To celebrate America's Independence Day, we've put together several charts that show why, despite all of its problems, this US is the most dominant country on this planet.

Rob Wile contributed to an earlier version of this post.

SEE ALSO: These 11 charts show how American houses have changed since the '70s

America's economy is so large that the economies of individual states are big enough on their own to be comparable to major countries.

While we were hit hard by the financial crisis and the Great Recession, our economy's been getting better for years.

We have the two largest stock exchanges in the world.

The aggregate market capitalizations of the NYSE and NASDAQ are larger than the next six stock exchanges combined.

Ah, summer. The perfect time to get caught in an unexpected rain shower accompanied by lightning and thunder.

In the northern hemisphere, most lightning occurs in the summer months. (A word of warning: It's also the time of year when the most deaths by lightning occur.)

Here are some of the most epic images of lightning strikes that photographers have captured in recent years.

SEE ALSO: 17 incredible Instagram photos taken by a fearless storm chaser

NEXT UP: Fires are spreading like crazy in Alaska and scientists are concerned

Lightning is created when positive and negative charges bump up against one another inside clouds and discharge their electricity. Ever pulled off a freshly-dried sweater and felt your skin crackle underneath? Same idea. In this photo of a lightning storm from last week outside Barstow, California, electricity charges the ground in lines of light.

Contrary to popular belief, lightning can strike the same place twice, especially tall buildings. People once thought a lightning strike permanently changed the electric charge of the ground where it hit, making it immune to further strikes. Odds are pretty good that the Torre Ciudadana in Monterrey, Mexico pictured in this shot from summer 2014 has been hit plenty of times.

When it hits, lightning can get up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning the immediate heat of these strikes was pretty toasty. Rods reach out everywhere in this photo taken in a June 2011 storm in Belgrade, Serbia.

Quality dress shoes are expensive, but they can last for decades, especially if they are cared for properly.

That's where shoe trees come in. Some men look at the wooden shoe inserts as an unnecessary purchase, but shoe trees are crucial to keeping shoes in amazing shape as they age.

WHY DO I NEED SHOE TREES?

Our feet sweat throughout the day, and the leather and lining of our shoes absorb all that moisture. This can cause the lining to rot, your shoes to stink, and the leather to crack over time, thereby ruining expensive footwear.

A shoe tree holds a shoe in its proper shape so it dries out correctly, and keeps the leather from cracking by wicking away moisture. The absorbent wood also helps dry out the lining of shoes so that they don't rot from the inside out.

Long story short: Shoe trees are a whole lot cheaper than a new pair of nice shoes, and will keep your current pair in excellent condition for years.

SHOULD I SPLURGE ON SHOE TREES?

Not all shoe trees are created equal. There are three tiers of shoe trees, as well as travel shoe trees.

Cheap Shoe Trees ($15-$30)

These are the bare minimum for those who want a shoe tree but don't want to spend too much money. If your shoes cost less than $200, this is a fine option.

Cheaper shoe trees generally don’t have full wooden heels. Instead, a nob or a piece of thin wood helps stretch out the shoe. These will help with odor and leather cracking, but they won’t hold the shoe shape quite as nicely as more expensive options.

Also, don’t buy a varnished shoe tree. They look nice, but they don't properly draw moisture and sweat from the leather and lining, which is the point of the product. A rough cedar version should work well.

(Pro tip: When the smell of the cedar starts to fade, you can lightly sand the shoe tree to bring it back.)

Quality Shoe Trees ($25-$50)

Shell out for nicer trees if your shoes cost more than $200. Quality shoe trees will have ventilation slots at the toe to help dissipate moisture, a longer, crafted heel, and contain more wood for better drying and odor control. They will also ensure the closest possible fit between the shoe and tree.

As with the cheaper versions, top marks go to unfinished cedar models and those with knobs or handles for maintaining your shoes' shape during polishing.

Lasted Shoe Trees (bespoke, costs will vary)

If your shoes cost more than $700, chances are they will come with their own lasted (specially crafted) shoe trees. Brands like Prada and Gucci sometimes sell their own with high-end shoes, or they come as a perk for splurging on fine footwear.

These are the best of the best when it comes to shoe trees, because they are essentially an entire cedar foot that draws out moisture and maintains the natural shape of the shoe.

