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I tested L.L. Bean's legendary return policy by exchanging 4-year-old shoes

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LL Bean SHoes

Regular L.L. Bean shoppers know, but those who haven't heard the store's name since seeing it stitched on their elementary school backpack may not: The brand has one of the best return policies in America.

As part of its "100% satisfaction guarantee," L.L. Bean fully empowers its customers to decide if they are truly satisfied.

Any L.L. Bean-made item can be returned with no time limit or proof of purchase, as long as you make it clear that you are somehow dissatisfied with how the product has held up.

"We’re the only company I know of that completely empowers the customer to determine what satisfaction means to them," L.L. Bean spokesperson Mac McKeever told Business Insider in August.

L.L. Bean has recently signaled that it is considering revising the generous return policy, though no final decision has been made yet.

For now, the policy is certainly not hidden. It's plastered on plaques in the retail stores, and shows up on every page of their website. On an order email, I counted a mention of it no fewer than four times.

With that in mind, it was absolutely time to put this lofty guarantee to the test. The stories of people bringing back years-old camping gear and footwear and receiving brand-new replacements sounded too good to be true. It can't really be that good, can it?

I had a pair of old L.L. Bean Blucher Mocs that I seldom wore anymore since the stitching on one of the shoes came undone. I was pretty disappointed when it happened, as the shoes still had a bit of life left in them otherwise.

LL bean Broken SHoes

I chalked up the failing to the fact that the shoes were almost four years old and had served their useful life. However, with the return guarantee in mind, this served as the perfect excuse to test the policy (however flimsy).

As a New Yorker without a car, there aren't many opportunities to visit an L.L. Bean store. The nearest one is in Paramus, New Jersey. So I took advantage of a family trip back home to New Jersey to visit one.

I saddled up to the counter with my dirty, old shoes and asked, since they broke, what they could could do about it in relation to the 100% satisfaction guarantee. The cashier flashed a knowing smile, said, "OK," and immediately added some identifying information into the computer. No other questions about the shoes were asked.

After clearing up a bit of confusion as to why my order information wouldn't populate in the computer system ("They were ordered in the last two years, right?" the cashier asked. "No," I replied sheepishly.), the shoes were ordered to my home address in New York. No record was given to L.L. Bean at any point showing when, or even if, I had purchased the shoes.

I walked away with a written receipt giving me an estimated delivery date, since the shoes in my size were not in stock. I was not given a choice of another color, model, or size. Two days later, the brand-new shoes were waiting on my doorstep.

ll bean receipt

It may sound too good to be true. Surely customers would take advantage of such a generous policy. And while that does happen, it's possibly less than you may think, according to L.L. Bean.

"We know that the vast majority of our customers are adhering to the original intent of the guarantee, that being to ensure we sell high quality merchandise and stand behind it with our satisfaction guarantee," McKeever said. "Our guarantee is not a liability, but rather a customer service asset — an unacknowledged agreement between us and the customer, that always puts the customer first and relies on the goodwill of our customers to honor the original intent of the guarantee."

The guarantee lets customers decide for themselves when they're satisfied with a product, and to rely on their own moral compass for guidance. In fact, I did feel a bit like a jerk at the counter with my clearly very old and used shoes. Buying an $84 pair of shoes four years ago does not exactly entitle me to new shoes for the rest of my life, and that is not the intent of the policy.

But the fact remains that the company was ready and willing to honor my flimsy complaint, true to their guarantee.

"We simply look at our guarantee as an extension of our customer service philosophy and our commitment to offer high-quality merchandise that stand up to the guarantee," McKeever said "As a company, we have made a conscious decision to invest in our customers by standing behind our products through our guarantee."

At no point did I identify myself to L.L. Bean customer service as a reporter.

SEE ALSO: L.L. Bean is considering dropping its legendary return policy because of 'fraudulent returns'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what makes L.L.Bean's '100% satisfaction guarantee' the best return policy of any retailer


HGTV stars explain how an abandoned cotton mill in their Texas hometown became the smartest investment they ever made

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Fixer Upper Magnolia Market

This month, Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of HGTV's hit home-renovation show "Fixer Upper," celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of Magnolia Market at the Silos, the Waco, Texas, headquarters for their growing retail brand.

