How do you find a cheap and safe place to stay in a foreign city where you know no one?

Ahead of my trip to Brazil, I browsed Kayak with a focus on price and location. There are places as cheap as $30 a night, but they involve sharing a room with multiple other travelers without a safe to lock important items. I settled on Pousada e Hostel São Paul, for about $50 per night, because it is within walking distance of the city's main attractions in addition to seeming both friendly and clean.

After a couple of days in the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, I knew I made the right choice.

This is Julio, who helps run the place. Whenever I see him, he greets me with a smile and "Bom dia!" before asking me if I need anything.

The hostel has a common area and a little kitchen, with simple seating areas both inside and outside.

This is Rodrigo, who does most of the handiwork in the building. He doesn't speak English but is happy to work through my broken Portuguese. 

My room has four beds, but I'm the only occupant.

The best part is that I can walk pretty much everywhere from I want to go.

Nearby is the municipal soccer stadium — I went to the thrilling championship of the state of São Paulo on Sunday — as well as Avenida Paulista, which is where most of the city's financial and cultural institutions are located.

It's a 10 minute stroll to Rua Apiscuelta, where a lot of hip Paulistas hang out on a stretch of restaurants, bars, lounges.

The Bourbon Shopping Mall, home of the ridiculously priced Apple products, is a bit of a hike but manageable. 

Here I am about to head to the streets.

SEE ALSO: Brazil needs to start growing faster

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The United States is a big, diverse place, with each of the 50 states differing from each other in significant ways.

We wanted to take a big-picture perspective, and try to see how much the states vary from each other and from the country at large.

We were also curious about which states were the most "average"— the most similar to America overall.

We considered 31 indicators from the Census Bureau's 2012 American Community Survey, along with 2012 unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The indicators cover different social, economic, housing-related, and demographic characteristics of each state's population and of the population of the U.S. as a whole.

For each of those indicators, we figured out how far each state's level was away from the national level. These were then rescaled and averaged to get a sense of how far each state is from the overall national baseline. The states were then ranked on "normalness" based on how large that average distance was.

Below are the 32 population indicators from the 2012 American Community Survey and Bureau of Labor Statistics we used to compare the states, along with the corresponding national baseline values.

All values (except unemployment) were taken from the 2012 ACS 1 year estimates, downloaded using the Census Bureau's American Factfinder tool.

11. Michigan

Why it's normal: Michiganders were about as likely as Americans as a whole to stay in their homes — 85.2% of Michigan's residents lived in the same house in 2012 as they had a year before, compared to 85.0% of Americans. Michigan also had about the same gender breakdown as the United States. Women accounted for 50.9% of Michiganders, just a tenth of a percent more than the 50.8% rate for the entire country.

Why it's weird: Michigan was less Hispanic and more white than the rest of America. Only 4.6% of Michiganders identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race, as opposed to 16.9% of Americans. Similarly, 76.1% of Michigan's residents identified as non-Hispanic white, but only 62.8% of Americans identified this way.

10. Georgia

Why it's normal: Georgia was very close to the national norm on a few indicators. Compared to 14.5% of workers in America, 15.5% of workers in Georgia were employed in the public sector. Educational attainment was also fairly close to the U.S. average — 28.2% of Georgians had a bachelor's degree or higher, as did 29.1% of people in the country.

Why it's weird: Georgia is a huge center of African American life, and has a much higher proportion of African Americans than the country as a whole. The percentage of Georgians who identified as black or African American was 30.5% — almost 2 1/2 times the national proportion of 12.3%.

9. Ohio

Why it's normal: Ohio was close to the national average on two of the demographic racial indicators: people identifying as two or more races (Ohio: 2.0%, U.S.: 2.1%), and people identifying as black (Ohio: 12.1%, U.S.: 12.3%). Ohioans of both sexes were also married at very similar rates to Americans at large — 50.0% of Ohio men and 46.2% of Ohio women were married, compared to 49.8% of American men and 46.3% of American women.

Why it's weird: Ohio diverged from the U.S. on two of the other demographic racial indicators — 80.6% of Ohioans were Non-Hispanic white, whereas only 62.8% of Americans identified this way. Conversely, only 3.2% of Ohioans were Hispanic or Latino, as opposed to 16.9% of Americans. More Ohioans also spoke only English at home (93.3%) than did overall Americans (79.0%).

Tons of stars hit the red carpet for last night's MTV Movie Awards at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.  But some were bigger winners than others.

Best: "Divergent" actress Shailene Woodley went away empty handed but had a winning look in this Balmain two-piece.

Worst: Jared Leto, who won for Best On-Screen Transformation, presented an award alongside "12 Years A Slave" Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. Their contrasting prints weren't as award-winning.

Best: "The Other Woman" co-stars kept it cool and demure in matching black and white ensembles.

Best: Jessica Alba and Rita Ora sandwiched a shirtless Zac Efron, who won for Best Shirtless Performance in "That Awkward Moment."

Worst: Rihanna left little to the imagination on the red carpet in this robe-like look.

Best: But covered up to perform alongside Eminem.

Best: Channing Tatum took home the Trailblazer award. He perfectly coordinated with his wife, Jenna Dewan.

Worst: Singer Pia Mia was a no-no in this purple get-up.

Worst: Snooki and JWoww didn't quite wow, but we are impressed Snooki made that dress herself!

Best: Mila Kunis covered her baby bump to accept the award for Best Villain for her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in "Oz The Great and Powerful."

