If you've ever come across an ad claiming that it can sell you a "generic" version of the little blue pill, then you've probably dismissed it as bogus.

But scam ads for Viagra, which is prescribed for erectile dysfunction, aren't the only thing that you should steer clear of. Any company that claims that it can sell you a cheaper, generic version of Viagra is lying, a recent post in The New York Times' Well blog points out.

Why? Because a true generic version of the drug hasn't been made available yet. The earliest you can likely expect one is 2017.

That means that for now, "any pharmacy that's offering generic Viagra is probably using counterfeit product that's not approved," Carmen Catizone, the executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, a professional organization unaffiliated with drug makers, told The Times.

It's important to keep in mind, though, that true generic versions of drugs save lives.

In general, generics are a wonderful thing — they're a lower-cost alternative to expensive, brand-name versions of drugs. In 2010 alone, generics saved the US healthcare system roughly $158 billion, or about $3 billion each week, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

But these drugs aren't just saving money: Without them, millions of people around the globe would not be able to afford the medications that they need to survive life-threatening conditions like diabetes.

In the US, generics can exist for several reasons. First, companies that produce them don't have to pay for advertising. They're also not forced to repeat expensive clinical trials of new drugs. Plus, a handful of companies will typically all get approved to make a generic at once, which ideally creates competition in the marketplace and can sometimes result in even lower prices for those drugs.

The reason there's no generic Viagra yet is because Pfizer, the company that makes it, holds two patents for the drug: the first for Viagra's composition — which expired in 2012 — and the second for what's called a "method of treatment," meaning how the drug is used. That one doesn't expire until 2020.

But the story doesn't end there.

The drug company Teva Pharmaceuticals USA plans to sell a generic version of Viagra in the US in 2017. How? By entering into an agreement with Pfizer that allows it to enter the market early in exchange for paying patent royalties to Pfizer through 2020.

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Your personal decisions — diet, exercise, smoking, drinking — are crucial to living a healthy life, but some cities make living well easier and can have a huge effect on your overall health.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on cities, recently released its list of the healthiest cities in the US.

Niche assessed more than 220 cities with a population of more than 100,000, focusing on a group of factors that are important in measuring a healthy lifestyle, including obesity and smoking rates (taken from county level data) as well as availability and proximity to doctors and gyms. Niche also looked at other metrics, like the rate of excessive alcohol consumption and access to mental health providers.

Note that while some cities appear to have identical grades, each grade represents a range of scores, allowing some to rank higher despite both receiving an "A+", for instance. Read more about the methodology here.

California has the most cities on the list with 15 in the top 25 — including a handful from Orange County and neighboring Los Angeles County — but the healthiest city in the country is in Colorado. 

Read on to find out the 25 healthiest cities in America. 

SEE ALSO: The 30 best college towns in America

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25. Burbank, California

Population:104,484

Physical inactivity rate: 17%

Obesity rate: 21.3%

Access to doctors: A

Access to recreation/fitness facilities: A

Percent of smokers: 12.3%

24. Glendale, California

Population:195,380

Physical inactivity rate: 17%

Obesity rate: 21.3%

Access to doctors: A

Access to recreation/fitness facilities: A

Percent of smokers: 12.3%

23. Santa Maria, California

Population:101,468

Physical inactivity rate: 13.9%

Obesity rate: 19.4%

Access to doctors: A-

Access to recreation/fitness facilities: B+

Percent of smokers: 10.5%

Is #foodporn setting unrealistic expectations for food and making our meals less tasty?

According to new research from Havas Worldwide, the majority of millennials surveyed consider themselves "foodies." Plus, 35% of millennials say that given the choice between sex and an excellent dinner at a restaurant, they would choose the dinner.

A lot of this food obsession, Havas found, is tied to how food is consumed, not just through eating but also through sharing of photos on social media, check ins on Foursquare, and reviews on Yelp.

