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The psychologist who can predict divorce with scary accuracy built a 'love lab' where couples pay $4,500 to find out everything that could go wrong

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love lab couple talking

  • The "love lab" in downtown Seattle allows couples to have their relationship analyzed, through observation and physiological measurements.
  • The day-long experience costs $4,500.
  • Couples receive a personalized report and find out how they can improve the quality of their relationship.


John Gottman has become famous as the man who can reportedly predict with scary-high accuracy whether a couple will get divorced.

In 1986, the psychologist and his colleagues built a research lab at the University of Washington, which subsequently came to be known as the "love lab." There, they'd observe couples discuss tense topics and take physiological measurements —  like the partners' heart rate and blood pressure — and assess the strength of the relationship.

Gottman and his team would follow the couples for years in order to determine what kinds of behaviors were linked to successful — and unsuccessful — relationships. Since 1996, Gottman and his wife, psychologist Julie Schwartz Gottman, have run the Gottman Institute, where they conduct their research.

The love lab closed several years ago. But in February 2018, it reopened in downtown Seattle, with more advanced technology.

What the 'love lab experience' is really like

According to the Gottman Institute website, each couple who signs up spends a full day at the love lab. The "love lab experience," as it's called, costs $4,500. "It's expensive, so people have to be serious about it," Carrie Cole, the lab's research director, told me. (The proceeds go toward future research on relationships, she said.)

Similar to what happened in the previous iteration of the love lab, each person is hooked up to the equipment that takes their physiological measurements while they're led through two, video-recorded conversations with each other. One conversation focuses on recent events; the other focuses on an area of disagreement.

The couples are then given the chance to review the recordings and provide their own assessments.

Finally, the couples meet with Cole, who highlights the relative strengths and potential challenges in their relationship. In addition to a 36-page personalized report, the couple gets recommendations from Cole on how to tackle those challenges.

love lab woman's hand

The lab goes beyond what couples say, to understand how they feel

Assessments of a relationship's strength are made based on multiple pieces of data at the love lab, including the emotions the couple displays and the couple's own account of their relationship. But the physiological component of the love lab experience (i.e. all those wires attached to your body) is primarily what distinguishes it from a typical visit to a couples' therapist.

Julie Schwartz Gottman told me that, in the early days of the Gottmans' research, she was surprised to learn "you could have a couple sitting on a couch, having a conflict conversation, and they would look perfectly calm. They would look as if they were discussing the weather."

But once you outfitted them with heart rate monitors and other instruments, "we saw that those people would sometimes have heart rates as high as 140, 150 beats a minute, while they were sitting there looking as calm as little cucumbers." That is to say, the technology allowed the researchers to see when one or both partners were distressed, even if the partners didn't know it themselves.

Schwartz Gottman said, "There was a direct correlation between those high physiological measures that we saw and the relationship's demise five, six years down the road."

When the Gottmans led treatment for couples, they would focus partly on helping people stay calm during conflict discussions. If one partner showed signs of physiological arousal, the person needed to take a break. Schwartz Gottman said, "When they came back to continue the conversation, it was as if they'd had a brain transplant. They looked completely different and spoke completely differently to one another."

love lab carrie coleHow the Gottmans have — and haven't — revolutionized relationship science

To be sure, the Gottmans' work is not without its critics. As journalist Laurie Abraham explained in her 2010 book, "The Husbands and Wives Club," John Gottman may not really have "predicted" divorce. Instead, he used his observational data to create an equation that could distinguish between happy and unhappy couples once he already knew which couples had divorced.

Still, as Abraham notes, the Gottmans' contributions to relationship science have been extremely valuable. For example, based on a 14-year study of 79 couples, John Gottman identified four behaviors that he calls the "four horsemen of the apocalypse."

As Business Insider's Erin Brodwin reported, those behaviors are contempt, or a mix of anger and disgust that involves seeing your partner as beneath you; criticism; defensiveness; and stonewalling, or blocking off conversation.

Going forward, with scientific data about your relationship in hand

At the old love lab, Cole told me, "we didn't offer a lot of guidance and support," in the sense that couples didn't get detailed feedback on how to improve the quality of their relationships.

Now, that 36-page report includes charts and diagrams that show what's going right and potentially wrong in a relationship. Cole said one diagram shows couples exactly what they'd need to modify in order to change the entire trajectory of their relationship.

Cole told me she wanted the love lab experience to be "engaging, comforting, hopeful" — not harsh and sterile-feeling. She said she aims to "give them critical, science-based information and deliver it in a way that is warm and genuine."

Perhaps most importantly, couples who visit the love lab are encouraged to feel empowered to make the changes their relationship needs — not doomed to disaster. According to the Gottman Institute website, if you visit the lab and learn you have a high probability of divorce, that does not mean you should break up immediately.

The website reads: "Changing those negative behaviors that predict divorce to more positive behaviors that predict success can significantly change the course of your relationship and make it better."

SEE ALSO: 4 behaviors are the most reliable predictors of divorce

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A relationship psychologist explains why marriage seems harder now than ever before


We went to H&M's sister store and saw why it's become a secret weapon for the struggling company

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Cos 6619

  • Though H&M's business has been struggling, other H&M group brands have been doing well, according to the company's CEO, Karl-Johan Persson.
  • Cos, which launched in 2007, is focused on timeless, minimalist designs sold in a modern setting. Its success is helping to make up for H&M's disappointing 2017.
  • Its strategy differs from its sister brand H&M, which tries to follow trends and sells an abundance of styles in stores.
  • We went to a Downtown Manhattan Cos store to see what shopping there was like.

 

H&M may be struggling, but its more high-end sister brand, Cos, is thriving, according to the company. 

Short for Collection of Style, Cos is known for its high-quality, thoughtful, and timeless designs meant to "last beyond the season," according to its website. While the philosophy is similar to that of H&M in terms of creating relatively affordable fashion, the brand has previously stated that "Cos prices start where H&M's finish." 

Beyond a higher price point, where Cos differs from H&M is its focus on minimalist pieces that feel more high-end. The styles earned praise from the likes of Vogue and The New York Times when the store first landed in the US back in 2014. 

To see what Cos is all about and why it's a bright spot for H&M, we went to a Downtown Manhattan location. This is what we found:  

SEE ALSO: We visited an H&M store and saw everything that's wrong with the brand

We immediately noticed a difference between Cos and H&M. Everything in the Cos store seemed very well-organized — similar clothes were paired together, with shoes and accessories that may match put in the same section.



Pairing up similar color schemes with matching accessories made it feel easy to shop there at first ...



... but we soon noticed the formal and casual clothes were all mixed together, which made it harder to find certain styles. Though the website carries children's clothes, swimwear, and a very wide variety of styles, the in-store selection felt more limited.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the best cars, trucks, and SUVs to buy in 2018

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Ford Raptor

  • Consumer Reports released its annual Top Picks list.
  • Ten cars all from different segments of the market were selected based on its performance in road testing, predicted reliability, safety, and owner satisfaction.
  • Toyota led the way with four cars on the list.

Consumer Reports released, on Thursday, its annual list of the top cars on sale in the US. The venerable consumer publication picked out 10 cars — all representing different segments of the auto market — for its Top Picks list. 

In order to become a Consumer Reports Top Pick, a vehicle must prove to be outstanding all-around performers — living up to the publication's stringent road testing regime, exhibit stellar predicted reliability, safety, and consumer satisfaction. 

Toyota led the way with four vehicles on the list while GM's Chevrolet had two vehicles in the top 10. Three models, the Chevrolet Impala,  Subaru Forester, and Toyota Highlander were holdovers from last year's list

Here's a closer look at Consumer Reports' Top Picks for 2018:

SEE ALSO: The 12 coolest features inside the Tesla Model 3

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

1. Compact car: Toyota Corolla

Price as tested: $20,650

Why it's here: "This practical, fuel-efficient sedan has all the virtues that small-car shoppers seek, backed by its strong reliability track record," the publication said in a statement. Consumer Reports praised the Corolla for its roomy interior, secure handling, superior ride, and solid 32 mpg fuel economy. 



