• In the United States, Americans don't directly elect the president.
• Instead, states appoint a number of electors equal to the number of representatives they have in Congress to the electoral college, a system that was devised in the 18th century by the founders of the United States. 

• Here's a step-by-step guide to how the electoral college process works and how the college selects a president. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Voting in the 2020 presidential election ends in six days on November 3. In the United States, Americans don't directly elect the president. And contrary to popular belief, there is no constitutional right to vote for president.

Instead, states appoint a number of electors equal to the number of representatives they have in Congress to the electoral college, a system that was devised in the 18th century by the founders of the United States. 

All states except for Maine and Nebraska use a winner-take-all system in which the candidate who wins the most votes earns all of the state's electoral college votes. 

This system has resulted in some presidential elections — like the ones in 2000 and 2016 — in which the winner of the national popular vote loses the electoral college, sparking criticism that the electoral college is fundamentally undemocratic and disenfranchises voters. 

Here's the timeline for how the electoral college will play out in 2020.

November 3, 2020: States appoint their electors  

States must appoint their electors to the electoral college on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November under a federal law passed by Congress in 1845.

Today, all states hold popular elections to determine how their electoral college votes will be allocated, but they aren't required to do so by the constitution or by federal law. For much of America's early history, legislatures directly voted on how to appoint their electors without any input from the voters. 

In most previous years, TV networks and outlets like the Associated Press have been able to call the winner on election night based on the available results and projections from data like exit polls.

But importantly, the results of any election are never finalized on election night. In every US state, state laws explicitly allocate multiple days or weeks for officials to fully canvass and then certify the results.

And due to the projected increase in the proportion of Americans casting mail ballots, which take longer to process and count than in-person votes, there may not be enough available results to declare a winner on election night. 

During the canvassing process, canvassing boards, which are usually composed of county-level election officials, process and tabulate not just the votes of those who voted in person, but absentee and mail-in ballots, provisional ballots, and ballots from overseas and military voters.  

The canvassing process immediately after the election is the time in which we're likely to see most of the legal challenges over which ballots should count. The Trump campaign, in particular, has signaled they are likely to challenge mail ballots for late arrival, missing postmarks, and other errors to get them disqualified. 

When the canvasses are complete in each county, local election officials certify each county's result and the governor of each state certifies the statewide results. The governor then transmits a copy of the results and the names of the state's slate of electors to the National Archives. 

—Charles Stewart III (@cstewartiii) August 25, 2020

December 8, 2020: The safe harbor deadline in the electoral college

Six days before the electoral colleges convene to vote is the "safe harbor" deadline by which states must certify their results without risking Congress getting involved and resolving a potential dispute over which candidate won a particular state's electoral college votes.

The safe harbor deadline came into play during the court challenges over the disputed 2000 presidential election in Florida. It could be a factor this year too if there's any serious dispute over the 2020 results. 

On the day of the 2000 safe harbor deadline, the US Supreme Court ruled that Florida's varying recount policies between counties violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment by arbitrarily valuing some votes over others. 

The Court still ruled 5-4 to uphold Florida's certification of the state's electoral college votes for George W. Bush. The majority opinion was in line with the wishes of the Florida legislature, which wanted the state to certify the results and avoid leaving the winner of the state's electoral college votes to Congress. 

December 14, 2020: Electors vote 

On the second Monday after the second Wednesday in December, electors convene in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to formally cast their votes for president and vice president.

They then send certificates of their vote to their state's chief election official (in most states, this is the secretary of state), the National Archives, and the current President of the US Senate.  

January 6, 2021 at 1 p.m.: Vote count is finalized at the results are certified

The sitting Vice President, acting as the Senate president, presides over a joint session of Congress to read aloud the certificates cast by the electors representing all 50 states and D.C. in alphabetical order to finalize the vote count.

If no members of Congress object to any of the certificates in writing, the Senate president officially certifies the selection of the president-elect and vice president-elect. 

January 20, 2021 at noon: The president is inaugurated

The president and vice president are formally inaugurated and sworn into office. The president is sworn in by the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and the vice president can be sworn in by another government official of their choosing. 

• A former CEO's gigantic collection of nearly 300 vehicles was sold off after he was accused of a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. 
• After declaring bankruptcy, the executive, Najeeb Khan, was court-ordered to part ways with his massive collection to pay off more than $100 million in liabilities. 
• The array of cars, motorcycles, trucks, and memorabilia raked in more than $44 million at auction on October 23 and 24. 
• Eight of the vehicles — including a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL — sold for north of $1 million.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A former payroll-processing CEO was accused of defrauding clients out of more than $100 million last year. Since then, he's resigned from his company and filed for bankruptcy — over the weekend, his staggering collection of nearly 300 vehicles was sold off to pay his mountain of debt. 

Najeeb Khan — who founded and ran Indiana-based payroll firm Interlogic Outsourcing Inc. — amassed a $98 million fortune and a car collection to rival Jay Leno's before his alleged fraud scheme came crashing down, according to documents reviewed by The South Bend Tribune. As Khan declared bankruptcy in the wake of the accusations, a judge ordered that his collection of 281 vehicles be sold off to chip away at his $126 million in liabilities, the outlet reported.

On October 23 and 24, RM Sotheby's auctioned off the vast stash of cars, trucks, motorcycles, and memorabilia, bringing in a total of $44,385,420 in sales.

Not only was the collection massive, it also included some extraordinarily valuable and historically significant cars — take a look at the top 15 priciest vehicles sold below. 

15. 2006 Ford GT Heritage — $511,000

This Ford GT Heritage belonged to hockey great Wayne Gretzky, which may explain why it sold for more than RM Sotheby's estimate of $330,000 to $360,000. 

14. 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider Conversion — $511,000

This Ferrari was converted to a drop-top, but the highly coveted model still brought in more than half a million dollars. 

13. 1954 Fiat 8V Coupe by Vignale — $775,000

One of two Fiat 8V Coupes sold, this model is one of only a few that still has its original engine. 

12. 1935 Auburn Eight Supercharged Speedster — $802,500

Thanks to its supercharged, 150-horsepower, eight-cylinder engine , the Auburn Eight could go more than 100 mph, which was quite impressive for the time. 

11. 1964 Aston Martin DB5 "Vantage Specification" — $852,000

This DB5 had its engine upgraded to the more powerful Vantage-trim unit. All together, restorations cost more than $440,000, at current exchange rates. 

10. Fiat 8V Coupe by Vignale— $907,000

This 8V — another one of the 114 examples produced — sports a black top and an interior to match. 

9. 1967 Toyota 2000GT — $912,500

This is one of only 62 US-market 2000GTs, and was sold with just 15 miles on the odometer.

8. 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S — $1,160,000

Many regard the Lamborghini Miura as the world's first supercar. 

7. 1955 Jaguar D-Type Continuation — $1,325,000

In 2018, Jaguar built 25 new examples of its legendary D-Type race car from the 1950s. 

6. Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing — $1,495,500

The Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is, without a doubt, one of the most desirable classic cars of all time. They regularly sell for $1 million to $2 million. 

5. 1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Continuation — $1,710,000

Jaguar built six new E-Types from 2014-2015 that are carbon copies of the original 1960s cars. 

4. 1955 Cooper-Jaguar T38 Mk II — $1,765,000

One of three examples built, this race car scored several victories at Goodwood and Silverstone during the 1956 and 1957 racing seasons. 

3. 1957 Jaguar XKSS Continuation — $1,985,000

Jaguar also built nine XKSS Continuation models, which it sold for around $1.3 million at current exchange rates. RM Sotheby's believes this is the first one offered publicly.

2. 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic — $2,040,000

This 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic is one of only 15 produced. The last one RM Sotheby's sold brought in close to $1.4 million. 

1. 1952 Ferrari 225 S Berlinetta — $2,810,000

One of only six closed-top versions Ferrari built, this competition-spec coupe placed in several races, including the 1952 12 Hours of Casablanca, Mille Miglia, and Monaco Grand Prix. 

• Technology stocks cratered on Wednesday, leading the market lower amid an ongoing congressional hearing with the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet regarding Section 230.
• The Senate hearing was contentious as Republican Senators like Ted Cruz laid into Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for its handling of the NY Post Hunter Biden story published earlier this month.
• Microsoft also sank in Wednesday trades after it reported third quarter earnings that included a disappointing outlook in its personal computing division.
• Watch tech stocks trade live here. 

US technology stocks cratered in Wednesday trades, leading the broader market lower amid congressional testimony on Section 230 from the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet.

Section 230 is a 1996 law that protects internet platforms from being held liable for content posted by its users.

With hundreds of millions of users, if not billions, it is in the best interest of the technology companies to not be held liable for what their users say on its platform.

The hearing grew contentious with Republican Senators like Ted Cruz criticizing Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for its handling of a NY Post article about Hunter Biden published earlier this month.

Twitter didn't allow the sharing of the link to the NY Post story by any of its 330 million monthly active users, but it later reversed course on its policy.

Read more: Market wizard Tom Baldwin started trading with $25,000 and grew it to an estimated $30 million. He shares 6 timeless trading rules that helped him reach millionaire status before his first year was through.

President Donald Trump weighed in on the hearing with a tweet on Wednesday, saying, "The USA doesn't have Freedom of the Press, we have Suppression of the Story, or just plain Fake News. So much has been learned in the last two weeks about how corrupt our Media is, and now Big Tech, maybe even worse. Repeal Section 230!"

Shares of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet fell as much as 6%, 5%, and 5% in Wednesday trades, respectively.

Microsoft fell as much as 4% in Wednesday trades after the company reported its fiscal first quarter earnings. The results were better than expected, with a beat on both the top and bottom lines.

But Microsoft's fiscal second quarter revenue outlook in its personal computing division was below analyst estimates. The technology giant expects personal computing revenue of $13.2 billion to $13.6 billion, well below estimates of $14 billion.

The Nasdaq 100 traded down 3.12% as of 1:01 p.m. ET on Wednesday, outpacing the S&P 500 and Dow Jones decline of 2.9%.

Read more: 'I'm basically going to be long growth': Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya has hauled in a 997% return since 2011. He details the 5 sectors shaping his long-term investment playbook.

