US federal prosecutors announced on March 23 that authorities had uncovered a 400-yard tunnel between Mexicali, Mexico, and Calexico, California, and 1,350 pounds of marijuana traveling through it.

Just four days later, US border agents in Arizona discovered another tunnel, an incomplete one stretching only 80 feet, reaching into Nogales.

Finding two tunnels under the US-Mexico border in such a short period of time wasn’t just dumb luck.

“Drug traffickers love using tunnels,” journalist Ioan Grillo told Business Insider. “The Mexico-US border is like a block of cheese with holes in it, with tunnels across it.”

“US-Mexico border is literally riddled with tunnels,” Mike Vigil, the former head of international operations at the Drug Enforcement Administration and author of "Deal," told Business Insider. “They have to move those drugs across the border and probably the most secure method is through the use of tunnels.”

Traffickers have dug tunnels all along the 2,000-mile frontier between the US and Mexico, and the hard-to-detect nature of those passages, and the highly lucrative cargos that pass through them, ensure that there will always be more to find.

SEE ALSO: Mexico's defense chief: 'We have committed errors' in the war on drugs

“Many, many years ago, they were very unsophisticated. They weren't very long. They were relatively short,” Vigil said. The first so-called narco tunnel was built in 1989, by the Sinaloa cartel of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Source: The New Yorker

"You look at some tunnels which are very, very basic, and I've been to look at some of these from the US side," Grillo said. "And you see that they're quite basic, you know, shovel, get in there, and kind of dig through under the border quite basically."

Over the past 25 years, authorities have found 181 narco tunnels under the US-Mexican border, according to The New Yorker. Most of those have been short, narrow passages, or "gopher holes."

Source: The New Yorker

With more than 400 scripted series on television last year, there is no time to waste.

More outlets are creating this TV content, from streaming-video companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu to cable networks increasingly getting into the scripted-show game, like Bravo, E!, and Spike.

But what's worth your time and what isn't? In times like this, you should let the experts watch so you don't have to.

After all, they can't all be winners.

Metacritic keeps track of a curated group of critics, assigns each review a number according to how positive or negative it was, and then creates a weighted average score for each show.

Here are the 20 worst-reviewed TV shows in 2016 so far, using Metacritic scores.

Note: Only shows that have been reviewed at least seven times qualify for this list.

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 20 best TV shows of 2016 so far, according to critics

DON'T MISS: 8 TV shows you're watching that are probably going to be canceled

20."Shades of Blue" Season 1 (NBC)

19. "The Family" (ABC)

18. "Angel From Hell" Season 1 (CBS)

We're all constantly looking for ways to increase efficiency and output in our daily lives.

In pursuit of this, however, we sometimes focus too much on the "big picture" and not enough on the details of how we do things.

What if you were to tweak the way you approach some of the smaller tasks? Would you be surprised to learn you could substantially enhance your workflow?

Everyone operates differently. Some do their best work in the morning, when everyone else is sleeping; others work best under pressure.

Regardless of your personal style, the following tips should help you improve workflow and enhance productivity on a daily basis.

SEE ALSO: How to make the next 30 minutes the most productive of your week

1. Stack meetings together

Meetings are sometimes necessary, but they can also be huge huge time-wasters if you don't schedule them strategically. That's because we often allot 20, 30, or 40 minutes between meetings.

These time slots aren't usually long enough to complete other important tasks, but they are definitely long enough to eat away at our total time and productivity. "To solve this, start tracking how long your typical meetings take,"writes entrepreneur AJ Agrawal.

"Once you have a good idea, plan your next one right after. If you need more time to plan before the next one, make a short period of time to do that, but don't be generous."

By stacking meetings one after the other, you can better utilize your time and create space later in the day for accomplishing tasks that need large blocks of uninterrupted time.

2. Streamline internet browsing

As the internet has grown, your web browser has become the most powerful tool you have at your desk. You can use it to find almost anything you want to know. It's a customizable portal to the outside world.

So why not customize your internet browser to fit your specific needs and demands? If you're using a browser like Chrome, you can download extensions to accomplish particular tasks.

Here are a few that professionals use to improve their daily workflow:

LastPass. According to research, the average person has roughly 19 passwords for various online accounts. And unless you have that rare, photographic memory, you probably can't remember half of them. The result is a lot of wasted time having to guess passwords, email confirmation codes, or reset passwords. The solution is LastPass. This browser extension empowers you to use unique passwords securely for each account you have, without the risk of ever forgetting them.

