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Witches Are Real And Here's What They Look Like

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Photographer Katarzyna Majak discovered a whole new side of Poland when she set out to explore her own spirituality.

It turns out there are lots of modern-day witches, who practice a collection of non-traditional religious and spiritual practices including spiritual healing, shamanism, Wicca, Druidism, and other revivals of Pagan traditions. (Witches are found in the U.S. too, with an estimated 1.2 million people following Pagan beliefs.)

Majak shared a few of these “women of power” with us. Check out more of her work at the Porter Contemporary Gallery.

Over 90% of Poland is Catholic. Because of the country's conservative values, many women pursue witchcraft and other pagan traditions as an outlet for an alternative spirituality.02 Natalia LL, an Artist, from Women of Power seriesThe women that Majak photographed ranged from early 30s to late 80s. Majak says that they desire to reclaim "matriarchal cults" and female traditions that have long been supressed by Christianity.05 Kasia Emilia, the One who Is, from Women of Power seriesThe scope of their practices is diverse. Many practice midwifery, healing, art, activism, religious initations, spells, and working with herbs.10 Joanna, Leads Womens Circles and Ceremonies for Women, from Women of Power seriesBea "speaks to the woods." She comes from a long line of family that "looked and saw." Like many of the women in photos, Bea carries a talisman, which she believes carries magical properties.03 Bea, the One who Listens to the Woods, from Women of Power seriesParaskiewa is a "whisperer," who mix religion and primeval superstitions to heal and remove spells using prayers. Her grandmother taught her the healing spells that she now uses.04. Paraskiewa, a Whisperer, from Women of Power seriesAnna is also a whisperer. Many, like Anna, have been practicing for generations, says Majak. 09 Anna, Babka, a Whisperer, from Women of Power seriesElwinga is a Druid, a pagan religion associated with ancient Celtic priests. Druids revere nature and perform ceremonies on astronomically significant dates such as the summer and winter solstice.06 Elwinga, a Druid, from Women of Power seriesKatarzyna is a herbal healer. She communicates with "spirits" and combines her knowledge of herbs with actual medical knowledge, to treat those who come to her for help.11 Katarzyna, a Herbal Healer, from Women of Power seriesSome Polish women feel so constricted that they seek spirituality in distant cultures, says Majak. Justyna practices the religion of the Mauri, the indigenous people of New Zealand.12 Justyna, MA URI, from Women of Power seriesVrede considers herself to be a "Volva" or shamanic seeress, meaning that she is in contact with divine spirits.13 Vrede, Volva from Women of PowerMaria is a healer and visionary. She uses plant, animal and mineral-based medicines and spiritual therapies to help diagnose and treat issues. 01. Maria, a Healer and a Visionary, from Women of Power seriesHere, you can see Maria performing a cleansing ritual to rid the soul and body of negative energy.07 Maria in front of the Palace of Culture in Warsaw video still, from Women of PowerDespite their non-traditional spiritual practices, these women lead normal lives with families and steady jobs. 08 Maria, City cleansing ritual, video still, from Women of Power

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Why The Trees At The Jack Daniel Distillery Look Like They've Been Blow-Torched

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jack daniel treeLocated in the quaint town of Lynchburg, Tenn., the historic Jack Daniel distillery maintains a campsite feel while pumping out 119 million bottles of whiskey a year.

On a recent walking tour of the scenic facility, I couldn't help but notice the trees looked like they had their bark blow-torched. The bark was extremely black and gave the trees a dramatic appearance. That's because they have been tainted by Baudoinia compniacensis — a unique whiskey fungus, found near distilleries. This fungus attaches to warehouses and walkways at the 147-year-old distillery.
jack daniel tree

Larry Combs, Jack Daniel General Manager, said the fungus has been cleaned off a few of the buildings at the distillery for cosmetic purposes.

"The funny thing about distilleries, especially old ones like Jack Daniel, they are where they are because of the water supply. You'll find these microorganisms near the water and so the mold just comes with the setting," Combs said.

This particular type of black fungus is common near distilleries because it uses ethanol as a source of energy for growth. During the whiskey maturation process, at least 2% of whiskey escapes from a barrel as ethanol vapor — perfect for Baudoinia to thrive. 

The mold doesn't seem to bother the locals, Combs told me.

"We really don't get any complaints about the mold. Every once in a while we will get someone to call in but more often than not people are just curious," Combs said. jack daniels

However, residents near another distillery have found the whiskey fungus to be a burden.

In 2012, Kentucky residents filed a lawsuit against Jack Daniel parent company Brown-Forman Corp. and three other whiskey producers because "the black fungus is very visible on homes, fences and cars and is unsightly."

