Before San Francisco was a bustling tech hub, before it was the center of the hippie universe, and before it became known for its lush hills, much of the area was covered in sand dunes.

Golden Gate Park, the 1,000-acre green space south of the famous bridge, is located on what was once the largest sand dune ecosystem in the western hemisphere. These dunes spanned seven miles, essentially the entire width of modern-day San Francisco.

About two square miles of dunes still exist today, but the Bay Area has evolved a great deal since then.

Take a look at the maps, paintings, and historical photographs that show the journey of San Francisco.

SEE ALSO: Amazing images of New York City before it was a city

San Francisco's first residents, members of the Yelamu tribe, began inhabiting the area around 3000 BC. Approximately 150 to 300 people lived in the boundaries of modern-day San Francisco, though they also roamed to neighboring sites.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

A group of Spanish explorers, led by Don Gaspar de Portolà, arrived there in 1769. This was the first documented European visit to the San Francisco Bay.

At the time, sand dunes stretched for about seven miles from east to west.

Source: San Francisco Department of the Environment

Nintendo's mini Super Nintendo is a delightful little box, packed with over a dozen classic SNES games.

It's just got one big problem: The Super NES Classic Edition has wired gamepads, just like the original Super Nintendo. And who wants wires stretching across their living room, from TV to sofa? Nobody. 

Thankfully, there's an amazingly simple, elegantly retro solution from 8bitdo in these wireless Super Nintendo gamepads that cost just $25 apiece.

After playing several different games with 8bitdo's wireless SNES gamepad, I was sold. Check it out:

SEE ALSO: The 5 best games on Nintendo's new $80 mini Super Nintendo

For $25, you get everything below (except for the SNES console itself, of course):

After opening the box, I found four things inside:

- A wireless gamepad

- A micro USB charging cable

- A wireless receiver to plug into your Super NES Classic Edition console

- A bare-bones instruction manual.

Setup is a cinch. All I did was plug the receiver into my SNES Classic Edition, push the Start button on the gamepad, and that was it. It took less than 20 seconds.

Here's a closer look at the wireless receiver:

Nintendo's been using the same controller ports on its consoles since the Nintendo Wii. The bizarre-looking plug you see above is the same one found in everything from the Wii to, now, the Super NES Classic Edition.

You simply open the front face of the console, like you would normally to plug in gamepads:

Only, instead of plugging in the SNES gamepads that comes with the console, you plug in the wireless receiver. Simple!

The wireless gamepad itself is an excellent facsimile of the real SNES gamepad.

From the way the buttons squish to the uncomfortable stiffness of the d-pad, 8bitdo's wireless gamepad is a near-perfect stand-in for the Super Nintendo's classic gamepad. Perhaps you're an absolute purist and want the same colored buttons from the original US Super Nintendo? That's an option!

Even better: Though the Super Nintendo's quad-colored gamepad was exclusive to Europe and Japan, you can get the wireless 8bitdo version in the US. As you can tell from my photos, I prefer the quad-color version.

And yes, both versions cost the same $25.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season two of "Stranger Things."

Netflix officially announced a third season of "Stranger Things" is on its way — but so far details of the coming storylines are scarce. The second season of "Stranger Things" came to an ominous close with the Shadow Monster/Mind Flayer keeping watch over Hawkins.

Among the questions of what the Mind Flayer's next move could be and how it affects Eleven, we have plenty of other burning queries when it comes to the series.

Keep reading for a look at the biggest unresolved mysteries we need answered on season three.

SEE ALSO: Everything we know about 'Stranger Things' season 3

What will the Mind Flayer do next? Are there other gateways between the Upside Down and the human universe?

The final shot of "Stranger Things 2" showed the Mind Flayer creepily standing over Hawkins Middle School. 

On the seventh episode of Netflix's "Beyond Stranger Things," The Duffer Brothers discussed the ending with Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven).

"This thing is very aware of Eleven," Ross Duffer said. "They've come face to face."

"I'm screwed," Millie Bobby Brown said.

"You're screwed," Ross replied. "I would be worried about Eleven. You slammed the door on him."'

For more on what this might mean for Eleven, read our full explainer here.

Does Will still have True Sight? Can he access the Upside Down?

When Mike and Dustin realized what was happening to Will and his "flashbacks" into the Upside Down, they referred to his ability as True Sight. Due to the time he had spent in the Upside Down and in the Demogorgon's lair, Will forged a special connection with the alternate universe.

Will this connection remain intact even after the Mind Flayer's shadow was exorcised out of him? Or was that link destroyed?

Will Eleven’s powers keep expanding?