"For younger people especially, food is a source of status and conversational currency," reads the company's Eater's Digest report. "Dining in restaurants used to be a social experience because of the conversations one had at the table. Now the social interaction is just as likely to be online."

If food is reduced a status symbol to be shared online, what does that mean for taste?

On one hand, there's evidence that photographing a food makes it more appealing, and even tastier.

On the other hand, the rise of food photography elevates a certain kind of food — a type that can be made aesthetically pleasing. Items such as hummus, casseroles, and enchiladas simply don't photograph well, no matter how tasty they are.

Then there are the foods that do photograph well, but have little redeeming culinary qualities. Take the rainbow food craze, for example.

Rainbow bagels, for all their beautiful swirls, do not taste different than a normal, plain bagel. That's not an insult: it's a statement of fact. People are waiting in line for hours for a bagel that, if they closed their eyes, would taste the same as pretty much any other New York City bagel.

However, because rainbow bagels took off, every food provider wanted to get in on the trend, with rainbows popping up in everything from grilled cheese to coffee. Again, these items do not taste any different — they are drawing crowds for clever use of food coloring alone.  

In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. Appearance has always been part of what makes food great. However, increasingly, the need to be Instagram-able is overpowering quality that may even trump taste.

Black Tap's milkshake is beautiful on Instagram. However, the combination of flavors and its oversized nature make it overwhelming to actually consume. Same for the rise of increasingly complex Bloody Mary, clearly intended to photography, not becoming pleasantly buzzed on a Sunday morning.

Of course, this isn't simply a matter of brunch-loving Instagrammers, a group stereotypically seen as young women. The bro-food phenomenon is just as much to blame in the rise of spectacle and aesthetics over flavor.

While online over-the-top food champions such as Epic Meal Time and Dude Food have some tasty hits, often the driving force is to push food to its extremes — not craft something that would taste good. Since most readers and viewers will only ever consume the meal via the internet, the creation of items like a 100,000-calorie burger or mac-n-cheese crust pizza makes sense.

However, when the bro-food-blogosphere's influence spills out into recipe blogs and restaurant menus with needless bacon that adds nothing to the meal, taste and quality are, once again, sacrificed for #foodporn.

Fortunately, there seems to be a push in the opposite direction.

While social media has been a driving force in turning millennials into self-described "foodies," the power of the story behind the food is now gaining momentum.

Consumers are increasingly aware of the nutritional and health value of their food and concerned about artificial ingredients' effect on health, according to Havas' research. Seventy-one percent of mainstream respondents, and 81% of "prosumer" (Havas' term for respondents identified as market drivers and influencers) respondents reported they were much more aware of the nutritional/health value of food than they used to be.

With this concern comes a growing appreciation for food that may be less-than-aesthetically pleasing.

Whole Foods, for example, is testing a program to reduce food waste by giving customers the option to buy bruised, discolored, and misshapen fruits and vegetables at a reduced price, through a partnership with Imperfect Produce.

The trend towards a food's taste and story over aesthetics is even leaking into Instagram. Jordan Figueiredo started the Ugly Fruit and VegInstagram in 2015 to highlight imperfect produce that often goes to waste due to its appearance. The account today has more than 30,000 followers.

As restaurants and other food makers chase the sales bump of a food item going viral on Instagram, the quality of food sometimes suffers. However, as with trends from bacon to rainbow food, it seems the trend of aesthetics over quality will be ultimately short-lived. As consumers increasingly crave substance and a story with their meal, it's now time for ugly food to shine.

SEE ALSO: 8 popular American foods that aren't what you think they are

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Los Angeles' most notorious house has just sold for a cool $2.29 million, Curbed LA reported. Though it was long rumored to be haunted by previous residents, the home was originally listed in March for $2.7 million, boasting beautiful views, a glass conservatory, formal dining room, and a third-floor ballroom and bar.

