Whether you're an American exploring your own backyard or a tourist flocking to the country's most famous sites, these iconic landmarks will have anyone humming the Star Spangled Banner.

We've rounded up popular and easily recognizable tourist attractions, natural landmarks, and iconic buildings that are so much a part of their state's history that they practically define it.

From natural wonders like Yellowstone to man-made treasures like the Space Needle, the U.S. isn't called "America the Beautiful" for nothing.

Here is the most iconic landmark in every US state. 

SEE ALSO: The most breathtaking natural wonder in every state

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ALABAMA: Much of the Civil Rights Movement unfolded in Alabama, so the state is home to many landmarks from that time period, including the 16th Street Baptist Church. The church was the first African American church in Birmingham, and the site of many civil rights rallies and mass meetings, as well the site of a bombing in 1963 that killed four girls attending Sunday School, a tragedy that added fire to the movement.

Click here to learn more about the 16th Street Baptist Church >

ALASKA: Denali National Park includes 6 million acres of Alaska's wilderness and is home to many different kinds of wildlife, breathtaking landscapes, and Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, with an elevation of 20,237 feet.

To learn more about Denali National Park, click here >

ARIZONA: The Grand Canyon is a whopping 277 river miles long, 18 miles wide, and a mile deep. It's also the 15th oldest national park in America, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Click here to learn more about the Grand Canyon >

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Although it is convenient to grab everything at the grocery store, sometimes it's best to only buy certain items and shop for the rest at other locations such as specialty stores or the dollar store.

One of the best ways to save money at the grocery store is to keep away from the items that are marked up.

I talked to consumer savings expert Andrea Woroch, who shared eight items you shouldn't put in your grocery cart.

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1. Cubed or presliced meat

"Meat markup is up to 60 percent and much more for precut or precubed meats. Since meat has a refrigerated shelf life of just five days and must then be thrown out, most meat departments in grocery stores aim for a minimum 30 percent markup, and often much higher, to make up for losses.

"Steaks, for instance, are marked up 40 percent to 50 percent; some cheaper cuts, such as round and chuck meat, are marked up as much as 60 percent. Lesser cuts of meat, those typically cut into pieces for stir-fries or stews, are marked up as much as 300 percent and should never be bought at full price because they're always discounted at some point (look for markdowns on meats that are near their sell-by date or hit up bulk stores like Costco for savings of up to 30 percent off larger slabs of meat; you can refrigerate that which you don't use for later)."

2. Name-brand spices

"Name-brand spices are marked up close to 97 percent. Smart shoppers can buy spices at a natural food store to save you up to 97 percent on the basic spices people buy regularly. For instance, a $3.52 jar of bay leaves at the grocery store will cost you only 12 cents for the same amount at a natural foods store. Drugstores and discount stores also sell spices cheaper than at a grocery store. You may have to bring your own bottles to fill, but the savings make up for this."

3. Bakery goods

"Bakery items are marked up nearly 100 percent as you're paying for convenience. For instance, $20 supermarket cake can be made from scratch or out of a box at home for just $5 (or less by purchasing sale items and using coupons for the boxed goods).

"Bread can also be baked inexpensively at home. Since most people won't bake bread at home, look for buy-one-get-one-free deals and freeze one loaf or buy when bread is marked down. Savvy shoppers will ask store managers when bread gets marked down — usually nearing the expiration date or end of the day."

Macy's wants to win over millennials. 

The brand just opened "One Below," a 53,000 square-foot basement in its New York City Herald Square flagship that Women's Wear Daily calls a "millennial floor." 

Selfies, printable jewelry, watch engraving, jean embroidery and a blowout bar are just a few things Macy's thinks millennials want.

We visited the site to see for ourselves. 

Macy's flagship store at Herald Square features One Below — part of a $400 million project to renovate the store.

Upon entering the newly renovated basement of the store, I was greeted by a platinum-haired Miley Cyrus and the sound of electronic music blasting through the speakers.

The first station I came to was the Benefit Brow Bar for shaping and coloring eyebrows.

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Pluto's moon Charon might become a nerd's paradise if NASA has anything to say about it.

