Lifehacker

It only seems normal to drag a dead tree into your house in order to get drunk in front of it because we do it every year. Same with all the holiday tales and traditions involving Santa, little baby Jesus, that Mariah Carey song, and everything else we associate with Dec. 25.

If you own wooden utensils or cutting boards, you’ve probably noticed they have a way of retaining certain pungent odors. As much as we love our wooden kitchen tools, they are also porous, so they easily absorb strong smells—and then transfer those smells to foods we’re preparing later (garlic watermelon, anyone?).Read more...

By now, all of your turkey gravy has been consumed, frozen, or tossed, but pouring gravy on roasts, potatoes, and roasted potatoes is an all-winter affair in my house. I make gravy before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving, and after Thanksgiving, which translates into a freezer full of gravy.

None of us would willingly hand our phones over to someone if we thought they were going to steal and leak our personal data—but recent reports indicate some Apple and Google repair staff are doing just that.

If you’re planning an international trip (or if you’re on one right now), it’s time to brush up on the COVID-related regulations, because testing requirements changed, and they take effect today. Also, remember how the Biden administration decided in early November that country-based travel bans are a bad idea?…Read more...

Devouring salty, crackling poultry skin is one of my favorite things about eating birds but, once cooled, it can go from transcendentally crisp to upsettingly gummy in a matter of minutes. Depending on the size of your bird, trying to eat all the skin before it cools can come off as a little creepy, but you don’t have…Read more...

I read a lot of historical fiction as a child—most of it in the American Girl Doll series. I don’t know how they do it now, but back in my day each doll had six matching books (each sold separately!), and all of the books had nearly identical titles—the only part of the title that would change from doll to doll was…Read more...

It’s impossible for thoughtful parents to not to worry about their child’s popularity. You can’t remember your own Lords-of-the Flies-with-hairspray high school social experience and not wonder whether you’ve prepared your child to navigate the fraught social landscape of not-quite-adulthood.

The end of the calendar year is a time for tactfully exiting holiday parties and hazarding guesses at what to get your coworker for Secret Santa, but more importantly, for many workplaces, it’s also the time when performance reviews happen, budgets are made, and salaries are negotiated.

If you’re a parent of small children, you probably face the nightly bedtime routine with some amount of dread. There are so many to-do’s, moving, slippery parts, hyper children, and hygiene perils (see: bathwater, drinking) to deal with—plus an unparalleled appetite for chaos and stalling that seem to hit as soon as…Read more...

When there’s an emergency, you want quick, reliable access to help. What you don’t want is for that access to be so quick and so reliable you end up calling 911 by complete accident. Unfortunately, that is the state of emergency services on iPhone and Android, and if you’re reading this, you might be well aware of how…Read more...

Firefox is shutting down its Lockwise password manager service. The passwords you save in the Firefox app on desktop and mobile will still be available, and they’ll still be synced across all your devices; Mozilla is effectively rolling Lockwise’s features into Firefox and removing the iOS and Android app from the…Read more...

Before Halo Infinite’s story mode goes public, Microsoft is inviting users into the multiplayer mode in the open beta, which has been running on Steam since Nov. 15. Halo Infinite starts you off with 17 multiplayer modes by default, but if you launch the game with Steam set in offline mode, you end up with 14 more…Read more...

Wrapping holiday gifts can be fun—but if your gift-wrapping station is disorganized (and the wrapping paper is forever rolling off the table and unraveling), it can also be tedious. That’s why taking the extra time to set up the perfect, functional gift-wrapping station is worth the effort. Here are a few tips to set…Read more...

It’s a cliché to say very child is different, but it’s unquestionably true that different kids need different types or support and will thrive in different environments. A child with a laidback temperament might thrive in a traditional classroom setting, while one who is full of energy might be disruptive, and one…Read more...

You may have noticed that we are all surrounded by tech. We use it for work, for entertainment, and to keep in touch with our friends and family. It can feel, from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, that you are tethered to your many gadgets. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the constant use of…Read more...

