Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 115236 articles
Browse latest View live

The 25 US colleges with the best location

0
0

University of San Francisco

With prime access to bars and restaurants, and enjoyable weather, the University of San Francisco is America's college with the best location, according to academic-review site Niche.com.

Niche's ranking assessed 1,376 four-year colleges and universities on a number of factors including student response on surveys, access to bars, restaurants, cafes, and outdoor activities; local weather; and percentage of residents aged 18-24.

Scroll through to find out the 25 colleges with the best location.

SEE ALSO: The hardest college to get into in every state

24. University of Colorado-Denver — Denver, Colorado



24. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences — Boston, Massachusetts



23. University of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Inside the secret masquerade yacht party that brings the wildest techies and Wall Streeters together for a night of debauchery

0
0

Kiva Sutton   BoatPaty17 484 8

By 10:30 p.m.,  I was ready to collapse on the dance floor. Everyone else was heading to an afterparty at a far-off warehouse. That's the kind of party New York's Burlesquerade is.

Now in its 7th year, the annual costumed gala has grown from a birthday party in a tiny apartment to an extravaganza on a 30,000 square-foot "super yacht" featuring an eye-popping lineup of DJs, aerialists, burlesque dancers, and performance artists.

The Burning Man-esque party attracts 1,200 partygoers ranging from bigwigs at Goldman Sachs and Facebook to Brooklyn's DIY fashion designers and filmmakers. Timothy Phillips, the man whose birthday started it all, says he hopes the event is "inspiring."

"The idea is really just to set this expectation that everyone should be surrounded by people who inspire and motivate them all the time," Phillips told Business Insider.  "We try to create events that facilitate that."

Phillips recently invited me to attend this year's Burlesquerade. Here's what it was like.

At Phillips' insistence, I showed up at Pier 40 early so he could show me around the boat, the Hornblower Infinity. I was dressed in my costume gala finest, but in true New York form, no one batted an eye.

As I made my way through the security line, where guards studiously checked the videographers and volunteers' bags, Phillips spotted me.

He was dressed in a black glistening jacket that evoked a raven's feathers and was flying back and forth a bit like a mad bird, talking to security or the caterer or picking up a cellphone for a harried call to an unknown person. 

Phillips said that the Burlesquerade started because he had friends from so many different scenes that were often “intimidated by each other” or “stuck in their preconceptions about who the others were.”

By creating a massive party and forcing everyone to costume themselves, he thought he might be able to “break down those barriers.”



Phillips soon handed me off to Joe Che, his business partner and the man most often tasked with turning Phillips' high-flying ideas into, in Che's words, "practical realities."

Dressed in a kind of antique captain's jacket festooned with ornaments, Che gave me a tour around the boat so I knew where all the performances and activities would be. But as he warned me, there's too much to do for any one person to see everything.

Challenge accepted.

Che explained that he and Phillips formed Lightning Society three years ago to expand what they had created with the Burlesquerade and to find new ways to “bring people together for meaningful connections.”

So far, that has resulted in the current version of the Burlesquerade and a co-living space in Bushwick.

The co-living space, which houses 16 people ranging from a teacher to tech developer to an astrophysicist, hosts weekly programming, including yoga and dance classes and an ongoing speaker series.



They started boarding the boat early because the security line takes so long.

The event recruits more than 150 volunteers to put on the party, who do everything from set up to production and photography. Volunteering is a way for many who can’t afford the $75 ticket price to join the festivities. 

It takes Che, Phillips, and the team of volunteers seven hours to set up the boat.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

RANKED: The 11 best movies of 2017

0
0

BI Graphics_Best movie of the year 2017_4x3

Most of us can’t wait to see 2017 end, but before we put a flamethrower on the whole thing let’s look back on something that wasn’t bad: the movies.

From the iconic Wonder Woman finally getting on the big screen to the movie that will mark the supposed final performance of one of our greatest living actors Daniel Day-Lewis, movies on both the studio and independent side found ways to make us forget our daily troubles and escape into stories that have stayed with us long after the closing credits.

Here are 11 movies from this year that did just that for me:

SEE ALSO: "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson reacts to the backlash and addresses the movie's most shocking moments

11. “Logan Lucky”

This is the best movie you didn’t see this year. Sadly, Steven Soderbergh’s southern-fried version of “Ocean’s 11” didn’t get a lot of box office love, but if you did catch it (or are getting around to it now as it’s available on streaming/blu-Ray) you know why it made this list. The movie is hilarious and Channing Tatum teamed with Adam Driver is gold. Plus, Daniel Craig is just on another level in this. 

The movie is also one of the best written of the year — now if we can only figure out who to thank



10. “Wonder Woman”

It’s hands-down my favorite superhero movie of the year. Patty Jenkins creates goose bump moments (No Man’s Land scene) while giving us the long-awaited big screen telling of one of comic books’ most iconic characters. In a genre where it’s hard to impress anymore, this movie pulled it off.



