On a recent coffee run in the Bay Area, I learned not all Starbucks stores are created equal.

Most stores make you want to duck in and duck out, with their fluorescent lighting, lack of comfort seating, and swarms of cranky, under-caffeinated customers. A Reserve bar is different.

Last year, the big-box coffee chain announced an expansion of its premium brand, Reserve, with 1,000 new coffee bar locations across the US in 2017. The bars turn the ritual of grabbing a cup of coffee into an experience. Baristas prepare small-batch coffee using a variety of uncommon methods, like siphon brewing. They also sell coffee flights and cold-brew floats.

I  visited a Starbucks Reserve bar in Redwood City, California, an outpost of Silicon Valley. Here's what it was like — and what it cost me.

SEE ALSO: The 17 best things to do in San Francisco, according to people who live there

This could be a Starbucks store anywhere in America.

And this is a Starbucks Reserve bar — one of 1,000 expected to open by the end of the year.

Source: Fortune

Starbucks has been pouring money into the expansion as it bucks competition from upscale coffee brands like Blue Bottle and Intelligentsia. It wants to show it's no one-trick pony.

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

Planning a vacation or trip is undoubtedly stressful. You're bombarded with seemingly endless options for flights, lodging, and things to do, and it can be difficult to figure out where to start. Many travel aggregators strive to present you with the best deals, but they all end up looking very similar to each other.

These similarities make it easy to know what to do and expect when you first visit a site. Typically, you enter your destinations, dates, and number of travelers. After you click search, you can further filter based on price range, airlines, and departure times for flights; amenities, hotel stars, and location for hotels; and type of car and rental car company for cars. 

So what makes one site better than another?

It all depends on your priorities and preferences. Everyone travels and plans for that travel differently. Here are seven travel sites and the factors you should consider when choosing a site. 

Booking.com

Booking.com is a huge bank of information, offering more than 1 million properties in 117,000 destinations in 225 countries and territories. Wherever you'd like to go, you'll find it through this site. It offers booking for flights, hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars. Clicking restaurants will take you to OpenTable. 

Highlights:

I found their desktop homepage to be cluttered and a lot to look at compared to the homepages of other sites, but their app experience was noticeably simpler, which makes sense as travelers increasingly turn mobile. 

One feature on the homepage that stood out to me (shown above) was the "Are you traveling for work?" option. Clicking "Yes" will present popular business travel options like WiFi and breakfast.

Another feature was its flexible date suggestions if your chosen destination is a popular choice and accommodations are more than 50% reserved during your selected dates.

Best for: 

• Wide variety of options, including hostels, homestays, and bed and breakfasts
• Easy access to your plans and searches by syncing your account across your devices 
• Getting the best deals with their Price Match offer 
• Destination travel guides and articles 

Lacking or not the best for:

• Bundling hotel, flight, and car packages

Book a trip with Booking.com

Expedia

Expedia offers booking for flights, hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, cruises, and things to do. 

Highlights:

You can bundle flight, hotel, and car deals so you don't have to go through the headache of looking separately and trying to coordinate all the deals. 

The "My Trips" section is helpful for managing your entire itinerary in one place, so you don't have to search through endless emails and accounts to figure out your vacation plan. 

If you sign up as a member, you can earn Expedia+ points to use toward future trips. Use the mobile app to earn 2x Expedia+ points. 

Like Booking.com, Expedia also offers suggestions for date shifts, date extensions, and route changes to get you to the cheapest deal. 

Best for: 

• Hotel, flight, and car bundles 
• Coordinating your whole vacation itinerary 
• Reward points system

Lacking or not the best for:

• Single bookings. The site is best utilized for its bundle packaging.

Book a trip with Expedia

TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor offers booking for flights, hotels, vacation rentals, restaurants, and things to do.

Highlights:

It's well-known for its user-generated reviews, so as you're booking, you get the added benefit of reading reviews all in the same place. While I'm partial to Yelp for food recommendations and believe it to be better for US destinations, TripAdvisor is much more widely used in the international community. 

TripAdvisor is the most experience-driven travel site. You are not just booking somewhere to live — you're signing up to experience and explore a destination. 

Best for: 

• Detailed filtering (e.g. style for hotels and distinctive features for vacation rentals) 
• Comparing deals across aggregators 
• Strong user-generated review community 

Lacking or not the best for:

• Bundling hotel, flight, and car packages 

Book a trip with TripAdvisor 

In this shortened, seven-episode season of "Game of Thrones," basically anyone can be killed — and at any time. 

So to prepare you (and ourselves) for this intense season, which will undoubtedly be filled with deaths, we put together a list of all the characters still alive, their chances of dying this week, and in the season generally.

