Quantcast
Channel: Business Insider
Viewing all 116489 articles
Browse latest View live

17 Thanksgiving Hacks For The Best Meal Of Your Life

$
0
0

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where food, football, family, and friends all converge.

But hosting Thanksgiving can be a nightmare. Between cooking all the sides, roasting your bird, and talking to your guests, it's almost impossible to remain on schedule. 

Luckily there are a few easy hacks for cooking the best Thanksgiving meal of your life — and saving you from a few pitfalls. Keep reading to see our tips.

PREP

1. Peel garlic faster by microwaving it. Stick it in the microwave for 10 seconds and then peel the garlic with your hands — the cloves will slip right out of their casings.

peeling garlic GIF2. Peel an entire bucket of potatoes in under 50 seconds. Earlier this summer, a Danish man discovered he could peel an entire bucket of potatoes in less than a minute by using a hose, a clean toilet brush, and a power drill. You can watch the whole video here.

peeling potatoes easy gif3. Do all your chopping a day before. Carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes can all be pre-chopped and stored in the fridge overnight without losing any of their flavor. Keep the cut potatoes in water so they don’t turn brown and put the rest in Ziploc plastic bags. 

thanksgiving prep chopping vegetables

SIDES/DESSERTS

4. Make stuffing the night before. You can make and chill stuffing in the fridge for 24 hours before taking it out and baking it the day of.

thanksgiving stuffing dressing5. Add baking soda to potatoes for a fluffy texture. Just a pinch will do. The reason it works is because the baking soda reacts to the heat of the potatoes and forms tiny air pockets.

mashed potatoes6. Make and freeze your pies ahead of time. Not only is it incredibly convenient to bake your frozen homemade pies, but it also makes for a better, non-soggy crust. Wrap the pie in plastic wrap or foil before freezing and add 20-45 minutes of extra cooking time to your recipe.

Note: This works well for all fruit pies, but for pumpkin pie, freeze the custard mix separately from the crust. Defrost the custard a day before in the fridge and thoroughly whisk it before adding back to the crust and baking.

cherry pie 37. Use a slow cooker for some sides to save oven space. Dressing, stuffing, casseroles, potatoes, and more can all be made in a slow cooker to save room in the oven (and cook to perfection without any oversight). Just search “slow-cooker Thanksgiving side dishes” and you’ll find a lot of good ideas.

slow cooker potatoes sides8. Keep warm, finished items in a cooler. When you’re done making your sides but want to keep them warm while the turkey cooks, stick them in an empty cooler. You can also warm a brick in an oven, wrap with a dish towel, and stick that in there too to keep everything warm until serving time. 

TURKEY

9. Buy a meat thermometer. If you want to cook a turkey perfectly, a meat thermometer is all you need to avoid dry meat. Turkey needs to cook to 170 degrees. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the turkey’s thigh (making sure you don’t hit the bone). When it’s 8 to 10 degrees away from your target temperature, remove the turkey and let it rest for a half an hour. It will keep cooking just enough to make it done without drying out the meat. 

meat thermometer turkey10. Get a second turkey, not a bigger turkey.  A big turkey takes longer to thaw, longer to cook, and cooks less evenly. You’re more likely to get dry meat with a larger bird and it’s hard to carry, position, and carve a huge turkey. Instead, buy two smaller turkeys  — it won’t change the cooking time and they'll be much easier to manage.

Rule of thumb says you should have a pound of turkey for each guest. For 15 people, two 10 pound turkeys should do just fine (with ample leftovers).

two turkeys cooking in an oven11. Dry brine your turkey— it will save time and effort. Brining a turkey used to be the classic way to prepare your bird, but it’s a messy, arduous process. The easier method is to dry brine your turkey, which essentially means you just rub it down with all of your herbs, salt, and pepper. Find out how to do it here

dry brine turkey12. Rub butter and herbs over and under the skin. Lift the skin up and slide little pads of butter between the skin and the meat. Rub in some herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage), add a little oil, put some salt on there, and add more butter on top. This will really make the skin crispy on the outside and the meat succulent.

thanksgiving turkey prep13. Roast the turkey while you sleep. This is perhaps the easiest way to cook the turkey and you barely have to do anything. Season the turkey, drizzle in oil, and then roast at 450 for 45 minutes to an hour, until it becomes a golden brown. Then turn down the heat to 170 and let it roast away to the perfect doneness. At this level, it’s roughly an hour per pound (so a 20 pound turkey would take 20 hours). 