The Jack Daniels distillery has not been sued over its own black fungus, Combs told me.

SEE ALSO: How Jack Daniels Makes So Much Whiskey In An Old Distillery

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Where The World's Super-Rich Spend Their Millions On Real Estate [MAP]

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Wealth-X and Savills are out with a new report showing how the super-rich (those with $30 million or more in assets) spend money on real estate.

There are a ton of interesting takeaways from the report, which is available here. The map below, which shows the flow of wealth around the world, is particularly telling. It shows where these ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) are most likely to purchase luxury real estate.

According to the report, "[the map] highlights not only where they like to live but also the geographies and jurisdictions that they might favour for other types of real estate holdings — and other investments — as well. Most notably, when it comes to residencies, UHNWIs may invest crossborder but they will tend to stick to destinations within their global region, to areas they call 'home'."

Some notable trends:

  • North Americans are most likely to purchase luxury real estate within the U.S..

  • Latin Americans also like the U.S., but will also buy in the Caribbean.

  • Europeans are the most diverse buyers: "The more established wealth of Europe seems best versed in the notion of global home-ownership. Not only is Europe itself full of billionaire boltholes but Europeans themselves venture to many luxury island resorts in the Caribbean and the Far East as well as into parts of the US and Canada," the report says.

  • London dominates when it comes to luxury real estate purchases by the super rich from all over the globe.

Screen Shot 2014 01 16 at 11.08.05 AM

 Screen Shot 2014 01 16 at 11.28.20 AM

 

The following map is also revealing, It shows the total wealth of UHNWIs around the world, and what percent of that wealth is in real estate. The super rich in the Europe and the Middle East have a relatively high proportion of their holdings in real estate, while people in the U.S. prefer other forms of investment.

Screen Shot 2014 01 16 at 11.07.36 AM

There were nearly 200,000 people worth $30 million or more globally in 2013, with a combined wealth of $27.8 trillion. Wealth-X predicts that figure will exceed $40 trillion by 2020.

 

SEE ALSO: 17 Crazy Hotel Suites You Have To Spend A Night In Before You Die

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2013 Was A Remarkable Year For Skyscrapers

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JW marriott marquis dubai

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has just released their annual review of skyscraper construction. Overall, 2013 proved to be a year of incredible growth for the industry. 

"By all appearances, the small increase in the total number of tall-building completions from 2012 to 2013 is indicative of a return to the prevalent trend of increasing completions each year over the past decade," the report reads. "Perhaps 2012, with its small year-on-year drop in completions, was the last year to register the full effect of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, and a small sigh of relief can be let out in the tall-building industry as we begin 2014." 

According to the Council's report, 2013 was the second-best year on record in terms of completed super-tall buildings. 73 buildings more than 200 meters (656 feet) tall were completed in 2013, second only to 2011, when 81 such buildings were completed. 

Twelve of those 73 buildings even made a showing on the list of the 100 Tallest Buildings in the World

"We can more confidently estimate that the slight slowdown of 2012, which recorded 69 completions after 2011's record 81 – was a 'blip,' and that 2013 was more representative of the general upward trend," the report says

Asia had an especially dominant year in the skyscraper market, with a record-breaking 53 buildings (74% of the world's total for the year) over 650 feet completed in Asian countries. China's 37 completed skyscrapers were the most of any nation, topping the list for the sixth year in a row. Goyang, Korea also made a surprisingly strong showing, with 8 super-tall building completions. 

In terms of sheer height, however, it should come as no surprise that Dubai was, once again, a dominant force. The tallest building completed in 2013 was the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai Tower 2, topping out at 355 meters, or 1,165 feet, tall. But the JW Marriott wasn't the only super-tall building to debut in the glitzy Persian Gulf country last year. For the second year in a row, three of the top five tallest buildings to be completed were in the United Arab Emirates. 

Despite all of the media attention surrounding One World Trade Center and its spire, only one building over 650 feet was completed in the United States in 2013, New York's 1717 Broadway. Europe, on the other hand, debuted two of the year's 10 tallest buildings for the first time since 1953, including the controversial Shard building in London. 

2013 skyscrapers by region and use

Here's a closer look at the 2o tallest buildings completed last year. Click here for a larger version and more detailed information on each one. 

tallest 20 skyscrapers 2013

 

tallest 20 buildings 2013 

SEE ALSO: A History Of The World's Tallest Skyscrapers

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The Most Beloved Regional Soda Pops In America

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Soda has become a staple of the American diet, with nearly half of Americans drinking at least one carbonated beverage daily. 