Travel Shoe Trees ($10-$20)

Perfect for business travelers or jetsetters, travel shoe trees are typically plastic (although there are cedar versions) that are lightweight and great for keeping your shoes’ shape in a suitcase without them getting smooshed.

DO I NEED A SHOE TREE IN EVERY PAIR OF SHOES?

This is the most common question about shoe trees, and something shoe bloggers and experts find controversial.

It would be ideal to have a shoe tree in every nice pair of shoes you own — no, you don’t need them in your sneakers — but it's not absolutely necessary, as long as you rotate your shoes and shoe trees throughout the week.

Shoes need a full 24 hours to dry before the next wearing, and the best way to properly dry them is to insert a shoe tree. If you have a few pairs of nice shoes that you rotate, ostensibly you need only one or two shoes trees to keep in your most recently worn pair of shoes.

The vital time for using shoe trees is the hour or two after you’ve removed your shoes from your feet to best draw out moisture and help the shoe return to its natural shape. After that, the shoe trees merely retain shape and help with odor control.

But if you’re a huge fan of all your shoes and have a vast collection of expensive footwear, then buy a shoe tree for every pair. Some shoe collectors swear by them. But most men can get away with using a single set of shoe trees on their most recently worn shoes.

SEE ALSO: Here's why you shouldn't wear the same pair of shoes every day

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 6 scientifically proven features men find attractive in women

Last month, Business Insider released a list of the most powerful person at every age. We looked at four criteria: command, past influence, future influence, and net worth, to determine the most powerful people ages 1-100. The list includes politicians, celebrities, CEOs, the children of notable figures, and more. 

Read the full article, or watch the video here. Below, you can scroll through to see the names and faces of every person on our list. 

Thanks to Melissa Stanger and Emmie Martin, who wrote the original list, and to the BI video team, who created the video.

SEE ALSO:  The most powerful person in the world at every age

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Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The most powerful person in the world at every age

Memorial Day Weekend may be the kickoff to Hamptons season, the time when New Yorkers flee the city and run wild on Long Island's South Fork, but July 4th is when the East End party circuit really starts to grind. 

From an upper crust art fête to a PR maven's yacht party, here's an inside look at the Hamptons Fourth of July celebrations that made waves this weekend.  

The most fashionable party of the long weekend was definitely the Revolve kickoff at this gorgeous house in Sagaponack.

All the cool girls were there, including model/"Gone Girl" star Emily Ratajkowski and girl about town/DJ Leigh Lezark.

British DJ Chelsea Leyland made friends with the camera — and the gigantic chess board.

Microsoft's new app, Tossup, wants to help you get together with your friends — even if you're all still trying to figure out exactly what that might entail.

One of the main headaches of trying to coordinate an event — either by using Facebook or by syncing people’s calendars — is that it doesn’t leave enough room for uncertainty. If you know you want to get some friends together for brunch tomorrow, but don’t know where you want to go yet, or even when, you face the unenviable task of having to hammer all the fine print out over text message.

Microsoft's new app Tossup applies social polling technology to try to fix this problem. The app lets a group of people vote on aspects of an event — the wheres, the whens, etc. — in addition to saying if they'll be able to make it.

Built-in Yelp integration makes the app especially useful for deciding what restaurant you want to go to, since you can pull in restaurants from a specific neighborhood, complete with their rating. And even if your friends don't have the app, they can participate using a link sent by either SMS or email (similar to how the popular group messaging app GroupMe functions). 

Tossup is one of the most recent apps to come from Microsoft Garage, the internal "incubator" that encourages Microsoft's employees to bring their novel ideas to completion. Here's a rundown on how this app can streamline your event.

SEE ALSO: Microsoft employees get inspired at Bill Gates' old office

First you have to input your phone number...

...and your Facebook or email.

Then you choose what you want from the main menu.

Though most people dream about a white sand beach, that's not the only color beaches come in.

Across the world are beaches filled with bright purple, pink, red, green, black, orange, and white sands. 

Whether it's years of volcanic activity that give the sand its ashy black color or miniature coral fragments that mix with white sand to form a lovely pink hue, the results are breathtaking. 

From the Red Beach in Santorini, Greece, to the olive green shores of Papakōlea Beach in Hawaii, here are 15 of the most colorful beaches in the world.

SEE ALSO: The 23 best beaches in America

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Sink your feet into the red sands of Red Beach in Santorini, Greece. Iron-rich black and red lava rocks led to the colorful red sand.

