Hope Hicks, 29, is President Donald Trump's full-time White House communications director. But before joining Trump's 2016 campaign, she had no political experience.

Hicks was born in Greenwich, a town of 60,000 on the southwest tip of Connecticut that's a favorite spot for hedge-fund headquarters.

She was a model, actress, and lacrosse player as a child, before getting her English degree at Southern Methodist University.

Hicks didn't intend on playing such a large role in a presidential campaign, instead falling into the gig through a job at the Trump Organization.

She now finds herself as one of Trump's youngest advisers, promoted to communications director in September after being named "interim" in August.

And Hicks has been with Trump — to use his words — "from the beginning." She stuck on his campaign through several staff revamps, including two high-profile changes at the campaign-chair position.

Here's what we know about Hicks.

SEE ALSO: Kellyanne Conway and other women reveal what it's like to work in Trump's White House

DON'T MISS: MEET THE NEW EXECUTIVE BRANCH: Here's who Trump has appointed to senior leadership positions

Hicks and her sister, Mary Grace, were successful teen models. Hicks posed for Ralph Lauren and appeared on the cover of "It Girl," a spin-off of the best-selling "Gossip Girl" book and TV series.

Source: New York Times

Hicks' first brush with the Trumps came in 2012 when she was at the public-relations firm Hiltzik Strategies working on Ivanka Trump's fashion line. Trump's eldest daughter hired Hicks away in 2014 and she became an employee of the Trump Organization.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/816768567517581312
Congrats to my brilliant, kind & wickedly funny friend Hope Hicks on being named to the @Forbes#30Under30 list! https://t.co/s3YO9Eq83Z

Sources: New York Times, GQ, NYMag

Hicks met patriarch Trump and quickly "earned his trust," Ivanka Trump told The New York Times for a June 2016 profile on the spokeswoman.

Source: New York Times

Going on holiday is like an escape from reality, and visiting a really good hotel can feel like dipping into a different world.

As part of the Readers' Travel Awards 2017, Condé Nast Traveller asked its readers to rate their favourite hotels across Europe that they had visited this year. 

Each hotel was rated based on various factors including staff, location, and remarkability. The complicated selection process took into account the unique and exceptional aspects of each establishment that go beyond the realms of numeric scores.

Scroll on to discover the 20 best hotels in Europe in 2017, ranked in ascending order.

20. Elounda Beach Hotel and Villas — Crete, Greece. With nothing but the deep blue of the Mediterranean as far as the eye can go, Elounda resort in sunny greece is the 20th best hotel in Europe.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BZJi2iMBLRp/embed/
Width: 658px

Private decks complete with infinity pools make for the perfect secluded corner to watch the steam rise off the water first thing in the morning.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BZ5WrLnABsr/embed/
Width: 658px

19. Hotel Crillon le Brave — Provence, France. Prioritising the simple pleasures of Provinçal living in its ethos, Hotel Crillon le Brave offers guests a relaxed, simple escape to a rural village surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.

The Queen's Crown Estate is home to some iconic landmarks, but this one in Oxfordshire is the only one with a McDonald's restaurant.

It's at Banbury Gateway Shopping Park, around 80 miles away from London. We travelled there to get a proper English breakfast: A bacon sandwich with brown sauce with a cup of tea.

The McDonald's is quite modern: It has digital menu boards, Samsung tablets, free Wi-Fi, charging ports, and even table service. 

The Crown Estate funded the development of Banbury Gateway Shopping Park in 2015. Other shops include Marks & Spencer and Primark.

Produced and filmed by Claudia Romeo. Special thanks to Rosie Fitzmaurice.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an assassin in "Killing Gunther."
• He does a lot of outlandish things in the movie, including singing a country music song.
• Schwarzenegger said he did "freak out" when he learned he had to sing on screen.

There aren’t many things Arnold Schwarzenegger will admit that make him feel vulnerable.

The 70-year-old action movie icon, who’s also a former Mr. Universe and governor of California, has played the tough-guy persona for decades. But in his new movie, “Killing Gunther” (in theaters and available on streaming), there is a moment that Schwarzenegger admits he did “freak out” over doing: singing. A country music song, to be exact.

“I don’t mind looking foolish but it's just that I'm so bad at singing,” Schwarzenegger told Business Insider. “The only time people ask me to sing is if they want the party to stop. If they want everyone to go home. Immediately.”

