Target first began selling denim under the private label "Tarval" in 1962, more than 85 years after Levi Strauss introduced the first pair of "waist overalls."

Early advertisements for the retailer's denim selection show bell-bottomed jean suits for men, "patchwork" denim for boys, and high-waisted, flared styles for women. Soon stonewashed, frosted, and embroidered jeans came into style.

Check out some of Target's early jeans ads and store photos below, courtesy of the retailer's blog, A Bullseye View.

Here's an ad from 1971 offering a matching jean jacket and pants "for when a suit's too much and your denims just don't make it."

Now here's the version for boys, costing just $6, in 1975:

The "patchwork" jean jacket and overalls on the illustration of the boy below "combine solids and prints pieced together," according to the ad, which was printed in 1975. But we can't quite figure out what's going on in the illustration. The combo looks pretty ridiculous. 

Target began selling Wrangler jeans in 1963, followed soon after by Levi’s jeans.

The retailer ran its first Levi’s promotional event in August of 1976 and sold 60,000 jeans in just three days, according to A Bullseye View.

Another sale was held a few months later, which sold more than 140,000 jeans for only $10.99 a pair.

Here's an ad from the same year suggesting that men pair brushed denim pants with "snappy" print shirts:

Since opening in 1962, jeans have been featured in Target's weekly ad a total of 2,687 times, according to the retailer's blog.

In 1977, Target introduced cutoff jeans paired with tank tops. The retailer was also selling a t-shirt printed with an image of a Miller Lite beer can.

Also in 1977, Target was offering colored denim for men, as well as tube socks and a t-shirt printed with an illustration of Charlie's Angels.

"The 'designer jean' craze of the 1980s was Target’s first taste of big name designers," according to Target's blog. "Target aisles quickly transformed into runways when the store ran the first designer jean event in August 1979. In just 24 hours (we love those limited time-only deals), Target sold 21,000 pairs of jeans by sought-after designers like Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein and Diane von Furstenberg."

In 1991, Target’s Merona brand debuted. The brand's jeans cost just $14.88 in 1995.

Remember when denim accessories were cool? Here's some evidence of that trend from 1999:

Flash forward to 2011, and Target's men's jeans were selling for $24 to $33.

SEE ALSO: 11 Pictures from The Golden Days Of JCPenney

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Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK-47 designer who died today, has expressed regret at creating something that causes so much death.

"I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work — for example a lawnmower," he said on a visit to Germany in 2002.

In memory of the self-taught Russian inventor, we are bringing back images of AK-47s that were transformed into works of art for the AKA Peace exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in September.

"Everyone knows the AK-47 and I thought, wouldn't it be great to take this iconic weapon and turn it into a thing of intrigue and art, rather than one of fear," photographer Bran Symondson, who thought of the project after serving in Afghanistan, told BBC.

"The Way we are Feeling" by Harland Miller

Photo by Bran Symondson

"Nimrod" By Stuart Semple

Photo by Bran Symondson

"Spin AK47 for Peace One Day" by Damien Hirst

We keep a close eye on luxury real estate, rounding up the most over-the-top homes to hit the market in our House of the Day features.

And since the year is winding down, we decided to do an official ranking of our 13 favorite properties that went on sale this year.

From the most expensive compound in America to a multi-home ranch in Las Vegas, these are the coolest properties that hit the real estate market around the world in 2013.

#13 The founder of for-profit education company University of Phoenix put his San Francisco mansion up for sale for $27 million. The nine-bedroom home had 13,000-square-feet with a hidden bar, Art Deco ballroom, and a library. It's still on the market today.

Find out more about the home here >>

#12 Faith Hill and Tim McGraw put their Franklin, Tenn. estate on the market for a hefty $20 million. The 750+ acres have plenty of rolling pastures, fields, ponds, and spring-fed creeks. There are also four different residences.

Find out more about the home here >>

#11 This six-level townhouse in New York was built in 1887 and had 12,000 square feet of space, a glass-and-steel staircase, and a home gym with an indoor lap pool. It was listed in May for $37 million, though the price has since been reduced.

Find out more about the home here >>

For the first time, restaurant reservation site OpenTable has released a list of the best restaurants of the year, which it based on 5 million reviews for more than 19,000 eateries across the U.S.

