• Kohl's just reported third quarter earnings and sales that missed analysts' estimates.
• The company said on Tuesday that sales at stores open at least a year grew 0.4% in the most recent quarter.
• We visited a Kohl's in August and saw why the retailer poised to take on the retail apocalypse might not survive after all. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It looks like Kohl's isn't defying the retail apocalypse after all.  

The company reported weak earnings for its third quarter and lowered it's outlook for the remainder of 2019. Stocks dropped as much as 13% in early trading on Tuesday, following the announcement.

For a bit, it seemed as though Kohl's was a bright spot in the department store sector. Kohl's stores are not entirely mall-based, a factor which previously helped the company avoid the grim fate of stores like JCPenney and Sears. Kohl's announced a partnership with Amazon in 2017 to accept returns for the e-commerce giant in its stores, a move which boosted traffic nearly 24% in the three weeks after the partnership began, data from inMarket revealed.

But now, the numbers — and stores — reveal that Kohl's is only further proving that the death knell for the department store has long past rung.

We visited a Kohl's in August and were surprised to find it messily filled with out of style merchandise and clothes. After seeing the problems in person, we understood why the retailer might not be able to defy the retail apocalypse after all.

Here's what we saw:

SEE ALSO: Wall Street thought Kohl's could defy the retail apocalypse. But its latest earnings are further proof that department stores as we know them are dying.

SEE ALSO: 15 Kohl's shopping hacks to help you save the most money, according to the experts

We visited a Kohl's in a Jersey City, New Jersey mall.

A sign at the front of the store let us know about an option to buy items online and then pick them up in the store.

We also saw a sign that let us know about the Kohl's app, which gives customers the chance to save even more.

Kohl's stores are not entirely mall-based, a factor which had previously helped the company avoid the fate of stores like JCPenney and Sears.

Source: Business Insider

But walking through the store made it clear why Kohl's was likely slated for the same fate as its department store peers.

There were a lot of clothing options, but every item seemed completely out of touch with current fashion trends.

There were sales and deals posted on screens and placards throughout the store. The Vera Wang sleepwear section was having a buy one, get one 50% off sale.

But we found a lot of the options to be pretty unappealing. This two-piece Vera Wang pajama set cost $56.

The clearance section was somewhat of a wreck.

The kid's clothing racks were overflowing with clothes.

We also found a table with a pile of shoe boxes that looked ready to topple over.

We did find a cool little Fortnite sweatshirt for kids originally priced for $40 but on sale.

There were also a bunch of unattended carts that were located in the middle of the aisles.

In the sports-attire department, there was a large section for Under Armour, an athletic wear company that has had a bit of a hard time winning over the North American market.

Source: Business Insider

We also found some shoes and clothes from brands like Nike and Adidas later on.

Moving on, we made our way to a section full of kitchen appliances, which made up a large portion of the store.

The home-goods section was appealing overall — one of the strongest sections of the store so far. The shelves were orderly and well stocked with darling items meant to beautify a house.

Near the back of the store, we found some red lockers reserved for shoppers who had utilized the buy online, pick up in-store — or BOPIS — option.

Being in a mall makes declining foot traffic a difficult issue for stores like Kohl's to navigate. To combat this, Kohl's has a partnership with Amazon to let people drop off Amazon returns in the store.

The small stations increased store traffic by as much as 24%, according to data from InMarket.

Source: Business Insider

But even with the BOPIS lockers and Amazon kiosks, Kohl's has clearly not cracked the code for surviving the retail apocalypse.

The out-of-style offerings and slowing sales at Kohl's further prove that department stores as we know them are dying.

Source: Business Insider

• Kohl's, the Midwestern-based department store chain, is struggling to find its footing as the retail apocalypse rages on. 
• The company missed Wall Street expectations in its earnings call this week, causing shares to tumble and giving analysts pause. 
• Here's the story of the company's rise to big-box dominance and its eventual fall from consumer sentiments. 
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Like several of its department store peers, Kohl's is struggling to regain traction in an uncertain retail landscape. 

The Wisconsin-based retailer reported disappointing earnings this week, missing Wall Street expectations with meager comparable sales growth of just 0.4%, while profits dropped by 24%, causing shares to tumble. Though the company hasn't been shy to innovate — including testing off-price store models and teaming up with Amazon on an in-store return program — it seems it hasn't been enough to stave off the ongoing retail apocalypse. 

"Department stores have been struggling for a long time, but they still generate billions of dollars," Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, told Business Insider earlier this week. "That's not going to evaporate overnight, but we're still seeing this slow chipping away. Sometimes a well-executed program can help stave off the decline. Every quarter they have to pull a rabbit out of a hat." 

While there may still be time for Kohl's to turn the business around, it may never regain its early 2000s glory days of bustling stores and events brimming with notable celebrities. Still, the store has a significant national presence, with more than 1,100 stores in 49 states. 

Will Kohl's overcome its struggles? Only time will tell. In the meantime, we took a look at Kohl's rise from a small Midwestern chain started by a Polish immigrant to a national retail powerhouse. 

SEE ALSO: Wall Street thought Kohl's could defy the retail apocalypse. But its latest earnings are further proof that department stores as we know them are dying.

Kohl's was started in Brookfield, Wisconsin, by Maxwell Kohl in 1962.

Kohl was a Polish immigrant who had worked in factories in the US for several years before starting his first company, a small grocery store, at just 26 years old in 1927. The store included "modern-style supermarket" fixtures, like a bakery and deli. Kohl later went on to open 48 supermarkets in Wisconsin before selling the chain in 1970.

Later, he was inspired to transition from the grocery industry to the department store business after experiencing difficulty buying a shirt.

Kohl modeled his department store after his grocery store chain, with a particular focus on customer service and finding efficiencies to help lower prices for shoppers.

Source: The Immigrant Learning Center 

Kohl's grew in popularity as an alternative to high-end department stores, offering high-quality goods for less.

Source: The Immigrant Learning Center 

Kohl opened more stores, and together with his sons ran the business for the next decade before selling the chain in 1972 to the retail division of the British American Tobacco Company.

Kohl's sons retained leadership roles at the company even as it changed ownership in subsequent years.

In 1986, former store manager William Kellogg became CEO of Kohl's after taking over the company with his partners John Herma and Jay Baker as part of a buyout.

Source: Forbes

Over the next several years, Kohl's expanded throughout the Midwest, including into major cities like Chicago and Detroit.

In 1989, Kohl's acquired MainStreet department stores in Chicago and converted the stores into Kohl's locations. 

After three decades of operation, Kohl's officially filed for its initial public offering in 1992.

By the turn of the century, Kohl's had 298 total stores in 25 states and 43,000 employees.

Kohl's spent the early 2000s focused on growth, expanding out to the coasts and opening stores in new regions like the Northeast.

In 2006, Kohl's sold off its credit card business to J.P. Morgan Chase for $1.5 billion and funneled the money back into opening more stores.

Source: The New York Times 

That same year, Kohl's began to invest heavily in sustainability efforts at its stores, including installing solar panels on store roofs.

By 2006, Kohl's started aggressively bringing on big name designers and celebrity partners, starting with launching an exclusive collection with famous wedding dress designer Vera Wang.

Also in 2006, Kohl's brought on the cast of "Laguna Beach" for several meet-and-greet and promotional events.

Kohl's continued to enhance its profile with the help of television stars, including "Gossip Girl" actress Leighton Meester, who attended the launch of Flirt! cosmetics at Kohl's in 2008.

Kohl's also teamed with singers like Avril Lavigne, who launched her Abbey Dawn collection with Kohl's in 2008.

Reality star Lauren Conrad was also a notable celebrity partner, later launching her clothing line Paper Crown exclusively at Kohl's.

In 2010, Jennifer Lopez and then-husband Marc Anthony announced two lifestyle brands that were sold exclusively at Kohl's.

Kohl's continued to turn to celebrities as it worked to build out its private-label brands like Candie's.

Despite these efforts, Kohl's performance was still relatively lackluster. As a result, Kohl's then-CEO Kevin Mansell announced a turnaround program called "The Greatness Agenda" in 2015, setting in motion several new partnerships and initiatives.

"The Greatness Agenda is our multi-year plan and it's working. Since announcing this strategy one year ago, we've changed the trajectory of our performance trend line from negative to positive," Mansell said in a statement at the time. 

As part of The Greatness Agenda, Kohl's began increasing its in-store tech services and installed buy-online-pick-up-in-store lockers in 2015.

Source: Business Insider

Looking to capitalize on the growth of off-price store models like TJ Maxx and Nordstrom Rack, Kohl's experimented with one of its own called Off/Aisle, a one-off store it opened in Wisconsin in 2015.

Source: Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel 

In 2016, Kohl's teamed up with Under Armour in a notable partnership to allow the department store to sell the athletic apparel in stores.

"We shared our conviction and our strategy that we intend to be the destination for active and wellness for the family, and I guess they were inspired by that because we're launching," Kohl's then-chief merchandising officer Michelle Gass told Bloomberg at the time. "Active was one of those areas where we're already seeing strength with Nike and some others, and we said, 'Let's take it to the next level."

Kohl's first started to experience serious trouble in 2017, when shares fell by 19% in January after the retailer warned investors of poor holiday sales.

It was the worst day on record for Kohl's stock. Macy's also dropped by 14% that day. 

That same year, Kohl's began experimenting with a pilot partnership with Amazon that would allow shoppers to make returns from the e-commerce giant in select Kohl's stores.

The effort was rolled out nationwide in August 2019. 

By 2019, Kohl's was starting to show significant signs of struggle, which experts say could be due to a failure to differentiate itself in the age of e-commerce.

"The playbook hasn't changed that drastically. Kohl's focused on getting good merchandising, working with companies like Amazon, and rightsizing stores," Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, told Business Insider."They're doing everything to check the boxes, so what you're left with are the dynamics of the industry."

In June 2019, Kohl's announced it would be closing its four off-price Off/Aisle stores in Wisconsin and New Jersey after four years.

"While we've learned a lot from the tests, we also learned that our strength and ongoing improvements in inventory management across the company do not allow us to appropriately stock Off/Aisle stores at scale," Kohl's executive vice president Jon Gross wrote in a memo, according to USA Today.

In November 2019, Kohl's reported meager sales growth that missed Wall Street expectations.

In the third quarter of 2019, sales grew by 0.4% while profits dropped 24% in the same period in 2018. 

Looking to the future, experts say Kohl's will need to make some major changes to stay afloat as the modern department store rapidly evolves.

"The brand still has some allure compared to other department stores," Jonathan Treiber, CEO of offer-management platform RevTrax, told Business Insider. "However, they need to focus on their offerings and what niche they can truly 'own' and carve out as a defensible strategy."

• Sotheby's International Reality is selling a houseboat for $1.5 million. 
• The three-bedroom, two-bathroom houseboat, named De Friese Franje, is docked on the Amstel River in Amsterdam.
• Sotheby's characterizes the vessel as a "floating palace."
• Houseboats are surprisingly trendy, thanks to money concerns — in America, rent prices in some cities are skyrocketing so high that people are turning to houseboats instead, Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower reported in May.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sotheby's International Reality is selling a "floating palace" for $1.5 million.

The houseboat, named De Friese Franje, is situated on the Amstel River in the heart of Amsterdam in north Holland. Encompassing 1,560 square feet, De Friese Franjehas three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It also has a sun terrace and a modern kitchen outfitted with stainless steel appliances. 

According to Sotheby's, De Friese Franjehas was renovated over the past year and a half. Those renovations included the addition of sustainable materials like an oak wood floor, soft leather walls, and matted glass in the bedroom.

While houseboat living may not sound appealing to some, it's a very real alternative for the thousands of people who are being priced out of major US cities like New York and San Francisco because of increasingly unaffordable rental markets.

Here's a closer look at the luxe houseboat.

SEE ALSO: You can rent the James Bond villain's 'floating lair' from 'Casino Royale' — for about $72,000 a week. Take a look inside the sleek yacht.

DON'T MISS: This $12 million 'mansion yacht' is made entirely of stainless steel — and it's a first for the industry. Take a peek inside.

Situated in the heart of Amsterdam on the Amstel River, the De Friese Franje is listed with Sotheby's International Reality.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

The houseboat has three bedrooms, including a master suite ...

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

... and two guest rooms.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

There are also two bathrooms, one of which has a hot tub.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

The houseboat was renovated over a period of 1.5 years. The renovation included adding more sustainable materials to the home, such as oak wood flooring and hard matted windows.

The windows have also been coated to make it harder for people to see inside while still allowing you to see outside from within the boat.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

There is also a modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

Other amenities include a sun terrace and air conditioning.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

The sleek, modern houseboat is asking $1.5 million.

Source: Sotheby's International Realty

• Mental strength doesn't mean that your kids should never cry or should constantly be doing as much as they can. Instead, it means equipping them to become a responsible adult — and that means recognizing their feelings and letting them feel them.
• Don't give in when they misbehave or constantly shower them in presents. But don't expect perfection, or make them equally responsible for decisions.
• Kids should learn how to handle their self-doubt, and deal with consequences when they make a mistake.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.   

Teaching kids how to develop mental strength isn't about ensuring they won't cry or insisting they push themselves to their limits all the time.

Instead, it's about raising a child who is equipped with the social and emotional skills they need to become a responsible adult.

One of the best ways to help kids develop resilience is to give up unhealthy parenting habits that rob kids of the mental strength they need to think, feel, and perform at their best.

Here are seven parenting habits you should give up if you want to raise mentally strong kids:

SEE ALSO: Adam Grant says that focusing on kindness rather than achievements can lead to more caring and successful children

1. Minimizing your child's feelings

When you say things like, "Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal," you're implying that your child's feelings are wrong — or that they don't matter.

Kids need to know that it's okay to feel a wide variety of emotions. And the key to living their best life is about managing emotions (not suppressing them).

A healthier message is to say, "I know you feel scared right now, but I also know you're strong enough to face your fears."

2. Giving in to misbehavior

It's tempting to give in when your child is whining or throwing a tantrum — especially on the days when you just don't have the time or energy to address the issue.

But each time you give them what they want, you teach your child that their misbehavior is an effective way to get their needs met. If you want to raise mentally strong kids, stick to your limits. Teach them that they can cope with their discomfort and learn healthier ways to manage their emotions.

3. Overindulging your child

You might think it's cute to spend exorbitant amounts of money on your child. Or maybe it makes you feel good that you can give your child all of the things you never had growing up.

But there's a lot of research that shows just how unhealthy overindulgence is for kids. If they always get everything they want, they miss out on learning valuable life skills — like self-discipline.

They'll also be more likely to grow up to be materialistic, which is associated with decreased levels of happiness in adulthood.

Set limits on what you give your child. Let them know what it's like to experience disappointment, and teach them how to work for things they want to have.

4. Expecting perfection

While high expectations are good for kids, setting the bar too high is likely to backfire. Whether you expect too much from your child on the sports field, or your academic expectations are unreasonable, kids who feel they can't succeed are likely to stop trying.

They're also more likely to struggle with self-esteem issues because they'll feel as though they aren't good enough.

Help your child aim for big goals — but make sure those goals are realistic. And use mistakes, failures, and setbacks to teach important life skills.

5. Giving your kids an equal vote

Just a few short decades ago, most parents adopted the "kids should be seen and not heard" attitude. The focus was on obedience.

And while we've since learned that it's important to show kids that we value their opinions, the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction for some parents, and the family hierarchy has become a bit blurred.

Many kids are being given an equal vote in important family matters, like whether the family should move to a new city or if a parent should accept a new job.