It's already settled that Pluto's landscape features must have names that come from underworld mythology like its rocky region called "Cthulu regio" (from H.P. Lovecraft's writing) and its dark spot called "Balrog macula" (from "Lord of the Rings").

But the door is wide open for Charon's craters, mountains, and plains, and NASA really went to geek town on its proposed names. They reference popular sci-fi works like "Star Wars,""2001: A Space Odyssey," and "Star Trek."

They aren't official yet, but we really hope these are the names that get approved. Keep scrolling to see Charon's features and which sci-fi stories they reference.

(NASA even has a spreadsheet that explains all the names if you want more details.)

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Here's the map in all its nerd glory. Though they are still provisional, "we have a decent chance of getting these names approved," New Horizons planetary scientist Mark Showalter told Mashable.

Source: Mashable.

The craters Vader, Skywalker and Leia Organa are named after the "Star Wars" characters. The Vader crater, of course, is darker than the other two.

And if you have "Star Wars" represented, you can't leave out "Star Trek." So the Spock, Kirk, Sulu, and Uhura craters are sprinkled over the Vulcan plane.

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter.

Unfortunately, those words are just as true today as they were in the 1700s.

Worse, sometimes the two come as a package deal.

After all, when someone dies, their family members must go through a lengthy series of tax, financial, and legal steps in order to sort out the affairs of the deceased.

With the help of Levenfeld Pearlstein trusts and estates associate Adam Garber, Business Insider put together a guide to many of the hurdles that surviving relatives will certainly face. Take a look below.

And just so we're being clear, this article is not a comprehensive list of what to do after someone's death. Contact your legal, financial, and tax adviser or advisers for advice catered to your specific situation. Also, some legal language was simplified for clarity.

It will be necessary to determine whether or not there is a will.

If there's a will, the executor will be named in the will. In lay-person English, their job is to administer the process by which assets are transferred, including paying the deceased's debts, filing their income-tax returns, and distributing any remaining assets according to the terms of the will.

If there's no will, the remaining assets pass to the decedent's heirs according to the state of law. The executor is appointed by the court.

Although Hollywood has glamorized the role of the executor of the will, one is not always needed.

Sometimes, an executor may not even be needed. The most obvious reason being if an asset is owned jointly with the right of survivorship. For example, if a couple's bank account was jointly owned, then when one spouse dies the second gets the account.

Furthermore, if there is a beneficiary designation, such as life insurance or an RIA, then in order to receive these assets the beneficiary needs to file a claim form.

Still, there are other reasons, such as if the deceased held all of their assets in a revocable living trust, or if the deceased's individual assets do not exceed a certain threshold — which depends on the state.

The executor or closest family member will need many copies of the death certificate.

It's important to get multiple copies of the death certificate. They will be necessary when notifying financial institutions, government agencies, insurance agencies, and others about the death.

Death certificates can be obtained at the funeral home. It's a good idea to obtain at least 10.

Source: Carolyn L. Bird, North Carolina State University

One of the biggest improvements in the iPhone 6S is the camera. Apple upgraded the number of megapixels in the sensor from 8 to 12 and added ultra hi-res 4K video.

Lisa Bettany, cofounder of the photography app Camera+ and a professional photographer, compared the 6S's camera to every iPhone model. As you can imagine, the results are impressive.

First up: a macro shot. Notice how much sharper the photo gets over time, climaxing in the 6S shot with considerably less noise.

The difference is even more striking when you compare the iPhone 6...

... with the iPhone 6S.

The colors and contrast are much more vibrant.

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Stack Overflow, a question and answer website for developers, has found out how much its users get paid in technology hotspots around the world.

The website looked at 12 technology hubs globally — including London, San Francisco, and Tel Aviv — and polled both how many developers there were in each city, as well as how much they get paid. (The research was carried out on behalf of London & Partners, a body created by the Mayor of London to encourage investment in London.)

Stack Overflow gets 30 million monthly visitors and over 26,000 coders took the survey, giving a fair idea of what's going on in each city.

Check out how the 12 cities rank for developer pay below.

12. Budapest — $29,286 (£19,266)

Average pay: $29,286 (£19,266).

Number of developers: 11,256.