Contemporary American cuisine from restaurants that source their food locally and seasonally were big winners on OpenTable's ranking. California establishments also pop up three times in the top 10, and a winery from the state takes the number one honor. 

"California is in the envious position of having a year-round growing climate," OpenTable’s Chief Dining Officer Caroline Potter wrote in an email to Business Insider, "and the state produces much of the nation’s fruits and vegetables. Chefs and restaurateurs have amazing access to this 365 days a year." 

Take a look at the top 10 restaurants of 2013:

10. Goosefoot in Chicago, Ill.

9. The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif.

8. Fearrington House Restaurant in Pittsboro, N.C.

7. Orchids at Palm Court in Cincinnati, Ohio

6. o ya in Boston, Mass.

5. Charleston in Baltimore, Md.

4. Halls Chophouse in Charleston, S.C.

3. n/naka in Los Angeles, Calif.

2. Mama's Fish House in Paia, Hawaii

1. St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in Santa Rosa, Calif. 

SEE ALSO: OpenTable Says These Are The Best US Restaurants For Foodies

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Alcohol makes a great holiday gift for a number of obvious reasons, and it's always fun to try something new. 

Our friends at FindTheBest came up with a list of exotic bottles from each category of liquor. 

These aren't your typical bottles of booze — they're expensive, strange, and difficult to find — but they're sure to be a unique gift for the liquor enthusiast in your life.

They'll definitely want to show these off to their guests. Prices are approximate

Whiskey

Glen Breton Single Malt Whisky (no price available)

Each bottle of this Canadian whisky is aged 15 years, and it's gold like "the first brushing of the sun upon the snow-covered lakes of the Bras d’Or." This particular bottle also got plenty of media attention when the Canadian distillers were sued for their label's alleged misleading use of the Scottish word "Glen." 

Pappy Van Winkle 20 ($93)

Pappy is the "white whale" of bourbons, so rare and coveted that a 20-year-old bottle sold for $1,190 at an auction in October. 195 bottles of the aged bourbon were stolen from a Kentucky warehouse just a few days later in what was suspected to be an inside job. 

Rum

Ron de Jeremy 7 ($27)

The seven-year-old Panama rum is named after porn star Ron Jeremy and distilled by 72-year-old Cuban master distiller Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez. 

Tommy Bahama Golden Sun Rum ($28)

According to Wine Enthusiast Magazine, this Barbados rum named after the famous clothing retailer has plenty of delicious flavor, including "baking spices, most notably, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla bean; further aeration reveals coffee bean, cocoa, new saddle leather and toasted marshmallow."

Liqueur

Sapling Vermont Maple ($35)

This rich liqueur is made using real Vermont Grade A maple syrup, and it's only available in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, California, Nevada, and by special order in Montana and Pennsylvania.

Fulton's Harvest Pumpkin Pie Cream ($11)

Available only in the fall months, this is the first pumpkin pie cream liqueur to hit the market. Best served chilled, it's also great in coffee and cream-based cocktails. 

Gin

Wembley London Dry Gin ($12)

This is a rare Romanian gin that won double gold at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.  

Arcus Golden Cock (no price available)

It's probably safe to say you won't find another bottle with a name as ridiculous as this Norwegian gin.  

Vodka

Crystal Head Vodka ($50)

According to the manufacturers, this Canadian vodka is filtered three times through 500-million-year-old Herkimer diamonds. It's sold in a bottle shaped like a crystal skull. 

Snow Queen Organic Vodka ($23)

This award-winning vodka comes from far-away Kazakhstan.

Brandy

Kappa Pisco (no price available)

Produced high in the Chilean Andes, this pisco is "distinctly sweet and floral, but it’s the sexy midnight-blue bottle with white stars and clear panels that truly attracts attention," according to Wine Enthusiast Magazine. 

KWV 10 Year (no price available)

This South African brandy is aged for 10 years in French oak barrels. It was named "Best Brandy in the World" by the International Spirits Challenge in 2011. 

Tequila

Casa Noble Single Barrel ($101)

Carlos Santana owns the brand that makes this extra anejo tequila, the first single-barrel tequila program in the world.  

Avion Reposado ($45)

This premium reposado tequila was created specifically for the show "Entourage," after this particular label became an important part of the story line. 