Shopsta. Shopping online is supposed to be quick and easy, but most of us spend additional time researching the best prices, looking for free shipping, and searching for coupon codes before making the purchase. If you want to streamline the process, give the Shopsta extension a try. It displays all the information you need directly in the search results.

StayFocusd. If you're one of the millions of people who waste time each day on unnecessary websites, your internet access serves as a major distraction. Download the StayFocusd browser extension to limit your time on these sites.

There are hundreds of similar extensions. If you can find a couple that satisfy common pain points, you'll find it easy to leverage the power of the internet.

3. Delegate more tasks

Are you trying to do too much on your own? There's nothing noble about biting off more than you can chew. It ultimately ends up making you look foolish.

If you want to handle your responsibilities effectively, then you need to understand the value of delegating work. When you look at the tasks in front of you, which ones could be classed as core responsibilities and which ones are generic?

You should handle core responsibilities; the generic ones can typically be given to someone else without compromising quality.

If you ask Huffington Post founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington about the key to success, she'll tell you it all comes down to sleep.

She should know; she learned this lesson the hard way.

In 2007, exhausted from getting only a few hours' sleep a night and running on fumes, Huffington's body finally surrendered to her sleep deprivation. She awoke from her inevitable and unplanned slumber in a pool of blood after hitting her head on the way down.

This was the wake-up call the media mogul needed to finally prioritize sleep, and now, with the release of her sleep manifesto, "The Sleep Revolution," she wants to help everyone, from world leaders to the everyday worker, to get a better night's sleep.

Huffington admits that she's no sleep scientist, but in researching her book, she's spoken with enough of them and delved into enough research to be considered an expert on the topic.

In her book she brings to light jarring data that includes what she calls "our current sleep crisis" (about 70% of American workers describe their sleep as "insufficient") and the cost of not sleeping, like irreversible brain damage and erectile dysfunction.

Business Insider recently spoke with Huffington about the importance of sleep, its elusiveness in our modern society, and some best practices to get more of it.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

SEE ALSO: Arianna Huffington destroys the macho ‘no sleep’ mentality

DON'T MISS: Arianna Huffington says these are the things you should never do before bed

Rachel Gillett: Why is sleep so important?

Arianna Huffington: Let's start with our brain. We used to think that sleep was a time of inactivity, and now we actually know that sleep is a time of frenetic activity. That's the time when the planning system of the brain — what they call the lymphatic system — is actually activated and cleans up all of the accumulated toxins from the day. And if that doesn't happen, the results are really tragic, including leading to Alzheimer's disease.

The brain has two functions: Either it's alert and awake, or asleep and cleaning up. That's why we are now reevaluating as a culture the importance of something we thought we could get away without doing.

The health aspects are a little more obvious. We all know that when we've been sleep-deprived for a little while, we are more likely to catch a cold because our immune system is suppressed. But sleep is much more important than that, because every disease, whether it's heart disease, diabetes, or cancer, is connected to sleep deprivation.

Gillett: What are some of the most surprising or counterintuitive research findings you came across about the importance of sleep?

Huffington: One of the most counterintuitive findings has to do with weight. We think that in order to lose weight, we need to hit the gym early in the morning, even if it means that we don't get all of the sleep that we need.

Well, no. If you want to lose weight, stay in bed until you've had enough sleep. We now have all of this scientific evidence that shows that if you are sleep-deprived, your body actually craves the very foods that are going to put on weight like carbs and sweets. Also the hormone that regulates hunger is suppressed, and as a result, you're more likely to be hungry all of the time.

We've all been there, you know, in the middle of the afternoon, we get really, really tired, we're dragging ourselves through our meetings, and we go for that doughnut or that sugary pick-me-up. That is the worst thing that we can do for weight. So sleep if you want to lose weight.

Gillett: What's the business case for getting more sleep?

Huffington:McKinsey recently put out a study that makes very clear in scientific terms the connection between business leadership and getting more sleep. At first I thought it was an Onion headline actually, to have McKinsey consultants writing in the Harvard Business Review about the importance of sleep for business leadership, especially because one of the consultants was identified as a McKinsey sleep specialist. But no, it's not an Onion headline; it's the truth.

The science shows that the prefrontal cortex, where the executive functions that are part of leadership — the problem-solving functions, the team-building functions — are housed, is degraded if we don't get enough sleep. So all of the things we value in business are going to be affected in a negative way if we don't get enough sleep.

If you think about it, it's kind of amazing how we've all been living under the delusion that the most successful people in business are people who are working 24/7. In fact, leaders and executives have regularly congratulated people for working 24/7, which we now know is the cognitive equivalent of coming to work drunk.

