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You should care about what you wear to the office — here's why

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Business Dress

If you just wake up, get out of bed, and throw anything on before heading to the office, you're probably not doing everything you can to succeed at work. 

Menswear expert G. Bryce Boyer writes in his book, "True Style: The History and Principles of Classic Menswear," that one should "dress appropriately to one's goals."

Part of that is akin to the adage "dress for the job you want, not the job you have," and the general principle is the same. But it works even if you like the job you already have.

The reason why it's so important to dress for the office is a psychological one: It gives you confidence.

"Appropriate dress frees us from the anxieties and liabilities of sending negative and confusing messages," Boyer writes.

Being freed from this anxiety and improving your confidence can have a lasting impact on your performance at the office, and ensures that you are judged on other criteria, like your work product, merit, skill, and loyalty.

Studies have shown that dressing well for work has tangible benefits in the real world, and it can even make you more successful in the long run.

No one is saying you have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe to meet these goals. You don't have to buy expensive clothing, wear a fancy watch, or be anyone other than who you are to get this done. You just need to pay attention to how you're being perceived, and take charge of controlling that perception.

Do this, and your boss will notice.

SEE ALSO: 16 things every guy should keep in his work bag

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NOW WATCH: Every man should know what ‘genuine leather’ actually is before buying a belt


How long you have to ​exercise​ to burn off the calories in popular junk foods

A chain that wants to be the McDonald's of vegan fast food is preparing for a $13 million international takeover

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by CHLOE.

A vegan fast-food chain is winning over omnivores across the US. Now, it's ready to take on the rest of the world. 

By Chloe is planning to open its first location outside of the US in London this fall, Bloomberg reported. Up to $13 million has reportedly been invested in the chain's expansion, with plans to open more locations in London, as well as elsewhere in Europe and the Middle East.

In just two years, By Chloe has gone from a single New York City vegan cafe to a mini-chain with seven locations in New York City, Boston, and Los Angeles. The chain plans to open four more locations in the US by the end of 2017. 

The restaurants raked in $10 million in sales in 2016, the company told Business Insider. Next year, By Chloe hopes to triple that figure, predicting $30 million in sales. 

That's significant for a chain that maintains a 100% vegan menu. That means no meat, milk, eggs, cheese — many of the things that give restaurants, especially fast-food chains, some of their biggest hits. 

#foodporn

A post shared by Lee (@leeannazzara) on Jul 18, 2017 at 11:16am PDT on

Despite the meat-free approach, the appeal of By Chloe is that menu items are intended to appeal to vegans and meat-eaters alike, with veggie burgers, french fries, and pasta.

All menu items are under $12, making it an inexpensive and relatively speedy options for people seeking meat-free options.

A black bean-quinoa-sweet potato burger, topped with guacamole, takes the place of the Big Mac. Instead of Heinz 57, you can dip fries in beet ketchup and chipotle mayo. 

Second best Fryday of the week 🍟 #nationalfrenchfryday

A post shared by D E S I G N H I S T O R Y (@designhistory) on Jul 13, 2017 at 2:03pm PDT on

"BBQ" is made with portobello mushrooms, and mac n' cheese uses sweet potato-cha shew cheese sauce and shiitake "bacon." 

Ain't nobody dope as this @eatbychloe quinoa taco salad.

A post shared by lezeats (@lezeats) on Jul 18, 2017 at 6:32pm PDT on

By Chloe doesn't merely stick with imitating fast-food classics. Some of the best items on the menu are the salads, such as quinoa taco and spicy Thai, which are piled high and incredibly filling.  

All I do here is shop and eat✖️

A post shared by Cory Fulton (@sincerelycorypaige) on Jul 18, 2017 at 11:28am PDT on

Then, there's the sweets. In September 2016, By Chloe opened its first sweet shop in New York City, selling vegan cakes, pies, and cookies. 

It's all incredibly Instagrammable. 

Sweet🤙🏻

A post shared by HOBIE (@hobiehenson) on Jul 18, 2017 at 6:37pm PDT on

By Chloe's rise has not been without its controversies.