SEE ALSO: 13 Awesome Gifts For Beer Nuts

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Hotels aren't always completely honest when it comes to the photos they post on their websites.

Professional reviewers from hotel review website Oyster visited vacation properties from Barbados to Boston, and the photos they took didn't quite match up with the online fantasy.

If you're thinking of booking a warm getaway as the cold weather sets in, let these "photo fakeouts" serve as a cautionary tale against relying solely on hotels' marketing materials.

Some of these photo "upgrades" are so egregious, you'll think you are looking at pictures of two completely different properties.

FANTASY: The Sugar Cane Club in Barbados looks like the perfect spot for romance.

REALITY: Not much space, and no champagne.

Read the full review at Oyster >

FANTASY: Riu Negril Club's Pool is filled with beautiful people.

Most people think Las Vegas is the capital of the casino world.

It's not.

Casino revenues in Macau, the semi-autonomous administrative region of China, surpassed those of Vegas years ago. It benefits from the fact that gambling is illegal in China, but the Chinese love to gamble — so they go to Macau.

Gambling turnover in Macau is now six times that of Vegas, annually, according to CBS. Global soccer star David Beckham endorses The Sands resort — in Macau, of course, not Vegas.

And Macau, like Vegas, has gone through an epic construction boom, according to this great story from The New Yorker. Some of them are eye-poppingly awesome. Take a look.

Historically, Macau was a Portuguese colony protected by the Monte Fort, a castle built in 1617.

This is a view through one of its walls.

This is what the "normal" part of Macau looks like.

How much to tip your doorman (and everyone else) this holiday season >

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Ben Nunery, an Ohio man who lost his wife Ali to cancer two years ago, wanted to create one last powerful memory of the house they built together before he and his daughter, Olivia, moved to a different neighborhood.

"These past two years have had no shortage of emotional hurdles to overcome, some small and some large, but none as big as saying goodbye to the home that Ali and I built together," Ben wrote on his blog. "In many ways it felt like the last vestige of the life that we set out to build together. It felt as though leaving that house would be the first step in a new life that Olivia and I would build together...without Ali."

To pay homage to the memories they made together in that home, Ben invited Ali's sister, professional photographer Melanie Pace, to recreate the wedding photos she had taken there more than four years ago. Three-year-old Olivia would take her mother's place. 

"We set out to once again do a photo session in that empty house. Only this time I would have a different partner, although one just as beautiful," Ben wrote on his blog. "It was fun and strange and sad and comforting and just about every other emotion you can think of."

On the left is a photo Ben and Ali took on their wedding day in 2009. They had bought the house just the day before, and it was still empty. The house was empty again in the recreated photo, this time because they were preparing to move. 

"I did it so I would have something to show for the love and beauty that occupied that house for a short time in our lives," he wrote. "I wanted to be able to show Olivia the place where her mother and I started our lives together and dreamed of raising children."

Olivia finds her mother's curling iron in the hallway. On the right, Ali prepares for the big day.  

In this photo, Olivia looked too small next to the railing, so Pace had the father-daughter pair play on the stairs instead.

"I thought it would be much harder to say goodbye in this way, but as I sat in the driveway, ready to drive away for the last time, I realized that it’s just a house. The memories of Ali don’t live in that house," Ben wrote. "They live with us, in our hearts."

SEE ALSO: A Photographer Poignantly Documented His Wife's Battle With Breast Cancer

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In every homeowner's worst nightmare, a recent lawsuit alleges that two Coldwell Banker realtors in New Jersey kept potential buyers away from a vacant home so they could use it for their "sexual escapades," according to NorthJersey.com writer John Petrick.

Robert Lindsay, a former president of the Passaic County Board of Realtors, and another Coldwell agent named Jeannemarie Phelan were allegedly caught by hidden security cameras using the defendants home as a crash pad for their trysts.

According to the suit: "Defendants Coldwell and Lindsay were engaged by [Richard and Sandra Weiner] to market and sell their home in Wayne, New Jersey. Instead, Lindsay and Phelan, through Lindsay’s illegal and dishonest acts, used the Weiners’ home as their play pad to have sexual relations in the Weiners’ bedroom, among other places in the home," NorthJersey.com writes.

