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10 one-bedroom apartments you can rent for $3,500 a month in San Francisco


Find out what your ZIP code says about you with this creepily accurate website

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Zip code look up ESRI

Like it or not, where you decide to live often says a lot about you.

Of course, you're not totally defined by your ZIP code, but a website spotted by Reddit seeks to show people what ZIP codes say about the demographics, culture, and lifestyle in one's area.

Here's how it works:

The "Zip Lookup" tool is powered by Esri, a geographic-information firm based in California.

Just head to the website, type in your ZIP code, and you'll be greeted with a breakdown of your ZIP code's demographic characteristics based on Esri's "Tapestry" technology, which consists of 67 unique market-segment classifications.

The percentage breakdown shows you the mixture of different classifications.

Here's an example of the breakdown for Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Esri zip code tool

By clicking on the different demographics, you can see a summary of the type of person Esri's geographic data says you are.

For Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 60% are labeled as "Trendsetters," who are described as singles "not ready to settle down, unfettered by home and vehicle ownership" and with "good jobs who spend our disposable income on upscale city living and entertainment — mostly on rent."

Esri zip code toolHere's the breakdown for the other two demographics, "Downtown Melting Pot" and "High Rise Renters."

Esri zip code tool

Esri zip code tool

You can also click on the tabs "Income," "Age," and "Population Density," to learn more about your area's trends.

Here's a look at the average income for Williamsburg.

Esri zip cod tool

And here's a look at the age spectrum.

Esri website tool

Finally, here's population density.

Esri zip code tool

To look up your ZIP code, head to Esri's website. 

SEE ALSO: Use This Trick To See A Map Of Everywhere Google Knows You've Been

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A retail CEO worth $840 million lives in a Las Vegas trailer park

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Tony Hsieh

Tony Hsieh could buy a private island if he wanted to. 

The Zappos CEO has a reported net worth of $840 million.

But Hsieh chooses to live in a Las Vegas trailer park he owns, according to a recent profile in The New York Times. 

The trailer park is "crammed with shiny silver Airstreams that are rented out to visiting computer coders," according to David Gelles at The Times

Hsieh lives in a trailer in the community he calls "Llamapolis" with his pet alpaca. 

The trailer park is part of Hsieh's $350 million investment into making Las Vegas a metropolitan city with thriving business and entertainment scenes. 

It also includes features like community campfires and a shared kitchen housed in a shipping container, according to Las Vegas Weekly.

"The Airstreams are sleek and high-tech, with wood paneling, stainless-steel appliances, a Bluetooth stereo and two TVs," magazine author Kristy Totten writes. 

 In the past, Hsieh has been named one of the most frugal millionaires. 

"Money is just a way for Tony to get to his endgame," Erik Moore, an early Zappos investor, told Business Insider. "Money just doesn't matter to him. If he only had a million dollars left, he'd spend $999,999 to make Vegas work. He would be just as happy with a dollar in the bank and being around people he cares about and care about him."

SEE ALSO: These photos show why a teen retailer is giving Victoria's Secret a run for its money

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Millennials who are financially thriving have one characteristic in common

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Screen Shot 2015 07 17 at 2.02.01 PM

Millions of America’s young people are really struggling financially. Around 30 percent are living with their parents, and many others are coping with stagnant wages, underemployment, and sky-high rent.

And then there are those who are doing just great—owning a house, buying a car, and consistently putting money away for retirement.

These, however, are not your run-of-the-mill Millennials. Nope. These Millennials have something very special: rich parents.

These Millennials have help paying their tuition, meaning they graduate in much better financial shape than their peers who have to self-finance college through a mix of jobs, scholarships, and loans.

And then, for the very luckiest, they’ll also get some help with a down payment, making homeownership possible, while it remains mostly unattainable for the vast majority of young adults.

To start with, most of those who continue their education after high school have families that are able to help financially. A recent report from the real-estate research company Zillow looked at Federal Reserve Board data on young adults aged 23-34 and found that of the 46 percent of Millennials who pursued post-secondary education (that’s everything from associates degrees to doctorates), about 61 percent received some financial help with their educational expenses from their parents.

