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How To Decorate Your House Using Only A 3-D Printer

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3-D printing is as affordable as it's ever been. Professional designers, hobbyists and tinkerers are making all kinds of objects on their own that might otherwise have to be manufactured overseas and shipped to another destination.

What happens when you let them run wild with ideas on how to decorate a house with 3-D printing technology? CGTrader rounded up a number of 3-D printed home accoutrements, and these pictures appear with its permission.

This elaborate sink fixture looks like it was carved out of rock.

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Octopus stools and end tables!

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No animals were harmed in the making of this mounted deer head.

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Steampunk clock exposes its mechanisms to tell the time.

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Just some simple and elegant vases.

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Here's a more elaborate one based on an anatomical heart.

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This artsy platter would make a nice centerpiece on a kitchen table.

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Here's a straightforward set of cups and bowls.

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This is considered a drinking glass, but it could just as easily be an artsy decoration.

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Yes, you can 3-D print in metal, and yes, you can make flatware.

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Minimalist bookends keep your reading material on display with style.

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I'd keep this right by my door and never lose my keys again.

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If this isn't the cutest doorstop in the world, then I don't know anything.

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Dinosaur coat hangers!

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A trippy way to display artwork.

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We love this iPad stand.

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Why spring for an overpriced crystal chandelier when you can print one for cheap that looks way better?

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This light fixture almost appears to be melting.

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Here's a straightforward take on a lampshade.

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These lampshades look like they were made from giant leaves. Nope — just plastic.

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Instagram's Best Travel Photographers Will Make You Want To Explore The World

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eelco roos instagram travel

We've all seen plenty of mediocre airplane shots on our Instagram feeds, and they're not usually all that inspiring. 

These 12 photographers, however, take some amazing travel photos that are bound to inspire feelings of wanderlust in anyone who sees them. With follower counts numbering in the hundreds of thousands, they're incredibly popular, too. 

Niche, a startup that helps brands partner with popular social media creators, helped us compile a list of the most-followed travel photographers on Instagram.

From Tokyo to the Great Barrier Reef, these photographers are all over the map, and many of them are getting paid the big bucks to do it. 

Pete Halvorsen is a surf and lifestyle photographer based out of the Southern California town of Manhattan Beach. He has worked with several high-profile clients, including TOMS and Toyota, and shoots amazing photos of waves up and down the California coast.

(@petehalvorsen, 111K followers)



Matt Gee, a Los Angeles-based photographer, travels everywhere from China to Utah, posting breathtaking shots to his Instagram profile.

(@mattbg, 112K followers)

 



In 2012, Zach Glassman left a career in finance to spend a year traveling the world. A year later, he founded Passion Passport, an online community of bloggers and photographers who use the site to share their travel experiences.

(@zachspassport, 126K followers)



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Here's How Much Soda You Have To Drink To Make SodaStream Worth It

BEFORE THE CRASH: Here's What It Was Like When 'Everyone' In America Was Rich

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super sweet 16Looking back on it now, the years leading up to the Lehman collapse seem like a dream.

This was the era when:

-- Your friend who had majored in English went to work for an investment bank.

-- Your parents thought it would be a good idea to buy a second (or third!) home upstate.

-- "My Super Sweet 16" came into existence.

We wanted to go back to see just how absurd this moment was.

So we've scoured American (and a slice of global) culture and society from 2003 to 2008 to find the most absurd examples and reflections of financial excess. 

In retrospect, it is now ludicrously clear that we should've seen it all coming...

Bravo's "Flipping Out," the show about trying to buy homes, renovate them, and put them back on the market, may have best captured the Zeitgeist.



Though "Cribs" is arguably a close second.



MTV's "My Super Sweet Sixteen," about rich teenagers' lavish 16th birthday parties, was another good sign we'd reached peak excess.



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8 Power Poses That Will Make You More Confident At Work

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power posing loomer

It's the cheapest, most low-tech life hack you'll find.

Power posing: the act of taking a posture of confidence, even when you don't feel so confident, to make yourself more dominant.

Go to the poses »

Social psychologist Amy Cuddy struck a chord in the business world at TEDGlobal 2012 when she gave a talk about the scientific evidence behind power posing. Her research showed that standing or sitting a certain way triggers immediate changes in your body chemistry.

It can affect the way you do your job and interact with other people. It might even have an effect on your chances of success.

Here's how it works: High-power posing is about opening up, Cuddy says. You stretch and expand your body to take up as much space as possible. It's similar to how primates behave in the wild. They puff out their chests and extend their limbs to make themselves appear — and feel — big.

After assuming a high-power pose for just two minutes, your testosterone levels (the "dominance" hormone) can rocket 20% while your cortisol levels (the "stress" hormone) fall sharply. This allows you to better handle stressful situations.

