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Sex On Memory Foam Feels Like 'Being Stuck In Quicksand,' Spring Mattress Maker Finds

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woman jumping on bedNew "research" from Leggett & Platt, a major producer of spring mattresses, found that couples prefer spring mattresses for both sleeping and sex.

The study, titled SexySleep, asked 255 consumers to compare the company's "Ultimate Hybrid" mattress with fabric-encased springs against a traditional memory foam mattress by laying, crawling, rolling, and jumping on both.

The study also included interviews with 50 people who either owned a memory-foam mattress or "had experienced intimacy" on one.

Those who had done the latter described it as "uncomfortable," "difficult," and feeling as if they were "stuck in quicksand." They often opted to have sex less frequently, or would choose a different household location instead of their foam mattress, the mattress maker found.

The Hybrid also won in the sleep category as well, but who cares — sex sells.

SEE ALSO: These 6 Hotels Have The Most Comfortable Beds Ever

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18 Cringeworthy Pictures Of Rich People Trying To Look Like Punks

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MG Julie Macklowe

Last night, the annual Met Gala asked its wealthy and famous guests to dress for the theme "Punk: Chaos to Couture."

Most of the party-goers — including Hollywood celebrities, fashion's elite, and power players — were totally stumped.

Some ignored the punk theme completely or tried to tastefully incorporate it in the form of spikes, leather, or mesh.

But a select few really took the idea and ran with it, for better or worse.

Anna Wintour and her daughter Bee Shaffer looked decidedly not punk in floral and pink dresses. (Apparently, the color of punk is pink.)



Lisa Maria Falcone, the wife of hedge fund manager Phil Falcone, busted out of her bright yellow gown in a black bra (with safety pins) and matching gloves.



Designer Donatella Versace rocked the theme with mesh cut outs and lots of spikes.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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I'm A Smoker And I Love E-Cigarettes

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E Cigarette Chris Anderson Business Insider 12Sorry, big tobacco. 

"Smoking" e-cigarettes is infinitely better than smoking the real thing.

I used to be a cigarette smoker.

Now I'm what you might call an early adopter of e-cigarettes. I've been "vaping" ("vaping" is short for vaporizing, and is what the kids are calling smoking e-cigarettes these days) for about one year and four months. 

This is what I've learned. 

Feeding the addiction

Make no bones about it, e-cigarettes provide users with a means of feeding an addiction. The delivery method is different from smoking or chewing, but the end result is essentially the same. You're still after a nicotine fix and puffing away on an e-cig provides it.

Though with an e-cigarette, that fix is provided via inhaled, atomized, nicotine-infused water vapor instead of smoke. If you're addicted to nicotine and an e-cigarette smoker, not using an e-cig for a period of time results in the same withdrawal symptoms as not smoking a cigarette. 

Cost, where to buy, and brands

Some of the most commonly purchased and visible brands of e-cigarettes found in New York City convenience shops and online are EonsmokeLogicBlu (Stephen Dorff endorses, so e-cigs still have a way to go in the coolness factor), and Puf Cigs. They offer a variety of nicotine levels in a variety of flavors like mint, tobacco, and watermelon that are meant to cater to light or heavy smokers. 

E-cigarettes can be purchased as one-time use, typically for $10 a pop, which is supposed to be good for around 400 to 900 "puffs" and provide the nicotine equivalent of a pack and a half to three packs of cigarettes. 

Rechargeable e-cigarettes can also be bought along with refill packs that contain the "juice." The Logic's rechargeable e-cigarettes cost $20 and a pack of five refills costs the same.

E Cigarette Chris Anderson Business Insider 5

E Cigarette Chris Anderson Business Insider 6

Compare this to the high price of cigarettes in New York City — around $12 a pack — and this seems like a complete bargain. In other cities where the cost of a pack of cigarettes is much lower, it might not seem like such a great deal. 

E-Cigarettes are easy enough to find in New York City and just about any corner shop carries them. They can also be found at some RITE AIDS and CVS stores. Specialized Vape shops have started popping up, and there is a growing community of hardcore vapers out there who are into creating their own "juice" (nicotine liquid) and vape delivery systems. 

But on a last-minute-trip to California last year, out of four gas stations and convenience stores that I visited, none had any e-cigarettes. Zero. I ended up buying a pack of Camels. So finding them can be hit or miss, and if you're trying not to smoke, being put in a situation where you can't find an e-cigarette is an easy way to relapse back to smoking. That's what happened to me. 