Another beach nicknamed Red Sand Beach is Kaihululu in Maui, Hawaii. There is a volcanic cinder cone surrounding the beach, which is where the red sand comes from.

Papakōlea Beach, located on the southern tip of Hawaii's Big Island, is nicknamed Green Sand Beach. The green sands come from olivine crystals from surrounding lava rocks in the Pu'u Mahana cinder cone of Mahana Bay.

Even very, very famous people have to start somewhere.

And for a lot of them, "somewhere" is a summer job. For some, those high school and college gigs were obvious steps toward incredible careers. For others, the path to success was...a little more winding. 

But while Madeleine Albright may not have found her ultimate calling in bra sales, and Christopher Walken didn't go onto have a lucrative lion taming career, everyone learned something from the experience — even if it was what they didn't want to do.

We combed through interviews with business leaders, political leaders, artists, and tech stars to figure out what some of America's most successful people did over their summer vacations when they were younger. 

SEE ALSO: What 17 successful people read before bed

Microsoft founder Bill Gates served as a Congressional page.

Already an accomplished computer programmer — he'd started at 13 — a young Bill Gates spent the summer of 1972 working in Washington, DC, as a Congressional page, according to CNN's timeline. 

At Inc., Bill Murphy, Jr. speculates that this might have shaped Gates more than one might guess. "It wouldn't seem to have much to do with starting Microsoft," he says, but "it could have sparked an interest in public policy that led him to launch the Gates Foundation."

Actor Christopher Walken started his performance career as a lion tamer.

Before he was Academy Award-winning actor Christopher Walken, he was Christopher Walken, the 16-year-old lion tamer.

"It was a touring circus that was owned by a man named Terrell Jacobs," he explained to Vanity Fair. "It was just one big tent, and he was a lion tamer. He didn't have any kids, but the bit was that I would dress up as his son in an identical outfit. When he would finish his act, there would be one lion left, and I used to go in and have this lion do tricks."

It was not, he claims, as dangerous as it sounds. "It was a female named Sheba, and she was very sweet. Like a dog, really. I would wave the whip, and she would run and sit up and roll over and do things."

Amy Poehler scooped ice cream.

The summer before college, the comedian scooped ice cream at Chadwick's, "one of those fake old-timey restaurants."

In the New Yorker, she recalls the rise and fall of her brief ice cream career. She liked the "performance aspect" of the job. She didn't like the rest.

"I quit when the summer ended," she writes. "I had started forgetting to charge for whipped cream. I was failing to use the ice scoop. A customer told me I was banging the drum 'too hard.' She was right."

Silicon Valley is known for its obsession with youth. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg once suggested that people over 30 shouldn't really work in tech startups because "young people are just smarter." 

These folks are bucking the trend.

Pulled from our recently published Silicon Valley 100 list, meet the elder statesmen and stateswomen of Silicon Valley.

SEE ALSO: The 18 coolest women in Silicon Valley

Nick Woodman, 40

Founder/CEO, GoPro

GoPro, the company that makes wearable sports cameras, priced its IPO at $24 a share when it went public in June. Woodman became a billionaire when his company went public, and his whole family became millionaires too. GoPro went public at a $2.6 billion valuation.

Marissa Mayer, 40

CEO, Yahoo

In September, Alibaba went public. Investors in Yahoo expected Alibaba's public value to send Yahoo’s stock soaring. But after Alibaba's debut, Yahoo's stock crashed.

Months later, Yahoo unveiled a plan to spin off its remaining 15% stake in Alibaba, tax-free, into a public, independent investment company called SpinCo. Yahoo shareholders would receive shares "distributed pro rata," which means they'd own shares in two companies.

Stewart Butterfield, 41

Cofounder/CEO, Slack

Slack is a workplace-communication app. Slack has group- and private-chat features and lets users share files and work collaboratively. Slack was originally an internal tool used by CEO Stewart Butterfield's team at Tiny Speck, the company that made the multiplayer game Glitch, but Butterfield decided to spin it out into its own product and company.

Slack's growth as an enterprise communication tool has been organic— it hasn't spent any money on marketing. It's one of the fastest-growing enterprise apps of all time. Slack recently confirmed that it raised $160 million at a $2.8 billion valuation. That means it more than doubled its value since October, when it raised $120 million at a $1.12 billion valuation.