The suit also reportedly says that the agents listed the home way above its market value at $650,000 to keep it on the market (and vacant) for longer. Their alleged month-long affair lasted for over a year until January 23, 2012 when Sandra Weiner happened by chance to see the real estate agents on the camera feed, and called the police, NorthJersey.com reports.

"The police opened the door to the house and found Lindsay pulling up his pants," the suit reportedly states. "Lindsay lied to police by telling them that he was there to prepare the house for an open house. … Instead, Lindsay and Phelan were at the house to have sex." 

"Immediately after learning of the allegation of improper behavior at the property by two independent contractors in January 2012, we ceased our affiliation with the agents," Hal Maxwell, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in New Jersey and Rockland County, told NorthJersey.com.

SEE ALSO: 11 Unusual Homes You Can Buy Right Now

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Local literature can be a surprising source of home state pride, no matter where you're from.

We found the most famous book set in each state. How many have you read? Check out the annotated map below.

Click for the full feature on the most famous book set in every state >

SEE ALSO: These Are The Books That Changed Our Lives

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34th Street in northwestern Baltimore is better known as Christmas Street. Every year from the day after Thanksgiving to New Year's Day, the 22 houses in the neighborhood string lights, put out a hubcap Christmas tree, and even run train sets in and around some houses. 

It all started in 1991 when Bob Hosier first strung lights to connect his house with a neighbor's across the street, creating a canopy of Christmas lights on the block. He told Business Insider he has been taking his house to "the next level" since he moved to the street — into the house where his wife grew up — in 1982.

Hosier likes to cover his entire house in multicolored lights and only switches to white lights for New Year's Eve when he drops a ball in his front yard. The mayor even awarded Hosier a certificate for the best holiday decorations in the city.

Once the whole neighborhood got involved, 34th Street became a tourist attraction. Everyone can choose how to decorate his or her own house. There's no theme, and neighbors don't have to participate.

"But they usually want to join in when they see the rest of us out there laughing and carrying on while we decorate," Hosier said. "That's why I like the holidays. It's the one time when everyone goes out of their way to be civil to one another."

There isn't really competition among neighbors to outdo each other, Hosier said. They're all invested in making the "Miracle on 34th Street" the best it can be. Although living on 34th Street didn't directly inspire Hosier to go all-out with Christmas decorations, he did say it was a happy accident.

One year when he was remodeling his kitchen, he found even more of a connection between the iconic Christmas movie and Baltimore's 34th Street: It used to be common to line a floor with newspaper before covering it with linoleum, and under one square Hosier removed, he found a newspaper ad announcing the opening of the movie "Miracle on 34th Street." 

"It was fate," Hosier said, "I framed it and hung it on my porch to remind myself how special what we do on this street is."

Neighbors on 34th Street string lights across the street to create a canopy of Christmas lights.

A utility pole turns into a palm tree when it's decorated with Christmas lights.

Everyone can put up whatever decorations they like, but Christmas lights tend to be the focus over props.

Baltimore's favorite beer has traditionally been National Bohemian, nicknamed Natty Boh.

Baltimore is an important hub for the crab industry since it's so close to the Chesapeake Bay, which for years was the East Coast's main source of blue crabs.

Local artist Jim Pollock built this hubcap Christmas tree.

Here's a look at an elaborate Christmas train display on 34th Street. 

SEE ALSO: Meet The Bronx Family With The Most Elaborate Christmas Decorations In NYC

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2013 has been a big, wonderful year for supercars. Lamborghini, McLaren, Ferrari, and others were all at the top of their games, producing over-the-top cars priced for millions of dollars.

Covered in carbon fiber and going from 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds, these rides make the average Mercedes S Class owner look like Scrooge McDuck.

Here's a look back at the best cars the vast majority of people will never spot on the road, let alone drive or own.

Let's start with the best. This year, the McLaren P1, the long-awaited successor to the F1 (in its day the fastest production car on the planet) finally hit the road. All 375 units of the $1.15 million beauty have already sold out — no surprise, considering the P1 is one of four production cars to run the famed Nurburgring-Nordschleife circuit In under seven minutes.

