    Culture and environment: 94.4

    Education: 100.0

    Infrastructure: 89.3



    T-50. Atlanta, USA

    Overall rating (out of 100): 88.6

    Stability: 75.0

    Healthcare: 91.7

    Culture and environment: 91.7

    Education: 100.0

    Infrastructure: 92.9



    49. San Francisco, USA

    Overall rating (out of 100): 88.7

    Stability: 85.0

    Healthcare: 91.7

    Culture and environment: 94.4

    Education: 83.3

    Infrastructure: 85.7



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    supreme 9830

    • Teens are obsessed with Supreme, a skater brand that has seen mainstream success in recent years.
    • Supreme has garnered a lot of attention in the past week after copies of the New York Post with Supreme ads on the cover flew off the shelves. Almost all Supreme products sell out instantly.
    • Because of how quickly new products sell out, product launches, which fans call "drops," have become heavily hyped-up events.
    • We went to the first big drop of the Fall/Winter 2018 season to see what it was like. 

    Supreme, once a niche skater brand, has become Gen Z's latest obsession. 

    Supreme was founded in 1994 by James Jebbia and has since grown from a skater-centric brand to a mainstream apparel brand with its own cult following. The brand ranked seventh among upper-income teens' favorite brands in a spring 2018 survey by Piper Jaffray, and in 2017, Supreme received a roughly $500 million cash infusion from The Carlyle Group, which valued the brand at $1 billion.

    Earlier this week, loyal fans snatched up copies of the New York Post that featured a wraparound Supreme ad on the cover. The papers flew off the shelves, with copies of it now listed on eBay for many times its normal listing price. The paper typically costs $1.50.

    It isn't just the branded newspaper that fans are willing to pay for — most Supreme products sell out almost instantly, oftentimes ending up on eBay for as much as eight times the retail price. 

    Because of how quickly Supreme products sell out, the launches, known as "drops," have become some of the most anticipated events of the year for its followers. Supreme drops happen each Thursday throughout the Fall/Winter season and Spring/Summer season, both online and in stores. And if you're lucky, you'll be able to buy a product or two before the website crashes and everything sells out.  

    We went to the highly anticipated first drop of the Fall/Winter 2018 season at the Supreme store on Lafayette Street in New York City. Here's what it was like:

    SEE ALSO: These are the 20 biggest retailers in America

    If you want to get into Supreme the day of a drop, which is every Thursday of the season, you have to register online for a spot in line in advance. The registration times are typically leaked by Supreme fan accounts like Twitter user @DropsByJay, who has over 115,000 followers.

     



    Registration opens promptly at 11 a.m. I tried to register to get into this week's drop, but the registration portal was already closed by 11:01 a.m. because all of the spots were taken. I couldn't believe how fast registration had closed, especially because in order to register, you have to type in your name, email, phone, address, and credit-card number.



    I went to the drop anyway to see what it would be like. Supreme has two stores in New York City: one in Brooklyn, and one in SoHo. I went to the location on Lafayette Street in SoHo.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    Singapore SuperTrees GardensByTheBay (25 of 25)

    • Summer blockbuster "Crazy Rich Asians" is set in Singapore, which is known worldwide for its extravagance and wealth.
    • The Gardens By The Bay, featured in "Crazy Rich Asians," is a major landmark in Singapore, featuring more than a million plants, the world's largest glass greenhouse, and a grove of 160-foot tall 'supertrees.'
    • I recently visited the Gardens By The Bay to see what it was like and found myself marveling at the beautiful park.

    Singapore is known worldwide for its extravagance and wealth, and it's the setting of "Crazy Rich Asians," the summer blockbuster everyone's talking about based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan.

    The wedding at the heart of "Crazy Rich Asians" takes place at one of Singapore's most iconic sites: the $700 million futuristic botanic garden known as The Gardens By The Bay.

    Built in 2012 on 250 acres of reclaimed land, Gardens By The Bay is a nature park built as part of the government's initiative to turn Singapore, long known as “the garden city,” into a “city in a garden.”

    But to call Gardens By The Bay simply a park or a garden is a massive understatement. The site is an architectural, technological, and natural marvel, consisting of 1.5 million plants of over 5,000 species, the world's largest glass greenhouse, and a grove of 160-foot tall 'supertrees' that look like they popped out of a science-fiction movie.

    I got a chance to visit the Gardens By The Bay this spring. Here's what it was like:

    SEE ALSO: I stayed in the $6.6 billion mega-hotel in the heart of Singapore, and it wasn't anything like 'Crazy Rich Asians'

    The idea for the Gardens By The Bay was conceived by Dr. Kiat W. Tan, a botanist and now CEO of the park. He wanted to turn reclaimed land on Singapore's Marina Bay into one of the world's best gardens. You can get a good view of the Gardens' two seashell-shaped biodomes from the Marina Bay Sands, the landmark hotel that overlooks the park.