The availability can be an issue depending on where you live. 

Fuzzy nicotine math

Inhaling on an e-cigarette and the resulting buzzy satisfaction can vary greatly depending on the brand used, the nicotine content of the liquid, and the user's tolerance. My brand of choice as of late has been the Logic rechargeable with refills. On a typical week I'll go through about five refill cartridges of "extra high" nicotine volume, which I suppose would put me at about just over two packs a day if worked out to regular cigarettes.

When I was smoking cigarettes, I would smoke maybe a half pack a day. But I'm not convinced I'm getting more nicotine per day puffing on e-cigarettes than I would if I were smoking cigarettes. 

This is because my e-cigarette inhaling habits vary wildly and I suspect the nicotine levels also vary from e-cig to e-cig and refill to refill. It is easy to suck on one of these things all day, like an adult pacifier. It's also easy to take inconsistent drags, and each brand has a different draw. Also, the lower the battery the harder you have to draw on the e-cig to get a proper hit.

Where you can (and can't) smoke

You can legally vape just about anywhere, but if you're planning on vaping in places where regular smoking isn't allowed, be prepared to feel awkward. It would feel similar to wearing Google Glasses with a little red RECORD light on. People know you're doing something annoying and possibly invasive, they just don't know what it is. 

Puffing away in a packed movie theater is awkward. You become the center of attention for the wrong reasons. Same thing in a restaurant. If you want uncomfortable attention, pull out an e-cigarette and start puffing during dinner. After the confused stares, you'll have to explain to somebody what you're doing.

At a former employer, one of my colleagues in the newsroom (not me, I swear) had quit smoking and taken up e-cigarettes. He tried to discreetly puff them in the newsroom. Didn't last long. Somebody submitted an anonymous complaint saying that it made them feel uncomfortable, so he was forced to go hide somewhere and be banished like a regular smoker. 

He later went back to cigarettes. 

But walking down the street and knowing that the smoke you're blowing isn't actually smoke, but vapor, isn't going to cause any passersby any risks, or anger them or make you feel like a schmuck, is liberating. There's no smell, you don't get nasty looks on the street for vaping an e-cigarette.  

Smokeless Cigarettes

The biggest benefit is using an e-cigarette in your own home and not stinking up the house or yourself with real cigarettes. You don't have to go outside. Your clothes don't smell. You can sit there and do whatever it is you're doing while puffing away, no harm no foul. No house fires for smoking in bed. No giving your loved ones cancer from second-hand smoke. Quite a good deal. 

Teething problems

Prepare to gnaw. There is a tendency to want to just leave an e-cigarette in your mouth instead of using the smoking motion of a regular cigarette. Smelly smoke doesn't blow in your eyes and face and you can just go to town and suck vapor as much as you want. By the time you're done with a refill, it can look like it was attacked by small rodents. 

After over a year of consistent use I haven't had any teeth problems even with the gnawing. My teeth are actually whiter and my gums in better shape than when I was smoking. 

Speaking of benefits

I can breathe again. My lung capacity has seemed to increase back to a reasonable level for a human. I don't get out of breath. I don't smell like grandma's stale curtains. My contact lenses tend to last longer because smoke isn't blowing into my eyes. My wife kisses me more because my breath doesn't smell like smoke. In many ways, e-cigarettes are a revelation. 

What isn't a revelation is the battery life or reliability of the brands commonly found. USB battery chargers bust. The one-time-use e-cigarettes seem to vary as to how many puffs you actually get per use, and there is a very good chance that you can fall off the wagon and begin smoking again. 

Official FDA research as to the long-term health effects of using e-cigarettes is lacking, but that's likely to change as more people take up vaping. 

What there is plenty of, though, is research into the effects of smoking regular cigarettes. As the lesser of two evils, e-cigarettes are the way to go, and that is a belief that will be hard for me to shake unless somebody other than big tobacco is able to come up with a study proving e-cigarettes are as bad for people as cigarettes.

As an alternative to smoking or chewing tobacco, it would be hard for me to not recommend e-cigarettes. As something you should just start doing for the heck of it? Not so much. The best bet is to just not get started with nicotine in the first place, but for those smokers out there looking for an alternative besides the patch, gum, or drugs like Chantix, e-cigarettes are an easy sell.