However, the home has in fact been uninhabited since the 1959 murder-suicide that occurred in one of its four bedrooms. Dr. Harold Perelson, a cardiologist who lived in the house with his wife and three children, was the alleged murderer — killing his wife with a ball-peen hammer, attacking his daughter, and finally taking his own life.

Infamous for its chilling story, the house has remained somewhat of a time capsule. While it's been used as storage for some of its more recent owners, only one family is rumored to have lived on the property since the incident. If the rumors are true, they fled in the middle of the night on the anniversary of the killing.

Listing agent Nancy Sanborn told Curbed that the new owners plan to fix up the home before moving in.

Just before the house went on the market, photographer Alexis Vaughn was able to go inside the property and capture a few images of its interior. Below are 14 photos that Vaughn told us she hopes "transports my viewers there."

SEE ALSO: 17 photos that show what the radioactive area around Chernobyl looks like today, 30 years after the explosion

The house was originally bought by the Perelsons for $60,000 in the 1950s.

Source: Medium

At that time, the house was described as a "delightful 12-room home, with terraced lawns, artistic gardens and a magnificent view," according to a recent article by Jeff Maysh on Medium.

Source: Medium

It was at 4:30 a.m. on December 6, 1959, when Perelson attacked his wife with a ball-peen hammer to the head. Because of the trauma, she asphyxiated on her own blood.

Best-selling author and podcaster James Altucher recently stopped by Business Insider to discuss a wide range of topics, including politics, personal finance, and advice for starting a business.

Altucher has a unique perspective on credit-card debt and how people shouldn't necessarily be concerned about their credit scores.

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The Four Seasons restaurant has some pretty dedicated fans.

The famed Midtown Manhattan power lunch spot, which closed July 16 for an upcoming relocation, is now auctioning off its furniture, dining ware, and signage.

The auction is currently being held in the middle of the landmark restaurant's dining room floor, which could explain why prices have soared.

This morning, The Four Seasons' sign — which was estimated by the Wright auction house to sell for between $5,000 and $7,000 — sold to an unknown bidder for a whopping $96,000. The sign used to hang on the restaurant's 52nd Street entrance and depicts the famous Four Seasons trees.

Other highlights: A pair of the famed Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed chairs sold for $17,000, while the accompanying ottomans sold for $18,000. A set of four branded ashtrays, meanwhile, sold for $10,000. 

You can see all the auction's results on Wright's website.   

SEE ALSO: New York City's iconic Four Seasons restaurant is about to relocate — here's a look at its historic past

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Expiration dates are a scam.

The "sell by" dates on food products aren't a reliable means of telling whether a food is safe to eat, according to the National Resource Defense Council.

Instead, expiration dates merely indicate when a food will reach its limits for something called "optimal quality," which is based only on a rough estimate.

Fortunately, determining whether a food has gone bad is fairly straightforward and requires just a small amount of know-how.

Read on to find out if you should eat it or toss it.

SEE ALSO: Here's what a standard serving size of each of your favorite foods looks like

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Bread: It's moldy — even if the mold is just on one piece.

If you spot mold on one slice of bread, it's not safe to eat another slice— even if there's no visible mold on the rest of the loaf. Toss it.

Because bread is porous, mold can spread easily throughout the loaf, so while a piece might look safe to eat, it could contain tiny mold spores.

If a bread has become hard and dry but has no mold, it can probably still be used as bread crumbs or croutons, since mold needs moisture to grow.

Eggs: They float.

If an egg is bad, it floats in fresh, cold water. If an egg is good, it sinks.

You may have dismissed this tip as nonsense, but there's some solid science behind it, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

While egg shells seem solid, they're actually slightly porous. As an egg ages, a sac of air begins to form inside around the inside of the shell. The older it is, the more air becomes trapped inside. Once so much air is inside the egg that it floats, chances are it's gone bad. (Of course, an old egg can still be OK to eat, but better safe than sorry!) Fresh eggs, on the other hand, will sink to the bottom of a bowl of water.