In March, cofounders Chloe Coscarelli and Samantha Wasser split, with Coscarelli ousted for "gross negligence." Coscarelli — who once claimed that Wasser and ESquared Hospitality tried to force her to add meat to the menu — brought a certain degree of celebrity to the project, having won Food Network's "Cupcake Wars" at age 22, becoming the first contestant to win with vegan culinary creations. 

Morning blues, be gone! ✨#vegan #byCHLOE

A post shared by Chloe Coscarelli (@chefchloe) on Dec 1, 2016 at 7:03am PST on

"It has been very exciting to be able to focus on the uncompromised growth and expansion of the By Chloe brand," Wasser told Business Insider on the company's growth post-lawsuit.

I love living less than 5 mins away from By Chloe 👸🏻 it really makes being a chubba a lot easier 💁🏻#meatballsub #nomzsss #bychloe #silverlake #losangeles

A post shared by Vegan (ᵔᴥᵔ) (@rxqueennnnn) on Jul 18, 2017 at 2:33pm PDT on

According to Wasser, the company is now looking forward.

Whisky BBQ vegan burger 🔥 #bychloe

A post shared by Rudy Leyvas (@rudyleyvas) on Jul 15, 2017 at 7:53pm PDT on

By Chloe partnered with Whole Foods to open a location inside a 365 store in Los Angeles, providing a different avenue of growth for the chain as it expands. And, this fall, new locations are opening in New York City and Providence, Rhode Island. 

"Seeing the brand grow and knowing the momentum has only gotten stronger is something I feel very proud to be a part of," Wasser said. "We could not have grown the brand By Chloe, which is now coast to coast, without the people that work with us daily, and guests that come back to see us again and again."

SEE ALSO: New York City resident reveals why he chooses Olive Garden over some of the best restaurants in the world

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NOW WATCH: How long you have to ​exercise​ to burn off the calories in popular junk foods

Inside the $600-a-head Silicon Valley restaurant where Google and Apple executives eat gold-flecked steaks

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Hiroshi is an unusual restaurant for an unusual clientele.

Located in Los Altos, California, the newly-opened Japanese restaurant accommodates only eight people per night and has no menus, no windows, and one table. Dinner costs at minimum $395 a head, but averages between $500 and $600 including beverages and tax.

Chef-owner Hiroshi Kimura left his last restaurant in Hawaii and moved to Silicon Valley in 2016 to launch a concept that would appeal to the deep-pocketed tech elite. Hiroshi hosts three to five dinners a week and is booked solid when a convention comes to town.

We took a tour of the restaurant to see why it's becoming a favorite in Silicon Valley.

SEE ALSO: Starbucks is opening premium stores where you can buy coffee flights and cold-brew floats — take a look inside

Located in a plaza in Los Altos — home of notable residents past and present including Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg — Hiroshi looked plain from the outside.

Source: Wikipedia



There were no hours posted on the door. A sign read, "Open by appointment only."



The general manager, Kevin Biggerstaff, ushered me inside. Dim lighting cast a yellowish hue on the dining area, which was nearly swallowed whole by a single wooden table.

It was made from an 800-year-old Japanese keyaki tree. Biggerstaff told me that the table took 10 men and a small crane to lift into the restaurant. New walls were constructed around it.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 5 biggest mistakes guys make with their dress shoes

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Cole Haan

Some say shoes are the most important part of any outfit — especially when you're wearing a suit.

While we wouldn't go that far, we agree that there is inherent value in getting it right.

We've rounded up the biggest mistakes men make when they wear dress shoes.

Read on to make sure you're not making any of these.

SEE ALSO: Furious customers are accusing Wall Street's favorite shirt startup of failing to deliver on its promises

Wearing square-toed shoes

Square-toed shoes aren't about style. They're about the silhouette of your foot, which inherently looks ugly with square-toed shoes on.

A modern gentleman knows that the square-toed shoe silhouette is unflattering, and he avoids it at all costs. After all, it is one of the 11 deadly sins of men's style.