While the drinks get a bad rap today for containing too much sugar and other additives, they were once considered healthy and pharmacists frequently prescribed them to people with upset stomachs and nausea, among other symptoms.

Soda's popularity soared in the early 1900s as pharmacists began sweetening it with ginger, birch bark extract, cane sugar, and other flavorings. 

Dozens of soda bottling companies started popping up all across America, many of which still exist today and continue to use their original recipes.

We have rounded up a list of the most beloved regional soda brands that have survived through the decades, including a few popular newcomers. Check them out in the graphic below:

Soda Map 800 px

SEE ALSO: America Drinks So Much Soda, They Literally Had To Expand This Chart To Fit It In

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Photos Of Sochi In Summer, When It's The Hottest Vacation Spot In Russia

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sochi russia during summer 8"The Soviet government's passion for mass-organizing is on display in Sochi, where the tumbling green slopes of the Caucasus Mountains meet the Black Sea in a subtropical climate that allows a May-to-October vacation season."

That's how the Chicago Tribune introduced Sochi to Americans in a 1987 travel article.

Before winning the rights to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi was known as a resort town, if it was known at all.

Over a million people visit the Black Sea city every summer to swim, shop, lay on the beach, and generally relax.

You'll see a lot of cold-looking imagery coming out of Sochi next month. But these photos of Sochi in summer show what the host city typically looks like.

Sochi sits on the Black Sea. It's one of the warmest places in all of Russia.



Kids jump off an old concrete embankment.



Just like any typical Jersey Shore town, there's a water park near the boardwalk.



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Here Are The Most Millionaire-Filled States In America

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Income and wealth inequality in America are at historic highs, but the geographic distribution of wealth is also uneven.

Marketing services and research firm Phoenix Marketing International compiled estimates for the number of millionaires living in each state during 2013 using data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finance, Nielsen-Claritas, and the Census Bureau. This map shows the percentage of the population of each state who have at least $1 million in investible assets:

millionaires combined

Nationwide, slightly more than one in twenty (5.2%) of Americans have bank accounts in the seven figures. The East Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii dominate this list, with Maryland coming in at the top with 7.7% of its population being millionaires. The inland South has far fewer millionaires per capita. Mississippi has the smallest proportion of millionaires at 3.6% of its population.

Phoenix Marketing's full ranking of the fifty states can be found here.

SEE ALSO: It Looks Like People Overestimate How Much Many Jobs Really Earn

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The 5 Best Small Towns In America

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Every year, map publisher Rand McNally sets off to find the best small towns in the country. For its 2013 contest, the publisher sought winners in categories including most beautiful, most fun, most patriotic, friendliest, and best food.

Citizens were encouraged to vote for their hometowns, and a panel of judges narrowed the finalists down to 30. The judges picked the winners from nearly 1,200 nominees -- towns with populations of 150,000 or less.

According to Rand McNally, these are the five best small towns in America.

Most Beautiful: Jefferson City, Mo.

c88125025c8a002ea6864f4dd5c2a8381349b3d7.JPGJefferson City is located on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau, with views of the Missouri River. It's dominated by a domed Capitol building, and has a main street that's popular with visitors and locals.

Runners-up: Punta Gorda, Fla.; Quincy, Ill.; Arvada, Colo.; and Cloudcroft, N.M.

Most Fun: Corning, NY

7999cdaf9b055041e12899a3986aadf4396b7acdCorning is located in New York's Finger Lakes region, near dozens of wineries. Nicknamed "Crystal City," it's home to glassmaker Corning Inc. and the Corning Museum of Glass. Corning also hosts a number of festivals and has a vibrant restaurant scene.

Runners-up: Jim Thorpe, Pa.; Lombard, Ill.; Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio; and Nocona, Texas

Most Patriotic: Gallup, NM

204e40bc358bd249746f47f57e89779cfd56ad3aGallup is steeped in both military and Native American history. During WWII, Gallup refused to let the town's Japanese citizens be sent to internment camps, and its Navajo Code Talkers were an invaluable resource. Gallup also has a Veterans Memorial Plaza and strong commitment to helping veterans returning from war.

Runners-up: Mandan, N.D.; Enterprise, Ala.; Fairborn, Ohio; and Jonesborough, Tenn.

Friendliest: Kewanee, Ill.

16eac5c1abf29a64cc9bc0c50bc9b6e61c436a41Kewanee is a factory and agriculture town. It has many parks and is known for its annual Labor Day "Hog Days" festival. In 2013, it also hosted the 20th annual Walldogs Meet, where painters from around the globe came and painted 15 murals around the city.