2013 marked 50 years of Lamborghini, and the Italian automaker kept itself busy to mark the occasion. The owners of nearly 350 cars got together for a tour of Italy, at the end of which Lamborghini revealed the absurd, single-seat "Egoista" concept car.

In the closing weeks of the year, we saw the last Gallardo ever roll off the production line and the unveiling of its successor, the Huracán. The company also officially debuted the totally over-the-top Veneno— on an aircraft carrier in Abu Dhabi, of course. Lambo will make only three units of the Veneno, but it will sell each for $4.5 million, before taxes.

Back in January 2013, deliveries of the Pagani Huayra finally got going. The $1.2 million supercar comes with a hand crafted twin turbo V12 engine that will send it from 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. The instrument cluster looks like a jet's cockpit and each side view mirror is like "a woman's eye looking back at you," in Jay Leno's words.

Ferrari had quite a good 12 months as well. It rolled out its most powerful and fastest production car ever, the stupidly-named LaFerrari. All 499 units, worth $1.4 million each, sold out earlier this month. And not just anyone could buy one — Ferrari North America CEO Marco Mattiacci told us prospective buyers should have 20 to 30 Ferraris in their collection to be considered as customers.

Also this year, Ferrari's 458 Italia made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, greeting visitors with the ability to go from 0 to 60 mph in three seconds flat.

Porsche didn't go crazy in 2013, but it did give us a good look at the terrific 918 Spyder. The plug-in hybrid generates a whopping 770 horsepower, and it circled the Nurburgring-Nordschleife in an incredible 6 minutes, 57 seconds — the best time ever for a production car.

Not every supercar came from a well-known automaker. The Chinese-Italian Icona Vulcano was the star of the Shanghai Auto Show in April, then made a splash at Pebble Beach this summer. Out of the Netherlands came the Vencer Sarthe, a mid-engined ride with a 6-speed manual transmission.

Bugatti spent most of 2013 celebrating itself with a series of special edition Veyron Grand Vitesse cars, each dedicated to a man from the automaker's history. The bad news is that it's nearly time to say goodbye to the Veyron, the fastest production car on the planet: Bugatti announced earlier this month there are only 50 units of the model left for sale.

Of course, supercars are no good locked up in some secret millionaire's underground garage. So we give thanks to the police of Dubai, who assembled a ridiculous fleet of cars to chase down bad guys. They've got a Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari FF, Aston Martin One-77, and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG — supercars so awesome we almost wouldn't mind being arrested just to ride in one.

SEE ALSO: Here's Lamborghini's All-New Supercar — The Huracán

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The Instagram account of Murad Osmann went viral earlier this year, mainly thanks to the presence of his gorgeous girlfriend Natalia Zakharova, who is leading him around the globe in his photos.

Jump right to the photos »

The Moscow-based couple have continued to travel since the initial photos surfaced in March, and now Murad has a fresh batch of images in the series, titled "Follow Me."

The first picture happened entirely by accident in Barcelona, when Natalia and Murad were on vacation. "I had just finished a shoot there. She was a bit annoyed that I was taking pictures all the time and so she grabbed me by the hand and tried to pull me forward," Murad explained to Business insider. "That didn't stop me from taking pictures and that's how I took a picture of her pulling me." 

The couple have since traveled to even more exotic destinations for Murad's work, including Spain, Istanbul, and New York City. They were even featured at an Art Basel exhibition at the Versace Mansion with American artist Alec Monopoly.

Natalia and Murad have also created a Facebook page to document their adventures, where fans can go behind the scenes of the shots and discover more about their travels — not to mention get inspired to hop on a plane and follow in the couple's footsteps.

"We are actually now planning our New Year's trip either to Brazil, or to India," Murad told us. Sounds like we can expect even more amazing images from the handsome couple in 2014.

Natalia stood on the roof of Praktik Hotel in Madrid. "Madrid is undeniably one of the world’s most culturally and historically significant cities," Murad said.

Source: Follow Me/Facebook

She led Murad through Istanbul's many districts. The pair loved the contrast of these many-colored homes.

Source: Follow Me/Facebook

While they were in Miami for Art Basel, Natalia and Murad took advantage of Miami Beach and the warm weather.

Source: Follow Me/Facebook

Nothing changes faster these days than science and medical advice.

That's why, when it comes to your general health, it's hard to know what information is right, wrong, and somewhere in between.