And yet, even with this help, the average student with loans at a four-year college graduates with about $26,000 in student-loan debt. Millennials who are lucky enough to have some, or all, of a college tuition’s burden reduced by their parents have a leg up on peers who are saddled with student debt, and they’ll be able to more quickly move out on their own, and maybe even buy their own house.

student debt

And that matters a lot in the long run: While many remain skeptical about the real-estate market, homeownership is still the primary way that Americans build wealth. But first-time buyers—a group generally made up of younger adults—have been scarce since the recession.

And research indicates it’s not because many of them want to remain renters, but because they just simply can’t save up enough for a down payment, especially not the down payments needed in the expensive urban markets where so many Millennials prefer to live. According to Svenja Gudell, the senior director of economic research at Zillow, “There’s a ton of people out there who want to buy. In our most recent survey in the beginning of the year, we had 5.3 million renters interested in buying over the next year.”

But, because of their student-debt loads, they cannot. “When it comes to taking out a mortgage, they aren’t able to carry that mortgage payment because they have very chunky payments to make to the lenders of their student loans. So that’s certainly holding Millennials back along the way,” Gudell says.

Homes are seen for sale in the northwest area of Portland, Oregon March 20, 2014. Would-be buyers risk being crowded out by the run-up in home prices and mortgage rates over the past year. Home values nationwide were up 12 percent in January from the same month last year, according to data firm CoreLogic, while mortgage rates have jumped about a full percentage point. REUTERS/Steve Dipaola (UNITED STATES - Tags: REAL ESTATE BUSINESS) - RTR3HYBS

A recent study by the real-estate company Trulia laid it out this way: Imagine an individual who earns $50,000 and is shopping for a $200,000 home (the median U.S. income and house price). This person would like to put 20 percent down.

If he or she follows the popular financial advice to save 10 percent of his or her annual pay, it’ll take him or her about eight years to have that down payment ready to go. If that same person has $26,000 of student debt, which means monthly payments of $280 based on a 10-year repayment plan, it’ll take this person closer to nine years.

But even these numbers are optimistic, with many Millennials owing monthly payments much more than $280 per month, and making much less than $50,000 a year. And in many markets, a $200,000 house is hard to come by. In some of the priciest areas, such as San Francisco, it would take those with a college degree and student loans nearly 30 years to save up enough for a 20 percent down payment. For those without the wage boost that a degree brings, it probably won’t be possible at all.

According to Zillow, 43 percent of Millennials who got help from their parents in paying for school were also able to become homeowners. According to Census data the homeownership rate for all young adults was about 36 percent in 2014.

Then there is the group that the Zillow study dubs “double lucky.” These are the select few whose families had enough money to not only help them with college, but to then also assist them with a down payment on a home. This group accounts for more than half of the Millennial homeowners in the Zillow’s data, though they account for only 3 percent of the total Millennial population.

millennials

Only about 9 percent of Millennials whose parents were able to contribute to their post-high school education were also able to help them purchase a home—and the group that had such significant help is an incredibly low percentage of the total Millennial population.

The study calls this a “funnel of privilege”: Young adults with rich parents soon become rich themselves.

“Haves are turning their riches or their wealth into bigger wealth because they are investing in the housing market by simply living in a house,” says Gudell. This advantage is one that these Millennials will carry forward as they earn more than their degree-less peers, and save more than those who were forced to throw away tens of thousands of dollars on rent due to their inability to buy. In the future, they’ll have wealth to pass down to their own kids, continuing the cycle.

SEE ALSO: How I went from underemployed waitress to the top 1% of millennials in 6 months

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NOW WATCH: Tony Robbins shares 5 keys to getting rich










20 striking photos of international borders from around the world

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Belgium and Netherlands borderHistory, politics, and demographics have helped to shape the international borders that separate countries around the world. 

While some boundaries simply consist of markings on a road, in areas of political turmoil borders are marked by high fences and heavily guarded gates. 

From the USA-Canada border, which spans over 5,000 miles, to satellite images that capture the brightly lit border of India and Pakistan at night, here is a glimpse at some of the most striking international borders around the world.

 

SEE ALSO: 18 rare color photographs of the Russian Empire from over 100 years ago

This NASA satellite image depicts the border between Haiti, which is much more arid, on the left, and the Dominican Republic, which is greener, on the right.



This photo of the border between Israel and Egypt was taken by the International Space Station. The border is said to be one of the few that is so visible from space.

