Lifehacker

Twitter has had the ability to add alt text to your images for years, but if you don’t use a screen reader, you probably weren’t able to read what anybody else’s alt text says. Recently, though, the “ALT” icon began appearing in the corner of images, and now anyone can tap it to see the alt text for an image. So what…Read more...

Easter is weird.

A good grilled cheese is one of life’s simplest and most indulgent pleasures. It’s got a low ingredient count; all you need is bread, cheese, and some sort of fat, but those variables can all be manipulated to create very different sandwiches.Read more...

The family of Gilbert Gottfried announced on Tuesday that the comedian had died following a long illness, later revealed to have been myotonic dystrophy type II, a rare form of muscular dystrophy. He’d maintained a performing schedule, and recorded episodes of his podcast in the weeks prior to his passing. Since at…Read more...

In the market for your first Apple Watch? You might be tempted to go for the company’s cheapest offering. If you don’t know whether you’ll enjoy having a mini iPhone strapped to your wrist, the $199 cost of an Apple Watch Series 3 might look more tempting than dropping $399 on the latest Series 7. If this is the train…Read more...

Houses are frustratingly permanent. A home with two bedrooms and one bath might seem palatial when you first buy it, but add in two kids, a dog, and a DVD of Frozen that never stops playing and you soon realize how small it really is.

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Fuck kale. Once a year, my gardener friend will earnestly encourage me to grow the filthy veg, and every year I remind her that my opinion on the matter has never wavered. (“I know, I know, but the rabe is so good!”) While I will, ‘til my dying breath, extoll the lack of any virtue in godforsaken kale, I can concede…Read more...

We’ve all heard about Andy Warhol’s old declaration that in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes—except that wasn’t really something Warhol said. The late artist has been famous for decades because of his work, but that quote had real staying power, too, and that’s how these things work: People become…Read more...

So far, all my favorite Wordle variations have kept the same shape of game board as the original: Five letters, each guess appearing as a new row in a grid. You can see what you guessed before, and you can see how many guesses you still have left. Waffle changes the game in interesting ways, and for that, it intrigues…Read more...

Remodeling or renovating your house yourself can be an affordable and deeply satisfying journey. You’ll learn practical skills, beautify your living space for less, and feel a sense of accomplishment. You may also slowly lose your sanity as you discover why people hire professionals.

As long as social media has existed, there have been people asking, “Can you see who looked at your profile?” For the most part, the answer has been, “No.” The anonymity of the internet has made browsing other people’s profiles an easy thing, and unlike DMs, the user usually won’t know whether you peeked their account…Read more...

It’s officially road trip season, and according to a recent survey, 80% of Americans are gearing up to hit the open road this summer. But road trip or not, it’s best to stay on top of things when it comes to the safety of your vehicle. In addition to regular maintenance, this also means paying attention to any…Read more...

This month, Netflix released your new favorite show: Old Enough, an imported-from-Japan documentary program with a simple, perfect premise: In each episode, a different child is given an errand to run, alone, and we get to see how (and if) it is completed. Watching babies navigate something complex for the first time…Read more...

Recently, my stepmother made a batch of pepper jelly I can only describe as “violent.” “Yes. I should have warned you,” she texted when I told her the jelly had hurt me physically. “It’s a ‘slap your (step)mama’ kind of thing.”Read more...

If you like planets (and who doesn’t these days?), the solar system has a gift just for you. Beginning on April 17 and continuing through July, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter will be lined up diagonally in the pre-dawn sky and visible without a telescope or binoculars. Later in their run, they’ll be joined by the m…Read more...

It is 2022, and there are still people out there saying that exercises like running or squatting will “ruin your knees.” And this bullshit needs to stop. That’s not how knees work. That’s not how anything works.

One thing I have enjoyed about owning a house is finding all sorts of plants—that I did not plant—growing around the property. One of those surprises is an asparagus bed. It’s not a particularly productive asparagus bed, but it is delightful. Three or four stalks poke up at a time, not enough for a meal, but more than…Read more...

