Some hiring managers like to ask tough questions to test a candidate's reasoning skills or ability to think quickly and effectively under pressure. Others aren't quite sure what to ask, and revert to trendy brainteaser questions.

Regardless of the reasoning, it is important to be prepared for whatever may be thrown your way.

If the idea of having to answer a riddle fills you with dread, don't worry. "Often the interviewer does not know the answer, and there may be more than one," career coach Alice J. Goffredo explains in a LinkedIn post. 

The answer is not what's important here. Rather, it's about how you worked through the problem. "It's how you handled yourself. It's how you explained your rationale and how you defended it," she writes.

If you're thrown a curveball, Goffredo offers a few tips for handling the situation:

1. Keep your cool. "Try not to get confused or flustered," she says. "Your reaction to the question and the way you act while attempting to solve it is important."

2. Use your resources. "Because you brought a portfolio with your résumé, your questions, paper, and a pen, feel free to use your pen and paper to help you solve the question," Goffredo recommends.

3. Take your time. "Don't rush — even if you are being timed — take a deep breath, understand what's being asked of you and begin to work your way through solving it," she says.

Now that you know how to handle tough questions with confidence and ease, keep scrolling to see if you can answer these seven brainteasers Goffredo shared in her post.

For the full list of questions and tips, read the original LinkedIn post »

SEE ALSO: 25 tough interview questions you'll hope you never have to answer

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

1. You're in a room with three light switches, each of which controls one of three light bulbs in the next room. Your task is to determine which switch controls which bulb. All lights are initially off, and you can't see into one room from the other. You may inspect the room only once. How can you determine which switch is connected to which light bulb?

2. How many trees are there in Central Park?

3. How much does all the ice in a hockey rink weigh?

It pays to be pretty.

Research has found that attractive people earn up to 14% more money than their unattractive peers.

Fortunately, attraction relies on much more than your physical appearance. It's in the way you carry yourself, the folks you hang out with, and how you talk to people — plus a whole lot more. 

Read on to find out what you can do to make yourself more appealing. 

SEE ALSO: Why men may be more likely to tolerate unfairness from attractive women

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Be funny.

Multiplestudiesindicate that women are more attracted to men who can make them laugh.

In one small study, a psychologist asked three men to tell a joke to their friends at a bar while a woman sat at a nearby table. Then those men were instructed to approach the woman and ask for her number. After the man had left, an experimenter approached the woman and asked her to rate the man on attractiveness and intelligence and to indicate how much she would want to date the man long-term.

Results showed that the guys who told jokes were three times as likely to get the woman's number as the men who didn't. They were also rated more attractive and intelligent.

"The effect of a great sense of humor on women's attractions might be partially explained by the fact that funny people are considered to be more social and more intelligent, things that women seek in a mate,"anthropologist Gil Greengross writes.

Surround yourself with friends.

A 2014 study from the University of California at San Diego found that people were deemed to look better when they were in a group.

In one experiment featured in the study, 25 male and female undergrads looked at 300 photos of women's faces, once in a group photo and once in an isolated portrait. Another experiment repeated the same procedure with 18 undergrads looking at photos of men's faces. Results showed that participants rated both men and women significantly more attractive when they were pictured in a group.

This is possibly because our brains take the faces of a group of people in aggregate, making each face look more "average"— and attractive — as a result. 

"Having a few wingmen or wingwomen may indeed be a good dating strategy, particularly if their facial features complement and average out one's unattractive idiosyncrasies," study authors Drew Walker and Edward Vul write.

Skip the small talk.

In a 1997 study, State University of New York psychologist Arthur Aron and colleagues separated two groups of undergrads and paired them off, giving each duo 45 minutes to answer a set of questions. 

One question set was small talk, and the other was increasingly probing. The people who asked deeper questions felt more connected. One couple even fell in love, an intriguing, though probably insignificant, result.

When it comes to getting rich, the formula is simple: Spend less and save more.

That's easier said than done. To save a considerable amount of money, you have to make more than an intermittent effort. You have to make a lifestyle change.

What kind? We rounded up 21 lifestyle changes anyone can make that could save you hundreds, or even thousands, each year:

SEE ALSO: 9 strategies to become a millionaire, from everyday people who have done it

Record all of the money you spend.