• White House senior adviser Jared Kushner bragged that President Donald Trump was "getting the country back from the doctors" earlier this year. 
• "Trump's now back in charge. It's not the doctors," Kushner told journalist Bob Woodward in an interview from April.
• Kushner also described Trump's lead to "open-up" the economy following nationwide coronavirus restrictions as a "comeback phase," in newly released audiotapes from CNN. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner bragged about President Donald Trump's push to drown out scientific expertise and reopen the economy in the early days of coronavirus pandemic, according to newly released audio.

Kushner, the president's son-in-law, told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump was "getting the country back from the doctors," in an interview on April 18. 

"Trump's now back in charge," he said in recordings obtained by CNN. "It's not the doctors. They've kind of – we have, like, a negotiated settlement."

The remarks occured one day after Trump tweeted out support for protests against coronavirus restrictions, calling on states such as Michigan, Virginia and Minnesota to "LIBERATE." 

Back then, Kushner described Trump's move to "open-up" the country as an entering of the "comeback phase."

"There's the panic phase, the pain phase and then the comeback phase," he told Woodward. "I do believe that last night symbolized kind of the beginning of the comeback phase." 

At the time, governors had implemented stay-at-home orders to combat further spread of the disease. COVID-19 cases had been spiking in parts of the East Coast, severely hitting states such as New York and New Jersey, and gradually making its way across the country. As infections were on the rise, public health experts within the Trump administration had warned against a premature reopening that could lead to bigger outbreaks.

"That doesn't mean there's not still a lot of pain and there won't be pain for a while, but that basically was, we've now put out rules to get back to work," Kushner said.

Kushner's comments add to the emerging record of how the White House tried to steer attention away from the pandemic in its critical, early days. They also align with Trump's downplaying of the virus in a February interview with Woodward. The president and his allies have been heavily criticized for ignoring warnings about the virus and not heeding scientific advice, which they have continued to do in recent days.

A White House press release published on Tuesday detailing Trump's accomplishments had "ending the COVID-19 pandemic" on its list. Similarly, at a rally on Saturday, Trump said the US is "rounding the turn" on coronavirus. And on Monday, the president called the media "losers" for continuing to cover the surging pandemic. 

Currently, the US is experiencing its highest numbers of infections since the public health crisis began. The seven-day average is 73,094 cases, a 39% increase from two weeks earlier, according to the New York Times. As of October 28, more than 8.8 million have contracted the disease and 226,000 people have died in the country. 

• QAnon is a baseless conspiracy theory centered on the belief that a deep state of Democratic elites are running an underground child trafficking ring. 
• The conspiracy theory is catching on with a growing number of people, from suburban moms to Republican candidates for office.
• At a recent town hall event, President Donald Trump repeatedly refused to denounce QAnon.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Believers in the QAnon conspiracy theory have been a presence at President Donald Trump's rallies this election season.

But ahead of the 2020 election, the far-right movement is now catching on with a growing number of people in Trump's base — and has even been invoked by some Republican candidates for office. 

The baseless QAnon conspiracy theory is centered on the belief that a deep state cabal of elites are running an underground child trafficking ring and trying to oust Trump. So-called "Q followers" tend to believe Trump is fighting the deep state.

Lately, QAnon has gained traction among suburban moms, including some who have taken action against trafficking. Followers have hijacked specific hashtags like #SaveTheChildren and #PrayForTheChildren to spread their ideas. 

See what QAnon followers believe on Business Insider Today »

• Senate Republicans berated the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter, and Google on Wednesday, claiming that the tech companies discriminated against conservatives with policies against misinformation related to COVID-19 and mail-in voting.
• The CEOs were subpoenaed to appear at the four-hour hearing, which was nominally focused on rewriting Section 230, a foundational law of the internet that could reshape or destroy the tech companies' businesses if repealed.
• But Section 230 itself was rarely discussed during the hearing. Instead, it focused on the tech companies' steps to fact-check false claims posted by President Donald Trump, which Republicans said amounted to censorship.
• Meanwhile, Democrats voiced concerns that tech companies would be too willing to bend to Republicans' wishes in the week leading up to the election.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter were subpoenaed to testify before Congress on Wednesday about Section 230, a foundational law of the internet that both Democrats and Republicans are angling to rewrite.

But Section 230 itself barely came up at the hearing.

Instead, GOP members of the Republican-led Senate Commerce Committee used their time to grill the CEOs about their treatment of President Donald Trump's posts, and how those decisions could impact the results of the general election next week.

The hearing amounted to a political fight in which Republicans broadly accused tech companies of favoring liberal causes — which the CEOs vehemently denied — while Democrats voiced concerns that Republicans were "working the refs" to pressure the companies not to take action against potential false claims made by Trump about the results of the election.

Republican senators needled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey about their decisions to apply fact-checking labels to Trump's posts that include false claims about COVID-19 or mail-in voting, arguing that the labels amount to censorship. 

"I don't like the idea of unelected elites in San Francisco or Silicon Valley deciding whether my speech is permissible on their platform," Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, said.

Republicans also accused the tech companies of systemically censoring or quashing conservative accounts, pointing to anecdotal instances of content moderation despite the fact that data shows conservative outlets regularly generate more engagement on social media. They further claimed that tech companies are primarily staffed by liberal-leaning employees — an assertion that Dorsey and Pichai denied but Zuckerberg said may be true.

And they raised concerns about Twitter's decision to restrict the spread of a recent New York Post article about Hunter Biden for violating its policy against sharing hacked materials. (Twitter reversed the policy within 24 hours of the story's publication and has since allowed the story to be shared.)

"Mr. Dorsey, who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?" Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said during the hearing.

In response to Republicans' questions, Dorsey, Zuckerberg, and Pichai said that their companies each rely on algorithms and tens of thousands of human content moderators to determine which posts violate their rules, maintaining that their companies do not favor one political party over another. Dorsey went a step further, arguing that he does not believe Twitter — which is used by roughly 22% of US adults — has the capacity to influence the outcome of a US election.

"We are just one part of a spectrum of distribution channels that people have at their disposal," Dorsey said, adding that Twitter should become "much more transparent about our process" for content moderation.

Democrats at the hearing slammed Republicans for their lines of questioning, accusing them of politicizing the hearing to pressure tech companies not to take action against Trump's posts.

"I have never seen a hearing so close to an election on any topic let alone something that is so obviously a violation of our obligation under the law," Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, said. "There is a good reason we don't call people here to yell at them for not doing our bidding during an election. Its a misuse of tax payer dollars. It is a scar on this committee."

There were occasional glimmers of agreement between Democrats and Republicans during the hearing, especially when the topic turned to Section 230 itself. Senators from both parties argued that the law affords tech companies too much legal immunity, and that new standards should be put in place for transparency in content moderation decisions.

"What can we do is focus on transparency," said Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat."We need to establish the kind of oversight that we all want to continue to have a diversity of voices."

• Having a bike pump in your cycling kit ensures that your tires are always inflated to their ideal pressure, whether you just need to add a little air between rides or have to fully change a tube.
• There are generally three types of bike pumps to consider: Floor pumps, hand pumps, and C02 inflators, each with their own advantages.
• We tested models in all three categories to find the best currently available, no matter if you're a road biker, mountain biker, or just a casual rider who wants something reliable to have around.
• Our top pick, the Specialized Air Tool Comp V2, is a durable floor pump that features one of the most accurate gauges we've tested and is a great choice for any style of rider or bike type.

Bike tires go flat for many reasons and while a flat is never ideal, it's even worse to be caught without the means for fixing it. With a reliable bike pump, you can keep rolling either between fixing the tire itself or inflating a new tube. Regardless of how you use it, it's smart to always have one on-hand and in your cycling pack whenever you head out.

Before shopping, it's important to understand the difference between the three basic pump types: Floor pumps, hand pumps, and C02 inflators. I've included some information on each's advantages and disadvantages, and which are more well-suited to a particular bike or ride style. At the end of this guide, I've included some tips on how to shop for a bike pump as well as some insight into each pump type.

To find the best bike pumps, I spent several months riding my bike as often as I could — to the market, to the park, around the block, everywhere. Though flats can spring up at any time, I wanted to see how versatile the pumps were in allowing me to fill my tires with air as needed and that they'd function whether I was on the side of the road, camped out at the park, or gearing up at home. 

After finding a stand-out in each category, I also wanted to include both a budget pick and a pump that affixes directly to a bike for added convenience. Below are the five bike pumps that are all deserving of a spot in your garage, on your bike, or in a backpack. 

Here are the best bike pumps:

• Best bike pump overall: Specialized Air Tool Comp V2
• Best for tubeless tires: Pro Team Tubeless Floor Pump
• Best value bike pump: Schwinn Air Center
• Best CO2 Inflator: Lezyne Control Drive
• Best on-bike pump: Crank Brothers Klic HV

Updated on 10/28/2020 by Rick Stella: Updated the section on how to shop for a bike pump and included more information on the differences between each pump type, checked the availability of each recommended pump, and updated the prices and links where necessary.

The best bike pump overall

Specialized's Air Tool Comp features sturdy construction, smooth pumping action, and an accurate gauge making it one of the most reliable bike pumps available.

Specialized's Air Tool Comp has one of the most accurate pressure gauges I've tested. When pumping, its dual-stage pressure gauge gets close enough that you don't need to double check it with a dedicated pressure checker. While it's not digital, the gauge is accurate even at low pressures, where many pumps don't register PSI. Its oversized gauge numbers were easy to read and the gauge has a twist ring that allowed me to pre-select the pressure I wanted while also providing a visual cue when I reached it.

The Air Tool is ergonomic, with a flared, textured no-slip handle, and sandpapery footpads on the stable triangular base. Even with rapid-fire pumping, the pump stayed put. A 41-inch long hose made it easy to pump tires on bikes that were already loaded on a car hitch rack, too. The pump head also has a grip and an easy-to-grasp lever that locks securely onto the valve when flipped open.

Its steel base and aluminum air canister were extremely durable, as well. The twist ring on the pump head is textured for easy removal and replacement, and also allows for easy switching between Presta and Schrader compatibility.

