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Wall Street Is Ordering Suits And Shirts From This Men's Clothing Startup In Bulk

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combatant gentlemen

Wall Streeters do not have time. 

They do not have time to go shopping.

They do not have time to try on clothes.

They do not have time to drop off/pick up their dry cleaning.

But they must always — always — look sophisticated. Not just good. Sophisticated.

In the past the solution to this problem was a myriad of speedy tailor fittings and a rush of assistants and interns making runs to local launderers.

Now, as men's retail moves online, a company called Combatant Gentleman has become a one-stop shop for professional men who want to look polished without spending the money and time they've had to in the past. A button down shirt will cost you between $30-$40. A suit or tuxedo between $200 and $220.

Founded in 2010, the company has become the most shipped-to package at Goldman Sachs, according to co-founder Vishaal Malwani. Not a bad start.

Malwani is a tailor by trade — a third generation Versace tailor specifically. He grew up watching celebrities go in and out of the Versace store in his hometown of Las Vegas and cut his teeth making salvage denim. After selling one jean company, he decided he wanted to do something bigger. Something that used technology to make it easier for men to dress.

"At that time I had never actually walked into a Men's Warehouse... and they took me into one and I was like holy s---t," he said.

It was not a positive exclamation.

"I knew we wanted a brand that felt like a Hugo Boss or a Xenia... but cheaper than Men's Warehouse," said Malwani. "It really caught on with the finance guys... it was fashion for people who wanted clothing for work that was modernly tailored, but wouldn't give them option anxiety."

Not only did Malwani know what he wanted the brand to feel like, but also how much he wanted it to cost. Being a child of the industry, he understood how Gucci, Versace and other fashion houses lower their costs but keep the quality of their products high.

This is where the story gets interesting for business geeks. Combatant Gentleman keeps its own costs low the same way the big guys do — through vertical integration. The company owns the sheep where it gets its wool in Italy, and the fields where its cotton grows in India.

And here's where it gets interesting for the tech geeks. Everything from the company's tight supply chain to the way it makes patterns is set by an algorithm. To determine a precise size, a customer fills in their measurements online and the system takes it from there. 

"We're letting data take over this year and let us streamline the company," said Malwani. We like to think that we are tech first."

combatant gentlemen

This is an approach that encompasses all of the business — even brand discovery. It is, in fact, an approach that's taking over retail as we know it.

"The interesting thing about a brand like Combatant Gentleman is that you can grow into a brand with a huge buzz, and then all the sudden you're big at Goldman Sachs just because the way consumers are discovering brands is different," said Elizabeth Dunn, founder of retail consultancy Talmage Advisors.

Instead of walking by stores and getting interested, shoppers are seeing ads online or getting links to stores from friends. When they do go into stores, half of all customers have already figured out what they want by browsing online.

"I think the challenge for traditional retailers is how to stay on top of what's buzz worthy and stay in the conversation of things that are influencing consumers," said Dunn adding: [online retailers] "don't need the brick and mortar stores to bless their concepts anymore."

Combatant Gentleman raised $2.2 million in 2012 and 2013, and made it to profitability by spring 2014. Part of that was because of stories like this:

"The moment I knew it was going to work? It was very early on," said Malwani. "We sold out of white shirts. They [the customers] had ordered 3,000 in a matter of a month."

A customer who worked at Deloitte asked customer service when Combatant Gentleman would be restocking the white shirts, and was informed of the back log.

"The guy said — 'I know, I ordered 30 shirts. It's cheaper than dry cleaning in the city,' That's when it hit me that this our guy." Malwani told Business Insider. "He wants to focus his life on getting ahead and he's using us as a service. That's when I realized there's a lot of guys like this."

Likely there will soon be more.

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We Saw An Incredible Collection Of Ferraris In Palm Beach This Weekend

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classic ferrari palm beach breakers

Dozens of rare and vintage Ferraris — and the people who love them — gathered on the lawn at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach on a drizzly Saturday for the 24th annual Cavallino Classic.

The event, one of the largest conventions of Ferrari owners and enthusiasts in the world, featured millions of dollars' worth of cars, many more than a half-century old, that had been painstakingly restored.

Teams of judges put the 150 cars through their paces, checking for authenticity, functionality, and appearance. 

Even the rain couldn't stop onlookers from crowding the field.

The Cavallino Classic is one of the biggest annual gatherings of Ferrari owners. This year, around 150 cars were present on the lawn of the Breakers hotel in Palm Beach, Florida.



The top of the field holds a dozen of the most prestigious cars at the event. Many have important racing histories, or are incredibly rare.



This 1953 Ferrari 375 Spider by Pinin Farina was raced in Argentina in the 1950s, and was one of only 15 such Ferraris made by the design firm.

Source: RM Auctions

 

 



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Here's How Teens Describe The Anguish Of Being Without Their Phones For 24 Hours

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savedThe following post is an excerpt from "The Teenage Brain" by Frances E. Jensen, MD.

An experiment began in the spring of 2010 when two hundred students in a basic media literacy course at the University of Maryland were asked by their professor to do something unusual: go without their digital tools and toys—all media, in fact—for twenty-four hours.

The results of the experiment, picked up by news outlets all over the world, prompted the professor, Susan Moeller, to conduct a second, much wider experiment.

Both began with a simple request:

Your assignment is to find a 24-hour period during which you can pledge to give up all media: no Internet, no newspapers or magazines, no TV, no mobile phones, no iPod, no music, no movies, no Facebook, Playstation, video games, etc.

