Marijuana's official designation as a Schedule 1 drug— something with "no currently accepted medical use" — means it's pretty tough to study.

Yet a growing body of research and numerous anecdotal reports link cannabis with several health benefits, including pain relief and the potential to help with certain forms of epilepsy. In addition, researchers say there are many other ways marijuana might affect health that they want to better understand.

Along with several other recent studies, a massive report released this year by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine helps sum up exactly what we know— and what we don't — about the science of weed.

SEE ALSO: Silicon Valley's LSD habit is exploding, and now a 27-year old is offering how-to tutorials over Skype

DON'T MISS: A scientist leading the largest marijuana study in history says it's '5x stronger' than in 1980 — but there's a catch

Marijuana can make you feel good.

One of weed's active ingredients, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, interacts with the brain's reward system, the part primed to respond to things that make us feel good, like eating and sex.

When overexcited by drugs, the reward system creates feelings of euphoria. This is also why some studies have suggested that excessive marijuana use can be a problem for some people — the more often you trigger that euphoria, the less you may feel during other rewarding experiences.

In the short term, it can also make your heart race.

Within a few minutes of inhaling marijuana, your heart rate can increase by between 20 and 50 beats a minute. This can last anywhere from 20 minutes to three hours, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The new report found insufficient evidence to support or refute the idea that cannabis might increase the overall risk of a heart attack. The same report, however, also found some limited evidence that smoking could be a trigger for a heart attack.

Marijuana's effects on the heart could be tied to effects on blood pressure, but the link needs more research.

In August, a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology appeared to suggest that marijuana smokers face a threefold higher risk of dying from high blood pressure than people who have never smoked — but the study came with an important caveat: it defined a "marijuana user" as anyone who'd ever tried the drug.

Research suggests this is a poor assumption — and one that could have interfered with the study's results. According to a recent survey, about 52% of Americans have tried cannabis at some point, yet only 14% used the drug at least once a month.

Other studies have also come to the opposite conclusion of the present study. According to the Mayo Clinic, using cannabis could result in decreased — not increased — blood pressure.

So while there's probably a link between smoking marijuana and high blood pressure, there's not enough research yet to say that one leads to the other.

• The Model X is like no other luxury crossover SUV.
• We finally got a chance to properly review it.
• It did not disappoint, but it had some quirks.

At Business Insider, we've driven every car Tesla makes, from the original Roadster to the Model S sedan to the Model X SUV and even the new Model 3 (briefly).

But we've never really reviewed a Tesla vehicle. I thought we could change that up by taking a closer look at the carmaker's top-of-the-line Model X P100D, a luxury SUV that was so well optioned that it would likely cost about $150,000.

I took it on a family road trip, and that meant we had plenty of time to evaluate the Model X's charms and quirks.

SEE ALSO: I just drove the Tesla Model 3 and it changes everything — the entire world will want this car

FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

We got our first look at the Model X when it was revealed in Los Angeles in 2012.

A few years later, after numerous delays, the vehicle was spotted testing in closed-off locations.

And on actual roads!

• Malcolm Gladwell explored why McDonald's fries don't taste the same as when he was a kid.
• McDonald's changed the way it cooked its fries in 1992.
• It swapped beef tallow for vegetable oil when frying french fries.

Famed author and journalist Malcolm Gladwell remembers the first time he discovered McDonald's fries.

"Have you ever seen a puppy encounter snow before?" he asked on an episode of his podcast "Revisionist History." "It was like that for me. A slice of potato, crispy on the outside, yet somehow pillowy soft on the inside. Right then and there I gave my heart to McDonald's."

Unfortunately for Gladwell, this love story doesn't have a happy ending.

Gladwell asserts that McDonald's broke his heart and betrayed him by changing the way its fries taste, and he embarked on a mission to find out what happened.

He discovered that in 1992, McDonald's changed the way it made its fries. He explained:

"They went from frying them in beef tallow to frying them in some combination of vegetable oil. And as you dig into this, what you realize is that that is not an inconsequential move. It's not like when you're frying an egg where it doesn't really matter what you fry it in. A fried egg is a fried egg. A french fry is a combination of a potato and some kind of cooking element. The thing you fry it in becomes a constituent part of the fry."

Around that time, Gladwell said there was hysteria around saturated fat and McDonald's thought its business model would be doomed unless it was able to some how make its products seem healthier. But on this note, Gladwell said it was also wrong.

"It turns out to be false that vegetable oil is healthier for you than beef tallow," he said. "So not only did they destroy the french fry, they gave us something that was worse for us from a health perspective. So everything about it was a mistake."

