The Queen's New Year Honours list celebrates people in the UK who have made significant contributions to society, whether that be for services to charity, sport, business, and more.

This year's list includes several well-known figures from across the advertising, marketing, and media industries.

Scroll down to find out who received honours this year:

Cartoonist Peter Brookes

Brookes is a 73-year-old political cartoonist whose work appears in newspapers and magazines including The Times, New Statesman, and The Spectator.

He received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to the media.

Jeremy Sinclair, chairman of M&C Saatchi

Sinclair was one of the founders of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and has been working in the industry for more than 50 years. He became founding director of London-based M&C Saatchi in 1995, which now claims to be the biggest independent creative agency network in the world.

M&C Saatchi works with clients including Ikea, Natwest, HBO, Lexus, and Carlsberg.

In 2012 Sinclair published the book "Brutal Simplicity Of Thought."

He received a CBE for services to advertising.

Kathryn Jacob, CEO of Pearl & Dean

Jacob leads Pearl & Dean, the cinema advertising contractor.

She joined the company in 2006 from SMG Access, where she was managing director.

Outside of the day job, Jacob is a former president and member of Women in Advertising and Communications London (WACL),and sits on the board of the Advertising Association.

She was awarded an OBE (Officer for the Order of the British Empire) for services to the promotion of equality and diversity.

Few things are better than the visceral enjoyment of driving a supercar.

Ask any car enthusiast which driver's seat they prefer, and the answer, almost invariably, will be one that sits low, with a big, thunderous engine out back and a six-figure price tag.

As true as that might be, it's almost cliché to say that supercars are the stuff of dreams. Certainly they are for most people. For others — including journalists like myself who get to drive these things from time to time — they are less of a dream and more of a study in harsh realities.

Outside of a racetrack or some flawless stretch of pavement underneath impeccable weather, supercars are otherwise useless. Some of them are works of art, to be sure, but once removed from their natural habitats and employed as daily drivers, they are basically loud, over-engineered land missiles that cost more than four times the average annual US household income.

Own one of these cars in a city like San Francisco and you're in for a stressful experience. And if you're like most city dwellers who don't have a personal garage, you can add paranoia and lack of sleep to the mix.

Audi tossed me the keys to a 2017 Audi R8 V-10 Plus a few weeks ago. All things considered, this is one of the few supercars that tries to make itself livable as a daily driver.

There are more than a few areas where the R8 shines. So my experience driving this car in and around San Francisco, though challenging, had less to do with the car itself and more to do with the general headache caused by city living with this much power beneath my feet.

Allow me to explain:

A day with the R8: excitement, joy, visions of how I'll look behind the wheel. I eyeballed that parking sign more than once and double-checked the curb before I could comfortably walk away.

When your wheels are 20-inch rolling sculptures like these, you try your best not to let a hostile curb destroy them.

Nothing about the R8 is ordinary. These racing seats are firm and supportive. Off the racetrack, they're better for short city jaunts instead of long drives. Avoid potholes at all costs. These buckets will not forgive you. Neither will the wheels. Nor the suspension.

LONDON — Victoria Beckham has been awarded an OBE — the Order of the British Empire – for services to fashion in the 2016 New Year's Honours list.

The 42-year-old fashion designer and former Spice Girl is estimated to be worth some £210 million ($293 million), according to Management Today, while her fashion business under Beckham Ventures is estimated to be worth £60 million ($84 million), according to The Telegraph. As a family, the Beckhams are worth a collective £470 million ($656 million) — that's even more than the Queen.

Beckham's life appears to be nothing short of flawless. She is at the helm of a thriving business, has a picture-perfect family life, and is married to former footballer David Beckham, with whom she has four already multitalented children: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper.

She has the social-media following to match her success too with 13.3 million Instagram followers, making one of the most popular celebrities on the photo-sharing app.

Take a look at the life and career of Victoria Beckham, from Posh Spice to fashion icon to OBE, below:

Chloe Pantazi originally contributed to this article.

