Some structures will take your breath away.

Our friends at ArchDaily set out to determine the best buildings from around the world that blend beauty, intelligence, creativity, and service to the community.

After receiving nominations from more than 3,500 projects featured on its site in the past year, the publication asked readers to vote for their favorites among 14 categories. Sixty thousand people voted.

From the teeny-tiny town hall in Newbern, Alabama, to the futuristic McDonald's halfway around the world in Georgia, here are the winners od ArchDaily's Building of the Year Awards.

BEST COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE: A combination fuel station and McDonald's in Batumi, Georgia.

Architect: Giorgi Khmaladze

See the full project »

BEST CULTURAL ARCHITECTURE: The Danish National Maritime Museum in Helsingor, Denmark.

Architect: BIG

See the full project »

BEST EDUCATIONAL ARCHITECTURE: Braamcamp Freire, a secondary school in Lisbon, Portugal.

Architect: CVDB arquitectos

See the full project »

The New York Post reports today that Jay-Z and Beyoncé are looking to buy a Hamptons home, and recently checked out a luxurious property in East Hampton.

The home, on Further Lane, is listed through the luxury real estate firm Corcoran Group. Though the price has not been disclosed, insiders told Page Six that the home owners are asking for "around $25 million."

The 6,500-square-foot mansion has four bedrooms and over two acres of property, complete with an apple orchard, stone pathways, heated pools, and a tennis court.

There's also plenty of indoor space with dark wood floors, vaulted ceilings, and gorgeous furniture which would be included in the sale.

Last year, Jay and Bey spent a reported $400,000 to spend one month in Joe Farrell's Sandcastle home in Bridgehampton, with a bowling alley, movie theater, and spa. Looks like this year they could be ready to buy their own Hamptons hideaway.

Whether or not they buy the home, it's worth a peek inside.

Welcome to 466 Further Lane in East Hampton, the home Jay and Bey were reportedly looking to buy.

Source: Corcoran Real Estate Group

Though they'd have a few neighbors, the property is surrounded by trees and looks private. It sits on 2.11 acres.

Source: Corcoran Real Estate Group

The home has 6,500 square feet and a few fireplaces.

Source: Corcoran Real Estate Group

Like many big cities, New York has a rat problem.

It's gotten so bad that the city started a "Rat Indexing" program in 2008 where city officials inspect properties, look for active rat signs and problem conditions that attract rats, and track complaints about rats in parks, public housing, and schools.

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has uploaded this info into a helpful Rat Information Portal (RIP) that shows anxious New Yorkers how their block has fared in rat violations since 2010.

New Yorkers can search by borough, address, block number, and zip code to pull up all inspection results and rat violations, as well as view the individual data on how many rat inspections have failed in your area.

We compiled the data from the most recent 2012 numbers, and found the 10 zip codes that have the worst rat infestations by the percent of initial inspections that had active rat signs as well as the percent of follow up inspections that failed, excluding all zip codes with less than 10 inspections.

10. 10456, Hines Park, Bronx (29% failure rate)

9. 11222, Greenpoint, Brooklyn (29.7% failure rate)

8. 11104, Sunnyside, Queens (30% failure rate)

7. 11215, Park Slope, Brooklyn (30.8% failure rate)

6. 11205, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn (35.6% failure rate)

5. 11211, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (37% failure rate)

4. 11216, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn (38.4% failure rate)

3. 11238, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn (38.7% failure rate)

2. 11201, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (40% failure rate)

1. 11217, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn (50% failure rate)

You can search for your neighborhood or address over at the Rat Information Portal website.

SEE ALSO: The 70 Best New Buildings Of The Year

Join the conversation about this story »

With terrorists vowing to strike Sochi, security is the word on everyone's lips.

Russia is trying its best to reassure the world. The chief organizer of the Sochi Olympics has recently bragged that the city is currently the "most secure venue on the planet."Kremlin officials have insisted that the games will be protected by a "ring of steel."

In the face of such danger, Putin is pulling out all of the stops.

Russia is taking to the skies to further protect (read spy on) the Olympic attendees. A massive drone fleet is currently being deployed above the region.

