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Here are two ways you can get better cell service at home or at work

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man looks for cell signal reception

I've checked the coverage map for all the major carriers, and they all claim to cover my area in rich, unguent 4G LTE.

However, my personal experience is evidence that carrier coverage maps aren't always accurate. No matter what carrier I use, my home is in a cell service dead zone that makes it impossible to make phone calls.

If you face a similar issue, there are two ways you can get better reception in places you spend most of your time, like at home, or even at work.

Here's how:

SEE ALSO: It's 2017, here's why your cell service still stinks

The best way to get better reception in places you often visit is to turn on the WiFi calling feature on your smartphone.

With the assumption that you can connect to WiFi from your smartphone in places you often visit, the WiFi calling feature on some of more recent, premium smartphones is the best way to go. 



WiFi calling routs your phone calls and text messages through your WiFi network instead of your carrier's cell signal.

As long as you have good WiFi reception at home or at work, WiFi calling feels like having full cell signal.

On top of that, depending on whether the person you're calling has good LTE reception – or if they're on WiFi calling themselves – WiFi calling enables HD Voice calls, which make phone calls sound crystal clear.



You also need to make sure you have a phone that's compatible with WiFi calling, and set up your emergency 911 address so that emergency services know where you're calling from.

Most recent, premium smartphones have the WiFi calling feature. You can either check your carrier's website to see if your phone has WiFi calling, or go through your phone's setting to see if WiFi calling is a feature.

For iPhone go to Settings > Phone > and WiFi Calling.

Depending on your Android device, you can turn on WiFi calling either through the Settings app, or through the settings in the actual Phone app. 

When you turn on WiFi calling on your device, you'll also be prompted to give an emergency 911 address, as emergency services won't be able to locate you through the cell signal they use.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The highest-grossing Disney film every year since 1937

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finding nemo

While the world of Disney films may have began with animation and princess' castles, Walt's kingdom has become much, much more.

Since its first film in 1937, the company has released some of the most iconic blockbusters ever, packing out cinemas across the globe.

At the end of 2016, Disney provided Business Insider with a complete list of every single feature film it has released throughout history, compiled by year of release.

We then researched the box office numbers for the films on the list in order to determine which was most successful each year since 1937.

Only films that went straight to theatre, and have publicly available box office figures, have been included in our ranking. The numbers are based on US lifetime gross figures provided by Box Office Mojo and IMDB.

Scroll down to see the highest-grossing Disney film every year since 1937.

Note: Years where there was no theatrical release, or box office figures were not available have been excluded from the list. These are: 1938, 1939, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1958, and 1972.

2016 — 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story': $529.4 million

Source: Box Office Mojo



2015 — 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': $936.7 million

Source: Box Office Mojo



2014 — 'Guardians of the Galaxy': $333.2 million

Source: Box Office Mojo



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

These 5 elite athletes earn £1 million in a week or less

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High-earning sports stars

For the average nurse it would take 31 years to earn £1 million. A legal professional? Almost 17 years.

The average chief executive or senior official may only take 8 years to reach that £1 million mark but for elite athletes the time-frame is cut to days. Yes, days.

Data crunched by business-to-business marketplace Expert Market looked at the earnings of sports stars of the 2016 Forbes rich list to work out how many days it takes them to hit the million pound milestone.

The figures include the athletes' sponsorship and marketing work, which significantly bolsters their pay.

Take Maria Sharapova, for instance. The Russian tennis star was banned last year for failing a drug test, but that did not prevent her from earning £1 million every 167.41 days through endorsements.

The fastest sportswoman to make a million in 2016 was mixed martial arts trailblazer Ronda Rousey, who takes — on average — just 31.84 days to pocket the seven-figure sum.

The top five fastest athletes to eclipse that million pound marker are all male but they compete in three different sports.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid footballer.

Three-time Champions League winner Ronaldo earns £1 million in just 5.68 days. His day rate is effectively £180,000.



Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona footballer.

Barcelona's all-time top goalscorer Messi earns £1 million in 5.96 days, which means his day-rate is £171,000.



Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens NFL star.

A 2012 Super Bowl champion, Joe Flacco earned £1 million every 7.23 days in 2016. His day-rate is £141,000.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Why rejection hurts so much — and what you can do to ease the pain

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reject

Rejection is painful. There's no other way about it. And most of us face it on a daily basis, whether it's that job you didn't get or a partner that broke up with you. 

