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What the Queen's grandchildren call her in private

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queen elizabeth II prince harry

While ordinary people might address Queen Elizabeth II as "Her Majesty" along with a bow or a curtsy, things are a little more relaxed behind closed doors.

A Quora user asked the question: "How do the grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth address her in a private location?"

While the responses were varied, our own research indicates the Queen’s grandchildren have some rather affectionate nicknames for her.

William and Harry famously cheered on their grandmother in her unexpected, show-stopping role in the the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony.

At the sight of their grandmother starring alongside Daniel Craig as James Bond, the pair squealed "Go, Granny!" in unison.

But this reportedly isn’t the only name used by the princes.

High society gossip columnist Richard Kay wrote in the Daily Mail that once after a fall at Buckingham Palace, a young William called out for "Gary."

When the household asked "Who is Gary?" the Queen reportedly responded "I’m Gary" and swooped in to comfort him.

Wills had not yet mastered "Granny," she explained.

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Four-year-old great-grandson Prince George also has a rather endearing name for Queen Elizabeth II, as revealed in a 2016 interview aired to mark the monarch’s 90th birthday.

According to The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, George calls her 'Gan Gan.'

This isn't just a cute nickname, according to PopSugar however, rather it marks a long-standing royal tradition. American biographer Kitty Kelley claims that 'Gan Gan' was adopted by Prince Charles, William, and Harry to address their respective great-grandmothers.

This post was inspired by a question on Quora.

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Tech workers in Silicon Valley are sending their kids to a $28,000-a-year private school that shuns technology

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  • Parents who work in technology are sending their children to "anti-tech" schools that don't use laptops and tablets in the classroom.
  • At Basis Independent Silicon Valley, teachers see technology as a tool for instruction, but they believe it should not replace human instruction.
  • Research has found smartphones and other devices used in excess can be dangerous for young people.

 

At Basis Independent Silicon Valley, a Bay Area private school that enrolls many children of tech workers, students graduate with a mastery of all things science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). But they don't get much screen time in the classroom.

The school said it shuns technology as a tool for teaching and uses laptops and tablets only when a teacher requires them for instruction — a practice that falls in line with the thinking of entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who largely raised their kids tech-free.

"I think we see technology as a tool; we don't necessarily see it as the solution in and of itself," said Ian Block, CEO of Basis Independent Schools, a company that runs seven private schools in the Bay Area and New York City. "What really makes our classroom work is the teacher."

I recently spent a day at Basis Independent Silicon Valley, which offers grades five through 12, and didn't see anyone using a tablet or phone. Laptops were sparse. Students wrote down homework assignments and grades in planners called "communications journals."

Block said the school, which charges $28,000-per-year for tuition, will make technology available to any teacher who requests it. But teachers are encouraged not to use laptops and tablets just "for the sake of saying that we want technology in the classroom," Block said.

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Some schools, especially in the Bay Area, use software to scale personalized education — an increasingly popular learning style that tailors lessons to students with different ability levels. But critics argue that when technology replaces human instruction, it comes at a cost.

Smartphones and other devices can be dangerous in excess

Psychologists are quickly learning how dangerous technology can be for teenage brains.

Research has found that an eighth-grader's risk for depression increases 27% when they frequently use social media. Kids who use their smartphones for at least three hours a day have a higher likelihood of being suicidal. In 2011, the teen suicide rate in the US surpassed the homicide rate for the first time in two decades, with researchers blaming smartphones.

Schools that focus less on technology and more on building a child's emotional, social, and intellectual wellbeing are becoming popular with the Silicon Valley crowd, according to Sherry Turkle, an MIT psychologist and author of numerous books on the negative social effects of technology, including "Alone Together" and "Reclaiming Conversation."

According to Turkle, people who work in Silicon Valley more often understand the damage that smartphones, social media, and other forms of tech can do, especially to young minds.

"When people are very sophisticated, they know what not to do," Turkle told Business Insider.

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Some parents still want their children to have 'technological literacy'

At Basis Independent Silicon Valley, Block said many parents ask about how technology is used. There's still an expectation that their children will graduate with the technological literacy they think is required to compete for spots at colleges like Stanford and the University of California system, and later vie for jobs in engineering, programming, and biotech. 

Toby Walker, head of school at Basis Independent Silicon Valley, said his students are "acutely aware of where we are geographically." The day of my visit, a computer-science class was on a field trip to Google's headquarters, which is located only a 20-minute drive from the school.

Last fall, the school installed a new policy that bans cell phone use anywhere on campus except in the main office area. Some students told me the rule was widely unpopular with students who wished to text throughout the day or order lunch through delivery apps like DoorDash.

Walker said the policy aimed to make the hallways safer. In between classes, students would scramble to their next class with eyes glued on their smartphones.

When students graduate, Walker hopes they will forge career paths as smart, compassionate, and well-rounded adults. He said he doesn't define their success by their tech savviness.

"I want my students to be able to go to a dinner party and speak eloquently across a wide variety of subjects," Walker said.

SEE ALSO: Tech billionaires spent $170 million on a new kind of school — now classrooms are shrinking and some parents say their kids are 'guinea pigs'

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NOW WATCH: The 11 smartest boarding schools in America

All the TV shows that have been canceled in 2018

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Lady Dynamite Netflix

It's early in the year, but the list of canceled TV shows is already piling up.

Networks haven't announced many cancellations yet with the exception of ABC, which canceled freshman sitcom "The Mayor" and "Once Upon a Time" (which was once a ratings hit). 