Notable tech companies: Prezi, Brickflow.

11. Tallinn — $31,176 (£20,509)

Average pay: $31,176 (£20,509).

Number of developers: 2,818.

Notable tech companies: Fortumo, TransferWise (developers).

10. Barcelona — $38,132 (£25,085)

Average pay: $38,132 (£25,085).

Number of developers: 9,952.

Notable tech companies: MailTrack, Kantox, Wallapop.

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In this day and age, there's just no need to be tied to your desk.

That's why employees love it when their company provides them with their own laptop — it signifies trust and means they can work flexible hours, or from home if needs be.

And according to anonymous employee reviews site Glassdoor, many employees prefer to be given Apple products.

Glassdoor has pulled together a list of British companies that welcome new employees with a shiny new Macbook.

Betfair — online betting

Glassdoor review:"You can use whatever operating system you want — MacOS, Linux, or Windows ... Developers are also involved in the  full development cycle, from design implementation to integration testing, QA testing, release and maintenance."

Reward Gateway — employee engagement tech

Glassdoor review: "Nice shiny Macbooks and other technology training shows [that the company] is prepared to think outside the box."

Financial Force — cloud-based management software for companies like Salesforce.

Glassdoor review:"It's really cool that you're given a Mac to work on and can take home for personal use. And the company is flexible with working hours, which makes it far easier to manage things like personal appointments, or having workmen visit your house."

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You've almost certainly heard of some of Europe's smallest nations — San Marino, Liechtenstein, and Vatican City immediately spring to mind.

But there are a host of other tiny, self-declared independent states around the continent that haven't been recognised by other countries. The Principality of Sealand is at the top of the list.

Nearly 50 years since this man-made platform split from the United Kingdom, Sealand is still going strong. Check out some of its weird and wonderful history here. 

Sealand is one of the world's smallest micronations — though it is not recognised by the UK, it is effectively autonomous since it wasn't located in British territorial waters when it was established in the late 1960s.

It's off the coast of Essex, located 7.5 miles from Great Britain. The site was previously known as HM Fort Roughs, a military installation built during the Second World War.

As you can see, it's pretty small and isolated, with a helicopter platform taking up much of the space at the top of the building. Full-time military personnel were withdrawn from the structure in 1956.

Commodities trading and mining business Glencore has seen its share price destroyed over the last week, falling 29% on Monday alone.

Investors are worrying how the company will deal with its huge debt pile, worth $100 billion (£658 million), as copper prices fall. Glencore is not especially profitable.

Here's a round-up of what mining analysts are saying about the companies prospects.

INVESTEC

Analyst: Hunter Hillcoat

"The challenging environment for mining companies leads us to the question of how much value will be left for equity holders if commodity prices do not improve. We have adopted a P/E-based approach to evaluate how the equity value of the major diversified companies might vary over time in proportion to debt and have identified the companies where equity values are most at risk.

"If major commodity prices remain at current levels, our analysis implies that, in the absence of substantial restructuring, nearly all the equity value of both Glencore and Anglo American could evaporate."

CITI

Analyst: Heath R Jansen

"We believe the share prices have reacted to concerns around balance sheet and liquidity, reflected by both the rising CDS spreads and bond yields. We believe the markets response is overdone and that the ratings agencies are likely to take a more through the cycle view and therefore a downgrade to sub-investment is not likely.

"We also think the group is not limited to just selling a minority stake and if the need be, the entire agricultural marketing business can be sold, which we value at ~$10.5bn. The group can stay away from debt markets till 2017."

JEFFERIES

Analyst: Christopher LaFemina

"Our analysis indicates that highly leveraged miners could have no equity value if commodity prices fall only marginally lower and do not recover. The market clearly feels this way about Glencore. Glencore must stop the bleeding.

"Glencore is now under pressure to strengthen its balance sheet via asset sales or a capital injection, and time is of the essence. There is value in Glencore shares if the company can pull the appropriate levers now, but risks are clearly very high."

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Carl Icahn warns that trouble is coming to the financial markets.

In a new video titled "Danger Ahead," the billionaire Wall Street veteran lays out the major problems coming out of both Washington and Wall Street to argue that what's coming next will be "very dangerous and could be disastrous."