2. Compact green car: Chevrolet Bolt

Price as tested: $38,424

Why it's here: "We put the Bolt through our battery of rigorous tests and drove it thousands of miles, both at our test track and on public roads," Consumer Reports’ director of automotive testing, Jake Fisher said in a statement. "With the ability to go up to 250 miles on a charge, the Bolt is a good option for someone who might never have considered an EV before."



3. Luxury compact car: Audi A4

Price as tested: $48,890

Why it's here: "The A4 shines by being sporty, luxurious, and polished in a competitive category," Consumer Reports wrote. "It’s very satisfying to drive, with nimble, secure handling helped by its minimal body roll and responsive steering."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

There's a simple phrase you can use when asking for a flight upgrade that could help you land a first-class seat — but there’s a catch

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qatar airways first class

  • Mentioning "revenue management" to an airline reservation agent can help you land an upgrade, New York Times best-selling author Tilly Bagshawe told Bloomberg
  • An airline's revenue management department tells reservation agents what they're allowed to offer to customers, so talking to them directly allows you to appeal to the real decision-makers.
  • But that strategy would only work if you're a VIP customer, according to aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt.


Even when airlines don't sell all of their first-class seats on a given flight, it might not be easy to use miles for an upgrade. Sometimes, airlines may keep unsold first-class seats available until the last minute so they can sell them at significant markups to business travelers, who tend to buy tickets later than leisure travelers and are less price sensitive. 

But there's a simple way to increase your chances of being able to upgrade to first-class with miles, New York Times best-selling author Tilly Bagshawe told Bloomberg

The secret is to call the airline's reservations line and use the words "revenue management." That's because an airline's revenue management department tells reservation agents what they're allowed to offer to customers, so having a reservation agent check with revenue management or transfer you to them allows you to appeal to the real decision-makers.

If you're transferred to revenue management, Bagshaw says you should ask how many first-class seats haven't been sold yet, then "politely" ask when they'll be released for passengers who want to upgrade. According to Bagshaw, the strategy has "a pretty much 100 percent success rate."

That strategy probably won't work for everyone

However, there's a catch. Not only do you need enough miles to make an upgrade a possibility, you probably have to be one of the airline's top customers (Bagshawe told Bloomberg she flies over 100,000 miles each year), aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt told Business Insider.

"Asking a reservations agent to check with the airline’s Revenue Management department will probably result in the agent muting her line while she laughs at the request," he said. "Very few airlines allow their reservations agents to either contact Revenue Management or queue a reservation to that department for upgrades."

Even if you are enough of a high-profile customer to warrant special treatment, "strong demand" for business and first-class seats on long flights means airlines often don't have many open seats that can be used for upgrades, according to Harteveldt.

"When premium cabin seats are available, airlines often attempt to sell them, and are generally successful at this," he said. 

So next time you're looking for an upgrade, ask for revenue management — if you're feeling lucky.

 

SEE ALSO: This is the site you need to look at for super cheap flights before you book your next trip

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Amazon is shaking up a healthcare industry that's ripe for disruption

I absolutely love this gorgeous new smartwatch from Skagen — except it's missing one major feature every smartwatch should have in 2018

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Skagen Falster

I was prepared to love the Skagen Falster smartwatch. 

When I first saw the watch at CES — the tech industry trade show in Las Vegas last month — it blew me away. The watch was easily the best-looking wearable I saw there, and certainly the best-looking smartwatch I've seen in months. 

The Falster watch features activity tracking, customizable watch faces, and voice commands powered by Google Assistant. Skagen has made hybrid watches in the past, but the Falster is the brand's first true smartwatch. It starts at $275 and is available now. 

I tested out the Falster watch over the course of a few weeks. While I quickly fell in love with its gorgeous design, I found one surprising shortcoming. 

SEE ALSO: This beautiful $300 security camera can recognize faces and keep track of your kids — and it's backed by some of the biggest names in tech

Skagen is a Danish-inspired watch brand owned by Fossil Group, which also makes Michael Kors- and Kate Spade-branded watches.



Skagen has set itself apart from other brands by making chic, minimalist watches. Their watches are mostly rendered in neutral leathers and gold, rose gold, and silver metallics with mother of pearl and marble faces.



In short, Skagen's watches are historically stunning, and the Falster is no different. It comes in black, silver, and rose gold, with either steel or leather bands.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These are the biggest sibling rivalries in the clothing business

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H&M and Cos

  • Some of the world's largest and most popular clothing brands are being superseded by their sister labels.
  • Many of these smaller sister stores are able to respond to changing trends more quickly. 
  • Gap, Abercrombie, H&M, and American Eagle all have popular sister stores. 

 

Sibling rivalries are the clothing business' latest trend. 

Increasingly, some of the most popular apparel stores are finding themselves outpaced by the very brands they created.

This week, Racked reported that J.Crew would be bringing its successful sister brand Madewell to some of its stores. Madewell is known for its denim but prides itself on its effortless and timeless clothing that doesn't chase after fast-fashion trends. While J.Crew has struggled in recent years, Madewell has become one of the company's sweet spots.

J.Crew isn't alone. H&M, American Eagle, Abercrombie, and Gap have all increasingly found themselves being outshined by their sister labels, which are helping to boost sales at the parent company overall.

Take a look at some of these stores and their wildly popular sister brands:

SEE ALSO: We went to Old Navy and saw why the brand is Gap's secret weapon

J.Crew and Madewell

As customers leave J.Crew, citing poor quality and expensive prices, Madewell's sales are soaring. 

Same-store sales have been down at J.Crew for the past three years, dropping by 8% in 2016 following a 10% decrease the year before. In its most recent earnings report, in the third quarter of 2017, sales had dropped by 12%. The company has not yet released its fourth-quarter results.

Meanwhile, Madewell's same-store sales grew by 5% in 2016 and increased by 10%, 11% and 13% in the first three quarters of 2017.

The company is now rolling out Madewell products in some of its J.Crew stores in an effort to revitalize sales, Racked reported Friday. J.Crew did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the arrangement.

Madewell has been around since 1937. It was founded in New England by Russian immigrant Julius Kivowitz, who originally sold bib overalls, jeans, and dungarees for factory workers and fishermen.

It was acquired by J.Crew in 2006 under the direction of former CEO Mickey Drexler. Drexler set his mind to make it huge and put Somsack Sikhounmuong, who started out at J.Crew, in charge of design in 2013. 

"We are cleaning and simplifying, so we're steering the collection towards the classic, straightforward, and effortlessly sexy design and taking the things Madewell has done best — tomboy pieces, denim, and leather — and giving them a bigger platform," Sikhounmuong told WhoWhatWear in 2013.

The secret to Madewell's success has been knowing its customer and not jumping on fast-fashion trends. Its focus is on good-quality, longer-lasting clothing, which historically had a lower price point than at J.Crew. 

Drexler said that increasing prices contributed to J.Crew's downfall. 

"We gave a perception of being a higher-priced company than we were — in our catalog, online, and in our general presentation," Drexler told the Wall Street Journal in May 2017. "Very big mistake."



Gap and Old Navy

Former J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler, who oversaw the takeover of Madewell, was also responsible for creating another popular sister brand during his time as CEO at Gap Inc. 

In 1993, Drexler set up Old Navy as a more budget-conscious store to appeal to low-income shoppers. 

Old Navy has become the parent company's saving grace. While Gap Inc. has struggled in recent years, Old Navy has seen positive same-store sales growth for the past five years.

The store has a cult following of price-conscious customers who choose it over Gap because of its lower prices. 

"Maybe there is a little bit of difference [in quality], but not enough that is making me feel like I need to spend more money," Dana McKay, a 39-year-old mother of two who does all her shopping at Old Navy and has done so since her college days, told Business Insider in May 2017.

Old Navy is better at jumping on trends than its sister brand Gap. 

"I wouldn't call it fast fashion but they are replenishing the merchandise more frequently. You are constantly getting new stuff into the store and it tends to be what the consumer is craving," Bridget Weishaar, an analyst at Morningstar, told Business Insider.