Whether the rejection is large or small, it still hurts, and it's often more painful than we expect. 

Psychologist Guy Winch is the author of the book 'Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure, and Other Everyday Hurts,' which outlines why we feel so bad when we're rejected and what we can do about it. He shared some of his ideas in a recent blog post for TED

Read on to find out why rejection hurts so much and what you can do to ease the pain.

Problem 1: Rejection and physical pain go hand in hand.

According to a psychological study, the experiences of social rejection and physical pain are very similar in our brains. Researchers found that the same areas of our brain light up in an MRI machine when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain.

That's why rejection can feel like a punch in the gut, or a knife to the heart; you're literally using the same part of the brain as when you hurt yourself physically.



Problem 2: Our brains may be wired to feel this way.

Early human hunter-gatherers were unlikely to survive alone. Evolutionary psychologists believe that being ostracized from the tribe was basically a death sentence, and so our bodies have developed a warning mechanism to alert us when we're facing the possibility of being "kicked out."

This mechanism appears to have stayed with us throughout our evolution, because those who experienced more painful rejection were more likely to change their behavior and remain in the tribe as a result. These lucky individuals could eventually pass on their genes while those who were banished died alone.



Problem 3: We inflict most of the damage on ourselves.

Unfortunately, it's not usually the rejection itself that does the most damage; it's what comes afterwards. When we are rejected, many of us tend to become self-critical, and rather than project the anger and disappointment outwards, we blame ourselves. 

We scold ourselves for not doing enough work, not being pretty or funny enough, and we call ourselves names and punish ourselves. This isn't helpful when our self-esteem is already on the floor, and everyone knows this, but Winch says that barely ever stops us doing it. 

The good news is there is something you can do about it the next time you feel yourself getting sucked into a self-hate spiral. There are healthier ways to respond to rejection that Winch outlines which can help us rebuild our self-esteem and make us feel better again.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Mercedes is reportedly pouring $562 million into delivery van drones — here's a glimpse of what's to come

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mercedes drone van

Mercedes-Benz is getting into package deliveries.

In September, the Mercedes announced a "multimillion"investment in drone startup Matternet, the creator of an autonomous drone. The Wall Street Journal reported that the investment totals €500 million ($562 million) over the next 5 years.

Mercedes unveiled a self-driving van concept to showcase its vision for a futuristic drone delivery service. The German automaker isn't the only one exploring the drone delivery van service — UPS recently unveiled a hybrid truck with a drone nest built into the roof. The nest would house a Workhorse HorseFly autonomous drone that could carry 10 pounds worth of packages.

Scroll down for Mercedes' package delivery vision:

SEE ALSO: This self-driving bus could radically change public transportation

Meet the Mercedes Vision Van: an all-electric van with a range up to 168 miles.



The trunk is capable of supporting a "one-shot loading" system to get packages in the trunk and out to customers faster.



The interior of the van has a fully automated cargo space. It features a mechanical shelving system that loads packages and knows where each package is going. The driver will get a notification when approaching a drop-off location for a package.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Snap just went public — here's a behind-the-scenes look at what a typical IPO is like

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NYSE IPO 25

There are few things more anticipated in the stock market than an initial public offering, or IPO.

Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, is debuting as a public company on Thursday in the biggest tech IPO in years.

There are a few exchanges in the US on which stocks are traded, and thus on which IPOs can take place.

The New York Stock Exchange is the largest and oldest of these exchanges, starting in 1792, and it sits in its iconic home on Wall Street.

In 2016, Business Insider got a backstage look at one of the IPO days through the eyes of Carolyn Saacke, the chief operating officer for NYSE's capital markets business. The capital markets business oversees all IPOs and maintains relationships with the firms that are already listed on the NYSE.

To give you a sense of what's happening on the floor, here's a behind-the-scenes look at the wild day of an IPO:

And so it begins.

The NYSE is housed in this historic building on the corner of Wall Street and Broad Street. Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, the street has been closed to traffic for security reasons. Additionally, all traders and guests for the IPO must now go through security checks.



