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38 photos that show how darn romantic it can still be to ride a train around the US

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First, let's recognize that plenty of people have had a gripe with Amtrak in the past. It has an aging (and underfunded) system of trains, and passengers often face delays and high prices.

But there is still something darn romantic about traveling by train — stretching out your legs, gazing out the window as the forest or sea slips by you. It can be casually luxurious in a way flying or driving just can't compete with.

And the beauty you can see out the window as you cut your way across the US can be breathtaking, as evidenced by Amtrak's Instagram account, which showcases the best photos taken by its passengers. The photos span from Seattle to Florida, and from snow to sunshine.

Here are our favorite Amtrak photos that show the enduring romance of trains:

"There's something enchanting and romantic about chugging your way through snow covered Oregon forest, kissing Redding, curving around the Bay, speeding down the I-5 and surfing down the coast."

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"The Empire Builder heading off to Northwest."

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A major shift in the fitness world is underway — and it could be the future of the industry

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Anna Kaiser

Boutique fitness is notoriously expensive.

Even though they have made wellness trendy, pay-per-class workouts like Flywheel and Barry's Bootcamp are often criticized for their lofty price tags (and inherent elitism).

(The cycling studio SoulCycle often gets the brunt of this criticism even though its pricing is par for the course in New York).

But celebrity trainer Anna Kaiser — who has trained Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Ripa, and Sofia Vergara and who runs the boutique studio AKT inMotion — doesn't believe that this kind of à la carte fitness needs to be limited to people who live near prime studios and have big budgets.

She has launched a streaming membership program that gives members access to all of her workouts for $50 a month. That's pricier than a Planet Fitness membership but is certainly a step in the direction of making luxurious classes available to all (minus the fancy shampoo and spa-like bathrooms).

In New York City, those classes would cost you nearly $40 each.

peloton bike living roomWorking out in the comfort of one's own home isn't a new concept; if you think about it, the popular workout videos of the 1980s (Jane Fonda anyone?) along with Tae Bo made home workouts more than just a run around the block.

But streaming allows the fitness fiend to consistently change up workouts, allowing for more variety than a DVD. Streaming, for instance, is the center point of Beachbody on Demand (which is home to famed workouts like Insanity and 21 Day Fix).

And now, increasingly, high-end brands are streaming their previously exclusive workouts.
Ballet Body Beautiful, the workout favored by Victoria's Secret models, offers a streaming membership, and investors love Peloton, which live-streams cycling workouts. Peloton, however, requires customers to purchase a $1,995 bike — and that's a pricey investment. SoulCycle has said it plans to unroll a similar digitally based program in the near future.

One other positive of streaming is that fitness personalities like Kaiser can reach people everywhere — she can pick up clients all across the country while still maintaining control of the workout that they get. Additionally, people who have money but live far from a studio may drop in when they're nearby.

Kaiser notes, though, that live-streaming means consumers have to pay attention to the quality of the workout and the trainer — in part for their own safety.

"It's a huge trend for 2016," she said. "But I think what's happening in the streaming environment is what's happening in the boutique environment. It's that everyone is gonna try to do it, and you're [going to have to] filter through and find the workout that's really gonna work for you and is well programmed and with someone that's been educated and understands what they're bringing to the table and isn't just a performer — because there are a lot of, you know, personalities in the fitness world."

SEE ALSO: One of Soul Cycle's founders turned on the brand and started its biggest rival

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NOW WATCH: This stationary bike might be a SoulCycle killer

This portable air filter is like a Brita for your personal space

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Raymond Wu stepped off the plane in Beijing, China, after his first semester of college in the US and entered a thick cloud of fog. At least, he thought it was fog. It smelled "faintly of car exhaust and scorched metal," and blanketed the vehicles in the parking lot with dust.

It turned out to be pollution. And the crisis stretched far beyond China's walls.

The experience later inspired Wu to quit his job as a tech investor and invent a personal air purifier that would provide users with a "bubble" of clean air whever they go.

The Wynd, which launched on Kickstarter on June 2, looks like a thermos made by Apple (it was actually designed by Mike Nuttall, a cofounder of global design consultancy IDEO). Its sleek white body is covered in pockmarks that absorb ambient air.