9. “Mudbound”

This is another crown jewel for Netflix. Dee Rees’ look at life on a Mississippi farm post World War II is powered by its incredible ensemble cast, and striking visuals and score. Rees proves she’s one of the top young directors working today and I still can’t get Jason Mitchell’s performance out of my head.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Trump White House is all decked out for Christmas — see inside

0
0

Melania christmas

Every year, the White House gets decked out in elaborate decorations to celebrate the holidays, and the Trumps have put their own personal touch on this season's Christmas flair.

The official theme this year is "Time-Honored Traditions," meant to pay homage to over 200 years of White House holiday celebrations.

First lady Melania Trump unveiled the transformation on Monday. See inside:

SEE ALSO: The Trump White House is hanging mistletoe — and some people are freaking out

DON'T MISS: 7 of the most amusing products you can buy at the Trump store

This year, the White House is filled with 71 wreaths, 53 Christmas trees with more than 12,000 ornaments, and 18,000 feet of Christmas lights.



The official Christmas tree stands tall and regal in the White House Blue Room. It is decorated with the seals of every US state and territory.



The first lady, like many before her, has taken a leading role in overseeing the holiday preparations. Here she is marveling at the handiwork of the White House staff.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Meghan Markle joined the royal family for their most famous Christmas tradition

0
0

Meghan Markle Sandringham royals

  • Meghan Markle made her first appearance with the rest of the royals on Christmas Day.
  • She visited the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, Norfolk.
  • The Queen spends every year at Sandringham with her family.


Meghan Markle has joined the British royals on their best-known Christmas tradition — a festive church service which the whole family attends.

Markle, arm in arm with fiancé Prince Harry, was photographed outside the Church of St Mary Magdalene, just outside the Queen's estate in Sandringham, Norfolk, where she always spends Christmas.

She walked with Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Also in the party were Prince Charles, who will become Markle's father-in-law when she and Harry marry in May 2018.

Meghan Markle Sandringham

It is her first public appearance with other senior royals, and she posed with photographs with the whole group, including the Queen.

Previous generations of princes did not bring their fiancées with them to Sandringham until after they were married, but that precedent was broken this year with Markle's arrival.

royal christmas photo 2

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Cryptocurrency is the next step in the digitization of everything — 'It’s sort of inevitable'

One of the most famous Christmas carols was originally a salacious pop hit

0
0

Christmas carol sing santa hat song singing

• The Christmas carol "What Child Is This?" is sung to the tune of "Greensleeves."

• "What Child Is This?" is a song about the birth of Christ, while "Greensleeves" is a love ballad.

• "Greensleeves" also includes subtly salacious lyrics.



Most Christmas carol enthusiasts have listened to "What Child Is This?" at some point.

Like all Christmas carols, it focuses on a major event from the Christmas story; namely, shepherds coming to visit the newborn Jesus. But the lyrics dealing with the birth of Jesus were added to the melody centuries after the song's tune was written around 1580.

The originally melody — "Greensleeves" — isn't religious in nature at all. In fact, it's all about a painful romantic conundrum and includes what some historians view as subtly salacious lyrics.

Popular legend attributes it to Henry VIII, who is said to have written it for Anne Boleyn — the woman he would ultimately marry and execute. But in "Angel Song: Medieval English Music in History," author Lisa Colton writes that this association is "erroneous," as the song most likely originated during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

The lyrics deal with a spurned lover accusing Lady Greensleeves of casting him off "discourteously," despite the fact that he loved her, paid for her lodgings, and bought her a petticoat, a pearl-bedecked gown, and a jeweled necklace.

The song's scandalous twist is hidden in its very title.

Green wasn't necessarily an innocuous color in early modern English society. According to "Women's Roles in the Renaissance," the phrase a "green gown" denoted promiscuous behavior — namely, getting grass stains on your dress while engaging in amorous activities outdoors.

Authors Meg Brown and Kari McBride speculate the term "Greensleeves" may even refer to a prostitute.

But the exact meaning of the song has been debated for centuries. In "Roll Me in Your Arms: Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore," Vance Randolph suggests the singer might have assumed Lady Greensleeves was a prostitute, given her green dress. According to this school of thought, the singer was mistaken and Lady Greensleeves took offense at his assumption.

Regardless, the song was immensely popular. William Shakespeare even has Falstaff name drop the tune in "The Merry Wives of Windsor": "Let the sky rain potatoes! Let it thunder to the tune of 'Greensleeves'!"

The melody proved enduring. People even began adding their own words to the song.

English insurance company manager William Chatterton Dix wrote one such set of lyrics while undergoing a spiritual awakening in 1865. He scribbled out a poem called "The Manger Throne" while he recovered from a near fatal illness and a bout of depression, according to the Hymns and Carols of Christmas.

But "What Child Is This?" wasn't born until 1871, several years after Dix's death.

Sir John Stainer — the composer behind the modern arrangements of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Good King Wenceslas" — got a hold of a few of the poem's verses, according to Song Facts.

He cobbled those together, slapped them onto the tune of "Greensleeves," and created a classic Christmas carol with a rather unusual history.

