There are a number of 3D food printers on the market, promising to print everything from pasta to Nutella. But most simply create shapes from pre-prepared ingredients. 

One company, however, has gone a different direction, designing 3D printer that turns sugar into gorgeous geometric confections in your own kitchen.

“They work a lot like making frosting,” Liz von Hasseln, co-inventor of 3D Systems' ChefJet, told Business Insider. “If you’ve ever made frosting and left the bowl overnight in the sink, you’ll know that it gets quite hard and that’s essentially what happens inside the ChefJet Printer.”

The project started when von Hasseln and her husband Kyle, who were graduate students at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, forgot that they were supposed to bake a birthday cake for a friend. Their tiny apartment didn’t have an oven, but they did have the 3D Systems printer they were using for their thesis project. 

After tweaking the existing technology to print layers of sugar, they printed their friend’s name as a cake topper and a business was born. The von Hasselns quickly realized the potential of their invention and established Sugar Lab, designing and printing 3D candies in flavors like mint, sour cherry, and vanilla.

Sugar Lab was purchased by 3D Systems last year, and now the von Hasselns are the company's Creative Directors of Food Products. Later this year, they will unveil their sleek ChefJet, which prints in black and white, and slightly larger ChefJet Pro, which can print in color, with prices ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.

The machines are roughly twice the size of a microwave and look like something one would see on a futuristic cooking show hosted by Spock. 

And the possibilities with sugar have gone far beyond the candies Sugar Lab originally printed. “We’ve done everything from drink sweeteners to complicated toppers for elaborate wedding cakes," von Hasseln said. "We even did a cake stand for a wedding cake. When you 3D print the frosting, it becomes a structural component of the dessert other than just an embellishment.”

The end results are gorgeous, geometric creations — especially with the ChefJet Pro, which can make such exact color designs that the end product resemble expensive china. 

The technology is still limited to sugar, but the ChefJet and ChefJet Pro come with a sort of “digital cookbook” that’s organized by food types. If you’re working on a wedding cake, there’s a cake section. If you’d like to make sugar cubes or candy, there’s a section for that, too.

“We want to enable people to be able to create beautiful, customized things that they can print on the ChefJet without having to learn 3D dimensional digital modeling from scratch,” von Hasseln said. “We’re working hard to make sure they’re very user friendly and intuitive right off the bat.”

But don’t expect to run out and buy a ChefJet or ChefJet Pro anytime soon. In its current iteration, ChefJet is meant for the professional market, to be used alongside other industrial kitchen equipment by pastry chefs, molecular gastronomists, and mixologists. 

“We are looking at the ChefJet printer as a professional-grade machine,” von Hasseln said. “The ChefJet and ChefJet Pro are really the only printers on the market that are appropriate for that level. They’ll be the first kitchen-certified 3D printers, meaning they’ll be used in commercial, professional settings. No other 3D printers have done that.”

In other words, this is not the next microwave — yet. But as the science continues to evolve, von Hasseln does see additional practical uses for her invention.

“We think that sugar is a great place to start 3D printing food,” Liz said. “But beyond sweets, we see tons of potential for other edible substrates. We’re really excited to continue to experiment with starches, spices, or even proteins down the line. And even further down the road, we see potential for things like personalized nutrition and pharmaceuticals." 

“We’re at the very beginning of 3D printing,” she added. “This is a very exciting time.”

SEE ALSO: From Oreos To Nutella — The Latest 3D Printed Foods Are All 100% Edible

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"It's a stupid human trick and there is nothing we can do about it," an American Airlines pilot told me as we landed at Princess Juliana International Airport on the tiny island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean.

Captain Nelson was talking about "fence surfing," where thrill-seekers line up outside the beach-side airport to enjoy the blast of air from departing planes.

There are signs warning people about the jet blasts, but little effort is made to keep people away.

Here's some context on how this is even possible.

Princess Juliana, the second-busiest airport in the Caribbean, is famous for its short runway used for both takeoffs and landings. The runway is barely long enough for heavy jets to land on and is bookended by a mountain range and the popular Maho Beach, which is separated by only a chain-link fence and a narrow street. 

Therefore, all planes approaching the island have to fly extremely low over relaxing tourists to land on the 2,300-foot-long tarmac.

This is what my view looked like as a small private jet flew over my head.