 



The Bering Strait separates the Seward Peninsula of Alaska to the east and Chukotskiy Poluostrov of Siberia to the west. The boundary between the US and Russia lies between the Big and Little Diomede Islands, visible in the middle of the photo here.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








The 18 most important sneakers of all time

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1. AJ 1 From Nike

Sneakers have a longer history than you might think.

Far from being a modern phenomenon, the first sneakers appeared in the mid-1800s as running shoes. Unlike the sneakers of today, they looked more like a dress shoe, but with spiked soles.

As sneakers have evolved, they've transitioned from a sportswear staple to a fashion statement. As such, The Brooklyn Museum is hosting a traveling exhibit, "The Rise of Sneaker Culture" (through Oct. 4), presented by the Bata Shoe Museum of Toronto.

Keep scrolling to see the exhibit's ranking of the 18 most influential sneakers.

SEE ALSO: These are the only shoes guys need for summer

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18. Nike x Tom Sachs NikeCraft Lunar Underboot Aeroply Experimentation Research Boot Prototype, 2008–12

Artist Tom Sachs worked with Nike to create this capsule collection. It confronts issues with the alienation of the worker from the finished product, which is why you see the artist's name prominently scrawled all over the shoe. Sachs was known for his works that dealt with branding and mass market consumption.

From: Collection of the artist. (Photo: Courtesy American Federation of Arts)



17. Nike Foamposite, 1997

The Nike Foamposite is famous for being the first sneaker with an upper made entirely out of one piece of synthetic material. This foam allowed the shoe to mold to the wearer's foot and became a favorite of basketball player Penny Hardaway.

From: Nike Archives. (Photo: Ron Wood. Courtesy American Federation of Arts/Bata Shoe Museum)



16. Nike Air Jordan III, 1988

The AJ III was the first shoe ever to feature the now-iconic Jumpman logo. The shoe's elephant print accents, which was later featured in a ton of other Jordans, were put in after Michael Jordan requested a shoe that looked worn-in even while new.

From: Kosow Sneaker Museum (Electric Purple Chameleon, LLC). (Photo: © Kathy Tarantola Photography. Courtesy American Federation of Arts)



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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We drove a Ferrari California T to a track to watch Ferraris race

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Ferrari Race 2015

Last year my son, James, and I drove up to Watkins Glen International, a storied racetrack, to watch a Ferrari race. We did not, however, make the drive in a Ferrari.

This year, Ferrari kindly lent us a California T, the company's "entry-level" car — its base price is $198,000 — to make a sort of return visit. Last time, we watched a Ferrari Challenge race in which the contestants run in Ferrari 458s. This time we attended the Six Hours of the Glen, an endurance race featuring teams from a variety of automakers — Porches, BMW, Aston Martin, Mazda, Corvette — alongside Ferrari.

It was an interesting weekend with a long drive in a cool car and a race that was heavily affected by the weather. Mixed in was a jaunt around the original Watkins Glen road course, where after World War II racers battled it out and before the now famous raceway was built.

We had a lot of fun — check it out.

Last year, James and I checked out a race series organized by Ferrari and featuring teams running only Ferrari 458 cars.



James had a blast ...



... because for an 8-year-old what's cooler than Ferraris?



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








A major aspect of the flying experience has been slowly improving

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virgina america airplane food

By all accounts, flying is a more miserable experience than ever.

Fares and delays have increased, legroom has decreased, things that used to be free—checked bags, movies, early boarding—are no longer free, and TSA’s security procedures are a demeaning farce.

There’s one part of flying, however that’s actually gotten better in recent years: the food.

I’m not talking about the chef-created sous-vide meals served in first class, which most of us will never experience.

I’m talking about the meals—or, more accurately, the snack collections—sold in economy, which have gotten so good that you’re often better off just buying food on the airplane than grabbing a bite in the terminal before you board.

I’m thinking specifically of one type of airborne food: the reasonably healthy, vegetarian, vaguely Mediterranean snack box.

On Delta, it’s known as the Eats Tapas box. On United, it’s the Tapas Snackbox. On JetBlue, it’s the Pump Up box, which is worth the dignity you sacrifice by uttering the name out loud.

The individually wrapped, shelf-stable contents of each box vary, but the core is pretty much the same at each airline: hummus, crackers, olives, maybe some nuts. Delta’s box supplements this foundation with a pepper and artichoke dip.