Between her crazy levitating showdown with the Mind Flayer and her apparent ability to recover more quickly using her telekinesis, Eleven is on her way to being even more of a badass powerhouse than we'd realized.

Not only can she move larger objects now, but she also began having dream-visions of the Void. On the first season she needed to intentionally seek someone in the Void using their photo, but now it appears as if her subconscious is doing the work for her. 

Are there more super powers hiding inside Eleven? Will her current abilities become even more advanced?

After six years as an online-only business, apparel startup Everlane is opening a brick-and-mortar store. 

Everlane sells men's and women's clothing, shoes, and accessories that aim to be stylish and high-quality without a high price tag. What makes Everlane different from other retailers is its emphasis on what it calls "radical transparency": It only uses factories with high ethical standards that disclose the actual cost of making each product. 

For years, Everlane was only available online. The San Francisco startup experimented with pop-up stores in New York City and inside Nordstrom stores, but there's never been an honest-to-goodness Everlane retail store until now.

The new store, which opens December 2, is located on Prince Street in New York's SoHo neighborhood. While past pop-ups have let customers try on clothes in the store but not buy them, the new shop will be a full-service clothing boutique. 

Here's what it's like inside:

SEE ALSO: I tried the $9 subscription razor service for women and I'm never going to buy razors in a store again

Everlane specializes in wardrobe staples in solid colors and classic silhouettes.

Rather than introduce entire new lines of clothing for each season, Everlane releases smaller batches of new products throughout the year. 

To figure out what items it should add or change, Everlane gathers feedback from customer surveys and return shipments, as well as in-person "fit clinics." 

Its prices range from $20 for a tank top to $100 for a cashmere sweater. There are also pricier items like boots for $225 or a puffer jacket for $198. 

Opening a physical retail store "wasn't an easy decision," CEO Michael Preysman wrote in an email to customers.

"Being online-only has significant advantages. It's flexible, it's lean, and it's easy to scale," Preysman wrote. "But it has two serious flaws. Customers don't get to touch or try the product before they buy it. And we don't get to have in-person — real-life — conversations with our community."

The first Everlane store is located at 28 Prince Street, next door to the Little Cupcake Bakeshop and across the street from Prince Street Pizza.

The booming tech industry has caused an ongoing housing crisis in San Francisco, and longtime middle-income residents have been forced out by sky-high housing costs.

A startup called Starcity is on a mission to alleviate the situation. Founded in 2016, the 18-person team is creating communal housing for middle-income people who don't qualify for government subsidies but still can't afford San Francisco's sky-high prices.

Starcity buys up defunct hotels, retail buildings, and parking garages and turns them into dorm-like living spaces for the city's restaurant workers, teachers, and artists. According to the founder Jon Dishotsky, fewer then 20% of residents work in tech.

Right now, Starcity runs two San Francisco locations — one in the Mission district and one in Soma. There's an 1,800-person waiting list for the two open locations, with nine more locations in the works. We visited the Mission location to see what it's like.

SEE ALSO: Go inside the hottest neighborhood in San Francisco, where home prices have risen 75% in the past 5 years

The Mission Starcity was previously a residence hotel called the Yug, and other than a new paint job the outside has remained the same. "We're not dropping a glass box in the community and walking away," Dishotsky said.

The building's front room is reserved for the surrounding community. When the space first opened in May, it served as an art gallery for Mission-based artists.

The surrounding neighborhood is characteristic of the Mission before the tech boom and is filled with street vendors and mom-and-pop shops.

Before opening a new building, Starcity gets in touch with neighborhood groups to see who in the community is in need of housing. The goal is to build a bridge between the older generations in the city and the new ones — not divide them over $4 lattes.

At a time when shoppers are fleeing mall chains like J. Crew, Gap, and Abercrombie & Fitch, the direct-to-consumer fashion label Everlane is thriving.

Founded in 2010, Everlane follows in the footsteps of e-commerce sites like Warby Parker and Bonobos by selling wardrobe staples like T-shirts, cardigans, pants, and loafers mostly online. An outside firm estimated Everlane's sales at $35 million for 2015, up nearly 200% from 2013.

Michael Preysman, founder and CEO of Everlane, swore for years that his online clothing company would never go into physical retail. But this week, Everlane announced it is opening two brick-and-mortar stores in New York and San Francisco to bring new customers into the fold and connect with existing fans.

We stepped into the Everlane headquarters to find out what one of the most innovative companies in fashion is doing differently during the retail apocalypse.

SEE ALSO: Starbucks is opening premium stores where you can buy coffee flights and cold-brew floats — take a look inside

Everlane would like you to believe this is no ordinary crewneck.