Wearing slip-ons

Slip-on shoes that aren't loafers are a big no-no for any kind of formal event — especially with a suit.

A modern gentleman avoids anything that looks like it might belong at a middle-school formal, and these kinds of shoes are certainly included.



Wearing the wrong size

A modern gentleman knows exactly how a shoe should fit. He also knows that most men aren't wearing the correct shoe size, and, to avoid that, he has his fit by a professional.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Bill Gates-backed veggie burger that 'bleeds' has raised another $75 million — see how it's made

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impossible foods plant based burger 3

Silicon Valley is rallying around a startup that wants to disrupt the meat aisle.

Impossible Foods sells burgers made from plants that sizzle on the grill and "bleed" juices like real beef. The company aims to make meat derived from animals the exception, not the rule.

On August 1, the startup announced it had raised a $75 million investment from Singapore-based venture fund Temasek, Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures, and others. The new round brings the company's total funding to over $250 million and will likely serve its plans for expansion.

Impossible Foods unveiled a new facility last spring that will increase its production capacity by 250 times, allowing the company to supply burgers to more than 1,000 restaurants in the future and introduce its flagship retail product within the next few years. Vegetarians and curious meat-lovers can find the Impossible Burger at 43 restaurant locations nationwide.

In 2016, Business Insider toured the lab and test kitchen at Impossible Foods' headquarters in Redwood City, California, to see how plant-based meat comes together. Take a look below.

SEE ALSO: Inside the $600-a-head Silicon Valley restaurant where Google and Apple executives eat gold-flecked steaks

In a Redwood City, California, office building with blacked-out windows, scientists, foodies, and Silicon Valley veterans work on making the perfect veggie burger.



But don't call it a "veggie burger" within earshot of founder Pat Brown and his team. In 2011, they set out on a mission to make a plant-based burger unmistakably meaty.

 

 



The company targets the most ardent meat-lovers with a burger that sizzles, smells, and even bleeds on the griddle. It hopes to someday replace animal products on store shelves.

The world's population could reach nine billion people by 2050. The bad news for carnivores: There aren't enough resources on the planet to support sustainable animal agriculture at that scale. Raising chickens, pigs, and cattle already takes up 30% of the Earth's surface.

A number of companies are tackling the challenge with meat and dairy alternatives. Impossible Foods has garnered buzz with its Michelin-starred restaurant partners and notable investors.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 20 best college towns in America

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boulder

As summer vacation winds down, the newest crop of college freshman are preparing for their first year in a new place.

If they — or their parents — are wondering what to expect, they can look to a ranking of college towns in Americas from the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).

AIER compiled its list using nine economic, demographic, and quality-of-life factors. It defines college towns as those which are home to a college or university and have fewer than 250,000 residents.

Aside from the overall ranking, AIER scored each city on nine metrics including rent, earnings, and bars and restaurants. Below, we've highlighted the metric for which each city scored highest.

Scroll through to find out the 20 best college towns.

SEE ALSO: The most affordable college in every state

20. Bellingham, Washington — home of Western Washington University

Metro area population: 208,832

College student population in the metro area: 24,926

No. 4 in arts and entertainment



19. La Crosse, Wisconsin — home of the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse

Metro area population: 136,824

College student population in the metro area: 16,081

No. 1 in youth unemployment



18. Jacksonville, North Carolina — home of the University of Mount Olive

Metro area population: 186,684

College student population in the metro area: 15,297

No. 3 in rent



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The best restaurant in America serves helium balloons you can actually eat — here’s what they're like

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Alinea is the best restaurant in the country, and the dining experience is unlike anything you have had before. Chef Grant Achatz serves up some very unusual dishes, and one of the most popular is an edible helium balloon. Customers are served the balloons and encouraged to suck in the helium before eating it.  We spoke with Chef Achatz about his balloons, watched how they were made, and got to try one out. 

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Here's what it's like on 'Billionaire's Beach,' the exclusive stretch of sand in Malibu where a music mogul sold his home for $85 million

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Malibu Carbon Beach

Nicknamed "Billionaire's Beach" — an homage to the ultra-wealthy residents who call it home — Carbon Beach is a 1.5-mile stretch of sand that sits between the iconic Pacific Coast Highway and the glistening Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California.