Inside the device, a medical-grade air filter captures particulates (airborne matter that includes allergens, germs, and industrial pollution) above a certain weight. The purified air is diffused through the device's top, delivering a jetstream of pollutant-free air.

Wynd works best when set up in a small, enclosed space. The company claims it cleans over 70% of particles in a car cabin in under 10 minutes. If you want to keep baby breathing easy as you run errands together downtown, the company sells a clip for the Wynd so it can attach to the inside of a stroller.

wynd_on_table

Wynd's engineering lead, Eric Munoz, is a former aerospace engineer. His experience crafting jet and rocket turbine blades helped him to build the fan components that make Wynd relatively quiet yet powerful.

An enclave of clean air that surrounds you and fuels you through the day sounds pretty neat. But the system isn't without its faults.

The device sits on a kickstand angled at your face, directing the stream of purified air. On a low setting, it makes about as much noise as a small desk fan.

I can't imagine bringing it to work and setting it on a conference room table. It would invite so many questions, I think it'd find a new home in my desk drawer after a few days.

wynd_in_car_cupholder

Still, for people who suffer from extreme allergies or travel to countries such as India and China, where the air pollution crisis presents serious health risks, a Wynd for the cost of $189 (or $139 through the end of the Kickstarter campaign) might be worth it.

Employees at Apple and Google are currently testing the device on business trips to China, according to Wu.

There is little data on how Wynd's effectiveness compares to competitor purifiers. However, the company claims the sensor in the device, which detects when it's time to turn on, is as accurate as the high-end, professional-grade air quality monitor TSI DustTrak, which retails for around $5,000 and is as large as a handheld vacuum.

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The Wynd has a battery life of eight hours, or a typical workday. 

Filters last three to six months depending on the severity of the pollution in your personal space. Because the device is Bluetooth-connected, your phone will alert you when it's time to order a replacement filter, which cost $7 each.

While the Wynd sounds like an expensive gizmo with limitations, Wu hopes the device will become as ubiquitous as Brita filters for clean water.

"Clean air is something everyone should aspire for," he tells Tech Insider.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here’s what would happen if you fired a gun in space

Flight attendants reveal facts about flying that airlines don't tell passengers

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Flight attendant

A flight attendant's job is more than serving drinks with a smile.

They're responsible for passengers' safety and, of course, they know a lot about flying — more than any frequent flier ever could.

To find out more about the world of flying, one Quora user asked: "What are some things that airline cabin crews know, but won't tell you?"

A number of seasoned flight attendants responded to share some unexpected truths about their industry and reveal what goes on behind the scenes at 38,000 feet.

You'll be told if the plane is going to crash

If you're a nervous flier, then chances are that you watch the flight attendant for signs of panic during bouts of turbulence to figure out whether or not the plane will crash. But the captain and cabin staff will tell you if the plane is in trouble, according to a crew member.

"The captain will give you the same information that we know if there is time and then we will begin emergency landing procedures," the anonymous flight attendant said. "My job is to make sure we all get out alive, so of course I would want you to be as prepared as possible."



Flight attendants don't get paid until the plane door closes

Flight attendants are paid for only the duration of a flight, according to one cabin-crew member.

"We are not paid during boarding or until the door to the aircraft is shut. This means it's mandatory to show up to work about 2 hours early but not be paid for it," the anonymous user wrote in a Quora post that was upvoted by a retired US Air Force pilot.

The post reads:

We can work a 13-hour day and only be paid 5. Some of us end up with crappy trips where it is 5 flights all about an hour long each. So while we are boarding, deplaning, etc all of that is unpaid since that aircraft door is technically open. If you add in delays, that's an even longer day all without pay.



Airlines often reuse blankets and pillows

Yes, that blanket you're sleeping under may not be so fresh. Some airlines reuse blankets and pillows on flights, according to Quora user Tony Busko and ex-flight attendant Fatihah Sudewo.

"The blankets and pillows get reused over and over again. They just fold em [sic] up and put them away for the next flight," Busko said.

Sudewo agrees.