"Write out all of your spending and analyze it,"explain Jeremy Jacobson and Winnie Tseng, who retired in their 30s with multimillions in the bank. "Track your dollars. I guarantee you'll find something that either you didn't know you were spending your money on, or you felt was unnecessary."

It's worked for other everyday "millionaires next door," helped one family of four live comfortably off $14,000 a year, and is highly recommended by financial adviser and bestselling author David Bach.

If you don't want to keep a spreadsheet on your computer, consider an app that will automatically track your expenses for you (Mint, You Need a Budget, and LearnVest are popular options), or write them down in a notebook.

Go homemade.

Restaurant bills add up quickly — the more food you can make at home, the better off your food budget will be. Plus, making your own meals tends to be healthier than eating out.

Try cooking large quantities on the weekends so you'll have leftovers to pack for lunch during the week. Also, consider investing in a crock pot. Crock pot meals cost around $2 per person, while the average takeout dinner or restaurant meal costs upwards of $50 for a family of four — this means you could save tremendously if you traded in a crock-pot meal for takeout once a week. 

Grocery shop on a full stomach.

Danielle Wagasky, who spent five years stretching $14,000 a year to cover her family's needs and managed to cut her grocery bill from $800 a month to $400, recently shared her top tricks for slicing your grocery expenses.

"First, go shopping on a full tummy," she told Business Insider. While seemingly harmless, shopping on an empty stomach can be an expensive habit. Everything — particularly junk food — starts to look delicious, and without realizing it, you're tossing all sorts of unnecessary items into your cart.

Try eating a healthy snack before heading to the store so your cravings for processed, packaged foods aren't out of control. Your budget — and waistline — will thank you.

News anchor darling Katie Couric and her husband of nearly two years, financier John Molner, have purchased a lavish Upper East Side condo for $12,168,087, according to city records released today.

The five-bedroom, full-floor spread is located at 151 East 78th Street, a recently completed building by Peter Pennoyer Architects that has only 14 residences spread across its 16 floors. Couric’s new 3,966-square-foot digs are classically elegant, as the architect took a modern interpretation of the Rosario Candela-designed residences on Park and Fifth Avenues. The home begins in a private entry gallery and then opens to the entertaining and bedroom wings.

[Listing: 151 East 78th Street, #10 by Cathy Taub and Alexa Lambert of Stribling]

SEE ALSO: British tech entrepreneur selling his New York City townhouse for $26 million

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

The living and dining rooms have full-length French windows, chevron-pattern oak flooring, and handcrafted pocket doors.

Peter Pennoyer collaborated with Smallbone of Devizes on the kitchens, which offer coffered ceilings, hand-painted white oak cabinetry, and specially outfitted spice, cutlery, utensil and pot drawers. There’s a walk-in pantry and seating at both the island and kitchen table.

Why do Americans love guns?

Why does bread in the US taste so sweet?

Why do American schools start so early?

These are just some of the American customs and habits that flummox the rest of the world.

We turned to Google search to see what were the biggest questions people had about the US. We rounded up the queries and even tried to answer them for any stumped Googlers.

Why does American ... bread taste sweet?

Probably because it's filled with sugar — a typical slice of white bread contains more than a gram of sugar, according to LiveStrong.

Why are Americans ... so rude, ignorant, and loud?

It might just be cultural differences — there are certain things Americans do that people in other countries find terribly rude.

Why does American ... beer taste so bad?

That depends on what American beer you're drinking. A lot of of the world's best beers come from smaller breweries in the US.

Daisy Ridley, 23, went from being relatively unknown to the name everybody was talking about when casting for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was announced in 2014.

Rey emerged as the star of the new series of films, and Ridley will be reprising the character for at least two more "Star Wars" films. 

But the actress might be joining a new franchise soon; a new rumor says Ridley might be taking on the role of Lara Croft in a "Tomb Raider" reboot.

Here's your introduction to the star:

SEE ALSO: How Zac Efron got incredibly ripped for the 'Baywatch' movie

Born and raised in Westminster, London, Daisy Ridley is the youngest of five sisters. Her father is a photographer and her mother works in internal communications at a bank.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

She's not the only one in her family with performing in her blood. Her great-uncle is Arnold Ridley, an actor well-known for his role in "Dad's Army," a popular British sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1977.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Ridley studied at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, where she specialized in musical theater, and graduated in 2010 when she was 18.