The pump was efficient inflating mountain, gravel, commuter, e-bike, and road tires. It does have a max PSI of 120, so if you're a performance road biker who prefers higher pressure, this isn't the pump for you. When not in use, the hose wraps over the handle and clips to the top of the air canister on both sides.

Pros: Sturdy, well balanced, with an easy to read and accurate gauge.

Cons: Only goes to 120 PSI, doesn't seat tubeless

The best for tubeless tires

It looks like a standard floor pump but Pro's Team Tubeless Floor Pump seats tubeless tires, from road to mountain, without the bulky air reservoirs of other tubeless charging pumps.

At the base of this two-in-one pump's air cylinder is a foot lever that lets your choose between charge or inflate mode. To inflate a tire, flip the foot lever up to inflate and the pump works like a normal floor pump. To seat a tubeless tire on a rim, flip the foot lever down to charge and pump the handle as many times as you can to pressurize its reservoir. This pump also makes it easy to switch between Schrader and Presta valves and inflates to 160 PSI. 

The Pro Team Pump's steel base and alloy barrel-over-barrel construction were strong and stable, able to withstand the strained push and pull of canister charging. The rubberized palm pads cushioned my hands and made it comfortable to use, too. 

Oversized numbers in the gauge, which is in the pump's base, were easy to read and this pump works for all types of tires. The head is universal, so I didn't need to swap parts to switch valve types, either. 

Pros: Super durable, seats tubeless tires and inflates any tire, universal head

Cons: Expensive

The best value bike pump

Schwinn's Air Center is the best pump you can buy for the price, with reliable performance and some of the bells and whistles of more expensive pumps.

This do-it-all pump will get you rolling on a budget. Schwinn's Air Center is the best pump you can buy that has a modest price tag, reliable performance, and some of the bells and whistles of more expensive pumps. It's versatile, too, allowing you to inflate kids' bike tires, pump up a basketball, or top off your e-bike. 

The two-port Presta/Schrader head has an indicator to remind you when the pump is locked on to the valve and when it's ready for insertion and removal. The metal base and 24-inch steel barrel held up well to daily use and abuse and I appreciated the included sports ball needle and yoga ball inflation cone that stores in a clip-on plastic case.

The 49-inch fabric hose was even long enough to reach bike tire valves with bikes on a car rack. Its gauge in the handle is always close and easy to read and the pump pressurizes a tire to 160 PSI. 

The Air Center features more plastic parts than other floor pumps here and though I didn't test it long enough for something to break, the materials don't feel as high-quality as others in this guide. Pumping was often loud and metallic, too, and the handle gauge necessitates that the hose also directly attaches to the handle. This means it moves with every pump stroke, giving it good reach while also creating some pull on tire valves. 

Pros: Super affordable; head takes Presta and Schrader without conversion; gauge easy to see

Cons: Materials feel cheap, floppy hose

The best CO2 Inflator

Road bikers, mountain bikers, and any cyclist who prefers to carry less will pass on the pump and pack a CO2 inflator and a couple of air canisters instead.

With CO2, there's no pumping required. Simply screw the canister into and inflator, press it into your bikes open valve, and open the on/off knob to let air surge in. 

I like Lezyne's Control Drive because the on/off knob let me dispense air more precisely than other inflators, and allowed me to turn off the flow to save some for later. The switch is knurled for a good grip even with bike gloves. The chuck has two heads, one for Presta and one for Schraeder, so there's no need to switch parts to move from one to the other — which can be especially hard roadside or trailside when it's easiest to lose parts during a conversion. 

The 0.8-ounce CNC-machined aluminum inflator has brass internals for long term reliability. It comes in four colors and works with 16, 20, and 25g CO2 threaded cartridges. The Control Drive comes with a neoprene cartridge sleeve that slips over any size CO2 to protect your hand from canister freeze when using the pump, too. The inflator automatically prevents overinflating, which was especially handy when inflating a road tire with a larger cartridge.

Pros: Easy to keep track of; precision control knob, works with Presta and Schrader

Cons: Larger and heavier than some other inflators, Co2 cartridges expensive and disposable

The best on-bike pump

When you're far from home and far from help, you need a pump that's accurate and reliable. Crank Brother's handheld Klic HV is both, and it has more features than meets the eye.

The Klic HV is a plain-looking 10-inch long by 1-inch wide black cylinder when stored on your bike. When in use, its handle flips open into a T so you can wrap your fingers around both sides of the pump shaft for the best grip. Its pump hose features a built-in pressure gauge that stores inside the pump when packed. 

The Klic HV is single action, so it only inflates when you push not when you pull. However, it can still take a mountain, gravel, hybrid, or road tire to 100 PSI, which is ideal for all but the most highly inflated road tires. If you don't want to tire your arm out pumping, the handle of the pump has a screw cap that hides a CO2 inflator.

Unfortunately, this pump doesn't have a universal head but switching from Presta to Schrader is straightforward. Just unscrew its valve adapter from the end of its pressure gauge hose, flip the valve head, and screw it back in. There are no internal pieces to reposition and the conversion is quick and easy. 

The double-sided gauge was easy to read but only useful over 20 PSI. Experiment with this pump before you hit the road so you know how it likes to be held for the most efficient inflation. 

Pros: Small enough to fit into a backpack, inflates up to 100 PSI even though it's a smaller pump, can hold a C02 inflator

Cons: Isn't strong enough to be a full-time, go-to pump

How to shop for a bike pump

Before buying a bike pump, you'll want to decide which style of pump best fits your needs. Though floor pumps, hand pumps, and C02 inflators all inflate your tires, each comes with its own set of advantages. Avid cyclists may even want to own one of each. 

Here's what sets each option apart:

Floor pumps: These have the biggest capacity and are able to get the most air into your tire every time you pull up and press down the handle. Most use a canister with a handle on a rod that moves an internal diaphragm forcing air into your bike tire. 

Its foot platforms let you stabilize the pump while you're inflating, and the handles accommodate two hands to make pumping easier. These tend to also feature a gauge so you know when you've reached the desired pressure. 

The pump has a chuck or head that clips onto your valve, and most floor pump heads can be switched to work with Presta (a pointy valve) or Schrader (a flat top valve) — some even have ports for both. It's smart to double-check the type of valve your tube uses before purchasing a floor pump, too. 

Floor pumps can also seat a tubeless tire, which is important because many modern bikes use sealant inside a tire to keep the tire inflated, not a tube. Floor pumps are mid-thigh tall, and designed for home use, or for carrying in a car to pump tires at a trailhead or the start of a ride.

Hand pumps: These are made to be carried on the bike, and they typically require a lot more effort to inflate your tire. A hand pump has a much smaller volume canister than a floor pump, so it takes longer to inflate a tire than a floor pump. Some are designed for high volume, which is best for a mountain bike or fat bike tires, and others are best for high pressure, like a road bike tire. 

Hand pumps are usually used as a backup or emergency pump, and not often relied upon as a primary pump. These are small enough to fit in a pack or a pocket, though many also come with water bottle cage mounts for affixing it to your bike. Gauges are less common in hand pumps and most have a valve head attached directly to the inflation canister. 

The pumps with a hose are easier to use but are also likely to snap a valve stem with vigorous pumping. Like floor pumps, most hand pumps have a head that can be swapped between Presta and Schrader valves. 

CO2 inflators: This type of pump is the most convenient and compact inflation tool available for bicycles. They dispense small, disposable metal cartridges and some have an on/off switch so you can save the air you don't need for later. With CO2, inflation is instant, but when you've used up the cartridge, or if your cartridge doesn't have the capacity to inflate your tire to full pressure, you're out of luck until you find another cartridge or borrow a pump.

• A Navy veteran posted photos of the unsavory meals, including lettuce with insects, hair on food, and raw chicken, that they said was common of what was served on ships at sea.
• "I want people to know about this — and I want somebody higher than me to know about this," Kevin Selfaison, a former petty officer second class, told Task & Purpose.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Navy veteran has posted pictures and videos capturing the rotten, unhealthy, and quite frankly disgraceful food that sailors and Marines are forced to eat while embarked on the service's warships.

The compilation of nauseating imagery, most of which were taken aboard multiple surface vessels, includes pictures of lettuce with insects, hair on food, and raw chicken, among other egregious examples.

Kevin Selfaison said he documented the awful food over a period of three years. Many of the pictures and videos were taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, on which Selfaison served from 2017 until 2020, but there are also videos and pictures of disgusting food from elsewhere in the military, including the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

"I want people to know about this — and I want somebody higher than me to know about this," Selfaison, a former petty officer second class, told Task & Purpose. "On a ship, if I were to report this, the highest it's going to go is to our captain. And there's no way our captain is going to turn around and tell his superior: 'Hey, the food on my ship is f---ed up;' because they're not going to rat on themselves like that."

When asked about the imagery that Selfaison posted on social media, a Navy spokeswoman said the service takes all reports of poor food aboard ships very seriously.

"We cannot confirm the authenticity of the photos posted by the sailor," said Lt. Emily Wilkin. "Nimitz was awarded the 2020 Captain Edward F. Ney Memorial Food Service Award for best aircraft carrier food service and our standards for cleanliness, service, and food quality are extremely high. The health and wellbeing of our crew is a top priority."

Wilkin also said the Navy leaders often perform spot checks of food and the cleanliness of dining facilities, and sailors are encouraged to report issues with their food to their chain of command or provide anonymous feedback by using suggestion boxes.

According to Selfaison, however, sailors' options for reporting rotten food are so limited that the Navy leaders who could actually fix the pervasive problems with the food served to sailors are not seeing what needs to be done.

Selfaison also said he waited until he left active duty on October 3 to post the imagery of the gross food on Facebook so that the Navy could not retaliate against him.

"There's no way it would still be on the internet now if I was still in the military," Selfaison said. "I would have been forced to take it down."

Not every meal Selfaison received during deployments was bad, he said. During holidays and Sundays, the chow was decent, showing it is possible for the Navy to prepare food correctly. But overall, the quality of the food served while he was underway was consistently poor, he said.

"It's always like cold or it's burnt — or it's burnt but cold on the inside. Like, it doesn't make sense," Selfaison said.

Whatever standards are supposed to apply to Navy food are simply not being applied, said Selfaison, who noted that if aircraft maintainers did their jobs as poorly as the sailors in charge of preparing food for crew members, they would be held responsible for falling far short of quality assurance standards.