Victoria Caroline Beckham, née Adams, was born in Harlow, Essex, on April 17, 1974. She grew up in Goffs Oak, Hertfordshire.

Sources: BBC, Essex Chronicle

Beckham grew up in a wealthy family. Her father, Anthony William Adams, was an electronics engineer, and her mother, Jacqueline Doreen, was an insurance clerk and hairdresser. Beckham reportedly didn't like to be dropped off at school in her dad's Rolls-Royce.

Source: BBC

Beckham did ballet from an early age, and at 17 studied dance for three years at Laine Theatre Arts College in Epsom. As a student, she was reportedly in a band called Persuasion, according to Contact Music. Her daughter, Harper, has clearly taken after her mum.

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/-ynnqNFiIF/embed/
Width: 658px

Here's the official list from Google of the most-viewed YouTube ads in 2016. 

The number one spot, Mobile Strike's Super Bowl commercial featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, racked up more than 100 million views. 

That was an impressive 40 million more than the second most-viewed ad — food and beverage brand Knorr's "LoveAtFirstTaste" ad.

Five of the top 10, including the number one spot, featured on the Super Bowl 50.

SEE ALSO: Spotify says: 'Thanks 2016, it's been weird,' in its largest ad campaign yet

10. Skittles Super Bowl commercial "The Portrait" with Steven Tyler — 24 million views.

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/21ivbtgqJkg
Width: 560px
Height: 315px

9. Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial "#Pokemon20"— 25 million views

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/2F46tGehnfo
Width: 560px
Height: 315px

8. Hyundai Super Bowl Commercial "The Chase"— 26 million views

Youtube Embed:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/LT6n1HcJOio
Width: 560px
Height: 315px

Every year people make a set of New Year's resolutions and one that usually pops up is learning a new language.

While this may be great for personal fulfilment, it can also prove extremely lucrative for your career opportunities.

Earlier this year, jobs search engine Adzuna analysed over 1 million live job postings on its website, it found out that some languages are more likely to get you a higher paid job than others in Britain, when employers advertised for jobs looking for someone who was at least bi-lingual.

Now, combining this with the fact that Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23, and some are threatening to move abroad, having a second language may be essential to gaining a new job.

Meanwhile, Adzuna's cofounder pointed out that having a second language could become even more sought-after, especially if businesses look to relocate overseas.

"We’ve spoken out about how being based in a city with quick access to skilled foreign language speakers helped Adzuna expand — 22% of Londoners speak another main language. Our study shows we are not unique; countless other businesses are looking to grow quicker by hiring workers with additional languages," said Doug Monro, the cofounder of Adzuna.

"With nobody quite sure whether ‘Brexit means Brexit’ actually means an end to free movement, the business community will be looking to the UK government for assurances that access to skilled foreign language speakers will not be restricted."

Stripping out the English language, it was not just European languages that featured in the list. Mandarin, the most widely spoken language in the world, hit the rankings and so did Arabic.

Check out which top 9 languages will get you the highest paid jobs in Britain (all data was taken up until end of September this year):

9. Mandarin — £28,268. Adzuna says there were 1,246 job opportunities where an employer is looking for someone to speak the most widely spoken language in the world.

8. Italian — £28,723. Italian is the fourth most in-demand language across the UK with 2,460 postings at the time.

7. Russian — £28,858. Speaking Russian is quickly becoming one of the most in-demand languages in the jobs sector with currently 1,237 available. This is due to the heightened amount of business deals, especially in the financial services sector, that require bi-linguists.

Celebrities and companies will trademark anything, but some are particularly unusual.

Business Insider mapped out some of the strangest and most famous examples with the help of The Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA), which released a trademark "Hall of Fame."

It includes Taylor Swift's song lyrics, Cadbury's specific shade of purple, and darts that smell of beer.

SEE ALSO: These were the 8 most offensive ads from Australia in 2016

Taylor Swift registered the lyric "This sick beat" from her single "Shake It Off" as a trademark. It's one of many lyric trademarks filed on her behalf including "Nice to meet you, where you been?" and "Party like it's 1989," supposedly to guarantee her own merchandising rights.