And he hopes McDonald's admits its wrongs and changes the frying recipe back to the original.

"If they had any balls at all, they would turn around and say, 'We were wrong, and we're going back to fries the old way,'" he said.

Your move, McDonald's.

SEE ALSO: The best high school in America helped create the fast-growing AP program — but now, it refuses to teach the classes

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: There’s a McDonald’s inside this 150-year-old mansion in Maine — and they serve lobster rolls

• Oprah Winfrey releases a list of her "Favorite Things" ahead of the holidays every year.
• She picked a sweater from Lark & Ro — a brand owned and exclusively sold by Amazon — as one of her "Favorite Things" for 2017.
• The selection comes amid a push by Amazon to be a bigger player in apparel.

Oprah is leaning into Amazon's fashion options.

Though she has been making her wish list for years, the media mogul started releasing her annual holiday "Favorite Things" recommendation in conjunction with Amazon in 2015. Since then, it has always featured a smattering of Amazon-branded products, like Kindles and Echoes, and included links to where products are available for sale on the website.

This year, however, marks the first time that Oprah has chosen an item of clothing from Amazon's own stable of private-label brands, recommending a Lark & Ro cashmere sweater that retails for $128.

What she had to say about it was a little different from the stock description:

Butt? Sure. Stomach? Of course. Thighs? You bet. But I've yet to meet a woman who carries her weight in her shoulders. That's why these off-the-shoulder sweaters flatter almost everyone.

A high-profile endorsement like this one from one of America's most beloved personalities could mean a lot for Amazon's still-young clothing labels. Lately, it's relied more on celebrities' star power, like when it launched a new line called Dear Drew with Drew Barrymore.

Amazon is trying to become a much bigger player in apparel overall, and it has launched numerous private-label brands for both men and women.

It's also launched a service for Amazon Prime members called Prime Wardrobe, which takes a lot of the hassle out of buying clothes online by making them easier for customers to return. Rumors are also swirling that it will enter the sportswear business, which accounts for a large chunk of apparel sales in the US.

Amazon is expected to pass Macy's as the US' largest apparel seller this year, according to Cowen & Co. Its clothing and accessory sales are expected to grow nearly 30% next year, to $28 billion. Currently, Amazon claims only 6.6% of the apparel market, but that is expected to increase to 16.2% in the next five years.

SEE ALSO: Amazon's bookstores are generating almost no revenue — and there's an obvious reason why

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what candy corn is actually made of — it may surprise you

• God Save The Points blogger and frequent flyer Gilbert Ott told Business Insider he always uses the ExpertFlyer app to get the best seat in economy.
• The app allows users to play "musical chairs" by showing them a seat map for flights — and letting them set up alerts for when certain seats become available.
• He has even got an entire row to himself using the app on more than one occasion.

Blogger Gilbert Ott is an expert at finding cheap flights, scoring first class flights, and jaunts on private jets using air miles — but he also knows about how to make an economy flight feel a little more luxurious.

There's even a trick he uses to get the best seat in economy class — and it's given him an entire row to himself on more than one occasion.

The God Save The Points blogger uses an app called ExpertFlyer, which he told BI "allows you to set seat alerts and play 'musical chairs' every time someone moves out of an assigned seat."

In a blog post for God Save The Points, Ott wrote that the app "allows users to view up-to-the-moment seating charts and, better yet, allows users to set alerts for when and if their ideal seat pops up."

"A smart flyer (which you clearly are) sees the cabin as a game of musical chairs," he said. "If the best seat in the house is available immediately — book it. If not, get the next best available seat — and set free alerts on ExpertFlyer for any and all the seats you’d prefer. By doing so, you can keep improving up until final boarding.

"Once everyone else has settled their fate, you can often stand in the boarding line with your app open seeing if final seating assignments have created any opportunities — like an entire row to yourself. It really does happen."

Ott is currently holding a competition— called Catch Me If You Can — where he promises to give up his business and first class seats for the rest of the year to anyone who can find him at an airport.

Someone recently caught him at the airport, and he had to give up his business class seat — but using ExpertFlyer he got an entire row to himself and "still had a 'flatbed.'"

He said using the app is "all about execution" — and there are a few things to keep in mind when you use it. Here are his secrets:

1. Figure out the best seats on your flight early on.

"Use SeatGuru to get feedback on each plane," Ott said.

2. Set alerts.

"You can select things like 'any seat,' 'any free (not paid) seat,' 'any free window seat.' By doing this you’ll at the very least have a pleasant flight."