Runners-up: Macon, Ga.; Bradenton, Fla.; Murray, Ky.; Koekuk, Iowa

Best for Food: San Mateo, Calif.

240003dae13c9745cf1f8fbccb602a005771ab05Located between San Francisco and San Jose, San Mateo started as an agricultural community and has a huge array of cuisine for a town of 97,000. Its 350 restaurants serve Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin, European, and Classic American, among other cuisines, and it hosts several annual food festivals and farmers' markets.

Runners-up: Walla Walla, Wash.; Roseville, Minn.; Galesburg, Ill.; and Charlottesville, Va.

SEE ALSO: The 24 Tiniest Homes On Earth

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Why Shopping At IKEA Is A Magical Experience Like Nothing In The World

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ikeaHow do you sell 9,500 single-brand home furnishing products in a single store without being too overwhelming?

You do it in a very big and extremely well-designed store.

The only company that has pulled this off is IKEA, which has opened 345 retail locations and is expanding rapidly around the world. The company's $38 billion in annual revenue is larger than the GDP of Serbia, and it aims to reach $50 billion by 2020.

We recently visited the IKEA in Brooklyn and were blown away by the shopping experience. It's not that it's all fun or that IKEA products are that great — they're worth it if you know what you're doing but can be annoyingly shoddy. What impressed me was that the IKEA shopping experience was sort of fun and certainly worthwhile, with thoughtful design that gave me a favorable impression of the brand and led me to buy more.

The IKEA Experience in one customer traffic heat map. The store isn't too overwhelming, but it is overwhelming enough, with signs that direct customers in a disorienting maze, showing them so many products and making them spend so much time that they end up buying more than they planned on.



But first you've got to get there. Located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the IKEA New Yorkers use is accessible by a free or cheap ferry from Manhattan, which is how my adventure began.



This is where I spend the rest of my day.



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Steve Cohen Is Selling The $62.5 Million Hamptons Mansion He Bought Last Spring

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Steve Cohen SAC Capital

Steve Cohen hasn't even had the house for a full year, but he's already selling the East Hampton mansion he bought in March for $62.5 million, says the New York Observer.

However a spokesperson for Cohen has said, “As we made clear to the Observer, neither property is for sale.”

A few things about the house: It's on 52 Further Lane, has a pool, tennis court, media room etc. but the most important thing about it is that it has an ocean view.

Cohen bought the house at 52 after selling his home on 96 Further Lane. The 96 house just had to go because the ocean was blocked by fellow hedge fund manager Jim Chanos' house. And who wants that?!

Now that's all in the past. Apparently Cohen is done with Further Lane. It's over. Goodbye.

That said — now is definitely a good time for him to raise some cash. Cohen's firm, SAC Capital, plead guilty to insider trading charges last year and must pay $1.8 billion in fines to the Feds. It also returned all outside investor capital and turned into a family office.

The Justice Department has said that an investigation into Cohen himself, not just the firm, is ongoing.

Cohen is also selling his NYC penthouse, which was just price chopped from $115 million to $98 million.

Times are tough.

For the full report, head to the NY Observer>

 

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Look At All Of The Awesome Supercars In Fort Lauderdale

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ft lauderdale cars

It's no secret that South Florida is home to wealthy people leading lives of luxury. They also happen to drive some pretty amazing cars. 

Christian Lovrecich lives in downtown Fort Lauderdale and snapped these awesome photos of the cars he sees on a daily basis. He shared some of his photos with Business Insider, and we've picked out some of our favorites. 

Lovrecich spotted this Porsche Carrera GT at the local movie theater. 

ft lauderdale cars

The garage at one of his client's offices is a bit ridiculous. 

ft lauderdale cars

No big deal — it's just a Ferrari and BMW 6 series parked side by side.  

ft lauderdale cars

This one was parked outside Lovrecich's gym.

ft lauderdale cars

Here's yet another Ferrari he saw just parked on the street, this time in red. 

ft lauderdale cars

This GT-R could use a wash.ft lauderdale cars
But this Lambo is certainly easy on the eyes. 

ft lauderdale cars

Here's another Ferrari, this one parked at Lovrecich's building. 

ft lauderdale cars

He saw this Rolls-Royce during a trip to Home Depot. ft lauderdale cars

And this classic NSX was spotted on the road. ft lauderdale carsHere's a Bentley and a Ferrari parked in the same driveway. We'd love to get to know the people at this house. 

ft lauderdale cars

Don't be fooled by this scene — it's not a car show. These cars just happened to be driving by. ft lauderdale cars

SEE ALSO: The Parking Lot At The American University In Dubai Is Full Of Amazing Cars [PHOTOS]

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A Mom and Her 4-Year-Old Daughter Collaborated On Some Pretty Surreal Art

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Mica Angela Hendricks, an illustrator and graphic artist, has been collaborating on drawings with her 4-year-old daughter Myla since August, and the results are pretty surreal.