On the streaming side, things are a bit different. Amazon kicked off 2018 with a slew of cancellations, announcing the end of three quirky comedies. It axed Golden Globe nominee "I Love Dick" and comedian Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical show, "One Mississippi." 

There are many more cancellations to come, especially since networks haven't announced the fates of their fall shows. We'll update this list as more cancellations are announced. 

Here are all the shows that were canceled this year, including those from networks and Netflix:

SEE ALSO: The worst TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics

"The Mayor" — ABC, one season



"Chance" — Hulu, two seasons



"Lady Dynamite" — Netflix, two seasons



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Motown's 7 most successful music artists, from Stevie Wonder to The Jackson 5

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The culture-shifting sensation that was Motown music began in January 1959, when Berry Gordy Jr. founded Tamla Records in Detroit, Michigan. 

After Gordy incorporated the name "Motown Records" in 1960, the label and its subsidiaries would usher in the careers of a number of legendary artists, including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Diana Ross, along with decades of soul and R&B classics.

From its first major hit with Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Shop Around" in 1960, Motown utilized a prolific "assembly line" approach to song production that Gordy said he adapted from working on the factory lines of Detroit's automotive industry.

At "Hitsville U.S.A.," the small Detroit home that served as the label's studio throughout the 1960s, musicians and songwriters would circle in and out to collaborate on, and produce, hit records at a rapid pace. The company eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1972, which roughly coincided with artists like Wonder and Gaye breaking from the conventional "Motown sound" to produce innovative and influential concept albums.

After nearly three decades of immense commercial success, the label had financial difficulties toward the end of the 1980s, and an era ended when Gordy sold the label to MCA for $61 million in 1988. But the power of the company's timeless music endures.

In honor of Black History Month, the following is a brief retrospective on Motown's 7 most essential artists and the contributions they've made to music:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

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After becoming the first Motown act to break through to the mainstream, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles had a long stretch of hits through the 1960s and '70s.

"Shop Around," one of the group's first singles, became Motown's first platinum-selling record in 1960. The band's subsequent hits included "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" (1962), "The Tracks of My Tears" (1965), and the group's first No. 1 single, "The Tears of a Clown" (1970). 

Robinson, whom Berry Gordy has called "the soul of Motown," was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1987. Controversially, Robinson's band members, the Miracles, were not inducted until 2012. 



Stevie Wonder

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In 1963, the 12-year-old prodigy "Little" Stevie Wonder (as Berry Gordy dubbed Stevland Morris) broke onto the national scene for Motown with his harmonica-infused No. 1 single, "Finger Tips, Part II."

A multi-instrumentalist genius, blind from infancy, Wonder would release a string of self-produced and commercially successful albums through the latter half of the 1960s. In 1971, he became the first Motown artist to negotiate a contract that allowed for complete artistic control of his music. 

Through the '70s, starting with his 14th album "Music of My Mind," Wonder unleashed what critics have called "the greatest creative run" in the history of popular music. This run included five massively success, critically acclaimed LPs and two Billboard No. 1 albums — one of which, 1976's "Songs in the Key of Life," was certified diamond in the US for sales of more than 10 million copies.

Wonder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.



The Supremes

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Diana Ross and The Supremes were the most successful group or artist in Motown's history by at least one measure — their 12 Billboard No. 1 singles.

The trio's run of hits started with 1964's "Where Did Our Love Go" and stretched into the early 1970s. Ten of their twelve No. 1 hits, including "Baby Love" and "Stop! In the Name of Love," were written by the prolific Motown songwriting trio Holland-Dozier-Holland.

The Supremes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and Diana Ross also went on to have a successful solo career after releasing her debut, self-titled album in 1970. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Billionaire Betsy Devos is the richest member of Trump's cabinet — and most of her wealth came from a company that has been called a 'pyramid scheme'

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Betsy DeVos

  • US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is one of the wealthiest members of President Donald Trump's cabinet.
  • The education secretary and her husband, former Amway CEO Dick DeVos, have an estimated net worth around $1.3 billion.
  • Their fortune partly comes from controversial multi-level marketing company Amway.
  • The DeVos' have been major Republican donors and philanthropists for years.


President Donald Trump boasts a particularly wealthy circle of advisers.

Together they're worth $10 billion. Trump has claimed that by appointing rich individuals he is ensuring his team is "representing the country" instead of being in it for the money, Business Insider reported.

Amidst that cluster of billionaires and millionaires, US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is one of the richest top officials with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Both the education secretary and her husband, Amway heir Dick DeVos, hailed from wealthy and powerful Michigan families. They share a conservative Christian worldview — and a desire to influence politics in Michigan and beyond.

DeVos' reputation as a top GOP donor — and her consistent advocacy for charter schools— ultimately helped propel her to the White House.

Here's a look at how DeVos' immense wealth and billion dollar net worth came about:

SEE ALSO: Inside the marriage of controversial billionaires Betsy DeVos and Amway heir Dick DeVos, who married young and ran a 'shadow state' in Michigan

DON'T MISS: Education secretary Betsy DeVos owns a fleet of 12 private jets and 4 helicopters

DeVos came from a wealthy Michigan family. Her father, Edgar Prince, founded automobile parts supplier Prince Corporation. The corporation was sold to Johnson Controls Inc. for $1.35 billion in cash in 1996.

Source: The New York Times



Politico's Zack Stanton wrote that growing up, the Princes taught their four children "a deeply religious, conservative, free-market view of the world." They also sent all of their kids — including DeVos' brother, Blackwater founder Erik Prince — to private schools.

