Lifehacker

There are plenty of good reasons to hate leaf blowers: They’re loud, they’re gross, and they’re as bad for your health as they are for the environment. It’s no wonder that more and more cities across the U.S. are limiting their use and even banning them outright. Here’s how to find out if there’s a leaf blower ban in…Read more...

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We are quickly approaching holiday gathering season, and gatherings call for foods that can be held in the hand. Ideal party foods are a few bites at most, require no utensils, and are fairly self-contained. Salad is not a great party food, but salad bites are an excellent party food.Read more...

Working out at home has always been both a necessity and a luxury, but since the pandemic, we’ve all gotten used to doing it a lot more often. At the gym, we all know to wipe down machines after we use them—but how seriously do we take that in the comfort of our homes? You’re probably washing your water bottle and…Read more...

Google has officially refreshed the Pixel line with the new Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Both phones push the Android envelope with advances in computational photography, security enhancements, and the longest software support of any Google phone. But there are, of course, differences between the 7 and the 7 Pro. The question…Read more...

I’m one of those strange birds that enjoys a hot bowl of soup any time of year—sweating over a steaming bowl in the summer is just my way of celebrating the greatness of soup. But I understand that fair-weather soup eaters might only enjoy it in the winter, and since we’re gearing up for the season, here’s a soup-erb…Read more...

Everybody wants whiter teeth, to the point where TikTok is full of bogus home whitening recipes, and there are even chewing gums that boast (extremely minimal) teeth-whitening benefits. But let’s say you skip all of that and go get your teeth professionally whitened, or use a home product that looks legit. How long…Read more...

It is pretty alarming to get a text message from the “IRS” claiming to be filing a lawsuit against you for suspicious activity, and the only way to stop your arrest warrant is by sending your personal information right away. But you should never do this. In late September, the Internal Revenue Service warned the publicRead more...

Home workshops for maintenance and repair tasks, or for working on bigger projects, can get expensive quickly. Tools and equipment aren’t cheap, and keeping everything organized gets difficult in a small space. For DIYers with a home workspace, here are a few things you can do to upgrade your shop and keep everything…Read more...

I’m deeply suspicious of “safe” Halloween events like trick-or-treating at the mall, or taking candy out of the trunks of people’s cars. Halloween is about knocking on strangers’ doors and demanding candy. Nothing else will do. But it needs to be done in the right neighborhood.

It’s the season when everyone tries to eat as many pumpkin- and pumpkin spice-flavored food and drinks as they can. It’s fun. It’s festive. It’s somewhat out of hand. That’s OK though. Pumpkin-mania is showing no signs of fading—at least not while Trader Joe lives—so we might as well embrace it. Why not make a pumpkin…Read more...

If you’re currently using a dating app, you know how easy it is to fall into too many conversations. Who doesn’t like to sample a little from column A and column B? Plus, when you’re first getting to know someone, it feels like a good idea to keep your options open until you find someone you really click with. But is…Read more...

While some of us treat our microwaves like low-quality burrito machines, new technology has made it easier to cook a wider range of foods than you might expect. You can cook an entire meal with your microwave if you wanted, and many people consider them a kitchen necessity even if they only use them to heat up…Read more...

There’s no one right way to respond to anger, but there are certainly wrong ways. Sarcasm, passive aggression, outright aggression—there are healthier solutions to letting out some steam.Read more...

It’s tempting to call it the slap heard ‘round the world, except that quick-thinking production techs silenced the moment when Will Smith struck Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards (somehow just six months ago). There’s no need to relitigate the incident, nor to reignite the discourse that dominated the news and…Read more...

“So she buys and instant cake, and she burns a frozen steak” is a lyric that has been rattling around in my head for about 30 years. The song, which I’m sure you’ve heard, touches on two topics that I talk about a lot: convenience food and the horrors of the nuclear family. (The former can help partially alleviate the…Read more...

Let’s simmer on this idea for a moment: Free food year-round. Depending on where you live, there is a good chance you can score some free meals all throughout the year—you just need to know when to look for these deals so you can plan accordingly. A simple Google search with the following holiday names plus your area…Read more...

Collectors and hoarders both buy more things than one could argue they “need,” and may be reluctant to give up the stuff they have. And they both may fill their homes with their chosen objects. So where’s the line? Why do we see one as a hobby and the other as a mental disorder?

It’s no secret that adding a dash of salt can actually accent sweet flavors. I like a good salt-flaked caramel as much as the next person, but fleur de sel had a good run, so can we make way for a more complex dessert seasoning? Add depth of flavor to your fall baking with a dose of soy sauce.

Access to mental health care in the U.S. is riddled with barriers, including shortages of mental health care providers. These concerns are not new, and are staggering when you consider that 53 million adults in the U.S., or 21% of the population, had a mental health illness in 2020 and 14 million adults, or 5.6%, had…Read more...

If you’ve ever shopped for bedsheets, you probably know that the phrase “thread count” refers to the number of threads per square inch, which is true. But you may assume that the higher the thread count, the smoother and “higher quality” the sheets, which absolutely is not—at least, not for most products on the…Read more...

Time goes fast when you’re wearing Crocs. It’s already been 20 years since the footwear brand first blessed our feet, and to celebrate their 20-year anniversary, Crocs is giving out some free pairs for the month of “Croctober.”

You might be enraged by your local potholes, but the roads are probably worse elsewhere. Sitting in traffic is frustrating—and a waste of gas money—so take some comfort in this report the worst roads in the country. Hopefully your state isn’t on it. But if it is, well...you can feel validated in your rage.Read more...