Up until mid-2015, the beach was largely closed off to the public. But now, after a decades-long, complicated legal battle between the state and homeowners, its 70-plus residences share their backyard with tourists and beachgoers from sun up to sun down.

We took a walk down Billionaire's Beach on a recent summer day — scroll through to take a peek at what it's like to live and play on the richest stretch of sand in the world.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it's like to spend July 4th in the most expensive vacation town in America

DON'T MISS: How much money you need to be happy varies wildly depending on where in America you live

Carbon Beach runs about 1.5 miles from Malibu Pier down toward Santa Monica. The homes situated on the sand are just feet from the water.



The properties' front entrances belly up to Pacific Coast Highway, often with little room for driveways or garages. Some are palatial, even from the street.



Others are perceptibly modest. Many of them maintain high hedges for privacy from the road.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This mysterious billionaire just beat out Jeff Bezos to become the second-richest man in the world

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Amancio Ortega

The mysterious founder of Zara just beat out Jeff Bezos to become the second-richest person in the world. 

Amancio Ortega claimed the No. 2 spot on the list of the world's richest people on Tuesday, Forbes reported. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos — who just last week beat out Bill Gates to briefly claim the title of the richest man in the world — dropped to the No. 3 position.

Bezos' drop is due to Amazon stock fluctuations, as the ecommerce company's stock has fallen nearly 5% since last Thursday. As of Tuesday afternoon, Forbes estimates Ortega's net worth to be $85.5 billion, compared to Bezos' estimated net worth of $84.6 billion.

Despite Ortega's enormous wealth, many people have never heard of him. Ortega is an incredibly private man, is rarely seen in public, and has given just a handful of interviews throughout his incredibly successful career.

That career began when Ortega founded fast-fashion giant Zara with his then-wife Rosalia in 1975. Today, his retail company Inditex SA — which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Pull&Bear — has 7,385 outposts around the world.

While Ortega is immensely private, we do know a fair amount about him. Here's everything you need to know about the richest man in fashion. 

Ashley Lutz and Mallory Schlossberg contributed reporting to an earlier version of this article.

SEE ALSO: We lived in an Airbnb tiny home for a week — and it was completely different than what we expected

Amancio Ortega is the second-richest man in the world, with a net worth estimated at $85.5 billion.

Source: Forbes



Only one person in the world is richer than Ortega: Bill Gates.



Ortega was born in the town of Busdongo de Arbas, Spain, in March 1936.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We got behind the wheel of a $3.5 million Bugatti Chiron — it's like no other car in the world

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Transportation reporter Benjamin Zhang took a ride in a $3.5 million Bugatti Chiron. 

As the successor to the game-changing Veyron, the Chiron has the unenviable task of following in the foot steps of an automotive icon.

Fortunately for Bugatti, the Veyron is about as competent of a start point as one can ask for. And Bugatti's director of design Achim Anscheidt is one of the best in the business.

Anscheidt, a veteran of VW Group and Porsche's design departments, joined Bugatti as its design boss in 2004 just as the Veyron was readied for production.

With the Chiron, Anscheidt got his shot at the momentous task of creating the first new Bugatti in a decade. During its development, Bugatti built more than 30 prototypes that completed more than 300,000 miles of testing and went through more than 200 sets of tires.

Here's what it's like to be behind the wheel.

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The hidden costs of owning a home in the 16 biggest cities in America

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suburban home

When you become a homeowner, a mortgage isn't the only expense you're faced with.

The average homeowner in the US spends an additional $9,080 each year covering unexpected or forgotten costs, from insurance to taxes to maintenance, according to a new report from real estate-listing site Zillow.

"Determining how much a home will ultimately cost you each year and what you can afford is one of the most challenging aspects of homebuying, especially for first-time buyers," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow's chief economist.