Source: Billboard.com

Chanel's creative director Karl Lagerfeld trademarked his own silhouette featuring his ponytail and highly noticeable glasses.

Lagerfeld got into a trademark dispute with trainer company New Balance, which filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against him over claims he copied the brand's trademark trainer logo with a "K" in place of New Balance's distinctive "N."

Source: The Guardian

LONDON — This time of year is full of traditional festive eating. But with 2017 just around the corner, it's time to try something new.

Whether you have a New Year's resolution to be healthier, go vegetarian, cut sugar, or even to treat yourself more, there's an Instagram account that can inspire and delight just about every type of food lover.

If you're an experienced cook, follow accounts that will inspire you to try complex, luxe dishes, using the best ingredients. If you're more of a starter chef, easy, quick video recipes are the perfect way to mix up your mealtimes.

We've rounded up the best food Instagram accounts to follow in 2017, no matter your goal.

From a photo series of food paired with babies to an account that only reviews sandwiches, here are our must-follow favourites. They are ranked in ascending order by their number of followers:

50. igbrunchclub – 6,315 followers

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BMOf22qg2rY/embed/
Width: 658px

This under-the-radar account, posting for less than two months, is a stream of brunch recommendations from popular foodie Instagrammers such as @ClerkenwellBoyEC1 and @izyhossack.

49. the.xandwich – 7,123 followers

Possibly one of the most niche new accounts, "sandwich critic" Alex Fletcher, also know as The Xandwich, documents every sandwich he eats in London. He judges the bread, fillings, and provides recommendations, ultimately scoring the sandwich out of 10.

48. annabarnettcooks – 11,700 followers

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BM0wx41hEha/embed/
Width: 658px

Calling herself "The Reluctant Vegetarian,"Anna Barnett is a blogger, contributor to Vogue and Grazia,  and author of cookery book "Eat The Week." She posts envy-inducing photos of homey dishes.

As voted on by more than 200 critics participating in our annual Criticwire survey, here are the best films of the year.

SEE ALSO: Here are the must-see movies that are going to win Oscars in 2017

1) MOONLIGHT

10) JACKIE

32) KNIGHT OF CUPS

One common New Year's resolution in the age of smartphones is to disconnect more and live in the present.

If you're trying to set better limits on how you use technology in 2017, and you're an iPhone user, you should use a feature called Do Not Disturb. 

Although it won't shock you if you mindlessly scroll on Instagram for hours, it will help you control the notifications that sometimes lead to mindless email, social networks, and texting. 

Although Do Not Disturb is built into every single iPhone, and has been for years, it can be a little bit confusing to get started. But when you do, you'll find it's perhaps the most powerful tool Apple provides for controlling when you receive those distracting, attention-grabbing notifications (except for perhaps turning your phone off entirely).

When I first used Do Not Disturb earlier this year, I wondered why I hadn't started using it sooner. Here's what you need to know:

SEE ALSO: Apple included wild new hidden wallpapers in its latest software updates

Do Not Disturb is an alternative way to mute your device. But unlike the hardware side switch on the left-hand side, it also stops the phone from lighting up with notifications entirely.

There are two primary ways to turn Do Not Disturb on. First, on a daily schedule — say, from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

You can also activate Do Not Disturb manually by pressing the "crescent moon" button on the Control Center. This is how I usually turn it on.

It's time to start thinking about your New Year's resolutions.

To help you come up with ideas, Business Insider asked industry leaders and entrepreneurs, including world-renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer and Skinnygirl founder Bethenny Frankel, to share what they've resolved to do over the next year.

Find out what 18 super-successful people plan to accomplish in 2017.

Libby Kane, Tanza Loudenback, Áine Cain, Emmie Martin, Shana Lebowitz, and Jacquelyn Smith contributed reporting.