SEE ALSO: People travel thousands of miles to sell Christmas trees on the streets of Manhattan — meet an Alaskan family who has been doing it for 21 years

DON'T MISS: 8 times in history when a war on Christmas actually happened

DON'T FORGET: What the biggest 'War on Christmas' controversy gets wrong about history

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how the Christmas tree tradition started

27 stunning photos of the neighborhood that puts on the best Christmas-light displays in America

0
0

Dyker Heights Christmas Lights 8

  • The neighborhood of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, New York, puts on a Christmas light display every year.
  • It has become a tourist attraction, with guided tours and buses.

 

The suburban Brooklyn neighborhood of Dyker Heights is a quiet and friendly area year-round – that is, until the holidays start.

That's when the neighborhood is flooded with thousands of Christmas-light peepers anxious to see the area's famed displays. Countless homes in the neighborhood take part, putting up dazzling and awe-inspiring feats of festivity, and likely producing similarly awe-inspiring electric bills.

In 2015, I took a trip to Dyker Heights to see the hyped "Dyker Lights" for myself. Keep scrolling to see some lights that would make Clark Griswold die from envy.

SEE ALSO: Inside New York City's most festive bar, where they spend more than $60,000 a year getting ready for Christmas

Dyker Heights is a good half-hour drive from downtown Manhattan, and about an hour away on the subway. Luckily, there are Dyker Lights tour buses that will take you there hassle-free — for a price.



You can see most of the best displays between 11th and 13th avenues around 81st through 86th streets.



Some of the homes put up stately, elegant arrangements.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I completely quit eating sugar over the holidays, and it solved my biggest problem

0
0

Balthazar Bakery Englewood

Between the ages of 21 and 25, I rode my bike around Atlanta's semi-urban sprawl to get to college, work, an internship, the grocery store, and whatever social life I managed. That sometimes worked out to 15 miles a day.

My active lifestyle kept me in good shape, but I also had a problem: I was always hungry. 

By mid-morning or early evening, I found myself dreaming of the next meal. No matter how much I ate at lunch or dinner, the hunger returned, derailing my mood and focus. Ask anyone in my personal life: I was a terror to be around when hungry. 

After a over eating at lunch or dinner, I often wound up in a food coma.

When I finally got an office job, my life became sedentary, but my eating habits remained the same. At a hot bar near Business Insider's New York office, where they sold food for $8.99 a pound, I frequently paid $12 to $14 for a big plate. But now I was just relying on a quick routine at the gym to balance it out. And by the time I got home from work, I was still starving.

The cure

Bacon

On November 1, I quit eating anything with sugar or carbohydrates. 

That included all fruit and vegetables that grow below ground. No more bread, rice, tortillas, beans, or any form of grain. Gone were the structural elements of any sandwich, wrap, pizza, pie, or baked good.

The diet I chose is called the "ketogenic" or "keto" diet, because it pushes your body to break down stored fat due to the absence of sugar. Breaking down that fat releases molecules called ketones in the blood and urine.

The diet has one core tenant: Don't eat more than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day. Keeping your carb intake that low means you have to eat a lot more fat and protein, which take more time to digest and keep you full for longer, according to dietitians.

BI Graphics_How sugar affects your brain and body_2x1

Getting into it

I'm an active man who works out. I never imagined I'd go on a diet, but my seated lifestyle had taken a toll on my fitness. Initially, I challenged myself to stick with the diet for a month.

At first, my hunger worsened. I had vivid dreams about bread. Meals were filling but didn’t feel complete.

But after a couple weeks, something changed: I didn't feel famished. When lunch time came, I left work because I had some free time and wanted to go outside.

My go-to lunch has become 60 grams of arugula, a little oily salad dressing, and 160 grams of cooked chicken from the local market. That weighs in at about .6 pounds.

Body Builder

When I found out I could drink alcohol — not beer or wine, but straight liquor — I started to think the diet could work long-term.

Now that I've been carb- and sugar-free for seven weeks, I have no desire to quit. 

I won't even mention weight loss here. Defeating the hunger that regularly derailed my mood and focus is cause enough to try this diet. It changed my life.

Without hunger clawing at me and without cravings for sugar, I find it much easier to resist social pressures to eat or drink. When I go out for drinks after work now, I just sit and talk without the pint of lager in front of me.

During this holiday season, I've certainly thought about indulging in some sweets. Maybe a Yorkshire pudding, or a warm, crumbly Christmas desert.

But because I'm not hungry, I don't think about it for long. Besides, I eat chocolate all the time: about half a gram of 90% sugar-free dark chocolate.

To rephrase Jocko Wilinik, a former US Navy SEAL Commander and Business Insider contributor: Do not accept the office donuts, for they are poison.

SEE ALSO: A professor of medicine explains why eating fat won't make you fat — but sugar will

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This planetary scientist has a new idea for why we haven't heard from aliens yet


11 experts share their favorite tips so you can make 2018 your most productive year yet

0
0

organized man with post its

If you pay close attention to Business Insider's Strategy and Careers verticals, you'll notice we frequently share productivity tips from an expert we've just interviewed, a book we've just read, or new research we've just scoured.

And we admit it can be a little daunting to keep up with all the productivity advice out there.

So since you're here to learn how to make better use of your time, we thought we'd save you some and round up the best productivity tricks.

To do this, we asked some of the experts we trust to share how they get it all done.

