Quantcast
Channel: Features
Viewing all 61683 articles
Browse latest View live

17 Mindblowing Facts About North Korea

$
0
0

north korea kim jong un

Everyone's heard about North Korea, the hermit kingdom that hangs off the east coast of China.

Condoleezza Rice called it an "outpost of tyranny." George W. Bush said it was one-third of the "axis of evil." And now James Franco and Seth Rogen are releasing a comedy about it, much to Pyongyang's disapproval.

Despite all of that, we really don't know that much about North Korea. But what we do know is rather mindblowing.

If North Korea's capital were a US city, it would be the 4th-most populous.

The population of Pyongyang is 2.843 million.

The fourth-most populous U.S. city is Houston, Texas. Its population is 2.195 million.

Source: CIA



North Korea has a 100% literacy rate.

The CIA defines literacy as "age 15 and over can read and write."

According to that definition, the literacy rate is 100%.

Source: CIA



There are 28 state-approved haircuts.

According to Time, "Women are allowed to choose one of 14 styles; married women are instructed to keep their tresses short, while the single ladies are allowed let loose with longer, curlier locks."

Men are "prohibited from growing their hair longer than 5 cm — less than 2 inches — while older men can get away with up to 7 cm (3 inches)."

Source: Time



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

10 Cool Games You Can Play On Your Mac

$
0
0

world of warcraft

Macs aren't known for their games, but that doesn't mean Apple doesn't have anything to offer in the way of interactive entertainment.

There are actually plenty of Mac-friendly games out there. We've found the best of the best and compiled them here.

As with any ranking, this is not an exact science. Price, popularity, graphic performance, and the overall user experience were all considered to rank these titles, though please comment if you feel your favorite game is being overlooked!

"Half-Life 2"

Released: 2010 (OS X)

Studio: Valve Corporation 

Price: $9.99 on Steam

"Half-Life 2 is unquestionably one of the best games ever made,"wrote one user. "It is widespread knowledge that this feat of gaming ingenuity has set a bar that few games have managed to match in the years since its release."



"Left 4 Dead 2"

Released: 2009 (2010 for OS X)

Studio: Valve Corporation & Turtle Rock Studios

Price: $19.99 on Steam

"This bloodthirsty zombie apocalyptic game is highly addictive with its nice graphics and great multiplayer options,"said one user on GameSpot (that person gave it a 9 out of 10).



"Minecraft"

Released: 2011

Studio: Mojang

Price: $26.95 on Minecraft.net

"The game's strongest point is its freedom,"wrote one reviewer. "The freedom to build whatever you want, go wherever you want, and create whatever you want. There is little limit here. "



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

25 Great Photos Of Actors Nerding Out At Comic-Con

$
0
0

ben affleck henry cavill

Comic-Con isn't just about seeing moviepanels and dressing up in cosplay.

It's also a time to see big-name actors unwind and geek out amongst fans and themselves. 

From going around the Con in costume to geeking out on the showroom floor, here are some of the best moments that were captured.

The Oculus Rift wasn't just for fans. Actor Nathan Fillion ("Castle") tried out the "Game of Thrones" virtual experience at WIRED's Cafe.



Mike Tyson playfully punched out this fan.



"Game of Thrones" actor Pedro Pascal served up themed beer from the series ...



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 22 Websites Every Modern Gentleman Should Bookmark

$
0
0

man in suit relaxing on bench

The internet holds the key to learning anything these days, including tips and tricks for the modern man who wants to stay a cut above the rest.

Unfortunately, just searching "gentleman" isn't going to get you very far. You need to know where to look to get solid information.

So we've compiled a list of websites that every gentleman should bookmark and use, including the web versions of men's magazines, style blogs, and e-commerce sites.

We guarantee these sites will are going to make your life easier and make you look more polished.

InsideHook

InsideHook offers a daily recommendation relating to all the finer things in life – travel, food & drink, style, and more. They run an editorial site filled with men's interest articles on lifestyle news and tips. The goal is to give you what you need to know, without taking up your valuable time.