While it's healthy to show kids you value their opinion, it's also important to make it clear that you're the leader. Otherwise, kids grow up feeling anxious — they really don't want to be in charge. Make it clear that you have the knowledge and skills to be a good leader — a leader who listens to everyone — but ultimately make the decisions based on wisdom and expertise.

6. Standing in the way of natural consequences

Although it's tough to see kids fail, standing in between your child and the natural consequences of their behavior does them a disservice.

Whether you're tempted to deliver the forgotten sports equipment time and time again or constantly nag your child to do their homework, preventing consequences robs kids of learning valuable lessons.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to help kids build mental muscle is to get out of the way. Give them a chance to flex their muscles on their own — and deal with the aftermath when they don't succeed.

7. Countering your child's negative self-talk

There's nothing wrong with reassuring your child that they'll be okay when they're convinced they aren't going to pass math or worried about not making the team.

But you don't want your child to be dependent on you to counter their negative self-talk. And constantly saying, "Oh honey, you'll do just fine," doesn't teach them how to develop a healthier inner monologue.

It's important for kids to learn how to respond to self-doubt on their own. And they need to learn that they shouldn't believe everything they think.

When you catch them thinking exaggeratedly negative, teach your child to "argue the opposite." When they think, "I'm going to be the worst kid on the basketball team," ask them, "What's the evidence you might not be the worst?" Gathering the evidence can help them develop a more realistic, balanced outlook.

• Royal Caribbean's Symphony of the Seas is the world's largest cruise ship, and has seven different "neighborhoods."
• One of these neighborhoods is called Central Park, and is indeed a park with more than 20,700 lush tropical plants.
• There's even a landscape specialist with a team of three horticulturalists onboard to maintain the park.
• Quiet, shaded, and full of little benches and paths, as well as al fresco dining, Central Park was one of my favorite spots on the ship.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

It's hard to convey just how enormous the world's largest cruise ship is.

Even numbers don't quite do it justice (it is 1,188 feet long, and 215 feet wide in case you were wondering). To put it into perspective, the ship is only 62 feet shorter than the Empire State Building, and can hold almost 9,000 people — guests and crew — on busy weeks. That's not much smaller than the population of Sedona, Arizona.

Every time I turned a corner on this giant ship, I was flummoxed by a new and unexpected sight. A carousel. An ice skating rink. Not one but two rock climbing walls, a zip line, mini golf, and two surf simulators. Even a Starbucks.

But one of the cruise's most impressive attractions — and a personal favorite of mine — is the lush park on board.

Named after the most famous park in the country, Central Park, it is one of the Symphony of the Seas' seven "neighborhoods," and boasts over 20,000 plants. Keep scrolling to see what a park on a ship in the middle of the ocean is like.

The Symphony of the Seas has seven "neighborhoods:" Boardwalk, Entertainment Place, Pool and Sports Zone, Youth Zone, Royal Promenade, Vitality Spa and Fitness Center, and Central Park.

Helpful street signs point you towards the front of the ship (forward in ship lingo) or the back (the aft).

Symphony's Central Park has more than 20,700 lush tropical plants, as well as  winding pathways and benches.

In fact, there's a "landscape specialist" on board who works with a team of three horticulturalists to keep the plants alive.

Obviously, growing plants on a ship is not the same as growing plants on land.

Water and sunlight requirements, irrigation, draining, even the slopes of the decks were all factors taken into consideration when designing the park.

Speakers hiding in the plants create soothing nature sounds: you'll hear crickets chirping, birds trilling, and frogs croaking.

There are also plenty of restaurants, like Chops Grille, Jamie's Italian, Park Café, 150 Central Park, and Vintages wine bar. Many have al fresco seating.

There's live music nightly.

Central Park was one of my favorite spots on the ship, probably because it didn't feel like being on a ship at all.

I spent many mornings drinking my coffee al fresco at Park Café.

Sitting in the park was a bit of an odd sensation, however.

Although the park is outside and I could see the sky, it's so deep within the ship that it didn't truly feel like being outside.

And feeling the ship's rocking while sitting among trees and bushes was bizarre to say the least.

• Read more:
• I stayed in a 182-square-foot room on the world's largest cruise ship, where no space was left unused. Here's what it's like inside.
• I've traveled all over the world but just went on my very first cruise. Here are the 22 things that surprised me the most, as well as my best tips for first-time cruisers.
• Royal Caribbean has its very own private island in the Bahamas, which just underwent a $250 million revamp. Here's what it's like to go.
• The world's largest cruise ship has a bar with robot bartenders. Here's how my margarita compared to one made by a human.
• The world's largest cruise ship has everything from an ice rink to a zip line, but it's the Starbucks that surprised me most
• I went on the world's largest cruise and found getting onto a giant ship similar to boarding a flight — but way more efficient
  

  A performer on the world's largest cruise ship reveals how she got the gig, and what working at sea is really like

SEE ALSO: DC Universe's 'Stargirl' will also air on The CW, and the character will debut during the network's upcoming crossover event

9. "Good Omens" (Amazon Prime Video)

Average demand expressions: 23,876,311

Description: "Aziraphale and Crowley, of Heaven and Hell respectively, have grown rather fond of the Earth. So it's terrible news that it's about to end. The armies of Good and Evil are amassing. The Four Horsemen are ready to ride. Everything is going according to the Divine Plan … except that someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist. Can our heroes find him and stop Armageddon before it's too late?"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score: 83%

What critics said:"Good Omens' biggest thrill is found in the pitch-perfect pairing of David Tennant and Michael Sheen as a millennia-old odd couple who find themselves increasingly attached to our flawed selves — and each other."— AV Club

Season 1 premiered on Prime Video May 31.

8. "BoJack Horseman" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 24,357,560

Description:"Meet the most beloved sitcom horse of the '90s, 20 years later. He's a curmudgeon with a heart of ... not quite gold ... but something like gold. Copper?"

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 6): 100%

What critics said:"More so than any fan or commentator, the show holds the top spot as its own harshest critic."— The Verge (season 6)

Season 6 premiered on Netflix October 25.

7. "Atypical" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 25,463,076

Description: "When a teen on the autism spectrum decides to get a girlfriend, his bid for more independence puts his whole family on a path of self-discovery."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 88%

What critics said:""Atypical is proving yet again why it remains the best half-hour on Netflix's slate."— Forbes (Season 3) 

Season 3 premiered November 1 on Netflix.

6. "The Crown" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 26,573,308

Description:"This drama follows the political rivalries and romance of Queen Elizabeth II's reign and the events that shaped the second half of the 20th century."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 3): 94%

What critics said:"If you have previously enjoyed curling up on a cold winter weekend with this series, it will, again, keep you warm."— Slate (Season 3)

Season 3 premiered November 17 on Netflix.

5. "Lucifer" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 27,287,648

Description: "Bored with being the Lord of Hell, the devil relocates to Los Angeles, where he opens a nightclub and forms a connection with a homicide detective."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 4): 100%

What critics said: "The more I think about it, the more I stand by my belief that the majority of season four is among the very best episodes the Luciferhas to offer."— AV Club (season 4)

Season 4 premiered on Netflix May 8.

4. "Castle Rock" (Hulu)

Average demand expressions: 30,767,203

Description: "Misery has arrived. Lizzy Caplan plays a young Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's MISERY. In season two of this psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, Castle Rock combines the mythological scale and intimate character storytelling of King's best-loved works, weaving an epic saga of darkness and light, played out on a few square miles of Maine woodland. The fictional Maine town of Castle Rock has figured prominently in King's literary career: Cujo, The Dark Half, IT and Needful Things, as well as novella The Body and numerous short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption, are either set there or contain references to Castle Rock."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 89%

What critics said:"The show is finally more than a flailing attempt to monetize Stephen King-related intellectual property."— The Ringer (season 2)

Season 4 premiered on Hulu October 23.

3. "Titans" (DC Universe)

Average demand expressions: 55,228,164

Description: "'Titans' follows young heroes from across the DC Universe as they come of age and find belonging in a gritty take on the classic Teen Titans franchise. Dick Grayson and Rachel Roth, a special young girl possessed by a strange darkness, get embroiled in a conspiracy that could bring Hell on Earth. Joining them along the way are the hot-headed Starfire and lovable Beast Boy. Together they become a surrogate family and team of heroes."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 2): 84%

What critics said:"Superheroes, mysteries and brawls, Titans has it all."— Cinemablend (Season 2)

Season 2 premiered on DC Universe September 6.

2. "The Mandalorian" (Disney Plus)

Average demand expressions: 67,540,499

Description:"After the fall of the Empire, a lone gunfighter makes his way through the lawless galaxy."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 1): 89%

What critics said:"This is a polished production that shows off every cent of its feature film budget on every frame of its run time. This isn't a 'made-for-TV Star Wars,'" it's a Star Wars that happens to be on TV, or streaming, as it were."— San Francisco Chronicle (Season 1)

Season 1 premiered on Disney Plus on November 12.

1. "Stranger Things" (Netflix)

Average demand expressions: 86,464,271

Description: "When a young boy vanishes, a small town uncovers a mystery involving secret experiments."

Rotten Tomatoes critic score (Season 3): 90%

What critics said:"Stranger Things season 3 is a pretty-looking midsummer event that mixtapes Reagan-era pop culture."— Entertainment Weekly (Season 3)

Season 3 premiered July 4 on Netflix.

Data for this week's list was compiled from November 13 to November 19 by Parrot Analytics.

• The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth for 21 years this week.
• Astronauts have taken millions of pictures of their breathtaking views from space: everything from calm Caribbean waters to sprawling city lights to volcanic eruptions.
• Here are the 27 best photos ever taken from the ISS. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As of this week, the International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth for 21 years, and the astronauts on board have been taking breathtaking photos for almost as long.

The first module of the space station launched into orbit on November 20, 1998, and the first crew of astronauts arrived two years later. Humans have lived onboard the ISS continuously in the 13 years since — the longest-lasting human presence in space.

In that time, they've taken millions of photos. The views can sometimes be hard to believe.

"How can something so beautiful be tolerated by human eyes?" NASA astronaut Mike Massimino explained to the Washington Post.

Here are the best photos ever taken from the space station.

SEE ALSO: The coolest photos of the solar system taken in the decade you were born

DON'T MISS: When the Andromeda galaxy crashes into the Milky Way, this is what it could look like from Earth

The International Space Station (ISS) celebrates its 21st birthday this week. The station's first module launched into orbit on November 20, 1998.

The first crew of astronauts arrived on November 2, 2000. They started snapping photos soon after.

Astronauts have been capturing their breathtaking views from space ever since. They've taken millions of photos.

Source: NASA

Usually six people live and work together in the station, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes.

Source: NASA

That means they see 16 sunrises and sunsets every day.

Source: NASA

Today, the ISS orbits about 250 miles above Earth.

The astronauts inside don't always know or share much detail about the sights they see. But many say they never get bored with the views.

"I'm not sure I'd want to be in the same room with someone who could get tired of that," astronaut Kathy Sullivan told National Geographic.

Source: National Geographic

Some of the most colorful photos come from astronaut Scott Kelly, who shared his favorite views on social media.

From 2015 to 2016, Kelly spent 340 consecutive days on the space station. It was the longest single human spaceflight ever.

Source: NASA

When they fly over cloud-free cities, astronauts can see details that seem tiny from above.

On cloudless nights, some views are even more clear. They call Paris "the city of lights" for a reason.

Sometimes the clouds themselves make beautiful shapes. Astronauts can watch big storms from above.

They can even peer into the eyes of hurricanes.

When the Caribbean isn't plagued by cyclones, the Bahamas are a calm blue oasis from the astronaut's perspective.

This frozen lake in the Himalayas reveals a different kind of blue oasis.

The views aren't always so calming. Volcano eruptions are easy to see from space.

"Not many artists in this world are as creative as Mother Nature," ISS commander Alexander Gerst told NASA about this image.

Source: NASA

The aurora borealis is one of nature's most fascinating artworks. It appears when electrically charged particles from the sun collide with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere.

Source: NASA

ISS residents can see the same phenomenon on the other side of the globe — the aurora australis.

Human activities can seem artistic from above, too — like this launch of a Russian spacecraft.

Few people have enjoyed these views: 239 people from 19 countries have visited the ISS.

Source: NASA

Astronauts have conducted 223 spacewalks since the station opened.

Source: NASA

Sometimes that's when they get the best vistas.

Behind them: the vacuum of space.

But even that void sometimes offers beautiful views.

"Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is," Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, said in 1961. "Let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it."

Source: UNESCO

• The RAM 1500 pickup truck takes home the big trophy for 2019.
• It bested some serious competition, including the Lamborghini Urus, Nissan Leaf SL Plus, Cadillac XT4, Mercedes-Benz A220, and Porsche Cayenne, all of which were runners-up this year.
• In all, the RAM 1500 beat out 15 other finalists.
• We concluded that the RAM 1500 is not just a great truck but the best truck in a market that's become incredibly competitive.
• Read our full 2019 Car of the Year coverage here.

The RAM 1500 pickup is Business Insider's 2019 Car of the Year!

It joins an illustrious lineup of past winners: the Corvette Stingray in 2014, the Volvo XC90 in 2015, the Acura NSX in 2016, the Porsche Panamera in 2017, and the Kia Stinger in 2018.

There's no debate: 2019 was a big year for pickup trucks. The Detroit Big Three — General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — each relaunched or refreshed their flagship full-size pickups and brought them to market.

We drove them all, and we decided that while they were all great, the RAM 1500 was the best. Beyond that, we concluded that the RAM 1500 was the most impressive and important vehicle we drove all year long.

In the six years that Business Insider has been naming a Car of the Year, we've proclaimed several sports cars and high-performance sedans the big winner, along with a large SUV.

But a few years ago we started reviewing many more pickups. We found that these hugely popular vehicles, once relegated to work on ranches, farms, and jobsites, were offering a premium experience to rival certain luxury cars, performance on par with sports cars and cutting-edge technology. And they could still haul thousands of pounds and tow thousands more.

And from a business perspective, tricked-out trucks have filled Detroit coffers with cash, enabling GM and FCA to put their 2009 bankruptcies in the rearview and allowing Ford to invest billions in a restructuring effort.

The Ford F-150 has been America's best-selling vehicle every year since the Reagan administration. Chevy's Silverado and GMC's Sierra are often neck and neck with the Ford. But the RAM 1500 is special.

It's the most plush-driving and provocatively designed full-size pickup on sale today, making it the perfect full-size for the modern buyer. But it's hardly a pickup for pretenders. Its specs are robust, and its signature feature — a four-wheel independent suspension — has proved itself over the years for durability and performance.

In choosing a Car of the Year, our methodology is based on a handful of simple questions.

• Is there a strong business case for the vehicle? We are a business site, after all.
• Did our reviewers agree that the vehicle should be included? We have to come to a consensus, even though we might disagree on some particulars.
• Was the vehicle objectively excellent? There has to be a wow factor of some sort.
• Did the vehicle stand out from the sea of competition, particularly when it comes to technology? A Car of the Year finalist has to be special, and we're also a technology site.
• Can we strongly recommend buying or leasing the car? We demand to know whether we'd buy the vehicle ourselves if we had the resources.

To be eligible, all models must be new or have been substantially updated within the past year.

The RAM 1500 checks all these boxes, and brings a new factor to the party: We'd never before included a pickup as a Car of the Year finalist. And when we did, it won the big trophy on its first attempt.