If you lapse by mistake (i.e. you answer a phone call without realizing it), do not then “give up.”

Note the mistake and go on to finish your 24 hours. If you do NOT make it the full 24 hours, be honest about it. How long did you make it? What happened? What do you think it means about you? Although you may need to use your computer for homework or work, try to pick a time when you can go without using it—which may mean that you have to plan your work so that you can get it done before or after your 24-hour media-free period. You will not be judged on whether you went 24 hours, but we expect that you all will make it through the entire time without using any forms of media.

Moeller, who is a member of the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (ICMPA) at the University of Maryland, partnered with the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change to conduct the second survey. They asked close to one thousand students in twelve countries, including the United States, to write about their experiences after their twenty-four-hour period of media abstinence was over, and when the students did, they poured out their angst:

“I began going crazy.”
“I felt paralyzed—almost handicapped in my ability to live.”
“I felt dead.”

Across the globe, the same feelings were expressed again and again:

From the United Kingdom
“Emptiness. Emptiness overwhelms me.”
“Unplugging . . . felt like turning off a life-support system.”
“I feel paralyzed.”

From China
“I sat in my bed and stared blankly. I had nothing to do.”
“The feeling of nothing passed into my heart . . . I felt like I had lost something important.”

From Uganda
“I felt like there was a problem with me.”
“I counted down minute by minute and made sure I did not exceed even a single second more!”
“I felt so lonely.”

From Mexico
“The anxiety continued for the rest of the day. Various scenarios came to my head, from kidnapping to extraterrestrial invasions.”

From the United States
“I went into absolute panic mode.”
“It felt as though I was being tortured.”

the teenage brain

Many of these students borrowed the language of substance abuse when they likened their media habit to an addiction and their self-imposed abstinence to drug and alcohol withdrawal.

One US student wrote, “I was itching, like a crackhead, because I could not use my phone.” A student in Mexico wrote, “It was quite late and the only thing going through my mind was: (voice of psychopath) ‘I want Facebook.’ ‘I want Twitter.’ ‘I want YouTube.’ ‘I want TV.’ ” A college student in the UK wrote, “It’s like some kind of disorder, an addiction. I became bulimic with my media; I starved myself for a full 15 hours and had a full on binge: Emails, texts, BBC iPlayer, 4oD, Facebook. I felt like there was no turning back now, it was pointless. I am addicted, I know it, I am not ashamed.”

Amusingly, the online media outlets whose headlines screamed addiction and warned about the all-consuming “technobsession” of the young provided multiple links, platforms, and interactive choices to “Follow” or “Share” or “Like” it on Facebook; to tweet it, “Get Alerts,” and “Contribute to the story”; to send corrections, tips, photos, videos, or comments. No wonder that in trying to be media-free for a full day, many students also found themselves emotionally and psychologically distraught:

“I was edgy and irritated.”
“I got really anguished and anxious.”
“I was anxious, irritable and felt insecure.”
“I felt a strange anxiety.”

Moeller is neither a psychiatrist nor a neuroscientist, and her survey was more sociological than scientific. Still, it’s hard not to read the responses of the experiments’ subjects and wonder exactly what is going on inside the brains of young people who have been raised on digital technology.

According to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, 95 percent of all young people, ages twelve to seventeen, use the Internet, and 80 percent use social media. Ninety-three percent have Facebook accounts, and 41 percent have multiple accounts. In an article written for a weekly teen publication, two Chicago high school students reported on the popularity of smartphones and the degree to which students will go to hide them from teachers and administrators.

One student interviewed said, “Back in my sophomore year, I snuck my phone in as a biscuit sandwich in the morning. I covered it in [a] brown napkin and put it in between the biscuit buns. I would simply come to school and put my lovely cup of orange juice and tasty ‘Bisquick biscuit’ sandwich on top of the metal detector and walk right through.”

Another student said she would wrap her long hair into a bun before school and hide her phone inside. “Whenever the metal detectors beeped, they couldn’t find my phone,” she said. The level of attachment between teens and smartphones is so extreme, one high school senior told the authors of the teen publication article, “My phone has my whole life in it. If I ever lost it I think I would die.”

From The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults by Frances E. Jensen and Amy Ellis Nutt. Copyright 2015 Frances E. Jensen and Amy Ellis Nutt. Reprinted courtesy of Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

SEE ALSO: Here's What It's Really Like To Have OCD

AND: Charles Darwin's Fascinating Outlook On Daily Exercise

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Stunning Photos Show Why California Has The Best Movie Theaters In The World

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unnamed

There's nothing like going to see a movie. The whole experience — from picking what to see and grabbing snacks to getting the best seats, not to mention watching the movie — is a treat.

From massive multiplexes, 3-D movies, and IMAX cinemas, going to the movies has become a high-tech operation, but it wasn't always so.

From the late 1910s until the 1940s, a boom time for Hollywood and the movie industry, hundreds of beautiful and ornate "movie palaces" opened in metropolitan areas across the US. These theaters were palaces, featuring massive screening rooms with lavish and baroque architectural elements.

Most of these theaters have since closed and been demolished. But in California, some of these gorgeous spaces still exist and continue to show films to eager viewers hoping to take a step back in time.

Photographer Franck Bohbot has traveled to California from his native France to document these stunning California movie theaters in their glory. He has shared a selection of images here with us, and you can check out more on his website.

The Castro Theatre, in San Francisco, was built in 1922 and is a historical landmark. The theater has 800 seats downstairs and 600 in the balcony.



