Lifehacker

After spending some time in the sun, you’re supposed to reapply your sunscreen—every two hours, according to FDA guidelines. But what if you aren’t in the sun that whole time? And what if you use a mineral sunscreen, which doesn’t get “used up” the way some kinds of chemical sunscreens do? It turns out you still need…Read more...

It’s been about five years since the release of Suicide Squad, the DC Extended Universe’s attempt to make a “funny” superhero film in response to the success of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. That didn’t exactly work—though the film made bank, director David Ayer objected to the studio’s attempt to lighten the tone…Read more...

Spending time in a sauna can feel good, but it can also entail a little bit of suffering; after all, if the weather outside were the same as the temperature in a sauna, you’d probably want to hide out in the air conditioning all day. There’s something about unpleasant bodily experiences that makes us think they must…Read more...

I’m sure I need not remind you of the Murder Hornet Saga of 2020, but you should know that 2021 is trying to top what seemed uptoppable—by gifting us (or at least Texas) with the emergence of a type of arachnid some folks lovingly refer to as “acid-spitting ‘land lobsters.’” To be fair, that’s not a totally accurate…Read more...

A recent LendingTree survey revealed that 41% of Gen Zers have relied on TikTok for financial advice in the previous month, and indeed, hashtags like #FinTok or #Money have hundreds of millions of views. But are these bite-sized videos actually giving out good advice? Often not—even comically so. In many cases, the…Read more...

I’m told I have a terrific smile when there are no cameras around, but the second someone points a lens my direction, I turn into a robot who cannot muster a genuine grin. I look like I’m being held hostage and forced to send a false signal of comfort back home with a ransom note. It’s this “this is fine” meme…Read more...

Instagram recently reminded everyone it is “no longer a photo sharing app or a square photo sharing app,” and indeed, parent company Facebook wants it to be the hub for sharing videos of all kinds, from TikTok-style Reels to YouTube-like longer videos on IGTV. As the number of videos on Instagram grows, so does the…Read more...

When I committed to skateboarding in June, I had ambitions for it to last longer than my one-month Lifehacker Fitness Challenge. I mostly kept my goals to myself, though, as not to jinx my probability of getting through the month successfully. Even so, comments came in from older skaters sharing their experiences…Read more...

Baseboards serve a pretty basic purpose, and they serve it well: hide the part of a room where the drywall meets the flooring. Sometimes, though, they’ve got to go, whether it’s because you need to remove them to complete another project, or whether they’re outdated and you’re looking to replace them altogether. …Read more...

Exercise offers any number of benefits, helping to prevent or lessen the effects of chronic health conditions like anxiety, depression, heart disease, and high blood pressure, among others. It is, in so many ways, an essential component of good health.Read more...

This may be a wildly unpopular opinion, but cooking on a gas grill is cheating. There is something both primal and humbling about cooking over an open flame that you started yourself, but you have to let go of a small portion of your ego, and accept that the fire is the one that makes the rules here. (Let’s be…Read more...

We don’t really have action movie stars these days—not like we did in the ‘80s and ‘90s, anyway. Who hath begat the likes of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sly Stallone? No one comes to mind other than lower-tier (and certainly lower budget-commanding) actors the likes of Jason Statham and, somehow, Liam…Read more...

There are times Apple knocks it out of the park with its accessories. AirPods, for example, provide a better experience than other Bluetooth headphones. But there are times that Apple’s own first-party accessories fall short of what’s available from third-party manufactures, like the case of Apple’s $99 magnetic …Read more...

It’s no secret that financial literacy is a problem in the U.S., as less than a third of adults understand basic financial literacy topics by the time they hit their forties. But you don’t need to be an expert to get by, either, as knowing some of the basics can go a long way. Fortunately, there are plenty of online…Read more...

We’ve all seen it: a professional acquaintance searching for a job, publicly and dramatically venting on social media for someone to hire them. We may have been that person ourselves. In my case, I have an acquaintance who, every week, would update LinkedIn with a reminder that, yes, they were still unemployed—with an…Read more...

Depending on when you were born and how much TV your parents let you watch, your first introduction to paprika might have been through the Nick Jr. show Blue’s Clues. Born to Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper (so glad she kept her name), this baby spice was the youngest member of the Blue’s Clues household until her brother…Read more...