Source: Daily Mail

Fan theories surrounding the death of "Game of Thrones" character Jon Snow are piling as high as the Wall. 

Despite a juicy new trailer that hints at Snow's return, we'll have to wait until the show's season six premiere on April 24 to know his true fate.

In the meantime, take a look at how actor Kit Harington came to land the role of a lifetime — and what he thinks of Jon Snow.

On "Game of Thrones," Kit Harington plays the bastard son of a lord. Turns out, the London-born actor is blue-blooded in real life.

He's a direct descendent of King Charles II, and his grandfather was a baronet. Still, Harington insists he didn't grow up "posh."

Before graduating from London's Central School of Speech and Drama, he scored the lead in the original stage run of "War Horse."

Watch a clip from his performance in "War Horse"»

Many of us have probably been subjected to the judgment of our baby-boomer parents, who wonder why younger generations are facing more debt and financial troubles.

I won't defend the spendthrift ways of millennials and Gen-Xers, but the truth of the matter is that many things are simply more expensive now than they used to be.

Baby boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — paid less for many of the things considered essential now.

Here are eight things that our baby-boomer parents could afford more easily than we can.

SEE ALSO: 15 everyday expenses that eat away at your money

A home

Interest rates were probably higher for baby boomers, but the average price of a home was considerably lower, even after adjusting for inflation. The Case Shiller Home Price Index offers a good examination of home prices over time. Through most of the '60s, '70s, and '80s, the index was at about 120.

Now it's near 170, an increase of about 40%. During the housing bubble, it topped 220 — that was a near doubling of prices after inflation. No wonder so many of us got into unnecessary housing debt.

College

We've all heard stories about baby boomers who claim to have attended college for just a few hundred bucks a semester. Indeed, education was a relative bargain for our folks, who in 1975 paid the equivalent of $2,469 for a year of tuition and fees at a public university.

The cost is more than four times that today. The College Board reports that we experienced increases of 9.5% above inflation during the 2009-10 school year, and another 6.5% above inflation in 2010-11.

A car

A baby boomer may have bought his or her first car in 1970 for $3,450, or $20,781 in today's dollars. The average price of a car is now more than $30,000. The good news for today's car buyers is that quality of cars has improved, and there is a wider range of choices, including many at the more affordable end.

Tony Robbins is 55, but if you see him on stage or even have a casual conversation with him, you'll see he has more energy than most 20-somethings.

Robbins is not only the personal performance coach of business leaders like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, he's the head of a conglomerate of companies and the main attraction for long, incredibly lively seminars that he has relentlessly given around the world for the past 30 years.

He told Business Insider that he wasn't born a naturally energetic person, that he gets little sleep when he's on tour, and that he doesn't take stimulants for a boost.

Instead, he's developed strict habits around diet, exercise, stress management, and the approach to his work. We'll explain below how one of the world's greatest distance runners, an 85-year-old Catholic nun triathlete, cryotherapy, and a strange anxiety-reducing headset have contributed to Robbins' seemingly limitless energy.

SEE ALSO: Tony Robbins describes his intense morning routine

He exercises 'slowly.'

Robbins said that he struggled with his weight as a kid, so he embraced working out in his early 20s to boost his confidence. After some time, he was able to get washboard abs, which he thought was incredibly cool — but his flexibility was terrible and he had no muscle balance. He decided that rather than being motivated by vanity, he wanted to prioritize energy supply above all else.

He learned about Stu Mittleman, an American who set three consecutive records for the American 100-Mile Road Race from 1980 to 1982, and then in 1986 set another world record in the 1,000-Mile World Championship when he ran that distance in just over 11 days, running 21 hours straight each day.

Robbins said he had no desire to run such an absurd amount, but he adopted Mittleman's approach to exercising "slowly" in order to maximize fat burn. In his book "Slow Burn," Mittleman argues that the ordinary person exercises quickly and intensely, which results in feelings of nausea and pain, but that is not the way to build the most efficient system of energy consumption.

