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No One Wants To Buy Steve Cohen's Unbelievable $98 Million Upper East Side Penthouse [PHOTOS]

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Cohen penthouse

Some people just don't know how to appreciate a deal.

According to Page Six, billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen — whose hedge fund S.A.C. Capital pleaded guilty to insider trading last year — can't unload his Upper East Side duplex penthouse, and it's upsetting him a great deal.

From Page Six:

One source tells us, “Cohen hasn’t had a buyer, and he blames his broker. Furious is not the word. He’s had enough.” But another source sniffed, “The lack of a buyer might be because some feel the place might have some bad karma.”

The apartment has been on sale for over a year, and has already seen one price chop, from $115 million to $98 million.

What more must Cohen give?

Corcoran has the details of the 9,000-square-foot, four bedroom, 5.5 bathroom apartment at One Beacon Court. It's definitely impressive, especially considering Cohen bought the space for a mere $24 million. Look and see for yourself.

The apartment features a stunning living room with 24-foot ceilings.



Here's another angle of the living room.



There's a chef’s kitchen with stainless steel appliances.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider







Dr. Dre Is Reportedly Buying The $50 Million Mansion Tom Brady And Gisele Built From Scratch

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tom brady gisele house exterior

Dr. Dre is closing a deal on the custom California estate that Tom Brady and Gisele built, according to Page Six.

The purchase price is unclear, but the Brentwood house was listed for $50 million.

The couple bought the land in 2009 and built the 14,000-square-foot five-bedroom home from scratch.

It has an infinity pool with a view of the Pacific Ocean, a gym, an outdoor kitchen, and a moat.

The house sits on four acres in Brentwood.



The infinity pool with a view of the Pacific Ocean.



The view of the canyons.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Here's How People Will Learn To Speak English In 5,000 Years

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space odyssey

In 1939, electric company Westinghouse buried one of the most ambitious time capsules ever as part of an exhibit at the World's Fair in New York. It won't see the light until 6939 — 5,000 years after its creation.

The creators included the "Book of Record," a description of roughly all known history in the capsule. For one the book's sections, linguist John Peabody Harrington wrote what he called the "Key to English," an explanation of our modern language intended it to instruct inhabitants of the 70th century how to speak like we do today.

By 6939, Harrington, a permanent ethnologist at the Smithsonian Institute, theorized that English will have either disappeared or changed so drastically it would require a "key" to understand, much like what the Rosetta Stone provided for Egyptian hieroglyphs.

So Harrington set out to teach American English to a future society who had probably never spoken it. That challenge included roughly four tasks: conveying an alphabet, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. 

To start, many linguists in the 1930s were fans of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Harrington considered using that. But in the end, he stuck to 26 letters to represent the 33 sounds in English — with some substitutions.

The letter "c," for example, "isn't needed for regular consonant duty," Professor Ives Goddard, curator of the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of National Natural History, told Business Insider. In English, "c" always makes either an "s" or "k" sound. And the trigraph "tsh" can represent the "ch" sound.

So Harrington instead juxtaposed it next to two letters — "u" and "i" to represent a long vowel sound, instead of short. For example, Harrington spelled the word "future" as "fyuctur." The additional "c" changes the first "u" sound to differentiate it from the second "u" sound. Harrington represented long and short pronunciations between other vowels using digraphs, like "ae" for a long "a" sound.

Harrington also repurposed the letter "j." Because a combination of "d" and "z" make the "j" sound easily, Harrington replaced the schwa sound, denoted by an upside "e," with a "j." He also used "j" to signify a sound similar to the schwa, the "u" sound present in "up," Goddard explained.

To demonstrate basic pronunciation, Harrington created this "mauth maep" shown below, also included in the book and capsule.

 

key to English

 

He also explained where each letter occurs in the mouth (for further explanation after future generations had already grasped translating English). All pronunciation happens somewhere between the larynx and the lips, Harrington wrote.

But pronunciation is actually a minor detail. "In a way, you don't need to know how to pronounce a language to understand it. Through years of translation, you just sort of figure it out," Ives said. We know and understand many ancient languages today without perfect pronunciation.