We'll update each character's risk of death percentage every week, depending on what happens as the story progresses. 

Season seven episode three, "The Queen's Justice," airs Sunday night on HBO.

Here's who will live and who will die this week on "Game of Thrones:"

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones:' Who is alive (and dead) in all the major houses

Daenerys Targaryen — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. She is Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons. She is perfectly fine and there's nothing to worry about for now. 

Chance of survival this season: 99%. All men must die, but Daenerys Stormborn is not a man. 

Arya Stark — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Arya's got a lot to do (aka: a lot of people to murder) before it's her time to go.  

Chance of survival this season: 75%. Arya will likely survive the season and the series, but her mission puts her at a big risk.

Jon Snow — 100%

Chance of survival this episode: 100%. Jon Snow isn't looking forward to the inevitable battle with the White Walkers, but he is just dandy in Dragonstone this week. 

Chance of survival this season: 90%. He's already died before and his life could be saved again.

Style "rules" exist for a reason. They inform and guide the current generation using techniques and styles that have worked well in the past. Much of the time, they ensure that younger folks at least try to look their best.

Many rules are rooted in business wear and can be traced back to pamphlets and guides from the early- to mid-20th century. They attempted to guide young businessmen in the right manner of dress so that they wouldn't embarrass themselves at work.

This is all well and good, but styles and societal priorities change. Things that worked in the past might not always work today, as business dress was a lot more conservative back then.

Here are seven style rules that have generally been accepted over time, but that no longer make all that much sense.

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

DON'T MISS: Meet the richest man in fashion, who made $19 billion in the last year alone

RULE #1: Don't wear white after Labor Day or before Memorial Day.

The "don't wear white after Labor Day" rule is rooted in classism. In the 19th century, it was a way for old money to separate itself from the nouveau riche. 

Unfortunately, this idea has stubbornly survived through the current day. It's time to forget about it — white can look great whenever.

RULE #2: Always match your belt with your shoes.

In more formal settings, it's a good idea to get as close as you can to matching the leathers of your belt and shoes. But in any other context, it's simply unnecessary.

It suggests a level of exactness that's too particular — fussy, even. And besides, no one is paying such close attention to the color of your leathers, anyway.

RULE #3: Always wear socks with pants.

The necessity of socks is greatly exaggerated. The sockless summer look has been around so long now, it's a staple in the spring issues of men's fashion magazines.

Socks are no longer required unless you're actually dressing up. Just make sure you have something on your feet.

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.

If there's one accessory every man needs to own, it's a wristwatch. 

The right watch should be functional and attractive — a piece that adds to the wearer's style. 

While certain brands like Rolex and Breitling are often used as a symbol of status, it's still possible to achieve a sophisticated look without spending high-end prices.

Just to name a few, brands like Timex, Invicta, Seiko, and MVMT all offer beautiful watches at affordable prices.

Whether your style in watches is minimal or more complex, you can find the right timepiece on any budget.

For those looking to save money, without sacrificing quality, we rounded up 10 of the best watches you can buy for less than $100 right now.

Check out our top choices below. And if you're looking for watches at all price points, Jomashop is having a huge sale on designer watches with discounts up to 75% off. 

SEE ALSO: 6 dress shirts every professional man should own

Timex Weekender Analog Canvas Strap Watch

Just as the name suggests, the Timex Weekender is a great watch for the weekend and other casual settings. The watch is straight to the point with a white face and black numbers, and the canvas band makes it lightweight and comfortable. 

Timex Weekender Analog Canvas Strap Watch, $24.42

Seiko Black Dial Leather Watch

This Seiko watch features a stainless steel bezel, black dial, black leather band. The a simple color combination means you'll be able to wear this watch every single day. 

Seiko Black Dial Leather Watch, $79.99

Invicta Pro Diver Quartz Two-Tone 18k Gold Watch

The Invicta Pro Diver is an excellent choice if you're going for that Rolex Submariner look, without spending a comparable prices. Two-tone hits and a blue dial make this watch really stand out.

Invicta Pro Diver Quartz Two-Tone 18k Gold Watch, $52.99 (Originally $275)

John Adams had quite a career.

After graduating from Harvard in 1755, he worked as a schoolmaster in Worcester, Massachusetts. The role wasn't a great fit.

From there, Adams began studying law and was admitted to the bar in 1758. Over the years, Adams would become a legal powerhouse in New England.

He was also an early rebel against the Crown, writing essays criticizing measures like the Stamp Act and helping to prod the colonies into war with England.

Adams would become a crucial member of the Continental Congress. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He also teamed up with Benjamin Franklin to work as a diplomat in France.