These are no ordinary pants either — they are "versions" of pants. Much like app developers who post frequent software updates, Everlane is constantly iterating on its products.

This model is in stark contrast to how traditional fashion brands operate. Most retailers launch collections based on seasons, so when August rolls around, the stores fill with new sweaters and corduroys in the hope that shoppers scoop them up before Pumpkin Spice Lattés arrive.

But as Quartz pointed out, this approach doesn't reflect how customers shop. Most people don't buy new wardrobes all at once, but rather search out items as they need them.

"Traditional brands launch a ton of stuff, and then they look at what sold and what didn't," Preysman told Business Insider. "We look at it much more on a product-level basis."

Everlane releases small batches of new apparel continually throughout the year.

It gathers feedback from customer surveys, return shipments, and in-person "fit clinics" to make products better. In the past, Everlane has swapped the material in a pair of slim wool trousers to make them less itchy and adjusted a shoe sole so feet wouldn't slip out as easily.

• This year's "Unofficial Goldman Sachs Holiday Gift Guide" features a typically expensive and eclectic range of products.
• They include ancient fossils, luxurious cars, and high-end apparel.
• Prices range from $6 to $3.5 million.

Once again, it's that time of year where children everywhere learn one of life's most valuable lessons: Santa loves rich kids more.

Since last year's list — with over 5.4 million views — was the most popular gift guide in media, we decided to keep the same theme going: an eclectic mix of the fantastical and the practical, albeit still skewing slightly toward the 1%. After all, that’s the American way.

Here are the things a man wants but feels guilty buying for himself, as well as the things he needs but probably doesn't even know of. Regardless of how deep your pockets are, this is the only holiday gift guide you'll need.

John LeFevre is the creator of satirical @GSElevator on Twitter, and the author of the bestselling book, "Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery, and Billion-Dollar Deals," currently in development with Paramount as a major motion picture.

SEE ALSO: The unofficial Goldman Sachs gift guide for 2016

For his inner child

My son's newfound obsession with dinosaurs and fossils has resurrected a passion from my youth, one that undoubtedly, many men can relate to. Coming up for auction in the coming weeks is a complete Triceratops skull ($150,000), a stunningly preserved fossilized alligator ($30,000), and a extinct American lion skull ($55,000) that would make the perfect office conversation piece. At the lower end of the price spectrum is this meteorite slice complete with extraterrestrial gemstones ($1,500) that doubles as a work of art.

For his closet

I've written many times about socks. I don't like loud or gimmicky socks; they don't add personality or style. I hate color matching socks with my wardrobe in the morning, especially when hungover. And sorting and pairing is tedious. Simply put, I like plain, elegant socks, and I love the fresh feeling of new ones as a lifestyle choice. Enter the perfect new subscription service, Brummell ($6-7 per pair). They send premium-quality dress socks to your door every few months at a huge discount. This means you never have to worry about socks again, leaving you to focus on more important fashion considerations, like this Loro Piana Cashmere pullover ($935) or these Tom Ford Straight-Fit Vintage-Wash jeans ($680).

For his midlife crisis

Cars are typically a terrible investment, except for rich people. Hitting the auction block this December includes every boy's dream SUV from the 1980s — a Lamborghini LM002 ($450,000), one of only 60 delivered to the United States, unapologetically complete with a 76-gallon fuel tank and a Countach V-12 engine, and the instantly collectible and exceptionally rare Ferrari LaFerrari ($3,500,000). Or if those are too garish, there's always Paul McCartney’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 ($1,800,000).

Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn was charged Friday with making false statements to federal investigators about his conversations last December with Russia's ambassador to the US at the time, Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn is the latest to be charged in special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into whether President Donald Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to swing the 2016 election.

The Justice Department appointed Mueller as special counsel in May after Trump abruptly fired then-FBI Director James Comey, who had been looking into the president and his potential connections with Russians.

Since taking over the investigation, Mueller's team has charged four people once affiliated with the Trump campaign or administration. Only one of those charged has so far pleaded guilty.

Here's everyone charged so far in the Mueller probe:

SEE ALSO: Meet Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and tenacious investigator leading the Trump-Russia probe

DON'T MISS: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, indicted in Mueller probe, plead not guilty

Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort surrendered to federal authorities on October 30 after he was indicted, along with his business associate Rick Gates, on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the US and money laundering.  

Manafort, who pleaded not guilty, had been a key figure in Mueller's investigation. 

Manafort was forced to step down as Trump's campaign chairman in May 2016 after coming under fire for his connections to Russian oligarchs and his past lobbying efforts abroad. 

