For many of us, a home is the biggest investment we'll ever make — yet most Americans are clueless about their home's value, including the things that can ruin it.

From unappealing renovations to an unfortunately placed sinkhole, numerous factors can devalue your greatest investment.

We've rounded up 13 threats that could dampen your home's value.

Kathleen Elkins contributed to a previous version of this story.

SEE ALSO: The No. 1 sign you can't afford to buy a home

DON'T MISS: 9 signs you can afford to buy a home — even if it doesn't feel like it

Sinkhole damage

While there's insurance coverage specifically for sinkhole damage in case your property is hit by one, they still hurt property values.

"It definitely stigmatizes the property," Rob Arnold, a Florida real-estate investor and realtor who has bought and sold more than 30 sinkhole properties in the last five years, told CF13 News. He tells owners of damaged homes to knock 30% off their asking price, plus the cost of any repairs.

City dumps and power plants

When researchers looked at five municipal landfills near residential property in Cleveland, Ohio, they found the stench was enough to drag down property values by 5.5% to 7.3%. Landfills are most hurtful in populated, expensive, residential areas. The effect was basically nonexistent in sparse, rural areas.

Likewise, the University of California at Berkeley found that homes within 2 miles of a power plant drop 3% to 7% in value.

Hoarders or messy neighbors

If your neighbors' homes and yards look sloppy, home shoppers tend to put a lower value on your home.

A nearby property's overgrown yard, peeling paint, and clutter can easily knock 5% to 10% off the sale price of your home, Joe Magdziarz, president of the Appraisal Institute and a real-estate appraiser with 40 years of experience, told MSN Money.

Hitching a ride from a complete stranger doesn't have to be scary or terrible.

In fact, if you know some of the unwritten rules of ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft, you can all but guarantee a pleasant journey.

To find out just what passengers can do to ensure they have the best ride-sharing experience, we asked Uber and Lyft drivers to weigh in with their advice.

Here are 11 things that could help make your next Uber or Lyft ride easier and more enjoyable:

SEE ALSO: Uber and Lyft drivers share the 17 things they wish passengers would stop doing

DON'T MISS: Flight attendants share 11 of their favorite travel hacks

Make pickups easier

"Don't trust your phone to drop your pin in the right place. Always double check before requesting the ride."

—Uber driver

Have a more festive ride

"Use the app to play your own music. We want you to enjoy your ride."

—Uber driver

Relax

"Just sit back and trust your driver. The map knows where we're going."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Cuba's Fidel Castro, one of the most controversial world leaders of modern times, died on Friday at 90 years old.

The Communist dictator became a revolutionary hero to millions and an evil despot to millions others, especially those Cuban exiles who left their home, families, and possessions for freedom in other countries.

Castro became a force in the world by spreading Communism, ending Cuba's relationship with the US, and once nearly brought the world to nuclear war.

How did such a man rise to prominence and rule Cuba for five decades? 

Take a look at the life and rise of Fidel Castro:

SEE ALSO: Cuban-Americans have taken to the streets of Miami to celebrate the death of Fidel Castro

DON'T MISS: Obama on Fidel Castro’s death: 'History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure'

Fidel Castro was born on August 13, 1926 or 1927 (the exact year is in contention) to a Spanish father, plantation owner Angel Castro, and his maid and future wife, Lina Ruz González. They had seven children together. Fidel was sent away to study with the Jesuits at the Colegio de Dolores in Santiago de Cuba and later to the Colegio de Belén, an exclusive Jesuit high school in Havana.

Sources: New York Times, Miami Herald

In the late-1940s, Fidel Castro attended law school and became obsessed with Cuban politics. He began taking part in violent, often deadly, rioting and demonstrations.

Source: Miami Herald

In 1950, Fidel Castro ran for a seat in Cuba's congress. The election was canceled when Fulgencio Batista overthrew the government. An angry Castro declared personal war on Batista and began recruiting soldiers for a rebel army.

Source: Miami Herald

With the retirement of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, the NBA has a new highest-paid player for the first time in several years and it is a deserving one: LeBron James.

LeBron is in his 14th season, and after two years of one-year contracts in his return to the Cavs, he finally started to cash-in big time.

At age 31, James is now the NBA's highest-paid player. But thanks to a skyrocketing salary cap, several of the NBA's young stars are not far behind.

Here are this season's 25 highest-paid players in the NBA and how their contracts break down, with data provided by Spotrac.

22t. Brook Lopez — $21.2 million

Team: Brooklyn Nets

Position: Center

Contract: 3 years, $63.5 million

One thing to know: Lopez's contract includes protection for the Nets in case Lopez's foot injuries keep him out of action again. He can become a free agent in 2018.

22t. DeAndre Jordan — $21.2 million

Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Position: Center

Contract: 4 years, $87.6 million (Jordan can opt out of the final year of the contract in 2018)

One thing to know: Jordan was involved in what may go down as the craziest free-agency signing in NBA history. He went from signing with the Mavs to re-signing with the Clippers in a span of 12 hours, all while an emoji war erupted. He may get a chance to do it all over again in the summer of 2018.

22t. Marc Gasol — $21.2 million

Team: Memphis Grizzlies

Position: Center

Contract: 5 years, $113.2 million (Gasol can opt out of the final year of the contract in 2019)

One thing to know: The premier free-agent big man in the summer of 2015, Gasol chose to remain with the Grizzlies and won't be a free agent again until 2019 at the earliest.