To find some of the most common health questions that people have, we turned to a book called "Your Health: What Works, What Doesn't" published by Reader's Digest in June 2010.

The book consulted dozens of experts and culled through hundreds of studies to bring readers a definitive answer to controversial questions about diet, fitness, disease, and medicine.

We've supplemented these answers with our own research to present a bottom line.

Keep in mind that new research continuously changes our understanding of "good and bad" health advice. We've done our best to provide answers based on the most current scientific evidence.

Does olive oil prevent heart disease?

Short answer: Yes

The health benefits of olive oil come from the presence of polyphenols, antioxidants that reduce the risk of heart diseases and cancers.

But to get these healthy compounds, consumers should buy good-quality, fresh "extra-virgin" olive oil, which has the highest polyphenol content. Most commercially available olive oils have low levels of polyphenols associated with poor harvesting methods, improper storage, and heavy processing. 

Do cough syrups work?

Short answer: No

In 2006, the nation's chest physicians agreed that the majority of over-the-counter cough medicines don't actually work. These colorful syrups typically contain doses of codeine and dextromethorphan that are too small to be effective.

Only cough suppressants that contain older antihistamines seem to relieve coughs. That includes brompheniramine, an active ingredient in Dimetapp.

Does sugar cause hyperactivity?

Short answer: No

Following a review of 23 studies, a 1996 report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that sugar "does not affect the behavior or cognitive performance of children."

The age-old myth that kids misbehave when they eat large amounts of candy, cookies, and other junk food, could be related to the type of events where these foods are typically served. For example, kids are more wound-up at birthday parties and during Halloween when sweet treats tend to flow freely.

Christmas is celebrated all over the world, but every community has developed its own unique holiday traditions.

Some are sweet, but others strike us as downright strange.

We've gathered up some of our favorite Christmas traditions from around the globe. Did we leave yours out? Let us know in the comments.

Meredith Galante contributed to this post.

In Australia, Santa Claus pulls up on a surfboard.

It's summer down under on Christmas Day. Temperatures in December are between 68 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit.

So Santa often pulls up on the beach on his surfboard. Carolers also gather in masse in major cities to sing by candlelight, and people decorate their homes with "Christmas Bush," a native plant.

In Austria, young men dress up as the Krampus and roam the streets to frighten children.

In Austria, December is a time for festive events and frights.

Young men walk around dressed up as the Krampus, a devil-demon creature equipped with cowbells and rods, scaring adults and children.

The country is also known for its famed Christmas markets.

In the Czech Republic, women submerge a branch of a cherry tree under water. If it blooms they will marry the next year.

On Dec. 4, women in the Czech Republic place a cherry twig under water. If it blooms before Christmas Eve it means she will marry in the next year.

Another marriage-related superstition in the Czech Republic is that if a woman throws a show over her shoulder on Christmas day and it points to the door, she will soon be wed.

Some people get nervous when they have to taste a bottle of wine in a restaurant, or anywhere else for that matter.

Stop the madness.

Watch this 50-second video to learn how to fake it, at least until you become a true pro.

Produced by Robert Libetti. Follow us on YouTube >

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NOW WATCH: 9 Maps That Show How Americans Speak In Different Regions

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Are you leaving money on the table when you travel for work?

There are plenty of hidden costs associated with traveling that rookie business travelers end up overpaying or having to pay out of pocket for. But there are also some simple tricks that will save them time and money.

We've rounded up a few of the most common mistakes travelers make that could wind up costing them. 

Leaving expense reports to the last minute. Waiting to file expense reports is an accident waiting to happen. You could easily lose cab or meal receipts and wind up footing the bill out of your own pocket. Plus, there are often cash-only expenses that aren't as easy to keep tabs on without a physical receipt. To make your life easier, use an organizational app like Expensify or Lemon to snap photos and download receipts along the way. When you've finished your trip, it takes only a few minutes to categorize expenses and organize them into a shareable spreadsheet.

Forgetting to deduct expenses at tax time. If your company's per diem for food and lodging isn't ample enough for your tastes, don't forget that you can still get a tax break for business-related expenses. Just do your homework first to find out what qualifies. (Hint: That dinner cruise or sight-seeing expense probably won't fly with Uncle Sam.) 