The competition was stiff — heck, the RAM beat out both Lamborghini's first-ever SUV and the revamped Porsche Cayenne, not to mention two Mercedes-Benzes — but in the end, we agreed that the RAM 1500 was simply a spectacular effort in every way. Our minds were blown. The pickup truck has been redefined in the 21st century. And the RAM 1500 is leading the way.

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The 2019 RAM 1500 Crew Cab I originally tested was a Western-themed Laramie "Longhorn" edition, which was $54,000 before the addition of many extra features. As tested, the price was $68,500. We drove the vehicle a total of three times, in Los Angeles and the New York-New Jersey metro area.

A version that visited our test center a bit later in the year was a RAM 1500 Limited Crew Cab, with a "Diamond Crystal Pearl-Coat" paint job. It's as-tested price was $69,000.

The RAM 1500 is a critically important truck for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in the hypercompetitive, highly profitable full-size-pickup segment.

And this latest iteration is a formidable competitor in the full-size-truck segment.

The RAM front end is a study in forcefulness, intended to invoke semis and deliver a singular road presence.

The RAM 1500 weighs about 5,400 pounds and can tow 12,750 pounds.

The three different trucks we drove were all four-wheel-drive, in Crew Cab trim.

The rear step bumper made getting in and out of the bed relatively simple. And of course that massive chrome RAM badge shines in the sunlight!

The tailgate is powered and can be operated remotely using the key fob.

Each of my two East Coast test trucks had short beds, though one of them had a nifty retractable tonneau cover.

The mighty Hemi powerplant in our test truck featured a mild hybrid "eTorque" system coupled to the 5.7-liter V8, making a total of 395 horsepower with 410 foot-pounds of torque. The zero-to-60 time is about 6 seconds. Fuel economy is OK: 17 mpg city/22 highway/19 combined.

The 2019 RAM 1500 Laramie Longhorn Crew Cab 4x4 is a staggeringly good pickup. The secret weapon, of course, is the four-corner coil or air suspension (competitive pickups from Ford and Chevy continue to use rear leaf springs)

The RAM lineup is known for plush interiors. Here we have one in all black, but crammed with subtle details and elegant textures.

The panoramic sunroof is an epic extra.

Crew Cabs are all about transporting fully grown adults. The back seat of the 1500 is comfortable and quite roomy. Tall humans won't want for legroom.

Driving the RAM 1500 is an absolute joy. You have a commanding view of the road, and the handling is like butter.

The multifunction steering wheel is the sort of thing that never would have been seen on the work trucks of yesteryear.

Like other full-size pickups, the RAM 1500's cabin has a lot going on. But these days pickups are often pressed into double duty, as hardworking vehicles for ranchers and contractors, but also as competitors to luxury SUVs.

The 12-inch center touchscreen is stunning. The infotainment system is FCA's Uconnect, which we've found to be excellent.

GPS navigation is solid and the system offers a suite of apps to go along with USB/AUX ports for device connection. Bluetooth pairing is easy and the RAM 1500 has wireless charging. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also available.

The combination of buttons, knobs, and screen might seem cluttered and overly complicated. But that's until you have to handle the RAM 1500 while wearing gloves in subfreezing weather.

Say hello to Business Insider's 2019 Car of the Year — a pickup truck!

The 2019 RAM 1500 is the best full-size pickup truck I've ever tested. I even got to challenge the 4x4 system with about a foot of snow at our suburban New Jersey test center, and the RAM brushed it off like nothing.

OK, I'll accept that the F-150 and Silverado loyalists out there don't like the RAM's suspension. Yes, it could break down under serious stress. But in my testing, this truck was bliss to drive.

"It truly is the level of refinement that the RAM 1500 brings to the segment that helps it stand out, even as Ford and Chevy/GMC sell more trucks," I wrote in my review of the outgoing generation. "RAM has carved out far more than a niche at No. 3 and isn't dropping the ball when it comes to what its loyalist expect."

With the all-new 2019 pickup, RAM might have moved past that No. 3 niche and positioned the Silverado in its sights. The RAM 1500 is a no-compromise pickup, perfectly pitched for the new pickup market, which is as much about everyday driving as hardcore performance.

Don't get me wrong: The Silverado is no slouch. And in fairness, the RAM 1500 I tested cost $12,000 more, so it should have been impressive.

But even taking that into account, the RAM is a superior full-size beast, and while the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 isn't as powerful on paper as the Silverado's 6.2-liter V8, the RAM's torque-boosting hybrid makes the 1500 feel as though it has more punch. And the RAM's 8-speed transmission, in my hands, felt like it shifted more smoothly than the Silverado's 10-speed.

I also checked back in with the F-150 during the year, and while it remains a fantastic truck, the RAM is just a little bit better right now.

Pickup-truck buyers don't want for choices these days. But, boy, I challenge anybody seeking a new truck to sample the RAM 1500 and not be tempted by what I think is the best full-size pickup money can buy.

Congratulations to RAM and FCA for winning our sixth annual Car of the Year award and becoming our first-ever pickup to contest for the honor — and win!

• San Francisco has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 10 years. 
• The city has built massive skyscrapers and welcomed major tech companies and their employees.
• It has also witnessed rising rents, an escalating homelessness crisis, and increasingly dirty sidewalks. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

There was a time when San Francisco was almost empty. In 1846, two years before the dawn of the California Gold Rush, the city only had around 200 residents.

By 1852, its population had skyrocketed to 36,000 people. That ethos of rapid growth has been inscribed in the city's DNA. Over the last decade, San Francisco has undergone a new transformation, as the arrival of major tech companies kicked off a period of rampant growth and rising inequality throughout the city.

The homeless population has risen by about 50% and average rents have climbed to nearly $1,900 per month. Meanwhile, the tech industry has ballooned to more than 835,000 employees across the Bay Area.

Take a look at how San Francisco has changed in the last decade. 

SEE ALSO: 5 major ways Silicon Valley has changed in the past 10 years

The tech industry has grown by 57% in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2009.

Over the last 10 years, major tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook have dramatically expanded their presence in San Francisco. The city also saw the rise of startups like Uber, Slack, and Lyft. The Bay Area had more than 835,000 technology jobs as of May. 

At the same time, creative professionals like artists and musicians have found it increasingly difficult to live there. 

"I've seen more change in San Francisco in the last two years than ever before," local artist Locust Songs recently told Hyperallergic. "It's lonely here now — so many of the people in my community have had to leave." 

The median household income has risen 27% in the last decade.

In 2009, San Francisco's median household income was less than $76,000 a year.

Today, it's more than $96,000 a year — an income that still isn't enough to everyday expenses, according to a recent analysis by GOBankingRates. The analysis determined that a San Francisco resident would need to earn $104,000 a year to afford to live in the city. 

San Francisco's average rent climbed 25% from 2007 to 2017.

In 2007, the city's average gross rent (which includes taxes, insurance, and utilities) was less than $1,500 per month.

Ten years later, that rent had climbed to nearly $1,900 per month.

Much of the spike took place in the last five years. 

The city's median home price more than doubled in the past seven years.

The median home price in San Francisco was $600,000 in 2012 — the year Facebook went public.

Today, it's $1.4 million. As of last year, 81% of the homes in the San Francisco metropolitan area cost $1 million or more.

In the last 10 years, the city's homeless population has risen by about 50%.

San Francisco had around 6,500 homeless residents in 2009.

Today, it has nearly 10,000 homeless residents. Around 42% of the city's current homeless population struggles with drug or alcohol abuse.

The crisis has led to mounting tensions. In September, residents of Clinton Park, an area close to the Mission District, raised money through a Facebook group to erect two dozen giant boulders along the sidewalk to bar homeless individuals from setting up tents there. 

The action incited a tug-of-war: Activists tried to clear the sidewalk by pushing the rocks onto the street, but the city's public-works department lifted the boulders back onto the sidewalk via crane. The department eventually removed the rocks because Clinton Park residents were reportedly getting harassed in person and online. 

Parts of downtown San Francisco are now littered with used needles, trash, and human poop.

On a recent visit to San Francisco, President Donald Trump said the city was in "total violation" of environmental regulations because of its homelessness crisis, which has left some blocks littered with feces and discarded needles. 

The Tenderloin neighborhood has long been considered the heart of the crisis. Last year, the city's Public Health Department and Public Works Department collected hundreds of thousands of needles in the area. 

Overall, San Francisco spent $54 million on street cleaning in 2018. The city even has a "poop patrol"— a group of five employees who earn more than $184,000 per year to clean up feces. In 2018, residents called the city more than 28,000 times to complain about feces on their streets — a 35% increase in complaints compared to the year prior. 

The city has witnessed a boom of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings.

San Francisco has more than 90 finished skyscrapers. Seventeen of those were built in the last decade and three more are under construction. The city's tallest building, the Salesforce Tower, was completed in 2018. 

High-rise developments (buildings between 115 and 330 feet tall) have also sprung up in the city's downtown core. According to Curbed, 14 new high-rise construction projects have recently broken ground in San Francisco. 

One luxury tower has started to sink and tilt. Cracks also proved to be a problem at the city's new transit center.

The 58-story Millennium Tower opened in April 2009. Since then, the building has sunk 17 inches and tilted another 14 inches to the northwest. Residents have also complained of mysterious odors, bubbling floors, cracked walls, and one giant fissure in a window on the 36th floor.

The tower's developers blame the sinking on nearby construction of the Salesforce Transit Center. The center opened to the public in August 2018 but closed a month later due to a cracked beam on the third-floor deck. It remained shuttered for 10 months. 

In March, authorities also discovered two cracked windows at the Salesforce Tower. The skyscraper is located by the Millennium Tower and the Salesforce Transit Center.  

Air quality has gotten worse as northern California witnesses more large and destructive wildfires.

A recent report from the American Lung Association placed San Francisco among the worst US cities for year-round particle pollution, which comes from dust and other tiny particles (usually carbon dioxide and methane). 

Particle pollution has been linked to lung and throat cancers, as well as heart attacks. A recent study found that it may also increase a person's risk of developing brain tumors.

San Francisco's particle pollution has gotten worse in recent years, according to the report. That's likely because California's fire season is getting longer and more destructive.

San Francisco's transit fares have gotten more expensive. There are also more delays.

In 2014, San Francisco's main transit system, BART, saw 26% more delays than it had two years prior. By 2017, the transit system counted nearly 26,000 delays that year alone. 

The system has also gotten steadily more expensive since 2013, when its board of directors approved a series of fare hikes that expire in 2020. Another set of fare hikes is scheduled to go into effect in 2022.

• With 17 major candidates, the Democratic 2020 presidential field is one of the largest, most competitive, and most unpredictable in modern history.
• We've combined Insider's polling and results of Morning Consult's daily survey of the 2020 Democratic primary to create a power ranking of 2020 candidates.
• Two new candidates, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, recently made very last-minute entries into the Democratic field. 
• This week, we upgraded Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Cory Booker, and Sec. Julian Castro, but downgraded Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Steyer.
• Here's what our power ranking looks like as of November 22, 2019.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

With 17 major candidates in the race, the Democratic 2020 presidential field is set to be one of the largest, most competitive, and most unpredictable in modern history.

To help make sense of where all these candidates stand, Insider has been conducting a recurring SurveyMonkey Audience national poll. You can download every poll here, down to the individual respondent data.

Read more about how the Insider 2020 Democratic primary tracker works.

We're mainly interested in using our polling to figure out:

• What percentage of Democratic voters are familiar with each candidate in the first place.
• How Democrats rate each candidate's chances of beating President Donald Trump in the general election.
• If a given candidate were to drop out of the race, who that candidate's supporters would flock to next.

We've combined Insider's polling and results of Morning Consult's daily survey of the 2020 Democratic primary to create a power ranking of declared and potential 2020 candidates.

The last two weeks have been incredibly eventful in the 2020 field, with teo new candidates, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, making last-minute entries into the race.

This week, we upgraded Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Cory Booker, and Sec. Julian Castro, but downgraded Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and Tom Steyer.

Here's what our ranking looks like as of November 22, 2019.

SEE ALSO: The winners of the crowded Democratic presidential debate weren't on stage Wednesday

17: Former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland

Delaney is among those at 1% in Morning Consult polls. According to Insider's polling, he's known by about 20% of Democrats, but he has been unable to build a base of support having to compete with former VP Joe Biden for moderate voters. 

We moved Delaney to the bottom of our ranking in early August he was thoroughly walloped by Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the July Democratic debates.

Warren had the line of the night in criticizing him, saying, "I don't understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States just to talk about what we really can't do and shouldn't fight for."

Now that he hasn't qualified for the fall debates and is on the outside looking in, the rationale for him staying in the race is less and less clear.

Read more about John Delaney's campaign.

16: Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana

Bullock raised $1 million in the first 24 hours of his candidacy and has been able to attract some sizable crowds and support from statewide and local politicians in Iowa.

Despite his strong opening week and qualifying for the July Democratic debate, Bullock is still at 1% in Morning Consult's polling and 0% in early states. 

Bullock had a solid performance in the late-July Democratic debates, earning him a promotion to the top 15 in August. But having failed to qualify for the fall debates and lacking significant support, it's hard to see Bullock's candidacy staying viable for much longer. 

As the race narrows down, it makes less and less sense for Bullock to stay in the race with an upcoming Senate race in his state and numerous other opportunities he could pursue, landing him in second-to-last place in our ranking. 

Read more about Steve Bullock's campaign.

15: Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado

Despite being a relatively savvy politician, Bennet — who has been in the US Senate for 10 years — has the distinction of being both the least recognized and worst-polling person with any political experience in the 2020 field. 

Bennet is at 1% in Morning Consult's polling, and his would-be constituency has not materialized.

Bennet moved up two spots from 16th to 14th place in late August thanks to his fellow Rocky Mountain and West Coast-based rivals John Hickenlooper and Jay Inslee dropping out of the race, but his practically non-existent fundraising and lack of debate qualification places him at the back of the pack.

Read more about Michael Bennet's campaign.

14: Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts

Like Bloomberg, Patrick also made an extremely late entry into the race, officially announcing his campaign on November 14.

While Patrick hasn't been very active on the political scene for the past few years, he's led a long career in business and politics. He served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015, and was most recently a managing director at Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by Sen. Mitt Romney. 

Patrick will have a tough uphill battle in his presidential bid, and it's almost impossible to see a clear path to him winning any primary contests at all, much less a path to the nomination, which is why we put him in 14th place near the bottom of our ranking. 

He's already missed the filing deadline for two key Super Tuesday state primaries in Alabama and Arkansas, and unlike Bloomberg, he doesn't have billions of dollars in personal wealth to draw from.

More importantly, Patrick doesn't seem to have a clear rationale for running for president other than trying to position himself as a unifying Obama-type figure — the exact lane Biden is occupying. 

Read more about Deval Patrick's campaign.

13: Marianne Williamson

Despite having one of the longest-running campaigns, Williamson, a motivational speaker and New Age spiritual guru, has not been capable of consolidating support or name recognition.

Williamson raised $1.5 million in 2019's first quarter and earned the 65,000 individual donors required to make the first Democratic debates. 

Despite her low name recognition and lack of political experience, Williamson debated in both the June and July Democratic debates and made a huge splash — making her an online sensation and the subject of countless jokes and memes. 

But that online enthusiasm hasn't translated much into the real world. While Williamson has gotten lots of publicity, she hasn't cracked 1% in Morning Consult all year, and her chances of qualifying for any future Democratic debates are next to nothing. 

Read more about Marianne Williamson's campaign.

12: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii

Gabbard has some serious viability problems among Democrats.

Not only do a significant proportion of respondents in Insider polling say they are unhappy with her as the nominee compared with her rivals, but Gabbard has not been able to consolidate support in a meaningful way.