InsideHook



GQ

GQ Magazine's website is full of culture and style articles specifically made for men. You can find everything from serious political articles (we recommend this fascinating profile on Bob Dole) to "exclusive sketches" of the 2015 Ford Mustang to the best sunglasses under $50

GQ



Men In Cities

Based in NYC, Men In Cities is a site dedicated to bringing the best lifestyle accessories to the modern gentleman.

What makes the site different is that everything — from cashmere hats to notebooks and gloves — is $40. That makes it easy to buy, gift, return and exchange. Every month 9 new items are added to the site and you get an e-mail about it. It's that simple.

Men In Cities



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

100 Children’s Books Everyone Should Read In Their Lifetime

$
0
0

Michelle Obama, reading, books, children

The books we read as children shape the way we view the world.

From cartoon books to coming-of age-stories, Amazon's editors have put together a list of the 100* children’s books that everyone must read in their lifetime.

“We looked at the books for a reader age 12 and under that we personally loved then and now, and also at children’s books that have come out in recent years that we think are in the new crop of lifetime favorites,” explained Seira Wilson, Amazon’s books editor, in an email to Business Insider.

The books range from standard classics that everyone has read to new children’s books that the team thinks are influencing the next generation. Keep reading to see the complete list below.

  1. A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L'Engle

  2. Aesop's Fables” by Don Daily

  3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst

  4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass” by Lewis Carroll

  5. Amelia Bedelia” by Peggy Parish 

  6. And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson

  7. Anne of Green Gables Series (8-box set)” by L.M. Montgomery

  8. Are You My Mother?” by  P.D. Eastman

  9. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.” by Judy Blume

  10. Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales (Peter Rabbit)” by Beatrix Potter

  11. Betsy-Tacy” by Maud Hart Lovelace

  12. Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell 

  13. Bread and Jam for Frances” by Russell Hoban

  14. Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson

  15. Caps for Sale: A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business” by Esphyr Slobodkina

  16. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” by Roald Dahl 

  17. Charlotte's Web” by E. B. White 

  18. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. 

  19. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi Barrett 

  20. Coraline” by Neil Gaiman 

  21. Corduroy” by Don Freeman

  22. D’Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths” by Ingri d'Aulaire

  23. Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney

  24. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” by Mo Willems 

  25. Dr. Seuss's Beginner Book Collection (Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish, Green Eggs and Ham, Hop on Pop, Fox in Socks)” by Dr. Seuss

  26. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective” by Donald J. Sobol 

  27. Esperanza Rising” by Pam Munoz Ryan

  28. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” by E.L. Konigsburg

  29. Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown

  30. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site” by Sherri Duskey Rinker 