SEE ALSO: 50 celebrities appeared in Conan O'Brien's elaborate MTV Awards opening

Join the conversation about this story »

New York City is always a tourist favorite, but there are some new American hotspots.

Houston, New Orleans, and other southern cities are gaining popularity as hotspots for tourists in the U.S., according to a new TripAdvisor ranking.

Millions of TripAdvisor users voted on their favorite destinations around the U.S., and the south reigned this year. Houston, Texas, jumped 13 spots from last year to number 12, and several new southern cities made the list, including Austin, Atlanta, Phoenix, Branson, St. Louis, and Nashville. New Orleans, La., and Charleston, S.C., also climbed in the rankings.

Award winners were based on millions of TripAdvisor reviews of hotels, attractions and restaurants for different cities over a 12-month period.

25. Miami Beach, Fla.

24. Nashville, Tenn.

23. Saint Louis, Mo.

This month, Michael Lewis retook Wall Street by storm with "Flash Boys," his new book about a group of traders who banded together to understand the damage that high-frequency trading (HFT) was doing to markets.

Whether or not you agree with the premise that HFT is harmful, there's no question that it's sparked some serious debate on Wall Street. It's the kind of thing only a writer with Lewis' amazing track record — which started with the modern classic "Liar's Poker"— could do.

The bond salesman turned literary sensation has changed careers three (or maybe it was four) times before settling into his current niche as one of the most prolific journalist-authors of the past two decades. 

What's driving this success? Well, most have attributed it to Lewis' obsession with the "arena of success," the competitive spirit that drives the athletic, entrepreneurial, and financial minds.

It's no doubt that Lewis has built his own arena of success, and it's only getting bigger. 

Lewis was born to a wealthy New Orleans lawyer.

Lewis was born in New Orleans to J. Thomas Lewis and Diana Monroe Lewis, a corporate lawyer and a community activist, respectively.

He attended the prestigious Isadore Newman prep school, where fellow alums include NFL brothers Eli and Peyton Manning. 

Source: New York Magazine

After spending his life in the South, he studied art history at Princeton.

Art history. That's right, Lewis graduated from Princeton with a B.A. in art history — not necessarily a common major for bankers.

His thesis: "Donatello and the Antique."

Source: Princeton.edu

After graduation he worked in fine arts for a year, but the pay was awful.

His first job after Princeton was with art dealer Daniel Wildenstein as a stock boy in Wildenstein and Co.'s New York office.

Source: Telegraph 

The number of people who run marathons in the U.S. is steadily rising, according to Running USA's annual report. Perhaps you’ve even signed up for a marathon yourself.

But are you really ready to run 26.2 miles?

We spoke with running experts Jenny Hadfield, Matt Fitzgerald, and Jeff Galloway, accomplished runners who teach marathon newbies how to have a successful first race.

These are their top tips for acing your first marathon.

GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO TRAIN

The biggest mistake rookie runners make is starting too fast and with too much mileage. This can inflict high stress on your cardiorespiratory, endocrine, and neuromuscular systems, and lead to injury.

“It's one thing to sign up for a marathon. It's another if you have, like, a four- or six-week window to train,” Jenny Hadfield, an author and frequent columnist for Women’s Running Magazine and RunnersWorld.com, says. “I would recommend a solid 12 to 14 weeks to train for a half, and 18 to 20 weeks for a full marathon. I usually lean toward a longer time frame because life happens, vacations happen, sickness happens, and, if you rush, you end up running with less mileage under you."

FIND A TRAINING PLAN THAT SUITS YOUR NEEDS

There are a ton of training plans out there. If you do a quick Google search, you’ll be up all night checking out the free training plans online.

The key is to think about how training will fit into your current lifestyle so that you stick with it. For instance, is date night usually on Thursday? Do you typically run errands on Sunday? Choose a schedule that syncs well with your routine.

“You want to make sure that the first week of training is close to what you're doing right now,” Hadfield says. “If you're running three to four times a week and anywhere from three to six miles, you want to make sure your training plan begins similarly to that. If you jump into a training plan that has a lot more mileage right away, your risk for injury and burnout is going to be super high.”

MAKE IT SOCIAL

Marathon training requires long, slow runs, which can become mentally draining. Signing up with a buddy can make it a lot more motivating and fun.

Jeff Galloway, an author and Olympic athlete, warns his clients to choose someone whose pace is similar to theirs. “If you have a fast friend, ask if they can run at your pace. If it’s too slow for them, you want that kind of honesty because you want to run at your own pace so you don’t get injured.”

EASE INTO YOUR TRAINING

It’s important to build up your strength slowly, and not try to run too many miles too quickly.

“The No. 1 mistake people make is running too hard and too often,” author and trainer Matt Fitzgerald says. “You have to ease into any aerobic exercise. Really take your time and take a cautious approach with the running.”

Galloway recommends that beginners start with a combination of running and walking. “Using the very easy patterns of running and walking, the human body can adapt to long-distance running,” he says. “You want to ease up the distance so that two to three weeks before the event, you could cover that distance.”

TRAIN BY YOUR BODY, NOT A PACE

Instead of relying on iPhones or GPS monitors that say how fast you’re going, listen to your body. You will have good days and bad days, but the important thing is to make sure the pace always feels comfortable, even if it’s slower than your last run.

All three coaches recommend using what’s called the talk test. “If you can have a conversation and talk in sentences, you're running at an easy effort, which is great,” Hadfield says. “If you can only talk in one-word responses, you're going too fast. That pace is going to change daily depending on where you're racing, how you’re fueling, and what's going on in your body.”