And from the point of view of the bottom line, there's a direct correlation between sleep deprivation and an increase in stress and negative health effects. Therefore healthcare costs go up and productivity is impaired.

Americans are the most generous tippers in the world, according to a survey conducted by travel website TripAdvisor.

Sixty percent of Americans say that they tip for service, but that's mostly because it's practiced in the States. Most service staff in countries around the world don't expect to be tipped for their service because they are well-paid compared to those in the US.

For example, the average wage for a waiter in Australia is $15 per hour along with benefits, according to PayScale. In the US, a wage of only at least $2.13 per hour, and at least $30 per month in tips, is required, so service staff are essentially relying on these tips to make a living.

Other times, the line between opting to leave a tip or just a simple "thank you" is blurred. With help from TripAdvisor, we've listed countries where tipping isn't standard, but in nearly all cases, you can tip a person directly if you feel their service was extraordinary.

SEE ALSO: 16 people who are living the dream without spending a fortune

Australia 

There is usually a service charge tacked on your bill, and any extra tipping is entirely voluntary. The average wage for servers in Australia is $15.38 per hour, and waiters get benefits as part of their jobs.

Belgium

According to TripAdvisor, tipping in Belgium is not common.

Most service sectors include their service charge with the bill — at restaurants, salons, and taxis.

China

Tipping can be a bit confusing in China, but normally no one tips.

It's usually prohibited — it's illegal to tip taxi drivers, for example — and is considered impolite. But, because of the booming tourism industry, more tour guides are relying on tips for their income. Feel free to tip your tour guide, or anyone who really went above and beyond to help you — just be prepared for them to refuse.

In 2014, my son, James, and I drove up to Watkins Glen International, a storied racetrack, to watch a Ferrari race. We did not, however, make the drive in a Ferrari.

Last year, Ferrari kindly lent us a California T, the company's "entry-level" car — its base price is $198,000 — to make a sort of return visit. The Cali T is now an important vehicle for the prancing stallion now that it's a public company and needs to grow beyond its current 7,000-cars-a-year in sales.

At the New York Stock Exchange in 2015, when Ferrari — ticker symbol RACE — began trading, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO and Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne said that many of the 9,000 cars the Italian sports-car maker will sell in 2019 will be Cali Ts.

Ferrari shares have endured a slide since the IPO, down 30% since last October.

But of course there is Ferrari the stock and Ferrari the cars. So what is the California T like to drive?

When James and I went to the Glen in 2014, we watched a Ferrari Challenge race in which the contestants run in Ferrari 458s. In 2015, we attended the Six Hours of the Glen, an endurance race featuring teams from a variety of automakers — Porches, BMW, Aston Martin, Mazda, and Corvette — alongside Ferrari.

It was an interesting weekend with a long drive in a cool car and a race that was heavily affected by the weather. Mixed in was a jaunt around the original Watkins Glen road course, where after World War II racers battled it out and before the now famous raceway was built.

We had a lot of fun — check it out.

In 2014, James and I checked out a race series organized by Ferrari and featuring teams running only Ferrari 458 cars.

James had a blast ...

... because for an 8-year-old what's cooler than Ferraris?

Lots of women are saying they're being scammed by absurdly cheap online apparel retailers, Sapna Maheshwari and Beimeng Fu of BuzzFeed have reported.

There's a host of these websites, BuzzFeed says, including Zaful, Rosegal, SammyDress, RoseWe, TideBuy, Choies, and Dreslily. They promise extremely cheap apparel via ads on Facebook that target women.

But the photos they're posting are often not even their own. The knockoffs look nothing like the original photos.

BuzzFeed says that at least eight of these troubling sites operate under a Chinese e-commerce company called ShenZhen Global Egrow E-Commerce Co., which made about $200 million in sales in 2014. It's extremely hard to reach customer services by phone, too, since the businesses are in China.

Furious consumers have created multiple Facebook groups, like Knockoff Nightmares and Rosegal.com Is A Scam, to share "buyer, beware" stories and photos of the alleged dissonance between the advertised photos and what they received in the mail.

Here are some of the photos they've shared.

SEE ALSO: Furious customers are calling a hot lingerie startup a scam because of its sales model

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Since I began freelancing just over a year ago, I've had the opportunity to work with nearly a dozen high-growth startups and world-class experts.

What's more, I've never had to negotiate for the premium prices I charge for my content marketing services.