  31. Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales” by Jacob Grimm

  32. Guess How Much I Love You” by Sam McBratney

  33. Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson

  34. Harriet the Spy” by Louise Fitzhugh

  35. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone” by J.K. Rowling

  36. Holes” by Louis Sachar 

  37. Island of the Blue Dolphins” by Scott O'Dell 

  38. Jumanji” by Chris Van Allsburg

  39. Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder

  40. Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott 

  41. Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney

  42. Madeline” by Ludwig Bemelmans 

  43. Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey 

  44. Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli 

  45. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” by Virginia Lee Burton 

  46. Mr. Popper's Penguins” by Richard Atwater 

  47. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” by Robert C. O'Brien

  48. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle” by Betty MacDonald

  49. My Side of the Mountain” by Jean Craighead George 

  50. Olivia” by Ian Falconer

  51. Owen” by Kevin Henkes 

  52. Paddle-to-the-Sea” by Holling C. Holling

  53. Pat the Bunny” by Dorothy Kunhardt

  54. Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie 

  55. Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren 

  56. Press Here” by Herve Tullet 

  57. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble” by William Steig 

  58. The Bad Beginning” by Lemony Snicket 

  59. The Borrowers” by Mary Norton 

  60. The Boxcar Children” by Gertrude Chandler

  61. The Call Of The Wild” by Jack London 

  62. The Complete Adventures of Curious George” by H. A. Rey

  63. The Cricket in Times Square” by George Selden 

  64. The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt 

  65. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” by William Joyce

  66. The Giver” by Lois Lowry

  67. The House at Pooh Corner” by A. A. Milne

  68. The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick

  69. The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling 

  70. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)” by Rick Riordan

  71. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis

  72. The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper 

  73. The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

  74. The Mouse and the Motorcycle” by Beverly Cleary 

  75. The New Way Things Work” by David Macaulay

  76. The Paper Bag Princess” by Robert Munsch 

  77. The Phantom Tollbooth” by Norton Juster

  78. The Real Mother Goose” by Blanche Fisher Wright 

  79. The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

  80. The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew, Book 1)” by Carolyn Keene

  81. The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats

  82. The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant” by Jean De Brunhoff 

  83. The Story of Ferdinand” by Munro Leaf 

  84. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread” by Kate DiCamillo

  85. The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys No. 1)” by Franklin W. Dixon

  86. The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle 

  87. The Watsons Go to Birmingham —1963” by Christopher Paul Curtis 

  88. The Wednesday Wars” by Gary D. Schmidt 

  89. The Westing Game” by Ellen Raskin 

  90. The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame 

  91. The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum

  92. Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson

  93. Tuck Everlasting” by Natalie Babbit

  94. Walk Two Moons” by Sharon Creech 

  95. Watership Down” by Richard Adams 

  96. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” by Grace Lin 

  97. Where the Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls

  98. Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein” by Shel Silverstein

  99. Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak 

  100. Wonder” by R. J. Palacio 

*Editorial Note: we recognize that the Amazon team stretched the list by including two boxed sets — including the Anne of Green Gables series and a Dr. Seuss beginner book collection — but we’ll excuse them for trying to get as many titles on the list as possible.

SEE ALSO: 25 Books That Changed The Course Of History

DON'T FORGET: Business Insider's Life is now on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »

This Company Is Turning The Desert Green — And It Could Radically Change the Future Of Food

$
0
0

SFP Sahara Forest Project

In Qatar, the summers are long and hot. From April through October, the average high hovers between 90 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and there's hardly ever a drop of rain.

To meet the needs of a rapidly growing population, the oil-rich country must rely on imports for about 90% of its food. But there's a radical idea that's growing — against all odds — in the middle of Qatar's vast Arabian Desert.

It's called the Sahara Forest Project (SFP for short).

SFP was created to find a way not just to grow food in the desert, but to do so sustainably — to make the environment better, not worse. As the organizers explain in a fact sheet, it's "designed to utilize what we have enough of to produce what we need more of, using deserts, saltwater, and CO2 to produce food, water, and energy."

As the planet gets hotter and more crowded, this initiative in Qatar becomes relevant to us all. If we can learn how to sustainably grow food in such inhospitable conditions, the world's agricultural future might not be as bleak as it seems.

Construction of the 10,000 square meter pilot site in Qatar began in 2012. It's built on land near the capital city of Doha, adjacent to an industrial ammonia factory.

Source: Sahara Forest Project



The major technologies incorporated into the project include: concentrated solar power, revegetation, and saltwater-cooled greenhouses.



The SFP pilot facility includes the first "concentrated solar power" unit in Qatar. The unit uses mirrors to reflect and focus the sun's rays, amplifying the solar energy captured. In the next phase, this will be used to generate electricity by powering a steam turbine. In the pilot, the power it generates is used to turn some of the saltwater into freshwater.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

25 Gorgeous Pools Everyone Should Swim In Once

$
0
0

laucala island resort pool fiji

The only thing that's more relaxing than lounging poolside or soaking in the water on a sunny day is doing it at one of these incredible destinations. 

From luxurious infinity pools with unbeatable views to natural pools teeming with marine life, these pools around the world deserve to be on everyone's bucket list. 

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore has a stunning infinity rooftop pool on the hotel's 57th floor, where guests can swim and admire the Singaporean skyline.

