The celebrity news website TMZ is reporting that rapper, producer, and Beats Electronics tycoon Dr. Dre has sold his Los Angeles home for $32.5 million.

Dre bought the six-bedroom home in December 2011 for $15.4 million through a trust, according to property records. He listed the property for $35 million in June.

The mansion spans 9,696 square feet and overlooks downtown Los Angeles from the Hollywood Hills.

The music mogul bought Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen's Brentwood, California, home for $40 million in May. His new house will have a moat, terraces, and an infinity pool.

Apple announced in May that it would buy Beats Electronics for a whopping $3 billion. The rapper and entrepreneur is worth a reported $800 million after the deal.

Dr. Dre has now sold this six-bedroom mansion for $32.5 million.

The gated home is in Hollywood Hills West, and it has 9,696 square feet with a wine cellar, library, and guesthouse.

The home also has a covetable flat backyard.

Freedom House released its annual Freedom in the World report this week, rating each of the world's nations according to the political rights and civil liberties of their people. 

The report found that overall freedom in the world dropped for the ninth consecutive year, with nearly twice as many countries suffering declines in freedom as registering gains.

The number of countries whose freedom improved is at its lowest point in nine years. 

The report found a growing disdain for democracy in nearly all regions of the world, with losses in personal freedom often coming in the form of increased state surveillance and restrictions on internet communications. 

Of the 195 countries assessed, 26% were rated "Not Free," with ratings for the Middle East and North Africa among the worst of the world's regions.

SEE ALSO: There's one huge reason Mexico is becoming "less free"

Belarus

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka heads an authoritarian regime notorious for crushing any and all forms of political dissent.

Term limits don't exist and key opposition figures are often prevented from running for office, according to Freedom House. As a result, opposition parties have no representation in the Belarusian National Assembly. 

Belarusian national television is controlled by the government and dissenting views are not presented. As more and more Belarusians gain access to the internet, the government is trying to expand its control to the web. Social networking sites are blocked, and online opposition activists are regularly harassed and threatened. 

Somalia

The political process in anarchic Somalia is largely driven by clan loyalty, according to Freedom House. 

While Somalia's current parliament is highly regarded by the international community, Somali citizens exercise little power over the system and have limited, if any, access to their representatives.

Somalia's new government, which took power last December, also controls the media with a heavy hand. Somalia is plagued by lawlessness: though technically illegal, female genital mutilation is still widely practiced on nearly all young Somali girls. 

The prevalence of armed groups like the jihadist organization al Shabaab, and the government's relatively limited ability to counter them, makes the state of civil and political rights incredibly dire even without an oppressive state apparatus.

Equatorial Guinea

Political opposition in Equatorial Guinea is limited and kept under strict control by the regime, according to Freedom House. The ruling party has almost complete control over the media, judiciary, police, and military. Corruption is rampant. 

Press censorship by the government is authorized under a 1992 law, Facebook is blocked, and libel is a criminal offense. The government engages in arbitrary arrests and frequently detains its political opponents on charges of "destabilization."

Two streets and one block over from Times Square, a new steakhouse has Wall Street buzzing.

Hunt & Fish Club— the $5 million brainchild of founders restaurateur Eytan Sugarman, financier Nelson Braff, and hedge fund maven Anthony Scaramucci — has taken over the city with its dramatic interior and classy, throw-back vibe.

“When these guys were designing it, I wanted to see Leonardo DiCaprio. You know that light, light pink suit he’s wearing in ‘The Great Gatsby’?” Scaramucci told The New York Post in the paper’s recent feature on the restaurant. “I wanted him standing at the bar in that custom suit saying, ‘OK, this is the right spot for this guy.’”

Already, the new spot has attracted a fair amount of celebrities and big wigs. According to The Post, Carl Icahn, Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, and music mogul Timbaland have all stopped by.  

Friends of reality star Kim Kardashian Brittany Gastenau and Jonathan Cheban have also made a few trips, as has actor Mario Lopez.