After one plane lands, people prepare for a departure by getting as close as possible to the airport tarmac.

Offering some safety is this metal barrier paired with a warped chainlink fence. The barrier is painted with more warnings not to stand so close to the runway.

Once a jet begins to taxi into position, the scene erupts into chaos. Thrill-seekers ditch their chairs and run across the two-lane road, mostly barefoot, to secure a spot on the fence. Cars share the road with the fence surfers, and traffic goes on as usual.

Sunset Bar & Grill, the closest beach bar, uses a surfboard to show arrivals and departures of flights so tourists won't miss a chance to see a plane fly over their heads in one direction and another one jet blast them from the opposite direction.

The bar also broadcasts air-traffic control announcements from the loudspeakers instead of music. 

I took this video of a Delta 757 taking off from across the street. The jet blast begins at the 59-second mark (sorry for the screaming). 

The intensity of the blast knocked my body backward, the hot air stung, and the sand pelted my skin — all for about 10 seconds. 

This is what getting jet-blasted looks like from a beachfront condo.

 Since 1943, there have been two major accidents at the airport, one in 1970 and another in 1972. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 best beaches in the world

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Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen collects a lot of expensive things: mansions, sports teams, yachts, and priceless works of art.

It's his collection of World War II-era warcraft, however, that's the focus of a lawsuit filed on his behalf this week in San Mateo County Superior Court.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Vulcan Warbirds, one of Allen's companies, is suing the Collings Foundation over a rare Panzer IV, a vintage tank that Allen says he paid $2.5 million for in July. 

The tank was built in 1944 and used by the German army in World War II. One of only 38 complete Panzers in the world, it was bought by Syria in the 1950s, then was captured by Israelis in 1967 before being retired to the Israeli Armor Museum. In 2003, it was purchased by the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation in Portola Valley, California, and it was eventually donated to the Stow, Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation in July 2014.

Collings put the Panzer IV up for auction later that month, along with some other pieces from the collection that were donated to the foundation. 

Allen, who has a passion for vintage military vehicles, jumped at the chance to add the tank to his collection. Allen's Vulcan Warbirds buys planes and other warcraft and leases them to the Flying Heritage Collection, based in Everett, Washington. He already counts a $45,000 M55 Howitzer and a $349,000 Soviet missile among his collection, and the organization recently opened a "tank arena" to put all of his vintage military equipment on display.

"Warbirds has been seeking to find a Panzer IV Tank for over five years," the lawsuit says, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Panzer IV Tanks are extremely rare and rarely are available for sale. Once acquired, the Panzer IV Tank will be on display at the museum."

According to the Vulcan Warbirds suit, Allen paid the Collings Foundation a total of $4.2 million, including $2.5 million for the Panzer IV. The sale price had allegedly been negotiated between Vulcan Warbirds and a representative from Auctions America, which had arranged the auction. 

The lawsuit centers on what happened next. Almost a month after the sale allegedly went down, Rob Collings, executive director of the Collings Foundation, told the Flying Heritage Collection that they never agreed to transfer the tank to Allen's company. Collings said he would honor the sale only if the foundation could find another tank to replace it.

"We do not have an agreement to sell a Panzer IV to Paul Allen or Flying Heritage Collection or Vulcan or any of his companies," Collings told the Los Angeles Times. "I heard the comment made from someone at Flying Heritage Collection that this was a case of seller's remorse. No it was not. We didn't ever sell it."

The court issued a temporary restraining order for the Panzer, which is still in Collings' Portola Valley showroom. 

Vulcan Warbirds had this statement regarding the suit: "Auctions America has failed to honor our agreement and yesterday we sued it and the Collings Foundation, the former owner of the tank, to enforce our contract. We look forward to restoring the Panzer IV Tank and having it join our Sherman tank and other historic military aircraft and vehicles at the Flying Heritage Collection."

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Ralph Lauren ditched the typical catwalk in New York Fashion Week for a 4D holographic show projected onto a large water screen, according to Luxury Launches.

The spring 2015 Polo Women's show took place in Central Park's Cherry Hill to a large crowd of spectators, where the virtual models were "walking on water" on top of a lake.

"I really wanted to do something big for the new Polo Women’s brand — something set in the city — that felt modern, Ralph Lauren said. "We returned to Central Park, a place I love, and captured the spirit of Polo with a truly innovative mix of fashion and technology."