Countries around Europe have been experiencing record temperatures since the end of June.

According to USA Today, Kitzingen — a small town in southern Germany — broke the German heat record set in 1983 and 2003 at a stifling 104.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Meanwhile, The Telegraph warns that Britain could face record-high temperatures (read: over 101 degrees Fahrenheit) at the end of July.

From Spain to Zurich, citizens and visitors are being advised to take necessary precautions against the dangerous heat. 

Here's how people (and animals) are staying cooling in the blistering heat. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 best beaches in Europe

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A crowd in central Brussels, Belgium busted out their super soakers for a huge water gun fight.

People flooded the shores of the Silbersee lake in Haltern, Germany to keep cool.

A young woman fanned herself while waiting for the tube on Britain's hottest July day in nine yeas.

The Mercedes-AMG Formula One team's Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominated the 2015 British Grand Prix — finishing first and second place, respectively. And as a team, they're enjoying the most dominant season in more than 60 years.

Nearing the half-way point of the season, Mercedes-AMG has seen both of its drivers finish in the top three in all nine races that have been run. According to AFP, the last team to achieve this feat was Ferrari, in 1953. 

As a result, Mercedes-AMG has all but wrapped up this year's constructor's championship. In addition, its drivers are in line to finish first and second in the driver's for a second successive season. 

The team has been absolutely unstoppable since the beginning of the 2014 season — including last season, Mercedes-AMG has won 24 of 28 races.  

Here's what happened at last weekend's British Grand Prix.

SEE ALSO: Mario Andretti believes America can rescue Formula One

The Silverstone Circuit has been home to the British Grand Prix since the inception of Formula One in 1950.

As expected, celebrities turned up to take in the race. Here, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas is seen having chat with 3-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart.

Former Spice Girls Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton brought their children to the race.

Eighteen months after Billionaire.com compiled its first Top 10 Most Exclusive Streets list, many of the streets featured there have not registered a single housing transaction, such is the dearth of supply on these Bollinger boulevards.

“A top property on one of the world’s most expensive streets may come to market only once in a generation,” says Yolande Barnes, head of residential research at Savills. “The owners of these homes are unlikely to need the money and tend to hang on to such prized real estate.”

So in the interest of accuracy (and to make things a bit more interesting), this year’s Top Ten Most Exclusive Streets is getting an overhaul. Where no sales have registered in the last 18 months, the street has made way for a new name. Prices are calculated on a basis of average price per square meter of property on that street.

This year’s list was compiled with the help of international agency Savills.

SEE ALSO: The new oligarchs in New York City are like nothing the city has seen

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10. Ardmore Park, Singapore

Average price: US$24,000 per square meter

In April, one of the founders of Alibaba Group reportedly bought a S$51 million penthouse on Ardmore Park, an exclusive enclave close to Orchard Road. The duplex apartment in the Le Nouvel development, set a price record for Singapore, at S$40,000 per square foot.

According to Alan Cheong, senior director of research at Savills Singapore: “Ardmore Park is Singapore’s new Paterson Road.” The street is a quiet cul-de-sac located near the prime shopping belt of the city, nestled within lush greenery. “Most other condominiums on this road are priced lower but it remains the most sought-after road,” says Cheong.

9. Molochnyy Pereulok, Moscow

Average price: US$30,500 per square meter

Ostozhenka in Moscow is both the name of an area as well as a street. Within this prestigious district is Molochnyy Pereulok (Lane), this year’s ninth most expensive street. “Within Ostozhenka area the price difference depends on whether the buildings are new.

In Molochnyy Lane the majority of houses are new-build — post-2000 — and are really very expensive,” says Alexander Shatalov of IntermarkSavills. Recently a 238 square meter apartment at number two Molochnyy Lane sold for US$9.5 million. “This area is truly known as Moscow’s ‘Golden Mile’”, adds Shatalov. “Ostozhenka is situated in the capital’s historical and cultural centre, close to the main showplace of the city — the Kremlin and the Red Square. Housing in this district is extremely popular.”

8. Avenue des Palmiers, Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez, France

Average price: US$39,000 per square meter

An address in Saint-Tropez has cachet. An address in Les Parcs de Saint-Tropez, the most prestigious private domain in the iconic French town, is a whole other level. Les Parcs is a gated estate located on a peninsula in the Bay of Saint-Tropez, and available property is almost impossible to come by. The best road is Avenue des Palmiers, says Savills head of Saint-Tropez Antony Bruni. Sales for homes overlooking the sea on this street can hit €70,000 per square meter.