Find out more about the Marina Bay Sands Hotel here >



Berlin's Arena Badeschiff pool floats inside of the River Spree, where visitors can swim in clean water and enjoy views of the surrounding city. Food, drinks, music, and lounge chairs are also available from open to close.

Find out more about Arena Badeschiff here >



Rio de Janeiro's Hotel Fasano has a rooftop pool deck overlooking Sugarloaf mountain and Ipanema beach. It's in the center of Rio's hottest area.

Find out more about Hotel Fasano here >



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's How North Korean Architects Envision The Future

$
0
0

north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"

At this year’s Venice Bienniale in Italy, the Korean pavilion has a curious exhibit called “Commissions for Utopia,” which we first saw over at Wired.

It includes renderings from North Korea’s top architects and artists (all anonymous), many of whom studied at the Paekho Institute of Architecture, North Korea’s state-run architectural college, and none of whom have ever left the country. 

They were asked to create a vision of North Korea’s future sustainable architecture for its expanding tourism industry. Their final products are a glimpse into what it would be like to envision the future after being entirely cut off from the present for almost 70 years. 

The plans, which Wired reporter Kyle Vanhemert said would fit right in at Disney World’s Tomorrowland, show futuristic bridges, alternative energy systems including solar power and wind turbines, and housing complexes in the shape of cones.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"Perhaps what’s most jarring is what isn’t in these images. Cell phones and computers, to start — one bedroom interior shows a rotary telephone with bedside lamps that would not look out of place in a retro home catalogue. All of the designs also seem to rely heavily on wood, glass, and steel materials.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"Yet some of these images also show sizable yachts, trains, and helicopters, as well as one mechanical gondola ferrying passengers above the ground in tiny pink pods. All of these modes of transportation look like machines one might see today.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"The series was commissioned in 2011 by Nick Bonner, co-founder of the Beijing-based North Korea tour company Koryo Tours, which has been taking visitors to North Korea for over two decades to show them the attractions, film, architecture, and cultural productions of the Hermit Kingdom.

On Koryo trips — one of which is coming up in October— visitors can see landmarks from the patriotic Kim Il Sung Square and the grand monuments of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to the interior of a Pyongyang apartment.

Bonner and his team sometimes even bring in architectural books and magazines to North Korean architects to give them an idea of what is going on in the outside world. As Bonner said to Wired, the architects featured in the Venice Biennale exhibit may have seen Frank Gehry’s “Waterfall House" or Dubai’s skyscrapers, but they simply don’t have a fundamental understanding of the materials, tools, technology, and skills needed to build them.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"That’s why “Commissions for Utopia” is so fascinating. It’s a mix of yesteryear’s Jetsons-esque retro design with a present knowledge of sustainable energy and transportation that matches what’s currently on the world stage.

It’s as though North Korean architects have one foot firmly in 1948 while the other is planted in modern times. The problem is — and what these designs illustrate so well — that these architects are stuck between past and present without any real understanding of how to get to the future.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"The Korean Pavilion, which has already won the Golden Lion award for best pavilion, will be at the Venice Biennale until November 23. For more on what’s featured on the Korean Pavilion, click here, and keep scrolling to see more from "Commissions for Utopia."

This passenger train with deluxe skylights roams the North Korean countryside.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"An apartment inside a gigantic helicopter is called the "flying house."north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"This is an aerial hotel with gorgeous views of the surrounding landscape.

north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"These apartments are stacked on top of one another in conifer-shaped buildings. They would be connected by ski runs within the tubes.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"One can see Gehry's influence on this tree house home with its horizontal pillars and connection with the surrounding environment.north korea future architecture Koryo Tour "Commissions for Utopia"

SEE ALSO: 20 Bizarre Things I Learned While I Was In North Korea

DON'T MISS: AP Photographer's Instagram Pictures Show What Life Is Like In North KoreA

DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Life on Facebook!

Join the conversation about this story »


Inside TMZ's Awesome Office Space And TV Studio

$
0
0

TMZ OFFICE STUDIO

The TMZ office in Los Angeles is unique in the way that the celebrity gossip website's work space also functions as a TV studio for the show.