3. Watch the seat map after check-in.

"There’s nothing wrong with asking the gate agent if it’s possible to move to (insert seat number) just before boarding, or even perhaps during. And don’t forget, some airlines will even sell you a row."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Asking yourself these 4 questions will lead to a longer, more meaningful life

• After meeting at D.E. Shaw & Co., Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos were married in 1993.

• Shortly afterward, the couple relocated to Seattle to found Amazon; MacKenzie was one of the company's first employees.

• Today, Jeff Bezos is worth $90.6 billion, making him the world's richest person.

Jeff Bezos wasn't alone when he made his cross-county road trip to Seattle in 1994. And he wasn't alone when he founded Amazon, the online retail giant some analysts now believe will be the world's first trillion-dollar company.

His wife, MacKenzie, was there for the whole journey.

In an interview with CBS, she described watching her husband build Amazon up from scratch: "To me, watching your spouse, somebody that you love, have an adventure — what is better than that?"

Here's a look inside the 24-year marriage of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos.

SEE ALSO: A day in the life of the world's richest person, Jeff Bezos — who made $6.44 billion in one day, wakes up without an alarm, and washes dishes after dinner

MacKenzie and Jeff first met at investment management firm D.E. Shaw. MacKenzie was a research associate and Jeff was a vice president. Jeff was the first person to interview MacKenzie — a fellow Princeton grad — at the firm.

Source: Business Insider, Forbes, Vogue

"I think my wife is resourceful, smart, brainy, and hot, but I had the good fortune of having seen her résumé before I met her, so I knew exactly what her SATs were," he joked to Vogue.

Source: Vogue

After she landed the job, they became office neighbors. "All day long I listened to that fabulous laugh," she told Vogue. "How could you not fall in love with that laugh?"

Source: Vogue

More than 170 years ago, author Henry David Thoreau camped out in the Massachusetts wilderness to experience life away from civilization.

His life near Walden Pond has seeded an idea for a new housing development that marries an idyllic setting with internet, electricity, and other creature comforts of the 21st century.

Walden Monterey is a 22-home enclave set on 609 acres overlooking the California coastline. It's the latest extension of the "agrihood" trend, in which millennials turn away from the golf communities beloved by baby boomers in favor of "agricultural neighborhoods" that offer ample green space, farms, and outdoor community kitchens, among other amenities.

The community at Walden Monterey is still under construction, and no homes have been built yet. The lots will sell for about $5 million each — a price tag that only includes the land.

The developer of Walden Monterey is betting that tech executives, looking to unplug from the daily grind of Silicon Valley and reconnect with nature, will find respite. Take a look.

SEE ALSO: Rich millennials are ditching the golf communities of their parents for a new kind of neighborhood

In 2016, Nick Jekogian, a real-estate developer from Manhattan, scooped up 609 acres of wilderness in Monterey, California, a coastal area about an hour's drive from Silicon Valley.

Jekogian planned to turn it into a golf course with villa-style homes across the property.

Baby boomers flocked to golf communities in the 1990s. Living in one of them was a status symbol. 

At the suggestion of a construction manager, he pitched a tent and decided to stay a few nights in order to get a feel for the land and an understanding of what made it special.

• The Aviary is one of the best bars in the world. 
• Its owner, Grant Achatz, recently opened a new location inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City. 
• Highlights include a drink that's infused with the scent of everything bagels. 

The Aviary, which was named one of the best bars in the world earlier this year, recently opened a location inside the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City.

Complete with a view of Central Park and cocktails that redefine what mixology and bartending can be, the bar is a creation of Grant Achatz, the mastermind and chef behind Alinea, the best restaurant in America. 

We got to witness the making of three visually stunning and equally delicious cocktails — take a look, below. 

SEE ALSO: I've lived in Brooklyn for 5 years — and these are my favorite places to eat

The lounge seats 90 guests and is on the 35th floor of the hotel, providing sweeping views of Central Park below.

Assistant Bar Manager William Peet demonstrated how he makes the "Heart of Stone" cocktail. Here, he carefully places black and Rooibos tea leaves, pistachios, saffron, orange, fresno chile, and peach into a container.

A mixture of bourbon, whiskey, white port, and pistachio liqueur are then poured into the canister to infuse the flavors.

What happens to a spacecraft once it dies?

When a spacecraft completes its mission or runs out of fuel, it's sent to what NASA calls a Spacecraft Cemetery. Three thousand miles off the Eastern coast of New Zealand and more than 2 miles deep, it's the one place farthest from any land mass on Earth.