“The market has been very strong in Saint-Tropez with some of the highest transaction prices ever registered,” said Bruni. Six months ago he sold a property on Avenue des Palmiers for €42 million. It has 800 square metres of living space between two buildings, across grounds of 10,000 square metres. “It has panoramic sea views and top specification. It was one of the best locations in the private domain,” says Bruni.

"Batman: Arkham Knight," like every game in the "Arkham" series, is packed to the gills with Easter eggs and sly references to other characters and events in Batman's world. They're probably one of the best aspects of the series. 

However, where "Arkham Knight" differs from the rest is in the substance of all these nods and references. While previous games focused pretty squarely on the wider Batman mythos, "Knight" doubles down on the world outside of Batman, making lots of references to other DC Superheroes and a few other supervillains. 

Of course, this isn't a comprehensive list — development studio Rocksteady Games once famously hid a secret so well in "Arkham Asylum" that they had to rat themselves out years later — but it gives a good feel about how other heroes might fit into the world of the "Arkham" games. 

Some light spoilers ahead. 

There's a great nod to the Emmy-winning "Batman: The Animated Series."

"The Ghost in Gray" posters scattered around Gotham reference the "Batman: The Animated Series" episode "Beware The Gray Ghost," in which it was revealed Bruce Wayne was inspired to become Batman by the fictional Gray Ghost (voiced by '60s Batman Adam West). Years later, the actor who portrayed Gray Ghost returns to the spotlight to team up with Batman and stop the Mad Bomber (voiced by "Batman: TAS" creator Bruce Timm). 

It's pretty meta. 

The origin of Clayface.

Clayface is a pretty important character in the "Arkham" games, with a fun cameo in "Arkham Asylum" before taking on a bigger role in "Arkham City."

This poster is before all that, though, when he was just a horror movie actor in the classic film "The Terror." His path to villainy would begin when his studio would decide to remake "The Terror"— without him.

The Black Canary has a side gig.

If you watch "Arrow" or "The Flash" on the CW, chances are you might know about the DC superhero Black Canary— she doesn't appear in "Arkham Knight," but this club is named after her — and it's apparently frequented by the poker-card themed villains of the Royal Flush Gang. 

It's all connected.

From interest-rate hikes in the US to the Greek debt crisis, events within nations affect economies across the globe.

A June report from analysts at Nomura Securities broke down all the changes happening and the prospectus for a variety of important economies.

According to the report, the US should continue its slowing rebound leading to a Fed rate hike in September, while continued low oil prices should prolong Canada's slump.

In Europe, the European Central Bank faces serious pitfalls as it tries to strengthen the Eurozone and is projected to continue asset purchases into September 2016. Analysts are worried that the UK will react too slowly in raising rates which could lead to another crisis.

Asia remains the home to the strongest emerging markets despite the slowdown in Chinese growth. The developed countries of the continent are going in separate directions. South Korea and Australia have weakening economies, while Japan and India are heading in the right direction.

In total, global GDP growth is expected to reach 3.1% in 2015, down from 3.3% in 2014. Global consumer inflation should also slide to 3.2% this year, from 3.6% in 2014.

United States

Projected Real GDP Growth

• 2015: 2.0%
• 2016: 2.5%

Projected CPI Growth

• 2015: 0.4%
• 2016: 2.2%

Commentary: The positives should generally outweigh the negatives and steady growth is expected. "We continue to expect the economy to accelerate in Q2, but we do not foresee a breakout in growth, as the economy still faces headwinds," said Nomura analysts. A full takeoff will be limited by the dragging oil industry and suppression of exports because of the strong dollar. Expectations are for a September interest rate increase by the Fed and continuing increases of 25bp per quarter.

Source: Nomura

Canada

Projected Real GDP Growth

• 2015: 1.4%
• 2016: 2.0%

Projected CPI Growth

• 2015: 1.1%
• 2016: 2.1%

Commentary: The steep drop in oil prices is continuing to take its toll on the Canadian economy, as evidenced by a 0.6% contraction in GDP during Q1. This uncertainty has seeped into Canadians' spending habits. "Household spending was quite weak on the quarter and has surprised some, as it should have been supported by lower gasoline prices. The increase in the saving rate suggests that could be linked to increased uncertainty on the economic outlook as a result of the oil price shock," said the report. It also noted that business investment and exports are expected to stay weak.