MAKE SURE TO CROSS-TRAIN

You don’t want to run every day; instead, run every other day and fill in the gaps with rest days and cross-training. Choose exercises that make you move in different ways than running to give your joints a break and build strength.

“Cycling or swimming lets you work out aerobically without the added impact,” Fitzgerald says. The coaches say strength training is vital to increasing balance, strength, and endurance.

KNOW WHAT YOU'RE EATING AND WEARING BEFORE THE RACE

Race day is not the time to start a new diet or try on a new running outfit. Practice what works ahead of time. Does your body respond better to Gatorade or gel packets? Do those spandex shorts ride up too much on longer runs? These are things you’ll want to know early on.

Think of your practice runs as rehearsals for the marathon. Try different nutrition and wardrobe options, and figure out what works for you.

Hadfield suggests dressing for 20 degrees warmer than the weather. Fifty degrees may seem chilly if you’re just standing around outside, but it’s better to wear a T-shirt and shorts, because once your body heats up, it’ll feel like it’s 70.

DURING THE RACE

On the day of the race, first-time marathoners tend to make the mistake of starting too quickly. They're refreshed, tapered, and pumped up by the music and crowds.

But don’t! Starting too quickly could cause a drop in energy, and runners may hit a mental wall as their blood sugar drops. Better to run slower than necessary at first, and then pick up the pace during the last leg.

“Hold yourself back,” Hadfield says. “The first half you want to stay at a conversational and easy effort. After that, if you're feeling good, you want to start to pick it up for the last stretch. It's all about conserving that energy early on so you can push when you really need it.”

Also, if you’re running in summer weather, be sure to pace yourself extra thoughtfully because of the added heat. “Those who start their marathon training now are going to be running in hot weather in the summer,” Galloway says. “Be aware that you're probably going to be running 30 seconds more slowly for every 5 degrees above 60.”

AFTER THE RACE

Congratulations! You’ve officially finished your race. But don’t sit down just yet! These are the five things you want to do now that the marathon is over:

1. Walk around for 10 to 15 minutes to allow your body to come back to reality. “It helps your body to purge that lactic acid and recover, as well as bring your circulation back to normal,” Hadfield says.
2. Have a protein recovery drink and nibble on some food. “Within the first half hour, you want to eat a snack of 300 calories that is mostly simple carbohydrates, because that will help to reload the muscle glycogen,” Galloway recommends. “It's best to pick something that is going to digest very easily. Even things like gummy bears or cola drinks will often work.”
3. Sit in an ice bath for five minutes with your sweatshirt on to help with inflammation.
4. Wait three to four hours before getting a massage, if you decide to get one post-race (otherwise, your massage therapist will be rubbing the lactic acid all over muscles, making you feel worse).
5. Treat yourself! “Go out for a greasy hamburger, go for a beer,” Fitzgerald says. “None of this is going to help you recover faster, but who cares? There's a time to let your hair down a bit, and just give yourself time to recuperate. If you do everything right after the marathon, you're still not going to be able to run one for another four months. Have the burger.”

SEE ALSO: 10 Awesome Marathons To Sign Up For Right Now

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Hyperinflationary episodes have appeared several times over the past century — 55, to be exact— as the world's nations have experimented with fiat currencies backed by the full faith and credit of the governments that issue them.

At times, that full faith and credit has been misplaced — and holders of unstable currencies have been caught empty-handed in countries all over the world.

Often, this is can be a recurring theme among developing nations like those in Latin America during the debt crisis that struck the region in the 1980s.

Even some of the largest economies in the world today, though — like China, Germany, and France — have suffered devastating hyperinflationary episodes.

A major historical precursor of hyperinflation is war that destroys the capital stock of an economy and dramatically reduces output — but the misplaced monetary and fiscal policies that ensue are almost always part of the story.

Economists Steve Hanke and Nicholas Krus compiled data on all 56 recorded hyperinflations in a 2012 study. We summarize 9 of the worst episodes here.

Hungary: August 1945 - July 1946

Daily inflation rate: 207 percent

Prices doubled every: 15 hours

Story: Hungary was economically devastated by WWII. Owing to its unfortunate status as a warzone, estimates indicate 40 percent of Hungary's capital stock was destroyed in the conflict. Before this, it had engaged in a wild, debt-fueled ramp up in production to support the German war effort, but Germany never paid for the goods.

When Hungary signed a peace treaty with the Allies in 1945, it was ordered to pay the Soviets massive reparations, which accounted for 25-50 percent of Hungary's budget during its hyperinflationary episode. Meanwhile, the country's monetary policy was essentially co-opted by the Allied Control Commission.

Hungarian central bankers warned that printing money to pay the bills would not end well, but "the Soviets, who dominated the Commission, turned a deaf ear to these warnings, which led some to conclude that the hyperinflation was designed to achieve a political objective–the destruction of the middle class" (Bomberger and Makinen 1983).

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Bomberger and Makinen (1983)

Zimbabwe: March 2007 - November 2008

Daily inflation rate: 98 percent

Prices doubled every: 25 hours

Story: Zimbabwe's hyperinflation was preceded by a long, grinding decline in economic output that followed Robert Mugabe's land reforms of 2000-2001, through which land was expropriated largely from white farmers and redistributed to the majority black populace. This led to a 50 percent collapse in output over the next nine years.

Socialist reforms and a costly involvement in Congo's civil war led to outsized government budget deficits. At the same time, the Zimbabwean population was declining as people fled the country. These two opposing factors of increased government spending and a decreasing tax base caused the government to resort to monetization of its fiscal deficit.