Old Navy also has an efficient system in place whereby it can trial products in smaller batches in order to see how successful they are before rolling them out on a larger scale, a spokesperson for the brand told Business Insider. This helps the brand to gauge what sells well.

Gap Inc. did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. 



American Eagle and Aerie

American Eagle's sister brand Aerie has taken the underwear market by storm, winning over the hearts of millennial shoppers with its body-positive ad campaigns. 

In the fiscal year of 2016, American Eagle's same-store sales grew by a modest 1%, while Aerie was up 23% in the same period.

This growth gap defined 2017 as well. Same-store sales at Aerie were up 25%, 26%, and 19% in the first, second, and third quarters of the year. Meanwhile, at American Eagle, same-store sales grew by 1%, 0%, and 1% in the same period. 

Aerie's decision to nix airbrushed ads has paid off and helped sales to skyrocket in the past four years. It's been an effective way to appeal to customers who favor authenticity over anything else.

Meanwhile, American Eagle has fallen out of favor as there is greater competition among teen and low-cost fashion retailers such as H&M and Forever 21.

American Eagle did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

What Americans spend on an engagement ring in each state, ranked from lowest to highest

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for one of two official engagement photos at Frogmore House in December, 2017

  • An engagement ring is an expensive purchase — Americans spend $6,351 on average.
  • But when broken down by state, the average amount ranges from $3,518 to $10,241.
  • People in California spend the most on engagement rings, while those in Utah spend the least.

Americans on average spend $6,351 on an engagement ring, according to The Knot's 2017 Real Weddings Study.

We asked the sales team at Ritani, an online diamond retailer that specializes in engagement rings, to dive deeper into the statistics and find the average price paid for an engagement ring across the US in 2017.

Many factors go into pricing a diamond engagement ring. Diamonds are graded and priced based on the "four Cs," which are cut, carat, color, and clarity. Each of those can affect the price. A 1-carat round-shaped diamond with an "ideal" cut grade, for example, can range from about $2,000 up to $12,857 at Ritani depending on its grade for clarity and color.

Below we've ranked the average amount of money spent on an engagement ring in each state, from lowest to highest.

SEE ALSO: The most romantic destination in every state

51. Utah: $3,518



50. Vermont: $3,941



49. New Hampshire: $4,053



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We tried Olive Garden's most confusing take on Italian food yet — here's the verdict

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Olive Garden Meatball Pizza Bowl 1

  • Olive Garden has released yet another unorthodox menu item — this time, it's the "Meatball Pizza Bowl."
  • People's reactions are fairly mixed, but odd dishes are pretty common at the chain now, so many are taking it in stride. 
  • Unfortunately, it doesn't fare as well as its "Italian nacho" cousin — the bowl is difficult to eat and kind of gross. 


Olive Garden's noble quest to disrupt the Italian food industry marches onward with the chain's new meatball pizza bowl. 

Meatballs? Pizza? With a bowl involved somehow? Apparently, it's a pizza crust that's molded into the shape of a bowl, then filled with alternating layers of ragu sauce, cheese, and meatballs. 

It sounds structurally insane, as though this lunch dish relies on a vein of Lovecraftian, non-Euclidean geometry to simply exist in our dimension. The description defies any attempt to place it within a recognizable genre of food items — is it a bowl, a pizza, a casserole? 

Whatever it is, it's available for lunch — on weekdays before 3 p.m. only — as part of Olive Garden's "Lunch Duos" deal. It starts at $8.99, but the cost can vary depending on location. 

The question is: is this strange dish worth getting?

Many online have made their revulsion and suspicion clear. 

 

Yet despite the culinary unease that automatically blooms after reading the description — well, even the name is enough to turn some people off — I have to give it the benefit of the doubt. After all, the chain's audacious "Italian nachos" that were released earlier this month were strangely good, despite every fiber in my being yearning to dislike them. 

So, off I went to Olive Garden to try it for myself. 

SEE ALSO: We visited the fastest-growing restaurant chain in America — and what we discovered should terrify KFC and Chick-fil-A

DON'T MISS: This controversial burger chain revamped its raunchy image before embarking on a huge US expansion — here's what it's like to eat there now

I return to the Garden of Good and Evil Italian Food, having ordered ahead. Times Square is hectic as ever, but Olive Garden is eerily quiet, having just opened about three minutes prior to my arrival. "Table for one?" the hostess asks with a hint of pity. I demur.



All's quiet on the Alfredo front as I leave, to-go bag of meatball pizza bowl in hand.



Finally I get a look at it. It appears almost exactly as it does in the photos, and I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It smells like a meatball sub, which is definitely a good thing. The size is roughly akin to a baseball cap — no verdict on whether or not the bowl makes a good hat, though.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

How many calories normal people actually burn doing 9 Winter Olympic sports

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2018 Winter Olympics

We can't all be Olympians. 

But we couch-bound Olympics-watchers can still reap serious health benefits from trying out some of the sports in play at the Winter Games.

We've rounded up nine of the most exciting winter sports to determine about how many calories you'd burn based on a metric called METs.

We calculated how much the average Joe and Jane USA might burn doing each Olympian-style sport for 60 minutes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American woman weighs about 168.5 pounds (~76kg), and the average man is somewhere around 195.7 lbs (~89 kg), so we've used those weights.

The calorie estimates are based on a tool built by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Arizona State University. Of course, they aren't perfect, and the numbers would likely be different based on your fitness, age, and other factors.

But with that in mind, take a look at what a spin around the rink or slide down an icy chute could do for your body. 

SEE ALSO: We compared 7 popular granola bars based on dietitians' health advice — here's how they stack up

Traveling around the ice at 9 miles an hour or less (that's a regular pace, not an Olympic one) burns around 490 calories for an average man, and 418 for a woman.

In an hour of consistent movement on the ice, you're probably expending around 5.5 METs. By comparison, competitive speed skaters and ice dancers can burn up to 14 METs an hour. 

When people really get moving, ice skating and ice dancing can be some of the most intense winter sports. 



For average Americans, an hour of ski jumping burns 532 calories for a woman and 623 for a man.

Carrying your skis up the hill then hurling yourself off the top can blow through energy — around 7 METs an hour.

If you want to calculate how many calories you might burn in your own hourlong ski-jumping session, multiply your weight, in kilograms, by the MET of 7.



A typical American adult skiing down the slopes at a race pace would burn 608 calories for women and 712 for men.

But that estimate is for someone speeding downhill with their most vigorous effort.

Mikaela Shiffrin, who won a gold medal in giant slalom and a silver medal in women's combined alpine skiing at Pyeongchang, eats 3,000 calories a day to fuel her impressive runs down the mountains. 

But how much people burn skiing and snowboarding depends a lot on how fast they go and how fit they are. Skiing can plow through up to 8 METs in an hourlong race, or as little as 4.3 METs if you exert just a light effort. 

If you're taking it slow, you'd burn closer to 327 calories for women and 383 for men.

Again, multiply your weight in kilograms by the MET to find your hourly calorie burn.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Vaping instead of smoking still exposes you to toxic metals like lead — here's how worried you should be

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marijuana vaporizer vaping vape

  • A new study found that people who vape may be inhaling potentially dangerous levels of toxic metals like lead.
  • But the study did not directly compare the levels with those of conventional cigarettes — which some research suggests are higher and more worrisome.
  • Most research suggests vaping is a healthier alternative to smoking, especially for adults who want to quit. But those studies have also revealed some of its potential downsides.

Smoking kills. No other habit has been so strongly tied to death.

In addition to inhaling burned tobacco and tar, smokers breathe in toxic metals like cadmium and beryllium, as well as metallic elements like nickel and chromium — all of which accumulate naturally in the leaves of the tobacco plant.

It's no surprise, then, that most of the available evidence suggests that vaping, which involves puffing on vaporized liquid nicotine instead of inhaling burned tobacco, is at least somewhat healthier.

Still, we don't have a ton of research on how vaping affects the body and brain.