Schwarzenegger plays Gunther in the movie, the world’s best assassin. “Saturday Night Live” alum Taran Killam leads a group trying to track down Gunther and kill him (Killam also directed the movie). In the faux documentary-style action/comedy we are given a glimpse into Gunther’s fabulously outlandish life. Along with showing off his wacky outfits and other accessories he also reveals one of his hobbies: singing. He explains that he has a recording studio in his home and loves recording country music songs. The scene then cuts to Gunther in a recording booth singing a song.

That’s right, Schwarzenegger, singing country, and also dressed like he’s about to go to a rodeo.

“I just don’t have an ear for music,” said Schwarzenegger. “That’s why for ‘Twins’ Ivan Reitman made me sing so people would laugh. So, I get it. It’s embarrassing.”

And there’s nothing more funny than a guy with an Austrian accent trying to sing country. Make sure to stick around for the closing credits of “Killing Gunther” to hear Schwarzenegger’s entire song.

Here’s Arnold singing in “Twins.”

SEE ALSO: Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about playing his most outlandish character yet in "Killing Gunther," and which of his movies he'll stop to watch

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's why people are afraid of clowns — and what you can do to get over it

Hong Kong is in the midst of a housing crisis. As prices begin to rise and the city grows denser, some have resorted to living in the smallest of spaces. 

Since 2012, photographer Benny Lam has been documenting the housing situation in Hong Kong by focusing his camera on what have become known as "coffin homes" or "coffin cubicles." Some of these homes are as small as 20 square feet, and most have no windows. Diseases can easily spread among the more than 200,000 people that live in the tight quarters of these homes. 

With help from the Society for Community Organization, which fights for human rights in Hong Kong, Lam has been able to exhibit his work and help spread the word about these dangerous living conditions. See some of this photos below. 

SEE ALSO: 12 eerie photos of enormous Chinese cities completely empty of people

Lam's series is titled "Trapped."

His work was recently recognized by Prix Pictet, a photography award that highlights work documenting environmental sustainability issues.

Hong Kong does not have much land that is suitable for development, and the city is getting denser.

Mark Zuckerberg, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Facebook, has a net worth of $74 billion and counting.

He's currently the fifth richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, but it seems he doesn't have a taste for opulence. Especially when it comes to cars, clothes, and travel.

As a member of the Giving Pledge and cofounder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Harvard dropout has dedicated much of his current and future fortune to charitable causes.

Keep reading to find out exactly how Zuckerberg and Chan spend their billions.

SEE ALSO: A typical day in the life of Mark Zuckerberg, who wears the same thing every day and tucks his daughter in every night

DON'T MISS: Meet the 9 richest people in America, who have a combined fortune of $567 billion

In May 2012, eight years after its founding, Facebook debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. At the time, it was the biggest technology IPO in history. Each year since then, Zuckerberg has added an average of $9 billion to his net worth.

Source:Fortune

Despite his status as one of the richest tech moguls on earth, the Harvard dropout leads a low-key lifestyle with his wife Priscilla Chan and their two young daughters.

Like many other Silicon Valley stalwarts, Zuckerberg favors a uniform. Though casual in appearance, his signature grey t-shirts and hoodies are designed by luxury brands and are reportedly much more expensive than they look, retailing for hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Source:Business Insider, GQ

The time has come at last: the Great Pumpkin-ing is upon us. Consume copious amounts of orange-colored "pumpkin"-flavored foods and drinks, and be merry!

From breakfast cereals to favorite candies, the flavor is everywhere. But is any of it good?

We tasted all the pumpkin-spice products we could find at Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, CVS, Dunkin' Donuts, and Panera Bread to find out.

Here's our ranking of the 20 pumpkin-spice products we tasted:

Marina Nazario bravely contributed reporting on a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: We visited the 'McDonald's of Russia' that's trying to take over America — here's what it was like

20. Trader Joe's pecan pumpkin instant oatmeal

The texture of the oatmeal, combined with a weak flavor, makes for a watery disappointment.

19. Pumpkin-spice candy corn

Incredibly gross. We couldn't discern any "pumpkin spice" flavoring, just straight sugar — unsurprising, considering it's candy corn.

18. Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin-N-Spice trail-mix granola bar

This granola bar lacks the taste of pumpkin spice. It's essentially sugar-coated pumpkin seeds, clumped together with trail mix.

• I went to Smith & Wollensky, Warren Buffett's favorite New York City steakhouse.
• I found the experience to be out of step with modern dining.
• Steakhouses promote a stuffy culture that's going extinct. 

Most of the time, when I go out to eat, I'm looking for a chill, fun time. I'm willing to bet Warren Buffett is looking for something different.

On a recent visit to Smith & Wollensky, famously Buffett's favorite steakhouse in the Big Apple, I was able to see just how much dining standards have changed from their stuffy origins. 