We decided to test out some of the poses. Some of them have names created by Cuddy; others we came up with. We'll break down which to use in eight common situations that affect your work success. 

FOR SLEEPING: Lie in an open position with your arms and legs outstretched.

Becoming more powerful starts the night before. It's time to nix the fetal position.

Sleeping on your side with your arms and legs pulled toward your torso is considered a low-power position, Cuddy says. You may wake up feeling sensitive and vulnerable without understanding why, which is not a good way to face a chaotic, competitive workplace.

The power position, which we'll call "The Marissa Mayer," makes you feel bigger and, therefore, more powerful. You can also put your hands behind your head (á la Mayer in her Vogue photo spread), which is a power pose that Cuddy often mentions in her talks.



FOR SPEAKING IN A MEETING: Tightly cross your arms across your chest and roll your shoulders back.

Doing "The Mr. Clean" can help drive home an argument in the boardroom.

Your shoulder posture in this position is pivotal in shaping how observers interpret the folded arms, according to Noah Zandan, president of communications-analytics company Quantified Impressions.

If the shoulders are rolled forward, others will interpret the arms as a sign of weakness, sending the message that you're scared. But if you roll those shoulders back and hold your head high, the crossed arms become a signal of confidence.

While you're at it, Cuddy says it's important when you raise your hand to extend your arm fully, taking up space, as opposed to resting the elbow on the table. Women tend to bend at the arm more than men.



FOR CLOSING A DEAL: Plant your hands on the table and lean forward.

As you're rounding the last bend of your presentation and preparing to deliver the bottom-line offer, command the room with a position Cuddy calls "The Loomer." Leaning forward while standing shows you're engaged and in a position of dominance.

Cuddy named this pose in tribute to Lyndon B. Johnson. "Johnson was six-four," and he used his stature very thoughtfully, to intimidate and seduce," she says.



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Climate Change Is Ruining Some Of The Best Things About Los Angeles

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Los Angeles

The city of Los Angeles is known for its wide, sandy beaches, mild temperatures, and lack of humidity.

The combination of cool winters and warm summers sets it apart from almost every other city in the nation.

"Los Angeles is a hedonist’s paradise," Matthew Kahn wrote in his 2010 book "Climatopolis."

But rising temperatures are already putting that paradise at risk.

"Climate change will likely degrade LA’s ideal climate," wrote Kahn. "In the future LA’s climate will look like Jacksonville, Florida’s, climate today."

Sea level rise also threatens LA county's famous beaches, piers, and boardwalks, which attracted almost 41 million tourists who accounted for more than $16 billion in expenditures in 2012, according to a study by the University of Southern California Sea Program.

We've outlined some of the most significant effects of climate change today and how this will affect the LA region in the future.

Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles, covers a land area of 4,000 square miles (shown in red). It stretches north along the coast past Malibu, south to include Long Beach, and includes two islands, 88 cities, and Angeles National Forest.



Los Angeles County is home to about 10 million people, making it among the most populated counties in the U.S.

Source: Business Insider



Los Angeles is known for its mild weather and year-round pleasant temperatures. It has warm winters with a January average of 59 degrees F and cool summers with an average July temperature of 73 degrees F.

Source: Los Angeles Almanac

 



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HOUSE OF THE DAY: Reno's Priciest Mansion Can Be Yours For $20.4 Million

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631 California Ave Exteriors (JPEG High Res) (1 of 2)

The historic Nixon Mansion in Reno, Nevada, is on the market for the $20.4 million, making it the most expensive publicly listed property in the city.

This Italian villa spans 17,964 square feet and was built by Nevada Senator George S. Nixon in 1907. Since then, the 2-acre estate has been home to the daughter and granddaughter of Nevada senators and a couple of doctors. 

The mansion was destroyed by fire in 1979, but the current owners completely restored the estate both inside and out.

Home owners will enjoy views of downtown Reno, Peavine Mountain, and the Truckee River. Stand-out amenities include an 860-square-foot kitchen, a river-view bar, an 1,800-bottle wine cellar, and more.

Nevada Senator George S. Nixon built this mansion in 1907 on 2.03 acres of land.



Its entryway makes you feel like you're at a luxury resort.



This sunny breakfast room is one of many places to enjoy beautiful views in the home.



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Here's Why Stan Lee Says You Should Never Do Something Just For Money


Mercedes Is Building The Most Expensive Luxury Sedan In the World

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Maybach Zeppelin

A year after shuttering it's ultra-premium Maybach brand, Mercedes is taking another shot at topping Rolls-Royce and Bentley by building the $1 million Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman. The new ultra-luxurious version of the company's flagship S-Class will be the most expensive sedan in the world when it hits showrooms next year, reports Bloomberg

In addition to the traditional lineup of premium hides, woodgrain accents, and plush carpeting, the S-Class Pullman will also feature a litany of must-have features for world's elite buyers including lounge-style seating and armor plating. At 21 feet long, the S-Class Pullman is nearly a foot and a half longer than the extended wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom and twice the cost as well. 