There’s a new strain of malware floating around the internet, and it’s looking to control your Android device. Once installed, “Octo,” as it’s colloquially called, can both remotely see your screen and control your device, all without you knowing. Let’s examine where Octo came from, how it works, and how you can avoid…Read more...

If you’re a homeowner, you’ve no doubt checked out your home’s estimated value on Zillow a time or two (or sixty). And while that dollar amount can paint a general picture of your home’s worth based on its square footage, number of bedrooms, tax records, and recent homes sales in your area, it can’t account for the…Read more...

In the animal kingdom, eating poop is a common occurrence that happens on a spectrum. Bunny rabbits, for instance, have to eat some of their poop. It’s a natural part of their digestive process, and while we bunny people are fewer and less represented in media than our dog- or cat-loving counterparts, we have no…Read more...

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The logic of film marketing suggests we need to know everything about a movie before we’ll pony up for a movie ticket—but that doesn’t mean that’s the right way to see every movie. There’s a lot of competition for our attention these days, meaning many of us do a lot of vetting before we’ll actually sit down and watch…Read more...

Pruning is an important garden task. Besides simply keeping growth in check, proper pruning also keeps trees and shrubs healthy by ensuring that light and air can reach all the branches. Pruning at the right time can also encourage more flowers to bloom, so it’s a good skill to master if you want your yard to look its…Read more...

Spring is in the air, flowers are beginning to bloom, and 420 is right around the corner. You don’t want to find yourself scrambling at 4:19 on April 20 only to discover that your stash has gone dry. When weed dries out, it loses its potency—not to mention how harsh it feels on the throat and lungs.

Cybersecurity is constantly in the news, and for good reason. Bad actors are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities in software to exploit for personal gain: Your PC, running Windows and an assortment of apps, is in the crosshairs, so when Microsoft drops updates to patch security flaws and vulnerabilities as…Read more...

After the winter months of rain, snow, ice, and frost, your driveway might not be looking its best—especially now that spring has sprung, and the weeds are further highlighting all its newly formed cracks. Repairing cracks in your driveway is important to keep them from getting larger, eventually requiring repaving or…Read more...

Like all good Americans, I love a murder podcast, but sometimes the ever-increasing bodycount can be a bit much even for me. Sometimes I just want to listen to stories about people who steal from, terrorize, and psychologically destroy other people without sending them to the boneyard. I guess I’m getting soft in my…Read more...

Of all of the foods I buy on a regular basis, the price of eggs varies the most. They can cost two bucks for 18 or seven whole American dollars per dozen—a pretty big discrepancy for a quite basic food.

Gmail is simple, friendly, and easy to use. You likely set it up once, and have been using it the same way ever since. And why not? You send and receive email without issue, so what’s to change? Well, it turns out, quite a bit.Read more...

Tulip season is upon us. And if you enjoy bedecking your home with fresh, seasonal flowers, you may be wondering how you can keep your next tulip purchase standing upright. Because while these colorful bulbs are known for brightening up any room, they’re also known for their tendency to droop. While some droop is…Read more...

Avian flu is back in the news following an outbreak in the Midwest and Northeast, and the subsequent euthanizing or death of over 21 million birds since February. Lately, it has been reported that the bird flu is now being blamed for an increase in the cost of turkey and eggs.

Burrata is a beautiful thing. For the uninitiated, burrata is a cheese comprised of a tender shell of mozzarella, wrapped around a luscious mixture of mozzarella curds and cream. That inside mixture is also known as “stracciatella,” and it is what gives burrata an edge over mozzarella. I like to eat burrata with stone…Read more...

A new home comes with a lot of moving parts. It can feel like there’s no end to the documents and contacts swirling around, from insurance information, mortgage documents, and new bill-pay accounts, to any number of contractors offering who-knows-what services.

