Lifehacker

It’s been less than two weeks, and we’re already talking about another critical Chrome update. To be honest, though, good on Google for staying on top of these things: Sometimes, we find out a company sat on critical security vulnerabilities for months without issuing a new update. At least here, we have a good chance…Read more...

Ah, the toilet. An invention so perfect we haven’t made any substantial updates to it in the five centuries or so since its introduction. The flush toilet you’re using today is essentially the same design introduced by Sir John Harrington in the 16 century—it relies on a water supply and gravity, and uses a…Read more...

Something cool is happening this weekend: Venus and Jupiter will look really close in the sky, almost appearing to touch each other, even though they’re millions of miles apart. They’ll appear their very closest on Saturday, April 30, around 3 p.m. ET. This is known as a “conjunction,” and while the experts at …Read more...

I first saw this valuable life hack on TikTok: Search “Mario Run” on YouTube when you need to keep your kid busy for a while. I did, but I wasn’t sure if the resulting videos would actually hold a kid’s attention. So I proposed to my kindergarten-age daughter that she try out a few. Her eyes widened when she saw the…Read more...

I am old enough to remember when sun-dried tomatoes first fell out of fashion. They were everywhere: in savory pastries, grilled chicken pasta dishes, mashed into cheese spreads, and then—suddenly—they were gone, gauche, unwelcome.Read more...

If you like the idea of a bountiful garden, but you’re less keen on all the watering, fertilizing, and care it entails, I have a gardening philosophy to share with you: It’s called “benign neglect.” The idea is to create conditions favorable for plants native to an area, and just let them do their thing while you sit…Read more...

Your wedding is already going to include a toast, so why not also include a toke? According to a recent survey from The Knot, 93% of people serve alcohol at their wedding, with the average couple spending $2,300 to stock the bar with beer, wine, and liquor. If all of those people are going to hit the sauce on the day…Read more...

Every time I think we’ve seen the last twist on Wordle, there comes another game that manipulates a variable I didn’t even realize was missing. In this case, the new element is competition. Oh, and speed.Read more...

New updates are always exciting. They mean fresh features, bug fixes to solve pesky problems, and an overall new digital coat of paint on your phone. Right now, Android 13 is that coat of paint, adding new tweaks and changes to your Pixel, should you decide to try it out early.

Last week I asked Lifehacker readers to share the little things that go a long way in the bedroom. I’m not talking about wild feats of flexibility or barrier breaking new kinks—I wanted to hear your wisdom when it comes to talking dirty without feeling awkward, the power of a well-placed pillow, or the simple…Read more...

Eating meat off a stick is a unique and elegant pleasure. Grilled, bite-sized pieces of beef, lamb, chicken, or seafood served on a skewer: convenient, delicious, and perfect for holding in one hand while you hold a cocktail (or beer) in the other.

Today is Administrative Professionals Day, and while the existence of this hyper-specific honorary day goes by every year unnoticed by many, there are those who are aware of it. And some of them post earnestly on social media or grab flowers and donuts for their office personnel on the Wednesday of the last full week…Read more...

Fidelity announced on Tuesday it’s going to launch a way for workers to put up to 20% of their 401(k) savings and contributions directly in Bitcoin. This would make Fidelity the first company in the financial services industry to allow this service without having to go through a separate brokerage window, bringing us…Read more...

During the civil defamation lawsuit unfolding between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, a psychologist testified that, after reviewing mental health records and conducting 12 hours of interviews with Heard, the actress met the criteria for both borderline personality disorder and the lesser known “histrionic…Read more...

If your iPhone’s display breaks, or the battery goes bust, your first instinct might be to make an appointment at Apple’s Genius Bar. For the longest time, that’s exactly the way Apple wanted it. Times have changed, however: People want to repair their own devices, and have the resources to do so safely and…Read more...

If you asked me to list the top 10 shows I once loved that I would guess wouldn’t hold up in 2022, The Kids in the Hall would be at the top. And yet, Amazon has revived the series, which originally ran from 1989 to 1995 on Canadian TV and enjoyed a long life in syndication in the U.S. on Comedy Central, for a new…Read more...

