Lifehacker

If you haven’t paid attention to the air quality index until now, you’re probably learning a lot about it rather quickly. Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. are under an air quality level that people are calling “code purple” after its color on the AQI scale. Here’s what that all means.

If your credit cards are chipped, peeling, and collecting dust, then it’s probably safe to say it’s time for an upgrade. But how else can you tell when it’s time to shop around for a new credit card? There’s a good chance than an older card is no longer the best match for you.Read more...

Buying a house is an expensive operation. Not only is the median price of an existing home over $375,000, the median price of a new home is close to $440,000. And that’s just the price of the house—there are also closing costs, insurance costs, loan fees, attorney fees, inspections, moving, and potential costs for new…Read more...

They say “fences make good neighbors,” but if I’m to believe my TikTok feed, that’s a load of hoohockey: It’s all purple mountain majesties and property line disputes out there. It’s not just #fencetok, either. According to a 2016 study, a whopping 42% of Americans report a conflict with their neighbor, and those…Read more...

Shopping for dad year after year can be tough once you’ve already gifted him your greatest ideas. This year, why not go the practical route and get him something he can use every day?

Early into my now 95-hour playthrough of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, I started feeling anxious. The game’s giant scope was becoming clear, and even though I was enjoying my time in Hyrule, I started worrying over the other video games, movies, and podcasts I was missing. And judging by social media…Read more...

We usually hear about executive functioning skills in the context of mitigating the executive dysfunction experienced by many adolescents and adults. But executive function doesn’t just crop up in young adulthood to menace young adulting efforts. They are skills that we can use and practice from babyhood.

Thousands of people are sharing a tweet this week that suggests Disney Cruises sends or sent children to Jeffery Epstein’s private island on snorkeling trips. This claim isn’t true, but it is built around a nugget of truth. It festers in that weird gray area in the popular consciousness, where something that is…Read more...

The wasabi most of us get at sushi restaurants, or from the store, isn’t wasabi. That green, slightly bitter powder is often made out of horseradish. In higher end restaurants, real, unprocessed wasabi is served, and prized for its fresh taste, lack of bitterness, and unique sharpness. It has the pungency of…Read more...

I’m not aware of any scientific literature on the subject, but the rate of skin cancer among members of the goth subculture is probably very low. Their dedication to a nocturnal lifestyle and collective fetish for ghostly pale skin is both an ideological rebuke to shiny, happy consumerism and a great way to avoid…Read more...

Amid a bunch of new products, Apple announced a slew of privacy and safety related features at this week’s WWDC 2023. Here are the best privacy and safety features that you can look forward to when you update your iPhone to iOS 17, or your other Apple devices to the new operating systems releasing this Fall.Read more...

Like many people on this wonderful wide web, I am a little obsessed with the boys from The Basement Yard. Joey and Frankie are beautiful, perfect himbos. Not only are they wrong about so much, but they’re wrong in delightful and interesting ways. Take, for instance, this discussion on broth and how to make it.Read more...

Wordle arguably owed its early popularity to its built-in friendly competition: when you finish a puzzle, you get to paste those little yellow and green squares to social media or send them to a friend. Now, there’s a new way to share how you did and engage in a little playful competition: Wordle Golf.

After inheriting your parents’ home, the prospect of selling that house can seem overwhelming. It’s a whirlwind—mentally, physically, and of course, financially.Read more...

iOS 17 is upon us. The new software introduces features like Live Voicemail, the ability to turn anything into a sticker, and StandBy, which turns your iPhone into a mini smart display. It isn’t ready quite yet, though—Apple always kicks off a new software release with the developer-only beta first, rolling out a…Read more...

Your bed can look as luxurious, warm, and fluffy as they do in catalogs and magazines. Gravity isn’t going to make it easy and will pull down even your thickest blanket, but fortunately, there’s a simple way to make your bedspread look more voluminous than usual.Read more...

I woke up to an air quality alert this morning, as probably a lot of you did. Smoke from Canadian wildfires has drifted toward the eastern half of the U.S., causing poor air quality in many areas. New York City issued a warning for people with heart or breathing problems to mask up when they’re outdoors, and many of…Read more...