In terms of CCTV coverage, Sochi is going for the gold. The intense CCTV blanket makes it one of the most watched cities in the world.

Free wi-fi is being provided throughout the city, with the inclusion of Deep Packet Inspection technology. This allows security personnel to filter key words out of communications and see who is speaking to whom and about what.

Very few sci-fi authors have as colorful a story as Philip K. Dick.

Not only was he tremendously prolific, churning out 44 novels and 121 short stories in his lifetime — he died in 1982 aged 53 — but he was famously prone to hallucinations and paranoid delusions, even having something of a religious experience that revealed his son had a fatal birth defect. Doctors successfully saved his son's life, but only after Dick told them what to look for.

He toiled in semi-obscurity for a large part of his career, but Hollywood later discovered his work, adapting story after story into numerous big-name movies. It's why many consider him Hollywood's go-to source for sci-fi (Minority Report, Blade Runner, The Adjustment Bureau).

Dick's work addresses all kinds of topics, but it asks different versions of the same question over and over again: How do we know what's real and what's not?

As our world becomes increasingly virtual, the "real" can be easily threatened by the "not-real." Imaginary Bitcoins have people questioning their physical dollars. Daily communication happens in ones and zeroes via email rather than through physical letters by pen and paper. This same type of tension proliferated Dick's work and life.

He looked at a future where technology went unchecked by humanity, and he didn't like what he saw.

A Science Channel documentary called "Prophets of Science Fiction" (available on Netflix) takes a look at Dick's work through the technology he predicted and feared.

Let's start with a story. One day Dick came home to find that his house had been burglarized.

Someone had ransacked his house and blown up his safe, containing a bunch of writing and documents.

Dick wrote extensively about the government, conspiracy, and abuses of technology. It had all been fiction, of course, but the incident didn't mesh well with his paranoia — was he getting "too close" to something true?

Before season 4 of "Game of Thrones" begins in April, the land of Westeros may be heading to your town.

HBO worked with various partners to offer a free exhibit to the public that's touring the world.

Tour the "Game of Thrones" exhibit >

The event expands upon last year's which travelled to five cities. 

This year, the "Game of Thrones" exhibit will make its way to seven cities: Mexico City; Austin, Texas at SXSW; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Oslo, Norway; Toronto, Canada; Belfast, Northern Ireland and Vancouver, Canada.

From costumes, to set pieces, and the Iron Throne itself, the exhibit features nearly 100 original items from seasons 1-3, and a few from the upcoming season as well. 

An abbreviated preview of the full exhibit is in New York City until 2/1 as part of a 90-minute Time Warner Cable Studio tour. 

If you're in the area, and are a Time Warner Cable customer, the event is taking place in the Meatpacking District at 440 W. 14th Street. You can head here for free tickets.

Otherwise, you can view details on the other locations HERE.

If you can't make it, we headed over to the exhibit to see what's inside. Here's a compilation of what to expect based on both years of visiting.

You'll get an up close look at armor and weapons used in the series.

And see two of Daenerys' dragon eggs. (The third was given to creator George R.R. Martin as a wedding gift.)

There's one of Daenary's dragon when it was tiny in season 2.

A full scale model of Daenerys' dragon, Drogon, from season 2 also made an appearance.

As home prices ripped higher in 2013, we saw a rise in home flipping — when a home is purchased and sold within six months.

Home flipping was up 16% on the year in 2013, according to RealtyTrac's latest report.

The average gross profit for a flip — the difference between the flipped price and the purchase price — was $58,081 in 2013.

In the fourth quarter the gross profit on flips was $62,761.

We rounded up the 14 cities where home flippers made the highest gross profit (in percent) in the fourth quarter.

Note: RealtyTrac looked at metro areas with more than 10 flips in the fourth quarter.