SEE ALSO: Successful people share 11 ways to make 2017 your most productive year yet

DON'T MISS: 18 bad habits you should break in 2017 to be more productive

Katia Beauchamp, cofounder and CEO of Birchbox, would like to focus on growing her confidence

"The year ahead is all about elevating my confidence and celebrating the incredible accomplishments of life.

"I've always been confident to an extent, but it wasn't a well I could draw from in the hardest moments. I've realized that it isn't about perfection — it's about owning your strengths, having the humility to see where you need the strength of others, and being open and impressionable to change.

"It's within my reach and I feel now more than ever that this type of confidence in everyone will be critical to the future we all want to see come to fruition."

Danny Meyer, founder of Shake Shack, wants to cut back on email

"My New Year's resolution is once and for all to spend significantly less time reading and writing emails, and far more time being present and looking people in the eye."

Debbie Sterling, CEO of GoldieBlox, wants to mentor young women interested in STEM

"In 2017 I want to spend more time mentoring young women interested in STEM and entrepreneurship. It's easy to fall into the trap of feeling too busy to give back. The truth is, the more success you have, the busier you get. So you have to proactively make time to do things that are important to you."

Over the past few years, Jaguar Land Rover has been one of the fastest-growing car companies in the US market. However, most of this growth has been thanks to the Land Rover part of JLR. In 2015, JLR's US sales surged 26% to more than 85,000 cars, but only about 14,000 of them were Jags. In fact, the Jaguar brand's sales fell 8% last year. 

For 2016, Jaguar is making an all-out push to even things up with its corporate sibling. At the core of Jag's strategy is the introduction of three new cars. 

The new second generation XF is the first of Jaguar's new lineup to land on our shores. The new XF will soon be joined by the BMW 3-Series-fighting XE sedan and the highly anticipated F-PACE crossover SUV.

Although the first generation XF remains very aesthetically pleasing, after nearly a decade in the public eye, it was time for a change. 

"Since we now produce the smaller XE, the XF has to grow up a little bit," Jaguar design director Ian Callum told Business Insider in an interview. "Perhaps become a little less sporty and a little more practical."

"My balance was to really keep it as sporty as possible, but at the same time give it a lot more room on the inside," Sir Ian added. 

So, the question must be asked: "Is the youthful sports car still alive in the soul of this grown up Jag?"

The 2016 Jaguar XF starts at $51,900, while the XF S starts at $62,700. Our well-appointed XF S test car left the showroom with the price tag of $74,655. 

Earlier this year, Jaguar dropped off a glacier white 2016 XF S for Business Insider to sample. Let's find out. 

Photos by Hollis Johnson unless otherwise credited.

SEE ALSO: The Cadillac ATS-V is America's BMW fighter

Jaguar debuted the first generation XF to rave reviews in 2008.

After nearly a decade on the market, it was time for a new XF. For 2016, Jaguar's midsize luxury sedan arrives in the US with a whole new look.

The new XF is the work of Jaguar design boss Ian Callum, whose résumé includes ...

It's hard to keep track of every awesome business book that was published in 2016.

We've got your back. Below, we've rounded up the best reads out there focusing on entrepreneurship, negotiation, and more. There's everything from the story of two psychologists who rocked economists' world to a guide to making a career change from a former Googler.

It's the perfect list to choose from if you're looking for something scintillating to curl up with over the holidays — or for a last-minute gift.

SEE ALSO: I read 15 books this year on happiness, productivity, and success — here are the most meaningful insights I've taken away

'Shoe Dog' by Phil Knight

Nike is not only the world's biggest athletic company, with a market cap of about $88 billion. It's also, remarkably, been a worldwide leader of "cool" since the 1970s.

It all started with a new college grad named Phil Knight who sold running shoes out of his parents' garage.

Knight is retired as the chairman of Nike this summer, and his book "Shoe Dog" is the definitive story of how he laid the foundation of an empire. It's a well-written and emotionally engaging story about an entrepreneur growing as a human being alongside the company in which he completely invested himself.