Apple has just announced its sleek new lineup of MacBook Air laptops, including a 15-inch model with the powerful M2 processor. But while that machine is undeniably attractive, it starts at $1,300 and includes a lot of features (and power) you’ll probably never need if you only use your computer for browsing the…Read more...

Filling a watering can or setting up a sprinkler can be difficult (if not impossible) with low water pressure. While we all want to save water, sometimes you need a little force to get things done. Hiring a plumber to inspect your system to find the problem can be expensive, though—but there are some things you can…Read more...

Not every dog loves (or even tolerates) a bath, but almost every dog loves to run around. A new viral TikTok has suggested you can give your pooch the best of both worlds this summer by putting some shampoo on them and letting them loose when the sprinklers are running in your yard or a nearby park.

Having children means being exposed to nonstop illnesses. On average, young children get six to eight upper respiratory infections a year; in practical terms, that means a lot of missed school. One common illness that circulates among young children is strep throat, which is caused by Group A strep bacteria and is…Read more...

Dates can already be stressful, but throw in the curveball of their costs, and, well, they can feel more anxiety-inducing than they’re worth. It’s normal to want to “wow” your date with a solid first impression, but the good news is that they don’t need be super expensive. You can surprise your date with something…Read more...

Whether you’re jumping into a major DIY project or you just have some yard work to do or a picture frame to hang, the cost of buying new, high quality tools can add up quickly—so skip the hardware store and start shopping estate sales instead.

Somedays I feel deeply disconnected from the “food content” traveling across social media, almost to the point of doubting my own powers of perception. Yesterday was such a day. On Facebook, I saw people coo over an obviously mealy, pale tomato before watching a woman store fresh blueberries and hard boiled eggs in…Read more...

When most people think of growing peppers, they become devilish fiends for heat, goosing up ghost peppers and evil hybrids intended to max out the Scoville scale. I kindly propose you consider the other end of the pepper family, in which flavor and body takes precedence over the ability to burn out the pipes on either…Read more...

The word “hobby” has a lot of unfair connotations. When someone describes an activity as a hobby, they’re implying that it’s not serious, or it’s not “professional” work. But many people are incredibly skilled at their hobby, and it’s not uncommon for people to turn a hobby into a more serious endeavor. Plus, hobbies…Read more...

I garden for one reason: the sheer delight and utility of always having what I want to eat available outside my door. Not outside my door as in a “There’s a store down on the corner and this is why I live in the city” kind of way, but in a “I can always pull a carrot, onion and some celery from my yard at 10 p.m. if I…Read more...

While the internet might be abuzz about Apple’s expensive Vision Pro VR headset, there was plenty of other news to come out of WWDC 2023. For those of us with an iPhone, the biggest story might just be iOS 17. While the update won’t be the most revolutionary one Apple has ever issued, it adds plenty of few new features…Read more...

Travel-sized items have their place. I swear by my little dopp kit that has a travel toothbrush, mini tube of toothpaste, pint-sized deodorant, and a short-handled razor in its own protective case. These items last nearly forever, take up very little space in my suitcase, and work just as well as their full-sized…Read more...

The Kiru Knife Kitchen Master 8" Chef Knife is a versatile kitchen tool with a mirror-polished blade and an ergonomic G-10 Garolite handle. And until June 11 at 11:59 p.m. PT, you can get this Japanese chef knife on sale for $79.97 (reg. $156).

Last weekend, my boyfriend came home with a bag of pre-shaped burger patties and cheap hot dogs. (Someone brought too many to a cookout.) I was thrilled, because I love burgers and hot dogs, no matter the price point. We had hot dogs one day and burgers the next, and still had plenty of each leftover, which was great…Read more...

While butterfly bushes don’t need much water and bloom beautiful flowers, they have a bad side too. In many places in North America, some species of butterfly bushes (Buddleia) are invasive. They can sprout almost anywhere—including on buildings and pavement—and don’t have native adversaries to keep them in check.Read more...

Job hunting is tedious, but sometimes AI can help make it a little easier. Resoume is an AI-assistant resume writer that can help you craft professional-quality resumes, cover letters, and CVs in a fraction of the time it could take you on your own. Right now, a lifetime subscription to this AI resume writer is $39.99…Read more...