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Gross profit percentage: 139%

Average gross profit: $97,437

Q4 flips:315

YoY change: 27.5%

Average purchase price: $70,113

Source: RealtyTrac

Lincoln, Nebraska

Gross profit percentage: 109.2%

Average gross profit: $$88,388

Q4 flips:26

YoY change: 2.8%

Average purchase price: $80,929

Source: RealtyTrac

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina

Gross profit percentage: 103.7%

Average gross profit: $46,845

Q4 flips: 16

YoY change: 1.8%

Average purchase price: $45,168

Source: RealtyTrac

With massive coal reserves acting as a natural charcoal filter, West Virginia used to be famous for its well and spring water.

"We had the best darn water in the world," Prenter Hollow, W.V. resident Maria Lambert said when we visited her home in mid-January, "but that all changed, didn't it?"

It took years for the Lamberts and their neighbors to accept that their water may have been contaminated by nearby mountaintop removal coal mining. Not only was mining taking away their charcoal filter, but it also threatened to contaminate their water supply with toxic chemicals.

In a 2009 lawsuit, locals blamed broad health problems including elevated cancer, surgery, and mortality rates on mining activity. They received compensation in a 2012 out-of-court settlement with Alpha Natural Resources, which had bought the suspect mine from original owner Massey Energy. (Alpha did not respond to a request for comment on this story.)

It's hard to say exactly how much Prenter suffered, and no one knows how common these problems are. Coal, which provides around a quarter of America's consumer energy, is so important to the local economy that people try not to ask many questions. Still, locals seem resigned to negative health effects.

The people of Prenter eventually got off their well water and onto city tap water. In January, however, their supply was contaminated by the Elk River chemical spill, forcing them to drink bottled water for a week and leaving many uncertain about water quality even now.

Surrounded by massive coal and chemical industries, West Virginians are used to environmental contamination that would terrify many people.

Mostly, it happens by degrees. An isolated incident here and a sick neighbor there were subtle enough for residents to accept these conditions as the status quo.

Even as many embrace the industries that led them here in the first place.

This weekend, out-of-towners will pour into New York City for the Super Bowl, and they'll all be looking to eat a celebratory meal.

Or a meal that will make them feel better after a crushing loss.

Whatever the situation, this is New York, and that meal should be steak.

Moreover, if you ask any Wall Streeter, they'll likely suggest the steakhouses on this list.

Here's why: New York City has an amazing tradition of steak and chophouses — some steakhouses on this list, like Keen's, Delmonico's, and Old Homestead, date back to the 1800s.

Wall Street is even older than that, and with its client dinners and big money celebrations, is steeped in NYC steak culture. Bankers take lunch meetings at Bobby Van's, and Del Frisco's is basically a big banker hang out spot managed by former bond trader, Scott Gould.

That's why Business Insider polled its Wall Street readers to get their official take on the best steak in town and compiled the results in this handy list. Study it, you'll need it.

Oh, and as a sidenote, shouts to Minetta Tavern — not a steakhouse, but they serve an amazing steak.

#18 Mark Joseph Steakhouse

261 Water Street

Rating average: 2.44 out of 4

Cost of an average meal: $74

"It's too bad Yelp doesn't feature a timeline slider of sorts as the performance of the service at MarkJoseph varies from start to end of our dinner. Starting at Time A we were in a pristine state of good service, a primordial garden of eating.

"By the arrival of our main courses and exclusion of a friend's sides, the first seeds of doubt were sown. Moving along, with other guests not having their water glasses refilled or tea/coffee service offered, the Fall from grace had fully completed as we exited with a new awareness of good and bad service, all during the same meal."— Yelp reviewer

#17 STK

Multiple locations

Rating average: 2.45 out of 4

Cost of an average meal: $72

"Let's just say that it's [the food] good.  But only JUST good.  

"I treated myself to the pomegranate glazed duck, which was pretty tasty. A few others at the table were indulging in the yummy looking filet mignon. But the question lingered through the night. Is it really WORTH it?

"The answer depends upon how much of your opinion of a restaurant depends on the fact that you feel trendy eating there.

If, like me, you could care less if you were eating in a hole in the wall, or a palace as long as the food was good, the answer is no, it's not worth it."— Yelp reviewer

#16 Maloney & Porcelli

37 E. 50th St.

Rating average: 2.53 out of 4

Cost of an average meal: $70

"The décor is a little dated; HOWEVER it has a very cool, "Wall St-esque" feel to it. The drinks are a little pricey, but the wine-by-the-glass selection is very interesting and offers terrific quality compared to most.