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and you may be thinking about taking some time off.

But perhaps you've already used up all your days. Or maybe you're trying to plan a very long vacation to avoid losing any of your paid time off.

As it turns out, employees at some companies rarely find themselves in these predicaments because they're afforded ample vacation time, or their unused days roll over to the next calendar year.

To find which companies have some of the best vacation and paid time off (PTO) policies, Glassdoor did some digging.

Using thousands of reviews shared by employees, the careers website just released a new list of the 25 Highest Rated Companies for Vacation and Paid Time Off.

Below are the top 18. Click here to see the complete list.

SEE ALSO: 26 high-paying jobs for people who don't like stress

18. Intel

An innovator in cloud computing, data, Internet of Things, and PC solutions, this Santa Clara, California, tech company offers more than just its well-known processors.

Vacation and paid time off rating: 4.3/5

Company rating: 3.7/5

Intel employees report receiving 3-4 weeks of vacation each year. Employees say the company's "paid sabbatical program is great"— the program can allow workers to take four weeks of paid time off every four years or eight weeks every seven years.

17. Federal Express

Based out of Memphis, Tennessee, Fedex is a major global transportation provider, delivering over 3.5 million packages daily to over 220 countries.

Vacation and paid time off rating: 4.3/5

Company rating: 3.7/5

Paid vacation days can add up for employees at FedEx, who say the company is "very generous with their paid time off." Employees say they start with two weeks of PTO, which goes to three weeks after the first five years, and four weeks after 10 years.

16. Nokia

Nokia is a global communications and information technology company based in Nokia, Finland, with offices worldwide.

Vacation and paid time off rating: 4.3/5

Company rating: 3.7/5

Nokia employees say they get a "generous amount of time off." After several years on the job, employees report they can accrue up to four weeks of vacation time per year, in addition to sick days and holidays.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

Home security has been a hot spot for gadgets even before the internet shook the industry up a decade or so ago. The market is flooded with all sorts of high-tech solutions to help keep you and your loved ones safe. 

The products on this list will help monitor your home when you're not around, and notify you instantly if something seems out of the ordinary. A majority of them are "smart" versions of products most people have as a part of their house, like a doorbell, garage door, or deadbolted lock.

Not only will these products give you data to help keep your place more secure on their own, but they'll lower risks associated with typical problems, like how to securely let someone into your home.

Like I said, the market is flooded with home security products, and these are some of the best. 

SEE ALSO: 8 tech gadgets that pay for themselves over time

DON'T MISS: These are the 4 best sound bars you can buy

August Smart Lock

August's Smart Lock will make your home more secure, not by being a superior lock, but by having features that cut down on unsafe habits.

The August replaces the deadbolt side of your lock, letting you lock and unlock your door using an app, or, if you're an iOS user, through Siri. Because it only hooks onto one side of your lock, it's not going to do much good if a thief picks the other end, but it does have three features that can make your place more secure:

The first is that you can create virtual guest keys, giving certain people access to house on a multi-day, multi-hour, or time-of-day basis. This means you won't have to leave your key under a mat, rock, or other location where it can be found by would-be intruders. The second is that the lock makes a smart geofence around your house, so if you leave in a hurry and can't remember whether or not you locked the door, you don't have to worry, it's automatically locked. Finally, through the August app, you have a list of who entered your house at what time, so if something sketchy happens, you know who to ask first.

Reviews of this lock are pretty positive, Amazon reviewers praised its easy setup and reliability, with the main complaints being its voice activation features being iOS only.

August Smart Lock, $229, available at Amazon.

Vimtag P1

I'm currently testing this camera, and my full thoughts will be on Insider Picks soon, but my interest was piqued because, in a crowded space, Vimtag seems to have made a product that people like, and has all the features I want.

The camera itself is capable of 960p HD footage with a night-vision mode, detecting motion, saving footage to an SD card, and letting me monitor my home through the cloud. That's a tall order, and a far cry from black and white security cameras saving crummy-looking video to a VHS tape.

The only major downside to this camera appears to be its built-in app, which is mentioned in reviews on Amazon and has a low rating on the iOS App Store. Most people who didn't run into software trouble find the P1's picture quality excellent, and other features working as advertised.

Vimtag PI Security Camera, $129.95, available on Amazon.

Ring Video Doorbell

Like the August Lock, the Ring Doorbell is taking a previously "dumb" part of your home, and making it smarter and more secure.

During setup you have two options; you can hard wire the Ring into your home, or have it run on battery power. If you already have a powered doorbell, it would probably be wiser to hard wire the Ring in so you don't have to worry about having to disassemble and charge it every few weeks.

The built-in camera automatically detects motion and can send you a notification when those sensors are triggered. Some reviewers have complained that these sensors are a little too sensitive, and only the Ring Pro model gives you granular controls over a zone's size. 

Like the August Lock, the Ring Doorbell connects to your home WiFi network, and has an accompanying app. The video taken from the doorbell's camera can be viewed live through the Ring app, or stored in the cloud. Keep in mind Ring's cloud service comes with an additional cost. 