After the war, Adams became the first-ever US vice president. In 1796, he was elected the second president of the new United States.

So what did this very busy Massachusettsan get up to all day?

David McCullough's "John Adams" includes plenty of details on what an average day looked like for this Founding Father.

Here's a breakdown of a day in the life of John Adams:

SEE ALSO: The 6th US president rose before dawn for his favorite morning habit: skinny-dipping

DON'T MISS: A look at the daily routine of Thomas Jefferson, who rose early, drank coffee, and wrote a lot

DON'T FORGET: A look at the daily routine of James Madison, who owned 4,000 books, was too embarrassed to be seen without a hat, and drank up to a pint of whiskey a day

Adams usually rose before dawn, beginning his day as early as 5 a.m.

Source: "John Adams"

As President, Adams typically ate breakfast at 8 a.m.

Source: "John Adams"

As a student at Harvard, Adams picked up one peculiar habit — drinking a morning "gill" of hard cider. He later wrote that he would "... never forget, how refreshing and salubrious" he found the beverage in college.

Source: "John Adams"

If you think you've already witnessed the rise and fall of your peak self, researchers have news for you: As far as your intelligence is concerned, you likely have several new highs to look forward to. Some of them, like the ability to read others' emotions or do basic arithmetic, don't arrive until middle age or beyond.

"At almost any given age, most of us are getting better at some things and worse at others," Joshua Hartshorne, an MIT cognitive science researcher and the lead author of a study looking at how intelligence changes as we age, told Business Insider.

The team behind that study quizzed thousands of people aged 10-90 on their ability to do things like remember lists of words, recognize faces, learn names, and do math. Their results suggest that no matter your age, there's almost always a new peak on the horizon.

SEE ALSO: Here are the ages you peak at everything throughout life

DON'T MISS: A 24-year old got a mysterious disease where her body attacked her brain — and everyone thought it was in her mind

Overall brain processing power and detail memory peaks around age 18.

Scientists use a test called Digit Symbol Substitution to assess everything from dementia to brain damage. It requires people to use a number of cognitive skills at once — including processing speed, sustained attention, and visual skills. The tool, which typically involves pairing numbers with symbols, is also part of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, one of the most widely used measures of intelligence. 

Hartshorne employed the test in his study of how intelligence changes over time and found that participants' performance generally peaked in their late teens.

The ability to learn unfamiliar names peaks at 22.

Most adults are bad at memorizing bits of information without context, a phenomenon that neuroscientists chock up to the Baker/Baker paradox. A classic example of this idea is that you'll have an easier time remembering a story about someone who bakes than a person with the last name Baker. Because there's no context that links the person to the name, it doesn't become firmly lodged in your memory.

Young people don't appear to be as saddled by this issue, though — a 2011 study found that humans are best at learning new names in our early 20s.

Peak facial recognition ability occurs around 32.

The human brain has a remarkable capacity to recognize and identify faces, and scientists are just beginning to learn why. On average, we know that our ability to learn and remember new faces appears to peak shortly after our 30th birthday. 

The first researchers to link peak face recognition with an age are now studying so-called "super-recognizers"— people with a rare, superior ability to recognize a familiar face. Not coincidentally, many of them are in their 30s.

Hundreds of Wall Streeters packed a Manhattan venue this week to play poker and raise money for an education nonprofit.

The crowd included a who's-who of financiers, politicians, athletes and show biz folks, including Kase Capital's Whitney Tilson, one of the event's chairs; Greenlight's David Einhorn; Avenue Capital's Marc Lasry; New York Senator Jeff Klein; and Brian Koppelman, executive producer of Showtime's "Billions."

There were also pro poker players, like Vanessa Selbst, the highest earning female poker player of all time.

The July 26 event, called the Take ‘Em to School Poker Tournament & Casino Night, raised money for Education Reform Now. It's an annual event with familiar faces, and we've covered it before.

Different hedge funds sponsored the poker tables, including Mudrick Capital Management.

Take a look inside.

The event was held at Gotham Hall in Manhattan.

You could play blackjack on the side.

There were several tables to choose from.

Disney World is known for its outrageous foods and themed restaurants, along with featuring familiar brands (there's a hidden Starbucks in each park). But one of the most unique dining experiences is Hollywood Studio's Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. '50s-style diner food is served to you in car-shaped booths while old movie clips and cartoons play on a big screen in front of you — just like old outdoors drive-in.

The catch? It's all actually indoors. Keep reading for a firsthand look inside this Disney restaurant.

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is a popular eatery inside Disney World's Hollywood Studios.

You can make dining reservations up to 180 days in advance of your Disney World trip.