"They do have one of the better quality Filet's in the city (only Keens has a better one in my opinion); however their sides are a little '80s-ish. A little creativity as a whole would be appreciated."— Yelp reviewer

A couple of years ago, I revealed some internal information about Business Insider. Then, last year, I did it again.

Both times, I said that, if nothing horrible happened, I might continue to do it.

Well, nothing horrible happened!

(At least nothing I'm aware of.)

Earlier this month, the folks at DLD were kind enough to ask me to give a presentation on digital storytelling. In my deck, I included some secret BI information. On the theory that you, our readers, might also be interested, I've published the presentation below.

There are a lot of slides, but few words, so it should be an easy flip-through.

Here are some highlights:

• -- Business Insider is now larger than the Wall Street Journal. According to Comscore, our total U.S. readership last month, desktop and mobile, was 23 million people. The Journal's was about 20 million. Thank you very much for reading us!

• -- We're reaching the next generation of leaders — the digital generation. By design, we have a younger readership than most legacy business publications. Our average readers are in their mid- to high 30s, as compared to the mid-40s and up.

• -- Our international readership is also growing rapidly, and BI Australia, which launched 9 months ago, is already the No. 1 business site in the country. Globally, we are now read by more than 40 million unique visitors per month. We are fortunate to already have a boatload of enthusiastic readers in Europe, and we will be opening a newsroom in London later this year.  

• -- Our readers love both our narrative journalism and our visual and data journalism — photography, video, and data analysis. Digital is a visual medium, and great pictures really can be worth a thousand words. We have always invested heavily in photography. Now, after a couple of years of experimenting, we're investing heavily in "native" digital video production. Our investment in longer narrative journalism is also striking a chord. In the past year, we have published many major investigations and features that read and shared by millions of readers worldwide.

• -- Our subscription service is growing rapidly, and subscriptions are on their way to becoming another major revenue stream. We are very optimistic about the future of free ad-supported journalism: Our core business grew 80% last year, and we were profitable in the fourth quarter. Adding subscription revenue will allow us to provide even deeper reporting and analysis in some of our core coverage areas, and we're going to invest heavily in subscriptions going forward.

• -- Digital journalism is as different from print and TV journalism as print and TV are from each other. The key differences are in editorial approach, distribution, and economics. One big reason for our success is that we are enthusiastically embracing the ways that digital is different, instead of trying to jam square pegs in round holes. The key to success in digital, by the way, is producing great stories. There are no tricks or shortcuts. If you don't have great stories that readers love and share, nothing else matters.

• -- Almost half of our readership is now on mobile, both tablets and smartphones. We are the largest and fastest-growing mobile business publication in the world. The iPhone is still the dominant mobile device used by our readers, followed by the iPad and Android devices. Mobile has also extended Business Insider's readership day to "18x7": Readers who used to just read us in the office on weekdays now read us during their commutes and in bed. And they also read us over the weekend.

• -- Digital news organizations today are like cable news in the 1980s (scrappy upstarts, small teams, big hair).  Over the next couple of decades, today's digital news organizations will just keep getting bigger and better. We now have 70 excellent full-time journalists at BI. Imagine what we'll be able to do when we have 500!

Thank you again for reading Business Insider and for helping to make our success possible. We listen closely to what you tell us, and we will keep striving to make the site better every day.

A luxurious waterfront home, made famous as the setting for “The Godfather: Part II” where Fredo Corleone met his watery demise, was recently named The Wall Street Journal's 2013 House of the Year.

With 51 homes in the running, the "finest condominium"— as the listing would have it — won with nearly a million reader votes.

The home is part of a 15-acre and 22-unit development called Fleur du Lac Estates and it is located on the western shores of Lake Tahoe.

Owner Zari Mansouri, CEO of Laboratory Skin Care, is selling the condo for $6.499 million with Bill Murphy and Jeff Hamilton of Sierra Sotheby's International Realty. 