Every year, people bid millions of dollars for a meal with Buffett at the famed steakhouse. This July, a bidder agreed to pay $2.68 million to a San Francisco charity for a lunch for seven with the Berkshire Hathaway CEO. We don't have millions of dollars to spend on a meal with Buffett. But, we were able to make a reservation at Smith & Wollensky ourselves. 

Smith & Wollenksy is not chill, however. "Hip" isn't the word I'd use either — "staid" is more like it.

Walking inside makes you feel like you forgot a gift for a special occasion. There's a uniformed doorman waiting to greet you, and inside, the atmosphere is stiff, with white tablecloths and an implied dress code. The waiters are buttoned-up, and they seem to scoff if you order the cheapest bottle of wine on the menu, which, when we visited, was a $52 bottle of pinot noir from New Zealand. It came with a screw top. 

The classic steakhouse experience — both at Smith & Wollensky and other restaurants like it — is nerve-wracking for a casual diner. Feeling like you're being judged is stressful, especially when you're spending hundreds of dollars on a meal. That's the opposite of what I'm looking for when I go out to eat with friends or family.

True, I'm not an 87-year-old billionaire, but dining out is supposed to be about enjoying yourself.

Prices are also high. Among the menu items we sampled were a $140 "seafood bouquet," a $120 filet mignon for two, and a $36 branzino. We ended up paying more than $30 for water because we didn't know to ask for tap when posed the "still or sparkling?" question. The final check for a meal for five people was $800 with tax and tip. 

While it all tasted great for the most part, there wasn't a lot of creativity or inventiveness to these menu items. I've no problem with paying for amazing food, but the amount of money we spent didn't feel great.

This is a very old-school model for dining out. The experience is set, and all you can do is sway a little to the left or the right.

Steakhouses like Smith & Wollenksy cater to a certain crowd. They're a place to see and be seen, work out deals over a T-bone, or take out a special client who just flew in from Phoenix. It's also a favorite of tourists who see it on "best-of" lists and are still reverent of New York City's dying steakhouse culture.

But the demand for that seems to be dying out quickly. These days, the country's best restaurants are praised for their innovation, the quality of their ingredients, and their ability to surprise and delight their customers. You see a lot of this in Lower Manhattan. 

Plus, today's business leaders — the target steakhouse audience — don't have time to wheel and deal over sirloin. They'd rather spend time with loved ones after a rough day at the office trying to make their businesses work. 

"I think historically ... 'power' was heavily defined by being seen and who you were seen with," Christene Barberich, the cofounder and global editor-in-chief of Refinery29, told Business Insider in April.

She added: "Today power comes, more likely, from flexibility, freedom, and efficiency."

Even on Wall Street, today's business meetings pale in extravagance compared with the meetings bankers held before the recession. Many businesses are becoming more image-conscious and, along with that, more cautious about appearing wasteful. Several restaurants that were long known for hosting business people on power meals have struggled recently, like the now-closed Four Seasons and Le Cirque, which just filed for bankruptcy.

Diners now want choice. And if they don't want wine with dinner one night, they want to feel like that's an OK choice to make, with no second-guessing.

Steakhouses — and the stuffy culture that comes along with them — are a dying breed. 

SEE ALSO: We ate at Warren Buffett's favorite New York City steakhouse — which people pay millions to dine with him at — here's what it was like

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The head of a $55 billion fund at First Eagle points out the risks everyone else on Wall Street is missing

• SAS is a software company based in Cary, North Carolina.
• Its 900-acre campus offers a ton of amenities and perks.
• Take a look inside.

Imagine you got to work in a village-sized campus with your nearly 6,000 coworkers. Some of your company's perks included a soccer field, daycare, tons of beautiful artwork, a pool, manicures, and as much food as you could ever want.

Well, that's just a day at work for SAS employees.

"SAS has always believed that if you treat people well, keep them challenged with interesting work, and respect them and their contributions, they will do their best work for you," Shannon Heath, senior communications specialist at SAS, told Business Insider. "Simply put — treat employees like they make a difference, and they will make a difference."

Back in the 1960s, SAS began as a humble software development project at North Carolina State University.

Since it became a company in 1976, its products have been adopted across Fortune 500 companies, and it has grown to have a market cap of $1.5 billion.

The design of its headquarters reflects both its status as a tech giant and its original academic routes.

Here's a look at the headquarters:

SEE ALSO: Take a look inside the vibrant headquarters of $67 billion Adobe, where employees can hit the gym and learn to cook for free

SAS is the largest employer in Cary, North Carolina. There, its headquarters inhabits a sprawling and lush 900-acre campus. The space tends to draw on the company's collegiate roots.