United one-ups Delta with a red pepper dip and a Parmesan cheese spread. JetBlue offers a bag of crunchy roasted fava beans that I pine for every time I stare down the sad inventory of the Slate office vending machine.

Each airline tops off the box with something sweet but reasonably wholesome: dark chocolate, dried apricots, miniature lemon cookies.

These snack combos are ideal for midflight noshing.

tapas box

As the Atlantic’s Julie Beck explained last year, the low air pressure and low humidity in an airplane cabin interfere with your sense of taste, making it harder to detect low levels of certain flavors.

When food tastes blander than usual, variety and contrast are all the more important. Red pepper dip might taste insipid if you were eating it on a plane by itself, but alongside salty olives, its nuanced sweetness begins to emerge.

But possibly better than the variety of flavors in a tapas snack box is the variety of textures. Since flying turns flavor intensity down a few notches, the creaminess of hummus, juiciness of olives, and crispiness of crackers become all the more important—and with a new texture in each miniature package, you’re unlikely to get bored.

If you couldn’t tell already, I love these snack boxes. They feel like a treat, but they don’t set me up for a blood-sugar crash. They are literally the only aspect of the flying experience that does not make me feel gross, greasy, and in need of a shower.

How did they happen?

Delta Flight

Brian Berry, Delta’s director of on-board services, attributes the positive evolution of airline food to two things: financial pressures that forced airlines to stop serving free food and consumer demand for healthier options.

Before the turn of the millennium, “customers had an expectation of getting food on the plane, and post-9/11, as we moved into the recession, that just wasn’t going to happen in the economy cabin,” Berry says.

It took a while for customers to get used to this new paradigm. Delta tried launching its first for-purchase food items in 2003 but put the program on hold for a few years due to a lack of profitability.

“Now it’s really evolved,” Berry says. “By now, I don’t think anyone has an expectation of getting [free] food in coach.”

The first snack boxes offered in flight looked too much like the contents of the Slate office vending machine: potato chips, jerky, popcorn, Oreos, that sort of thing. Surveys, customer feedback, and focus groups alerted airlines that not everyone wants to spend flights eating the kind of junk food served at middle-school birthday parties.

United launched its tapas box in 2010, and Delta followed suit in 2013. Both were a hit; building on the success of the Eats Tapas box, Delta expanded the healthy section of their menu, which now features quinoa wraps and fresh fruit packaged by Luvo.

To be fair, though the food itself is good, literally everything else about eating a tapas box on an airplane is terrible.

It’s difficult to open the tiny packages without spilling their contents onto either yourself or your neighbor, who is most likely squished against you. Tapas boxes produce tons of packaging waste, which piles up on your tray table like a teetering miniature landfill as you move from one snack to the next. (An alternative strategy is to take all the packages out of the box at the outset and use the box to store your empty packages, but then you have to put all the food on your lap. Who wants food on her lap?)

And as much as I like eating the contents of Delta’s Eats Tapas box, I do not like paying $8.99 for it, which seems a little steep for the quantity of food served. Especially when you compare it to the airline food of yesteryear, which, though junky, was free.

Then again, high prices, a lack of personal space, environmental destruction, filth and degradation and despair— these indignities have been the cost of flying for some time now. Luckily, horrible food is no longer on the list.

Join the conversation about this story »

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This new retail chain solves 2 of the biggest hassles of shopping for clothes

Reuters reveals its most popular Instagram photos of the year (so far)

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Reuters top 20 Instagram

With a over 200,000 followers, Reuters' Instagram has an impressive fan base, but an even more impressive image archive. Some 600 professional photographers work for the wire from all over the world, meaning Reuters is able to deliver groundbreaking, never-before-seen images straight to your phone.

This week the news wire shared its top 20 Instagram posts from 2015 thus far based on "like" count. These beautiful, touching images represent Reuters' Instagram's main goal: "to reflect the beauty and diversity around the world."

Take a look at the images below in reverse order of popularity, along with their original Reuters captions. Like what you see? Be sure to follow Reuters on Instagram.

SEE ALSO: Reuters most popular Instagram post of 2014

#20: "Alexo Carmona, 2, looks at Coco, a two-year-old pony, in downtown Havana."