Hendricks used to stick to Rockwellian female heads, replete with perfectly ink-shaded curls, and then pass them along to her daughter for a judicious application of oval bodies and bright colors. But these days, she also draws animal and monster heads under her daughter's direction.

"My job will be the monster head, and Myla will say 'it should have one eye, big horns, and rabbit ears,'" Hendricks wrote in an email to Business Insider. "When it's her turn, I'll tell her what to draw, and that's sort of a fun twist, instead of doing each part independently."

Mica Hendricks shore

Mica Hendricks monster 2After Myla adds the bodies and colors the background (including extra people, flowers and trees), Hendricks adds details with markers and paint, like scales or fur spots. 

"The most important thing I've learned from her is not to worry so much about the end result," Hendricks wrote, "and just enjoy the moment and not to be so rigid with myself."Mica Hendricks animal 1She said she has a new favorite every time she and her daughter draw together, but she counts a piece called "Sad Chrysalis" (below) as one of the best. It was one of their first collaborations.

Myla took an orange marker and completely covered the woman. Hendricks said it sat around like that for a long time because she couldn't figure out how to make sense of it, until she thought about adding highlights and making it evident that the woman was a caterpillar waiting to turn into a butterfly.Mica Hendricks sad chrysalis"I keep thinking she'll get tired of them," Hendricks wrote of her daughter, "but she still asks me for heads to draw on."Mica Hendricks dinosaur girlHendricks has even turned their iconic big-headed drawings into temporary tattoos and shared the project on her blog, The Busy Mockingbird

SEE ALSO: A Dad Started Coloring In His Kids' Drawings — And Produced Some Amazing Art

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Can You Really Get A 'Contact High' From Marijuana?

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Randi Kaye Anderson Cooper pot

Three decades ago, a team of Norwegian researchers hot-boxed a car — for science.

The study volunteers had never smoked marijuana before, but they all piled into a small car for 30 minutes, joints in-hand. Some smoked while the rest were instructed to breathe normally.

The researchers wanted to investigate the same question recently raised by the onscreen antics of Anderson Cooper 360 reporter Randi Kaye, who spent a week reporting on the legalization of marijuana in Colorado: Can you really get a "contact high" from people getting high around you?

According to the Internet, yes and no. An entire thread on Marijuana.com tells  stories of the elusive contact high. One comment claims a girl lied to her probation officer that her friend blew smoke in her face, while another tells about getting stoned from her mom.

Similarly, the researchers' findings, published in the Journal of Forensic Science in 1985, were inconclusive — just as most of the other research has been. The Norwegian study only included ten volunteers, and the smokers were told to inhale as little as possible, leaving plenty to breathe for the non-smoking volunteers. 

Under those artificial conditions, the researchers found that only certain participants had levels of active agents like THC high enough to generate mental and physiological changes. But none of the participants actually felt high — a finding that appeared in a similar study in which experienced users were told smoke normally.

In fact, the hot-box experiment sounds like a drag for all involved. "No subject experienced any feeling of euphoria," the researchers noted. And "the discomfort caused by the heavy Cannabis smoke during the exposure period was universal."

Still, a contact high might be possible, a later study in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics found — but only under extreme conditions. The researchers instructed their subjects to sit quietly wearing colored goggles while a machine in the middle of the room "smoked" 16 marijuana cigarettes in one hour. 

While the physiological effects of the passive smoke inhalation varied, the subjects did report a high this time. No reaction to placebo cigarettes further corroborated the results.

But the researchers estimated that inhaling passive smoke from 16 joints in one hour had a similar effect to actually smoking just one, and they emphasized that different people can react very differently while inhaling similar amounts.

For clarification on the real-life application, we turned to Cecilia J. Hillard, a professor of pharmacology and the director of the Neuroscience Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin, who has studied marijuana extensively. 

In her expert opinion, she told Business Insider in an email, "the 'contact high' is purely a psychological phenomenon." The lungs, she explained, are extremely good at trapping the THC in marijuana, "and little residual THC is present in the exhaled air."

In other words, people "may experience runny noses or itchy eyes from the smoke" when others smoke marijuana, but they aren't likely to be hit with enough THC to feel high.

A more recent study, published in 2010 in the Journal of Analytic Toxicology, supported this idea, concluding that passive exposure to marijuana smoke under real-life conditions would only leave "trace amounts" of THC in the blood.