The perfect spot to land giant chunks of spacecraft that are traveling more than 180 mph upon impact. NASA predicts the chance of a spacecraft hitting someone out here to be around 1 in 10,000.

Since 1971, over 263 spacecraft from four nations have crashed here. Only the largest spacecraft ever make it here. Smaller satellites burn up completely before reaching the surface.

Next on NASA's list is the International Space Station. It's scheduled for decommission in 12 years to finally take its place among sunken space history.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Civil rights attorney Larry Krasner is the heavy front-runner to win the race to be Philadelphia's next district attorney, a powerful position in the heavily incarcerated city.
• While he has never served in government, he has a long career of suing police for civil rights abuses and defending activists in court.
• District attorneys' races have become the frontline in the battle to reform criminal justice and end "mass incarceration," with millions of dollars being poured into local races over the last year.

Civil rights attorney Larry Krasner has always been obsessed with what it takes to make change. At the age of 11, he got into a debate with his Sunday School teacher about whether it was right to break the law for the greater good. The two were arguing over the Civil Rights movement and protests over the Vietnam War — events that shaped his life and perspective.

Today, Krasner is running for district attorney of Philadelphia, a powerful position in a city with the highest rate of incarceration of the US's 10 most populated cities.

At 56, he is pursuing elected office for the first time after a 30-year career defending radical activist groups like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Philadelphia. He's also sued police for civil rights violations more than 75 times.

"I was born in '61. So in '68 when I'm watching TV … I'm seeing the Vietnam War and the protests and the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago," Krasner told Business Insider.

"I remember all that and, even more importantly, I remember [Martin Luther] King. … It was a very visual time, and when you are a 7- or 8-year-old kid and you're watching this happen ... it's compelling. The war was compelling. It was all compelling. And then, they were getting killed. [Robert F. Kennedy] was speaking out against the war. And then he is dead. And then King is dead, and he's dead because of white supremacists."

Krasner, well-dressed in a sharply cut blue suit, tinted horn-rimmed glasses, and a well-kempt head of silvery hair, doesn't look the part of a political outsider.

With his raspy but measured speech, he could pass for a senator in a liberal state. But make no mistake, Krasner may be the most progressive candidate for such a major office in years. The center of his campaign platform is ending "mass incarceration," the constellation of state and federal policies that have put more than 2 million Americans behind bars.

And though nearly all of the candidates in the seven-person Democratic primary he won in May promised reform, all it took was one look at their careers to convince him to run for office for the first time in his life.

Some of the candidates "were flagrantly authoritarian during their careers," Krasner said. "And yet all of a sudden I'm hearing about their 'Which way is the wind blowing now' virtues, and I just figured this is ridiculous."

"Somebody real has got to get into this, because these people aren't going to change anything."

SEE ALSO: Former white supremacist: Trump's post-Charlottesville statements aren't a 'dog whistle' — they're a 'bullhorn'

DON'T MISS: Texas is shedding its lock-'em-up image thanks to a 37-year-old tattooed lawyer and an unlikely political alliance

Lawyers are usually 'technicians' for the movement, not the leaders

Krasner is widely expected to win the general election against his Republican opponent, Beth Grossman, due to Philadelphia's 7:1 Democratic registration advantage, but he isn't spending the final days of the campaign resting.

With the November election weeks away, Krasner is spending every day hitting the pavement courting voters — over the course of the weekend he would run from debate to community meeting to city forum.

Though he sounds excited, Krasner is also keenly aware of how winning will upend his life, his successful and lucrative criminal defense and civil rights practice, and his family. His wife, Lisa M. Rau, is a judge on the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia and has been unable to attend any campaign events out of ethical concerns.

If elected, Krasner wouldn't be the first progressive district attorney in a major US city, but he might be the most radical — though he is loathe to use the term. When I asked him whether he considered himself an activist after spending his career defending the rights of activists and suing police, he demurred.

"I don't think I deserve that much credit," he said. "I consider myself an activist's lawyer. I consider myself to be a movement lawyer." After a little pressing, Krasner launched into a story, as he often does. He referenced the relationship between William Kunstler, the famous civil rights lawyer and activist, and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I think [Kunstler] used to refer to the lawyers as 'technicians' for the movement," he added.

That idea, of lawyer as a "technician" to a movement is central to Krasner's idea of himself. Though he is a charismatic figure, he seemed uncomfortable to suddenly be the face of Philadelphia's leading movement for change.