Here's their favorite advice on being more productive:

SEE ALSO: The 21 most promising jobs of the future

DON'T MISS: The 15 cities where Americans work the hardest

Immediately do any task that presents itself that would only take one minute to complete

"Follow the 'one-minute rule' and do any task that can be finished in one minute. Hang up your coat, read a letter and toss it, fill in a form, answer an email, note down a citation, pick up your phone message, file a paper ... and so on.

"Because the tasks are so quick, it isn't too hard to follow the rule — but it has big results. Accomplishing all those small, nagging tasks makes us feel both calmer and more energetic because we're not dragged down by the accumulated weight of a mass of tiny, insignificant tasks."

Gretchen Rubin, author of "Better Than Before" and "The Happiness Project"



Associate something you love with something you want to accomplish

"Pick a ritual that you love — for me this ritual is the morning coffee — and connect it to a productivity-related activity. In my case, it has to do with writing.

"So I connect something I love, which is the coffee ritual, to something else that I love in principle, but not every moment of it, which is writing. It's an almost conditioned response, where I start working and I'm enjoying the coffee and the writing at the same time."

Dan Ariely, a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke and author of "Payoff"



Protect your thinking time

"I like to schedule my time for deep thinking on hard and important problems on my calendar like a meeting or appointment. I then protect that time like a meeting or appointment: If someone tries to schedule something in it, I tell them I'm busy.

"This simple technique allows me to tune the amount of time I spend in a state of deep work with great accuracy, increasing during some periods and decreasing during others, and provides a clear record of the role these types of efforts are playing in my schedule."

Cal Newport, associate professor of computer science at Georgetown University and author of "Deep Work"



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 23 best science movies and shows streaming on Netflix that will make you smarter

0
0

Michael Pollan cooked

It's cold outside and the holidays are here, which means it's the perfect time to curl up on the couch and watch a movie.

If you're looking for something entertaining and beautiful that'll also inform you, there's an incredible variety of science- and nature-focused documentaries and TV shows on Netflix right now.

The films and series showcase the beauty of the planet, delve into the details of how food arrives on your plate, and explore the mysterious and alien underwater world in oceans around the globe.

The downside to all of those options is that there's a lot to choose from. To make it easier, Business Insider reporters and editors have picked some of our favorites from Netflix' selection.

Films come and go from the platform every month, but as of the date of publication, everything on our list should be available. We'll update the recommendations periodically to reflect currently available documentaries.

Here are our favorites, in no particular order:

SEE ALSO: 24 health 'facts' that are actually wrong

"Icarus" (2017)

What it's about: In 2014, filmmaker and amateur cyclist Bryan Fogel contacted Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of the Moscow anti-doping center, for advice about how to get away with using performance-enhancing drugs. In 2015, Rodchenkov was implicated in state-sponsored doping efforts by the World Anti-Doping Agency. So he decided to flee Russia, travel to the US, and to reveal everything he knew about the widespread Russian doping program. 

Why you should see it:  The film mixes crime, sport, international intrigue, and the science of manipulating human performance. It's both thrilling and disturbing — and is especially relevant given the recent ban on Russia's participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Because of Rodchenkov's revelations, the world will never look at sports — the Olympics especially — the same way again. [Click to watch]



"Cooked" (2016)

What it's about: In this four-part docu-series, journalist and food expert Michael Pollan explores the evolutionary history of food and its preparation through the lens of the four essential elements: fire, water, air, and earth. 

Why you should see it: Americans as a whole are cooking less and relying more on unhealthy, processed, and prepared foods. Pollan aims to bring viewers back to the kitchen by forging a meaningful connection to food and the joys of cooking. [Click to watch]



"Blackfish" (2013)

What it's about: This film highlights abuses in the sea park industry through the tale of Tilikum, an orca in captivity at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Tilikum has killed or been involved in the deaths of three people while living in the park. 

Why you should see it: This documentary opens your eyes to the troubles of keeping wild animals in captivity through shocking footage and emotional interviews. It highlights the potential issues of animal cruelty and abuse involved with using highly intelligent animals as entertainment. Sea parks have historically made billions of dollars by keeping animals captive, often at the expense of the health and well-being of animals. This documentary played a huge role in convincing SeaWorld to stop their theatrical "Shamu" killer whale shows. [Click to watch]



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A relationship expert says one word can defuse a fight with your partner — but most people don't use it enough

0
0

silver linings playbook diner fight scene

  • Hal Runkel is a marriage and family therapist and the author of multiple books on parenting and relationships.
  • Runkel said it can be helpful to display vulnerability during a fight with your partner.
  • The word "ouch" — as in, your comments hurt me — can help defuse conflict.


Being in a long-term relationship means that your partner gets to know you really well — which is a perfectly double-edged sword.

On the one hand, you can be yourself around them— your unfiltered, sometimes un-showered, lame-joke-telling self. On the other hand, they eventually learn better than anyone else exactly which buttons to push to set you off.

Hal Runkel puts it eloquently: "No one can touch you like the one you expose yourself most to, but no one can hurt you like the one you expose yourself the most to."