We’ve often discussed how to exercise in the morning, from how to actually get out of bed to what you eat once you do. But it’s also worth taking a minute to ask why. What do morning runners know that the rest of us don’t? Do they actually enjoy it? And how can you and I harness that enthusiasm?

Chrome OS users have reported a severe bug in the latest system update that locks them out of their Chromebooks. For some reason, Chrome OS fails to recognize users’ Google account passwords when they attempt to log in after installing version update 91.0.4462.165. The botched update may also be causing other serious…Read more...

Feeding the birds can be fun—the problem is that feeding ducks and geese at the pond is much more detrimental than most of us think. Giving your local aquatic wildlife food from your pantry not only alters their diet, but changes the environment, too. Here’s why we should just let the ducks get by on their own.Read more...

A proliferation of well-intended, remote “check-in meetings” during the pandemic has only made work more difficult. According to surveys, most workers say they want fewer meetings, and that those meetings are making them less productive, but there are ways to rein in all the “touchpoints” gumming up your calendar.…Read more...

Not everyone who needs help will ask for it, and not everyone who asks for help will do it in the same way. Sometimes, what we know as a “cry for help,” won’t exactly seem like it’s coming from a point of desperation. This is why it helps to know the ways in which someone in a vulnerable state might be pleading for…Read more...

Thoroughly learning a subject takes more than just reading about it, or watching videos. It helps to discuss and apply your new knowledge, which is why it’s so smart to pair up with a classmate to study together. What if you’re studying on your own, though? It turns out you don’t need your study buddy to be…Read more...

I only got my two most impactful jobs, each of which opened a number of other opportunities, because I contacted the right person at the right time. One job was at a genetics lab, and the other was a science writing position, and neither was previously advertised; I got them both after sending out lots and lots of…Read more...

Unlike some services (looking at you, iCloud), Gmail is pretty lenient with its free tier. You get 15GB of storage between Gmail and Google Drive, and for many people, it’s good enough. But a lot of people have been using Gmail for a decade or more now, and it’s not hard to accumulate 15GB of data over that kind of…Read more...

Buying a new laptop—a good one—is a costly endeavor. Even base model MacBooks costs more than a thousand dollars, and it’s much the same story for a Dell XPS.

Finding mold in any part of your home can be cause for concern, but it’s also a fairly common occurrence—anywhere there is dampness, there is a chance for mold to grow. While mold can be harmful to your health, expensive professional removal isn’t always necessary; it can often be removed safely with the right…Read more...

Many of us have spent a lot of time during the pandemic in isolation, so this week we’re re-learning the art of deep conversation with help from user researcher and writer Ximena Vengoechea.Read more...

If you planted zucchini in your garden this year, you have no doubt noticed the beautiful orange and yellow blossoms that grow alongside (and on) the fruit. The flowers are edible and beautiful, with a pleasant, fresh flavor that’s reminiscent of zucchini, only a little bit more herbal and (obviously) floral. You can…Read more...

Locks fall into the category of things you don’t notice until one isn’t there. Take public bathroom stalls, for instance: Typically, you walk in, close the door behind you, and lock it without a thought. But if you enter the stall and realize the lock is broken, it could turn into a stressful situation, as you…Read more...

If you’ve ever considered using lucid dreaming as a way of harnessing the power of your sleeping brain, you’re not alone. The first step for aspiring oneironauts is to let your mind know that your dreams do matter. As part of Lifehacker’s Lucid Dream Workshop, here’s some background about the risks and benefits of…Read more...

When we’re younger, maybe our relationships are more grounded in the physical than the spiritual and emotional. But underlying the foundation of any enduring relationship is a certain kind of love, and at the crux of this spiritual connection are the teachings of the philosopher Plato.

Keep your keycard with you, don’t leave valuables in your room unattended, and keep the door locked. Most of us follow basic security precautions at hotels, but I’m begging you to add one more to the list: Don’t use hotel wifi without protection from a VPN.

Considering that food prices continue to rise—up 2.4% in the last year—you might be feeling the pinch with your food budget. One way to tackle those costs is by making the most out of a standalone freezer. Food staples like meat or bread are cheaper when bought in bulk and can last for months in a freezer, and could…Read more...