    Source: BBC

    I also visited the Marina Bay Sands »



    But most people know about the Gardens By The Bay because of the Supertree Grove, 12 tree-like structures that act as vertical gardens and range from 82 feet tall to 160 feet tall.



    When you enter the Gardens By The Bay, you can see some of the smaller Supertrees at the entrance, as well as the biodomes. There are six scattered outside of the main grove.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    Sleep

    • I've been an avid user of Airbnb, the popular home-rental service, for nearly a decade, using the platform to visit 30+ countries.
    • In recent years, I've noticed a shift on the platform from regular people renting out their own apartments and spare bedrooms to a more professionalized service with hosts who operate multiple locations.
    • From my perspective, the shift has meant that apartment listings are equipped in a more basic and economical manner.
    • My chief complaint is that many professional hosts dress beds with cheap, low-quality pillows, leaving me with a poor night's sleep.
    • If Airbnb or hosts don't acknowledge and work toward fixing the issue, I'll be using Airbnb less and less in the future.

    Since I started traveling in my early 20s, I've visited 30+ countries. While traveling that much might have been prohibitively expensive in decades past, Airbnb, the popular home-rental service, has made traveling affordable.

    Listings on the platform are generally a fraction of the cost of hotels, while providing a lot more space and something like a local's perspective.

    For a long time, it's been a great deal. But over the last couple of years, I've noticed a change that may turn me off the platform forever. It all comes down to pillows.

    I know what you may be thinking: pillows? He's complaining about pillows? Let me explain.

    When I first began using Airbnb in 2011 — about three years after the company launched — most of the listings on the site were someone's actual apartment. Either you were renting the spare bedroom in the apartment or your host was staying somewhere else for the days you were there.

    It was a communal vibe where you felt like a real exchange was taking place: You were helping them offset their rent, and they told you their favorite restaurants and bars in the neighborhood.

    But somewhere over the last few years, the dynamic shifted. Now, in my experience, you are almost always renting from a host who manages Airbnb listings for a living or for a lucrative side-hustle.

    Usually, they own — or rent, depending on how strict a city's laws are — multiple properties and use all of them for Airbnb. In effect, they are operating a makeshift inn spread out across the city.

    While Airbnb hasn't released official statistics, a 2017 report from CBRE Hotels' Americas Research found that the company's growth in the US is being driven by hosts renting out multiple units or entire homes. The report found that revenue from hosts with multiple listings was the fastest growing on the platform, and 64% of hosts in the US were renting out an entire home.

    As the report was issued for the American Hotel & Lodging Association, take it with a grain of salt, but I've also seen the shift toward professional hosts in my personal experience.

    Just in the last 6 months, I've stayed at 14 Airbnbs, from Athens to Seoul. And what I've seen doesn't bode well.

    Airbnbs are losing their charm

    Last year, Airbnb began "nudging," in the words of one host, its hosts to standardize the Airbnb experience.

    Now the company is encouraging use of its "Instant Book" feature, establishing standards of cleanliness, and recommending that hosts carry "essential amenities" like toilet paper, towels, soap, clean linens, and at least one pillow per guest.

    And, earlier this year, the company even announced that it was adding hotels to the platform.

    classical apartment airbnb

    Those two shifts — Airbnb pushing standardization and hosts becoming more professional — has changed Airbnb from its idealistic home-sharing roots to a booking site for cheaper, ad-hoc hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts.

    That change is necessary in a lot of ways. People are using Airbnb for work travel now, myself included, and more casual users expect a level of standardization.

    My issue with the professionalization of Airbnb is from a user's perspective. As more and more of the properties listed on Airbnb come from professional hosts (people operating the property solely as an Airbnb location or operating multiple locations at once), the properties begin to resemble each other.

    It is a business after all.

    You can see the hallmarks of such properties: cheap furniture, spartan decorations, a few wall prints, a kitchen with the barebones necessities. Of course, the professional, light-filled photos on the listing always make the apartment look dreamy.

    But in the process, you lose much of Airbnb's charm — from staying in a local's home, getting to browse their bookshelves — and its function — like access to a kitchen stocked with spices or getting to use their fancy Argan Oil shampoo.

    About those pillows

    And the truth is, for me, all of that would be fine … if wasn't for the pillows.

    Let me put it to you this way: Most people don't buy crappy pillows for themselves. They're critical to a decent night of sleep. So if you stay in an Airbnb that is someone's actual home, you can be pretty sure you'll have decent pillows to sleep on.

    Not the case with the professional Airbnb properties.

    33China HuashanMountain MostDangerousHike

    The property being the professional Airbnb hosts' primary business, they try to outfit the property as cheaply and efficiently as possible. That generally means you are getting cheap bedding and cheap pillows, some that might be better described as a few pieces of stuffing shoved into a cloth. It doesn't make for a good night of sleep.