The 4,100-square-foot condo is located on the western shores of Lake Tahoe in a private gated community known as Fleur du Lac Estates.

The 2013 median for waterfront homes in this area was $4.7 million, according to a Tahoe Luxury Properties report.

Living in this luxurious private community means having an exclusive boat slip mere steps away from your door.

With all the reboots, sequels, and cheap adaptations, the entertainment industry is regularly slammed for its lack of original ideas. But sometimes Hollywood is way ahead of the curve, inadvertently driving design on actual products by writing ridiculous joke commodities into popular TV shows.

For many of these parodies and jokes, what makes them funny is the fact that they should never exist in reality. So it's all the more satisfying (and hilarious) when an uninventive marketing team or hopeless entrepreneur decides what was originally a joke should actually go into production. Here are some of our favorite examples of joke product poaching.

See which TV products became a reality >

1. The Leftorium from "The Simpsons"

The Joke: After more than 20 years on the air, "The Simpsons" has left its mark on everyday culture, but one of the earliest and apparently most inspiring episodes featured Ned Flanders' attempt at running a small business. Flanders' foray into the marketplace was with a store dedicated solely to southpaws – the Leftorium. Even today, in an age where there are boutique shops for everything from dog biscuits to knit-ware, a left-centric shop seems ridiculous, but that hasn't stopped them from popping up all over the world.

The Reality: In 2009, San Francisco's famous Pier 39 opened it's doors to Lefty's, a novelty store to most, but a godsend for those weird left-handers who were slowly going mad trying to craft without left-handed scissors or enjoy some soup without a lefty can opener. A shop in London went even further with their homage to "The Simpsons" by purchasing the leftorium.com URL. Hey, say what you will, but it's outlasted pets.com.

2. Baby Toupee from "Saturday Night Live"

The Joke: With countless infomercials and designer creams and supplements aimed at balding men, SNL went next level with their parody, targeting the other bald demographic: babies. In one of the show's classic commercial skits, Bill Hader channeled his inner pitchman to sell new parents sweet Trump-style quaffs for their newborns. 

The Reality: Not much of a departure here. A company in Santa Barbara, CA, decided Baby Toupee was the next million dollar idea and ran with the wigs-for-kids product line. While the SNL sketch played up the notion that a Baby Toupee was intended to boost your tot's self-esteem, the real Baby Toupee acknowledges that fake hair for kids is for your own.

3. Neckflix from "The League"

The Joke: "The League" is one of cable TV's best breakout comedies of the last few years, thanks in large part to its regular contributions to slang vocabulary (like "Eskimo brother,""Golden Gate," or "Smoke Crotch"). The show's spillover into actual everyday life doesn't stop at popular vernacular. The show's lovable stoner, Taco, devised Neckflix, a service with Netflix's business model only with ties instead of DVDs.

The Reality: It didn't take long for someone with venture capital connections to co-opt the Neckflix idea. Shortly after "The League" episode aired in late 2011, the real life Tie Society popped up online in early 2012. Now high-powered executives who are bored with their wardrobe can sign up to basically rent a tie. When you're tired of what you've got, mail it back and you'll receive what's next in your queue. And, of course, no late fees!

Former NBA All-Star and MVP David Robinson is selling his home in San Antonio for $3,695,000 according to Realtor.com. 

The custom mansion has 8,175 square feet of living space and sits on a little over two acres. 

The home has seven bathrooms, and five bedrooms, including a a master suite with a hot tub. 

Naturally the home has a lot of space dedicated to sports and leisure activities; a game-room, pool, sand volleyball court, tennis court, and full-scale basketball court are all within the property. 

Here is the nifty four car garage.

This is the really fancy gate in front of the house surrounded by perfectly trimmed shrubbery.

The stone walkway leading to the entrance of the home.

Long before he became a household name, Richard Sherman was one of the best trash talkers in the league.

He talks before, during, and after games, and he's not afraid to pick on the best players in the league.

In the last few years he has called out Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and ESPN's most notorious talking head.

He's the best.

1. "You suck. You so weak. You're a waste of my time."— to Joe Webb, during a game.