Next, Harrington tackled grammar. In the image below, the person on the left demonstrates personal pronouns like "he" (hic), "I" (ai), and "you" (yuc). The person on the right shows the concept of "remoteness," including words like "that" (dhaet) and "this" (dhis). 

key to English

And here, Harrington tries to explain past, present, and future tenses. 

key to English

Aside from the various tenses, future people must know the actual verbs. The image below shows "lie," "sit," "stand," "walk," "run," "kick," "jump," "crawl," "climb," and "descend," in that order from top left to bottom right. The Key includes numerous other examples of common vocabulary, too. 

key to English

Harrington also explained adjectives, focusing on the concept of opposites, which often explain different people or objects. The first combination shows young and old, then short and tall, and finally, black and white. 

key to English

Adjectives also appear in comparative and superlative forms, like good, better, and best, shown below in the picture of the target. 

key to English

As a summary of his English lesson as well as an exercise for practice, Harrington included a short story, The Fable of the Northwind and the Sun, for future generations to translate. The first few lines look like this:

Dhj Northwind aend dhj Sjn wjr dispyucting whitsh woz dhj stronggjr, hwen j traevjljr kecm jlong raepd in j worm klock. Dhec jgricd dhaet dhj wjn hue first meed dhj traevjljr teck of hiz klock shud bic konsidjrd stronggjr dhaen dhj jdhjr. 

Here's the modern version:

The Northwind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first made the traveler take off his cloak should be considered stronger than the other.

"Harrington was original, and he was brilliant," Goddard said. Because of his work preserving various Native American languages, "he was used to both scientifically and practically inventing how to spell things." 

But could a future society even begin to grasp a language probably totally unknown to them? Goddard thinks yes. "[The future] is going to have really good computers," he said. 

One type of translation method, called the "combinatory method," looks for patterns in foreign language, which an advanced computer could easily accomplish. "Let's say you see a string of words that always appear together, and you guess it means the word 'man.' Then, you'll see all sentences with 'man' and 'woman,'" Goddard explained. The translation starts with that assumption and continues to plug in words from there. 

Regardless of Harrington's efforts, Goddard speculates that future generations will already know English.

"I have a feeling English is going to be a pretty important language. I think people are going to keep track of it," he said. 

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The 11 Biggest Cruise Ships In The World

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MSC Divina

If you scatter more than a thousand blue whales over the length of four football fields, you have Allure of the Seas, the world's largest luxury cruise ship.

Measuring approximately 1,200 feet long and weighing 223,000 tons, the size and and sheer magnitude of the ship is almost mind boggling.

And yet over 5,000 passengers are probably aboard, dancing the Congo at this moment.

FindTheBest helped us determine the biggest cruise ships on the seas right now. These mega-ships have everything from ice skating rinks to outdoor parks, and feel more like mobile cities than boats.

11. Disney Fantasy

Length: 1,115 feet

Weight: 128,000 tons

Passengers: 4,000

Disney Fantasy travels to the Caribbean and has a virtual sports simulator, and an 'AquaLab' with 1,800-square-foot area featuring pop jets, geysers and bubblers, and a 'Royal Tea' time with Disney princesses for the kids.



10. Disney Dream

Length: 1,115 feet

Weight: 128,000 tons

Passengers: 4,000

The Disney Dream ship has an early 20th-century design that's meant to evoke the "golden age of cruising." This ship, which usually travels to the Bahamas, has the AquaDuck, which is the first "water coaster" on a cruise, as well as seven different hang out areas for kids, tweens, and teens.



9. Carnival Breeze

Length: 1,004 feet

Weight: 130,000 tons

Passengers: 4,724

This massive Carnival cruise includes Guy Fieri's Guy's Burger Joint, a comedy club, 3-D theater, and separate rum and tequila bars. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Here's What Would Happen If An Asteroid Hit New York City

Check Out All The Celebs Who Will Be Traders For A Day At One Of Wall Street's Coolest Charity Events Of The Year

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Petra Nemcova trading

Once a year you can call your guy at equities trading firm BTIG and get a supermodel on the line. Or it could be a New York Yankee or a New York Giant. The list of celebrities is long.

It's all for an annual event taking place on Tuesday in New York City and San Francisco called Commissions for Charity. The commissions from every trade BTIG executes that day will go to over 200 charities such as Project Sunshine. Last year the firm raised $4.5 million.

"Wall Street gets a bad rap for the greed and excess ... but I think this is one of the good sides of Wall Street," said BTIG cofounder Steve Starker. 

This year celebrity traders include baseball star Barry Bonds, former New York Yankees star pitcher Mariano Rivera, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, model Petra Nemcova, Padma Lakshmi, Bridget Moynahan, and others. It all starts at 11 a.m. EST.

The event has come a long way since Starker and his cofounder Scott Kovalik started it 12 years ago. Back then there were five traders on the task, and the firm raised $450,000. As the firm grew, the event grew with it.

Now BTIG is an international firm with 460 employees, but Starker says this event helps maintain the small, family feel he's tried to engender. He thinks it's important to keep in mind that everyone who works at BTIG isn't just a Wall Streeter; they're moms and dads, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters. Those roles matter.