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Painting With A Private Jet Engine Makes Very Cool Abstract Art

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To celebrate the 50th birthday of planemaker Learjet, private jet service Flexjet commissioned some very unusual abstract art.

Working from the tarmac of the airport in West Palm Beach, artist Princess Tarinan von Anhalt threw paint at a canvas while a Learjet engine ran behind her, spreading the paint to create a Jackson Pollack-style work.

This idea of "Jet Art" was pioneered by Prince Jürgen von Anhalt, the late husband of von Anhalt.

Flexjet is the only carrier with access to the luxurious Learjet 85, the biggest Learjet aircraft ever.

Here's the result:

Flexjet art tarinan von anhalt

Flexjet art tarinan von anhalt

Flexjet art tarinan von anhalt

SEE ALSO: Tour The Learjet 85, The Company's Most Luxurious Private Jet Yet

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FROTOX: A New Alternative To Botox Claims To Freeze Away Wrinkles

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botox

There's a new plastic surgery treatment on the market that the beauty world is calling the next Botox, or "Frotox."

The treatment, called iovera, is a toxin-free wrinkle treatment currently available in Europe that takes 15 minutes and gives patients "cold shots to each temple," according to The Daily Mail.

The way it works is through something called "Focused Cold Therapy:" Highly pressurized liquid nitrous oxide travels down an extremely thin, closed-end needle. At the needle tip, it changes into gaseous form which then draws in heat energy from the surrounding tissue to form a precise zone of cold.

Essentially, it freezes the nerves that control the muscles that cause wrinkles for up to four months.

Patients experience pressure rather than cold or pain, according to The Daily Mail, and the procedure is so precise it can target specific nerves, which means facial muscles can still form expressions after the procedure.

"Iovera is the world's first toxin-free anti-wrinkle treatment," Dr. Vincent Wond, who performs "Frotox" treatments at his UK practice, told The Daily Mail. "It's a unique stand-alone treatment in its own right and shouldn't be compared side-by-side with Botox or any botulinum toxins. Instead, we should think of it as an additional option available to people, especially those who do not want botulinum toxin injections or cannot have them due to medical reasons."

Others aren't as confident in the new procedure, claiming it's less predictable than Botox since doctors may not know which nerve will deliver the desired result.

"Frotox" currently costs €300 a session, or roughly $390 at today's conversion rates, and needs to be repeated every 3-4 months.

To put that in perspective, Botox typically costs $360-$770 a session depending on how many areas are injected, and needs to be repeated every 3-4 months as well.

The drug was undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. this fall, Boston's WCVB.com reported.

SEE ALSO: Check Out The Best Of The 'Rich Kids Of Instagram'

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Yale Law Students Refuse To Participate In Most Impressive Students List

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yale law school

Business Insider recently tried to create a list of Yale Law's most impressive students, but outraged students banded together to thwart us.

To create the list, which came after a similar BI feature of Harvard Law students, we reached out to the heads of Yale Law student groups for nominations.

Little did we know that this kind of "resume porn" would prove so offensive to students at America's best law school.

Here's the pitch that irked so many Yale students:

We are looking for people with interesting accomplishments, strong leadership on campus, fascinating life stories, or anything else you think is incredible and noteworthy.

Here's one response we got:

Thanks, but no thanks. I understand what you guys are trying to do and I'm sure it's very good for BI's business, but your project strikes me as against the community spirit of Yale Law School, so I'd rather not participate.

Here's another:

Every one of my classmates at Yale Law School has been a true exemplar of leadership and accomplishment, and there are more fascinating life stories here than I can count. As such, I am not comfortable distinguishing people for a most impressive feature, and indeed one of the strengths of YLS and its culture is the high caliber of each student in attendance.

One student told others on a school listserv to "Watch out!" Another suggested giving us bogus names. Another called for a "boycott" — and apparently his classmates complied.

Except for a few positive responses, we got nowhere.

This reaction seems peculiar to Yale Law, as we got nothing but positive responses when contacting students at Harvard Law, Harvard Business School, and various undergraduate colleges.

Yale Law promotes itself as a place where "a spirit of collaboration reigns.Students don't get grades, as all classes are honors/pass/low-pass — that's right, no failing.

Yale Law students are all the most impressive.