Fresh fruit: Its texture has changed.

If your fruit has become mushy or grainy, it's probably a sign that you shouldn't eat it, according to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Other warning signs that a fruit has gone bad include extreme discoloring, foul odors, or wrinkly skin that's peeling away.

Impossible Foods, the startup that has reportedly raised about $180 million from the likes of UBS and Bill Gates to make a better veggie burger, has found a restaurant partner to debut its lab-created meat. 

Starting Wednesday, Nishi, the newest restaurant in David Chang's Momofuku empire, will be the first place where the public can try the plant-based burger.

Nishi opened in New York City in January as a full-service restaurant with a creative take on Italian cuisine. 

Though it's made of wheat, potato protein, soy, yeast, and coconut, the Impossible Burger looks, tastes, and "bleeds" just like a regular meat patty would. According to Business Insider's Jillian D'Onfro, who got the chance to try the Impossible Burger at Vox Media's Code Conference in June, the burger also has a molecule called "heme," which gives it its meaty characteristics. 

"Although the burger wasn't quite as succulent as what you'd find at your typical BBQ, it was still thick, tender, and absolutely delicious, with the slight crunch on the outside an unexpected benefit," D'Onfro concluded in her review.

The absence of cholesterol, hormones, and antibiotics is just another perk.

Chang has been a fan of the innovative veggie burgers for some time now. In a Facebook post on April 30, he wrote, "Today I tasted the future and it was vegan: this burger was juicy/bloody and had real texture like beef. But more delicious and way better for the planet. I can't really comprehend its impact quite yet...but I think it might change the whole game."

Impossible Foods' founder Patrick Brown started the company in 2011, after learning about the harmful effects that raising livestock can have on the environment. Google reportedly expressed interest in purchasing Impossible Foods in the summer of 2015, but the deal fell through. 

"The burger is only the beginning," Brown said in a press release announcing the partnership with Nishi. "With its introduction at Momofuku Nishi, we have begun the movement to build a new kind of global food system, one that creates new markets for farmers, supports a more resilient food supply, and offers consumers new choices for the meat and dairy products they know and love – ones that are equally delicious but made from plants."

SEE ALSO: I tried the plant-based meat that Google wanted to buy and I never want to eat a 'real' hamburger again

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Do you aspire to be one of those people who knows at least a little bit about a lot of things?

There's any easy way to do it: Read everything!

You can't just stick to the thrillers, anthologies, or biographies you've grown partial to. If you really want to become a more well-rounded person, you'll need to force yourself out of your comfort zone at the bookstore.

If you're not sure where to start, you've come to the right place. We've selected 25 timeless books on all different topics — politics, science, history, culture, and more — that may help you become the well-rounded person you strive to be.

Natalie Walters contributed to a previous version of this article.

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Classic: 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

First published in 1960 and winner of the 1961 Pulitzer Prize, "To Kill a Mockingbird" was an overnight success. In its first week, it sold 1.1 million copies, and in its lifetime it's sold more than 40 million copies and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

In this American classic, lawyer Atticus Finch agrees to defend a black man who was accused of raping a white woman. The fictional story takes place in the town of Maycomb, Alabama, and is told through the innocent perspective of Finch's tomboy daughter, Scout.

This classic novel hits on a few important topics, such as parenting and racism in America.

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Classic: '1984' by George Orwell

George Orwell wrote this anticommunist novel in 1948 to predict what 1984 would look like in London. His prediction? A totalitarian state where "Big Brother," the government, was always watching you and telling you what to think and believe.

Some of his predictions came true, like cameras being everywhere and our bodies being scanned for weapons.

This book is a must-read because it's a cautionary tale of what happens when the government is given too much control over the people and their lives.

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Pop culture: 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' by J.K. Rowling

If you haven't read "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," or the following six books in the series, you should run to the bookstore immediately.