The holographic show allowed the models to walk in various iconic settings like The High Line, The Brooklyn Bridge, and the West Village — all in a ten minute set. 

These videos are from Ralph Lauren's Instagram:

This photo gives a little more clarity to what the audience was actually seeing:

But the GIFs gave a way better overall view. And they're pretty awesome: 

Here's the full show: 

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The Food and Drug Administration has approved Contrave "as treatment option for chronic weight management in addition to a reduced-calorie diet and physical activity," the agency announced on Wednesday. Sales for Contrave, made by Orexigen Therapeutics, are expected to be $200 million 2016, Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Andrews told Reuters, but there is ample reason for caution.

"Drugs are not the answer to epidemic obesity, but they can be of help in select cases," David L. Katz, M.D., the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center told Business Insider in an email. "Of course, the obese population is large enough that even selective use may mean a fairly big market."

More than a third of Americans are obese, and while pharmaceutical companies have been racing to find a treatment with blockbuster potential, Katz suggests that prescribing an anti-obesity drug should not become the standard treatment. Finding a way to improve diet and increase physical activity is still considered the best approach for the vast majority of people looking to lose weight.

"If [Contrave] becomes a blockbuster, it means we are approaching the problem badly — relying on a drug to do poorly what lifestyle as medicine can do so much better," Katz said.

Insurers have historically been reluctant to cover drugs that target obesity, making widespread adoption unlikely unless their position changes. That's "often cited as the main reason why sales of new antiobesity drugs are disappointing," wrote scientists from Renasci, a pharmaceutical consulting firm, in the International Journal of Obesity. 

And Contrave is no miracle drug. As with other anti-obesity pharmaceuticals, the weight lost during trials was modest, not transformative. Side effects, in some cases, can be severe. (We reached out to Orexigen for comment but have not heard back.)

"No current pharmacotherapy possesses the efficacy needed to produce substantial weight loss in morbidly obese patients," researchers wrote in a review of anti-obesity drugs in the Journal of Obesity. "Long term safety continues to be a major consideration."

What is Contrave?

Contrave is a combination of two previously approved drugs that have been observed to reduce appetite: bupropion, often prescribed for depression and smoking cessation under the brand names Welbutrin and Zyban, and naltrexone (Vivitrol), which is primarily used to fight alcohol and opioid dependence.

Orexigen Therapeutics first sought FDA approval for Contrave in 2011 but was asked to conduct additional testing of cardiovascular risks. That testing, which is ongoing, is costing the company $100 million, according to FierceBiotech, and the FDA is now requiring post-approval follow-up research on cardiovascular risks, safety for children, and more.

In June, the FDA delayed approval again until the label was updated with a warning that side effects may include increased suicidal thoughts, a standard warning on many antidepressants.

Now Orexigen has won approval from the FDA, although there's no information yet on how much the drug will cost or when exactly it will be available.

Does it work?

Well, sort of — but that all depends on what you expect it to do. First, the drug is meant to be used alongside, not in place of, a reduced-calorie diet and exercise. That's how it was evaluated, over multiple clinical trials that tested the drug in 4,500 people over the course of a year. 

In one trial, among people without diabetes, fewer than half (42%) of participants taking Contrave lost at least 5% of their body weight, compared to 17% of patients taking a placebo pill. Results were slightly worse among participants with diabetes: 36% of those on Contrave lost at least 5% of body weight compared to 18% of those on the placebo. (In someone who is 200 pounds, losing 5% of body weight would mean losing just 10 pounds.)

The Renasci researchers writing in the International Journal of Obesity noted that based on trial results so far, Contrave "would not satisfy the criterion" of the FDA's European counterpart "for a clinically effective antiobesity drug."

"There can be meaningful health benefit from a 5% weight loss," Katz, the Yale obesity expert, told us. "But the potential toxicity of this drug is considerable, and the weight will likely be regained if the drug is ever stopped."

What are the side effects?

Along with the warning about increased risk for suicidal thoughts, labeling will also note that "serious neuropsychiatric events have been reported in patients taking bupropion for smoking cessation," the FDA reports. Other possible side effects include seizures as well as elevated blood pressure and heart rate. The FDA says "blood pressure and pulse should be measured prior to starting the drug and should be monitored at regular intervals."