DON'T MISS: The Most Impressive Students At Harvard Law Right Now

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Alabama Football Coach Nick Saban Is Auctioning Off His $11 Million Lake-Front Home In Georgia

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nick sabans vacation home in georgia

Alabama football head coach Nick Saban is auctioning off his vacation home on Lake Burton in Georgia that is currently listed at $10.9 million, according to the Atlanta Busines Journal.

Concierge Auctions is auctioning off the home without reserve on June 6. It will go to the highest bidder.

The house, which is named The Pointe on Lake Burton, has 700 feet of lake frontage and is super private. It's 9,600 square feet and sits on 1.7 acres of land.

Inside there are six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, custom-built fireplaces, a wine cellar, and a billiards room. Outside, there is a full kitchen, a swimming dock, and a Cape Cod-style lighthouse with 270-degree views of the lake and mountains.

The house sits on 1.7 acres



The surrounding trees make the home very private



There are garages for boats



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Find Out The True Cost Of All Your Vices

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young man smoking

Vices. We've all got them, or at least been tempted by them from time to time.

Whether your poison is a pack of smokes, a six-pack of Bud, a cup of coffee, or an ice-cold Coca-Cola, succumbing to your vices -- or succumbing to the temptation to start one -- can cost you.

How much? That's the question that a new micro-site that recently popped up on the eBay (EBAY) Deals Blog proposes to answer.

Titled simply costofyourvices.com, it poses visitors a series of six questions:

  • How many cigarettes do you smoke?
  • How much coffee do you drink?
  • How often do you drink alcohol?
  • How often do you eat fast food?
  • Do you buy Lotto tickets?
  • How many sodas do you drink in a week?

Tallying up the answers, and assuming the reader isn't fibbing, COYV then proceeds to crunch some numbers and break the bad news to the respondent.

"The true cost of your vices is ... X." (In the case of yours truly, for example, it's $4,521 annually, with the dreaded coffee bean bearing most of the blame.)

But that's really just the beginning of the story.

Beware the 'Secondhand Smoke' of Vice

COYV doesn't simply calculate your vice-oriented checkout receipt. At the bottom of each page of COYV's online questionnaire you'll also find a small infographic explaining the cost of that vice on society at large.

For example, according to COYV (and varying, one presumes, with state and local taxes), smoking a pack of cigarettes a day is likely to cost you $511 a year. But the cost of smoking to the nation as a whole approaches $196 billion annually in unnecessary health-related expenditures. And believe it or not, the effect of alcohol consumption on the economy is even higher, with COYV postulating total costs of $223 billion annually.

To put those numbers in perspective, COYV calculates that college students in America spend only $22 billion annually on tuition, room, and board. The implication being that if we, collectively and as a nation, suddenly all quit drinking and smoking, we'd save enough money to put about 470,000 students through college.

We'd also finally know the answer to the question Adam Ant posed: "Don't drink, don't smoke -- what do you do?" Apparently, you pay to educate every young person in America.

There's Money to Be Made in Vices

Of course, there's another way you could spend all that loot saved from quitting your vices: You could invest the money in companies that sell to folks who don't quit. What could that get you? Here are a few possibilities:

  • Quitting a $511-a-year tobacco habit could buy you almost 14 shares of Altria (MO) -- every year.
  • $503 saved from switching from coffee to water could get you eight shares of Starbucks (SBUX).
  • More partial to burgers than java? Trading in a twice-a-week McDonald's habit could save $860 -- more than enough to buy eight shares of McDonalds (MCD) common stock.
  • Going cold turkey on even an occasional Coke habit ($165 a year) could pay for nearly four shares of Coca-Cola (KO).
  • Putting the brakes on your weekly beer run ($234 annually) could buy a couple of shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD).
  • And should you decide to stop throwing away money on a daily $1 lottery habit, you could save $365 annually.

On that last one, you should just hold on to that cash you save. I can't countenance investing that in lottery companies -- some vices are just too heinous to endorse.

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Dinner At The NEW Best Restaurant In The World [PHOTOS]

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El Celler de Can Roca

Move over, Noma — El Celler de Can Roca is the new Best Restaurant in the World.

The restaurant in Girona, Spain took the top spot on The 2013 World's 50 Best list, released by Restaurant magazine. It was praised for its artistic parade of courses, superb wine selection, and mind-blowing desserts.

Of course, El Celler is no stranger to The World's 50 Best list. This is its eighth year in the top 50, and it took home second place in 2011 and 2012.