TMZ on TV, which airs mainly on Fox-owned stations, features "in-studio" segments that are taped during a morning staff pitch meeting — led by the site's founder and show's executive producer, Harvey Levin — at TMZ's headquarters.

TMZ is an insider term ("thirty-mile zone" or studio zone), referring to the movie studio area of downtown Hollywood.

San Fransisco-based Rapt Studio recently refurbished TMZ's very public workspace  see what it's like to work in the fast lane.

If you've ever watched TMZ on TV, you're already familiar with the show's pitch meeting format.



San Fransisco-based Rapt Studio designed the real life work place/TV studio in Los Angeles. The celebrity-inspired workspace is built around a 9,000-square-foot newsroom, connecting brand and culture to its environment.

Rapt Studio 

 



TMZ's trademark red and black color scheme is apparent upon arrival.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 19 Most Outrageous Things Johnny Manziel Has Ever Done

$
0
0

johnny manziel spring break gronkowski

Johnny Manziel showed up to Cleveland Browns camp and faced an avalanche of questions about his off-the-field life.

After a report that the team was "stunned" by how much he parties, Manziel wouldn't apologize for his lifestyle.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with me going out and having a night life, having a social life,"he told WKYC. "I mean, I am 21 years old, and I do like going out."

You can't help but love Johnny Football.

He held a stack of money up to his ear like a phone after getting drafted.

Source: CBS Sports



He drank champagne on an inflatable swan in Austin in June.



He was photographed in Las Vegas with a rolled up twenty-dollar bill.

Source: Busted Coverage



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

22 Quotes By Richard Branson That Take You Inside The Mind Of The Self-Made Billionaire

$
0
0

richard branson vomit comet zero G

When Richard Branson was 16, he started a magazine called "Student."

Six years later, he opened up a recording studio. The company's first song — a track called "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield — stayed on the U.K. charts for 247 weeks. 

The Virgin empire had begun.

Now at 64, Branson is equal parts man, myth, and legend. His Virgin Group is composed of 400 companies, employs 60,000 people, and operates in more than 30 countries. He has an estimated net worth of $5 billion.

Branson also has a flair for the dramatic. He's crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon and kite-surfed across the English Channel.

To gain an understanding of the adventurous, wildly successful entrepreneur, we combed through his talks, interviews, and profiles. Here's what we found.

On entrepreneurship

"Entrepreneurship is about turning what excites you in life into capital, so that you can do more of it and move forward with it." 

[Virgin, 2014]



On human interaction

"When I was young, every time I criticized someone, my mother would stand me in front of the mirror and say: 'The flaws you see in others are actually a reflection of yourself.' That taught me to pay close attention when I looked at others.

"[My parents] also taught me to listen and value other people's advice and opinions. So I have always applied this in business and tried to be a good leader and bring out the best in people by listening to them, trusting in them, believing in them, respecting them and letting them have a go!"

[The Gentleman's Journal, December 2012]



On purpose

"A business is simply an idea to make other people's lives better."

[Inc., April 2013]



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

21 Hidden Bars In New York City (And How To Find Them)

$
0
0

crif dogs pdt speakeasy entrance new york city

New Yorkers have a history of drinking in speakeasies dating back to the Prohibition.

These days, a new breed of speakeasy has cropped up around the city, featuring old-timey touches like hidden entrances, tin ceilings, and cocktails made with classic ingredients.

Here are some of New York's best speakeasies, from 67 Orange Street in Harlem to the new Featherweight in Bushwick.

Did we forget your favorite speakeasy in NYC? Let us know in the comments.

67 Orange Street serves incredible fried chicken sliders with its cocktails.

2082 Frederick Douglas Blvd., Harlem

This Harlem speakeasy has an extensive menu of cocktails (ranging from classic gin and whiskey to champagne, cognac, and beer), with great food to back it up. We recommend the fried chicken sliders or lobster mac n' cheese.

When you arrive, don't be fooled by the curtains hanging in the windows. The place may look closed, but walk in the door and you'll find yourself inside an intimate bar.