The most common adverse reactions people in trials had when taking Contrave were nausea, constipation, headache, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, dry mouth, and diarrhea.

What are the major drugs competing with Contrave?

Back in 1997, the popular combo appetite suppressant known as fen-phen was withdrawn after fenfluramine, one of its main components, was linked to heart valve defects and other cardiac abnormalities. More recently, the FDA withdrew approval for the diet drug sibutramine due to an increase in "nonfatal cardiovascular events." That may have given the agency pause when other diet pills came up for approval.

But in 2012, Belviq and Qsymia became the first anti-obesity drugs to win FDA approval in more than a decade, though both are tightly regulated due to their status as controlled substances. 

Belviq, Qsymia, and Contrave are very different, pharmacologically, but not hugely different in terms of results. Katz said Contrave is "probably more effective and more toxic than Belviq" and "less effective and less toxic than Qsymia." (Participants in Belviq trials lost an average of 3% of their body weight compared to 9% among those in Qsymia trials and 5% among those in Contrave trials, Forbes noted.)

Orexigen is also testing a totally separate anti-obesity drug called Empatic. And an over-the-counter drug, orlistat (known under the brand name Alli in the United States), disrupts fat absorption, aiding in weight loss — and often causing numerous gastrointestinal side effects. After sibutramine (sold as Meridia) was pulled from shelves in 2010 due to "increased risk of heart attack and stroke," Alli was briefly the only approved weight loss drug available in the U.S.

Katz emphasized that none of these drugs is particularly miraculous. "The argument for approving weight loss drugs is not that [they are] really very good, but rather that 'something is better than nothing,'" he said.

Here's a table from the National Institutes of Health summarizing the pre-Contrave drugs that have been approved for obesity treatment:

What's the bottom line?

Contrave is not a solution to the obesity epidemic, and it's certainly not the best plan of action for most people struggling with excess weight. After investing a huge amount of money to develop the drug, Orixgen has 900 sales reps lined up to pitch it to doctors — but it may not be as popular as the company hopes.

"As the majority of patients are unlikely to achieve the high degree of weight loss that they are seeking, it is questionable how willing they will be to pay for Contrave," the Renasi scientists note in the International Journal of Obesity. "As previously seen with sibutramine and orlistat, there may a very high initial uptake of Contrave treatment that is followed by a quite rapid decline."

Contrave could, however, be what Katz called "a useful springboard to action in select cases."

Still, when people are trying to lose weight, "there needs to be a long-term plan for lifestyle change," Katz advised. "Absent that, it's a short-term, go-it-alone, side-effect-encumbered solution to a long-term, best-addressed-together, lifestyle-based problem."

And that's not really a solution at all.

SEE ALSO: There Will Never Be A Miracle Weight-Loss Drug

Don't miss: Here Is The Simplest Advice For Anyone Trying To Lose Weight Or Eat Healthy

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When you're working as an engineer at a startup in Silicon Valley, it can be tough to think of anything besides work.

But Cindy Chu, a senior software engineer at online shopping company Polyvore, juggles managing a seven-person team with an even more strenuous activity  — she weight-lifts five days a week and hopes to enter amateur weightlifting competitions soon.

"It’s one of the exercises that just stuck with me," Chu told Business Insider. "I think it's like people who do races in that it's a lot of adrenaline." 

Chu previously worked as a technical lead at Yahoo, where she got to make use of a cushy corporate gym. But four years ago, when she left Yahoo to manage Polyvore's web and consumer services team, she was forced to explore other options. 

Each Polyvore employee gets a monthly wellness stipend, so Chu decided to use hers to sign up for a gym near her home in Mountain View. 

The gym she chose was Prometheus Athletics, a facility that's popular among Silicon Valley engineers and scientists. The gym is so popular with the tech crowd, in fact, that it offers a "nerd discount" for people in the industry. 

"It's a really supportive community there," Chu said. "It's really a place for people who want to pursue both intellectual and physical activities." 

At Prometheus, Chu has learned the two types of Olympic weightlifting: the "snatch" and the "clean and jerk."  They're both extremely difficult techniques that take a lot of flexibility, speed, and power to master. 

But now she's hooked — she reserves two hours in the morning, five mornings a week, so that she can get her exercise in before heading in to the office. 

"It's how much I needed to go to feel like I was training enough," she said. "I block off time on my calendar because the work tends to grow around the time if I don't. That's kind of how it is in the Valley."