Mercedes has yet to announce the powertrain options for its newest sedan, though it is expected that boast a lineup of the company's finest supercharged or naturally aspirated V8 and V12 powerplants. Since the S-Class Pullman will effectively cost nearly twice as much as the nearest comparable Rolls or Bentley, we expect the mad scientists from Stuttgart to include the best of their techno goody bag. 

Mercedes had made plans to build an ultra-premium sedan as far back as the mid-'90s. Those plans were hastened when the company's German rivals, BMW and Volkswagen-Audi, gained control of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, spurring Mercedes to get its Maybach brand up and running.

Instead of designing and building a new car from scratch, the company based the car that would become Maybach on the venerable W140 S-Class Mercedes that debuted in 1991. While they were as opulent as their half-million-dollar price tags would suggest, the Maybach 57 and 62s already looked and felt dated by the time they hit the market in 2002, compared to rivals from Rolls and Bentley.2014_S63_AMG_4MATIC_14As for the latest Pullman, Mercedes hopes it will remind customers of the company's luxury heritage, which didn't exist with the obscure Maybach brand.

"[Mercedes] are trying to evoke the very famous old 600 Pullman that was used by people from dictators to John Lennon," an IHS automotive analyst told Bloomberg. "They want to show that Mercedes still stands for an absolute elite, luxury, and opulence. There's symbolic value to this kind of car."

SEE ALSO: The 10 Fastest Street-Legal Cars On The Market

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George Soros' Daughter Is Selling Her Greenwich Village Townhouse For $25 Million [PHOTOS]

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Andrea Soros Townhouse10

Andrea Soros Colombel, daughter of billionaire investor George Soros, is putting up her Greenwich Village townhouse for $24.75 million.

The luxurious property went on sale briefly in 2012 for $29.5 million, but was later withdrawn, The New York Times reports.

She and her husband, Eric Colombel, first purchased the home for $11.5 million eight years ago. On top of the hefty new price tag, property taxes rack up to a little over $84,000 a year.

With seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, the townhouse is almost 8,500 square feet. Amenities include a private terrace, home gym with steam and sauna, three wood-burning fireplaces, an elevator, and more.

The property is listed with CORE and is located at 10 West 10th Street, on Greenwich Village's Gold Coast. 

The 1844 Greek Revival townhouse is 26 feet wide and spans 8,472 square feet.



This house has five stories of beautifully renovated and restored rooms.



Throughout the home are wood-burning fireplaces, herringbone wood floors, and plenty of outdoor spaces.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






I Just Moved Back To Britain After 20 Years Abroad — Here's Everything That's Changed

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Jim Edwards

I was born in Britain — Liverpool, actually — but left the country in the early 1990s to live in America, where I became a citizen. I've lived exactly half my life in the U.K. and half in the U.S. Now, I'm returning to Britain to live and to set up Business Insider's London office. (We're hiring!)

I've visited Britain once or twice a year since the move, of course. But it turns out that living in Britain today is a vastly different experience than visiting it — and that has made me a foreigner in my homeland.

As always, the biggest changes are the littlest changes, too. It's funny how life is composed of myriad small things, and when they change it's a culture shock. Here are all the things that have changed in Britain in the last 20 years in ways that make me feel more American:

Global warming is allowing palm trees to grow all over London.

London hardy palm treeWhen I left the U.K. two decades ago, it was rare to see a palm tree in England. You can grow them here, because even in winter the temperature rarely falls below freezing (unlike New York this year, where there was ice on the ground from January through to April). Nonetheless, palms were a thing of the Mediterranean, not Britain.

But London is now warmer and sunnier than it was when I left, and people are growing palm trees in their front yards.

It's not exactly Miami of course. But only an American climate-change denier could miss the fact that suddenly there are palm trees all over London! Here's a website for Brits who want to take advantage of climate change by growing palm trees, banana plants and yuccas.

Everyone in Britain now has the exact same trash can.

London trash cans wheelie bins palm treesIn America, everyone has the constitutional right to choose their own trash can, and everyone's trash cans are slightly different because of it. Freedom! Not so in the U.K. Here, the local government will give you a standard set of "wheelie bins," for free. These rubbish bins have wheels on the bottom and a bar on the top that hooks to a lifting device on the garbage trucks. Workers just wheel the bins to the truck, and an arm on the truck tips the bins into the back, automatically.