This beloved tale follows a young boy who finds out that he's a wizard on his 11th birthday and is whisked off to a wizarding school called Hogwarts to begin his training.

These books were so universally loved and praised that they spawned a multibillion-dollar film franchise, a theme park in Orlando, Florida, and a spin-off series based on a Rowling book, "Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them," which will be released later this year.

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You know what boat shoes are. They're inescapable in the summer across America, from cities to college campuses and everywhere in between.

The soft leather moccasin-toed loafer-style shoe has made an indelible mark on American style, whether you like them or not. It seems hard to believe, but it wasn't always this way. There was a time when boat shoes hadn't taken over the feet of young men like an invasive species.

Like their name implies, boat shoes were first created for sailors. As the story goes, a man named Paul Sperry had a problem, a Sperry spokesman told to The Huffington Post. His leather shoes would slip while he was on the deck of a ship.

But he noticed that his dog, Prince, had no issue climbing up slippery icy cliffs. After closer inspection, he noticed tiny grooves in the paws. To mimic this on a shoe, Sperry used a penknife to cut the bottom of a rubber outsole shoe to provide additional traction.

What Sperry didn't know is that this process was already invented, just not applied to sailor shoes. It's called Siping, after John Sipe. It was patented in 1923 with competing claims as to why — some say he worked in a slippery slaughterhouse, some say he was a sailor tired of slipping on wet decks.

The first of Sperry's shoes, introduced in 1935, had black soles, which left black skid-marks all over the boats they were worn on, according to Gentleman's Gazette. To combat this problem, he used white rubber soles and the boat shoe as we know it was born.

But still, it was some time before boat shoes reached mass popularity. Sperry scored a contract from the US Navy to make Top-Siders for sailors. Years later, Sperry sold his shoe company to US Rubber. It then passed hands again, to Stride Rite, in 1979.

It took until the 1980s for the shoe to reach trendy status when they were featured in the influential "The Official Preppy Handbook," says HuffPo. From there, the shoe's popularity exploded. The brand is a subsidiary of American footwear manufacturer Wolverine Worldwide.

The shoe has become a staple, emblematic of East Coast preppy style in the summer. There's nothing wrong with wearing the default, but don't expect to stand out. If you'd like to branch out, then try some other options that look similar.

SEE ALSO: 7 things no man should ever wear in the summer — and what to wear instead

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It's literally the most boring thing you do every day. And thank goodness — if breathing weren't completely rote, we'd all be dead.

But if you're like me, your inhales and exhales seem to be inexplicably linked with your state of mind. When I'm stressed, I steal antsy, shallow sips of air and puff them out quickly. When I'm relaxed, on the other hand, I breathe in gently and deeply, before letting go of the air slowly.

Studies suggest that I'm not the only one who's noticed a link between their emotional state and their breathing.

While rapid breathing can often be a symptom of stress or anxiety, research shows that taking control of our breathing can also influence how we feel. Consciously taking deep, slow breaths, for example, may calm us down by convincing our minds that we're already in a state of relaxation, Dr. Martin Paulus, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego professor, writes in a 2013 manuscript in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

Unfortunately, many of us are used to breathing in a way that tends to be bad for us.

"For many of us, deep breathing seems unnatural. There are several reasons for this. For one, body image has a negative impact on respiration in our culture. A flat stomach is considered attractive, so women (and men) tend to hold in their stomach muscles. This interferes with deep breathing and gradually makes shallow 'chest breathing' seem normal," write the folks at the Harvard Medical School in a recent blog post. These quick inhalations and exhalations can actually make us feel more tense.

But there are plenty of ways to change this pattern — and plenty of research that supports doing so too.

A 2012 randomized controlled study of 46 male and female musicians who were briefly trained in deep breathing and biofeedback suggested that a single 30-minute session of slow breathing (with or without the biofeedback component) helped reduce symptoms of anxiety before a performance, particularly in musicians who said they tended to get very anxious.