Hollywood's famous Chinese Theatre, now known as the TLC Chinese Theatre, was built in 1926 and designed to look like a Chinese palace. Its entrance features now famous cement bricks, which bear the signatures and handprints of Hollywood stars.



Built by Sid Grauman, who constructed the Chinese Theater, Los Angeles' Egyptian Theater opened its doors in 1922 and hosted the first movie premiere, for "Robin Hood," later that year. Much of the theater was designed in an Egyptian Revival style, most likely because of the public interest in the excavation of King Tut's tomb about the same time.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider






A Tiny Tuscan Island Is Suing Italy For $226 Million For Damages Caused By A Doomed Cruise Ship

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 Costa ConcordiaThe island of Giglio, its inhabitants, the Italian government and Costa Concordia cruise ship passengers are banding together to request hundreds of millions of euros in damages from Costa Cruises this week, as the trial of the 2012 cruise ship disaster nears its climax.

Prosecutors have requested a 26-year prison sentence for Captain Francesco Schettino, who abandoned the cruise ship after it hit a reef doing a sail-by of the Mediterranean island of Giglio. Thirty-two people died as the ship tilted into the sea and filled with water.

Costa Concordia

Mr Schettino is expected to be convicted, but the trial will also assign civil responsibility and on Wednesday lawyers representing 39 different civil parties made their demands for the first time.

Lawyers present in court said the requests include $226,637,000 million ( €200 million) from Giglio island, and $101,826,000 million (€90 million) from a group of disaster survivors who suffered everything from serious injury to the permanent loss of the “joy of vacation”, €1 million each for the Grosseto province of Grosseto and region of Tuscany and €200 million for various Italian government entities, including the environmental ministry.

Even the Moldavian dancer who dined with Mr Schettino, Domnica Cemortan, is asking for $226,280 (€200,000).

RTR4099P“Given that this is such an extraordinary case and trial, we expect it will be an extraordinary verdict,” said Michael Verhoven, a legal consultant for the US lawyer John Eaves, who represents passengers in the trial.

“The civil parties agree: Schettino should get the highest sentence, but Costa should pay a high amount for putting luxury and profit before safety. It has to be a lot, otherwise the insurance companies simply absorb the cost, raise prices and there is no impact.”

Costa Concordia

Lawyers representing Costa Cruises walked out of the courtroom after hearing the requests. No-one from Costa Cruises or its parent company Carnival is being held criminally liable, but this verdict, expected in mid-February, is likely to set the stage for the civil trial to follow.

“It is clear Schettino doesn’t have that kind of money,” Giglio island spokesman Cristiano Pellegrini said. “It is Costa Crociere who has civil responsibility.”

Costa ConcordiaIn closing arguments, Maria Chiara Zanconi, representing Giglio, argued for $226 million (€200 million) in damages, including €20 million to be awarded immediately. Of that, €10 million stems from material damages from emergency response, blockages and lost tourist revenue during the three-year salvage process, while the other €10 million was for damage to the reputation and identity of the island.

“Our analysis showed Giglio had been associated with the Concordia disaster 13,000 times in the Italian and international media, for a total of 40 billion views,” said Ms Zanconi. “We tried to calculate the cost of a campaign to offset that damage, but it was impossible. Costa Concordia is forever etched in Giglio’s history.”

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Research reveals why women cheat, and it's not what you think

11 Reasons People Are Obsessed With Shake Shack

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shake shack

Shake Shack is the hottest burger chain in America. 

The quickly expanding company filed for a $100 million initial public offering on Monday.

Shake Shack is known for long lines at its 34 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Massachusetts. The brand has also been expanding domestically (with new locations in Chicago and Las Vegas) and internationally. 

Here's why people are so obsessed with the burger chain. 

1. Gourmet Burgers 

Shake Shack's burgers are more elevated than the offerings at the typical fast-food burger chain, thanks to the 100% antibiotic-free Angus beef and buttered buns. Toppings include Applewood-smoked bacon and cherry peppers. This experience aligns with the values of modern consumers, who are demanding better food quality. 

2. ShackSauce

Many of Shake Shack's burgers are topped with the signature sauce, which USA Today describes as "a slightly spicy, sweet and sour blend of mayo, ketchup, mustard and spices." Some copycat recipes online also call for blended dill pickles. Regardless of the ingredients, the sauce adds to the unique Shake Shack experience. 

shake shack sauce

3. Crinkle Fries

Shake Shack controversially changed its fries from crinkle cut to traditional hand cut last year, leading to many customer complaints. Last month, CEO Randy Garutti announced that the brand was going to stick to crinkle fries, which are more popular and easier to prepare.

Many Yelp reviewers recommend adding Shake Shack's homemade cheese sauce to your fries.

4. "Anti-Chain Chain" Image

The New York Times calls Shake Shack the "anti-chain chain," saying that its dedication to quality and customer service bucked stereotypes of traditional fast food. 

Shake Shack spends barely any money on marketing, focusing instead on the quality of food. This message has helped Shake Shack stay popular in an era when diners prefer Chipotle to McDonald's. 

Shake Shack "disposed of the notion that fast food had to be precooked or even prepared quickly in favor of quality ingredients and customer experience," QSR Magazine writes.

shake shack best restaurants

5. Delicious Milkshakes

Shake Shack's signature custard is the base for these frozen treats. Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, peanut butter, strawberry, and some creative specials like Nutella. 

Gothamist ranks the black-and-white shake, a combination of chocolate and vanilla, among the best in New York City.