The 2.5-acre space built around a pair of rusted cotton-oil mill silos is a large-scale model of what the Gaines — as renovators, business owners, and community advocates — are capable of. They're masters at transforming dilapidated properties while preserving history and character. They told Business Insider in a recent interview that this project, in particular, is the smartest investment they've made.

"At first when we looked at [the silos], it had been abandoned for years," Joanna said. "When we first drove up, we saw the land and there wasn't a lot of life to it, but just imagining what it could be ..."

Prompted by the reopening of Joanna's quaint retail shop in 2015 — which was drawing about 1,000 customers daily, in part due to the popularity of "Fixer Upper" — the Gaines decided to re-establish their growing business at the silos, they explain in their new book "The Magnolia Story." Joanna often admired the silos in downtown Waco and dreamt of reviving the property as a center for their community.

Fixer Upper Magnolia Market

But the road to renovation wasn't easy. Joanna shares in their book that Chip had to negotiate with the property's owners, who were tied to the history of the silos and hesitant to sell.

"I think a lot of people liked seeing them [downtown], whether they thought about it consciously or not," Joanna wrote. "So when we came along and said we wanted to preserve the silos as the landmark they are and to turn this property into something that could serve as a vibrant centerpiece for the whole community, he was interested."

The property at the silos now covers 16,000 square-feet of floor space housing the Magnolia retail shop and Silos Baking Co., a garden designed by Joanna, a large outdoor space for concerts and gatherings, and a collection of local food trucks. About 15,000 people visit the location weekly, according to HGTV, and Joanna writes that "it's also providing jobs to dozens upon dozens of new and long-time Magnolia employees."

"Now when we look at it, it's like, we're investing in our town, we're investing in downtown Waco, and I think that's definitely one of my favorite investments, by far," Joanna told Business Insider.

Watch more from the Gaines' interview with Business Insider below:

 

SEE ALSO: The stars of HGTV's 'Fixer Upper' share their best piece of advice for fellow entrepreneurs

Join the conversation about this story »

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The 22 best places to live in America if you want to make a lot of money

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chicago

Finding a great job that comes with a significant salary boost is one of the top reasons to move to a new city.

In its updated 2017 ranking of the best places to live in America, U.S. News & World Report gathered data on the 100 most populous US cities. Among the factors it considered were affordable housing, a low cost of living, good schools, quality healthcare, and access to well-paying jobs. You can read U.S. News' full methodology here.

Business Insider reranked these cities based on average annual salary to find the cities where residents earned more than $50,000 a year — on par with the national average. They don't all rank highly on U.S. News' overall list, given higher costs of living and other factors, so we've included each city's overall ranking for comparison's sake. For instance, Chicago ranks at No. 19 in terms of salary, but it came in only at No. 83 on the list of 100.

Of the 100 best places to live in the US, here are 22 where you can land the highest-paying jobs:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best places to live in America

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22. Santa Rosa, California

Population: 495,078

Average annual salary: $50,540

Overall rank on best places to live list: 52

Just 55 miles north of San Francisco sits Santa Rosa, one of Sonoma County's premier wine-country towns. According to US News' local expert, Santa Rosa is an originator of the farm-to-table movement and "a haven for bicyclists, who train on its rural western roads and visit en masse for two major cycling events: the Amgen Tour of California and the Levi's GranFondo."

The job market in Santa Rosa is powered by tourism: 9% of residents work in the industry, mainly at local farms, wineries, and brewpubs.



21. Albany, New York

Population: 877,846

Average annual salary: $50,880

Overall rank on best places to live list: 30

Despite the snowy winters, living in Albany comes with several advantages. Albany offers a cost of living lower than the national average and the cost of housing sits well below the rest of the US as a whole. In terms of jobs, the city's tech and healthcare industries are on the rise.

Albany's downtown is lined with art galleries, wine shops, and churches for visitors to peruse. In keeping with the city's cold climate, hockey is the sport of choice for residents. 



20. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Population: 1,750,865

Average annual salary: $51,150

Overall rank on best places to live list: 7

Raleigh-Durham and Chapel Hill are collectively known as the Triangle, an area anchored by its foundation in research and tech. The Triangle employs nearly 40,000 residents at companies like IBM, SAS Institute Inc., and Cisco Systems as well as surrounding colleges Duke, North Carolina State, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A strong job market coupled with a burgeoning microbrewery and dining scene draws 80 new residents every day, said a local expert.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The 3 biggest mistakes people make in online dating, according to the CEO of eHarmony

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headache sadness frustration lonely

Online dating can feel doomed from the start.