"It depends on how cheap the airline is, but I've had my share seeing them [the cleaning team] refolding the blankets for the passengers on the next flight to use," she wrote. "At least they were generous enough to replace the pillow covers and the headrest covers."

The best solution, according to Busko, is to ask for a new blanket in a plastic bag.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Your bank's new casual dress code doesn't mean what you think it means

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JPMorgan

Before you undo your tie and throw off your suit jacket in celebration of JPMorgan's newly relaxed dress code, take a step back.

The bank's new guidelines, announced in an internal memo June 3, calls for employees firmwide to abandon their suits in favor of polo shirts, casual pants, and dress sandals. 

"More clients are dressing informally, and many parts of our company are already business casual," the memo reads, though it goes on to add: "if you're seeing a client you should dress for that client."

It's likely that other banks will eventually follow in JPMorgan's footsteps in instituting business casual dress codes, as many have made it a priority to attract a young millennial workforce that often scoffs at a stuffy suit-and-tie culture.

But that doesn't really matter. You shouldn't dress up for work because your boss wants you to. You should dress up at work because you want to succeed.

Bankers, lawyers, and government officials still commonly dress in suits while everyone else does fine in polo shirts for one simple reason: their work with wealthy clients demands a certain amount of decorum in dress. (Lawyers also need to dress up for court, but the reason courts mandate that dress code is similar: respect).

While dressing up for clients is all well and good, that's not the most important reason you should keep your suit trousers on. You don't just emanate respect when you're well-dressed — you also emanate confidence.

Studies have shown that a well-dressed man is a more successful man, and that's because the guy in the suit just feels more powerful. Any man who has ever worn a suit could tell you that.

When a man feels good about his appearance and adapts it to the task at hand, he feels more confident, and this boost easily translates to a better work product. Not worrying about your appearance also frees your mind to focus on work, instead of on the anxiety of whether you should keep your Oxford shirt tucked or un-tucked.

It's up to you to decide what you want to do with this information, and it's up to you to decide what you'll feel most confident wearing. For some guys, it means continuing to wear the same sleek suit they've been wearing for years. Others may use this new freedom to be more adventurous in their dress.

Whatever you do, don't use the new freedom as a license to get lazy. You still want to dress for success.

SEE ALSO: It turns out that dressing well can actually make you more successful

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NOW WATCH: A psychologist reveals the two reasons why people fall in love at work

Inside the most champagne-soaked event of the summer

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More than 8,000 celebrities, champagne lovers, and otherwise stylish people turned out to Liberty State Park in Jersey City for the ninth-annual Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Saturday afternoon. 

Michael B. Jordan, Rose Byrne, Olivia Palermo, and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were among those who sipped bubbly while watching team Veuve Clicquot take on team Black Watch on horseback. Guests were encouraged to don chic summer outfits and bold hats — and most attendees clearly got the memo. 

Keep scrolling to see what went down at the glamorous, sunny event. 

SEE ALSO: This guy's stash of airline memorabilia shows how much flight-attendant uniforms have changed since the 1950s

DON'T MISS: Follow Business Insider's lifestyle page on Facebook!

VIP guests were served glasses of Veuve Clicquot upon arrival. Entrance to the VIP Rosé Garden cost a whopping $400 a person, though more affordable general admission tickets could be had for $75 each.



Jaimie Alexander walked the green carpet, which was plastered with bottles of champagne.



Model Jourdan Dunn was stunning in white. She later threw out the ceremonial first ball to begin the match.



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19 stunning photos that show how different weddings are around the world

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Wedding traditions vary greatly all over the world. In the Czech Republic a tree is planted in the couple's honor, and in India weddings often last for multiple days, with various rituals taking place in the family's home.

Perhaps one of the biggest cultural differences is the amount of money couples spend on their celebrations. According to The Knot's 2015 Real Weddings Study, Americans are spending an average of $32,641 on their weddings, while Europeans spend much less, averaging around $5,000.   

But no matter where the celebration occurs, you can usually spot a happy bride and groom beaming at the camera. In celebration of that, photo-sharing app EyeEm gathered some of their users' best shots of modern weddings all over the world. Keep scrolling to see them. 