A photo posted by Jonathan Cheban (@jonathancheban) on Jan 7, 2015 at 6:41pm PST

Adding to the steakhouse’s street cred, Page Six wrote that the son of Mario Gabelli, chairman and chief executive officer of GAMCO Investors, was thrown out of the restaurant. He was reportedly shouting “Do you know who my father is? He runs this city!”

With two huge floors, 180 seats, and the former executive sous chef Jeff Kreisel of Porter House New York at the helm, Hunt & Fish Club promises to be a new hotspot for NYC steak enthusiasts.

Upon entering, guests walk into the dark “Black Room” lobby with a backlit bar and artwork by renowned artist Roy Nachum, whose work has been collected by Jay Z and Tom Brady. Nachum designed the restaurant along with his creative partner Studio Iyor.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 6, 2015 at 9:45pm PST

They are then led into the beautiful “White Room” main dining area, which has a 40 foot by 20 foot chrome chandelier that hovers over guests as they dig into 26-ounce bone-in rib-eye, oysters, and fresh seafood entries.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 6, 2015 at 9:47pm PST

For private dinner parties, Hunt & Fish Club also has a smaller “Green Room” with an arched skylight and self-watering, living green wall.

Downstairs, there’s a glass-encased infinity wine cellar and a “Blue Room” that’s dedicated to events with Roman-inspired reliefs around the mirrored ceiling.

In addition to the Blue Room, the downstairs area has another bar as well as a shoe shining service that will polish patron’s shoes for free and give them back to you under the table, according to The Post.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 6, 2015 at 9:33pm PST

Hunt & Fish Club has both lunch and dinner menus with prices ranging from an $18 burger at lunch to dry aged porterhouse for two priced at $110. There’s myriad sides, including Parmesan fries, truffle tater tots, and the classic creamed spinach.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 13, 2015 at 8:05pm PST

A photo posted by Jonathan Cheban (@jonathancheban) on Jan 7, 2015 at 7:33pm PST

Lunch and dinner prix fixes start at $45 for lunch and $75 for dinner, as well as a seafood prix fix option for $40.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 9, 2015 at 10:39pm PST

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 10, 2015 at 10:51am PST

Joining Executive Chef Jeff Kreisel is James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Richard Leah from Park Avenue Cafe. He has been coming up with a series of phenomenal desserts, from a devil’s food cake with chocolate ganache, to a gorgeous coconut angel food cake with caramel sauce. 

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 6, 2015 at 9:51pm PST

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 7, 2015 at 7:25pm PST

Expect to see a lot more of New York’s finest flocking to Hunt & Fish Club and make a reservation now before they’re booked through 2015.

A photo posted by Hunt & Fish Club 🍴 (@huntandfishclub) on Jan 21, 2015 at 9:54pm PST

SEE ALSO: The Best Steakhouses in America, According To OpenTable

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There's nothing like going to see a movie. The whole experience — from picking what to see and grabbing snacks to getting the best seats, not to mention watching the movie — is a treat.

From massive multiplexes, 3-D movies, and IMAX cinemas, going to the movies has become a high-tech operation, but it wasn't always so.

From the late 1910s until the 1940s, a boom time for Hollywood and the movie industry, hundreds of beautiful and ornate "movie palaces" opened in metropolitan areas across the US. These theaters were palaces, featuring massive screening rooms with lavish and baroque architectural elements.

Most of these theaters have since closed and been demolished. But in California, some of these gorgeous spaces still exist and continue to show films to eager viewers hoping to take a step back in time.

Photographer Franck Bohbot has traveled to California from his native France to document these stunning California movie theaters in their glory. He has shared a selection of images here with us, and you can check out more on his website.

The Castro Theatre, in San Francisco, was built in 1922 and is a historical landmark. The theater has 800 seats downstairs and 600 in the balcony.