Since he posted the evidence of unhealthy food served by the Navy, Selfaison has heard from older veterans who have said that food in the military has always been poor, he said.

Selfaison has countered by asking them why the standards for food served to service members be that low.

"It all has to do with quality of life," Selfaison said. "I feel like: When we're out there, a lot of times all we have to look forward to is a meal – and when that meal is as messed up as some of these meals, it's messed up. It kills morale."

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Both the original Nintendo Switch and the Switch Lite have been hard to find online as they continue to explode in popularity, but we've been keeping an eye on the best deals for Switch consoles, games, and accessories.
• We'll update this list regularly with the top Nintendo Switch deals as new discounts are announced.
• Right now, "Pokemon Sword & Shield" is on sale for $40, which is $20 off its regular price.

The Nintendo Switch has been the best-selling video game console on the planet since its release in March 2017 and it continues to be one of the hottest products of 2020. According the NPD Group, the Nintendo Switch set an all-time record for the highest sales of any video game platform in August 2020, generating $229 million in spending.

Nintendo's $300 hybrid console offers many of the most popular games on the market in a portable package, with the option to connect the Switch to a larger television or home entertainment system. The $200 Switch Lite is smaller and can't connect to your TV, but it's still a popular pick for parents who want an affordable alternative to the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, and gamers who want a second console.

Switch exclusive titles include iconic Nintendo franchises like "Super Mario," "Pokémon" and "The Legend of Zelda." The latest Nintendo exclusive, "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," is one of the best selling games of 2020 and is already the top selling game in the series.

In its latest earning report, Nintendo reported it has sold more than 61.4 million Switch consoles worldwide as of June 30. According to the NPD Group, Nintendo sold more than twice as many Switch consoles in August 2020 as it did in August 2019.

Below, we've collected the best deals on Nintendo Switch consoles, exclusive games, and accessories. These discounts should all come in handy whether you're looking to buy a Switch for the first time, building your library of games, or trying to find the cheapest price on a Switch peripheral.

Here are the best Nintendo Switch deals for October 2020:

• "Pokemon Sword & Shield" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe," $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Splatoon 2" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• Nintendo Joy-Con (Neon Pink/Neon Green), $69.00 (originally $79.99) at Amazon [You save $10.99]

Prices and links are current as of 10/28/2020. Added new deals for Nintendo Switch games. Removed deals that are no longer active. Updated by Kevin Webb.

Best deals on Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite consoles

The Nintendo Switch can be connected to a TV for high-definition gameplay, or taken on-the-go as a portable console. Furthermore, the Switch's controls can be separated from the console and used as two separate controllers called Joy-Cons. Unfortunately, stock for the standard Switch remains low at many retailers. With that in mind, some of the below products might not currently be available for shipment. We'll update this section with more Switch purchase options and deals as stores start adding more inventory.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch Lite is a handheld-only version of the console that lacks the original Switch's removable controllers and ability to connect to a larger television. The Switch Lite appeals to gamers who may already own a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and want to play games with a similar level of quality while they're traveling. Parents may also be more willing to invest in a handheld console at a lower price point when introducing their children to gaming.

The Nintendo Switch Lite comes in four colors (coral, turquoise, grey and yellow). There haven't been many deals that drop the Switch Lite's price below its standard retail price of $199.99, but a refurbished model is sold for a $20 discount when it's in stock at GameStop.

• Nintendo Switch 32GB Grey/Neon Console, $299.99 at Best Buy
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Turquoise), $199.99 at Best Buy
• Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray), $199.99 at Best Buy
• Refurbished Nintendo Switch Lite (Turquoise), $179.99 ($199.99 new) at GameStop [You save $20 buying refurbished]
• Refurbished Nintendo Switch Lite (Gray), $179.99 ($199.99 new) at GameStop [You save $20 buying refurbished]

Best deals on Nintendo Switch games

Though the Nintendo Switch has only been around for three years, there are already more than 2,300 games available for the console. Deals on Nintendo franchises, like "Super Mario," "Pokémon" and "The Legend of Zelda," are relatively rare, but "New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe" and "Pokémon Sword and Shield" are currently $20 off off their regular price at Best Buy

You can also find plenty of other fun Switch games on sale at popular retailers or from the Nintendo eShop, the console's home for digital releases. 

• "Pokemon Sword & Shield" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe," $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Splatoon 2" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Super Mario Party" $39.99 (originally $59.99) at Best Buy [You save $20]
• "Borderlands Legendary Collection," $29.83 (originally $49.99) at Amazon [You save $20.16] **Requires MicroSD card for download
• "XCOM 2 Collection," $29.83 (originally $49.99) at Amazon [You save $20.16] **Requires MicroSD card for download

Best deals on Nintendo Switch controllers

Though the Switch's Joy-Cons give players access to two controllers at all times, some gamers prefer the Nintendo Switch Pro controller, which more closely resembles a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One controller.

Nintendo also sells spare Joy-Cons with multiple color options for Switch owners who want to add some additional flair and an extra set of motion controllers for multiplayer games. 

• Nintendo Joy-Con (Neon Pink / Neon Green), $69.00 (originally $79.99) at Amazon [You save $10.99]
• PowerA Wireless GameCube Style Controller (Gold), $34.25 (originally $49.99) at Amazon [You save $15.74]
• Insten Wireless Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, $32.99 (originally $46.99) at Target [You save $14]

Best deals on on Nintendo Switch accessories

As a portable console with replaceable controllers, the Switch has no shortage of accessories. The most important addition you can make is a MicroSD card, which can expand the Switch's initial 32GB of storage to more than 250GB for about the same price as a new game.

If you plan on taking your Switch on the go, it's probably a good idea to pick up a basic case with space for extra game cartridges too. The Switch is fairly durable so you don't need to spend a ton protecting it.

• 400GB MicroSD Memory Card, $49.99 (originally $59.49) at Amazon [You save $9.50]
• Black Game Traveler Deluxe Travel Case for Nintendo Switch, $14.99 (originally $19.99) at GameStop [You save $5]

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Being a new dad is an incredible experience, but it's also a difficult time with lots of questions and very little sleep. Considerate, useful gifts can help make it a little easier.
• These 25 gifts for new dads will help them with everything from cooking for the family to fixing things around the house to looking good and feeling comfortable during late nights with the little one.
• Check out all of our gift guides to shop for everyone on your list.
• Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals

Welcoming a new addition to the family is a joyous occasion, but new dads definitely need a hand adjusting to life with a baby. You can give him some much-needed assistance with the right gift that can make his job a little easier or even help him unwind whenever he gets the chance.

Below are some suggestions that the new father in your life is bound to love. There are things to help him spend quality time with the baby, discover his inner handyman, sleep better, stay awake when he needs a boost, and hang onto the cherished memories he's making during this special time.

The top 5 gifts for new dads:

1. A hammock ($49.99)
2. A tool kit ($16.99)
3. An NBA baby jersey ($59.99)
4. Single-origin coffee beans (from $14.25)
5. A custom print of baby's footprints (from $18)

Make a new dad's first months with baby memorable and more convenient with these 25 gifts.

A cold brew maker

Gift the Takeya Deluxe Cold Brew Iced Coffee Maker, $16.99

Dad will love a cup of cold brew coffee, with less acidity and a smoother taste, when he needs a pick-me-up after sneaking in an afternoon nap. The Takeya Deluxe makes up to 1 quart of concentrate. Plus, it's easy to use and an incredible value. 

Single-origin coffee beans

Gift the Colectivo Coffee—Sumatra, from $14.25

If he's a coffee fanatic, he'll love a bag of single-origin beans. Grown in the volcanic soil in the rugged mountains of the Indonesian island Sumatra, this rich, complex blend has notes of molasses and pineapple. And for those mornings where there's no time to hassle with a French press, don't overlook instant coffees, which have caught up in quality to the whole bean version.

A diaper backpack

Gift the Bag Nation Backpack Diaper Bag, $53.95

Made with the same look of a commuter bag, this 14-pocket backpack is durable and carries all the essentials, from diapers to bottles and everything in between. There's even a foldout changing pad.

A new set of sheets for him and baby

Gift the Brooklinen Classic Core Sheet Set, from $109

Gift the Brooklinen Crib Sheet Set, from $52

Sleep, when it does happen for both dad and baby, is so much better on a set of soft sheets that make them feel like they're sleeping on a cloud. These are great for delicate skin and hot sleepers, too, and they come in a variety of colors and prints.

A comfortable pillow

Gift the Coop Home Goods Original Pillow, $59.99

A comfy pillow might be the most important ingredient for a restful night. The adjustable fill on the Coop pillow means it works for every kind of sleeper, and a 100-night trial means he's not stuck with it, if he doesn't like it.

A funny book about fatherhood

Gift "Man vs. Baby: The Chaos and Comedy of Real-Life Parenting," $17

Nothing will fully prepare him for the chaos and confusion of being a new dad. However, Matt Coyne's sleep-deprived take on parenting will give him a hilarious and honest reassurance that he's doing alright, no matter how stressful it seems.

An Instant Pot

Gift the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 (6-Ot.), $79

The Instant Pot makes cooking dinner for the whole family a breeze. It makes soups, meats, yogurt, and pretty much everything else, even baby food. Easy cleanup means more time to spend with the little one too.

A meat or seafood box

Gift Crowd Cow, from $43

Give him something delicious to cook with a gift box of meat or seafood that's sourced from independent producers that practice sustainable farming and ethical treatment of animals.

Super soft lounge pants

Gift the Tommy John Second Skin Lounge Pants, $68

He will love a pair of comfortable pants for sleeping or lounging around the house that won't embarrass him when the in-laws show up announced. These soft, light micromodal pants from Tommy John are perfect, and they hold up nicely wash after wash.

A pair of chinos

Gift Bonobos chinos, from $98

Unfortunately, a new dad can't wear lounge pants all the time. But just because he's leaving the house for a bit, doesn't mean he's got to sacrifice comfort. Bonobos chinos come in multiple fits and sizes, and the signature curved waistband give them an unobtrusive fit that makes them great for the office, a trip to the store, or a playdate in the park. 