Angel's Share is hidden inside a Japanese restaurant.

8 Stuyvesant St., East Village

This intimate speakeasy has tall windows that look out onto the East Village, and serves creative cocktails with impressive back-stories and high-quality ingredients.

Angel's Share is hidden behind a secret door inside Village Yokocho that looks like a storage closet at the top of some stairs. Warning: do not try to come in with more than four people — you will be turned away at the door.



Apothéke's bartenders prepare drinks wearing lab coats.

9 Doyers St., Chinatown

With an entrance below a neon "Chemist" sign hanging in a Chinatown alleyway, Apothéke may not look like a high-class bar. Yet after 9 p.m., a discerning bouncer only lets in clientele dressed to the nines or with reservations.

But it's well worth it. Once you get inside, "chemists," or bartenders wearing white coats, will mix complicated cocktails in a dark and classy setting.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Fabulous Life Of Facebook Billionaire Sheryl Sandberg

$
0
0

sheryl sandberg facebook

With a reported net worth of $1.1 billion, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg is one of the wealthiest women in tech.

Though Sandberg lives in a stunning contemporary home in Silicon Valley with her husband and two children, she isn't known for having a particularly extravagant lifestyle. 

Sandberg comes from a government background and has worked her way up to the top of two major tech companies. Now she's working on a movement to change women's position in the workforce, and she's recruited celebrities and traveled the globe to do it.

Sheryl Sandberg was born Aug. 28, 1969, in Washington, D.C. She has two younger siblings: a brother named David and a sister named Michelle. The family moved to North Miami Beach when Sheryl was only 2 years old.

Source: The New Yorker



Sandberg's father was an ophthalmologist, and her mother taught French at a local college. The couple founded the South Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry through their local synagogue, and their home soon became a safe haven for Soviet Jews looking to escape anti-Semitism.

Source: The New Yorker



Sandberg always shone in school. "In public schools, for a girl to be smart was not good for your social life," her mother Adele told The New Yorker.

Source: The New Yorker



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Wall Street's Brightest Minds Reveal The Most Important Charts In The World

$
0
0

0001A6 1

This is it: the most important charts in the world.

We asked dozens of our favorite analysts, economists, strategists, and portfolio managers on Wall Street and around the world to send us their most important charts.

And the picture these charts paint about the state of investing around the world is fascinating.

Some themes that arise are continued questions about the housing and credit markets in China, volatility — or the lack thereof — in global markets, and how we can get a sense of what happens when the Fed makes its next move.

But three themes don’t adequately capture the array of topics covered in this collection.

Jeff Gundlach, DoubleLine



Emad Mostaque, strategist



Aswath Damodaran, Stern School of Business at NYU



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The Sexiest Developers Alive!

$
0
0

himani_BI (1).JPGWhen one thinks of a stereotypical programmer, what comes to mind is likely a nerdy, glasses-wearing introvert.

At Business Insider, we're breaking that stereotype by proving that programmers can be beautiful, too. We've done our research and sought out the most attractive programmers and developers, and we even held an open nomination process (and we received some smokin' hot nominees). 

As a result, we handpicked the 13 hottest guys and gals in the business, and we're presenting our annual rundown of the hottest programmers, developers, and coders around.

Victor Mathieux - Everest

Victor Mathieux is chief product officer for Everest, an "action-network" designed to help you achieve your loftiest goals. He played a big part in Everest's iPhone app and made it to our list of 30 developers under 30. He also has his own design consulting company BrainNectar. Up next for Mathieux is a project called Dept. of Motivation.



Himani Amoli - Wedding Party

Himani Amoli created the app Wedding Party to help couples organize photos from the big day and keep their guests informed. She's also worked on other apps, including Mobilecious, which tracks food trucks, and TwizzleTales, which helps kids publish interactive stories on iPads. 