Ring Video Doorbell, $199, available at Amazon.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) report titled "Worldwide Cost of Living," gives an eye-opening ranking about how expensive or cheap it is to live in the world.

After analysing a wide-range of data — from food and fuel costs to salaries — the EIU put together a ranking of the most expensive and cheapest cities in the world to live in.

The list includes 133 countries, and naturally some of the world's key financial hubs, like London and New York City, ranked near the top the list.

But on the flipside, there were a host of cities from only a selection of regions that trailed right at the bottom of where in the world it is the cheapest to live.

Here are the eight cheapest cities to live in around the world:

8. New Delhi, India — It may be the most expensive city in India to live in, but it actually ranks in the top 8 cheapest places in the world to live in because of the cost of food and utilities relative to salaries.

T=4. Karachi, Pakistan — Food, transportation, and entertainment are relatively cheap. Housing is also very cheap, partly because of high crime rates.

T=4. Chennai, India — The city has a burgeoning metropolitan area, but around 30% of the city's population live in slums.

How do you persuade a venture capitalist to give you money? 

Traditionally, startup founders prepare a deck of slides and make a formal presentation to a VC fund in the hopes of getting an investment. But it turns out that "the pitch" and "the deck" are only a small part of what VCs really think about before they decide to write someone a cheque for thousands or millions of pounds. They are often more concerned with how "intense" you are about the problem you're trying to solve, whether you've got a good story to tell ... and whether you're a jerk or not. 

At Web Summit in Lisbon this year, Business Insider hosted a panel discussion on this topic with Fred Destin, Payal Kadakia Pujji, and Sarah Leary. Fred is a general partner at Accel, and has been investing in tech startups for seven years. He has backed Deliveroo, Pillpack, and Zoopla among dozens of others. Payal is the founder of ClassPass. She has taken $84 million from five rounds of VC investment and 29 different funders. Her company is valued at $400 million. And Sarah is the founder of Nextdoor and a former associate at Greylock. She has taken $210 million from four rounds of investment and 19 different funders. Her company is valued at $1.1 billion.

Here is the advice they gave us on persuading VCs to part with money:

Jim: We’re here to talk about what makes a really good pitch, and I’m going to start with you Fred because you have almost certainly heard many more pitches than maybe anyone in this room. Very briefly - what makes a good pitch?

Fred: You have 15 minutes at the beginning to grab the attention, and to raise the pulse, and to make your audience, or your VCs, care. And I think if you don’t excite me, scare me, grab me in the first 15 minutes, you’re probably unlikely to raise my level of attention after that. And then it’s all about building credibility and trust and sort of getting to a point where I feel I want to write you a cheque. But I think the primary thing about the pitch is doing something that’s big enough, interesting enough, important enough, and with enough intensity that I’m leaning forward and I’m wanting to back you.

Jim: Why do you want to be scared by a founder though? You’re giving these people money, why do you want them to frighten you?

Fred: I honestly like founders with a bit of an edge, and I want people where I’m thinking - wow, I’m not sure I wanna bet against that guy or that lady, because they scare me a little. And most of the people I’ve backed, like Will Shu at Deliveroo or Alex Chesterman at Zoopla, they have that edge, and they are people you just do not want to be in competition against.

 Next: "Don’t show me slides!"↓↓↓

"One of the most important things is to have a story. Without a story, people aren’t going to connect to what you’re telling"

Jim: Payal - does this sound familiar?

Payal: Absolutely, I think one of the most important things is to have a story. Without a story, people aren’t going to connect to what you’re telling, what you have a pain point about. It’s so important for them to know why you’ve created the company, without that connection to the broader vision that you have - why are you going to do it? What are you going to accomplish?

Jim: Literally a story? Like a really good narrative?

Payal: Yeah, I mean look - you can have slides. One of my favourite investors that I met, I literally sat down and he goes: “don’t show me slides, just tell me what you’re building, give me the high-level metrics,” and I spoke from my heart, I told him the story of my company, and it was the most magnificent investor, ended up becoming my series A investor, because it was a genuine, authentic story that I told him.

"Do I wanna bet on you, do I wanna bet on the team?"

Jim: OK, Sarah this thing about passion, this keeps coming up. It sounds like a meaningless corporate buzzword, is it real?

Sarah: Without a doubt...

Jim: Some companies are just solving problems aren’t they?

Sarah: I think it’s absolutely important to identify a real pain point and a solution that you can bring to the market. Make sure that it’s a big market that you’re going after, that always helps, and why you’re gonna win. But I think one of the things that happens is - people are trying to understand "do I wanna bet on you, do I wanna bet on the team?" And I think that’s where the passion comes in, because the reality is - in a lot of cases, and I’m sure there’s some examples here - an investor sometimes will bet on a team and an idea, but the idea ends up changing and they’re still invested in the team. And they need to feel like, is this team going to be able to manage the ups and downs, twists and turns? If it doesn’t work out, are they going to have the “stick-to-it-iveness” to pivot it into something else? And I think you could go through almost every major win, in terms of companies, and there has been a major turning point where betting on a team and its passion has lead the investor to be in a situation where they’ve come out the other end with a great outcome.

"People who invest in models over teams are dumb"

Jim: Is this true Fred? Do you buy the management, not the model?