Manafort was also associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies in Cyprus, dating back to 2007, NBC News reported in March, and the FBI has issued grand-jury subpoenas to several banks for Manafort's records. 

Rick Gates, one of Manafort's business partners

In October, Gates was indicted along with Manafort on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the US, making false statements, and failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. He pleaded not guilty on all counts. 

Gates joined Trump election efforts in the spring of 2016, working as Manafort's deputy. He traveled with Trump and grew close with many top campaign officials.

After Manafort was ousted as Trump's campaign chief in August 2016, Gates continued working on behalf of the soon-to-be president, helping fundraise $25 million for the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policies and working on Trump's inaugural committee. As Mueller's probe intensified in the early months of the Trump administration, Gates left the nonprofit altogether.

But as recently as June, The Daily Beast reported that Gates was still visiting the White House and working under Tom Barrack, who has remained one of Trump's most trusted advisers.

George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser

On the same day Mueller's office announced the indictments of Manafort and Gates, it was revealed that George Papadopoulos, a 30-year-old former Trump adviser, had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.

According to documents that were unsealed by the Mueller investigation, Papadopoulos had made at least six attempts to set up a meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian representatives throughout the course of the 2016 presidential campaign, using a London-based professor named Joseph Mifsud and a female Russian national as conduits.

He was arrested on October 5 and subsequently cooperated with Mueller's team.

Trump has described Papadopoulos as a low-level volunteer.

"Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar," Trump tweeted following news of the guilty plea. "Check the DEMS!"

This week, Miguel featured J. Cole on an album version of a previous single, Neil Young released his 39th studio album, and rapper DMX dropped an absurd cover of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

SEE ALSO: All 26 notable new Netflix original shows that debuted in 2017, ranked from worst to best

Miguel — "Come Through and Chill" (feat. J. Cole)

Miguel added two emotionally and politically charged J. Cole verses to his previously released, Salaam Remi-produced single "Come Through and Chill." The spare, guitar-led track appears on Miguel's new album, "War & Leisure." 

Wilco — "Myrna Lee"

Wilco released a deluxe edition of its debut album, "A.M.," on Friday, and it features a number of previously unreleased songs. The standout bonus track, "Myrna Lee," has a wistful, country-twang sound that's unlike any of the band's subsequent material. 

The Orwells — "Vanilla"

Illinois-based rock band The Orwells crafts a traditional punk track with "Vanilla," a satirical takedown of the prejudices and "S.U.V.-vanilla" values of "Middle America."

Anyone who has traveled to New York City around the holidays will tell you that it's a magical time to be in the Big Apple.

From the festive holiday windows at department stores to ice skating at Bryant Park, there's no shortage of holiday activities.

Going to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center is a favorite for many. The tradition began in 1931, and today an estimated 125 million people come to see the tree each year.

We took a trip to the famous Norway Spruce this year to see why people love this NYC tradition so much.

Keep scrolling to read about our experience.

Every November for the past 86 years, a massive Christmas tree has been erected in NYC's Rockefeller Center.

The first tree was put up in 1931 with tin cans instead of lights. It wasn't until two years later that the first lighting ceremony took place with a total of 700 lights.

Source

This year, the 78-foot, 20,000-pound Norway Spruce is decorated with 45,000 lights. The wire that wraps around the tree is five miles long.

Source: Time Out New York

• The Senate is aiming for a final vote on their gigantic Republican tax reform bill on Friday afternoon.
• They appear to have enough votes to pass.
• We put together a guide comparing how your taxes could change based on what the Senate bill and the House bill contains.

The final vote on the massive tax bill by the Senate Republicans might be coming up on Friday.

Such a vote would come just three weeks after the bill, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), was introduced.

Republicans seem confident that they have the necessary 50 votes to pass the TCJA. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at 12:00 p.m. ET that "we have the votes." (Stay up to date with Business Insider's live blog here.)

But there's been a lot of confusion among Americans about what's in the Senate's version of the bill and what's in the House's version of the bill — and how that would differ from the current law.

We put together a simple guide on how things might shift for you if either of these bills becomes law:

SEE ALSO: From private school tax breaks to bigger inheritances, 7 ways rich people win big if tax reform passes

DON'T MISS: Meet the world's 50 richest billionaires of 2017

Income taxes and standard deductions for single filers

Under the House's plan, there would be four federal income-tax brackets rather than the seven we have today. The brackets proposed are 12%, 25%, 35%, and 39.6%.

The Senate's version would keep seven brackets but at slightly lower rates and adjusted income ranges. The brackets proposed are 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 38.5%.