It's been less than a decade since the first vape pen hit store shelves as a bulky device the size of a whiteboard marker. Since then, countless varieties of electronic cigarettes have become available, from slim black sticks with tips that light up like conventional cigarettes to chrome cartridges that allow the user to personalize things like the amount of nicotine in each hit and the length of a pull.

In 2015, a group of researchers from medical schools across the globe decided to find out just what was inside the vapors that e-cig users were inhaling.

Trapped deep in the aerosol particles that vapers breathe were some of the same toxic metals and metallic elements found in conventional cigarettes, including cadmium and nickel. They also found potentially unsafe levels of several other dangerous substances such as arsenic, chromium, and manganese.

They published their findings this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

"These heating coils, as currently made, seem to be leaking toxic metals — which then get into the aerosols that vapers inhale," Ana Maria Rule, an assistant scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who led the study, said in a statement.

Despite these findings, it remains unclear what inhaling these levels of substances does.

"We've established with this study that there are exposures to these metals, which is the first step, but we need also to determine the actual health effects," Rule said.

Some of the same toxic metals that can be found in cigarettes were also found in e-cigs

tobacco leaves dryingTobacco plants are sponges for toxic substances.

As they grow, their roots suck up a range of metals and metallic elements that have accumulated for years in the soil. Those chemicals quickly make their way into the leaves of the plant, where they collect until the tobacco is burned in cigarettes and released into a smoker's lungs.

When e-cigarettes first hit store shelves, many users assumed the devices would be free of these chemicals, providing a clean delivery mechanism for the single drug they wanted to be inhaling: nicotine.

The new study, which involved recruiting 56 daily e-cig users from Baltimore and testing their devices in a lab at the Bloomberg School, suggests that these devices may not be so simple.

In fact, users appear to be inhaling toxic substances like lead, nickel, chromium, and manganese in concentrations that either approached, met, or exceeded the limits defined as safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Consistently inhaling high levels of these metals has been tied to health problems in the lungs, liver, immune system, heart, and brain, as well as some cancers, according to the US Department of Labor's Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

But since the study did not set out to directly compare the levels of toxic metals in vape pens with those in cigarettes, it's unclear just how both products stack up.

The problem seems to emanate from the heating needed to vape. In comparing the levels of lead in the e-cig liquids before being heated against those in the heated liquids and those in the aerosols, the scientists found concentrations that were 25 times greater in the aerosols.

"The actual levels of these metals varied greatly from sample to sample, and often were much higher than safe limits," Rule said.

We need more research on regular vapers, rather than simply on devices as sold in stores

A salesman displays electronic cigarettes during the first international fair of electronic cigarette and vapology

Most research surrounding e-cigs has focused on so-called cigalikes, first-generation devices that look like regular cigarettes and include a disposable mechanism preloaded with liquid.

But people who vape every day typically use reusable devices they can tweak to match their preferences. These devices, known as mods or "tank-style" devices, come with a battery, a mouthpiece, and include a tank to be refilled with liquid.

Nailing down the precise health effects of these devices is a tall order — the outcomes could vary just as much as the devices, with users being able to modify things like the nicotine content, heat, and inhalation time. But researchers will need to tackle this obstacle before we know the real effects of these devices.

"Direct sampling from e-cigarette consumers rather than purchasing e-cigarettes from a store or company is thus needed to assess typically used devices," the researchers wrote.

The largest report on the health effects of vaping still suggests that toxic substances in e-cigs are lower than in regular cigarettes

A large recent report on the health effects of vaping from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that e-cigarettes can still be helpful for adults looking to quit smoking. One of the reasons is that vaping exposes people to what the researchers called "significantly lower" amounts of potentially toxic substances.

But while adults may use e-cigs as a tool to quit smoking, young people may end up using them to start, the authors of the newest report concluded.

"E-cigarettes cannot be simply categorized as either beneficial or harmful," David Eaton, a vice provost at the University of Washington at Seattle who led the committee that wrote the report, said in a statement.

Eaton said that in certain circumstances, such as when teens use them and become addicted to nicotine, e-cigarettes "adverse effects clearly warrant concern." But in other cases, like when adults turn to e-cigs to quit smoking, "they offer an opportunity to reduce smoking-related illness."

"Given their relatively recent introduction, there has been little time for a scientific body of evidence to develop on the health effects of e-cigarettes," the authors wrote.

SEE ALSO: 11 key findings from one of the most comprehensive reports ever on the health effects of vaping

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Jennifer Lawrence says she felt empowered doing nudity in her new movie following her 2014 nude photo hack

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  • Jennifer Lawrence explained to "60 Minutes" why it was important for her to have nude scenes in her new movie, "Red Sparrow."
  • She said she felt "empowered" to do the racy scenes following nude photos of her being leaked online in 2014 after her phone was hacked.


Jennifer Lawrence's new movie "Red Sparrow" is a spy movie filled with violence, sex, and nudity, the latter of which the Oscar-winning actress was worried about taking on, according to her upcoming interview on Sunday for "60 Minutes."

In 2014, Lawrence was the victim of a photo hack that led to nude photos of her being leaked online. Late last year, she said it was something that she was still processing, however, she told "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker that she ended up feeling "empowered" doing the nude scene in the movie.

“I realized that there was a difference between consent and not and I showed up for the first day and I did it and I felt empowered,” Lawrence said. “I feel like something that was taken from me I got back and am using in my art.”

In "Red Sparrow," Lawrence plays a Russian ballerina-turned-assassin who goes through some unique training: her expertise is to use seduction and manipulation.

Business Insider has seen the movie, and Lawrence is involved in a few sexually graphic scenes and in one scene she gets fully undressed for a training scene in which she uses her sexuality to intimidate a man.

In the interview, she also discussed dropping out of middle school. "I wanted to forge my own path," she said. "I found what I wanted to do and I didn't want anything getting in the way of it."

Lawrence's "60 Minutes" interview will air on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST. "Red Sparrow" opens in theaters on March 2.

 

 

SEE ALSO: 47 documentaries on Netflix right now that will make you smarter

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A Silicon Valley billionaire is fighting to make a beloved beach near his $37 million estate off-limits to the public — and he's taking his case to the Supreme Court

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The battle between tech titan Vinod Khosla and California activists is heating up.

This week, Khosla filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court to overturn a 2017 ruling that forced him to open public access to a California beach that surrounds his shorefront property.

In 2008, Khosla — who made his fortune as an investor and one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems  — paid a reported $37 million for an 89-acre parcel near Half Moon Bay, about an hour south of San Francisco. For many decades, surfers and families had enjoyed the beach, which is known for its stunning geological formations, picnic areas, and ideal surfing waves.

When Khosla closed the gate to Martins Beach in 2010, locals revolted. A California appeals court later ruled that Khosla violated state law when he blocked the public from accessing the beach and forced him to reopen it. Now he's taking his case to the nation's highest court.

Here's what we know about Martins Beach.

SEE ALSO: A brazen homeowner at San Francisco's leaning, sinking skyscraper is trying to sell a multimillion-dollar condo for almost double what they paid

The path to Martins Beach has long been gated. The previous owners of the shorefront property kept the gate opened and charged between $2 and $10 for parking nearby.



Surfers and sunbathers came from all over the Bay Area to visit this short stretch of the coastline. It once had a restaurant and a convenience store that catered to visitors.



"It's a family beach that was open to the community for generations," Angela Howe, legal director for the Surfrider Foundation, told Business Insider in 2014.

Source: Business Insider



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The most popular drugs prescribed for depression work — but they're not perfect

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  • Antidepressants work, according to a large new review of studies.
  • The review, written by a team of 18 specialists, looked at more than 500 trials comprising more than 100,000 people.
  • All 21 of the drugs they studied were more effective than a placebo at reducing the symptoms of depression.


A large new study backs up what many experts in the fields of psychiatry and neuroscience have been saying for decades: antidepressants work.

The review, which comprised more than 100,000 people and looked at more than 500 studies, found that the drugs can be powerful tools in the fight against depression, which today remains the leading cause of disability and a major cause of suicide worldwide. It was published in the medical journal The Lancet.