The result is that trash collectors never have to actually touch the garbage they're hauling. It's amazingly smart: Trash collection is faster, quieter and for the workers slightly more dignified (how many times have you seen an American trash collector stoop to pick up individual items of spilled trash in the street?). It makes U.S. garbage collecting look old-fashioned by comparison.

Of course, this would be regarded as a socialist plot in the U.S. Can you imagine what Fox News would say if the government required Americans to all have the same garbage pails? Worse, the private company that collects the rubbish in North London is French. Some town councils here are imposing even more anti-libertarian rules: Recycling will be collected every week, and landfill trash will be collected only once every two weeks — giving residents an obvious incentive to become much more careful about what they use and dispose of.

There are only two types of milk in British Starbucks

Starbucks London milkStarbucks invaded Britain just as thoroughly as it has the U.S. In America, as is our God-given right, Starbucks provides four types of milk: Whole milk, skimmed milk, soy milk, and half-and-half (which is half milk and half cream — Americans like it in coffee).

In Britain, I have discovered that many branches of Starbucks only offer skim and semi-skimmed milk.

You can get whole milk, but you have to be "that guy," and go back to the counter to ask to borrow the stuff that they use to make frozen drinks. That's the phrase you have to use by the way: "Can I borrow the whole milk please?" Then they give you the plastic can and you have to hand it back immediately.

There is no half-and-half. Here's a web page describing the various U.S./U.K. milk equivalents.

Everyone in Britain is now Polish.

Polish shopMy bank manager is Polish. So is my real-estate agent.

The Poles are everywhere in the U.K., doing everything. You're more likely to encounter a Polish accent in London than you are a genuine cockney accent. When the Iron Curtain fell in the late 1980s, a huge wave of Polish immigrants landed in Britain. First they went into the construction trades, and in the mid-2000s there was a lot of grumbling about an invasion of "Polish plumbers" taking people's jobs. Today, you're more likely to find the Poles in finance and services.

Now, high streets all over London have "Polski Sklep" shops selling ... I don't know. It's in Polish! Interestingly, the Brits have come to love the Poles. Mostly because they'll do anything, and they show up on time to do it, I'm told.

British people have stopped using soap.

SoapThis photo represents a typical body and bath display in Boots, the biggest high-street pharmacy chain.

All these plastic bottles contain body wash. The only bars of bath soap available are sitting on the bottom shelf, ignored by customers. And there are only three brands to choose from: Dove, Simple and Imperial Leather.

The Brits have largely abandoned old-fashioned bars of soap in favor of body wash, it seems.

It's an odd choice given the country's obsession with recycling and the environment — body wash obviously requires more energy intensive packaging than hard soap, and I suspect a bottle of body wash disappears more quickly than soap does.

I'm told that "anti-bacterial" products are the growth area in bath products. Soap — which sits in its own gloop between uses — doesn't fit that bill. (Also, there is something liberating about not having to pick the hairs off the surface of the bar.)

KFC is terrible at defending its intellectual property.

PFC KFCThis storefront for a knockoff version of KFC says it all: "Original PFC"? ("Halal"!) Hmm. Every main street in the U.K. — and the rest of Europe, frankly — features a fried chicken joint that steals unsubtlely from KFC's brand. "Dixie Fried Chicken," "Southern Fried Chicken" and — my favorite — "Hentucky Fried Chicken" are rife over here. The most wrong of all? "Yankee's Fried Chicken." McDonald's and Subway do not suffer from the same problem.

America has far surpassed the U.K. when it comes to beer and cocktails.

gin tonic cocktailThis is the most shocking thing: When I arrived in the U.S. two decades ago, American bars were a bad joke. They served Budweiser, Coors, or Miller, and that was pretty much it. British pubs, of course, served delicious "real" ale.

But there has been a gastronomic revolution in America, and now U.S. pubs compete to offer increasingly vast ranges of craft beers. It's not uncommon to be handed a beer "menu" in America, and to be faced with an intimidating library of dozens of obscure bottles at the bar. And the speakeasy trend has revived a cocktail culture that encourages adventurous, thoughtful drinking.

Yet most British pubs still seem to sell only about 10 beers at any one time.

As for cocktails, Britain's drinking culture has been hobbled by the Weights and Measures Act of 1963 which banned bartenders from shorting customers' spirits. It requires a minimum amount of booze in each drink. The unintended consequence is that pubs now only serve the minimum measure in each mixed drink — 25 ml.

Ask for a gin and tonic — the classic English summer afternoon drink — and you'll be handed a dribble of gin in a glass of half-melted ice cubes. The tonic will come separately in a little bottle, and you dilute the drink yourself. Want some lemon or lime? Don't forget to ask — it won't come standard. It's incredibly depressing, because there's no incentive for bartenders to jazz it up with cucumbers or club soda the way they do in America.