Runkel is a marriage and family therapist, and the author of multiple books on parenting and relationships, including, most recently, "Choose Your Own Adulthood."

When he visited the Business Insider office in May, Runkel shared his best advice for de-escalating a conflict that's spiraled out of control because one person said something that cut deep.

Actually, that advice is just one word: "Ouch."

It's a word that doesn't get used nearly enough in marriage, Runkel said.

Here's Runkel: "When [you're] in conflict, inevitably [you] will say something that hurts the other person using the 'inside information' that you have on them or that they have on you."

As in: Your partner knows you're struggling to lose weight and they blurt out, Of course you didn't take five minutes to walk the dog — you were too busy stuffing your face!

At that moment, Runkel said, "Everything in you wants to scream something right back at them: 'Oh yeah? Well, you're starting to look like your mother!'"

'Ouch' can stop a conflict from spiraling out of control

Here's where the word "ouch" comes in handy. Runkel explained that the best response in this situation is simply, "Ouch. That one hurt. I don't know if you were meaning to hurt me; I don't know if that's what you were going for; but that's what you did."

Your partner may get defensive and say something back like, "You've said some pretty hurtful things to me!"

Now here's your line: "You're right. I have, and I hate that I have."

"That conversation —which was a very familiar path, that fight — is now a totally different path because one of you chose to actually get vulnerable," Runkel said.

"It wasn't a step of pushing [your partner] away. It was a step of inviting [your partner] in by saying: You know what? I am open enough to you that you can actually hurt me. So now how about we talk to each other as if we actually love each other?"

That display of vulnerability is key — and a lot harder than it sounds.

Too many of us have this tendency to pretend that we're made of emotional steel — that when our partner insults us, or doesn't pay us enough attention, we're totally fine.

Ideally, when you implement Runkel's strategy, your partner will respond in kind, and you two can have a calm conversation about what's bothering you. Yet Runkel also mentioned that your partner's next sentence after you admit that you've been hurt will tell you a lot about your relationship.

All you can really do is start the dialogue: "That hurt. Tell me what you'd like me to do with that."

SEE ALSO: 8 signs you're in a strong relationship — even if it doesn't feel like it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Saying these 2 words can save your tired relationship

11 grooming hacks every guy should know

0
0

grooming

There are certain things every guy should know about how to take care of his appearance.

From how often you should get your hair cut to how to get the perfect shave, these tips will make any guy's life a whole lot easier.

There's bound to be at least one thing you didn't know.

SEE ALSO: 9 classic men's style rules that you still have to follow

1. Always tell a new barber how long it's been since your last haircut.

Barbers know how long it takes for hair to grow, so if you tell them how long it has been since your hair was last cut, they can imagine what your hair looked like way back when. From there, you can either tell them that you want it to look the same, or describe how you want it to be different from last time.

Read more.



2. Tailor your haircut to your face shape.

If you have a rounder face, get a haircut that's tighter on the sides. If you have a longer face, ask for longer hair on the sides and around your temples.

Read more.



3. Go about a month in between haircuts.

If you have shorter hair, you should go sooner, but if your hair is longer, it's probably fine to wait a month and a half to two months.

Read more.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Brewing a perfect cup of coffee requires the right water — and pure H2O is the worst kind

0
0

pouring cup black coffee close zoom baristashutterstock_192759956

  • Water — the biggest ingredient in coffee by weight — can make or break the flavor of a freshly brewed cup, according to a chemist-barista research team.
  • Tap water brings out better flavor in coffee, though there are trade-offs between hard and soft water.
  • Some beans are better suited to being brewed in hard or soft water.


Making a truly great cup of coffee requires great beans, an expert roaster, the right grind, and proper technique.

But an often-overlooked element of brewing coffee at home is what constitutes perhaps 99% of the delicious drink's weight: Water.

To craft the tastiest cup o' joe, you shouldn't buy jugs of distilled or "pure" water, or spend money on expensive water-filtration devices.

In fact, in most parts of the country, the stuff out of our taps is probably the best kind of coffee-brewing H2O you could hope for.

In search of a better brew

Chris Hendon and Max DashwoodChristopher H. Hendon, a chemist at MIT, discovered the importance of water in coffee after overhearing a conversation between two frustrated baristas.

"They were having problems with coffee that tasted good one day and not another," Hendon previously told Business Insider. While that's a frustrating mystery for a coffee shop with exacting standards, but "from a chemistry point of view, that's an interesting problem," Hendon said.

Water can be "hard" (full of minerals like magnesium) or "soft" (most distilled water falls into this category).

Below is a map of the US that shows how water hardness varies from place to place. Dark-purple areas show where the softest water flows, red shows the hardest water, and white and blue are somewhere in between. Hardness can also vary over seasons, as the dissolved minerals can be diluted by a flood of spring rain or amplified by road salts and melting snow.

water hardness map coffee usgs

Hendon teamed up with baristas Lesley and Maxcell Colonna-Dashwood — who won the 2015 UK Barista Championship — and they found that different kinds of "hardness" in water bring out significantly different flavors in coffee. (Hendon ran the experiments using a computer, while the coffee shop owners actually brewed sample cups.)