Head to the Disney World dining reservations site to learn more.

Once inside, there's a retro host stand where you can make or modify reservations, or check in.

We make thousands of decisions each day, according to some estimates. Not all of them are equally important.

Deciding what pants to wear and how to support a friend in need require different amounts of attention and mental energy, for example.

There's some research suggesting that making decision after decision can drain your brain, leaving you less capable of handling hard choices as the day goes on.

And though there've been questions recently about how valid that research is, it does make you wonder whether making fewer choices each day could be beneficial.

This got me thinking about whether automation could put me on the path to clearer thinking. So I decided to take it for a one-week test run.

As context, this was not just a professional decision (or, assignment) but a personal one too — I am terrible at making decisions. I say this as someone who literally flipped a coin about where to go to college (and ended up transferring).

For me, decisions often involve agony, hair pulling, sweaty palms — making minor choices throughout the day is totally overwhelming for me, and by the evening, simply choosing what to eat for dinner or listen to on my commute home feels like a Herculean task.

The plan: For one week, I'll make fewer decisions by automating "inconsequential" choices so I (hopefully) have more mental clarity for the important things. I'll tackle food, clothing and media. I'll eat the same taco salad for lunch every day (from by Chloe), wear blue jeans and a black turtleneck a la Steve Jobs and adhere to a media diet — a predetermined list made Sunday night of what I'll listen to, watch and read throughout the week. I know I'll be tempted to cheat on my media diet, so I'll automatically set my phone to go into "do not disturb" mode between 10:30 p.m. and 7 a.m. so social media notifications don't pull me in.

Here's a recap of my days:

SEE ALSO: The average American has only one close friend — here's how we got to this point

Monday, February 13

I am casually emulating Steve Jobs (it was a tight race between dressing as Angela Merkel, Zuckerberg or Jobs — I chose Jobs) in hopes of becoming a "uniform dresser."

It did feel great not having to fret about fashion this morning — I was out the door faster than I'd been before (maybe ever) and not having the choice to try something else on, while limiting at first, was ultimately freeing. I set my alarm for 7:20 a.m., meditated for ten minutes at 8:00 a.m. (this trend didn't last throughout the week, to be clear) and ate my daily breakfast of granola with almond milk. At the end of the day, though, I have to say I don't feel drastically different.

Tuesday, February 14

You know what the most romantic thing in the world is? Dressing like Steve Jobs on Valentine's Day. You're welcome, world (and partner).

On day two, I have not yet tired of my by Chloe salad. I did have to announce in a team meeting that I'm wearing the same outfit everyday, not the exact same items of clothing (I have six black Uniqlo turtlenecks).

My important musings of the day: I haven't felt a remarkable, overwhelming sense of clarity, nor any "lightness" by being lifted from such weighty decisions as choosing clothing and food. I will say, however, it's given me much less time to dawdle (one of my favorite activities) in the mornings. I used to be stressed to get out the door on time, or I'd get distracted by something completely irrelevant like investigating grout on the shower tiles and then scramble to get out the door on time.

Because social media isn't explicitly part of my media diet, I'm not really engaging in it. Yesterday, I felt like I was missing out. And the impulse to scroll through Instagram or pull up Twitter when confronted with a semi-awkward situation where I would have to stand silently next to other humans scrolling Instagram, i.e. riding the elevator or waiting for coffee, is hard to resist. But being unplugged in a world of people staring down at their phones is proving to be liberating and eye-opening — you don't realize how often we default to staring at screens until you're the only person in the room who's not doing it. That said, the media diet is shaping up to be the greatest gift of all. Unplugging is…magnificent. Especially today, because someone, not naming names, has an ex-boyfriend who is prolific with posting pictures of himself and his new girlfriend on Instagram. His magnum opus, I swear.

Wednesday, February 15

I'm still not sick of the salad and feeling pretty damn confident in my blue jeans/turtleneck combo despite being greeted with "Hey Steve!" when I walk into the office. There are worse people to emulate.

As the week continues, I'm realizing that the media diet is really my favorite aspect of my decision fatigue experiment. I find myself using technology less (except for my computer at work, of course). It does feel very strange that I'm deliberately cutting myself off from the digital world though. Fear of missing out is waning for social media but being disconnected from the constant news cycle — while incredibly freeing — is a blissful ignorance that I'm not sure I can entertain for more than a few days. The positive side of this is that I'm relying on my coworkers and friends to keep me in the loop — a novelty these days.