Indeed, Zillow found in a previous report that nearly 40% of first-time buyers exceed their budget. It's easy to do. Although the standard measure of housing affordability is 30% or less of your pre-tax income, many homebuyers only plan in advance for their mortgage payment, forgetting about the extra expenses that are part of owning a home. 

To give shoppers a more accurate idea of affordability, Zillow debuted a new feature earlier this year — the all-in monthly pricing tool— which considers all the monthly homeownership expenses typically omitted by a traditional mortgage calculator.

As part of its latest report, Zillow calculated the hidden costs of homeownership in the country's largest metro areas by population, factoring in property taxes, homeowners insurance, and utilities from Utility Score. They also included estimates for six of the most popular home maintenance-related projects from Thumbtack: carpet cleaning, yard work, gutter cleaning, HVAC maintenance, house cleaning, and pressure washing.

San Francisco homeowners shell out the most money of the metros Zillow analyzed, at just above $16,000 — not surprising considering the area's notoriously high home values and property taxes.

Below, check out how much homeowners spend on the unexpected — but often unavoidable — costs of owning a home in the 16 biggest US cities, from lowest to highest total cost.

The New York City metro area is a unique housing market and was excluded from Zillow's report.

SEE ALSO: 16 US cities where incomes can't keep up with housing costs

DON'T MISS: A self-made millionaire who retired at 37 says buying a home was 'probably the worst financial decision' he ever made

St. Louis

Median home value: $148,700

Total hidden costs: $7,787



Detroit

Median home value: $140,900

Total hidden costs: $8,145



Phoenix

Median home value: $235,100

Total hidden costs: $8,366



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No one wants to buy Trump's Caribbean estate, which just got a $11 million price chop

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trump st. martin

President Trump's luxurious St. Martin estate has gotten a massive price cut.

Le Château des Palmiers was previously listed for $28 million with Sotheby's International Realty. The price was lowered by more than $11 million about a month ago, the Washington Post reported. It's now listed for $16.9 million.

It's a walled estate across nearly five acres, with both a main house and a guest house. In total, the compound has 11 bedrooms.

Records show that it was listed for just under $20 million when Trump purchased it in 2013, though it's unclear how much he ended up paying for it. 

According to disclosure filings obtained by the Wall Street Journal in 2015, Trump owns the property through two companies called Excel Venture I LLC and Excel Venture Corp II. Trump typically uses the Caribbean escape as a rental property, and, according to the disclosure, he gets between $100,000 and $1 million a year from it. The sale is being handled by a revocable trust run by Donald Trump Jr. and Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg.

Take a look around inside:

SEE ALSO: This mysterious billionaire just beat out Jeff Bezos to become the second-richest man in the world

Though Trump didn't develop the house himself, he added his own flair to it after purchasing it in 2013.



Plenty of light shines through the main house.



The front doors bear his family crest.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Amazon's promise of 50,000 new jobs is drawing massive crowds across America (AMZN)

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Amazon jobs day

Amazon is promising to hire 50,000 people in one day at job fairs across the country. 

The events are drawing thousands of people to Amazon fulfillment centers in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, Illinois, and seven other states.

The popularity of the fairs is leading to excessively long lines for registration and interviews.

Here's what people are seeing at the events across the US.

SEE ALSO: 14 items you should buy at Walmart

Amazon is touring prospective employees around its warehouses, which the company calls fulfillment centers.



Then the company will interview them for the roles that are available.



Many people will be hired on the spot.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

9 things you didn’t know about the US Open

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The US Open, beginning each year on the last Monday in August in Flushing Meadows, New York, is known for many things: being part of the Grand Slam tournaments, A-list celebrity sightings, delicious food, and, of course, unbelievable tennis matches between the world’s top players. People come from far and wide to watch this event, but even the biggest US Open fan doesn't know the whole story. 

Here's a deeper dive into understanding the robust historical contributions to New York City, the game, and the logistics of running a multimillion-dollar tournament.

1. The tournament wasn’t always called the US Open

The US Open originally began in 1881 in Newport, RI and was known as the US National Singles Championship. The tournament had a two-year stint in Philadelphia before it was moved to New York in 1924. It wasn't until 1968 that the name US Open was used at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills and it took another 10 years — in 1978 — for the tournament fans are familiar with to move to Flushing Meadows, where it kept its now iconic name. 