To train like Mittleman, you should maintain a comfortable pace when running and keep your heart rate at a steady level when doing other exercises. A way to think of it is never exerting yourself beyond a difficulty level of 7/10.

He doesn't worry about age.

After an intense 120-day seminar tour when he was 39, Robbins felt more drained than he ever had in his life. He said that one of his friends told him, "Dude, you're 39. Most athletes retire at 40 ... It's not like you're going to be doing this when you're 42."

Robbins started to doubt himself. But, being Tony Robbins, he decided to seek out the world's oldest extreme athletes and figure out their secrets.

One of the people he met with was Catholic nun, Sister Madonna Buder. Now 85, she is a member of the Triathlon Hall of Fame and has completed 45 Ironman races and more than 350 triathlons. She was not remotely an athlete for the first half of her life, and only began her athletic career at 40 after a priest recommended running as a spiritual exercise.

And that's what Robbins found most remarkable. In her book "The Grace to Race," Buder explains that she never considered her age to be an impediment to her athletic progress, and that she has been driven by the spiritually uplifting nature of pushing herself physically.

He uses blood tests to tailor his diet.

Robbins also found nearly all of the exceptional athletes over 65 he interviewed paid careful attention to their nutrient levels through blood tests.

It inspired Robbins to start getting a blood test every six months rather than annually, and to use the results as a guide to adapt his diet to whatever nutrients he had too much or too little of.

Robbins said he keeps his diet pretty basic, with a focus on green vegetables and fish. He doesn't consume caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or recreational drugs because he said he wants to keep himself conditioned the same way a professional athlete does.

Navies around the world are racing to develop unmanned undersea vehicles — drone submarines. It makes sense because it's a lot of risk and costs a lot of money to keep humans alive under the sea.

Already these unmanned craft are carrying out intelligence and mine-countermeasure work, but they could replace manned submarines altogether as the technology develops.

Here are some of the drone subs that are already in operation.

The Remus line of drone subs are used by the US Navy to detect mines. They are low cost and can be operated from a single laptop.

The Swordfish is designed to carry out reconnaissance missions using sophisticated acoustic transponders to help it navigate.

Designed to scan the water for potential threats to other Navy vessels, the Kingfish is used by the US Navy to keeps their ports safe.

Now that music comes out on the weekend, and not always on every streaming service, it can be hard to know where to find the next great song. So Business Insider is helping you with this rundown of the best of what's new in the music world that you can listen to right now.

Gwen Stefani - "Misery"

The "No Doubt" singer's long-in-the-works upcoming solo album has had many false starts, with singles that have failed to catch on. But at the very least, the guitar riff and snappy percussion on this one will cause a few die-hards to keep "repeat" turned on.

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Jake Owen - "American Country Love Song"

It's warm outside, and this song is perfect for the good weather. It's one that you envision yourself listening to when driving with the windows down. Get ready, summer is right around the corner.

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Bat for Lashes - "In God's House"

The artist otherwise known as Natasha Khan combines a fascination with dark '80s pop sounds, versatility with many instruments, and an uncanny sense of how to build layer upon layer into a gorgeously textured whole. Oh, and a lovely voice. She's always had an eye toward narrative, but her upcoming album, which includes this new track, promises to be one of her most cinematic yet.

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Costco is a goldmine for bargains.

But the opportunity to save can be overwhelming, as you face seemingly endless free samples and bulk deals.

There are great bargains at Costco — even Morgan Stanley analysts say the retailer offers some of the best deals in the industry. However, to cash in on the deals, you need to know a few secrets.

Here’s how to make shopping at Costco worth the price of membership.

SEE ALSO: Costco is beating Walmart and Amazon with the 'best business model' in retail

Make a beeline to the center of the store.

Many membership stores stick the best bargains in “center court,” the pallets in the middle of the store, Paco Underhill, author of "Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping,” told Bankrate.

Flashy displays at the front of the store, on the other hand, are going to be more expensive.

Keep an eye out for the "star."

If there’s an asterisk on a Costco price tag, that means the item can't restocked and what you see is the last in the store, reports Costco Insider.

So if your favorite seasonal product is marked with a star, it’s time to buy enough to last you till next year.