    While traveling for Business Insider over the last six months, I used Airbnb a lot in the beginning. In many ways, it's my ideal way to travel.

    But as Airbnb property after Airbnb property that I rented had crappy pillows, I was increasingly turned off. Waking up night after night exhausted from a bad night of sleep is no fun.

    Recently, I began booking boutique hotels or bed and breakfasts, many of which are around the same price-point as Airbnb nowadays because they know they have to compete.

    And at least with a hotel or bed and breakfast, I can be pretty sure they will have good pillows.

    In some ways, the pillows are a metaphor for where Airbnb is at right now as a platform: stuck between the professionalization and standardization it needs to grow, while trying to hold onto the home-sharing ideal that made it what it is.

    Pushing the platform one way or the other will likely solve the issue. But until they do, I'll be using it less and less.

    SEE ALSO: We tried the 'Airbnb for cars,' and it could upend the car-rental industry

    DON'T MISS: I stayed at Hong Kong’s first 'capsule hotel' to see what it's like to live in micro — and the experience was a nightmare

    Join the conversation about this story »

    NOW WATCH: Is marrying your cousin actually dangerous?


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    Disneyland employee day in the life

    • Disney California Adventure Park West general manager Gary Maggetti has worked at the Disneyland Resort full-time for 23 years.
    • Before he landed a full-time role, he did a stint as a Jungle Cruise skipper in college.
    • Maggetti shared his typical daily routine — which features a morning pick-me-up of green tea and lots of walking — with Business Insider.


    Gary Maggetti's Disneyland journey began long before he landed his first full-time role there in 1995.

    Before the iconic resort became his workplace, he was just another kid at the park, swinging by all the best attractions with his twin brother Chris. Their family visited Disneyland every two years, starting when they were four.

    Then, Maggetti was a Northern Arizona University hotel and restaurant administration major applying for the Disney College Program. He landed a summer gig as a skipper on the Jungle Cruise, one of his favorite rides.

    Finally, in 1995, he landed his first full-time role at the park. By that point, Maggetti knew that Disneyland was where he wanted to stay.

    In the 23 years since, Maggetti has held 13 different roles at the Walt Disney Company, including one that took him all the way to Japan. Today, he's a general manager representing the western part of Disney California Adventure Park. Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Park are the two theme parks that make up the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.

    Maggetti said his story isn't "unique" at Disneyland.

    "You go to a meeting and you look around the room and it's like: 'Oh my goodness, you were in my management training class in 1996,'" he told Business Insider. "This is not an unusual story because there are so many opportunities with Disney to have different experiences."

    Maggetti recently shared his daily schedule with Business Insider. His routine sheds light on both the culture at Disneyland, and the behind-the-scenes inner-workings of the park.

    Here's what a typical day at Disneyland looks like for Maggetti:

    SEE ALSO: Many Disney employees say they bring their own lunch to work — but there are 7 park treats they just can't resist

    DON'T MISS: Disney cast members share their 11 favorite things to do in the park

    SEE ALSO: Disneyland is home to a squad of feral cats who have free rein in the park — and you can adopt one if you work there

    Maggetti wakes up early and typically passes on coffee

    Maggetti kicks off his day at 6 a.m. He's not big on breakfast, but he said that he'll sometimes eat a morning meal with his two teenage sons.

    According to Maggetti, the boys take after his twin brother Chris — an executive chef at Disneyland.

    "They're actually pretty good cooks, so sometimes they'll make me breakfast in the morning," he told Business Insider.

    But two figures are typically absent from the breakfast table: Maggetti said he has a "long distance marriage" with his wife, who lives and works in Northern California with his stepson. The family reunites on the weekends, though.

    After breakfast, Maggetti drives his sons to school and then embarks on the 35-minute commute to Disneyland. He usually arrives at work around 8 a.m.

    To prepare for the workday, Maggetti skips coffee and instead opts for decaf green tea. He said he prefers the "calming effect" of the beverage.



    He meets up with his team mates and enjoys watching the park open

    First up, Maggetti heads to his team's morning huddle. Patrick Finnegan, the vice president of Disney California Adventure Park and the Downtown Disney District, leads the daily meeting. Everyone discusses the previous day and establishes a "game plan" for the coming day.

    Maggetti said the team often makes a point of huddling out in the park, where they can watch early-bird guests trickle in around 9 a.m.

    "It's incredibly enjoyable to be there when the first guests go through the turnstiles," Maggetti said. "There's this sense of adventure and hope and excitement. You can kind of see the guests making decisions early in the day. Like, 'Am I going to the new Incredicoaster?' or 'Am I going to head over to Radiator Springs Racer?' It's great to be a part of that."



    Up next, Maggetti learns about any cool opportunities for his cast members

    Once the park is opened, all of the general managers will connect with one of the resort's duty managers for a daily "roll call."