Apple’s WWDC keynote featured Mac product updates, a new “spacial computing” headset, and what felt like a rushed section of OS updates. But while Apple covered all the big new features, there are many small and interesting ones heading to your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch this fall that Apple didn’t make time to…Read more...

Travel rewards are a nice bonus for joining an airline or hotel membership program or holding a co-branded credit card, but it’s a bummer when those points and miles you’ve spent so much to accumulate evaporate due to an expiration policy.

If you have a cluttered, cord-riddled desk, you should consider this 13-in-1 docking station that can mirror displays, transfer data, and more. Right now it’s almost 30% off, at $49.99 (reg. $70).Read more...

When it comes to finding love online, it’s all about making that great first impression. After all, we live in a swipe culture with itchy trigger fingers. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need your bio in tip-top shape. In fact, according to eharmony’s recent Get Who Gets You data report, 28% of daters say…Read more...

Watering your garden or grass the correct amount can be tricky. If there’s hot weather, you can water too little or water at the wrong time of day and burn the foliage. Watering too much is just as bad and can cause the roots of some plants to rot. Plus, there’s the water bill to think of. But there’s a gadget that…Read more...

This week, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) came with a ton of feature announcements, but not every iPhone, iPad, and Mac will be getting upgrades. Several popular iPhones, iPads, and Macs are being cut from the list of devices that will get new versions of Apple’s software. Here are the Apple devices…Read more...

If you’re traveling this summer, you might reconsider using the ice bucket in your hotel or motel room. According to this video posted on TikTok by former hotel manager Melissa Hanks, there’s a good chance someone has used the receptacle for something unspeakable.

Last week Congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling, narrowly avoiding a first ever default in U.S. history. While the crisis has been averted for now, the deal only buys us around two more years before we’re facing the same risk of the government defaulting on its debt.

A new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General called “Social Media and Youth Mental Health” outlines how social media changes teens’ brains and impairs their social skills. These scary findings may send you into a panic, wondering if you should uninstall the internet from your home. While you know banning social media…Read more...

Oysters are like grapes: The best ones come from rough homes. A grape from a warm, comfortable climate is fat and happy but watery and bland, and I’ve found the same to be true of everyone’s favorite slippery bivalve. Coming from Mississippi, the first oysters I tasted were huge specimens that hailed from the balmy…Read more...

Creative types know all too well how many apps come on the market every year promising to help them execute their vision. While many of these programs are great, unfortunately that means a whole lot of subscription fees and App Store purchases for those who need a bunch of different tools to handle different aspects…Read more...

This year’s WWDC is one for the history books. Apple made is usual software announcements, introducing iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma, and watchOS 10, and even introduced the largest MacBook Air yet. However, the talk of the town won’t be the next iPhone update or the 15-inch MacBook Air: It’s definitely the new…Read more...

It’s WWDC time again, which means Apple is showing off the new features in its suite of operating systems—including, this year, a huge update for the software that powers Apple Watch. Currently available in beta and expected to launch later this year, watchOS 10 boasts lots of new features, including enhanced watch…Read more...

My best breakfast days are right after a grocery shop, when the fridge is stocked with everything I need. This is shortly followed by the awkward days before my next shop, in which I Frankenstein meals together with random cabinet finds. It was during such an awkward day that I discovered pancake bread.

If you’re concerned about targeted advertising, data mining, and other online privacy issues, you may want to start using a VPNs—a simple, effective way to help secure your browsing and conceal your digital footprint. If you want a VPN that also comes with a personal firewall, you should consider the Deeper Connect…Read more...

The internet is a place full of dark corners, deep rabbit holes, endless mazes, and wild threads. But with the chaos comes storytelling gold: These 12 podcasts use communities like Reddit, Yelp, Twitter, and Tumblr to launch into a different part of the digital world, with their hosts as your able tour guides. Buckle…Read more...

Having your iPhone stolen is traumatic enough, but it hurts more to know that your most intimate data is also in the hands of unscrupulous individuals. Fortunately, there are more than a few things you can do to ensure that even if thieves find a way to steal your iPhone, they won’t get a hold of your data easily.