Source: Cary Chamber of Commerce

"Putting people first and respecting the knowledge they have has always been a priority for the company," Heath said. "We believe creating a great work environment that people want to come to each day is critical for employees and for the business."

Buildings take up about 300 acres of the property, while 600 acres are dedicated to bodies of water, woodlands, and open, grassy spaces. The whole area is criss-crossed with trails for employees to walk, jog, and bike on.

• Manners have changed throughout history.
• The Greeks, for example, dined while reclining on beds. Before the Renaissance, tablecloths were used as napkins.
• Today, we have done away with many old-fashioned manners — and in most cases, we're better for it.

You want to come across like a decent, civilized person, right?

Good manners are key.

That being said, it's a fairly common complaint that society has completely lost its grasp on basic manners.

It's a somewhat misguided idea, though. Manners aren't static concepts. Etiquette varies across cultures and sometimes fades away with time.

For example, today, you'd be upset if your friend cleaned their hands on your nice, new tablecloth. But that sort of behavior was perfectly acceptable centuries ago.

Remember that next time you hear someone starting to complain about how people used to have better manners.

Here are some strange old customs that have fallen by the wayside:

SEE ALSO: 8 old-fashioned manners you can comfortably leave behind

DON'T MISS: 7 rules of medieval knighthood that will change the way you look at chivalry

1. Passing out to express your emotions

There's a reason Victorian heroines always seem to be swooning in stories.

It's easy to blame their clothing. Corsets in particular have a terrible reputation as a restrictive, harmful garment, but most women throughout the centuries didn't lace them tightly enough to cause health problems.

In an article published in the Journal of Victorian Culture, Victoria Bates focuses on how fainting often came into play with female witnesses in trials in the 1800s. Feigning unconsciousness may have been a way for women to conform to Victorian norms and assumptions about gender, modesty, and health.

"A simple loss of consciousness was the blank canvas onto which witnesses projected their own concerns about appropriate female behavior and particularly emotionality," Bates writes.

2. Wiping your hands on the dinner table — and rolling your eyes at forks

Today, if you tossed aside your fork and smeared your greasy hands on the table cloth at a restaurant, people would think you'd been raised by wolves.

But before the Renaissance, that was actually the norm. National Geographic reported medieval era table cloths were there for people to wipe their hands on. There were limits, however. Spitting and sneezing on the cloth was considered rude, although expectorating away from the table was just fine.

Meanwhile, according to National Geographic, forks were considered effeminate and suspicious utensils.

Things didn't change until the 1500s, when table manners became a mark of the European elite.

3. Dueling to sort out conflicts

Back in the days before Twitter beefs and harsh emails, people — mostly men — sometimes settled tiffs with pistols, canes, and swords.

Into the 1800s, dueling was considered the honorable way for gentlemen to save face and satisfy their besmirched honor. In fact, the activity came with its own complicated etiquette rules.

Take a "code duello" from 18th century Ireland, as printed in "Famous American Duels" by Don Seitz, for instance.

The guide dictates that if the person who started the fight apologized first, the fighting could be averted. Otherwise, the combatants would take up their weapons and follow a whole complex choreography of trying to kill, injure, or scare one another over a spat.

The code highlights several potential reasons for duels, including everything from insulting ladies to insinuating someone cheated at cards.

LONDON — What motivates someone to run tens of thousands of meters for almost 24 hours to complete?

"That's a good question," Fabian de Prey, 42, said.

De Prey is the head of global equity-linked products in EMEA for investment bank RBC Capital Markets. But in his spare time, he runs ultramarathons — any race above 42.2 km, the standard length of a marathon.

Business Insider spoke to de Prey to discuss how he finds the time, why he does it, and his tips for any aspiring ultramarathon runners.

de Prey recently completed the 85km L’Échappée Belle ultramarathon over the French Alps, raising over £2,500 for Great Ormond Street Hospital in the process.

The gruelling race, known for its complex ascents and descents in the mountains, took him 23 hours and 26 minutes to complete.

"Why [did I do it]? I don't know," de Prey said. "It keeps me focused, I guess, having a target. It's not about the race itself, it really is about the journey to get ready on the day itself both physically and mentally."

"The one I did, on my watch I had 7,000 meters of ascent and 8,000 meters of descent. You can only imagine what toll that takes on your knees."

Ultramarathons are competitive races of any length above a marathon and de Prey caught the bug for ultras around six years ago when a friend convinced him to take part in a 100km trail walk in Hong Kong, where he was living at the time.