President Donald Trump's roaring victory in last year's election has cast a shadow over the DA's race ever since candidates began throwing their hats in the ring last September — almost as much as that of Seth Williams, the city's last elected DA.

Williams resigned in June after a year-long corruption scandal and was sentenced to a five-year prison sentence for, in the words of the judge, feeding "his face at the trough" of public money.

When Krasner announced his candidacy in February, in an 11-minute video surrounded by local activists, he joined a crowded Democratic field of former assistant district attorneys and a judge.

David Rudovsky, a civil rights professor at University of Pennsylvania's law school, told Business Insider they were all "trying to out-progressive each other" on everything from mass incarceration and racial injustice to the death penalty.

At a debate in April that Rudovsky moderated, he told the seven Democratic candidates, "It sounds like you all are running for public defender."

A PAC associated with George Soros put $1+ million behind Krasner's campaign

Over the last several years, the push for criminal justice reform has centered around electing progressive district attorneys, an acknowledgement that DAs make the day-to-day decisions of what cases to pursue, what charges to press, and who gets a second chance.

Much of that push has been led by billionaire financier George Soros, and his "Safety and Justice" PACs, which funneled more than $3 million into seven DA races in 2016. The PACs reportedly put more than $1 million behind the Krasner campaign, a fact detractors have repeatedly seized upon.

But while Krasner concedes the "Soros money" — as it's been called locally — "amplified" his message, he established himself long before it arrived.

On day one of his campaign in February, Krasner released a detailed platform calling for an end to cash bail imprisonment, reviewing convictions and freeing the wrongfully convicted, ending "stop and frisk" and civil asset forfeiture abuse, and standing up to police misconduct.

By the time Soros-paid ads aired in late April, three weeks before the primary, Krasner had a slight edge over Joe Khan, the establishment front-runner when the race began, and a heavy lead over Michael Untermeyer, an ex-Republican who put nearly $1 million of his own money into the race.

In November, 170,000 tech workers will descend on San Francisco for Dreamforce, a massive conference hosted by Salesforce. Those eager attendees will be looking for things to do.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf might seem like obvious choices, but San Francisco has more to offer than tourist traps like the trolley cars and "Full House" home. 

To help you experience the best of the city, we surveyed Business Insider employees based in San Francisco on their favorite local spots. From the nature trails at Lands End to happy hour at the Tonga Room, these off-the-beaten-path destinations showcase the best of the city.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco is so expensive, this couple decided to live on a boat — here's what it's like 10 years later

On Thursday nights, the California Academy of Sciences stays open late for adults-only special events. Take a yoga class in the aquarium, see the stars at the planetarium, or grab a cocktail and mingle with the nearly 46 million scientific specimens on site.

Address:55 Music Concourse Drive

Cost: $15

Church of 8 Wheels is a roller disco like no other. On Friday and Saturday nights, skaters (many in costume) fill the rink located inside a 120-year-old former Catholic church.

Address:554 Fillmore Street

Cost: $10 for admission and $5 for skate rental

GameVibes at the Folsom Street Foundry is a gamer's paradise. Thursday and Friday nights, players flock to the bar for video games, board games, and everything in between.

Address:1425 Folsom Street

Cost: $5

What you see isn't always what you get — especially when it comes to salary.

According to a 2010 study from Princeton University, Americans' happiness number — the income threshold at which their day-to-day happiness is no longer enhanced by earning more money — is $75,000.

That's a reasonable number. In fact, it's nearly 30% more than the national median income. But depending on where you live, a $75,000 salary can look very different when it hits your bank account, after federal, state, and local governments have taken their share.

We used SmartAsset's paycheck calculator to find out what $75,000 looks like after paying taxes in 11 popular US cities. The chart below shows annual take-home pay in each city.

Some states, like Washington, Florida, and Texas, don't have state income taxes, so a $75,000 earner will bring home a bigger paycheck there than someone in California or New York.

Still, these totals account only for state and local income taxes, which vary by place, plus federal income taxes and Social Security and Medicare (known as FICA), which amount to $778 per pay period no matter where in the US you live.

If you're contributing to a tax-advantaged retirement account, like a 401(k), the paycheck you bring home will be less than these figures.

But in that case, your savings are covered — or at least part of the recommended 20% of your paycheck you should earmark for savings and paying off debt — and the rest of your paycheck can go toward necessities like housing, food, transportation, and discretionary spending.

The same goes for health insurance, if you're enrolled in a healthcare program through your employer, which will deduct monthly insurance payments from your paycheck on a pretax basis.

