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6 tiny details pilots notice when they fly as passengers that you probably miss

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flight attendant

  • Airline passengers tend to notice factors that impact comfort — like seat size, the behavior of nearby passengers, and turbulence.
  • Airline pilots are trained to be attentive to small details that slip by most passengers.
  • Some of these details have serious safety implications.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

 

For most of us, air travel is an opportunity to sleep, work, read, or watch a movie with fewer distractions than we'd find on the ground.

When we do notice our surroundings, we tend to focus on factors that impact our comfort — seat size, the behavior of nearby passengers, turbulence — but for airline pilots and aviation experts, the experience can be different. Pilots and experts are trained to be attentive to small details on planes, so even when they don't have to fly the plane and can sit in the main cabin, they'll notice things that other passengers don't.

We interviewed two airline pilots and collected responses from a Quora thread to find out what pilots notice when they're flying in the main cabin. Here's what they said.

SEE ALSO: Flight attendants discuss how they're trained to handle out-of-control violent incidents aboard flights

Ice

Most passengers are likely to be concerned about turbulence, but according to Tanya Gatlin, a pilot and associate professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, it's not as bad as most think. "It's not something that's going to cause an accident or is even a factor to safety," she told Business Insider.

Instead, Gatlin said she is worried about ice. When necessary, ice and snow are removed from a plane before it takes off, and the plane is coated in materials that will prevent ice from building up while it's in the air — for a limited amount of time.

The difficulty can come when the plane turns down its engine while preparing to land.

"We're coming down in a very short amount of distance and there's no way we can get down that fast without the power being at idle," Gatlin said.

This means the engines don't generate as much heat as when they're taking off, which increases the chance that ice will build up on the plane and make a smooth landing difficult.



Suspicious scents

Scents can be one of the strongest indicators that something's wrong on a plane, as they can quickly hint at problems with the engine or fuel-storage systems.

"Sounds are always useful, but a passenger cabin often is pretty isolated from any sounds that might be indicative of a problem. Smells, on the other hand, travel around quite freely, and some (e.g., fuel, hydraulic fluid, superheated bleed air) are pretty distinctive," Tom Farrier, a former director of safety for the Air Transport Association, wrote on Quora.



The angle that light comes in through the window

Experienced pilots know that a sudden change in the angle of the light that comes through a cabin window can be the first sign that the pilot is changing course.

"An unexpected, significant shift in the angle of the Sun can be your first sign that a course change is being made," Farrier wrote.



Communication about delays

Many air travelers don't expect clear and timely explanations when their flight is delayed, but they should, according to Patrick Smith, a pilot and author of the air travel blog Ask the Pilot.

"I get very frustrated when I'm on a plane and there's a delay or the plane just seems to stop on a taxiway and sit there for 25 minutes for no reason, and nothing is said. Or something is said in such a vague way that it only makes people more frustrated," he told Business Insider.

But it's not that the reasons for delays are too complicated for passengers to understand.

"It's always something that everybody can understand if you just use the right language and are patient enough and timely enough with it," Smith said.



The plane's landing routine

Pilots and flight attendants have precisely timed routines they use to get ready for landing. The announcements to put your seat and tray table in an upright position are familiar to most air travelers, but some pilots can predict the timing of this routine within a few seconds.

"Most passengers don't notice the level-off that often occurs when the airplane is about to enter the approach environment or descend below 10,000 feet," Hachi Ko wrote on Quora. "When I feel that little level-off for the airplane to slow, I imagine the pilots going through the checklist, and at the right time, I turn to my companion and go 'Ding!' I'm within 4 or 5 seconds well over 50% of the time and it freaks them out."



Where emergency exits are located

Many passengers tune out during safety briefings, but pilots understand how important they can be. In the event of a crash landing, you might not have the time or ability to figure out where the exits are.

"For one thing, I always look around to find the nearest emergency exit. Then I count the number of seats between me and that exit," John Chesire wrote on Quora. "I do this so if ever necessary, I can in the dark, or under water, or if there is smoke, or if upside down, I know beforehand where the exit is, and I can blindly count the number of seats by touch to reach that emergency exit row, because I have counted them."




The best Twin XL sheets you can buy for your college dorm

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  • For college students, the dorm room will be their home-away-from-home for a year or more.
  • Make it a comfortable spot to sleep with a great set of Twin XL sheets like the AmazonBasics Microfiber Sheet Set, L.L.Bean Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Sheet, Brooklinen Luxe Core Sheets, AmazonBasics Heather Jersey Sheet Set, Andres Sheet Set from Viv + Rae, and Mellanni Bed Sheet Set.

Heading off to college and being away from home for the first time is an exciting period in a young adult's life. You'll be meeting new people, facing new challenges, and enjoying new experiences and independent living. And most likely, you'll be pulling a few all-nighters before an important test, finishing a term paper, or just hanging out with friends.

But no matter how late you stay up, eventually you are going to want to catch up on some much-needed shut-eye. Make that sleep as restful as possible by setting up your dorm bed to provide a comfortable sleeping place, but that's also a reflection of your style and tastes.

Though the decorating of your dorm room might not be as crucial as choosing a major or registering for classes, that small space will be your home for at least two years, if not more, so you want to create an environment that is comfortable, welcoming, and cheerful. This may also be the first time you get to pick out bedding for yourself, rather than living with what your mom chose or what was handed down from someone else's bed. Take a bit of time to think about what colors, patterns, and themes would make you happiest as the first thing you see when you open your eyes in the morning and the last thing you see when going to sleep at night.

Before buying new bedding, however, read your dorm information and note the measurements of the bed. Almost all dorm rooms have an 80-inch extra-long twin mattress, which is 5 inches longer than a standard twin. Extra-long and standard twin mattresses are both 39 inches wide.

Once you're clear on exactly what you need for your dorm room, it's time to shop. And we're going to make it a little easier for you with this guide to the best Twin XL sheets.

Here are our picks for the best twin XL sheets you can buy:

Updated on 08/08/2019 by Connie Chen and Les Shu: Updated product options, prices, links, and formatting. Added new budget (AmazonBasics) and flannel (L.L. Bean) options.

SEE ALSO: The best college supplies and dorm room essentials

The best flannel sheets

Prepare for chilly winters and arm yourself with a second set of flannel sheets. The L.L.Bean Ultrasoft Comfort Flannel Sheet brings the coziness of home to your cold room. 

Depending on where your school is located, fall and winter can be brutal, and you never know if the shoddy heater in your room will fail you when you need it the most. L.L.Bean's best-selling flannel sheets are highly conducive to snuggling during long roommate conversations and even longer late-night study sessions. 

The 100% brushed cotton flannel is woven in Portugal exclusively for the brand. Compared to other flannel sheets, this one's actually fairly lightweight. It's not extremely thick, which means you could get away with using them most of the year if you really wanted to. 

Though the sheets shed a lot in the wash initially, the amount of lint pileup will decrease over time. What will increase over time is how soft and cozy they feel. They'll also resist fading and shrinking. These are sheets you'll be able to bring with you throughout your college career since they're pill-resistant as well. 

We called this set one of the best flannel sheets you can buy, The Wirecutter, ConsumerSearch, and Apartment Therapy also love them for striking the right balance of softness, durability, and price. — Connie Chen

Pros: Warm and cozy, lightweight, highly durable 

Cons: Might shed in the wash, not as thick as other flannel options 



The best budget sheets

AmazonBasics Microfiber Sheet Set gets an A for quality and comfort — and an A+ for price.

One of the most popular sheet sets on Amazon is this microfiber option from the retailer's house brand, AmazonBasics. For $14, you can buy yourself one or two lunches, or, you can ensure you sleep well all year long in your dorm. 

The set, which includes one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, and one pillowcase, is made from polyester. While it's not the most breathable nor the most wrinkle-resistant option out there, it gets the job done in terms of softness and comfort. And its affordability doesn't compromise safety: it's made in an OEKO-Tex Standard 100-certified factory, meaning it meets high environmental and safety standards. 

It comes in more than 40 colors and prints, so you'll be hard-pressed to find a style you don't like to match the rest of your dorm room aesthetic. If you hate doing laundry (it's hard to rely on finicky dorm room machines, anyways), get the four-pack, which costs only $33. 

I've tried sets that cost 10 to 15 times more than this AmazonBasics option, and I'm not going to lie, you can definitely tell the difference. However, you really can't beat the value of these sheets. I personally have a set in a pretty plum color and it's been a comfortable experience. It was easy to put on my mattress, and it always stays snug and secure. Overall, these sheets are the ones I wish I know about when packing for college. — Connie Chen

Pros: Amazing price, large selection of colors and prints, easy care, soft, and comfortable

Cons: May not be suitable for hot sleepers, can wrinkle easily



The best patterned sheets

If you're looking to add some fun pattern and personality to your dorm room, you can't go wrong with the Andres Sheets from Viv + Rae.

Chevron is everywhere these days, and for good reason. It's just bold enough to add an edge, just classic enough to remain under control, and just interesting enough to attract attention without demanding it. Top the Andres Sheet Set with a comforter in an equally interesting print — florals, geometrics, stripes, or a boho patchwork quilt — and you've got a dorm room with flair.

The Andres Sheet Set is made of super-soft microfiber that feels silky against your skin. It won't wrinkle, pill, fade, or tear easily, so you can enjoy the sheets throughout your entire college stay.

These sheets are sold on AllModern, and shoppers really like them. The sheets have nearly 800 reviews and an average of 4.3 stars. Buyers highlight the soft feel, the bright colors, and the light weight of the sheets. Although microfiber is a polyester, the Chevron Sheet Set isn't too hot for comfortable sleep.

Choose from black, yellow, aqua, pink, or purple chevron print. The twin XL set includes one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, and one pillowcase.  — Owen Burke

Pros: Fun pattern, easy care, soft feel

Cons: A few customers felt the sheets were too thin, and rode around too much



The best jersey knit sheets

If you love the comfy feel of your favorite t-shirt, then soft jersey sheets like AmazonBasics are for you. 

Jersey-knit sheets are sometimes called t-shirt sheets, as they are made from the same type of soft, slightly stretchy, just-a-little-bit-fuzzy fabric as your favorite garments. AmazonBasics' Heather Jersey Sheet Set is made of modestly woven jersey knit and 100% cotton, which, for all that dorm life may put them through, should serve you or your beloved offspring perfectly well for the duration of college.

The XL twin sheet set includes one fitted sheet, one flat sheet, and one pillowcase.

The 100% combed cotton and jersey-knit sheets get a 4.6/5-star rating from more than 800 Amazon reviewers who generally seem to revere the sheets for their ability to keep from pilling. Many reviewers say they've had the sheets for more than a year and seen little or no wear in the fabric at all, which is pretty good for jersey sheets at any price.

You could spend a little less on sheets for the dorm, but if jersey sheets are the objective, these should more than suffice.  — Owen Burke

Pros: Cozy, soft fabric, 100-percent cotton, great price, good color selection

Cons: Might be a little thin



The best premium sheets

The Brooklinen Luxe Core Sheets are buttery-soft, luxurious, and fairly priced, even though they're the most expensive of our picks for Twin XL sheets.

If you want to have luxurious sheets during your time in college, look no further than Brooklinen's Luxe Core Sheets. These percale cotton sheets are buttery-soft from the moment you open the packaging. 

The sheets are an ongoing favorite here at Insider Picks. Our editors have used the sheets for years and insist that they get even softer with age. Brooklinen's sheets are also a top pick from Good Housekeeping's textile labs, which found the sheets to be strong and pill-resistant with multiple washings. 

Made of 100% long-staple cotton in a rich sateen weave, the fabric is Oeko-Tex certified and free of harmful chemicals. Heavier and softer than Brooklinen's classic line, the Luxe sheets feel smooth and cozy. These sheets are a premium offering that comes at a more affordable price than comparable luxury sheets, which can cost as much as $300 to 400.

More than 6,000 buyers love the sheets, consistently calling them "comfortable" and impressive, especially for the price in their reviews. When I tested them, Brooklinen's sheets lived up to all the hype. It felt amazing to slip into them on a chilly night! The pillowcases have a pocket to keep them in place, which is a feature I love for tidiness.

Available in twelve neutral-toned colors and simple patterns, these sheets will work in just about any space. They're available in twin, twin XL, full, queen, king, and California king sizes. And Brooklinen offers a 60-day no-questions-asked return policy, so you can feel confident in a sight-unseen purchase.  — Ayn-Monique Klahre

Pros: Super soft, lots of color and pattern options

Cons: Shorter mattress depth, pricey



The best colorful sheets

If you want bright colors, pastels, neutrals, or a fun pattern, the many Mellanni Bed Sheet Sets have you covered. 

These are the best-selling sheets on Amazon, and when you feel how silky-soft they are, you'll understand why. The polyester is woven into an exceptionally fine thread, for a fabric that feels about as close to silk as you're going to get without paying many, many more dollars.

The Mellanni Bed Sheet Set resists wrinkles, stains, odors, and even dust mites. Although some people find microfiber sheets to be too hot, there are few complaints about that from Amazon buyers of the Mellanni sheets. Instead, happy customers have provided 27,000 reviews, resulting in a 4.5 star average.

Says one pleased owner, "These sheets are honestly worth the hype. There's no doubt I would buy these sheets over and over again. First, the 'you get what you pay for' line does not in any way apply here. I can't believe these are so cheap for such great quality." Another typical comment, "These sheets are insanely soft to the touch and comfortable to sleep on!"

The only problem with these sheets might be choosing your favorite color from the 20+ choices, including burgundy, violet, imperial blue, hot pink, black, emerald green, and persimmon.

And amazingly, Mellanni offers a 100-percent, lifetime guarantee on the sheets. If you don't like them for any reason, Mellanni will refund your money, no questions asked.

The XL twin set includes one flat sheet, one fitted sheet, and one pillowcase.

Pros: Very soft, huge color selection, durable

Cons: A few customers felt the sheets were too thin



The best mattress protector

The SafeRest Mattress Protector keeps your dorm bed safe from bed bugs and other pests, plus, you won't ruin the mattress if you spill a drink all over it.

One other item you might want to consider purchasing with dorm room bed sheets so that you may stem the ever-present threat of bed bugs, mites, and other mattress-dwelling horrors is SafeRest, a polyester box spring encasement that works as bug- and allergen-proof membrane.