Despite being one of the first to enter the race, Gabbard is still polling at 1% in Morning Consult and is considered a less viable opponent to President Donald Trump in the general election than most other candidates. 

But we gave Gabbard another boost on November 1, moving her up two spots from 12th to 10th place following her very public and nasty feud with 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who Gabbrard called "the embodiment of corruption" and the "personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party."

The bump in media attention clearly worked in Gabbard's favor when it comes to polling. She's fully qualified for the fifth Democratic debate on November 20, and has three out of the necessary four qualifying polls for the December debate. 

We dropped Gabbard down a spot, however, on November 22 after she spent most of her time at the November Democratic debate blasting her own party as "not the party that is of, by, and for the people" and "influenced by the foreign policy establishment in Washington represented by Hillary Clinton, as well as getting into spats with Sen. Kamala Harrisand Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

While Gabbard's performance earned her lots of praise from right-wing media and even the Trump campaign, its exceedingly difficult to see how it helps her win over Democratic primary voters. 

Read more about Tulsi Gabbard's campaign.

11: Tom Steyer

Steyer achieved billionaire status as an investor and hedge fund manager — but he has since focused his efforts on advancing Democratic causes with two organizations, Need To Impeach and NextGen America.

He entered the race late, on July 9, and has pledged to spend $100 million of his own money on his presidential race. For context, the highest-fundraising candidate of 2019's second quarter — Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana — raised $24.8 million. 

In determining where to place Steyer in our ranking, we wondered: "Which candidates are worth more than Tom Steyer and $100 million?"

Given the TV ads and campaign infrastructure that money can buy, we placed him ahead of several of the lowest-polling and lowest-fundraising candidates, but we're still not sure that $100 million can buy him more support and better polling numbers than the ones above him.

We bumped Steyer up one spot on October 25 for qualifying for the fifth Democratic debate in November, and moved him up another two spots on November 1 due to his strong polling, placing in 6th place at 6% in early primary states in Morning Consult.

But we dropped down Steyer to 11th place on November 22. After spending close to $50 million of his own money on his presidential campaign, Steyer still has largely failed to articulate a clear rationale for his candidacy just a few months before the first primary contests, putting forth a rather lackluster performance at the November debate.

Read more about Tom Steyer's campaign.

10: Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro

Castro became a breakout candidate in June when he distinguished himself as an authority on immigration and proved himself to be a smart and savvy debater. 

About 40% of Democratic primary voters are aware of him, and about a quarter would be satisfied with him as the nominee. 

However, many of Castro's supporters would be satisfied with other candidates, according to Insider polling.

Sen. Kamala Harris, in particular, is consolidating a base of support that could eat Castro's lunch in early primary states like California, Nevada, South Carolina, and Arizona. 

Castro took advantage of the first Democratic primary debate to establish himself as an expert on the issue of immigration, putting the pressure on fellow candidates to support decriminalizing unauthorized border crossings.

We knocked Castro down to 12th place after he threatened to drop out of the race if he didn't raise $800,000 by Halloween and failed to qualify for the November Democratic debate. 

But despite not making the stage, Castro capitalized on the debate far more effectively than Gabbard and Steyer, who we knocked down in our ranking.

Castro spent the week around the debate doing lots of press to highlight the issues on which he's shown strong leadership, including immigration and housing, and ended up making his name a trending topic during the debate and raising more money that day than he had after the debates he actually participated in. 

Read more about Julian Castro's campaign.

9: Michael Bloomberg

On November 7, The New York Times reported that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to make a late entrance in the 2020 Democratic primary. He has filed to run in the Democratic primary presidential primaries in Alabama and Arkansas.

Bloomberg will have to work quickly to get his campaign off the ground just three months out from the Iowa caucus on February 2, and New Hampshire primary on February 9, but he has the luxury of being able to self-fund his campaign with his estimated $52 billion net worth.

But there's a big catch: Bloomberg has announced he's sitting out the first four primary contests altogether, and will try to rack up victories in Super Tuesday states, making his impact on the race hard to predict.

In a best-case scenario, Bloomberg will end up splitting the vote in some primary states, winning some delegates, and maybe participating in a brokered convention scenario. Because of his extreme personal wealth but the highly quixotic nature of his bid, we placed him one spot about Tom Steyer but below the rest of the field. 

Read more about Michael Bloomberg's campaign.

8: Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Klobuchar is relatively well-known, but she's still largely overshadowed by her other Senate colleagues with higher name recognition, polling at 2% in Morning Consult. 

While Klobuchar famously launched her campaign in a snowstorm, her campaign has failed to gain much traction in light of Biden dominating the centrist lane. 

We dropped Klobuchar down to 12th place on the week of October 11 due to her now polling at just 1% in early primary states in Morning Consult— a very ominous sign for a candidate whose entire strategy revolves around winning in Iowa and New Hampshire. 

But we bumped her up three spots to 9th place on October 18 after her strong debate performance. Klobuchar successfully revitalized her campaign by landing strategic punches on other candidates, making the case for her pragmatic agenda, and raising over $1 million the day after. 

We bumped Klobuchar up another spot on October 25 for qualifying for the fifth Democratic debate on November 20, but she stayed in eighth place ever since.

Read more about Amy Klobuchar's campaign.

7: Sen. Kamala Harris of California

Harris is fairly well-known for a first-term senator, and 35% of Insider Democratic primary poll respondents believe she could beat Trump. 

Harris also enjoys the greatest support among other candidates' supporters, Insider polling found.

74% of Booker supporters, 72% of Klobuchar supporters, and 76% of Castro supporters would also be satisfied with Harris as the Democratic nominee, meaning she could consolidate some support when her rivals drop out.

We bumped Harris down two spots on September 19 due to her polling average dramatically dropping. In Morning Consult, Harris' support fell from 13% in late July to just 7% in October, and she's ranked in the low single-digits in every other recent poll, too, earning just 3% in a Monmouth poll of New Hampshire and a national Quinnipiac poll. 

Her quarterly fundraising hasn't improved during the time she's been running, resulting in her campaign having to lay off dozens of employees both in her Baltimore headquarters and around the country, according to a recent report in Politico. 

We dropped Harris down another spot for her underwhelming performance at the fourth Democratic debate, where her attempt to attack Warren for not agreeing that Trump should be banned largely fell flat. 

Harris has also seen some concerning poll numbers for a candidate supposedly in the top tier, coming in at 3% in a Monmouth poll of Iowa, 3% in a Quinnipiac poll of South Carolina, and only 1% in a Quinnipiac poll of New Hampshire. 

Read more about Kamala Harris' campaign.

6: Andrew Yang

Yang, despite the low name recognition that accompanies running for president without political experience, is actually doing fairly well in Insider polling.

He isn't a favorite by any measure, polling at 3% in Morning Consult, but his online army of supporters and meme creators, known as the Yang Gang, have helped him sustain the buzz around his campaign for months despite his lack of political experience.

He's steadily rising in the polls, built a grassroots network of over 200,000 unique donors, and hasn't let Biden's presence into the race undermine his appeal and policy ideas. 

Yang not only did well in the September debate and qualified for the next round of Democratic primary debates in October, but has been able to successfully play the media and outpace many of his rivals. 

We bumped Yang up a spot on the week of October 4 because of his outstanding third-quarter fundraising haul in which he brought in $10 million, an increase of $7.2 million over his second-quarter fundraising performance. 

Read more about Andrew Yang's campaign.

5: Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey

Booker is known by half of likely Democratic primary voters, but he has not been able to translate that into good polling numbers, staying stagnant at 2% to 4% of the vote for the duration of 2019 in Morning Consult surveys.

His support is precarious in the sense that people who like Booker also like lots of other candidates.

Seventy percent of Booker supporters would be happy with Biden, 76% would be satisfied with Harris, and 74% would be satisfied Warren as the nominee, according to Insider polling.

We dropped Booker down four spots to 8th place after his campaign released a memo on September 21 warning that Booker's campaign might no longer be viable if he doesn't raise another $1.7 million by the end of quarter deadline on September 30. 

But Booker's campaign met their fundraising goal, and Booker performed well in the October debate and qualified for the next debate in November, earning him a bump up to 6th place in our ranking. 

We bumped Booker up a spot in our ranking to fifth place on November 22 after his resoundingly strong performance at the November 20 Democratic debate, after which his campaign reported raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and crossing the donor threshold to qualify for the December debate. 

Read more about Cory Booker's campaign.

4: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Sanders enjoys widespread name recognition among Democrats from his decades serving in Congress and his 2016 run against Hillary Clinton. He's also established a grassroots army of small donors that helped him lead the pack in fundraising with an $18.2 million haul in 2019's first and second quarters. 

He is considered the top rival of Biden, and 49% think Sanders would beat Trump in a general election compared with 29% who think he'd lose, according to Insider polling.

Furthermore, Insider polling found that Sanders would be a satisfactory nominee for half of Biden supporters, which could seriously benefit him in case Biden's candidacy falters.

Sanders is supported by 20% of Democrats, according to Morning Consult, down four percentage points from April and in third place. 

We bumped him a spot to second place on October 11 due to him raising a monster sum of $25 million in the third fundraising quarter of 2019, outpacing all his fellow candidates. Even more impressive, Sanders doesn't do private, closed-door fundraising, relying on 100% grassroots donations. 

We dropped Sanders down one spot on November 15. In early October, Sanders, who is 78, suffered a heart attack and a week later announced he was slowing the pace of his campaign.

While Sanders cinched the endorsements of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other prominent progressive congresswomen, he's since somewhat faded from the spotlight and taken a back seat to Biden and Warren publicly feuding with each other over Warren's wealth tax — even though Sanders has proposed a similar policy.

Read more about Bernie Sanders' campaign.

3: Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Warren is the best-known candidate who has not previously run for president, and has proven herself to be a top-tier candidate.

She overlaps considerably with Sanders and Biden's bases, with 50% of Biden supporters and 57% of Sanders supporters also being satisfied with her as the nominee in Insider polling.

Not only does Warren have high name recognition, but Insider polling respondents see her as the second most electable candidate behind Biden. 

Warren is in second place at 20% in Morning Consult polling, and her favorability ratings and perceived electability numbers only keep getting better over time. 

We moved Warren to 1st place the week of August 30 due to her consistent surging across multiple polls in support, favorability, enthusiasm, and perceived electability — putting her on track to overtake Biden if her momentum is sustained. 

We dropped Warren back down to second place on November 15, and down to third place on November 22 after Biden regained his lead in Democratic primary polling. Warren also didn't receive a significant boost from finally releasing her long-awaited plan for financing Medicare for All, and Buttigieg is outpacing her in Iowa. 

Read more about Elizabeth Warren's campaign.

2: Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana

Despite relatively low name recognition, he's enjoyed a strong past few months in the polls and in fundraising. 

The Democratic primary voters who do know him are fairly confident in his ability to beat Trump, compared with his more experienced and nationally known rivals, Insider polling has found.

Buttigieg has enjoyed a considerable polling bump. In late April, Morning Consult had him ranked third behind Biden and Sanders at 8%, up from 0% in late February and 1% in March. He's now at 7% in fourth place. 

While Buttigieg's numbers have slightly dipped in Morning Consult's polling, his sustained strong performance in polling and fundraising shows both that he's not a flavor-of-the-month candidate and that he has lots of room to grow.

There's no denying that Buttigieg is having a great month. 

According to senior campaign adviser Lis Smith, Buttigieg received more traffic to his website than any other day of his campaign, and raised over $1 million the day after the debate. 

On November 15, we moved Buttigieg up another spot to third place due to him successfully positioning himself as the heir to Biden's dominance over the moderate lane.

And since then, Buttigieg's position has only gotten better, earning him a promotion to second place.

A recent CNN/Des Moines Register poll conducted by Ann Selzer — one of the nation's best and most highly-respected pollsters — found Buttigieg with 25% support in Iowa, a huge lead ahead of Warren at 16% and Sanders and Biden at 15%.

He's also making gains in New Hampshire, the second state to vote. And while Buttigieg went into the fifth Democratic primary debate with a huge target on his back due to his strong polling, he emerged relatively unscathed and wasn't attacked during the actual debate.

Read more about Pete Buttigieg's campaign.

1: Former Vice President Joe Biden

Biden, who announced his long-awaited presidential bid on April 25, has unparalleled name recognition among Democrats from his eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president and 36 years in the US Senate. 

Despite taking hits from his rivals at both of the first Democratic primary debates, Biden maintains high levels of support, leading the field with 32% support in Morning Consult and being perceived as most likely to beat Trump in Insider polling and most other polls. 

Biden has managed to recover from his setbacks along the way and bounced back in the polls. He ranks first also due to his high levels of support among older and African-American voters— two crucial constituencies in Democratic primaries. 

After a couple months where Biden was second to Warren, we moved Biden back up to first place on November 15 due to him regaining his lead in RealClearPolitics' polling average, coming in first place in a Quinnipiac poll of New Hampshire, and being within the margin of error of Warren and Sanders in a Monmouth poll of Iowa, two states where Sanders and Warren should be overperforming. 

Aside from a clumsily-phrased reference to "punching away" at domestic violence, Biden also had a remarkably gaffe-free and strong performance at the fifth Democratic debate on November 20. 

And most important, the last-minute entrances of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts have failed to make a dent in Biden's lead.  

Read more about Joe Biden's campaign.

Read more:

Here's who will be onstage for the December Democratic debate co-hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico, and how to watch

Here are the 9 biggest moments from the Democratic debate in Atlanta

Kamala Harris rips into Tulsi Gabbard as being an Assad apologist and Fox News regular who criticizes her own party

• Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig showcases the world of the former USSR's expansive metro stations, which cover 15 cities and six countries, in his photo book, "Soviet Metro Stations."
• Recent lifts on photo regulations in the metros have allowed for in-depth expeditions of these subway stations.
• The stations are filled with ornate chandeliers, large marble columns, mosaics, and grand statues representative of the Soviet era.
• The elaborate stations were once dubbed "palaces of the people" by Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Canadian photographer Christopher Herwig captured images of the elaborate metro network of the former USSR.

He traveled across 15 cities and six countries in order to photograph each metro station.

"I visited all 15 cities with metros designed, and for the most part built, during the Soviet Union," Herwig said of his photo series.

"I rode a lot of trains and spent months underground," Herwig added.

Herwig's images, which capture the extraordinary detail of the underground architecture, are featured in his new book, "Soviet Metro Stations."

Before he was photographing metro stations, Herwig was exploring bus stops in remote places across central Asia.

"I stumbled across Soviet bus stops while biking from London to St. Petersburg in 2002, and spent years documenting them," Herwig told Insider.

Herwig went on to release two books, "Soviet Bus Stops" and "Soviet Bus Stops Volume II," which are filled with his images.

Herwig told Insider that he was "first blown away by the metro stations during earlier trips to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Tashkent in the late '90s."

But at the time, many of the Soviet-era metro systems had restrictions on photography, as they were considered military sites because they would serve as bomb shelters in case of a nuclear attack.

"Although I likely could have gotten away with a few images, I really wanted to do the series properly and cover all 15 cities in the former USSR with metro lines, not just a few flashy ones in Moscow," Herwig said of his decision to photograph bus stops first.

"Just recently, a lot of the restrictions that prohibited photography in the metro got lifted, which allowed me to really dive into this project," Herwig added.

Herwig's main goal for his photo series was to "create the most complete book of Soviet metro stations ever assembled," and the photographer told Insider that he's happy to say he achieved this.

Herwig's work showcases the elaborate underground artwork, which was designed to promote a bright future for the country.