Fred: So, people who invest in models over teams are dumb. You know there are people that say: “great market, B team,” I’ll work on the team. It’s idiotic. Because we know those stories. I absolutely think, by the way, the narrative is core. If you think about TJ Parker at Pillpack - if TJ had come into my office and said: “I’m building an online pharmacy,” it would have been a short conversation. But he comes in and he says: “I’m helping people with complex conditions live better, I’m giving them back their lives because they don’t have to do pill boxes ... I’m making sure they medicate properly, and I’m all about life, I’m all about enjoying life, my mission is to help people live better lives through better pharmacy,” that to me is a narrative that I can relate to because I am thinking: “I can hire people against that narrative, I can build partnerships against that narrative, I can market against that narrative - and, it’s imbued with a sense of purpose.” And sense of purpose is what carries you through the dark days, because every company has dark days when you think all is lost. If you’re not frickin' passionate about what it is you’re building, you will die through these times.

Jim: OK, so not buying the correct management is a VC mistake. In terms of pitching - Payal, what mistakes have you seen companies make, or what mistakes have you seen in pitch decks?

Payal: Yeah I think when I see entrepreneurs, they tend to talk about the market and the industry - which is obviously very important, but the most important thing is you’re product. What are you selling? And does it really have product-market fit? And if you can convince me …

Jim: Are VCs specifically asking that in the pitch? “What is the product-market fit” - you have to have a good answer for that?

Payal: You need to be able to show through metrics that something’s working. I think early on it goes back to having the story and why they’re investing in you. But once you have the story and you’re starting to make progress - they want to make sure they see you and the metrics are making progress. One of my favourite articles that I read told me - people invest in lines, not dots.

If there's one thing Uber knows, it's where people are going.

Because of that, when it comes to judging New York's City most popular restaurants, the ride-hailing company is ignoring all of the "best of" lists and critics reviews and evaluating the restaurants strictly on the data it knows: the number of drop-offs at the restaurant.

The company recently unveiled its analysis of a year's worth of drop-offs in the city to see which restaurants had the most dropoffs from November 1, 2015 to October 1, 2016.

Here are the top 9 most popular restaurants in New York City, according to Uber's data:

SEE ALSO: This is what it's like to buy Snapchat's new Spectacles glasses

9. Nobu Fifty Seven

Cuisine: Japanese

Website:http://noburestaurants.com/fifty-seven/

Address: 40 W 57th St

8. ACME

Cuisine: American

Website:http://acmenyc.com/

Address: 9 Great Jones St

7. ABC Kitchen

Cuisine: American

Website:http://www.abckitchennyc.com/

Address: 35 E 18th St

Radiology has always been an area at the cutting edge of digitization. 

From virtual reality to machine learning, there are ways to apply some of the biggest concepts in technology right now to what's happening in the medical field.

We'll be at the Radiological Society of North America's conference in Chicago for the next few days, checking out all the cutting-edge technology coming on the scene. 

Here are some of the innovations and trends we're looking forward to seeing in action. 

SEE ALSO: As healthcare costs rise and patients demand better care, hospitals turn to new technologies

Virtual reality could help us get a better look at fetuses.

In the near future, we might be using a virtual reality headset to see a developing fetus instead of the traditional ultrasound. 

The technology, still experimental, has been used on 30 pregnancies in Brazil. The 3D image is compiled using both MRI and ultrasound technology then uses an Oculus Rift 2 to get an even clearer picture of what's happening. With the model, researchers can see the exterior of the fetus, along with inside the respiratory tract so that doctors could ideally see abnormalities.

"The 3D fetal models combined with virtual reality immersive technologies may improve our understanding of fetal anatomical characteristics and can be used for educational purposes and as a method for parents to visualize their unborn baby," study author Dr. Heron Werner Jr. said in a release. 

The technology, while novel, might also be too expensive for use in every pregnancy compared to traditional ultrasound. 

3D printing is helping researchers better understand how Zika affects baby's brains.

We're still learning about the effects the Zika virus has on the brain, especially in babies who contract the virus before birth. And imaging is integral to increasing that understanding and improving treatments. In new studies being presented at the RSNA conference, researchers used CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, and 3-D modeling to get a better picture. 

Thanks to these technologies, the researchers were able to figure out a few key things, including more evidence that Zika can cause brain damage in babies with and without microcephaly, something that other studies have been able to show as well.

Machine learning could help dermatologists better screen for cancer.

Beyond putting together better images, researchers are also trying to figure out if there's a way we could analyze these images in a smarter way, with the help of machine learning.

One area where that's being explored is in skin cancer. One study released by IBM suggested that the company's computer could better identify melanoma than dermatologists, but we'll have to wait and see more validation before deciding the extent to which machine learning could help with skin cancer screening.

It easy to see why the Nissan Rogue has such steadfast success.

The Rogue, which has had three years of sales growth since 2014, is anticipated to becomes Nissan's top-selling vehicle. As a fairly loyalist Subaru driver, I decided to take the revamped 2017 model for a spin and see what all the fuss was about.

The 2017 Nissan Rogue feels luxurious while still acting as a comfortable, easy-to-drive crossover. Scroll down for a closer look:

SEE ALSO: Subaru's 2017 Forester is still one of the best crossover SUVs you can buy

I will be the first to admit that it's difficult for me to fall in love with a crossover SUV outside Subaru. Considering the Forester was my very first car, I've somewhat succumbed to the cult following that if you're looking for an affordable crossover, that's the way to go.