"This firm is about culture," Starker told Business Insider "We're not a punch-the-clock kind of place."

That isn't to say BTIG isn't a competitive place. One look around the office and you still get the impression that Starker and his team are in a race. It's energetic and loud. Starker isn't in his office much; he's out on the floor commanding the troops.

CC Sabathia and BTIG trader Bobby ParisiAnd on Tuesday those troops will be out crushing it as hard as they can. BTIG does four times its normal trading volume on charity day, even though traders are still battling the same market they do any other day. Sometimes the waters are even choppier than normal. In 2010, the event took place the same day as the so-called Flash Crash, when the market dropped 9% in the blink of an eye for reasons Wall Streeters still argue about.

Not that it was the craziest thing Starker has ever seen in his career. His first day of trading was on Black Friday in 1987. Talk about a rough start.

This year's celebrity traders better hope that Tuesday isn't nearly as historic. We've got the list of everyone participating below. Good luck!

  • Beth Ostrosky Stern
  • Padma Lakshmi
  • Bobby Valentine
  • Bode Miller
  • Bridget Moynahan
  • CC Sabathia
  • Damaris Lewis
  • David Diehl
  • David Lee
  • David Muir
  • Donny Deutsch
  • Eduardo Garcia
  • Eli Manning
  • Emmanuelle Chiqrui
  • Eric LeGrand
  • Erin Brady
  • Gabriela Isler
  • Grant Hill
  • Hannah Storm
  • James Blunt
  • Jeremy Roenick
  • Jessica Stam
  • Joe Girardi
  • Joe Namath
  • John Idzik, Jr.
  • Jorge Posada
  • Justin Tuck
  • Mallory Hagan
  • Mariano Rivera
  • Mark Teixeira
  • Marshawn Lynch
  • Matt Dillon
  • Michael Carter Williams
  • Nana Meriwether
  • Nate "Tiny" Archibald
  • Petra Nemcova
  • Phil Simms
  • Reggie Jackson
  • Rex Ryan
  • Ron Darling
  • Ronnie Lott
  • Sandy Kenyon
  • Shaquille O'Neal
  • Steve Lavin
  • Tom Coughlin
  • Tony Gonzalez
  • Tutan Reyes
  • Victor Cruz
  • Vida Blue
  • Willie Colon
  • Woody Johnson

 

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Here's How We Ranked The Best Restaurants In America

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le bernardin nyc best seafood restaurants

We recently released our list of the Best Restaurants In America.

We compiled this list by looking at five major restaurant rankings made by food critics, diners, and experts, and giving each restaurant a score based on how many times it appears on each list.

The rankings we used were The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants in AmericaOpenTable's 2013 Diners' Choice Top 100 Best Restaurants in AmericaThe World's 100 Best Restaurants, the James Beard Foundation's 2014 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists, and Zagat's 20 Top-Rated Restaurants Across America.

For The Daily Meal's list, which was ranked 1 to 101, we calculated the score by using the following formula: 101-X (restaurant ranking) / 101. With this formula, the highest possible score is 0.99 and the lowest score is 0.

Each time a restaurant appeared on the OpenTable list, we gave it a score of 0.25, since the 100 restaurants on that list were not ranked.

Because the World's 100 Best Restaurants looked at restaurants around the world and only 16 American restaurants made the list, we valued that list higher and gave each U.S.restaurant that made the list a score of 0.75.

We also valued the James Beard Awards higher since they are considered the most prestigious awards in the food world, and there were fewer semifinalists. We gave the 30 semifinalists who were nominated for "Best New Restaurants" in 2014 a score of 0.60. We gave the 20 semifinalists who were nominated for "Outstanding Restaurants" a score of 0.75, since those restaurants must have been open for at least 10 consecutive least years and have attained a high level of excellence throughout their tenure.

Each time a restaurant appeared on the Zagat list, we gave it a score of 0.60, since there were only 20 restaurants included and the list was not ranked.

We then tallied up the scores to create the final ranking. Based on these calculations, the highest possible score would be 3.34 — but that would be incredibly difficult, considering that even the number one restaurant (Le Bernardin) scored a 2.59.

Here is the spreadsheet showing our calculations (click to enlarge):

BI BEST RESTAURANTS DATA

SEE ALSO: Check out the full list of the Best Restaurants In America

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The 45 Best Restaurants In America

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The Best Restaurants in America 2x1The restaurant industry is notoriously cut-throat: According to the National Restaurant Association, 30% of restaurants fail in the first year they open, and of those that survive, another 30% close in the next two.