We talk a lot about kitchen renovations and big garden projects that keep our homes looking modern, and while bathrooms do get their share of touch-ups, their ability to look dated isn’t entirely dependent on fixtures and tile. Decor, too, can make even the most updated loo look more outdated than it is. Here’s what…Read more...

The best karaage chicken I ever ate was at a Japanese restaurant down in the Bowery area of New York City called Bessou. The restaurant took great pride in highlighting the wonders of Japanese comfort food, and that cozy feeling of wellbeing came in one single dish–their karaage chicken, which had a brain-rattling…Read more...

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At this point, wireless charging is a staple feature we expect from smartphones. Whether you have an iPhone or Android, you know you can plop your dying device on a Qi charger and see slow and steady results. However, it seems Google accidentally killed wireless charging on its Pixels with a recent Android update. If…Read more...

Every year, unfounded urban legends and mythical hype get caregivers all worked up about trick-or-treating. While you’re not going to find razors or fentanyl in your kids’ candy haul, there are some reasonable concerns you may have leading up to the traditional neighborhood jaunt. Let’s look at the most walkable U.S.…Read more...

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There has been a lot of social media controversy recently over a method of making pumpkins last longer—by wiping them down with bleach diluted in water. While it would be unwise to use unadulterated bleach because of its drying properties on the pumpkin and potential effect on surrounding soil or surfaces, a teaspoon…Read more...

Scary movies are the best kind of films to see with romantic partners, whether you’re trying to catch someone new’s fancy, or rekindle the flame in a longterm relationship. Fear can lead to attraction, or so science says. According to professor Javid Sadr from the University of Lethbridge, the fear that comes from…Read more...

Are you thinking of having a child? Perhaps the waning of the pandemic and current low unemployment has you feeling ready to fulfill your biological destiny and add another mouth to the world? Before you do, you should know how much it’s likely to set you back.

With the overwhelming amount of features advertised on different running shoes, it’s difficult to parse out what does and doesn’t matter for your comfort and performance. Last week, we talked about the importance of heel-toe drop, and today, we’re talking stability.Read more...

Pesto, made with pine nuts and Italian cheese, is not a cheap sauce, mainly because of those pine nuts. It makes sense then, that one should want their pesto to look as good as it tastes, even if it’s been sitting in the fridge for a few days. The problem, though, is oxygen.Read more...

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If you think you might like to get pregnant in the future, but you aren’t ready to do so right now, you might think about freezing your eggs for future use. A few years ago, Facebook and Apple made headlines by offering an egg-freezing benefit to employees, presumably so they could focus on their careers now and still…Read more...

The air is getting chilly, folks are gathering around fire pits, and pumpkin-spice everything is back in stock. That can only mean one thing: Fall is here, and it’s time to go peep some leaves. If you’re looking for the best places to view fall foliage in the United States, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of 10…Read more...

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We can get our boosters and flu shots, wash our hands, and mask up in indoor crowded places. But, chances are good that, sooner or later, most of us will have a miserable couple of days at home due to a cold or other minor illness. When that happens, just reach into your under-bed container for a Gatorade.Read more...

Eggplant peaks from summer to early fall, when it can still be harvested young—after that, we’re left with imported, waterlogged stragglers in the produce aisle. So I urge you: Celebrate eggplant now with one of Sicily’s finest concoctions.

Voice notes—which are something like a cross between a standard text message and a personal podcast—are increasing in popularity. And Apple makes them easy to send in place of a regular old iMessage: On an iPhone, you simply hold down the little microphone button that appears next to where you’d type out a text…Read more...

Remember when the internet was fun? The web was like the Wild West—a vast new world ready to be discovered and explored. Today, though, the “internet” is corporate, stale, and boring by comparison. But these sites are none of those things. You wont find tweets or apps here. Instead, these 13 sites feel a bit like the…Read more...

Trickery has always been part of the process of finding a place to live. We all know the real estate shows on TV are lying to us on a constant basis, but even the professionals enlisted to sell or rent you a property are industriously lying to you—mostly through the property photos they use in the listing. In a way,…Read more...

Wallpaper can be a messy hassle, difficult to remove, and if you live in an apartment, you might not even be allowed to. Fabric wallpaper is becoming a popular alternative, and it has some advantages. You can make your own, and it’s removable and reusable.

Knowing how to make horrific desserts is an essential skill during the month of October, especially if you live in a home with young humans. There is no shortage of silly, creepy Halloween characters, but not everyone has the artistic skill set to sculpt a Count Chocula head out of fondant. However, one of the most…Read more...

Samsung recently updated it privacy policy for all users with a Samsung account, effective Oct. 1. One Redditor read the policy, did not like what they saw, and shared it to r/android, highlighting what they consider to be the doc’s worst policy points. The thread blew up, with Android users aplenty decrying Samsung’s…Read more...

It is fall or, as most of Twitter likes to call it, “soup season,” the season for eating soup. Soothing noodle soups, hearty beef and vegetables, and luscious, creamy vegetables soups—all are valid, but that last one seems to dominate once the foliage starts to change. There’s something about a velvety bowl of the…Read more...

Look, games are for having fun. I’m not going to judge how you play Wordle, or Solitaire, or any other game where “cheating” is an impossible concept. If you’re playing for yourself, you can arrive at the answer any way you like. And maybe that means you want a hint sometimes.Read more...

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As you’ve probably guessed from the name, Sober October is an effort aimed at getting folks to take a month off from drinking alcohol. It began in 2014 as a fundraiser for Macmillan Cancer Support in the UK, and has grown into a worldwide trend, boosted, perhaps by the increase in alcohol consumption that accompanied…Read more...