But there's plenty to be excited about with the 2017 Nissan Rogue. Starting at a base price of $23,820, I took a spin in the SL Premium model that costs $31,310, which I consider reasonable considering all of the perks it comes with.

For those familiar with the Rogue, the 2017 model comes with a revamped front fascia that includes integrated fog lamps with the bumper. It's a powerful look without being ostentatious.

In his first address since his victory speech — a two-and-a-half minute YouTube video posted November 21 — President-elect Donald Trump dove right into the issue of trade.

On his first day in office, Trump said, he plans to “issue a notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a disaster for our country.”

Free trade teals like the TPP and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) played a prominent role in Trump’s campaign message. Though the TPP is not yet in effect, Trump has consistently blamed NAFTA and other trade deals for shipping too many jobs overseas and hurting the US economy.

Although there is broad support for increasing US manufacturing power overall, goods made in the US are inevitably more expensive than those created in countries where labor is cheaper, such as China, Vietnam, and Mexico. If the production of popular items like iPhones and sneakers were done domestically rather than abroad, their prices would increase considerably.

Here’s what five of your favorite products would cost if they were American-made.

iPhones

During his campaign, Trump suggested that his administration could potentially get Apple to build their computers and devices in the US instead of other countries. Nikkei Asian Review reported last week that Apple assembler Foxconn has actually been studying the possibility of moving iPhone production to the US. But a source told Nikkei that the cost of an iPhone would “more than double” if that were to happen.

An evaluation by Marketplace looked into the hypothetical cost of an American-made iPhone, and came up with a similar estimate. If all the components were made in the US, they suggest, that could push the cost up to $600, which would mean the phone could retail for as much as $2000.

According to a different analysis published in the MIT Technology Review, if iPhone assembly were done in the US but the components were still sourced globally, the cost of making phones (currently estimated at about $230) would rise about 5%. However, if the components were made in the US (with raw materials bought on the global market), that would add an additional $30 or $40 to the cost of making the device, an increase that would then be reflected in retail markups.

Dan Panzica, chief analyst at IHS Markit Technology’s Outsourced Manufacturing Intelligence Service, suggests these estimates all overlook a bigger problem.

“The thing that people miss regarding bringing something that's a high-volume product like any phone to the US is, Where are you going to get the people?” he says. Panzica, who used to work at Foxconn, estimates that the Chinese workforce required to make the components and assemble the phones totals over 150,000.

“If you take all the people at GE, GM and Ford, it's still 20% less than at the four Foxconn factories,” he says. “What city could support a factory of 60,000 people?”

Plus, Panzica adds, the infrastructure for these types of electronics was never in the US to begin with, so the concept of bringing it back would actually involve building from scratch the entire manufacturing network that has grown in Asia over the last few decades.

“To rebuild that kind of infrastructure in the US will be really really hard,” he says.

Jeans

Panzica suggests that clothing costs could increase even more than that of electronics if they were manufactured in the US. For a device like the iPhone, he says, the majority of the cost is in the materials that go into it. But materials for shirts and pants are cheap — the labor makes up a higher portion of the cost of production.

That’s why apparel companies have shipped manufacturing overseas, he says.

“If you look at labor rates around some of the really cheap areas, Vietnam is like $2.50, and Bangladesh is like $1.80 an hour,” he says. By comparison, IHS’ analysts calculate the labor rate in the US at $25-$30 per hour (a number that takes into account costs beyond an employee’s wages). “So even if there's an hour worth of labor in a blouse or a men's shirt, now you're talking about a $25 buck difference per piece,” he says of the manufacturing cost.

That logic is reflected in “Made in the USA” lines sold by various US clothing companies.

Levi’s “Original fit selvedge jeans” cost around $128. But the selvedge jeans of the same fit from the company’s “Made in the USA” collection, which uses premium denim from Cone Mills of North Carolina, were listed online for $348. (As of writing they’re on sale for $104.90, however.)

JCrew’s Wallace & Barnes raw indigo selvedge jean, which is constructed in the US using denim from Japan’s Nihon Menu mill, are listed at $248. Other raw selvedge pairs for men cost $175.

Televisions

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump said in a statement that the US doesn’t make TVs anymore.

“We’d like to make them. We used to make them. You remember Sylvania, RCA. But those days are gone.” Politifact checked this assertion, and found it to be true. All the electronics that go inside TVs, they reported, come from Asia.

Panzica says that the size and shipping costs of TVs lend themselves to near-shoring, a practice in which a company outsources production to a facility closer to its home country.

“There is quite a bit of television assembly in Mexico,” he says. 

A few companies, however, are at least assembling the components in the US. The biggest and most well known is Element Electronics, whose televisions are sold at stores like Walmart and Target.

Element’s TVs are actually among the cheapest sets on the market, despite the fact that they’re assembled in Winnsboro, South Carolina. A 42-inch, ultra-high-definition smart TV is currently selling for $329 at Target, which is comparable to the price of a similar Westinghouse model ($299, marked down $449). And a 32-inch Element tv costs $129 (marked down from $179), which is not far from popular low-cost Chinese brand TCL’s 32-inch Roku smart TV, which is listed for $169.