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Weeds are everywhere this time of year, pushing up through cracks in the pavement and sprouting in any place that soil and water can gather. They can be unsightly in your garden but they can also wreak havoc on fences, foundations, and walkways if they’re not controlled. While leaving the dandelions for the bees is a…Read more...

Ah, confidence. That elusive, intangible thing we all know we need to get the jobs, attract the people, achieve the goals, and make the money. The thing that can take years or even decades to develop, a string of good decisions and positive outcomes to maintain, and awhile to regain once it’s been shaken.

Colons and semicolons are the indie rock of punctuation marks. They’re not mainstream-popular like the period. They aren’t obvious and eager-to-please like the exclamation mark. They’re not everywhere like the comma. But the colon and the semicolon have passion. They’re quirky, snobby, and sometimes prickly. These…Read more...

Do you look longingly at those wide, cushioned first-class seats when you board a plane? Us, too. Unfortunately, most of us most commonly fly in coach/economy class, which isn’t exactly the lap of luxury. So we recently asked Lifehacker readers for their best tips for flying both comfortably and cheaply in tight…Read more...

Spring cleaning can take many different forms. Sorting through the closet and donating the clothes you never wear. Going through the cabinets and throwing out spices that expired during the Clinton administration. Poring over your credit card bill and realizing you are subscribed to so many streaming services, you’re…Read more...

Over the weekend, a climate activist from Colorado died after setting himself on fire in front of the United States Supreme Court. Wynn Bruce’s self-immolation coincided with Earth Day, and his friends have told news outlets that he was deeply passionate about climate change. Bruce was far from the first person to…Read more...

Cleaning up broken glass requires you to be thorough. And to be thorough enough, sometimes you need to get resourceful. Even if you have a broom on hand, you might want to try a different method—either the broom will fail to pick them up in the first place, or tiny shards get stuck in the broom bristles, spelling…Read more...

An iPhone works seamlessly with Macs—photos from one show up on the other, as so do calls and messages. But what if you’re on the other side of the fence and use Windows and Android instead?Read more...

Paramount keeps rebooting Star Trek, and I keep coming back, hoping whatever they’re trying now will hit like The Next Generation did back in the ‘90s (I am very old). Strange New Worlds is the latest attempt, and I’ll be damed if the trailer doesn’t make it seem like they’ve finally gotten it right.

Vegetarian sandwiches can be disappointing, especially when ordered from a meat-centric establishment. Too often, the default is a single oily portobello mushroom cap, with some raw sliced vegetables, and maybe a slice of cheese. Often there are sprouts.

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Whether you have a cute little Maltese or a fluffy American Eskimo, you know that nothing is more stunning than when your dog’s coat is bright and white. You also know that dogs don’t particularly care that much about aesthetics and are unlikely to be swayed from rolling in dirt on the grounds that it will make their…Read more...

I’m a huge fan of VR, especially for games with an emphasis on exploration. Skyrim VR is a favorite of mine, for nothing else than experiencing its world in true first-person. It seems fitting, then, for a game like Elden Ring, lauded for its open-world of endless expeditions, to have a virtual reality mode for…Read more...

I’m not here to stop you from proposing to your beloved on the jumbotron this summer. If your dream is to ask your partner to spend the rest of your lives together in front of 40,000 people who share your fandom (or 3,000 people if you’re an Oakland A’s fan), I would never try to stop you.

You may have, a time or 67 in your life, hard boiled an egg. And you may have, during those moments, spewed a continuous stream of curse words under your breath while doing so. Because peeling eggs, unless you enjoy this activity, is usually a messy time-suck filled with many small failures.

As a (relatively) inexpensive and versatile protein, ground beef is a staple in many meat-eating American households. In fact, you might have some in your refrigerator or freezer right now. If that’s the case, you’re going to want to check the label: More than 120,000 pounds of ground beef is currently being recalled…Read more...