So was Randi Kaye actually high when she couldn't stop giggling during her interview with Anderson Cooper?

After all, she spent an entire day riding around in a car full of smokers, reaching levels of exposure greater than most of the experiments on the effects of passive smoke.

Kaye's high is possible — but not probable. Her demeanor was likely influenced as much by the people she spent time with and a placebo effect as by actual THC.

Most people who think they are experiencing a "contact high" should keep in mind that, as an old study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology concluded, "social setting and belief interact with smaller doses of marijuana."

In other words: Being around a little bit of smoke probably won't get you high, but when you factor in the placebo effect of that same smoke, you might just end up with a case of the giggles.

SEE ALSO: This CNN Reporter Appeared To Have Enjoyed A Tour Of Colorado's Weed Industry A Little Too Much

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These Images Of A 'Tyco Roman Orgy' Helped Put A CEO In Prison

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Tyco Party Dennis Kozlowski,

Former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski is finally getting out of prison this week, so we thought we'd take a look at what landed him there in the first place eight years ago.

Kozlowski and his right-hand man were convicted in 2005 of stealing $150 million from Tyco and illicitly making $430 million more by artificially inflating the value of company stock. Kozlowski, the son of a Newark, N.J. police officer, flaunted his wealth and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle that prosecutors said was improperly funded by the company he worked for.

The most glaring example of this extravagance was a $2 million week-long birthday party for his wife, Karen, which became known as "The Tyco Roman Orgy." Tyco picked up half the bill for the Roman-Empire themed 40th birthday party on the island of Sardinia, attracting the attention of federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the Wall Street Journal reported in 2002.

Here are images from a home movie of the party that a jury eventually saw:

Tyco Party Dennis Kozlowski,

 Tyco party Dennis Kozlowski,

The event was almost comically over-the-top. Tyco staffer Beth Pacitti sent party planners a memo with very specific expectations for the party at the Hotel Cala di Volpe Resort, which included a large replica of Michelangelo's David.

Here's an excerpt from the memo, courtesy of the Journal:

Guests arrive at the club starting at 7:15 p.m. ... Two gladiators are standing next to the door, one opens the door, the other helps the guests. We have a lion or horse with a chariot for the shock value. ... The guests come into the pool area, the band is playing, they are dressed in elegant chic. Big ice sculpture of David, lots of shellfish and caviar at his feet. A waiter is pouring Stoli vodka into [the statue's] back so it comes out his penis into a crystal glass. Waiters are passing cocktails in chalices. They are dressed in linen togas with fig wreath on head. A full bar with fabulous linens. ... We have rented fig trees with tiny lights everywhere to fill some space. 8:30 the waiters instruct that dinner is served. We all walk up to the loggia. The tables are all family style with the main table in front. The tables have incredible linens with chalices as wine glasses.

The jury that saw footage from this party actually didn't end up convicting Kozwolski; the judge declared a mistrial after a juror apparently gunning for the former CEO's acquittal gave an "okay" sign to the defense.

During the second trial, prosecutors focused less on Kozwolski's opulent lifestyle and the notorious toga party and spent more time talking about accounting issues, The Times reported. But as the Journal noted, the ex-CEO's spending habits and big party attracted the attention of prosecutors, so it's fair to blame at least some of his downfall on the "Roman Orgy."

Of course, Kozlowski probably won't be throwing $2 million toga parties now that he's getting out of prison. He and former Tyco CFO Mark Swartz were ordered to pay $134 million back to Tyco, and Kozlowski was ordered to pay a $70 million fine.

Despite his business qualifications, Kozlowski will probably have a hard time finding work that will fund fancy lifestyle post-prison.

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A Software Developer Sent Us This Really Cool Idea To Improve Amazon's Wish List

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jeff bezos podium

Amazon is an amazingly convenient way to shop for things. But it's not perfect. A California software developer came up with great idea to improve the site: add a crowdsourced funding option.

The developer, Jay M., describes his idea as: "Amazon Wish List meets Gift Registry meets Kickstarter."

Jay M. asked us not to share his full name. But he sent us this open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos that explains the idea really well.

Mr. Bezos,

I have an idea that I believe would be a great addition to the Amazon shopping and gifting experience.

Imagine Katie, an active girl who loves gadgets. Her job as a freelance writer doesn’t quite allow her to splurge on the new tech toys she’s had her eyes on. She really would like to have a Kindle Fire HDX. No, not the smaller 7” one. She wants the 8.9” one. She tried saving $50 to $75 a month when she could. Funny thing about having cash saved, she would dip into her Kindle Fund when things got tight.