Another plus of my predetermined media diet is the time it's saving me. We can all relate to wanting to watch something, then spending a sitcom's amount of time just looking for the perfect show to sate your palate. Even better, I haven't felt this engaged with a book since college — truly (I chose to read a book of stories by Ted Chiang). The lack of options while commuting (usually I spend at minimum three stops deciding what music or podcast I want to listen to halfheartedly to while I struggle through the NYT crossword) has also made for a more peaceful and screen-free ride.

The best things in life may be free, but that doesn't mean they won't take time, sweat, and perseverance to acquire.

That's especially the case when it comes to learning important life skills.

To ascertain which talents are worth the investment, one Quora reader posed the question: "What are the hardest and most useful skills to learn?"

We've highlighted our favorite takeaways, as well as a few other skills we thought were important.

SEE ALSO: 18 hobbies you can turn into a high-paying side gig

DON'T MISS: What 13 highly successful people read every morning

Empathy

"You can be the most disciplined, brilliant, and even wealthy individual in the world, but if you don't care for or empathize with other people, then you are basically nothing but a sociopath," writes Kamia Taylor.

Empathy, as business owner Jane Wurdwand explains, is a fundamental human ability that has too readily been forsworn by modern business.

"Empathy — the ability to feel what others feel — is what makes good sales and service people truly great. Empathy as in team spirit — esprit de corps— motivates people to try harder. Empathy drives employees to push beyond their own apathy, to go bigger, because they feel something bigger than just a paycheck," she writes.

Mastering your sleep

There are so many prescribed sleep hacks out there it's often hard to keep track. But regardless of what you choose, establishing a ritual can help ensure you have restful nights.

Numerous studies show that being consistent with your sleep schedule makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up, and it helps promote better sleep in general.

Time management

Effective time management is one of the most highly valued skills by employers. While there is no one right way, it's important to find a system that works for you and stick to it, Alina Grzegorzewska explains. 

"The hardest thing to learn for me was how to plan," she writes. "Not to execute what I have planned, but to make so epic a to-do list and to schedule it so thoroughly that I'm really capable of completing all the tasks on the scheduled date."

Salaries continue to soar in Major League Baseball as 36 players will make at least $20 million in total earnings this season, up from 21 players just three years ago.

However, unlike the other major sports in North America, when it comes to paying players, there are some stark contrasts in team payrolls and how much some teams pay their top players. 

Below we take a look at the highest-paid player on every team and how those differ across MLB.

Salaries and contract information via Spotrac.com and BaseballProspectus.com.

Oakland A's: Ryan Madson — $7.5 million

Team: Oakland A's

Position: Relief pitcher

2016 WAR: 0.3 Wins

Contract: 3 years, $22.0 million (through 2018)

One thing to know: Only three teams have smaller payrolls than the A's, who were at $70.6 million on opening day.

Tampa Bay Rays: Evan Longoria — $13.0 million

Team: Tampa Bay Rays

Position: Third base

2016 WAR: 4.5 Wins

Contract:  years, $ million (through)

One thing to know: Nobody else on the Rays makes more than $5.3 million.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen — $14.0 million

Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

Position: Outfielder

2016 WAR: 0.7 Wins

Contract: 6 years, $51.5 million (through 2017 with a 2018 team option for $14.5 million)

One thing to know: McCutchen has rebounded offensively this season, but has become a liability in recent years defensively. There is a good chance he will be moved this year prior to the trade the deadline.

There's never a bad time to sit back and watch a good action movie. 

The nonexistent (or besides-the-point) plot, the constant explosions, the muscular heroes doing what needs doing: What better way to take time out from the daily grind?

And with the release of the Charlize Theron's "Atomic Blonde" this weekend, we're really in the mood for more butt-kicking fun.

Thankfully, Netflix has a great collection of action movies right now, including the first "Star Wars" standalone movie, "Rogue One," and the classic "Hellboy."

Here are 17 action movies we highly recommend that you can stream on Netflix:

SEE ALSO: Al Gore explains our chances against climate change, and his fateful meeting with Donald Trump

“Armageddon” (1998)

Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck go to space to save the world from a hurtling asteroid. With "Bad Boys" and "The Rock" already under his belt, director Michael Bay became the top action director going into the 2000s with this film.

"Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

The blockbuster features one of the greatest comic-book battles (though everyone is pulling their punches) and a pretty intense fight at the end between Cap, Iron Man, and Bucky.  

"Doctor Strange" (2016)

If trippy mystical action is more your thing, this is the movie for you. The origin story of Dr. Stephen Strange has some unique action sequences, topped by some A+ CGI.

LONDON — The average household has £27,200 to spend after tax and pension contributions, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A large part of that disposable income is based upon how much people earn in their jobs.

Obviously, salaries vary wildly by region, seniority, and gender, and of course, profession.