Why water hardness matters so much for brewing coffee

faucetRoasted coffee beans are packed with compounds that give coffee is distinct aroma, mouthfeel, and taste. Those include citric acid, lactic acid, and eugenol (a compound that adds a "woodsy" taste). The amounts vary from one roasted batch of beans to the next, giving you an enjoyably different sensory experience each time.

Water, meanwhile, has a complexity all its own — higher levels of ions like magnesium and calcium make it "harder."

Here's the key: Some of the compounds in hard water are "sticky" and preferentially grab certain compounds in coffee when they meet in your brewing device. The more eugenol the water hangs on to, for example, the woodsier the taste of your coffee will be.

Magnesium is particularly sticky, so water that's high in magnesium will make coffee with a stronger flavor (and higher levels of caffeine). Hard water can also have high levels of bicarbonate, which Hendon found could lead to more bitter flavors coming through.

But while hard water is a bit of a gamble, depending on which minerals are present in higher concentrations, soft water seems to have no benefits at all. Its chemical composition "results in very bad extraction power," Hendon explained.

Soft water often contains sodium, but that has no flavor stickiness (for good or bad flavors), Hendon found. That means that you'll get a much stronger flavor from the same beans if you use high-magnesium "hard water" in place of distilled or softened water.

Hendon and his barista colleagues published their research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and eventually wrote a book, "Water for Coffee," that explains why lovers of the drink should worry about more than just beans.

"Water can transform the character of a coffee," the team wrote. An updated second edition of the book hits shelves in early 2018, according to its website.

A chemically perfect cup

brewing black coffee pour over cup filtered barista shutterstock_473186929

Unlike Hendon, the average coffee lover is not a chemist. You can't easily alter the composition of your water supply every time you want a delicious cup.

But you don't have to. Understanding that the kind of water you use matters will help you achieve the perfect brew — even if you're stuck with whatever comes out of your tap.

To start, you can look up the hardness of your water online (New Yorkers can call 311), and use that information to buy beans that are meant for "soft" or "hard" water. Hendon said that's the kind of thing upscale roasters will know.

Sure, you won't know the specific compounds in your water — that's the kind of rigorous coffee science Hendon and Colonna-Dashwood relied on to place fifth overall in the World Barista Championship. But you'll already be a step ahead if you buy from a local roaster.

When roasters test their beans, they do so using local water, so you can at least assume that locally-roasted coffee is optimized for the chemistry of your water. That's the opposite of a large chain like Starbucks, which, according to Hendon, uses totally pure water to ensure a completely uniform taste across the country.

"A lot of dark art has gone into coffee," Hendon said. "This is some real science."

Lauren Friedman wrote a previous version of this post.

SEE ALSO: Crushing an egg into your coffee sounds disgusting — but it makes an amazing-tasting drink

DON'T MISS: Dried-up coffee looks absolutely beautiful under a microscope

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How the winner of this year’s top barista championship used science to crush the competition

27 photos show how people celebrate the holidays around the world

0
0

Father Frost, Snow Maiden, Russia Christmas

You know Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen.

But do you know Father Frost, Snow Maiden, or Krampus?

Holiday traditions are as unique as the countries they're from. Some rituals date back centuries, while other celebrations are only decades old. 

To celebrate this time of coming together, we rounded up the most spectacular holiday traditions from around the world.

SEE ALSO: The most famous author from every state

Rovaniemi, Finland, is a gateway to the Arctic north and the "official home town" of Santa Claus. The man in the red suit can be visited 365 days a year.

Source: Rovaniemi



There, children from around the world come to deliver their wish lists in person.



In Croatia, residents release thousands of paper lanterns carrying their Christmas hopes and wishes into the sky at the nation's capital a few days before the holiday.

Source: Croatia Week



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

19 of the best ski resorts to visit this winter that don't cost a fortune

0
0

Mount Bachelor Oregon

You're running out of time to book your winter getaway.

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



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what people eat on Christmas in 21 countries around the globe

0
0

Soldiers from the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) eat Christmas dinner at their base in Ghazni province south of Afghanistan, 2013

Christmas is a special time for people all over the world.

While the holiday can be celebrated in many different ways, perhaps no custom is more important than the time-honored Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meal.

Still, these meals vary greatly depending on where they're taking place.

Inspired by this BookTable post by Rob Rebelo, we took a look at some typical Christmas meals from countries across the globe.

SEE ALSO: Happy Holidays from the White House: See the presidents' Christmas cards, from Trump to JFK to Coolidge

Germans often serve fruity Stollen cake, along with a mulled wine called Gluehwein. Stollen is traditionally baked to have a hump, symbolizing the humps of the camels that carried the wise men to see Jesus.



Many Bulgarians fast before Christmas, so on Christmas they nosh on stuffed vegetables, soups, and cakes.



In Fiji, locals dine on banana leaf-wrapped fish, stuffed chicken, and pork made with a "Lovo," an earth oven made with heavy stones, like the one seen below.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Japan's vending machines tell you a lot about the country's culture

0
0

japan vending machines

Earlier this year, I visited Japan to help Business Insider launch its one of its latest international editions, Business Insider Japan.