The IPO of the day is e.l.f. Cosmetics — it stands for eyes, lips, and face — a value-cosmetics firm founded in 2004.

e.l.f. had the entire exchange to itself that day, but it is possible for multiple companies to have IPOs in the same morning. We were told those are some of the busiest days.



Carolyn's day starts early.

By 8:30 a.m., she's already in a meeting with NYSE Group President Tom Farley and other top NYSE executives. They plan the strategy for the day, discussing everything from the marketing promotions for e.l.f. and NYSE to the long-term strategy for attracting new listings.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 15 toughest states for first-time homebuyers

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Jackson Mississippi

While it turns out that millennials do, in fact, want to invest in real estate and purchase homes, it's easier said than done to become a first-time homebuyer — especially if you live in California or New York.  

In many states, a lack of inventory and rising home prices are making it harder than ever for the under 35 set to buy their first place. 

New data from Bankrate explores how first-time homebuyers fare in all 50 US states, considering five factors:

  • Housing affordability: Percentage of median household income for required for 25- to 44-year-olds to cover mortgage payments (using the median sale price)
  • Entry-level job market: Five-year average unemployment rate for 25- to 34-year-olds
  • Market tightness: Growth in housing stock from 2010 to 2015 and the percentage of homes for sale
  • Credit availability: Percentage of home loans rejected by credit lenders
  • Millennial homeownership rate: Percentage of homeowners under 35

Bankrate weighted each category equally to determine its ranking. California, New York, and Hawaii stood out as the toughest states for new homebuyers, while Midwestern locales, such as Iowa and Minnesota, proved the easiest.

Read on to check out the 15 states where it's toughest to enter the housing market for the first time. 

The metrics included below were all used to calculate Bankrate's ranking, with the exception of median home value, which was sourced independently from Zillow.

SEE ALSO: The 10 best cities to buy a rental property if you want to make extra money on the side

DON'T MISS: The 15 most expensive states to live in when you retire

15. Washington

Percentage of median income required for mortgage: 24.33%

Unemployment rate: 6.02%

Under 35 homeownership rate: 29.75%

Median home value: $318,300

 



14. Florida

Percentage of median income required for mortgage: 20.67%

Unemployment rate: 6.8%

Under 35 homeownership rate: 29.52%

Median home value: $203,200

 



13. Nevada

Percentage of median income required for mortgage: 22.91%

Unemployment rate: 7.76%

Under 35 homeownership rate: 29.52%

Median home value: $230,200



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

This $4 podcast app is way better than Apple's — take a look

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If you’re anything like me, podcasts have long since replaced music as the backdrop of any long drive or commute to work. I’m subscribed to nearly a dozen podcasts, but I also listen to individual episodes of countless more.

I’d always assumed that the iPhone’s native podcast app was the best way to listen to them, seeing as Apple did invent the podcast. 

Pocket Casts iPhonesBut a few weeks ago I took the plunge and bought the $4 Pocket Casts app from Australia-based startup ShiftyJelly. I haven’t looked back since.

You might be wondering what spurred me to leave the birthplace of the podcast, and to spend money for the privilege, no less. Here are just some of Pocket Cast’s draws:  

SEE ALSO: The 12 best podcasts of 2016, according to Apple

It’s beautiful

Pocket Casts arranges your podcasts in a neat tile grid so that you can browse by artwork. It gives you the option to change the size of the tiles, or to go back to the list style that the Apple podcasts app currently employs.

Granted, the design of an app isn’t necessarily a deal-maker, but when I’m browsing through it every single day, it helps that it looks great.

 



It's customizable

Pocket Casts was designed with serious listeners in mind. No longer are you tied to Apple’s 15-second fast-forward and rewind buttons. Pocket Casts comes with those buttons pre-set at a 10-second rewind and 45-second fast-forward, but allows you to customize them to any 5-second intervals (I’ve got mine at a 10-second rewind and 20-second fast-forward).

Likewise, you can set the playback speed for each podcast you listen to. Whereas Apple’s software only allows 0.5x, 1.5x, and 2.0x playback, Pocket Casts increases in intervals of 0.1 from 0.5x all the way up to 3.0x. I personally have found the sweet spot to be 1.3x playback. This keeps things from sounding funky, but still trims a solid 15 minutes off of an hour-long program.