About 70% of Americans claim the standard deduction when filing their taxes, and their paychecks will almost certainly increase — albeit slightly — if tax reform passes. In 2017, the standard deduction for a single taxpayer is $6,350, plus one personal exemption of $4,050.

Both plans would combine those into one larger standard deduction. For single filers under the House plan: $12,200, and for single filers under the Senate plan: $12,000.

Income taxes and standard deductions for joint filers

About 70% of Americans claim the standard deduction when filing their taxes, and their paychecks will almost certainly increase — albeit slightly — if tax reform passes. In 2017, the standard deduction for a married taxpayer who files jointly is $12,700, plus one personal exemption of $4,050 for each spouse and child.

Both plans would combine those into one larger standard deduction. For joint filers under the House plan: $24,400, and for single filers under the Senate plan: $24,000.

Child tax credit

• The 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show opens to the public on Friday and will run until December 10.
• It opens the 2017-2018 North American auto-show season.
• The LA Auto Show is generally more focused on consumer-ready models.
• BMW, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti, Nissan, and Toyota headline the show.

The 2017-18 North American auto-show season kicks off this week in sunny Southern California when carmakers from around the world bring their latest offerings to the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Vehicles ranging from design concepts to production models will dot the floor of the LA Convention Center.

Although the concepts at the show represent a glimpse into the future of the automotive industry, more-production-ready vehicles will give the public a chance to see what's soon headed to their dealers' showrooms.

The LA Auto Show opens to the public on Friday and runs until December 10. Here are just some of the cars you shouldn't miss. 

SEE ALSO: The 2019 Vantage is the Aston Martin sports car we've all been waiting for

FOLLOW US: on Facebook for more car and transportation content!

The LA Auto Show has always been a consumer-centric affair, meaning cars within consumers' reach take center stage. Leading the way is the newly unveiled Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.

Chevy also unveiled the convertible version of the 755-horsepower 'Vette.

Though Aston Martin won't have a factory-supported effort in LA, its new Vantage sports car will be at the show, thanks to one of the company's local dealers.

This week, legendary investor T. Boone Pickens listed his 100-square-mile ranch in the Texas Panhandle, northeast of Amarillo, for $250 million. 

Pickens, 89, has had a long, successful career in business and is currently the chairman of BP Capital Management (which he founded), so it's no surprise that he owns such an expansive spread.

There are some features of Mesa Vista Ranch, however, that make it truly unique. We've rounded up the most interesting facts about it here.

SEE ALSO: This starchitect-designed luxury apartment building was just crowned best new skyscraper in the world — look inside

When he first bought about 2,900 acres of land here in 1971,the only structure was a corrugated metal house that Pickens used to stay warm during days of hunting quail.

The ranch has increased by 22 times its original size since then. Mesa Vista Ranch covers some 64,800 acres now.

And now, there are a number of different structures: the 12,000-square-foot lake house, the 33,000-square-foot lodge, the 6,000-square-foot family house, the 1,700-square-foot gatehouse, the 1,600-square-foot pub, and the 11,000-square-foot kennel.

• The Economist released its 2017 Safe Cities Index.
• It ranks 60 of the world's major cities based on digital, health, infrastructure, and personal security.
• Tokyo, Japan, is the safest city with a score of 89.80 out of 100 (the average is 72).

Bustling cities like Tokyo, London, and New York City aren't small towns where people leave their doors unlocked or their computers unattended at coffee shops.

But these cities are safer than you might think.

The Economist released its annual Safe Cities Index ranking 60 major cities worldwide according to 49 indicators that were then averaged into four security categories: digital, health, infrastructure, and personal. The scores are out of 100, with the average sitting at 72.

Asian and European cities dominated the top of the list: in the top 10, four are East Asian cities (Tokyo, Singapore, Osaka and Hong Kong), and three are European (Amsterdam, Stockholm and Zurich).

Here are the top 30 safest cities in the world.

30. Doha, Qatar

Score: 73.59

29. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Score: 76.35

28. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Score: 76.91

From denim dresses to glamorous gowns, Britney Spears has experimented with plenty of looks since storming on the pop scene.

Ahead of the star's 36th birthday on December 2, we've gathered 36 of her best red-carpet and on-stage outfits to celebrate the occasion. Looking back, it's interesting to see Spears' transition from wearing pop princess pastels in the late '90s to edgier outfits in the 2000s and 2010s.

See some of her most memorable looks below.

At the beginning of her mega-stardom in January 1999, then 17-year-old Britney Spears attended the American Music Awards in a pink dress.

Spears kept her hair a more natural brunette color rather than the bleach blonde locks that have become her signature style.

She performed onstage wearing a neon pink top and sneakers in June 1999.