To stand out in an increasingly bloated market, restaurants need to wow diners with incredible meals, outstanding service, and great ambiance — especially if they're charging upwards of $100 a person for the experience.

With dozens of best-restaurant lists and user-generated reviews crowding the internet, the definitive winner can get lost in the shuffle. We looked at five notable restaurant rankings compiled by food critics, diners, and experts, and combined these rankings to come up with the ultimate list of the Best Restaurants in America.

Go straight to the restaurants »

The rankings we used were The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants in AmericaOpenTable's 2013 Diners' Choice Top 100 Best Restaurants in AmericaThe World's 100 Best Restaurants; the James Beard Foundation's 2014 Restaurant and Chef Award Semifinalists; and Zagat's 20 Top-Rated Restaurants Across America.

We gave each restaurant a numerical rating based on how many lists the restaurant appeared on and how high it appeared on lists that were ranked. Restaurants that appeared on multiple lists ranked higher on our list, while restaurants that ranked on only one of these lists ended up closer to the bottom. You can read our complete methodology and see numerical scores here.

45. Zuni Café

Location: San Francisco, California

Chef: Judy Rodgers

Co-owner and chef Judy Rodgers has been at the helm of Zuni's kitchen since 1987, making this Bay-area restaurant a standout on multiple "best" lists, including spot No. 23 on The Daily Meal's 101 Best Restaurants.

Zuni's menu draws on classic Venetian comfort food with a modern twist, using local and organic ingredients wherever possible.



44. Cochon

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Chef: Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski

The brainchild of chef Donald Link and chef-owner Stephen Stryjewski, Cochon makes traditional Cajun comfort food cutting-edge.

Cochon appeared on last year's list at No. 33 and makes a return at No. 44. This Big Easy restaurant ranked 22nd on The Daily Meal's list.



43. The Publican

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Chef: Paul Kahan

A newcomer to our list, The Publican is "an homage to beer, pork, and oysters." Executive chef Paul Kahan and chef de cuisine Brian Huston serve their farmhouse fare, which takes on both French and Belgian influences, to eager meat-loving guests along communal beer-hall-style tables.

Publican ranked No. 21 on The Daily Meal's list but didn't rank anywhere else.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider







So Here's Why Everyone Is Starting Sentences With The Word 'So'

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conversation so how was your daySo everyone is starting their sentences with the word "so" these days. 

Fast Company recently attacked the use of "so" at the start of sentences, claiming it insults your audience, undermines your credibility, and demonstrates discomfort with the subject matter.

But linguistically, the use of "so" at the beginning of sentences can serve an important function.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg notoriously uses "so" to start sentences. In a Q&A with New York Times' blog Bits last month, he dropped it four times in just the first answer.

"So Facebook is not one thing," he said.

"So what we want to do is build a pipeline of experiences for people to have."

The word "so" appears at the beginning of sentences in two ways: before questions and before answers, especially during interviews, Galina Bolden, associate professor of communication at Rutgers University, who published research in 2008, focusing on the first example. According to data from both the U.S. and U.K. in the 1970s through the 2000s, however, the former is much more common.

"So" at the start of a question often marks the beginning of a new topic that one of the parties wants to discuss, often called an "interactional agenda," according to Bolden.

"When I ask — 'So how did your interview go?' — I indicate that I've been meaning to ask this question for a while, that it's been on my mind, or incipient," she explained. 

But Fast Company's Hunter Thurman wrote that a speaker's use of "so" indicates something rehearsed and dumbed-down. As a result, he claims, "so" alienates your audience.

But the transformation of "so" from a midsentence conjunction to an interjection at the beginning of questions contributes to human relationships, according to Bolden.

"It communicates that the speaker is interested in or concerned about the recipient," Bolden said. "It also invokes prior conversations between the speaker and the recipient, drawing on their relationship history."

While Bolden said "so" appears less frequently before answers, the journalist Michael Lewis noticed its prevalence when exploring Silicon Valley for his 2001 book "The New Thing," The New York Times reported. He claims programmers, especially of the Microsoft variety, started, or at least popularized, beginning answers with "so." Maybe that's where Zuck learned it.

"'So' cuts across the borders within the computing class just as 'like' cuts across the borders within the class of adolescent girls," he wrote. Many Silicon Valley engineers learn English as their second language — and almost all of them speak this way, according to Lewis. 

But Bolden, although not a historical linguist, has her doubts about Lewis' claims. She hasn't seen any convincing evidence for "so" starting in Silicon Valley. It appears in writing as far back as Chaucer and Shakespeare. 

The "so" boom is likely a natural progression of language — not a spinoff of tech-industry jargon. And it's helping us communicate better. 