After spending two weeks in Tokyo, one aspect of the city continued to strike me after I returned: the overwhelming abundance of vending machines.

The proliferation of vending machines is impossible to ignore. They are on nearly every block in Tokyo — down alleyways, in front of convenience stores, in areas both residential and commercial.

At slightly over 5 million nationwide, Japan has the highest density of vending machines worldwide. There is approximately 1 vending machine per every 23 people, according to the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association. Annual sales total more than $60 billion.

And they are marked by an incredible variety. The machines sell any number of types of soft drinks, coffee, tea, cigarettes, candy, soup, hot food, and even sake and beer.

The pervasiveness and variety of Japan's vending machines isn't an unexplored topic. If there's one thing Americans returning from Japan appear to like to write/read about, it's the wild and strange products sold in vending machines.

Among the first results on a Google search for "Japan vending machines": "12 Japanese vending machines you won't believe exist," "18 things you can buy in Japanese vending machines," "25 things you'll only find in vending machines in Japan," "9 crazy Japanese vending machines," and "The 7 weirdest Japanese vending machines."

What interested me, however, was what the vending machines say about Japan's unique culture. An obvious answer stuck out: Japanese people, and Tokyoites in particular, work a lot and therefore value convenience. But so do New Yorkers, as well as any other number of city-dwellers, and still vending machines are not nearly as popular.

So why are they ubiquitous? Sociologists and economists have offered a few potential answers.

1. The cost of labor

Japan's declining birthrate, aging population, and lack of immigration have contributed to make labor both scarce and costly, according to William A. McEachern, an economics professor at the University of Connecticut. 

In his 2008 book on macroeconomics, McEachern points to Japan's vending machines as a solution to this problem, by eliminating the need for sales clerks.

Robert Parry, an economics lecturer at Japan's Kobe University, also pointed to high labor costs as a reason Japanese retailers have so enthusiastically embraced vending machines in a 1998 essay on the subject

"With spectacular postwar economic growth, labor costs in Japan sky-rocketed ... Vending machines need only a periodic visit from the operator to replenish the supplies and empty the cash," wrote Parry.



2. High population density and expensive real estate

With a population of 127 million people in a country roughly the size of California, Japan is one of the most population-dense countries in the world, particularly when you consider that about 75% of Japan is made up of mountains.

93 percent of the Japanese population lives in cities.

The population density has unsurprisingly led to high real estate prices for decades, forcing city-dwellers to live in apartments that would make New York apartments feel spacious. Though urban land prices dropped during Japan’s economic decline in the 1990s, they’ve gone back up since.

High population density and high real-estate prices has meant that Japanese people don’t have a lot of room to store consumer goods and that Japanese companies would rather stick a vending machine on a street than open up a retail store.

“Vending machines produce more revenue from each square meter of scarce land than a retail store can,” Parry concluded.



3. A lack of crime

Japan has long been known for its exceptionally low homicide rate, but that’s not the only crime statistic in which the country excels. According to a United Nations 2010 crime report, Japan ranks as having one of the lowest robbery rates in the world.

While there has been some debate over why Japan’s crime rate is so low, one thing that is readily obvious is that vandalism and property crime are rare. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, vending machines are “seldom broken or stolen,” despite having tens of thousands yen inside and being frequently housed in dark alleyways or uncrowded streets.

Comparatively, in the US, as Parry writes, “American vending machine companies don’t even consider operating stand-alone, street-side units” due to fears of vandalism and property crime.

In Japan, street-side units are the norm. It doesn't hurt that many vending machines have cameras installed and a direct line to police if any irregularities are reported, like a machine being pried open, according to The Japan Times.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I will only ever travel to Japan using Airbnb for a very unusual reason

0
0

AirbnbWifiTokyo

  • Internet is very important when English speakers travel to Japan because of the language barrier.
  • International data plans can be prohibitively expensive.
  • Most Airbnb listings in Japan include a "pocket Wi-Fi" device that provides unlimited data  and can be brought anywhere.

 

Internet can feel like a necessity for a foreigner in Japan. English is a rarity, signs and menus are difficult to decipher, and public transportation is comprehensive, but complex.

Luckily, on a recent trip to Tokyo, I found a way to get internet everywhere for free. And it happened by accident.

When I was planning my trip, I kept coming across Airbnb listings that advertised "free Wi-Fi." At the time, I was very confused. Doesn't every lodging come with free internet at this point? 

I ended up booking an apartment in the popular Shibuya-ku neighborhood that promised "free Wi-Fi" without a second thought.

When I arrived, I found that I had made a decision that made my trip infinitely easier. The listings were advertising that they came with free mobile Wi-Fi hotspots, or "pocket Wi-Fi" devices, like this one:

5267459708_f541e4525c_o

Pocket Wi-Fi devices are one of the most common ways to get internet access in Japan. The 4G, 3G, LTE and WiMax networks are so good you'll have a pretty fast connection wherever you go. Except, perhaps, in some rural areas. 

Prior to departure, I had purchased an international data plan for the month — $60 through AT&T for a measly 200MB. When I realized what I had with the "pocket Wi-Fi," which came included with the Airbnb, I called and cancelled.