In the huge PlayStation 4 game "No Man's Sky," you're a lone traveler exploring an endless universe full of planets, aliens, and billions of stars. Of course, if you want to explore that universe, then you're going to need a ship.

The game just got a massive new update that adds freighters, but it was absolutely rife with spaceships of all types before today.

Here are some of the craziest ones we've found in our travels — in the game and on the internet:

SEE ALSO: The biggest PlayStation 4 game of the year is basically 'Minecraft' in space with 18 quintillion planets

DON'T MISS: Controversial game 'No Man's Sky' is getting its first major update — and it's bringing major changes

The ships range in size from smaller ships — like the one in the background — to gigantic space trucks. That red ship in the foreground is huge!

There are some pretty amazing midsize ships as well. This guy looks straight out of "The Last Starfighter." Look it up, kiddos!

One player on Reddit found this glorious beast in matte black. Gorgeous!

Research about productivity teaches us one clear lesson: Multitasking doesn't work.

So what are busybodies of the 21st century to do? 

According to users on the question-and-answer site Quora, there are a range of daily behaviors people can tweak — even just slightly — to free up lots of extra time during the week.

Get ready to be your most efficient self.

SEE ALSO: 11 habits the most influential people share

Automate as many of your daily tasks as possible, so you can focus on bigger things.

"Let's see what are the things you could automate:

-Don't love going to the grocery store every week? Use Instacart

-Don't love going to the gas station every week? Use FuelPanda (Disclosure: I am a co-founder)

-Don't love cleaning your house every few weeks? Use Handy

-Don't love cooking every day? Try different Food delivery services

-Don't love washing clothes? Use Washio

-Don't love doing small online errands? Use Fancy Hands

-Don't love paying bills? Use Auto pay on your account

-Don't love thinking about what to wear each day? Wear the same type of dress every day

Once you automate everything that you don't love, then the rest is beautiful!"

-Pavan

Follow the "Two-minute rule": If something takes very little time, just get it done.

"If you can do something (like replying to an email, or a house chore) in 2 minutes, do it now. Planning it for later, remembering it, doing it in the future will take 5 minutes or more."

-Marius Ursache

Think of your ability to make good decisions as a limited resource, because that's what it is.

"Don't think that willpower will help you when you get in trouble. Make important decisions in the morning and automate everything possible (delegate, batch etc.). US presidents don't have to choose their menu or suit color every day — otherwise their willpower will be depleted at that late hour when they should push (or not push) the red button)."

-Marius Ursache

"I know one thing," Socrates famously said: "that I know nothing."

This statement is a paradox in itself, demonstrating the complexities of self-referential statements, but it also suggests a crucial insight from one of the founders of Western philosophy: You should question everything you think you know. Indeed, the closer you look, the more you'll start to recognize paradoxes all around you.

We've picked our favorites from Wikipedia's epic list of more than 200 types of paradoxes.

To go anywhere, you must go halfway first, and then you must go half of the remaining distance, and half of the remaining distance, and so forth to infinity: Thus, motion is impossible.

The dichotomy paradox has been attributed to ancient Greek philosopher Zeno, and it was supposedly created as a proof that the universe is singular and that change, including motion, is impossible (as posited by Zeno's teacher, Parmenides).

People have intuitively rejected this paradox for years.

From a mathematical perspective, the solution — formalized in the 19th century — is to accept that one-half plus one-quarter plus one-eighth plus one-sixteenth and so on ... adds up to one. This is similar situation to saying that 0.999... equals 1.

But this theoretical solution doesn't actually answer how an object can reach its destination. The solution to that question is more complex and still murky, relying on 20th-century theories about matter, time, and space not being infinitely divisible.

In any instant, a moving object is indistinguishable from a nonmoving object: Thus motion is impossible.

This is called the arrow paradox, and it's another of Zeno's arguments against motion. The issue here is that in a single instant of time, zero seconds pass, and so zero motion happens. Zeno argued that if time were made up of instants, the fact that motion doesn't happen in any particular instant would mean motion doesn't happen.

As with the dichotomy paradox, the arrow paradox actually hints at modern understandings of quantum mechanics. In his book "Reflections on Relativity," Kevin Brown notes that in the context of special relativity, an object in motion is different from an object at rest. Relativity requires that objects moving at different speeds will appear different to outside observers and will themselves have different perceptions of the world around them.

If you restored a ship by replacing each of its wooden parts, would it remain the same ship?

Another classic from ancient Greece, the Ship of Theseus paradox gets at the contradictions of identity. It was famously described by Plutarch:

The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned from Crete had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, for they took away the old planks as they decayed, putting in new and stronger timber in their places, in so much that this ship became a standing example among the philosophers, for the logical question of things that grow; one side holding that the ship remained the same, and the other contending that it was not the same.

Whether you want to launch an empire or become the best in your field, who better to consult than those who have achieved the peak of professional and financial success?

That's why we've rounded up 25 books by self-made billionaires. From the business insights of Bill Gates to the leadership lessons of Richard Branson, the wisdom collected in these pages extends far beyond the classroom.

Learn how these masters of industry achieved the impossible, in their own words.

SEE ALSO: 16 business books that will change your life forever, according to my coworkers

'The Virgin Way' by Richard Branson

Although Branson confesses he's never read a book on leadership, his nearly 50-year entrepreneurial career has taught him a thing or two about building a business.