"When you're out there for 23 hours — it's like a meditation. You're pushing your body to the limit, you get to understand your body, in the sense that you could be absolutely knackered and get cramps everywhere, and think about just giving up. Then you just sit down for five minutes, drink a bit, have a gel, start slowly again, and then you surprise yourself — one hour later, you're running, against the odds."

De Prey has done "five or six" ultramarathons since he started, raising an estimated £20,000 for various charities.

It can be tough finding the time to train given his demanding job.

"I never really have long, long sessions," he says. "Going out for a 30km run just for training — that never happens."

"I try to go to the gym every day if I can or run in Hyde Park with my partner on weekends, say 15km. In the gym, I workout on step trainers. I've done it over lunchtime today for 40 minutes."

RBC is supportive. The bank is a large charitable donor and sponsors the Race for the Kids in London, a 5km run that supports Great Ormond Street Hospital. The bank has sponsored the race for eight years and helped raise £2.5 million for the hospital.

• Dating app Happn allows users to see who they've crossed paths with in real life.
• 1.7 million people use Happn in the UK.
• The 15 most popular people on Happn are largely from London — but Newcastle and Ascot also feature.

Whether you're living in a big city or a small town, when you're single it can seem impossible to meet someone new.

However, there are certain people who seem to have dating down to a fine art.

Dating app Happn, which launched in the UK in May 2014, allows people to see who they have crossed paths with in real life.

If two people on the platform — which has 37 million users in 50 cities — "like" each other by tapping a heart on the other user's profile, then they can start messaging.

1.7 million people use Happn in the UK, so they certainly know the ins and outs of dating throughout the country.

Back in April, Business Insider teamed up with Happn to find out who the most "liked" users in the London were at the time — and to ask them what they owe their dating success to.

Now, we've done it again for the whole country. Unsurprisingly given the capital's population, most of the people on the list also live in London — but Newcastle and Ascot also made the cut.

Out of over 1.7 million single candidates, these are the 15 men and women who came out on top, ranked in ascending order of popularity.

15. Jennifer Lottes, 37.

Job: Freelance circus artist.

Hometown: York, Nebraska, USA.

Current location: London.

Strangest date location: A cemetery.

Dream holiday: "I see a cabin in the Alps during the winter. Just lounging and relaxing by the fire. Making a long morning, sipping coffee and enjoying the scenery. Staying cosy bundled up. Maybe snowshoeing in the afternoons."

Dream dinner guest: "It's so hard to say just one! Ricky Gervais, Christopher Walken, Chelsea Handler. I think I could give them all crap and we would have fun together."

Surprising facts: "That I'm a circus artist."

Book of the moment: "The Book of Secrets" by Deepak Chopra.

Favourite food: "Indian is my current favourite. Really anything with great rich flavours.
Sauces and gravies. I love food and eat a lot of it!"

14. Piotr Bartosiewicz, 32.

Job: Graphic Designer.

Hometown: Szczuczyn, Poland.

Current location: London.

Book of the moment: "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins.

Favourite food: Mediterranean.

13. Ian Powell, 28.

Job: Account Director.

Hometown: Ascot, Berkshire.

Current location: Ascot.

Dream dinner guest: "Probably David Attenborough. Margot Robbie at a very close second!"

Dream vacation: "I really want to do the Virgin Galactic space flight when it opens up to the
public."

When Tony Robbins prepares for one of his seminars, physical training is as important to creating an engaging experience as is nailing his material. Seminars like "Unleash the Power Within" consistently run past their scheduled daily endings, and Robbins will be on his feet — running, jumping, and yelling across the stage and audience — for as much as 16 hours in a day. On top of that, the world-famous life coach is on the road for the majority of the year, and he runs 12 companies.

To maintain this schedule into his late 50s, Robbins works every day with his personal trainer Billy Beck III, who has worked with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and professional athletes from the NFL and UFC. Part of Robbins' daily routine includes a session using a pulsed electromagnetic field therapy machine. According to Beck, these machines can cost around $25,000. 

While on a recent trip to Fiji Robbins invited us into his home to try out the PEMF machine he uses on an almost-daily basis to relieve stress and minimize pain. His machine is manufactured by Vance Medical LDN. The company's website lists these benefits from the use of the PEMF machine:

Opening cell membranes, increased oxygen transport across cell membranes,  increased ability to remove toxins, increased "energy" available to individual cells, increased wound healing, and mood improvement.

Robbins invited senior strategy reporter Rich Feloni to try it out. Following is a transcript of the video:

Rich Feloni: So right now it feels like I'm getting, like, punched in the chest on both sides.