Polyvore is fairly active as a whole. The company plans plenty of activities both in and out of the office, including an annual beach party and a company-wide competition they call the Poly Olympics. The monthly wellness stipend also encourages employees to exercise.

And while weightlifting may be an unconventional hobby, especially among women, Polyvore is an unconventional tech company. A full 59% of Polyvore employees are female, including cofounder and CEO Jess Lee. In Chu's department specifically, 26% of engineers are women. 

That's far above the tech industry standard — both Google and Apple, for example, have workforces that are only 30% women globally. 

"Polyvore is a meritocracy — you're all treated fairly regardless of whether you're a man or a woman, and regardless of your age or race," Chu said. "The new trend in Silicon Valley is that companies are releasing their diversity figures. I think that's a good step to starting the conversation."

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Olive Garden's sales are down, and an activist investor in the restaurant believes the pasta is partly to blame. 

The Italian-restaurant chain supposedly breaks a basic rule of Italian cooking — salting the pasta water. 

"Shockingly, Olive Garden no longer salts the water it uses to boil the pasta, merely to get a longer warranty on its pots," Starboard writes in its 300-slide presentation. "This appalling decision shows just how little regard management has for delivering a quality experience to guests."

We reached out to Olive Garden for comment but haven't heard back. The company's website confirms that the pasta contains a negligible amount of sodium until you add sauce or meat. 

This Starboard slide points out that "the first step of Pasta 101 is to salt the water." 

Competitors like Carrabbas add salt to the water, with better-tasting results, Starboard claims.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, adding salt to the water gives the pasta a better flavor.

"Do as Mario Batali does and salt the water until it 'tastes like the sea,'" the magazine instructs.

Starboard believes that Olive Garden should focus on offering authentic Italian cuisine. 

The brand's new menu items this year have included Spanish tapas and a burger.

NOW WATCH: Here's What It Takes To Work At Hooters

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In just a few days, the people of Scotland will vote on whether it will become independent from Britain.

Whatever the outcome, there's no denying that Scotland is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It's home to eerie castles, ancient ruins, and rolling green hills. Here are 23 photos that will make you want to book your next trip to Scotland.

Melrose Abbey is one of the oldest abbeys in Scotland. Today you can explore the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey, which was damaged in the 1500s.

Boats bob in a harbor on Fife's East Neuk (eastern corner).

The Isle of Skye, the largest island in the Inner Hebrides, has gorgeous rolling hills and mountains.

In order to celebrate the opening of an IKEA store in Clermont-Ferrand, France, the furniture store partnered with event communication agency ubi bene to erect a 30-foot-high rock and furniture climbing wall in the middle of town.

The interactive wall is made from real IKEA furniture and is manned by professional climbers to help those visitors who want to give it a shot. 

"As Clermont-Ferrand is a sporty city, IKEA wanted to give to the inhabitants an event that perfectly suits their needs," said Vanessa Vannier from ubi bene. The four-day event is free and open to anyone.

The new IKEA store in Clermont-Ferrand is the 30th overall in France. We'd say they're off to a good start.

SEE ALSO: An Australian Firm Has Designed The Scariest House Ever

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From sea to sea, America is jam-packed with amazing foods.

We rounded up the best food from every state, taking your comments into account and making some changes to last year's list.

Some are homegrown inventions, like Indiana's Hoosier Pie. Others, like fried crab claws in Alabama, take advantage of local ingredients. 

Did we get your state right? Let us know in the comments.

ALABAMA: Dig into a basket of fried blue crab claws, fresh from the Gulf.

ALASKA: Try fresh-caught wild salmon straight from the rivers of Alaska. It's great on the grill.

ARIZONA: Chow down on a crispy chimichanga, a deep-fried tortilla filled with meat, cheese, and other ingredients, in Tuscon.

With the release of Apple's sleek new Apple Watch this week, people in both fashion and tech have been looking at wearables with renewed interest. 

The problem with wearable tech in the past has been that many of the devices are bulky and ugly, like a smartphone strapped to your wrist. 

But Apple isn't the only company making smart accessories that people will actually want to wear — major designers like Tory Burch, Rebecca Minkoff, and Opening Ceremony are partnering with tech companies to create beautiful accessories with high-tech capabilities. 