Forgetting to let your bank in on your itinerary. There's nothing worse than swiping your credit card overseas only to be denied because you just tripped your bank's anti-fraud detector. It takes a few minutes to call up your bank before traveling to let them know your destination and to be ready to see some international transactions.

Using currency exchange counters. No matter what the glossy currency exchange counters tell you, they won't offer the most competitive rates. Take out cash from ATMs to get the most bang for your buck, or simply use your credit card when possible. 

Using the wrong credit card. Foreign transaction fees are any traveler's worst nightmare. That's the fee your lender will slap on every transaction you make in a different country. Do yourself a favor and be sure to carry a card that either waives these fees — or better, doesn't come with them in the first place. Cardhub, Nerdwallet, and other credit rating sites often come out with lists of the best travel cards on the market. The Capital One Venture Card topped both their lists for 2013.

SEE ALSO: 5 Ways Business Travelers Can Score Upgrades

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On Dec. 24, 1968 — 45 years ago this Christmas eve — Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the first humans to leave Earth's orbit and circle the moon.

The mission was historic, but even more memorable is the famous "Earthrise" photo that resulted, showing Earth for the first time rising above the lunar landscape.

Until that point, no humans eyes had ever seen our blue marble from space.

In Life's "100 Photographs That Changed the World," acclaimed wilderness photographer Galen Rowell described the unprecedented view of Earth as "the most influential environmental photographic ever taken." The image of our planet, which seems so small and vulnerable in the blackness of space, made people aware of its fragility.

Earthrise is now one of the most reproduced space photos of all time, appearing on U.S. postage stamps, posters, and the cover of Time magazine in 1969. Many have pointed out the irony of the photo since Apollo 8 was sent to study and take pictures of the moon's surface — not look back at Earth.

"Of all the objectives NASA had set before launch, no one had thought of photographing the earth from lunar orbit," Robert Zimmerman wrote in his book "Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8 : the First Manned Flight to Another World."

The famous photo was taken during the spacecraft's fourth pass around the moon, at which point the spacecraft had changed its orbit, making it possible to see the Earth climbing above the lunar horizon. 

None of the astronauts were prepared for that moment, particularly lunar module pilot Anders who had been put in charge of photography since there was no lunar module (this was seven months before the first moon landing). 

In an interview for a BBC Documentary, Anders described the sequences of events like this:

I don't know who said it, maybe all of us said, 'Oh my God. Look at that!' and up came the Earth. We had had no discussion on the ground, no briefing, no instructions on what to do. I jokingly said, 'well it's not on the flight plan,' and the other two guys were yelling at me to give them cameras. I had the only color camera with a long lens. So I floated a black and white over to Borman. I can't remember what Lovell got. There were all yelling for cameras, and we started snapping away.

For some time, there was controversy over which astronaut — Borman or Anders — pushed the camera button. Both claimed to be responsible. An investigation of transcripts later revealed that Anders took the iconic color photograph, while Borman, being the first to recognize "earthrise," took the first photo. This photo was in black-and-white and was overshadowed by the color photo for obvious reasons. In "The Elusive Apollo 8 Earthrise Photo," author Fred Spier contends that command module pilot Lovell also played his part — it was his authority that moved Anders to take the shot:

Experienced astronaut Frank Borman was the first to the importance of the picture, while equally experienced astronaut James Lovell was quick to follow. Space rookie William Anders, however, was in charge of taking the photos. In doing so, Anders had to follow a rather tight and well-defined photo plan, in which there was little or no room for unplanned snapshots, as he complained later during a debriefing session. As a result, Anders first offered some resistance and then quickly did what the other told him to do. Although it now seems beyond doubt that Anders actually snapped the famous picture, it also seems fair to say the picture came as a result of the combine efforts of all three astronauts.

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The Vitamix is dominating the luxury blender market.

The brand has tripled its workforce in the last two years as its popularity among health-conscious consumers has surged, with sales growing 52% last year. The Ohio-based company is now considering an international expansion, Crain's Cleveland Business reports.

The blender's swift rise over the last couple years is due in large part to its fervent following of fans, who openly profess their devotion to the 2-horsepower, commercial-grade machine online and in public settings to just about anyone who will listen.