SEE ALSO: Here's How People Will Learn To Speak English In 5,000 Years

NOW WATCH: How To Talk Like You're From Brooklyn

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The Youngest Generation Of Consumers Prefers Healthy Cooking

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Millennials' eating habits have been a driving force behind the movement toward fresh, healthy and natural foods in the U.S. 

Now researchers are finding that their younger brothers and sisters — known as Generation Z — may be even more inclined to eat healthy.

A new survey by The NPD Group has found that Generation Z consumers, which includes everyone up to the age of 23, prefer home-cooked foods over processed, ready-to-eat meals such as cold cereal. They aren't big fans of microwaves, and would rather use a stove top or oven to prepare meals. 

This chart shows Generation Z's cooking preferences compared to Millennials (24 to 37 years old) and Generation X (38 to 48 years old).

Future of Eating

Salad consumption in particular will increase among the youngest generation, followed by sandwiches and breakfast foods that require some cooking, such as eggs and pancakes, over the next five years, the survey found.

Generation X is the only group where microwavable meals and simple breakfast foods like cold cereal are reportedly growing.

Gen X eating trends from NPD

SEE ALSO: This Is How McDonald's Cheeseburgers Are Made

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A US Distillery Is Breeding Pigs To Taste Like Whiskey

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Templeton pigs

Templeton Rye Distillery is attempting to breed pigs that taste like whiskey. 

The distillery's founders are raising 25 purebred Duroc pigs on a farm in Iowa and feeding them a diet that includes dry distillery grain left over from the whiskey-making process, Iowa's WQAD reports

"More and more, people want as much information as is available about the food they are eating – including its history and the path it took from origin to plate," the distillery explains on its website. "As a group who appreciates both flavor and quality, we thought it would interesting to bring to market a selection of heritage breed pigs fed a diet using spent Templeton Rye mash."

Templeton co-founder Keith Kerkhoff says the experiment is the first of its kind.

"We have a little motto here. My dad always told me, ‘Nothing good happens after 12 p.m,'" he told WQAD. "So, it seems like that’s when this idea was probably thought of — after we had a few drinks."

He told the TV station that he's had a number of inquiries about the pigs, including one from "Top Chef" winner Stephani Izard.

The pigs will be raised in an open pen setting on a family farm in Woodward, Iowa, according to the company. They will be processed and made available to restaurants and the public in June. 

To learn more about how the pigs are raised, watch the video below. 

SEE ALSO: REVEALED: This Is How McDonald's Cheeseburgers Are Made

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Take This Awesome 360 Degree Virtual Tour Of A $25 Million NYC Condo

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The super rich come from all over the world to buy a place in New York City, so realtors are constantly looking for ways to make their properties stand out. It's a dog eat dog world.

That's why CORE Group's Raphael Chejade-Bloom and Jarrod Guy Randolph commissioned this 360 degree tour of their new listing $25 million condo listing at 845 United Nations Plaza.

"We found Jason Sievert (360 Virtual Visions) in California and were just blown away," said Chejade-Bloom in an e-mail. "The tour enhances the detail quality in a singular way."

Using this tool you get to see every angle of this 4 bedroom, 4.5 bathroom stunner. Zoom in and out. Click on the floor plan to go directly to certain rooms, or just wander through the apartment moving your mouse up and down to check the space out from ceiling to floor.

You can also click on the little "i" icons to get details about specific pieces of furniture, like the chandelier in the Great Room/Kitchen where the tour starts.

Have fun.

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This Chart Shows The Most Popular Types Of Alcohol Around The World

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A new report from the World Health Organization has revealed the most popular alcohol preferences in six major regions of the world.

The WHO regions (as shown on the chart below from left to right) are: African region, region of the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean region, European region, South-East Asia region, and Western Pacific region.

Types of alcohol by region final

Americans love beer, as do our neighbors to the north and south. Unsurprisingly, wine is more popular in Europe than in any other region. Hardly anyone in the South-East Asia region drinks wine — 77.3% of the alcohol consumed there in 2010 was spirits. The Western Pacific region also favors spirits.

Globally, spirits are more popular than any other type of alcohol, and beer comes in second.

This map shows how the WHO regions are divided:

WHO regions

SEE ALSO: Here Are The Drunkest Countries In The World [MAP]

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10 First-Class Airplane Seats That Are Nicer Than Your Apartment

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As some airlines gut their frequent flyer programs, increase fees and cram more seats into coach, others are pushing the boundaries of flying luxury with of over-the-top first class suites.

Airlines are betting that these opulent accommodations will drive up profit margins and yield greater revenues per mile.

This assumption is not unwarranted. According to The Wall Street Journal, American Airlines' say that 70 % of its total revenue comes from just 25% of its passengers.