Source: Politico 

 



DeVos herself attended Holland Christian High School, and then matriculated to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she majored in the school's economic group.

Source: Michigan Live, Calvin College, Calvin College



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

If you're still single at 25 in Denmark, people throw spices all over you in the street — and it only gets worse as you get older

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  • In Denmark, if you're still single when you turn 25, you're going to get covered in cinnamon.
  • The tradition dates back hundreds of years to when spice salesmen would stay bachelors because they travelled so much.


Breathe, singletons — Valentine's Day is over.

If you live in Denmark, however, the nightmare continues.

As an article in The Telegraph explains, the streets of Denmark are often covered in cinnamon — and it's part of a long-standing tradition.

When you turn 25, if you're unmarried, it is customary in Denmark for your friends and family to cover you in the spice.

They don't go easy on you, either, covering people from head to toe and splashing them with water so the cinnamon sticks better.

Here's what it looks like:

A Danish man told The Telegraph that the tradition may date back hundreds of years to when spice salesmen would travel around and remain bachelors because they were never in one place long enough to settle down with someone.

Many of these salesmen would never find a partner, and would then be referred to as Pebersvends, which means "Pepper Dudes." A single woman is thus called a "Pebermø," or "pepper maiden."

This makes sense on your 30th birthday, where the cinnamon gets upgraded to pepper.

If they're feeling super mean, Danes sometimes add eggs to the mix because it "helps with adhesion."

Contrary to what the actions suggest, nobody is being judged for still being single at 25. The average age of men getting married in Denmark is 34 and a half, and for women it's 32.

Rather than a punishment, the tradition is just an excuse to play a prank and be silly with your friends when they reach milestone ages. It's also pretty funny.

SEE ALSO: This is why we kiss each other at midnight on New Year's Eve — and it dates back thousands of years

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 5 common 'facts' about Earth that everyone gets wrong

7 telltale signs you're in love, according to a scientist who's spent decades studying human relationships

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  • Helen Fisher is a biological anthropologist who studies love and relationships.
  • She's found that there are certain universal behaviors that suggest a person is falling in love.
  • Those behaviors include not being able to stop thinking about the object of your affection and feeling incredibly energetic.


One of the greatest things about new love is that it really feels new. As in, you're the first person ever to find it difficult to sleep, eat, work, and generally do anything that doesn't involve thinking or talking about the object of your affection.

Tell this to a scientist and they'll laugh. Current evidence suggests that romantic love unfolds in more or less the same way in everyone — both in the way they behave and in the way their brain reacts.

In fact, the Daily Mail recently reported that, by 2028, couples will be able to take a kind of "love test," for which they'll get their brain scanned to see if they're really smitten with their partner.

But when I asked Helen Fisher, who is a biological anthropologist and the chief scientific advisor to dating site Match, whether she believed that such a love test would be available within a decade, she said, "I wouldn't count on it." The brain in love is a combination of multiple systems working together, she added, so it would be hard to isolate just one chemical that indicates a person is in love.

That said, Fisher has studied and written about the universal traits and behaviors associated with romantic love — ones that don't require a brain scan to see. In her book "The Anatomy of Love," which she revised and re-published in 2016, Fisher describes many of those key signs. Some are drawn from research done by Dorothy Tennov, author of the book "Love and Limerence."

Some of those indicators are listed below — and there's a solid chance you've experienced at least one before.

SEE ALSO: 9 hard truths about relationships no one wants to believe

The person is suddenly at the center of your world

Fisher says that the person you're falling for has begun to take on "special meaning." As one participant in Tennov's study said, "My whole world had been transformed. It had a new center and that center was Marilyn."



You can't stop thinking about the person

Fisher calls this "intrusive thinking."

She writes: "Thoughts of the 'love object' begin to invade your mind. ... You wonder what your beloved would think of the book you are reading, the movie you just saw, or the problem you are facing at the office." Similarly, you mentally review all the time you've spent together.

Many people say these thoughts are distracting to the point that they can't focus fully on work or school.



You feel incredibly energetic

"Hypomania" is a term for intense energy, and it's associated with the beginnings of romantic love.

Fisher writes that you might experience "trembling, pallor, flushing, a general weakness, overwhelming sensations of awkwardness and stammering." Or, you might find that you're sweating, that your heart is beating wildly, that you've got butterflies in your stomach, or that you can't eat or sleep.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

In each of the top 10 richest places in the world, residents have a combined wealth of at least $1 trillion

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richest cities in the world

  • New York City, London, and Tokyo are the richest cities in the world.
  • Private wealth could be a better way to measure the strength of an economy than GDP, according to a new report.
  • The world's total private wealth amounts to $215 trillion.


Citizens of the world control about $215 trillion in private wealth, according to New World Wealth's latest report.

In each of the top 10 richest cities, residents have combined wealth of at least $1 trillion, and as much as $3 trillion. Total private wealth includes all assets — property, cash, equities, and business interests — minus any liabilities.

According to New World Wealth's research, total private wealth is "a far better gauge of the financial health" of an economy than GDP. Ultimately, the wealth of a public signifies its spending power.

To be sure, these cities rank highly because of two factors: a large general population and a significant amount of high-net-worth residents. Across the world, there are about 15.2 million people with net assets of $1 million or more, while the average person has net assets of $28,400.

Below, check out the top 10 richest places in the world ranked by total private wealth of all residents.