Hollywood's famous Chinese Theatre, now known as the TLC Chinese Theater, was built in 1926 and designed to look like a Chinese palace. Its entrance features now famous cement bricks, which bear the signatures and handprints of Hollywood stars.

Built by Sid Grauman, who constructed the Chinese Theater, Los Angeles' Egyptian Theater opened its doors in 1922 and hosted the first movie premiere, for "Robin Hood," later that year. Much of the theater was designed in an Egyptian Revival style, most likely because of the public interest in the excavation of King Tut's tomb about the same time.

There are more than a million iPhone apps out there, so it can be hard to find the ones truly worth using.

But we can tell you this: most of the best apps are completely free.

Whether you just bought a new iPhone or you're simply looking for something new, here are some essential free apps you should download today. 

Evernote is a digital notebook that helps you remember everything.

Evernote allows you to create your own digital collection of notes, photos, web pages, audio clips, and more. And, once you add something to your notebook, Evernote indexes it so that you can search for it through the app or on your desktop. It's a great productivity tool — our own Nicholas Carlson even used it to write a 93,000-word book about Yahoo. 

If you're a music, podcast, or audio book junkie, SoundCloud is a must.

SoundCloud isn't just another music service — it allows you to discover new songs, podcasts, and any other type of audio. The Explore tab shows you which podcasts and tracks are currently trending. If you want one single app for listening to podcasts, books, and music, this is it. 

Pandora gives you free personalized radio stations.

Pandora allows you to build personalized radio stations based on your favorite artists or music genres. You can stream music on your phone for free, unlike Spotify which requires a $9.99 monthly subscription. You can sign up for the ad-free version, Pandora One, for $4.99 per month. And, if you hear a song you like, you can buy it directly from within the app. 

Hand modeling is big business. The models are featured in multi-million dollar ad campaigns, and their mitts are insured for large figures. They can see their hands on massive billboards and in TV commercials.

Alex Holder, part of the creative team of Oli+Alex, says he has always been intrigued by the people attached to these famous hands. "I’m an Advertising Creative, and after spending lots of time on sets with hand and feet models, I became fascinated with this strange industry.  How did they become hand models? Were they ‘spotted’? Do they become affected by the job?" he says.

So, along with his creative partner Oli Kellett, the two set out to meet, interview, and photograph some of the world's hand models. The models' stories surprised them.

"Nina is a hand supermodel and is Kate Moss’s hand double — she moisturizes her hands about 30 times a day," said Holder. "One of the models had to be taken off the books for a year as they had a wart."

Oli+Alex shared more of the hand models' interviews with us, along with their portraits. You can see more cool stuff on their site.

Guilia: "I stand in for little boys hands, so if you see someone playing with a Power Ranger model on TV, it’s probably me."

Adnan: "I’m the only double-jointed, Middle Eastern hand model on my agency's books."

Nina: "I never thought I’d become a hand supermodel and that [my hands] would be insured for a seven-figure sum."

Maps are famous for distorting the earth. 

Because they portray our world in only two dimensions, continents and countries become skewed, as does our perception of how big they truly are.

And that doesn't even factor in how many people actually live in these places.

Inspired by a similar 10-year-old map by cartographer Paul Breding that resized countries based on their population size, college student Chase Mohrman decided to create his own updated version.

It quickly went viral on Reddit’s /r/mapporn and began to make the rounds on Vox and NPR. 

“It took me about three months of casual work,” Mohrman told Business Insider in an email. “It was super fun to make and share. I'm honored that the map is so popular!”

Using Wikipedia as a source and Microsoft Paint as his tool, Mohrman was able to keep the basic shapes of the countries recognizable, and even had a shout out to a few US cities and states including California, Texas, greater New York City, and his native Wisconsin.

“I'm actually a freshman at UW Eau Claire studying Computer Science,” Mohrman told us. “I just have a passion for maps and thought I could help educate people with this one. I think viewing the world in this way is helpful in geo-politics because it's a true representation of the part of the world that's most interesting to us: the people on it!”

Keep reading to see close ups of his incredible map.