turkey roasting cooking oven14. Spatchcock your turkey. Spatchcocking (essentially butterflying your turkey) will cook the bird faster, more evenly, and is pretty simple to do. You can either have the butcher spatchcock it or you can do it yourself with some poultry scissors and a knife. Watch and learn how to do it here:

 

It also makes carving a breeze. 

spatchcocking turkey spatchcock butterflying15. Forgot to defrost your turkey? You can still roast itLet’s say you forgot to thaw your turkey in the fridge. It happens, but you should start roasting that turkey immediately. Take the recommended cooking time for a thawed turkey of your size and add 50% more time (so a turkey that should take 5 hours will now take 7.5 hours). You can baste, butter, and salt the turkey as you go along.

turkey butterball frozen

PRESENTATION 

16. Make dinner a potluck to save table space. The concept of the Rockwell Thanksgiving table is tempting, but it’s so inconvenient and crowded. Instead, set up a potluck station in the kitchen and have everyone grab their plates before sitting down. This will streamline the entire process.

thanksgiving spread potluck food17. Carve your turkey the right way. Remove the legs and thighs first, then the drumsticks, then the wishbone, then the breasts, then the wings. Then slice up all the meat and transfer to a platter. Add a little bit of gravy to add more moisture and flavor, and serve.

carving turkey

SEE ALSO: How To Set A Perfect Thanksgiving Table

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »









This Smartphone Breathalyzer Will Keep You From Embarrassing Yourself At The Company Party [14% Off]

$
0
0

redesign_BACtrack_MF1_1014

The holidays are coming up.  That means a lot of parties. When you're out and you've had a couple of drinks, use this breathalyzer to make sure you're OK to drive  you need a reliable way to make better decisions.

The BACtrack Vio is a quick and easy way to monitor your blood alcohol content at any time, and we've got it for 14% off.

Even if you're not driving, use this to think twice about that next beer at the company party. No one wants to be the subject of the watercooler talk the next morning. It's compatible with your iOS or Android smartphone, and is easy to conceal on your keys. The BACtrack Vio has a sanitary flip-up mouthpiece to keep out germs and impurities. You'll be happy you checked it.

Get 14% off The BACtrack Vio ($42.99).

Full specs below:

  • Dimensions: 0.95 × 2.85 × 0.65 inches
  • Weight: 2.0 oz (57g)
  • Battery: AAA
  • Warm-up time: 10 seconds
  • Blowing time: 5 seconds
  • BAC range: 0.000-0.400%

Get 14% off The BACtrack Vio ($42.99).

SEE ALSO:  Holiday Travelers: Stay Charged With Limefuel's Giant Battery Pack [58% Off]

Join the conversation about this story »








How To Dress Like Your Favorite Tech Executives

43 Meals Everyone Should Eat In Their Lifetime

$
0
0

maine lobster roll

A memorable meal can define a destination and keep you salivating for years to come.

From unpretentious fried fish tacos in Baja, Mexico, to the foraged tasting menu at Copenhagen's Noma (the best restaurant in the world), we found 43 meals that are worth traversing the planet for.

Foodies will want to put these spots on their travel bucket list.

Slurp up a bowl of steaming hot Pho, a tangy beef noodle soup, in Hanoi, Vietnam.



Feast on a juicy, dry-aged steak from the famous Peter Luger Steakhouse in Brooklyn, New York.

Read more on Peter Luger >



Bite into a chewy, gooey slice of Neapolitan-style pizza in Naples, Italy.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






These Quirky Charts From Warby Parker Will Tell You What To Read Next

$
0
0

Warby Parker has found a great deal of success in the eyewear space, selling more than one million pairs of glasses as of June 2014. 

The startup has established itself as a recognizable lifestyle brand on its way to making high-quality glasses available at a reasonable price point. 

On its company blog, Warby Parker shares fashion tips, stylized photographs, and fun illustrations.

One of the blog's features is a set of book-recommending flowcharts. Like many of the brand's other materials, the charts have clean graphics and a quirky design.warby parker chartwarby parker chartwarby parker chartwarby parker chartwarby parker chart

SEE ALSO: How To Dress Like Silicon Valley's Elite

WE'RE ON INSTAGRAM:  Click Here To Follow Us

Join the conversation about this story »








12 Things Successful People Do Before Breakfast

$
0
0

running jogging beach sunset

"If it has to happen, then it has to happen first," writes Laura Vanderkam, time management expert and author of "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast."

Those among us who have managed to find professional success and eke out a life actively embrace this philosophy. They must set aside their first hours of the day to invest in their top-priority activities before other people's priorities come rushing in.