It has useful features

Do you ever listen to podcasts that sound like they were recorded with the microphone from a 2006 Motorola Razr by someone standing on a crowded train platform? You know, the ones where you need to raise the volume on your earbuds to full-blast and still find yourself rewinding every 45 seconds to catch a word that as lost to the garble? It seems like the good folks over at Pocket Casts listen to those, too, because they’ve included a volume-boost feature, which increases the volume on voices, whilst simultaneously reducing background noise.

They’ve also included a nifty feature that shortens episode lengths by trimming silence. This is sure to be appreciated by anyone who listens to podcasts that originally air as radio programs and often have a few seconds of silence where advertisements would have been.

In addition, a recent update added a new feature that has become a must in top-tier apps: night mode. Well, technically it’s called the “dark theme,” but it achieves the same purpose. Now you can pick a podcast to drift off to sleep to without going blind in the process.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

In San Francisco's 'Puff Pass Paint' class, people make art while getting high on marijuana — take a look inside

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puff pass paint marijuana class 0413

More Americans favor legal marijuana than ever before.

As the $6.9 billion industry steps into the light, a new subculture around pot is taking shape. It shrugs off the stoner stereotypes of the past and brings like-minded people together to enjoy the plant in legal, communal settings. In San Francisco, private events centered on cannabis are gaining popularity, including gourmet "wake and bake" brunches and ganja-fueled yoga.

The latest trendy event series in San Francisco has people getting high on marijuana during painting workshops, much like the paint and wine classes taking America by storm.

We attended a Puff, Pass & Paint class to see what it was like.

SEE ALSO: San Francisco's new workout craze is called 'ganja yoga' — take a look

Puff, Pass & Paint classes got their start in Denver, Colorado, in 2014, shortly after the state legalized recreational marijuana. Founder Heidi Keyes was working as an artist at the time.



"A friend jokingly suggested that I should 'start a wine and painting class — but with weed,'" Keyes says. She's been a cannabis user for over half of her life.



She decided to give it a go, and the class in Denver exploded in popularity. Today, you can find Puff, Pass & Paint classes in six states where recreational marijuana is legal.

Find a Puff, Pass & Paint class near you »



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

One of the most infamous homes in the Hamptons is on the market for nearly $20 million — and it's got a brand-new look

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Grey Gardens

Anyone who saw the documentary or Broadway play would likely balk at living in the actual home that "Grey Gardens" inspired. They would likely balk even more at its price tag: $19.995 million.

But the East Hampton, New York, mansion where it all began now looks nothing like it did in the 1975 documentary showcasing the lives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis' ex-socialite relatives. 

Journalist and author Sally Quinn purchased the mansion with her husband, the late Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, for $220,000 in 1979. They completely rehabilitated it to the current splendor that it now shows, according to The New York Times.

The Corcoran Group has the listing.

SEE ALSO: Ivanka Trump's Manhattan apartment just got a price chop — take a look inside

The home has the slate exterior of a typical Hamptons home.



Walk past the sizable porch ...



... and enter a home of stately beauty.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Michael Jackson's restored Neverland Ranch is back on the market at a $33 million discount — take a tour

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Neverland Ranch train station

It's been almost two years since Michael Jackson's famed Neverland Ranch first came onto the market with a hefty $100 million price tag. 

Now it's back with a significantly lower listing price: $67 million. 

Renamed "Sycamore Valley Ranch," the 2,700-acre ranch in Los Olivos, California, was originally bought from Jackson by private investment firm Colony Capital for $23.5 million in 2008. It was subsequently restored and put back on the market, but it still hasn't sold.

Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Previews International has the listing this time around.

April Walloga contributed to an earlier version of this story.

SEE ALSO: One of the most infamous homes in the Hamptons is on the market for nearly $20 million — and it's got a brand-new look

Welcome to Neverland Ranch, the famed property that once belonged to the late Michael Jackson.



Passing through the gates into the driveway, visitors will see a bronze statue of children playing in front of the main house.



Here is a full view of the front of the Normandy-style mansion.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here are the qualifications of all 13 people who served as Secretary of Energy before Rick Perry

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Rick Perry

In a 62-37 vote, the Senate has voted to confirm Rick Perry as the Secretary of Energy under President Donald Trump. 