New York City residents fare the worst in our city comparison. Earners there take home just under $50,000 on a $75,000 salary, largely thanks to steep state income taxes and city taxes. That doesn't leave much to cover housing or transportation costs in the most expensive city in the country.

Below, check out the twice-monthly paycheck breakdown for workers earning $75,000 in 11 US cities.

SEE ALSO: How much income you have to earn to be considered middle class in every US state

DON'T MISS: Here's how your take-home pay could change if Trump's new tax plan is passed

Dallas, Texas

Miami, Florida

Nashville, Tennessee

• Several bartenders Business Insider interviewed said they looked down on people who order shots, especially top-shelf ones.
• For one thing, they say, it's a waste of money.
• Here's what ordering expensive shots says about you, according to these bartenders.

Bartenders can discern a lot about a person from what they order. And shots are an especially telling request.

"When you go for shots, I think 'trouble,'" a bartender in New York with eight years of experience told Business Insider.

Or, as another bartender in the US Virgin Islands put it, "Shots equal jacka-- juice."

Expensive shots in particular illicit a gut reaction from bartenders.

"Some people will buy loads of expensive shots when out in groups," a bartender from Ireland with 12 years of experience told Business Insider. "They're trying to look flash."

But for all your attempts to look cool, bartenders say you just wind up looking the fool.

"You look stupid when you order expensive shots," a former bartender from New York with 10 years of experience told Business Insider. "The whole point is to get it down quickly — you're not enjoying the quality."

This bartender said that when someone walked into his bar and ordered a shot of a top-shelf liquor, he immediately thought they were trying to impress people by wasting their money.

"Shots are not designed for savoring," he said. "They're made to get drunk from."

"If you want to pay double for something that does nothing more than add to the cash register, go for it," he said.

But you're not doing anyone any favors.

So if you must order shots, how do you avoid looking like an idiot and insulting your friends and the bartender?

"I would recommend knowing a few brands of the liquor you like to shoot and their price levels," one bartender suggested. "Look for something mid-level as your go-to."

SEE ALSO: Airline workers share 14 insider facts about flying most passengers don't know

DON'T MISS: Airline workers share 17 things they wish passengers would stop doing

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Try a Mean Fiddler: Star bartender, from Wall Street's Dead Rabbit pub, makes us his favorite drink

Eli J. Finkel, a professor at Northwestern University and the author of "The All-or-Nothing Marriage," explains how to maintain fiery passion in a relationship. Following is a transcript of the video.

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

We want our spouse usually to be our primary source of emotional support. So, I want to be able to come to you when I'm most vulnerable — when I'm most pathetic and weak and hurt.

And I want you to support me. And that's great. It's one of the great things that we can get out of a meaningful marriage.

The problem is it's not particularly hot, right? Like, when I'm coming to you with my tail between my legs and just feeling weak and defeated by the world, you're probably not thinking how desirable I am.

You're thinking of how much you want to nurture me in the way we might nurture a young child.

On the other hand, when we want to have sexual passion in the relationship, there's another way that we like to connect with each other.

So, there's this interesting juxtaposition of we want to have a respectful, loving, warm, nurturing sort of connection, but we also want a little bit of naughtiness and impropriety. And reconciling those two things is difficult.

But it isn't impossible. There's been some excellent research coming out over the last decade that looks at the importance of engaging in novel and exciting activities together.

A lot of us default to engaging in comfortable sorts of activities together — sitting on the couch and watching some nice television for example.

And that's good for the relationship too, especially if you're having some communication while you're watching. That tends to increase the amount of satisfaction and connection we feel in the relationship.

But it doesn't tend to increase how much fire and passion we have in the relationship. What does that is engaging in novel — that is new and exciting sorts of activities that we haven't tried before.

Examples might include ballroom dancing, going hiking/ one person in one of the couples listed shucking oysters for the first time. But things that get you out of the mundane reality of everyday life — this is one of the most promising recipes for helping to sustain a sense of fire and passion for the partner.

Join the conversation about this story »

• President Donald Trump and the House GOP unveiled a massive tax-reform bill on Thursday.
• It proposes a new limit — $500,000 from the current $1 million — for home-mortgage-interest deductions.
• Millennials and buyers in expensive markets would be most affected by the disappearing homeownership incentives.

President Donald Trump's new tax plan just dealt a blow to many would-be homeowners.

The 429-page GOP tax plan, called the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" was revealed on Thursday and is being billed as a boon for hard-working middle class Americans.

But Republicans have proposed paring down popular homeownership incentives, which would likely affect millennials and millions of people living in high-cost housing markets.