Source: NFL Films

2. "What you gonna do boy?"— to Trent Williams, before getting slapped in the face.

Source: NFL Films

3. "I'm intelligent enough and capable enough to understand that you are ignorant, pompous, egotistical cretin."— to ESPN's Skip Bayless.

Source: USA Today

The Super Bowl is this weekend so we thought we'd highlight some of the biggest football players on Wall Street.  

Anyone who plays football professionally knows that they won't be able to play forever. That means they need to have post-football career plans in mind.

For some, finance is the perfect fit.  It's cut-throat, super competitive and it takes a lot of discipline to put in all those long hours.

So it should come as no surprise that there are a bunch of former football stars working in trading, investment banking and wealth management.

We've compiled a list of some of the best football players in finance. (Note: These names are not in any particular order). 

Many of these guys played professionally before heading to Wall Street. Others were standouts in college.  Some have even done internships at investment banks during the off-season while still playing in the NFL. One even has a Super Bowl ring!

Former NFL wide-receiver Wayne Chrebet now works at Barclays.

Finance Job: He an assistant vice president in the wealth and investment management division of Barclays. 

School: Hofstra University (c/o 1995)

Position: Wide-receiver

Pro Team: New York Jets

Highlights: Chrebet played 11 seasons for the Jets.  He set the NFL record for the most receptions by a wide receiver during his first two seasons.  During his NFL career, he had 580 receptions and 41 touchdowns. 

Former Jets quarterback Richard Todd works in fixed income sales for JPMorgan.

Finance Job: He works at JPMorgan in fixed income sales, according to a source. 

School: Alabama 

Position: Quarterback

Pro Team: New York Jets and New Orleans Saints

Highlights: During his pro career, he made 124 touchdowns and 161 interceptions.

Brad Daluiso, who works at Morgan Stanley, played in the NFL for 11 seasons.

Finance Job: He works at Morgan Stanley in San Diego, FINRA records show.

School: UCLA

Position: Kicker

Pro Teams: Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders

Highlights: He played in two Super Bowls — XXVI for the Bills and XXXV for the Giants.

Earlier this year, Mathematician Ian Stewart came out with an excellent and deeply researched book titled "In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World" that takes a look at the most pivotal equations of all time, and puts them in a human, rather than technical context.

We asked Professor Stewart why he decided to do this book:

"Equations definitely CAN be dull, and they CAN seem complicated, but that’s because they are often presented in a dull and complicated way. I have an advantage over school math teachers: I’m not trying to show you how to do the sums yourself. You can appreciate the beauty and importance of equations without knowing how to solve them..... The intention is to locate them in their cultural and human context, and pull back the veil on their hidden effects on history. Equations are a vital part of our culture. The stories behind them --- the people who discovered/invented them and the periods in which they lived --- are fascinating."

This should be particularly relevant to anybody affected by the financial crisis.

Click here to see the 17 equations >

Black Scholes, a derivative pricing equation and number 17 on this list helped cause it. 

From an email exchange with Professor Stewart:

"It’s actually a fairly simple equation, mathematically speaking. What caused trouble was the complexity of the system the mathematics was intended to model.... You don’t really need to be a rocket scientist to understand that lending hundreds of billions of dollars to people who have no prospect of ever paying it back is not a great idea...."

People took a theoretical equation too seriously, overreached its assumptions, used it to justify poor decisions, and built a trillion dollar house of cards on it. This made the crisis inevitable:

"I think that the crisis became inevitable once the financial instruments being traded in gigantic quantities became so complex that no one could understand either their value or the risks they entailed. When markets trade real goods for real money, excesses can only grow to the limits of what is actually out there. When they trade virtual goods (derivatives) for virtual money (leverage), there’s no real-world limit, so the markets can gallop off into Cloud Cuckoo Land."

You can buy the full book here.

The Pythagorean Theorem

What does it mean: The square of the hypotenuse of a triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of its legs.   

History: Though attributed to Pythagoras, it is not certain that he was the first person to prove it. The first clear proof came from Euclid, and it is possible the concept was known 1000 years before Pythoragas by the Babylonians.  