I've been using one for several months and, unlike many others, have found it to be both quiet and breathable (as advertised). I'm also pretty sure I don't have bed bugs. What's a little more assurance against another infestation in what is already a sea of immunizations and vaccinations? — Owen Burke

Pros: Protects you from bed bugs and pests, protects the mattress from spills and more

Cons: Expensive, some don't like how it feels/sounds



How to share a video on Instagram from a post, Story, or IGTV

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Instagram is one of the world's most popular social media apps for a reason. 

The ability to share photos and videos with your followers means you can let them in on the people, places, and things you love – and creates a sense of community that's totally unique. 

Video in particular is popular on the platform, with clips being shared in posts, Stories, and via IGTV, Instagram's video streaming feature. 

Sometimes a video is so good that you want to share it with your friends and followers. So how do you do it? 

The answer is a little bit complicated and differs depending on where the video is posted, whether or not the account that published it is public, and where you're trying to send it. 

Here's what you need to know. 

How to share a video from an Instagram post within the app

1. On the post you wish to share, look for the small paper plane icon, which will allow you to share the post. Note that this will only appear on accounts that are public.

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2. After tapping the paper plane icon, a list will appear allowing you to share the post to your Instagram Story or to send it directly to one of the accounts you're following.

3. Select the account you wish to share the post with by tapping the small circle next to their name. Then, tap Send. The post will be shared to the selected people.

How to share a video from an Instagram Story within the app

1. Look for the small paper plane icon at the bottom of the Story you wish to share. This will appear to the right of the comment box at the bottom of your screen.

2. Select the account you wish to share the post with by tapping the small circle next to their name. Then, tap Send. The post will be shared to the selected people.

IMG_8014

How to share an IGTV video within the app

1. Look for the small paper plane icon at the bottom of the IGTV you wish to share. This will appear at the bottom of the screen to the right of the like and comment icons. 

IMG_8015

2. Select the account you wish to share the post with by tapping the small circle next to their name. Then, tap Send. The post will be shared to the selected people.

How to share an Instagram video outside of the app 

To share an Instagram post, IGTV video, or your own Story outside of the app — via text or email, on another social network, or anywhere else — follow these steps. 

1. On the post you wish to share, tap the three horizontal dots ("...") located to the right of the user who posted the respective photo or video. 

2. From the menu, tap "Share to…" From here, you will be able to choose where you would like to share the post. Tap the method you want to use to share the post.

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To share an IGTV video outside of the app, press the three horizontal dots towards the bottom of the video, and then click Copy Link in the pop-up menu. You will then be able to paste the link in a text or email. 

Note that Stories others have posted are not shareable outside of the Instagram app, though you can share your own Story by tapping the three horizontal dots that appear at the bottom of your screen when viewing your Story.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

SEE ALSO: The best iPhone for every type of person and budget

Join the conversation about this story »

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Amazon just announced a new Prime Student exclusive — Amazon Music Unlimited for $0.99 per month

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music unlimited

Students are gearing up for another fall semester at college. If you're one of them, having access to a wide variety of music can help you get through those marathon study sessions or just unwind after a long day on campus.

Amazon is now offering an exclusive Amazon Music Unlimited deal to its list of Prime Student benefits. As of August 6, any existing Prime Student subscriber can add Amazon Music Unlimited to their monthly or annual membership for just $0.99 more a month. Amazon Prime members pay $7.99 a month and nonmembers pay $9.99 a month to use the premium streaming service.

While all Prime and Prime Student memberships have access to over 2 million songs through Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited offers streaming capabilities for more than 50 million songs both old and new. In addition, your Music Unlimited add-on offers ad-free listening, unlimited skips, offline streaming, and much more

If your dorm or off-campus housing is decked out with Amazon Echo devices, you can also listen to your new Amazon Music Unlimited subscription through those smart speakers. When listening through an Alexa-enabled device, you'll gain access to Side-by-Sides, which are artist commentary tracks related to their own music.

Don't have a Prime Student membership, but have an active ".edu" email address? No problem. Currently, you can sign up for a free 6-month Prime Student trial. Once your account is set up, you'll be able to add Amazon Music Unlimited to your free trial for just $0.99 a month. Once your trial ends, your Prime Student membership will go up to $6.49 a month, half of what a regular Prime subscription costs, plus your $0.99 premium music add-on.

If you don't have a ".edu" email address, you can sign up using an alternate form of proof of enrollment.

Whether you're heading into your freshman or senior year of college, now is a great time to check out some of the benefits that Prime Student has to offer, especially snagging Amazon Music Unlimited for just $0.99 a month

Add Amazon Music Unlimited to your Prime Student membership for just $0.99 a month.

Sign up for a free 6-month Prime Student subscription here.

Join the conversation about this story »

The most bizarre driving laws around the world

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Autobahn

  • Countries around the world have many driving laws that differ from the US — sometimes with specifications that may baffle foreigners.
  • From being fined for eating while driving to remember which days of the week you can legally drive, here are 14 of the most unusual driving laws around the world.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Driving in another country can be stressful.

For many countries, there's more to remember than which side of the road is the correct one to drive on. For example, in Thailand, driving without a shirt could result in a fine, while in Spain, don't even think about using flip flops to drive.

Here are 13 of the most unusual driving laws around the world, from Japan to Greece.

SEE ALSO: The 20 most stolen cars in the US list is dominated by SUVs, pickup trucks, and 3 models of the Dodge Charger

In Thailand, it's illegal for men to drive without a shirt on.

The fine for doing so is ฿500, or about $16.21



In Australia, it's illegal for drivers to stick their limbs, including arms and hands, out of the window unless they are signaling to other drivers.

 The fine for doing so in New South Wales is $337 AUS, or $237.69 USD.

"Drivers and passengers need to apply common sense – it's not only illegal but downright dangerous, and that's because you could risk losing a limb," the Australian National Roads and Motorists' Association's Dimitra Vlahomitros told Yahoo News.



It's illegal to smoke a cigarette while driving in Greece.

This is likely due to the fact that drivers must take one of their hands off the wheel to bring the cigarette to the lips.



Wearing flip-flops while driving in Spain comes with a €200 fine.

That's $225.51.



In the Philippines, it's illegal to drive on Mondays if the license plate of a vehicle ends in a 1 or 2.

On Tuesday, it's 3 and 4. On Wednesday, it's 5 and 6. Thursday, 7 and 8. Finally, on Friday, it's 9 and 0.

This unusual law is part of the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or number coding. The program was created to alleviate traffic congestion by restricting the number of vehicles on the road.



In Cyprus, it is illegal to eat or drink while driving, including water.

 The fine for doing so is €85, or $95.86.



In Russia, having a dirty car is a fineable offense.

Some Russians choose to store their cars in the winter months when driving is more difficult, according to a BBC article from 2006. This can cause dirt and grime to build up, which the law requires motorists to clean off before taking to the streets.



It's illegal to stop unnecessarily on the Autobahn in Germany — even if a driver runs out of fuel.

The famous Autobahn freeway in Germany is known for not having a speed limit, making stopping on the road all the more dangerous.



In Japan, driving through a puddle that splashes a pedestrian is a fineable offense.

The Japanese call this infraction "muddy driving," according to Travel and Leisure.



Similar to Japan, it is illegal for drivers to splash mud onto pedestrians if the people are waiting at a bus stop or entering or leaving a stationary bus.

Those who do so may be fined up to $2,200 AUS — $1,550.63 USD.



In Sweden — as well as some other Scandinavian countries like Iceland —it's illegal to drive without headlights on, even if it's daytime.

This is likely due to the few daylight hours in winter, but also because the weather can change quickly and lights help drivers see each other.



Driving without properly functioning actual windshields wipers is illegal in Luxembourg.

Having a windshield itself, however, is not required by law, as is the case for some vintage cars.



Drivers in Bulgaria must carry fire extinguishers in their cars at all time.

Safety first in the rule of the road in Bulgaria— always.



David Geffen is Hollywood's richest man. Here's how he spends his $8.5 billion fortune, from real estate in the Hamptons and California to his 453-foot superyacht that's hosted Jeff Bezos and the Obamas

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David Geffen

Billionaire Hollywood producer David Geffen is the richest man in the entertainment industry, with an estimated $8.49 billion fortune, according to Bloomberg.

Geffen founded music label Geffen Records and cofounded movie studio DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

The 76-year-old billionaire is known for cruising the seas on his 453-foot megayacht, Rising Sun, on which he's hosted celebrity guests including Barack and Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Hanks.

Most recently, Geffen was pictured partying on his yacht with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, and model Karlie Kloss and her husband, Josh Kushner. The yacht used to belong to Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Read more: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez partied with Lloyd Blankfein and model Karlie Kloss aboard billionaire David Geffen's superyacht

Geffen owns a massive portfolio of real estate in New York and California, including a $54 million Manhattan penthouse and a $47.5 million Beverly Hills mansion built by one of the founders of Warner Bros. The billionaire reportedly has an art collection worth $2 billion.

Here's a look at the Hollywood mogul's life, career, and spending habits.

SEE ALSO: Steven Spielberg is one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. Take a look at what the billionaire's life is really like, from his 27-year marriage to his $184 million yacht

DON'T MISS: Jeff Bezos partied on billionaire David Geffen's $590 million superyacht in the Balearics — here's a look at the yacht, which has hosted everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Barack Obama

Movie and music producer David Geffen is worth an estimated $8.49 billion, making him the richest man in Hollywood, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

The Brooklyn-born billionaire dropped out of college to join the entertainment industry, starting his career in the mailroom at William Morris Agency in Manhattan, where he worked his way up to being a talent manager.



In 1971, he founded music label Asylum Records, where he signed artists like Jackson Browne.

After about a year, Geffen sold the label to Warner Communications for $7 million and proceeded to serve as the head of the merged Elektra/Asylum Records.



In the 1970s, Geffen had a high-profile relationship with singer Cher.

Although Geffen later came out as gay, Cher said of the relationship in a 2012 interview: "At that point in his life, I was the right person for him."



In the 1980s, Geffen ran his music label, Geffen Records.

High-profile artists signed to the label included John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elton John, Donna Summer, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Don Henley, Cher, and Peter Gabriel.

Geffen later sold the label to MCA for $550 million worth of stock.

A few months after that deal, Geffen made $700 million when MCA was bought by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd (which later became Panasonic), according to Bloomberg.



With the movie arm of his business, Geffen Pictures, Geffen produced films including "Risky Business," "Beetlejuice," and "Interview with a Vampire."

He also owned a Broadway theater company that produced shows such as "Cats" and "Dreamgirls."



In 1994, Geffen cofounded movie studio DreamWorks SKG with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

He left DreamWorks in 2008.



The 76-year-old billionaire owns millions of dollars worth of real estate in California. His primary home is reported to be the sprawling Jack Warner Estate in Beverly Hills.

According to Variety, Geffen has lived at the Beverly Hills estate since 1990, when he bought it for $47.5 million.

The mansion is named for Jack Warner, the cofounder of Warner Bros, who built it in 1937.

The nine-acre property includes a 13,600-square-foot Georgian-style mansion, two guesthouses, a tennis court, swimming pool, nine-hole golf course, terraces and gardens, and a motor court with its own service garage and gas pump.



Geffen owns at least two other homes in Beverly Hills. In the spring of 2019, Geffen picked up a $4.65 million Beverly Hills house next door to one he already owned.

Geffen's new  3,267-square-foot home comes with four bedrooms and a swimming pool.



And the billionaire continues to pick up Beverly Hills properties. Just last month, Geffen paid $30 million — for an empty, one-acre lot.

The lot sits in the Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills known as "Billionaires' Row."

It's across the street from an extravagant mansion called "Opus" that was once listed for $100 million. The price has been cut to just under $60 million.



Until a couple of years ago, the billionaire also owned a beach house on Carbon Beach in Malibu, nicknamed "Billionaire's Beach" for the ultra-wealthy residents who have called it home.

Geffen's former property includes a main house, two guest homes, a pool and spa, gym, and a theater, as Business Insider's Tanza Loudenback previously reported.

He sold the beach house in an off-market deal for a reported $85 million in 2017.



Geffen has quite the real-estate footprint in New York as well. He's the owner of two condos, including a 12,000-square-foot triplex penthouse, in the Park Cinq, a luxury Fifth Avenue building near Central Park in Manhattan.

Geffen is the owner of the Park Cinq's 12,000-square-foot triplex penthouse, which he bought for $54 million from socialite Denise Rich in 2012.

A couple of years later, he paid $2.3 million for another unit in the building, a one-bedroom on a middle floor.

And until recently, he had owned a third apartment in the building, a two-bedroom unit that he bought for $14.17 million in 2010. That one he sold in May 2018 to a Russian-American oil billionaire for $24.5 million.



In the Hamptons, the ritzy vacation destination for New York's elite, Geffen owns a $70 million waterfront mansion.

He bought the property in April 2016.



About two months later, news broke that Geffen had sold another 5.5-acre Hamptons property that he'd bought in 2014 for about $50 million.

He sold it for $67.3 million.

The estate, which sits on coveted Georgica Pond, includes a seven-bedroom main house, an outdoor swimming pool, and a three-bedroom guesthouse.



Geffen is known for cruising the seas and hosting celebrity guests on his 453-foot superyacht, Rising Sun.

Geffen bought the yacht for $590 million from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in 2010, according to Forbes. 

His guests have included Barack and Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Hanks.

Most recently, Geffen was pictured partying on his yacht with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Bezos' girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, former Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, and model Karlie Kloss and her husband, Josh Kushner, in the Balearic Islands in Spain.

In June, he posted photos to Instagram of his yacht adventures in Mallorca with stars including Chris Rock, Orlando Bloom, and Katy Perry.



Geffen reportedly had the yacht refitted over a six-month period.

The yacht, which can accommodate 18 guests and a staff of 55 people, comes with a double-height cinema and a basketball court.



But Rising Sun isn't the only superyacht Geffen has owned. In 2011, less than a year after buying Rising Sun, Geffen snapped up Pelorus, a 377-foot superyacht that he bought for $300 million from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

The superyacht has two helicopter pads, a swimming pool with an artificial current, and a spa pool.

But Geffen didn't keep Pelorus for long. Later that year, he sold it to the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi for 214 million euros, or about $284 million at the time.

 



Geffen has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to educational institutions, museums, and gay-rights causes.

He established the David Geffen Foundation in 1986, which has focused its efforts on five main areas: populations affected by HIV/AIDS; civil liberties; the arts; issues of concern to the Jewish community; and health care.