SEE ALSO: This guy's stash of airline memorabilia shows how much flight-attendant uniforms have changed since the 1950s

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Hong Kong, China



Austin, Texas



Prague, Czech Republic



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The $200 million Playboy Mansion just sold to its next-door neighbor

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The Playboy Mansion has a new owner.

The infamous Holmby Hills, California, estate — which listed for a whopping $200 million earlier this year — is now in contract to sell to its next-door neighbor, Daren Metropoulos, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Metropoulos is a principal of the private-equity firm Metropoulos & Co., and a former co-CEO of Pabst Brewing Company. The final selling price for the five-acre property and nearly 20,000-square-foot mansion could not yet be determined.

A Playboy Enterprises representative confirmed the Wall Street Journal's report to Business Insider.

As part of the terms of the sale, Hugh Hefner must be allowed to stay as long as he desires. The estate was sold by Playboy Enterprises, which leases it back to the 90-year-old Hefner. 

Metropoulos purchased the next-door estate from Playboy in 2009, reportedly paying $18 million for it. Once Hefner's tenancy ends, Metropoulos apparently intends to connect the two properties into a single 7.3-acre estate.

Gary Gold and Drew Fenton of Hilton & Hyland had the listing, along with Mauricio Umansky of the Agency.

Raisa Bruner wrote an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: Adele reportedly just dropped $9.5 million on this gorgeous Beverly Hills mansion

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The 20,000-square-foot house is on the edge of the Los Angeles Country Club in the Holmby Hills neighborhood, right between Beverly Hills and Westwood.



The five-acre property includes the main mansion and a four-bedroom guesthouse.



For decades, invitations to Playboy Mansion parties have been highly coveted, and stories of the wild nights here are part of Hollywood legend.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The ultimate fast-food genius reveals his top 10 concoctions

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Have you ever wondered about deep-frying pizza or contemplated putting mac-and-cheese on a taco? Dude Foods is a blog that does it all.

The blog, founded by Nick Chipman in 2010, is an ode to some of the least healthy — but some of the most delicious — food in the world. 

"The blog began because I would always just create crazy stuff at home and then just take pictures of it and send the photos to my friends or post them on Facebook and they seemed to get a kick out of the stuff I was making," Chipman told Business Insider. 

Here are Chipman's 10 favorite concoctions of all time. 

 

SEE ALSO: The most popular items at Trader Joe's

The Double Decker Mac & Cheese Stuffed Bacon Weave Taco

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"The perfect DudeFoods post — or at least the ones that seem to get the biggest reaction — always involve either bacon or deep frying," says Chipman. 



The Racing Sausages Corn Dog

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Today, Dude Foods receives more than 80,000 unique visitors per month, racking up more than 175,000 page views with creations like this corndog that combines bratwurst, chorizo, hot dog, Italian sausage and Polish sausage.



Macaroni and Cheese Crust Pizza

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This creation was inspired by Chipman's Sweet and Sour Chicken Pizza, made with a crust of deep-fried white rice. 

"The inspiration for creations sort of just comes to me," says Chipman. "After that it's sort of just a weird stream of consciousness thing where whenever I'm making something four or five new ideas will spawn from that one thing. Also, if I'm being totally honest, a ton of my ideas just come to me after a long night of drinking."

 



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Science says people decide these 9 things within seconds of meeting you

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Psychologists call it "thin slicing." 

Within moments of meeting people, you decide all sorts of things about them, from status to intelligence to promiscuity.

If you're trustworthy

People decide on your trustworthiness in a tenth of a second

Princeton researchers found this out by giving one group of university students 100 milliseconds to rate the attractiveness, competence, likeability, aggressiveness, and trustworthiness of actors' faces.

Members of another group were able to take as long as they wanted. While other traits differed depending on time spent looking, trustworthiness was basically the same.

 



If you're high-status

A Dutch study found that people wearing name-brand clothes — Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger, to be precise — were seen as higher status than folks wearing non-designer clothes. 

"Perceptions did not differ on any of the other dimensions that might affect the outcome of social interactions," the authors wrote. "There were no differences in perceived attractiveness, kindness, and trustworthiness." 