SEE ALSO: 10 luxury hotels around the world where the ultra rich love to stay

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9 (TIE). Singapore — $1 trillion total private wealth



9 (TIE). Sydney — $1 trillion total private wealth



8. Hong Kong — $1.3 trillion total private wealth



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Inside London’s 'slim house' that is narrower than a Tube carriage and could sell for £1m

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  • Business Insider got an inside look at one of London's narrowest homes.
  • Located in Battersea, London, the "slim house" is only 7.5ft wide, making it narrower than a London Tube carriage.
  • The home has three floors, two bathrooms, and four bedrooms.

 

Business Insider UK went inside London's "slim house"; a home that measures only 7.5ft wide.

The narrow building features three floors, four bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was renovated by architects alma-nac, who added features to the house to maximise every inch of the limited space.

Take a look inside the home that appears small on the outside, but is deceptively large inside.

It is on sale for £1 million.

Produced by David Ibekwe. Special Thanks to alma-nac.

 

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Why you should never eat light ice cream

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  • 'Light' and low-fat ice creams appear to be part of the low-fat diet trend that emerged in the 1990s.
  • There is no evidence to suggest that these products help you lose weight. Studies actually suggest the opposite.
  • To find out how healthy your sweet treat really is, look for three ingredients: protein, fat, and fiber.


Sweet, creamy, and chilled, ice cream may well be one of the most uniquely satisfying and perfectly-engineered desserts. But that hasn't stopped food manufacturers from adulterating the original version.

In at attempt to adapt to American diet trends, low-fat and light ice cream varieties plague grocery store shelves. They claim to offer the same flavor and satisfaction with fewer calories and less fat. But it's tough to say these delightful treats are healthier than the original. In fact, experts believe the opposite may be true, and several studies back them up.

'Low-fat' products don't lead to weight loss

In the 1990s, a spate of scientific studies began to paint fat as the enemy when it came to weight gain. Intuitively, their argument made sense — eat fat, get fat. But the research was far from settled. Instead, a series of new studies have begun to reveal that instead of causing us to pack on the pounds, dietary fats from sources like olive oil and avocados may actually be a healthy part of our diet. It's also been revealed that many of those initial studies which suggested that eating fat would make us fat happened to be funded, at least in part, by institutions and people with ties to the sugar industry.

frozen yogurt froyoThe problem with low-fat products is simple. To accommodate for the loss of flavor that comes with removing the cream or richness in a product, food manufacturers tend to add sugar. The end result is a product that may have fewer calories and less fat, but has more sugar instead.

While high-fat diets have not been implicated in weight gain, high-sugar diets have.

The authors of a review of 50 studies on diet and weight gain published in the journal Food and Nutrition Research found that, on average, the more refined carbohydrates (such as sugar) that someone ate, the more weight they tended to gain over the study period. Similarly, the researchers behind a large review of 68 studies published in the British Medical Journal found that the more sugar someone consumed, the more they weighed.

In other words, the amount of sugar in a participant's diet could be used to roughly predict their weight, the researchers found.

The link becomes clearer when we look at the way our bodies process simple carbs and sugar. Usually, they prompt us to eat more even when we've already had enough.

Eat sugar, crave more

When we eat carbs or sugar, the process involves the pancreas. That small, sweet-potato-shaped organ pumps out insulin, a hormone that mops up some of the sugar floating around in our blood stream. But when we consume large quantities of either ingredient, the pancreas goes into overdrive and pumps out so much insulin that we wind up craving more carbs or sugar.

Edward Damiano, a diabetes researcher and professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, calls this "the insulin effect."

You eat sugar, then you crave more.

This could happen easily with a low-fat ice cream that is devoid of other filling nutrients, like protein and fiber.

"It's definitely easiest to overdo it with drinks, refined carbs, foods that have added sugar or are highly processed — those are things that we just tend to keep going," Cara Anselmo, a nutritionist and outpatient dietitian at New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, told Business Insider.

Unlike sugar, which does not fill us up and can lead to more cravings, ingredients like fat, protein, and fiber signal to the brain and body that we've had enough. In addition to making our stomachs feel fuller, they also help keep our blood sugar levels steady, which helps to maintain energy levels and stop cravings before they start.

This is why foods like bagels, doughnuts, cereal, and fruity yogurt often only fill us up for a few hours and leave us hangry shortly after. They are all low in the ingredients that keep us satiated — fat and protein — and high in the ones that make us hungrier — sugar and carbs.

Low-fat ice cream tends to be the same way.

That said, some newer "light" ice cream brands appear to have recognized the problem. Halo Top, for example, also tends to contain hefty amounts of fiber and protein, meaning it could be more filling and less craving-inducing than its older light ice cream counterparts. The only way to know is to check the nutrition label.

If your sweet treat is low in protein, fat, and fiber but very high in sugar and carbs, it may be time to find a new dessert.

SEE ALSO: A little-known technology that Fitbit and Apple are exploring could be the answer to healthy eating and peak performance

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A memory champion who has memorized 10,000 digits of pi reveals how to improve your memory in minutes

A photographer captured these dismal photos of life in North Korea on his phone

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At the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, all eyes have been on the country's neighbor to the north.

Government leaders from North Korea and South Korea have begun to embrace themes of peace and harmony at the Pyeongchang Games. But international observers have offered a mix of scrutiny and praise as they watch the totalitarian nation warm to its southern neighbor.

We still know very little about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The North Korean government is notoriously secretive. Upon entering the country, visitors are instructed on what they can and cannot take pictures of. Customs agents inspect your cellphone and other digital devices, including cameras, tablets, and storage cards, for banned content.

In 2015, these restrictions prompted Getty photographer Xiaolu Chu to travel by train through the country, documenting everyday life through his phone lens. He told Business Insider it was too risky to use a high-end camera because locals would report him to the authorities.