In "The Virgin Way," the billionaire founder of Virgin Group offers lessons on management and entrepreneurialism, including the importance of listening to others and hiring the right people. Branson is honest about his successes as well as his failures, such as underestimating Coke's influence when he tried to launch Virgin Cola in the 1990s.

Overall, the book is a compelling glimpse into the life of someone who's never shied away from a challenge.

Find it here »

'Onward' by Howard Schultz

After resigning as Starbucks CEO in 2000, Schultz returned to the post in 2008, just as the company was struggling through a financial crisis. "Onward" details how the billionaire brought the global coffee chain back to life.

Readers will learn how Schultz made tough decisions — like temporarily shutting down more than 7,000 US stores — in order to help Starbucks grow without neglecting its core values.

They'll learn, too, about Schultz as a person, as he weaves together his unique business strategy with anecdotes about growing up in Brooklyn, New York. It's an honest and passionate recounting that will inspire entrepreneurs and everyone else to be brave in the face of adversity.

Find it here »

'How to Win at the Sport of Business' by Mark Cuban

In "How to Win at the Sport of Business," Dallas Mavericks owner and "Shark Tank" investor Cuban fleshes out his best insights on entrepreneurialism from his personal blog.

He writes candidly about how he progressed from sleeping on his friends' couches in his 20s to owning his own company and becoming a multibillionaire. It's a story of commitment and perseverance — Cuban writes that even though he didn't know much about computers, he beat his competition because he spent so much time learning about the software his company sold. 

Find it here »

Reading good books helps visionary leaders sharpen their foresight and imagination. Below are my top picks:

SEE ALSO: 33 business books every professional should read before turning 30

1. 'The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains' by Nicholas Carr

How is all this constant Web browsing affecting our brains? Technology and culture writer Nicholas Carr argues that the internet, by instantly serving massive volumes of information, is making us expert skimmers and scanners, flitting and darting from one distraction to the next. The result is shallow thinking and the loss of our ability to concentrate, focus, and reflect. "The Shallows" will motivate you to read more books, which, unlike the internet, train our brains to pay attention and engage in deep thought.

Find it here >>

2. 'Getting to Plan B: Breaking Through to a Better Business Model' by John Mullins and Randy Komisar

Every new business comes with a business plan, and authors John Mullins and Randy Komisar assert that the original business plan is rarely the right one. "Getting to Plan B" teaches a systematic way to test your Plan A and iterate it — so you can find your winning business model before you run out of cash. This book will show you how to use analogs, antilogs, and leaps of faith to discover the most profitable business model.

Find it here >>

3. 'Get a Grip: How to Get Everything You Want From Your Entrepreneurial Business' by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton

In a previous book, Gino Wickman shared his Entrepreneurial Operating System method for business success. It involves strengthening the six key components of a business: vision, people, data, issues, process, and traction. In "Get a Grip," Wickman and Mike Paton use the story of a fictitious business, Swan Services, to illustrate how to implement EOS in practical terms. With the EOS approach, you can transform your team and your business.

Find it here >>

First-time parents face a mountain of expenses, from top-of-the-line nursery furniture to dozens of teensy polka-dotted socks.

But filling a nursery isn't the only thing making demands on a new parent's wallet. Unscheduled doctor's visits, utility bill spikes, and the ever-increasing cost of childcare can hit new parents' bank accounts with a variety of unexpected costs. 

While everyone's experience is different, a little foresight can be great for the budget. So we reached out and asked real parents, including our Business Insider colleagues: What costs did you not see coming before your baby was born?

Here's what they said:

SEE ALSO: Why you should start saving up to have kids as soon as you get married

DON'T MISS: 12 things successful married couples do with their money

The cost of convenience

Andrew Key, who runs the website Living Rich Cheaply, didn't expect that he would lose his inclination to comparison shop after his son's birth last July.

"I like to consider myself a savvy shopper, and I always try to find the best price. But when you're sleep deprived and have a crying baby at home, you just buy whatever it is you need at the most convenient place," he explains. "Most times, the closest place doesn't have the lowest price, but it's not worth it to comparison shop when you're short on time."

Bottles

A few bottles aren't so expensive — but what about when you have to buy every kind?

"No one really talks about it, but sometimes babies refuse to drink from the bottle," explains Key. "When my wife returned to work, my son would not drink from the bottle, which was pretty stressful, as he was extra fussy. We bought a bunch of different bottles until we found one that he was willing to drink from."

Utility bills

They say a baby should always wear one more layer than you do, but keeping the house warmer will cost you. 

"The one cost that I didn't even think of was the increase in utilities," says Grayson Bell of Eyes on the Dollar, who had a 15-month-old at the time he spoke with Business Insider. "My wife and I are very hot-natured and love our home cold all year round. Since our son was born after Christmas, our home was cold, but that quickly had to change. We now pay double for our electricity bill and 30% more for our water."

The same holds true for babies born in the summer as well. 

"We had a bag of tricks to get through NYC's muggy summers in our top-floor apartment with nonexistent roof insulation — by turning off the AC units, turning on fans, and sleeping on top of the covers — but this wasn't an option for us with our newborn, who was born right as summer started," said Dave Mosher, science correspondent for Business Insider. "A sleepy baby (and her sleepy parents) kept us anchored at home and using the A/C all of the time." 