Showcasing your best qualities in the real world can be tough enough; but online you're expected to highlight them solely through a few paragraphs and pictures. What could go wrong?

Grant Langston, CEO of the online-dating site eHarmony, recently spoke with Business Insider about the biggest mistakes people make in online dating — and how they can correct them.

1. Playing it safe — and coming off boring

Years of online matchmaking have taught Langston that too many people who are new to online dating (and even some who've been in the game a while) are deathly afraid of being perceived as weird. As a result, they build profiles that are downright boring.

It's not interesting to write "I like movies" in your profile, he says. Everyone likes movies. You need something to catch other users' eye if your profile is the 20th they've seen that day.

"I need to know that you like 'The Godfather' and you've seen it fifty times, and you can quote the dialogue, and your second-favorite movie is 'Tommy Boy,'" he says. "I need details."

Not only do details make you stand out (even at the expense of coming off goofy), but juicy bits of information lead to richer interactions if you end up going on a date.

"When I say to you, 'Now, 'Tommy Boy,' why on Earth do you like that movie?' that sets you up to talk to me," Langston says, "and it's a shortcut to a better conversation."

2. Telling an entire life story in one long bio

At the other end of the spectrum are people who don't know when to stop talking about themselves. Either they think they're endlessly fascinating, or they're just too dense to realize they're oversharing.

Even if the information is interesting, Langston says, people should exercise some restraint in sharing heaps of personal stuff too quickly. Listing a few movies you're into is good. Listing your entire collection, alphabetically by director — that's excessive.

"Leave something for the date," he says. "I don't want a dissertation about your film habits."

3. Settling for a photo that isn't well-lit and in-focus

Cell-phone cameras have come a long way in the past decade, but Langston says most people are still surprisingly bad at taking a flattering photo of themselves. Men seem to be especially fine with using (what seem to be) hastily-snapped selfies taken at odd angles, he says.

"The fact is, everyone puts a big emphasis on what they see there. And if what they see there is not good, they just won't go any further," he says.

The success of dating apps like Tinder and Bumble only emphasize that point, Langston adds. People who are looking for serious relationships might say they care about a deeper connection, but physical attraction always matters.

"Some people think that's shallow," he said. "That's just the human animal."

SEE ALSO: These are the best ways to improve your online dating profile, according to science

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A dating expert reveals an interesting trick for more successful relationships

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz reportedly bought a $40 million glassy penthouse in New York City

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schultz penthouse thumb

Howard Schultz is marking the relinquishment of his Starbucks CEO position in a major way.

He reportedly dropped a cool $40 million on a glassy duplex penthouse at The Greenwich Lane development, sources told The Real Deal.

The property was described as a "jewel box in the sky" by the listing, and it had originally listed for $45 million. The apartment went into contract in February 2015, but the sale just recently closed via an anonymous LLC. 

Schultz is expected to step down from his leadership position on April 3, and he will focus on Starbucks' higher-end Reserve line and the company's social initiatives.

SEE ALSO: Trump Tower residents are complaining that heavy security and crowds are making their lives more difficult

Greenwich Lane is a new development on a busy corner in New York City's Greenwich Village.



The lobby is well-appointed with marble fixtures.



A private garden for residents lies out back.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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San Francisco has done it again with the 'sushi croissant' — here's what it's like

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mr holmes bakehouse sushi croissant 2423

First, the "sushi burrito" took over San Francisco.

Now, a flaky pastry stuffed with smoked salmon, seaweed, ginger, and wasabi — a "sushi croissant" — is capturing the hearts of those brave enough to try it.

The sushi-stuffed pastry comes from the creative minds of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, a bakery in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that's famous for its hybrid desserts and drool-worthy Instagram feed. The bakery calls the pastry a "California croissant," in honor of its sister, the California roll.

We visited the kitchen of Mr. Holmes Bakehouse to see how it comes together. 

SEE ALSO: I tried the sushi burrito, the 'mutant food' San Franciscans are obsessed with — take a look

Brittany Dunn, a pastry chef at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, says it took her a week to try the bakery's "California croissant" after she was hired. "That sounds awful," she remembers thinking.



It turned out to be love at first bite. The California croissant has since become Dunn's favorite item on the menu at Bakehouse, which is known for its popular "cruffin" (a croissant-muffin hybrid).