2. The competition made history with gender equality

The US Open is the first major tennis competition to offer equal prize money for men and women, starting in 1973, after women’s champion Billie Jean King threatened to organize a boycott of the tournament. King earned $10,000 for first prize in 1972 — only 40% of Ilie Năstase’s $25,000 award.

3. The land wasn’t always tennis-friendly

Long before hosting the largest tennis slam in the world, the 1,200-acre plot of land known as Flushing Meadows was completely wild marshland. In 1936, NYC Park Commissioner Robert Moses’ prepared it for the 1939-1940 World’s Fair, using a landfill to create a stable substrate to support vendors, exhibitions, and an iconic globe structure called the Perisphere.

4. A new dedication attracted some major namesUSTA114739_160904JP4_6442

On August 28, 2006, what was previously called the USTA National Tennis Center was rededicated as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. John McEnroe, Venus Williams, Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, and others spoke at the rededication ceremony.

5. Not a single court goes to waste

The US Open uses all of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center’s 45 courts — four stadium courts, 13 tournament courts, 16 practice courts, and 12 indoor courts. Court 17 and the new Grandstand court are sunk seven feet below ground to create a more intimate environment for fans.

6. A paint job made the game easier for fans

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center was the first to paint its courts blue back in 2005. Research shows blue tennis courts create the strongest contrast, which helps the human eye spot a moving tennis ball. This also aids television viewers and live audiences alike. Blue tennis courts are now an aesthetic detail associated with the US Open.

7. One change made the game more fair

A game-changer was electronic line calling, which first debuted at the US Open in 2006. This simple, reliable technological upgrade has eliminated human error from this specific aspect of refereeing.

8. The retractable roof is enormous

Perhaps the most high-tech feature of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is its $150 million fully retractable roof atop Arthur Ashe stadium, completed for the 2016 US Open. It's the largest retractable roof for a tennis stadium in the world. In fact, Wimbledon’s entire Centre Court would fit through the 62,500-square-foot-opening.

9. There’s a historical landmark on the property

The site hosted the World Fair a second time from 1964-1965 with a new sculpture built on the foundation of the Perisphere: the Unisphere. On May 10, 1995, the Unisphere was given official landmark status by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Spectators at the US Open will be able to see the fully-restored Unisphere, complete with 96 fountains and floodlighting.

Find out how you can watch this year's US Open.

This post is sponsored by USTA

Join the conversation about this story »


5 things that make mosquitoes bite you more

Marriage is supposed to be good for your health — but that may not be true anymore

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vegas wedding

  • Historically, many researchers thought that marriage could have an overall positive effect on health.
  • Married people tend to live longer and report better health than single people, though there are some drawbacks to marriage.
  • A new study argues that marriage may not be doing anything to improve health. Past benefits may have been overstated.

Marriage is supposed to be good for your health.

That's been the general consensus of many medical researchers over the past few decades. But the specifics are complicated, as should be expected with such a complex topic.

Abusive and cold ones have clear negative effects; married people are more likely to be overweight or obese; and various studies have found different benefits and drawbacks for men and women. Overall though, researchers have generally found that married people tend to be healthier and live longer.

But if that "marriage benefit" existed at all, it might be evaporating, according to a study published July 5 in the journal Social Science Quarterly.

Dmitry Tumin, a sociologist with the Ohio State University College of Medicine, wrote that scientists who have looked for health benefits over the past few years have reported those effects to be fairly small and inconsistent.

More importantly, Tumin said that his analysis shows marriage isn't really improving health for anyone. Even groups who used to experience some health benefits from marriage are now less likely to see any health improvement at all.

Elderly Couple In Nice

Benefits and drawbacks

Researchers think there are several reasons why marriage could potentially improve health, according to Tumin, though these ideas are controversial. It's possible that spouses encourage some healthy behavior overall or that they provide access to a support network for social, emotional, and material needs.

It's also possible that these benefits have been found in the past just because married people were healthier in the first place.