In 1832, Yale students — including future President William Howard Taft's father— founded one of America's most famous secret societies: Skull and Bones.

Since then, the group has come to signify all that both mesmerizes and repulses the public about the elite.

Each year, only 15 juniors are "tapped," or chosen, for lifetime membership in the club. 

A windowless building on 64 High St., the "Tomb," serves as the club's headquarters. The roof is a landing pad for a private helicopter, according to Alexandra Robbins' book, "Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power." For that perk and others, Bonesmen must swear total allegiance to the club.

New members reportedly divulge intimate personal details, including their full sexual histories, before they're inducted. They also agree to give part of their estates to the club. But, in return, they receive the promise of lifelong financial stability — so they won't feel tempted to sell the club's secrets, Robbins writes.

From among those business titans, poets, politicians, and three US presidents, we picked the honor roll.

Christina Sterbenz contributed to an earlier version of this list.

William Howard Taft — Class of 1878

As the only person to serve as both president and Supreme Court chief justice, Taft earned his spot on our list. The 27th president went by "Old Bill" during his Yale days but later earned the nickname "Big Lub."

Taft also received the honorary title of "magog," meaning he had the most sexual experience while in the secret club, according to Alexandra Robbins. 

Young Taft probably found entrance into the club rather easily. His father, former Attorney General Alphonso Taft, cofounded Skull and Bones as a Yale student in 1832.

Walter Camp — Class of 1880

Known as the "father of American football," Camp, with other classmates, developed the game from the Brits' version of rugby. He played in the first rugby game at Yale against Harvard in 1876.

Camp created many of modern football's rules, such as assessment of points and limiting the field-team to 11 men per side. But most importantly, he brought organization and esteem to the game, serving on the rules committee until his death. 

Camp also established the National College Athletic Association, still operating today. During World War I, most of the armed forces conditioned using his tactics. 

Lyman Spitzer — Class of 1935

A noted astrophysicist, Spitzer dreamed up the idea behind the Hubble Space Telescope — the first method to observe space uninhibited by the Earth's atmosphere. He also lobbied NASA and Congress for the funds and oversaw production of the actual machine. 

After 44 years, NASA launched the Hubble into space. The Hubble remains there today, providing stunning images of the universe and making new discoveries.

NASA named the Spitzer Space Telescope in his honor.

Winter may not be upon us yet, but we're already feeling the seasonal slump. Here are 11 baller escapes to ease our winter blues.
 

SEE ALSO: 19 stunning photos that show why this small Mexican beach town should be on your travel bucket list

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Just a 2.5-hour flight from Los Angeles, Cabo San Lucas rocks an easy commute and exotic appeal. While the 20-mile stretch between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo is dripping in luxurious hotels that have entertained the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, and George Clooney, our favorite sleep is the ultra-romantic Esperanza Resort. Set between bluffs on the Baja peninsula, the secluded casitas, suites and villas are done up in airy, traditional Baja-style decor with handcrafted Mexican furniture and beds draped with soft linen canopies. If you're in need of a break from lounging on the beach, Wild Canyon ATVing is certain to get your blood pumping. With a personal guide and your own ATV, you'll follow routes that whip you between barren desert vistas and beaches stretched along the Sea of Cortez. In town, grab dinner at Los Tres Gallos an authentic Mexican spot off the beaten path of Cabo's strip that serves killer pozole, mole enchiladas, and tamarind margaritas in an outdoor courtyard.

Key West, Florida

Florida is a US vacay staple for a reason; with both Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines, the state is all about the beaches. Skip over Fort Lauderdale and South Beach, however, and hole up at the Ocean Key Resort & Spa, where tasteful island-themed decor and a convenient locale – near Old Town, Mallory Square and Key West Harbor – set you up for an exceedingly relaxed stay. Right out the hotel's front door, you'll want to hit Duval Street a 1.25-mile stretch through downtown Key West that serves as the epicenter for all things eating, shopping and drinking. When hunger hits, head for Louie’s Backyard, a cafe-style Caribbean-American restaurant that resides in a Victorian home right on the ocean. No surprise, all of their top-billed plates are seafood, including cracked conch with mango chutney and sautéed gulf shrimp.

RELATED: 9 Hotels We Absolutely Love in the Florida Keys

Havana, Cuba

Okay, okay, before you go trying to prove us wrong, we realize that *technically* American citizens still haven't been given the full go-ahead for travel to Cuba. That said, many restrictions have been lifted and if you want to go badly enough, you can (more on that here). Once you're over the border, you'll be in need of a welcome drink. Do so like Hemingway, and head for his favorite bar, Floridita, on the corner of Obispo and Monserrate, and order a daiquiri. For dinner, there's La Cocina de Lilliam, a lush family-run patio restaurant that has served Cuban favorites – like arroz con pollo, fried green plantains, and tres leches cake – to guests as distinguished as President Jimmy Carter. Not far from Plaza de Armas– Havana's oldest square – check into the Hotel Florida, an impressive Colonial boutique with 25 rooms surrounding an airy ground-floor courtyard with a retractable glass roof.

RELATED:10 Insanely Affordable Destinations for Fall 2016