#19: "Sanyu, a five-day old Rothschild's Giraffe calf is nuzzled by another member of the herd in their enclosure at Chester Zoo, in Chester, Britain."



#18: "People brave the cold and snow as they walk in the main pedestrian street of Istiklal in central Istanbul."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Meet Wang Jianlin, the richest person in China

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wang jianlin

Wang Jianlin, a former People’s Liberation Army soldier who is now a real estate mogul and the world’s largest cinema chain operator, is the richest person in China.

With a fortune of $40.7 billion, he's caught in a riches race with Hong Kong business magnate Li-Ka Shing to become the wealthiest man in Asia.

From the construction of luxury hotel properties to the purchase of a world-famous football club to his grand plans for the future of entertainment, scroll through to get up to speed on Jianlin's global empire. 

SEE ALSO: The 25 richest self-made billionaires

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From 1970 to 1986 Wang served in the Chinese Army. He credits this time for his unwavering perseverance: “Without those years of experience, I probably wouldn’t have had so much anti-stress capability and so firm a determination.”

Source: Brics Business Magazine



Wang borrowed $80,000 to get his company Dalian Wanda Group off the ground. He’s been chairman of Wanda Group, now China’s largest real estate developer, since 1988.



Wanda Hotels and Resorts Co Ltd has opened 71 five star and luxury five star hotels across China to date. Wang has billion dollar investments in properties in Sydney, London, Chicago and Los Angeles. He's on his way to becoming the world's biggest owner of five-star hotels.

Source: The Economist

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








I challenged this shoe-repair startup to bring a pair of worn-out $300 shoes back to life for $40

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I stumbled on this awesome weight loss app for your phone that's doing something very sneaky

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weight loss scale tattoo obesity diet

I've been a huge fan of Weight Watchers for years. Of the 65 or so pounds I've lost over the last 5 years, I can credit the program for helping me shed at least 40 of that (the rest is thanks to P90X).

No surprise that it's incredibly popular.

The idea is that you get an allotment of daily "points" to eat along with flexible weekly points. And if you follow along correctly, you shoud lose weight.

The thing is — it costs $19.95 per month. For the basic plan.

This is why an app in the iOS App Store called "iTrackBites" is so sneaky (also available for Android but the app is much worse). It lets you do Weight Watchers without paying that huge monthly price.

I've been using this app for a few months after years using Weight Watchers, and I can say quite plainly that it does nearly everything the official app does. And it's just a one-time cost rather than monthly. It's even built on what seems to be the Weight Watchers plan, complete with "Daily Points," "Weekly Points," "Activity Points," and many other features. 

Weight Watchers assigns point values to different foods based on their nutritional information. These same values are used in iTrackBites.

We reached out to Weight Watchers to ask them if they had any comment on the app. They told us that they had no comment at this time.

It's $3.99 in the App Store with additional features inside you can pay for that are not necessary. You may end up shelling out around $10, but when you consider that a Weight Watchers base membership is $19.95 per month, it's a bargain.

Here's how it works.

SEE ALSO: 'Suicide Squad' star Margot Robbie is taking over Hollywood

First, a look at the official Weight Watchers app on iOS, as a point of reference.



And here's how the main screen of iTrackBites looks.



Here's a breakdown of the main screen. As you can probably tell, it's very similar to the official Weight Watchers app.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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How to buy the freshest produce

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tomatoesThere’s nothing quite like the biting into an apple plucked straight from the tree.

Or is there?

While fresh picked is a plus for highly perishable corn or peas, which lose their sweetness quickly, every crop is different.

With proper storage after harvesting, growers can often keep some fruits and vegetables looking and tasting good for a year.

That’s the reason why you can buy a Washington State Fuji apple in March every bit as luscious as the day it left the orchard in October.

The crucial time in the quality chain is immediately after harvesting, and quality can deteriorate quickly without gentle handling, refrigeration, and careful control of the storage atmosphere and humidity. 

You might not be able to preserve that field-fresh flavor forever, but we have tips to help you size up and extend the longevity of a handful of notoriously finicky fruits and vegetables. First, choose a supermarket like Wegmans, The Fresh Market, or Whole Foods Market, which makes quality produce a top priority. Next, follow these guidelines:

Bananas

yellow bananas fruit produceThey’re picked before they’re ready to eat, then stored in giant sealed rooms filled with ethylene gas that jumpstarts the natural ripening process. If you buy a banana that’s too green, it might never ripen. Once it’s deep yellow, however, quality can tail off quickly. You can halt the ripening process by placing the banana in the fridge. The skin will blacken, but the color won’t affect the flesh.