Before we gave the California croissant a taste, Dunn led us into the kitchen to see how the pastry is made. The chef piped a stripe of wasabi along the pastry's edge.

"It looks like a lot," Dunn said. But the heat of the wasabi burns off in the oven.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A Texas kid spotted a rattlesnake in the toilet — and then the snake-removal crew found 23 more

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rattlesnake in toilet

When young Isac Mcfadden of Abilene, Texas, got up to use the bathroom recently, he found an unexpected surprise in the toilet.

But he knew the "clump" wasn't the sort to handle on his own, so he called for his mom.

"I found this big clump and I knew it was (a) snake," he told the local CBS affiliate WTSP.

Not just any snake. A western diamondback rattlesnake, one of the most dangerous species in the US.

The boy's mother took a shovel and killed the unwelcome toilet explorer. But the family also called Big Country Snake Removal, just to make sure the issue was taken care of.

It wasn't.

rattlesnakes texas

As Nathan Hawkins, the owner of the snake-removal business, found out shortly after he arrived, 23 more of the rattlesnakes were nearby. Thirteen were hiding out in a cellar, and 10 were under the house, including five babies.

On the Big Country Snake Removal Facebook page, the team explained how so many of the creatures could be there and escape notice: "It's actually quite simple; rattlesnakes are secretive and can be very cryptic — They rely heavily on their camouflage. This is simply how they survive. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they aren't there..."

rattlesnakes texas

With the proper tools, as the Big Country team told Business Insider via Facebook, such snakes can be removed without killing them, and the team was able to do just that for the remaining snakes at the Mcfadden abode.

In general, Hawkins told CBS News, snakes can be relocated to safer locations or donated to schools, where they can be studied.

Western diamondbacks tend to gather in dens during the winter to keep warm, which is why he knew to keep looking even after the Mcfaddens had disposed of the first one.

In these cases, calling an expert is always a good idea. Inexperienced people who try to kill a snake more likely to be bitten, Hawkins said.

"They're actually very, very amazing creatures that are really misunderstood," Hawkins told CBS.

SEE ALSO: A type of vampire bat has started feeding on humans in Brazil for the first known time

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Flight attendants share the 25 things they wish passengers would stop doing

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Singapore airlines flight attendant

We all have annoying habits, and travel tends to bring out the worst in people.

If you have any sympathy for your flight attendants, who, day in and day out, are privy to some of the most extreme human behavior, you'd make an effort to do better.

The first step is knowing just what you're doing wrong.

Luckily for you, we asked flight attendants everywhere to share the annoying things they wish passengers would stop doing, and more than 60 were happy to chime in.

Here are 25 things you may not have even known you were doing wrong:

DON'T MISS: Flight attendants share 22 things they'd love to tell passengers but can't

SEE ALSO: Flight attendants share 11 of their favorite travel hacks

Hogging the overhead bins

"Put the suitcases in the overhead and put your small bags underneath the seat in front so we don't have to run out of space and have to check bags."

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Not saying hello

"I wish passengers would acknowledge the crew when they board."



Poor timing

"Stop trying to hand us trash on the beverage cart or asking us to take your trash while we're handing out food."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The ancient story behind Valentine's Day is more brutal than romantic

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St. Valentine

How have we reached the point where the US is set to spend $30 billion on Valentine's Day?

It all goes back to a mysterious, third century saint who suffered a brutal fate.

St. Valentine of Terni was martyred in 269 C.E. (or somewhere around then — it kind of depends on what martyrology you're reading). According to legend, the Roman physician and priest was beaten, stoned, and beheaded for the crimes of marrying Christian couples ... and possibly attempting to convert Emperor Claudius II.

Thanks to the marital angle of his story, Valentine became the patron saint of love, young people, and marriages (and also of plague, epilepsy, and beekeepers).

His February 14 feast day was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 C.E. There's disagreement amongst historians about whether the holiday was meant to replace the pagan fertility festival Lupercalia.

Either way, as time went on, more romantic connotations came to be associated with the saint. One legend has Valentine befriending (or falling in love with) the blind daughter of a judge (or his jailer — again, it depends). He supposedly wrote her secret letters signed "from your Valentine" and then restored her sight from beyond the grave.