The Catalan, family-owned restaurant has been serving modern Spanish cuisine since it opened in 1986. The three Roca brothers, who run the critically-acclaimed establishment, split their duties between the kitchen and front of house.

The restaurant currently holds three Michelin stars, and has been compared to the former number one world restaurant El Bulli, which also served Catalan cuisine until it closed in 2011.

Flickr user Encantadisimo was lucky enough to dine at El Celler in 2011 and again in 2013. He shared pictures of his most recent experience with Business Insider, where he and a companion shared the "Menú Degustació de Classics," a seven-course tasting menu with the restaurant's most beloved dishes.

With the wine pairing, the meal cost $248 per person.

El Celler de Can Roca is in a suburban neighborhood in Girona, Spain.



Inside, the decor is airy and modern with glass walls and white table cloths.



The first round of appetizers was brought out under a paper globe advertised as "biting the world." It opens as a fan to reveal ...



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Sweden Now Has An Entire Museum Devoted To Its Favorite Pop Band

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Abba museum sign

A new museum devoted to the 1970s Swedish pop band ABBA just opened in Stockholm, Sweden.

The museum, called ABBA The Museum, is devoted to all things ABBA, showcasing the band's albums, costumes, and memorabilia. Visitors will also be able to karaoke to ABBA music on stage with interactive holograms of the band members.

The museum will be part of the larger Swedish Music Hall of Fame, which also opened today.

Despite the fact that the group broke up in 1983, ABBA remains one of the most popular tourist attractions, so it's only natural that there would be a museum dedicated to the group.

ABBA The Museum is located in Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm.



Guests will walk past the glitzy lit ABBA logo.



Visitors can check out the flashy spandex and velvet 1970s costumes worn by the band members.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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It's Officially Official: 4 Young Founders Just Bought A $40 Million Mountain To Party On

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elliot bisnow greg mauro summit

For the past year, it's been known that four entrepreneurs, Elliot Bisnow, Brett Leve, Jeff Rosenthal and Jeremy Schwartz, have been trying to buy a mountain in Eden, Utah. 

There, they want to host Summit Series, a popular, startup conference attended by a younger set of entrepreneurs who like to work hard and play hard.

Today, the lofty $40 million party purchase became officially official. Here's an email the four 20-something founders sent to members this afternoon:

We are excited to announce that Summit has officially purchased Powder Mountain, the largest ski mountain in the United States. We are well on our way to creating the permanent home of Summit, an epicenter of innovation, culture, and thought leadership on nearly 10,000 acres in Utah's Wasatch Mountains. 

You can get the full download on the project via The Next Web and ESPN

Things are moving quickly here in Eden. The core infrastructure project, which includes a 1.5 mile long road bringing utilities to our new village, has already begun. We could not have done this without tremendous support from Powder Mountain, the Ogden Valley, Weber County, and the state of Utah. We are humbled to be here and hope to share the passion and expertise of the Summit community with our new neighbors for decades to come. 

Over the coming months and years we look forward to hosting events at Summit Eden that continue to draw the Summit community together and catalyze collaboration and positive growth. 

Lastly, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us along the way and helped shape the vision of what this place will become over the next 100 years. None of this would have been possible without you. 

With love and admiration, 

-The Summit Team 

Summit Series was founded in 2008 and the first gathering had 19 people. Now it attracts hundreds of attendees. Events have been held in Mexico, on a Caribbean cruise ship, and in Squaw Valley, California.

The conference, which is usually three or four days, has a reputation for being an amazing networking experience, full of non-stop partying paired with an stellar guest list. Past attendees have included Richard Branson, Bill Clinton, and Russell Simmons.

So, what does a $40 million entrepreneur get-away look like?

Summit Series was founded in 2008 by four entrepreneurs: Elliot Bisnow, Brett Leve, Jeff Rosenthal and Jeremy Schwartz



It's an annual conference/party for business leaders and startup founders. You can think of it as Davos for the up-and-comers.



Events have been held in Utah, Mexico, DC, on a cruise ship to the Bahamas, and in Squaw Valley.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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The True Cost Of Our $30 Billion Obsession With Toilet Paper

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Visit any household in America and chances are you'll find a tower of toilet paper stashed somewhere. 

It's the kind of staple product we never really stop to think about.

But the reality is that those little sanitary rolls are one of the most costly items in the world –– both to our wallets and to the environment.

People use at least 57 sheets of toilet paper per day and 27 rolls per person annually, adding up to 384 trees in a lifetime. 