And the International Air Transport Association has found that first- and business-class flyers make up just 8% of all fares, but account for 27% of total revenues worldwide, according to The Christian Science Monitor. 

And the high-end offerings keep getting better and better. Here are 10 first class airline seats that are probably nicer than your apartment.

Etihad Airways

Etihad First Class ResidenceKnown simply as "The Residence, Etihad latest luxury offering is the closest thing in mass commercial air travel to the service found on a private jet. Instead of an airline seat, The Residence is more like an apartment in the sky, with a bedroom, private shower, and living area. Flyers traveling in the 125-square-foot Residence are treated to a 32-inch flatscreen TV as well as the full attention of a private butler. 

Singapore Airlines

singapore airSingapore Airlines has long been known as one of the best airlines in the world, and its first class suites certainly live up to its lofty reputation. Singapore's fulling enclosed private suites are equipped with a large 23-inch LCD entertainment system and actual standalone beds instead of converted seat beds. 

Emirates

Emirates A380 First Class Private Suite ADubai's Emirates, one of the pioneers in the luxury suite market, has packed its suites with a fully stocked minibar, vanity mirror and a wardrobe. Onboard its fleet of A380 super jumbos, Emirates also offers suite passengers access to one of the plane's marble-lined shower spas.

British Airways

British Airways fleetBritish Airways offers passengers traveling in its ultra-modern suites a host of luxurious schwag, including cotton pajamas and beauty products in a designer Anya Hindmarch bag. 

Qatar Airways

qatar airways a380 first classThough Qatar Airways have decided to concentrate more on its business class seats in recent years, its first class product is still top-notch. Passengers are treated to world-class dining with menus crafted by the likes of Nobu founder Nobu Matsuhisa and Michelin-star-winning chef Tom Aikens. 

Air France

Air France PREMIERE CABINEAir France's new La Premiere luxury suite is set to make its commercial debut in September. It will feature plush bedding from Sofitel and Michelin-star-quality dining. According to the Economic Times, Air France will install a total of 76 suites on its fleet Boeing 777-300s at a cost of $75 million.

Qantas

Qantas First ClassQantas's international first class suites feature a 6.5-foot-long lie-flat bed with a plush sheepskin mattresses. Passengers are also treated to the airline's Sommeliers in the Sky service to help them make selections from Qantas's award-winning wine list

Jet Airways

Turkish Airlines First ClassIndia's Jet Airways offers luxury suites on its fleet of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, complete with private sleeping areas and a large selection of Hollywood and Bollywood hits on for viewing on 23-inch flat screen TVs. Suite flyers are also treated to a personalized five-course meal and endless flutes of Dom Perignon. (The photo above shows a Jet Airways plane that's on lease to Turkish Airlines.)

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific CX FCL 02Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific offers its most discerning passengers stylish Norm Foster-designed first class suites with amenity kits by Ermenegildo Zegna and Trussardi. Though not fully enclosed like some of its competitors, Cathay's world-class service and plush bedding make for an equally luxurious experience. 

Lufthansa

Lufthansa First ClassLufthansa's stylish first class suite is a model of elegance. The airline's Airbus and Boeing jumbos offer minimalist and modern suites with a host of fine dining and entertainment options. On the airline's Boeing 747-400 jets, suites passengers are offered separate beds in addition to their seats. 

 

SEE ALSO: The 22 Biggest Yachts In The Seas

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15 Etiquette Rules For Dining At Fancy Restaurants

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fancy restaurant table place setting

Some restaurant etiquette is just common sense: Don't speak when your mouth is full, don't tell rude jokes during the meal, and always cover your mouth when you cough.

Others can be a bit more nuanced. Who pays after a business meal? Where do you put your napkin when you stand? And how exactly does one order the perfect bottle of wine?

In honor of National Etiquette Week and our just-published list of the 45 best restaurants in America, we decided to clear up some common etiquette questions.

Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick of The Etiquette School of New York and author of "The Art of the Meal: Simple Etiquette for Simply Everyoneshared some guidelines for dining at expensive restaurants.

DO always dress nicely.

"I still believe men should wear jackets to dinner, if not a suit," Napier-Fitzpatrick said. "If a man is dining with clients — and especially clients from other countries which tend to be more formal — they should wear a jacket and a tie."

"Women should be wearing a dress or suit, and shoes instead of sandals."



DON'T put your cellphone, keys, or purse on the table.

It's just common sense. It distracts not only your other dining companions, but also your waiter and the entire restaurant.



DO let your guest order first.

"The host, especially if it's a woman, has to make it clear that he or she is the host," Napier-Fitzpatrick told us.

