Lifehacker

Most people who have to regularly drive in the snow have some kind of tip or trick for making the trip safer or easier—things like checking your windshield wiper fluid more often, and keeping blankets and emergency supplies in your car. You also may have heard a piece of advice about tires: Specifically, that you’ll…Read more...

For those who drink enough seltzer to justify the cost (and counter space), soda makers (like SodaStream, and those that followed) are a convenient way of getting your fix of fizzy water without having to schlep cases of it from the store. And while it’s definitely a low-maintenance appliance, you do have to clean…Read more...

In case you blinked and missed the TikTok #barkatyourdogchallenge, it’s exactly what it sounds like: A person barking at their dog. More specifically, the goal of the challenge is to take a video of your dog reacting to you barking at them, in their face.Read more...

At least four infants have been hospitalized with bacterial infections linked to Similac, Alimentum and EleCare powdered baby formulas, prompting a voluntary recall, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports. One death has also been reported, but has not been confirmed to be solely attributable to bacterial…Read more...

People who live in areas that experience all four seasons tend to have certain expectations for each one—usually corresponding with a weather worksheet they completed in elementary school. (Summer = sun, fall = changing leaf, winter = snowflake, and spring = either an umbrella or raincloud.)Read more...

Podcast-derived true-life crime dramas? Hulu’s got ‘em in March, as the streaming service launches a pair of star-backed miniseries exploring the sordid deeds of two women, one of them a convicted fraud and the other a convicted killer, and both of the shows based on popular podcasts.Read more...

Everyone wants to eat healthy, but “healthy” doesn’t have a specific meaning. Neither do lots of other food-related buzzwords that are used on packaging or by influencers. These words and phrases are meant to make you feel good (or bad) about your choices, while giving you little to no useful information.

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The image of flying first class is one of comfort, privacy, and luxurious leg room. Unfortunately, the average passenger’s price range more often involves the sound of crying babies than the soft clink of champagne glasses.

The core pillars of dental hygiene are widespread and well-known. Brush twice a day, floss daily, avoid sugary foods and drinks and—don’t rinse your mouth out after brushing?

One thing I noticed during my cocktail training is that a lot of bartenders are super horned up over the Dark ‘n Stormy. Pre-shift, mid-shift, after-shift, a Dark ‘n Stormy—or Frothy Boi as I have heard them called—seems to be the go-to for many of my favorite cocktail professionals. This has always been curious to…Read more...

In the spirit of the latest Halloween reboot, there’s a new straight-to-Netflix Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie out this week that, like the 2018 Michael Myers movie, ignores all of the intervening films and re-introduces the original’s lead (in Massacre’s case, that involves recasting Sally Hardesty—as Marilyn Burns…Read more...

The life of a “morning person” sounds so peaceful and organized. Imagine waking up on time—even early—to make breakfast, do yoga, plan an outfit, or otherwise calmly get ready for the day. Must be nice. The reality is that plenty of us wake up in a panic after oversleeping, completely tuning out our alarms until the…Read more...

It’s been a rough few months for some of the biggest manufacturers of health and beauty products—specifically, those in the form of aerosol sprays. First, Procter & Gamble (P&G) issued a voluntary recall of a number of their aerosol spray antiperspirants in November, then followed it up with a similar recall of…Read more...

We all know video game piracy is illegal, but what about jailbreaking a video game console you personally own?

The history of video games is built on pixel art classics like Super Mario Bros., Super Metroid, and Final Fantasy VI, but the graphical medium has made its way back to the forefront of gaming thanks to a booming interest from indie game creators.

When the first iPhone hit the market, I was deeply suspicious and mocked the very idea of a smartphone. When my friend showed off their shiny new phone, I wondered out loud why, exactly, I needed to be able to simulate drinking a beer on a (remarkably tiny) iPhone screen. Like everyone else, I long ago admitted how…Read more...

This week, the kids are testing each other’s loyalty through TikTok, clowning on a gamer for his ignorance about women’s anatomy, and making their dads famous by digging up an old disco song.

This week we mourn the passing of Pot Roast, a beloved cat who millions of TikTok users were lucky enough to have grace their algorithms in recent years. While we collectively grieve the loss of this furry icon across social media, we can cheer ourselves up by turning to the many other online animals making our lives…Read more...

A few years ago, a possum got stuck in my bathroom wall. At the time, I was living in downtown Houston, in an old bungalow that sat on a pier-and-beam foundation. Somehow, the possum managed to get under the house, then crawl up in the space between the walls, where he got stuck and subsequently spent an entire day…Read more...

The first time Disney+ premiered a new Pixar movie that had never played in theaters, it felt like a sorely needed pandemic holiday gift, and the streaming-only release of Soul certainly didn’t prevent it from winning an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. But when Luca went straight to streaming the next summer, it felt…Read more...

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It’s hard to improve on caramelized onions. When you need so little to make something so delicious, why even try? Fair enough—but you can make them even better with a quick marinade.Read more...

I’m not very good at taking vacations. Often it’s a failure of planning—a trip will go much smoother if everything’s figured out beforehand, especially when I’m on a budget, but I tend to do stuff like getting on an airplane without knowing where I’m going to sleep that evening. But then there are those trips that are…Read more...

Gas prices are going up, and it sucks. But you don’t always need to live with the price you see—there might be another station on the other side of town that offers cheaper gas than you’ve been paying, or rewards deal you aren’t aware of. You don’t need to do all the research yourself, either.

Occasional warm days in February are a teaser for spring, so we understand if you’re starting to daydream about the garden you’ll plant when it’s closer to summer. But there’s no need to wait—you can get started on some of your spring gardening tasks right now.