The benefits may extend to people with more severe anxiety as well. The authors of a small 2014 study of male veterans with PTSD found that those who did three hours each day of a breathing-based meditation program for a week experienced a decrease in PTSD symptoms and anxiety.

If you've never tried deep breathing before, Harvard has some tips for giving it a shot. First, find a quiet, comfortable place to sit or lie down. Then, inhale slowly through your nose, letting your chest and lower stomach expand. Finally, exhale slowly through your mouth or nose. It also can be helpful to count while you're breathing as a way of helping to even out your inhales and exhales.

SEE ALSO: There's a surprisingly simple way meditation appears to change the brain

READ NEXT: I've been on antidepressants for a decade — here's what everyone gets wrong about them

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It's high summer in New York City, and that means the city feels like the inside of a steam room.

But New Yorkers are no strangers to dealing with summer heat and humidity — look no further than this collection of vintage photos of Brooklyn taken in the summer of 1974.

Photographer Danny Lyon spent two months snapping pictures of the daily life in the borough — exploring Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Fort Green, and Park Slope among other neighborhoods. Here's a glimpse at what he saw.

Two girls pose in front of graffiti in Lynch Park, Brooklyn.

Manhattan Bridge Tower in Brooklyn, framed through nearby buildings.

Apartment house across from Fort Green Park in Brooklyn.

When Dain Yoon begins her next work of art, she's locking in for upwards of 12 hours of painting on her own face and body. 

The Korean artist, who refers to herself as a "visual illusion artist," is rapidly gaining fame for her Instagram photos and videos, which are at once confusing, trippy, and altogether very cool. At last count, Yoon had 72.7k Instagram followers.

Yoon uses her face and hands to create optical illusions. At first glance, she'll appear to have three hands or 10 eyes, but it's all the work of some masterful painting and a lot of time and patience. 

Here's how Yoon creates her artwork:

SEE ALSO: The creator of Pokémon Go is only a level 5

Yoon tells Business Insider via email that she's been a painter since she was young and trained at Yewon Arts University in South Korea.

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She finds inspiration for her work through everyday people, objects, and events.

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Her drawings can take anywhere from three to 12 hours. This piece, titled "Part of me" took longer, since Yoon painted the background and the teapot, as well as herself.

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Say goodbye to immediately overripe bananas and moldy berries; these tips will help you keep food fresh for longer and stop wasting groceries. 

Produced by Jacqui Frank. Additional camera by Emmanuel Ocbazghi.

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Becoming a master at grilling steak is easier said than done. Sometimes the steak ends up too rare or, even worse, terribly overcooked.

But if you're looking to truly impress guests at your next backyard barbecue, you'll want to try these steps to the perfect steak, courtesy of chef Wade Wiestling of Mastro's Steakhouse.

SEE ALSO: The best steakhouse in every state

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1. Choose your meat.

Wiestling recommends a juicy rib eye because "it's extremely tender and fatty and extremely flavorful."

Specifically, Wiestling suggests selecting the spinalis cap of the rib eye, which is typically known as the most tender piece of meat on the cow.

2. Pour a glass of wine.

"When I'm cooking steak, that's the only thing I'm doing," Wiestling told Business Insider.

He said properly grilling steak requires your complete attention. Wiestling recommends tossing a salad or baking a potato after the steak is done cooking instead of attempting to multitask.

"There's no need to walk away," he said. "That's why I pour a glass of wine ahead of time."

3. Unwrap the steak and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.

Wiestling says the key to making great steak is to let it come to room temperature before you cook it.

"If you throw an ice-cold slab of beef on the grill, your chances of getting it cooked to the perfect temperature are going to be more difficult," he said. "You may not get that nice char on it."

When the steak adjusts to room temperature, the meat relaxes and the fats soften up. This brings the steak to its prime grilling state.

Thanks to its bustling streets and landmarks, New York City has been a favorite filming location for years. 