As the cult of courtly love spread across Europe in the Middle Ages, an even more romantic light was cast upon mid-February. As the Folklore Society notes, Geoffrey Chaucer mentions Valentine's Day and describes February as the time "when every fowl cometh there to chose his mate" (although the blog Got Medieval asserts that the poet didn't invent Valentine's Day and it was already likely associated with love by the time he referenced it).

So, we know how Valentine's Day came to be seen as the most romantic day of the year. However, the truth is, we don't know much about St. Valentine himself. There are eleven Valentines commemorated by the Catholic Church, and there were at least two other St. Valentines who lived around the time of St. Valentine of Terni. Because his origins are so obscure, he was actually removed from the General Roman Calendar by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 (but he's still technically considered a saint).

So, don't feel bad if you have a crummy Valentine's Day. It (hopefully) won't be worse than getting killed, confused with other people, and kicked off the general liturgical calendar — which is what actually happened to the real St. Valentine.

SEE ALSO: One of the most famous political writings of all time was really a fruitless job application from a struggling bureaucrat

Join the conversation about this story »

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Trump's workout and diet routine is ill-advised

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Donald Trump eating a french fry

Lots of fast food. Almost no sleep. And practically no exercise, aside from the occasional cart-supported round of golf.

This is a routine that a doctor wouldn't advise for a 20-year-old, yet it's the standard for the routine-loving President Donald Trump, according to Axios' "Trump 101" series, which notes that the 70-year-old is the oldest president to ever enter office.

On the campaign trail, the "three staples" of Trump's diet were Domino's, KFC, and McDonald's (Big Macs on silver platters), an aide told Axios, the new news website. That love for fast food is largely because of its consistency and the idea that fast-food companies maintain a standard of hygiene, according to an interview Trump conducted with Anderson Cooper that was cited in The New York Times.

Still, Axios reports that in the White House, Trump is more likely to favor well-done steaks, crab, and shrimp and the occasional side salad or vegetable to go along with that hunk of red meat (cooked until gray).

Regular consumption of red meat significantly raises the risk of death, especially from cancer and heart disease, according to the National Institutes of Health— and that consumption is also strongly linked with increased risk for Type 2 diabetes.

From a nutritional perspective, the occasional steak is fine, but doctors recommend limiting consumption.

For a healthy diet, one should "eat plenty of vegetables and fruits; balance calories; don't eat too much junk food," according to Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University.

As far as Trump's diet goes, it doesn't look as if he's getting much in the way of any of these categories, via either his main meals or his snacks, according to the aide. For snacks on his plane, the president reportedly relies on Lay's potato chips and Keebler Vienna Fingers.

As for exercise, standard guidelines say the average person needs at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. Exercise improves general health and heart health, reduces stress, boosts mental clarity, improves sleep, and more, which is probably why both Barack Obama and George W. Bush were dedicated to their fitness routines while they were president. Lack of activity isn't new for Trump, who said back in 1997 that he worked out "on occasion ... as little as possible."

As for sleep, Trump has said he needs only three or four hours a night. Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep, though about 1% of the population is able to get by on four to six hours. Most of the rest of us are as impaired as if we were drunk after several nights of short sleep, even though we usually can't tell.

The Axios story says Trump believes in genetic gifts that will keep him healthy (and he doesn't smoke or drink, though he's a big fan of Diet Coke, which he drinks throughout the day). Trump's father, Fred, lived to be 93 and had Alzheimer's for the last six years of his life, according to an obituary. Still, aging takes a physical and mental toll on everyone — most people who manage to stave off those effects do so with intense physical and mental exercise, along with sufficient sleep and adequate nutrition.

As for how it's working out for Trump, that remains to be seen. He reportedly takes a statin to lower cholesterol and takes the hair-loss-prevention drug finasteride (brand name Propecia). At a Dr. Oz interview, his height and weight were given as 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds, which would give him a BMI of 29.5 and put him firmly in the overweight category (earlier reports had put his weight at 267 pounds).

Trump is far from the only president to prefer an unhealthy diet — James K. Polk reportedly would request cornbread instead of eating from a banquet of French cuisine. And he may have some genetic traits that help him out a bit.

Still, from a health perspective, science suggests that if he wants to thrive, he should work on those eating, sleeping, and exercise habits.