6. Flat-Top Hot Dogs

Shake Shack began as a hot dog stand in New York's Madison Square Park. Many food writers say the hot dogs, which are made of 100% hormone- and antibiotic-free beef, are an underrated treat. 

"I was never let down by the hot dogs, bought from Chicago’s irreplaceable Vienna Beef, which were split down the middle, griddled and laid in a toasted potato bun with or without the classic Chicago garnishes," writes Pete Wells at The New York Times. "Better yet is the Bird Dog, a smoked chicken and apple bratwurst from Usinger’s of Milwaukee."

 

7. Regional Specialties 

In addition to its classic menu, Shake Shack also offers special frozen dessert items at different locations.

The chain serves a "Liberty Shell" custard at its Philadelphia location featuring a cannoli shell, strawberry puree, and lemon ricotta. The New Haven location serves a "Skull and Cones Concrete," which is a similar consistency to a Dairy Queen Blizzard with peanut butter, ice cream cone, and chocolate truffle cookie dough blended in. 

8. Secret Menu

Shake Shack has a secret menu, which Thrillist successfully tested. Items include a burger topped with bacon and peanut butter, and a grilled cheese made from buns. 

 

9. Vegetarian Options

Founder Danny Meyer said the chain was discriminating about its meat-free options.

"It’s only going to go on the menu if you would crave it even if you were not a vegetarian," he told Bon Appetit.

Shake Shack is renowned for its 'shroom burger, a portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese. 

10. Beer and Wine

Shake Shack sells beer and wine, meaning that it can double as a happy hour destination. 

Selling alcohol is becoming popular among fast-casual chains who want to find another way to draw in consumers.

The beer is aimed toward craft enthusiasts and includes a special collaboration with the Brooklyn Brewery. 

11. Customer Service

"Unlike the workers at most fast-food outlets, Shake Shack employees give the impression that they truly like their customers," The Times' Wells writes. 

Shake Shack pays workers an average hourly wage of $10.70, and it offers health benefits and paid time off.

Company executives say these policies help them attract better talent, and turnover is lower than industry averages. 

Bonus — waiting in line makes them feel cool.

Waiting in Shake Shack's long line might seem like a deterrent. But many people actually like the gratification of waiting in long lines for hot products, many consumer experts told Business Insider.

"There are people in the world whose identity is tied up with being a consumer of such items and who derive satisfaction from going the extra mile, or five miles, to demonstrate their dedication," David Gibson, professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, said. 


NOW WATCH: 7 Subliminal Messages In Corporate Logos

SEE ALSO: How McDonald's Cheeseburgers Are Made

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The manager who oversees billionaire Vinod Khosla's estate says he has received death threats while monitoring beach access

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vinod khosla court

On December 1, San Mateo County Court Judge Barbara Mallach issued a final order requiring Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla to immediately restore public access to Martin's Beach.

Khosla purchased a 53-acre parcel adjacent to Martins Beach for $37.5 million in 2008.

The Surfrider Foundation first filed suit against Khosla's Martins Beach LLC in March 2013.

According to the ruling Mallach passed down in September, Khosla was in violation of the California Coastal Act when he neglected to obtain a permit before posting signage and locking a public access gate that led down to the beach. 

Still, the battle for Martins Beach is far from over.

This week his lawyers filed a motion to request a stay, or delaying of enforcement, of Mallach's ruling that Khosla restore public access to be the way it was under the Deeney family, the property's previous owners. 

According to documents filed with the motion, beach visitors have resisted property manager Jim Deeney's efforts to enforce a $10 fee at the gate to the beach. 

"I continue to open the gate at Martins Beach to allow paid, permissive access, on the historical terms that were enforced for decades before my family sold the property to the current owner. When weather permits and when someone is available to collect the fee, the gate on the property is open for vehicular access only, upon payment of a $ 10 fee. On days when the gate is open, despite my efforts to operate the business as it was historically operated, cars repeatedly drive past me and refuse to pay the $10 fee," Deeney wrote in the motion. "On days when the gate is open, pedestrians often walk right past me and refuse to leave after I advise them that no walk-ins are allowed and that they need to get their vehicle and pay the $10 fee, or leave."

martin's beach

Deeney adds that he has had threats made against him both in person and on social media.

He alleges that he has seen visitors "yell obscenities" and "make lewd gestures" when he tries to charge them $10 at the gate. He also claims to have seen members of the Surfrider Foundation walk down without paying the fee.

"My family never permitted free walk-ins to access the beach during their ownership, which spanned over 100 years," he said.

Deeney cites one particularly disturbing incident from December.

"I stepped out of my truck to collect the $10 fee and the man was immediately confrontational, saying I could not charge him a fee to go to the beach because 'the Judge f----ng said,'" Deeney writes in the motion. "He pulled up next to the with the passenger side window rolled down, pointed his right hand at me as if he were holding a gun, and yelled 'I'm going to come back and shoot your a--.'"

"I was afraid for my life and immediately closed the gate so the man could not come back and contacted the Sheriff."

Surfrider condemned the behavior, but said it isn't a reason the public should be blocked from the beach.

"Surfrider does not condone or approve of such conduct. The online threats attached to the pleadings were made by two individuals, neither of whom are members of Surfrider," Eric Buescher, an attorney representing Surfrider with the firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, said to Business Insider. "The ownership should not use the inappropriate actions of a very small minority as a crutch to justify its illegal conduct in preventing the public from accessing and using Martins Beach."