A lightweight button-up for a put-together look

Gift the Tie Bar Short-Sleeve Shirt, from $45

It's nice for dad to feel put-together sometimes. The light, 100% cotton button-ups from Tie Bar are perfect for a rare night out or day at the office.

A shaving set

Give a Dollar Shave Club Complete Shave Gift Set, $35

This set comes with a razor handle and four four-blade cartridges that make for a great shave for when dad needs to clean up a little. It also includes a gentle prep scrub, shave butter, and hydrating post-shave cream.

A durable water bottle

Gift the Hydro Flask Wide Mount Water Bottle, from $37.95

When life gets as hectic as it does for new fathers, it's easy to forget to drink water. This durable insulated metal bottle keeps water cold and within arm's reach.

Gift the Wildhorn Outfitters Outpost Camping Hammock, $49.99

There is nothing better than an afternoon nap in a hammock hanging outside in the shade. The Wildhorn Outfitters Outpost is easy to set up, adjustable, and gives him plenty of room to stretch out. There's a good chance this will be his favorite gift.

A play kit of curated toys

Gift a Lovevery Play Kit Subscription, from $36/month

Make those long hours playing on the floor count with a subscription to Lovevery curated age-appropriate toy kits. Delivered every two months, each one includes guides that show how each toy helps with a child's development. They're also a lot of fun.

A basketball jersey for baby

Gift an NBA Baby Jersey, $59.99

It's going to be a while before baby gets into it, but it's still a lot of fun for a new dad to watch the game with his progeny decked out in their very own jersey.

An adjustable baby carrier

Gift the Ergobaby Omni 360 All-in-One carrier, $179

Whether you're running errands or spending a day in the park, a good baby carrier makes it so much easier. Made with 100% premium cotton, the Ergobaby Omni 360 is super soft and easily adjustable to fit waists and shoulders of all sizes. It works in multiple positions, too, front or back, face-in or face-out. 

A foam roller

Gift the TriggerPoint GRID foam roller, $34.95

Knots and tight muscles go hand in hand with parenting. He'll appreciate the textured surface pattern of this foam roller to roll away the aches and pains of being a new parent.

An interactive photo journal

Gift the Artifact Uprising Baby Book | The Story of You, from $99

A phone full of pictures and videos is great, but he'll want something to capture and hold onto the most special moments. This photo book, featuring a fabric cover and foil stamped title, lets him write down his memories and the details of each milestone.

A tool kit

Gift the Cartman General Household 39-piece toolkit, $16.99

There's just something about being a dad that turns everyone into an overnight handy man. This tool kit includes all the basics he'll need for assembling or repairing all that new gear in the nursery and beyond.

A soft cooler

Gift the CleverMade SnapBasket Soft-Sided Cooler tote, $39.99

Dad is going to need a good cooler for bringing food home from the store or packing up milk and baby food for a road trip to see the grandparents. This one has a 50-can capacity, but it still folds up small enough to stash under the seat when he doesn't need it.

A delicious baby blanket

Gift the Tortilla Baby Blanket, $48

This blanket is made of breathable cotton/polyester blend fabric that will keep baby comfortable and cool. And the flour tortilla print that makes them look like a bundle of burrito joy is impossibly adorable.

A custom print of baby's footprints

Gift the Baby Footprint Art Print, from $18

It's always hard to believe how little they used to be. This is an attractive, thoughtful piece that fits nicely anywhere in the home.

A smart speaker for baby's room

Gift the Amazon Echo Dot, $29.99

A smart speaker is a nice addition to baby's room. It can play lullabies or classical music at bedtime, or dad can use it to listen to the game while they're playing with toys. 

An REI membership

Gift an REI membership, $20

Getting active and outdoors is great for kids, and something a new dad can do right from the start. With an REI membership, he'll get annual dividends, exclusive offers, and more to get the gear he and his family will want. 

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Il Makiage and its foundation quiz offers a smart, easy way for you to find the right base makeup shade for your skin tone.
• The new PowerMatch algorithm has been more than a year in the making and includes data from 700 different skin-tone combinations. 
• After you take the quiz, you can pay $5 for a full bottle of the Woke Up Like This Flawless Base Foundation in your shade to try out for 14 days. If you love it after the trial, you can keep the foundation for $44, or send it back to the company to be donated to charity. 

Trying to find the right foundation that matches your skin tone can feel like rocket science sometimes. Thankfully, there's a new beauty startup that has a solution and does all the work for you.

Your perfect match won't be found through Bumble, Tinder, or Hinge, but rather through Il Makiage, a tech-focused beauty brand that uses machine learning to match your foundation shade to your skin tone all without ever actually seeing your face.

"We want to allow the consumer to avoid buying beauty products offline [with] the use of technology and machine learning," CEO Oran Holtzman told Business Insider. "We decided to start with the hardest product to match — foundation — and launched the PowerMatch algorithm. The machine learning aspect of the algorithm is constantly improving and refining with each additional customer who takes the quiz."

Read more: The best long lasting foundation you can buy for any skin tone

Il Makiage's proprietary algorithm has been more than a year in the making and leverages data from 700 different skin-tone combinations. The result is a quiz that is easy to use from the shoppers' end and surprisingly accurate on the brand's end. 

The quiz asks you about your skin tone, texture, and undertones, and once you're done taking it, you'll supposedly get the shade that's right for you. The quiz is free but you can pay $5 to test a full-sized bottle of the Woke Up Like This Flawless Base Foundation in your shade for 14 days, after which you'll be charged $44 if you decide to keep the product. If it wasn't right for you, send it back to the company so it can be donated to the nonprofit Project Beauty Share, which provides beauty products to women in need.

I tried the PowerMatch quiz myself to see just how good a machine can get and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

While I've taken many foundation tests in my time, I found PowerMatch quiz to be unique in its user friendliness. Even if you know next to nothing about your skin or makeup regimen, the brand can help. You'll start by answering basic questions about whether you have dry, oily, or combination skin, and what levels of coverage and finish you want. Il Makiage will give you a few understandable yet non-condescending pointers if you're feeling a bit lost here as well as options to say that you have no idea.

Then you choose between photos of women with skin tones that visually match yours, and indicate your undertones, or use their prompts to help if you have no idea what undertones are. For example, after you say you have pink or cool undertones, the brand will ask if your veins appear to have a blue-ish or purple color, you burn easily in the sun, or look better in silver jewelry. If you answered yes to any or all of the above, chances are you've picked your undertones correctly. If none of those applied, then you'll go back to the previous questions.

Read more: The best foundation you can buy for beautiful skin

Once you've completed the quiz, it'll show your foundation match which you'll be able to ship straight to your door for just $5. After all, even with the best of algorithms, the brand recognizes that you have to actually try on your foundation before committing to a full purchase.

It's only after you've had the opportunity to try out your new foundation for 14 days that you'll be charged the full $44 for the bottle in the shade you were sent. It puts you in a bind if the color isn't right or you didn't like the texture or formula, but I found that my foundation match was exactly what I needed so it was fine for me personally. We'll have to see if I'm still singing the same tune come summer when I'm about five shades deeper, but maybe I'll do the quiz again then and have a couple of different shades on hand.

The Flawless Base Foundation is super lightweight with vitamin E and hyaluronic acid for lots of hydration, and offers an impressive range of 50 shades. Each 1-ounce bottle should last several months with daily use, and at $44, it's a reasonable price for pay for high-quality foundation that actually matches your skin tone. 

If you're looking for a foundation that fits you instead of the other way around, Il Makiage may just be the right place to start your search.

Find your PowerMatch here.

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Here are 17 top-rated cleaners, appliances, and tools that people swear by to clean their bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms.
• These include a high-tech robot vacuum, a classic hand duster, and multi-use tools designed to save time, energy, and space. 
• Due to the novel coronavirus, some cleaning products are out of stock or low in inventory.
• For some retailers, stock can differ by zip code. We're doing our best to double-check availability for each product, but we're finding that what's in stock for some may be unavailable to others.
• Read more: How to disinfect every room in your house; The best bathroom cleaning products

Even the thought of cleaning tires me out, and I usually have to spend a few hours (okay, more like days) mentally preparing for the chore. 

However, I've found that once I start cleaning one of the rooms in my apartment, I get into a productive groove that whisks me from the bathroom and kitchen to the living room and bedroom with montage-like ease. Having both the mental strength to clean and a proper toolkit of products on hand helps me reach this cleaning groove and get the chore over as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

If you're equipped with thorough, durable, and easy-to-use cleaners and appliances, you can clean your entire home and barely break a sweat in the process. 

So what products should you fill your cleaning basket with? We looked to the top-rated ones first to see what everyone else swears by to catch dust bunnies, clear out clogged drains, and make their countertops sparkle as much as when they first moved in. 

Here are 17 cleaning products to clean your entire house, from the bathroom to the living room:

Updated 10/28/20: At the time of our update Clorox Wipes were out of stock. We've decided to keep the links in this story in case stock becomes available.

Anywhere: Dyson V10 Absolute Cordless Vacuum

Dyson V11 Outsize Cordless Stick Vacuum

Though the price is a lot to pay for a vacuum, the V11's powerful and thorough cleaning capabilities make every dollar worth it if you have a large space. The battery only runs when you push on the trigger and comes with a backup for up to 120 minutes of usage, letting you go weeks without needing to charge. Choose between three cleaning modes for more efficient cleaning on hardwoods, carpet, and more. It also comes with additional tools so you can reach every inch of any surface.

Read our review of the Dyson V11 Outsize.

Anywhere: iRobot Roomba 690 Robot Vacuum

Roborock S65 Robot Vacuum, $649.99, available on Amazon

If you absolutely hate cleaning, let a robot vacuum do the work for you. While you're outside of the house, it can make use of all that empty time to clean your home. It cleans in a systematic way to learn where walls or furniture, and you can set no-go zones around specific rooms or just fragile items like side tables with tall vases on top. There's even a mopping feature, which further cuts down on how much time you spend cleaning your space, and when the robot vac is low on battery, it'll go back to its charging dock.

Check out our guide to the best robot vacuums for more options.