While some images were deleted during run-ins with the police, Chu shared some snapshots with us. Take a look at life inside North Korea.

SEE ALSO: A photographer captured these shocking photos of one of the world's most densely populated slums

Chu took the long way around during his visit to North Korea.



Most Chinese tourists enter by train through Sinuiju or by plane through Pyongyang. He instead traveled to Russia so he could access the northern port at Tumangang.



The train ride from Tumangang to Pyongyang — the capital of North Korea — lasts a day. It was canceled because of a dispute between North Korea and South Korea.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Oscar-nominated movie 'Three Billboards' inspired a campaign demanding justice for a fire that killed 71 people in London

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  • An activist group demanding justice for the 71 people killed in a fire at London's Grenfell Tower in June have taken inspiration from the Oscar-nominated film "Three Billboards" in a campaign on Thursday. 
  • The group is seeking prosecutions for the fire, which police said in September could have been caused by a fridge-freezer malfunction.

 

An activist group in London, England, has taken inspiration from the Oscar-nominated film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" to pressure Parliament into finding a resolution to a fire that killed 71 people and injured 70 more at London's Grenfell Tower in June of last year.

The campaign's billboards, parked outside Parliament and various locations throughout London on Thursday, read, "71 DEAD," "AND STILL NO ARRESTS?," "HOW COME?" (In the film "Three Billboards," Frances McDormand's character puts up billboards in the same manner to pressure the Ebbing, Missouri police into finding her daughter's killer.)

British Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the fire in July. The inquiry had its first hearings in September, and the latest development was a police statement in September that said the fire could have been caused by a fridge-freezer malfunction. 

But the "Three Billboards"-inspired campaign is seeking more concrete answers and "prosecutions" for the disaster.

Vice spoke to one of the campaign's organizers, Yvette Williams, who said the campaign is trying to keep the Grenfell fire in the public consciousness, partly as a referendum on "the state of public housing."

"We were told that even as the public inquiry is ongoing, there was going to be an interim report by Easter. Now that's not happening. We want the truth. We want prosecutions," Williams said. "People up and down the country need to feel safe in their homes. None of that is happening. We think they're playing with time, hoping that the story will be downplayed."

SEE ALSO: The 50 best movies of all time, according to critics

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A tech founder says it's easier for him to 'make another million' than find a spouse in Silicon Valley

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Engagement ring

  • Singles in Silicon Valley are having a hard time finding relationships. 
  • There are several issues at play, including dating app fatigue, culture problems, and skewed ratio of women to men. 
  • One male tech founder said: "I have a higher confidence in making another million dollars than I do in finding a spouse."

It's getting harder and harder to find love in Silicon Valley. 

A new story from The Washington Post's Drew Harwell delves into the dating scene in the Valley, and how the nation's tech elite are beginning to feeling hopeless about their chances of finding a romantic partner. 

The Post cites dating app fatigue as one of the causes. Many dating apps may have originated in the Valley, but singles there are just as tired of swiping through seemingly endless potential matches and leaving their love lives in the hands of algorithms. 

Dating apps aren't the only problem — culture is playing a role, too. According to several young singles the Post spoke to in the San Jose and San Francisco area, many of the men feel "outmatched or overlooked," while women report feeling turned off by the strange or egotistical men the tech industry can attract. 

Here's how one tech founder framed the dismal state of things: 

"A ­39-year-old San Francisco tech entrepreneur who has given up on dating apps said, 'I have a higher confidence in making another million dollars than I do in finding a spouse.'"

But a larger issue at play is the gender imbalance throughout the Valley. According to Census Bureau data cited by the Post, the male-to-female ratio for young and employed singles in the San Jose area is skewed in comparison with the rest of the country. For every 100 women in the Valley, there are 150 men — that's compared to a 100-125 ratio nationwide. 

In fact, the Post reports that some Palo Alto zip codes have 40% more single men than women. 

The Post takes a deeper dive into the world of Silicon Valley dating — and some of the other options for love-challenged singles— so head over there for more. 

SEE ALSO: Here's every single new emoji we're getting in 2018

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Silicon Valley's sexist 'bro culture' affects everyone — and how to fix it

There have been 30 mass shootings in the US so far in 2018 — here's the full list

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting parkland florida

  • The number of mass shootings in the US this year reached 30 on Wednesday.
  • A gunman opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing at least 17 people.
  • There have been nearly as many US mass shootings as days in 2018.

 

On Wednesday, a gunman  opened fire on students and staff at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing at least 17 people. It was the deadliest US mass shooting so far this year.

The incident marked the 30th mass shooting in 2018, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks shootings in the US. To put this into perspective, we are 46 days into the year, which means the US has had nearly as many mass shootings as days in 2018.

Americans are more likely to die from gun violence than many leading causes of death combined, with some 11,000 people in the US killed in firearm assaults each year.

There is no broadly accepted definition of a mass shooting. Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are "shot and/or killed" at "the same general time and location."

The government also doesn't have an official definition. In 2013, a report from the Congressional Research Service, known as Congress's think tank, described mass shootings as those in which shooters "select victims somewhat indiscriminately" and kill four or more people — a higher bar than Gun Violence Archive's, as it doesn't take injuries into account.

In 2013, a federal mandate lowered that threshold to three deaths. By this definition, using data from Gun Violence Archive, the Parkland event was the sixth US mass shooting in 2018.

Data from Gun Violence Archive also shows that more than 1,800 people have died from gun-related violence so far this year and more than 3,100 others were injured.