SEE ALSO: A Silicon Valley Billionaire Could Be Forced To Sell His Walkway To The Beach

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Here's what the world would look like if countries were as big as their population sizes

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Chase Mohrman world population map

Maps are famous for distorting the earth. 

Because they portray our world in only two dimensions, continents and countries become skewed, as does our perception of how big they truly are.

And that doesn't even factor in how many people actually live in these places.

Inspired by a similar 10-year-old map by cartographer Paul Breding that resized countries based on their population size, college student Chase Mohrman decided to create his own updated version.

It quickly went viral on Reddit’s /r/mapporn and began to make the rounds on Vox and NPR

“It took me about three months of casual work,” Mohrman told Business Insider in an email. “It was super fun to make and share. I'm honored that the map is so popular!”

Using Wikipedia as a source and Microsoft Paint as his tool, Mohrman was able to keep the basic shapes of the countries recognizable, and even had a shout out to a few US cities and states including California, Texas, greater New York City, and his native Wisconsin.

“I'm actually a freshman at UW Eau Claire studying Computer Science,” Mohrman told us. “I just have a passion for maps and thought I could help educate people with this one. I think viewing the world in this way is helpful in geo-politics because it's a true representation of the part of the world that's most interesting to us: the people on it!”

Keep reading to see close ups of his incredible map.

Canada becomes a tiny strip on top of the US and greater NYC takes up a large chunk of the East Coast.

Chase Mohrman world population map

The UK and France become almost equal sizes in Mohrman's map and Russia shrinks down by a lot.

Chase Mohrman world population map

Here's the Middle East — Pakistan is double the size of Iran.

Chase Mohrman world population map

Nigeria far outpaces any other African country as a population hub.

Chase Mohrman world population map

China is the biggest country by far on the map. Japan has expanded by a lot too and Greater Seoul takes up half of South Korea.

Chase Mohrman world population map

Australia looks teensy tiny compared to India, which has caught up with China as being one of the world's most populated countries.

Chase Mohrman world population mapYou can see the full high-res map here.

SEE ALSO: 15 Overlay Maps That Will Change The Way You See The World

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Place your bets — Nate Silver just told us who is going to win the Super Bowl

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This weekend's Super Bowl could be one of the best matchups in years. The New England Patriots are currently a 1-point favorite over the defending champions – the Seattle Seahawks.

Nate Silver established his reputation with predictions of political elections, and he now runs the website FiveThirtyEight, which is owned by ESPN. We asked Silver to explain his prediction for this weekend's big game. The paperback version of Silver's book The Signal and the Noise comes out on February 3.

Produced by Graham Flanagan

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Matthew Perry has sold the $12.5 million Malibu mansion he turned into a sober-living center

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matthew perry malibu home thumb

Actor Mathew Perry is under contract to sell his modern Malibu retreat overlooking the ocean, according to the Wall Street Journal. The home had been listed for $12.5 million.

Known as the “Pier House," the estate sits on 2.5 acres in the celebrity-studded neighborhood of Serra Retreat. It has an outdoor pool, fire pit, and meditation garden.

Inside, the open design plan provides floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean with glass walls, a home theater, and expansive decks that overlook the water and Malibu Pier. The master suite takes up an entire wing of the home, and comes with a his and hers bathroom suite.

Perry famously turned the mansion into a sober living facility known as the “Perry House” last year. He'll be moving the “Perry House” to the more affordable Studio City neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Mark Rutstein and Greg Holcomb of Partners Trust Real Estate Brokerage and Acquisitions co-listed the property.

Welcome to Matthew Perry's "Pier House" in Malibu.

 



The gorgeous home is in the exclusive neighborhood of Serra Retreat.

 



Perry famously turned the modern home into a sober living facility in 2013.

Source: TODAY



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The incredible toys of Seattle Seahawks owner and Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen

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paul allen

With an estimated net worth of $17 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford to buy himself some fancy toys. 

But with interests that range from electric guitars to World War II aircraft, Allen takes expensive hobbies to a whole new level. 

He also happens to own the Seattle Seahawks, who will be playing for their second consecutive Super Bowl win this weekend. 

We've rounded up some of the billionaire's most ridiculous toys, from professional sports teams to submarines.

Sports are a major passion of Allen's — he's a part owner of the Seattle Sounders, and he bought the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1997.



After the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014, Allen threw a massive party that featured live performances from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, as well as a set by Allen himself. After the party, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told the Washington Post: "Paul was hot last night, he was tearing it up — big licks. He had a lot of notable artists with him, too, playing. He’s got a great roster also. They sounded great ... I think Paul picked up the bill, too."

Source: Business Insider




His Seahawks will get another chance at a championship when they head to the Super Bowl this Sunday. "The first time you go you’re kind of amazed to be there," he told the Seattle Times. "The thing is, once you’re in the Super Bowl, you want to win. As time goes on, you want to win more and more." It seems like he's ready for the post-game celebrations — he reportedly had a custom amplifier made just for the occasion, with knobs that go all the way to 12.

Source: Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal



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NERD ALERT! Watch a dramatic rescue of a remote-controlled car by a remote-controlled tow truck

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A cool video captures a remote-controlled car being rescued by a remote-controlled tow truck after falling through a frozen lake in Magog, Canada.

The video, shot late last month using cameras installed inside both vehicles, gives the viewer a unique perspective of the miniature rescue mission. 

Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press.