The head mic really completes the '90s aesthetic.

She then opted for sparkly pants and a light pink top while attending the Teen Choice Awards in August 1999.

Spears would soon ditch her pop princess aesthetic for slightly edgier outfits.

We'll never let go.

It's been twenty years since one of Hollywood's most doomed love stories hit the screen and audiences fell in love with Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On."

To celebrate the momentous anniversary, "Titanic" is returning to theaters. Beginning on December 1, the film will be re-released at AMC theaters. The 20th anniversary re-release celebration will take place for one week.

The nearly 3.5-hour movie is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, dominated the 1998 award season, and continues to make lists of top movies to see in your lifetime.

Since its premiere in December 1997, the cast of "Titanic" has taken on several more award-winning roles, and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have maintained their friendship. 

Keep reading for a look at how the star-studded cast looked then, what they look like now, and what they've been up to in between.

SEE ALSO: THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Love Actually' 14 years later

Leonardo DiCaprio played the adventurous vagabond artist, Jack Dawson.

Jack falls in love with Rose and eventually meets his demise in the chilly waters of the Atlantic floating on a door. 

Director James Cameron recently defended his movie ending saying Jack had to die despite years of fans insisting he and Rose both could have fit on the door.

Since "Titanic," Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in several critically acclaimed films including "The Departed,""Inception,""The Wolf of Wall Street," and "Revolutionary Road," which he played alongside Kate Winslet. He also finally won his first Oscar in 2016 for his work in "The Revenant" after years of jokes and memes.

DiCaprio is also active in education about climate change and most recently attended the 2017 People's Climate March in protest of President Trump.

Kate Winslet played the rebellious upper-class 17 year old, Rose DeWitt Bukater.

Rose falls in love with Jack despite her engagement to the arrogant Cal Hockley. 

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.

While the Echo Dot is good looking by gadget standards, it still looks like a piece of tech. 

For some, that's alright, but others might want to dress the Dot up a little to make it fit in better with their home's decor.

A boutique industry of Echo Dot holders has sprung up to fill that need, and we've rounded up some of our favorites below. It's easy to imagine these holders becoming popular considering the Echo Dot was one of the best selling items this past Prime Day.

SEE ALSO: 10 tech gadgets that’ll make your everyday life easier

Starry Night

Fintie Protective Case for Amazon Echo Dot, $11.99, available at Amazon

A fox

Cute Fox Holder Round Dot Speakers, $19.99, available at Amazon

A cave

Natural Bamboo Wood Stand Holder for Round Dot, $19.98, available at Amazon

• American Express Travel looked at flight-booking data and found the 10 destinations with the greatest increase in bookings during this year's fourth quarter.
• Some appeal to those who like the cold and others to those who want to escape it, but each offers unique cultural experiences.
• Many will allow travelers to break out of their vacation routines and travel to destinations that are not often associated with holiday travel.

It's not too late to book your holiday vacation. 

Whether you want to celebrate Christmas, ring in the New Year, or skip both and avoid the holiday vacation crowd, there are plenty of options around the world that can provide unique cultural experiences. 

American Express Travel looked at the 10 destinations that have experienced the greatest increase in flight bookings during this year's fourth quarter, and it found a wide range of cities across the globe. Some provide opportunities for skiing and unique holiday celebrations, while others allow travelers to get out of the cold and catch some sun.

These are some of the destinations that travelers are flocking to this holiday season.

SEE ALSO: 10 massive New Year's Eve parties that are worth traveling for

Aruba

Increase in bookings: 31%

Travelers looking to escape the cold have been flocking to this Caribbean island to relax on its pristine beaches. Aruba also has the advantage of being undamaged by this year's hurricanes.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Increase in bookings: 28%

The capital of Argentina is a haven for design enthusiasts with its creative architecture and fashionable residents.

Reno, Nevada

Increase in bookings: 78%

Reno offers the excitement of a major city and the laid-back vibe of a ski town. The city features a number of gastropubs with excellent craft beer and plenty of opportunities to ski in the Sierra Nevada.

Startups are getting more recognition than ever before.

As awareness grows, more think about starting their own, and the support — whether from the community or government — is considerably higher than in the past.

And while it seems like a fun idea, with flexible working and being your own boss, startups are hard. The few that succeed have found a "special sauce" and stuck out from the pack.

So what does it take?

We asked seven successful startup leaders, who will be speaking at StartCon on December 1-2, what it takes to succeed, which technologies will be key to growth and scale, and what are the biggest challenges moving ahead.

Here's what they had to say.