The highest paid bankers, for example, earn many times the salaries of the highest earning charity workers. But which profession's highest earners are the best paid.

Business Insider took data from salary benchmarking site Emolument, which analysed the salaries of 52,000 workers across 20 different jobs areas, pulling out the highest earners in each profession. Understandably, bankers and other financial service workers were right at the top of the tree, but mining and energy workers surprise, coming in in third place.

"While finance remains in the lead when it comes to remuneration, young professionals are more and more reluctant to sign up just for the money, which means that the financial sector has to work harder to incentivise millennials to either join the industry or remain for more than a couple of opportunistic years of training," Alice Leguay, Emolument's chief operating officer said in a statement alongside the research.

Check out the highest salaries, which are all inclusive of bonuses.

20. Charity and not for profit sector — £61,000

19. Public sector and education — £67,000

T17. Sports, culture and recreation — £72,000

So much of our lives are now spent online that it's easy to forget the internet was once a strange and bewildering place.

Even public figures who now tweet as naturally as they breathe had to start somewhere — and it turns out that was often in a cheesy 1990s photocall, which treated computers like something that had just fallen from the moon.

Some, like Michael Jackson, died before the internet became the dominant force in our culture. Others, like Rupert Murdoch, now own large chunks of it.

These bewildering photos have been dredged up by Business Insider from old press archives that still refer to "cyberspace, "the worldwide web" and spell internet with a capital letter.

Most photos show tech ventures now completely obsolete, websites that faded without a trace, and companies laid low in the dot-com crash. Others showcase impressively enduring corners of the internet. 

Steven Spielberg, June 1995.

Hollywood legend Spielberg gesticulates next to a computer terminal at a press event for STARBRIGHT World, a project to give children in hospitals access to the internet. The charity kept going until 2002, when it merged with another group to form the Starlight Children's Foundation, which still exists.

Newt Gingrich, June 1995.

US House speaker Newt Gingrich, Senate majority leader Bob Dole, and a man dressed as Benjamin Franklin pose next to computer monitors at the launch of TownHall.com, a conservative political news site that's still alive today.

Michael Jackson, August 1995.

Jackson types away at a laptop during his first online chat session, held at the US Museum of Television and Radio, in which he answered a series of pre-selected questions.

There are tons of characters on "Game of Thrones," and it's hard enough to remember all the main character's names sometimes, let alone the minor ones.

And on this show, anyone could come back unexpectedly. So to help you be the one who can tell your friends exactly who that character you haven't seen a while is, here's our guide to forgotten "Game of Thrones" characters who could return in the future — some in a very big way. 

Here are some forgotten "Game of Thrones" characters who could return in season seven or season eight:

SEE ALSO: 'Game of Thrones:' Who is alive (and dead) in all the major houses

Gendry

As the only remaining bastard of King Robert Baratheon, Gendry is the only Baratheon left alive. This definitely has some significance, so it would be shocking if we never saw him again.

The last we saw him was back in season three, when Davos set him free from Stannis and Melisandre, who planned to sacrifice him to the Lord of Light. 

Until we meet again, Gendry's still rowing. 

Salladhor Saan

Don't remember Salladhor Saan? Fair enough. He's barely in the show. He's a pirate and friend of Davos from his days as a pirate. In fact, he's a pirate lord and sellsail who commands a fleet of thirty ships. Salladhor is recruited by Stannis Baratheon (thanks to Davos) to help in the Battle of the Blackwater, but abandons the cause after Stannis loses. 

In season five, Stannis and Davos secure a loan from the Iron Bank of Braavos. This allows Davos to pay Salldhor for his service to Stannis' cause, but that's the last time we see him.

Will Davos recruit Salladhor for Team Dany to replace the ships and people lost in Euron Greyjoy's attack on Yara's fleet? It's certainly a possibility, and would explain why we got that scene between Davos and Salladhor in season five. 

Illyrio Mopatis

Illyrio is a Magister in Pentos and a supporter of House Targaryen. In season one, he sets up the marriage of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, and feeds Varys information on Dany and Viserys, who both support the latter's claim to the Iron Throne. In season five, though unseen, he lets Varys and Tyrion stay in his home in Pentos after their escape from King's Landing together.

Varys could bring Illyrio onto Dany's team for some more foreign support. He's also super wealthy, which could prove helpful to Dany. 

Blue Apron has been decimated since going public in June, losing 35% of its value thanks to a direct assault from Amazon and troubling customer-retention issues. 

The company, which was courting an IPO price of as much as $17 a share for a valuation of $3 billion in early June, has lost more than half of its value since then.

Blue Apron closed at $6.65 per share Wednesday for a market valuation of $1.32 billion. 