Perry, who graduated from Texas A&M with a bachelor's degree in animal science, will guide research and policy related to energy production in the US, handle issues related to radioactive waste disposal, lead nuclear reactor projects, and run the US' system of national laboratories. He will also oversee grants that fund scientific research.

That's in addition, of course, to being responsible for the nation's nuclear arsenal.

Unlike those who filled the role before him over the last decade, Perry does not have a professional background in science. (He also once suggested he'd like to eliminate the Department of Energy, though he has since reversed his stance on the matter.)

Perry won't be the first non-scientist to head the department. From the 1970s until 2005, the post was held by people without science or engineering degrees (mostly politicians and lawyers). After that, all Secretaries of Energy had held PhDs until now. Take a look:

SEE ALSO: Scientists around the world are worried about a Trump team proposal to ax NASA's 58-year mission to study the Earth

DON'T MISS: California governor: 'If Trump turns off the satellites, California will launch its own damn satellite'

1977-1979: James Schlesinger

James Schlesinger was the first US Secretary of Energy, a Republican picked by President Jimmy Carter to head the department just after it was formed. Schlesinger had led the Department of Defense from 1973-1975 and played a significant role in national nuclear policy. As Secretary of Energy, he worked to consolidate the department's functions, which had previously been distributed across several agencies, and funded research efforts that included one of the first federal investigations into the impact of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere.



1979-1981: Charles Duncan Jr.

The second Secretary of Energy under Carter, Duncan also previously served as Secretary of Defense. Carter was criticized for the selection because Duncan, a former executive in the coffee industry, had no direct experience with oil. As secretary, Duncan worked on negotiations with OPEC during a tough period in the global oil economy.



1981-1982: James Edwards

James Edwards was President Ronald Reagan's first Secretary of Energy. A former governor of South Carolina with a background in oral surgery, Edwards was known as a proponent of nuclear energy, and, like Perry once promised to dismantle the Department of Energy (he didn't, of course).

The New York Times reports that Edwards "struggled" in the post — he was criticized for his lack of expertise in the field and hamstrung by the Reagan administration's distaste for the department.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Amazing images of the Eiffel Tower show its construction over two years

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public domain images eiffel tower construction 1800s 0007

The Eiffel Tower, which sits along Paris' Champ de Mars, turns 128 years old this March.

From 1889 to 1930, it reigned as the tallest structure in the world.

Let's take a look back at the Iron Lady's construction, which spanned just two years.

SEE ALSO: Amazing images of London show the city's evolution over nearly 2,000 years

The Eiffel Tower gets its name from its engineer, Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and constructed the tower (Eiffel worked on the interior of the Statue of Liberty as well). Here's an 1889 photo of him and another man standing near the top of the tower.

Source: Tour Eiffel



Construction began in January 1887. The design plans called for 18,038 pieces of wrought iron and 2.5 million rivets.

Source: Tour Eiffel



Approximately 300 workers were hired to work on the intricate structure.

Source: Tour Eiffel



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

14 science-backed answers to your biggest questions about cheese

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cheese

Cheese is jam-packed with science.

Everything from how it's made to the trial-and-error process of creating new kinds of cheese can be attributed to reactions between microbes, sugars, fats, and proteins.

We asked with Michael Tunick, a research chemist with the US Department of Agriculture and the author of the book "The Science of Cheese," our most pressing questions about cheese — from why it tastes so darn good to whether organic cheese is really better for you. 

Here's what we found out.

SEE ALSO: 14 of your most embarrassing questions about wine answered with science

DON'T MISS: How to have perfect hygiene — according to science

First thing's first: How do you make cheese?

Most cheese is made of basically the same thing: Milk, microbial cultures, and rennet.

Rennet is an enzyme that helps the milk proteins coagulate, binding together into what will become the curds. Traditionally it comes from calf's stomachs, but since the 1960s, it's been more common to get rennet from a cloned microorganism.

To start the cheese-making process, you take some (usually) pasteurized milk and add a starter culture to it. Those microbes snack on the lactose in the milk, beginning the fermentation process. Then you add in the rennet. When the curds form, what's left over is a liquid called whey. The curds are then heated and cut up.

In the end, you get a bunch of curds that get packed together and aged into cheese, Tunick said. 



Where did cheese originate?