Canada becomes a tiny strip on top of the US and greater NYC takes up a large chunk of the East Coast.

The UK and France become almost equal sizes in Mohrman's map and Russia shrinks down by a lot.

Here's the Middle East — Pakistan is double the size of Iran.

Nigeria far outpaces any other African country as a population hub.

China is the biggest country by far on the map. Japan has expanded by a lot too and Greater Seoul takes up half of South Korea.

Australia looks teensy tiny compared to India, which has caught up with China as being one of the world's most populated countries.

You can see the full high-res map here.

SEE ALSO: 15 Overlay Maps That Will Change The Way You See The World

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The Council of Tall Buildings, a Chicago-based organization of architects and designers, has just published its Innovative 50 list, their ranking of the most innovative buildings of the last 15 years. 

To be included, the buildings had to challenge the "traditional typology of tall buildings in some way, through innovation in form, design, façade, environmental approach, technologies."

In other words, this isn't just a list of the tallest buildings on Earth, although many of them would qualify.

The Tower at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh USA. 172 metres tall, construction started in 2011 and hasn't concluded yet.

1 Bligh Street, Sydney, Australia. 139 metres tall, famous for its ecological development and glass foyer.

Al Bahar Towers in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The 145 metre-tall twin towers are encased in solar panels.

Finding time to exercise can quickly drop to the bottom list of priorities when travelling for business.

But according to internet fitness sensation Kayla Itsines, this is not a good enough excuse.

“All you need is between 14-28 minutes and the space of your own body to break a sweat, get your blood pumping and, ultimately, provide your body with multiple short- and long-term health benefits,” she says.

We asked Kayla to come up with the ultimate workout regime to take with you when travelling on business, where all you need is the furniture in your hotel room.

Not only will these exercises help you to maintain your physical fitness, but Kayla says that are also “the perfect way to start your day as they can help get you into a healthy mindset to prepare for a busy day ahead.

“Alternatively, this quick workout can help release endorphins and allow you to relax after a stressful day!”

30 snap jumps —The perfect exercise to incorporate a large range of muscle groups!

50 decline pushups — These are great to test your upper body strength by placing your feet on a raised surface rather than on the ground!

50 sumo squats with suitcase/bag (or like Kayla, her dog) — This is a GREAT exercise to help target your butt and inner thighs

Whether you're pitching a potential client or going over monthly analytics with coworkers, there's no excuse for standing in front of a dull PowerPoint presentation.

To help make your slideshows more engaging and visually striking, professional designer Damon Nofar provides insights into using the art of clean, minimalistic design.

Nofar's slideshow, "8 Tips for an Awesome PowerPoint Presentation," is published here with his permission.

Actor Mathew Perry is under contract to sell his modern Malibu retreat overlooking the ocean, according to the Wall Street Journal. The home had been listed for $12.5 million.

Known as the “Pier House," the estate sits on 2.5 acres in the celebrity-studded neighborhood of Serra Retreat. It has an outdoor pool, fire pit, and meditation garden.

Inside, the open design plan provides floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean with glass walls, a home theater, and expansive decks that overlook the water and Malibu Pier. The master suite takes up an entire wing of the home, and comes with a his and hers bathroom suite.

Perry famously turned the mansion into a sober living facility known as the “Perry House” last year. He'll be moving the “Perry House” to the more affordable Studio City neighborhood in Los Angeles.

Mark Rutstein and Greg Holcomb of Partners Trust Real Estate Brokerage and Acquisitions co-listed the property.

Welcome to Matthew Perry's "Pier House" in Malibu.

The gorgeous home is in the exclusive neighborhood of Serra Retreat.

Perry famously turned the modern home into a sober living facility in 2013.

Source: TODAY

With an estimated net worth of $17 billion, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen can afford to buy himself some fancy toys. 

But with interests that range from electric guitars to World War II aircraft, Allen takes expensive hobbies to a whole new level. 