If you want a decent gin and tonic, you have to go to New York.

Brits like to buy pop music in bulk, at a discount.

Now that's what i call musicAs a kid, I remember the "Now that's what I call music!" albums, CD compilations of recent pop hits.

During my time in America I assumed they passed the way of all things.

Not so! Currently on sale here in the U.K.: "Now ... No. 87." Eighty-seven! That's a lot of undifferentiated pop music. Virgin and EMI pump them out at a rate of about three per year.

They're the biggest-selling compilation albums ever, with more than 100 million sold to date. The franchise even has its own TV channel here in Britain.

Who knew that music for people not that interested in music would turn out to be such a big business?

Public transport infrastructure in Britain is much more advanced than in the U.S.

heathrow terminal 5 Baggage Belt 04This photo isn't of a nightclub — it's the baggage claim area in Heathrow airport's massive new Terminal 5.

And it's indicative of the U.K.'s commitment to public transport. The London Underground map (below) is incredibly dense with both subway and overground rail lines. (Here's a PDF.) I've published it here with the New York rail map beneath it, so you can see how many lines appear to be "missing" from rail-empty New York. Note that the London's network serves a smaller population than New York's.

Even the buses run like clockwork here, and many bus stops (and all train stations) have a digital display telling you how many minutes you have to wait for the next one. It makes getting from A to B incredibly easy.

This is something that America really needs to worry about. Because (proportionally) few Americans travel extensively abroad, America as a whole doesn't seem realize how far behind the rest of the world it's falling in terms of public infrastructure. If you've been to a major European hub, or any of the big cities further East, you'll know that returning to JFK is like stepping into a moderately competent developing country, in 1975.

The Republican Party has been successful in stopping major public infrastructure spending in the U.S. (The most famous example being Gov. Chris Christie's veto of the ARC rail tunnel into New York.) But infrastructure is literally the structure on which the free market sits — because private businesses can't just build international airports or rail systems on their own.

Let the infrastructure dwindle, and the country on top of it will dwindle. A stark example of this was the Long Island Railroad fiasco at the Belmont Stakes this year: 100,000 people saw the race, and LIRR planned extra trains to get horse racing fans to and from the venue. But the trains moved so slowly it took five hours to evacuate the whole stadium— revelers were still making their way home at 11 p.m.

That may sound trivial — who cares about a horse race? — but when the self-professed greatest country in the world can't get people from A to B on a train, it's embarrassing. This "problem" was solved years ago in Britain.

Here's the London train map, which serves 15 million people in the metro area:

London underground

Here's the New York equivalent, which serves 19 million in the metro area:

New York Subway map2

SEE ALSO: Business Insider Just Opened An Office In London's 'Silicon Roundabout' — Come On In!

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These 30 Countries Contribute The Most Good To The World

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The Good Country Index ranks 125 nations based on how much they do for others globally in seven areas: science and technology, culture, international peace and security, world order, planet and climate, prosperity and equality, and health and well being.

The ranking was created by merging of 35 data sets produced by organizations like the UN, WHO, and UNESCO over a period of nearly 3-years, according to The Economist.

"What I mean by a 'good country' is a country that contributes to the greater good," Simon Anholt, an independent policy advisor who made the index, told Business Insider"We’ve given each country a balance-sheet to show at a glance whether it’s a net creditor to mankind, a burden on the planet, or something in between."

DISCLAIMER: Anholt's expertise has been at the service of individual governments, it is unclear if he was paid for his research.

The Top 30 Good Country Index Chart

Here are the key findings from the report (and here is the full index):

Ireland Contributes The Most Good To Humanity

For the size of its economy and a combined score in all seven categories, Ireland out ranks 124 other nations in contributing the most good to the global community.

Europe Contributes The Most Good To Humanity

Finland

An overwhelming majority of the top 30 nations listed on the index are European, making this region the most significant 'cluster of goodness' in the world, according to the report. Nine European countries hold a position in the top 10 spots.

The United Kingdom ranks 7th overall and holds the highest position in the 'science and technology category.'

Belgium, Malta, and the Netherlands lead Europe in the exportation of creative goods and services, offer lax visa restrictions, and aim for a strong freedom of the press movement. 

Although Germany contributes more than any other country in the World Order category — which measures indicators like charity giving and number of UN treaties signed — Germany's overall ranking (13th)  is slightly compromised by a low ranking in the 'international peace and security' category. The country receives a rank of 109th because the index penalizes countries involved in significant armed conflicts abroad as well as arms trade.  

America, The Global Police Force

As the United States begins to slowly creep back into Iraq to slow the rapid territorial gains made by ISIS extremists, the Americans take a low ranking in the 'international peace and security' (114th) category. 