Cheese has been around for thousands of years — traces of dairy fat have been found on pottery from 7,500 years ago

Though its exact origin story isn't known, like most great inventions, it was likely made by accident when someone stored milk in an animal stomach. When the milk mixed with the rennet, which is found in the stomachs of ruminant mammals (like cows, goats), it began to curdle into an edible substance. 



What are the best kinds of milk to make cheese?

Cheese can be made from the milk of a wide variety of animals, from your average cow or goat to sheep and even reindeer or camel. Some milks aren't great at curdling, which is why you won't see horse cheese — and yes, that takes human breast milk off the table.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

THE FUTURE OF RETAIL 2016 [SLIDE DECK]

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future of retail deck slide 10

The retail industry is on the cusp of a fundamental transformation driven by digital technologies. And as retailers adapt to the digital age, the line between physical and digital commerce is becoming increasingly blurred.

BI Intelligence has created a slide deck exploring the most disruptive trends in e-commerce.  Access the full deck now for free by clicking here.

Some of the topics covered include:

  • The size of the retail and e-commerce markets.
  • The breakdown of e-commerce sales by product category.
  • How legacy retailers are adapting to digital.
  • Which e-commerce companies are leading the way.
  • What omnichannel strategies retail companies are adopting.
  • And much more.

The companies mentioned in this year's presentation include:  Sports Authority, Amazon, Best Buy, Apple, Wayfair, Target, Dollar Shave Club, Instacart, Walmart, CVS, and Sam's Club.

Below are 8 sample slides from the 65-page deck.  Want the full deck? Access it here for FREE >>

Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>



Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>



Want the full 65-page slide deck?  Access it Here - FREE >>



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The most popular food in every state

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brownies

When stuck for recipe ideas, many Americans turn to food boards on Pinterest for inspiration.

The site collected data from its millions of users to find out what food or ingredient is searched the most in every state, relative to anywhere else in the country.

Named the "Foodnited States" index, the list includes healthy smoothie bowls, fast food favorites like tater tots and sloppy joes, and peanut butter treats for dessert, as well as after-dinner cocktails.

Scroll down to see what people in your state are searching for.

ALABAMA: Pound Cake

View the recipe here >



ALASKA: Survival Bread

View the recipe here >



ARIZONA: Chiles

View the recipe here >



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 29-year-old founder of ‘Hater,’ one of the hottest new dating apps, says he’s gotten death threats after a big marketing stunt in New York City

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Brendan Alper Hater

Brendan Alper's mom isn't very happy with him right now. 

The 29-year-old founder of Hater, a dating app that connects people based on mutual dislikes, recently took something of a risk: His company created an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin caressing a pregnant Donald Trump and projected it on buildings throughout New York City.

The advertisement got some laughs, but it also inspired internet backlash. Alper has a handful of death threats sitting in his Facebook inbox, and has decided against heading to an upcoming tech conference in Moscow, Russia. 

Putin Trump Hater app"We got invited a little while ago, right when this started to blow up," Alper told Business Insider. "We were really excited about it — this was before we got any press — and it was a big deal. But I don’t think we’re going to go now, because we’re just a little nervous, which is crazy that I have to make decisions like that. My mom wasn’t happy about this whole thing, I’ll tell you that." 

But Alper mostly laughs off the internet backlash and the concerns that Russia might be displeased with his company's handiwork.

After all, stirring the pot and sparking conversation is the whole point of Hater. 

SEE ALSO: Meet 'Hater,' a dating app that connects you with people who hate the same things you do

There's science behind it

Hater is Alper's first foray into the startup world. The former banker spent five years at Goldman Sachs and one and a half more at Nomura, but he never really loved what he was doing. 

"To be honest, I just wanted a steady job out of college," Alper said. "That’s all I wanted, to be able to make some money and survive."



It was at Goldman that Alper began writing comedy sketches. Two days a week, Alper would work on sketches with his roommate, filming them and putting them online. He continued working at Goldman, and later Nomura, in able to save up enough money to quit and write comedy full-time.

Hater app

The idea for Hater started as one of those sketches. Wouldn't it be funny, he thought, if there was a dating app for bonding over things you don't like? 

"I did the research on it and found a study saying that actually, there’s some science behind this: People bond over the things they hate more strongly than over the things they love," Alper said. "I just thought, 'Man, this idea is really going to resonate with people.'"