[Tony Robbins' "Electric Taco"]

Tony Robbins: I'm gonna throw you on my PEMF machine, which is basically electrocuting you, basically. Not really, but what it does is it charges up the cells so they communicate better, changes the circulation in the body, but it also destroys the weak cells so they're replaced more quickly. 

Billy Beck III: This is is a pulsed electromagnetic field therapy device. These things are generally like $25,000 and they are very effective. 

Feloni: And how often do you use it?

Robbins: Every day. Five, six days a week. But when I'm in a seminar, every single day. But usually five, six days a week.

So now we're gonna give you the charge. 

Beck: This is exciting! This may change your life forever ... in a good way!

And you don't have any metal in your body of any sort?

Feloni: Never. 

Graham Flanagan: You took your retainer out, right? [LAUGHTER]

Beck: So, I'm gonna do it slowly. We're gonna work as a team. You tell me when you feel it, even if it doesn't hurt. You tell me when you first feel it, and then we'll gradually go up, okay? Alright, rock and roll.

Feloni: Okay, I'm feeling something.

Beck: Okay, we'll just leave that there for a minute.

Robbins: He's gonna turn it up a little bit more. You ready for a little more?

Feloni: Yeah. 

Robbins: Okay.

Feloni: So, now I'm feeling it on my left side in my rib cage. 

Beck: How's that?

Feloni: Okay. Yeah, now it feels – 

Beck: I can see your whole body moving.

Feloni: Yeah, it's gone from like, a tickling vibration to to kind of like, patting on me. Like, beating slightly. 

Robbins: Does it hurt, though? Or is it okay?

Feloni: Um ...

Robbins: No one's gonna shock you, but if it gets a little too intense, I take it right to where it's like at the edge is where I take it. 

Beck: When you're feeling the vibration that's just the muscles contracting because of the electrical impulse. And when you're feeling the pain, that's actually where the body needs it. 

Robbins: He doesn't have it high enough up. It's not gonna be breaking up any cells at this level. 

Beck: Wanna break up some cells? Let's do it. 

You good there?

Robbins: Too much? If it's uncomfortable — too uncomfortable, you tell us at any time. We'll turn it down. 

Feloni: Yeah, it's starting to hurt. 

Robbins: Take him down a little bit.

Beck: Let's take it down. This is really high for the first time, just so you know.

Robbins: So, your whole body is charging up right now, basically. 

Beck: You're a champ, man! No fear!

Feloni: Maybe one more?

Beck: Okay!

Robbins: Up or down?

Feloni: Up. 

Robbins: Wow. 

Beck: Well done, Rich!

Robbins: Done!

Beck: Awesome!

Robbins: There you go. 

Beck: Awesome!

Robbins: Here you go, brother. 

Feloni: Alright.

Robbins: Now, notice how you feel.

Feloni: I feel like a freshly-charged iPhone.

Join the conversation about this story »

Now is the time to book your winter getaway— or start planning at the very least.

HomeToGo, a vacation rental search tool, has compiled a list of the most affordable ski resorts in North America so you can tear up the slopes, even if you're on a budget.

They gathered data for the 35 top-rated ski resorts in the US and Canada, and then estimated the average total cost of a one day/night stay. The final cost includes:

• Equipment rental: mid-level skis, boots, poles, and a helmet for one day.
• A one-day lift pass.
• Lunch: a burger with fries and a soda at a mid-range restaurant on the slopes.
• Accommodation: the average price per person for a four-person vacation rental found on HomeToGo in the resort, between December 16, 2017 and April 15, 2018.

When prices were unavailable from the resorts, HomeToGo based price forecasts for this winter on last season's prices.

Below, check out the 19 best and most affordable ski resorts in North America where a day of skiing plus an overnight stay costs less than $250:

SEE ALSO: 10 affordable getaways to celebrate New Year's 2018

DON'T MISS: 12 dreamy photos of people who left it all behind for a nomadic existence traveling the world in a van

19. Snowbird, Utah

Total cost (1 day/night): $249.85

Equipment rental and lift ticket: $172

Lunch: $15.50

Vacation rental: $62.35

18. Holiday Valley, New York

Total cost (1 day/night): $239.03

Equipment rental and lift ticket: $123

Lunch: $9.99

Vacation rental: $106.04

17. Diamond Peak, Nevada

Total cost (1 day/night): $231.37

Equipment rental and lift ticket: $149

Lunch: $14.00

Vacation rental: $68.37

The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was built between 1972 - 1984 in New York. 