Just status.



If you're straight or gay

People can read a man's sexual orientation in a twentieth of a second — the minimum amount of time it takes to consciously recognize a face. 

"The rapid and accurate perception of male sexual orientation may be just another symptom of a fast and efficient cognitive mechanism for perceiving the characteristics of others," wrote study authors Nicholas O. Rule and Nalini Ambady.



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Hugh Hefner's son reveals what it was like growing up in the Playboy Mansion

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It was
announced on Monday that the Playboy Mansion is now in contract to sell to its next door neighbor — Daren Metropoulos. 

While most people associate the Playboy Mansion with scantily clad playmates and sex-fueled debauchery, it served as the childhood home for Hugh Hefner's sons. 

Now 24, Hefner's youngest son, Cooper, recounts his childhood spent in what many consider to be a sort of adult fantasyland. For Cooper, it was quite the opposite: a child's wonderland fueled by Indiana Jones-inspired adventures in the Grotto, a zoo full of exotic animals, and epic games of hide-and-seek played in the mansion's private forest of redwood trees.

Cooper shared his experiences growing up inside the mansion, and invited Business Insider along on a private tour of the grounds.

Produced by Graham Flanagan. Additional Camera by Ryan Larkin.

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The entire US healthcare system is taking advantage of you. Here's how it happens

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When we talk about bad healthcare, we're normally talking about one of two things: price or quality.

But Sarah Kliff, writing for Vox, identifies a third way the American health care system exploits and mistreats patients: by taking advantage of their time.

Physicians, specialists, clinics, pharmacists, and hospitals in the US all tend to function independently of one another. In part because of that de-centralized setup, they tend not to share patient data with one another very well.

In other words, all the professionals you encounter as you move through the healthcare system aren’t responsible for coordinating or communicating with one another. That’s largely left up to you, the patient. 

That means each of us is burdened with the time-consuming and stressful task of coordinating our own care in a system that's often maddeningly complex.

Kliff gives a personal example of the strife this can cause:

Last December, a doctor told me to get an MRI and see him again three weeks later to go over the results. I wanted to scream, "Do you understand what it's like to schedule an MRI?"

I did — I had done it three months earlier. I knew it would require his office putting together a justification for the scan and sending that to my insurance company. That usually took a few days or a week. Then the insurance company would need to pre-approve the scan. That usually took a week or so — and another few days before I received a letter notifying me of the decision. Only then could I schedule the procedure.

But for my doctor, getting an MRI was simple — he just had to ask me to do it.

Patients, she shows, largely get stuck managing their own care. That can be a full time job, and one they may not be very good at.

What's more, doctors aren't measured on or held accountable for the amount of work their patients have to do. Meanwhile, it's in their interest to offload as much of that work as possible onto patients, because it saves them from having to hire additional staff to coordinate patient care.

Kliff elaborates:

That's a problem: Patients have lives outside of their doctors' offices. They have jobs to do and children to take care of. I'm lucky that my job comes with flexible hours. I can shoot off emails to my doctor's office and wait on hold, at my desk, without fear of getting fired. Last Thursday I spent 90 minutes waiting to see my doctor, right in the middle of a workday, and my boss didn't bat an eye.

Not everyone has this luxury. Some have to make a choice between doing their actual work (which pays the bills) and their patient work (which doesn't). In those cases, prescribing health care with a high patient work burden can be equivalent to denying health care. Medication won't do much to help a condition when you don't have the time to make the phones calls necessary to track it down.

There is a risk associated with not measuring patient work: namely, that patients will give up when life gets in the way. This is an especially acute worry for lower-income patients, who often work for hourly wages and have little space to change their schedules.

If the health care system is going to improve, a big part of that will likely involve getting doctors and other providers to actually communicate with one another and offload work from stressed-out patients. That may mean hiring people to coordinate patient care, or paying providers (many of whom are overworked themselves and can't bill for "coordination") to do so.

But without a solution, patients who cannot afford to do this work for free will likely continue to fall through the cracks.

You can read Sarah Kliff's full story at Vox.