After he donated $300 million to the University of California, Los Angeles, the university named its medical school after him.

It's now the David Geffen School of Medicine.



In 2017, Geffen pledged $150 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

It was the largest single cash gift from a single person in the museum's history, and the museum subsequently named its new building the David Geffen Galleries.

"It seemed as though, if I didn't do it, it wasn't going to get done — they've been attempting this for years and they couldn't raise the money," Geffen told The New York Times in an interview at the time. "I love art, I love L.A., and I could do it, so I did."



Geffen, who came out as gay at an AIDS charity event in the 1990s, has also donated to AIDS and gay-rights causes.

He's made contributions to organizations including Gay Men's Health Crisis, God's Love We Deliver, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, according to The New York Times.

 



Geffen has an art collection worth more $2 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Bloomberg reports that Geffen has made "hundreds of millions of dollars" selling artwork by artists like Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns, and David Hockney.

In 2006, Geffen sold two paintings by Jasper Johns and Willem de Kooning to hedge-fund billionaires Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen for a combined $143.5 million.

Ten years later, in 2016, Griffin bought another de Kooning painting and a Pollack painting from Geffen for $500 million total.

Geffen owned one of Hockney's famous pool scene paintings for about 12 years. He sold it to British billionaire Joe Lewis in 1995, who kept it for years before selling it at a Christie's auction for a record-breaking $90.3 million in 2018.



I use this $21 K-beauty cleanser every day to clear my pores and keep my skin hydrated

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  • One of my favorite parts of my nightly routine is washing my face. After a long day, it feels great to clear away the dirt and grime, then rehydrate and moisturize my skin. 
  • The Mini Pore Double Clearing Cleansing Foam ($21) from Korean skin-care brand Laneige is an integral part of my routine. 
  • The gentle yet thorough exfoliating cleanser clears out pores and imparts moisture, leaving skin soft and hydrated. It lathers in a luxuriously rich cream and smells like fresh, uplifting mint. 

I follow a very predictable shower routine every night. After shampooing and rinsing, I load up the strands and ends of my hair with conditioner. During the five or so minutes I let it soak in, I address my face and the rest of my body

At the end of a long day, it's often these small but nourishing rituals that I cherish the most. With skin-care in particular, I'm literally washing away the dirt and grime of the day — and any negativity and stress — along with it. That's why I always look forward to the skin-care part of my shower routine, and why I've been loving Laneige's Mini Pore Double Clearing Cleansing Foam ($21) in particular. This cleanser cleans and moisturizes my skin, and it also smells amazing.

laneige cleanser

Korean skin-care company Laneige specializes in "water science," so if your skin is in need of deep hydration, this is the brand to try.

In the Double Clearing cleanser, water is combined with ingredients like glycerin, stearic acid, and myristic acid. As a humectant, glycerin attracts and retains moisture, a quality that's great news for your dry and tired skin. Stearic and myristic acid are fatty acids naturally found in things like coconut oil and cocoa butter. 

The powerful formula also contains green tea water, bamboo sap, and lotus, which further hydrate and moisturize your skin without making it feel tight. 

While the name of the product says "foam," I would describe it more as a cream. I rub it in my hands to create a rich and luxurious lather, and I only need to use a pea-sized amount for my entire face and neck. Scattered throughout are dissolvable cellulose microbeads, which help clear out my pores, but there aren't so many that it becomes an aggressive exfoliator. The cleanser is simultaneously thorough and gentle. 

It's also a comforting and relaxing experience using this cleanser because it smells like mint. I would've been fine with a neutral scent, too, but the mint scent elevates the ritual, making it even more refreshing and enjoyable. 

Once I emerge from the shower, my skin is clean, ultra-soft, and hydrated. Though it's just a small part of the many daily routines I have, using this cleanser is one of my favorite moments of the day. 

Shop the Mini Pore Double Clearing Cleansing Foam for $21 at Laneige

Also available from 3rd-party sellers starting at $15.78 at Amazon

Join the conversation about this story »

Here's how much space $1,000 in rent will get you in 11 major US cities

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Tiny apartment

  • The cost per square foot for apartments in the US varies drastically depending on the location of the home.
  • Business Insider teamed up with Zillow's rental site, HotPads, to find out how much space roughly $1,000 per month in rent will get you in 11 major cities across the country.
  • In certain areas, like San Francisco, a single square foot of space costs over $4, while in other places that amount dips below $1.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Depending on where you live, the amount of space that comes with $1,000 per month in rent can vary.

In fact, depending on the city, the price per square foot can fall just under $1 — or cost over $4.

Read more: Here's how much it costs to rent a one-bedroom apartment in 15 major US cities

Business Insider teamed up with Zillow's rental site, HotPads, to find out just how much space around $1,000 in rent will get you across 11 major US cities.

To compile the data, Joshua Clark, an economist at HotPads, analyzed all rentals that were uploaded to HotPads' or Zillow's databases within the last three months for roughly $1,000 per month. By calculating the median price per square foot in each city, Clark was able to identify how much space you can get for around $1,000 per month in each. 

Keep reading to see how far $1,000 per month will get you in these cities, ranked from the most spacious rentals to the "coziest" small apartments.

SEE ALSO: 9 US cities that are paying people thousands of dollars to move there

DON'T MISS: The 10 best places in the US for first-time homebuyers to invest in real estate right now

Las Vegas, Nevada

Median square footage for $1,000: 1,040

Price per square foot: $0.96



Raleigh, North Carolina

Median square footage for $1,000: 910

Price per square foot:$1.10



Phoenix, Arizona

Median square footage for $1,000: 905

Price per square foot: $1.11



Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Median square footage for $1,000: 855

Price per square foot: $1.17



Dallas, Texas

Median square footage for $1,000: 695

Price per square foot: $1.44



Chicago, Illinois

Median square footage for $1,000: 520

Price per square foot: $1.93



Portland, Oregon

Median square footage for $1,000: 505

Price per square foot: $1.99



Miami, Florida

Median square footage for $1,000: 475

Price per square foot: $2.11



Seattle, Washington

Median square footage for $1,000: 465

Price per square foot: $2.15



New York, New York

Median square footage for $1,000: 425

Price per square foot: $2.34



San Francisco, California

Median square footage for $1,000: 230

Price per square foot: $4.34




NRA head Wayne LaPierre, America's most public gun rights advocate, made $1.4 million in 2017 — here's what we know, and don't know, about his finances

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wayne lapierre nra

As the CEO and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Wayne LaPierre has been the public face of gun rights advocacy for years — and records indicate that he's made millions doing so.

While LaPierre's exact net worth is unknown, one estimate has put it at $10 million.The NRA declined to comment on LaPierre's net worth when reached by Business Insider.

LaPierre was paid more than $1.4 million in 2017, according to NRA-filed tax documents. The Washington Post found that he made more than $5 million in 2015, including a payout that year of a $3.7 million retirement plan.

Here's what we know about the CEO's finances.

SEE ALSO: 2020 Democratic candidates blame the NRA, push gun-control measures after El Paso shooting

DON'T MISS: Survivors of gun violence are sharing pictures of their injuries and crime scenes: 'This is our reality'

SEE ALSO: 

Wayne LaPierre is the CEO and executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), an American gun rights advocacy group.

LaPierre has held the position for 28 years, since 1991.



While LaPierre's exact net worth is unknown, one estimate puts it at $10 million. In 2017, his compensation was more than $1.4 million.

While LaPierre's exact net worth is unknown, one estimate by Celebrity Net Worth has put it at $10 million, based on his NRA salary as disclosed in the organization's Form 990 filings.

Celebrity Net Worth looks at publicly available information including salaries, real-estate holdings, divorces, record sales, royalties and endorsements, removing estimated taxes, manager's fees, agent fees, and lifestyle expenses.

In 2017, the most recent year available, NRA paid LaPierre a salary of $1,366,688, plus an additional $67,289 in "other compensation from the organization and related organizations," according to the company's 2017 990 tax form. That brings his total compensation that year to $1,433,977.

Five years earlier, in 2012, LaPierre made $974,867 in total compensation.

In 2004, the earliest year the NRA's 990 forms are available, LaPierre's salary was $633,823. LaPierre's income from his books and speaking engagements is unknown.

And LaPierre's pay wouldn't necessarily cease if he were to step down from the company.

According to an investigation by The New Yorker, state records show that LaPierre's contract "provides for consulting services and personal appearances upon the end of his employment, at an annual rate that starts at his currently contracted final base salary and is later reduced." As in: The exec would continue to make his salary, or close to it, after retirement. 

In response to The New Yorker's reporting, Bill Brewer, a lawyer who represents the NRA, told the publication that the NRA "has serious concerns about the accuracy of this reporting and The New Yorker's sources. Of course, we cannot comment on privileged communications or personnel matters."



Between 2014 to 2015, as the NRA thrived, the CEO got a pay increase to more than $5 million.

Thanks to a retirement payout, LaPierre's compensation rose by more than $4 million, according to tax forms obtained by The Washington Post. A San Francisco tax attorney, Marc Fosse, told the Post that such retirement payouts are typical for highly compensated employees.

"It probably had a vesting age, a normal retirement age, a normal retirement date in it, and that date hit and he had to take the benefits," Fosse said.

In 2014, LaPierre made $985,885, according to the documents. The very next year, in 2015, he brought in $5,110,985.

Most of the extra cash came from the payout of a $3.7 million retirement plan. His salary was also bumped to $1,090,515 and he received a $150,000 bonus.

The NRA did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the nature of the retirement payout. 

The raise coincided with a bump in revenue of the NRA itself. The organization brought in $336 million in revenue in 2015, about $26 million more than the year before.



LaPierre is the eighth-highest paid nonprofit executive in the country, and the second-highest paid outside of medical professionals.

The watchdog group Charity Watch tracks leadership pay at over 600 nonprofits, NPR reports, and LaPierre is among the most richly compensated executives. 

The heads of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research out-earn him, per Charity Watch.



LaPierre is against universal background checks for buying guns and supports having armed, trained security officers in schools.

LaPierre has called universal background checks a "nightmare" for law-abiding gun owners.

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said in a statement to reporters in December 2012, days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, where 20 children were killed.



LaPierre lives in a wealthy suburb near Washington, DC, according to Money magazine.

He lives near the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.



The NRA head travels by private plane for security reasons.

The NRA has said in the past that LaPierre, as the public face of the organization, must travel by private plane "for security reasons," per the Washington Post.



LaPierre's spending has come under scrutiny in recent months. An investigation by The New York Times found that LaPierre spent almost $275,000 in 15 years at a luxury menswear boutique in California.

The Times obtained documents showing purchases dating back to 2004 and totaling $274,695 from the Zegna boutique in Beverly Hills.

Leaked internal documents also showed that LaPierre billed the organization's ad agency for $18,300 for a private car and driver while traveling in Europe, as well as $13,800 in rent for a summer intern, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

When reached for comment by Business Insider about LaPierre's wardrobe and travel expenses, NRA Board President Carolyn D. Meadows said that "the board is fully aware of these issues" and that she has "full confidence in Wayne LaPierre and the work he's doing in support of the NRA and its members."

In a May 22, 2019 letter to members, about a week after the Times' reporting on LaPierre's clothing purchases, Meadows and other current and past NRA executives addressed the reports.

"Over the years, Wayne had been advised by the NRA's advertising professionals to invest in his professional wardrobe due to his numerous public and media appearances," reads a copy of the letter, which was sent to Business Insider. The letter notes that the clothing expenses date back 15 years, over which time "... Wayne has participated in thousands of events and hundreds of TV appearances, and personally directed fundraising efforts that total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. In any event, this practice was discontinued some time ago."

The most recent expenditure on the leaked clothing bill was for $21,080 — in February 2017, two years before the letter was written.



The Wall Street Journal reported in August 2019 that LaPierre was in talks with the NRA's former ad agency, Ackerman McQueen, for the agency to help him buy a house in Dallas that was priced at $6.2 million at the time.

Sources gave the Journal conflicting reports on the origin and the dissolution of the real-estate deal.

People familiar with the deal told the Journal that it was LaPierre's idea to buy the home because he had concerns about his security following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, and was interested in another residence apart from his home in Virginia.

But an NRA spokesperson said the idea was Angus McQueen's, then co-CEO of the ad firm, who died in July.

William A. Brewer III, an outside NRA attorney, told the Journal that the NRA halted the deal "after its full terms — including Ackerman's intent to spend NRA money — became known to Wayne LaPierre," adding that "not a cent of NRA money was ultimately spent."

The NRA did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment on the real-estate deal.

When reached for comment, the listing broker for the Texas house told Business Insider he could not confirm that LaPierre had considered buying the house. 

 



LaPierre was criticized for spending $70,000 to fly in private planes to and from the Bahamas days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

LaPierre charged the NRA's ad agency $39,947 for a private jet to Eleuthera and then $29,100 for a plane from Nassau, Bahamas, to Dallas, Texas, according to internal travel records obtained by The Washington Post.

NRA spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam told the Post at the time that the flights were work-related travel.

"There was a business trip after Christmas 2012 involving donor outreach and the recruitment of influential NRA supporters and members," Arulanandam said. "Wayne is responsible for a campaign to raise almost $400 million annually, so he travels extensively on behalf of the Association — even over the holidays."



LaPierre and the NRA have had a tumultuous past few months. In April, former NRA president Oliver North resigned from the organization amid rumors of infighting, extortion, and financial impropriety.

Rumors have long swirled of infighting between LaPierre and North, as Business Insider's Áine Cain previously reported.

It was North who told the NRA board about LaPierre's $275,000 wardrobe expenditures, according to The Wall Street Journal, which then prompted LaPierre to accuse North of trying to extort him. 

North and LaPierre did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider about the accusations of extortion.

North, who was NRA president for less than a year, was previously known for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, when senior officials in the Reagan administration — including North, who was a military aide to the National Security Council (NSC) — organized the sale of weapons to Iran, which was under an arms embargo. North later admitted to shredding NSC documents and lying to members of Congress about his role in the affair.

North did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.



In June, the organization's top lobbyist, Chris Cox, resigned after being accused of involvement in an alleged extortion scheme against LaPierre.

His resignation came while he was on administrative leave after being sued for being involved in what LaPierre alleges was an extortion scheme by North, according to The Washington Post. Cox has denied the allegations.

LaPierre told the NRA board that North was extorting him and pressuring him to resign.