Split bulk items.

You might not have space to store 30 rolls of toilet paper, but your friends would probably be more than happy to split the cost of the $19.50 mega-pack, says Time.

Buying in bulk means major savings, so go big — and split the products up before going home.

Finding a great job that comes with a significant salary boost is one of the top reasons to move to a new city.

In its recently released ranking of the best places to live in America, U.S. News & World Report gathered data on the 100 most populous US cities. Among the factors it considered were affordable housing, a low cost of living, good schools, quality healthcare, and access to well-paying jobs. You can read U.S. News' full methodology here.

Business Insider reranked these cities based on median annual salary to find the 20 where residents earn the most. They don't all rank highly on U.S. News' overall list, given higher costs of living and other factors, so we've included each city's overall ranking for comparison's sake. For instance, Chicago ranks at No. 20 in terms of salary, but it came in only at No. 90 on the list of 100.

Of the 100 best places to live in the US, here are 20 where you can land the highest-paying jobs:

SEE ALSO: The 20 cities where Americans work the hardest

DON'T MISS: REAL-ESTATE WARS: Inside the class and culture fight that's tearing San Francisco apart

20. Santa Rosa, California

Population: 491,790

Median annual salary: $49,800

Overall rank on best places to live list: 62

Just 55 miles north of San Francisco sits Santa Rosa, one of Sonoma County's premier wine-country towns. According to US News' local expert, Santa Rosa is an originator of the farm-to-table movement and "a haven for bicyclists, who train on its rural western roads and visit en masse for two major cycling events: the Amgen Tour of California and the Levi's GranFondo."

The job market in Santa Rosa is powered by tourism: 9% of residents work in the industry, mainly at local farms, wineries, and brewpubs.

19. Chicago, Illinois

Population: 9,516,448

Median annual salary: $50,410

Overall rank on best places to live list: 90

The Midwest's largest city may have a couple of drawbacks, including frigid winters and a high cost of living, but Chicago is also host to a bevy of corporations — 31 in the Fortune 500 — that can set residents up with a high-paying salary, including Boeing, United Airlines, Kraft, and Allstate.

Chicago also has a dynamic restaurant scene — far more than just the deep-dish pizza the city is famous for — as well as world-class museums, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Lollapalooza music festival.  

18. Portland, Oregon

Population: 2,288,796

Median annual salary: $50,710

Overall rank on best places to live list:20

Portland isn't for everybody — its slogan is "Keep Portland Weird," after all. But one local expert asserts that it's a "well-rounded city with more than just the offbeat shops and events" and a population that has "more academic degrees than the national average." An annual job-growth rate of 2.9% per year is attributed to roots in the technology sector, including major employer Intel Corp., as well as the 6,000-employee headquarters for Nike, about 7 miles outside Portland.

We've all been there.

You're in a liquor or grocery store, trying to pick out wine with a group of friends when, inevitably, some unexpected member offers up their expert opinion.

Truth be told, there's a whole lot of science behind wine. Genetics, chemistry, microbiology, and even psychology all play a role in everything from how it's produced to which ones we buy and when.

To get a better sense of what goes into making that glass of red or white, we chatted with James Harbertson, a Washington State University professor of enology — that's the study of wine.

SEE ALSO: The definitive, scientific answers to 20 health questions everyone has

DON'T MISS: 15 simple ways to relax, according to scientists

Is cheap wine bad for you?

No way. Last year, rumors of a lawsuit that claimed that cheap wines had high levels of arsenic in it began circulating. One small detail the rumors left out: The lawsuit compared the levels of arsenic in wine to that of drinking water. To have any kind of negative experience as a result of this, you'd most likely have to drink about 2 liters of wine — a little more than 13 servings' worth.

That's an awful lot of wine.

What's the difference between a wine that costs $50 and a wine that costs $500?

The short answer? Not a lot — so long as you're just drinking it.

The price comes from a number of different factors — the maker, the type of grape, how long it's aged, etc. But if you're just looking for a solid bottle of wine, an inexpensive bottle could taste just as good if not better than a thousand-dollar bottle.