Written by a team of 18 medical doctors and specialists in Europe and England and funded by the UK's Department of Health, the review concluded that all of the 21 antidepressant drugs they studied worked better at treating depression than a placebo.

In direct comparisons of some of the drugs, small differences in the results appeared, with the research suggesting that some medicines like escitalopram (frequently sold under brand-name Lexapro) worked slightly better than drugs like fluoxetine (sold under brand-name Prozac).

Still, antidepressants are not magic tricks.

Evidence suggests that for as many as 78% of people, simply taking a pill does not completely erase depression's most insidious symptoms, which can include things like isolating oneself, having disturbing impulses to self-harm, or being so self-critical that it interferes with daily life.

A smaller percentage of people don't respond to medications at all, a troublesome phenomenon known as treatment-resistant depression that remains one of the hardest types of the illness to address.

But for those whose symptoms do subside on antidepressants, they can be a powerful component of a larger treatment plan that might include things like therapy, group counseling, and exercise.

These other parts of treatment plans should not be discounted, as some studies suggest that the right forms may be just as powerful, if not more so, than medications. Unfortunately, therapy also tends to be expensive and time consuming, which makes it inaccessible to people who are working multiple jobs or can't afford it.

Also, while most antidepressants work better than a placebo, it's still somewhat unclear how much better than a placebo they function. For the latest review, the researchers found evidence that some medications ranged from being roughly a third more effective to more than twice as effective as a placebo — a fairly wide range. This means that some people's symptoms may dramatically clear after a few weeks on the right drug while other people get only slight relief.

However, the main takeaway from the latest paper appears to be that for many people, antidepressants can be a helpful part of a broader approach to treatment — and in some cases, they provide powerful relief that isn't available otherwise.

SEE ALSO: Psychedelic drugs could tackle depression in a way that antidepressants can't

DON'T MISS: A Stanford researcher is pioneering a dramatic shift in how we treat depression — and you can try her new tool right now

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This photo shows how the horrors of war have become part of everyday life in Syria

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  • Reuters photographer named Bassam Khabieh captured an eerie scene in a Syrian town outside of Damascus on Friday.
  • The image shows local civilians inspecting, staring at, and walking by a missile that had been fired at the town by Russia or the Syrian regime — a sobering example of the harsh realities they face each day.
  • "We are waiting our turn to die. This is the only thing I can say," said Bilal Abu Salah, 22, whose wife is five months pregnant with their first child.


A Reuters photographer named Bassam Khabieh captured an eerie scene in the Syrian town of Douma on Friday, which is located in the Eastern Ghouta region outside of Damascus.

The image captured by Khabieh shows local civilians inspecting, staring at, and walking by a missile that had been fired at the town by Russia or the Syrian regime.

The missile appears to be a Russian-made Tochka.

Although Russia and the Syrian regime began increasing bombing runs in Eastern Ghouta in early January — which has killed and injured hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians — this last week has been exceptionally horrific.

About 250 civilians were killed in one 48-hour stretch earlier this week, the heaviest bombing experienced in seven years.

"We are waiting our turn to die. This is the only thing I can say," said Bilal Abu Salah, 22, whose wife is five months pregnant with their first child in Douma.

"We no longer have the words to describe children's suffering and our outrage," UNICEF also said. "Do those inflicting the suffering still have words to justify their barbaric acts?"

SEE ALSO: Trump blasts Russia's actions in Syria as 'a humanitarian disgrace'

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7 positive lessons you learn when you leave a toxic, abusive relationship behind

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  • Breaking up is hard. Breaking up with someone who has abused you is even harder.
  • You will feel confused and traumatised for some time.
  • It's not all terrible though — distance will make you realise you're stronger.
  • Trauma doesn't stay with you forever, and there are actually several positives from what you went through — even if you're still hurting.


A common misconception about moving on from an abusive relationship is that the trauma stays with you for life. Even if you end up in a great relationship, you may still be lost in your old one, unable to fully let go.

In reality, this is usually simply a sign you haven't moved on yet. Breaking up with an abusive person is hard, and it can take people months, or even years, to fully recover. But that doesn't mean it's impossible.

Perpetua Neo, a doctor of psychology and expert who works with women who are healing from damaging, toxic relationships, said if you sort through your pain, work out what demons you have that resulted in you being attracted to a bad person in the first place, then the magic begins.

"The narcissist didn't want you to gain anything from being with them, but actually you ended up taking everything and becoming stronger," she told Business Insider. "One thing people I've worked with find is that they gain a fuller, more whole version of themselves after leaving the narcissistic ex."

You will probably be in agony for a while, because your body has essentially been addicted to the intermittent love the abuser gave you. But in time, you will realise that you are so much stronger, resilient, and capable of finding someone who isn't going to discard you for being you.

Here are seven lessons you can take away from the traumatic experience of loving a toxic person — and the strengths you gain from moving on:

1. Using empathy as a superpower

Empathy can be both a gift and your kryptonite. Neo said if you have too much empathy for others, it can mean you start to honour someone else's story over your own. If you do this all the time, it can lead to an "empathy burnout," meaning you give and give, but begin to lose any care for yourself.

"We forget that we need to nourish ourselves first and foremost before we can nourish somebody else," Neo said. "So in this sense, after the break-up, people start to use empathy as a superpower, and think of empathy as this burden, like: 'Why do I go for people who tell me their sob stories?' Then after that you realise you don't need to take on everybody else's energy."

2. Boundaries are healthy

The more time that passes, the more you will realise how troubling the way you were treated was. Becoming very clear about your boundaries means you have a better idea of the kind of person you really are. You also know what you are willing to tolerate, and you will be better at realising who will and won't respect you.

"Boundaries are the 'hell nos' in our life, and sometimes we don't feel like we have permission to say 'hell no,'" Neo said. "Once we are really clear about what our boundaries are, and we stop seeing them as bad things, we actually get very clear about what is unacceptable. From then I can trust myself to have as much fun as possible, because I've communicated my line already."

3. Gain a new perspective

In life, we are all subjected to ideas of how we are supposed to act. Some people will be more influenced by them than others. For example, films often clearly convey some of the power dynamics we are exposed to.

In "The Little Mermaid," Ariel falls in love with a prince and, in order to be with him, she grows legs and gives up her voice. In "Star Wars," Han Solo grabs Princess Leia inappropriately. In James Bond films, notorious for their misogyny, Bond forces himself on female characters such as Pussy Galore.

"What does that say to girls watching films like that?" Neo said. "When we keep watching this stuff about inappropriate behaviour, we stop understanding what acceptable behaviour is."

Coming out of an abusive relationship can give you a new perspective about what you might have looked over in the past while you thought you'd met the love of your life. If you run into a person in the future who you think might hurt you, or acts in a way that makes you uncomfortable, you'll find you're more able to take a stand, Neo said.

4. Dealing with difficult people gets easier

Realising your own boundaries in romantic relationships helps you out in other walks of life too. You'll be able to say "here's my line, do not cross it" to people in your family, friendship group, and even at work.

"Our voice is our sense of autonomy — if you can't express what you want more of and what you want less of, or nothing of, then you're not going to build a sense of solidity," Neo said.

"Maybe your boss isn't a narcissist, but they're a bit selfish and caught up with their own world. And then if you're an over-giver, you're going to give more than your colleagues — so you'll get burned out and exhausted by it.

"So once you are very clear about all this and you practise your boundaries, you will find you have a lot more energy."

5. You become more resilient

Being with a toxic, abusive person can make you feel like you are being mentally broken over and over again, Neo said, because they always move the goal posts and demand more and more from you. She said living that sort of life will show you just how resilient you really are, and bring forward the strengths you never knew you had.

"You know he tried to break you once and you're not going to break again," Neo said. "It's this ability to bounce back from adversity or difficult events. When it comes to trauma sometimes people believe that it's going to stay in your for the rest of your life, and nothing is going to shift. But you bounce back and recover and become a stronger version of yourself."