"Say phrases like, 'Will you please bring my guest...' or 'My guest would like to order first' to ward off confusion."



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15 Smart Gifts For The New College Graduate

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As graduation ceremonies around the country start to take place, you may be looking for the perfect gift for a new college grad.

Money is an obvious option, but presents that will help grads post-college are even more useful.

Here are 15 great gifts at varying price points that any grad would love.

Give the gift of money with cards to local restaurants or gas stations.

Gas and food are two of the most expensive necessities, so there's no shame in getting your grad a gift card for one or both.

The website SVM Cards has options for plenty of gas stations, or you can find a nice restaurant close to his or her new home and buy a giftcard there (most places have gift cards if you ask).

Buy it: SVM Cards



Stop her from stealing your Netflix password with an account of her own.

What better way to unwind after a long day at work than with a Netflix account? Netflix's huge selection of shows and movies is the perfect gift for any TV addict.

Plus, now that the prices are rising, your grad has even less reason to buy her own account. She'll appreciate a free year from you.

Buy it: $7.99/a month



A tidy apartment is easy with a cheap and lightweight vacuum cleaner.

An expensive, bulky vacuum cleaner doesn't make sense for people with small apartments. Instead, buy your grad a vacuum he will actually use, like this Bissell Featherweight version.

No bags are required so clean up is super easy, and it converts quickly from a floor to hand-held vacuum.

Buy it: $20 at Amazon



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How 2 Brothers Brought Wagyu Beef To America And Started Selling The Most Expensive Steak In NYC

24 Iconic Portraits Of The Coolest Americans Ever

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What exactly do we mean when we call someone “cool?” Most would struggle to describe it, but just about everyone knows "cool" when they see it. It is a distinctly American invention that finds its roots in African-American culture, Jazz, and the multitude of icons that the American fame machine has produced. 

A new exhibition and book, "American Cool," currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., traces the origins of “cool.” It also includes a look at the 100 “coolest” Americans of all time.

To decide who made the list, curators Frank H. Goodyear III, the co-director of the Bowndown College Museum of Art, and Joel Dinerstein, the director of the American Studies program at Tulane University, engaged in a vigorous debate based on four criteria. 

Dinerstein explained to PBS Newshour: “First an originality of artistic vision as established through a signature style, which is to say their artistic vision cannot be separate from their personality. Second, that in a given historical moment, they were perceived as a cultural rebel. Third, that they have high profile recognition. Fourth, that they have a recognized cultural legacy.”

While the usual suspects are featured, including James Dean, Jimi Hendrix, and Hunter S. Thompson, there are many less obvious faces on the "cool" list as well. All are, however, what Dinerstein calls,"the successful rebels of American culture."

The National Portrait Gallery shared a selection of the portraits with us here, but you can see the entire collection in the book or at the gallery until September 7th.