Outside Of The English-Speaking Realm

The highest ranked country outside of Western Europe and primary English-speaking nations is Coasta Rica at 22nd. Other Latin American countries within ballpark are Chile (24th) and Guatemala (29th).

Kenya Leads African Nations 

The African nation which contributes most to the global commons is Kenya, which, at 26th place, is the only African nation to break into the top 30.

"For me, the best result was Kenya ranking 26th, as it demonstrates that contributing to the greater good doesn't have to be a question of money," Anholt wrote via email.

The Weak Links 

Libya holds the last spot in the Good Country Index, next to Iraq and Vietnam. 

Russian ranks 95th overall, on par with nations like Honduras, Kuwait, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

SEE ALSO: MAP: The World Is Becoming More Violent — Here Are The Most And Least Peaceful Countries

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The 20 Best College Campuses In The US

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Claremont McKenna College Campus

For most students, the college experience is not limited to their time in the classroom. Much of what a school has to offer can be found on its campus — from great libraries to standout career services to, simply, beautiful surroundings.

We looked at 11 campus-related categories from The Princeton Review's 2014 college rankings to determine which colleges offer the best campus experiences.

Click here to read our complete methodology.

There was no discernible connection between the colleges that came out on top, as they represented everything from Ivy League universities to small liberal arts colleges to technical schools. Perhaps more telling of the list's diversity is that each one of our top five schools came from a different area of the country.

Our list does include half of the Ivy League schools and three of the five Claremont Colleges, including our top ranked school — Claremont McKenna College. Although Claremont McKenna didn't rank as #1 or #2 in any category, it placed high in several, including Best Quality of Life, Best Career Services, and Great Financial Aid.

#20 Stanford University

Stanford, California

Stanford may be known to some as "The Farm," but its 8,000+ acre campus — planned by Fredrick Law Olmstead — more closely recalls California's distinct Mission Revival architecture. 

The university was also recognized by the Princeton Review for its libraries, which host collections from the Hoover Institution and R. Buckminster Fuller.

Source: The Princeton Review. To learn more about our methodology, click here.



#19 Pomona College

Claremont, California

Pomona's 140-acre campus also recalls the Mission Revival Style that designates much California architecture.

The Claremont Colleges member got recognition for its dorms, the largest of which has a sundeck for students to take advantage of their SoCal surroundings.

Source: The Princeton Review. To learn more about our methodology, click here.



#18 Kansas State University

Manhattan, Kansas

Kansas State is the number one employer in its hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, which may explain its number two spot on the Town-Gown Relations are Great list.

The city also hosts an area known as "Aggieville," which is filled with college bars and stores.

Source: The Princeton Review. To learn more about our methodology, click here.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






The Horrible Things That Happen To Your Body When You're Stressed

18 Facts That Make Houston The Best City In America

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Houston Buffalo Bayou

When you think about Houston, Texas, you probably picture massive oil refineries, oppressive humidity, and a sub-par baseball team — a far cry from one of the nation's most up-and-coming cities. 

But you shouldn't dismiss Houston so easily; the Bayou City is an economic juggernaut.

It's by far the country's No. 1 job creator and home to 26 Fortune 500 companies. A paycheck goes farther here than anywhere else in the country, and it has a medical center larger than downtown Dallas. 

Add a thriving restaurant and cultural scene, and you've got a winning case for Houston as the best city in America. Here are 18 reasons you may want to pack your bags and head south. 

It's got the jobs. Houston is the No. 1 city for job creation in the U.S. By a lot.



Houston is home to more Fortune 500 company headquarters than anywhere in America except for New York.

There are 26 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Houston, fewer than New York's 72 but well ahead of Dallas's 19 and Washington D.C.'s 20. Many are in the city's "energy corridor," the home of the oil and gas industry. 

They include Conoco Phillips, Marathon Oil, Sysco, Apache, Halliburton, and many more. 



It hosts the world's largest concentration of healthcare organizations, with scientists working hard to beat cancer.

The Texas Medical Center is the largest single employer in Houston, and the largest medical center in the world, with 21 hospitals, eight academic and research institutions, and 50 total related organizations, all not-for-profit.

The complex is larger than downtown Dallas. 

Institutions include the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the world's premier cancer treatment and research hospitals, which is spending billions in an aggressive push to cure five types of cancer. 



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The Most Popular Starbucks Drinks In Major American Cities

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Starbucks drinks map by Quartz

A map by Quartz reveals the most popular Starbucks drinks in major American cities. The map is based on hundreds of millions of Starbucks transactions across the country. 