Anywhere: Clorox Wipes

Clorox Bleach-Free Disinfecting Wipes, $3.59, available at Amazon 

You'll see these bleach-free wipes in nearly everyone's cleaning cabinet because they're thick and durable, kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, and come in three fresh scents. They dispense easily out of the canister and dry quickly, plus they're safe on hard and nonporous surfaces like finished hardwood, sealed granite, and stainless steel. 

Due to news of the novel coronavirus, Clorox Wipes are currently sold out at major online retailers, including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, and Lowe's. Items fulfilled by Amazon have also sold out, and prices for Clorox Wipes fulfilled by third-party sellers have gone up significantly — the highest price as of publishing time for this item is $144 for a 12-pack of 35-count canisters. We are monitoring restocks and will update this post accordingly. 

Anywhere: OXO Microfiber Hand Duster

OXO Good Grips Microfiber Hand Duster, $9.99, available at Bed Bath & Beyond

This soft, fluffy duster captures all the dust settling on your shelves and countertops in one fell swoop. Flexible and lightweight, it's comfortable and easy to maneuver around tight, tricky spaces. Its reusable head is machine washable, though it's best if you simply handwash it in cold water.

If you need something to reach tall surfaces, OXO's 3-in-1 Extendable Duster is also highly rated. It extends to 8 feet, collapses to 3 feet, and comes with three interchangeable brush heads.

Anywhere: Evriholder Pet Hair Removal Broom with Squeegee

Evriholder Pet Hair Removal Broom with Squeegee & Telescoping Handle, $12.98, available at Amazon

Whether you're dealing with thick pet hair or a slippery spill, this dual-use broom can handle it. The 100% natural rubber attracts hair and debris "like a magnet" from hardwood, linoleum, and traditionally difficult surfaces like carpet and rugs. Then use the built-in squeegee edge if you need to wipe off liquids from windows, showers, tile, and hardwood. It can extend out to 5 feet. 

Kitchen: O-Cedar Spin Mop and Bucket Floor Cleaning System

O-Cedar Easy Wring Spin Mop and Bucket Floor Cleaning System, $34.99, available at BJ's

This well-designed system allows for hands-free wringing. The bucket has a special spinner, activated by a foot pedal, that spins your mop and keeps water splashes contained.

The mop head itself rotates 360 degrees and is shaped like a triangle to better clean the corners of your home. Microfiber is equally effective on hardwood floors and tiles, like the ones in your kitchen, when used wet or dry.

Anywhere: Mrs. Meyer's Everyday Cleaner

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner, $4.99, available at Target

Natural cleaning brand Mrs. Meyer's makes this plant-based multi-surface cleaner that cleans as well as traditional chemical-laden ones but doesn't leave any harsh odors behind. Instead, after it's removed dirt from your countertops and surfaces, it has a sweet, pleasant, and flowery honeysuckle scent. Other nice scents from the brand include Basil, Lavender, and Lemon Verbena. 

Kitchen: Topist Angry Mama Microwave Oven Cleaner

Angry Mama Microwave Oven Cleaner, $13.48, available at Amazon

Rather than stick your head in your microwave and hack away for half an hour at the food crud that has been in there since 200 heating sessions ago, use this accessory to loosen it up first.

Add vinegar, water, and lemon juice to the fill lines on the body and microwave the Angry Mama for 5 to 7 minutes, after which any stains will be loose enough to wipe down quickly. It should cut down your cleaning time in half and make your microwave usable again in time for dinner. 

Kitchen: Easy-Off Oven Cleaner

Easy-Off Professional Fume Free Max Oven Cleaner, $6.79, available at CVS

People rarely ever wipe up their oven messes immediately, but they come to regret it weeks later when the baked-on spills and grease don't budge. Make your oven look brand new again with this affordable, fume-free cleaner, which works on ovens, oven doors, broilers, broiler pans, and stainless-steel surfaces to clean up those tough messes. Spray it and leave it on for at least 5 minutes and up to 40 minutes, then wipe down with a cloth or paper towel. 

Kitchen and bathroom: Green Gobbler Liquid Clog Remover

Green Gobbler Liquid Clog Remover, $11.99, available at Target

Living in a house involves the constant battle of unclogging pipes and drains. If you're not fishing out bits of food from the sink, you're probably unraveling a never-ending string of hair from the shower drain.

Green Gobbler's clog remover clears your drains by liquifying everything in its path — grease, hair, scum, food, and more. It comes in a dual-chambered bottle and you use one chamber for sinks and tubs and both chambers for toilets. 

Kitchen: Krud Kutter Concentrated Cleaner and Degreaser

Krud Kutter Concentrated Cleaner and Degreaser, $6.58, available at Home Depot

This multi-use cleaner can be used all over your house, including exterior parts like driveways and patio furniture. As a powerfully concentrated degreaser, it's especially useful for your kitchen because it can take out food and drink stains, grease, oil, gum, and soap scums. Dilute one part concentrate with 10 parts water and you can cover up to 75 square feet of surfaces. 

Living room and bathroom: Stoner Invisible Glass Premium Glass Cleaner

Stoner Invisible Glass Premium Glass Cleaner (2-pack), $18.13, available at Amazon

People who have tried this glass cleaner, available in both aerosol and spray form, never go back to any other products. Your mirrors and glass surfaces will emerge sparkly clear and streak-free since it doesn't contain any soaps, scents, or dyes. It's also ammonia-free.

Once all your bathroom and living room glass surfaces are clean, feel free to use on your car to remove the stains, droppings, and other dirty casualties of driving outside. 

Living room: AmazonBasics Cleaning Cloth

AmazonBasics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth (24-pack), $15.68, available at Amazon

While far from being super plush or thick, these basic cleaning cloths are absorbent and durable enough to get the job done. The pack includes cloths in three different colors, so you can separated them by cleaning tasks. If you're on a budget, it's hard to find a better deal than this value pack. 

Living room: Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner

Hoover PowerDash Pet Carpet Cleaner, $99.99, available at Amazon

If you have the double whammy of a pet (or pets) and carpeted floors, you'll want this specialized Hoover cleaner. The under-$100 appliance both cleans and offers antimicrobial protection, and it comes with a removable nozzle so you can rinse off dirt and grime.

It also has a dual-tank system that keeps your clean water separated from the dirty water, and its signature HeatForce technology means your carpets will dry faster. 

Bathroom: Method Daily Shower Spray Cleaner

Method Daily Shower Spray Cleaner, $2.99, available at Target

The fresh Eucalyptus Mint scent of this cleaner might motivate you to actually use this cleaner every single day to prevent scum and grime build-up. It's made from non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients that you can feel better about going down your drain. Other than in the tub itself, you can use it for chrome faucets and shower doors.

Bathroom: Clorox ToiletWand

Clorox ToiletWand, $9.79, available at Target |Also available at: Walmart 

The ToiletWand comes with disposable sponges that are preloaded with Clorox cleaner, eliminating the need to buy a separate toilet bowl cleaner. The sponge pad clicks securely onto the wand and gets into areas of your toilet that a brush can't, and once you're done cleaning, it comes off with one click so you never need to touch anything beyond the stick itself. This system also means you won't have a dirty toilet brush sitting in your bathroom at all times.

Bathroom: The Crown Choice Grout Cleaner Brush

The Crown Choice Grout Cleaner Brush, $10.99, available at The Crown Choice

Getting into the tiny lines of your bathroom is difficult without a specialized, narrow brush like this. It has sturdy, angled brushes to reach the soap scum, grime, and mold stuck in your grout, but it's equally easy to wash afterward in hot, soapy water. The thick 1-inch handle is fairly comfortable to hold, which certainly helps as you dig into the floors and walls of your bathroom. 

• Congress departed Washington without approving its coronavirus aid bill.
• Another round of stimulus in the form of $1,200 checks could boost online holiday sales by billions of dollars, according to Adobe analysis released on Wednesday.
• Many retailers, including Target, Walmart, and Home Depot, have said that the first round of stimulus checks contributed to sales earlier this year. 
• Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has been among the voices calling for another stimulus package.
• "If you have been let go and don't have income, you really need help," McMillon said.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A second round of $1,200 stimulus checks could radically transform the holidays for Americans and retailers. But, there is little chance of Americans finding out if they will receive the aid until December. 

This week, Congress departed Washington without approving another coronavirus aid bill. The roughly $2 trillion package has been in limbo for weeks, as the White House and Democrats continue to negotiate.

Congress' next deadline for passing the bill is December 11. The bill would include a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks, as well as federal unemployment benefits and small-business aid.

Read more: Republicans bracing for a Biden-Democratic sweep are finding their religion (again) on federal spending and the debt

Another round of stimulus checks, coupled with physical stores being forced to shut down due to a COVID cases, could cause online holiday sales to exceed $200 billion according to Adobe analysis released Wednesday. As is, Adobe expects US online sales will reach $189 billion this holiday shopping season. 

Without another stimulus package, 23% of people in the US plan to cut back on their holiday spending, according to a Jungle Scout survey of more than 1,000 US consumers. 

Walmart's CEO is urging Congress to pass another stimulus deal

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon has been among the voices calling for another stimulus package.

"I think it's important that we all understand in some ways we are having a shared experience because we are in a pandemic together, but we are having a very different experience," McMillon said at the Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit this week. 

"If you have been let go and don't have income, you really need help," McMillon continued. "The voice we have at Walmart is to say to Congress and the administration we need you to help those people who need help." 

Walmart stands to benefit from people having more money in their wallet going into the holidays. Another round of stimulus checks or enhanced unemployment benefits "should help most retailers," UBS said in a report last week. 

While just 8% of the first round of checks went towards non-essential goods, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study, restaurants and retailers saw sales rise due to the original stimulus package. Countless public companies, including Walmart, Target, and Dollar General, have mentioned stimulus in recent earnings calls.  

"In terms of the overall benefit from stimulus, hard to quantify, but ... when customers have more money in their pocket, there's some benefit to that," Home Depot CEO Craig Menear said on a call with analysts in August. "So, we don't kid ourselves to think that that didn't have some kind of impact."

• US stocks cratered on Wednesday as a spike in COVID-19 cases prompted new lockdowns in Europe.
• A 40% surge in COVID-19-related deaths in Europe over the past week spurred Germany and France to announce new restrictions. Bars, restaurants, and gyms will close while schools remain open.
• Tech stocks led the market lower as the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet testified at a congressional hearing.
• Oil prices tumbled, dragging energy stocks lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 6.6%, to $36.97 per barrel.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks cratered on Wednesday as a spike in COVID-19 cases prompted new lockdowns in Europe.