He also happens to own the Seattle Seahawks, who will be playing for their second consecutive Super Bowl win this weekend. 

We've rounded up some of the billionaire's most ridiculous toys, from professional sports teams to submarines.

Sports are a major passion of Allen's — he's a part owner of the Seattle Sounders, and he bought the Portland Trail Blazers in 1988 and the Seattle Seahawks in 1997.

After the Seahawks won the Super Bowl in 2014, Allen threw a massive party that featured live performances from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, as well as a set by Allen himself. After the party, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told the Washington Post: "Paul was hot last night, he was tearing it up — big licks. He had a lot of notable artists with him, too, playing. He’s got a great roster also. They sounded great ... I think Paul picked up the bill, too."

Source: Business Insider

His Seahawks will get another chance at a championship when they head to the Super Bowl this Sunday. "The first time you go you’re kind of amazed to be there," he told the Seattle Times. "The thing is, once you’re in the Super Bowl, you want to win. As time goes on, you want to win more and more." It seems like he's ready for the post-game celebrations — he reportedly had a custom amplifier made just for the occasion, with knobs that go all the way to 12.

Source: Seattle Times, Puget Sound Business Journal

Salesforce, worth about $35 billion, is now the fifth-largest software company in the world.

But like any other company, Salesforce was once a tiny startup.

We took a walk down memory lane to see exactly where Salesforce started, and where it is headed when its new HQ opens in 2017.

The four founders of Salesforce had their first office in the historic Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco.

Telegraph Hill is a wealthy neighborhood. You have to remember, this wasn’t some poor startup from a Berkeley garage. Benioff was a star executive at Oracle at the time.

In fact, the office was right next to Benioff’s own house. It has amazing views.

Because assembling Ikea furniture is so much fun (sarcasm), a new video game called "Home Improvisation" is letting you live that experience virtually.

They're calling it "the world's most fun and cooperative furniture assembly experience."

The game's furniture is assembled by clicking, dragging and rotating the pieces until they fit into their specific holes. Up to three friends can virtually join you in assembling the flat packs, or you can "labor alone and slowly descend into madness."

The game was created at this year's Global Game Jam competition in just 48 hours by a small developer team called The Stork Burnt Down.

It's available now for free on Mac and PC. Check out the full demo the video below.

SEE ALSO: The 20 Most Expensive Zip Codes In Silicon Valley

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The Wall Street Journal has discovered a Tokyo-based real estate company that wants to help singles find love —by moving them into apartments with stripper poles. 

Called konkatsu, or “marriage hunting” apartments, the spaces were designed by developer Rintaro Kikuchi. The homes are airy, with light wood floors, spacious rooms, balconies overlooking the city, and streamlined appliances.

Plus, the living room has a removable stripper pole (designed for intimacy or to keep fit) and a bathtub. 

Kikuchi believes that tiny, cramped, and poorly designed Japanese apartments are the reason more young people aren’t getting married or meeting new people. 

His homes, on the other hand, are supposed to make singles feel more open towards new encounters. “You can’t ignore sex and make a house,” he explained to the WSJ about his philosophy.

And it's not just sex — intimacy seems to be the main goal of the konkatsu apartments. Aside from the stripper pole, the most important rule of his apartments is that couples need to have space to cook and bathe together.

The apartments are also soundproofed for privacy. One apartment is listed for 11.3 million yen, or approximately $96,000.

Kikuchi built his konkatsu building and apartments back in 2010, around the time that konkatsu was becoming a recognized term in Japan. An abbreviated form of kekkon-katsudo and coined by two Japanese sociologists, the marriage-hunting trend has been a part of the national conversation since 2007 and began to be recognized internationally by 2009.

The movement addresses one of Japan’s biggest problems — that fewer young people are getting married, and they are getting married later in life, which translates to fewer babies being conceived (birth out of wedlock is uncommon in Japan). 

In 2014, the CIA estimated that the national birthrate was 1.4 children per woman in Japan. This means that by 2060, the population is expected to go down by a third and by as much as 61% by 2100, according to Bloomberg.