If anything, there's a bigger psychological component at play. A study that conducted a blind taste test in which people were given samples of wine found that they did not get any more enjoyment from a more expensive wine compared to a less expensive version. In another study, researchers found that untrained wine tasters actually liked the more expensive wines less than the cheaper ones.

If you're collecting, on the other hand, of course the price tag will make a difference.

"In the end, it's just wine," said Harbertson.

What are tannins and what are they doing in my wine?

You know that dry feeling you get in your mouth after a sip of red wine? You can thank tannins, naturally occurring chemicals that are found in wine and other beverages, like black tea.

Tannins give wine its weight — what makes it more milky than watery — so they're integral to all red wines, Harbertson said. They bind to proteins like the ones in saliva, which is what makes your mouth dry out. It's not as simple an experience as tasting something that's bitter, he said. The interaction of red wine in your mouth ends up feeling more like a texture than just a taste, something known as a "mouthfeel."

Being likable is entirely under your control. All it takes is the ability to pick up a few key social skills that build emotional intelligence.

To help you out, we sifted through the Quora thread, "What are useful social skills that can be picked up quickly?" and highlighted our favorite answers.

Here are eleven simple ways to start crafting a "million-dollar personality" and be the most likable person in the room:

SEE ALSO: 14 habits of the most likable people

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

1. Make eye contact.

"It is an idiotically simple thing, but it remains one of the most impactful life hacks around,"writes Quora user Brad Porter. "The most attractive quality in a person is confidence. But 'be confident' is not very good advice. Instead, find the best proxy for confidence, in terms of interactive behavior. And that's eye contact."

Start this habit immediately, says Porter. It requires no practice or special skill — just the commitment to meet someone's gaze and look them in the eye while conversing.

2. Put your smartphone in your pocket.

And keep it there until your conversation or meeting is over. Basil Chiasson puts it simply: "Pay attention. Look at them. Stop what you're doing. No interruptions."

This is another simple, yet effective, habit that can be executed immediately and does not require any effort or skill.

3. Call people by name.

The next time someone greets you by name or uses your name mid-conversation, remember how great that feels.

If you have trouble putting names to faces, try different strategies, such as writing them down or using imagery or rhymes associated with the name. Quora user Howard Lee suggests repeating their name verbally when you're first introduced and then twice more in your head.

As someone who loves both meat and chain restaurants, I was only partially prepared when I adopted a 100% fast-food diet with no meat allowed.

After spending a week trying to eat healthy while consuming nothing but fast food, I figured that going vegetarian for five days would be a breeze. I already knew fast-food menus like the back of my hand, and I had plenty of vegetarian friends I could consult.

Plus, a growing percentage of the American population has already gone vegetarian. While about 3% of the US identifies as vegetarian or vegan, an increasing number of people are cutting meat from their diet; 26% to 41% of Americans report that they cut down on the amount of meat they ate in the past year.

If fast-food chains want to compete with the new wave of trendy fast-casual restaurants, they need to appeal to the vegetarian market — including people who want to decrease the amount of meat they eat without cutting it from their diet.

So, I became a short-term vegetarian to see which fast-food chains were evolving to meet the meatless needs of consumers.

My first and most important rule was that I could eat only at fast-food chains. (I would consume at least three meals a day.)

That means no notoriously veggie-friendly fast casuals like Sweetgreen or Chipotle.

My orders would be 100% vegetarian, so no burgers or chicken fingers. I would not, however, be going vegan, so I could still eat things like eggs and cheese.

The challenge would last for one work week, from Monday to Friday.

I kicked off the week with the biggest name in fast food: McDonald's.

McDonald's has an extensive breakfast menu with a lot of range when it comes to health and meatiness. I ordered an ice coffee and a fruit-and-maple oatmeal. 

The McDonald's oatmeal was certainly more flavorful than my typical morning bowl, packed with apples, cranberries, and (according to McDonald's) two types of raisins. It was also sweeter than I'm used to, with 32 grams of sugar — more than half of the daily recommended dosage. Clearly, vegetarian does not necessarily mean nutritious. 

For lunch I visited a chain highly recommended by vegetarian friends: Taco Bell.

Taco Bell is the only national fast-food chain to have a menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association. Even before the chain rolled out the certified menu last October, Taco Bell had plenty of vegetarian cred thanks to the ease with which customers could substitute beans and rice for meat in most menu offerings. 