Find it here »

'Payoff' by Dan Ariely

In this brief and easy read, Duke University behavioral economist Dan Ariely argues that human motivation is a lot more complex than we might be inclined to believe.

Case in point: Pizza motivates employees to perform better in the long term than money. Letting people take ownership of a project and giving them credit for it makes them more inclined to do it well.

Managers especially can harness the power of intrinsic motivation, or doing a good job for the sake of doing a good job. But you can use the same strategies on yourself — for example, when you know you need to work out for health reasons but don't really want to.

Find it here »

'The Undoing Project' by Michael Lewis

In "The Undoing Project,""The Big Short" author Michael Lewis tells the fascinating story of two of history's most important psychologists, Daniel Kahneman and the late Amos Tversky.

And while this isn't a business book per se, Kahneman and Tversky's research on judgment and decision-making led to the founding of the field of behavioral economics, and is the reason Kahneman won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002. 

Find it here »

2016 was an eventful year.

It saw a string of unexpected shakeups in music, entertainment, and politics, both in the United States and abroad.

From the deaths of cultural icons like Prince, shocking wins and losses in the sports arena, and Donald Trump's unprecedented rise to the presidency, here are some of the world-changing events we never saw coming.

David Bowie dies after battling cancer

Music legend David Bowie died in January at the age of 69 following an 18-month-long battle with cancer. The music industry and fans around the world erupted with messages of support and grief for the late singer. 

"David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime," Kanye West tweeted. 

"As well as being a wonderful and kind man, [Bowie] was an extraordinary artist, and a true original," The Rolling Stones wrote. 

"He never seemed of this earth. Now he's left it. He bent rules, gender, genres, and our minds. RIP David Bowie. One. Of. A. Kind,"tweeted Josh Groban. 

The death of boxing great Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, perhaps the biggest name in sports history and a decorated civil rights activist, died in April at age 74 after a 32-year battle with Parkinson's Disease.

Even as his health waned, Ali stayed true to his lifelong involvement in activism and did not shy away from controversy —  he was one of the first to speak out against President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from immigrating to the US, saying, "We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda." 

Ali was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky opened the Muhammad Ali Center, which is dedicated to chronicling the heavyweight champion's life and career, but also to promoting equality and tolerance. 

The death of pop icon Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson, died unexpectedly at the age of 57 in April from an overdose on fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that's 50 times stronger than pure heroin.

Best known simply by his first name, Prince was one of the singular music talents of his generation, crossing genres from funk and soul to rock and pop.

Born in Minneapolis, he performed in the local music scene from a young age before his breakout 1979 album, "Prince," went platinum.

Often compared to the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna, he was one of the most commercially successful artists of all time, selling over 100 million records worldwide. He brought a unique R&B sensibility to the mainstream, spanning albums like "Controversy,""1999," and "Purple Rain," the hit soundtrack for the 1984 film of the same name. He frequently performed with his backing band, The Revolution.

As President Barack Obama reflects on his time in office, he has a way of acknowledging his waning time in the position: A joke about his graying hair.

"Right now, we are waging war under authorities provided by Congress over 15 years ago — 15 years ago," he said during a speech reflecting on his administration's counterterrorism strategy.

"I had no gray hair 15 years ago."

Indeed, despite his close-cut hairstyle, it’s impossible not to notice the trademark presidential graying, as the president’s short black hair has become more of a salt-and-pepper color.

And though some dermatologists maintain that Obama is the latest victim of the expedited presidential aging process, appearing to age faster due to the stress of the office, others say that it’s more attributable to natural aging than stress.

Other studies, including a comprehensive analysis of elections dating back to the 1700s, have found that heading a nation can take years off a leader's life. That analysis, from the Harvard Medical School, found that elected heads of government, on average, have lives almost three years shorter than the candidates they defeat.

Here’s how the country's past presidents have looked near the beginnings and ends of their respective terms.

SEE ALSO: POWER RANKINGS: Here's who has the best chance at being the next US president

Obama takes the oath of office on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009.

Obama speaks during his year-end 2016 news conference at the White House.