Cox was the second-highest paid employee of the organization in 2017 after LaPierre, with a compensation package of $1,191,194.

His departure was followed by the resignation of three board members on August 1.

Cox did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.



LaPierre is at the head of an organization that's facing internal turmoil and a probe by the New York attorney general's office. According to an accounting professor, the NRA's 2018 financial report reveals the organization is "living paycheck to paycheck."

The group, which is a nonprofit organization, is facing a probe into potential financial and disclosure problems by the New York attorney general's office.

"The NRA is prepared for this, and has full confidence in its accounting practices and commitment to good governance," William A. Brewer III, an attorney for the group, told the Journal in April.

David Nelson, a former Ernst & Young tax lawyer, told the Times the NRA seems to be in "very poor financial health" as it increasingly pulls money from its foundation amid falling revenue and a nearly maxed-out line of credit. The group's expenses outstripped its revenue by $11 million last year, Bloomberg reported.

The NRA's 2018 financial report shows that the gun-rights group has increased spending on administrative costs while slashing expenses on training programs and political advocacy, INSIDER'S Christopher Woody reported.

Brian Mittendorf, an Ohio State University accounting professor who analyzed the 2018 report, told The Washington Post that the documents depicted the organization as "a person living paycheck to paycheck."

At its Virginia headquarters, the NRA has gotten rid of free coffee and water coolers and frozen its employees' pensions, according to The New Yorker.



A recent investigation by The New Yorker reported that a small group of NRA executives, vendors, and contractors have "extracted hundreds of millions of dollars" of the nonprofit's budget through favorable or opaque financial dealings.

"According to interviews and to documents that I obtained — federal tax forms, charity records, contracts, corporate filings, and internal communications — a small group of N.R.A. executives, contractors, and vendors has extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from the nonprofit's budget, through gratuitous payments, sweetheart deals, and opaque financial arrangements," reporter Mike Spies wrote for The New Yorker.

Marc Owens, a former Internal Revenue Service employee who served as head of the division that oversees tax-exempt enterprises, reviewed the documents and found a "litany of red flags," he told The New Yorker.

"The materials reflect one of the broadest arrays of likely transgressions that I've ever seen," Owens said. "There is a tremendous range of what appears to be the misuse of assets for the benefit of certain venders and people in control."

He added that if those facts are confirmed, the NRA's tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization — granted to corporations only on the condition that they work for the public good— could be revoked. 

In a May 22, 2019 letter to members, the NRA assured that the organization is on budget in 2019. and that its "financial house is in order."

"We have full confidence in the NRA's accounting practices and commitment to good governance," reads a copy of the letter, which was sent to Business Insider. "... Simply put, we are well-positioned on the regulatory front and poised to handle all challenges that confront us."



The best baby bibs you can buy

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  • Keeping your baby clean while eating isn't a simple task. But when you have the right bib to help you, cleanup is fast, easy, and maybe a little bit fun. Okay, perhaps that's pushing it.
  • After much research, we found the BABYBJÖRN Baby Bib to be the best for most parents. It not only will last forever, but it's also easy to clean and collects even the worst food spills.

Let's face it: Babies and toddlers are messy. The classic baby-covered-in-spaghetti image is one for the photo album, but not one for the busy parent. Parents want a baby bib that keeps mashed banana off of the table and floor, is easy to clean, and lasts a long time.

Fortunately, there are baby bibs to cover every kind of spill or accident, and they come in designs ranging from simple organic cotton to durable plastic with a tray to collect chunks of food. Parents can also find ones that are easy to toss in a bag for traveling. But even though there are lots of bibs to choose from, it can be difficult to know which ones are best for you and your baby.

When I looked at all the bibs parents can choose from, I considered material, durability, ease of cleaning, and cost. I asked other parents for their feedback, read reviews, and used my personal experience to narrow this list down to the best bibs you can buy in 2019.

Here are our picks for the best baby bibs you can buy:

The best bib overall

The BABYBJÖRN Baby Bib collects every kind of food spill from milk to pasta. Its smart design includes a large spill pocket that stays open no matter how much your little one moves. 

When it comes to bibs, BABYBJÖRN's Baby Bib stands above the rest. The Swedish company has been making high-quality baby products for more than 50 years, and this is reflected in their simple yet effective bib design. The BABYBJÖRN Baby Bib is made from durable plastic that withstands your baby's tugging, food and liquid spills, and routine washing.

The plastic has some give to it, ensuring the bib maintains its shape over time while making it comfortable for your baby. I've had two BABYBJÖRN bibs for four years, shared between two kids, and they have held up well. 

Notably, the bib's pocket is designed to catch spills. While food bits do make it past the pocket, it works better than anything else I've tried. It's also effortless to clean — you can wipe it with a damp cloth, throw it in the dishwasher, or hand-wash it. BABYBJÖRN uses water-repellent material that prevents wetness from seeping through and dries quickly.

The only downside I've found is that the adjustable neckband can sometimes pinch skin when I fasten it, but this is mostly due to my lack of attention when placing the bib on my little one.

BABYBJÖRN Baby Bibs are undeniably popular. All of my mom friends use these bibs, and they have over over 2,200 reviews on Amazon with a 4-star rating overall.Babylistnamed them one of the best bibs of 2019, andMom Loves Best says they are the best choice for toddlers. The bibs are perfect in size for babies 4 months and up. 

Pros: Smart design with large food pocket, easy to wash, fast-drying, grows with baby

Cons: Not suitable for babies under 4 months, back closure sometimes pinches skin 



The best budget bib

The Green Sprouts Stay-Dry Bib with water-resistant backing comes in a variety of vibrant colors.

You're going to use a lot of bibs. While they are must-haves for mealtime, they are also convenient for wiping baby drool and catching spit-up. If your experience is anything like mine, you might end up with as many baby bibs as onesies. Green Sprouts Stay-Dry Bibs are sold in packs of 10, averaging out to $1.75 per bib, which makes them a practical and affordable option.

These bibs have a waterproof inner layer and two outer layers of soft, absorbent cotton terry. While this doesn't guarantee liquids and food won't seep through, their construction makes cleanup easier. After a meal, you can toss the bib in the washer, and since these Green Sprouts bibs come in packs of 10, you'll always have a few days' supply on hand.

While I found that these bibs worked well enough during mealtime, they were my No. 1 choice for catching spit-up. My son found formula delicious, but it frequently caused him to spit up after feedings. At one point, he lived in a bib in order to manage the frequent messes. Thankfully, the softness and comfort of Green Sprouts Stay-Dry Bibs kept my son clean and comfortable. An added bonus: The solid colors matched most of his outfits.

Some Amazon reviewers report that the bibs run large, but overall, the reviews are excellent. On Amazon, it is the No. 3 most-ordered bib with nearly 2,300 reviews and a 4.3-star rating.Good Housekeeping calls Green Sprouts Stay-Dry the bib with the most value, and Very Well Family named it the "best budget bib."

Pros: Super soft, affordable, easy to wash, vibrant colors, collects spit-up and drool

Cons: Runs large, not completely waterproof (some liquids and foods soak through), Velcro closure



The best for travel

The Happy Healthy Parent Silicone Baby Bib is easy to pack in a suitcase without taking up too much space.

At some point, you'll have to — or want to — travel with your baby. For some parents, the thought brings out anxiety; for others, the adventure awaits. Wherever you land on the "traveling with baby" scale, you're going to need an easy-to-transport bib. TheHappy Healthy Parent Silicone Baby Bib is a favorite of many traveling parents.

This bib is made from 100% food-grade silicone that cleans up nicely — you can put it in the dishwasher or simply wipe it clean with a cloth. Like plastic, silicone is waterproof, but it is more flexible and moldable. These qualities make the lightweight Happy Healthy Parent Silicone Baby Bib easy to roll up and store in a bag.

It's a comfortable bib that fits babies 6 months and up and is available in a variety of bright colors.  The bib also includes a pocket to catch spills.

While these bibs are our travel-friendly pick, many parents also use them at home. On Amazon, Happy Healthy Parent Silicone Baby Bibs are the No. 1 best-selling bibs. They have close to 3,500 reviews and 4.7 stars overall.Targetsells a similar design in an adorable floral print. One reviewer says, "These bibs are beautiful, lightweight, sizeable, and easy to clean!"

Pros: Travel-friendly, lightweight, cute designs, big food-collecting pocket, durable, waterproof

Cons: Not suitable for newborns



The best bandana bib

The Matimati Baby Bandana Bib is a stylish option that helps manage drool, spit-up, and food spills. It is soft, durable, and affordable.

I adored my Matimati Baby Bandana Bib. It transformed my kiddos' outfits into Wild West baby cuteness. With an adjustable, secure snap closure, it's easy to put on baby, and you don't have to worry about Velcro sticking to things in the wash.

Matimati's Baby Bandana Bibs don't have any plastic backing like most bibs. Instead, the 100% cotton bibs have an absorbent fleece backing that helps keep baby dry longer while looking fashionable. This bib design keeps moisture away from the skin to protect against drool rash and reflux.

Parents really love these bibs, and I understand why. Matimati Baby Bandana Bibs are considered a fashion accessory that also provides some pretty outstanding moisture protection. One verified Amazon reviewer says, "They are so super absorbent which to me was the most important factor as my little guy is a drooling mess and has bad eczema that easily flares with any wetness from slobber." Matimati's Baby Bandana Bib has over 1,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.7-star rating. 

Pros: Fashionable design, absorbent material, no plastic, keeps baby dry longer, affordable, great for collecting drool and spit-up 

Cons: Not great for big food spills, not waterproof



The best for spit-up

The Aden + Anais Classic Burpy Bib is by far the softest, most comfortable bib you can buy for spit-up and drool. 

No one ever mentions how often babies spit up. Of course, some are worse than others. After downing warm milk or formula, your little one might want to return some as a small — or large — gift, most often when you burp them. TheAden + Anais Classic Burpy Bib is perfect for collecting spit-up because you can drape the bib over your shoulder to burp your baby. It's a win-win situation. 

Not only is the Aden + Anais Classic Burpy Bib great for collecting spit-up, it's also made of soft, layered muslin that is ultra-absorbent and easy to clean and wash. Another great feature is that your baby can wear it too. It drapes over and snaps, making it versatile for newborns and older babies.

You can find Aden + Anais Classic Burpy Bibs onAmazon,Target, andBuy Buy Baby. One verified Amazon reviewer said, "If I had to choose top products for registries, this is it. They're a multi-use product that grows with your baby. The quality is unbeatable and they really do get softer with use." When it comes to a versatile bib that's great for feeding and burping, Aden + Anais is our first choice. They also make amazing muslin swaddles and bandana bibs and came out with a baby bonding top that helps you get in your skin-to-skin contact.

Pros: Versatile, perfect spit-up and drool soaker, super soft and absorbent, easy to clean

Cons: Shrinks a little in the wash, not waterproof



How to figure out who unfollowed you on Instagram using a free app for iPhone and Android

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instagram app

  • Instagram, like most social media apps, does not tell you details about who has unfollowed you.
  • You can install a free app like FollowMeter on your iPhone or Android to automatically learn who follows and unfollows you. 
  • If you don't want to install an app, you can also find out if someone has unfollowed you by manually checking the Following list on their profile page.    
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Like most social media platforms, Instagram hides information about specific users who choose to unfollow you. 

That's inconvenient, especially if you are highly engaged with your account and want to know exactly who is coming and going in your social media sphere. 

Even though Instagram isn't especially helpful, there are a couple of ways your can stay informed about who has unfollowed you. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone Xs (From $999.99 at Best Buy)

Google Pixel 3 (From $399.99 at Best Buy)

How to manually figure out who unfollowed you on Instagram 

This might seem obvious, but it bears mentioning: One way to determine who has unfollowed you is to check their account directly. 

To do that, open the user's profile in your Instagram app and tap "Following" at the top of the page. You'll see the list of accounts the person is following. If you know the person once followed you and you're no longer on the list, you've been unfollowed. 

unfollow 1

Obviously, this isn't an effective way to keep track of unfollows, no matter how many followers you happen to have, but it's something you can do if you want to check a specific follower to see if their status has changed. 

How to see who unfollowed you on Instagram using a third-party app

A much more effective tool for tracking unfollowers is using a third-party app.  

There are a lot of apps which promise to help you find people who have unfollowed you, but we recommend one app in particular, both because we have confirmed it works as advertised, and because it's available for both iPhone and Android. 

If you want to give it a try, install FollowMeter for iPhone or FollowMeter for Android. The app is free with in-app purchases, but you don't need to pay for the ability to track your unfollowers. 

To use the app, you need to give it permission to access your Instagram account. Once you log in and give permission, the app will automatically track a number of metrics about your account, including new followers and unfollowers. 

unfollow 2

To get more details, tap any of the entries in the dashboard to see a list of users. Tap "Unfollowers," for example, to see the specific user accounts that have unfollowed you. 

unfollow 3

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Venice is cutting back on cruise ships. Disappointing photos show what the Italian port city looks like in real life, from extreme overcrowding and devastating floods to cruise ship accidents

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venice italy disappointing reality

Venice, one of the most popular destinations in Italy and a major port city, is going to start minimizing the number of cruise ships that are allowed to enter its historic city center, the Financial Times reported.

The Italian city, which goes by many nicknames including "The Floating City," "The City of Bridges," and "The City of Canals," sees between 26 million and 30 million people visiting per year.

But despite its beauty, the city suffers from massive overcrowding, devastating floods, and pollution and other environmental damage from the massive cruise ships that pass through every day.

While many people may still consider a trip to Venice worthwhile, these disappointing photos show the reality of the less glamorous aspects of the city.

SEE ALSO: The top 10 trips Americans wanted to take in 2018, according to Google

DON'T MISS: Inside the world's largest underwater restaurant, which has a 36-foot window that looks right out into the seabed so guests can watch marine life swim by as they eat

Venice, a city on Italy's northeastern coast, is one of the country's most popular destinations.



Nicknamed "The Floating City," Venice is situated on 118 small islands.

Source: UNESCO, Venice Gondola



These islands are connected by more than 400 bridges, earning the city one of its nicknames: "The City of Bridges."

Source: UNESCO



It's known for its picturesque canals and the gondolas that can be seen gliding through them ...

Source: Venezia Unica



... as well as its central square, Piazza San Marco, with the impressive St. Mark's Basilica ...

Source: Venezia Unica



... and the springtime Carnival of Venice.