Perhaps, on her birthday next month, someone could gift her the Fire. But no, as generous as her friends and family are, Katie would likely get several fun toys, but not the single one thing she would really like. She certainly didn’t expect any one person to be able to afford to surprise her with a Fire.

I would like to see Amazon implement a Wish List where anyone could make a partial contribution towards making purchases in your store. Think of it as:

Wish List meets Gift Registry meets Kickstarter

Amazon users will be able to select items and for each item, they can provide a “gifting link” which they can share with whomever they choose. On the flip side, anyone with the link can chip in. As soon as total contributions equal the current price of the item, Amazon ships the item...and Happy Birthday, Katie!

Regards,
Jay M. Bakersfield, CA.

PS: I created a mockup.

Amazon Crowdfunding MockUp

We agree. This would be an awesome service for Amazon to offer.

Amazon is already dabbling with crowdsourced gift giving. A service called Amazon Birthday Gift lets multiple people contribute to a gift card. It will then will post the gift card to the friend's Facebook page on the person's birthday.

There are also several startups that offer crowdfunding gift services. Aggregift lets people choose a gift and get multiple people to pay for it.  GivTed lets people crowdfund gift cards, too.

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33 Reasons Why Pike Place Is The Best Market In America

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PikePlaceMarket 1

Seattle’s Pike Place Market may not be the oldest farmer’s market in America, but it is often rated as the best.

First opened in 1907, Pike Place sits on the Puget Sound waterfront, in the heart of downtown Seattle. Home to hundreds of vendors hawking fish, produce, meat, specialty goods, jewelry, and even art, the market is still a place where small businesses thrive.

We took a day trip over Christmas to see Pike Place in full swing. Even amongst the bustling crowds, there isn’t a better place to spend a day eating and shopping.

Pike Place Market is the longest, continuously operating farmer's market in the United States.



First And Pike News is a famous newsstand at the market's primary entrance. The feeling of an old world market starts here, with racks of international newspapers and obscure magazines unavailable elsewhere. It's been locally owned for its entire existence.



Pike Place Nuts features freshly roasted nuts with odd, delicious flavors like banana walnuts and caramel cashews. It's the kind of oddly specific thing you can only find at Pike Place.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
    






Porsche Created A Mesmerizing Way To Open Up Its New 911

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At the Detroit Auto Show this week, Porsche revealed its latest creations, the 911 Targa 4 and Targa 4S. They're good looking cars (the difference is in the engine) with lots of power, style, and speed.

But the coolest thing about the new 911 is the way the top drops. To stow the roof behind the back seats, the system lifts away the wraparound rear window. The sides of the roof bar slide inward to let the roof move back. Once it's stowed, the glass is popped back into place.

Porsche hasn't yet provided the curb weights of the Targa 4 or 4S, but this complicated system won't shed any pounds. It's also hard to believe it will be easy to fix if it breaks. And considering how much is going on, it's likely that eventually will happen.

But in the meantime, it's mesmerizing. Watch it open:

And close:

Scheduled to hit American roads this summer, the Targa 4 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds, thanks to a 3.4-liter 6-cylinder engine. The more powerful 4S will do it in just 4.2 seconds, and will offer a top speed of 183 mph.

The Targa 4 and 4S start for $101,600 and $116,200, respectively.

Here's a better look at the 911 Targa 4:

porsche 911 targa 4 detroit auto show 2014

SEE ALSO: More From The 2014 Detroit Auto Show

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Subaru Puts Dogs Behind The Wheel, And Even Gives A Puppy Its Own Booster Seat

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It's not a revelation that dogs doing human things is funny. That said, there is something very amusing about Subaru's latest commercials featuring "the Barkleys."

The car manufacturer didn't just make a series of silly ads with dogs driving just because it felt like they would appeal to the internet crowd. Subaru is a leading advocate for pet safety in cars, and it partnered with the Center for Pet Safety last year to determine the best way to protect pups traveling with their owners. Their goal is to discover the most effective kind of dog restraint, since none on the market withstood significant collision tests.

In one new ad, the Barkleys get distracted by something on the road and start barking simultaneously:

The agency Carmichael Lynch created the "Dog Tested, Dog Approved" campaign with the production company Skunk.

In another commercial from the campaign, Mr. Barkley catches his "teen-aged" daughter making out with a Boxer:

The ads don't directly state that Subaru has been testing the best ways to drive with a pet, but they communicate to dog owners that Subaru is a brand that understands them.