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Koech (2011)

Yugoslavia/Republika Srpska: April 1992 - January 1994

Daily inflation rate: 65 percent

Prices doubled every: 34 hours

Story: The fall of the Soviet Union led to a decreased international role for Yugoslavia –formerly a key geopolitical player connecting East and West – and its ruling Communist party eventually came under the same pressure as the Soviets did. This led to a breakup of Yugoslavia into several countries along ethnic lines and subsequent wars over the following years as the newly-formed political entities sorted out their independence.

In the process, trade among regions of the former Yugoslavia collapsed, and industrial output followed. At the same time, an international embargo was placed on Yugoslavian exports, which further crushed output. 

Petrovic, Bogetic, and Vujosevic (1998) explain that the newly-formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, in contrast with other states that broke away like Serbia and Croatia, retained much of the bloated bureaucracy that existed before the split, contributing to the federal deficit. In an attempt to monetize this and other deficits, the central bank lost control of money creation and caused hyperinflation.

Sources: Hanke and Crus (2012), Petrovic, Bogetic, and Vujosevic (1998)

Fashion designer Reed Krakoff and his wife have purchased the New Canaan, Conn. mansion of the late reclusive heiress Huguette Clark for $14.3 million, Bill Dedman at NBC News reports.

The mansion, which had stood unused for six decades, was initially listed for $34 million in 2006, and later relisted for $25 million in 2008. It later reappeared on the market for $19.8 million last March, shortly after Clark died in a New York hospital.

Clark bought the house in 1951, but never furnished it and never moved in, though it's been impeccably maintained. The 12,766-square-foot, French-chateau-style mansion features nine bedrooms, six full bathrooms, and three half-baths. It sits on a 52-acre piece of land.

Meredith Galante contributed to this story.

Welcome to 104 Dan's Highway in New Canaan, Conn.

From the wooded driveway, it's hard to imagine there's a house back there.

The home was built in 1937 by noted New York architectural firm Voorhees, Gmelin and Walker—designers of the art deco–styled Times Square Building and One Wall Street.

Major League Soccer is growing in popularity in North America and attendance figures show the sport does very well at the local level.

However, the league still lacks star power and player salaries are not even close to being on the same level as other major sports on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite importing aging international stars (e.g. David Beckham and Thierry Henry) and American stars still in their primes (e.g. Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey), the average MLS player makes just $208,000.

There are only 12 players who will make at least $1.0 million in total compensation this year and the total payroll for the entire league ($115.3 million) is less than half that of the Los Angeles Dodgers roster ($235.3 million).

On the next few pages we'll take a look at the 10 highest-paid players in MLS and how their salaries compare to other sports.

No. 10 Pedro Morales — $1.4 Million

Club: Vancouver Whitecaps

Position: Midfielder

10th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Ndamukong Suh (Lions), $12.6 million

MLB: Albert Pujols (Angels), $23.0 million

NBA: Dwyane Wade (Heat), $18.7 million

NHL: Rick Nash (Rangers), $7.8 million

No. 9 Obafemi Martins — $1.8 Million

Club: Seattle Sounders

Position: Forward

9th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Gerald McCoy (Bucs), $12.7 million

MLB: Joe Mauer (Twins), $23.0 million

NBA: Chris Bosh (Heat), $19.1 million

NHL: Marian Hossa (Blackhawks), $7.9 million

No. 8 Marco Di Vaio — $2.6 Million

Club: Montreal Impact

Position: Forward

8th highest-paid in other sports

NFL: Greg Hardy (Panthers), $13.1 million

MLB: CC Sabathia (Yankees), $23.0 million

NBA: LeBron James (Heat), $19.1 million

NHL: Steven Stamkos (Lightning), $8.0 million

Sometimes after you send an email, panic sets in:

"Did I sound too mean?""Should I have added that document?" 

Pluto mail is a new service that hopes to fix these stressful situations.

The free program syncs with your inbox and lets you accomplish four specific tasks: set expiration timers on messages, unsend emails, add read receipts and edit sent messages before someone else opens them.

Pluto is still in beta but we were able to try out.

Go to Pluto's website. Click Sign Up in the upper-right corner. Pluto can sync with Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud and other email accounts.

Enter your email address. You'll be placed on a waiting list.

After a day, this verification message should pop up in your inbox. Click Sign Up at the top.

Alibaba, the enormous Chinese e-commerce company, is about to file for an IPO in the U.S. 

But one of the most crucial time periods in the company's history came in the early 2000s, when the still-new Alibaba battled out with the behemoth eBay to gain e-commerce dominance in China. 

Porter Erisman, in his incredible documentary "Crocodile in the Yangtze," captures the thrilling rise of the company through real footage and photos. Erisman worked there throughout its critical years (though he had left the company by the time he started making the documentary).

The entire film, which will be released at the end of May, is entertaining, suspenseful, and more than worth a watch. Until then, Erisman has given us permission to use scenes from his film to tell Alibaba's story, as he saw it through his own eyes. 

This quote, from founder Jack Ma, has become emblematic of the half-decade battle between eBay and Alibaba.

Before you can understand Alibaba's rise to greatness, it's important to understand a few things about Ma.

Every morning for nine years, a young Jack would go to a local hotel in his home of Hangzhou, China to befriend foreign tourists and learn English.

Twitter: The go-to spot to stay informed and up-to-date on all things tech. Where a quick glance at 140 characters can totally change your perspective. 