Source: The Guardian, Telegraph, CNN



The two-week long event brings thousands of people to the city each year to don masks and costumes and party in the streets.



But in recent years, Venice has been dealing with some problems that have made it a less desirable destination for many. To start, the city has become inundated with tourists.



Tourism is a major part of the city's economy, but Venice has had trouble handling the sheer number of visitors.

Source: CNN



Venice receives about 26  million tourists a year, according to Italy's councillor for tourism. Other estimates have put the number closer to 30 million.

Source: The Guardian, Telegraph, CNN



The city has a mere 54,500 permanent residents.

Source: The Guardian



But during peak summer months in particular, the streets are inundated with visitors.

Source: CNN



You'll be surrounded by other tourists.



And the city gets even more crowded during Carnival.



You might barely be able to move through the crowds in the streets ...



... or the canals.



Venice has taken measures to try to limit the overflow of tourists.

Source: CNN



During the weekend of May 1, 2018, the city attempted to control the flow of tourists by installing temporary turnstiles at each end of two major bridges.

Source: City Lab



If the crowds got too thick, only those with a Venezia Unica pass, mainly used by residents to pay for public transport, would be able to pass through the turnstiles.

Source: City Lab



The number of tourists never became quite high enough that weekend to necessitate restricting passage through the turnstiles — but some people speculated that was because the mere presence of the gates deterred some tourists.

Source: City Lab



An arguably overrated aspect of Venice is the gondola ride, which is seen as a quintessential romantic experience.



But even after you wait in line for a gondola behind all the other tourists who have the same idea, you could end up paying $140 for a 40-minute ride ...

Source: Europe for Visitors



... and you certainly won't have the canals to yourselves.



There's a good chance you'll be surrounded by boats full of other tourists.



Venice residents have protested against the masses of tourists they perceive as taking over their city.

Source: AP Images



The number of permanent Venetian residents has been decreasing for decades, due to a combination of high prices resulting from the tourism boom, the logistics of a carless city, and erosion from the waters surrounding the city.

Source: The Local



In this photo, a protester holds a sign reading "Goodbye My Venice."



Many of Venice's tourists come to the city by way of massive cruise ships.



These ships pass through the historic center of the city five or six times a day.

Source: The Guardian



They bring with them pollution and damage to the lagoon on which Venice sits.

Source: The Guardian



The ships also block views of the city's monuments and even the sun during certain parts of the day.

Source: Quartz



In 2014, the World Monument Fund put Venice on its watch list because "large-scale cruising is pushing the city to an environmental tipping point and undermining quality of life for its citizens."

Source: The Guardian



One environmental scientist told The Guardian that "the passage of every single ship causes erosion of the mudflats and sediment loss" in the heart of historic Venice.

Source: The Guardian



In November 2017, it was announced that Venice would block these cruise ships from passing through the Grand Canal by Venice's iconic square, Piazza San Marco.

Source: Associated Press



And as of August 2019, Venice will start limiting the number of cruise ships that are allowed to enter the city's historic center. The ships will be gradually moved away from their current routes, according to Italy's minister of transport.

Source: The Daily Mail, NPR



The announcement came two months after a cruise ship smashed into a dock in Venice, injuring at least five people.

Source: The Daily Mail, NPR



Critics say that even cruise ships passing nearby will damage the fragile ecosystem of the Venice lagoon.

Source: Quartz



In addition to the flood of tourists, Venice is also plagued by literal floods.

Source: Business Insider



Flooding season, or "acqua alta" — a period of particularly high tides in the Adriatic Sea — runs from autumn to spring in Venice.

Source: Business Insider



Venice frequently floods, but at the end of October 2018, Italy was hit by a series of intense storms that left three-quarters of Venice submerged. At least 11 people died in Italy in the country's worst flooding in a decade.

Source: Business Insider



The water was waist deep in some places.



The city has had to install catwalks for people to walk on in some areas, including the central square, Piazza San Marco.



But sometimes these walkways are barely high enough to stay above the rising waters.



In this photo from October 2018, people are walking on a catwalk submerged in water.

Source: Reuters



The city has been trying to minimize flooding for years. In 2003, Italy started building a giant flood barrier meant to isolate the Venetian Lagoon, the enclosed bay where Venice is located.

Source: Business Insider



But as the project is still not finished, it had no effect on the recent flooding.

Source: Business Insider



And while it shouldn't be a surprise that a tourist hotspot such as Venice would be expensive, the city has made headlines recently for some truly outrageous prices in its restaurants.



In January, four student visitors filed a complaint saying they were billed $1,366 for four steaks, a plate of grilled fish, and bottled water in a restaurant near Piazza San Marco. The mayor called it a "shameful episode."

Source: CNN



A similar incident occurred in August, when a café customer said he was charged nearly $50 for two coffees and a water. Part of the bill ended up being a surcharge for sitting in the "sunniest" corner of Piazza San Marco.

Source: Telegraph



In 2017, a British tourist claimed a Venice restaurant charged him and his parents $600 for lunch, "[taking] advantage of the fact that we didn't speak Italian." The Independent noted that Italian restaurants often charge fresh fish by weight, which can lead to confusion.

Source: The Independent



Only 1% restaurants in the central San Marco area of Venice are owned and operated by locals, which has resulted in an overabundance of "tourist trap" restaurants, a spokesperson for a Venetian civil rights association told CNN.

Source: CNN



And yet, despite its flaws, Venice is undeniably beautiful. So if you're still inclined to visit, then by all means, buon viaggio!



The YouTuber who accidentally uploaded raw footage showing her hitting her pet dog is being investigated by the police

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brooke houts youtube

Police have launched an animal cruelty investigation into a Los Angeles-based YouTuber who accidentally uploaded a video online that showed her hitting and appearing to spit on her dog.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Business Insider that their animal cruelty task force is aware of the situation with YouTuber Brooke Houts, and are "looking into the matter," an LAPD spokesperson said.

In the video, Houts is seen on at least three separate occasions screaming at and smacking her dog after he playfully jumps up on her while she's trying to film the YouTube video. The video in question has since been deleted from YouTube, but others were quick to upload their own versions, and Houts was subsequently reamed online.

Additionally, the LA chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been alerted of the incident after receiving multiple reports from concerned individuals, the organization wrote on Twitter. Animal rights organization PETA has publicly called on YouTube to remove Houts from the platform.

Neither YouTube nor Houts has responded to Business Insider's requests for comment.

Read more:A YouTuber is defending herself after accidentally uploading raw footage showing her hitting and appearing to spit on her dog

Houts, who has just over 300,000 subscribers on YouTube, often uploads content to her channel featuring her dog, a Doberman named Sphinx. The most recent video was an attempt at a popular pet prank, dubbed the "invisible challenge," where owners put up plastic wrap in the frame of a doorway and see how their animals react to it.

In one clip from the video, the dog jumps on Houts while she's filming for the video. In turn, Houts holds down the dog, yells "stop" at him, and appears to spit on him just out of frame of the camera — although Houts has said she didn't do that.

Houts has since issued an apology on Twitter to "anyone who has been effected negatively by the footage." In an extensive statement written in the iPhone Notes app, Houts wrote that she had been having a "less than exceptional" week and said she was showing him "as a dog parent" that his behavior was unacceptable.

"I am not going to play the 'victim card' or anything of that sort, but I do want to point out that I am rarely as upset as what was shown in the footage," Houts wrote on Twitter. "Anyone who knows me personally know I have an immense love for animals, including my own ... He was not hurt, nor has he ever been purposefully hurt by me."

Many of the 31,000 users who have commented on Houts' apology tweet have called on the dog to be taken out of Houts' care. The YouTuber Ethan Klein, who runs the comedy channel H3H3 productions, volunteered on Twitter to adopt the dog at "any price."

SEE ALSO: YouTuber Tana Mongeau admits her wedding isn't legally binding on paper, but slams critics who think she and Jake Paul are 'just putting on this show'

Join the conversation about this story »

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How to schedule Instagram posts and maintain a consistent online presence for your business or brand

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instagram

  • Scheduling Instagram posts can help businesses and brands maintain a regular posting presence, which in turn can help gain and maintain their follower base.
  • Instagram doesn't come with a scheduling option, but there are apps and sites, like Buffer, that can help you get it done.
  • Here's what you need to know about using Buffer to schedule Instagram posts.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On social media, having a steady presence is vital to being relevant, gaining and maintaining followers. When you're using Instagram as a way to promote your business or brand, consistency is even more important. 

Scheduling your posts ahead of time can be a really helpful way to keep up with posting regularly. Unfortunately, scheduling isn't a feature that's included within the app itself. But there are tools, like Buffer, which you can use to get it done.

Before diving in, you should know that Buffer isn't a free product — rates start at $15 per month, and that covers up to 100 scheduled posts each month. 

That said, if you're new to Buffer, you'll have the option to sign up for a free seven or 14-day trial, depending on the plan you choose to try out. That way you can decide if it's worth the investment.

Here's what you need to know about using Buffer to schedule your Instagram posts.

How to schedule Instagram posts using Buffer

Before getting started, you should be aware that your Instagram account must be a business account, rather than a personal one, in order to use Buffer for scheduling purposes. 

You can create a business account by going into Instagram, toggling over to your profile and accessing the settings. On your account settings page, choose the blue highlighted text that reads "Switch to Professional Account," and follow the prompts.

You'll also need to sign up for Buffer and link it to your Instagram account. You'll also have to authenticate your business Instagram through an associated Facebook page. So if you don't have a Facebook page for your brand or business, you'll have to create one if you want to use Buffer for auto-scheduling. 

To see how to create a Facebook business page, check out our article, "How to create a Facebook business page for your company, brand, or community."

Once those steps are completed, here's how to use Buffer to schedule your Instagram posts:

1. Go to buffer.com and log into your account, if necessary.

2. Select your Instagram account in the left sidebar.

3. Within the "Content" tab (located toward the top of the screen), locate the "Queue" section and click on the day and time slot you want to schedule a post in.

1 HOW TO SCHEDULE INSTAGRAM POSTS

4. Upload your photo or video and caption, including any and all relevant hashtags and user tags.

2 HOW TO SCHEDULE INSTAGRAM POSTS

Once you submit it, Buffer will handle the rest, publishing each post when its scheduled time slot passes.

If your photo or video doesn't meet the requirements for Buffer's scheduling tool, you'll get a notification reminding you to manually post it at the time you scheduled it to go up.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

SEE ALSO: The best iPhone for every type of person and budget

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How to turn on Instagram notifications on iPhone or Android, and control which notifications you see

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facebook instagram

  • You can turn on general notifications for Instagram through your phone's settings, but you can also go into the app itself to set which kinds of notifications you want to see.
  • In the app's settings, you can also turn on post notifications for specific accounts.
  • Here's everything you need to know about turning on Instagram notifications.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

With the multitude of apps likely installed on your phone, it's easy to get overwhelmed by notifications, many of which are unnecessary. But there are times when you do want to see what's going on, so turning notifications on can serve a useful purpose.

For Instagram, there are a couple of ways to turn on notifications, depending on the model of phone you have (Android or iPhone). But once you've turned on notifications, you can go into Instagram and decide which specific kinds of Instagram notifications you want to see, meaning you'll only be notified when you want to be.

You'll also be able to turn on post notifications for specific accounts, if you want to keep updated about what those accounts are posting.

Here's everything you need to know to enable Instagram notifications on your phone.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone Xs (From $999.99 at Best Buy)

Google Pixel 3 (From $399.99 at Best Buy)

How to turn on Instagram notifications on iPhone

1. Open your iPhone settings.

2. Tap "Notifications," then locate and tap Instagram within your list of apps (which are listed alphabetically).

3. Toggle on the option to "Allow Notifications" (it should turn green).

4. Toggle on other notification options as you see fit (for example, you have the option to have Instagram show up in your notification center or show up on your lock screen).

If you don't see Instagram within your list of apps on the Notifications screen, your phone may not realize yet that it's an app that sends notifications. Wait until Instagram sends a notification, and then try again.

How to turn on Instagram notifications on Android

1. Open your Android settings.

2. Select "Apps" followed by "Instagram."

3. Tap "Notifications," then tap the "Allow Peeking" option to turn on notifications for Instagram.

How to select which Instagram notifications you see

1. Open the Instagram app and toggle over to your profile.

2. Tap the three stacked lines and select "Settings." 

1 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

3. Tap "Notifications."

2 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

4. Make sure that "Pause All" is greyed out or unselected, then go into the proper sections to turn on various notifications.

3 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

How to enable Instagram post notifications

Post notifications are a bit different — these require you to go into specific accounts and toggle that you want to get a notification each time that user posts to Instagram. 

Here's how to set it up:

1. Go to Instagram and toggle over to the search section, located in the bottom toolbar of the app.

2. Enter the name or username of the person you want to get notifications for, then select their account when it pops up.

4 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

3. Tap the "Following" button on the left side of the screen, located just under their profile description. You'll have to follow them to see post notifications.

5 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

4. Tap "Notifications."

6 HOW TO TURN ON INSTAGRAM NOTIFICATIONS

5. Select the appropriate notification options (for posts, stories, and live videos).

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

SEE ALSO: The best iPhone for every type of person and budget

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Save $20 on the latest Apple AirPods — and 7 other sales and deals happening now

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We rounded up the eight best sales and deals happening online today, with savings on Apple AirPods, Felix Gray sunglasses, the new Samsung Galaxy Note10, and Bear Mattresses. For even more deals and savings across the web, check out Business Insider Coupons.

apple airpods

1. Save $20 on the latest Apple AirPods on Amazon

AirPods are easily one of the most popular products from Apple. The brand recently introduced a new version with wireless charging — and they're on sale today. Originally priced at $199, you can get them for $179 on Amazon. If you've been on the fence about getting AirPods or you're ready to upgrade to the new model, this is the perfect time to buy.

Apple AirPods with Wireless Charging Case, $179 (Originally $199) [You save $20]

Felix Gray

2. Save 15% on select sunglasses at Felix Gray

For the first time ever, eyewear startup Felix Gray is having a sale on sunglasses. Now through August 12, you can save 15% on select shades by using the promo code "SUNSOUT" at checkout. In addition to being stylish, all of Felix Gray's sunglasses are polarized, antireflective, and blue-light-blocking, so your eyes will stay protected.