Because I've done such an effective job of defining my value propositions, branding myself as an expert within my field, and getting my content in front of new target audiences, I now have a three- to six-month waiting list for new freelance clients.

However, that certainly didn't happen overnight. My rapid success in the world of freelancing is the result of a lot of strategic positioning, hours of hard work, and good timing.

If you're ready to get serious about freelancing and multiplying your self-employed income, here are my top 12 tips for earning more during your first year.

Here we go:

SEE ALSO: 20 entrepreneurs share the advice that made them successful

1. Choose a niche.

If you're new to freelancing, you might feel ready to take any paid work you can get your hands on. But as you get deeper into your freelancing career, you'll need to start being more strategic about the types of work you do and the clients you take on.

You might be thinking: How can getting picky about the freelance work I do help me make more money?

Because when you specialize, you become an expert in a specific field, and experts can charge more for their specialized services.

In my opinion, the age-old debate of whether you should be a specialist or a generalist when starting your freelance career isn't even worth thinking twice about. If you were your client and you needed someone to fix your email marketing so people actually sign up, write ads that persuade people to buy, or just update your outdated website, would you rather hire someone who's a jack-of-all-trades, or a person who's a pro at doing one thing and doing it extremely well?

I'll choose the specialist every time.

And when it comes to my own experience, choosing to specialize as a content marketing consultant — as opposed to being a general digital marketer for hire — has been the single best decision I've made with my freelance business.

Because I've built my reputation with clients as a talented content marketer over the past few years and frequently engage with content marketing content on various social media channels, I've been able to rise to the top of my niche in a relatively short period of time. 

Aside from my blog and existing client referrals, the next most consistent source of new clients has been from business owners seeking out specific expert help through both Google and social searches like the one above from Twitter.

So to expand this example to other fields, imagine you are just starting out as a web developer — you can get into a niche like migrating blogs to WordPress. That means when someone searches for "help with migrating a blog to WordPress," the person can find you.

If you choose the right niche, deciding to specialize and putting some effort into branding yourself as an expert within your niche can really pay off for years to come.

2. Get clear on your service offerings.

One major decision you need to make early on in your freelance career is what you do and what you don't do.

The more specific you can be about what services you offer, the better. Not only will it help you brand yourself, it'll allow you to control how potential clients perceive you and give you the opportunity to continue building your portfolio in the direction you want to move in.

If you want to focus on becoming a sought-after, highly paid Ruby on Rails developer, then you shouldn't even consider contract offers for customizing WordPress themes or designing the user experience for an upcoming app.

While the short-term benefits of steady work are tempting (and sometimes necessary), taking on projects that aren't getting you closer to your ultimate goal of becoming the best in your field will only distract and delay you from making meaningful progress.

3. Define what your ideal client looks like.

Before you can go out and start looking for clients, you'll need to develop a clear picture of whom you're going to work best with. Do you want to build websites for small-business owners, pitch in on new feature development for high-growth technology startups, or take on longer-term contracts with enterprise-size companies?

Making these clear distinctions between whom and what type of business you're targeting will be essential to effectively pitching your services.

To define exactly who your ideal freelance clients should be (and how to start finding them), ask yourself these questions:

• What type of business has the problems I'm solving with my services?
• Can the business I want to work with afford to hire me?
• What demographic trends can I identify about the decision makers in the types of businesses I'm targeting? Think age, gender, geographic location, websites they frequent, and their personal interests.

Because I know that I'll be more engaged and work most effectively with smaller startup teams who are working on projects I can personally relate to, I've proactively chosen to make my scope of potential clients narrow.

By working with similar startup teams, new potential clients I target within my niche are able to instantly relate with me, and have confidence that I'll be able to replicate my results for their business, too.

There are nearly 100,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in the US, which combine to form an array of school districts of varying size and quality. The best districts are coveted, and a high-caliber school system can be a key factor when a family decides to relocate to one city over another. 

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, provides a ranking of the best school districts in America— that is, the collective quality of all the schools in a district determined by a grade of overall experience. The ranking includes key factors such as the strength of academics, health and safety, student culture and diversity, and the quality of teachers. Read more about the methodology here.

At the time of calculation, Niche's database contained records for 12,153 school districts. Business Insider searched the ranking to find the best in each state. Sufficient data wasn't available for Hawaii, so it does not appear on this list.