That doesn't mean investing in Blue Apron has been a disaster for all of its backers, though. Three venture capital backers have still made gobs of money. Investors who put money into the company later down the road have lost out, in contrast. 

Winners

Blue Apron's three early VC backers have still made a killing on the investment.

Business Insider estimated the returns of Blue Apron's largest backers, based on figures from the meal-kit company's IPO prospectus and ownership statements its largest investors' are required to file with the SEC.

Bessemer Venture Partners, which first funded Blue Apron in 2013 and has reupped at each funding round since, is the largest outside shareholder, with a nearly 23% stake. It's made $215 million, a roughly 800% return on the $26.7 million it has invested, according to Business Insider's calculations. 

First Round Capital is up $98.7 million on its $7.6 million investment, a 1,398% gain, while Stripes Group is up a more modest $29.4 million on a $36.7 million investment for an 80% return.

Bessemer, First Round, and Stripes Group did not respond to requests for comment. 

Losers

Fidelity, another big Blue Apron backer, has gotten slammed on its investment so far. The institutional investor, which manages trillions in capital for pensions and retirement accounts of millions of Americans, first bought into Blue Apron during its Series D round in 2015, throwing down $125 million and helping the food delivery startup earn its "unicorn" status with a $2 billion valuation. 

Fidelity followed in May 2017 — just prior to the public offering — by purchasing $63.5 million in convertible notes, which converted into some 6.9 million shares at the IPO, according to the filings. 

In all, Fidelity is down $80.2 million on the $188.5 million it has invested.

Of course, Fidelity is a long-term investor, and its holding in Blue Apron is a tiny portion of its holdings, especially compared with venture investors. Even if Blue Apron never recovers, Fidelity won't feel much of an impact. 

"As a general practice we don’t comment on specific holdings. That said, our portfolio managers look to invest in companies that they believe are good long-term opportunities for shareholders," Fidelity spokesman Jeff Cathie told Business Insider in an email.

Cathie continued (emphasis added):

"Private investments are very small positions in the relatively few Fidelity funds that make such investments. For example, as of its most recently disclosed holdings (May 31, 2017), the Fidelity OTC Portfolio’s investment in Blue Apron represented 0.089% of the fund’s approximately $15 billion in asset under management. And by-the-way, this fund is significantly beating its benchmark (the Nasdaq Composite) and 100% of its Morningstar peers on a 1-, 3- and 5-year basis."

And of course, investors who bought in at the IPO and still hold the shares have taken a paper loss of more than 30% in a matter of weeks. 

That's the point

This is sort of the whole point of VC investing: Get in very early on a number of promising investments when the risk is outsized, and then get paid out exponentially for taking that risk when one of those investments hits.

Although these funds are up on this investment, they stood to make as much as 2.5 times more when Blue Apron first filed for its IPO. Bessemer's $215 million return looks fantastic, but the firm, which manages $4.5 billion in assets, was up more than $500 million a couple months ago. 

And the VCs could be taking losses on the rest of their bets, so it doesn't guarantee the fund is thriving overall. 

Since none of these firms have sold their stakes yet, these returns are still "paper" only and could change significantly by the time the funds exit.

Here's a detailed breakdown of how each firm's investment has fared so far, based on the SEC documents:

Note: Figures are rounded. Calculations use the stock price as of market close July 19 — $6.65 a share. 

Bessemer Venture Partners return: $215 million (+800%)

Investments

Series A preferred stock: 295,546 shares for $5.84 million
Series B preferred stock: 350,153 shares for $3.9 million 
Series C preferred stock: 725,528 shares for $12.1 million
Series D preferred stock: 375,181 shares for $5 million

Shares after IPO conversion: 36.29 million

Return

Total invested: $26.7 million

Value of stake as of July 19: $241 million
Return: $215 million (804%)

Note — Preferred stock converts to common stock as follows:

• Series A on a 50-for-1 basis

• Series B on a 50-for-1 basis

• Series C on a 5-for-1 basis

• Series D on a 1-for-1 basis

First Round Capital return: $98.7 million (+1,398%)

Investments

Series A preferred stock: 199,323 shares for $1.1 million
Series B preferred stock: 87,538 shares for $961,491
Series C preferred stock: 326,325 shares for $5.5 million
Series D preferred stock: 7,504 shares for $100,000

Total shares after IPO conversion: 15.98 million

Return

Total invested: $7.6 million

Value of stake as of July 19: $106.3 million
Return: $98.7 million (1,398%)

Stripes Group return: $29.4 million (+80%)

Investments

Series A preferred stock: 1,801 shares for $180,100
Series B preferred stock: N/A
Series C preferred stock: 1,894,370 shares for $31.56 million
Series D preferred stock: 375,181 shares for $5 million

Total shares after IPO conversion: 9.94 million

Return

Total invested: $36.74 million
Value of stake as of July 19: $66.1 million
Return: $29.4 million (80%)

This summer, a small Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was quickly and effectively contained — clear proof of how much scientists have learned about the deadly virus since it appeared in 1976.