"Vegetarian has been really big for us recently," because of its relevance to millennials, Taco Bell's dietitian and product developer Missy Nelson told Business Insider. 

Looking at Taco Bell's menu, it's clear there is plenty to choose from. I decided on a bean burrito and a spicy potato soft taco. The burrito was straightforward but tasty, while the soft taco packed a bit of heat into the potatoes — two solid options I'd order again. 

The current television season is just a couple months from ending, so networks are making the tough decisions as to what will stay and what has to go.

With today's shrinking live viewership, it takes more than just ratings for a TV show to survive to see another season. Networks are now looking at online, On Demand, and streaming viewership; social-media audiences; and international appeal, among countless other factors.

It can be a pretty anxious time for fans: Did you fall in love with a new show you desperately want to come back? Or did you invest years on something that might suddenly get the ax? Or do you just need one essential plot question solved so you can move on with your life? We feel you.

Here are the shows that are coming back for the 2016-2017 TV season from ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox, and NBC.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 20 best TV shows in 2015, according to critics

SEE ALSO: The best shows to binge-watch right now according to TV stars

"America's Funniest Home Videos" Season 27 (ABC)

Returning: Fall 2016

"The Bachelor" Season 21 (ABC)

Returning: Spring 2017

"Black-ish" Season 3 (ABC)

Returning: Fall 2016

A team of architecture students designed a seemingly impossible home.

After more than a decade of designing, editing, and reworking, the students at Rural Studio, Auburn University 's architectural-design program, built two cottages with materials that cost just $14,000 each. (The team calls them the "20K Homes.")

The goal was to create a model for building homes that are both beautiful and affordable. Take a look inside.

SEE ALSO: Take a look at what it's like to live in a 98-square-foot tiny home

The Rural Studio students built the homes at Serenbe, a community of nearly 500 artists in residence in northwestern Georgia. The site features a 25-acre organic farm, seasonal Saturday farmers markets, art galleries, films, and lectures.

"There's a need for affordable homes to be designed with integrity," Serenbe cofounder Steve Nygren tells Tech Insider. "We need to downsize in general."

The 500-square-foot homes' walls are primarily made from local pine lumber, and the roofs are made tin. They share a connected wooden porch.

The US entered the Great Depression — one of history's great financial calamities — in the late 1920s, and the country spent most of the 1930s mired in a debilitating economic malaise.

It ultimately took the outbreak of World War II to help the US wrench itself out of the protracted slump.

Photos of America during the Depression, much like the mood of the country, are often bleak, available only in black and white.

But the photos below, produced using color transparencies taken by various photographers between 1939 and 1941 and compiled by the Library of Congress, show the period and the people who endured it in vivid color — offering a new way to look at one of America's most studied historical eras.

SEE ALSO: Amazing colorized photos show a unique side of World War II

Trucks outside of a starch factory, in Caribou, Aroostook County, Maine, in late 1940. There were almost 50 trucks in the line. Some had been waiting for 24 hours for the potatoes to be graded and weighed.

Boys fishing in a bayou, in Schriever, Louisiana, in summer 1940. Cajun children in a bayou near a school in Terrebonne, a US Farm Security Administration project.

Hauling crates of peaches from the orchard to the shipping shed, Delta County, Colorado, in late 1940.

Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman.

For those unfamiliar with her name, the 30-year-old actress is best known for her roles in four "Fast and Furious" films.

But before she was in action films, she was Miss Israel and served two years in the Israeli army.

She's bringing the comic-book Amazonian princess to life alongside Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," out March 25.

She'll also star in the standalone "Wonder Woman" film scheduled for 2017 and (at least) two "Justice League" movies.

Get to know the new Wonder Woman below:

SEE ALSO: Critics are loving '10 Cloverfield Lane,' the first surprise hit movie of 2016

Gal Gadot was born in Israel on April 30, 1985. Her mom was a teacher, and her father was an engineer.

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Growing up, Gadot wanted to be a choreographer before switching her sights to law, but her plans changed after she met a pageant scout.

Source: Glamour

She participated in the 2004 Miss Israel contest and won, which launched her into a modeling career.

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Source: Glamour