Do you feel that? Winds in the east, mist coming in—like something is brewing? Has something shifted seismically, as was predicted by this now iconic pre-pandemic tweet? Is a storm coming? Well, sort of, yes. According to Allison P. Davis, writing for The Cut, “A Vibe Shift is Coming.”

When you decide to start doing a grown-up skincare routine, what seems like a pleasant bit of self-care can quickly turn into an overwhelming mess. In what order do you apply all this junk? Which steps can you skip and which are essential? Why is everyone on the forums recommending retinol? Why are there so many…Read more...

Most people know that you can refinance a loan, which involves getting a new loan at better terms and paying off the old loan. Refinancing is most commonly associated with home mortgages, but you can refinance any loan as long as the terms allow for it and you can find a better deal. Refinancing a mortgage is so…Read more...

It’s way too easy to rack up a series of open tabs. You’re supposed to be researching flights for your trip this summer, but, wait, when does summer officially start again? Ah, the summer solstice, but, what exactly is a solstice, anyway? Next thing you know, you’re 100 tabs deep, and you don’t know why or how you’re …Read more...

Making your house “smarter”—with automated controls and voice commands—can streamline chores and save you money on energy costs. If you’ve ever dreamed of living like a Jetson, but thought that smart technology would be too complicated or expensive for your budget, here are some upgrades you can do yourself.Read more...

Kitchen equipment is by far the most important factor in how your recipes turn out, and stoves are the most important piece of all. Knowing your particular stove’s quirks can be the difference between a perfectly cooked meal and a total disaster—so if you’re used to gas and suddenly need to cook on an electric stove,…Read more...

Oh sodium chloride, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depths of my crock pot, breadth of my amateur dinner repertoire, and height of my Costco-sized Himalayan salt shaker. Without you, my hastily-put-together nightly family nourishment would be all but unpalatable. (My kids would argue it…Read more...

Thanks to the latest Windows 11 update, all users can now run Android apps natively on their PCs. Prior to this update, Android app support was a beta feature exclusive to Windows 11 Insiders, but now, anyone can download and install apps—at least, apps from the new Amazon Appstore Preview for Windows.

What makes the perfect gaming setup? Traditionally, the biggest, best TV for consoles, paired with an ultra-sharp, high-refresh-rate monitor for your PC. For retro gamers, the CRT is the holy grail, perfect for playing classics from the SNES and Genesis. But what about the games in the middle—the not-quite retro but…Read more...

For many people, their oven’s broiler is just kind of there. It’s handy for browning the top of casseroles or getting a roast chicken extra crispy, but beyond that, it doesn’t see much regular use. This is a huge missed opportunity. Broilers are so much more versatile than they get credit for—especially if you don’t…Read more...

Before you take your sluggish old computer down to the e-waste disposal site, try bringing it back to usefulness by installing a Chrome operating system. Google has opened the downloading gates to Chrome OS Flex, a new iteration of its versatile OS, and it might be the perfect solution if your older Mac or PC is…Read more...

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I’ll never forget one of the first tables I served as an antsy new waitress, when a woman asked her husband, “What does ‘IPA’ even stand for?” The man replied, “It means it was made in America.” While his response was certainly patriotic, it was also objectively false.

When you take an Uber, ratings are a two-way street. Sure, you get to rate your driver on their skills behind the wheel, but your driver also gets report on how well behaved you were throughout your trip. If you’ve ever wondered why your score is the way it is, whether because it’s surprisingly low or uniquely high,…Read more...

Security updates are important, and you shouldn’t ignore them. However, while apps and browsers like Chrome will remind you when it’s time to update, you might also be blissfully unaware there’s even one available, leaving you open to security risks. This happens to be one of those times.

The Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg adaptation of the Uncharted video game series is out this week, riffing on Indiana Jones with a modern young protagonist. It’s one of my favorite game franchises, which by no means guarantees I’ll enjoy the movie. Movies and shows based on video games have a deservedly spotty reputation;…Read more...

I don’t have a problem with rich people, per se. Some of my favorite people are wealthy! They only get annoying when they walk around believing their wealth is a product of virtue instead of dumb luck. But I don’t even blame rich people for that too much—thinking, “I have this yacht because I am essentially better…Read more...

While lead in paint was banned in 1978 and in plumbing in 1986, it can persist in older buildings. If you’re not sure whether your home contains this hazard, testing is simpler than you might think. Here are some ways you can test your paint and water for lead—and what to do if you think you have a problem.Read more...

Potato milk is the newest addition to the pantheon of plant-based milk-like liquids. It’s being called the “new oat milk,” and the comparison seems apt—both products became popular by being marketed to coffee shops and coffee drinkers. The texture reportedly foams well in lattes. But how does it stack up nutritionally?

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In theory, sheet pan meals are a flawless solution to the eternal question of what to make for dinner. They’re just as hands-off and convenient as slow cooker or Instant Pot recipes, but with less waiting around (and even fewer dishes to wash). But often, a recipe that looked gorgeous and appetizing in photos can…Read more...

Private property is a fascinating concept. On the one hand, ownership is really just a collective agreement. On the other, protecting private property rights is key to a stable society. Still, there are actually a lot of limitations on what you can do with your property, though most of the time, you can do just about…Read more...

Scroll through Reddit’s r/AmItheAsshole for approximately two seconds, and you’ll discover the power of weddings to tear relationships apart. Wedding planning was fraught territory before the pandemic, and the added layer of safety protocols have only made things more tense for many betrothed. While researching this…Read more...

The mythical “women’s bar”: It is a real type of barbell, but unless you compete in one specific strength sport, you probably have some misconceptions about exactly what it is and why it exists. Is it a shrinked-and-pinked bullshit bar? Or is it a necessary piece of equipment for all women? Nope, it’s neither of those…Read more...