SEE ALSO: Trump press secretary Sean Spicer chews and swallows at least 35 pieces of gum a day — here's how that might affect his health

Join the conversation about this story »

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These are the 10 best everyday exercises for burning calories

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A man running up the valley

What's the best way to burn the most calories?

There's a lot that goes into developing an exercise regimen — meeting your body's needs, finding something you enjoy, and figuring out what will have enough impact to make a difference to your health.

If you're crunched for time, one of the ways to measure that is to figure out how much energy a particular exercise expends in the time you actually do it. In other words, how many calories does it burn?

The big, important caveats here are that exercising on its own actually doesn't do much to make you lose weight. If you want to slim down, we suggest talking to a doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and working on cutting sugar and large portions out of your diet.

Still, calories burned per hour is a good measure of how intense a particular exercise is. The Mayo Clinic, drawing on research published by the National Institutes of Health, lists 36 popular forms of exercise by their caloric impacts, which we've ranked in another article. Here, we've listed the top ten, with approximate calories burned per hour for a 200-pound person listed for each activity. (An average adult American weighs just under 200 pounds.) Of course exact figures will vary across body types, gender, age, and other factors.

Keep in mind that the numbers here are approximate. Also, just because an exercise burns calories faster doesn't mean it's necessarily the best option. The most important exercise is the one you enjoy enough to get up and do regularly.

SEE ALSO: The 36 best ways to burn the most calories in an hour

DON'T MISS: 9 science-backed ways to be a happier person

BI Graphics_Burning calories rollerblading



BI Graphics_Burning calories basketball



BI Graphics_Burning calories flag football



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15 relationship facts everybody should know before getting married

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Engagement proposal

If there's a good time to reflect on your relationship and where it's headed, it's Valentine's Day.

We've taken this opportunity to round up scientific research on the specific factors that can make or break a romantic relationship.

Below, we've listed 15 nontrivial things you might want to keep in mind before hiring a wedding planner.

SEE ALSO: 10 myths about dating too many people believe

If you wait until you're 23 to commit, you're less likely to get divorced.

A 2014 University of North Carolina at Greensboro study found that American women who cohabitate or get married at age 18 have a 60% divorce rate, but women who wait until 23 to make either of those commitments have a divorce rate around 30%.

"The longer couples waited to make that first serious commitment [cohabitation or marriage], the better their chances for marital success," The Atlantic reported.



The 'in love' phase lasts about a year.

The honeymoon phase doesn't go on forever.

According to a 2005 study by the University of Pavia in Italy, it lasts about a year. After that, levels of a chemical called "nerve growth factor," which is associated with intense romantic feelings, start to fall.

Helen Fisher, a psychologist and relationship expert, told Business Insider that it's unclear when exactly the "in love" feeling starts to fade, but it does so "for good evolutionary reasons," she said, because "it's very metabolically expensive to spend an awful lot of time just focusing on just one person in that high-anxiety state."



Two people can be compatible — or incompatible — on multiple levels.

Back in the 1950s and '60s, Canadian psychologist Eric Berne introduced a three-tiered model for understanding a person's identity. He found that each of us have three "ego states" operating at once:

• The parent: What you've been taught

• The child: What you have felt

• The adult: What you have learned

When you're in a relationship, you relate on each of those levels:

• The parent: Do you have similar values and beliefs about the world?

• The child: Do you have fun together? Can you be spontaneous? Do you think your partner's hot? Do you like to travel together?

• The adult: Does each person think the other is bright? Are you good at solving problems together?

While having symmetry across all three is ideal, people often get together to "balance each other." For instance, one may be nurturing and the other playful.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 10 best places to get married if you don't want to spend a lot of money

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Tucson Arizona

The average American wedding costs $35,329 — the highest it's ever been

That's according to new data from wedding planning site The Knot, which conducted its tenth annual Real Weddings Study to uncover how much brides and grooms across the country are paying to get hitched.

For the study, The Knot surveyed over 13,000 men and women who said "I do" in 2016 to determine the average cost of weddings in America, including everything from the price of the dress to the venue to the cake.

But not every wedding has to cost an arm and a leg. Below, Business Insider highlighted the 10 most affordable places to get married. If you want to tie the knot without landing yourself in debt, check it out: 

SEE ALSO: The 25 most expensive places to get married

DON'T MISS: 8 things successful married couples never do with their money

10. Oklahoma — $23,302



9. Nevada — $23,239



8. Iowa — $23,098



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