If you’re of a certain vintage (i.e., old), you know that buying lightbulbs used to be a relatively simple process: You noted the wattage that you needed and you bought more of the same. A 40-watt bulb produced dimmer light than a 100-watt bulb. Easy! Sure, there were always more exotic bulbs out there—halogen bulbs…Read more...

Blizzard is launching a closed beta for Overwatch 2's PvP multiplayer today. The beta marks the first time most of the Overwatch community will have a shot at sampling the new PvP gameplay, following the game’s closed alpha test. However, in order to join the beta, you’ll either need to sign up or earn your spot.…Read more...

If you’re getting ready to grow vegetables this year—or if you just want the most robust flowers you can get—you may want to give companion planting a try. Companion planting takes advantage of the natural properties of various plants to complement and support each other. Companion planting can help you grow better,…Read more...

Last week, Mastodon finally launched its free, official Android app, making it easier than ever to use the open-source Twitter alternative on Android devices. Mastodon’s timing couldn’t be better, as Twitter’s board just approved Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy Twitter.

If killing houseplants was a crime, I’d be on death row—my past is littered with the corpses of philodendron, ferns, and spider plants. I’ve made every mistake possible, from watering them too much, to burning them with too much light, to salting their soil through over fertilizing.

Toothpaste isn’t just for your chompers anymore. As it turns out, this medicine cabinet staple is good for much more than preventing cavities, freshening breath, and shining up those pearly whites.

If you get periods, you know about pre-menstrual syndrome. PMS, as it’s usually known, is the collection of physical and emotional annoyances that can occur shortly before your period is due. But for some people, that time of the month can include symptoms that feel like an actual illness.Read more...

When you go on a first date, you tend to present the best version of yourself. You’re clean, you’re groomed, you’re wearing a nice outfit, and you’re well within your rights to be doing all of that and more. But what happens if that date goes well, and so do the next few? Before you know it, you’re in a relationship,…Read more...

Book-banning is one of those nosy-neighbor hobbies that becomes popular in waves. We’re currently in one of those waves, with parents and concerned citizens “challenging”—and in some cases successfully removing—books from schools and local libraries. Books with Black and/or LGBTQ+ characters and authors are often the…Read more...

You can feel it brewing in the seconds leading up to a big argument. You temper flares, you feel flushed, and you’re suddenly ready to say aloud things you know you will never be able to take back. Blow-out fights—and even regular-sized bickering sessions—can irrevocably damage relationships of all kinds. If you…Read more...

One of my favorite genres of hacks is “elevating” the store-bought. Making a box of cake or brownie mix taste homemade, zhooshing up mayo, using fast food chicken to make chicken salad—this kind of stuff is extremely my bag, baby.

For many, summer is synonymous with the adventure of outdoor activities. Long hikes through the forest, morning runs along the beach, and picnics in the park are just some of the activities I will not be participating in during the next several months, though. That’s because for me, the season is synonymous with one…Read more...

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Learning or teaching a new board game can be equal parts challenging and maddening. Either you’re the one trying to explain the rules to an apathetic crowd, or you’re being “taught” and are expected to pick up every minute detail from a monotone lecturer. If you’re sick of every game night starting the same way,…Read more...

Ah, the kitchen—a room so vital to modern life it’s become a fraught battleground. Easily the most expensive renovation you’ll ever oversee, an average “midrange” kitchen remodel costs about $76,000, according to Remodeling Magazine. That cost and stress imbues every design decision with heavy emotion and dread, which…Read more...

Decks can be a popular addition that allows you to better enjoy your outdoor space—and to increase the value of your home. But when it comes time to choose between composite, hard wood, and even hybrid, there are several factors to consider, including cost, durability, and aesthetic.Read more...

The modern world is largely safe from the primitives dangers that plagued our ancestors—wild animal attacks are rare; few of us will ever step off a cliff and die because glasses haven’t been invented. This doesn’t mean death and danger have been vanquished. We’ve just forced them into forms that are so new to us as…Read more...