It was met with heavy protests from locals while under construction, this was due to the Chernobyl disaster, which killed 31 people. 

Locals in the area feared that the same outcome could happen, and refused to sign evacuation plans which are required before the plant can open and be fully operational.

This led to the full decommission and abandonment of the plant in 1994. 

Till this day the building still stands and even has power.

Produced by David Ibekwe.

Join the conversation about this story »

Dr. Erin Gilbert is a practicing dermatologist in New York City. Here, she explains what you should do if you're going to pop a pimple at home. Following is a transcript of the video.

Dr. Erin Gilbert: Well, step one with pimples is that everybody wants to touch them. In my practice — and I completely understand. You want to get in there, you want to touch it. You want to make it go away. So, number one is restraint.

I'm Dr. Erin Gilbert and I'm a dermatologist practicing in New York City

Try to exercise restraint because it’s going to heal so much faster if you don't get in there and start traumatizing it.

If you have gone down the dark path and you haven't listened to what I'm saying, it’s understandable. We all do it. We all just want them gone. We think if we do more it's going to get better and in fact, less is more in this kind of scenario. What you really should do is try the best you can to just not aggravate it more. You want to minimize what you're doing to that area of skin. You’ve inflamed it, in some cases you've caused a scratch on the surface of the skin. And so there's a few things that are important.

One of them is you can sort of cool the area down and you can use something like an ice cube. Just put a little piece of ice in either a paper towel or a washcloth. You can put that on and cool down the redness and cool down the inflammation. Another thing is you can use cucumber the same way. You can put cucumber in the fridge, get it nice and cold, and apply it to the area that you've been picking at.

Finally, the thing you want to just be careful about is make sure that it's not getting infected. So, what you can do is, if you see that it's getting red, inflamed, and kind of getting worse and worse and worse, you really should consider using an antibiotic ointment in that area. So, the last thing you want is to have an enormous, inflamed, infected pimple which is going to last you a lot longer and leave a greater red mark.

Join the conversation about this story »

We love famous last words.

There's a reason there are so many books listing memorable deathbed sayings throughout history out there. Perhaps we'd just rather believe well-known figures tend to die saying something clever and profound. It makes death itself a little less scary.

But, for that reason, final words can be quite tricky. As with any quotes on the internet — and historical quotes, in general — it's hard to sort out what's true and what's phony or exaggerated.

Here are several poignant, strange, or otherwise memorable last words from throughout history:

SEE ALSO: 18 people who accomplished incredible things at a shockingly young age

Historians believe the 21-year-old school teacher-turned-spy was paraphrasing a line from the popular 18th century play "Cato" as he stood on the scaffold, according to the book "Cato's Tears and the Making of Anglo-American Emotion." The British hung Hale after he was captured during a failed 1776 espionage mission in Long Island.

The Roman statesman met his fate in 43 BCE, after Mark Anthony put a hit out on him during the power struggle following Julius Caesar's death.

Cicero attempted to flee, but accepted his death when confronted by his assassins. He even stuck his head out of his litter in order to make it easier for the killers to strike, according to "Forgotten Justice."

According to the 2016 biography "Marie-Antoinette," the deposed French queen apologized to her executioner on the scaffold in 1793. She had accidentally stepped on his foot on her way to the guillotine.

Tom Brady, 40, is the greatest quarterback in football history, according to the NFL, sports bloggers, and this New England-bred sports fan. The five-time Super Bowl champ didn't reach peak condition at an age when most players have already retired by eating chips and dip.

Brady owes his longevity to an intense diet and workout plan, which the GOAT ("greatest of all time") touts in his new book "The TB12 Method." Vegetables make up 80% of what he and his supermodel-wife Gisele Bündchen eat, along with whole grains, nuts, and lean meats.

In 2016, Purple Carrot, a meal-kit delivery service that serves 100% plant-based foods for a vegan diet, partnered with Brady to bring meals based on the way he eats to customers. Using the guidelines laid out in his book, TB12 Performance Meals deliver aim to "help athletes and active individuals stay at their peak" — just like the GOAT. (Though Brady is not a vegan.)

For $78 a week, subscribers receive three meals with two servings of each. 

I recently tried the TB12 Performance Meals for two weeks. Here's what it was like.

SEE ALSO: We tried the clothes Tom Brady uses to help him sleep better and recover faster after games — and they work surprisingly well

SEE ALSO: We tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imagined

My first delivery from Purple Carrot and TB12 came with its own locker-room pep talk plastered on the side of the box.