Below is the best school district in each US state.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best school districts in America

AND: The best public high school in every state

ALABAMA: Mountain Brook City Schools

No. of schools: 6

No. of students: 4,477

Academics: A+

Health & safety: A

Student culture & diversity: C-

Teachers: A+

ALASKA: Unalaska City School District

No. of schools: 2

No. of students: 408

Academics: A

Health & safety: A+

Student culture & diversity: A

Teachers: A+

ARIZONA: Chandler Preparatory Academy

No. of schools: 1

No. of students: 679

Academics: A+

Health & safety: A-

Student culture & diversity: A

Teachers: A+

I have to admit: I've become a genetics geek. Ever since I sent my first saliva sample to be analyzed by consumer-genetics company 23andMe, I've become obsessed with what I can find out from a sample of my DNA.

After trying out 23andMe's $199 test, I wanted to see how one of its competitors' tests stacked up.

For $99, AncestryDNA will sequence your genes to help trace your geographic roots. It doesn't provide health and wellness information, although Ancestry launched a program aimed at tracking family-health history called AncestryHealth. The company also recently teamed up with Alphabet's biotechnology company, Calico, to study the genetics of the human lifespan. 

Here's what it was like to use AncestryDNA:

RELATED: I tried 23andMe's new genetics test — and now I know why the company caused such a stir

SEE ALSO: The 7 best science-backed fitness apps

Shortly after I ordered it online, my AncestryDNA kit arrived in the mail in a small box the size of a hardcover book.

Opening it up, I found a collection tube (and a bag to seal it in once I was done), a set of instructions, and a smaller box to send it all back in.

No stranger to collection tubes, I wasn't quite looking forward to spitting up to the top of the line on this tube. As I learned previously, generating enough spit for the collection process (which helps ensure the company has enough DNA to run it a second time in case of errors) can be hard work.

What can be said about BMW that hasn't been said before?

The German luxury carmaker, which celebrated its 100th birthday this year, has for its entire history released a seemingly never ending stream of breathtaking, record-setting, and smile-inducing machines that have consistently beguiled the automotively inclined.

The essence of BMW boils down to its uncanny ability to produce successful new ideas while remaining faithful to its storied heritage.

And that heritage, by the way, includes innumerable victories in motorsport — on two wheels or four.

Here is the story of 100 years of BMW: One of the best brands around.

SEE ALSO: This is what it's like to fly a personal seaplane around New York City

The Bavarian Motor Works story begins with aircraft engines. Their IIIa radial engine quickly gained a reputation for being one of the best and most reliable of its time. Orders from the German government flooded in, overwhelming the small factory.

Now about that logo: While it is widely known as the "propeller," the blue and white center was meant to represent the Bavarian flag. It was designed by the brother of Karl Rapp, who founded BMW predecessor company Rapp Motorenwerke.

After the company was barred from building military-aircraft engines following World War I, BMW produced its first motorcycle, the R32, in 1923. It was very innovative.

While they are rarely sold, recent prices for R32s at auction include $163,000 for a 1924 model in 2009 and a $139,000 in 2011 for a 1925 model.

I've written before about my struggles to get a good night's sleep. Like most people, I have times where I can't fall or stay asleep. 

I've tried lots of things: Giving up caffeine (that was hard!), giving up alcohol (even harder), and getting up at 5:30 a.m. to work out (brutally, insanely hard).

My latest trick has been easy, fun, and unbelievably effective: I've been using a brain-sensing device called Muse to meditate for 12 minutes a night right before I go to sleep.

Mediating is when you turn off your thoughts — stop worrying about the future or fretting about the past — and concentrate on the real world around you, such as how your breath feels as it enters and exits your body.

While there are lots of documented health benefits to reducing stress through meditation, Muse isn't making claims as insomnia-curing device. I started using it for this by accident. I tried it before bed one day, and was so relaxed that I fell right to sleep. For the past three weeks of using it, I've slept great.

Read on for how I made Muse work for me ...

SEE ALSO: The Hexoskin workout shirt is (almost) the workout buddy of my dreams

Muse is a device that measures electroencephalogram (EEG) brain waves. It can't "read your thoughts," but it can detect the electrical activity in your brain through sensors.

You put the device on your head and it listens for brainwaves. It can detect five types of brainwaves: delta waves of deep sleep; theta waves during drowsiness, light sleep, and visualization; alpha waves during wakeful relaxation; beta waves during alert activity and problem-solving; gamma waves during higher mental activity like consolidating information.

Source: Muse

Muse must have good contact with the skin to work. It took me five minutes or so to set it up, and you have to set up it every time you use it.

If you thought the WWE was intense, you haven't witnessed Stardom, the professional women's wrestling league in Japan.

While the WWE's Wrestle Mania involves a lot of violent action, Stardom consists of real, full-on body slams, kicks, and bright, colorful costumes.