We asked PeerIndex to rank for us the most influential people in tech on Twitter. PeerIndex assigns each user a score of 0-100 by analyzing the speed and quantity with which users spot and share their tweets. We've included both the overall PI ranking for each tweeter, as well as the specific PI ranking among Twitter users in the tech community.

Follow away!

100. Rupert Murdoch

Occupation: CEO/founder of News Corporation; Creator of FOX Broadcasting

Handle: @rupertmurdoch

Why: See how tech fits into the greater news cycle from Rupert himself. Yeah, he writes his own tweets.

Tech PI: 83

PI: 86

99. Zeynep Tufekci

Occupation: Assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with her own tech site at www.technosociology.org

Handle: @zeynep

Why: Catch Zeynep's musings on everything ranging from international Web policies to  social justice.

Tech PI: 84

PI: 77

98. Hilary Mason

Occupation: Data Scientist in Residence at Accel, Scientist Emeritus at bitly, co-founder of HackNY, co-host of DataGotham, and member of NYCResistor

Handle: @hmason

Why: Hilary is on top of the chatter when it comes to today's tech news.

Tech PI: 84

PI: 77

Silicon Valley is awash with extravagant workplaces but Facebook's is low key and village-like.

The main part of campus was built to resemble downtown Palo Alto. With 1 million-square-feet of space, the campus is spacious, but the number of people walking around make it feel more intimate. It's casual, but well-planned.

We visited Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters in March as the trees were blooming. The following pictures offer a glimpse of what it's like working inside the social network.

Facebook's new Menlo Park headquarters is a sprawling compound of buildings that once belonged to Sun Microsystems.

As massive as it is, the campus only supports 3,600 commuting vehicles so the company buses in workers where it can.

Source: ZDNet

Employees arrive to work here in a variety of ways.

The New York International Auto Show kicks off next week, and we'll be on the scene for the press-preview days to check out what the world's biggest automakers have been working on.

The show is the most popular car show in North America, and it's open to the public April 19-27.

If you're in the area and want to see the future of the auto industry, it's worth making the trek to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

From the Land Rover concept that's partly "invisible" to the hugely powerful new Corvette Z06 convertible, here are 13 cars you don't want to miss.

The Focus is the best-selling vehicle nameplate on the planet, according to Ford. The automaker is looking to keep that going with the 2015 Focus sedan. We're even more excited for the ST performance version Ford says is coming later this year.

BMW has been the trendsetter in the "sports activity coupe" segment, little cars with the muscular look of an SUV. The new X4 will come with two engine options and start at $45,625.

No auto show is complete with a dash of opulence, so we can thank Rolls-Royce for bringing its latest to American shores after its world debut in Geneva in March. The new Ghost II will be packed with luxuries like on-board WiFi and a satellite-aided transmission that uses GPS to select the perfect gear for every situation.

When faced with the decision of choosing between a job you love and a job that pays well, remember this: You can have your cake and eat it too.

The second annual list of the best employers in America by PayScale and Business Insider evaluates companies by both pay and happiness.

Go straight to the companies »

For the second year, New Jersey biotechnology company Celgene Corporation topped the list as the Best Employer in America. In fact, many of the best companies are in the health-care industry.

The tech industry was booming last year, with typical top companies such as Google and Yahoo taking the second and eighth spots, respectively. This year, however, tech companies took a noticeable tumble: Google dropped to No. 8 this year, Yahoo fell to No. 17, and Microsoft, which ranked No. 14 last year, fell off the map.

In creating this list, companies in the Fortune 500 were ranked using PayScale's salary and survey database. Final scores were determined by multiplying six criteria: high job satisfaction, low job stress, high work-schedule flexibility, high job meaning, experienced median pay, and salary delta (that is, how the median pay compares to other companies in the same industry). Since we think that pay is one of the most important factors, we double-weighted pay in our calculations. Read the full methodology here.

Click here to see the companies »

Click here to see an infographic with data on the 50 best companies »

Click here to see our methodology »

50. Pacific Life

Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., this insurance company has 2,700 employees.

Employees report high rates of work schedule flexibility (87%) and job satisfaction (60%).

Median pay is $91,000 after five years and very high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

49. Exxon Mobil Corporation

Headquartered in Irving, Texas, this oil and gas company has 75,000 employees. While it claims No. 49 on our list, Exxon Mobil is No. 2 on the 2013 Fortune 500 list.

Employees report high rates of job satisfaction (77%) and work-schedule flexibility (73%).

Median pay is $104,000 after five years and very high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

48. Medtronic Inc.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, this medical-device company has 45,000 employees.

Employees report high rates of job meaning (91%) and work-schedule flexibility (81%).

Median pay is $88,500 after five years and high compared to industry peers.

This ranking of Fortune 500 companies was created by Business Insider using data gathered and crunched by PayScale. Read the full methodology here. Find out how your salary stacks up on PayScale.

CBS is not a network known for making brash, impulsive (or even exciting) decisions, so it was definitely jarring when the network gave The Word that politi-comic Stephen Colbert would be replacing David Letterman on The Late Show following his retirement next year.

It put an end to one debate and spearheaded another: who will replace Colbert in that coveted post-Daily Show time slot? 

It’s a long, tall drink of an order that requires a performer capable of captivating audiences both with a signature interview style and a point of view that allows everyone to feel like they’re also in on the joke. Assuming that Comedy Central doesn’t just fill the time slot with repeats of South Park, here are seven people we think could gratifyingly fill the America-sized hole in our hearts that Colbert will be clawing his way out of. 