Here's a complete list of the mass shootings— as defined by Gun Violence Archive — that have occurred in the US so far in 2018. 

You can view a report of any incident by visiting the list at gunviolencearchive.org.

SEE ALSO: These are the victims of the Florida high school shooting

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NOW WATCH: Former White House photographer describes what is was like to capture Obama on the worst day of his presidency

The last 43 Oscar best-picture winners, ranked from lowest budget to highest

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  • A range of highly expensive to low-budget films have won the best picture Oscar throughout its history.
  • Based on budget data from IMDB Pro, and then adjusted for inflation, we ranked the last 43 best picture winners based on their budget, from lowest to highest.

 

There is no special formula to win the best picture Oscar — at least when it comes to money.

Films that range from low-budget indie flicks ("Moonlight," "The Artist") to high-budget blockbusters ("Titanic," "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King") have won the Oscar for best picture throughout history.

And that's reflected in this year's nominees as well — from Christopher Nolan's $100 million war epic, "Dunkirk," to Luca Guadagnino's $4 million 1980s romantic drama "Call Me by Your Name."

Based on budget data from IMDB Pro, and then adjusted for inflation using an inflation calculator, we've ranked the last 43 best picture winners from lowest budget to highest budget. 

SEE ALSO: Oscar-nominated movie 'Three Billboards' inspired a campaign demanding justice for a fire that killed 71 people in London

43. "Moonlight" (2016)

Initial budget: $4 million

Adjusted for inflation: $4.13 million 



42. "Rocky" (1976)

Initial budget: $960,000

Adjusted for inflation: $4.18 million 

 

 



41. "Crash" (2005)

Initial budget: $6.5 million

Adjusted for inflation: $8.2 million 



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A mysterious syndrome in which marijuana users get violently ill is starting to worry researchers

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  • A growing number of people are reporting symptoms that align with a mysterious illness called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS.
  • Although previously assumed to be very rare, CHS may affect a large number of frequent marijuana users, a new study suggests.
  • Most people who are diagnosed with CHS experience nausea, severe vomiting, and stomach pain. Many of them get temporary relief from hot showers or baths.


Mrs. X knew something was wrong when she burned herself in the bath for the third time. 

The Australian woman — whose experience was documented anonymously in a published case study — had experienced sudden and severe episodes of illness for nine years. She'd get nauseous and a feel like the room was spinning, which was followed by violent vomiting and severe stomach pains. As it turned out, she had a mysterious syndrome that doctors are only now beginning to recognize.

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, or CHS, appears to occur in people who use marijuana frequently for years. Aside from quitting marijuana, there are no known treatments.

Mrs. X told her doctors that soothing herself with a warm bath was like magic — her symptoms seemed to melt away into the warm tub. But as soon as the water began to cool, her symptoms creeped back. It felt like she couldn't get the water hot enough. She learned to progressively heat the water, preferring to stay in the bath as long as she could.

But one day, the water got too hot and she emerged with red skin and a bad burn. The third time it happened, she ended up in the hospital.

Mrs. X was eventually diagnosed with CHS. Patients who get it usually experience a very upset stomach in connection to frequent, heavy marijuana use. Mrs. X's case report, along with those of nine other people with similar symptoms, was published in 2004 in the medical journal Gut, an official journal of the British Society of Gastroenterology. It was the first time the set of symptoms was given a name.

Until now, cases of CHS were presumed to be incredibly rare. But somerecent evidence indicates cases could be on the rise, and a new study from emergency clinicians at New York University Langone suggests the syndrome may affect far more people than initially thought. The worst part may be that patients have no idea that cannabis may be causing their symptoms, since paradoxically, weed is sometimes used to treat nausea.

"This is something that's poorly understood that doctors don't know about," Joseph Habboushe, an assistant professor at NYU Langone and the lead author on the paper, told Business Insider. "It could affect millions."

The first study to give a sense of how many people this may affect

marijuana weed pot cannabis smoke smokerThe stories of Mrs. X and the others in the 2004 study didn't cause widespread concern among medical professionals. Marijuana was still largely illegal at the time, for one thing. And the symptoms appeared to disappear for good as soon as the patients stopped using the drug.

Plus, Mrs. X's story was part of a series of case reports, a type of paper that doesn't involve rigorous research parameters; it merely describes the symptoms of one or several people. 

The scientists behind the latest study, published in the journal Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, looked into CHS by examining a large sample of adults admitted to an emergency room in New York City. The researchers surveyed thousands of patients in an attempt to find only those who used marijuana frequently — at least 20 days per month — and ended up with 155 people who met their criteria. All of those individuals smoked nearly every day or multiple times a day, often for five years or more.

Among those patients, roughly a third had symptoms that qualified them for a diagnosis with CHS.

That's a big number, Habboushe said — far bigger than he anticipated.

"Some of my colleagues and I had some idea that this might be more common than initial studies suggested, but we were still pretty surprised," he said.

Given that figure, Habboushe and his colleagues estimated that as many as 2 million US adults could be affected by the syndrome. Still, given the small sample size, it may be too early to say how many people could really develop CHS.

More studies could help identify potential treatments

Marijuana budsThe only thing that appears to stop the symptoms of CHS is permanently avoiding marijuana. Hot baths and showers offer only a temporary fix.

"As far as we know there are no good treatments for this. Most anti-nausea medications don’t work," Habboushe said. "The only thing that helps is stopping. And many patients will stop for a few days, and it goes away, but then they start smoking again and it comes back."