For the financial markets and the economy, the core problem is the Federal Reserve and it's ultra-easy, zero-interest rate policy. While Icahn credit the Fed for using policy tools to get us out of the last crisis, he also argues that it was the Fed that got us into that crisis to begin with.

Icahn observed that while low rates are intended to boost business investment, in reality it actually led corporate managers to employ financial engineering and accounting shenanigans to boost earnings per share.

Icahn offers a very straightforward and chilling summary of what he believes to be an unsustainable and fragile set of circumstances that are propping up the stock market. And in the end we're left wondering if we could repeat what we saw during the financial crisis. Or worse.

Below is a summary of Icahn's warning about the stock market.

The irony of low interest rates is that they helped create the earnings mirage.

"What they're doing with the money is almost perverse," Icahn said.

 Rather than using cheap financing to invest in business and equipment, Icahn observed that companies are engaging in financial engineering in their efforts to boost earnings and ultimately their stock prices.

The earnings we hear about are very suspect because they exclude a lot of things.

Instead of investing for growth, companies will just use money to buy other companies to create the perception of growing earnings.

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On Sunday, 25-year-old Slovakian Peter Sagan won the elite men's race at the UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, after putting in a massive attack in the finale of the 160-mile contest. Cycling's hottest rider of the past few years left all his rivals behind after muscling his way up two steep climbs and seemingly riding rails down a fast, technical descent.

Here's a look at the bike he took his biggest victory on:

SEE ALSO: A 34-year-old Belarusian cyclist becomes the fastest time trialist on the planet, and officials check his bike for a motor

Sagan's Specialized S-Works Tarmac is believed to weigh a tad under 15 pounds. The Tarmac with Di2 Retails for $9,250 USD.

Sagan's frame size is 56cm.

The coat of arms of Slovakia on the seat tube is a nice touch.

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Forget Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.

Every state has its beloved local haunt where you can grab a cup of joe or a foamy masterpiece of latte art and unwind.

Today is National Coffee Day, so we're honoring some of the best coffee shops around the US.

We looked at expert reviews and local recommendations to find the best coffee shop in every state.

SEE ALSO: The best fries from every state

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ALABAMA: O'Henry's Coffees is there to keep Birmingham hyper-caffeinated with its signature Gibraltar Quad Shot: four shots of espresso and a hint of milk.

O'Henry's Coffees

ALASKA: Jitters is so good it can give you just that, if you drink too much. In a hurry? Grab a coffee from its coffee truck, right in the shop's Eagle River parking lot.

Jitters

ARIZONA: Cartel Coffee Lab is a great, six-location local chain. Its single-origin coffee is roasted in-house and served with fresh pastries daily.

Cartel Coffee Lab

Seduction, persuading a person to yield to your advances, isn't used only in the pursuit of a love interest. Influencing others is how we get jobs and promotions, win negotiations, sell products, and gain notoriety.

In "The Art of Seduction," popular author Robert Greene explores the ruthless tactics of some of history's greatest seducers, from Cleopatra to Casanova.

We've summarized Greene's 24 rules of seduction below.

SEE ALSO: 14 habits of the most likable people

1. Choose the right victim.

Your target should be someone "for whom you can fill a void," Greene says. Don't try to get the most out of those who are too eager to please you, because they are usually looking to get something in return; instead, find those who give subtle hints, like shyness in your presence, that they are open to your influence.

2. Create a false sense of security — approach indirectly.

If you want to initiate a relationship with someone who would be of value to you, you risk forcing them to raise their guard if you approach them and immediately ask for something. Before making a proposal, reach out to them via a third party, or develop a neutral or friendly relationship before making it about business.

3. Send mixed signals.

Once you've got someone hooked, give yourself an air of mystery to keep that person's interest. Don't reveal too much about your background or your intentions.

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Couples who have spent thousands on a wedding will be happy to hear there is some relief afterward.

The Atlantic compared the finances of theoretical single women with their married counterparts, for instance, and calculated that marriage saves anywhere from $480,000 to more than $1 million over a lifetime.

From discounts to taxes, a variety of savings accrue to married couples.