The most recent outbreak occurred in a province that neighbors a small village called Yambuku, where the disease first reared its head. 

When Ebola started to kill patients in a missionary hospital, a Flemish nun was infected and samples of her blood were sent to Belgium. Scientists soon realized they were dealing with something unknown.

After a harrowing experience with the virus in the lab, Peter Piot, a 27-year-old doctor who was one of the first to examine Ebola, left his pregnant wife in Belgium and set off for the Congo, then called Zaire, to track down the source of the outbreak. There he joined researchers from around the world in a terrifying hunt for the origin of the disease.

We still don't know what the original host of Ebola was, and the highly contagious disease continues to threaten devastation in the areas where it appears. Between 2014 and 2016, the world saw the biggest and most complex Ebola epidemic ever. 

Piot wrote about his experience traveling in the Congo in his book "No Time to Lose: A Life in Pursuit of Deadly Viruses." Using photos from the CDC's Public Health Image Library, we've illustrated the team's first several expeditions.

SEE ALSO: A last-resort ‘planet-hacking’ plan could make Earth habitable for longer — but scientists warn it could have dramatic consequences

DON'T MISS: Deadly plague could potentially be released as a cloud above a city, killing thousands, according to bioterrorism experts

Upon his arrival, Piot was swept through the airport — avoiding customs, because his passport wasn't valid — and rushed to meet the others who planned to track down the virus’ source. He’s wearing the colorful shirt in the photo below.

Stories of birds dropping out of the sky, sick with fever, and of human bodies by the roadsides had terrified pilots who at first refused to fly the team to the closest airfield in Bumba, a town of 10,000 on the edge of the epidemic zone.

After some cajoling, pilots agreed to drop the team and their Land Rover off if they could immediately depart for safety. Hundreds of scared locals surrounded the plane upon arrival, hoping for a way out, but military police beat them back.

If you're looking to invest in real estate, location is paramount.

HomeUnion, an online real estate investment management firm, has identified zip codes in 20 US metros where investors have seen the highest return on investment and minimal risk over a five-year period.

To compile its list, HomeUnion calculated the total annualized return — including projected appreciation and cash flow— of single-family rentals (SFRs) for over 200,000 neighborhoods in their database using a proprietary methodology.

They then eliminated neighborhoods with an average school rating below the 70th percentile, based on data from Maponics.

"Typically, SFRs in areas with good schools have been attractive to long-term investors, though those areas have been more challenging to locate for remote investors in today's heated housing market," said Steve Hovland, director of research for HomeUnion.

The markets with the highest returns and an average school rating in the 70th percentile or higher made it to the top of the list. Below, check out the top 20 housing markets in the US for real estate investors, where average annual returns over five years range from 5.4% to 8.1%.

SEE ALSO: 16 US cities where incomes can't keep up with housing costs

DON'T MISS: Online mortgage calculators don't give homeowners the full picture — here's what to use instead

46280: North Indianapolis, Indiana

Metro: Indianapolis

Annualized total return: 5.4%

School rating: 71.9

91602: North Hollywood, California

Metro: Los Angeles

Annualized total return: 5.4%

School rating: 71.4

73003: Edmond, Oklahoma

Metro: Oklahoma City

Annualized total return: 5.4%

School rating: 90

If you've ever roamed down the eggshell-colored, spiral ramp of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, you've had the pleasure of experiencing a Frank Lloyd Wright original.

When it comes to American architecture, Wright is a legend.

He championed organic architecture, or the belief that buildings should live in harmony with the environment.

Wright "created a new form that would resonate over time, always testing new ideas and materials," the director of Wright's Fallingwater, Lynda Waggoner, told Business Insider.

Here are some of his greatest works.

SEE ALSO: 11 of the most beautiful new homes around the world

Fallingwater, a home built over a 30-foot waterfall in southwest Pennsylvania, is a National Historic Landmark — declared 43 years ago this month.

"It was connected with nature in a very intimate way," Waggoner said. "Its furnishings grow from the house like the house grows from its setting."

The interior is just as harmonious. "He was always looking ahead, not backward," Waggoner said.

One of ten of Wright's works nominated as World Heritage sites, the Unity Temple in Illinois revolutionized church architecture.

"He turned his back on traditional church architecture," Waggoner said.