In an eye-opening video, the brains behind InsuranceQuotes.org take a look at the true economic, environmental and health costs of the $30 billion toilet paper industry worldwide. 

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Barnard College Officials Are Investigating An Alleged Cheating Scandal

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barnard collegeBarnard College officials are reportedly investigating an alleged cheating scandal in the school's English department, Columbia campus blog Bwog reports.

According to Bwog, students in the class "allegedly passed answers back and forth and confirmed responses on their phones during regular reading quizzes, which consisted of basic poem identifications."

The senior lecturer teaching the class reportedly let students "self-grade" their quizzes, and became suspicious when the majority of students in the 123-person class received grades of 90 or better.

Making this alleged scandal even worse, the class  Major English Texts II  is "notoriously easy," according to Bwog. 

No Barnard students have been expelled or faced disciplinary action, but the class instructor did call for "witnesses and confessions during class," Bwog reported. The registrar and dean are reportedly investigating.

It's not the first time in recent memory that accusations of cheating have plagued a top school. Last year, 125 Harvard students were investigated for cheating in an undergrad government class; many wound up temporarily withdrawing from school.

We reached out to Barnard for a comment and will update this post when we hear back.

SEE ALSO: 10 Major College Cheating Scandals

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Here's Taco Bell's Brand New 'Low End' Menu

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Taco Bell announced last week that it was rolling out a new "low-end" menu at select stores across the country. 

Now we finally get to see what's on the $1 menu, which is being tested in Sacramento and Kansas City. Pending results, the menu could roll out nationwide in the near future, company reps told us. 

The menu includes new items, such as a spicy potato taco, spicy beef mini quesadilla, shredded chicken mini quesadilla, and a beefy cheesy burrito.

Check it out: 

taco bell value menu

SEE ALSO: 17 Food Hacks That Will Change The Way You Eat >

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Hedge Funder John Thaler Just Sold His Upper East Side Apartment For $5.2 Million

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apartment thaler

It took over a year but JAT Capital's John Thaler has sold his sick condo combo for $5.2 million, according to the New York Observer.

He listed it last year for $6.4 million, so someone got a deal for two 3500 square foot 17th floor apartments put together in the Upper East Side's lovely Cielo building.

And with that comes floor to ceiling windows that offer breathtaking river and city views. Not too shabby.

 

 

As you can see from the floor plan, this apartment is quite large.



Here's the living room. Great windows.



And this is what you see out of those windows.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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TEST DRIVE: Lincoln's New MKZ Is A Flawed Luxury Car

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2013 Lincoln MKZ review

We recently spent a weekend on the winding mountain roads of the Berkshires with the 2013 MKZ, the car Ford designed to relaunch its flagging luxury brand, Lincoln.

It's a nice car, with a great body and some cool features. But it's marred by a series of flaws you simply don't see in similarly priced cars from luxury kings BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi.

Ford's plan for the brand involves a name change (from Lincoln to the Lincoln Motor Company), a big marketing push (including a Super Bowl ad starring Jimmy Fallon), and an appearance by former football star Emmit Smith (strange, since retired athletes don't exactly represent youth and reinvention).

Click here to jump right to photos of the 2013 Lincoln MKZ >

Ford executives have acknowledged to Business Insider that the car itself is the most important part of the relaunch, not the marketing surrounding it. But at the same time, they lowered the stakes by pointing out this is the first of four new cars Lincoln will roll out in the next four years.

A Fancy Fusion

Like many luxury cars, the 2013 MKZ is based on a cheaper model. In this case, it's the Ford Fusion, a midsize sedan we loved.

The Fusion is a great $21,000 car. But even with a sexier body and some extra luxury features, it is not a great $37,815 car — the starting price of the MKZ. (Our very well-equipped model had a $51,185 price tag.)

The Upsides

2013 Lincoln MKZ reviewOverall, this is a nice car, and much better than anything to come from Lincoln in years.

We're big fans of the exterior design, especially the little touches like the chrome on the side mirrors (which are also heated, a nice feature for snowy weather).

The MKZ is comfortable and spacious. Thanks to active noise control, it's quiet at 70 mph. The controls are easy to use.

With all-wheel drive, it had no problem flying up the steep, winding, unpaved driveway of the house where we spent the weekend.