Science supports this strategy. Vanderkam cites Florida State University psychology professor Roy Baumeister's famous finding that willpower is like a muscle that becomes fatigued from overuse. Diets, he says, come undone in the evening, just as poor self-control and lapses in decision-making often come later in the day. On the other hand, early mornings offer a fresh supply of willpower, and people tend to be more optimistic and ready to tackle challenging tasks.

So what do successful executives and entrepreneurs do when they are rested and fresh? From Vanderkam's study of morning rituals, we outline the following 12 things that the most successful people do before breakfast.

They wake up early.

Successful people know that time is a precious commodity. And while theirs is easily eaten up by phone calls, meetings, and sudden crises once they’ve gotten to the office, the morning hours are under their control. That’s why many of them rise before the sun, squeezing out as much time as they can to do with as they please.

In a poll of 20 executives cited by Vanderkam, 90% said they wake up before 6 a.m. on weekdays. PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, for example, wakes at 4 a.m. and is in the office no later than 7 a.m. Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger gets up at 4:30 to read, and Square CEO Jack Dorsey is up at 5:30 to jog. 

The bottom line: Productive mornings start with early wake-up calls.



They exercise before it falls off the to-do list.

The top morning activity of the rich and powerful seems to be exercise, be it lifting weights at home or going to the gym. According to Vanderkam, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns schedules an hour-long personal training session starting at 6 a.m. twice a week; Christie's CEO Steve Murphy uses the mornings to do yoga; and Starwood Hotels CEO Frits van Paasschen runs for an hour every morning starting at 5:30.

“These are incredibly busy people,” says Vanderkam. “If they make time to exercise, it must be important.”

Beyond the fact that exercising in the morning means they can’t later run out of time, Vanderkam says a pre-breakfast workout helps reduce stress later in the day, counteracts the effects of high-fat diet, and improves sleep.



They work on a top-priority business project.

The quiet hours of the morning can be the ideal time to focus on an important work project without being interrupted. What’s more, spending time on it at the beginning of the day ensures that it gets your attention before others (kids, employees, bosses) use it all up.

Vanderkam uses the example of business strategist Debbie Moysychyn, who dealt with so many ad hoc meetings and interruptions throughout the day that she felt she couldn’t get anything done. She started thinking of the early mornings as project time, and chose a top-priority project each day to focus on. Sure enough, not a single colleague dropped in on her at 6:30 a.m. She could finally concentrate.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






13 Sad, Sad Facts About Your Thanksgiving Turkey

$
0
0

Each Thanksgiving, we cut, tear, and rip apart roasted, glistening turkeys like it will be our last meal on Earth. And we love doing it.

For those of you eating turkey this Thanksgiving, there are some facts you should know, first. Facts about flying turkeys, frozen turkeys, and the sad secret of the lucky pardoned turkey that might not be so lucky.

Sad Turkey Facts Graphic

Now that you know the truth about turkey, check out ... 17 Thanksgiving hacks for the best meal for your life

Join the conversation about this story »








Inside The Strange And Wonderful World Of Micronations

$
0
0

atlantium1

Imagine escaping the confines of bureaucracy and founding your own state, where you make all the rules.

Sounds like the stuff of fantasy novels. But some people actually make it a reality by creating their own "micronations."

A micronation is a piece of land that claims to be an independent or sovereign nation, but is not recognized by world governments. They are founded for many reasons, some as protests, some to boost tourism, and some just for fun.

Reports put the number of current micronations at over 400.

Photographer Leó Delafontaine found himself fascinated by these places and began photographing them in 2012, visiting six countries and three continents to capture 12 unique micronations.

While the photographs are humorous at times, Delafontaine hopes viewers come away from the series with both "the desire to laugh and the need to think about the geopolitical, national, and cultural questions that micronations generate," he tells Business Insider.

Delafontaine shared the following images with us. You can see more on his website or purchase the book of the series, out now on Diaphane Editions.

The first micronation that Delafontaine discovered and photographed was the Principality of Sealand. Located on an abandoned WWII military platform about 8 miles off the coast of Great Britain in international waters, the micronation was first established in 1967 by Paddy Roy Bates in order to emit pirate radio broadcasts.



Prince Michael, seen below, is Paddy Roy Bates's son and took over control of Sealand in 1999. Sealand has its own flag, its own currency, and even issues passports. After an electrical fire damaged the facility in 2006, Prince Michael attempted to sell the platform for $906 million, sources say.



Finding no buyer, Sealand's government and the Bates family have decided to renovate the base and keep it for themselves, making sure the Principality lives on. It currently has a population of four.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider







The 50 Best Law Schools In America

$
0
0

Best Law Schools 2014_2x1

If you go to the right law school, you've got a direct line to high-paying and prestigious jobs.