Source: Nomura

United Kingdom

Projected Real GDP Growth

• 2015: 2.1%
• 2016: 2.6%

Projected CPI Growth

• 2015: 0.2%
• 2016: 2.0%

Commentary: The rate of growth has consumed almost all the spare capacity in the economy and coupled with a growing number of households in debt points to possible problems ahead. Nomura analysts expect a rate hike from the Monetary Policy Committee to come in February 2016, but it might come too late. "UK stimulus is utilizing spare capacity rapidly. Failure of policy to respond is sowing the seeds of the next crisis," said the report. 

Source: Nomura

Facebook has spawned dozens of young millionaires in the three years since its 2012 IPO.

A few early investors and employees, however, became billionaires thanks to their involvement with the company. 

According to a recent Wealth-X ranking, Facebook has created more billionaires under the age of 40 than any other company. 

Whatsapp cofounders Jan Koum and Brian Acton, for example, both became billionaires after Facebook bought their company for $19 billion in 2014. 

We're taking a look at Facebook's original billionaires — the young entrepreneurs who made it big after the social network's IPO — to see what they're up to now. 

SEE ALSO: Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes is selling his gorgeous New York City condo for $8.75 million

Ousted cofounder Eduardo Saverin now lives in Singapore.

Net worth: $5.4 billion

Age: 33

Saverin has made a number of investments in international tech companies since moving there in 2012.

He's also a cofounder of Los Angeles-based Velos Partners, whose investments include Hampton Creek Foods and Silvercar. 

Saverin and fiancee Elaine Andriejanssen were rumored to be getting married at an ultra-private ceremony on the French Riviera during the last weekend of June, according to Forbes, though those rumors have not been confirmed. 

Cofounder Chris Hughes has moved on to media and politics.

Net worth: estimated at $850 million

Age: 31

After leaving Facebook in 2007, Hughes worked on digital strategy for Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and founded Jumo, a nonprofit social network that has since merged with the GOOD organization. 

In 2012, Hughes purchased a majority stake in the New Republic, a move that has been controversial in the media industry.

He is married to former New York congressional candidate Sean Eldridge. Together they own an 80-acre estate in Garrison, New York, a two-bedroom home in Shokan, New York, and a loft in New York City's Soho neighborhood. The apartment is currently on the market for $8.75 million. 

Cofounder Dustin Moskovitz focuses on philanthropy and running his software firm, Asana.

Net worth: $9.1 billion

Age: 31

Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008 to start task-management app Asana, which he runs full-time to this day. 

He and his wife Cari have donated millions of dollars to causes like malaria eradication and marriage rights through Good Ventures. They are also signers of the Giving Pledge, which means that they plan to give away at least half of their wealth.

In a 2013 Quora thread, Moskovitz described the responsibility he and his wife feel with regards to their wealth: "Cari and I are stewards of this capital. It's pooled up around us right now, but it belongs to the world. We are not perfect in applying this attitude, but we try very hard."

Every summer, top colleges around the US ask incoming freshman to read books the schools have deemed important and noteworthy.

The book choices this year range from personal essays to classic fiction, hitting topics that include race, climate change, and sexuality.

While students will get to enjoy the books over the summer, at most colleges they're expected to come to campus ready to debate and analyze the book alongside their new classmates.

Check out what they're reading below:

SEE ALSO: The 30 most successful Stanford alumni of all time

Princeton University: "Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do," by Claude Steele

From Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber:

"'Whistling Vivaldi' presents some of the most important social science work done in the last quarter-century, and speaks directly to issues that are important to our nation and our campus community. Professor Steele describes a series of inventive experiments — including some involving Princeton students — that enabled him to develop and test his hypothesis about how negative stereotypes affect us in times of stress. All of us, no matter what our backgrounds may be, will recognize ourselves in some of Professor Steele's examples."

Buy "Whistling Vivaldi" here >>

Duke University: "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," by Alison Bechdel

From Duke Summer Reading Committee Member Ibanca Anand:

"'Fun Home' is a book like no other. The author uses the unique graphic medium to tell a story that sheds a lot of light on important and weighted issues like mental health, interpersonal relationships and human rights, all critical issues that students will become acquainted with in college ... The book is a quick read but not an easy one; it made me uncomfortable at times, which I think is one of the most telling reasons why it's so important for students to read."