A traumatic experience like an abusive relationship will change you, Neo said, and you will feel totally broken for quite a while. But once the fog starts to lift, and you see it for what it really was, you fix yourself so you're indestructible.

6. The urge to help others increases

Neo said once your energy stops being completely focused on your pain, you'll begin to realise that you are not alone. You're not the first person to be taken advantage of, and you won't be the last, as these sorts of people seek out new victims time and time again.

When you understand this, you won't be able to let it go. Neo said many of her clients have gone on to help at women's shelters and written about their experiences on blogs.

Instead of being insular and sad, you will get a new lease of life, Neo said, and want to spread your message. You'll realise just how important your story is to people who might be going through the same thing. You might even be able to prevent it from happening to someone else.

It's incredibly difficult to notice the signs of a narcissist, or an abuser. This is because they are highly skilled masters of smoke and mirrors. Only when you have hindsight will you be able to see through the mask.

By having the gift of hindsight you can help others you think might be in trouble, even if that is just by being someone they can talk to.

7. You can identify the red flags

There are a number of red flags that someone isn't a good person to be around. It may be something obvious, such as rude behaviour, but a lot of the time the signs are pretty subtle.

Looking back and gaining perspective on a damaging relationship helps you identify the traits that drew you towards that person in the first place. Perhaps they were mysterious and captivating, and they ended up being a narcissist. Meeting someone else who makes you feel the same way your abuser did at the beginning is a code red.

"That's your body's way of telling you someone is bad for you," Neo said. "As you become stronger and much wiser you become discerning, and that's not a negative. Then you can own the fact you are discerning, that makes you pretty damn formidable."

SEE ALSO: People often stay in abusive relationships because of something called 'trauma bonding' — here are the signs it's happening to you

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Here are 13 signs your friendship with someone is toxic

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toxic friend

  • You can meet toxic people in all walks of life — in romantic relationships, at work, and in friendships.
  • Toxic friends are energetically draining, hypocritical, and not worth your time.
  • But it can sometimes be difficult to pick up on the fact they are causing damage.
  • Here are 13 signs that your friendship is probably toxic and you should get out of it as soon as you can.


Letting the wrong kind of people into your life can be incredibly draining. You're not likely to find enough time for yourself if another person is constantly on at you about things and won't give you room to breathe.

Toxic relationships aren't just the romantic kind. Sometimes, friendships with people can turn out just as abusive and damaging too.

Rather than bringing company and comfort to your life, a toxic friendship will bring exhaustion and frustration.

Psychologist and therapist Perpetua Neo told Business Insider there are quite a few signs you can look out for, which will tell you that the relationship you have with a friend isn't healthy.

Some of the red flags are obvious, but some are much more subtle. Here are 13 of the most common signs to look out for:

1. There's a whole lot of drama

One thing you can guarantee from a toxic person is drama. Chaos seems to surround them somehow, either because they're always arguing with someone, causing problems, or unbelievable things keep happening to them.

"Drama is a very big thing when we talk about toxic friends," Neo said. "A toxic friend tends to be someone who sucks us in either by being very amazing, very grandiose, or by being this sad creature that needs our help."

Whatever their story, you can guarantee you'll hear about it, or worse, get dragged into it.

2. Everything is about them

A toxic friend will never really listen to you. They will always be waiting for their turn to speak, or to turn the conversation back to them.

"In a novel conversation between people, you can say this thing happened to me too, which is ok because that's where empathy happens, and you form a connection," Neo said. "But then with a toxic person, everything revolves around them. They'll twist it."

A good way to test for this is by bringing up random topics that have nothing to do with either of you. A toxic person will have the uncanny ability to manipulate the conversation back around to them again, whatever the topic, without skipping a beat.

3. They put you down

Neo said a toxic friend will never compliment you. They'll never pick you up or congratulate you on your achievements. In fact, they're much more likely to kick you when you're down.

You'll realise you're never actually happy or relaxed around them because they don't make you feel good about yourself, Neo said. No friendship should be transactional, but if someone is draining all your energy, you should ask yourself whether you're getting anything out of it at all.

4. They compete with you

Whether it's your job promotion, a romantic partner, or a new class you're doing, your toxic friend will compete with you. They won't like the idea of you having anything that doesn't involve them, and they especially don't want you to excel at something.

"They want to compete with you, even if you're not competing with them," Neo said. "Even if you're in a completely different field, they want the same things you do."

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5. They secretly copy you

The competition can go one step further, and a toxic person will start to mimic you. They might buy the same bag you bought the week before, or start using the same slang words as you.

"A very common thing I've heard, is this person really likes you, wants to spend all their time with you, and copies you," Neo said. "So it's not uncommon for toxic friends to be very jealous of you, tear you down, and to some extent try to steal your identity. In severe cases, they might pretend to be you and use your photos, like catfishing."

6. They cross your boundaries

Toxic people do incredibly inappropriate things. For example, Neo said they may ring you on your house phone when you never gave them the number, or even show up uninvited.

They won't listen if you tell them something they're doing makes you uncomfortable. Instead, they'll make you feel mean or crazy for even bringing it up. They have no respect for your space, and make you feel like you're abandoning them if you push back.

7. Toxic friends are obsessively needy

Neo said you might feel like you've gotten yourself an obsessive boyfriend or girlfriend without even asking for it. They'll call and text you at all times of the day, even if you said you're busy.

"They want all your time so it's a very codependent kind of friendship," she said. "So they'll text you all the time and expect a reply. Even if you say I'm going to be really busy over the next six hours, they'll text you just before, and throughout. And if you don't reply they will kick up a storm."

8. They're jealous of other friends

A toxic person will probably start to blame your other friends when you don't respond to their texts and calls. Neo said they're likely to criticise your friends to your face, and try and isolate you from them.

"They are extremely jealous of your friends and will even go so far as to tell you you're their only friend, and you're the only person they care about," she said. "Even if you're on a date they expect you to drop everything for them."

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9. You feel responsible for them

Even though they're acting unreasonably, toxic people are skilled at making people feel bad for them. Their guilt trips know no bounds, Neo said, because they've probably spun a load of sob stories about how hard their life has been.

"You have this sense of support like you're a lighthouse for them, and if you collapse, they'll collapse," she said. "If you decide to spend your time with somebody else, what if they do something bad? If you don't answer them, what if they hurt themselves?'

10. They're hypocritical

While they make you feel bad for not making enough time for them, toxic people won't ever feel bad for letting you down. But because they're so irrational and dramatic, you'll let them get away with it as you don't want to set them off.

"They might owe you money and pretend they never owed you, and rewrite history," Neo said. "So you may feel irritated and angry, but because you don't want to trigger them and their difficulties, so you take a step back."

11. They lie to get sympathy

Toxic people always have a sad backstory. They'll probably tell tales of how they're an alcoholic, have a drug problem, were abused when they were young, or how everything goes wrong for them. "Woe is me" is their catchphrase.

"They may play up the chaotic nature of their lives to get sympathy," Neo said. "They might tell loads of stories that make no sense, that don't quite add up. Sometimes they go far as to hurt themselves just to convince you."

12. You're always set up for failure

Putting on public displays of drama are a toxic person's favourite activity. If you haven't done anything obvious towards them in a while, they might set you up for failure. For example, they could say you promised to go to the cinema with them and you stood them up, when that conversation never happened.

"They're very dramatic so they might publicly shame you in a place by screaming and shouting at you, so you feel bad and put in your place," Neo said. "They make you feel like it's your fault — if you don't want such behaviours then don't do it again."

13. You'll feel something is wrong

Neo said your body is good at picking up signals that something isn't quite right. It can be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that's wrong, but if you are constantly feeling on edge, it could be because there's a toxic person around.

"You cannot figure out what the hell is going on," Neo said. "Your brain runs over time, and your mental energy is being sucked out by this person all the time. You don't only feel responsible, you feel destabilised around them. Some people make the room feel a bit energetically funny. Your body is a barometer telling you that they're trouble."