If you go to the wrong one, you may come away with too much debt and too few opportunities.

We've ranked the 50 best law schools based primarily on a survey of more than 300 legal industry professionals, produced with help from Survey Monkey. Our ranking also factors in data on acceptance rates and post-graduated employment rates.

The top-ranked school was Yale Law School, an extremely elite institution recognized as a launching pad for almost any post-graduate job. It was followed closely by Harvard and then Columbia and Stanford — elite schools with strengths in different areas.

Click here to read more about our methodology.

50. University of Arizona (Rogers)

The University of Arizona scored a 4.3 out of 10 on our Legal Insider rating.

76% employed nine months after graduation.

40% applicants accepted.

The James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona offers numerous specialized programs and excels in its environmental law and Indian & Indigenous Peoples law programs.

Read our full methodology here.



49. Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University scored a 4.3 out of 10 on our Legal Insider rating.

66% employed nine months after graduation

38% applicants accepted

One of the oldest law schools in the country, W&L Law has educated multiple governors, state Supreme Court justices, ambassadors, cabinet members, and legislators.

Read our full methodology here.



48. University of Utah (Quinney)

The University of Utah scored a 4.3 out of 10 on our Legal Insider rating.

81% employed nine months after graduation.

45% applicants accepted.

Students at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah are incredibly well prepared for the bar exam. This year 91% of those who took the bar exam passed the first time they took it.

Read our full methodology here.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Here's How We Ranked The Best Law Schools In America

$
0
0

Yale Law School

We recently published a list of the Best Law Schools In America.

To create this list, we surveyed more than 300 American legal professionals to determine the best law schools in the US with the help of SurveyMonkey.

This year Yale replaced Harvard as the No. 1 school.

Our survey asked participants to select the top 10 law schools in terms of how well they prepare students to land their ideal job. We recorded the percentage of respondents that ranked each school in the top 10.

Approximately 52% of survey participants said they have a law degree, while 3.5% reported that they had a partial degree, meaning they're either still in law school or dropped out.

We balanced our industry survey with objective incoming metrics — acceptance rates from U.S. News and World Report — and outgoing metrics — employment rates reported from the American Bar Association.

The results of our survey composed 50% of our final "Legal Insider" rating, while employment rates from the ABA and acceptance rates from U.S. News and World Report each composed 25% of our final rating. We took each metric and with these numbers we came up with a total score, which we then scaled out of 10 to come up with our Legal Insider rating. Yale, our winning school, received a Legal Insider rating of 10, while the other schools followed.

Below is a spreadsheet showing our calculations (click to enlarge):

Law Schools spreadsheet final

See the results of our survey on our list of the 50 Best Law Schools In America.

SEE ALSO: The 50 Best Law Schools In America

FOLLOW US: Business Insider is on Twitter!

Join the conversation about this story »








The Cost Of A Thanksgiving Dinner Has Dropped Over The Last 100 Years

$
0
0

woman buying turkey at walmart thanksgiving

The average Thanksgiving Day dinner this year will cost $49.41, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Each year, the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates the cost of Thanksgiving around the country based on feeding 10 people a meal with a 16-pound turkey, bread stuffing, sweet potatoes, rolls with butter, peas, cranberries, carrots, celery, pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and coffee with milk.

The average costs has hovered around $49 since 2011, and results were based on 179 volunteer shoppers checking prices at grocery stores in 35 states.

But what would the same dinner have cost a century ago?

The Morris County Library in New Jersey researched the advertised prices of common Thanksgiving goods from November 18-22, 1911 in the NJ newspaper, The Daily Record. They discovered the cost of everything from sweet potatoes to plum pudding on the newspaper's old microfilm, and shared it with Business Insider.

Here's what a Thanksgiving dinner would have cost in 1911:

Turkey: $.28/pound ($4.48 for a 16-pounder)

Bread stuffing: $.05/pound

Sweet potatoes: $.29/6 quart basket

Rolls (bread): $.05/pound

Butter: $.37/pound

Peas: $.05/can

Cranberries: $.13/quart

Carrots: $.25/6 quart basket

Celery: n/a

Pumpkin pie: (milk, eggs, flour, sugar, pumpkin, nutmeg, cinnamon) ~$.84 to make (recipe)

Whipped cream: n/a

Coffee: $.25/pound

Milk: $.05/pint

Total cost: ~$6.81

Of course, these prices don't take inflation into account: That measly sounding $6.81 suddenly jumps to a staggering $167.77 when you consider inflation (calculated here for 2013 prices).