SEE ALSO: 9 brilliant leaders, investors, and thinkers share the questions they ask themselves when they're completely overwhelmed

Roshni Mahtani, founder and CEO of Tickled Media and co-founder of the Female Founders Network

"Australian start-ups need to look at themselves as APAC and not just an ANZ play so they disrupt a larger market. There are cultural considerations, but so is there a great talent pool plus potential partners to ease the transition. If language is a worry, Singapore and the Philippines are obvious next steps."

Logan Young, co-founder and VP strategy, Blitz Metrics

"Google and Facebook are a paid duopoly of increasing power. So startups must cater to their algorithms, which favor 'hot' content over direct selling approaches. Thus, startups increasingly are falling for 'get rich quick' stories, instead of using tried-and-true marketing principles.

Growth and scale is less about technology and more about platforms to distribute content, of which Facebook is now king. WordPress, social accounts, and a shopping cart are the necessary building blocks most startups need to get the word out.

80% of the effort in Marketing/Technology is in the setup. 20% is in 'storytelling' content that goes through these platforms."

Emma Lo Russo, CEO and co-founder, Digivizer

"Prioritizing what you do, from your long-term vision, through to the strategy you create to win, down to what you do in the next hour, is crucial. I started Digivizer after leaving a COO role at a listed Australian software company, so I had developed these skills in that environment and context. What was different in a new startup was how you have to prioritize everything.

Always consider the implications of the choices you have – including the implications of delaying difficult ones. I thrive on difficult challenges and I use that fear to focus on how to create the strategies I need to take me from where I am today to where I want to be tomorrow.

As businesses grow, they hit inflection points, usually at around 20-30 employees, at which point entrepreneurs needed to think about switching from a control model to an empowerment model, and then at 70 employees, where systems, leadership and culture often need revisions."

• "The Chris Gethard Show" is a live weekly show hosted by comedian Chris Gethard.
• Gethard's show allows its audience members and fans to be a part of the show.
• Gethard purposefully chose not to stick to the traditional talk show format for his show.

Prior to taping "The Chris Gethard Show," host Chris Gethard can be found chatting with audience members in such a casual manner that you find yourself wondering if everyone in the audience is an old pal of his.

But Gethard just wants his guests to feel welcome, and like they're part of a "community." 

Gethard remains amiable with his guests even when the cameras start to roll, and often chats with them throughout the show. Large portions of the show are allocated for call-ins from fans, where they ask questions, tell stories, and sometimes just share a few seconds on air with Gethard.

It's not unusual, or rare even for hosts to engage with their guests. But "The Chris Gethard Show's" high level of audience inclusion, including spontaneous dancing, and the way Gethard interacts with his guests, challenges the very notion of what you can and cannot do on a talk show.

"The Chris Gethard Show" originally aired live on the New York City public access channel MNN in 2011. Gethard shot the talk show on a set that largely resembled a basement, where he would conduct interviews with friends from the local comedy circuit, give comedians a platform to do various character bits, and invite viewers to call into the show to answer a question, or tell a story. 

It wasn't until 2015, when "The Chris Gethard Show" got picked up by Fusion, that Gethard's show got a serious cable TV makeover. This included a stylized new set, and access to celebrity guests like Diddy and Will Ferrell. Gethard would interview his guests, and invite them to partake in unusual activities. In one episode, Gethard asked Ferrell to deliver a speech to a couple who got married on the show, and in another he held an underwater themed prom, which Lena Dunham came to in a full mermaid costume. 

But Fusion chose to pre-tape the talk show rather than shooting it live — something that Gethard felt left something to be desired. After a year on Fusion, "The Chris Gethard Show" moved to truTV in May 2017, and went back to live taping, gaining back its edge and the show's unpredictability factor.

Since then Gethard has continued to create strange new segments at his new home on truTV, and now delights in the idea of continuing to push the boundaries of what he can do on his talk show. This season Gethard spent an entire episode working out while interviewing "The Mindy Project" star Adam Pally, and invited circus performers to teach Seth Meyers how to balance a spinning plate. 

Gethard isn't trying to be a "rebel" or "change the talk show" by any means, he just doesn't want to feel bound to any particular way of making a talk show, he said. 

Gethard spoke to Business Insider about what inspired him to deviate from the traditional talk show format, and why he still wants things to "look messed up" on his show. 

Here's what Gethard had to say about "The Chris Gethard Show":

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"The Chris Gethard Show" is built on a sense of community.

Amanda Henning Santiago: I've never seen the host and cast of a show chat with guests before a show before. It really feels like the audience is such a big part of the show, and almost like another character on it. Did you know that you wanted to engage that much with your audience from the start?