    Maggetti said this is his chance to learn about cool opportunities for Disney California Adventure Park cast members, such as trying out new attractions before they open to guests.

    "They'll let the leaders know, 'Hey make sure your cast members know we have this great experience before the guests arrive,'" Maggetti said. 



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    psl

    • Pumpkin Spice Latte lovers and haters are freaking out about Starbucks' August 28 launch date. 
    • Some people apparently feel that a late August debut is too early for fall drinks and a sure sign of PSL creep. 
    • This will be the first year that Starbucks has launched the Pumpkin Spice Latte in August since 2014, when the drink debuted on August 26. 

     

    Starbucks' decision to bring back the Pumpkin Spice Latte in late August — as seen in internal documents obtained by Business Insider— is sparking outrage online. 

    Many are saying that August 28 is much too soon to consider fall drinks. 

    Others were more open to welcoming autumn as soon as possible. 

    Each year, many people become convinced that Pumpkin Spice Latte season is starting earlier than ever before. Last year, even the New York Times jumped on the bandwagon with an article headlined "Pumpkin Spice Glut Arrives Earlier Than Ever." 

    However, the truth is more nuanced. 

    Starbucks typically launches the PSL around the first week of September. In recent years, the chain has offered an early launch that often kicks off in late August for in-the-know customers. 

    pumpkin spice latte launch date chart

    An August 28 launch date would certainly be on the early side for Starbucks. The last time the chain debuted the Pumpkin Spice Latte in August was in 2014, when customers who participated in an online scavenger hunt could order the drink on August 26, prior to the September 2 launch date.

    So, if you're freaking out about the PSL arriving too early this year, your concerns aren't baseless — even if the difference is just a matter of a few short days. 

    SEE ALSO: Internal Starbucks documents reveal the drop date for the Pumpkin Spice Latte, and it's the earliest date in years

    Join the conversation about this story »

    NOW WATCH: How Columbia House sold 12 CDS for $1


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    Aretha Quote 2x1

    Aretha Franklin died at her home in Detroit on Thursday at the age of 76, her publicist told the Associated Press.

    The "Queen of Soul" was one of the best-selling female artists in history with 75 million records sold worldwide in her career.

    These are 13 of her most inspirational quotes throughout her expansive career and life.

    SEE ALSO: Soul music legend Aretha Franklin has died at age 76

    On love:



    On respect:



    On songwriting:



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    betty draper grocery store

    • It may be harder than ever to maintain a healthy weight, according to a top Harvard researcher who's studied people's diets for decades.
    • The best way to avoid gaining weight in the long run may be to pick a healthy diet you can stick to and eat a little less.
    • You may need to re-think your relationship with fat and ramp up intake of plant-based foods like vegetables, nuts, and seeds, while consuming less meat and sugar.

    Nutritionists agree that it is getting harder and harder for people to maintain a healthy weight — and that's not all your fault. 

    "There is so much great-tasting food, and it's abundant and in your face all the time," Dr. Meir Stampfer, an epidemiologist and nutrition expert at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, wrote in a recent blog post. "To me it's kind of a miracle that people aren't even heavier than they are."

    Stampfer, who has pioneered many long-term top-notch health studies, said the easiest way to get people to lose weight is to simply limit how much they eat every day. 

    "But for free-living people that's really hard," he said.

    Average portions in the US have ballooned as much as 138% over the past five decades, and sugar is hiding in everything we eat, from salads to plain bagels and almost every low-fat product out there.

    Sara Seidelmann, a cardiologist and nutrition researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, sees the issue in a similar way.

    "There's absolutely nothing more important for our health than what we eat each and every day," she recently told Business Insider.

    Here are some of the best tips for how to slim down for the long term, from Stampfer and Seidelmann:

    beans salad plant-based diet healthy food

    Healthy eating isn't necessarily low-carb

    Seidelmann recently published a study involving more than 447,000 people around the world. The results revealed that people who eat too many or too few carbs don't live as long as those in the middle who eat a moderate amount.

    Her team's data suggests people should focus on putting whole, healthful foods on their plate, like vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans.

    Even though some veggies and beans might be considered "high-carb," eating them is associated with a longer life than low-carb diets that push people to eat large quantities of meat and animal products.

    Focus on choosing healthy fats

    "Eating fat doesn't make you fat," Stampfer said. That sound advice has been backed up by study after study after study. 

    "Eating healthy fats helps people control their weight better than diets than exclude them," he added.

    Fatty foods have more energy gram per gram than carbs or proteins, and they can also help keep you full and satisfied until your next meal.

    Some of the best plant-based sources of healthy fats include olive oil, avocados, walnuts, and chia seeds. Even oatmeal has a potent dose of fat, making it a great way to fuel up in the morning.

    Eat 'just a little bit' less

    Although incorporating movement into your day can yield immense benefits for your brain and body, nutritionists agree that the most surefire way to control your weight is to properly gauge (and perhaps reduce) how much food you're putting in your mouth.