Japanese women's professional wrestling is an entertainment show that involves a dance-routine performance before every highly intense wrestling match.

Stardom was founded in 2010, five years after the All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling came to a close after the president became ill. 

Stardom became popular quickly after it was founded. Here are some of the most intense moments from professional women's wrestling in Japan.

SEE ALSO: Meet the Yankees' fans who came out in 30-degree weather to celebrate MLB's opening day

Stardom's style is much like martial arts, with many of the wrestlers relying on kicking as their main line of defense.

Like in the martial arts, kicks are paired with jumping to make them harder and more intense.

The female wrestlers are required to wear bright and colorful costumes.

When you've had too many unproductive, time-draining meetings, you can find yourself full of dread any time one appears on your schedule.

Even worse, you may be resigned to the idea that all meetings are bad in their own way, and it's your duty to simply tolerate them as the clock ticks on.

"'Meeting' has somehow become a dirty word; when we hear someone say 'I had a day full of meetings,' we feel pity rather than envy," Caroline Webb writes in her book "How to Have a Good Day."

Webb is the CEO of consulting firm Sevenshift and a senior adviser to McKinsey, where she was formerly a partner. Her book is a collection of career best practices she's learned in her 16 years as a consultant.

She's found that the reason why so many of us dread meetings is "that we often pay a lot of attention to what we're discussing — the document we're sharing, the decision we need to make, the message we want to get across — and very little attention to how we're having the conversation."

Here are Webb's steps to improving the way you plan and participate in meetings, so that "meeting" is no longer a bad word.

SEE ALSO: A former McKinsey partner shares 7 techniques that will energize you when you're feeling burnt out at work

1. Set an agenda.

Meetings run off the rails when there's no proper preparation.

Before stepping foot in the conference room or coffee shop, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the one thing of prime importance you'd like to accomplish?

• What are you most concerned about that day, and what do you want to focus on?

• What are some challenges that may get in the way of maintaining your focus, and how will you get back on track?

• What are your colleagues looking to get from this meeting?

And if you're in charge of setting up the meeting, plan on finishing slightly before the assigned ending time, rather than using up every minute, for the purpose of a smoother transition back to work. Try setting the discussion points as questions to get the conversation moving (e.g. "How can we improve communication?" versus "Team communication").

2. Begin with collaboration.

Regardless of the meeting's purpose, it's best to begin on a positive note, with a prompt like "What's going well so far?"

Then, "encourage some collaborative goal setting by asking, 'Where do we want to be by the end of this meeting?'" Webb writes. "And then 'What's the best way for us to achieve that?'"

She encourages you to introduce these questions, if necessary, even if you're not the meeting's chairperson.

And if you are in charge, strongly consider a "no-devices" rule to keep the meeting from dragging on as your team members sneak looks at their phones or venture beyond note-taking on their laptops.

3. Keep your colleagues' interests in mind.

The worst meetings entail one person after another droning on, while no one is listening.

Don't forget that the reason why you're all sitting there in the first place is to boost each other's performance. Webb suggests several key points:

• When applicable, "illustrate your points with an anecdote or real-life example that shows the effect on colleagues or customers," Webb writes.

• Break down longer comments into easy-to-digest segments (e.g. "There are three things that strike me about this. One ... Two ... Three ...")

• When you feel the need to disagree or raise a concern with one of your colleagues, don't dismiss the idea immediately, which can make them defensive. Instead, find what you like about the basic idea or the intention behind it, and then explain why you think there's a better approach.

• If you're not getting what you need from your colleagues, don't be afraid to ask for it.

It seems as though we can pay people to do anything for us these days: walk our dogs, build our furniture, organize our homes ... cuddle with us when we're feeling lonely.

That's right: You care hire a professional cuddler to snuggle with you for about $60 an hour. You can also pay an "undercover bridesmaid" to stand next to you on your big day, or a professional mourner to cry with you at a loved one's funeral.

Those are just a few of the weirdest jobs we found while compiling our list of the most unusual professionals.

Steven Benna contributed to an earlier version of this article.

Keep scrolling to see all 14.

SEE ALSO: 'Aladdin' Actor Reveals A Typical Day In The Life Of A Broadway Star

Snake milkers extract venom from some of the world's most dangerous snakes, like rattlesnakes and cobras. The extracted venom is often used to create antivenom for hospital or laboratory use, and can be sold for up to $1,000 per gram.