SEE ALSO: 7 positive lessons you learn when you leave a toxic, abusive relationship behind

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How two Goldman Sachs investment bankers quit their jobs and raised £5 million to cook meals for the dogs of celebrities

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  • Former Goldman Sachs investment bankers Kevin Glynn and David Nolan quit the company to launch a homecooked dog food delivery service.
  • They were initially backed by two of their Goldman bosses.
  • After raising £1 million in funding in October, last week they announced a further £5 million in investment.
  • Their clients include celebrities like "Billions" star Damien Lewis and comedian Katherine Ryan.


27-year-old Kevin Glynn and 31-year-old David Nolan met on the first day on their internships at Goldman Sachs in London and quickly established a "firm friendship."

Little did they know that that friendship would take them not through the ranks of investment banking, but into the world of home-cooked dog food.

Nolan said that while working on the trading floor, the friends started to think about what their next step could be.

While they toyed with simply moving to a new location, Nolan said: "We knew we wanted to build something on our own."

The inspiration eventually came in the form of Nolan's family dog, who was picked up from Battersea Dogs Home seven years ago.

A staffie called "Snowy," she was found in the snow in north London — and she suffered from "chronic flatulence."

"She quickly became known for being 'the farting dog,' so was renamed 'Rudy,'" Nolan said.

The family were back and forth to the vets trying to figure out what was causing the problem for about a month. They found that the cause was over-processed pet food, so they started to cook food for the dog themselves.

"It was a basic homemade recipe — one protein, one carb — and Rudy's problems seemed to drop away," he said.

The meals includes the likes of minced beef, brown rice, and mixed vegetables.

beef dog food bowl (1)

"I wouldn't say it was 100% nutritionally balanced and complete, [but] it just worked," Nolan said.

Fast forward a few years, and Nolan was cooking for both a staffi and a bulldog, but didn't have time to cook for himself, and was often ordering Deliveroo.

"I started Googling 'homecooked dog food delivery' — I thought 'I would use it, and there must be more people out there,'" he said.

Recipe for success

The friends came up with the idea of Butternut Box— homecooked, delivered meals for dogs — and decided to test it out with friends and family who had dogs to see what the feedback was.

"After a couple of weeks of food we asked for feedback, and the dogs were eating around their old food trying to get to ours," Nolan said. The food also appeared to be solving problems like "cleaning up loose stools, bad smells, and itching coats."

This is Myrtle @corgi.dujour Myrtle Loves receiving her #ButternutBox. She gracefully wanders over to the box, gives the cardboard a bit of a lick (to cleanse the pallet of course), poses for a picture, because she is a glamorous pup and gobbles up the grub! We love seeing pictures of your pup and their box. Because in case you haven't heard - we love dogs. 🎁 #Butternutter #justdogit #Deliveryday #realgoodtimes . . . . . . #happy #positivevibes #dog #dogs #dogsofinsta #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #instadog #dogfood #yourdog #love #doglover #uk #ukbusiness #dogs #dog_features #dog #dogsofinsta #dog #dogsofinstaworld #dogslover #dog #dogsofig #dogscorner #dogsoflondon #dogsofuk #motivation #energy #feelgood #london

A post shared by Butternut Box (@butternutbox) on Oct 15, 2017 at 3:08am PDT on

The new projects was certainly keeping them busy. "We had a weird situation where we were leaving work on a Friday, cooking dog food Friday night, packing it Saturday, and delivering to the dogs of friends and family," Nolan said.

However, before Nolan and Glynn quit their jobs, they wanted to make sure their friends and family weren't just "telling us something we wanted to hear," so they started working with paying customers and said "more people kept coming."

"We quit our jobs in February 2016 and launched the website in April," he said, adding that, believe it or not, their initial funding came from two of their Goldman bosses.

"They obviously knew how we worked, so that kicked us off," Glynn said. 

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Counting calories for dogs

The Butternut Box platform uses algorithms to "meet the individual needs of each pet" by asking owners to fill in a 90-second questionnaire about their dog, including details on weight, age, breed, activity level, and allergies etc. The team then works out how many calories a dog needs and tailors a selection of meals — preportioned into one pouch per day — according to the pet's needs.

"People are confused about how much they should be feeding their dogs," Glynn said. "People can be switching between different food brands, and dogs end up overweight — half of dogs in the UK are overweight or obsese, and we're trying to help solve that problem by asking questions to make sure the dog is eating the right amount."

The meals are made up of 60% fresh meat — like chicken, lamb, and turkey — alongside a mixture of vegetables, lentils, and herbs. In 2017, the pair claim to have cooked 250,000 dog food meals themselves.

Funding the future

In October, the co-founders raised £1 million in seed investment from Passion Capital, who Glynn said "really caught on to what we were trying to do in the industry from a transparency/food standpoint."

Now, the company has a team of 12 people making the food on the production floor in a 3,500-square-foot factory in Acton...

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...and 24 people — 25 if you include their office dog, Stanley — at their new HQ based out of the Huckletree West co-working space in White City. 

New year, means… New office!! Butternut Box’s Headquarters are now based at @huckletree's White City offices, and we are, SO. EXCITED. 😃🙌 A bit of #WednesdayWisdom for you #Butternutters is that 40% of #HuckletreeWest is dedicated to breakout space for ‘collaboration and chilling out’. There’s even a no tech-Meditation Yurt that we plan to use daily, so we can dream about dogs… Doing dog things... Being doglike…. Ahhh we love dogs... 🐶💭 #ButternutBox #Justdogit #RealgoodOffice . . . . . #happy #positivevibes #dog #dogs #dogsofinsta #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #instadog #dogfood #yourdog #love #doglover #uk #ukbusiness #dog_features #dog #dogsofinsta #dogsofinstaworld #dogslover #dog #dogsofig #dogscorner #dogsoflondon #dogsofuk #motivation #energy #feelgood

A post shared by Butternut Box (@butternutbox) on Jan 3, 2018 at 8:51am PST on

This is Stanley:

Our new employee, Stanley, has been a great asset to the #ButternutBox team. We were highly impressed with his resume – (he specialises in numbers and being a good boy). 👌 When Stanley’s not helping the tech boys out with serious tech stuff, he can be found snuggling with Dave while they plan their daily tasks together. For Stanley: sniff, sit, catch tail and say hello to the humans of @huckletree. For Dave: oversee the production of doglicious dinners, keep our customers happy and cuddle Stanley 24 times a day (minimum). 🐶✍️ #Butternutter #Justdogit #Realgooddog . . . . . #happy #positivevibes #dog #dogs #dogsofinsta #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #instadog #dogfood #yourdog #love #doglover #uk #ukbusiness #dog_features #dog #dogsofinsta #dogsofinstaworld #dogslover #dog #dogsofig #dogscorner #dogsoflondon #dogsofuk #motivation #energy #feelgood #london

A post shared by Butternut Box (@butternutbox) on Feb 10, 2018 at 3:04am PST on

Earlier this week, they closed a £5 million funding round co-led by Literacy Capital and White Star, which has backed companies like One Dollar Shave Club and Freshly.

"The round will allow to us to grow into new products and increase the size of the team to help serve more dogs around the UK," Glynn told Business Insider.

Cooking for the dogs of celebrities

And it's not just investors who have shown interest – Butternut Box now has a host of celebrity clients as well.

"We're massive 'Billions' fans, and Damien Lewis is one of our customers," the guys said, adding that a number of comedians, including Katherine Ryan, have also signed up, and have even showed their support on social media.

The tiny crew are loving their @butternutbox delivery! Fresh homemade dog food for the whole week 📦🥘🐶

A post shared by kathbum (@kathbum) on Oct 1, 2017 at 6:34am PDT on

"People are always shocked with the smell and look," Glynn said, adding that the team actually try every batch of food that goes out themselves.

He added: "One customer said her teenage son keeps coming home after a night out and tucking into the food — no problem there."

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The 50 best places to live in America

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austin texas

  • U.S. News & World Report releases a list of the best places to live in America every year.
  • The best places to live 2017 ranking looked at five metrics: job market, value, quality of life, desirability, and net migration.
  • The best place to live in America is Austin, Texas, followed by Denver, Colorado.