    Eating less and forgoing food for an occasional fast may even help you live longer, studies suggest. Some Silicon Valley biohackers have even decided to skip one meal a day, a version of the "intermittent fasting" craze that eliminates about a third of a day's calories.

    But we're not suggesting anyone has to starve themselves. Just remember that a standard serving of whole-grain bread is one slice, a slice of meat should fit in an imaginary checkbook, and your cut of cheese should be about the size of four dice. 

    As Stampfer put it, "adopt a healthy diet, and eat just a little bit less."

    Don't discount strength training

    Your brain and your heart are some of the biggest calorie-burning machines in your resting body. But muscles can help keep your metabolism going all day, which means that incorporating some strength training into your routine can be a great way to maintain a healthy weight. But the benefits don't end there.

    "Muscle building can not only bring up your body's metabolic rate, but also brings its own distinct health benefits that are often not as well appreciated as those associated with aerobic activity," Stampfer said.

    Those benefits include improving mental health, fighting off depression, and even reversing some of the physical effects of aging. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests regular strength training two or three times per week.

    You don't need a wide or colorful variety of foods — just find the healthy ones you like

    Many principles of healthy eating that you might have learned as a kid are being debunked.

    One such idea is that everyone should try to eat a varied, colorful "pyramid" of foods. Instead, the American Heart Association now suggests focusing on getting enough plants, protein, and healthy fats like nuts into your diet and not worrying as much about a diverse diet. 

    Recent studies suggest that people with the most varied, colorful diets also tend to eat more food of all kinds, including processed foods. That can wind up meaning they have less healthy, whole foods on their plates and bigger waistlines as a result.

    "It’s O.K. if your diet is not very diverse if you’re focusing on healthy foods and trying to minimize consumption of unhealthy foods," University of Texas epidemiologist Marcia Otto recently told the New York Times.

    SEE ALSO: Scientists who studied the diets of more than 447,000 people around the world are zeroing in on the ideal dose of carbs for a long life

    Join the conversation about this story »

    NOW WATCH: The time of day you eat is just as important as what you eat — a nutritionist explains


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    crazy rich asians

    • "Crazy Rich Asians" won the weekend box office with an estimated $25.2 million, and has taken in $34 million since it opened on Wednesday.
    • It's the latest movie this year to prove that if Hollywood offers movies with authentically diverse voices, audiences will come.

    For the second-straight weekend, a Warner Bros. movie is atop the domestic box office mountain.

    "Crazy Rich Asians" won the weekend box office with an estimated $25.2 million, and has earned $34 million since it opened on Wednesday.

    The studio can point to two very different titles for its late summer surge. This weekend, "Rich Asians" proved there's a market for a movie with an all-Asian cast (and a romantic comedy), while last weekend's "The Meg" showed audiences will go see a giant shark chase Jason Statham.

    Though the performance by "The Meg" was a surprise by most in the industry, that's not the case with "Crazy Rich Asians."

    Based on the popular book series by author Kevin Kwan and starring some of the most popular Asians actors working today (Constance Wu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Michelle Yeoh), along with an unknown on his way to stardom (Henry Golding), the movie was headed for some major coin.

    And the movie earning a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score (a career best for its director Jon M. Chu) leading up to its opening all but confirmed it.

    Like "Black Panther" earlier this year — which proved the hunger to see a superhero movie that showcased an authentic diverse voice was overwhelming (even though Disney opened the movie in the traditionally dead movie season of February) as it went on to break box office records and earn over $1.3 billion worldwide — "Crazy Rich Asians" continued that trend.

    Marking the first time a major studio has released a movie with an all-Asian cast in 25 years, Chu's movie was the perfect release in a time when inclusion in Hollywood is a cry that's never been louder. And the fact that it was in the structure of a romantic comedy, a genre that studios have ran from for a decade, makes it even sweeter.

    With the summer movie season wrapping up, "Crazy Rich Asians" is a strong end note. And with the season box office up over 11% from last year's historically awful summer offering, this year proves that the summer movie season is still a cash cow — if the movies are worth seeing for all audiences.

    SEE ALSO: Bitter enemies MoviePass and AMC once worked together — here's a look inside their relationship's epic collapse

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    NOW WATCH: How a black cop infiltrated the KKK — the true story behind Spike Lee's 'BlacKkKlansman'


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    mount huashan

    • The Plank Walk on China's Mount Hua is considered by many to be one of the most dangerous hikes in the world.
    • Hikers walk across a few planks of wood bolted into the side of a 7,000-foot peak to reach a small shrine. While hikers are harnessed, it is a terrifying adventure.
    • I recently tried to do the Plank Walk on a visit to Mount Hua, but encountered obstacle after obstacle that prevented me from completing it. While hiking Mount Hua was an incredible adventure, I was never able to make to the Plank Walk due to massive crowds and bad timing.