But studies have shown that the low marriage rate isn’t from a lack of wanting to get married. A 2012 Cabinet Office study found that 70% of unmarried Japanese men and 80% of unmarried women in their 20s wanted to tie the knot. 

Instead, the real problem seems to be about sex drive. The Japan Family Planning Association found that after interviewing 3,000 subjects, roughly half of participants had not had sex in the past month. Some excuses included that sex was “bothersome” or that couples were too tired after working all day.

That’s where the konkatsu apartments come in. Kikuchi’s homes are designed to make sex more fun and to keep things exciting, even after marriage.  

“It has an impact on children when they see the relationship between their parents deteriorate,” he told the WSJ. “They don’t see marriage or making a family as something happy.”

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20-somethings aren't always as careful with their money as they should be.

I reached out to my coworkers and friends to see what they consider to be their worst money habits, and have highlighted the most common ones here.

Research shows that they aren't alone in their bad habits ... and full disclosure: I'm guilty of some of these, too.

1. Not saving enough — or at all

There's a difference between knowing you should save and actually doing it.

According to a USA/Bank of America Better Money Habits poll, about 20% of Millennials haven't started saving. While 69% have a savings account, most have less than $5,000 in it.

When it comes to saving, retirement contributions can be a great place to start.

You can contribute to your employer's 401(k) plan if it offers one — and if it matches your contributions, you'll want to seriously consider it — or you can look into other account options, such as a Roth IRA.

By having your contributions automated, either to your 401(k) before you get your paycheck or from your checking account to an IRA or Roth IRA once your check hits, you can stash away some cash without even noticing.

2. Not being educated about their student loans

The class of 2014 is the most indebted class thus far. The average class of 2014 graduate will be stuck paying off $33,000 in student loan debt.

With numbers as high as these, you would think students and graduates would be well aware of their debt. Turns out many of them aren't.

A report issued by the Brookings Institute found that 28% of students with federal loans reported having no federal debt, and 14% with federal loans said they had no student debt at all.

Student loan debt accrues interest, meaning the longer you take to pay it, the more you pay overall. Even if you need a while to make those payments, the sooner you start, the better.

Take some advice from a man who paid off $74,000 of debt in two years, or another in his mid-20s who paid off $81,000 in under three years.

3. Spending unnecessary money on the short term

When I asked my friends and coworkers for their worst money habits, they all agreed on drinks out and subsequent Uber and cab rides home. Many also admitted to frequent lattes and buying lunch every day.

Moderation is key, here. There's no problem with doing these things when you can afford it, but if you find yourself doing them all the time and feeling a little tight in the wallet, it might be time to find some alternatives — even those as simple taking the subway, walking, and packing a lunch.

Here's how I keep my expenses down while living in New York City.

He's technically no longer in the business, but casino tycoon Stanley Ho's influence on world wide gambling is impossible to ignore.

The 92-year-old billionaire is single-handedly responsible for creating Macau's most profitable industry — it brings in 80 percent of the city's revenue.

Ho has been referred to as 'The King of Gambling,' 'The King of Macau,' and Macau's 'underground governor.' In 2011, Forbes ranked Ho the 13th richest man in Hong Kong with an estimated net worth of $3.1 billion. 

Macau's casinos have suffered a hit in recent months, but the vast presence Ho and his company SJM Holdings is nothing short of impressive. 

So what's it like to build a billion dollar empire from scratch? 

Stanley Ho was born into China's well-known and powerful Hotung family in 1921.

However, his father went bankrupt during his childhood and two of his brothers committed suicide.

Source: The Telegraph

Ho received a scholarship to attend University of Hong Kong but didn't finish his degree.

He dropped out when his family was forced to flee Hong Kong for Macau. This was during the Second World War, when the Japanese invaded. 

Source: The Telegraph

He made partner at an import-export firm in Macau by age 22.