The tech in these accessories is so subtle that even the most stylish women will want to have them on their wrists.

Ringly is a cocktail ring that discreetly notifies the wearer when she gets a call or text.

Ringly connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth and either vibrates or lights up when you get a notification. You can even customize how you receive the notification by changing up the vibration and light patterns. 

"We were going for something that was simple, classic, something that a lot of women could get behind," Ringly cofounder Christina Mercando said to Business Insider when the product launched in June. "It's so small and discreet that people wouldn't know the technology is there."

The ring is made of 18K-matte gold and comes with four different gem stones: black onyx, pink sapphire, rainbow moonstone, and emerald. There's even a limited edition "Dive Bar" ring, made out of tourmalated quartz in a rhodium plated setting.

The MEMI vibrates lightly when you get a call, text, or calendar notification.

This rhodium-plated bracelet syncs up with your iPhone so you can stay up-to-date even when your phone is stashed away in your bag. 

The MEMI is fashionable and relatively light, weighing less than two ounces and available in either gold or silver. 

It will eventually retail for $200 but can be pre-ordered for $150 now. The bracelets are expected to ship in the spring of 2015.

Intel partnered with Opening Ceremony to create this smart bracelet.

Dubbed MICA  — which stands for My Intelligent Connected Accessory — the bracelet uses a 3G radio to display notifications on a 1.6-inch curved touchscreen, which faces the inside of your wrist. Precious stones and snakeskin were incorporated into the design.

"When wearables basically take off, when they become available for the larger masses, they have to be accessories that you like to have on you," Ayse Ildeniz, vice president of Intel's New Devices Group, told Business Insider's Lisa Eadicicco.

The bracelet premiered during Opening Ceremony's New York Fashion Week show, and it will be sold exclusively at Barneys New York later this fall.

Taco Bell parent company Yum! Brands launched a new Asian sandwich chain on Friday.

Called Banh Shop, the new restaurant concept features a variety of banh mi sandwiches and bowls, noodle salad and sides like "Saigon 'Street Stall' Corn" with coconut milk, butter, red pepper, and cheese.

The first location opened Friday in Dallas and a second location will open at the Dallas-Fort Worth International airport in September.

The company provided us with some photos of the new restaurant and menu items.

Here's the first location, which is in the Dallas neighborhood of Park Cities:

The concept was created in collaboration with restaurant developer Mark H. Brezinski. 

"With Southeast Asian cuisine growing in popularity in the U.S., we saw an opportunity to design a unique fast casual concept that emulates delicious Saigon street food, with a focus on the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich," Christophe Poirier, head of Banh Shop, said in a release.

The menu includes a Grilled Steak Banh Mi Sandwich (below) with marinated sirloin steak, sliced and char-grilled with honey-caramel glaze and cucumber-cilantro aioli.

This Grilled Chicken Meatball sandwich features char-grilled minced chicken with red onion, scallion, and bean thread noodles, topped with honey-garlic aioli.

The menu also features a Vietnamese Noodle Salad with vermicelli rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, basil, mint, cilantro, peanuts, red onion and bean sprouts tossed in a Vietnamese vinaigrette.

Here's the Grilled Pork Meatball Banh Mi Sandwich with minced pork, Vietnamese caramel glaze, scallions and cucumber-cilantro aioli.

Yum!, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, recently opened another new chain called U.S. Taco Co. in California .

It has also launched a test restaurant called Super Chix in Arlington, Tex., which sells chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches. The menu is similar to Chick-fil-A's.

The company is experimenting with new restaurant concepts as customer traffic has been steadily declining at fast food restaurants.

Guest counts at fast food vendors were flat last year compared to a year earlier, while fast casual chains — such as Chipotle and Panera — saw 8% average growth in traffic, according to The NPD Group.

Fast casual restaurants are typically more expensive than fast food and customers perceive them to have higher quality ingredients.

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Business Insider is still looking for a few paid interns to join our editorial team this fall.

Specifically, we are looking for applicants who are interested in covering retail, education, transportation, and lifestyle.

As an intern at Business Insider, there's no getting coffee, filing, or making copies.

Our interns are an integral part of our team. Many of our current writers and editors started as interns.

BI Interns spend their time doing meaningful work: researching, writing, pitching and producing stories — even breaking news if the timing's right.