With its $300-$650 price tag, it has become something of a status symbol for fitness buffs and healthy eaters, but it’s also catching fire among people for whom the kitchen is foreign territory.

"It’s the perfect life hack," Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Green wrote earlier this month. "While nobody at Vitamix emphasizes this, a whole universe has sprung up to support the hapless male user."

With its popularity, the Vitamix has attracted a number of competitors, many of which offer a much lower price for similar capabilities. The Ninja, for example, sells for under $250 and does just about everything the Vitamix can.

Here are six blenders other than the Vitamix that customers love:

Blendtec

Price: $454 to $1,035

Warranty: Seven years

Vitamix’s biggest competitor in the high-end blender market is the Blendtec. Blendtec was founded in 1975 by CEO Tom Dickson, who also stars in a YouTube series called “Will It Blend?” where he uses his machines to pulverize cell phones, iPads, golf balls and other items not meant for kitchen appliances. Last year, he threw parts of the Vitamix blender into the Blendtec machine after winning a $24 million lawsuit against the company for copying the design of Blendtec’s “Wild Side” jar.

Both companies’ blenders have an average customer rating of 4.5/5 stars on Amazon.com. On Costco’s website, Blendtec has 4.5/5 stars while Vitamix has 5/5 stars.

Blendtec reportedly has a slight advantage in horsepower over the Vitamix, but the Vitamix offers a lower average price and simpler controls, according to the website blenderreviews.us.

The Ninja

Price: $59 to $250

Warranty: Lifetime

The Ninja is tied for first place with the Vitamix in Consumer Reports’ blender ratings and its a best-seller on Amazon.com. Most of Ninja’s blenders sell for under $100, but promise to do nearly everything that a Blendtec and Vitamix can. Customer reviews on Amazon.com range from 3.5/5 stars to 4.5/5 stars for various versions of the blender.

The Ninja was developed by Euro-Pro Operating LLC, a household appliance maker with offices in Massachusetts, Canada and China. While the blender is generally highly rated, Euro-Pro doesn’t get such high ratings. The company has a "D+" from the Boston Better Business Review for a range of issues including billing, warranty and product problems.

The Tempest

Price: $520

Warranty: Two years

This blender is made by U.S. home goods manufacturer Hamilton Beach Brands Inc.

Like Blendtec and Vitamix, it can turn vegetables and fruits into smooth purees in seconds. But unlike those brands, it targets more commercial users — like bars, restaurants and cafes — over home cooks. Perhaps for that reason, the Tempest doesn’t have the cult following of its better-known competitors.

But it still has some really positive reviews, with an average 4.5/5 stars on Amazon. 

"After wasting hundreds of dollars on GE, Oster and other blenders that were too weak, poorly designed or that died after a few months, we are so happy that we went commercial grade," one reviewer wrote. 

The Omni Blend

Price: $289

Warranty: Seven years

This $289 blender is made by Australian company Radiant Marketing. A customer calls it a “formidable opponent to the Vitamix and Blendtec” in an Amazon review.

“So you have to blend a few extra seconds to get the exact same results as you would with a Vitamix or Blendtec — it's worth the difference in price!” the reviewer continued. “My Omni is pressed into service at least twice a day, and I have had NO problem blending nuts, greens veggies (such as swiss chard and kale), and frozen whole bananas.”

The NutriBullet

Price: $119

Warranty: One year

The NutriBullet, like its higher-priced competitors, promises to pulverize all vegetables and nuts without leaving behind any pulp or chunky substances. The only drawback is that the NutriBullet only makes single servings. So cooking for an entire family would be cumbersome.

The blender is listed by its manufacturer, NutriBullet LLC, for $119, but some retailers sell it for as low as $99. Customers give it 4/5 stars on Amazon.

The Versa

Price: $199 to $249

Warranty: Seven years

The Versa, made by Oster, has the same capabilities as its high-priced competitors and a similar warranty and gets high customer ratings. 

One customer who gave the Versa a glowing rating on Amazon called it "the poor man's Vitamix."

Another who tested the machine wrote, "I'd buy this over my Vitamix."

"This blender is the first one that I can say absolutely is comparable to the Vitamix and probably more favorable because it has a better price tag and more features," the reviewer wrote. 

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