Cauliflower

Left unrefrigerated at any stage and the snow-white vegetable will develop brown spots. That’s an automatic don’t buy; it means the cauliflower is about to turn bad.

Tomatoes

TomatoesCold kills. Refrigeration causes the water inside the tomato to expand and individual cells to burst, resulting in a mealy taste and texture, according to the Florida Tomato Committee. In addition, a tomato produces a flavor enzyme as it ripens. When the fruit’s temperature drops below 55, the enzyme stops producing additional flavor. The longer the tomato is kept cold, the more the existing flavor will deteriorate. At home, store the tomatoes stem side up to avoid bruising to the delicate “shoulders.”

Strawberries

They’re supposed to be picked fully ripe, and no further ripening takes place, the California Strawberry Commission says. So avoid berries with a white top or tip; They’re spots that didn’t ripen – and never will. Look for a bright red color, a natural shine and fresh looking green caps. Keep the berries refrigerated (ideally in their original carton) and dry, and they should last three to five days. Wash gently just before eating. They’ll taste much sweeter if eaten at room temperature.

Pineapple

This is another fruit that’s picked ripe. The leaves in the crown should be fresh and green, the body firm. Color is not an accurate indicator of internal ripeness, nor is the ease with which the leaves pull out. Color is only a guide because growers use different varieties grown under different conditions.  Fruit imported from Latin America, for instance, is grown under tropical conditions and will be more green and ripe compared to those from Hawaii, which tend to turn yellowish as they ripen.

Michael Conway, agricultural manager for Dole, says medium to large size fruit is generally best. The “eyes” or irregular segments that comprise the skin or shell of the fruit, should be large and flat rather than small and pointed. Thump the fruit a couple times using a snapping action with the thumb and index finger.  You want to hear a hollow sound, which indicates firm flesh rather than dull thud which means the internal flesh is watery.

Avoid fruit with a moldy spot on the stem end. This is a good barometer of freshness or how long the fruit has been sitting on the shelf.  And finally, smell the base for a pleasant aroma of pineapple.  If there is no or only a faint aroma than the fruit might not be ripe.  On the other hand an overly sweet smell would suggest the fruit is overripe.

Avocados

avocado close upThey ripen—or soften—after harvesting. Firm or green fruit can take four to five days to ripen at room temperature. Refrigeration can slow the process. To speed it up, place the avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple for a few days. The bag will help trap the gasses produced by the fruits to expedite ripening. The advice comes from the Hass Avocado Board. Hass is one of the most common avocado varieties. Color isn’t always the best indicator of ripeness. Pressure is the optimal gauge. If the avocado yields to firm but gentle fingertip pressure, the Hass folks say, it’s ready to eat. If it feels mushy or quote soft, it might be past its prime.

Watermelon

Unlike some other melons, watermelons are fragrance free. The Watermelon board recommends choosing a melon that’s heavy for its size (92 percent of a watermelon is water), firm, symmetrical, and free from bruises, cuts, and dents. The key indicator of ripeness is a buttery yellow spot identifying where it sat in the field, according to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. A white or green underside means it was picked too soon. The organization doesn’t put too much stock in the “thump and shake” method of judging ripeness.

Cantaloupe

Color, softness, and fragrance are keys to maturity. A ripe cantaloupe won’t have a stem attached. A slight indentation at the stem end suggests the melon separated easily from the vine, another good sign, as is a bit of give when you press the blossom end. The color of the skin behind the veins or “netting” on the rind should be golden not green.  Like a watermelon, a good cantaloupe should be heavy for its size. And it ought to have a notably sweet aroma at the blossom end.

Peaches

basket of peachesThey shouldn’t have a green appearance, which reveals the fruit was picked prematurely. The South Carolina Peach Council says to look for a background hue that’s a creamy shade of yellow. “Do not be fooled by a heavily blushed color,” according to the Council. “This red coloring is only an indicator of the type of peach and is a result of the amount of sunlight the fruit received while on the tree.”  At the store, scope out those that are fragrant and firm ripe, meaning they give a little when you carefully press the fruit with your palm. Peaches can be stored on a counter or shelf until they are ready to eat; then refrigerate them. Never store ripening or firm fruit in the fridge; It will turn the peach into a “dry, brown, mealy-tasting mess,” the Council says. 