Habboushe is currently working on another study that aims to identify some of these potential treatments.

But as is the case with any study, the latest paper has some limitations. Chief among them is the fact that people are still hesitant to be open and honest about marijuana use, so the figures could be off. Another important factor to consider is that we have no data on the strength, strain, or potency of the marijuana being used. Habboushe said he believes that stronger cannabis may be contributing to the rise in cases of the syndrome, but without data or concrete regulations around THC content, it's impossible to know for sure.

The study also did not exclude people who took other drugs, meaning that other drugs could be playing a role as well. Lastly, there's no way to know whether a specific compound in cannabis — such as THC or CBD, the two most well-known compounds— plays more of a role here than others.

These caveats mean more research is needed. But in the meantime, Habboushe is concerned.

"We are going to see more of this disease," he said. "This doesn't mean marijuana is bad or good it just means it has side effects — side effects that we need to understand and learn how to avoid and treat."

SEE ALSO: We took a scientific look at whether weed or alcohol is worse for you — and there appears to be a winner

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NOW WATCH: A pharmacologist explains marijuana's effect on your dreams

Prince Harry likely won't wear a wedding ring when he gets married — here's why

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  • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will wed on May 19 at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.
  • But Prince Harry may or may not choose to wear a wedding ring to symbolize the marriage.
  • Prince William and Prince Philip have never worn wedding bands.

 

Conventional marriage rules need not apply to the royal family.

Prince Harry will wed Meghan Markleon May 19 at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, but if he's anything like his brother or grandfather, he'll eschew one universal marriage tradition: wearing a wedding band.

Despite his near six-year union, Prince William has never worn a wedding ring to symbolize his marriage to Kate Middleton. Prince William apparently "isn't one for jewelry," much like his grandfather Prince Philip, who's been married to the Queen of England for nearly 70 years and doesn't sport a wedding band.

Indeed, it seems as though opting out is a matter of personal preference rather than royal family folklore. Prince Charles, William and Harry's father, wore a ring throughout his marriage to Princess Diana and wears one now in his second marriage to Camilla — albeit on his pinky finger rather than left-hand ring finger.

In November, Prince Harry proposed to Markle with a show-stopping three-carat diamond ring — complete with stones from Princess Diana's collection — that's estimated to be worth up to $1 million (though the retail value is likely closer to $50,000). Markle is expected to wear that ring, as well as a wedding band she'll receive at the ceremony, to represent their royal union.

Markle and Prince Harry's whirlwind romance and wedding plans have already proved a break from tradition, so whichever decision he makes likely won't come as a shock.

And Middleton and Prince William have done a good job of setting a precedent as far as modern royal couples go.

"Kate omitted the word 'obey' in her wedding vows, and William has opted not to wear a ring, which makes them like many millennial couples — intent on doing things their way," Diane Clehane, author of "Imagining Diana," said in Vogue.

SEE ALSO: Meghan Markle could get an allowance from the British royal family — but she may have to pay double the taxes

DON'T MISS: Meghan Markle has proved her dominance over the 'Kate effect' — and it's worth $677 million

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Trump insisted on hanging bright gold drapes in the Oval Office — here are past presidents' offices for comparison

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• The Oval Office is the official office of the president of the United States.

• In modern times, many new presidents have redesigned the room.

• These refurbishments typically reflect their personal tastes, signal their political leanings, and commemorate the figures who they admire.



The Oval Office is more than just an office.

It's a symbol of the authority and power of the US presidency — and a great spot for photo ops.

But, while all presidents from John Adams onward have lived in the White House, the Oval Office is a somewhat more modern convention.

The first Oval Office was the brainchild of President William Taft, who added the room when he expanded the West Wing. According to the White House Museum, the room had a green scheme, with olive walls, forest drapes with eagle valances, and a softer green rug. Presidents Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover all used this original Oval Office, which was gutted in a 1929 fire.

The modern Oval Office was born during the tenure of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since then, new presidents have typically redesigned the space, swapping out the drapes, rug, chairs, and desk, switching up the artwork, and adopting new color schemes.

The changes to the Oval Office aren't always simple matter of personal taste. The redesign often allows the president to subtly signal certain political leanings and commemorate the historical figures who they admire.

Oval Office decorations can also be a source of political sniping. Under President Donald Trump's administration, White House officials chose to anonymously bash Barack Obama by alleging that he'd left the room's wallpaper stained and damaged. They said they were engaging in a $3.4 million redesign in order to restore the room's "luster" and "glory," The Guardian reported.

And sometimes, certain decorating choices can even result in a public backlash — like Trump's choice to display a portrait of Andrew Jackson, or Obama's decision to move a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office to the Treaty Room.

With that in mind, here's a look back in time at the Oval Office over the years, from FDR to Trump:

SEE ALSO: Trump's being slammed for this photo of his desk — here are past presidents' desks for comparison

DON'T MISS: Watching cable news in a bathrobe and holding meetings in the dark — 9 bizarre descriptions of the Trump White House

SEE ALSO: A look inside the White House — America's best-known residential address

Roosevelt is the father of the modern Oval Office. According to the blog Our White House, he hated the old room because it "lacked windows and privacy." The new space was sunnier and located closer to his staff. However, during WWII, the president may have been required to move his desk away from the window, for security reasons.

Source: Our White House, White House History, White House Museum



FDR kept the old office's green theme alive, selecting green drapes and a blue green rug. He also kept a marble mantel and two sconces, from the old room. The room also featured many armchairs and arched-back chairs, ship models, Herbert Hoover's old desk, prints of the Hudson Valley, a painting of George Washington, and an animal skin rug.