"What we get out of our bodies is a direct result of what we put in. Food is your fuel, and we believe that food can help you achieve and sustain your peak performance," the box read.

When I opened it up, I found this "hand-written" note from the Super Bowl champ himself.

I was feeling jazzed. I'm a carnivore, but I've been wanting to cut down on my meat consumption for animal welfare-related reasons. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.

While Brady eats lean red meat and chicken in limited quantities, Purple Carrot offers only vegetarian and vegan meals. Andy Levitt, CEO and founder of Purple Carrot, hopes that the partnership with the football player turns more everyday consumers on to plant-based diets.

"Tom has shown the world what is possible by being a part-time plant-based eater," Levitt said.

I was about to find out.

I've lived — and eaten — in Brooklyn for the past five years. Five years in one borough has been just enough time to pinpoint my go-tos and, unfortunately, see some of my favoriterestaurants shutter. By this point, I've had plenty of time to return, try new menu items, and see if they continually impress.

Ahead are the restaurants that I've gone to on multiple occasions — for after-work drinks, birthday dinners, and brunches — and they've never let me down. While all of my favorites are located in northern Brooklyn, it's no disrespect for the rest of the borough, which I'm now beginning to explore as part of phase two in my Brooklyn explorations.

My top picks are all also within a relatively low price range — the highest is a pizza for $25. I suggest you split that with good friends.

SEE ALSO: A little-known Brooklyn neighborhood was named one of the world's coolest places — here's what it's like

Best burger: Blue Collar in Williamsburg

It's at Blue Collar where I first fell in love with peanut butter milkshakes. One of those, along with a cheeseburger, make for a perfect late-night snack after going out in Williamsburg. You won't find any frills at this place — it's just a simple burger and hot dog joint. Prices range from $3.25 to $7.25. 

Best pizza: Speedy Romeo's in Bed-Stuy

Speedy Romeo's pizzas are prepped in a wood-fired Italian pizza oven and have the perfect crust consistency. Their signature pizza, The Speedy Romeo, is made of grilled dough, green tomatoes, house-made ricotta, basil, and lemon.

If you're a fan of s'mores, their "chocolate cake" dessert — made almost entirely of a massive, fire-branded marshmallow — is to die for. Prices range between $6 and $78.  

Best pasta: Eva Jean's in Bed-Stuy

Eva Jean's interior doesn't feel like it should be in Brooklyn — its colorful decor, plants, and fireplace ring more West Coast to me, but Brooklynites seem to love it.

Since the menu changes seasonally at this farm-to-table restaurant, I've tried multiple dishes, including the chicken breast with rutabaga purée and Swiss chard, but I will never forget the cacio e pepe pasta dish I had there twice in 2015. Prices change seasonally.

Eli Finkel, author of "The All-or-Nothing Marriage," and a professor of psychology at Northwestern University says that addressing longterm compatibility before popping — or answering — questions is a major factor in avoiding divorce down the line. Following is a transcript of the video.

Eli Finkel: When people make the decision to get married, they do it in large part because they think they're compatible. Right? They think: This is somebody that makes me happy or that makes me feel loved and that I can love and these are the priorities for me."

I'm Eli Finkel. I am a professor at Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management. 

For most people, that snapshot of two years or whatever it is that you're dating before you decide to make a marital decision, how representative of your overall life are those two years going to be when you're say in your late 20s and you're you know, you're building a career and you're still hanging out some with your college friends but there aren't screaming toddlers. There aren't newborns like pooping their diapers all the time. 

So the degree to which you're compatible right now isn't any sort of guarantee whatsoever that you'll be compatible even in three years or five years. 

If you have goals that misalign, if you view your ideal version of yourself, for example, is not the person that your spouse actually wants you to become then you have some amount of incompatibility. And the question is: How do we reconcile that? How can we increase our level of compatibility? Broadly speaking, there are two things that are necessary. 

The first is the motivation to do it. We have to decide: "The relationship is important enough to me that even though my goals really aren't aligned with yours right now I'm willing to exert the effort. I'm willing to make the sacrifice in order to help us become more compatible." 

But the second issue is ability. Right? If really what you want from your partner is intense philosophical debates or a good tennis sparring partner, you may well have a partner that's not suited to that. And in those cases the best thing to do is not really try to become more compatible with your spouse, but to make that particular incompatibility irrelevant. By for example, having those sorts of debates or tennis matches with a friend or somebody at work or something like that.

And so there is a risk that you will marry somebody who will change in ways that become incompatible with you or that you yourself will change in ways that become incompatible with your spouse. And we know that risk, or at least we should when we decide to tie the knot.

Join the conversation about this story »