Chris Gethard: I think I very quickly realized if this show is going to survive it was going to be because there would be a sense of community surrounding it. This show is admittedly pretty strange, and intentionally very different from things that people are used to, and you know a lot of times we walk away from the format. There's nothing that really resembles a talk show format on our talk show.

The [talk show] format is done for a reason. It's to make things palatable, and so you immediately understand it, and you can turn a show on midway and say, "Oh, I get what they're doing, I've seen that structure before." And, we don't have that. What we have instead is this show that kind of goes where it wants, and does what it wants. 

Gethard ignores the traditional talk show format, with the exception of two late night staples.

Henning Santiago: What elements of your show did you want to deviate from the traditional structure? Were there any elements of a traditional talk show structure that you wanted to keep?

Gethard: I don't really have much interest in being a rebel, like we've got to change the talk show, because at the end of the day who really cares about that. But I do feel like you just know what's coming. It's going to be the intro song, it's going to be the monologue jokes about politics, it's going to be a desk piece where they sit down and talk about a thing, and interview a celebrity, then there's going to be another desk piece, another celebrity, and then maybe it's a band, or maybe it's a comedian. It's at a level where that's locked in. Which to me is a little bit of a bummer.

And the monologues are never my favorite thing. So I thought, let's abandon that, that's not my favorite thing, and I bet there's a lot of talk show viewers who kind of feel the same way about these monologue jokes. And then that started getting me thinking, what if we just blow the whole thing up? I was always like, why does the audience sit up in those seats, that seems arbitrary to me, let's put them right here. Like, especially where we come from. Our show is so underground and so hidden that anytime someone wanders through the doors it's like, "Yes, welcome. Do you want to be on camera? Be on camera."

A lot of that started too, because our show just visually was so flat on public access we were like wear a costume, do something crazy, you're a part of the scenery now, be a part of the scenery. Be a part of it. 

And I think there's certain things from talk shows I really love. Like, I think one thing you see show up a lot in our show are remote pieces. Letterman and Conan, both of them did such fantastic remote pieces, and I'm always trying to mimic that. Just getting out of the studio, and bringing a camera out into the real world to see if we can make something happen. And then I think character stuff too. I think Conan in particular, when I came up in New York he would use people from UCB [Upright Citizen's Brigade] all the time in his character bits, and they always blew me away. 

Gethard fights against the slick live show format, and strives to make his show "still look messed up."

Henning Santiago: Did you know that you wanted this show to be live? Was the public access show live?

Gethard: The public access show was live, and that's one of the biggest reasons that we went to public access. We had been doing it ["The Chris Gethard Show"] at the UCB, and a friend of mine who took classes there. Who I actually taught for a long time. He told me, "You know I work at the New York public access station, and I think your show would be a great public access show."

And at first I was like, "Man, is public access still around?"

He was telling me, "Dude we have a four camera studio, you can do the whole thing live, we can stream it online, and you can take phone calls."

And the more he told me about it the more I was like, I think this might be the best kept secret in New York. The fact that we could do it live, and the fact that we could take phone calls, and put it out on the internet all really appealed to me. I just had this hunch that if you do something live, people really feel like they have to be there to see it. Live is the thing that defeats the idea that you can watch the best 45 seconds on Reddit the next morning. There's so much more power, it's live so you don't want to be there after the fact, you want to be there when it goes down.

And then the fact that it can be interactive, that we take phone calls, and that it was uncensored, that we could just throw it up there and see what happens, that was all the stuff that really appealed to me.

On our former network, on Fusion it wasn't live, and I think the show really lost something. I'm really proud of what we did but it felt like there was a certain life to it that had been diminished. I think truTV saw that, and they actually suggested doing it live again, which I was astounded by because it's not a safe thing to do on any show, let alone with us. We barely know what we're doing, so I really commend them for allowing this to happen.

Henning Santiago: Yeah, it's hard for me to think of any shows that are really live anymore. Save for like SNL, and some news?

Gethard: Yeah, it's news, its sports, and I think Andy Cohen, right? I think that's one of our big battles this year, and one of the things we've really been pushing for is that we've been doing this more and more, and we're better at it, and it made me realize, we have to work harder at it and make sure things still look messed up. That we have to get ambitious enough with our ideas that they fall apart and the edges fray on TV.

That's another thing I don't understand about live TV like "SNL." I have so many friends who worked there, I was a guest writer there, I really have so much respect - I don't want this to sound like I'm talking bad about it. But I feel like one of the things that astounds me is that that show doesn't feel live. I feel like one of the accomplishments of it is that it's so slick that things barely ever go wrong, and to me I'm like no I want to run in the opposite direction.