SEE ALSO: This 24-year-old skipped the chance to be the first in his family to go to college — now he's raised $30 million to help everyone sleep better

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NOW WATCH: These are America's 2 most hated fast-food restaurants

Here's how much the dieting industry has changed over the years

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The dieting industry has changed dramatically throughout the years.

Once-successful companies like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig are now seeing sales plummet, as consumers shift away from diet plans and instead embrace body positivity, according to a Mintel report cited by NPR.

"'Dieting' is not a fashionable word these days," Susan Roberts, a nutrition and psychiatry professor at Tufts University, told NPR. "[Consumers] equate the word 'diet' with deprivation, and they know deprivation doesn't work."

But consumers are still inundated with images and information about "lifestyle trends" — or newfangled versions of diets — that mesh better with today's obsession with health and wellness.

Here's how the dieting industry has changed.

People have long sought ways to be thin. Here's an old advertisement on reducing 'surplus flesh' and improving your figure.



Sometimes they resorted to taking pills.



Companies have been body-shaming women for years. This ad flat-out tells women to 'stop eating.'



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Your dad's old favorite shirt is making a massive comeback

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Topman

It's a short-sleeve, button-up shirt with a large print, giving off a casual, laid-back vibe. But call it a Hawaiian shirt at your own peril.

It's more like New Hawaiian — a fresh take on an old classic, with a wider variety of print than your typical hibiscus. Designers and retailers are betting big on them, and fashion-forward men are scooping them up in droves.

It seems the micro-floral patterns that have been popular in menswear the last few years have given way almost completely to this new trend.

"We aren't talking about the shirt your dad would wear, with a florid print of a parrot and a tequila bottle," Kevin Carney, owner of Los Angeles-based menswear boutique Mohawk General Store, told the Wall Street Journal. "Today's versions have florals that can fit into any guy's wardrobe."

Mall stalwarts like J.Crew, pond hoppers like Topman, menswear startups like Bonobos, Parisian fashion houses like Saint Laurent, and even boutique labels like the Swedish Our Legacy have all jumped on the bandwagon in producing a new version of this classic.

"We wanted to do our version of the classic tourist look but tweak it to make the Hawaiian shirt more interesting," Jockum Hallin, co-founder and CEO of Swedish label Our Legacy, told the New York Times. "We implemented patterns that are more urban-influenced. Our flowers and palm trees are done in a rough graffiti style, and our tropical 'greeting shirt' has more the look of a dark farewell than a warm welcome."

Indeed they are tweaked — tweaked so that they'll look more at home in urban environments than at a tiki bar. They come with backgrounds in muted colors that don't recall the sunny beach they evolved from.

Make no mistake, however: these are bright, attention-getting shirts that won't let you quite blend into the crowd. They're for a confident man who is comfortable with observers commenting on what he's wearing, as these shirts will elicit comments when worn.

If you'd like to try wearing loud prints but don't know where to start, these shirts are the perfect entry place. A good first patterned shirt would be one on a muted or dark background, which won't demand as much attention as a brighter color.

 

hawaiian shirts

From left to right: Our Legacy ($284), J. Crew ($60), Saint Laurent ($414), Topman ($55).

As for styling, there are no hard-and-fast rules. These shirts can be worn with pants or shorts, but they do require contrast to balance out their loudness, so you're better off keeping your bottom half on the darker side. Your shirt will be the focal point of your outfit, so don't try to mix in any more patterns, or you'll start to look garish.

One rule that is hard and fast: These are undeniably casual shirts and should only be worn in the most casual of settings.

Can you wear them to work? For that, only the adventurous need apply.

SEE ALSO: 17 things every guy should have in his bathroom

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NOW WATCH: You’ve been cuffing your jeans all wrong — here’s how to do it

28 incredible roads to drive in your lifetime

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jebel hafeet mountain roadThe world is home to some incredible terrain that's ideal for driving. Some of these roads have become iconic for their unparalleled views, while others are marveled at for their design.

From a mountain pass in Abu Dhabi to routes that wind through the Swiss Alps, these roads make for a drive you won't soon forget. 

Sarah Schmalbruch contributed to an earlier version of this post.