Long Island-native Walt Whitman was a poet, essayist, and journalist, best known for his seminal poetry collection "Leaves of Grass" (1855), which was criticized for its overt sexuality.WaltWhitman_Hollyer_NPG_82_25Frederick Douglass was an African-American orator, writer, statesman, and activist. After escaping from slavery in 1838, Douglass wrote a landmark autobiography of his experience and became a leader of the abolitionist movement.FrederickDouglass_unid_NPG_74_75Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. At the time of his death from alcoholism at 28, Beiderbecke was little known outside of the jazz community. beiderbeckeBIXNicknamed "the Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often considered the greatest singer of the era.BessieSmith_VanVechten_NPG_91_108Billie Holiday was a jazz singer and songwriter, whose style was inspired by jazz instrumentalists. She worked with many of the titans of early jazz, including Count Basie, Artie Shaw,  and Louis Armstrong.BillieHolliday_Willoughby_NPG_97_96Though born in Britain, Audrey Hepburn made her mark on American culture as a film, TV, and Broadway icon during Hollywood's "Golden Age," with the films "Breakfast At Tiffany's" (1961) and "My Fair Lady" (1964).AudreyHepburn_Halsman_NPG_95_96Hailing from Hoboken, New Jersey, Frank Sinatra was one of the most influential and best-selling entertainers of all time.FrankSinatra_Leonard_RutgersHumphrey Bogart was named in 1999 by the American Film Institute as the greatest male star in the history of film. He appeared in such iconic movies as "Casablanca" (1942), "The Big Sleep" (1946), "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), and "Sabrina" (1954).HumphreyBogart_Halsman_NPG_85_11Lauren Bacall is a film and stage actress most famous during Hollywood's "Golden Age." She often appeared alongside Humphrey Bogart and was a mainstay in the film noir genre, often playing the "femme fatale" role.LaurenBacall_Eisenstaedt_TimeLifeConsidered by many to be the greatest actor of all time, Marlon Brando achieved acclaim for playing the role of Stanley Kowalski in the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) and later for his roles in "On The Waterfront" (1954), "The Godfather" (1972), and "Apocalypse Now" (1979).MarlonBrando_Halsman_NPG_98_38James Dean is best known as an icon of teen disillusionment, which he exhibited prominently in the film "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955). He died in a car accident at 24.JamesDean_Schatt_NPG_91_209Mississippi-born Muddy Waters is considered the "father of modern Chicago blues" and is credited with influencing some of the biggest acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, AC/DC, and Led Zeppelin.MuddyWaters_Stewart_RutgersMiles Davis was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Davis revolutionized jazz in  the '50s, '60s, and '70s, pioneering the jazz fusion, jazz-rock, and jazz-funk genres.MilesDavis_AvakianActor Steve McQueen has been called "the King of Cool" for his anti-hero persona and his many popular iconic movies, such as "The Great Escape" (1963) and "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968).SteveMcQueen_Claxton_FaheyKleinHailing from Seattle, Washington, Jimi Hendrix was called "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music," by the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.JimiHendrix_McCartney_NPG_96_26_publicity okJoan Didion is a writer and essayist best known for her documentation of the tumultuous American culture in the 1960s.JoanDidion_Wasser_NPG_2012_35Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist that first achieved recognition as a graffiti artist on the Lower East Side during the late 1970s. He died of a heroin overdose at 27.Basquiat_Kasterine_NPG_2011_24Scottish-born David Byrne is a founding member of American new wave band Talking Heads, one of the most popular and influential bands of the 1980s.DavidByrne_Resnick_NPG_2011_106Debbie Harry is a singer-songwriter, most famous for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie.DebbieHarry_MapplethorpeOne of the most influential pop stars of the last 30 years, Madonnna broke through in the early '80s with her debut single "Everybody" and later with "Like A Virgin."Madonna_SimonKurt Cobain was the lead singer and guitarist of grunge band Nirvana. Cobain struggled with heroin addiction and depression through much of his life, eventually committing suicide at 27 in 1994.KurtCobain_Seliger _NPG_2013_68Tony "The Birdman" Hawk is a former professional skateboarder, widely considered to be one of the most influential pioneers of skateboarding. TonyHawk_Schoeller_NPG_2010_37Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro has appeared in numerous cult films including "The Usual Suspects" (1995), "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" (1998), "Snatch" (2000), and "Sin City" (2005).BenecioDelToro_Bird_NPG_2012_32

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11 Icons Of American Pop Culture Who Are Actually Canadian

This Couple Had A Great Reason For Hiring A Social Media Consultant For Their Wedding

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In March, W Hotels in New York City announced that it would be offering the services of a "social media wedding concierge" who could create a hashtag and use various social media accounts to document a couple's wedding.  

The Internet's reaction was not kind at first, with many media outlets criticizing the service as frivolous and even annoying. Plus, with a $3,000 price tag, this service doesn't come cheap. 

But now that we've spoken with the first couple to hire the W's social media consultant, we see how the concept could actually make a lot of sense. 

Kerwin Guevarra and Sarah Winiarz aren't getting married until October 4, but Alyssa Kiefer, global social media specialist for W Hotels, will help them to document each step of their wedding planning in the coming months.

The couple's main motivation for hiring Kiefer was accessibility for their family. The couple has relatives all around the world, including Ireland and the Philippines, and having coordinated social media accounts will help keep everyone up to speed. 

"We were essentially looking for a way to bridge our family members across the world. This way we can document every moment from day one and keep our families connected," Guevarra said to Business Insider.

Their followers can get an inside look at each milestone, from the engagement to the ceremony itself, even if they can't be there for it. 

 "It's amazing how the social media space makes the world smaller," Guevarra said. "Every family member can connect to the accounts."

One major criticism of the social media wedding concierge concept was that it would encourage guests to spend more time tweeting and Instagramming when they should be paying attention to the ceremony.

But the couple thinks the opposite thing will happen with Kiefer in charge of posting quality content throughout the day. 

"We don't want our guests to be focused on posting things during the day," Guevarra said. "At the end of the day, it's about having fun and enjoying the moment." 

Plus, having a consistent hashtag will make it easy for the couple to relive the big day from a third-person's perspective.

"It all happens so quick," Winiarz said. "This way we'll be able to see the whole family's reaction to everything that happens on our special day."

SEE ALSO: The World's Most Popular Beaches, According To Pinterest Users

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