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This Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard will change your typing game [19% off]

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microsoft mobile keyboard

As cool as tablets and smartphones are, they have a major downside: it's really annoying to type on them. 

Solve that painful issue with the Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard, a detachable keyboard that you can hook up to an iPad, iPhone, Android device, or Windows tablet.

You'll be able to leave your laptop at home for good.

The Microsoft Mobile Keyboard is small and extremely portable, but not so small that it's uncomfortable to use.

As one user noted: "this is the FIRST mobile keyboard I ever liked, EVER."

Get yourself the black Microsoft Universal Mobile Keyboard with Amazon Prime for $64.99. (That's 19% off.)

AND: You can also get yourself a white version of it for$71.55 (which is 11% off).

SEE ALSO:  The Drone Gift Guide: Four Drones To Help You Start Flying [Up To 55% Off]

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How to get the best quality wine at any price point

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wine tasting 2

When you walk into a wine store, bottles priced at $10, $50, and $100 pretty much look the same.

How do you know where your dollar goes furthest?

Sommelier Jörn Kleinhans, owner of the The Wine Elite Sommelier Company, explains that the best quality wine at every price point differs, and the way to get the most value from your bottle is to choose a varietal and region where the highest-quality wines at your price point are produced.

And what would those be?

Below, Kleinhans highlights the most reliable wines at five different price points (plus or minus $5) to help you choose the next time you're on the hunt for the perfect bottle.

$10 wines

"$10 is the price point where you can make most things wrong, because the vast majority of wine is awful at that level," Kleinhans says.

However, there are exceptions:

Sparkling wines from Spain (Cava) and France (Limoux). While Kleinhans doesn't recommend buying champagne from France under $60 ("they have expensive production methods that are worthwhile"), he says that the Spanish sparkling wine known as Cava and the French sparkling wine from the Limoux region are reliable buys under $10.

"There's a region only Europeans know that produces extremely similar experiences as Champagne," he says. "It's called the Limoux region. You can get their sparkling wine for $10 and in a blind testing, sommeliers would have a hard time telling the difference."

Red wines from Argentina (Malbec) and Chile (Carménère). "Argentina has been famous for Malbec," Kleinhans explains, "and Chile has also taken on an old French grape and made it theirs: Carménère. It starts at $5, and it's the only wine you get at consistent pricing under $10. We've been tasting hundreds of them, and we find the flavor profile is consistent if you love bold, inky flavors."

Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand (Marlborough). Kleinhans points out that New Zealand is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc, and wines from the Marlborough region is particularly good. "New Zealand makes a very reliable $7-$10 Sauvignon Blanc," he says. "It's so reliable that it's not possible to buy a bad New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc."

vineyard tuscany italy

$20 wines

"The $20 level is where quality wine begins," Kleinhans says. He says that most bottles at this price point provide good value, but there are a few to avoid — in particular, wines from the French regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy. "The problem is that you might find bottles from there sold at $20, but our research of blind tasting shows that at the $20 level you're not ever getting any good quality. You're getting leftover grapes that have been bottled and labeled under questionable circumstances."

However, there are a few types of wine in particular that shine at the $20 level:

Chianti Classico from Italy and Syrah from France (Crozes-Hermitage). Be careful, Kleinhans warns: Chianti and Chianti Classico are not the same thing. Classico is the bottle you want. "There's an equivalent in France: Syrah," he says. "One village makes that benchmark Syrah, and that wine is called after its region, Crozes-Hermitage."

$30 wines

At the $30 price point, Kleinhans says, "you expect to have a nice experience — not just good or standard." In particular, the wines from the Californian region of Napa start to become reliably high-quality around this price:

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from California (Napa). "Few people know that in 1976, an important and surprising competition took place," Kleinhans explains. "The Judgement of Paris. In a blind tasting from biased Frenchmen, they for the first time in France identified that US wines were winning and dominating this competition of French wine." You can still buy many of those wines that dominated the competition today, and some even for only $30, like the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay.

vineyard napa california

$50 wines

As we get into more expensive wines, Kleinhans points out that the bottles already mentioned don't necessarily improve as they cost more. "Even the cheapest wines have a high-end segment," he says. "Very often, it's not necessary to pay for them. Like for a Cava, to pay more than $20, it doesn't get significantly better." Instead, he says, "Buy two bottles!"

That said, two wines get very reliable around $50:

Barolo and Brunello from Italy (Tuscany). "The king of wines in Italy is Barolo," says Kleinhans. "If you can't find one more than seven years old, you'll want to give them time before you drink them. Most people buy them and let them sit for three to four years." Brunello, he says, like Chianti Classico, is made of the Sangiovese grape from the town of Montalcino. "If you allocate $50, you'll have the best showing of these wines you can reach."

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$100 wines

"At the $100 level there is good news," says Kleinhans. "You may spend $1,000 or more, but frankly that type of flavor you would see in a very expensive bottle you'd be able to find at $100. With clever selection, you're not limited anymore. There are a couple of classics to seek out if you want to see the highest expression of the grape":

Cabernet Sauvignon from France (Bordeaux). Kleinhans highlights three villages that produce very reliable, high-quality Cabernet Sauvignons: St. Julien, Margaux, and Pauillac. "If you have $100, gravitate to Bordeaux, and buy from one of these villages. These are the great noble wines in the world."  

Shiraz from Australia (Borossa). Just as the French Syrah is reliable at $20, its Australian counterpart Shiraz is strong at $100. "You can, with confidence, buy a $100 Shiraz and see everything that the new world has to offer," Kleinhans enthuses.

