Lifehacker

If you were to ask any random person on the street how many hours of sleep a person is supposed to get each night, their answer will most likely be eight hours. But where did this gold standard come from? And is it even true? Is more or less than that bad for you? Here’s what we know.Read more...

First you could request four free rapid tests from the government. Then you could request four more. Now, there’s a third round of offerings, and this time you’ll get eight tests, for a grand total of 16 per household. Now we’re getting somewhere.Read more...

With baby formula continuing to be in short supply, parents of infants are looking for creative ways to get their hands on that precious Enfamil—but a simple, seemingly ingenious solution that’s going viral right now will not work as described. The suggestion that’s spreading on Facebook and Twitter advises parents to…Read more...

After rounding up the most overrated tourist destinations outside of the U.S., it’s time to go domestic. We all want to avoid tourist traps, and luckily, avoiding “touristy” experiences is as much a matter of planning as it is destination. Whether or not you’re the kind of traveler who plans every last detail, a…Read more...

Is it possible to get a child to actually do the thing you asked them to do the first time you asked them to do it? Some people (like myself) would respond Hahaha! Good one! As someone who battles the Congressional-level stall tactics of three children under age 10 on the daily, this notion seems preposterous. But,…Read more...

I’m sure you already know how to make a passable burger, but with summer just around the corner, what you should really be asking yourself is whether you can make a restaurant-quality burger. You’ve got months of grilling ahead of you to perfect it, and it’s actually easier than you think—as long as you follow these…Read more...

You don’t have to know what an “emotional vampire” is to know what it is, really. What do vampires do? They suck blood out of people. So, what can we reasonably assume emotional vampires do? That’s right: They suck energy out of people. Recognizing if you’re surrounded by these vibe-killing leeches—or are one…Read more...

There’s a long list of things that make browsing the internet feel like living in a dystopian hellscape, and annoying cookie banners and consent forms are right at the top of that list. Most websites are legally required to display these notices and take your consent for using cookies. However, it also blocks a big…Read more...

Publications as disparate as the Wall Street Journal, the Times of India, and the Financial Times are asking: “Will Ties Ever Be Relevant Again?,” “Are Neckties Going Extinct?” and “Is This the End of the Tie?” Allow me to answer: Neckties are irrelevant, going extinct, and ending.

Microsoft Edge is one of the rare browsers that offers both privacy and versatility. One such privacy feature automatically deletes any browsing data, including cookies and site data. That means you can leave a clean slate every time you quit and relaunch Edge, making it difficult for third-party cookies to track you…Read more...

Telegram is a popular alternative to messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. But while users might flock to Telegram to avoid Meta’s questionable privacy policies, the app has a lot of privacy-friendly options that aren’t actually enabled by default. Let’s run through the best ones, and why you should…Read more...

Don’t sing the song wrong, man. Karaoke is interminable enough. When KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Night” comes on, don’t be like my friend Mike and sing “I wanna rock and roll all night, and part of every day,” even if that is a more sensible lifestyle choice.

I was obsessed with Costco croissants as tween. My mom would buy huge plastic containers of them that my sisters and I would plow through in a few days. They were my favorite bread. Today, I am often tempted by similarly sized containers of all-butter croissants at the grocery store—the abundance is appealing—but, as…Read more...

In the immortal words of Mike Tyson after losing a fight, “I might just fade into Bolivian.” Tyson was answering a reporter’s question about where he would go next in his career—and he meant that state of being blissfully unconscious or unaware of what’s happening, or “oblivion.” Oops.

I remember the first time I heard about fitness trackers that could spit out metrics about my running. A friend lent me what was probably an early-generation Garmin, and I was gobsmacked to learn that it could tell me my exact pace at any given moment. Hey look, I’m running a 10 minute mile! Now look, I’ve sped up a…Read more...

Festivals are one of the best parts of summer, although sometimes they can be a bit of a money suck. When figuring out which, if any, you should travel to or buy tickets for, you’ll want to consider what kind of music you’re into, whether you care about extra stuff like food vendors or afterparties, and how much it’ll…Read more...