Shop the Felix Gray sale now.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10

3. Save up to $700 on the Samsung Galaxy Note10 at Best Buy

Samsung recently unveiled the new series of Galaxy Note10 phones. If you already plan to buy one of the new phones, Best Buy is running a great promotion on preorders. You can save up to $700 on the Note10, Note10+, or Note10+ 5G with activation and an eligible trade-in. You'll also receive up to a $150 Samsung credit and 6 months of Spotify Premium. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more sales and deals at Best Buy

Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Note10, Note10+ or Note10+ 5G at Best Buy now.

Frank And Oak

4. Save up to 65% on sale styles at Frank And Oak

To make way for new fall styles, Montreal-based clothing startup Frank And Oak is having a big summer sale. For a limited time, you can save up to 65% on select styles for men and women. The brand is known for its casual and comfortable basics, so you'll find plenty of pieces that will easily fit into your existing wardrobe. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more sales and deals at Frank And Oak.

Shop the Frank And Oak sale now

warp weft plus sizes

5. Save 30% on select styles at Warp+Weft

Created with people of all shapes and sizes in mind, Warp+Weft makes high-quality, comfortable jeans in sizes ranging from petite to plus-size — and they're all affordably priced at under $100. During the end-of-summer sale, you can save 30% on select bottoms for women, men, and kids. Prices are as marked, so there's no need for a promo code.

Shop the Warp+Weft sale now

Reebok

6. Save 50% on kids' shoes at Reebok

To help parents prepare for back-to-school season, Reebok is slashing the price of kids' shoes in half. For a limited time, you can save 50% on a selection of Reebok and Reebok Classics sneakers by using the promo code "SCHOOL" at checkout. The promo code will also save you 40% sitewide. Visit Business Insider Coupons for more promotions at Reebok.

Shop the Reebok sale now

Bonobos

7. Save 20% on all golf apparel at Bonobos

This weekend, professional golfer Justin Rose will be competing in The Northern Trust golf tournament, and in celebration, Bonobos is having a sale on all golf products. Today only, you can save 20% on all golf apparel by using the promo code "JUSTINTIME" at checkout. The sale includes polos, pants, shorts, hats, belts, and more. Visit Business Insider Coupons other great deals at Bonobos.

Shop the Bonobos sale now

Bear Mattress

8. Save 15% sitewide and get two free pillows at Bear

Bear mattresses go beyond the standard memory foam with Celliant fibers that convert heat from the body into far-infrared — a type of energy that's been proven to help rebuild cells. The technology can help you feel more well-rested and free of aches and pains. For a limited time, you can save 15% sitewide and get two free pillows when you use the promo code "SUMMER15" at checkout.

Shop the Bear Mattress sale now.

Join the conversation about this story »

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This $140 shower caddy is the only one you will ever have to buy again, no matter where you move

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tension caddy range FP D_2x

  • My apartment's bath tub is strangely configured to lack ledge or corner space for my products, and my shower head is about two feet above where it normally should be, so I can't reach caddies that hang from it.
  • This $140 tension shower caddy from simplehuman solved all of these problems, and it's held up perfectly over two and a half years of use. 
  • I really just think everyone should know it exists, because it was super helpful for me and might be for you, too.
  • It's expensive, but it lasts forever and can transition to any type of bath tub or shower configuration.

As someone who tests products for a living, and whose focus was once specifically on skin care and beauty, you can imagine how filled my bathroom is with bottles and potions of every size. 

When I moved to my apartment in Brooklyn, the task of keeping all of the body products in my shower organized (or, at least, not slipping down into my tub every five seconds) was made especially challenging by the fact that my new bath tub had very little ledge space. My shower head was also so close to the high ceiling that I couldn't hang a caddy from it without having to use a ladder to reach my shampoo.

At one point, I even tried to tie a caddy to the shower head using string so it would hang low enough that I could reach it, a DIY project that... did not end well.

It turned out my downstairs neighbor, whose apartment is laid out exactly like mine, had already figured it out. She told me that she used this Simplehuman shower caddy, which had a tension rod long enough to hold the caddy securely into place between our high ceiling and the tub, and shelving that was extensive enough to support an excessively large collection of products.

simple human

So I got one (admittedly, as a Christmas gift from my wish list), and it turned out to be an excellent addition to my bathroom that has held up beautifully after two and a half years of use.

Every time my friends would come over and use the bathroom, they'd ask me about the caddy — where I got it (Amazon), how it's held up (amazingly well), how much it cost ($140), etc. A lot of them were looking for a solution to store three roommates' worth of products in the shower, which it can easily hold without taking up much real estate.

The caddy can be configured in quite a few ways, with up to three shelves and a built-in razor and toothbrush holder. The shelving features strategically placed holes in the wired bottoms that are designed for sticking bottles upside down so it's easier to dispense every last drop of product. 

simple human original 2

There are also little towel hangers that clip anywhere along the main pole so you not only have a place to put your washcloths, you also have a sanitary way to dry them. And because no detail goes left unattended to by Simplehuman, there's even a designated spot for bar soap.

As for the tension rod, it can fit with as little as six and as many as nine feet between ends, and each end has a no-slip rubber base that won't budge out of place, even when your cat tries to dislodge it. It gets tall enough to use in bathrooms with high ceilings or standing showers, but small enough to install in a bathtub that just has terrible ledge configurations (like mine). 

The one downside to this caddy is that it's not cheap at $140. But, as with all Simplehuman products, the goal is that you pay once for a high-quality, well-designed product that always works how it's supposed to.

After nearly three years of using it, I can safely say that's just what you'll get. There's been no rust, no warping, no shape shifting, and no loose screws since I got it in 2015. If you're looking for a smart caddy that will serve multiple roommates, a weirdly shaped tub, or just a large product collection, this is the one I recommend whole heartedly.

Simple Human Tension Shower Caddy, $139.99 on Amazon

SEE ALSO: 22 useful home and kitchen products that got their start on Kickstarter

Join the conversation about this story »

How to dispute an Uber charge using the mobile app or Uber's website

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uber ride price app

  • If you need to dispute an Uber charge, you can do so via the mobile app or the Uber website.
  • You may need to dispute a fare on Uber if you think you were overcharged or you were charged for a canceled ride, but disputing an Uber charge isn't an automatic guarantee that you'll receive a refund.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Uber is one of the most useful inventions of the modern age. 

The app allows you to book a car service immediately or even schedule one for a future date right from your phone. 

Uber lets you know how long it will be before your ride shows up—there's even a map so you can track where your car is in real time—as well as how much the ride should cost. 

However, no technology is foolproof and there may be an occasion in which you need to dispute a charge that has appeared on your account. 

If you believe you've been overcharged for a ride or charged for a ride you didn't take, it's possible to contact Uber to request a refund. 

While there's no guarantee that the company will give you your money back, it's worth filing the request with them, especially if you've overpaid a significant amount. 

Here's how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone Xs (From $999.99 at Best Buy)

Google Pixel 3 (From $799.99 at Best Buy)

How to dispute an Uber charge via the mobile app

1. Find the Uber icon on your iPhone or Android's home screen and tap to open. 

2. In the upper left-hand corner of the app, tap the three vertically stacked lines and then the "Your Trips" option.

IMG_8020

3. Locate the trip you wish to dispute and tap on it to view the trip details. 

4. Scroll to the bottom and look for the Help section. Here you'll find several options for reporting issues you had on your ride. Look for and tap the "Review my fare or fees" option.

IMG_8019

 5. On this page, choose the reason for the dispute on your charge. On the next page, you'll be able to add the details of your dispute in the empty text box provided. When finished, hit Submit to send your dispute to Uber. 

IMG_8021.PNG

 

How to dispute an Uber charge via the website

1. Go to https://www.uber.com and log into your account. 

2. In the upper right-hand corner of the screen, click the Help option. 

3. On the Help screen, under the Trip Issues and Refunds section, a drop-down menu will appear listing all of your recent trips. Click the trip you wish to dispute.

screencap_3

4. To the right of the selected trip, click the "Review my fare or fees" option. 

5. The next screen will give you a list of options for your dispute. Select which one applies to your dispute and follow the directions on the screen to enter your dispute info. Then hit Send to submit to Uber. 

For more information on how to contact Uber directly, read our article, "How to contact Uber support as a rider or driver, in 4 different ways."

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SEE ALSO: The Google Pixel is one of the best Android phones you can buy — here's where you can get one

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Here are all the people Trump has pardoned so far — and who he could choose next

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rod blagojevich

  • President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was "thinking very seriously" about commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has served roughly half of a 14-year prison sentence. 
  • Blagojevich was convicted in 2011 on multiple corruption charges, though Trump said he believed Blagojevich was treated "very unfairly."
  • Trump has frequently used his clemency powers on political allies or people who have been championed by the media or celebrities.
  • The Constitution grants the president sweeping powers to pardon people or grant clemency.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again floated a sentence commutation for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has served half of his 14-year prison sentence for corruption.

"He's been in jail for seven years, over a phone call where nothing happens," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "He shouldn't have said what he said, but it was braggadocio, you would say.  I would think that there have been many politicians — I'm not one of them, by the way — but that have said a lot worse over telephones."

Blagojevich was convicted of multiple corruption charges stemming from a scheme to sell the Senate seat left vacant by Barack Obama, who was elected president in 2008. 

"I've got this thing, and it's f--- golden. I'm just not giving it up for f---- nothing," Blagojevich was famously overheard saying in a phone call.

Trump's clemency power is sweeping — he can decide carte blanche to legally forgive or free anyone, so long as the crimes were federal ones.

Pardons essentially forgive people who have been convicted of crimes, removing any remaining punishments and restoring their rights. Commutations, on the other hand, merely reduce a prisoner's sentence.

A number of Trump's clemencies fall in line with a recent trend of granting pardons to political allies, as well as people who have been championed by conservative media, prominent Republicans, or celebrities.

Here's who Trump has granted clemency to so far.

SEE ALSO: Trump floats a pardon bonanza of high-profile people, including Martha Stewart and Illinois' infamous former governor who was on 'Celebrity Apprentice'

DON'T MISS: 'Kim has been my war angel': The unlikely story of how Kim Kardashian West is trying to get Trump to free a 63-year-old grandmother from prison

Ronen Nahmani

Nahmani had originally been sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing synthetic marijuana, according to the Office of the Pardon Attorney.

His commutation garnered widespread support from lawmakers from both parties, notably from Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Ted Lieu and Republican Reps. Mark Meadows and Matt Gaetz.

The White House said in a statement that Nammani's case had certain "extenuating circumstances," namely that he was a non-violent, first-time offender whose wife has terminal cancer, and who has five young children.

Nahmani's 11-year-old daughter, Ariella Nahmani, wrote Trump a letter pleading with the president to help her family, saying she feared what would happen if her mother died.

"Our lives have become so sad and miserable," she wrote. "And now mother being sick I am so scared of her getting worse."



Ted Suhl

Suhl, an Arkansas businessman, was sentenced in 2016 to seven years in prison for his role in a bribery scheme to boost Medicaid payments to his company. He was set to be released in 2023, but Trump's commutation set him free four years early.

A White House statement about Suhl's commutation noted that federal prosecutors in Arkansas declined to pursue the criminal case against him, but prosecutors in Washington did.

The Arkansas Times, which investigated the allegations against him, reported that Suhl made millions in public money from his faith-based outpatient facilities.

Suhl's clemency request was strongly supported by former Arkansas Gov. and vocal Trump ally Mike Huckabee.



Five July 29 pardons

Trump granted five pardons for people with whom he didn't appear to have a direct connection, unlike many of his other clemencies.

One of those people, Michael Anthony Tedesco, was pardoned by former President Barack Obama in 2017 for drug-trafficking. But due to a clerical error, his fraud conviction was not pardoned until Trump corrected the issue, according to the White House.

Another pardon went to John Richard Bubala, who pleaded guilty in 1990 to improperly transferring automotive equipment in an effort to "help the town," according to the White House.

Rodney M. Takumi, a member of the Navajo Nation, was pardoned for his 1987 crime of working at an illegal gambling parlor.

Trump also pardoned Roy Wayne McKeever, who was arrested in 1989 for transporting marijuana from Mexico to Oklahoma and who is now an "active member of the Sheriffs' Association of Texas," according to the White House.

The final pardon went to Chalmer Lee Williams, who in 1995 helped a friend steal and sell weapons from checked luggage through his work as a baggage handler. The White House said his supervised release from prison was lifted one year early, and his voting rights were restored by Kentucky's governor in 1995.



Conrad Black

Black is a former newspaper publisher and Trump admirer, who wrote a laudatory biography of Trump in 2018 titled, "Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other."

Black served three and a half years in prison after being convicted of fraud in 2007, the Associated Press reported.

In a National Post op-ed, Black described the phone call he received from Trump announcing the pardon:

"When my assistant said there was a call from the White House, I picked up, said 'Hello' and started to ask if this was a prank (suspecting my friends in the British tabloid media), but the caller spoke politely over me: 'Please hold for the president.' Two seconds later probably the best-known voice in the world said 'Is that the great Lord Black?' I said 'Mr. President, you do me great honour telephoning me.' He could not have been more gracious and quickly got to his point: he was granting me a full pardon that would 'Expunge the bad rap you got.'"


Patrick Nolan

On May 15, Trump pardoned Patrick Nolan, the former Republican leader of California's state assembly who pleaded guilty to racketeering in 1994 after being caught up in a corruption sting by the FBI.

Nolan is friends with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who spearheaded the White House's push for the First Step Act to help reform the criminal-justice system.

"Mr. Nolan's experiences with prosecutors and in prison changed his life," the White House said in a statement announcing his pardon. "Upon his release, he became a tireless advocate for criminal justice reform and victims' rights. In fact, it was because of this work that the President learned of Mr. Nolan's case."



Michael Behenna

On May 6, Trump pardoned Behenna, a former US Army Ranger convicted in 2008 of murdering an Iraqi prisoner.

Though Behenna was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison for the "unpremeditated murder in a combat zone" of Ali Mansur, the military's clemency and parole board reduced his sentence to 15 years, then released him on parole in 2014, five years after his sentence began.

A top military appellate court raised concerns about the trial court's handling of Behenna's self-defense claim, and Behenna garnered widespread support among military officials and lawmakers in his home state of Oklahoma.

Behenna was accused of fatally shooting Mansur in retaliation for his alleged connection to an IED attack that killed two of Behenna's fellow soldiers.

Military court filings say Behenna shot Mansur during an impromptu interrogation after saying, "This is your last chance to tell the information or you will die," according to The New York Times. Behenna has said he only shot Mansur after he reached for his gun.