Former President George W. Bush makes a phone call shortly after the 2000 election.

Richard Branson, the Virgin Group Founder and self-described tie-loathing billionaire, still finds time in his busy schedule to read.

As part of Facebook's recent #ReadToLead hashtag, Branson offered up the handful of titles that kept his attention in 2016.

We can't guarantee you'll follow in the entrepreneur's footsteps, but the books could certainly set you in the right direction.

SEE ALSO: 5 books the head of MIT Media Lab thinks you should read

"Black Box Thinking" by Matthew Syed

Failure is a key component of any successful system, but only if the people at the controls understand what went wrong.

In "Black Box Thinking," journalist Matthew Syed explores why some people try to ignore their mistakes and others confront them deliberately. Syed pushes people to adopt a growth mindset, as the psychologist Carol Dweck calls it, rather than a fixed mindset.

"It advocates for changing attitudes towards failure, and understanding that the only way we learn is by trying things and altering our behaviour based on the results," Branson writes on his blog.

"Ending the War on Drugs" by Richard Branson

Edited by Branson himself ("I couldnt resist sneaking in a book I contributed to," he writes) "Ending the War on Drugs" is a compilation of essays about the global drug war and the many failed attempts to end it.

"It brings together such a smart group of experts to explain why global drug policy reform is so important," Branson writes. The list includes philanthropist George Soros, former Mexican president Ernesto Zedillo, and former Swiss president Ruth Dreifuss, among others.

"Attitudes towards treating drugs as a health issue, not a criminal problem, are changing fast," Branson explains. "Anyone who reads this book will understand why."

"Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Criss-crossing the US with his French poodle in tow, Steinbeck shares his experiences meeting America's most down-home folks in "Travels with Charley."

Steinbeck drives through national parks, back country roads, small towns, and big cities. He encounters every slice of Americana there is, and presents the reader with a full picture of who calls the country home.

Branson looks upon the book less as a guide for leading, he says, than as a guide for living.

"It opens your eyes to the small pleasures of life, and the great wonders of humanity in the little moments that matter," he writes.

If you're feeling down about 2016, maybe a look at the data can help.

Over at the site Our World in Data, economist Max Roser has been putting together a compendium of charts and briefs that reveal  the state of our world.

Roser's data tell an uplifting story. The world is the safest, richest, most connected, and most highly-educated it's ever been.

Here are some of the most uplifting charts to carry your spirits into the new year.

SEE ALSO: 18 giant infrastructure projects that could reshape the world

Life expectancy is one of the most visible signs of humanity's progress. Thanks largely to safer childbirth practices, the average age in many countries has shot up from 40 years in 1838 to over 80 years today.

Child mortality rates have fallen considerably within the last 150 years, particularly as doctors improved their delivery procedures and vaccines began limiting the risk of fatal disease.

The world is collectively getting richer. While roughly 1.3 billion people still live in extreme poverty, quality of life is rising for billions more.

The number of foreign students in American schools has been surging over the past decade, and numbers are up again, according to data from the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The number of foreign students in the US was up 7.1% from last year with 1,043,839 students total, and international students now make up 5.2% of all higher education students in the US.

And there are some schools that attract more foreign students than the rest.

Take a look below to see the 20 American colleges with the most foreign students enrolled:

SEE ALSO: The 10 foreign countries that send the most students to American colleges

20. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities — 7,037 foreign students

Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the school has a total of 50,678 students.

19. Carnegie Mellon University — 7,051 foreign students

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the school has a total of 13,648 students.

18. Ohio State University - Columbus — 7,117 foreign students

Located in Columbus, Ohio, the school has a total of 58,663 students.

We've all been there.

You're in a liquor or grocery store, trying to pick out wine with a group of friends when, inevitably, some unexpected member offers up their expert opinion.

Truth be told, there's a whole lot of science behind wine. Genetics, chemistry, microbiology, and even psychology all play a role in everything from how it's produced to which ones we buy and when.