QR codes are used for everything from opening a restaurant menu to making payments: just point your camera at the QR code, and your phone will automatically open the relevant page. But what happens when you get a QR code in a message? Or what if it’s a screenshot instead?

When it’s time to buy a new iPhone, most of us don’t hold on to the old one. After all, iPhones are expensive, and trading in the old for the new reduces the sticker shock you have to deal with at the Apple Store. If you’re planning on buying a new iPhone through Apple anytime soon, and thought you might trade-in your…Read more...

There’s a lot in a name.We’ve previously discussed the smoothest way to handle forgetting someone’s name—but what if you don’t know how to pronounce their name in the first place?

Read more...

The posters on TikTok have a tendency to overstate their case. They make all sorts of promises to “blow your mind” and “change the way you do xyz,” and love to tell you that you’ve been “doing it wrong” this whole time. But strip away all the hyperbole and there is often a kernel of truth to their claims.Read more...

Superstitions can be silly at times, but there is something to be said for deeply-held beliefs. If you wake up believing you’ll have a bad day, there’s an element of self-fulfilling prophecy at play, increasing the chances that you will. Conversely, if you have a few supposedly lucky trinkets on your person, you…Read more...

For the first time in 46 days, Apple has released a new software update for both the iPhone and iPad. The new updates, iOS 15.5 and iPadOS 15.5, should be available on all compatible devices right now. Whether you’ve already updated, or whether you’re just learning about the update for the first time, here’s what you…Read more...

When you’re getting married, you have quite a few decisions to make. You have to decide whether or not you want to get high at your own ceremony. You have to decide which groomsmen would be least likely to commit one of the 7 deadly sins of a best man’s speech. And you have to decide when you want to go on a honeymoon.

Every year around this time, as my house doors open, we begin to subsist on the fresh air of spring through our window screens, and the kids feast on watermelon and popsicles daily (attracting many a tiny six-legged invader), I wonder: Is it true that stepping on ants attracts more ants? Because, as the primary…Read more...

PlayStation today announced a hefty list of games that will be available to customers upon the launch of its new PlayStation Plus tiers. Sony claims this list in incomplete, so expect more titles as the plans’ launch nears, but make no mistake: It’s a giant list, and makes next month’s PlayStation Plus launch all the…Read more...

When you make food for yourself, there’s never much harm in experimenting. Even if you completely screw up the recipe, you can probably still eat it and not die. Now imagine that one homemade recipe were literally the only food you were allowed to eat for six months. The stakes are a bit higher now, aren’t they?Read more...

About a month after several varieties Skippy peanut butter was recalled over concerns that the “chunks” in some of the company’s products were actually metal fragments, Mars Wrigley is now in a similar situation.Read more...

Americans spend a lot of time in their cars, so it’s not surprising the police pull over a lot of us—about 50,000 a day, and 20 million every year. If you’ve ever been pulled over (and based on those numbers, you probably have) you know how nerve-wracking the experience can be. Put simply, police have all the power…Read more...

My kids claim to hate going for walks, and no amount of “but it’s a nice day out!” or “we all need some fresh air!” is enough to convince them otherwise. So over the years, I’ve had to get creative and trick them into going on walks around the neighborhood with me—by making it seem less like a stroll and more like a…Read more...

Photo editors can do a lot, but one thing they often won’t do easily is remove a background. Most built-in photo editors fall short on helping you remove a distracting backdrop—even popular third-party options like Snapseed. You’ll find plenty of results on the App Store when you search for a background remover tool,…Read more...

Snakes are often helpful for their ability to keep pests like mice in check in our gardens—but you probably also don’t relish the idea of coming across a poisonous one in your yard while you’re weeding. We generally prefer them to be helpful at a distance, which we can encourage by what we plant and how we maintain…Read more...

If your child manages to survive into their teenage years, you’ll have made over 85 million parenting mistakes (beginning with not using birth control that one time). You will no doubt continue fucking up, too, until they move out of the house at 35.