Chardonnay from France (Burgundy). This category includes a region a little north of Burgundy called Chablis. "If you have $100 and you enjoy white wine and drink at lot of Napa Chardonnay, skip three and buy yourself a Grand Cru Chardonnay Chablis," recommends Kleinhans. "It's the greatest on earth."

Riesling from Germany. Kleinhans says that people often misinterpret Riesling as too sweet, but that impression comes from its production methods, not the grape. He recommends a dry classification indicated on German wines by the label "GG," which stands for "Grosses Gewächs" or "great plant." "Many sommeliers believe this type of Riesling will rise to the top of the white wine market in terms of outstanding flavor and aging potential," he says.

SEE ALSO: A Sommelier Chooses His 10 Favorite Wines For $16 Or Less

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There is a now a video game that lets you assemble Ikea furniture

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resizedikeagame1Because assembling Ikea furniture is so much fun (sarcasm), a new video game called "Home Improvisation" is letting you live that experience virtually.

They're calling it "the world's most fun and cooperative furniture assembly experience."

The game's furniture is assembled by clicking, dragging and rotating the pieces until they fit into their specific holes. Up to three friends can virtually join you in assembling the flat packs, or you can "labor alone and slowly descend into madness."

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The game was created at this year's Global Game Jam competition in just 48 hours by a small developer team called The Stork Burnt Down.

It's available now for free on Mac and PC. Check out the full demo the video below.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most Expensive Zip Codes In Silicon Valley

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Brooklyn is officially the most unaffordable housing market in America

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When you hear the word Brooklyn, you probably think hipster.

But you should really think staggeringly unaffordable housing.

As New York Mag and Bloomberg report, the borough has become the least affordable housing market —relative to income — in America. 

In Brooklyn, "a resident would need to devote 98 percent of the median income to afford the payment on a median-priced home of $615,000," Bloomberg reports.

That's higher than between 2005 and 2008, at the height of the housing bubble.

The data comes from RealtyTrac, the real estate information company, who find that San Francisco and Manhattan are the second and third least-affordable. 

Brooklyn's wallet-destroying real estate surge comes thanks to a few factors, but the biggest one is the saturation of Manhattan.

The world's super-super-rich have started to use Manhattan as the new Swiss Bank Account — since 2008, a reported 30% of condo sales in large Manhattan developments have come from overseas. This is pushing the slightly-less-super-rich to Brooklyn. 

And they are ready to buy. 

Ninety-eight townhouses in Brooklyn sold for over $3 million in 2014, most of which were in the swanky neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Park Slope, where a historic brownstone went for a record-breaking $10.78 million

Other trickle-down effects are more socially devastating. 

"What's a frustration for ­middle-class buyers amounts to a desperate crisis for poor renters," reports Andrew Rice in a New York Mag feature on gentrification in East New York

SEE ALSO: Americans Think Real Estate Is The Best Long-Term Investment

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Psychologists say this is the best way to argue with your spouse

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couple arguing old 1950s

Contrary to what fairy tales may tell you, living "happily ever after" with your partner is going require a few arguments. 

In fact, a couple's ability to handle conflict is the number one predictor of their success.

It's required for the relationship to mature.

"If they don't have those conversations, over time their relationship will deteriorate," says psychologist John Gottman. "They'll be living in an ice palace." 

Gottman, who's authored 40-some books on the science of relationships and cofounded the Gottman Institute for couples therapy with his wife, says that these "repairing" conversations help a couple to become more intimate and more loving. 

"To get better at conflict, you have to learn how to talk to each other emotionally," he says. "That's the skill of intimate conversation, and that's the key to sex and romance, too." 

Intimate conversation — which is a much more enlightened form of arguing — has four components. 

They are: 

• Putting your emotions into words. Your partner's best attempts at listening aren't going to be very fruitful unless you can articulate what's happening in your interior space. It's about "being able to put your emotions into words that really are what you actually feel," Gottman says, which requires understanding your bodily sensations. "Knowing where you feel tense, what relaxed feels like, what truth feels like." A meditation-like technique called Focusing helps with developing that skill. 

• Asking open-ended questions. Open-ended questions allow you to explore your partner's feelings. "They open up the heart and have acceptance at the base of them," Gottman says. For example, you might ask: So what do you feel about this living room — how would you change it if you had all the money in the world? What do you want your life to be like in three years? How do you like your job?

• Making open-ended statements. "These are exploratory statements," he says, where you encourage your partner to tell you a story. For instance: I want to hear all of your thoughts about quitting your job. I want to hear all of your thoughts about your job.

• Empathizing with your partner. Rather than saying you understand, show that you understand. "Empathy is really communicating that you understand your partner's feelings and they make sense to you," Gottman says. "It's really caring about your partner's welfare, not just your own." 

When both people use all four of these skills, they can be vulnerable, honest, and safe — which allows tensions to turn into growth

"We teach these skills all the time in couples therapy," Gottman says. "If you don't have those skills, you're kind of screwed in interpersonal relationships." 

SEE ALSO: Psychologists Say You Need These 3 Compatibilities To Have A Successful Marriage

DON'T MISS: The Key To A Happy Relationship When You Work Insane Hours

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A Tokyo real estate company is selling apartments with stripper poles to encourage marriage

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japanese apartment konkatsu marraigeThe Wall Street Journal has discovered a Tokyo-based real estate company that wants to help singles find love —by moving them into apartments with stripper poles. 