SEE ALSO: This app wants to be the ultimate social network for golfers

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Norway's Atlantic Road is built across several small islands, with eight bridges that treat drivers to stunning views of the ocean, fjords, and mountains. The road, which has earned National Tourist Route status, takes you right out to the ocean's edge.



The Overseas Highway connects mainland Florida to the islets of the Florida Keys. Spanning 113 miles, the highway has 42 bridges in a series of giant arches. The highway is filled with colorful sea views and landscapes of pine and palm trees to enjoy.



Going-to-the-Sun Road is a 50-mile, two-lane highway that spans the width of Montana's Glacier National Park, weaving through large glacial lakes, cedar forests, and alpine tundra. The road, which was made a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1985, also has various scenic viewpoints where you can take in the stunning landscape.



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More and more wealthy New Yorkers are purchasing vacation homes down the block — here's why

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brooklyn ny

You may not immediately think to purchase a vacation home in the same city as your permanent residence, but more and more real estate agents are saying this is a growing trend among homebuyers.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported examples of this phenomenon in major cities across the US, including couples with two homes in Miami and Los Angeles. 

But why spend the money for another place just a few miles away?

Victoria Shtainer, a New York City-based realtor with Compass, said that some of her clients purchasing homes in Brooklyn say they want a change of scenery from their Manhattan neighborhoods.

"It's a different feeling and a different mindset," Shtainer said to Business Insider. "You feel like you're away from your everyday problems and work and you are able to take yourself to a different place."

Buying another home in a different borough allows homeowners to experience a new neighborhood's nightlife and restaurants. Instead of rushing back to their permanent address, they'd have more freedom to spend the night or the weekend at their second home. She said her clients enjoy changing their everyday routine.

"You go to the same streets, same doorman," Shtainer said. "Here, you have all your things in a different place and you transform yourself."

Gill Chowdhury, a New York City-based broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate, said he has clients who are based uptown, but who are using a second home in Tribecca as a "test run" before purchasing a larger home in the same neighborhood.

"They want to get a better sense of the neighborhood, more so than just going in the neighborhood and going home everyday, but really to experience and immerse themselves in what it's actually like to live downtown," Chowdhury said.

This lifestyle, of course, comes at a price. Shtainer describes these clients as people who "have disposable income."

"It's a luxury that few of us can afford, but they love it," Shtainer said. "They would not have it any other way."

One brooklyn bridge park

Chowdhury also acknowledges that clients must be of a certain economic background to be able to purchase second homes.

"There are various reasons why people with the money would want to and end up making that decision," he said. "I think for the most part that there's that 'staycation' aspect."

Shtainer has also seen clients who might want a beach vacation, but who don't want to go too far from Manhattan.

"There's people that live in the city and they have a summer residence in Brooklyn on the water," Shtainer said. "You could take the train and be there in 45 minutes and you're on the boardwalk, you're beachfront, and you spend the whole weekend on the water."

A home on the beach in Brooklyn is not only closer, but is also much cheaper than purchasing a home in the Hamptons.

"They want to be beachfront, and these apartments are affordable because they are under $1 million, and you have the beach downstairs," Shtainer said. "To replicate this in the Hamptons, you need at least $5 million, plus it's more of a commute."

140 Oceana Dr

To separate the living experiences in clients' permanent homes and vacation homes, Shtainer said the homes often have a very distinct feel to them.

"One house has a beachy feel, compared to the home in Manhattan with a modern feel to it," she said. "The second home is usually more casual."

So if you're a New Yorker looking for a "staycation" experience without the cost or travel time to the Hamptons, perhaps a second home nearby is a new purchase you should consider.

SEE ALSO: Take a look inside the $25 million Miami mansion Lenny Kravitz once called home

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A video game designer took these incredibly mesmerizing photos of Tokyo at night

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For art director and photographer Liam Wong, the streets of Tokyo at night are mesmerizing, like the "cyberpunk world" in the 1982 blockbuster "Blade Runner." Wong, who currently serves as graphic design director at video game developer Ubisoft, was inspired to photograph Japan's capital city during a recent trip there. 