Buy "Fun Home" here >>

Stanford University: "The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution," by Walter Isaacson, "This Boy's Life," by Tobias Wolff, and "Cane River," by Lalita Tademy.

From Stanford President John Hennessy:

"I spent a long time pondering what sort of books to choose when I was asked to lead the program this year, and I chose three books about people: a biography (actually a collection of short biographies), a memoir, and what we might call a book of biographical fiction ... They are stories about people, the challenges they face, and how they deal with adversity."

Buy "The Innovators,""This Boy's Life," and "Cane River" here >>

UNESCO, the United Nation's cultural organization, recently added 24 new World Heritage Sites to its collection, which now includes over 1,000 cultural, historical, and natural sites around the world. 

The new additions include well-known tourist attractions like France's Champagne wine region, as well as lesser-known historic gems like Jordan's baptist site.

From the 18th-century missions of San Antonio, Texas, to Turkey's ancient city of Ephesus, here are the newest UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

SEE ALSO: 20 gorgeous natural wonders around the world

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The hillsides, houses and cellars in Champagne, France, include historic vineyards, wineries, underground cellars, and Épernay's famous street, the Avenue de Champagne.

Learn more about the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars.

The Ancient City of Ephesus in Turkey stands as an example of a Roman Port City, comprising Hellenistic and Roman settlements, ancient Roman monuments like the Great Theatre, and some remains of the Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World).

Learn more about Ephesus.

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus, located in Hamburg, Germany, are densely built urban areas. Speicherstadt is home to one of the largest historic ensembles of port warehouses in the world, and Kontorhaus is home to office complexes that were built in the 1920s to the 1940s when international trade was booming in the area.

Learn more about the Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus.

Since the first one was spotted nearly four decades ago off the coast of Peru, only two pocket sharks, teensy sharks with a tiny pocket above each fin on the side of their body, have ever been found.

NOAA biologist Mark Grace found the second one, a young male, recently by accident of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

We paid a visit to New York's American Museum of Natural History, where the shark is being studied, last week to get an up-close-and-personal look.

UP NEXT: There's an unstoppable reason for the recent surge in shark attacks

SEE ALSO: 3 factors are brewing the perfect storm for shark attacks

In 2010 during a mission to study how sperm whales feed, a team of marine researchers working about 190 miles off the Louisiana coast scooped up buckets-full of marine life to take back to their lab for further study.

There, while rifling through several different species of fish and plankton that the researchers had frozen to study, NOAA biologist Mark Grace found something that didn't quite belong.

Its skin was too rough to be a fish, but it was far too small to be a shark — or at least that's what he thought at first.

Cocktail culture is huge right now.

But cocktails — with their bitters, syrups, and fancy sugars — are complex. 

Enter Bartesian, the 'Keurig for Cocktails' that's now raising funds on Kickstarter.

Founded by Canadian entrepreneurs Bryan Fedorak and Jason Neevel, the $299 device will make you a margarita in a matter of seconds.

Bryan came by the Business Insider office last week to show us how it works. Here's what we found.

Bryan stopped by our office while he was in New York last week.

He brought the sole working prototype of the Bartesian. The idea came when a friend suggested — "Hey, you guys should make a Keurig for cocktails."

Like the super-popular Keurig coffeemaker, the Bartesian relies on pods to make drinks.

Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld is putting his gorgeous Sun Valley, Idaho compound up for auction, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The 71.3-acre Big Wood River Estate was originally offered for $59.5 million. Concierge Auctions estimates that the property could fetch anywhere from $30 to $50 million when it hits the auction block on August 19th. It's listed "without reserve" meaning it will go the highest bidder. 

The listing says the property is owned by Fuld through a trust.

Before its demise in 2008, Lehman Brothers was the fourth largest Wall Street bank. Fuld had been the CEO since 1994. Since the bankruptcy, Fuld has kept a relatively low profile. He recently reemerged at a small-cap conference this spring.

Now, let's take a tour of his compound.  

The Sun Valley estate sits on 71.3 acres, offering seclusion and privacy.

The property, which is located at the foot of Bald Mountain, is just a short drive from ski resorts and hiking/biking trails.

Here's a shot of the main house.