Samantha John - Hopscotch

Another one of our 30 under 30 developers, Samantha John is the cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of Hopscotch, an app that tries to make coding fun for kids. Before Hopscotch, John worked at Pivotal Labs.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

13 Weird Psychological Reasons Someone Might Fall In Love With You

$
0
0

Endless Love

There's no shortage of advice on where to meet the right person, how to make people like you, and how to build a successful relationship.

Sometimes, though, people are attracted to each other for seemingly arbitrary reasons, such as what color you wear or whether you have a pet.

What might influence someone to fall for you? We pored through research on the psychology of attraction and found some fascinating reasons why people fall in love.

If you do something thrilling together.

In 1974, Donald Dutton and Arthur Aron wanted to test the connection between sexual attraction and anxiety. In their study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, they placed men under two conditions. The first walked across a high, shaky bridge. The other was on a low, sturdy bridge. Afterward, they met a female experimenter who asked them a series of questions and gave the men her phone number "just in case."

The men who met the woman after walking on the high bridge were more likely to call her than the men who met her on the low bridge. Psychologists call this phenomenon the "misattribution of arousal." The high bridge created a sense of arousal from the anxiety, but men mistakenly thought it was from the attraction to the woman.

This is why many people like to do exciting things on first dates, such as visiting amusement parks, skydiving, or riding motorcycles.



If you prime them to feel more attracted to you.

Priming is an implicit memory effect, which means that the stimuli you are exposed to can influence your response to later stimuli. For example, if people take a multiple choice test with words that have to do with "oldness" like "Florida,""gray," and "weak," they tend to walk slower afterward.

Yale psychologist John Bargh performed an experimentin which participants held warm or cold beverages and had to rate whether someone's personality was warm or cold. Participants who held warm beverages judged the person to have a warm personality, because their minds were already primed to think that way.

If you take someone on a coffee date instead of an ice cream date, they may feel more warmly toward you.



If you live close to them.

It's not only important to be close to someone emotionally — you should also strive to be close physically. According to an experiment at MIT, the proximity of students' dorm rooms increased how close they felt to one another.

This is because they had more passive interactions, like brief meetings as they passed one another in the hallway, which made them feel more intimate.

It's known as the mere exposure effect, which states that familiarity plays a huge role in attraction.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Mesmerizing Photos Of America's First Track Built Just For Formula One Races

$
0
0

fowlks_05

The Circuit of the Americas, just outside of Austin, Tex. is America’s first circuit built specifically for Formula One races. 

Completed in October 2012, the 3.4-mile track has hosted the Formula One United States Grand Prix the last two years, as well as numerous other races, concerts, and events.

Formula One is the fastest class of single-seat auto-racing in the world, with cars achieving speeds of 220 mph. Formula One tracks are "road courses," meaning that there are left and right turns, as well as straights. In contrast, NASCAR uses stock-cars (essentially modified sedans) and tracks that are usually ovals.

Early in 2012, photographer Tom Fowlks was sent by ESPN The Magazine to photograph the construction of the track. While there, he became fascinated with what he perceived to be a landmark moment in American sporting history. After the track was finished, Fowlks decided he had to photograph the finished track before it ran its first race in November 2012.

The sheer size of the track, covering around 1000 acres, made it difficult to photograph the entire track at once, even though Fowlks took the photos from a helicopter. Instead he focused on the numerous twists and turns in the track, capturing the interesting figures and patterns that comprise the track.

Fowlks shared some of photos with us here, but you can see more of his work at his website.

The track was designed by German architect and auto-racer Hermann Tilke, who has designed numerous high-profile Formula One circuits.fowlks_06The track is capable of handling any class of racing, including cars, motorcycles, and cycling.fowlks_03The track has a capacity of 120,000 spectators. The first Formula One race in 2012 had a near-capacity crowd of 117,429.fowlks_08The track has 20 turns over an an elevation change of 133 feet.fowlks_02The turns were made especially wide to encourage drivers to follow multiple racing lines.fowlks_01Mario Andretti ran the ceremonial first laps on October 21st, 2012. He used a Lotus 79, the same car he drove to become the last American to win the World Drivers' Championship in 1978.fowlks_07The lap record is 1 minute, 39.347 seconds, set by Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing during the 2012 United States Grand Prix, the track's inaugural race. Vettel actually came in second during the race.fowlks_04

Join the conversation about this story »

11 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Your iPad (AAPL)

$
0
0

iPad

Let's face it, most people use their iPads to browse the internet, check email, and play the occasional game.