See the candidates »

The Hopefully Obvious Choice: Paul F. Tompkins

If you’re going to replace one of the best comedians in the business, why not use one of the other best comedians in the business?

This L.A. mainstay comic is a big part of how the burgeoning alt comedy scene in the 1990s became the standard a decade later, and his stand-up specials have become increasingly more esoteric and brilliant over the years.

Tompkins has proven himself an entertainer of many hats across TV, radio and a wide range of podcasts. (The Paul F Tompkast, The Thrilling Adventure Hour and The Dead Authors Podcast are especially notable.) His past includes writing for The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, and his stand-up is filled with enough political touches that his presence wouldn’t be a huge leap for those hungry for Washington D.C. humor. 

Tompkins is currently the host of Fusion’s No, You Shut Up!, a Henson Alternative puppet panel discussion series that takes on issues of the day in a rage-filled manner. But it’s his web series Speakeasy that would work best transitioning to cable, as its low-key celebrity interviews over drinks is a welcome change to the traditional format. Watch his talk with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter below. 

The “Take That, CBS!” Choice: Craig Ferguson

If extraterrestrials come to Earth in the future to sum up humanity’s history, how much room do you think “Late Night Talk Show Wars” would get in the write-up? Craig Ferguson has been the host of The Late Late Show since 2005 – the same year Colbert’s spinoff started – and it would have been gracious and smart for CBS to promote the cheery Scot.

But they didn’t, and his contract expires at the end of the year, which has spawned rumors on all sides of the spectrum. Ferguson hasn’t shown any animosity, welcoming Colbert to the CBS team, and joking about taking over The Colbert Report in 2015. So why not make that a reality? He has always been far sillier and good-natured than CBS has ever been known to be, and Comedy Central is the perfect place to ramp that zany humor up a few notches. 

Admittedly, Ferguson might need to find a gimmick to latch on to. Interviews with Jon Hamm about his dating show video are fun, but I think the host is primed for meatier material. 

The Female Choice: Kristen Schaal

We’re not dumb enough to think only one woman should be considered for this job, but network executives rarely give us reason to expect gender equality. 

Flight of the Conchords and 30 Rock actress Kristen Schaal might not seem like the most obvious prospect for a front-and-center host, but she shares Colbert’s talent for playing aggressively aloof characters who let irony fly right over their heads.

While many across the Internet are calling for Tina Fey or Chelsea Handler to get the job, neither of them really reflect Comedy Central’s anarchic nature the way Schaal does. Her stand-up sets are occasionally surreal, and she’s well-versed in voice work on shows like Bob’s Burgers and Gravity Falls, so is it possible the world needs a meta animated interview show with lots of animals and hollering? 

It’s no surprise that Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee is also on everyone’s minds as a replacement, but let’s not forget that Schaal appears regularly on that series as the “Senior Women’s Issues Correspondent,” and her below segment on the children’s dating service KDate should prove how well she could do in the host’s chair. 

Just when the cold weather has finally released its hold on most of America, the rain hits.

Showing up to work on a rainy morning is an inevitable disaster. Your shoes are ruined and socks are soaked, and you're likely hauling a broken umbrella and soggy gym bag.

Here are 11 rainy day hacks to survive even the worst spring showers.

1. Salvage Broken Umbrellas With Enameled Wire

When umbrellas break in the wind, most of us toss them in the trash (or on the street), and rush to buy a new one.

But it’s pretty simple to fix a broken umbrella if one of the stretchers (those metal arms that hold the umbrella taut) has snapped.

Buy some enameled wire at a hardware store and cut off a 6-inch piece. Match up the rivet holes of the broken stretcher pieces, and insert the wire through the holes. Wrap it around and keep wrapping and threading the wire through the hole until there’s no more room. Twist the wire ends together and trim. (See full instructions here.)

You'll inevitably save money on junky umbrellas from the drugstore.

2. Buy Microfiber Towels

Store a microfiber towel at your office, in your gym bag, or in your raincoat pocket. The water-absorbent towels can dry hair quickly if it gets drenched in a downpour.

They're also useful for wet socks: Lie your socks flat on an unfolded microfiber towel and roll the towel and socks together. Squeeze. The towel will absorb the lion’s share of the moisture so your socks will dry faster.

3. Keep Newspaper Handy At Home

Newspapers may be a dying industry, but they're extremely adept at drawing moisture out of shoes. Ball newspaper up in wet shoes shoes and wrap the remainder around the outside, securing with rubber bands. 

You might have to change the newspaper a few times before the shoes are dry enough to put back in your closet, but this is a far superior method to blowing hot air on your shoes, which can cause them to shrink and for leather to warp or crack.

Once your shoes are dry, insert shoe trees to ensure they keep their shape.

4. Choose The Right Umbrella

Most of us run to a drugstore to find a sub-par umbrella, or buy an overpriced model on the street when we’re caught in a downpour.

But there are plenty of quality umbrella options out there. There’s one that lets you text by keeping your fingers free; an umbrella that shields you from slanting rain; and an über-durable, storm-proof umbrella that won't break in the wind.

Don’t settle for a $6 version — you'll wind up spending more money on umbrellas in the long run. Look for models with solid rivets (when you can't see through a hole that connects two parts of the umbrella), grippy handles, and a high-quality frame that isn't aluminum.

5. Always Pack Back-Up Socks

Even when you’re wearing the right shoes for the rain, there’s no guarantee socks won’t get wet. If you see rain is on the agenda for the day, simply throw a spare pair of socks in your bag, just in case.