Starbucks customers in Phoenix are more likely to buy Iced Caramel Macchiatos than customers in Portland, where the Eggnog Latte is notably popular. Meanwhile, customers in Los Angeles buy more Frappuccinos than those in Seattle, who tend to order coffee with an extra shot of espresso.

The most popular drinks nationwide were brewed coffees and lattes. The map lists the drinks that are ordered more often in each city than anywhere else.

The data also revealed that Seattle, Boston and Memphis are among the cities that prefer Starbucks' dark brews, while Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Charlotte prefer the chain's light offerings.

Head over to Quartz to find out more about the nation's Starbucks preferences.

SEE ALSO: How To Get Free Refills At Starbucks

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The 23 Trendsetters Who Decide What's Cool In America

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trendsettersThe fashion industry is filled with designers, celebrities, journalists, stylists, and executives vying for influence. 

We've selected the best of the best and created a list of who determines what's cool in the U.S. 

Some of the people who made the list are controversial public figures who move fashion trends based on what they wear. Others are executives who run multibillion-dollar companies. 

Everyone on the list is a magnate in their own right.

Angela Ahrendts, Senior vice president of retail at Apple

Ahrendts solidified Burberry's position as one of the most aspirational brands in the world. Apple created the position just for her; she's responsible for all the merchandise in the company's 400 stores and website. She's expected to wield influence as Apple explores the wearable-gadgets market. Angela AhrendtsSource: Getty / Ian Gavan



Sophia Amoruso, CEO of Nasty Gal

Business at Amoruso's trendy e-commerce site has been booming, partly thanks to Amoruso's impeccable style. Through her new book, #GIRLBOSS, Amoruso has become an inspiration to edgy women everywhere. sophia amorusoSource: Youtube/Pandodaily



Derek Blasberg, editor-at-large of Harper's Bazaar and fashion writer

Blasberg is a Renaissance man for the modern age. His website MrBlasberg.com features fashion and social commentary, best-dressed lists, and documents his extensive world travels. His social circle includes actress Emma Watson and model Karlie Kloss.

(Blasberg, right)Stephen Dorff Derek Blasberg Art BaselSource: David X Prutting and Keith Tiner, BFA



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Meet The 'Rich Kids Of Snapchat' — Your New Internet Nightmare

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The act of showing off your money and your possessions is nothing new, but people are finding creative ways to do it on the internet every day.

Whether it's using Instagram to perfectly filter a photo or Facebook to inadvertently boast in a status, social media has given the sport of humblebragging new life.

But how about using Snapchat to overtly brag? Enter the internet's newest cringeworthy phenomenon: The Rich Kids Of Snapchat.

Yes, a Snapchat account dedicated to shooting off ephemeral messages of fame, power, and riches. The Rich Kids Of Instagram, a 2012 phenomenon, is officially old news.

The Rich Kids Of Snapchat started with a Facebook page called PrivateSchoolSnaps. People Snapchat their brags to one specific account, and the manager of the account collects, saves, and posts the photos to Facebook.

The Facebook page has more than 240,000 likes.

Yes, this does kind of disregard the point of Snapchat (where the appeal is that messages disappear in a matter of seconds), but the idea of The Rich Kids Of Snapchat is to show off, shamelessly, using the current social media outlet of choice among people in their teens and early 20s.

PrivateSchoolSnaps started in the U.K., but it's going worldwide. The Daily Trojan at the University of Southern California reports "Rich Kids of Snapchat sent out a message on Snapchat, claiming that they’re coming to USC in the fall." USC is not happy about this, and is trying to distance itself from its reputation as the "University of Spoiled Children."

Here are some of the photos the group has posted to its 240,000 followers and fans.

Money. Everywhere.

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Private planes ...

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... and helicopter rides.

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Apple products galore:

Rich Kids

Which they don't seem to care too much about:

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Rich kids have feelings too, OK?

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These people seem like the worst, if we're being honest.

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A Louis Vuitton rugby ball? Sure!

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Indoor pools are pretty standard.

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And plenty of poking fun at the "peasant people."

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In an email to Buzzfeed, the moderator of the Facebook page defended himself, his money, and his photos:

Of course there is a huge amount of anger about my snapchat account. Understandably it upsets people that I am spending money on unnecessary things, and more importantly bragging about it. ] A lot of people tell me I could be giving to charity instead. I completely understand that it upsets people. However I donate over 80% of my income to charity. In fact my bank automatically sends 80% of any payment going into my account directly to my charity holding account, which then gets distributed to around 100 charities of my choose at the end of every month. On top of this, I donate generously to various charity events. I also want to make clear that the only reason I do this is because I want to. It gives me pleasure knowing that I am donating money to good causes. I most certainly do not do it so that I can tell people that I ‘give to charity’. Also, the only reason I am saying it in this email is to make clear that I do not take all my money and waste it on pointless luxuries.