There's also one where the family stops at a gas station for a refreshing drink from the toilet, and another where Mrs. Barkley catches her husband checking out a Poodle.

The cuteness is undeniable.

SEE ALSO: Macklemore Gives A Surprise Performance On A New York City Bus

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An Historic Dog Show Is Now Allowing Mutts To Compete

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English sheep dog running

NEW YORK (AP) — Long the province of the purebred, the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is opening a doggie door this year to mixed-breed competitors.

While Labradoodles, puggles and who-knows-whats won't be able to vie for the prestigious Best in Show award, they'll be included in its new agility trial.

It's a notable embrace for the nation's premier canine event, which also is adding three breeds at next month's show: the Chinook, the Portuguese podengo pequeno and the rat terrier. No mixed-breed dogs have appeared anywhere at Westminster since the 138-year-old event's early days, organizers said at a news conference Wednesday.

But this year, Alfie the apparently-part-poodle, part-terrier will be among the dogs weaving around poles, walking up a plank and springing over jumps on the agility course.

Alfie's background isn't rarefied. Owner Irene Palmerini spotted him in a mall pet store, marked down to $99. She wasn't planning to get a dog, but she felt for the curly-haired, black-and-white puppy and took him home to Toms River, N.J.

He proved to have more energy than even 4-mile daily walks could absorb, and agility training provided an outlet. About seven years later, Palmerini is thrilled that Alfie will be among the mixed breeds — or "all-American" dogs in Westminster parlance — going up against purebred competitors at the elite event.

"I didn't breed this dog to do agility. He's just my pet," Palmerini said. "(Agility) is just about performance. It doesn't matter what your dog looks like. It doesn't matter who their mother or father was."

The pros and cons of pedigreed and mixed-breed animals have long been a sensitive subject in dogdom; animal rights activists have protested Westminster itself. They see dog breeding as an unhealthy exercise in genetic engineering and say it's insensitive to breed dogs while others languish in shelters. Purebred enthusiasts, meanwhile, consider breeding a way to develop and preserve different traits and help people select a compatible pet.

Westminster leaders say the show is a celebration of all dogs, and they're pleased to make a place for mixed-breeds in a fast-growing canine pursuit.

"We're very excited about the fact that Westminster can play a leadership role in embracing, really, the sport of dogs," purebred or not, said Westminster President Sean McCarthy.

While mixed breeds may now have a nose under the tent, Westminster's main event will still be selecting the Best in Show dog Feb. 11 from more than 2,800 entrants in 187 American Kennel Club-recognized breeds and varieties. They include 76 Labrador retrievers, 58 golden retrievers and 52 French bulldogs, but also robust entries from some lesser-seen breeds — such as roughly 30 Tibetan mastiffs, show chairman Thomas Bradley III said.

As for the newcomers, the Portuguese podengo pequeno (pronounced poh-DEHN'-goh peh-KAYN'-yoh) is a compact rabbit hunter. The rat terrier is, well, just what it sounds like. Bred to rid farms of rodents, they're known as game, versatile and intelligent — "they can think for themselves," said breeder Robin Lutwinas of Enfield, Conn.

The Chinook, New Hampshire's official state dog, was developed there as a sled-puller with power, endurance and a companion-dog temperament, said breeder Perry Richards of West Haven, Vt.

"These guys work. And then lie on the couch and watch a football game," added his wife, Patti.

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Reach Jennifer Peltz on Twitter @jennpeltz.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Best Photos From The Westminster Dog Show

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Why This Raleigh House Has No Driveway, No Walkway, And No Lights On

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In Raleigh, N.C., the house on Wade Avenue has no driveway, walkway or lights. If you were to try to get through the front door, you would hit a brick wall. If it's not a house, then what is it exactly?

It turns out the house, featured on WUNC and Reddit, is actually a water booster pumping station.

Water booster pump stations are essentially "superchargers" for the city's municipal water supply, according to WUNC. Placed in strategic locations, they push water uphill or forward to ensure a consistent and reliable water supply. Without the stations, the city's water would run backward. All in all, there are about 20 different stations in Raleigh, but the Wade Avenue station is the only one that looks like a house.

Built in the late 1970s, the house's strange form comes out of a compromise with the church next door, which did not want to be adjacent to an industrial plant (and the city needed to have a plant in that location).

Here's what the house looks like on the inside: 

Pump1

Water booster pump station, disguised as houses aren't unusual in the United States. The oldest one is in Lousiville, Ky., (and disguised in Greek architecture):

Lousiville

There's this one in Manistique, Mo.:

Manistique

And this one disguised as a lake house on Lake Gaston, in Virginia Beach, Va.:

LakeGaston

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