Source: NPR

The first metro line opened in Moscow in 1935 as a form of Communist propaganda under the rule of Joseph Stalin.

Source: Business Insider

Many of the stations feature large marble pillars, grand chandeliers, and ornate wall designs.

Statues are also commonly seen throughout the stations and are representative of Soviet-style socialist realism.

Source: Atlas Obscura

"I wanted to showcase the variety found throughout all of the stations, as well as capture the different time periods and styles," Herwig told Insider of capturing the different subways.

Many of the stations include long walkways and high ceilings.

"Each one was unique, not only in its overall appearance but also in the type of signs and lights on the ceiling, and the tiles on the walls," said Herwig.

While Herwig was impressed by the over-the-top features, he says his appreciation now lies more in the "modernist style of metros that were created in the years after Stalin."

Including the stations "with much humbler budgets, less marble, and more concrete."

"While the classical stations seemed to copy the look of the imperial past, their counterparts, to me, seem to conjure up more of a hopeful future," says Herwig.

Today, the Moscow metro system is the fifth-longest in the world and is only expected to grow in the coming years.

Source: CityMetric

A complete look at how ornate the subway system of the former USSR really is can be found in Herwig's book, "Soviet Metro Stations."

You can view the entire collection and read more about each station in Herwig's book. 

• Read more:
• The Moscow metro is known for its efficiency and ornate stations. I rode it and found that it's miles ahead of New York City's subway system.
• 16 photos of Moscow's beautiful Metro stations, built as propaganda during the time of Stalin
• One of the world's most beautiful subway systems was illegal to photograph until last year — take a look inside

• Amtrak is easily one of the slowest ways to travel from coast to coast, but I did it anyway.
• The journey was delayed by more than 24 hours thanks to a missed connection in Chicago.
• Still, the sights were so beautiful — and the conversations with fellow passengers so enjoyable — that I'd repeat the journey every time I travel, if I had the time.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Over 96 hours, I saw more of the US than I had ever seen before as I traveled through cities and towns of all sizes, across windswept plains, and through some of the most beautiful mountains imaginable.

But stepping onto my first overnight Amtrak journey, I thought I was a seasoned veteran. Mere hours into the four-day journey, I quickly learned that wasn't the case.

I've taken the train between New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, more times than I can count, and even ventured out of the Northeast Corridor for a few longer journeys. But compared with many other passengers on this trip from coast to coast, I was still a novice in every sense of the word.

My companions on this 96-hour, 10-state journey from New York to Seattle — especially my fellow sleeping-car passengers — were well versed in surviving a multiday trip by rail. Nearly every person I met had been on a sleeper before, and they were prepared to pass the time.

Unfortunately, I was not as ready.

SEE ALSO: I tried Amtrak's new 'contemporary' dining car, and it was immediately clear why so many people want to save the old one

I departed from Business Insider's headquarters on a Tuesday afternoon and loaded up with plenty of snacks, tons of reading material, hours of podcasts, fully charged batteries, and high hopes.

My journey officially began at New York's Pennsylvania Station, one of the most hated buildings in the city, if not the world.

It's the busiest rail terminal in North America, with 16 Amtrak routes as well as commuter rail to upstate New York, New Jersey, and Long Island.

There are lots of ways to cross the country by train. The journey I chose isn't the longest by route miles, but it is one of the most popular.

The Empire Builder, as it's known, crosses 10 states, through some of the most beautiful — and desolate — parts of the country. I chose this route over the others simply because it passes through four states I had never seen.

The first half of my journey was scheduled to depart at 3:40 p.m. I had an assigned car and room number, so unlike on some trains, there was no mad dash to get a seat. Still, I found myself in a line.

Why does Amtrak love lines so much? I'm not sure. Nevertheless, a friendly staff member began walking us to our platform about 10 minutes before our departure.

Each train car had an assigned attendant, who helped me find my room and later came through to explain everything about the room, how dining worked, and all the other rules of the train.

James pointed out the luggage rack in the ceiling, which I was thankful to find, given that suitcases barely fit in the small room.

I was surprised that my tiny room included both a toilet (which doubled as a table) and a fold-down sink.

The sink drains only as you fold it back into the wall, and it splashed all over my stuff when I used the faucet.

As we headed up the Hudson River, I settled in to relax and watch the sunset.

Overnight, we'd pass through upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, before rolling into Chicago the next morning.

It's worth noting here that I was in a single-level Viewliner sleeper. Amtrak operates these on the East Coast because its taller Superliner trains can't fit through the more than century-old tunnels in Baltimore, New York, and other cities.

At Albany, where the train had to switch from modern, electrified power to a diesel locomotive, we had about a 20-minute break to stretch our legs, get a snack, smoke a cigarette, and pick up more passengers.

I headed inside to check out the station.

My dinner reservation wasn't until 8:30, so after stretching my legs in Albany, I settled in for some more reading until my time slot was called.

The rooms, while small, were surprisingly spacious! I was able to fully stretch out my legs onto the second seat (though had I been sharing this room, things would have been quite cramped).

I had reported on some big changes on (some of) Amtrak's dining cars east of the Mississippi, so I was mentally prepared going into dinner — and that proved to be a good thing.

I found an open seat next to Hal, many decades my senior, who was on his way home to Montana from a family reunion in Vermont, and Peggy, also an Amtrak veteran of many more years than I've lived, who was headed to California to visit her son.

There are basically two types of people who ride these long-distance trains, Roger Harris, Amtrak's chief commercial and marketing officer, said in an interview a few days before I set off on this journey.

"They have very, very different characteristics," he said. "People riding coach tend to travel a few hundred miles, while people in sleepers tend to be much more end-to-end. There are people who get on in Albany and get off in Cleveland, or get on in Cleveland and ride to Chicago."

Those intermediate markets, sometimes called "city pairs" by people in the industry, are a big focus for Amtrak going forward.

As I scanned the menu with my complimentary glass of wine, Peggy, who was already finished with her chicken fettuccine, warned me in a polite but foreboding tone that the food "isn't what it used to be."

Both of my companions had been on other cross-country routes and confirmed that I made a good choice with the Empire Builder. Next on my list is the Southwest Chief — their suggestion — to see the Rocky Mountains in all their grandeur.

The Creole shrimp and sausage left much to be desired. I'm no gourmand in my home kitchen — but for these ticket prices, I could see why people were unhappy.

The food was clearly microwaved (or quickly reheated in some capacity) and wasn't even served on a real plate. The "specialty dessert" was a prepackaged brownie.

"1-800-USA-RAIL!" the lone (and very busy) dining attendant quipped to an unsatisfied passenger. "I didn't make the changes."

Luckily, the food got better on the next train, where the white tablecloths are likely to remain — for now at least. (More on that in a bit.)

"West of the Mississippi, these trains are typically two nights," Harris, the Amtrak executive, said when I asked him whether the changes might expand westward beyond the initial rollout.

"They're typically a 48-hour train to the West Coast," he said, "so the onboard service is a more important part of the journey, and people have more dining events while they're traveling. It's more complicated than on the East Coast, where people generally get on in the evening, have a meal, and then get off in the evening."

After the dining car emptied out, I headed back to my room to settle in for the night. James asked if I wanted to use the top or bottom bed (yes, people pack two-tight in these rooms) and showed me how to make it up.

I grabbed another breath of fresh air in Syracuse, New York, where we arrived around 10:15 p.m., about an hour behind schedule.

I joked about this safety net as I crawled into bed, but one big bump in the night later and I was thankful it was there to keep me from falling six feet to the train floor below.

Sleeping aboard a train was surprisingly difficult. The bed was comfortable enough, and the blankets warm, but every train that passed with its whistle blasting caused me to toss and turn. I spent half the night watching stars, something I can't often do in New York.

I awoke the next morning around Benton Township, Ohio, according to the location tags that my phone automatically added to this photo.

When we stopped in Toledo, the train was more or less on time. The rest of the morning, however, would throw much of my trip into disarray.

I went to breakfast — an unreserved affair compared with dinner — around 10 a.m., after we should have already arrived in Chicago. But we were in Waterloo, Indiana, hours from our destination.

Breakfast was about the same quality as dinner. To be fair, I have a banana and a granola bar each morning — even a microwaved sausage-egg-and-cheese sandwich is an upgrade.

Worried I would miss my connection in Chicago, I went back to my room and contemplated life and the status of rail travel in the United States, and tried to get some work done. My train from Chicago to Seattle, meanwhile, left without me.

Finally, we arrived in Chicago, a full five hours and 49 minutes behind schedule. Plenty of other people missed their connecting trains too, but no one seemed to be very disappointed. After all, we were (mostly) here for the journey — and we knew it would be a slow one.

Amtrak stations largely fall into two basic categories: beautifully restored stations built hundreds of years ago, and derelict shacks. Luckily, Chicago's is the former.

I joined a line with many of my fellow delayed travelers and plotted how I could waste 24 hours in Chicago. Luckily, Amtrak had many of our trips already rebooked, and a customer-service agent went down the line passing out updated itineraries, as well as hotel and food vouchers.

On an unplanned hiatus from my journey, I decided to explore downtown Chicago, a city with great importance to America's railroad history.

Twenty-four hours behind schedule, I headed back to Union Station for attempt No. 2 to board the Empire Builder to Seattle.

Unfortunately for the beautiful station, Amtrak, again, loves lines. I followed the signs to find a snaking line of unhappy travelers leading to the boarding gate.

Once the door opened, we headed to our train. Like the train on the East Coast, there was no rush, but this many people with luggage heading down one narrow platform made for chaos, to say the least.

Whoever was scanning tickets at the platform entrance was directing people to the wrong doors, a conductor said, adding to the confusion.

This leg of my journey — like most trains west of Chicago — was on what Amtrak calls a Superliner. These taller, double-level train cars offer quite the view (and can carry many more passengers).

But I soon discovered I had lucked out: the accessible bedroom was mine.

The attendant later said these rooms are bookable two weeks out from a trip if they're still empty. I got this instead of a coach seat because the bedroom wasn't booked. Whew.

Relieved by not having to spend two nights sleeping upright, I unpacked my stuff and got comfortable in my new room.

The accessible bedrooms are one of two accommodations that take up the entire width of a train car. I also had my own toilet inside, while other travelers had to venture down the hall to shared restrooms.

As on my first trip, a dining-car attendant came to take my reservation. I again chose the latest option.

I also had a choice of two seats in this spacious bedroom, depending on which way I wanted to face.

This was conflicting enough in the first room, but now I also had to choose which side of the train to look out! Admittedly, sitting on the toilet wasn't as comfortable, so I mostly stuck to the side with actual chairs.

Through Wisconsin, one of the aforementioned states I had never visited, I saw a landscape that was mostly what I had expected: rolling hills and farms.

As the sun began to set, we rolled into Milwaukee, our second stop and the first outside the Chicago metro area.

This train also had an observation car, which I was eager to use as an escape from my room.

Somewhere between Milwaukee and Minneapolis, my dinner reservation finally rolled around. I headed to the dining car and followed the instructions to wait at the door to be seated.

It was immediately clear from the tablecloths and Amtrak-emblazoned cutlery that Peggy was right: This meal would be much better than the one on the previous train.

Dining on Amtrak is an interesting affair, unlike any restaurant I've ever been to.

Each passenger fills out this form, which appears to have general categories for menu items, like "poultry entree" or "healthy menu option." I assume these let the company track what's being ordered, while allowing for some flexibility.

"They've said computers are coming for the entire 12 years I've worked here," the waiter said when I asked whether the forms were eventually scanned into a computer or somehow tallied.

There were a lot more choices on this train too. But alcohol, unfortunately, was not included in my reservation.

I eventually settled on the "land and sea combo," because, let's face it, I'm never going to pass up a steak.

Out the window, we caught brief glimpses of the Mississippi River. Two of my tablemates, Thomas and Mimi, from Switzerland, were very confused about how we were crossing the famous river this far north, so we pulled out a map and discussed geography.

Dessert was so delicious that I forgot to take a photo, but take my word for it that the cheesecake was moist, flavorful, and topped with fresh whipped cream.

In a sugar coma, I settled back into my cabin as we rolled into our last smoke break of the day in St. Paul, Minnesota.

As Harris, the Amtrak executive, mentioned, Minneapolis is one of the big hubs along this long journey. I saw plenty of people disembarking and plenty more boarding as we set off for North Dakota and the rest of the West.

I opted for the bottom bunk on this train so that I could see out the window (despite the darkness). It was slightly more spacious than the first train, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.

At some point in the night, we hit a nasty storm, despite being so early in the season; it bombarded much of the upper Midwest. My window was mostly caked with ice, and the landscape had changed drastically since Minnesota.

There's nothing more warming than a hearty breakfast, and pancakes did the trick.

These pancakes were some of the best I've ever had: perfectly fluffy, slightly crisp around the edges, and not dry to the point that they merely soak up syrup like sponges. It's no surprise that they were out of pancakes the next morning — that'll teach me to sleep late.

At this meal, I was pleasantly surprised to meet people younger than me. Two women from Pittsburgh were headed to Seattle, where one had just accepted an internship at Boeing. We talked about planes for a bit before parting ways.

I've lived in New York for the better part of a decade, but snow is still extremely exciting, so I headed to the observation car to stare at the frozen landscape.

Seats were in high demand here, but after a few minutes of pacing back and forth, I managed to snag a seat.

Downstairs, there were snacks for sale by Miss Oliver, the lounge-car attendant. When making announcements, she sang little jingles for us. I was partial to her Tina Turner cover.

By Minot, North Dakota, it was time for another crew change.

Once again, I took the time to stretch my legs with the smokers. Across the street, a small coffee trailer was open and eager to see us. A conductor said they rely on the daily train arrivals for business and are prepared every time.

Somewhere near the border between Montana and North Dakota, things started to look like I expected them to. That is to say: It was desolate.

The landscape out here, mere miles from the Canadian border, is dotted with dozens — if not hundreds — of small farming towns.

Some of the smaller stations don't see many passengers. That's probably because this one in particular still features a vintage Amtrak logo that was retired nearly two decades ago.

Malta, Montana, saw 3,570 passengers in 2018, with most of those coming from Chicago.

One thing I didn't expect to see along the route was so many railroad museums.

We must have passed at least a dozen small homages to America's railroad history at stations throughout the journey. Here, in Havre, Montana, a beautifully restored locomotive from the Great Northern Railway sits next to the station.

Now defunct, the railway was the northernmost transcontinental route in the country, carrying the original Empire Builder train in 1929.

Salmon was my dinner choice for the second night. It wasn't the best fish I'd ever had, but still an excellent meal.

I again sat next to Thomas and Mimi, who told me about their travels aboard the Orient Express from Milan to Istanbul, as well as on the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. Those trains are now next on my list.

I cannot overstate the amount of farming. It was at this point that I fully understood the line "amber waves of grain."

I was getting pretty restless. Eager to get to Seattle (and off this train), I settled in for an early bedtime (and more reading).

I woke up the next morning in the foothills of the Cascades in eastern Washington.

Wenatchee, apparently, is the apple-production capital of the United States, producing six of every 10 apples grown in the country each year.

There were no pancakes this morning because I slept in. I opted for an omelet and grits. Not bad!

Because service was over for the trip, I managed to get a small tour of the kitchen and service area.

These dumbwaiters carry food for hundreds of meals every day from the full kitchen and grill on the lower level to the upper deck, where they're served to hungry passengers.

We turned a corner out of the mountains, and there it was at long last: Puget Sound.

I shed a small tear as I spied the Olympic Mountains peeking above the sound. We were so close I could almost taste it.