"I was bewitched by how the city lit up, and I just kept taking picture after picture," he told Business Insider.

Influenced by his background in video games, Wong made mesmerizing, technicolor images of Tokyo, depicting it in a way it's never been seen before. Keep scrolling to see them.

SEE ALSO: 19 stunning photos that show how different weddings are around the world

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Wong spent several weeks in Tokyo. At first, he stayed on the main path, venturing only to classic tourists spots.



"Then one night it rained, and the city came to life," he said.



"I got lost in the beauty of Tokyo at night ... visiting as many areas of the city as I could," he said.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Step inside the chic Hollywood hotel that Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's company just bought for $41 million

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From its design to its location, the Redbury Hotel in Hollywood, California, is dripping in old-world glamour. 

The hotel was recently purchased from SBE by the real estate arm of Vulcan, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen's investment company. The purchase price was $41 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Located at the famed intersection of Hollywood and Vine, the 57-suite hotel has opulent rooms, stunning dining and drinking options, and a cozy feel. It was designed by renowned celebrity photographer Matthew Rolston and entrepreneur Sam Nazarian.

Keep scrolling to see what it's like inside.  

SEE ALSO: 12 ways to score a free first-class upgrade on flights

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The Redbury Hotel has a prime location at the popular intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles, California. The hotel is in close proximity to some of the city's most popular sites, including the Capitol Records Building.



The boutique hotel is made up of 57 guest suites with a warm and inviting bohemian ambience. Since SBE will reportedly continue to manage the hotel, guests who stay at The Redbury have VIP access to the SBE Hospitality Collection, which includes various hotel, dining, and nightlife destinations in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.



The hotel exudes an old-world feel, with elements like luxe curtains and tiled floors that lead guests through its lobby. The Redbury's design was inspired by "communities that are passionately connected to the arts, music, fashion, and entertainment."



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What it's like to attend the most elite boarding school in America

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We recently named Phillips Exeter Academy the most elite boarding school in America— for the second year in a row.

Phillips Exeter is highly selective and has educated some of the most powerful people in history. Its alumni base includes 19 state governors, five US senators, five Olympic athletes, two Nobel Prize winners, a US President, and even tech moguls like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Quora founder Adam D'Angelo.

Many millionaires and a handful of billionaires are products of the Exeter community and have helped grow the school's endowment to $1.15 billion — more than any other boarding school and larger than many colleges as well.

The fund supports many students' tuition, which otherwise costs $47,790 a year for boarding students.

When Dr. John Phillips, a graduate of Harvard and resident of Exeter, New Hampshire opened the Academy in 1781, he set out to teach young men "the great and real business of living." More than two centuries later, the now co-ed school prides itself on the strength of its network, its commitment to spreading kindness, and on its use of the Harkness Method, a unique teaching model that schools around the world strive to imitate.

In the fall of 2014, I spent the day as a student at Phillips Exeter Academy, located in Exeter, New Hampshire, to see what makes it so unique.

Additional reporting by Emmie Martin.

SEE ALSO: The 50 most elite boarding schools in America

Phillips Exeter Academy, which we recently named the most elite boarding school in America, has a reputation as a "feeder school" — a school that sends a high number of students to Ivy League universities. As I drove to the quiet town of Exeter, New Hampshire, I expected to hate it.



Before arriving on campus, I imagined the quintessential boarding-school stereotype — Vineyard Vines-wearing, silver-spoon-fed teenagers crumbling under academic pressure, bragging about their college acceptances, and sneaking off into the woods to get high.

 

 

 



But I spent the day as a student in "the bubble," as students call the Exeter community, and it was nothing like I expected. I never wanted to leave.



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How to Snapchat from over 20,000 feet — as told by the Everest climbers that just did it

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Snapchat has been taken to a whole new level — literally. Eddie Bauer alpinists Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards, two very experienced climbers, just came back from a no-oxygen Everest summit attempt up the north side of the mountain.

Although climbing Everest is a feat in itself, the two managed to keep their audience constantly up-to-date by Snapchatting though their EverestNoFilter story. Here is how they did it. 

Produced by Justin Gmoser

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