    You've probably seen the photos of tourists hanging off the side of a stunning mountain. Or else, walking across a few thin planks bolted into a mountainside, their faces buzzing with adrenaline.

    When I found out that the site of those photos is in China, I decided that I had to visit on an upcoming trip to the country.

    Located about an hour from Xi'an, one of China's most popular cities for tourists, Mount Hua or Huashan (shan means mountain in Mandarin) is considered to be one of the world's most dangerous places to hike.

    The mountain is considered to be one of China's five sacred mountains and is one of the most popular tourist attractions and pilgrimage sites for Chinese people.

    The mountain actually has five main peaks — a North, South, East, West, and Center. The infamous plank walk is located on the mountain's highest peak, South, which has a height of 7,070 feet. 

    But nothing went quite as planned on my trip.

    Here's what happened:

    SEE ALSO: I visited the viral, 1,400-foot glass bridge in China — and it was a traveler's worst nightmare

    To get to Mount Hua from Xi'an, you have to take a 40-minute bullet train to a 30-minute minibus that takes you to the base of the mountain. But due to a quirk in China's train ticketing (they stop selling 30 minutes before the train departs), I couldn't get on the 8:30 a.m. train.



    While a train runs every 30 minutes for most of the day, for some reason, there were no trains until 10 a.m after the 8:30 a.m. That meant that I didn't even get to the base of the mountain until a bit after 11 a.m. Some people start hiking the mountain before sunrise to see everything.



    The view from the bottom of Mount Hua is lush. It looks less like a single mountain than a series of granite peaks cut into a valley laden with greenery. Knowing that hiking Mount Hua's five peaks can take between 5-7 hours depending on your fitness level, our only chance to make it to the "plank walk" was to take the cable car.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    places to travel september

    •  To find the best places to visit in September 2018, Business Insider looked at climate data, cultural calendars, and peak travel times.
    • September is shoulder season for many top tourism destinations, and savvy travelers are already planning their trips.
    • The best places to visit in September include American natural wonders like the Grand Canyon and New Hampshire's White Mountains, as well as the romantic Indian city of Udaipur and metropolises like London and Melbourne.


    The summer is nearly over, but that doesn't mean you have to put your travel dreams on hold.

    September is shoulder season in much of the world, and savvy travelers know that's often the best time to visit must-see locations.

    We looked at airfare trends, climate data, and cultural calendars to select 13 vacation spots that are some of the best places to visit in September. They range from American natural wonders to a romantic Indian getaway to bustling metropolises waiting to be explored.

    Whether you're an adventure-seeker, a beach-lover, or a nature buff, there's something in these destinations for everyone. Take a look at the best places to visit for a September trip, and plan away.

    SEE ALSO: 13 places to visit in August for every type of traveler

    Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

    September is the perfect month to visit the Grand Canyon, one of the America's most famous natural wonders. With summer vacationers and road-trippers out of the picture, you'll be competing with far fewer people for the best vantage points.

    On top of that, temperatures are much more comfortable this time of year. While summer temperatures at the bottom of the Grand Canyon often reach triple digits, in September they fall to the 80s and 90s, and even as cool as the high-60s at the top of the canyon. Meanwhile, if you visit the national park after autumn, many areas will be shut down until the weather heats up again.



    Las Vegas, Nevada

    Las Vegas is always busy, but the end of summer does see a slight reduction in tourist traffic. The big draw for Vegas in September is the temperature, which drops to around 70 degrees at night. Wait one more month, and you'll need a warm jacket. Wait one more, and you start to compete with holiday visitors.



    Outer Banks, North Carolina

    North Carolina's famed Outer Banks have a more laid-back and local feel once the annual wave of summer tourists starts to dissipate.

    The 200-mile stretch of islands entices visitors from all over with its vast beachfronts, historic lighthouses, and wild horses that roam the landscape. History buffs will also appreciate the Wright Brothers National Memorial near Kitty Hawk and various dedications to Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the modern-day United States.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    elon musk grimes met gala 2018

    • Tesla CEO Elon Musk and indie pop star Grimes no longer follow each other on Instagram.
    • Musk unfollowed Grimes on Twitter early Sunday.
    • It's unclear whether the pair remains a couple.
    • The unfollowing comes after a difficult week in the spotlight for Musk, which sent Telsa stock down nearly 20% in 10 days.

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk and indie musician Grimes appear to have stopped following each other on social media after a difficult week in the spotlight that sent Telsa stock tumbling down nearly 20%.

    Neither follows the other on Instagram despite publicly interacting on the social media site in June, and Musk unfollowed Grimes on Twitter early Sunday. As of Sunday afternoon, Grimes still follows Musk on Twitter.