Dwight and Steven Hammond

Trump pardoned Oregon cattle ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond in July, both of whom were serving five-year prison sentences for arson.

The ranchers had long clashed with the federal government over public land, and the length of their sentences infuriated many conservatives, who saw the prosecutions as an example of federal overreach.

The Hammonds' cases even sparked the controversy that led to a 41-day standoff in 2016 at Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by a group of armed protesters who argued that federal control of public lands was unconstitutional.

In a statement, the White House noted that Dwight and Steven Hammond had already served three and four years in prison, respectively, and had paid $400,000 to the federal government in a related civil case.

"The Hammonds are devoted family men, respected contributors to their local community, and have widespread support from their neighbors, local law enforcement, and farmers and ranchers across the West," the White House said.



Alice Marie Johnson

Trump granted his second-ever commutation to Alice Marie Johnson in June, freeing the 63-year-old grandmother and great-grandmother from a life sentence in prison.

Johnson was given the sentence in 1996 over non-violent drug offenses she had committed several years earlier. Her case received nationwide attention in recent months after the reality-television star Kim Kardashian West championed her release and paid a visit to Trump in a high-profile White House meeting last week.

"Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades. Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates," the White House said in a statement. "While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance."

Johnson's daughter Catina Scales told Business Insider the Wednesday afternoon she was en route to pick up her mother from the Aliceville correctional facility in Alabama, where Johnson was released.

"I have been literally shaking ever since I heard this news — this is the best present anyone could have gave me in my life," Scales said. "Nothing will ever trump this feeling."



Dinesh D'Souza

Trump granted an unexpected pardon to the conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza in May.

D'Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 to illegally using straw donors in 2012 to donate to a Republican Senate candidate in New York. He used the straw donors to funnel his funds to the candidate under their names to try and get around campaign finance laws.

Though D'Souza fully admitted to knowingly violating the law, he lashed out at prosecutors at the time, arguing he was being singled out because of his conservative beliefs.

Though he was spared prison time, D'Souza was sentenced to five years of probation and a $30,000 fine. A pardon relieved D'Souza of any remaining punishments stemming from his conviction, and would restore certain rights, such as his right to vote.



Jack Johnson

Trump granted a rare posthumous pardon on May 24 to Jack Johnson, the American heavyweight boxing champion who died in 1946 and was convicted in 1913 of taking his white girlfriend across state lines.

Johnson's conviction reeked of racism and injustice at the height of the Jim Crow era. An all-white jury found Johnson guilty of violating the White Slave Traffic Act, also known as the Mann Act, which criminalized transporting women across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose."

Johnson's conviction and one-year prison sentence has prompted debate for years — and Trump is not the first president to consider a pardon.

Former President Barack Obama faced the same decision, but his Justice Department recommended against one, so as to focus more on pardons that could benefit living people, a former Obama administration official told The New York Times.

Johnson's case received a recent publicity boost from the actor Sylvester Stallone, who visited the Oval Office to watch Trump sign the pardon.



Lewis "Scooter" Libby

Trump in April pardoned Scooter Libby, a former Bush administration official convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice after a special prosecutor's investigation into the 2003 leak of the CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity.

Libby was originally sentenced to 30 months in prison, but former President George W. Bush commuted it. Despite intense pressure from his vice president Dick Cheney, who had hired Libby as his chief of staff, Bush declined to grant Libby a pardon, as well.

Trump said in a statement announcing the pardon that he didn't know Libby, but "for years I have heard that he has been treated unfairly."

Libby's case contained echoes of Trump's own legal battles — the president is the subject of a similar probe by a special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian election interference and possible coordination with the Trump campaign.



Kristian Saucier

In March, Trump pardoned Kristian Saucier, a former Navy sailor who took photos of classified areas inside a nuclear submarine in 2009. Saucier pleaded guilty in 2016 and served one year in prison.

He has previously said he took the photos merely as mementos for his military service. But federal prosecutors accused him of undermining national security by taking the photos, and then obstructing the investigation by destroying a laptop and camera.

Conservative media outlets such as Fox News had compared Saucier's case with that of Hillary Clinton, who used a private email server while she was secretary of state but was never prosecuted.

Trump used Saucier's case during his 2016 presidential campaign as a means to portray the perceived double standard of Saucier's treatment by federal investigators with that of Clinton's.

"Now you can go out and have the life you deserve!" Trump tweeted after granting Saucier's pardon.



Sholom Rubashkin

In late 2017, Trump issued his first commutation to Sholom Rubashkin, an Iowa meatpacking executive convicted of bank fraud in 2009 and sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Rubashkin had served eight years by the time Trump commuted his sentence and set him free.

Unlike Trump's other clemencies, the decision to commute Rubashkin's sentence had earned widespread bipartisan support, including from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah.

Rubashkin's clemency bid also received the support of more than 100 legal professionals, including US attorneys general and federal judges.

They argued in a letter to Trump that Rubashkin was a first-time, non-violent offender who received a much tougher sentence than many people sentenced to "murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse, child pornography, and numerous other offenses exponentially more serious than his."



Joe Arpaio

In August 2017, Trump gave his first-ever pardon to Joe Arpaio, the bombastic former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona.

The 85-year-old ex-lawman is best known for illegally detaining Latinos and keeping inmates in brutal jail conditions during his 24-year tenure as sheriff. His aggressive tactics ultimately led to a criminal conviction after he violated a court order to stop racially profiling Latinos.

Arpaio had been an early and vocal supporter of Trump during his presidential campaign, often parroting Trump's hardline stance on immigration, so the move was widely expected.

Yet it was still an unusual pardon, as Arpaio had not even been sentenced at the time. Though Trump may pardon whomever he wishes, people who petition for presidential pardons are told by the Justice Department to wait at least five years after completing their prison sentences before they file applications.



Who could be next?

Trump has also weighed pardons and commutations for a variety of other high-profile cases.

He told reporters last May he was considering pardoning Martha Stewart and commuting Blagojevich's sentence in a string of clemency announcements he unexpectedly made in June 2018.

A jury found Stewart guilty in 2004 of obstructing justice and lying to investigators about the reasons she sold shares of a company. She served five months in prison.

Blagojevich is not eligible for release until 2024, but he has insisted throughout his prison term that he is innocent, according to news outlets that have interviewed him.

Trump said Wednesday that he believed Blagojevich has served enough time, and that he was moved by watching Blagojevich's wife defend him on television.

"I watched his wife, on television, saying that the young girl's father has been in jail for now seven years, and they've never seen him outside of an orange uniform," Trump said. "Not a friend of mine. He's a Democrat, not a Republican. It's Illinois. I think he was treated very, very unfairly, just as others were. Just as others were."

The Constitution is quite sweeping in granting presidents the power to pardon, so Trump can pretty much decide carte blanche to legally forgive or free anyone who's been convicted of a federal crime.

"He shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment," Article II, Section 2 reads.



The church of chicken: The inside story of how Chick-fil-A used Christian values and a 'clone army' to build a booming business that's defying the retail apocalypse and taking over America

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  • Chick-fil-A is taking over fast food, leapfrogging rivals to become the third-largest chain in the US and tripling annual sales over the past decade.
  • The chain's business model is unique among its competitors — it's a family-owned company explicitly guided by Christian values.
  • Founder Truett Cathy's faith has been translated into business practices that have directly contributed to the fast-food giant's success.
  • Its secret weapon is its rigorous franchise operator-selection process that finds and trains "Truett Cathy clones" who are deeply committed to the chain.
  • Chick-fil-A's sales have only improved following the controversy regarding CEO Dan Cathy's opposition to same-sex marriage, with annual sales going from $4.6 billion in 2012 to $10.5 billion in 2019.
  • The chain is now looking to fuel growth through tech and expansion, with its first international location opening this year.

It was 1982, the worst year in Chick-fil-A's still young history, and Steve Robinson was scared.

He was Chick-fil-A's first chief marketing officer. He'd started his job less than two years before and had just bungled his first big project, a coupon-related marketing debacle that cost Chick-fil-A $2 million.

America was in an economic tailspin. Shopping malls — where nearly every Chick-fil-A restaurant was located at the time — were no longer being built. Chick-fil-A had opened most of its 255 or so locations in the past few years, draining the corporate bank account.

The company had recently started building its Atlanta headquarters, something that Truett Cathy, the founder and CEO, had begun to fear would be his "$10 million tombstone."

To cap it off, McDonald's, previously a chicken-free zone, was testing McNuggets.

That was the grim scene as Robinson headed into a two-day retreat at Georgia's Lake Lanier Lodge with the rest of the Chick-fil-A executive team.

"The cash-flow situation was dire," Robinson told Business Insider. "It was a real potential crisis."

The first day of the retreat was business as usual, with the team of nine — Robinson, Cathy, his sons Dan and Bubba, and five other executives — balancing the budget and talking chicken nuggets. On day two, things took a turn.

Instead of trying to figure out the company's 1983 financial plan, Chick-fil-A heir apparent Dan Cathy posed a bigger question. "Why are we here?"

In response, they all bowed their heads in prayer.

"I vividly remember we paused, we had a word of prayer, and said, 'OK, let's tackle it,'" Robinson said. By the end of the day, the nine men had created Chick-fil-A's purpose statement: "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A."

Thirty-seven years on, the mission statement is engraved on a plaque hanging by the front door of Chick-fil-A's headquarters. It has seen the company through decades of explosive growth. (1982 was the only year Chick-fil-A's same-stores sales declined.)

Fast food chain systemwide sales 2018

Today, Chick-fil-A is the third-largest chain in the US by sales, growing revenue by 16.7% in 2018 to reach nearly $10.5 billion, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Only McDonald's and Starbucks brought in more money in the US last year, and with vastly more restaurants.

Location count 2018

Conversations with more than a dozen current and former Chick-fil-A executives, operators, and other insiders describe how Chick-fil-A took the Christian principles of Truett Cathy and used them to establish a fast-food chain that's more efficient, more polite, and perhaps more beloved than any other.

Truett Cathy's beliefs became a rule book for running a restaurant. Chick-fil-A created an army of "Truett Cathy clones," true believers in the company's message of hospitality and fried chicken who spread this gospel of Chick-fil-A across America. Anti-same-sex-marriage interviews from Dan Cathy — Truett's son and the current CEO — and controversial donations failed to slow growth.

Since backlash exploded against Chick-fil-A in 2012, the company has more than doubled annual sales and opened nearly 700 more locations. Now it's looking to technology and international expansion to continue its ascendance.

And it's done it all while staying closed on Sundays, to respect the lord's day.

The gospel of Truett Cathy

Truett Cathy

Truett Cathy is like a god at the company that he founded.

Cathy's office in Chick-fil-A's Atlanta headquarters is preserved just as he left it when he died in 2014 at age 93.

His vintage-car collection, including the original Batmobile from "Batman Returns," remains on display. Chick-fil-A executives constantly name-check Cathy unprompted, recalling memories of dinners at his home, countless acts of charity, and dozens of children who considered him a foster grandfather.

Before founding Chick-fil-A, Cathy and his brother, Ben, ran a 24-hour diner called the Dwarf House. For nearly two decades, it was just another reasonably successful diner. Then, in 1964, Cathy invented the chicken sandwich that changed everything.

Chick fil a dwarf house

People have been putting poultry between carbs for ages, but Cathy created something that revolutionized fast food.

It was a well-mannered, unassuming sandwich of lightly breaded chicken, buttered bun, and two pickles. It was quick and easy to make, and there was nothing like it on any menu in America.

The chicken sandwich went from a beloved menu item at the Dwarf House to a cult phenomenon when Cathy began opening Chick-fil-A restaurants in shopping-mall food courts in the 1960s. As malls took over the South in the '70s, Chick-fil-A spread with them.

To match growth with consistency, Cathy developed a model that would form the backbone of Chick-fil-A's success: a system of operators who run locations across the country.

"He figured out how to attract leaders who were great at being leaders — attracting and keeping great people," said Robinson, who recovered from 1981's coupon debacle to serve as Chick-fil-A's CMO for 34 years. "You've got this army ... that, in some sense, are Truett Cathy clones."

Building an army of 'Truett Cathy clones'

Quincy L.A. Springs IV wouldn't call himself a Cathy clone, but he is well versed in the gospel of Truett.

Springs runs a Chick-fil-A location in Atlanta's Vine City neighborhood, one of the chain's first attempts to open in a lower-income urban area in a concerted effort to revitalize the community. 

Springs was recruited for the job, but his application process still took a year and a half. He says he wrote at least 12 essays and went through about 10 interviews, including three, some informal, alongside his wife. Chick-fil-A asked for his high-school transcript.

"I'm a US Army Ranger," Springs said. "I've been deployed to Afghanistan. When I got the opportunity to become an operator, I cried. Something overwhelming came over me when I realized the opportunity that I had to be the Truett of my community ... I just broke down like a baby."

Springs believes in Chick-fil-A as a force for good, through hiring, community building, and charity.

"Part of the reason why I cried is when Jesus says, 'You will do even greater things than I' … when I first read that, I was, like, how in the world is anybody going to do greater than you, Jesus?" Springs said.

"And then I remember the fact that this was the first Chick-fil-A of its kind in this community," Springs went on. "When Truett started this, there was no thought of going into a very heavily urban environment. Now, I'm able to do even greater works than Truett in that way."

Read more:What it costs to open 12 of the biggest fast-food chains in the US

Springs is one of the roughly 1,800 operators trained to follow in Cathy's footsteps. Chick-fil-A's first operator was Doris Williams, a former school-lunchroom worker who opened up shop in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall in 1967. Williams was the first to follow in Cathy's footsteps through the operator system, which remains essentially unchanged five decades later.

Operators pay just $10,000 — up from $5,000 in the '60s — to open a restaurant. The company doesn't require candidates to meet a certain wealth threshold, and Chick-fil-A covers all startup costs, including real estate, restaurant construction, and equipment. By comparison, McDonald's requires franchisees to pay between $1 million and $2.2 million in startup costs, including a $45,000 franchise fee.

Average cost of starting up fast food franchises

Chick-fil-A's process may not be pricey, but it is selective. Truett Cathy used to meet with every operator individually before they were hired, telling them to consider that the partnership "like a marriage, with no consideration given to divorce," as he wrote in his book.