Source: Kentucky Reptile Zoo

Professional bridesmaids are there to assist brides on their big day. Jen Glantz, the cofounder of Bridesmaid for Hire, a company that offers 'undercover bridesmaid' and personal assistant-type services to brides and their wedding parties, charges anywhere from $300 to $2,000 per wedding.

Source: Business Insider

Iceberg mover became a profession after the disastrous sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The International Ice Patrol (IIP), which was founded a year later, is operated by the US Coast Guard. It tracks the location of icebergs and provides safe routes around them. If necessary, the iceberg will be towed out of the area.

Source: The US Department of Homeland Security

Victoria's Secret has figured out how to turn lingerie into a $6 billion business.

A huge reason for the company's success is its very successful marketing strategy. It's known for being the beacon of all things sexy.

But sexiness was depicted differently when Victoria's Secret was born in 1977 when it was founded by Roy Raymond.

Here's how the brand has changed — in photos.

SEE ALSO: Victoria's Secret has a strategy for casting models that's worth $6 billion

Then: Victoria's Secret actually resembled a boudoir.

"Raymond imagined a Victorian boudoir, replete with dark wood, oriental rugs, and silk drapery. He chose the name 'Victoria' to evoke the propriety and respectability associated with the Victorian era; outwardly refined, Victoria's 'secrets' were hidden beneath. In 1977, with $80,000 of savings and loans from family, Raymond and his wife leased a space in a small shopping mall in Palo Alto, Calif., and Victoria's Secret was born," Naomi Barr wrote on Slate.

Now: Hints of its past are occasionally present in its Facebook photos.

Then: You would have been able to find this sort of image in a Victoria's Secret ad.

The overtly provocative nature of Raymond's Victoria's Secret was slightly altered when Les Wexner took the helm of the brand — but make no mistake, lingerie still abounded.

The future of mobility is an exciting frontier that everyone in the automotive world is trying to explore. As a result, companies have taken creative and odd approaches to meet the challenge. 

Recently, Toyota gave me the chance to test out their i-Road concept. The i-Road is one of Toyota proposed solutions to solving urban transportation.

To be honest, most of the prospective future mobility offerings I've seen thus far have either been impractical, boring to drive — or just flat out strange.

When it comes to cars, I'm a traditionalist. I love the visceral experience that a great drive can engender. The sound of the engine, the shifting of the gears, and the feedback from the steering. In the right car, it all comes together to create perfection. Although speed is often a fun aspect of a great car, it isn't entirely necessary — you can chase some thrills without eye-tearing 0-60 acceleration.

So it was with a bit of apprehension that I tried out Toyota's i-Road concept. 

In one of the large halls of New York's Javits Center, I got my first look at one of Toyota's "urban mobility solutions."

At first sight, the three-wheeled i-Road is anything but boring. It's not quite what I would call a "car," but it's so much more than an electric scooter with a canopy. What the design allowed Toyota to do was combine the small, nimble characteristics of a scooter with the wet-weather capabilities and driving stability of a small city car. 

After taking some photos of the car, I jumped in for test drive on the twisting indoor course Toyota set up.

SEE ALSO: Tesla had problems with its Falcon Wing doors — but crazy car doors have a long history

With a single headlight, the three-wheeled, electric i-Road looks unlike anything on the road today.

When it comes to future mobility, more conventional solutions like the Chevrolet Bolt EV or ...

... the BMW i8 hybrid sports cars are more in my wheelhouse.

There will be a lot of discussion about the legacy of "American Idol" after it names its final winner and the stage lights go off on Thursday night.

After 15 seasons, the singing-competition show has inspired countless imitators, both failed and thriving, from "The Voice" to "America's Got Talent." And in its heyday, it reached nearly 40 million live viewers — a feat no TV show will ever reach again in the DVR, delayed-viewing, multi-platform world we've entered.

But possibly the show's biggest draw was its ability to pluck Americans out of obscurity and make them stars. This was proved over and over again with not just its winners, but many of the contestants who found fame even without the guaranteed recording contract.

That is no simple feat. "The Voice" is in its 10th season and has still yet to create a music superstar.

In celebration of "Idol's" legacy, here's a look at the competition's most successful winners and alums:

SEE ALSO: RANKED: The 20 worst TV shows of 2016 so far, according to critics

DON'T MISS: The 14 biggest comedy power couples in Hollywood

No. 23. Season 9 winner: Lee DeWyze (2010)

Estimated net worth: $50,000

No. of albums: 6

Grammy awards: N/A

Other projects: DeWyze has actively supported and performed for several charities. In 2012, he offered his song "Fight" for free to anyone who donated to The Heart Foundation benefiting heart-disease awareness.