It's mostly due to the sheer size of the turkey since a 16-pounder in 1911 prices would cost roughly $110 today (this year, that same-sized turkey will cost Americans $21.65, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation).

See the full list of prices from New Jersey in 1911 over at the Morris County Library website, and be thankful that your turkey this year didn't cost over $100.

SEE ALSO: 17 Thanksgiving Hacks For The Best Meal Of Your Life

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »








Incredibly Frank Relationships Are The Secret To Building An Empire, Says Lou Malnati's CEO

$
0
0

Marc malnati

When Marc Malnati was 22, he got a piece of devastating news: Lou Malnati, his father and the founder of Lou Malnati's Pizza, a Chicago-based deep-dish pizza chain, had died. 

With lots of assistance from his dad's management team, it would be up to Malnati, his mother Jean, and his brother Rick, to lead the struggling pizza chain. 

They were up for the challenge. 

The business grew: Two stores by 1981, six by 1991, and 20 by 2001. 

During that time, things got tense. Malnati was bringing in his own guys, which created some tension between the generations. Plus, they were splintering themselves between locations. And, as it grew, the business was shifting from having a team of generalists to specialists. 

"There was some resentment between people who had been around a while and people who were coming in with equal or greater power," Malnati tells Business Insider. 

They needed to have it out. 

Malnati, who had been working with a therapist with his wife, had a realization: His team needed to learn how to see themselves more clearly, learn to give feedback, speak directly, and not repress their feelings. 

If they learned those complexities of communication, they could resolve issues between people, which would allow them to solve problems that arose within the business.

So they rented a hotel room, gathered together about a dozen managers, and brought in a therapist to facilitate. It was "a means to move past gossip and toward a relational business model," Malnati says.

In what became a four-hour meeting, everybody played nice for the first hour.

Then all hell broke loose. 

"People were crying and screaming and fighting and learning and listening — learning to listen," Malnati said. "We finished the meeting and all realized, well there's probably a little more. Let's do it again, same time, same place, four weeks from now. So we did. And we did it again. And again. And again. And again and again and again."

lou malnati pizza

Six years after that first meeting, they started a second group because there were more leaders. 

But it was still the same structure, leading to the same outcomes. 

"We learned how to listen," Malnati says. "We learned how to speak. How to say, 'When you said X, I felt this way. I felt angry or scared or sad.' My judgment was this. The story I made up around what happened was this. What I need to resolve this issue is this."

And lo and behold, they did learn how to talk, and they did learn how to directly solve issues between the team. 

As Malnati's has continued to grow — 44 stores are planned for 2015 — the group meetings continue, too. Malnati says that about 125 of the 145 managers in the company take part in the regular group discussions, and they separate into more groups as the team size increases. 

"It has nothing to do with Chicago pizza, but most of the time, we have nothing to do with Chicago pizza," Malnati said. "There are 2,400 people in the company, and the biggest job is to maintain relationships and care about people." 

It's all part of what Malnati calls a relational model: an understanding that the relationship between two members of his organization is much more important than however they decide to make money. 

Because if there's resentment at the top of the company or within an individual store, he said, there will be issues that don't get resolved and gossip and sarcasm and the kind of petty back-biting that makes a workplace uncomfortable.

Thus the need to be able to listen closely and speak with precision. 

"If a given management team is clear with one another, if they're not holding resentments with one another, then everything else has a way of going smoothly," he said. "All the staff is treated well, the staff treats their customers well, it just continues to roll. I really think that in our industry that a relational model is the only one that has a chance to work." 

SEE ALSO: Excellent Career Advice From LinkedIn's Billionaire Founder Reid Hoffman

Join the conversation about this story »








11 Things You May Not Have Known About Thanksgiving

$
0
0

TurkeyWe all know that the first Thanksgiving dinner took place when the Pilgrims celebrated a good harvest in the New World, and that the tryptophan in turkey isn't actually what makes you so sleepy. 

But did you know that there was a crisis in the late 1930s called “Franksgiving?" 

We rounded up 11 of the best facts about Thanksgiving, which might come in handy during those awkward silences at the family dinner table. 

1. There are three places in the US named Turkey. 

Three small towns in America are named after the nation's favorite bird. There is Turkey, Texas; Turkey, North Carolina; and Turkey Creek, Louisiana, according to the US Census Bureau. Turkey Creek, Louisiana is the most populated, with 441 residents. 

There are also two townships in Pennsylvania called Upper Turkeyfoot and Lower Turkeyfoot 

2. The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade used live animals from the Central Park Zoo.

Macy's Thanksgiving Parade The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York took place in 1914 when Macy’s employees dressed in vibrant costumes and marched to the flagship store on 34th street. 