The tax plan cuts the $1 million limit for the home-mortgage-interest deduction in half. The deduction allows homeowners to write off the interest they pay on home loans, effectively reducing their taxable income. The bill would apply to new home purchases and make it so homeowners can only deduct interest payments on up to $500,000 worth of home loans.

In previous generations, that may have been a typical mortgage amount for a first-time homebuyer, but today's young people are different. Millennials are "skipping starter homes," Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff said, and moving straight to the $1 million range when its time to buy their first house.

The mortgage size on a $1 million home would be $800,000 — assuming the homebuyer makes a down payment of 20% of the purchase price, though some are putting down payments as low as 10%. Under the proposed bill, the homeowner could only deduct interest on the first $500,000 of the loan, leaving them to shoulder the rest of the principal and interest payments without the benefit of a tax deduction.

"Eliminating or nullifying the tax incentives for homeownership puts home values and middle-class homeowners at risk, and from a cursory examination, this legislation appears to do just that," William E. Brown, president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said in a statement.

What's more, home prices — and thus, loan amounts — are much higher in pricey coastal markets like New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. Millennial populations in these cities are only increasing.

Two powerful trade associations slammed the GOP's tax plan on Thursday, reports Business Insider's Akin Oyedele, saying the reduction of a key benefit for homeowners could hurt the market.

Jerry Howard, the CEO of NAR, estimated that 7 million homes would be excluded from the mortgage-interest deduction, amounting to about a third of the homes in California.

"You're talking about potentially causing housing recessions in some of the biggest markets in the country, and those kinds of recessions tend to have spillovers," Howard said. "We're worried about a national housing recession."

SEE ALSO: The GOP tax plan doesn't touch your 401(k) — and that's a huge opportunity to build wealth

DON'T MISS: Here's how your take-home pay could change if Trump's new tax plan is passed

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How much money you need to save to retire by age 40

• AltSchool, an educational-technology startup based in San Francisco, is closing its outpost in Manhattan's East Village.
• It's the second closure that AltSchool has announced in two days.
• The VC-backed startup will refocus its efforts on licensing its proprietary educational software to existing schools, rather than create new schools.

AltSchool, an educational software developer and network of "micro-schools" with four locations in California and New York, is shuttering another outpost.

The startup's schoolhouse in Manhattan's East Village will close its doors at the end of the academic year, according to an email obtained by Business Insider from vice president of schools at AltSchool, Sam Franklin, to parents of AltSchool students on Thursday night.

It's the second closure that AltSchool has announced in two days, after the buzzy ed-tech startup revealed it's closing its location in Silicon Valley. AltSchool appears to be refocusing its energy on licensing its educational software to existing schools, rather than creating new ones.

In an email to parents, Franklin apologized to parents who may have learned about the school closures "in the news rather than hearing it from us."

AltSchool charges $27,000 for tuition, but it has been spending about $40 million per year, Bloomberg reported. The startup is backed by top investors including Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz. It has raised at least $170 million to date.

AltSchool runs four grade schools: San Francisco's Yerba Buena and Fort Mason locations and New York's Brooklyn Heights and Union Square outposts. These lab schools serve as testing grounds for an in-house team of technologists to innovate new tools for the classroom. AltSchool evangelizes using technology to personalize the curriculum for individual students.

The startup licenses its tech to at least hundreds of schools nationwide, Bloomberg reported.

Founded in 2013, AltSchool is the brainchild of founder and CEO Max Ventilla, who left his role as Google's head of personalization to launch the educational-technology startup.

SEE ALSO: What it's like to attend Stanford, where twenty-somethings launch startups worth millions

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Silicon Valley billionaires are appalled by normal schools — so they created this new one

• House prices in Hong Kong are among the highest in the world, but it's also one of the world's most unequal cities.
• Its poorest residents have been priced out of the property market: Hong Kong's poor residents have just 50 square feet of living space per person, according to a new study.
• This week, a palatial four-bedroom house in the city's exclusive Peak district was sold for a record £87 million ($148.7 million).

LONDON — House prices in Hong Kong are among the highest in the world, but there's a dark side to its property boom.

A new survey of 204 families in one neighbourhood, cited in the Guardian, found Hong Kong's poor residents have just 50 square feet of living space per person on average. That is the equivalent of half a car-parking space, and less space than prisoners in the city-state's maximum security jails enjoy.

Perhaps the grimmest illustration of Hong Kong's housing shortage is its "coffin homes," the poorly-lit, minuscule, and often unhygienic apartments occupied by its very poorest citizens.