SEE ALSO: 50 unnecessary things no one needs to buy

Insurance rates.

Premiums for some types of insurance are determined partly based on marital status. Auto insurance generally is cheaper for married men than single men — statistics show they get in fewer accidents. Life insurance premiums can also drop after marriage, and homeowners or renters insurance may be cheaper for couples who move from two homes to one, then split the cost.

Multiple policies.

Many insurers offer multi-line discounts to people who buy more than one policy. Couples can switch some of their policies to the same one or two insurers to take advantage. Those who already use the same insurer should call an agent to have the discount applied.

Benefits.

If both partners receive benefits through work, they can now take their pick of the best offerings from each employer. One may provide better or less expensive health insurance plans. And one employer might offer a less common benefit, such as a dependent-care plan that allows payment for services such as day care, preschool, and after-school programs with pretax money.

Pinterest is the platform we use when we want to fantasize about our dream lives, whether that means planning the ultimate wedding — with or without a husband— or traveling around the world.

But easily one of the site’s most useful features is being able to design your dream house.

There are hundreds of thousands of boards dedicated to the perfect yard, living room, garage, and more.

We asked Pinterest to send us the most popular pictures of rooms, from the attic to the basement, and the result is basically like Barbie’s Dream House — but for grown ups.

Keep scrolling to see what everyone on Pinterest wants their house to look like.

Welcome to the Pinterest house of your dreams! This navy house is where many Pinterest users envision themselves.

Source: Pinterest

But let's go inside. The dream Pinterest living room has tall ceilings, gray walls, and an open floor plan. The window into the backyard and deck is also a lovely touch.

 Source: Pinterest

This was the other most popular living room on Pinterest, but it has the same details — tall ceilings, gray walls, and an open floor plan. This one even has a double staircase, which is pretty fancy.

Source: Pinterest

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What separates meal-replacement startup Ambronite from its famous competitor, Soylent, isn’t as much function as philosophy.

Ambronite cofounder Mikko Ikola tells Business Insider that his team started the company based on one theory: the healthier you eat, the better you feel.

This stands in stark contrast to Soylent founder Rob Rhinehart’s expansive vision of a world without food, and of hacking nutrition to solve things like world hunger.

Ambronite is simply about saving you time and energy, and helping you lead a more nutritious life.

“We want our customers to not just survive, but to thrive in their daily lives. Our demographics care about their health, and what they eat,” Ikola says.

Ambronite bills itself as a “drinkable supermeal,” and is aimed at the same types of people who are into adventuring, hiking, or fitness. These are not people who are so absorbed in their computer screens that they don’t have time to eat.

Ambronite just closed its first seed round, raising $600,000 from investors like Jawed Karim, a YouTube cofounder, and Lifeline Ventures. Their total funding stands at $750,000, with a further $150,000 coming from grants.

These investors are betting that Ambronite can continue its double-digit month-to-month growth.

The company started in 2013, and launched its first product in May 2014 on Indiegogo, a crowdfunding site. The campaign raised $102,824, and since then Ambronite has sold products to over 30 countries from its website.

Ambronite’s founders come from backgrounds in nutrition, fitness, and the “quantified self” (a movement to make our lives full of trackable data). And the success of the company seems to hinge on whether they can carve out a niche among those communities.

Ambronite is not competing with Soylent on price. Its base monthly subscription is $84.15 for 10 meals, compared with Soylent’s $54 for 28 meals. But Ambronite gets its ingredients from organic farms, and only uses “real food,” as Ikola puts it. There is an emphasis on making a "better" meal, from a nutritional standpoint, not a cheaper one. And at that price point, it certainly is quite expensive for what it is.

When I tried Ambronite, it tasted like a product that wasn't artificially sweetened in any way. It's not made to be inoffensive to your taste buds. You feel like you are drinking nutrition — which is to say, it tastes a bit like hay. The best way I can describe it is a raw protein shake.

Ikola says his company is building a lifestyle. And it does seems that, for all the Soylent similarities, this lifestyle is quite different from the one espoused by Rhinehart and company.