Last week I asked which discontinued fast-food items you wish would return with all your heart. To paint a picture of loss, I of course used Taco Bell’s discontinuation of the Mexican Pizza as an example; despite less-than-overwhelming support for the Mexican Pizza in the comments, the item will be featured in this…Read more...

Despite their festive name, Christmas cacti are great year-round houseplants, and don’t look out of place in the middle of July. They also live so long that they can be passed down between generations if they receive the proper care.Read more...

When it comes to romantic relationships—whether they are firmly established, or still in their early stages—we are (rightfully) conditioned to pay attention to and make note of any warning signs about a person, commonly referred to as “red flags.”Read more...

As you were learning how to drive, you may have also learned a few car maintenance basics, like how to refill your windshield wiper fluid or check your oil levels. Another common tip was to use a penny to check the tread on your tires.Read more...

Sometimes it’s very clear when someone speaking to you is being verbally abusive; you feel cut-down, belittled, and/or manipulated. But other times, it can be harder to tell if the words directed at you are some type of criticism or unwelcome feedback, or actual verbal abuse.Read more...

Those who have spent some time working with wood know that the building material comes in different types, and they’re not all equally suited for every project. Other than the features that depend on the type of tree the wood came from (i.e. maple, oak, birch, etc.), how wood is used also comes down to whether or not…Read more...

There’s an old saying that eventually, people and their pets will start to look like each other. (Or is that spouses? Either way, it’s something/one you live and go on walks with.) But once that happens, what comes next? You can either ignore it and move on with your life, or really lean into it, and take (and…Read more...

Omicron is the latest variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Like Delta, it’s been designated by the World Health Organization as a “Variant of Concern” (more severe than a “Variant of Interest”). Also like Delta, it’s moving fast. Cases spiked in South Africa recently, and cases of infection with the variant have…Read more...

For one reason or another, we all have photos and videos that we don’t want just anyone looking at, and we’ve all experienced that small jolt of panic when showing someone one picture, and they start scrolling to their heart’s content. If you use Google Photos, you no longer need to worry, as you can move your…Read more...

It took me way longer than it should have to watch It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It’s almost like I was saving it for when I needed it most, which happened to be during a global pandemic (and a couple of months before the Season 15 premier). I adore it, and everyone involved with making it. The entire cast is…Read more...

It has been a good year for movies. Not a great year for movie theaters, though.

You’ve made the annual pilgrimage to the Christmas tree farm, selected the fullest Fraser fir, (or erected that surprisingly lifelike pre-lit Aspen artificial from Costco), placed each ornament on the perfect branch and carefully lifted your little one to the tree’s apex for the privilege of putting the star on top.…Read more...

Pokémon GO is still going strong, and is a great example of a uniquely mobile gaming experience. While the game is more about hunting for Pokémon throughout the real world, and less about graphics, the game’s frame rate has always lagged behind what our smartphones are capable of. Thankfully, that’s no longer the…Read more...

The old joke “there’s an app for that!” has finally come for the healthcare industry as medicine moves into the uncharted waters known as Digital Therapeutics (DTx). You might be familiar with the broader category of Digital Health, which includes stuff like the Fitbit designed to support healthy lifestyles or a…Read more...

Let’s start with the good news: Solar panels can continue to produce energy throughout the winter, even when temperatures really drop. (If you purchased solar panels for your home and live somewhere with cold winters, you probably already know this.) But the less-convenient news is that if your area is also prone to…Read more...

In college, I knew a girl who did a lot of her studying at the gym. She’d bring a textbook and prop it up on the treadmill, and somehow it worked for her. Anytime I tried it, I’d have a bouncing book, a terrible workout, and not be able to report back a single word I’d read.

While most contemporary homes don’t come with picture rail installed, the Victorian style of molding is making a comeback. Whether you’re after that classic victorian look—or something a bit more modern look—installing picture rail molding is a simple and stylish project to tackle. While conventional picture hooks and…Read more...