These are all things we expect from luxury cars. The one thing that really sets the MKZ apart is its awesome retractable panorama roof, which opens up more than 15 square feet of space overhead.

Our Complaints

The MKZ is free of glaring defects, but myriad little flaws add up. Here's our list:

  • The beeping designed to alert you when you are too close to another car does not stop after a few seconds. So if you stop a foot behind someone at a red light, it will beep until you're moving again.

  • The switch for the headlights is in an unusual place, and hard to find in the dark (a bad time not to have your headlights on).

  • The very cool panoramic roof limits visibility out the back of the car when it's open.

  • The front seat automatically moves backward when the car is turned off. That's nice for the driver, but not for the passenger behind him.

  • There are no audio or climate controls in the back seat.

  • Functions of the navigation system can't be used when the car is moving — even when there's a passenger present. The smart move to limit driver distraction backfires here.

  • A piece of plastic behind the door handle fell off. This should never happen in a brand new, $50,000 vehicle.

2013 Lincoln MKZ reviewNone of these flaws are deal-breakers in their own right. Together, they make the MKZ worth less than its luxury sticker price.

Exterior design and an innovative roof are not enough to overcome Lincoln's badly tarnished reputation, especially when the MKZ's competition includes excellent cars like the BMW 328i, Cadillac CTS, Audi A4, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

The MKZ's flaws are, however, very fixable. So while the 2013 MKZ won't be the car to bring buyers back to the once-great brand, whatever comes out in 2014 just might.

SEE ALSO: Lincoln's New MKZ Looks Nice, But Has A Lot Of Flaws

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Here's How Much It Would Cost To Replace Your Mom

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mom mother daughter It's hard to argue with the fact that stay-at-home parenting is one of the most undervalued careers in the U.S.

Moms (and yes, some dads, too) do double duty as chauffeurs, cooks, psychologists, money managers and more, on average clocking a 94-hour work week, according to Salary.com.

Based on the 10 most time consuming tasks listed by more than 6,000 mothers, Salary.com estimated it would cost $113,586 a year to replace them. That's a paltry $624 (0.5%) raise since the same study in 2012.

To put that in perspective, a physician earns about $153,000 for 56 hours of work per week.

Salary.com also estimated the value of working mothers' household duties, finding they deserve an extra $67,436 per year for the 58 hours of work they take on outside of their 9-to-5 jobs. That's a meager $457 raise (0.07%) over 2012. 

But here's the sad part –– most mothers don't even give themself that much credit. 

A similar study by Insure.com found that 11% of women valued moms' household work at under $10,000 a year. Just 7% said it was worth a six-figure salary.

Insure.com was far less generous with its salary estimate, pinning the 2013 market value of a mom at $59,862, down for the second year in a row. 

"Just because someone doesn't earn a salary doesn't mean that they don't make significant contributions to the family that could be costly to replace," Marvin Feldman, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation, said. "You must think about whether your spouse could afford to pay someone else to provide these services in your absence." 

It seems the recession was just as damaging to the stay-at-home parent business as other jobs. This year's salary for moms is well below the $138,000 payday Salary.com estimated  just six years ago. 

At the same time, salaries for various jobs moms perform for their families –– laundry service, household cleaning, financial management, etc. –– declined as well, which explains why studies like these fluctuate with the economy. 

When the economy tanked, so did the number of stay-at-home moms. In 2010, there were 5 million stay-at-home mothers (and 154,000 dads) in the U.S., down from 5.6 million in 2007, according to the Fiscal Times. A new survey by CouponCabin found more than half of working mothers consider themselves the primary breadwinners in their household. 

Here's the breakdown of Insure.com's Mother's Day Index: 

Mother's Day Index 2013

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The Plot Of 'The Great Gatsby' In Two Minutes [VIDEO]

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The Great Gatsby, which hits theaters this week, is one of the most buzzed about movies of the year.

If you're like us, you probably haven't picked up the novel since it was on your 10th grade reading list.

For a quick refresher on the plot, check out this quick clip from our friends at NowThisNews.

It contains spoilers, obviously, so skip it if you seriously don't know how the story ends.

SEE ALSO: How To Live Like A Modern Day Great Gatsby

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14 Fast Food Items You Can't Get Anymore

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mcdonalds arch deluxe

These items were once easy to find on your favorite fast food menus. But due to low demand or disastrous marketing campaigns, all were phased out — much to the dismay of loyal fans.