Getting creative with monetization

Hater works by supplying users with close to 3,000 topics to rate by swiping one of four ways: up to love, right to like, left to dislike, and down to hate.

By letting the app know how you feel about those topics, you're creating a profile that gets compared to the profiles of other users. You're then matched with other users based on the things you both hate or love.

Hater app

Alper says Hater does not allow hate speech of any kind on the platform. The topics do not include any racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups and all the topics are chosen by the Hater team, not by the users. 

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 30 richest people on earth

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jeff bezos 3

The wealthiest 30 people in the world control a staggering portion of the world economy: $1.23 trillion — more than the annual GDP of Spain, Mexico, or Turkey. 

That's according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which recently relaunched and expanded online to include 500 billionaires across the globe. The ranking updates daily to provide up-to-the-minute data on the world's wealthiest men and women. You can read about the ranking's full methodology here.

Business Insider has culled the 30 richest from the ranking as of March 1, when the index relaunched in its expanded format.

Billionaires need a minimum net worth of at least $22.5 billion to crack the top 30. Eighteen from this group hail from the US and two-thirds are completely self-made, having built some of the world's most powerful companies, including Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, Google, Facebook, and Oracle.

The two biggest gainers in the past year were Wang Wei, who added $22.7 billion to his fortune as the founder and majority owner of China's largest package delivery company, and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, who boosted his fortune by $21.9 billion thanks to Amazon's strong performance. 

From tech moguls and retail giants to heirs and heiresses, here are the billionaires with the deepest pockets around the globe.

Note that Bloomberg does not report the net worth of its founder and owner Michael Bloomberg, who does not appear on this ranking, though other sources peg his fortune at roughly $45 billion

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30. Ma Huateng

Net worth:$22.5 billion

Age: 45

Country: China

Industry: Technology

Source of wealth: Self-made; Tencent Holdings

Software engineer Ma Huateng (aka Pony Ma) founded China's largest internet portal, Tencent Holdings, in 1998. He was 26. Ma's company has a number of successful and widely used platforms in its portfolio, including QQ, its instant-messaging service, which is one of the world's 10 largest websites; a mobile-texting service (WeChat) with over 800 million users; a mobile-commerce product (WeChat Wallet); and an online-gaming community (Tencent Games), the largest in China.

Ma's wealth has increased by $4.7 billion in the past year.



29. Phil Knight

Net worth:$25 billion

Age: 78

Country: US

Industry: Retail

Source of wealth: Self-made; Nike

After a stint in the US Army, and with a Stanford MBA under his belt, Phil Knight convinced Tiger-brand shoemaker Onitsuka in the early 1960s to allow him to distribute Tiger shoes under the name Blue Ribbon Sports — the name Knight picked that predated his swoosh-logo-clad company Nike. Knight worked full-time as an accountant as he launched his new brand, and by 1968 he had built up enough of a rapport with customers that he was able to leave the CPA life behind. Knight now serves as chairman emeritus of Nike.

Nike has built its success on celebrity and athlete endorsement deals, starting with running prodigy Steve Prefontaine in 1973 and continuing with one of the most successful shoe marketers of all time in Michael Jordan, whom Nike signed to a five-year endorsement deal in 1984 worth roughly $500,000 per year. The biggest NBA star today is still under the Nike roof, with LeBron James signing a lifetime contract with the brand in 2015 reportedly in excess of $1 billion.

Knight's wealth has decreased by $1 billion over the last year.



28. George Soros

Net worth: $25.2 billion

Age: 86

Country: US

Industry: Hedge funds

Source of wealth: Self-made; Soros Fund Management

Born in Budapest, George Soroslived through the Nazi occupation of Hungary during WWII before fleeing to the UK and later settling in the US. Touted as "the man who broke the bank of England," he's best known for the Quantum Fund, a hedge fund he launched in 1973 under his Soros Fund Management company. In 1992 he shorted the British pound, a risky move that ended up earning the fund $1 billion in a single day and solidifying Soros' place in the finance world. Quantum Fund also generated annual returns over 30% under Soros' leadership, making it one of the most successful hedge funds of all time.

Today, Soros remains chairman of Soros Fund Management, which manages more than $25 billion in assets, including stakes in prominent companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Netflix. He's also chairman of Open Society, an organization he founded in 1979 that operates as a network of foundations and partners across the globe that promote the values of open society and human rights.