Source: Our White House, White House History, White House Museum



Harry Truman commemorated Roosevelt, who died in office, by featuring a large photograph of him in the Oval Office. The art he displayed was eclectic, and included a portrait of Washington, depictions of Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin that were gifts from Venezuela and Argentina, a plaque of the Missouri State Seal, and plane models.

Source: White House Museum, The Truman Library

 



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A day in the life of a United Airlines flight attendant, who woke up before 3 a.m. and ran circles around me for 9 hours

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  • Robert "Bingo" Bingochea is a Denver-based flight attendant for United Airlines who commutes to work from his home in Phoenix and back.
  • Bingochea has been a flight attendant with United for seven years and previously worked in the airline industry in other capacities.
  • Though he says every day on the job is different, we joined him on a trip from Denver to Houston and back to capture what a day in the life of a flight attendant might look like.


It's 3 a.m., and I'm jolted awake by the ring of the hotel phone.

The bright red numbers on the clock next to me are the only thing that illuminate my pitch-black hotel room, and I groan as I roll over and steal another five minutes of sleep.

When I checked into the hotel at 10:30 the night before and asked for my wake-up call, the front desk clerk was horrified to hear how little sleep I'd be getting.

"At least I'm getting the 'true' experience," I tell myself. "Flight attendants probably do this all the time."

As it turns out, Robert "Bingo" Bingochea, a 63-year-old who has worked with United Airlines as a flight attendant for seven years, went to bed early that night, and he has already been awake for more than an hour by the time I finally bolt out of bed. He's had his morning coffee, watched some TV news, and checked the weather from his hotel room before I even clicked the lights on in my room.

Like me, Bingochea has also flown in the day before the 5:24 a.m. flight from Denver to Houston.

He's what you call a "commuter" in the airline industry. He's a flight attendant based out of Denver, but he lives in Phoenix with his wife and commutes to Denver and back for each trip he works.

Bingochea got the first flight into Denver the day before our flight, which isn't uncommon for commuters, since flying standby means you aren't guaranteed a seat on the flight you want, and it can sometimes take a full day to get a flight on standby.

I'm shadowing him for the day, and we're to meet at Denver International Airport to begin our journey together.

SEE ALSO: Here's what it's REALLY like to be a Delta Air Lines flight attendant, one of the most competitive jobs out there

DON'T MISS: Flight attendants share the 25 things they wish passengers would stop doing — and one thing you can get away with

SEE ALSO: 11 insider facts most flight attendants know — and you probably don't

As our flight will begin boarding at 4:50 a.m., I arrive at the airport at 4 a.m. I'm scheduled to meet Bingochea at United's In Flight area, but before that, we both need to go through airport security.

Just my luck, getting through TSA security takes me longer than I expected. I must remove my shoes, take all electronics out of my bag and place them, exposed, in the screening bin. And, since I wear some medical devices, I'm treated to a full pat down and tested for bomb residue.

Bingochea, on the other hand — and other flight attendants flying through Denver International — goes through an expedited TSA screening, a process that usually takes less than a minute.



Bingochea has packed enough clothes — rolled, of course — and supplies to last at least four days. "You want to be ready for everything," he tells me. "Anything can happen."

Apart from the essentials like extra underwear and t-shirts, medication, and clothing, he also takes a couple trinkets with him: A pink, rubber frog that was his daughter's when she was younger always goes around the world with him, as well as his Vietnam Veteran cap, which commemorates his time as a medic in the U.S. Army during Vietnam.

In general, Bingochea doesn't pack a lunch. He'll bring some snacks with him, but he opts not to eat while he's working — it makes him sluggish — and instead budgets enough money to try the different cuisines of where he's traveling.



As a passenger, you won't ever see United's operations station. With the swipe of my handler's United Airlines ID badge, we take an elevator up to the fourth floor, home of United's conference rooms, HR and IT departments, and Inflight Services.



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Airline pilot explains 17 code words passengers don't understand

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  • Patrick Smith is an author, aviation blogger, and commercial airline pilot.
  • Smith compiled a list of commonly misunderstood airline terms for his website AskThePilot

For most of us, flying is still an inherently mysterious activity.

To shed some light on the world of commercial air travel, Business Insider turned to Patrick Smith for some answers. Smith is not only an author and aviation blogger but also a long-time commercial airline pilot flying Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 jets.

Smith, who authored the book Cockpit Confidential, compiled a glossary of commonly misunderstood airline jargon on his website, AskThePilot.

According to Smith, some of the terms are highly technological while others are quite humorous and even a bit absurd.

Here is a selection of these entries.

SEE ALSO: 'There's a storm coming': Emirates boss warns airlines of a looming seismic shift in technology

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Doors to arrival and crosscheck

Used in a sample sentence: "Flight attendants, doors to arrival and crosscheck."

Definition: The announcement, usually made by the lead flight attendant as the plane is approaching the gate, is to verify that the emergency escape slides attached to each door have been disarmed — otherwise the slide will deploy automatically as soon as the door is opened. 

 



All-call

Used in a sample sentence: "Flight attendants, doors to arrival, crosscheck and all-call."

Definition: According to Smith, all-call is usually part of the door arming/disarming procedure. "This is a request that each flight attendant report via intercom from his or her station — a sort of flight attendant conference call," he wrote.



Holding pattern

Definition: "A racetrack-shaped course flown during weather or traffic delays," Smith wrote. "Published holding patterns are depicted on aeronautical charts, but one can be improvised almost anywhere."



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