 

When deciding where to put down roots, many factors are in the eye of the beholder, such as climate, politics, or proximity to extended family.

Other aspects are coveted by nearly everybody: affordable housing, access to well-paying jobs, a low cost of living, good schools, and quality healthcare. In its ranking of the best places to live in America for 2017, U.S. News & World Report gathered data on these crucial components for the 100 most populous US cities.

They then categorized the data into five indexes for each city — job market, value, quality of life, desirability, and net migration — to definitively rank these major metro areas. You can read U.S. News' full methodology here.

Scores for "value," a blend of annual household income and cost of living, and "quality of life," which accounts for crime, college readiness, commute, and other factors, are included below on a 10-point scale, as well as the city’s population and median annual salary.

Keep reading to discover the 50 best places to live in America.

SEE ALSO: The 50 worst US cities for retirement

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50. Atlanta, Georgia

Population: 5,538,837

Average annual salary: $49,430

Quality of life: 5.8

Value: 7

An attractive blend of big city and big country, Atlanta is attracting transplants far and wide with its award-winning restaurants, culture centers, and flourishing job market. More than a dozen Fortune 500 companies call the city home, including Delta, The Home Depot, and The Coca-Cola Company, and it's an increasingly popular spot for film productions.

In addition, "The Chattahoochee River that traverses the metro area, and Stone Mountain, the world's largest chunk of exposed granite, located just northeast of the city proper, also offer a quick escape from any urban anxiety," says one local expert.

 



49. Melbourne, Florida

Population: 553,591

Average annual salary: $45,470

Quality of life: 7.3

Value: 6.1

Between fishing, boating, and a plethora of bars and restaurants, there's never a shortage of things to do in the Melbourne area. The city's ripe with retirees and "snowbirds" — people who split their time between colder climates in the summer and Florida in the winter — who can enjoy days on one of the many nearby golf courses and nights out exploring the local shops and art galleries.



48. Kansas City, Missouri

Population: 2,055,675

Average annual salary: $47,640

Quality of life: 6.1

Value: 7.5

Don't call it a flyover city. Innovation, creativity, and a celebrated history combine to make Kansas City a hub of activity. In addition to a low cost of living and an abundance of jobs, residents enjoy exploring the city's thriving art scene, cheering on the Royals during baseball season, and noshing on Kansas City's signature style of barbecue — slow cooked and topped with a tomato-based sauce.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

White men are the future of beer — and that's terrible news for the struggling industry

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bros drinking alcohol beer

  • White men are the only subgroup of the next generation — Gen Z — to prefer beer over other types of alcohol. 
  • Historically, white men have made up a huge chunk of American drinkers, meaning beer giants could focus primarily on marketing to them. 
  • But now, white women and people of color are becoming increasingly important to a category that has largely ignored them for decades. 

 

Younger generations are ditching beer— with the exception of one group. 

A report from Berenberg Research found that members of Generation Z preferred spirits (like vodka or gin) and wine to beer.

"Generation Z marks a turning point, being the first generation to prefer spirits to beer," analysts led by Javier Gonzalez Lastra wrote in the report.

However, one segment of Gen Z still prefers beer to other types of alcohol: white men. 

For a long time, beer companies only needed to appeal to white men to grow sales. White men have historically made up a hefty part of the American population. They also drink more alcohol on average than women of all races, as well as more than men who are not white. 

However, that's all changing. 

Women's drinking habits are catching up

Lime-A-Rita

Firstly, Berenberg found that women of all races are narrowing the alcohol "gender gap" between men and women.

Analysts estimate that Gen Z women drink 24% less than their male counterparts, while millennial women drank roughly 40% less than millennial men when they were between the ages 18 and 22.

The change seems to be driven by men drinking less, as opposed to women drinking more. In fact, Gen Z is drinking less than the generations before it in general. 

Beer companies are already trying to find ways to convince young women to drink their products instead of wine or liquor. Last year, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that for the first time ever, it would be launching a brand marketed exclusively to women, with a rebrand of its Lime-A-Rita line.

America is getting even more diverse — and beer companies are playing catch-up

cheers beer

Additionally, the US is becoming increasingly diverse. As a result, other racial groups — especially the swiftly growing number of Hispanics in the US — are now crucial for beer companies. 

"There will be 27% more 20- to 34-year-old Hispanics in Generation Z than was the case for the Millennials generation," the report states. "Alcohol categories favored by this sub-group will face the greatest demographic tailwind."

"Conversely," the report continues, "white male Generation Zers drink significantly less, and account for a smaller proportion of the population." 

While historically white men and women drink more than their black and Hispanic counterparts, that gap is narrowing — again, primarily driven by white Gen Zers drinking less. 

Berenberg predicts that, as Gen Zers make up an increasing proportion of Americans who can legally drink, companies that sell products aimed at subgroups that aren't white men have the best chance of growing sales. For example, analysts found that women of all races are more likely to buy flavored spirits. Similarly, Berenberg predicts that tequila sales are likely to rise, due to Hispanic Americans' more positive attitudes towards the drink. 

Still, it's unlikely that beer companies will forget about white men all together. The subgroup still drinks more alcohol than any other Gen Z subgroup, according to Berenberg analysts. 

"White males are not only more likely than any other sub-group to have consumed alcohol in the past week, but those of them that did are more likely to have consumed a greater number of alcoholic beverages during the week," the report states. 

SEE ALSO: Millennials are dragging down beer sales — but Gen Z marks a 'turning point' that will cause an even bigger problem for the industry

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14 luxury car brands people love more than Tesla

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Tesla Model 3

  • It's no secret that Tesla owners love their cars, but the general public may not share the same affection for the brand.
  • Tesla ranked last for positive brand perception compared to 14 other luxury car brands, according to a recent industry report.
  • News around the brand, including recalls and the fatal Tesla Autopilot crash, were factors that played into the low ranking.

 

Tesla may be one of the best known and most-loved car brands around, but that doesn't mean the company is immune to bad news.

This week NetBase unveiled its 2018 "Luxury Brands" industry report — mining data from billions of sources including social media sites, news articles, blog posts, social review sites, and forums — to discover how people feel about certain high-end brands.

In the automobile category, Tesla Motors ranked last for "net sentiment" — how positively a brand is perceived — with a score of just 36%. That's surprising, given Tesla was ranked number one on Consumer Reports 2017 Annual Owner Satisfaction Survey.

Land Rover was the most positively viewed brand, with a net sentiment score of 90%. Jaguar was the only other car brand to score below 50% for net sentiment, coming in at 44%.

Netbase Passion Index

A few factors may play into Tesla's low net sentiment score. NetBase concluded that safety is ruling the conversation for luxury car brands — something Tesla has struggled with lately.

In April of 2017, Tesla recalled 53,000 of its Model S and Model X cars globally for a parking brake issue, which caused a stir on Twitter. And in June, news came out about the fatal Tesla Autopilot crash, which killed driver Joshua Brown the year before.

For better or worse, Tesla Motors is one of the most talked about brands. It landed at number three of 15 for mentions, and compared to other luxury brands in various categories — such as fashion, jewelry, and hotels — Tesla's overall brand awareness is very high.

To determine its rankings, NetBase analyzed each brand's overall performance for various factors, including: mentions (the volume of conversation happening around that brand), brand awareness (as a measure of earned impressions), reach (a measure of owned impressions), net sentiment (how positively a brand is perceived on a scale of +100% to -100%), and brand passion (the amount of emotion towards a brand). Their analysis was based on posts between January 1, 2017 to January 1, 2018 — looking at English-written posts and stories internationally.

Scroll through to see how luxury automobile brands ranked on Netbase's net sentiment score and overall mentions.

SEE ALSO: What Americans spend on an engagement ring in each state, ranked from lowest to highest

1. Land Rover

Mentions: 2,557,587

Net Sentiment: 90%

 



2. Bentley Motors

Mentions: 1,040,907

Net Sentiment: 84%



3. Maserati

Mentions: 1,789,999

Net Sentiment: 73%



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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