Here are some of the benefits that researchers have found:

  • Married men and women have a lower risk for certain types of heart disease, according to an NYU study— though some other research has found that people who end up divorced or widowed have increased risk.
  • Married people are likely to have better overall health than other adults, even after controlling for age, sex, race, education, income, and other factors, according to a CDC report.
  • Men who are married are more likely to make use of preventative health care.
  • Some research has found that married people report better mental health status and lower alcohol use.

At the same time, researchers have also found drawbacks associated with marriage:

  • Relationships and friendships can take a hit. "Multiplestudies [have shown] that married people are less likely than single people to help, support, visit, and maintain contact with friends, family, and neighbors," Bella DePaulo, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the author of "Singled Out," wrote in Psychology Today.
  • Married men are generally among the most likely to be overweight or obese, according to the CDC. Some studies have found that women are less likely to be physically active after getting married as well.
  • Several studies have found that the mental health boost — or "honeymoon effect" — that comes after getting married dissipates over time.

Most of these studies specifically refer to heterosexual marriages, as there's less data on married LGBT couples. But at least one recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington found that older legally married LGBT adults reported better quality of life and more economic and social resources than single or unmarried partnered LGBT adults. Physical health was basically the same for partnered and married LGBT adults, better than the health of single adults. But married women in this study were subject to more bias in everyday life.

solitude alone lonely thinking blue mountain

What's changing now

The fact that married people tend to be healthier doesn't mean that marriage is responsible for that effect, so Tumin wanted to see if an analysis of different age groups would show whether or not they became healthier over time if they were married.

He used data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine 12,373 men and women from three separate birth cohorts (1955-1964, 1965-1974, and 1975-1984) who had never been married or were currently in a first marriage for up to four years, from five to nine years, or for ten or more years.

 Tumin found that "the protective effects of marriage have eroded over time," which is consistent with several other recent studies that cast doubt on common wisdom that marriage has health-promoting effects.

The only married people who turned out to be healthier than their non-married counterparts were women who had been married for ten years or more — and that was only true for the oldest cohort in the study (those born between 1955 and 1964). For younger women, that protective effect did not exist.

It's possible that the theoretical health benefits of marriage never really existed in the first place. The use of less robust statistical analysis in the past may have made it seem like marriage was more beneficial than it actually is.

But it's also possible that changing circumstances have made that effect disappear. People are less likely to get married now  — and if they do get married, it often happens later in life. Tumin wrote that there's less stigma against being single now than there used to be, which could explain why single people are experiencing better health than they used to when compared to married counterparts.

Plus, economic factors may have removed some health benefits associated with marriage. Tumin wrote that work-family conflict is on the rise and that the need to maintain two incomes may be increasing stress in general.

"Against a backdrop of greater demands at home and at work, and less time spent together, today's married couples may indeed experience marriage more as a source of conflict and stress than as a resource that safeguards their health," he wrote.

General trends don't apply in all cases — even if married people were healthier, it doesn't mean that an individual person should get married to improve their health (that sounds like a bad idea). And waning health benefits don't mean you should dump your spouse.

Happy marriages in particular seem to have health benefits, but that's probably more related to the effect of happiness in the first place. Whether you achieve that happiness single or as part of a couple, it's fine either way.

SEE ALSO: Happier people make a key decision about how they spend their time

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Take a rare look at the enormous mansions hidden behind the Hamptons' famously high hedges

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Georgica Hamptons FlyoverBeyond its beautiful beaches, bays, and lagoons, there's another type of eye candy that's native to the Hamptons: gorgeous, hidden real estate.

Tucked at the end of snaking driveways, with huge shrubs blocking any chance of a roadside view, some of the East End's most breathtaking homes are rarely seen — at least, until now.

Aerial photographer Jeff Cully of EEFAS captured the area's most exclusive enclaves and the mansions hidden within.

SEE ALSO: No one wants to buy Trump's Caribbean estate, which just got a $11 million price chop

Our tour of the Hamptons starts in Southampton Village, at the western edge of the South Fork of Long Island.