The parade used floats instead of balloons, and it featured monkeys, bears, camels, and elephants all borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. 

It was also originally called the Macy’s Christmas Parade, but was renamed the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927. 

3. Jingle Bells was originally a Thanksgiving song. 

James Pierpoint composed the song in 1857 for children celebrating Thanksgiving. The title was "One Horse Open Sleigh," and it was such a hit that it was sung again at Christmas. The song quickly became associated with the Christmas holiday season, and the title was officially changed in 1859, two years later.

4.  The Detroit Lions always play on Thanksgiving.

detroit lions turkey

Football is so ingrained in the Thanksgiving holiday that many people think the game is just as important as the turkey. 

The first NFL football game that took place on Thanksgiving Day was in 1934 when the Detroit Lions played the Chicago Bears. The Lions have played on Thanksgiving ever since, except when the team was called away to serve during World War II, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  

The Dallas Cowboys also always play on Thanksgiving. Their first Thanksgiving Day game was held in 1966, and the Cowboys have only missed two games since then. 

6. The night before Thanksgiving is the best day for bar sales in the US.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is responsible for the most bar sales in America, more than New Year’s Eve, the Super Bowl, or even St. Patrick’s Day. 

It makes sense, since nearly all Americans have Thanksgiving off and dealing with family members can be very stressful. (But at least stuffing your face with fatty Thanksgiving foods is a perfect hangover cure.)

7. Thanksgiving leftovers inspired the first-ever TV dinner. 

TV Dinner In 1953, the TV dinner company Swanson overestimated the demand for turkey by over 260 tons, according to Smithsonian Magazine

The owners of the company had no idea what to do with all the leftovers, so they enlisted the help of company salesman Gerry Thomas.

Taking inspiration from airplane meals, Thomas ordered 5,000 aluminum trays, and loaded them with the turkey leftovers to create the first TV dinner. 

8. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey to be the official bird of the US.

Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys were much more American than bald eagle. Franklin wrote a letter to his daughter that said: “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; his is a bird of bad moral character."  

Franklin thought the turkey was a “much more respectable bird.” 

8. Thomas Jefferson canceled Thanksgiving during his presidency. 

George Washington was the first to declare Thanksgiving as a holiday, but it was on a year-to-year basis, so presidents had to re-declare it every year, according to the Washington Post. Jefferson was so adamantly against Thanksgiving that he refused to declare it a holiday during his presidency, and many say that he called the holiday "the most ridiculous idea ever conceived." 

Most historians agree that Jefferson really refused to declare the holiday because he fervently believed in the separation of church and state, and thought that the day of “prayer” violated the First Amendment. 

It wasn’t until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a federal holiday, that our beloved turkey day was officially scheduled to fall on the fourth Thursday of every month. 

9. FDR tried to change the date of Thanksgiving — and it caused a lot of problems. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt ThanksgivingIn 1939, Franklin Roosevelt changed the date of Thanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to the second-to-last, according to the US National Archives.

The change was made in an attempt to lift the economy during the Great Depression, the idea being that it would give people more time to shop for Christmas. 

But it ended up making everybody confused. Most states held Thanksgiving on its original date, and three states — Colorado, Mississippi, and Texas — celebrated the holiday in both weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It caused such a public outcry that people began referring to it as “Franksgiving.” After two years, Congress ditched the new policy and set the fourth Thursday of November as the legal holiday. 

10. Minnesota produces the most turkeys in the US.

Minnesota produces more turkey than any other state in America. Last year, the state produced more than 1.16 billion pounds of turkey, valued at nearly $839 million, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center.

North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, and Virgina are also top producers.

11. There is an annual tradition of offering a turkey a presidential pardon — and no one is really sure when it began. 

Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon 2009The White House has a tradition of pardoning one lucky turkey each year. 

The annual tradition was thought to have begun in 1947 with President Harry Truman. But some think that it actually started in the 1860s with Abraham Lincoln after his son Tad begged him to spare his pet turkey's life. 

Despite these two theories of the origins of the pardon, George H. W. Bush was the first president to officially grant a turkey a presidential pardon, according to the New York Times

Plus, John Oliver really doesn't understand why America does it. 

SEE ALSO: 17 Thanksgiving Hacks For The Best Meal Of Your Life

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life On Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »








Harvard And Yale's Football Rivalry Is Like No Other In College Sports

$
0
0

yale harvard football

This past Saturday, the Harvard and Yale football teams met for 131st time in what has become one of college football's most storied rivalries. Over 30,000 students and fans filled the Harvard Stadium for the sold-out game, enduring freezing cold temperatures to cheer on their chosen team.