The Dow Jones industrial average's 3.4% decline marked its worst single-day drop since June 11, while the S&P 500's 1.9% drop was its largest since September 23.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck a deal for a "lockdown light," in which bars, restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters will close for at least a month starting this weekend while schools and nurseries remain open, Bloomberg reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new national lockdown to begin this Friday and last until December 1, though, like in Germany, schools will remain open, according to Bloomberg.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 3,271.03, down 3.5%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 26,519.95, down 3.4% (943 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 11,004.87, down 3.7%

Read more: 'The road to financial implosion': A notorious market bear says the Fed has set the stage for a 67% stock plunge — and warns of zero-to-negative returns over the next 12 years

The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, climbed as high as 40.52, its highest point in more than four months. The VIX has traded at an average of 26.30 since the start of August after registering multiyear highs in March.

While coronavirus case records have fueled concerns about the pace of economic recovery, the prospect of timely fiscal support in the US is all but exhausted. The Senate adjourned on Monday and isn't set to reconvene until November 9, putting to bed any remaining hope for a stimulus bill. As the recovery slows, some fear that new aid will arrive too late to keep the economy from tumbling again.

Next week's presidential election has also contributed to the upswing in volatility. While elections typically escalate price swings, the chance of delayed results this year has investors bracing for extended market choppiness.

Read more: Market wizard Tom Baldwin started trading with $25,000 and grew it to an estimated $30 million. He shares 6 timeless trading rules that helped him reach millionaire status before his first year was through.

Technology stocks led the market lower on Wednesday as the CEOs of Twitter, Facebook, and Alphabet testified before Congress on Section 230 legislation, while Microsoft's earnings outlook disappointed investors.

First Solar's third-quarter earnings report bested analysts' expectations. Deutsche Bank posted a better-than-expected third-quarter profit, and its debt-trading unit posted a 47% surge in business.

The billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller said a blue-wave election outcome could hurt stocks in the long term.

Gold lost ground on Wednesday, falling as much as 2%, to $1,869.53 per ounce.

Oil prices tumbled, which dragged energy stocks lower. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 6.6%, to $36.97 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 6%, to $38.75 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Read more: 'I'm basically going to be long growth': Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya has hauled in a 997% return since 2011. He details the 5 sectors shaping his long-term investment playbook.

• President Donald Trump has long sought to improve his standing among Latino voters in Florida, an effort that may pay off this November.
• A NBC News/Marist poll conducted in late August and early September showed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Trump tied with 48% among likely voters in Florida, but with Trump ahead 50% to 46% among likely Latino voters statewide, which was a pre-election warning sign for Biden.
• Trump has frequently linked Biden to support for socialist and communist leaders, which are politically fatal allegations for any politician running in the state.
• The Trump campaign has spent years cultivating support among Cuban-Americans and Latino evangelicals in Central Florida.
• Black voters have become a key target for Trump this year, including younger and blue-collar Black men.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

For years, Florida has been the most tantalizing presidential swing state for Democrats and Republicans.

According to The New York Times, approximately 950 people move to Florida every day, fueling the state's population boom from 18.8 million residents in 2010 to an estimated 21.48 million residents in 2019, with much of the growth attributed to racial minorities. Of those residents, 26% are Hispanic, 17% are Black, and 3% are Asian, while 53% of the state's population is non-Hispanic white.

Democrats had long argued that Florida's increased minority share of the population would benefit them electorally, pointing to former President Barack Obama's success in winning the state in 2008 and 2012.

In 2016, this theory hit a roadblock when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton poured enormous resources into winning Florida, only to lose the state by a slim 1.2% margin to now-President Donald Trump. While she won Latino voters with 66% to Trump's 28%, it was down from Obama's 71% to GOP nominee Mitt Romney's 27%, according to the Pew Research Center. Black voter turnout also declined that year, especially in vote-rich Miami-Dade County in South Florida, which, paired with Trump's dominance in rural and exurban counties, doomed Clinton's chances.

Since taking office, Trump has quietly built on his 2016 win in Florida, targeting Cuban-American voters, South and Central American immigrants weary of socialist leaders, Latino evangelical voters, and Black voters, a longstanding effort that has made him more popular with several key minority groups in the state this year.

In a NBC News/Marist poll conducted in late August and early September, Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden were tied at 48% among likely voters in Florida, but the president was ahead 50% to 46% among likely Latino voters.

Here are some of the ways that Trump moved his numbers with key minority groups in Florida:

Cultivating the Cuban-American vote

Trump, who for decades was one of the country's most famous businessmen, has frequently touted his economic record in appealing to Latino voters.

The president rails against Biden's economic and health care proposals, accusing the Democratic party of supporting "socialism," which is anathema to a community that fled Cuba to escape the Fidel Castro-led socialist government. Trump was firmly opposed to Obama opening up diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2014, rolling back key engagement policies and restricting travel to the country after he took office in 2017.

While Obama was able to secure 49% of the Cuban-American vote in 2012, Trump easily won the group 54% to 41% over Clinton, according to the Pew Research Center.

The gains look to be even stronger this year. A Florida International University poll released this month showed that 59% of Cuban-Americans would back Trump, with 25% expressing support for Biden. Poll respondents favored the president on issues ranging from the economy and health care to his Cuba policies on keeping the trade embargo and eliminating cruise ships.

Last month, Trump even considered nominating a prominent Cuban-American judge, Barbara Lagoa, to the Supreme Court to boost his already high standing among most members of this critical voter demographic.

Identifying Latino evangelical voters

The Trump campaign has long sought support from the state's evangelical Latino voters, from Puerto Ricans in Central Florida to Central and South American voters in the Miami area.

The winning message? Leaning into conservative Catholicism and decrying any hint of support of Latin American dictators.

"While the GOP's traditional strength among Cuban Americans is well understood, the party's appeal to born-again religious voters of Caribbean and Latin American descent in recent years has received far less attention," according to a Washington Post report about Latino evangelicals. "Now, Republicans hope these voters will further chip away at the margins of Joe Biden's support in Florida among Latinos."

Despite Biden's role as a longstanding leader in the party's moderate flank, the Trump campaign has tried to paint him as an untenable alternative.

"Evangelicals value life, freedom, and limited government — values President Trump is fighting to protect," Ali Pardo, a Trump campaign spokesman, said in the Post report.

With the installation of staunch conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Trump's stock likely soared even higher among these groups.

Reaching younger Black voters 

While older Black voters are firmly behind Biden, an increasing number of younger Black voters identify as unaffiliated or Independent voters, which the Trump campaign has used to increase Black support in 2020.

In February, the Trump campaign announced the opening of offices throughout Florida designed to engage with Black voters, including spaces in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa, and Miami, NPR reported.

According to most public polling, Biden will win the lion's share of the Black vote, but Trump has long sought to solidify inroads with Black voters, especially younger and blue-collar Black men who may be attracted to his economic and criminal justice reform messages.

In Florida, the land of perennially close elections, every vote counts — and both campaigns know it.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an MSNBC interview that the recent stock tumble could push Trump to pursue a large economic-aid package.
• Her remarks came as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 943 points on Wednesday, its worst day since June.
• Virus cases are rising across the nation and economic-aid talks have been largely put off ahead of the election.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that the recent stock-market slide could push President Donald Trump to seek a large economic rescue package, given the importance he's always placed on it.

"What the president cares a lot about is the stock market, and as he sees the market react to the spread of the virus, and he sees the market react to the fact that we do not have an agreement which could inject resources into the economy, hopefully now he will come to the table in a serious way to crush the virus," she told MSNBC.

Her remarks come as stocks have tanked in recent days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 650 points on Monday, and it dipped Tuesday as well. Then it plunged 943 points on Wednesday in its worst day since June.

Virus cases are surging across the nation, dovetailed with a rise in hospitalizations in a majority of states. Meanwhile, economic-relief talks between the White House and Democrats have been largely put off ahead of Election Day next week.

Many economists are calling for additional federal spending to prop up the economy as it displays signs of weakening.

Read more: An investment chief overseeing $23 billion breaks down 2 critical election-linked risks facing the market — and shares the smartest way to turn them both into profit opportunities

Stimulus talks between Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are crawling along with very few signs of progress. The pair are negotiating a roughly $2 trillion package that includes $1,200 stimulus checks, federal unemployment benefits, and small-business aid.

Trump strongly supports passing another stimulus package. He told rallygoers in Pennsylvania on Tuesday: "After the election, we'll get the best stimulus package you've ever seen."

But his approach was highly unpredictable over the past month. Trump has veered from cutting off relief negotiations to pressing for more money than Democrats in a short time frame.

It's also highly uncertain whether Congress will pass another rescue package in a "lame-duck" session after the election. It hasn't approved further aid since the pandemic sparked a $3 trillion surge of emergency spending in the spring.

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

• Educational toys can help your kids learn new words, develop better math skills, and even grasp basic coding concepts.
• Osmo's educational kits are beautifully designed and employ the family tablet to engage your kids with thoughtful activities.
• There's the Osmo Coding Kit ($99.99), Osmo Genius Starter Kit + Family Game Night ($139.99), and Little Genius Starter Kit + Early Math ($119.99).

There's lots of pressure on parents to encourage kids to learn, limit their screen time to worthy content, and help them develop new skills. While there are tons of educational toys, apps, and games that promise to ignite a passion in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects, or improve literacy in a fun way, few of them live up to those promises. Trust me, we have several languishing in the backs of closets.

Osmo's thoughtfully designed educational kits are different. Employing the family tablet (iPad or Fire tablet) and combining physical pieces with onscreen games, this is fun learning at its best. Most of what's in these kits is familiar, but Osmo recently bundled its coding games together with new durable pieces and unveiled fresh cooperative and competitive word and math games to encourage families to play together.

I've spent the last week testing three new kits with the help of my enthusiastic 8-year-old daughter and skeptical 11-year-old son.  Read on to see what we liked, and didn't like, about them.