I tried out the Ambronite "lifestyle" myself, and here is what the experience was like:

SEE ALSO: The Soylent Subculture: 10 People Tell Us What It's Like Living on Powdered Food

Here is what you get in a basic box of Ambronite.

I followed the directions...

...though it was a little annoying that the bottle didn't have a fill line.

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Personal finance whiz Suze Orman has listed her one-bedroom apartment in the Plaza Hotel for $4.5 million, Curbed NY reports. 

She and wife Kathy Travis purchased the spread for $3.6 million in 2007, telling the Wall Street Journal, "The same apartment on the other side with park views was $3 million more." 

The apartment has marble bathrooms, neutral decor, and 1,279 square feet of space. 

SEE ALSO: The most expensive home for sale in every state

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Orman's apartment is on the 12th floor of New York City's storied Plaza Hotel.

A gorgeous lobby is just one of the building's amenities. Residents get all of the benefits of living in a hotel, like cleaning services and access to the spa, fitness center, hair salon, and ballroom.

In the apartment, a wide hallway leads from the front door to the living room.

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On Tuesday, the MacArthur Foundation announced the 2015 class of its annual fellowship program for people doing amazing things in the world. 

Fellows like the culture-shaping journalist Ta-Nahesi Coates, the avant garde puppeteer Basil Twist, and stem cell biologist Lorenz Studer all recieve a $625,000 grant, which they can use in any way they choose. 

"We try to reach people who have shown evidence of exceptional creativity but show the potential for more in the future ... to give individuals the freedom to take some risks, to enable them to do new and exciting things," MacArthur managing director Cecilia A. Conrad told the New York Times. 

Patrick Awuah is an education entrepreneur revolutionizing the college experience in Ghana.

Age: 50

City: Accra, Ghana

After going to college in the US and working at Microsoft for years, the Ghana-born Awuah returned home to set up Ashesi University, a school that provides a progressive model of critical thinking-based education. 

Full bio here.

Kartik Chandran is an environmental engineer who's turning waste water into a valuable commodity.

Age: 41

City: New York, New York

Chandran's research centers around transforming waste water not just into clean water, but also chemicals, fertilizers, and energy resources. 

Full bio here.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a journalist covering life in American cities.

Age: 39

City: Washington, DC

Coates has become one of the most insightful voices in American journalism, with groundbreaking longform features like "The Case for Reparations" and "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration" and his newest book, "Between the World and Me." 

Full bio here.

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If your employer offers a 401(k), consider yourself lucky. About half of U.S. workers don't have access to a workplace retirement plan, and not having a plan makes it more likely that they won't save enough for a comfortable retirement.

To get the most out of your 401(k), though, you need to understand the details of how it works. The rules and options vary by employer — some are better than others, but the overall benefits of a retirement plan are so great that you shouldn't bypass yours even if it's less than ideal.

Here's what to ask before you sign up.

SEE ALSO: Why I'm going to sell my house and start renting when I retire

When can I start contributing?

The earlier, the better. An increasing number of employers automatically enroll all eligible workers in their 401(k) plan. Other companies require you to proactively sign up, and some make you wait up to a year before you're eligible. If there's a waiting period for your plan, consider opening an IRA or Roth IRA on your own and contributing to that in the meantime.

How much can I contribute?

Federal law dictates the maximum amount that employees can contribute in a given year, but employers may set lower limits if they want. (The federal limit is $18,000 in 2015 for people under 50 and $24,000 for those 50 and older.)

If your plan enrolls you automatically, you usually still have the option of contributing more than the default amount, which is typically around 3 percent. To save enough for retirement, you should be putting aside at least 10 percent of your earnings (15 to 20 percent would be even better, particularly if you start after age 35). If you can't contribute that much, put in what you can and try to boost the amount every time you get a raise.

What's the company match?

Most 401(k)s offer free money from the company to match at least some of your contributions. As of 2013, the most common match these days is dollar-for-dollar, up to 6 percent of your pay, according to Aon Hewitt. You should contribute at least enough to get all of the match.

But even if there's no match, you should still make contributions. The money you put in will lower your tax bill and potentially can grow tax-deferred for decades. Given an 8 percent average annual return, every $100 you contribute can grow to $1,000 over 30 years and $2,000 over 40 years.