Soros' wealth decreased by $800 million over the last year.



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An artist redesigned junk food to appeal to hipsters — and the results are hilarious

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 Slim James

"All natural,""organic,""local,""handcrafted"— no doubt, the artisan food craze has gotten out of hand.

At least, that's how writer and illustrator Dan Meth felt, which is why he decided to rebrand junk food to appeal to the organic mustache wax-wearing, only-local-buying hipsters.

Meth was inspired to create this series after seeing a presentation by a graphic designer who designs "classy" food packaging.



"I thought it'd be funny to see how her style would transform the way we think of junky, guilty-pleasure foods," Meth said.



Meth, a self-professed health nut, decided to rebrand "the grossest items in the supermarket with the tackiest packages."

"These are all items that I ate or would have eaten when I was a kid, but wouldn't touch now. I know that sounds snobby, but this stuff is poison!" he said.



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I'm a financial planner, and here's what I tell my 30-something clients

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wealthy friends walking new york city

When you’re first getting your financial act together, the advice you’ll get pretty much boils down to:

  • Create a budget
  • Build up emergency savings
  • Pay down debt
  • Contribute enough to your 401(k) to get a company match, and fund a Roth IRA as well if you can

You built up a solid career, got out of debt, started saving for retirement…in short, you’re doing everything right.

Congratulations! You’ve just graduated from Adulthood 101: Surviving the Cereal-For-Dinner Years.

Welcome to Adulthood 201: More money, more problems

Your life is more complicated than it was when you were 22. Now you’re 32, and you might own real estate — or you might be married (or plan to get hitched soon). Perhaps you even have a child (or plan to add to your family in the next few years). And your parents are getting a little older, so you’re preparing to help with their care one day.

Just yesterday, it seems, you were chasing the best happy hour deals. Now, you and your friends chat about the best local school districts. Are you just one bad decision away from wearing Mom Jeans?

Never! (Listen, there’s no excuse for Mom Jeans.) I’d be happy to guide you into the next phase of keeping your financial life healthy. Now that you have some assets, there are many ways to make your money work harder. You have the power to build serious wealth in your 30s and beyond.

SEE ALSO: I'm a financial planner, and here's what I tell high-earning clients who want to enjoy their money while still building wealth

Up the retirement ante

If you’ve been contributing just enough to your 401(k) to get the company match, and fully funding your Roth IRA each year, you are awesome. But I’m going to challenge you to contribute beyond the minimum to get company match.

Look at your take-home pay and subtract necessary monthly expenses. If you have money left over, use some of that to up your 401(k) contributions even more.

Why focus on this account? Boosting contributions works for you in two ways. First, money you contribute to your 401(k) is pre-tax, so the more you contribute, the less you pay in taxes. Second, more money + time + compound interest = your retirement savings growing exponentially faster whenever you contribute more.



Save more aggressively

If you’re right in the sweet spot of earning a good salary and not having too many financial responsibilities yet, now is the time to save aggressively toward your short-term goals. If you know you’re just a few years away from homeownership, wedding planning, and having kids, save more than just the recommended 10% of your salary.

10% of your gross income should serve as a baseline to get you started with saving. But you’re ready to move up to the next level — which means it’s time to up your savings game, too. Now is the time to consider 15% to 20% of your gross income as your new minimum.

If you plan to use this money in the next five years, keep it in a savings account that earns you some interest, but allows you quick access to your cash.



Take stock

If you have money available that you don’t plan to spend for at least five years, consider investing it. If you’ve never bought stocks or funds beyond your retirement accounts before, this can be intimidating. But there are some easy entries into the world of investing.

Start with low-cost index funds or Exchange-traded funds (commonly called ETFs). Funds are a great way to diversify your investments quickly — and not putting all your eggs in one basket is a great strategy for minimizing overall risk.

But don’t go into investing blindly. Keep an eye on fees when you’re picking investments. Look at a fund’s expense ratio, which is a percentage that indicates what fee you’ll pay per $10,000 you invest. There are options out there that will cost you less than $10 per $10,000 invested.

Also look for no-load funds, which don’t charge you a commission when you invest. By sticking to low-fee investments, you can grow your investments without spending a lot to do so.



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