Importance: The equation is at the core of much of geometry, links it with algebra, and is the foundation of trigonometry. Without it, accurate surveying, mapmaking, and navigation would be impossible.

Modern use: Triangulation is used to this day to pinpoint relative location for GPS navigation. 

Source: In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World

The logarithm and its identities

What does it mean: You can multiply numbers by adding related numbers. 

History: The initial concept was discovered by the Scottish Laird John Napier of Merchiston in an effort to make the multiplication of large numbers, then incredibly tedious and time consuming, easier and faster. It was later refined by Henry Briggs to make reference tables easier to calculate and more useful. 

Importance: Logarithms were revolutionary, making calculation faster and more accurate for engineers and astronomers. That's less important with the advent of computers, but they're still an essential to scientists. 

Modern use: Logarithms still inform our understanding of radioactive decay.

Source: In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World   

The fundamental theorem of calculus

What does it mean?: Allows the calculation of an instantaneous rate of change. 

History: Calculus as we currently know it was described around the same in the late 17th century by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz. There was a lengthy debate over plagiarism and priority which may never be resolved. We use the leaps of logic and parts of the notation of both men today.

Importance: According to Stewart, "More than any other mathematical technique, it has created the modern world." Calculus is essential in our understanding of how to measure solids, curves, and areas. It is the foundation of many natural laws, and the source of differential equations. 

Modern use: Any mathematical problem where an optimal solution is required. Essential to medicine, economics, and computer science. 

Source: In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World

Getting fit is one of the most common New Year's resolutions, but the hardest part is getting started.

That's where tech-savvy fitness gadgets can help. Whether it's a portable GPS that helps you train or a wristband that keeps you on track, these new devices will make getting active and shedding pounds in 2014 that much easier.

Keep reading to see seven new gadgets that will up your fitness regimen.

Whithings Smart Body Analyzer ($150)

This smart scale monitors and tracks weight, body fat percentage, heart rate, blood pressure, and even air quality. The scale immediately syncs with an app (compatible with iOS or Android devices) that then shows users their body's overall health and progress, and can even remember multiple profiles for your household.

The Whithings scale will also sync with over 60 apps and devices like the Fitbit, RunKeeper, and Retrofit so users have all the tools you need to reach your goal. To read more about the scale, click here.

TAO WellShell ($200-$300)

Users can do more than 50 isometric exercises with this palm-sized pressure sensor, which can also monitor heart rate, sleep duration, and steps walked/distance traveled. The WellShell provides instructions on how to perform each exercise with a 3D model that demonstrates how it's done.

The WellShell lets users exercise wherever they are (on a plane, sitting in traffic, or at the office) with audio or vibrating feedback, and keeps track of diet and progress through an app. Reports say it will be available by the end of 2014.

Garmin Edge 500 Cycling GPS ($200)

Cyclers will love Garmin's new Edge 500, a lightweight, GPS computer that tracks distance, speed, elevation, and location. The small device easily attaches to handlebars to help performance-driven cyclists navigate their environment as well as monitor their heart rate, track calories burned, and see how long and far they've traveled.

The Edge 500 has an 18-hour battery life, and is easily rechargeable with a USB cord. Once the ride's done, users can sync the device and analyze their performance compared to past workouts.

iriverOn ($200)

The iriverOn is a set of Bluetooth headphones that are connected to a funky looking neck collar that rids runners and weight lifters of tangled cords forever. Users listen to music while the headphones monitor distance, time, calories burned, and heart-rate with a biometric sensor in the right-side earbud.

The collar has a set of controls to pause, play, and control volume, and wearers can also make or answer incoming phone calls. It charges with a micro USB port at the bottom of the collar, and an app immediately syncs with the device to track progress.

Skulpt Aim ($149-$200)

The most frustrating part about getting in shape is not seeing immediate results. Skulpt Aim can help with that. It's a handheld wireless device that can calculate the fat percentage of any body part simply by being pressed against skin. It can provide overall body fat percentage, too.