One of the most prestigious communities on Long Island, Southampton is also the most residential, with tons of bars, restaurants, and luxury boutiques. Tree cover is dense, hiding the celebrity summer homes of celebrities like Rachael Ray, Howard Stern, George Soros, Kelly Ripa, and Tory Burch.



To the east of Southampton is Bridgehampton, a smaller hamlet. It's a bit more low-key, but no less ritzy. The Hampton Classic horse show is held here every year.



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Your kitchen sponge is even grosser than you thought — here's how often you should replace it

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kitchen sponge sink

Kitchen sponges are dirtier than toilets.

In fact, it's common knowledge among microbiologists that the things you use to clean your dishes are the dirtiest objects in your home.

A recent study published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports suggests those spongy bacterial colonies may be even more of a health hazard than we thought. Because of that, the researchers behind the report recommend replacing your sponge every week.

In the new study, researchers conducted a genetic analysis of bacteria on 28 samples from 14 used sponges. They wrote that this was the most comprehensive analysis of the microbiome (the community of bacteria) living on kitchen sponges yet.

Kitchens are generally areas in which new bacteria are regularly introduced, both because of human traffic and food prep. Sponges, which are often warm, wet, and contain traces of old food, are ideal breeding grounds for those bacteria.

The goal of the new sponge analysis wasn't specifically to find pathogens, which make people sick, but rather just to see what was living on the sponges. The answer? Lots of things.

"Our work demonstrated that kitchen sponges harbor a higher bacterial diversity than previously thought," the authors wrote. They found that five of the 10 most common bacterial groups had pathogenic potential, including Acinetobacter johnsonii, Chryseobacterium hominis and Moraxella osloensis. They also found pathogenic groups that could lead to infection with E. coli, Staph, or Strep, though those were low abundance. 

(They did compare their tests to newly purchased, unused sponges and found those to be basically bacteria free.)

The other surprising result of the study was that cleaning sponges may be less effective than previously thought. Microwaving and boiling sponges can initially reduce about 60% of the bacteria on them, according to the study, but won't sterilize sponges completely.

And even sponges the scientists tested that had been regularly cleaned in that way didn't have less bacteria than the uncleaned sponges. The researchers think that resistant bacteria likely survive the sanitation process, then quickly repopulate the sponge, making it harder and harder to remove those bacteria over time.

Microbiologist Philip Tierno previously told Business Insider that "the best way [to clean a sponge] is to put it in a little bleach solution." However, the new study didn't evaluate the effects of this method. 

Although it's a good idea to clean a sponge after each use, the researchers "suggest a regular (and easily affordable) replacement of kitchen sponges, for example, on a weekly basis."

SEE ALSO: 7 of the filthiest things you touch all the time

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22 email-etiquette rules every professional should know

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girl works on laptop

US employees spend, on average, about a quarter of the workweek combing through hundreds of emails.

Despite the fact that we're glued to our reply buttons, career coach Barbara Pachter says plenty of professionals still don't know how to use email appropriately.

Because of the sheer volume of messages we're reading and writing, we may be more prone to making embarrassing errors, and those mistakes can have serious consequences.

Here are some basics of modern email etiquette every professional should know:

SEE ALSO: The email habits of Tim Cook, Bill Gates, and 16 other successful people

DON'T MISS: 24 unprofessional habits that could get you fired

Add the email address last

"You don't want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message," Pachter, author of "The Essentials of Business Etiquette," tells Business Insider.

"Even when you are replying to a message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent," she says.



Double-check that you've selected the correct recipient in the 'To' line

Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email's "To" line.

"It's easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake," Pachter says. 



Make sure you address the correct person at the beginning of your email

A similar faux pas is addressing the wrong recipient at the start of your email, which Danny Rubin, author of "Wait, How Do I Write This Email?," says often happens when you send the same email to multiple people.

"Be sure your email recipient matches the first name at the start of the email ('Hi, John')," he writes. "You may even want to say each one out loud so you're sure of it. Sure beats sending an email to an important person but using someone else's name. Awkward."



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