    It's unclear whether the pair remains a couple. A spokesman for Musk declined to comment, and a representative for Grimes did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The couple, who reportedly met on Twitter, flirted on the platform, and first made their relationship public at the Met Gala in May, have been a central figure of tech gossip in recent weeks as Musk's increasingly erratic behavior has caused confusion to Tesla investors and board members alike.

    Musk tweeted on August 7 that he secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 a share, a move that sent Tesla stock skyrocketing. But he later suggested that funding for such a takeover was not officially secured.

    Grimes, who has publicly defended certain Tesla business practices to her fanbase, was brought deeper into the company takeover story on August 13, after rapper Azealia Banks claimed she spent the weekend at Musk's house, and watched him "scrounging for investors."

    Banks said she was at Musk's house in Los Angeles to collaborate on music with Grimes but "waited around all weekend while Grimes coddled her boyfriend," according to a post on Instagram.

    SEE ALSO: Every bizarre thing that has happened since Elon Musk sent his 'funding secured' tweet about taking Tesla private

    DON'T MISS: Meet Grimes, the Canadian pop star who streams video games and is dating Elon Musk

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    Blake Farenthold

    • Court documents show former Rep. Blake Farenthold's derogatory nickname for the media, which he partly blames for his downfall after a sexual harassment scandal.
    • In text messages and emails that are filed as evidence for a lawsuit over his new job, Farenthold refers to the media as "f tards."
    • He also places blame on the "deep state," the House Ethics Committee, and the #MeToo Movement for forcing his resignation from Congress after it was revealed he used $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment complaint against him.

    The day disgraced Rep. Blake Farenthold stepped down from Congress, court records show, he texted a friend: "The f tards won."

    HuffPost reporter Jennifer Bendery obtained 79 pages of court documents that show Farenthold explaining in a deposition he was using "f-tards" as a derogatory nickname for the media, which he partly blames for his downfall after a sexual harassment scandal.

    When asked for a synonym "in case the judge or the ladies and gentlemen of the jury have never heard this term before," Farenthold responded "Ass," then amended his answer: "I guess it would be plural, A-S-S-E-S."

    In emails and texts he had submitted as part of the case, Farenthold repeatedly used the word "f-tard," the same term a former aide told CNN in 2017 the congressman would regularly use to degrade his staff.

    His former spokeswoman accused him of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and a hostile work environment. Farenthold used $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle the claim in 2014.

    Aside from the media, the documents show Farenthold placing blame on the "deep state," the House Ethics Committee, and the #MeToo Movement for forcing his resignation from Congress.

    See the story from HuffPost »

    SEE ALSO: 9 members of Congress who were forced out of office by sexual misconduct scandals

    DON'T MISS: A congressman just called Mike Pence 'the greatest VP' since John Adams — here's why that's not really a compliment

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    NOW WATCH: A North Korean defector's harrowing story of escape


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    Cook Out 17

    • Cook Out is the fast-food king of North Carolina. 
    • The chain only has locations in 10 states but has developed a cult following in the South. 
    • We visited a Richmond, Virginia, location and saw why customers adore Cook Out. 

     

    New Yorkers love Shake Shack. The West Coast swears by In-N-Out.

    But North Carolinians say that there's one burger chain that trumps them all.

    Cook Out is a North Carolina-based fast-food chain serving up burgers, barbecue, and milkshakes, and it's renowned in the South for its low prices and high quality.

    But if you don't live in one of the 10 states the chain is in, you might have never heard of this cult restaurant and its fervent following.

    So we went to Richmond, Virginia, to sample the much-hyped chain and see how it measured up to the coastal titans of the burger business.

    SEE ALSO: We tried two cult chicken chains that are quickly taking over the nation — and the winner was clear

    DON'T MISS: Southerners swear by this regional chicken chain's breakfast menu — we went to see if it lives up to the hype

    While Cook Out is known for its classic drive-thru locations with outdoor seating, the chain has recently been opening more sit-down restaurants.



    As we walked into the rustic restaurant, gentle strains of Christian rock piped over the speakers — the kind of songs where you can't quite tell whether the lyrics are describing a romantic love or a more spiritual suitor.



    The menu is wide-ranging, and the best way to sample it is by ordering a Cook Out Tray. The food is outrageously inexpensive when compared with what we typically see in New York City, and where else can you get a quesadilla and a corn dog as sides in addition to your entree?



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    MCU Timeline 4x3

    It all started with 2008's "Iron Man," but the Marvel Cinematic Universe actually stretches back millions of years.

    The history includes far more than what we see on the screen. Thankfully, there's plenty of context within the 20 movies so far to give us a sense of just how far back it goes and when important events not seen in the movies take place.

    We've put together a timeline that details the entirety of the MCU, based on the movies (we excluded events from television shows, like the Marvel Netflix series). The timeline can be confusing and isn't entirely concrete. We've included year ranges with each slide below to give a decent understanding of when events took place. Specific years that we know for sure are noted, as well.