Interns are encouraged to work full-time (40 hours a week) if their schedule allows.

Other perks? We have tons of free snacks and drinks, a great office environment, and a ping-pong table where we hold quarterly tournaments.

When it comes to qualifications, a journalism background and experience writing for a news site always helps, as do copy-editing skills and light HTML and Photoshop experience. Knowledge of social media and previous writing experience are both useful, too.

APPLY HERE with a resume and cover letter. Please also briefly describe which section of Business Insider interests you most, and why.

Please note: this internship requires that you work in our Manhattan office. The internship term runs for approximately six months, with some flexibility on start and end dates.

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Robert Peace stood out from his friends at Yale University because he was a minority who came from a poor family in Newark, New Jersey, but that didn't stop him from excelling in academics and sports.

After graduation, however, Peace's life took a mysterious and dark turn culminating in his drug-related murder at 30 years old.

In his new book, "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace," Peace's former roommate Jeff Hobbs contemplates difficult questions about Peace's post-college trajectory.

The story has made a strong impression on some readers in light of the recent death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager who was shot to death by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri shortly before his first semester of college.

"Not all deaths are the same — and certainly the circumstances of Brown’s and Peace’s killings are very different — but they are reminders of the systemic problems that continue to claim the lives of young black men," wrote Kevin Nguyen in Grantland. "Given those problems, I can hardly think of a book that feels more necessary, relevant, and urgent."

Peace, who was black, grew up in a rough neighborhood while his father did time for a murder conviction based on seemingly inconclusive evidence, according to The New York Times' review of Hobbs' book. His mother worked hard to send him to a prestigious Catholic school, where Peace was awarded the school's highest honor for his academic success, participation in student government, and athletic prowess on the water polo team.

He continued on the same track after high school, joining one of Yale University's secret societies before graduating in 2002 with a degree in molecular biochemistry.

After college, Peace excelled as a biology teacher at his former high school. 

"He was someone who knew their [students'] own experiences as young men from the city," friend Marc Onion told the Star-Ledger after his death. "They felt encouraged by his calm and uplifted by his humor. As compassionate as he could be demanding, several students named Mr. Peace as their favorite teacher."

But there was another side of Peace his Yale friends didn't know about. While they knew he enjoyed partying and smoking marijuana as an undergrad, they had no idea he spent his college years raking in $100,000 from pot he sold on campus. 

After college, "doors began to close for Rob and making money became less a pastime than an urgent obsession," The New York Times' Janet Maslin explains. 

Peace left his teaching job in 2007 and later worked with Continental Airlines, where his access to baggage and relations with security staff allowed him to begin smuggling drugs on a larger scale. 

By 2011, Peace was allegedly making $1,000 per day selling homegrown marijuana and paying a former high school classmate to rent the apartment where police found him dead, along with 25 pounds of pot, reported The Star-Ledger. 

The circumstances of his death and his suspected involvement in the drug trade shocked friends who had never seen it coming. "In a community of bright people, Rob stood out as one of the warmest, most intelligent, and most loyal people I knew," another Yale roommate Bradley D. Shy told The Star-Ledger upon his death.

Hobb's new book examines such factors as Peace's family history and financial burdens, post-college emotions, and the temptation of drugs that may have led him down an uncharacteristic path. "Mr. Hobbs does a fascinating job of raising these questions, even though he cannot possibly answer them," wrote Maslin.

SEE ALSO: The High School Senior Who Got Into All 8 Ivies Is Going To Yale

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A Massachusetts woman has reportedly found the owner of a wedding photo that was in the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9/11, after 13 years of searching.

Each year since the attacks, Elizabeth Stringer Keefe has posted to her social media accounts a scanned image of six people at a wedding, hoping that someone would come forward to claim it, according to Mashable.

On Friday, she claimed that she had heard from one of the people in the picture, and all were alive and well.

"Attention wonderful world: ALL SIX PEOPLE ARE ALIVE AND WELL AND I HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!" she tweeted.

Her efforts received a boost this year since she was featured on a Boston blog named Universal Hub, and her story quickly went viral. By Friday, the original tweet of the photo had generated more than 53,000 retweets on Twitter.

"It's a beautiful, joyful moment captured in time and it was such a contrast to what I saw at Ground Zero, which was still burning when I was there," Keefe told Mashable. "So, if it had a relationship to 9/11, I wanted to keep it safe until I could return it to its owner. There's so much beauty and happiness in the photo that I just felt committed to the task."