There are tons of pictures all over the Facebook page, not just from the moderator, so who knows if the kids are actually rich or just really good at lying. One thing's for sure, they're definitely insecure! Come on, future of the world! You can do better.

SEE ALSO: The Fabulous Life Of Bill Gates

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The 9 Worst Mental Mistakes Poker Players Make

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poker chip pull

Any athlete in any sport can tell you that 50% of the game is mental. Poker is no different. In fact, the mental aspect of poker is the most crucial part of the game because you need to know how to handle short term gains and short term losses in order to stay focused until the end. 

Bumps in the road will happen. What matters is what you choose to do when you come across the challenging moments. And to be able to make the best choices and to strengthen your poker game, you need to know how to avoid getting stuck in mental pitfalls.

1. Stop thinking in terms of absolute values
Poker is a game of relative values. That means that you don't need a monster hand to win, you just need a hand that is better than your opponent's. Similarly, even if you have a monster hand, it doesn't mean that you're going to win... Your hand might look better, but your opponent's might do better once the flop comes.
Don't believe that? In the 2009 WSOP, Joe Cada's winning hand was two 9's. He beat Darvin Moon who had queen-jack.

2. Don't play every single hand
New players sometimes feel like they need to play every single hand. This happens for several reasons, including wanting to be part of the action, not wanting to give away a bad hand, and wanting to impress other players. Unfortunately, you will not do well if you play to impress others because then you are not focusing on the game. Worrying too much about impressing others is a distraction.

3. Failing to study your opponent
You can't completely ignore other people. You need to be aware of how your own habits betray what cards you might be holding. You must also be able to analyze other players and their playing styles in order to see what their tells are. If you can't pick up on your opponent's mental mistakes and you can't decipher any of their habits, you should find easier opponents. (Think of it this way: if you can't reach a basketball hoop, don't challenge John Wall to a slam dunk contest.) Understanding how other players think and behave is so critical to the game of poker that some professional poker players have an ex-FBI agent train them in recognizing non-verbal communication.

4. Not wanting to "give up"
Of course, giving up is bad. But in poker, sometimes a good player needs to recognize when it is the correct decision to fold instead of waiting for a lucky strike. That's just how the game works. A lot of novice players get too caught up in waiting for cards in the flop. For example, a person might have 3 cards that could lead to a flush. Instead of actually considering the pot odds and probabilities, he will cling to the dream of seeing two more cards in the flop that will complete his flush. This might never happen, and by then the player might have unnecessarily wasted a fair amount of money. Not "giving up" has seriously negative consequences because the player is relying on short-term emotions, rather than investing in the long-term of the game.

5. Not knowing any math
A huge part of poker is knowing how to correctly size bets and understanding pot odds and implied pot odds. If you can master this, then you will have a better sense for when it is best to fold and when it is best to keep playing. A lot of new players don’t take the time to learn the probabilities. Instead, they play the extremes by betting too much when their cards excite them, and by betting too little when their cards disappoint them. Ideally, a player should not get caught up in these emotions, but should analyze the situation and proceed to make choices that maximize potential winnings and minimize potential losses. 

6. Bluffing too much
Some people really get into bluffing because it's exciting — and it's incredibly enjoyable to bluff successfully. The downside of this behaviour is that your bluffs no longer become believable after a while. In other words, your playing strategy will be very easy to read for the duration of the game. 

7. Cold calling raises
Cold calling is when a player calls more than one player's raise at once. Opponent A will raise, then opponent B will re-raise, and then you call. This play indicates that you are either a timid or an undisciplined player — or both. If you do not feel comfortable enough to re-raise after opponent B re-raised, then you should probably fold. 

8. Being afraid to make mistakes
Some players are too afraid to play until they know "for sure" that their hand will win. If they are uncertain of the round's outcome, they fold. The problem with this strategy is that people who do this assume that other players play the same way. Often times, when a timid player sees someone playing aggressively, he automatically assumes that the aggression is a sign of good cards. And then, he folds, even though the other player might have been bluffing.

And finally...

9. Using your cards as an excuse
This is the most important rule in any poker game. People use “bad cards” as a scapegoat constantly, but it’s not a legitimate excuse. Even the greatest poker players get terrible cards, yet they still end up at the final table.

You're not going to win every single round — accept that and move on. The trick is to recognize profitable opportunities in the game. You don't have control over the good or bad cards that you are dealt, but you do have control over making the best of your situation and finding the good opportunities. And that's how you win.

SEE ALSO: How To Talk Like A Poker Pro

SEE ALSO: 12 Things Everyone Should Know Before Stepping Up To A Blackjack Table

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Happy Canada Day — These May Be The 5 Best Things About The Country

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