READ MORE: Terrifying, first-person photos show the claustrophobic conditions inside Hong Kong's 'coffin cubicles'

The survey illustrates the stark contrast between the living conditions of rich and poor in Hong Kong, one of the world's most unequal cities. On Wednesday, a palatial four-bedroom house in the exclusive Peak district was sold for £87 million ($148.7 million), Reuters reported.

While not all properties are quite so expensive, property prices continue to spiral, and a recent UBS report found a skilled service worker would need to work 20 years to afford a modest 650 square foot flat near the city centre, the longest time-period from a list of 20 leading cities.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here are your chances of winning at popular casino games

At only 26 years old, Ella Mills, better known as Deliciously Ella, has more than a million followers on Instagram and product ranges in the retail giants like Starbucks and Sainsbury's.

Her food empire is based around healthy eating and living, and making smart swaps to cook and eat food that's still delicious — but there's one kitchen staple she absolutely couldn't live without.

"If I had to chose one ingredient I couldn’t live without it would probably be a really good herb and spice rack, because I think it’s the easier way to add so much flavour to what you do," she told Business Insider.

"Things like turmeric, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, mustard seeds, ginger, cinnamon, curry powder — I think that is the kind of magic to any dish and that is the one thing I couldn’t live without."

Business Insider followed Mills for a day to see what a day in her life is really like — and she also gave us some insight into how she runs a successful business with her husband.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Bourdain and Danny Bowien share the best way to cook steak

• Papa John's CEO was slammed on Twitter for saying NFL players' protests dragged down the chain's sales. 
• Frozen pizza brand DiGiorno piled on, with a tweet implying Papa John's tastes like "dog s---." 
• Papa John's changed its Twitter bio to read: "Frozen pizza = the pizza equivalent of a participation trophy." 

Papa John's just shot back at DiGiorno Pizza. 

On Wednesday, Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter criticized NFL leadership and blamed players protesting during the national anthem for dragging down the pizza chain's sales. 

The response was rapid. While some people rallied around Papa John's in support, others took the opportunity to roast the chain – including by insulting the quality of its pizza. 

DiGiorno Pizza was one of the Twitter accounts to pile on. On Wednesday, the pizza brand seemingly subtweeted the competition via emoji:  

A second tweet clarified that this was definitely aimed at Papa John's, implying that the chain's pizza tastes like "dog s---." 

On Thursday, Papa John's tweeted "#NewTwitterBio."

The new bio: "Frozen pizza = the pizza equivalent of a participation trophy," a clear jab at DiGiorno. 

The "participation trophy" insult will likely resonate with many of Papa John's supporters on the right who have rallied around the chain after Schnatter's comments. The idea of "participation trophies" are a common criticism, especially from the right, often used to criticize political correctness and millennials. 

SEE ALSO: DiGiorno Pizza just roasted Papa John's after the chain's CEO slammed the NFL

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why pizzas come with that plastic table in the center

Norwegian Air made headlines in September when it launched its inaugural flight from London to Singapore, the longest low-cost flight in the world at 12 hours and 45 minutes.

The trip — from London Gatwick to Singapore Changi Airport — covers 6,764 miles (10,885 km) and runs four times per week, using brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

"LowFare" seats currently start from £179.90 ($235) one-way in basic economy — or £699.90 ($914) in Premium class — although LowFare doesn't include a checked bag, seat selection, or meal service.

And this isn't the only crazy-cheap long-haul deal with the airline. In February, it announced that it will launch flights from the US Northeast to Europe for as low as $65 (£50), as well as direct flights from London to Chicago and Austin from £179 ($234). In February 2018, Norwegian will also start flying to Buenos Aires.

They're pretty great deals on paper — but what can you expect?

We spoke to bloggers and the airline itself to find out what it's really like to fly long-haul on Norwegian — both in Premium and Economy class.

Emily McNutt, the associate editor at The Points Guy, who managed to snag a round-trip flight from New York to Oslo for $388 (£297) including seat selection, told Business Insider that "for the budget traveller, Norwegian is a game changer."

From check-in to landing, scroll down to see what it's really like to fly Norwegian.

Norwegian Air launched its London to Singapore route in September, the longest low-cost flight in the world.

The route covers 6,764 miles (10,885 km) and takes 12 hours and 45 minutes.

The airline held a special Singaporean themed celebration to mark the inaugural flight from London's Gatwick to Singapore Changi Airport.

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

 The flights run four times per week.

But what's it actually like on board?

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BZk4ryjgbli/embed/
Width: 658px

  We set out to find out.