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Dating in high school is hard. You’ve got wild hormones, an overwhelming curiosity (paired with trepidation) about sex, loads of pimples, and a shaky sense of self, the world, and where you fit in it. During this time of shape-shifting self-esteem, it’s easy to think that the people you had epic crushes on—the ones…Read more...

The list of potential disasters is endless. At least, that’s what my anxiety tells me. Like many of you, I’m prone to envisioning myself in any number of dire scenarios. What would I do if I were stranded in the desert, or stuck in a crowd crush, or locked in the trunk of a car? I need answers: Is there a special spy…Read more...

There are always new social media platforms launching, but few have the staying power of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok, Truth Social, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Each day seemingly promises us some new platform, most of which we ignore or maybe use for a brief time before ultimately ignoring; others have…Read more...

If you own a home of some sort, you are familiar with how expensive any sort of renovation or repair can be, so many homeowners try to mitigate that expense with sweat equity—i.e., doing tasks themselves whenever possible. Trading time and effort for money is a solid decision, but can lead to awful experiences. For…Read more...

We all deserve a good night’s sleep, which is why it’s frustrating when sweating keeps us from getting the rest we need. If you’ve ever woken up drenched in sweat after a night of tossing and turning, you know how unpleasant it can be. It’s one thing if you’re wearing flannel pajamas in the middle of summer (bad choice…Read more...

No one wants to be the person who accidentally spills coffee on their MacBook and ends up losing all their data. The laptop can be easily replaced, but if you don’t have a backup, you face the uninviting prospect of permanent data loss. Luckily, backing up your Mac right now is effortless and cheap, and there are…Read more...

If you’ve been following my stretching journey, this is the part where it starts to get interesting. After establishing a routine, I’ve been starting to think about whether I’m stretching in the most effective way or not. Recently, I tried some new techniques.

A wise man once said, “Eggs are nature’s cooking school in a shell, a pathway to teaching yourself everything you need to know to become a passable home cook.” With this one (cheap, ubiquitous) food, you can learn at least five different cooking methods (fry, poach, boil, scramble, bake), and get familiar with fats,…Read more...

Receiving an invitation to your high school class reunion can be emotionally complex, to say the least. Here is proof that you are aging (and quickly!), as well as a solicitation to go socialize with other aging folk with whom you may or may not have gotten along when you were younger. You might feel worried about…Read more...

This Friday and Saturday are the beginning of Passover, the eight-day holiday celebrating the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt. Its beginning is marked in Jewish households with a Seder, a ritual meal in which the story of the the Exodus is told. Once nearly exclusively observed by Jews, Seders are becoming …Read more...

Mmm, nail polish remover. That sweet-smelling elixir—wait, sorry. I was sniffing my nail polish remover and I blacked out for a minute. We all know this pungent beauty staple definitely does not smell sweet. But the same chemical that provides its trademark unpleasant scent is what makes it great at cleaning dirt,…Read more...

My iPhone’s display is a mess. Some of that mess makes sense: I expect nicks and scratches on my screen when my iPhone, say, falls out of my pocket onto cement. However, many of these scratches have mysteriously accumulated over time, through no misuse of my own. Under direct sunlight, it’s a massacre. If your iPhone…Read more...

In an era of rising inflation and economic uncertainty, the list of things once considered “first-world” problems gets shorter every day. For example: Pump bottles of lotion that stop working with at least an inch or two of skin-saving goop left at the bottom.

If there is one thing I will not stand for, it is slander against deviled eggs. They’re the perfect little handheld appetizer. Kitschy but not gimmicky, small yet substantial, and near endlessly customizable. They also taste good. You can keep them simple with mayo, mustard, and paprika, or dress them up with bacon,…Read more...

It always warms my heart to receive a bouquet of flowers. This is a frequent occurrence for me, due to my many, many suitors. At the same time, taking care of flowers also brings me a lot of stress. After all, a bouquet of flowers, much like love, is fleeting. The wilt is inevitable—but it doesn’t have to be…Read more...