More from Consumer Reports: 

Read the original article on Consumer Reports. All rights reserved. No redistribution allowed. Follow Consumer Reports on Twitter

Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2015 Consumers Union of US. 

SEE ALSO: 4 ‘healthy’ food trends that aren’t always that good for you

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This robot wakes you up in the morning and checks if you turned off the oven when you leave the house

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French tech startup Blue Frog Robotics has created BUDDY, a family-oriented household robot. The design was inspired by robots from pop culture like R2-D2 from "Star Wars" and Disney's "WALL-E." Chief operating officer Franck de Visme says BUDDY is especially helpful for children, the elderly, and those with special needs.

Video courtesy of Reuters

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The 10 least affordable cities in the world

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singapore

As high as the cost of living in New York or San Francisco might be, neither city is the most expensive in the world.

That distinction goes to Singapore, according to the Economist's World Cost of Living Index, which ranks the world's cities by affordability.

No US cities made the list.

The Economist uses the price of food, drink, clothing, rent, transportation, and utility bills in order to calculate the index. We broke ties by comparing the current price of a loaf of bread. 

It's designed to help companies figure out how much to compensate employees who are working overseas, and provides an interesting look at how the cost of living varies around the world. 

All prices listed are from the Economist's World Cost of Living Index

SEE ALSO: The 10 most affordable cities in the world

10. Copenhagen, Denmark

World Cost of Living Index: 117

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $4.82
Five years ago: $3.82

A bottle of wine:

Today: $13.70
Five years ago: $10.79

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $7.35
Five years ago: $6.10

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $2.18
Five years ago: $2.05



9. Melbourne, Australia

World Cost of Living Index: 118 (tie)

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $4.43
Five years ago: $3.77

A bottle of wine:

Today: $22.28
Five years ago: $17.45

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $15.50
Five years ago: $7.96

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $1.35
Five years ago: $1.28



8. Geneva, Switzerland

World Cost of Living Index: 118 (tie)

1 kg loaf of bread:

Today: $6.38
Five years ago: $5.86

A bottle of wine:

Today: $8.39
Five years ago: $7.42

A pack of cigarettes:

Today: $8.72
Five years ago: $6.15

1 liter of unleaded gas:  

Today: $1.96
Five years ago: $1.69



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5 truffle-infused foods everyone should have in their pantry

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truffle pizzaAs we made our way down the aisles of this year's dizzying Fancy Food Show, we noticed (and tasted) a lot of truffle-infused products. 

While these infused creations don't hold a candle to the real flavor of a freshly shaved black or white truffle, they're still delicious and luxurious for a weeknight meal or midday snack. 

Keep scrolling for a look at some of the best truffle-infused foods you can buy, from a spicy mustard to an incredible pizza topping.  

SEE ALSO: 20 new specialty foods and drinks everyone should try

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1. The Truffelist Honey

The Truffelist's honey is the epitome of sweet and savory. Made with raw wildflower honey from Finger Lakes, New York, truffle essence, and two percent black truffles, it has a sweet start and an earthy finish. We tried it drizzled over a fresh piece of bread and immediately wanted more. 



2. Urbani Truffles Sauces

For the Fancy Food Show, Urbani Truffles teamed with Alba's Pizza to serve four truffle sauced slices. The Cinque Terra (above) combines Urbani's pesto and truffles sauce with grape tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and stracchino cheese for a mouthful of flavor. It would be just as delicious smeared on a baguette or tossed with hot pasta.   



3. Sabatino Tartufi Truffle Oils

If you follow Oprah, you might be familiar with Sabatino Tartufi— its Truffle Oil Holiday Set made her 2014 "Favorite Things" list. We tasted the White Truffle Oil and were impressed by how much flavor is packed into a single drop. A delicate touch of this white truffle-infused olive oil goes a long way. 

And for those who love cheese, we recommend Sabatino's decadent Truffle Mac & Cheese made with black truffles. It's creamy, cheesy, and the perfect adult version of a childhood classic.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider








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