The company has a 0.15% acceptance rate, believed to be the lowest in the industry, making it 37 times as selective as Harvard University. Last year, the company received roughly 68,000 inquiries from franchisee candidates and accepted around 100 new operators. 

Read more:Opening a Chick-fil-A franchise costs just $10,000. Here's how to do it.

The process favors people who deeply believe that a restaurant serving fried chicken can be a positive force in a community. Their locations become operators' lives, with each operator typically allowed to run one store only. Operators split sales evenly with Chick-fil-A, after subtracting an annual licensing fee and expenses associated with running the restaurant.

"They are in the stores tending to guests," John Hamburger, president of the trade publication Franchise Times, said. "They also have an ownership mentality, much more than the general managers of the large multi-unit franchisees."

The model isn't for everyone. Joel Libava, a franchise adviser, said that in many ways Chick-fil-A isn't really a franchise. Operators can't sell their locations, and they have to obey Chick-fil-A's regulations, which include a rule that operators can't have any other jobs.

And, Libava says, there's the question of who has historically been welcome to join the exclusive club of operators.

"I bet they have as many same-sex operators as they do Jewish operators," Libava said. Which is to say, not many.

Chick-fil-A's communications team emphasized the diversity of its operators and staff, saying in an email that "145,000 people represent our brand nationwide and they both represent and welcome all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity." 

"What we all have in common is a heart for service in our restaurants and our communities," the email continued. 

As Chick-fil-A evolved from a food-court player into a Southern staple, the company's values and operators' commitment to them became interwoven with the chain's success.

Christian covenants in a corporate world

Chick fil A

In the '80s and '90s, Chick-fil-A expanded beyond the food court as its growing army of operators began opening freestanding restaurants. In the mid-'90s, it launched its hugely successful "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign, causing brand recognition to skyrocket. Through it all, Chick-fil-A was guided by its founder's faith.

"Truett did not shy away from his faith," Rodney Bullard, head of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, said. "And his faith was a faith of opportunity and a faith of inclusion."

Cathy and other executives held weekly devotionals in the Chick-fil-A headquarters, a nonmandatory practice that continues today. The founder gave roughly 10% of his income to charities and opened the foster-care program WinShape Homes. According to a 2007 Forbes article, one in three Chick-fil-A operators attended WinShape's Christian-based relationship-building retreats at the time. (Carrie Kurlander, Chick-fil-A's vice president of external communications, says this is far less common now.)

"The corporate purpose is something that I always talk about right up front because … it was not written by McKinsey, obviously," Kurlander said, referring to the well-known consulting firm. "It doesn't look like most corporate mission statements. But I think it is important to understand the founder."

Chick fil a timeline

In 2000, the Cathy family drew an even more direct connection between Chick-fil-A's business plan and its Christian values. In January, the next generation of the Cathy family — Dan, Bubba, and Trudy — signed a covenant promising to continue to carry on Chick-fil-A's history of philanthropic work, to grow conservatively and never take the company public, and to never open on Sundays.

"We will be faithful to Christ's lordship in our lives," the covenant says. "As committed Christians we will live a life of selfless devotion to His calling in our lives."

Christian values pay off

Chick fil A 49

Fast-food rivals like In-N-Out and Cook Out might print Bible verses on cups, but there is no other major restaurant chain in America that willingly surrenders more than $1 billion in annual sales by closing on Sundays. And, for Chick-fil-A, it's worth it.

Read more:Chick-fil-A likely loses out on more than $1 billion in sales every year by closing on Sundays — and it's a brilliant business strategy

The day off leaves employees and operators rejuvenated, and people are more likely to consider Chick-fil-A a part of their community, Hamburger said, because it creates a sense of genuine care among the company, workers, and customers. For customers, the knowledge that they can't get Chick-fil-A on Sundays helps drive them to visit the chain when it is open.

"It provides a sense of urgency — you better get to that restaurant today, because they're going to be closed on Sunday," Mark Kalinowski, a restaurant-industry analyst, said. "I don't think the company designed it that way at all. But it's a call to action every single week."

S. Truett Cathy

Closing on Sundays exemplifies how Cathy's approach to Christianity powered the chain's success.

One of Chick-fil-A's biggest advantages is its hospitality and customer-service policies. Chick-fil-A tops rankings of the most polite chains in fast food and was named the most beloved fast-food chain in the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual survey for the past four years.

Industry-high customer satisfaction boosts Chick-fil-A's average unit volume, with the average Chick-fil-A location making quadruple what the average KFC would make.

Chick fil a average unit volume

Robinson said Cathy's understanding of the Bible and "insight of the Holy Spirit" led to Chick-fil-A being built with a central mission to serve as a fundamentally welcoming place, with friendly employees and spotless locations. But it was Dan Cathy who took these lofty ideas and created concrete practices.

"Dan's the one that came up with the idea to build on the principle going the second mile from Matthew 5:41," Robinson said, citing the Bible verse that instructs "Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two."

In the early 2000s, Chick-fil-A brought in fine-dining guru Danny Meyer and Ritz-Carlton executive Horst Schulze to crack the hospitality code. Soon after, Chick-fil-A began requiring operators to use many of what have become the chain's defining details, such as having employees say "my pleasure" instead of "you're welcome" and adding flowers on tables in all locations.

Read more:Chick-fil-A consulted Ritz-Carlton and fine-dining pro Danny Meyer on how to make its customer service better than any other fast-food chain

This strict codification of an ephemeral idea — hospitality and politeness — paired with a fanatically loyal army of operators helped Chick-fil-A expand without quality declining. From 2000 to 2011, the chain quadrupled its annual systemwide sales, from $1 billion to nearly $4 billion.

A firestorm against Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A kiss in

In 2012, Chick-fil-A was pushing beyond its identity as a cult Southern chain, inching toward national prominence. Truett Cathy was no longer a small-town chicken salesman. His net worth was north of $4 billion, which earned him a spot on the Forbes 400, and he befriended powerful allies such as former President Jimmy Carter and Warren Buffett.

The chicken chain was about to see a massive new outpouring of support, though not for the reasons most companies would want.

In a June 2012 interview, the Biblical Recorder newspaper asked Dan Cathy about Chick-fil-A's "support of the traditional family." The Chick-fil-A president answered, "Well, guilty as charged."

The same day Dan told "The Ken Coleman Show": "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than You as to what constitutes a marriage.'"

LGBTQ activists had already been speaking out against the millions of dollars the Cathy family and Chick-fil-A donated through the WinShape Foundation to groups opposing same-sex marriage, from Christian charities to more extreme anti-LGBTQ lobbying organizations. For example, in 2010, WinShape donated $1,000 to the Family Research Council, a nonprofit that has been labeled as an antigay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

With Dan's condemnation of same-sex marriage, smoldering concerns exploded into rage. The LGBTQ activist group HRC posted a mock-up of Chick-fil-A's logo with the slogan "We Didn't Invent Discrimination. We Just Support It."

Activists planned a Kiss In for early August.

chick fil a kiss in.JPG

Conservatives who opposed same-sex marriage sprang into action to defend Dan and Chick-fil-A. Mike Huckabee declared August 1 to be "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." More than 646,000 people RSVP'd on Facebook that they would participate in the pro-Chick-fil-A celebration.

A few days after Dan's interviews, the company put out a statement saying all people were treated with respect at Chick-fil-A and that "going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena." Chick-fil-A did not engage with "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" or other efforts to support the chain.

"We'd always tried to avoid social- or political-agenda engagement, and we kind of got dragged into it," Robinson, the chain's CMO at the time, said.

Employees watched as the narrative spun out of control, something made more challenging by the fatal heart attack of the company's head of public relations on July 27. Operators gave protesters free food and drinks. Dan quietly met with LGBTQ activists, including Shane Windmeyer, the founder of Campus Pride. In the fall, outlets reported that the company stopped donating to anti-LGBTQ organizations; tax returns showed that Chick-fil-A ceased donations to all groups highlighted as anti-LGBTQ in 2012, except Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and the Salvation Army.

Chick-fil-A worked with the consulting firm Prophet to understand the incident's effects on the brand. Despite the massive negative press and protests, Prophet found that Chick-fil-A's customers continued to believe that Chick-fil-A was a significant part of their lives. What's more, 2012 was Chick-fil-A's most profitable year yet, with sales up 12%, to $4.6 billion. Chick-fil-A's reputation seemingly suffered a blow, yet sales grew.

Kurlander said 2012 "signaled the year of entering adolescence."

"We are quickly maturing, but we're still in this adolescence, sort of awkwardly growing very fast," Kurlander said. "It forces us to talk about the real stuff."

Backlash continues, and sales rise

Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A has continued to see periodic backlash over the past seven years as the Chick-fil-A Foundation donates to FCA and the Salvation Army, two organizations with histories of opposition to same-sex relationships. The most recent round of backlash came this spring with progressive publications running stories with headlines like "In News That's Shocking to Literally No One, Chick-fil-A Is Still the Worst."

There have been internal conversations about whether the partnership with the FCA is worth the backlash. Much of the controversy is tied to FCA's purity pledge, which requires members to vow to avoid premarital sex and same-sex relationships. Chick-fil-A leadership decided the benefits of the donations, which fund nonreligious youth sports camps, outweigh the negative, especially as kids going to camp are not required to sign purity pledges.

Read more:For Chick-fil-A, impact trumps 'any political or cultural war' when it comes to controversial donations

Kurlander said outsiders often suggest how Chick-fil-A can "fix" its reputation, with recommendations like having LGBTQ operators speak with the media or announcing Dan has changed his position. She says neither of these options would be authentic. Instead, Chick-fil-A has attempted to be aggressively apolitical, even as the right and left treat the chain as a symbol to be revered or denigrated.

"We are a restaurant company that's focused on influence, really great food, really great service," Kurlander said. "That's the conversation that we believe we should be in."

Figures seem to indicate the approach is working. In 2019, as in 2012, criticism has failed to negatively affect sales. As backlash spread online this spring, same-store sales were up more than 16% from early April to early May, compared to the same period in 2018. In April, Chick-fil-A again ranked No. 1 in Piper Jaffray's survey of teenagers' favorite restaurant chains.

An explosive new era

Chick fil A avg unit volume continues to grow

From 2012 to 2019, Chick-fil-A went from $4.6 billion in systemwide sales to nearly $10.5 billion in American systemwide sales, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Unit count grew from 1,669 locations to 2,363. The company consistently grew how much money each location made, with average unit volumes going from $2.8 million to $4.6 million.

"People like to write about the Sunday closings and the LGBT matters, but the secret to this company's success is a top-notch management team, a willingness to invest in the future, and a store-management structure that brings the operator closer to the customer and provides direct incentives for store performance," Hamburger of the Franchise Times said. "It is absolutely the best system I have ever seen in the restaurant industry."

Dan Cathy became CEO in 2013 when Truett stepped down at age 92, leading Chick-fil-A in this new era of growth.

"Truett had this philosophy always getting better, always getting better," David Farmer, vice president of menu strategy and development at Chick-fil-A, said. "He didn't care so much about getting bigger. He was just obsessed with getting better. He would drill that into us: If you focus on getting better, bigger will take care of itself."

Farmer, who has worked at Chick-fil-A for nearly three decades, said Dan Cathy has a different approach, one centered on innovation. Dan wants to get better, but he's also ready to get bigger.

Chick fil A systemwide sales

In December 2012, Chick-fil-A opened an innovation center called The Hatch, a 35,000-square-foot building inspired by companies like Pixar and Apple. Chick-fil-A's headquarters are undergoing a Silicon Valley-esque transformation, with employees losing desks for an open-office plan filled with nooks, hanging chairs, and an upscale café selling vanilla cardamom lattes.

The mission statement — to glorify God — is still hanging by the front door, but posters hanging from the walls of The Hatch quote the Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki and the psychoanalyst Carl Jung.

The renovations represent a psychological shift at Chick-fil-A, taking Christian values and injecting them with Silicon Valley ideology.

"There's really no sacred cows when it comes to the methodology anymore," Farmer said. "The values don't shift. Everything else is sort of on the table."

Digital made up nearly 20% of Chick-fil-A's sales as of early May. According to Kevin Purcer, Chick-fil-A's director of customer digital experience, Chick-fil-A is preparing for a future in which digital orders, in one form or another, could represent at least half of the chain's business.

Chick-fil-A

At The Hatch, employees in the "Beyond the Restaurant" group have been studying drones and driverless cars. The innovation center is set to expand by roughly 15,000 square-feet in the next few years. Culinary staff test dozens of items, including meat alternatives, though few will ever make it onto the chain's minimalist menu.

Read more:Chick-fil-A is exploring vegan menu items as chains like Burger King and Chipotle double down on meat substitutes

Executives say they grapple with tension between Cathy's principles (hospitality, warmth, rejuvenation) and same-store-sales-boosting tech and services, some of which can limit human interaction.

"We're trying to predict, what does care look like as our customers' experiences continue to evolve?" Khalilah Cooper, Chick-fil-A's director of service and hospitality, said. "Will they be OK being served by a robot? I don't know. They might be."

Chick-fil-A eyes global dominance

Chick fil A 31

Thinking big means moving beyond America. Chick-fil-A is set to open in Toronto this year, its first location outside the US. In five years, the company plans to open at least 15 locations in the Canadian city and is seeking applications for new operators.

With international expansion and a large tech investment, it's almost certain the chain will grow richer and more powerful. Since the 1980s, Dan Cathy has proved himself to be a master in translating his family's values into the business ecosystem of the moment. And the next generation of Cathys are rising in the company, ready to carry on the legacy.

But even for the seemingly unstoppable chicken chain, success is not guaranteed. Industry experts say that while Chick-fil-A's nonpartisan stance and welcoming operators have worked in the face of backlash in the US, it could be harder to shake its anti-LGBTQ reputation internationally.

"Their reputation could absolutely impact their ability to expand or land partnerships with other brands," Chris Allieri, founder at brand consultancy Mulberry & Astor, said. Allieri said he would never counsel a CEO or brand to work with a company that appears to support "discrimination and hate."

Still, Chick-fil-A continues to evolve.

Earlier this year, Dan Cathy met with suppliers. During the meeting, according to Farmer, who was in attendance, Dan made a sobering comment. One day, Chick-fil-A will no longer exist.

"He says that because, if you look at history, organizations don't last," Farmer said. "How long can we stay relevant and meaningful so that customers would not want you to not exit? It means you have to evolve."

SEE ALSO: Chick-fil-A's American takeover should terrify Wendy's and Burger King

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