I stepped off the train at 1 p.m., nearly three hours after our scheduled arrival.

"Have you ever arrived on time?" I heard a fellow passenger ask a crew member as we departed. They just shook their head.

Seattle's King Street Station, like Chicago's, is beautiful.

Google Maps says this journey would have taken just 42 hours to drive, compared with my 96 hours on a train.

Sure, it took a little bit longer. But if I had the time to do it, I'd cross the country by train every time.

As Peggy, my first dinner companion, said the first night, "you just can't see anything from 30,000 feet."

Some 3,000 miles later, she couldn't have been more right.

• Tesla unveiled its much-anticipated Cybertruck last week. Reaction was ... mixed.
• But the arrival of the Cybertruck suggests some new, untapped vehicle segments that Tesla could move into.
• These include full-size SUVs, convertibles, and even motorsports.
• Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Tesla Cybertruck has arrived!

Regardless of what you think of it — love, hate, fear, whatever — the Cybertruck proves Tesla can add yet another vehicle platform to its current mix of two sedans, two SUVs, a sports car, and a semi truck.

Here are five possibilities for segments that Tesla could take on next:

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A full-size SUV. Think Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator. With the Cybertruck platform, Tesla could move toward a large, three-row offering.

A convertible. The original Tesla Roadster was a drop-top. No reasons why a cabrio version of the New Roadster couldn't be on the agenda? Cyber-spyder?

A convertible Cybertruck. The newly launched Land Rover Defender has a "soft roof" option. It wouldn't be an engineering feat to enable Cybertruckers to enjoy open-air electric motoring. Failing that, a convertible Model Y SUV would have some company in the convertible Range Rover Evoque.

An actual RACE CAR that races against other RACE CARS. Tesla's, um, track record in official motorsports is terrible, which is to say nonexistent. How about a Tesla effort at Formula E?

A Tesla commercial van. Musk has already indicated the company's interest and praised the Mercedes Sprinter.

BONUS: An RV! Oh wait ... Cybertruck can already do that.

• Slashed full-year profit outlooks are weighing on retail stocks ahead of the important holiday season. 
• After disappointing earnings reports this week, the S&P 500 Retail Index is down 4%. 
• The slide was led by double-digit drops in Macy's and Kohl's. 
• Here are three companies that cut profit expectations for the rest of the year, and how it has affected their stock prices. 
• Read more on Business Insider.

Big third-quarter earnings misses by retailers over the last week are dragging on the entire retail industry before the holiday season. 

Double-digit stock price slides from Macy's and Kohl's weighed on the S&P 500 Retail Index, which lost as much as 4% this week. The S&P 500 index has only fallen as much as 0.2% in the same period. 

Weak sales, disappointing earnings, and lowered full-year profit forecasts led declines. It was the second time this year that Kohl's and Home Depot have lowered earnings expectations, which is not a good sign going into the holidays, the busiest and most important season for retailers.

In 2018, the holiday season contributed to a strong end of the year for retailers such as Target, Lululemon, American Eagle, and Kohl's. But the year-end boost hasn't totally translated into success in 2019 — companies such as Sears, Kmart, and Walmart have had to shut stores in the ongoing retail apocalypse.

Not all recent earnings have disappointed. Retailers Target,Gap, and Walmart posted third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations. 

But, those reports and subsequent stock gains weren't enough to lift the struggling industry as a whole. The S&P 500 Retail Index has gained only slightly more than 5% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 has gained nearly 24%. 

Here are the key numbers from three companies that lowered full-year profit outlooks, and how much the stock has been affected:

1. Home Depot

Ticker:HD

Reported earnings: November 19

• Adjusted earnings per share: $2.53 reported versus $2.53 (expected)
• Revenue: $27.22 billion reported versus $27.72 billion (expected) 
• Same-store sales: +3.6% reported versus 4.6% (expected) 

Full-year EPS guidance: Maintained expectation of $10.03 but trimmed full-year comparable sales to 3.5% from 4% and revenue outlook to growth of 1.8% from 2.3%

Stock decline post-earnings through Thursday's close: -8%

2. Kohl's

Ticker:KSS

Reported earnings: November 19

• Adjusted earnings per share: 74 cents, versus 86 cents (expected)
• Revenue: $4.36 billion, versus $4.40 billion (expected)
• Comparable sales growth: 0.4%, versus 0.8% (expected)

Full-year EPS guidance: $4.75 to $4.95, versus prior guidance of $5.15 to $5.45

Stock decline post earnings through Thursday's close: -19%  

3. Macy's

Ticker:M

Reported earnings: November 21

• Adjusted earnings per share: 7 cents reported, versus 1 cent (expected)
• Revenue: $5.17 billion reported, versus $5.30 billion (expected) 
• Same-store sales: -3.9% reported, versus -1.2% (expected)

Full-year EPS guidance: $2.57 to $2.77, previously saw $2.85 to $3.05

Stock decline post earnings through Thursday's close: -2.3%

• VMware acquiring the cybersecurity company Carbon Black this year for $2.1 billion is just one example of how cybersecurtity consolidation is heating up.
• A new Forrester reports that there will be more M&A activity in cloud security in 2020.
• These are six cybersecurity startups that the report named as possible targets for acquisition.
• Some say that they're not looking for an exit, but that they're at least hearing would-be buyers out. At least one of these startups, SentinelOne, says that it's aiming for an IPO within the next three years.
• Click here for more BI Prime stories.

With major data breaches like the one experienced by Capital One fresh on everybody's mind, cybersecurity has become a hotter topic than ever.

Against that backdrop, cloud security is going to be the next major challenge in the cloud computing industry, a new Forrester report says, setting the stage for 2020.

With cloud security so front-and-center, tech giants will be looking to buy or build their way into the market, the report says. For example, in October, VMware acquired cybersecurity company Carbon Black for $2.1 billion to lock down software running in the cloud against threats. 

Across the industry, Cisco also acquired Tetration, Check Point acquired Dome9, and Palo Alto Networks acquired Evident.io, in deals of varying value. Andras Cser, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, predicts that Broadcom, Symantec, and Trend Micro are likely to keep buying these kinds of startups in the near future.

"It is highly likely that the wave of acquisitions continues," Cser told Business Insider.

There are two areas that these tech giants will invest in, Forrester predicts: cloud workload security (CWS), or securing applications and data in the cloud, and endpoint detection and response (EDR), or technology that continually monitors and responds to cyber threats.

In either case, Forrester laid out six startups that it sees as prime acquisition fodder heading into the new year.

These are six cybersecurity startups that the report named as possible targets for acquisition:

SEE ALSO: Microsoft just introduced a new tool that lets customers use its services on rival clouds like Amazon and Google, and experts say it's because 'they don't have a choice'

Threat Stack

Valuation: $172 million
Total raised to date: $72.37 million
Year founded: 2012
HQ: Boston, MA

Threat Stack monitors cloud infrastructure for threats and intrusions, while also helping customers make sure that they're meeting regulatory requirements. 

In response to being placed on Forrester's list of possible acquisition targets, Threat Stack CEO Brian Ahern says that the company is now growing quickly in terms of customers, employees, and revenue.

"As evidenced by Threat Stack's 100% revenue growth in 2018 and the increasing momentum we have seen in 2019, Threat Stack's steadfast focus on product development is driving the pace of innovation in the cloud security and compliance market," Ahern said in a statement.

"Threat Stack is a company built to last with enduring value in the cybersecurity community. We are continuing to invest heavily in the business to meet growing demand, and deliver industry-leading value to our customers."

CloudPassage

Valuation: $215.9 million
Total raised to date: $90.39 million
Year founded: 2010
HQ: San Francisco, CA

CloudPassage CEO and co-founder Carson Sweet says he's been working in the cybersecurity market for about 30 years now, and it's an area that's only seeing more investment nowadays. He says the Capital One hack underscored the importance of cybersecurity for the market.

His company CloudPassage helps customers reduce vulnerabilities and respond to any attacks on cloud applications. Right now, many big companies are moving to the cloud, which has also led to more investment in cloud security. 

"The M&A environment is obviously very hot," Sweet told Business Insider. "A series of acquisitions that have punctuated the fact that large security providers are paying a lot of attention."

Sweet says he's seen interest in CloudPassage from other companies, and he's open to listening, but he's focused on growing the company for now. 

"We don't have a lack of inbound interest from strategics," Sweet said. "We're focused on growing the business. If the right opportunity comes along, we're listening and we'll consider it like any good company would. Every company out there, we're all getting calls. We're all having conversations and it's a hot space."

What sets CloudPassage apart from other cybersecurity companies is the experience it has, Sweet says. CloudPassage started by focusing on large enterprise customers and expanding its business from there. He also says its history with larger customers allows it to compete against the newer entrants.

"That's worked out for us really well," Sweet said. "We actually intentionally focus on cloud infrastructure. This is one of several reasons the strategics realize it's an important space."

Sweet says that in the coming year, there will be a big push to move into medium-sized companies. 

"We have a very remarkable base of fortune 1000 companies that we protect," Sweet said. "We protect massive cloud deployments there...It takes time to get that right. The customers recognize that. That's why we have a great customer base."

Armor

Valuation: $300 million
Total raised to date: $147.84 million
Year founded: 2009
HQ: Richardson, TX

The $300 million cybersecurity startup Armor provides cloud security, and also helps companies comply with security requirements. 

This is important, says Armor CEO Mark Woodward, because before, security mostly focused on antivirus software and firewalls. However, the Capital One breach showed how important it is to actively protect data that's in the cloud, he says.

"I thought [the Forrester report] was spot on," Woodward told Business Insider. "We saw this coming for a long time. We thought the right thing to do was to protect the data."

Woodward says right now, his business is growing significantly, but Armor currently is not looking to get acquired. However, he says, "anything can happen, especially in a rapidly growing marketplace."

"I just think about building a successful company and a growing company, whatever the outcome is," Woodward said. "The board is going to make that decision, not me."

Woodward expects the trend of the cybersecurity market consolidation to continue.

"The cybersecurity has been a very inquisitive and consolidating market for a long time," Woodward said. "As security evolves and as threat evolves, larger players tend to see it as an important space."

SentinelOne

Valuation: $600 million
Total raised to date: $229.52 million
Year founded: 2013
HQ: Mountain View, CA

SentinelOne, which helps companies defend against cybersecurity attacks, announced in June that it raised $120 million in a series D round. 

With the funding, SentinelOne COO Nick Warner said that it plans on launching a security product for connected devices, as well as doubling down on sales, marketing, and hiring. The goal is to grow the company from about 415 employees now to 600 employees by early next year, he said. 

In addition, SentinelOne already has a big brand in North America and Europe, but it's going to be expanding in the Asia Pacific market next year, Warner says.

Warner says that what makes SentinelOne stand out from competitors like CrowdStrike, Carbon Black, Symantec, TrendMicro, or Sophos is its machine learning capabilities, which can help protect against even unknown threats, as well as the fact that it was built for the cloud.

"We have a much more powerful and flexible prevention program than any other players in the space," Warner said.

Warner says that although SentinelOne was mentioned in the Forrester report, "we're definitely not for sale." Rather, he says, SentinelOne is on the IPO path in the next 18 to 36 months. 

"We're flattered that we're mentioned," Warner said. "We're a very attractive company in terms of top line market, but we're definitely not in the market to sell, and we're really on the IPO path. That was validated by the valuation and amount and investor set."

Cybereason

Valuation: $1 billion
Total raised to date: $390 million
Year founded: 2012
HQ: Boston, MA

Cybrereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div says that cloud computing is reshaping the business technology landscape, and will only continue to be a "driving force" in the years to come.

"The largest public cloud services will expand their market share and Cybereason looks forward to forging new alliances and partnerships as our business rapidly expands across the world," Div said in a statement on the company's inclusion in the Forrester report as a possible acquisition target.

His company Cybereason is an endpoint security company, meaning that it secures a company's network and the devices connected to it, like phones, laptops, and desktop computers. Its technology prevents, detects, and responds to threats and attacks, and the company also compiles reports about hacks.

It's currently valued at $1 billion, and backed by investors like SoftBank.

"We help all security teams prevent more attacks, sooner, in ways that enable understanding and taking decisive action faster," Div said. "Cybereason is the world's most reliable and effective endpoint prevention and detection solution because of our technology, our people and our partners."

Illumio

Valuation: $1.67 billion
Total raised to date: $332.5 million
Year founded: 2013
HQ: Sunnyvale, CA

The hot cybersecurity startup Illumio helps prevent the spread of breaches inside data center and cloud environments. Only six months after its public launch, it was worth $1 billion.

In February, Illumio raised $65 million in a Series E round, bringing its valuation to $1.67 billion. On top of that, it hired a new CFO, making the option of going public a real possibility. Still, Illumio CEO and founder Andrew Rubin declined to comment on the company's exit strategy.

"I'm proud of what we have accomplished and the customers that we have made successful over the years, including the likes of Salesforce, Morgan Stanley and Oracle NetSuite, but there is much more to be done," Rubin said in a statement. "While we cannot predict the future, any CEO focused on an exit strategy does not have his/her eye on the ball."

Rubin says that the company's mission is to allow every organization to "realize a future without high-profile breaches."

"Over the last six years, our team has been heads down building and growing a business that is both innovative and agile by running toward challenges and bringing our best every day," Rubin said.

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• After a slump earlier this year, global funding for wealth management-tech rebounded in the third quarter, according to data from CB Insights.
• Global wealth-tech funding nearly doubled to $761 million from $422.7 million in the prior quarter.  
• Robinhood's $323 million Series E in July was the largest wealth-tech deal for the quarter, and pegged the stock-trading app's valuation at $7.6 billion, by the company's measure.
•  The rise in funding reflects the "globalization" of digital brokerage platforms, Lindsay Davis, a senior analyst at CB Insights, told Business Insider.
• Visit BI Prime for more stories.

After a slump earlier this year,  funding for wealth management-tech rebounded in the third quarter, according to data from CB Insights.

Global wealth-tech funding nearly doubled to $761 million across 39 transactions, up from $422.7 million across 38 deals in the second quarter. That wealth-tech category included investment and wealth management platforms as well as analytics tools. 

Lindsay Davis, a senior analyst at CB Insights, told us the rise in funding reflects the globalization of digital stock trading. 

"You're starting to see these things emerge on a global scale," Davis said in an interview, pointing to emerging wealth-tech across some Asian countries. 

Robinhood's $323 million Series E round in July, led by DST Global and at least three other investors including Sequoia, marked the quarter's largest wealth-tech deal, according to CB Insights.

That funding pegged the stock-trading app's valuation at $7.6 billion, by the company's own measure.

The next four largest wealth-tech investments, by CB Insights' count, were fall smaller than Robinhood's round. 

Here's a look at the third quarter's five largest wealth-tech deals, which CB Insights provided Business Insider.

The jump in venture investment comes as US wealth management and stock-trading has become more crowded and competitive, with legacy players vying for younger consumers' dollars — and catering to their expectations for low- or no-commission accounts. 

Towards the end of the third quarter, the largest discount brokerages, including Fidelity, Charles Schwab, and TD Ameritrade, slashed online trading commissions for US stocks and ETFs for US customers. 

And the market for advisers' wealth planning tech has become similarly competitive, with industry giants like Envestnet and Fidelity in recent years buying up providers MoneyGuide and eMoney Advisor.

Robinhood

Company: Zero-commission stock-trading app Robinhood, founded in 2013.

Funding: In July, the company raised $323 million in a Series E round. 