The device had unlimited 4G and LTE data and network strength nearly as good as my home internet in New York City. I've since heard that telecoms in Japan will throttle you if you use too much data in a day, but I didn't experience that. 

I was able to video chat with family and friends in the Tsukiji Fish Market, use Google Translate in every convenience store I walked into, and stream Netflix on the bullet train to Osaka.

airbnbarrows

At this point, there are more than 30 companies in Japan offering "pocket Wi-Fi" rentals. There are kiosks at airports and in most major shopping districts. Renting through them will run you somewhere between $8-16 per day depending on data allowances, coverage areas, and connectivity speeds. TokyoCheapo has a good rundown of the options.

But most Airbnb listings advertise free "pocket Wi-Fi" devices with unlimited data and high connectivity speeds. They know they're catering to demanding travelers.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The right way to eat sushi, according to renowned Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa

Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey in 'All the Money in the World' — but there's one shot where you can still see Spacey

0
0

all the money in the world Sony

  • If you look in the right spot, you can see a single shot of Kevin Spacey in "All the Money in the World" that made the final version of the movie.
  • Director Ridley Scott reshot all of Spacey's scenes with Christopher Plummer following the actor's sexual misconduct allegations, but there's one wide shot he couldn't reshoot.


Ridley Scott's decision to cut Kevin Spacey from his new movie "All the Money in the World" and reshoot his scenes with Christopher Plummer, following the sexual misconduct allegations against Spacey, made worldwide news. But it turns out Scott couldn't take out every single shot of Spacey.

The director confirmed at numerous screenings that he attended leading up to the movie's release that there's indeed one shot in the final cut of the film where Spacey can be seen playing billionaire J. Paul Getty.

It's a flashback scene where Getty gets off a train in the desert. The wide shot shows Getty in a white suit walking off the train down some stairs. You can't see the face of the person. It then cuts to a closeup shot of Plummer as Getty in the white suit with a background make it look like he's in the desert, thanks to green screen. The wide shot was clearly filmed on location, so it makes sense that Scott would have to keep that Spacey shot as he had no time (and the logistics would have been a nightmare) to fly back to that location and reshoot it with Plummer.

All The Money In The World 3 Sony final

Scott confirmed, according to numerous reports, that it is Spacey in that wide shot and that he was unable to reshoot it.

However, the rest of the Getty scenes in the movie are clearly of Plummer, which Scott could pull off as they are mostly scenes shot in one exterior location or interiors, which could all have been filmed on studio sets. And in the case of the desert scenes, Plummer shot the close ups with the help of a green screen.

The Spacey shot in the desert is a quick one, but keep and eye out for it when you see the movie.

Read our full review of "All the Money in the World" here.

SEE ALSO: Matt Damon on the struggles of getting his new movie "Downsizing" made, defending George Clooney's "Suburbicon," and his thoughts on sexual misconduct in Hollywood

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Legislation is being introduced to close a legal loophole that prevents workplace sexual-harassment stories from going public

RANKED: The 10 best economy-class airlines in the world

0
0

Singapore Boeing 777 Economy

  • Every year, Skytrax names the airlines with the best overall economy-class experience.
  • Airlines from Asia dominate the list, taking 15 of the top 20 spots.
  • Skytrax also named the airlines with the best food and seats in economy class.


Business and first class may get the most attention, but economy class is arguably the product that matters the most to consumers. After all, that's where the vast majority of flyers will spend their time. It also requires the most precision to execute properly.

What do I mean by this? It's very difficult for an airline to screw up first or business class enough to make it a miserable experience for passengers. But in economy class, with less room and few niceties to spruce up the experience, the margin between comfort and outright misery is very narrow.

Sometimes little things like seat-cushion foam density can make or break an economy-class experience.

Every year, the leading aviation consumer website Skytrax compiles a list of the highest-rated economy-class offerings.

According to Skytrax, its award for the best economy-class airline is a "distinction representing passenger satisfaction assessment of the front-line Economy Class product and staff service standards that airlines provide across both the cabin and airport environments."

The Skytrax rankings are based on the impressions of 19.87 million travelers from 105 countries. The survey, which covered more than 320 airlines, measured 49 parameters, from boarding procedures to seat comfort to the quality of service.

Airlines from Asia dominate this list, taking the top nine spots and 15 of the top 20, with Thai Airways emerging victorious. No North American airline managed to crack the top 20.

In addition, Skytrax also ranked airlines by their catering and seat quality.

Thai Airways won the award for best economy-class catering, followed by Turkish, Asiana, Qatar, and Japan Airlines. Singapore, Austrian, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, and EVA Air rounded out the top 10.

The honors for best economy-class seats went to Japan Airlines followed by Asiana, Thai, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines. Qatar Airways, EVA Air, ANA, AeroMexico, and Garuda Indonesia complete the 10 for best seats.

Here's a closer look at the 10 best economy-class airlines in the world, according to Skytrax:

SEE ALSO: Massage seats, lie-flat beds, and Armani amenities — these are the world's 10 best business-class airlines

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

10. Lufthansa



9. EVA Air



8. ANA All Nippon Airways



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Viewing all 115236 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images