6. Fix Leaky Rain Boots

Instead of throwing away leaky rain boots, try repairing them with Tub & Tile Caulk. Rub the caulk along the seams of your boots, let dry, and then test the seam by standing in your bathtub with your boots on to make sure they’re leak-proof. (See instructions here.)

If you have a visible hole or tear in your boots, buy some Shoe Goo instead. Put a dash of the sealant over the hole and let dry. The boots will be as good as new, and will last at least another season.

7. Save Suede Shoes With Paper Towels

Rain can ruin suede shoes, but it doesn't necessarily mean doom. First, spot-clean the suede with a pencil eraser, then wet the entire shoe and use a soft sponge to gently rub the fabric until all of the salt, dirt, and grime are gone.

Next, stuff the shoes with paper towels or newspaper and allow to dry, inserting a shoe tree once you're done.

You can always protect your suede shoes in advance by spraying them with a suede protector.

8. Put Wet Gadgets In Rice

This is a tip most of us know, but it bears repeating. When your phone falls in a puddle or somehow gets wet, put it in a bag of dry rice as quickly as possible. The rice will absorb the moisture from your phone without damaging your gadgets. Leave it in there for 24 hours and try and your device again. Keep repeating until it works.

If the rice isn't doing the trick, a dehumidifier will also suck out moisture. Stick your phone on top of a dehumidifier, and let it do the work for you.

9. Let Your Suit Air Dry

When your suit gets wet, there are a few things you should never, ever do: wring it out, put it on a hanger, and throw it in the dryer.

Instead, lay your suit on a dry towel or cloth on the floor and leave it there until its 100% air-dried, changing the towel as needed. (This is the same game plan if your cashmere or wool sweaters get drenched, too.)

10. Carry (Dry) Plastic Grocery Bags

When your umbrella is wet, it’s rude to carry it into work or a friend’s house and leave a massive puddle.

Simply stuff a few dry plastic grocery bags in your rain jacket pocket or purse so you can put your wet umbrella in a bag and not track water all over the floor.

11. Tape Your Email To Your Umbrella

Losing a perfectly good umbrella really sucks. If you leave it at a restaurant or store (or even a friend’s house), it may never make its way back to you.

Tape or write your telephone number or email address in Sharpie onto the very top of the umbrella handle (where it’s not likely to fall off). Yeah, it’s a little dorky, but it will distinguish your umbrella from everyone else's, and someone can let you know if they found it.

SEE ALSO: The Best Men's Shoes For Rainy Days

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[Editor's note: This article was first published in April 2013. With the spring weather finally approaching, we've decided to republish it.

Copenhagenize is a consulting and communications company that specializes in all things cycling-related. The company gave Business Insider an exclusive first look at its new ranking of the world's most bike-friendly cities.]

There are lots of cities where it's good to be a cyclist, but some are truly two-wheel paradises.

The newly released Copenhagenize Index 2013, produced by the Copenhagenize Design Co., ranked 150 cities around the world on 13 parameters, including cycling facilities, culture, sharing program, gender split, politics, and traffic calming.

It also gave bonus points for categories like political leadership.

Here are the top 20 cities, each with a score out of 100 points.

The list starts at number 14, since there are a few ties.

14. Hamburg, Germany

Score: 54

2011 Rank: 13

Why It Works: The Index always offers up surprises. More often than not it is when cities show up on the list. To be honest, we were surprised that Hamburg made the cut and clung onto the last spot in the Top 20.

In a global perspective, Hamburg is a premier league player, no doubt about it. The city's modal share has been steady and is slowly rising. The citizens are returning to the bicycle, especially in the neighborhoods.

The city's planners haven't really realized that it's a new millennium and much of their infrastructure is sub-standard. But it's there. Ready to form the foundation for more, better protected cycle tracks.

Fixes: If Hamburg gets the right political leadership, the city will blossom as an urban cycling paradise. The need for infrastructure that adheres to best practice is becoming more and more apparent.

The 20th spot on the Copenhagenize Index is a fragile position to be in what with so many other cities making impressive efforts and eager to move up the list. Get with the global programme or get left behind. You're snuggled in between Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Figure it out.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

13. Paris, France (tie)

Score: 55

2011 Rank: 7

Why It Works: The second global mega-city on the list after Tokyo, Paris continues to impress. If every city had political vision like Paris, regarding liveable cities, the world would be a better place.

Paris has left London and New York in the dust over the past six years. In particular, New York is making efforts to catch up, but Paris' commitment to improving conditions for Citizen Cyclists remains strong.

The city's bike share system remains a success and an impressive number of stretches feature bicycle infrastructure.

With 30 km/h zones and the removal of archaic expressways along the river, bicycle traffic will benefit. The fantastic role of the bike share system in the nightlife shows that the citizens are embracing the bicycle for all purposes. Nobody would have thought that Paris could have done all it has done but the city continues to pinch us to tell us we're not dreaming.

Fixes: Planners have been searching for space for bicycle infrastructure and Paris has some unique solutions. They are, however, solutions that are not sustainable in the long run.

It's time to up the stakes and go after a more permanent solution with the creation of more protected cycle tracks. The success of the bike share system is impressive but better maintenance is required, as well as increasing the number of stations at both transport hubs and popular nightlife neighborhoods.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

13. Budapest, Hungary (tie)

Score: 55

2011 Rank: 10

Why It Works: Budapest continues to build upon the successes of the past few years, although we fear the pace may have slowed. The city's force remains visionary advocacy and the social acceptance of the bicycle.