The event and the pageantry around it is an experience unlike any other. From the tailgating to the fans,to the afterparties (and of course, the football,) you really have to see it to believe it.

Both current students and alums piled into Harvard Stadium's parking lot two hours before kickoff to tailgate. Some brought huge meals to share, like this Thanksgiving feast.



Harvard and Yale students took some time off from studying to let loose and celebrate the rivalry.



ESPN's College GameDay crew broadcasted live from the tailgate prior to the game, discussing the history and making predictions. Outspoken analyst Lee Corso made a bold prediction by picking Yale, a 12-point underdog, to win the game.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






How iOS 8 Completely Changed The Way You Use Your iPhone

$
0
0

Apple rolled out its new operating system, iOS 8, in conjunction with the brand-new iPhone 6. While it may not look a lot different on the outside, there are all sorts of hidden features. Check them out.

Produced By Matt Johnston.
 
Follow BI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »









A South African Architect Created A Stunning House In Just 183 Square Feet Of Space

$
0
0

podbig1

Tiny, sustainable living is becoming a more and more attractive solution to the problems of urban living.

So architects like the Johannesburg-based architect Clara da Cruz Almeida are coming up ingenious ways to make these teeny tiny spaces more livable.

Almeida designed and built a tiny 183-square-foot home — called the INDAWO / lifePOD — and suited it perfectly to the warm South African climate.

podbig2Though the square footage isn't much to work with, Almeida worked closely with Johannesburg-based interior and product design firm Dokter and Misses on the pod's clever fold-out couches, fold-down table, and enclosed storage that allow the space to transform instantaneously.

pod3The pod also has very high ceilings, allowing for storage up along the walls and a beneath high lofted bed. The space is bright and airy since the side walls are made of see-through glass, which lets in copious amounts of light.

The lower area of the pod can be used for anything, but is particularly well-equipped to serve as a kitchen.

As for the green aspects of the pod, it promises to shave huge amounts of money off the energy bill with its prefab design and efficient use of space.

pod4According to Curbed, Almeida hopes people will see the pod as more than guest a backyard guesthouse, but instead a new model for home ownership where land ownership is not necessary. The pod will be extremely affordable as well, costing between $18,000 and $63,000.

Almeida hopes to expand on her concept and develop different versions like a flatpack or self-assembling pod.

pods2You can find out more information at the POD-INDAWA website

SEE ALSO: The Razor-Thin Townhouse In New York City Is Going To Look Awesome

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's The Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »








MIT-Designed 'Smart' Frying Pan Promises A Perfectly Cooked Meal Every Time

$
0
0

Pantelligent Never feel the need to order takeout after a poorly cooked meal again.

A new Kickstarter project is promoting something called Pantelligent, which is exactly like a frying pan — only smarter.    

Fed up with the fact that "frying pans have barely changed in thousands of years," four MIT engineers created this high-tech frying pan. It has a temperature sensor on the inside that communicates with a smartphone app to give the chef a step-by-step guide to cooking a perfect meal. 

The app comes pre-loaded with a bunch of recipes, including ones for buttermilk pancakes, mushroom risotto, seared scallops, salmon, scallion pancakes, and more.

All you have to do is choose which one you want and click "start cooking." 

Pantelligent

Electronics in the handle transmit the data to a phone through Bluetooth. Just tap the phone to the pan's handle to get the data, and the app can say how hot the pan is, when to add ingredients, and when to stir or flip.

All the cook needs to do is follow the alerts. 

The pan is able to do this through a “patent-pending design that accurately measures the temperature of the pan’s cooking surface,” according to the Kickstarter page

It even gives reassurances and says things like “spot on” when the chef has done done a step correctly. 

Pantelligent

Chefs who don’t want to follow a step-by-step process can use the “freestyle” mode, which allows the user to set a target temperature for the pan and warns if the pan gets too hot or cold. The freestyle mode works like a “sous chef that never gets distracted,” according to Kickstarter

It even has a recipe-recording feature, which allows chefs to record someone cooking so that they can emulate them later. This feature would be perfect for someone trying to get a family recipe just right. 

The smart-pan has recieved a lot of praise on Kickstarter, and has already raised $8,000 more than its $30,000 goal at the time of this post, with 42 days lefts to go.

Pantelligent asks for a $199 pledge, and will be delivered in August of 2015. But for those who want it immediately, the creators are offering a prototype to be delivered in January for a pledge of over $2,000. 