His fortune first came from running luxury goods into China during the war, and he later started a kerosene company.

Source: The Telegraph

Remember when Bluetooth headsets were a convenient, socially acceptable way to answer your cellphone without having to take it out of your pocket?

Now, many cheap pairs of headphones come with built-in microphones that don't make you look like an idiot, but imagine if you could answer your calls without needing to fuss with any accessory. That's what drove Darrin Johnson to enter the "Shark Tank" in the pilot episode of the reality pitch show.

He presented his Ionic Ear, a Bluetooth device that could be surgically implanted in the user's ear canal. It required a cotton swab-sized charger to be inserted every night.

In the past six seasons of "Shark Tank," no product has been so out of touch with what consumers needed or desired, and no presentation has been as awkward as Johnson's.

"That was the worst pitch," investor Barbara Corcoran tells Business Insider. Corcoran brought it up in a special retrospective segment on the series' 100th episode, and all of the investors agreed that it would be hard to top the Ionic Ear. (Johnson, a telecommunications engineer, did not respond to a request for comment.)

Here's a breakdown of the pitch.

Darrin Johnson wants $1 million for a 15% stake in his proposed company, Ionic Ear. Funding would go toward developing the product.

As Johnson explains his implantable technology, Daymond John looks dumbfounded. The device is "implanted" into some other device, right?

No, the device is surgically implanted into the neck, below the ear.

Everyone has a favorite kind of cheese: There’s stinky cheese, yellow cheese, soft cheese, and goat cheese to name just a few.

But what about the lesser-known cheeses that you're too afraid to buy at the grocery store? 

We spoke with Sydney Willcox, formerly the head cheese monger at Murray's Cheese in the Greenwich Village. She helped us come up with delicious alternatives to the most common and well-known cheese we all rely on.

Instead of brie or triple-crème cheese, try the famous Vacherin Mont d’Or.

The bloomy rind family (which both triple-crème and brie belong to) is delicious and creamy. But Willcox says to branch out beyond these two well-known options because there are so many others to try.  

“My favorites are the small format, bark-wrapped, scoop-able discs such as Cellars at Jasper Hill's Harbison or the famous Vacherin Mont D'Or,” Willcox said. 

The Vacherin is a soft Swiss cheese made from cow’s milk that is only sold from September to May. Instead of cutting it, you scoop it out and spread on crackers or bread.

Instead of fresh goat cheese, try an aged goat cheese. 

Goat cheese is another kind of cheese in the bloomy rind family. Most people go for fresh goat cheese (also known as “chèvre” or goat in French), but Willcox said that you should give slightly aged goat cheese a chance. 

The aging develops a mold on the rind, which can look a little scary, but it’s worth it since it enhances the cheese.

“A little aging adds depth, texture, and a flavorful and toothsome rind,” Willcox told us. “My favorites come from either the Loire Valley or Vermont Butter and Cheese Company.”

Instead of Parmesan, try nutty, dense cheese like Podda Classico or Piave Vecchio.

If you like the taste of Parmesan, then Willcox said to “try a Sardanian classic” cheese like Podda Classico or an “Italian masterpiece” like Piave Vecchio.

Podda Classico is made from a mix of sheeps' or cows' milk that has been aged for 6 months to a year and compressed to firm up the paste. This makes the cheese crumbly, and it can have a sweet and nutty flavor.

Piave Vecchio comes from pasteurized cows' milk. It is also nutty and dense from being pressed repeatedly while it ages.

Instead of the classic Stilton blue cheese, try Fourme D’Ambert.

Stilton seems to be everyone’s go-to when it comes to blue cheese, but Willcox said we all need to branch out and embrace other blue cheeses.

Fourme D’Ambert is a rare, 28-day-old French cheese made with pasteurized cow’s milk in Auvergne. It dates all the way back to Roman times and has an earthy, mild taste for a blue cheese.

Willcox also said for those who don't like blue cheese (or think they don't), try a milder, buttery blue like Cambozola Black Label.