Keefe even got a boost from country music star Blake Shelton, who passed the photo along to his more than seven million followers.

At 3:02 p.m., Keefe got a frantic tweet from Fred Mahe, whose Twitter bio shows him from Manhattan, New York.

@ProfKeefe I KNOW THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE! I was at the wedding.

— Fred Mahe (@FredWMahe) September 12, 2014

Keefe soon learned he was the man in the far left of the picture, and proudly announced her search was finally over.

Dear Everyone: introducing the very much alive & well @FredWMahe!! #FARLEFT#weallknowyou#911photo#AMAZING#NYC Thank you to ALL

— E. Stringer Keefe (@ProfKeefe) September 13, 2014

Mahe was very thankful:

@ProfKeefe You did it Elizabeth. YOU are amazing. #9/12

— Fred Mahe (@FredWMahe) September 13, 2014

@ProfKeefe 9/11 we remember what we lost. 9/12 we remember what we have. 9/12/01, I saw the best of humanity. Elizabeth is 100% 9/12 #9/12

— Fred Mahe (@FredWMahe) September 13, 2014

Thanks @blakeshelton 4 retweeting the 9/11 people pic. We r all alive. The REAL STORY is @ProfKeefe, she is 100% 9/12 @MlynnrabbMonica #9/12

— Fred Mahe (@FredWMahe) September 13, 2014

Keefe, an assistant professor at Lesley University in Cambridge, told Boston Magazine a friend who was moving away to California had given her the photo in October 2001.

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Wesley Verhoeve loves to travel. He also loves to take photos, and learn about communities coming together all over the country. Combine all of these loves and you get an adventure, one Verhoeve calls "One Of Many."

One Of Many is a big project.

Verhoeve is traveling to twelve cities across the US, immersing himself in local creative communities "and capturing interesting creatives in portrait and writing," Verhoeve told Business Insider.

"This can range from visual artists, to craftspeople, food and beverage makers, musicians, entrepreneurs, and more."

Why? Verhoeve has a simple answer: "The growing creative independent movement, along with renewed interest in life outside the big cities, is rapidly reshaping our economy and culture." 

The first stop was Charleston, South Carolina.

It was here that Verhoeve discovered  a woman he has dubbed "The Icon;" Martha Lou of Martha Lou's Kitchen, a Charleston mainstay for over 31 years that has been written about in The New York Times.

Verhoeve writes on Martha's:

All eight of Martha’s children have at various times been employed by the restaurant, and four still help run the place, handling kitchen and hosting duties. The atmosphere at Martha Lou’s is like no other. Genuine, down home, simple, generous, and rich. The smells and hospitality set high expectations, and the food truly delivers. My favorite part was speaking with Ms. Martha Lou and her children. Their humility and the love for their customers is palatable and knows no bounds. Stepping into the restaurant is stepping into another world. A world in which kindness is the not-so-secret ingredient elevates the ingredients to greater than the sum of their parts.

The website for Martha Lou's Kitchen is very unassuming.

But Verhoeve captures it — and Martha Lou herself — beautifully.

Business Insider talked to Verhoeve about the One Of Many project and his goals for bringing small creative communities attention. In an email, here's what he had to say about his trip to Charleston, and the future of his project:

I started traveling about nine months ago, with a basic idea and parameters of what I wanted to do, but without very many details worked out. Through the kindness of many of these strangers that I’ve gotten to meet the project vision crystallized and after Charleston trip, which was actually the 4th city I visited, I was locked in completely and was able to collaborate with design firm Stitch Design Co to come up with a name and a visual identity. Since then I have visited 6 of the 12 cities and I’m currently hitting the last six at a rate of one or two a month.

Verhoeve has been sharing all of his photos and stories on his One Of Many site, but allowed Business Insider to exclusively publish a few of the photos you see below (some can be seen on One Of Many.) 

You can also check out Verhoeve's Instagram account here, which showcases some images you may not see while visiting One Of Many.

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Archaeological researchers in England have discovered evidence of new hidden monuments near the prehistoric site of Stonehenge, the ancient Briton site built sometime between 3,000 and 1,600 BC, raising new possibilities about what the monument may have been used for. 

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