Why not tap into your iPad's full potential?

We've got you covered.

From tips to make your iPad experience more enjoyable to unique apps that let your iPad do new things, these tricks will keep your tablet feeling fresh and more capable than ever.

Use your iPad as a card table

The next time you're looking for a deck of cards, just use Card Table ($1.99). The app turns your iPad into a card table, and players use their iPhones to hold the cards in their hand.



Quickly navigate to an app's settings using Siri

When you have an app open on your iPad, simply hold down the Home button to bring up Siri and say, "Settings." Siri will then bring up the settings page for that particular app.



Watch free movies and TV shows (legally) with Crackle

There's no need to sign in or pay to enjoy Crackle (Free). And while you won't always see the newest movies or TV shows, there's plenty of original content and old-time favorites to keep you entertained.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's The Astonishing Hovercraft That The Soviets Could Have Used To Invade Western Europe In The 80s

$
0
0

Ekranoplane

The relationship between the U.S. and Russia is more tense than it's been since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.

American and E.U. sanctions on the Russian government in the wake of Moscow-backed separatists' destruction of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet has Russian President Vladimir Putin backed into a corner — which, as The New Republic's Julia Ioffe argues, is when he's most dangerous.

But this isn't the Cold War. There's little actual danger of the Russians attempting to militarily threaten western Europe. Putin's options are dwindling. He's almost certainly more contained — strategically and militarily — than his Soviet predecessors, who had a trans-continental empire and some of the most incredible military technology of the time at their disposal.

The Lun-class Soviet Ekranoplane is one reminder of the stakes of the Cold War, and the capabilities of the communist bloc. A super-vehicle seemingly purpose-built for a major war with the NATO states, it's a sign of how different Europe, Russia, and the world in general were just a relatively short time ago.

The Ekranoplane was a marvel of late 20th century technological prowess and the Soviets considered it an integral part of their colossal military machine.

Equipped with nuclear warheads and capable of blasting across the sea at 340 miles per hour, the Lun-class Ekranoplane was part plane, part boat, and part hovercraft. It took advantage of an aeronautical effect that allowed it to lift off with an immense amount of weight, but limited its flight to 16 feet above the waves — its altitude could never be greater than its wingspan.

Think of a large seabird, like a pelican, cruising inches from the water and not needing to flap its wings — but loaded with soldiers, missiles, and even nukes.

Only one of these extraordinary war machines was ever built. The only complete Ekranoplane now sits on the shores of the Caspian Sea, rusting away. 

Business Insider's Robert Johnson stumbled upon these pictures back in January of 2012, when aviation blogger Igor113 posted them to Live Journal.

The Lun-class Ekranoplane was used by the Soviet Navy starting in 1987, and wasn't retired until the late 1990s, after the Soviet Union's fall



At nearly 243 feet long — and at almost the size of the Spruce Goose — the Lun is a ground-effect aircraft that can only fly near the surface of the sea



Eight turbofans producing 28,600 pounds of thrust apiece are mounted at the nose of the vehicle



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

17 Stunning Photos From A Bizarre Clown Conference In Guatemala

$
0
0

clown makeup boy

The sixth annual Congress of Latin American clowns took place this week in Guatemala City, where more than 200 professional clowns gathered to exchange tricks of the trade.

The conference — which included clowns from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. — was sponsored by the union representing workers in Guatemala's entertainment sector.

Much to coulrophobics' dismay, the event included both happy and sad clowns.

Clowns from all over the world gathered for four days this week in Guatemala City for the sixth annual Latin American Clown Congress.



More than 200 clowns attended to learn new skills, attend workshops, and network.

 



All ages and genders are welcome.

 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Viewing all 61683 articles
Browse latest View live


Latest Images