With the holiday season in full swing, the young people are shifting to different dimensions, denying the existence of Ancient Rome, and learning more about snowflakes than you’d even think was possible.

The cost of streaming service subscriptions to cover all of your watching and listening needs can add up quickly, especially if you don’t take advantage of free trials and discounts when they come along. While it’s true that most streaming services offered up their best deals for Cyber Monday—and some of those promos…Read more...

The new year is here, and with it came a big night for drinking. The holidays typically come with a lot of them, from Thanksgiving to boozy Secret Santa exchanges to New Years Eve, there are frequent opportunities to gather and make merry—most of them with gallons of alcohol.

Although winter typically isn’t thought of as a gardening season, it is possible—with the proper arrangements and precautions—to plant and grow a handful of vegetables during the colder season. Of course, that depends on exactly how cold and snowy your winter gets, but thanks to climate change, who knows what a…Read more...

It’s fireplace season in many areas right now, which (hopefully) means cozy evenings spent curled up in front of its warm glow. Or, maybe you were cleaning and came across a bunch of letters and gifts from an ex, and felt that warm glow beckoning to you for other, less cozy reasons.Read more...

As you might already be well aware, the future of Roe v. Wade isn’t looking good.

Crackers are not something you have to cook. They are a fully realized and finished product, and come out of the box ready for consumption. Put a piece of cheese on a cracker and you have a good snack. Holiday snacks, however, require a little more than “good.” They require a bit of excess, a bit of unnecessary and…Read more...

There’s a lot to love about the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, but there are some serious headaches, as well. The last time we covered the devices, we talked about how to fix the Pixel 6's slow fingerprint sensor. Today, it appears a new headache has surfaced, with many users complaining their Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro won’t connect…Read more...

When you first start to consider that you might be bisexual, a whole new world of possibilities suddenly opens up. Essentially, your personal dating pool just doubled in size at a time when you’re still trying to figure out your own identity. It can be a lot. Here’s how to explore your bisexuality without getting…Read more...

If you’re a fan of aerosol spray antiperspirants and deodorants, you’re going to want to check to see whether the one you use is part of a voluntary recall issued by Procter & Gamble (P&G).Read more...

At over three million burials, Calvary Cemetery in Queens, N.Y. boasts the most bodies of any cemetery in the US. It’s also one of my favorite places to run. At the top of one of its rolling hills, you can turn and look out at row after row of gravestones, until a horizon of the stone slabs meets the Manhattan…Read more...

One of the first things any new homeowner discovers is that a house is basically entropy in building form. From the moment a house is born, it’s dying—eaten by termites, digested by rot, eventually subject to any number of cataclysmic natural disasters. You thought you were borrowing a worrisome amount of money in…Read more...

The air is crisp. It’s getting dark at 4 p.m. The mailbox is stuffed increasingly desperate sales flyers. It must be the holiday season, which means it is high time to get a Christmas tree (unless you’re one of those happy souls who already decorated weeks ago, in which case, good for you).

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is flip through random gift guides in an effort to discover fresh ideas for stocking stuffers for my husband, or something (anything) for my impossible-to-buy-for father-in-law. Sure, if they have everything and want nothing, maybe that’s what they should get—but…Read more...

HBO just dropped the trailer for the second season of its acclaimed teen drama Euphoria. It’s been a long wait between seasons—though there have been a couple of specials in the meantime, but the last regular-series episode aired over two years ago. The show deals with frankly (very frankly) with multiple aspects of…Read more...

Every December I suffer flashbacks to my first-ever retail job, wrapping presents at a gift shop. As much as I enjoyed entering autopilot and mechanically wrapping box after box, it was always a fun challenge to tackle an oddly-shaped gift: A loose teddy bear. A stray shovel. An entire island of misfit toys that…Read more...

Six years ago, Chris Fleming released the sketch “Company is Coming” as part of his hit web series GAYLE. In it, a frantic Gayle vacuums the air, spins around, and shouts things like “David, put seashells on the door knobs!,” “Fluff the pillows, you losers!” and “Can we get the lesbian plant out of here??”