From Katz's Delicatessen, which was made famous when Meg Ryan pretended to have an orgasm there in "When Harry Met Sally," to the upscale 21 Club, which is where Michael Douglas recommended the steak tartare in "Wall Street," here are 25 iconic filming locations in New York City.

SEE ALSO: The best way to do a walking tour of New York City

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The argument for not washing your jeans has traditionally been about making your denim last longer — hot water and detergent can speed up how quickly your jeans fade.

Levi's CEO Chip Bergh says we should stop washing our jeans because it's good for the environment since it saves water and energy.

"If you talk to real denim aficionados, they tell you don't wash your blue jeans," Bergh said in a 2014 interview at Fortune magazine's Brainstorm Green conference.

This advice may seem cringeworthy. But apart from smelling, microbiologists say there is nothing to worry about from a health perspective if you never wash your jeans.

Is not washing your jeans safe?

There is no evidence that not washing jeans is hazardous to your health, according to Bernhard Redl, an associate professor in the molecular biology department at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. This generally holds true when your denim is worn under normal conditions, such as everyday street wear.

Bacteria, skin cells, and sweat are transferred to our pants from our own body but "skin microorganisms are generally not hazardous to ourselves," said Rachel McQueen, a professor of human ecology at the University of Alberta in Canada. McQueen's research focuses on the development and retention of odors in textiles.

"There are environments where having sterile clothing is important," McQueen said. That would be true in a hospital, for example, where clothing can transfer infections. However, "sanitizing your hands is going to be a more important issue here than washing your jeans," she said.

A few years ago, one of McQueen's students wore his jeans for 15 months straight without a single wash and then tested the level of bacteria on them. The student-teacher team was surprised to find that the unwashed jeans carried nearly the same amount of bacteria as those same pants after they had been washed and then worn for another 13 days.

"What I found was just normal skin flora," McQueen told The National Post in 2011. "The counts were really, really similar. The bacteria load from the swabbed areas were pretty much the same."

The freezing myth

Although not washing your jeans doesn't seem to pose any health risks, the smell could become a problem. Denim-heads have suggested freezing your jeans as a way to kill bacteria and the stench, although there is no scientific proof that this method is effective.

"It is clear that freezing does not kill most of the bacteria," said Redl, "but puts them in a dormant state." Bacteria stops growing in the freezer, but will become active again once you slip your pants back on and those germs are warmed up by the heat of your body.

"I think airing your jeans outdoors in the sunlight would be a more effective method of getting rid of odors and a lot of bacteria," said McQueen.

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When NBA MVP Steph Curry debuted his new Curry 2 Low "Chef Curry" shoes in June, the internet threw up their hands in an uproar.

The general takeaway from the criticism is that the shoes were boring, with many commenters complaining that the shoes looked like something a grandfather might wear. This is especially apparent when compared to some of the flashier basketball sneakers usually seen on the court.

As we said at the time, the shoes are supposed to be boring. That's really what people want, according to Under Armour's vice president for sports marketing and sponsorships, Ryan Kuehl.

"Quite frankly, we want to make stuff people will wear," Kuehl told Business Insider, explaining that Under Armour believes that consumers will generally choose blue, black, gray, or white clothing over another color like green or purple, if they have a choice.

Under Armour's coup in signing Steph Curry was huge, a deal that could be worth up to $14 billion when all is said and done, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Jay Sole. The brand wasn't about to blow it all by designing something fanciful and outlandish. 

And they didn't. The shoe completely sold out as of July 20th, according to USA Today. Under Armour's net revenue from footwear for the second quarter grew 58% year over year, lead by the Steph Curry line.

The Chefs themselves accounted for 5% of the sales of the Curry 2 line, according to a note by Canaccord Genuity to investors. Not bad for a shoe that was released on June 11th, a mere 19 days before the close of the quarter. 