I am continuously fighting my hoarding tendencies, which is why I usually shy away from the “10 great uses for old twist-ties” genre of hacks—and yet here I am, telling you to keep an empty sugar bag on hand, particularly if you are a little bit clumsy (or have clumsy children, clumsy pets, or a clumsy significant…Read more...

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but kids have a lot of energy. If they’re not running off or climbing something, they’re asking questions or wanting to be entertained, all of which can be hard to keep up with if you ever want to also do other things. But then there are the hyperactive kids, who bring with them a whole…Read more...

As you get stronger, you become able to lift heavier and heavier weights. That much is probably obvious. But what beginners sometimes miss is that it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: You become stronger because you lift heavier and heavier weights. This is the concept of progressive overload.Read more...

Coleslaw can be a tricky thing. Bad slaws are watery and bland, but a good one provides a perfect sweet-and-tangy, crunchy counterpoint to a wide variety of rich and salty BBQ foods, my favorite being pulled pork. Good slaw hinges on good technique—which you can read all about here—and the best slaws are the usually…Read more...

TikTok wants to offer you more than simple mindless entertainment—now it also wants to help you find a job—by inviting users to submit video resumes for jobs from participating companies like Chipotle or Target. The pilot program, called “TikTok Resumes,” skews towards Gen Z job-seekers looking for entry level…Read more...

Making video games is deceptively difficult, and there are numerous game creation apps out there that can, with a little effort, help you design and build the game of your dreams.Read more...

If you’re 21 years old and newly unleashed upon the world with a college degree and an ambition to jumpstart your life, maybe you should turn to strangers on the internet for advice. We kid, kind of—but you can consult Reddit for all the pointers you desire, as one eager college graduate recently did in a thread that…Read more...

It is unacceptable to dump any kind of cooking fat—whether liquid or solid—down the drain. Doing so can not only lead to personal plumbing issues, but neighborhood-wide blockages and—in extreme cases—basements full of sewage.Read more...

Before he was one of the masterminds of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, New Zealand director Taika Waititi made a cottage industry out of films exploring the lives of small communities of people, from the fantastical vampires of What We Do in the Shadows to a Māori kid struggling to find his place in 2010's Boy. His…Read more...

Children who experience “parentification” are kids who have to grow up too fast because they are expected to assume the role of a parent to their siblings or their own parents. There are a number of reasons why a child can be become parentified—some of which are avoidable, and some of which are not; but either way,…Read more...

It’s no surprise given the season of Loki that just wrapped up, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is really doubling down on the “multiverse” concept in advance of next year’s Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. For evidence, look no further than the premiere of the next MCU series on Disney Plus, an…Read more...

Want to watch YouTube videos offline on your smartphone? There are plenty of ways to do so, but it can get a bit confusing to find the right one. Even YouTube’s official download methods vary from region to region, and third-party video download methods keep changing. Here’s how to download YouTube videos on your…Read more...

Many of us have had something confiscated by the TSA at one time or another. Obviously, anything seen as a weapon is likely to be pocketed by an agent (they even took my nail clippers once), and the allowable sizes of liquids can feel pretty limiting, particularly if you’re not checking a bag. If it’s been a while…Read more...

Let’s say you just signed up for a credit card, and days later the same lender promotes a new sign-up bonus that’s better than the one you got: Can you call them up and ask if you can qualify for the new bonus instead? For the most part, the answer is no, but there are exceptions, too—so it can’t hurt to ask.Read more...

Along with all the fun in the sun and taking advantage of the extended evening daylight, summer also means sweat. Sure, sweating isn’t limited to June, July, and August, but when the temperatures climb, so too does the tendency to turn into a sweaty mess.

Instagram influencers get a lot of flak, but they also get a lot of money and opportunities in the real world—when they’re good at the job. To reach a level of goodness, you need lots of followers, but there’s more to it than that. You want brand deals? You want a nice blue checkmark? You need to keep your followers…Read more...

It’s really easy to judge other people’s relationships. In fact, we may not even realize when we’re doing it. But when you spend time with a couple, their dynamic usually becomes apparent relatively quickly, to the point where you may think you can identify their specific problems.Read more...