For all the cultural and political debate around abortion, it remains a taboo topic of discussion. Studies show that 25% of women will have an abortion by the end of their childbearing years, which means you almost certainly know at least one person who has—but it is rarely talked about. Hell, the president is…Read more...

Roughly 31 million Americans are uninsured right now, and estimates suggest that one in four Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder in any given year. How are the uninsured among them supposed to find a therapist who is not only affordable, but helpful? There are actually a few ways.

We all make mistakes, but knowing how to actually get over them is a sorely underrated skill. We recently covered how to save your career after screwing up at work, but what about what you shouldn’t do right in the aftermath of your slip up? Especially when it comes to the workplace, what you do—and what you don’t…Read more...

For those who love to cook, having your own herb garden is a game-changer. Not only is it super convenient to have all those fresh flavors at your doorstep, but if you use them a lot, it tends to be more economical to grow your own instead of constantly buying them in the supermarket.Read more...

At this time of year, yard sales and flea markets are in full swing. Not only do they offer the opportunity to pick up myriad items at reasonable prices and score some unique vintage finds, but buying secondhand is (usually) a more sustainable way of shopping.Read more...

Whether it happens on a newly paved road, or it was the result of driving on a hot day on a street with a patch job, you may, at some point, find yourself with tar splatted on your car. And this isn’t a problem you can take your time tackling: If the tar sits on your car for too long, it can damage the paint job.Read more...

Although most roots tend to grow (and stay) underground, sometimes those belonging to trees can make their way to the surface. While this isn’t something you necessarily notice out in the woods (unless you’re walking on a trail and happen to trip over some), seeing tree roots emerge from your lawn is a different story.Read more...

Some scents are immediately recognizable: Freshly cut grass, bread baking in the oven, and mothballs. If you’ve come in contact with clothing or any type of textiles that have been stored for long periods of time—and they haven’t been completely destroyed—chances are you’ve encountered (and smelled) mothballs.Read more...

While our elementary school science classes may have taught us the basics about seeds and how to plant them, if you’ve gotten into gardening as an adult, you’ve probably figured out that there’s plenty more to learn. And unfortunately, growing a plant isn’t necessarily as simple as putting a few seeds in dirt and…Read more...

You may know how to hula hoop like a pro, but did you know that you can put those skills to work as part of the latest social media fitness craze? This week, pop-sensation Lizzo went viral on Tik Tok for duet-reacting to a video of one of her fans dancing to her single “About Damn Time” while using with a hula hoop.…Read more...

Bots and spam comments are nothing new on YouTube, but lately the website is overrun with fake accounts trying to scam viewers commenting on their favorite channels. These scam accounts use the same name and profile image as the YouTube channel they’re exploiting, and the bots attempt to trick other users into…Read more...

The nation is faced with a shortage of baby formula, due in part to a massive recall of contaminated formula from one of our very few mega-suppliers of the stuff. Parents now have to explore all their options for finding safe sources of food for their babies—we have a guide to that here. Meanwhile, ignorant…Read more...

Read more...

Eating food that’s prepared by somebody else involves a lot of trust. We need to know that the person or company who made the food did the job right, and that’s why we have health inspectors for restaurants and farms, and ingredients labels that give some transparency as to what’s actually in our food.Read more...

For decades, conventional wisdom has advised you to arrive at the airport three hours before an international flight. But does this piece of travel advice come from? And does it still hold water? Let’s find out.

When you want to get closer to a subject without actually moving, you zoom. It’s a camera feature that’s been around for decades, and one that’s alive and well on the iPhone. However, you might have noticed your zoom shots don’t come out quite as crisp as your normal pictures. In fact, they sometimes look like…Read more...

Before I got serious about cocktails, there were two primary associations I’d have made had you uttered the words “Strawberry Daiquiri’’ to me. The first thing that would have come to mind is a neon-red chemical concoction, bottled in something plastic and Costco-sized, with a 90s-era graphic font on the label, being…Read more...