Design, specs, and setup

Each Osmo kit comes with a stand for an iPad or Amazon Fire tablet and a special top piece with a mirror that slides over the front-facing camera. This gives the tablet a view of the tabletop or floor in front of it where you'll slide pieces into play. 

There are different pieces in each kit. For example, the Coding Kit comes with plastic pieces that slot together magnetically and can be stacked to create commands. The Genius Kit features letter, number, and shape tiles. The Little Genius Kit has squiggly lines that can be put together to form letters, numbers, or shapes, and also a set of costume tiles.

Everything is well-made, durable, and temptingly tactile. The pieces are fun to play with and even the way they pack into the stackable boxes is satisfying. Each kit offers a different set of games that work with the kit's included pieces.

To get started, I installed the Osmo World app which serves as a hub. 

Osmo Starter Coding Kit

My daughter was excited to try the coding kit first. The opening game challenges kids to guide the cute Osmo character, Awbie, through a forest map chasing bunnies, collecting strawberries, and gathering wood that can be used to build his campsite. By slotting different pieces together, kids command Awbie to move through tiles on the game map. It's a gentle introduction to what the pieces mean that gradually layers up the complexity, introducing concepts like sequencing and looping. 

As a child's confidence grows, they can move on to the other two games in the coding series, which feature tougher problems to solve. Coding Jam has perhaps the strongest hook as it enables kids to create music. The most advanced option is Coding Duo, which is ideal for two kids and introduces concepts like pair programming.

Osmo Genius Starter Kit + Family Game Night

With seven different games to play, there's lots to do with the Genius Kit. My daughter particularly liked the Tangram game, which challenges kids to make the onscreen animals from geometric shapes. Lettertopia is the new word game and it's an interesting cooperative adventure where kids form words to move characters through a map and defeat enemies.

There is also a kind of competitive hangman game that can be played with the letter tiles and my kids were keen to go head-to-head, but it soon sparked an argument. We had a lot more fun with the cooperative play. They especially enjoyed Math Buzz, which dresses up math problems in a bee-themed game they could play as a team. They worked together to solve the puzzles and add, subtract, or multiply their way to the honey.

Little Genius Starter Kit + Early Math Adventure

This kit is aimed at preschoolers, but we actually had some fun using the squiggly plastic pieces to create characters that came to life on screen in Squiggle Magic and to form letters in the ABC game. There are also games that use the costume pieces, challenging kids to pick the right clothes to advance a story and to experiment with outfits.

Osmo's new games in this kit are Counting Town and Shape Builder, both use the sticks and rings to form numbers or create shapes. They were a bit basic for my daughter, but I think kids in the target age range of 3 to 5 years old would benefit from the counting practice and learn to identify shapes.

What makes these stand out

The hook of onscreen action dictated by physical pieces is what makes Osmo's kits unique and both the hardware and software are highly polished. My daughter was so engrossed that she asked to play again every day for the last week. My son remembered testing some Osmo games in the past and decided, at 11, he was now too old. But once he saw my daughter playing, he couldn't resist joining in. 

I appreciate that Osmo has made some effort with the new kits to introduce more cooperative and competitive play elements that can involve the whole family.

The cons

The obvious con here is the price. You can buy a Fire tablet for less than even the cheapest Osmo kit. The quality of Osmo's offerings is high, but you'll want to get a lot of use out of them to justify the cost. To that end, these kits would potentially work great in playgroup or classroom settings. 

The bottom line

Thoughtfully designed, easy to use, and engaging, Osmo's kits offer a rare blend of fun and education that has the potential to spark young imaginations. While they are expensive, you're getting an exceptionally good quality product that's unique. There's nothing else quite like Osmo, particularly the Genius Kits, but young coders may be better served by getting involved in a huge, free, open project like Scratch.

Ultimately, there's enough depth and versatility here, particularly in the Osmo Genius Starter Kit + Family Game Night, to keep kids coming back for more. 

Pros: Polished hardware and software, fun and educational, includes cooperative and competitive games

Cons: Expensive, requires an iPad or Fire tablet

 

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.

We rounded up the best sales and deals happening online today, with savings at Twillory, Chewy, and more. 

Deals in this story are subject to change throughout the day. The prices listed reflect the deal at the time of publication. For even more deals and savings across the web, check out Business Insider Coupons.

The best sales happening right now:

• Get 30% off pet beds from Chewy.
  
  • Read our guide to the best outdoor pet beds.
• Save on the top DNA tests for pets from Chewy.
  
  • Read our Wisdom Panel and Embark reviews here.
• Save $115 on a Speck Travel Backpack from Speck Travel.
  
  • Read our guide to the best travel backpacks.
• Save $30 on a 12-month subscription of PlaystationPlus from CDKeys.
• See more: The best Amazon sales and deals, and coupons for your favorite stores.
• Visit Insider Reviews' deals page for more sales.

The best on-going sales and exclusive discounts happening right now:

Get any shirt from Twillory for only $39 each when you buy 2

Shop the Twillory Warehouse Sale now.

Twillory shirts make hefty claims, like sweat prevention and wrinkle-free fabric, so we put them to the test, and found them to be true. Shirts from the retailer usually go for about $100, but right now you can snag a pair for only $39 each — a huge and rare discount.

Save 20% off sitewide from the Girlfriend Collective.

Shop the sitewide sale from the Girlfriend Collective now.

Feel better buying your athletic wear when buying from the Girlfriend Collective — not only is it all made from recycled materials, but it's all 20% off right now. We've tested out the brand's leggings and shirts and loved them; it's not just hype. Sitewide sales aren't common for the Girlfriend Collective, so take advantage of it while it lasts. The sale ends November 1.

Get 40% off from Lo and Sons

Shop the Early Bird sale at Lo and Sons now.

If you've been looking for a new tote or bag to carry your things, look no further than the Lo and Sons Early Bird sale. Wallets, purses, totes, backpacks, and more are all included in the 40% off sale, so don't miss out on this chance to upgrade to some luxury carry. We've reviewed many of their popular bags to help you find which is the best for you. 

Get up to 60% off from Ella Paradis with code.

Shop the Ella Paradis Halloween sale now.

Treat yourself or your partner this month by using code SPOOKY to get up to 60% off select items from Ella Paradis. Ella Paradis has a huge selection of toys and accessories to choose from, so you're sure to find something just for you — at a discount. Read our guide to the best sex toys here. 

Get up to 60% off winter gear from Backcountry.

Shop the Backcountry No Reservations sale now.

Winter is coming and right now you can prep for your outdoor activities at a discount. Backcountry is holding a No Reservations sale in which you can shop gear, apparel, and footwear up to 60% off right now. Since most of these items are clearance, stock is limited, so act fast. 

• You can watch video on an Apple Watch, as long as it's embedded in a text message.
• You can't watch YouTube or other streaming video on your Apple Watch. 
• When you get a video via the Messages app, you can tap to play and pause, and control the volume with the Digital Crown. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Despite all the capabilities of an Apple Watch, it's not very good at playing video. 

There's no YouTube app for the watch, for example, and for the most part, you can't watch videos on your wrist. 

But there is one significant exception — you can play videos embedded in SMS and iMessages.

Here's how to do it.  

How to watch videos on an Apple Watch

1. To watch a video on your Apple Watch, it must be a video file that's embedded in a text message (SMS or iMessage). It can't be a link (like a YouTube URL), and it can only be sent via a message. You can receive a message from someone else or you can send a video in a text message to yourself from your iPhone. 

2. When you receive the message, tap the video thumbnail. The video should start to play.

3. Tap the screen to pause the video. Tap again to resume playback. 

4. You can adjust the volume with the Digital Crown.

5. When you're finished, tap "Done."

You can return to the message in your Messages app to watch the video again later. 

Unfortunately, you can't play video from a link on your Apple Watch. If you try, you'll generally get a message that says your browser does not currently recognize the video file. 

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to sync photos to an Apple Watch from your iPhone, to display on the Photos watch face

• 'Why won't my Apple Watch turn on?': How to fix an Apple Watch that won't turn on or respond

• 'What is the Apple Watch Studio?': How to order a custom Apple Watch with Apple's new design studio

• How to play music from Spotify on your Apple Watch, through the Watch app

• 'What is AQI on an Apple Watch?': How to view the Air Quality Index on your Apple Watch with the AQI complication

• The S&P 500 will tumble up to 20% further before the inauguration as investors have now lost hope that the coronavirus would be controlled, James McDonald, Hercules Investments CEO, said on Wednesday.
• "We see stocks falling by another 10-20% from here," McDonald said. "If the S&P 500 breaks below 3,200 before the election, its next move may be down another 12% to 2,890."
• The benchmark  index closed at 3,271 on Wednesday, its lowest level since late September. 
• McDonald told investors that volatility is the only asset class with any clear upside potential at the moment. 
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

"The stock market is telling us that COVID-19 isn't going away anytime soon."

That's according to James McDonald, Hercules Investments CEO and investment chief, who said on Wednesday that the S&P 500 index could tumble an additional 20% before the presidential inauguration in January as cases of the coronavirus surge in the US and swaths of Europe begin to lock down again. 

The benchmark index lost as much as 3.6% during Wednesday trading and closed at 3,271 — its lowest level since late September. McDonald said the market turmoil isn't over just yet. 

"Expectations that COVID-19 would be under control by now have vanished and we see stocks falling by another 10-20% from here," McDonald said. "We believe that if the S&P 500 breaks below 3,200 before the election, its next move may be down another 12% to 2,890." 

Read more: 'The road to financial implosion': A notorious market bear says the Fed has set the stage for a 67% stock plunge — and warns of zero-to-negative returns over the next 12 years

The investment chief's trading strategy led him to profit from the market's volatility at the height of the crash in March. He has been long volatility since then, and told investors it's the only asset class with any clear upside potential at the moment.

"Even after today's 20% spike, we believe that volatility has more room to run between now and the election. We see volatility rising even further after the election, the longer we go without a clear result," said McDonald. 

He added that "work-from-home" stocks like Zoom and Docusign are solid long-term investments, though the markets are currently displaying "extremely bearish signals" for stocks.

Read more: Market wizard Tom Baldwin started trading with $25,000 and grew it to an estimated $30 million. He shares 6 timeless trading rules that helped him reach millionaire status before his first year was through.