One of the leaders among Emerging Bicycle Cities, Budapest is getting it's brain wrapped around infrastructure and development of a sensible network for bicycle users.

A city that can gather 50,000-80,000 for peaceful bicycle rides has some golden opportunities that can and must be exploited.

Fixes: Like every other city on the planet, it's all about the infrastructure. The city has brilliant advocacy, but it is now time to push for more protected cycle tracks. Paint ain't the same.

Budapest is a regional leader in bicycle culture but without political will and a modern desire for mobility change, their role will be overtaken by others. The upcoming bike share system, if implemented correctly, will be a game-changer for the city.

More infrastructure should be in place before the bike share system starts up.

Scoring: Cities were given between 0 and 4 points in 13 categories, with a potential 12 bonus points for particularly impressive efforts or results, for a maximum of 64 points. The final score was adjusted to be out of 100. Categories included advocacy, bicycle culture, cycling facilities, infrastructure, bike share program, gender split, modal share, modal share increase since 2006, perception of safety, politics, social acceptance, urban planning, and traffic calming. See the full index at Copenhagenize.

The United States is a big, diverse place, with each of the 50 states differing from each other in significant ways.

We recently took a look at the most normal states in America. Here is the other side of that ranking: the 11 states that are furthest from the national norm.

We considered 31 indicators from the Census Bureau's 2012 American Community Survey, along with 2012 unemployment rates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The indicators cover different social, economic, housing-related, and demographic characteristics of each state's population and of the population of the U.S. as a whole.

For each of those indicators, we figured out how far each state's level was away from the national level. These were then rescaled and averaged to get a sense of how far each state is from the overall national baseline. The states were then ranked on "normalness" based on how large that average distance was.

Below are the 32 population indicators from the 2012 American Community Survey and Bureau of Labor Statistics we used to compare the states, along with the corresponding national baseline values.

All values (except unemployment) were taken from the 2012 ACS one-year estimates, downloaded using the Census Bureau's American Factfinder tool.

11. California

Why it's weird: California is a land of immigrants to an even greater extent than the rest of America. Californians were more than twice as likely to have been born abroad than Americans overall — 27.1% of Californians were foreign born, as opposed to 13.0% of Americans. Unsurprisingly, the proportion of households in which English is the sole language spoken was much lower in California than in any other state. This is the case in only 55.7% of Californian households, but 79.0% of U.S. households spoke only English at home. 

Why it's normal: California's birth rate tracks closely to the nation's — in California, 53 babies were born for every 1,000 women, while the U.S. birth rate was 54 babies per 1,000 women. The proportion of workers in the public sector was also similar to the national total: 13.9% in California, and 14.5% in America.

10. South Dakota

Why it's weird: South Dakota had the shortest commute in the country. The average South Dakotan took 16.7 minutes to get to work, compared to the national average of 25.7 minutes. South Dakota also had the second-highest birth rate in the country with 76 births per 1,000 women, much higher than the national birth rate of 54 births per 1,000 women. 

Why it's normal: South Dakota had about the same proportion of people receiving Social Security benefits as the U.S. as a whole: 29.1% for South Dakota and 29.3% for the country. The vacancy rate for housing units also tracked the national trend — 12.1% of South Dakota's housing units were vacant in 2012, compared to 12.4% of the nation's housing units.

9. Maine

Why it's weird: Maine was quite a bit older and whiter than the U.S. as a whole. Maine's median age was 43.5 years, about six years older than the national median of 37.4. With the highest rate in the country, 94.1% of Mainers identified as white alone, while only 62.8% of Americans identified their race this way. Maine houses also had a huge vacancy rate, with 23.4% of units vacant, nearly double the 12.4% vacancy rate for the country as a whole.

Why it's normal: Despite the high vacancy rate, the median home value in Maine was $172,300, only $400 more than the national median of $171,900.

Eighteen years ago, in 1995, the Internet only had 10 million active users. Only 35 million people used email.

To most Americans, the Internet was a strange thing they'd been hearing more about in media and in movies like Sandra Bullock's 1995 thriller, "The Net."

In February 1996,  Morgan Stanley analysts Mary Meeker and Chris DePuy wrote a massive, 322-page report arguing that that would soon change. They wrote, "the market for Internet-related products and services appears to be growing more rapidly than the early emerging markets for print publishing, telephony, film, radio, recorded music, television, and personal computers."

For about 200 pages, the report examines the growth of the Internet and which companies and industries would benefit from it.

Then, at the end of the report, there's a section called "Morgan Stanley’s Cool Sites — 500 Channels & Everything’s On."

It's a list of 110 sites that were accessible via the Web or your AOL account.

It is nostalgic bliss.

Here's how Meeker and DePuy introduced the section:

So you want to “surf the Net,” but it’s your first time and you’re not quite sure if it’s legal in this country to have a URL, and the last time you heard the word “Yahoo” was when your grandfather’s favorite baseball team won the pennant. It is very likely that somewhere out there on the Internet is everything you wanted to know, plus a whole lot of other stuff that would seem really interesting if you knew it existed. So whether it’s your first time, or you’ve “been there, done that,” we have organized this section into what we consider to be the most important, highly useful, and, simply put, coolest cool sites on the Internet.

If you're 30 or older, you'll remember a lot of the sites.  If you're 30 or younger, you'll look at most of the sites and wonder why anybody bothered.

There are a few sites on this list, however, that show how much promise the Internet held, even so early on.