For more information, check out the Kickstarter page here

SEE ALSO: An Insane Kickstarter Invention Claims To Scramble Eggs Inside Their Shell

DON'T FORGET:  Follow Business Insider's Life On Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »








The Guy From 'Bar Rescue' Reveals Exactly How To Fire Someone — And When To Give A 2nd Chance

Here's How Legendary Industrialist Andrew Carnegie Defined Success

$
0
0

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie emigrated as a child from Scotland to the United States in 1848 with practically nothing. Fifty-three years later, he was the wealthiest man in the world.

In 1908, a young journalist named Napoleon Hill met the steel magnate when he was at the height of his power. Carnegie admired Hill's drive and talent and decided that Hill would be the vehicle for his many ideas on how to achieve success.

Their conversations would become the basis for all of Hill's writings from that point forward, including 1937's "Think and Grow Rich," which is one of the top-selling books of all time.

Hill collected and edited the notes from the initial conversations with Carnegie and published them in 1948 as "Think Your Way to Wealth."

At one point in their discussion as recounted in the book, Hill asks Carnegie how he defines success. Carnegie responds by saying success is: "The power with which to acquire whatever one demands of life without violating the rights of others."

Hill then says that luck must often play a role in getting a big break, but Carnegie refutes the idea. "A man may, and sometimes men do, fall into opportunities through mere chance, or luck; but they have a queer way of falling out of these opportunities the first time opposition overtakes them," Carnegie says.

Essentially, he says, luck can bring successful people opportunities to demonstrate their abilities but an untalented or uncouth person can only ride a wave of luck for so long.

Carnegie then explains that the "power" he refers to in his definition of success has 10 elements:

  • The habit of definiteness of purpose
  • Promptness of decision
  • Soundness of character (intentional honesty)
  • Strict discipline over one's emotions
  • Obsessional desire to render useful service
  • Thorough knowledge of one's occupation
  • Tolerance on all subjects
  • Loyalty to one's personal associates and faith in a Supreme Being
  • Enduring thirst for knowledge
  • Alertness of imagination

The mandatory religious element of Carnegie's belief system comes across as dated, but it taps into his belief in "applied faith," which even a fully secular person can abide by. Whatever drives you, it is necessary from Carnegie's perspective to have such a strong belief in yourself and your purpose that you act with total confidence.

And finally, according to Carnegie, the truly successful do not profit from taking advantage of others. In "Think and Grow Rich," Hill says that it's not a coincidence that history is filled with instances of tyrants and dictators being overthrown. The most successful people know how to work in harmony with others, not dominion over them.

SEE ALSO: 10 Rules Of Success Andrew Carnegie Used To Become Incredibly Rich

Join the conversation about this story »








The Unofficial Goldman Sachs Holiday Gift Guide For 2014

$
0
0

Range Rover Holland And Holland

Here’s the only man’s gift guide you’ll need - where the practical meets the fantastical, the everyday meets the outlandish, with a token amount of benevolence.

It’s not just a function of wallet size.  Most men are happy to receive the things we feel guilty about buying or are too lazy to buy for ourselves… But of course, what we really want are the things we didn’t even know we wanted.

Last year’s list, which included a Tesla for the lake ($120,000), fossilized Triceratops skull ($200,000), backgammon set ($5,000), and the greatest Christmas movie of all time ($20), is worth revisiting; there’s no expiration date on great ideas.

Here goes for 2014>

 John LeFevre is the creator of the @GSElevator Twitter feed and the author of the soon-to-be-released Straight To Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals.

 

Where art meets history

Why not go all-out this year with this one-of-a-kind 16th century Japanese Samurai armor?

Because not even Tom Cruise could ruin a Samurai movie for guys. 

The Christie’s Samurai Swords and Armour auction runs online until December 4th

If you get outbid on the full armor, this 19th Century mask might be a more affordable backup at $11,000.

Price: $40,000+



Make a statement in black tie

Black tie affairs are one of the few occasions where it’s acceptable for a man to wear any kind of excessive bling.

These Theo Fennell dress studs aren’t cheap, but they’ll definitely set him apart from the wait staff.  Before you think Ed Hardy, consider it more Damian Hirst – because black tie events need an injection of whimsical vulgarity.

If his nights out end the way mine do, just make sure to get them insured.


Price: $2,700



Amat Victoria Curam

A man should start every morning ready to bite the ass off a bear. 

This waterproof Bluetooth wireless speaker by FRESHeTECH can turn every shower session into a mental Rocky IV montage.

He can greet the day like he’s walking out into the ring.  I already know what my fight song is…

Price: $30



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






Viewing all 116489 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images