Called konkatsu, or “marriage hunting” apartments, the spaces were designed by developer Rintaro Kikuchi. The homes are airy, with light wood floors, spacious rooms, balconies overlooking the city, and streamlined appliances.

Plus, the living room has a removable stripper pole (designed for intimacy or to keep fit) and a bathtub. 

japanese apartment konkatsu marraigeKikuchi believes that tiny, cramped, and poorly designed Japanese apartments are the reason more young people aren’t getting married or meeting new people. 

His homes, on the other hand, are supposed to make singles feel more open towards new encounters. “You can’t ignore sex and make a house,” he explained to the WSJ about his philosophy.

And it's not just sex — intimacy seems to be the main goal of the konkatsu apartments. Aside from the stripper pole, the most important rule of his apartments is that couples need to have space to cook and bathe together.

The apartments are also soundproofed for privacy. One apartment is listed for 11.3 million yen, or approximately $96,000.

japanese apartment konkatsu marraigeKikuchi built his konkatsu building and apartments back in 2010, around the time that konkatsu was becoming a recognized term in Japan. An abbreviated form of kekkon-katsudo and coined by two Japanese sociologists, the marriage-hunting trend has been a part of the national conversation since 2007 and began to be recognized internationally by 2009.

The movement addresses one of Japan’s biggest problems — that fewer young people are getting married, and they are getting married later in life, which translates to fewer babies being conceived (birth out of wedlock is uncommon in Japan). 

japanese apartment konkatsu marraigeIn 2014, the CIA estimated that the national birthrate was 1.4 children per woman in Japan. This means that by 2060, the population is expected to go down by a third and by as much as 61% by 2100, according to Bloomberg.

But studies have shown that the low marriage rate isn’t from a lack of wanting to get married. A 2012 Cabinet Office study found that 70% of unmarried Japanese men and 80% of unmarried women in their 20s wanted to tie the knot. 

japanese apartment konkatsu marraigeInstead, the real problem seems to be about sex drive. The Japan Family Planning Association found that after interviewing 3,000 subjects, roughly half of participants had not had sex in the past month. Some excuses included that sex was “bothersome” or that couples were too tired after working all day.

That’s where the konkatsu apartments come in. Kikuchi’s homes are designed to make sex more fun and to keep things exciting, even after marriage.  

“It has an impact on children when they see the relationship between their parents deteriorate,” he told the WSJ. “They don’t see marriage or making a family as something happy.”

SEE ALSO: The 26 Most Hipster Neighborhoods In The World

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Science says doing these 3 simple things will make you more charismatic

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Oprah hug

We tend to think that charisma is something you're born with — that Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, and Martin Luther King Jr., were able to captivate crowds and connect with individuals since they were kids. 

Not true. 

"Charisma is simply the result of learned behaviors," says Olivia Fox Cobane, author of "The Charisma Myth.

If given the right role models, people can learn those behaviors early. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. grew up with a father who was a preacher and a social activist.

But others need a little more cultivation for charisma to bloom. 

Steve Jobs "came across as bashful and awkward in his earliest presentations," Cobane says. "Jobs painstakingly worked to increase his level of charisma over the years, and you can see the gradual improvement in his public appearances." 

Since being charismatic is an in-road to getting promoted, winning negotiations, and otherwise killing it in business, here are a few science-backed behaviors that will make you more charismatic:

Charismatic people express their feelings. 

"Charismatic individuals express their feelings spontaneously and genuinely," Claremont McKenna College psychologist Ronald E. Riggio says. "This allows them to affect the moods and emotions of others."

It's called emotional contagionor "the tendency to automatically mimic and synchronize expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements with those of another person's, and consequentially, to converge emotionally."

In other words, charisma is largely a matter of strongly expressing your emotions so that they can then "transfer" to the person or people with whom you're speaking. 

Charismatic people use words that people can relate to. 

In his book "Why Presidents Succeed," University of California at Davis psychologist Dean Keith Simonton argues that one thing that separates successful presidents from inconsequential ones is the language they use to connect with people. 

It's about tapping into emotions like hope, hate, love, or greed. 

"People don't have rich [emotional] associations with abstract words like inference, concept, or logic," he tells the APA Monitor. "'I feel your pain' has association, but 'I can relate to your viewpoint' doesn't. The most charismatic presidents reached an emotional connection with people talking not to their brains but to their gut."

Charismatic people mirror the other person. 

Psychologists have found that when two people are getting along, they start to mirror each other's bodies as a sign of trust and safety. Your date crosses their legs, so do you; you take a sip of water, so does your date. 

You can make strategic use of that mimicry. 

In a 2007 study on negotiations, Columbia University psychologist Adam Galinsky and his colleagues asked one group of participants to mimic their partner's behavior and the others to go in cold. The result was shocking: 10 out of 15 negotiations in which people mimicked their opponent ended in deals, while only two out of 16 of the negotiations without mimicking were able to close deals. 

The scholars' explanation: Mimicking helps establish a positive relationship, so both parties will be more likely to share information and look for a more mutually beneficial deal. 

"Our research suggests that mimicking is one way to facilitate building trust and, consequently, information sharing in a negotiation," Galinsky and company write. "By creating trust in and soliciting information from their opponent, mimickers bake bigger pies at the bargaining table, and consequently take a larger share of that pie for themselves." 


NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' Investor Reveals The Worst Mistake People Make When Trying To Get Someone's Attention

 

 

SEE ALSO: A Couples Therapist Suggests Asking Yourself This Question Before You Get Married

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