Instead of Gruyère, branch out and try the rest of the Alpine-style cheese family.

Gruyère is a classic. It’s sweet but a little salty and is one of those cheeses that only gets better with age. Plus, it’s probably the best cheese for baking and is a good melting cheese for fondues, ham and cheese sandwiches, and French onion soup.

But Willcox said that there are so many other cheeses in the Alpine-style family, such as the famous French Comté cheese or other Swiss mountain cheeses such as Challerhocker or Scharfe Maxx. All of these cheeses are hard, flexible, and yellow with a strong flavor.

There are also the American spins on the old world classics from creameries such as Consider Bardwell Farm, Spring Brook Farm, and Uplands Cheese Company.

Instead of the famous Manchego cheese, try a similar-style firm sheep cheese. 

“So many people love this cheese, and they should,” Willcox said. “However, there are so many amazing cheeses made in a similar style that are worth more than a mention: Ossau Iraty Vieille from the Pyrnees of France and Roncal or Idiazabal from Spain.”

Ossau Iraty Vieille was one of the first cheeses ever produced, this cheese is white with a granular texture. It’s easy to pair with anything and melts down well, too.

Roncal and Idiazabal are two other pressed sheeps' milk cheese from Spain. When they’re both aged, they can smell a little musty and have a similar texture to Manchego, but often a more full and complex taste. 

Instead of Pecorino Romano, try a different kind of Percorini or a Tommes.

“Many people do not realize that Pecorino Romano is just one out of hundreds or thousands of Pecorini (sheeps’ milk cheeses from Italy),”  Willcox explained. “You can find many with much more nuance and much less salt-impact.”

In addition, Willcox suggested trying Tommes cheeses from France, which are also natural rinded cheeses, though these are usually made with cows’ milk and are a bit smaller.

Because these cheeses are made from the skimmed milk leftover from butter making, Tommes are also low in fat.

Instead of Taleggio, try a different stinky cheese like Epoisses.

This semi-soft, washed rind Italian cheese has a very strong aroma (“stinky cheese”) with a mild flavor and fruity tang.

“There are so many stinky cheeses out there in the world, its so hard to generalize this family,” Willcox told us. “For a more mild taste try Morbier, for a serious kick go for Epoisses.”

Morbier is a rich, semi-soft cows’ milk cheese from France with a single black line separating the top and bottom. This used to be from when farmer’s had leftover curd and would have a morning layer and an evening layer separated by ash, but now vegetable dye is used.

Epoisses de Bourgogne is another pungent cheese from unpasteurized cows’ milk. It’s ripened in a similar way as Taleggio, but it's served in a wooden box with a spoon due to its soft texture. It has a distinctive orange/red exterior thanks to the way it’s rinsed and tastes deliciously custardy.

WATCH: How To Make The Perfect Grilled Cheese

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The next step in micro living is completely re-imagining what the interior of a home should be. That's where the "Cubitat" comes in.

Unveiled at this year's Interior Design Show in Toronto, the Cubitat is quite possibly the most versatile and useful 10' x 10' x 10' piece of furniture ever. It's a prefab cube outfitted with all the conveniences of a living space in a tiny package.

The developers are calling the cube "plug and play," as in all you need to do is hook up electricity and plumbing and find an outer shell, and then you've got a fully functional home.

It sits in any space that can fit it — provided you also have enough room to open its doors and pull out the bed — and has a variety of functions, including:

A full kitchen for preparing meals.

A bed for sleeping, along with an entertainment center and space for a TV.

A full-sized bathroom is hidden in the interior of the cube.

Plenty of storage space. 

A collaboration between Toronto-based Urban Capital development and design firm Nichetto Studio, the cube will be completely customizable to the core elements needed in your life.

Once it moves past the prototype stage, the cube will be available for anyone to order and customize.

We can't wait.

SEE ALSO: I Spent 3 Days In A 'Tiny House' With My Mom To See What Micro-Living Is All About

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