"In our channel checks and discussions with industry contacts, the Chef shoe has actually sold better than some of its predecessor color [styles], likely due to all the attention paid to it," Canaccord Genuity analyst Camilo Lyon stated in the note.

Under Armour is starting off Curry's sneakers with designs that are relatively safe, just as Nike began Michael Jordan's star-powered collaboration with a simple black and red shoe that matched his Chicago Bulls uniform. That original design would, at least today, likely be considered safe or boring. But the shoe was actually an enormous hit, and the Jordan brand has since matured beyond it to create some of the most interesting designs on the market today, which are highly collectible and coveted.

The Curry 2 line seems to be on that same trajectory.

SEE ALSO: Retail CEO reveals a common mistake about consumers that is killing Sears, Macy's, and JCPenney

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NOW WATCH: LEBRON VS. CURRY: Here’s how the NBA’s biggest superstars match up

We're eating too much sugar.

Americans consume 30% more sugar every day than we did three decades ago, according to the Obesity Society.

So where's it all coming from?

Turns out it's often hiding in the foods that we'd least expect — from burgers and barbecue to sandwiches and other seemingly healthy options.

So how well do you know your food? Guess which of the following options has the most sugar:

UP NEXT: 17 'healthy habits' you're better off giving up

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WHICH HAS MORE SUGAR: A Chipotle salad with veggie sofritas and guacamole or a Shake Shack SmokeShack burger?

ANSWER: The Chipotle salad.

Chipotle salad with sofritas and guac:

Total grams of sugar: 26.5

Percent of recommended daily intake: 106%

SmokeShack burger:

Total grams of sugar: 11

Percent of recommended daily intake: 44%

WHICH HAS MORE SUGAR: A 16-ounce Jamba Juice "Orange Dream Machine" smoothie or a 16-ounce Starbucks nonfat white chocolate mocha with no whipped cream?

With the rise of Airbnb and other home rental companies, evidence has shown that vacationers are increasingly opting to stay in private homes instead of hotels. 

And it's a trend that's ripe to continue: vacation rentals offer things that hotels can't always provide, like additional privacy, more space per person, and amenities such as kitchens and washing machines. They also are often less expensive than their hotel counterparts, and can make guests feel like they are having a more authentic experience, living more as the locals do. 

Compiled by HomeToGo — a vacation rental search engine that aggregates results from sites like HomeAway, VRBO, and TripAdvisor — this list of luxury rental homes around the world features jaw-dropping villas, stylish penthouses, and five-star amenities. They will make you want to head off immediately to experience their offerings for yourself, but be warned: once you arrive, you may want to move in permanently. 

Note: Prices per night are accurate as of the date of publication and are subject to minor fluctuation. See the attached links for the most recent price information. 

SEE ALSO: 17 of the best under-the-radar islands in Europe

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Just south of Valencia on the eastern coast of Spain, Casa Paris sleeps 10 guests within walking distance of the ocean. The 6,000-square-foot house includes a living room, dining room, full kitchen, laundry room, sauna and gym, while the outdoor property features a large heated pool and pool house, manicured gardens, and a barbecue area. Supermarkets and restaurants are less than a mile away, making local living easy.

Price per night: $1,603

Find more information here »

Brione Sopra Miniusio in Locarno, Switzerland, accommodates four guests in loft-villa style with sweeping views of the lake, mountains, countryside, and nearby city. The modern interior offers all of the latest amenities, while the surrounding property features terraced gardens and an above-ground pool. In close proximity to hiking trails, golf, lake activities, and well-known ski resorts, this home is perfect for enjoying Switzerland at any time of year.

 Price per night: $287

Find more information here »

This luxurious villa in Split, Croatia, boasts room for 10 people split among five bedrooms. Just steps from the sea with its own pool and boat access, it features a library, full kitchen, furnished terraces, sauna, and fitness room. If that isn't enough, guests also have easy access to tennis, golf, and hiking nearby.

Price per night: $1,731

Find more information here »