    From the birth of the Infinity Stones to the Thanos snap, the MCU has built an impressive timeline of events. We hope this timeline, which puts all major events (including ones you forgot about) together will help you better understand some characters' backstories and how specific events have shaped the universe so far.

    Check out our in-depth MCU timeline below:

    The icons in this key represent the movie that each event on the timeline occurs during or is mentioned in. The Infinity Stones are color coded to match the color they are in the movies.

     

     

     



    Big Bang – 1939: Poignant events in the MCU, such as the birth of the Infinity Stones and vibranium landing on Earth, occur long before any of the movies in the MCU actually take place. But they have a lasting impact on overarching stories and events that take place in individual films.



    1940 – 1950: Steve Rogers becomes Captain America, an event that jumpstarts the formation of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) and, eventually, the Avengers.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    zume pizza robot 0330

    Robots could kill off jobs in the future — but at least they come bearing pizza.

    Founded in 2015, Zume Pizza uses robotics and artificial intelligence to make pizza more quickly. Machines press mounds of dough, squirt and spread sauce, and lift pizzas in and out of the oven, in a fraction of the time it would take human workers to do the same.

    Now SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $750 million in Zume, Bloomberg reports. The cash infusion could help ramp up the pizza delivery company's side hustle, creating technology for other restaurants that want to get into the automated food truck game.

    An increasing number of pizza eaters are ditching legacy brands like Domino's and Pizza Hut for newer fast-casual and delivery chains. In 2016, Business Insider toured Zume's headquarters in Mountain View, California, to see if the pizza is as good as its tech.

    SEE ALSO: What it's like when SoftBank founder Masa Son wants to invest over $100 million into your company

    DON'T MISS: We tried the world's first robot-made burger restaurant that's backed by Google's parent company — here's the verdict

    This is no ordinary pizza. It was made by robots.



    The concept of a robot-powered pizza delivery service came from friends and cofounders Julia Collins and Alex Garden, who wanted to make high-quality pizza more affordable.



    Collins graduated from Stanford Business School, worked as an analyst under Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer, and helped launch New York City fast-casual chain Mexicue. She knew pumping pies full of chemical adulterants wasn't the answer — tech was.



    See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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    dirty streets of san francisco 3956

    • Some San Francisco streets are so covered in human feces that the city is launching a "Poop Patrol" to clean the mess.
    • The Poop Patrol will ride around the Tenderloin neighborhood in a vehicle equipped with a steam cleaner.
    • San Francisco's poop problem is a symptom of the housing crisis that has forced thousands to live on the streets. 

    In San Francisco, people call the city's telephone hotline about 65 times a day to report piles of human feces on streets and sidewalks.

    That adds up to 14,597 calls placed to 311 between January 1 and August 13, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

    Now, city officials are ramping up their response to San Francisco's poop problem.

    Starting next month, a team of five employees from the Department of Public Works will take to the streets of San Francisco's grittiest neighborhood, the Tenderloin, in a vehicle equipped with a steam cleaner. They will ride around the alleys to clean piles of poop before citizens have a chance to complain about them, the Chronicle reported.

    The poop problem has become a key issue for new Mayor London Breed, who grew up in public housing in San Francisco.

    "I will say there is more feces on the sidewalks than I've ever seen growing up here," Breed told NBC in a recent interview. "That is a huge problem, and we are not just talking about from dogs — we're talking about from humans."

    The feces piling up on sidewalks is a symptom of a much broader issue. San Francisco is in the throes of a housing emergency.

    The median two-bedroom rent of $3,090 is more than double the national average of $1,180, and a report earlier this year found that only 12% of families in the city can afford to buy a home there. Because of a variety of factors, including a shortage of affordable housing and shortcomings in the mental-healthcare system, there are more than 7,400 people who are homeless in the city, many without access to restrooms and other necessities.

    tenderloin pit stop; public restroom; public toilet; san francisco; homelessness

    Is the poop problem dangerous?

    In February, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit spent three days surveying 153 blocks of downtown San Francisco to see what it would find. The search turned up drug needles, garbage, and feces in concentrations comparable to some of the world's poorest slums.

    The poop problem is unsightly, as well as potentially dangerous.

    When fecal matter dries, some particles become airborne and can spread viruses such as rotavirus. Inhaling those germs can be fatal, according to Dr. Lee Riley, an expert on infectious diseases at the University of California, Berkeley. In Los Angeles last year, an outbreak of hepatitis A was linked to a lack of accessible toilets for the city's 50,000 homeless people.

    In San Francisco, Breed and the director of Public Works, Mohammed Nuru, hatched the idea for a Poop Patrol over conversations about the city's filth.

    "We're trying to be proactive," Nuru told the Chronicle. "We're actually out there looking for it."

    SEE ALSO: San Francisco's downtown area is more contaminated with drug needles, garbage, and feces than some of the world's poorest slums

    Join the conversation about this story »

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