Investors: The firm DST Global led the round. Investors including Ribbit Capital, NEA, Sequoia, and Thrive Capital participated in the funding the company said pegged its valuation at $7.6 billion.

Source: CB Insights, the company 

Moneyfarm

Company: Moneyfarm, launched in Italy in 2012, is a European robo-adviser. Only US citizens who are also UK residents can invest with Moneyfarm.

Funding: In September, the company raised £36 million, or some $44 million, in a Series C funding round. 

Investors: Poste Italiane, an Italian postal and financial services firm, led the round, with a contribution from Allianz Asset Management. Allianz Group has been Moneyfarm's lead minority investor since May.

Source: CB Insights, the company 

Fumi Technology

Company: Fumi Technology is a three-year-old Chinese fintech company that operates Webull, a zero-commission US stock trading app. 

Funding: In July, Fumi Technology said it raised 250 million yuan, or $36.27 million.

Investors: The round was led by Chinese wealth management firm Noah Wealth's venture capital arm, Gopher Asset.

Source: CB Insights, the company 

DeCurret

Company: DeCurret, a Japanese digital currency exchange, was founded in January 2018. 

Funding: The company said in July it raised 3.4 billion yen, or some $31 million. At the time, DeCurret had already raised 8.63 billion yen, or just over $79 million, to build out a new digital currency settlement platform. 

Investors: DeCurret said Internet Initiative Japan was the lead investor, along with 11 others, including Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance and Sumimoto Life Insurance. 

Source: CB Insights, the company 

Raisin

Company: Raisin, a Berlin-based savings fintech, was founded in 2012 and launched in 2013. 

Funding: Raisin raised 25 million euros — or $28 million — to expand into new European markets and fund a US launch scheduled for 2020. At that point, Raisin said it had raised 195 million euros.  

Investor: Goldman Sachs. 

Source: CB Insights, the company 

• Since working at PayPal in the early 2000s, these 23 entrepreneurs have all gone on to impact Silicon Valley and the startup world by founding companies and backing new ventures.
• Known for their entrepreneurial mindset and anti-establishment attitude, this elite group is known as the "PayPal Mafia."
• Some are household names, like Elon Musk, but others who you might not have heard of have been impactful behind the scenes.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

What do the founders of YouTube, Yelp, Tesla, and LinkedIn have in common? Apart from leading massively disruptive technology companies, their founders all share a common resume line item: employment at PayPal.

Known for their entrepreneurial mindset and anti-establishment attitude, this elite group is known as the "PayPal Mafia," and they all put in time during the payment platform's early days some 20 years ago.

Here's a rundown of the most prominent members of this exclusive group and what they're up to two decades later. You might want to break out your thumb tacks and red string, because the connections in this web run deep.

The so-called "don" of the PayPal Mafia is founder Peter Thiel.

Though it wouldn't become a household name for years to come, PayPal was launched all the way back in 1999 as an offshoot of Thiel's first company, Confinity. The platform was intended to give consumers an easier option for transferring money from handheld devices — the PalmPilot was one such device at the time.

Thiel served as CEO of PayPal until October of 2002, when eBay acquired it for $1.5 billion. Thiel's 3.7% stake was worth a reported $55 million.

Thiel went on to cofound Founders Fund, a venture capital firm that has helped launch companies like SpaceX and Airbnb.

Thiel cofounded the big data firm Palantir in 2003. He was the first major outside investor in Facebook and contributed early funding to Yelp and LinkedIn, along with a number of other ventures launched by his PayPal peers. Thiel continues to serve as a partner of Founders Fund.

Thiel has also drawn criticism in recent years for his support of President Donald Trump and for secretly funding Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media, which resulted in the company shutting down Gawker and selling the company's assets.

In October, The Wall Street Journal reported Founders Fund is raising nearly $3 billion across two funds, one of which will pump money into late-stage startups that want to delay an IPO. Thiel is also dabbling in the growing cryptocurrency market. Fortune recently reported he was part of a $50 million investment in Layer1, a San Francisco-based Bitcoin-mining startup.

PayPal cofounder Max Levchin served as the company’s chief technology officer.

Levchin is sometimes called the "consigliere" of the PayPal Mafia — in "The Godfather," a consigliere is an advisor to the boss.

Levchin made significant contributions to PayPal's anti-fraud efforts. Together with PayPal technical architect David Gausebeck, he helped create the Gausebeck-Levchin test, an early version of a CAPTCHA for commercial applications.

Levchin served as the chairman of Yelp from its founding in 2004 until July 2015.

Levchin now serves as the CEO of Affirm, a payment platform he cofounded.

Affirm works like an instant layaway program, allowing consumers to finance online purchases at the point of sale and pay for them over time. In April, Reuters reported Affirm had raised $300 million in its latest funding round to support hiring and expansion.

Levchin is also the chairman of Glow, a fertility-tracking app that helps users improve their odds of conceiving.

Ken Howery is one of PayPal’s cofounders and served as its CFO from 1998 to 2002.

After eBay bought PayPal, Howery stayed on as eBay's director of corporate development until 2003. In 2005, he entered into another venture with Thiel, serving as cofounder and partner of Founders Fund.

Howery is the current US ambassador to Sweden.

He was appointed by President Trump in January and confirmed in September.

Howery is active in several nonprofits and serves as a founding advisor to Kiva, an organization that facilitates loans to low-income entrepreneurs. Kiva was founded in part by Premal Shah, PayPal's former product manager.

Elon Musk founded a payments company called X.com, which merged with Thiel's Confinity in 2000. He was named CEO of PayPal, but it didn't last.

Musk was ousted from his role as PayPal CEO that same year. But as the company's largest shareholder, he still walked away from the PayPal sale to eBay with a cool $165 million.

Musk is currently No. 23 on Forbes' list of the world's richest people.

Musk's estimated net worth is $20.8 billion. The SpaceX and Tesla Motors founder aims to revolutionize transportation on Earth and beyond. In October, the Tesla CEO made headlines for sending a tweet from a SpaceX Starlink satellite, which is part of a program working to provide fast and accessible internet around the world.

In 2017, Musk purchased the X.com domain name back from PayPal, citing its sentimental value.

PayPal cofounder Luke Nosek served as the company’s vice president of marketing and strategy.

He's reportedly the person who clued in Peter Thiel to cryogenic preservation, which Thiel has since invested in heavily. In 2005, Nosek joined Thiel and Howery as a partner at Founders Fund.

In 2017, Nosek left Founders Fund to launch investment firm Gigafund, which helped raise money for SpaceX.

Nosek sits on the board of Musk's SpaceX as well as ResearchGate, a platform where scientists and researchers can ask questions, follow topics, and review one another's papers.

Roelof Botha started as PayPal’s director of corporate development.

Botha went to school to be an actuary. He said he never planned to get into tech, but when he saw the opportunity in Silicon Valley, his intuition told him it was where he needed to be.

He went on to become PayPal's vice president of finance, and in 2001 was named CFO.

Now a partner of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, Botha is considered one of the top tech investors in the world.

When combined, the companies Sequoia Capital has invested in have a total market value of over $1 trillion, and the firm has funded tech giants like Apple, Google, YouTube, and Instagram. 

Botha sits on the board of more than a dozen companies, including Square, EventBrite, and Weebly.

LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman served on the board of directors when PayPal was founded.

He eventually joined the company full-time at PayPal's COO. In a New York Times interview, Peter Thiel referred to Hoffman as PayPal's "firefighter in chief," noting that there were many fires that needed putting out in the company's early days.

When PayPal was acquired by eBay, Hoffman was the company's executive vice president. He cofounded LinkedIn in 2002.

Hoffman is one of Silicon Valley’s most prolific angel investors.

He was an early investor in Facebook, Flickr, Care.com, and many more. In 2017 he joined the board of Microsoft.

Hoffman has coauthored several books on startups and professional development. He hosts the "Masters of Scale" podcast, on which he interviews founders about how they launched and scaled their companies, and is a partner at VC firm Greylock Partners.

Previously a management consultant for McKinsey & Company, David Sacks joined PayPal in 1999.

He, like Hoffman, served as COO for the company.

After PayPal was bought by eBay, Sacks produced and financed the box office hit "Thank You For Smoking," which would go on to be nominated for two Golden Globes. In 2006 he founded Geni.com, an online tool for building family trees.

In 2016, Sacks was briefly interim CEO at Zenefits, an HR software firm that was plagued by scandal, including allowing unlicensed brokers to sell insurance to its customers.

In 2017, Sacks cofounded the early-stage investment firm Craft Ventures.

Sacks is a serial entrepreneur and investor, with angel investments in Airbnb, Postmates, Slack, and many more. In October, TechCrunch reported that Craft Ventures closed its second funding round with $500 million in capital commitments.

Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley, and Steve Chen met at PayPal during its early days.

Karim and Chen were engineers, while Hurley was a web designer.

In 2005, the trio launched the video-sharing platform YouTube. Karim uploaded the platform's very first video, "Me at the zoo," an 18-second clip of Karim in front of the San Diego Zoo's elephant exhibit. It's been viewed nearly 78 million times.

Today, Karim, Hurley, and Chen remain active entrepreneurs and investors with a hand in projects from finance to music.

In October, Karim contributed to a $15 million funding round for Truebill, a personal finance application.

News recently broke that Hurley is behind an in-the-works mobile gaming startup called GreenPark, which is reportedly set to launch in 2020.

Chen is an investor in actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt's musical collaboration platform HitRecord, which in February secured $6.4 million in Series A funding.

Andrew McCormack joined PayPal in 2001.

He worked as an assistant to Peter Thiel as the company prepared for its IPO.

In 2003, McCormack started a restaurant group in San Francisco. In 2008, he joined Thiel Capital and worked there for 5 years.

McCormack and Thiel partnered up once again in 2010 to launch Valar Ventures.

Valar Ventures has invested in technology startups well beyond Silicon Valley, including some in Europe and Canada. In August, Crunchbase reported the firm had closed on a $150 million funding round for a new venture capital fund, Valar Fund V.

McCormack continues to serve as a general partner of the firm.

Entrepreneur Keith Rabois served as PayPal’s executive vice president from 2000 to 2002.

He would go on to join his PayPal colleague Reid Hoffman at LinkedIn as its vice president for business and corporate development from 2005 to 2007. He was an early investor in startups like Square, where he spent two-and-a-half years as COO. 

In February, Rabois joined Thiel, Howery, and Nosek as a partner at Founders Fund.

In October, TechCrunch reported that Rabois was part of a $2 million investment in Vise AI, which uses machine learning to automate portfolio management.

He has served on the board of directors for Yelp, Xoom, and Reddit.

Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman worked on technology at PayPal.

Simmons was an engineer and Stoppelman was the vice president of technology after joining PayPal from X.com.

In 2004, the pair came up with the idea for a platform where users could leave recommendations about businesses in their area. They pitched the idea to Levchin, who provided an early investment of $1 million, and Yelp was born.

Simmons left his official role at Yelp in 2010, while Stoppelman continues to serve as Yelp's CEO.

Stoppelman takes a salary of $1. This, of course, is in addition to his 11% stake in the company.

Jack Selby served as PayPal’s vice president of corporate and international development.

After leaving PayPal, Selby partnered with Thiel to start Clarium Capital Management.

In 2017, Selby was revealed to be the generous tipper behind "Tips for Jesus."

Starting in 2013, Selby began anonymously leaving tips for unsuspecting waitstaff, ranging into the thousands, and signing them "Tips for Jesus."His identity was confirmed by a New York City bartender who served him prior to receiving a $5,000 tip.

Selby serves as managing director at Thiel Capital.

Dave McClure served as PayPal's director of marketing for four years beginning in 2001.

According to McClure's LinkedIn, he began a program called the PayPal Developer Network, which consisted of about 300,000 developers that were using PayPal. 

McClure left PayPal in 2004. He had a brief stint at Founders Fund before launching 500 Startups, an early stage venture fund.

McClure stayed at 500 Startups until June 2017, when he was accused of "inappropriate behavior with women"in a New York Times report and stepped down from his role at the firm. 

"After being made aware of instances of Dave having inappropriate behavior with women in the tech community, we have been making changes internally," 500 Startups told The New York Times. "He recognizes he has made mistakes and has been going through counseling to work on addressing changes in his previous unacceptable behavior."

There are several more former PayPal employees who went on to have careers both in and out of technology.

• Yishan Wong was an engineering manager who later served as CEO of Reddit from 2011 to 2014.
• Jason Portnoy worked in finance at PayPal, and went on to work at Clarium Capital and Palantir. He's now a partner at VC firm Oakhouse Partners. 
• Premal Shah was a product manager at PayPal beginning in 2000, then went on to work at technology nonprofit Kiva. He's currently working at financial-services startup Branch. 
• David Gausebeck was a technical architect at PayPal. Now, he serves as chief technology officer at 3D modeling company Matterport.
• Joe Lonsdale started his career as a finance intern at PayPal before moving into venture capital — he's worked at VC firms Clarium Capital, Formation 8, and 8VC. Lonsdale also cofounded Palantir. 
• Eric Jackson was director of marketing at PayPal and went on to write a book about the company called "The PayPal Wars." He's currently the CEO of two companies, CapLinked and TransitNet. 

• Bigger isn't necessarily better, especially when it comes to fast-food burgers.
• Sometimes, a higher price tag means a better burger. Sometimes, it just means a bigger burger.
• I tried the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King to see whose burger was most worth the elevated price. McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese and bacon was the only burger with ingredients and a taste that justified its high cost.
• Sign up for Business Insider's retail newsletter, The Drive-Thru, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
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Bigger doesn't always mean better, and that's especially true when it comes to burgers.

Sure, burger size may matter when it's the difference between a filling meal and an unsatisfying one, but there definitely is such a thing as "too big" when it comes to America's favorite meal-in-a-bun.

So when it comes to the most expensive burgers fast food has to offer, which ones are better, and which ones are just bigger?

I tried the most expensive burgers at McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's to see whose bougie burger best justified its elevated price tag. Here's how they compared:

Prices below are for items sold at Manhattan locations of each chain. All prices are before tax.

SEE ALSO: I tried everything on McDonald's breakfast menu and saw why it can't just rely on iconic classics to fend off new competition

The most expensive burger at my local Burger King is the BBQ Bacon Triple Whopper, which costs $11.19.

This BBQ bad boy contains 1240 calories of bun, beef, BBQ sauce, and veggie toppings.

They're supposed to have cheese, but the Burger King I went to forgot to put cheese on mine.

Burger King is known for its flame broiler method of cooking beef. The beef in this burger is the same as the beef in its cheapest burger. There's just more of it.

A lot more of it. I struggled to hold this burger up with just one hand. It was a monstrous mess

This saucy mess was hard to bite into, and once I did, all I tasted was beef.

And it wasn't the best beef. Burger King's beef does have a nice char, but it's otherwise dry and unexciting.

For the price of this burger, I could have gotten myself a much, much nicer one at a diner or a fast-casual restaurant.

The most expensive burger at my local Wendy's is the Triple Bacon Jalapeño Cheeseburger, which costs $8.59.

This behemoth weighs in at 1,280 calories.

It's obvious that the accoutrements are what make this burger stand out. Fried onions and jalapeños offer more exciting flavors than your standard cheeseburger.

Still, this burger was more showoff than substance.

The crispy onions were a great touch, and the pickled jalapeños added a nice kick

But I couldn't get over the fact that the beef and the bun — the most important elements of a burger — didn't feel worth the price tag.

This burger just tasted like too much of an OK thing.

The most expensive burger at my local McDonald's is the Double Quarter Pounder Cheese with Bacon, which costs $7.99.