From the McDonald's Arch Deluxe to the Wendy's SuperBar, we took a look at 14 fast food items that have been discontinued during the past few decades.

Most still have a following on Facebook fan pages. But besides Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito, which is returning to restaurants in late May, the majority of these items probably aren't going to stage a comeback any time soon. 

Burger King Burger Shots

Burger King tried three times to make sliders stick at their stores. The sandwiches were meant to be a direct competitor to the famed White Castle sliders.

When the initial model didn't work, they made the burgers bigger and launched a similar product called the Burger Buddies a few years later.

The chain's last slider attempt came in 2009 with Burger Shots. But customers still didn't bite, and they have been discontinued.



The Wendy's SuperBar

Remember when Wendy's had a salad bar? The chain still offers salads, but the days of self-serve are long gone.

The SuperBars also used to offer a pasta bar and "Mexica fiesta" station. In the end, the bars weren't easy for workers to keep up with, and with all-you-can-eat for less than $4 a plate, it probably wasn't too profitable either. Wendy's has stuck to its pre-made salad options since phasing this staple out.



The McDLT

Jason Alexander sang the praises of the McDLT burger (which stood for McDonald's Lettuce Tomato) when it hit the McDonald's menu in the early 1990s. The burger was supposed to be a new rival to the Whopper, and had the tagline "Keep the hot side hot, and the cool side cool."

But it didn't work out. A lot of the product's demise has been blamed on its polystyrene packaging. The container had one side for the hot parts burger and bun and another side for the cold toppings — lettuce, tomato, cheese and pickles. Making customers put the burger together themselves might have been too asking too much, and some people blamed it for not being eco-friendly.



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9 Totally Under-The-Radar Superfoods

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Maca Powder 2Just when we thought superfoods may have lost their luster, we came across nine nutritionally-stellar, totally under-the-radar powerhouses.

Forget salmon, avocado, and walnuts — these yummy foods and spices stem from a mix of ancient Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Middle-Eastern diets, and pack one heckuva better-body punch.

Read on to get the scoop straight from the experts on these exciting new superfoods. 

Fennel Seeds

Sprinkle some of these glorious little seeds on your next salad or roasted vegetables, toss them into your morning scramble or dinner stir-fry, even chew on them alone after any meal,” suggests Candice Kumai, chef and star of E!’s new show "Playing with Fire" and author of "Cook Yourself Sexy."

Here’s why: Fennel seeds have been used in alternative medicine for over 4,000 years to help naturally de-bloat and detox the body. They also aid in digestion and have inherent anti-inflammatory properties. Plus, they’re rich in antioxidants, fiber, and iron.



Curry Powder

“The secret to this popular Southeast Asian dish is the curry powder itself,” says Kumai. The main component, a.k.a. curcumin, is a bright yellow powder derived from turmeric. “Curcumin is a phytonutrient (which means a plant-based nutrient) that has the same qualities as antioxidants,” explains Kumai. “Phytonutrients can help to boost immune function — they are also known to possibly lower the risk of heart disease." 

“This golden-hued Indian spice (also known as Indian saffron) is a member of the ginger family that has strong antioxidant properties and has been well-researched for its cancer-fighting and anti-inflammatory properties,” says Samantha Lynch, R.D., founder ofSamantha Lynch Nutrition in New York City.

“Home remedies and uses date back thousands of years for relieving menstrual cramps, respiratory conditions, intestinal worms, liver obstruction, ulcers, and inflammation," says Lynch. "Local folklore says that the herb strengthens the immune system, relieves inflammation, and improves digestion, among other conditions.”

Yet, it’s the spice often overlooked on the kitchen rack when it should be the frontrunner. “I have been sneaking turmeric into our family meals for the past year without anyone noticing — I sprinkle it on fish, in spinach, and even on eggs in the morning,” says Lynch. Bring. It. On.



Umeboshi Plums

Considered by some as the king (or queen, for that matter) of "alkaline foods," these pickled plums are deeply rooted in Japanese culture and are actually more like an apricot than a plum.

Ume-plums offer a complex taste explosion — they are simultaneously very sour and salty. As for health pros: They may aid in digestion and help with bloating, and also contain some immunity-boosting properties — even possibly helping the liver in metabolizing fat. Their prime pairing is a bowl of steamed rice, or simply use them to create a paste or marinade by removing the fleshy party of the fruit from the seed, suggests Kumai.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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