The way it works is by sending a current through the body, and measuring how quickly it moves (i.e. the faster the current moves, the less fat there is). Skulpt has a long-lasting battery, is portable, and connects to an online dashboard that measures areas of improvement and what still needs work. It's currently available for pre-order until May for $149 (will raise the price to $200 thereafter).

Lumo Lift ($69)

Small changes in posture can make all the difference. This tiny (1 inch wide, 1.75 inches long) wearable device easily clips magnetically to clothing or undergarments, and tracks daily activity to improve posture.

It connects with an app (iOS and Android compatible) that also measures steps and calories. It also discreetly vibrates when the user slouches, sending a reminder to sit or stand tall. The battery lasts 5 days and the Lumo Lift charges in under two hours. Available for pre-order now, and will ship in the spring of this year.

FitBit Force ($130)

FitBit Force is the next generation FitBit, which includes a tiny screen for displaying the time and day's fitness stats. It monitors calorie and water intake (entered manually), as well as how many steps the user has taken, stairs climbed, sleep patterns, and miles traveled on foot.

The comfortable band is light and water resistant, and connects to a smartphone or computer via Bluetooth to keep track of progress (compatible with most iOS and Android devices). To read more about the FitBit Force, click here.

SEE ALSO: 5 Exercise Machines You Should Never Use At The Gym

Join the conversation about this story »

Looking for a career that you can fall in love with?

Here's a good place to start. We worked with CareerBliss, an online jobs database, to find the jobs with the happiest employees in America. To come up with the ranking, CareerBliss examined 57,000 employee evaluations across more than 450 different job titles.

The final measure of job satisfaction, which CareerBliss calls a "bliss score," is given on a scale of one to five (one being the least happy and five the most). The bliss scores are based on eight factors: work-life balance; relationship with coworkers; work environment; job resources; compensation; growth opportunities; company culture; and daily tasks.

Overall, among the positions that ranked as the happiest in the nation, employees rate their bosses and colleagues as the best part of their jobs. They also give high marks to job freedom, which generally refers to the amount of flexibility employees have in how, when, and where they get their work done. Concrete factors like human resources and compensation get more lukewarm reviews.

The jobs aren't necessarily what you'd expect, and they're certainly not the highest paying. But for one reason or another, employees love them anyway.

20. General manager (retail)

Bliss score: 3.825
Average salary: $65,400
General managers give the highest marks to the people they work with and the freedom their job provides.

19. IT consultant

Bliss score: 3.834
Average salary: $77,500
For IT consultants, the best parts of the job are their bosses and colleagues, followed by the amount of freedom and flexibility they have at work.

18. Property manager

Bliss score: 3.842
Average salary: $46,800
Colleagues top the list of perks for property managers, followed by job freedom and flexibility.

Peyton Manning is a savvy businessman.

He's the highest-paid player in the NFL, but he makes nearly as much off the field in endorsements.

His $30 million per year allows him to live any lifestyle he wants.

Peyton has made $200+ million in his career. He made $30 million last year alone.

Source: Forbes

On the field, he's the highest-paid player in the league at $15 million in base salary.

Off the field, he's a money machine. His ~$12 million/year in endorsements is the most in the league.

Source: Forbes

The Marine Scout Sniper school is the most elite military sniper school on earth, and one of the toughest special operations courses in the U.S. Military.

See the Scout Snipers >

Not only do the Army, Navy, and the Air Force send troops here, but foreign services like the Israelis and the British, often trade students for the opportunity to earn the Marine Sniper designation.

One of the profiled students in this Discovery video was actually attached to the unit I covered in Afghanistan. Not only did he supply the company with absurdly accurate intelligence on the enemy, but he also took a couple of them out when we needed it most.

Those are the two primary missions of Marine Scout Snipers: Recon and targeted strikes on enemy personnel and equipment. They can be more devastating on enemy forces than a plane full of bombs.

There are fewer than 300 active snipers in the U.S. Marine Corps — and only four schools including this one in Camp Pendleton, California

The 32 elite students who enter the course need almost perfect physical fitness (PT) scores, expert rifle qualifications, and superior intelligence test scores

Here is where Professionally Instructed Gunmen (PIG), become Hunters Of Gunmen (HOG)