No. 22. Season 6 sixth-place: Sanjaya Malakar

Estimated net worth:$300,000

No. of albums: 3

Grammy awards: N/A

Other projects: In 2007, Malakar appeared in a one-minute parody short "I Am Art," co-produced by Will Ferrell, in which his character claims that he made up the Sanjaya persona as a gag. Malakar had to later explain the film was just a joke. In 2014, he also hosted the TV Guide Channel show "Idol Stars: Where Are They Now?" and competed on the ABC reality show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!"

Malakar also co-wrote the book "Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul," and penned an autobiography titled "Dancing to the Music in My Head: Memoirs of the People’s Idol."

No. 21. Season 10 ninth-place: Pia Toscano (2011)

Estimated net worth:$650,000

No. of albums: N/A

Grammy awards: N/A

Other projects: Toscano has released three singles and has collaborated on songs with several artists, including co-writing a song for Aubrey O'Day. In Summer 2014, she performed as a backup singer for Jennifer Lopez.

This post from LinkedIn Influencer Travis Bradberry appeared originally onLinkedIn.

Body language provides an amazing amount of information on what other people are thinking if you know what to look for. And who hasn't wanted to read people's minds at some point?

You already pick up on more body language cues than you're consciously aware of. UCLA research has shown that only 7% of communication is based on the actual words we say. As for the rest, 38% comes from tone of voice and the remaining 55% comes from body language. Learning how to become aware of and to interpret that 55% can give you a leg up with other people.

When you're working hard and doing all you can to achieve your goals, anything that can give you an edge is powerful and will streamline your path to success.

TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). These people know the power that unspoken signals have in communication, and they monitor body language accordingly.

Next time you're in a meeting (or even on a date or playing with your kids), watch for these cues:

SEE ALSO: The 7 worst body language mistakes job seekers make

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

Crossed arms and legs signal resistance to your ideas.

Crossed arms and legs are physical barriers that suggest the other person is not open to what you're saying. Even if they're smiling and engaged in a pleasant conversation, their body language tells the story.

Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero videotaped more than 2,000 negotiations for a book they wrote on reading body language, and not a single one ended in an agreement when one of the parties had their legs crossed while negotiating. Psychologically, crossed legs or arms signal that a person is mentally, emotionally, and physically blocked off from what's in front of them. It's not intentional, which is why it's so revealing.

Real smiles crinkle the eyes.

When it comes to smiling, the mouth can lie but the eyes can't. Genuine smiles reach the eyes, crinkling the skin to create crow's feet around them. People often smile to hide what they're really thinking and feeling, so the next time you want to know if someone's smile is genuine, look for crinkles at the corners of their eyes. If they aren't there, that smile is hiding something.

Copying your body language is a good thing.

Have you ever been in a meeting with someone and noticed that every time you cross or uncross your legs, they do the same? Or perhaps they lean their head the same way as yours when you're talking?

That's actually a good sign.

Mirroring body language is something we do unconsciously when we feel a bond with the other person. It's a sign that the conversation is going well and that the other party is receptive to your message. This knowledge can be especially useful when you're negotiating, because it shows you what the other person is really thinking about the deal.

The median rent in New York City is $3,185 a month, according to residential real estate website Trulia.

It's the second highest in the nation, just after San Francisco ($3,995 per month).

In popular neighborhoods, like Battery Park City and Gramercy Park, you can expect to see rent prices tipping over $4,000 a month, according to real estate website Zumper. Going out of the city and into neighboring boroughs could save you money, but if you want to live in the heart of the city, you're probably going to pay the price.

And how about outside of New York City's five boroughs? What if you took your $3,185 a month and moved to Atlanta, Georgia? Could you get more for your money?

Below, find out what the median New York rent could buy you in the 25 biggest rental markets in the US. The listings, from Trulia, are all located where the crime rate is "low" to "lowest," and rent does not exceed $3,200 per month.

SEE ALSO: Here's the salary you need to be in the top 5% of earners in 21 major US cities

In NYC, $3,200 a month gets you a studio apartment with about 432 square feet like this one in Kips Bay. Amenities include a fitness center and laundry facility in the building.

Source: Trulia

Here are some more listings for a $3,000-a-month rent in New York City.

In San Francisco, California, you can find a one bedroom, one bath apartment.

Source: Trulia

Go a little south to Los Angeles, California, and you'll find more space. This rental offers 1,100 square feet of space with two bedrooms and two baths. There's even a fitness center and pool.

Source: Trulia