Unlike the other burgers, this is a double, not a triple. It contains only 820 calories.

McDonald's recently switched to fresh beef for its quarter-pounder burgers.

Everything in this burger is just a bit shinier than what you'd expect from McDonald's. The bun is a shiny dome, the beef perfectly charred, and the cheese melty.

It's also a cheaper meal that's more of a reasonable price.

But even though this is the cheapest burger on the list, it tastes by and far the best.

The fresh, juicy, and flavorful beef makes all the difference. Sure, it's a pretty burger, but it also tastes great.

When it comes down to it, McDonald's shiny sandwich is the only one out of the three that's worth the higher price tag.

• Kate Middleton had a number of showstopping looks in 2019, cementing her status as a style icon. 
• The Duchess of Cambridge sported a number of gorgeous coatdresses and glamorous evening gowns throughout the year. 
• Her go-to designers stayed the same, often opting for Alexander McQueen, Catherine Walker, and Emilia Wickstead. 
• Some of Middleton's best looks of the year came during her royal tour in Pakistan with Prince William. 
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Pastels, coatdresses, and plenty of Alexander McQueen would be an accurate way to sum up Kate Middleton's closet in 2019. 

The Duchess of Cambridge had another year of incredible fashion, switching from elegant evening gowns to casual culottes with ease — and plenty of style. 

McQueen, the label behind Middleton's iconic wedding dress, remained one of her favorite designers this year, as did Catherine Walker and Emilia Wickstead. 

Middleton pulled out some of her best looks during her royal tour in Pakistan with Prince William in October, where they made history as the first British royal couple to wear matching traditional outfits in Pakistan. 

So, without further ado, here are 30 of Kate Middleton's best 2019 looks.

Kate Middleton kicked off 2019 in a gorgeous long-sleeved olive-green dress by an ethically conscious brand.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore the $770 dress for a visit to Family Action, a UK charity that provides emotional and financial support to families experiencing poverty. 

The dress was designed by Beulah London, which donates 10% of its profits to victims of sex trafficking. 

Middleton looked like a Greek goddess in a stunning Alexander McQueen gown at the BAFTAs in February.

Middleton glowed in the one-shoulder, floor-length gown as she attended the EE British Academy Film Awards in London with Prince William. 

She paired the stunning dress with diamond drop earrings that once belonged to the late Princess Diana. 

Just a few days later, Middleton wore a gorgeous pink Gucci gown.

The Duchess of Cambridge opted for some color for the 100 Women in Finance Gala, sporting a rose-pink tulle gown that made her look like a Disney princess. 

Middleton paired the ensemble with a velvet Prada clutch that matched her belt, as well as sparkling white heels by Oscar de la Renta. 

The duchess shimmered in a mint-green dress for a surprise visit to Northern Ireland with Prince William.

The duchess sported the $2,480 Missoni dress for a surprise visit to Empire Music Hall in Belfast, where she and Prince William attended a party in support of young people who were making a difference in Northern Ireland, according to a tweet from Kensington Palace. 

Middleton made headlines during the party after she went behind the bar to pour her own pint. 

Middleton swapped her party clothes for a regal blue coat with a cape on the second day of her Northern Ireland tour.

The duchess wore the baby-blue coat by Mulberry, one of her favorite UK labels, during a visit to the film charity Cinemagic in Ballymena. 

Middleton's gorgeous coat featured large buttons down the front, a matching belt, and a unique cape that gave her ensemble a modern flair. 

The duchess opted for blue yet again with this dress that she wore to a reception at Buckingham Palace in March.

The duchess was a pastel dream in this baby-blue dress, which featured a high collar and small buttons down the front. She paired the look with a matching clutch and cream-colored pumps. 

Middleton's outfit was reportedly made by a private dressmaker, according to The Daily Mail.

Middleton didn't let a little rain stop her from looking chic during a visit to Blackpool, England, in March.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a stunning $1,200 coat from Italian brand Sportmax as she greeted fans during the visit. 

Middleton paired the olive-green coat with a $295 Michael Kors midi dress that featured a peacock print.

Middleton often favors pastels, but she wasn't afraid to go bold for the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in March.

Middleton turned heads in this red coatdress by Catherine Walker, which featured big gold buttons that gave the ensemble a retro vibe. She paired the look with a matching bow fascinator and beige pumps that matched her clutch.

Eagle-eyed fashion fans noticed that Middleton had previously worn the coat during her visit to New Zealand in 2014.

Middleton opted for a vibrant color yet again with the bold purple blouse she wore to a nursery school visit in London the next day.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a pair of black, wide-leg trousers that were a major departure from her usual style. She paired the pants with a $1,300 bright-purple Gucci blouse with an oversized pussy-bow. 

Middleton was actually wearing the blouse backwards. The buttons were originally designed to be at the back, but Middleton reversed the blouse for her visit to Henry Fawcett Children's Centre. 

The Duchess put a new spin on her 2017 BAFTAs gown by adding cap sleeves for a gala in London.

Middleton recycled her floral Alexander McQueen gown for a night out at the 2019 Portrait Gala in March. 

When the duchess first wore the gown in 2017, it featured off-the-shoulder straps. But Middleton gave the gown a fresh— and less formal — upgrade by simply adding cap sleeves for her appearance at the National Portrait Gallery. 

Kate Middleton rang in St. Patrick's Day in a gorgeous dark-green coat by Alexander McQueen.

The duchess paired the $4,000 coat with a matching hat, as well as a gold shamrock brooch from the Royal Family's private collection. 

Middleton attended Hounslow's St. Patrick's Day parade alongside Prince William, where they both enjoyed a pint of Guinness. 

Middleton went with a more subdued look for her first ever solo outing with the Queen.

The Duchess of Cambridge let Her Majesty shine in bold pink, and instead opted for a gray Catherine Walker coatdress during their joint visit to King's College in London on March 19. 

Middleton paired her coatdress with a black fascinator that matched her black clutch, tights, and heels. It was the first time Middleton went on a solo outing with the Queen without another member of the royal family present.

The duchess gave a subtle but touching tribute to her wedding anniversary with her Easter outfit this year.

Middleton's Easter outfit this year featured many of her favorite styles: a pastel color, a coatdress, and an Alexander McQueen label. 

But the Duchess of Cambridge also gave a touching tribute to Prince William by wearing the same earrings she sported on their wedding day in 2011. 

The Easter outing was just days before the royal couple's eighth wedding anniversary on April 29. Middleton had last worn the pearl-drop earrings by Robinson Pelham, a gift from her parents, back in 2016. 

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in a white ruffled gown for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, where she met Donald Trump, in June.

Middleton accessorized her Alexander McQueen dress with Queen Mary's Lover's Knot tiara, which was also worn by the late Princess Diana. 

The duchess also sported a red, white, and blue sash with the yellow ribbon of the Queen's Royal Order. Her Majesty gave Middleton the sash as a gift for her and Prince William's eighth wedding anniversary. 

Middleton glowed in a soft pale yellow dress at the Queen's official birthday celebration a few days later.

Middleton sported a yellow coatdress by Alexander McQueen with a matching floral fascinator by Philip Treacy while attending the Trooping the Colour parade at Buckingham Palace. 

It was a rare joint public appearance for Middleton and Meghan Markle, who broke from maternity leave to attend the event. 

And some fans believed Middleton was giving a subtle nod to her sister-in-law's first wedding anniversary, as her ensemble was remarkably similar to the outfit she wore to Markle and Prince Harry's wedding in May 2018. 

The duchess showed off her shoulders in a shimmering white dress later that month.

Middleton looked glamorous in the white off-the-shoulder dress by Barbara Casaola, which she paired with a silver satin clutch by Wilbur & Gussie as well as glittering pumps, according to Harper's Bazaar. 

It was yet another instance of smart fashion recycling by the duchess, who previously wore the dress for an event in 2016. 

Middleton was the epitome of chic in a white coatdress at the Order of the Garter ceremony.

The duchess stood out in a sea of pastels with her white Catherine Walker coatdress, which featured black piping. 

Middleton matched the accents on her dress with a black hat and black pumps for the ceremony, which was also attended by the Queen, Prince William, and Prince Charles. 

Middleton's Royal Ascot dress featured a number of gorgeous details, from the polka dots to the sheer sleeves.

The duchess sported a powder blue Elie Saab dress for the annual event, which she paired with a floral hat by Philip Treacy. 

Many noticed that Middleton matched the Queen for the event, as Her Majesty was also wearing a light-blue outfit and floral hat. 

The duchess brought one of her most chic looks of the year to Wimbledon in June.

Middleton was the picture of glamour in the white midi dress, which featured black buttons down the front. She accessorized her look with an Alexander McQueen belt that featured a black bow and matched her brooch.  

The $2,390 dress, which is made from Italian silk crepe, was designed by the British fashion label Suzannah. 

Middleton's pink ensemble for baby Archie's christening featured a sweet nod to Prince Harry and his mother, the late Princess Diana.

Middleton was back in pastels to celebrate baby Archie's christening with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in July, sporting a Stella McCartney dress with matching heels and a vintage headband. 

Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the duchess was also wearing the same pearl and diamond drop earrings that Princess Diana wore for Prince Harry's christening in 1984. 

Middleton was back in powder blue, one of her favorite colors of the year, for another appearance at Wimbledon.

Middleton sported a $1,740 Emilia Wickstead dress for the event, where she presented Novak Djokovic with his fifth Wimbledon title trophy. 

Prince William perfectly matched his wife for the match, sporting a powder blue shirt and matching tie underneath his gray suit-jacket. 

Middleton rocked a floral dress — and her best hair yet — for Princess Charlotte's first day of school.

Middleton opted for a more casual look to take Princess Charlotte to her first day of school, recycling a $180 Michael Kors dress that she previously wore to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding rehearsal in 2018. 

But it was Middleton's hair that made headlines that day as she took her daughter to Thomas's Battersea, a $23,000-a-year school in London that Prince George also attends. 

The Duchess of Cambridge was back in another Emilia Wickstead number with this gorgeous blue floral dress.

Middleton sported the $2,000 dress for a visit to the Back to Nature garden in London on September 10. 

True to Middleton's style, the dress featured a powder-blue color, a matching belt, and a lovely floral pattern. 

Middleton wore a gorgeous teal dress for a meeting with Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV in October.

Middleton's teal ensemble by ARoss Girl x Soler featured an emerald belt that flowed down the dress. 

The duchess paired her outfit with earrings by Pakistani designer Zeen, a sweet tribute as she and Prince William met with the prince ahead of their royal tour in Pakistan.

Even when she dresses more casually, Middleton stays chic — such as when she sported these $108 culottes in October.

Middleton paired the olive-green pants from Jigsaw with a Burgundy sweater that matched her heels and $3,600 quilted Chanel handbag.

Middleton wore a number of stunning looks during her royal tour with Prince William in Pakistan.

For the first day of her royal tour, the duchess wore a traditional Pakistani dress known as a shalwar kameez that was designed by Catherine Walker. 

Fashion fans noted that Middleton's outfit was similar to the teal shalwar-kameez that the late Princess Diana wore during a visit to Pakistan in 1996. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge then made history as the first British royal couple to wear matching traditional outfits in Pakistan.

Middleton wore a green Jenny Packham dress that glittered from head to toe, as well as a traditional dupatta scarf. Prince William was the first male member of the British royal family to sport a sherwani, a knee-length button up coat. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wore matching green ensembles to honor the official color of Pakistan.

The duchess then swapped her evening gown for a more casual ensemble on the cricket pitch.

Middleton and Prince William visited the National Cricket Academy during their royal tour of Pakistan. The duchess sported a shalwar kameez by Gul Ahmed and a pair of white sneakers as she played a game of cricket. 

Middleton also sported a stunning teal and gold headscarf during the royal tour.

The duchess changed into the embroidered headscarf to visit Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan. The ensemble was created by local designer Maheen Khan. 

Middleton appears to be ending the year much like she began it — in one of her favorite Oscar de la Renta outfits.

She sported the magenta suit, which she previously wore in January, during a visit to the Nook Children's Hospice in Norfolk, England, on November 15. 

Middleton paired the skirt suit with black tights and $695 heels by Gianvito Rossi, one of her go-to pairs for daily appearances. 

The duchess previously sported the outfit during a visit to the Royal Opera House in London. She first debuted the suit, which comes from Oscar de la Renta's 2015 fall collection, in 2017. 

• Read more:
• The backlash Meghan Markle received for deciding to miss Christmas with the Queen is just another example of the double standards she's up against
• Reese Witherspoon went shopping for Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton souvenirs in London
• The 26 most iconic royal fashion moments from the past decade
• Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton wore elegant evening dresses for a rare joint appearance in London

• Teslaunveiled its Cybertruck pickup truck on Thursday.
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has compared the Cybertruck to Ford's F-150 pickup.
• While the 2020 F-150 has a lower starting price, Tesla says the Cybertruck will be able to carry and tow more weight.
• Sign up for Business Insider's transportation newsletter, Shifting Gears, to get more stories like this in your inbox.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tesla unveiled its Cybertruck pickup truck on Thursday, saying production will begin at the end of 2021.

During the reveal event, Tesla CEO Elon Musk compared the Cybertruck to Ford's F-150 pickup truck multiple times, suggesting that the Cybertruck is more durable and powerful.

Ford plans to release an electric version of the F-150 in the coming years, but it has not yet disclosed specs for the vehicle, so the 2020 gas-powered F-150 is currently the best point of comparison for the Cybertruck. 

Here's how they stack up.

SEE ALSO: Tesla's new Cybertruck might be able to turn into a 'Cybercamper' with a tent for sleeping in the back

The F-150 has a lower starting price.

The 2020 F-150 starts at $28,496, while the Cybertruck starts at $39,900.

The Cybertruck has a higher maximum payload.

The Cybertruck will be able to carry a maximum payload of 3,500 pounds, Tesla says, while the 2020 F-150 can carry a maximum payload of 3,270 pounds.

The Cybertruck will have more towing capacity.

The Cybertruck will be able to tow over 14,000 pounds, Tesla says, while the 2020 F-150 can tow up to 13,200 pounds.

They can both seat up to six people.

The Cybertruck will have more exterior storage space.

Excluding the cab, the Cybertruck will have 100 cubic-feet of storage space, Tesla says, while the 2020 F-150 has up to 77.4 cubic feet of storage space outside of the cab.

They have different body materials.

The Cybertruck has a steel body, while the 2020 F-150 has an aluminum-alloy body.

The Cybertruck will have higher ground clearance.

The Cybertruck will have up to 16 inches of ground clearance, Tesla says, while the 2020 F-150 has up to 9.4 inches of ground clearance.

The Cybertruck could have better off-roading capabilities.

The Cybertruck will have a maximum approach angle (which is the maximum angle of a ramp a vehicle can drive up without its front bumper hitting the ramp) of 35 degrees and a maximum departure angle (the maximum angle of a ramp a vehicle can drive down without its rear bumper hitting the ramp) of 28 degrees, Tesla says. The 2020 F-150 has a maximum approach angle of 25.8 degrees and a maximum departure angle of 27.1 degrees.

• Read more:
• People are saying the 'cybergirl' who introduced Elon Musk at Tesla's Cybertruck unveiling was girlfriend Grimes — here's the evidence
• The 12 coolest features of Tesla's new $39,900 Cybertruck pickup
• The Tesla Cybertruck is a wild mashup of famous and infamous car designs — here's a rundown
• 'Looks weird... like, really weird': Wall Street isn't sold on Tesla's new Cybertruck design. Here's what 7 analysts think about the electric pickup.