To get a better sense of what goes into making that glass of red or white, we chatted with James Harbertson, a Washington State University professor of enology — that's the study of wine.

SEE ALSO: The definitive, scientific answers to 20 health questions everyone has

DON'T MISS: 15 simple ways to relax, according to scientists

Is cheap wine bad for you?

No way. Last year, rumors of a lawsuit that claimed that cheap wines had high levels of arsenic in it began circulating. One small detail the rumors left out: The lawsuit compared the levels of arsenic in wine to that of drinking water. To have any kind of negative experience as a result of this, you'd most likely have to drink about 2 liters of wine — a little more than 13 servings' worth.

That's an awful lot of wine.

What's the difference between a wine that costs $50 and a wine that costs $500?

The short answer? Not a lot — so long as you're just drinking it.

The price comes from a number of different factors — the maker, the type of grape, how long it's aged, etc. But if you're just looking for a solid bottle of wine, an inexpensive bottle could taste just as good if not better than a thousand-dollar bottle.

If anything, there's a bigger psychological component at play. A study that conducted a blind taste test in which people were given samples of wine found that they did not get any more enjoyment from a more expensive wine compared to a less expensive version. In another study, researchers found that untrained wine tasters actually liked the more expensive wines less than the cheaper ones.

If you're collecting, on the other hand, of course the price tag will make a difference.

"In the end, it's just wine," said Harbertson.

What are tannins and what are they doing in my wine?

You know that dry feeling you get in your mouth after a sip of red wine? You can thank tannins, naturally occurring chemicals that are found in wine and other beverages, like black tea.

Tannins give wine its weight — what makes it more milky than watery — so they're integral to all red wines, Harbertson said. They bind to proteins like the ones in saliva, which is what makes your mouth dry out. It's not as simple an experience as tasting something that's bitter, he said. The interaction of red wine in your mouth ends up feeling more like a texture than just a taste, something known as a "mouthfeel."

This past year might have been a trying one, but among the negative news stories were plenty of bright spots.

For every celebrity death, there was a scientific breakthrough. For every bit of political nonsense (well, maybe not every bit of nonsense) there were leaps forward in clean energy.

In case you're feeling down about 2016, here's a reminder that, in a lot of ways, the world really is getting better.

SEE ALSO: 14 charts that should restore your faith in humanity

Populations of tigers, pandas, and manatees all started growing for the first time in years.

Source

All of Portugal ran on solar energy for four days straight.

Source

Scientists detected gravitational waves for the first time ever, furthering our understanding of the origins of the universe.

Source

People traveling through US airports have a number of things to worry about during the holiday season.

For TSA agents, there's also a variety of things to worry about — knives, fake grenades, swords hidden in canes, knives hidden in guns, throwing stars, and all sorts of other contraband.

The TSA documents some of the weapons and other prohibited items it encounters at security checkpoints, posting them on the agency's Instagram account, which has accumulated more than 630,000 followers.

Below, you can see a selection of strange weaponry or look-alike weaponry that the TSA has come across and put on its Instagram, which has been ranked as the fourth-best account on the social-media site.

SEE ALSO: The Business Insider Military and Defense Team predictions for 2017

"Holy purple projectiles, batman! All batarangs, no matter the color, must be packed in your checked bags. This one was discovered in a carry-on bag at Providence (PVD). #zlonk #glurp #blap #vronk #powie"

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BOinqfSBpyp/embed/
Width: 658px

"This small knife was discovered in a pill bottle inside a carry-on bag at Jacksonville (JAX). Intentionally concealing a knife (no matter how small) can lead to headaches such as fines and arrest."

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BOLWsEnh92J/embed/
Width: 658px

"#TBT April 2012: Flying fish are found in the ocean, not on commercial aircraft. We hate to be a wet blanket, but spear guns are not allowed in the cabin of an aircraft and must be packed in checked baggage. This spear gun was discovered in a carry-on bag at Raleigh-Durham (RDU)."

Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/BODVOaVh5wq/embed/
Width: 658px