Lifehacker

United States copyright law is a real beast. There was a time, not so long ago, when any creative work would fall into the public domain—meaning the original rights to the work had lapsed, allowing anyone to make use of the characters and ideas within it—after 42 years. Then, in the 1970s, the Walt Disney company…Read more...

Last night, I had some vaccinated co-workers over to drink wine, eat pork, and shoot some arrows with my new compound bow. It went well (with only one slight injury), but I am very tired today. So tired, in fact, that the idea of squeezing citrus fruit amongst the dirty dishes and empty wine bottles is far too much…Read more...

It sounds like a headline ripped from an ‘80s cyberpunk novel, but the U.S. is facing a sudden gas shortage after a ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline resulted in many Americans panic-buying (and in many cases panic-overbuying) gasoline.

Hydroponics was synonymous with growing copious amounts of weed in your apartment without much work, but these days hydroponic gardening is simply cutting-edge technology for sustainable farming. And while it seems that farming in a test tube is a bit out of touch with nature, it’s actually touted as a convenient way…Read more...

New kitchen toys always get me excited about cooking—sometimes a little too excited. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the novelty of it all and want to immediately dive into challenging recipes and elaborate projects, but every new method and appliance has a learning curve, which is why it’s usually best to start small…Read more...

This week we’re looking at the dark, scary side of youth culture, including Russian trash-streaming, deadly TikTok dangers, and, most frightening of all, Elon Musk doing comedy.

The CDC said Thursday the masks can come off, so we’re about to see a lot of cute faces out there after months of isolation. Faces that you didn’t think were cute before lockdown are probably pretty appealing to you now, and people all over the country are preparing for a slutty summer.Read more...

Battle royale-style “one vs. many” games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone have colonized the online space over the past couple of years, with hundreds of thousands of gamers logged in at any given time. But some parents are uneasy with the level of violence in the most popular titles in the genre; even in a…Read more...

As I embarked on the second week of my monthlong goal to actually like running, I was not expecting miracles to happen. Despite being a fairly active person overall, that first run was a bit of a disaster. But I did learn a few things that I was able to tweak to get me to the point where I can say that while I don’t…Read more...

By now we all know the importance of a long, secure password. With every new data breach in the news, we know we should change them. And if you can remember each unique password for each unique site, then good for you; but for the rest of us, we’ll need a little help keeping our passwords organized and secure, and for…Read more...

Store-bought cleaning products are known for using lemon. We’ve already talked about how easy it is to clean with lemons, making it a popular alternative to chemical-based products, but what makes lemons and grapefruits such an effective cleaner is the same citric acid that you can get as a powerful cleaning powder.Read more...

One of the worst problems of losing your job is having to deal with finding healthcare coverage. Fortunately, you have some options, although there are trade-offs with quality and price. Here’s a look at what you can do.Read more...

Encryption is a wonderful thing. While I don’t run full-drive encryption on my Windows desktop at home—courtesy of BitLocker—that’s only because I’m the only one who ever uses my system and I don’t really keep anything of value on it. (All my personal documents and anything I would otherwise encrypt live on a NAS box…Read more...

The CDC has updated their guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated. Vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask, even indoors, unless specific rules require it, the CDC announced today. A business can still require you to wear a mask, for example, and you still need to mask up on public transportation and in…Read more...

Amazon recently announced new versions of its Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 smart displays. Each of the model refreshes includes an upgraded camera and the latest Alexa features, but the hardware specifications—and intended user bases—differ. Let’s take a look at the changes.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, but if there is a shortage of gasoline in your area, that is not a good reason to fill water bottles or, god forbid, plastic bags with gas. Hoard gasoline if you must, but hoard your gasoline in proper gas cans.Read more...

Cabbage-based slaws—cole or otherwise—are transcendent when properly executed, but so easy to mess up completely. No one wants a bowl of cabbage shreds swimming in overly-sweetened, watered-down mayo, and—luckily—no one has to resign themself to that fate. To keep your slaw from sogging out, you just need a little…Read more...

You might not begrudge your Edge Chromium browser for trying to help you save money, but it can be annoying when prompt after prompt pops up about cash-back programs and coupon savings. Sometimes the deals are great; other times they’re more of an annoyance than useful.Read more...

Loofahs are great for exfoliating the skin, and though one of them is my regular shower companion, I had no idea what they are. I assumed the coarse tubes were either natural sponges from the sea, or perhaps manufactured in a factory somehow. But it turns out they are actually a plant from the gourd family, and you…Read more...

Strong-willed children are challenging to raise. They can turn even the most basic and routine of situations into a battle of the wills. They don’t just want to be right; they know they are right. They cannot stand to be told what to do all the time, so they will defy you at every turn, and the more obedience you…Read more...

You don’t have to go to an expensive spa to relax and achieve momentary bliss. The same luxurious bath experience can be had in your own home, on your own terms, without spending a fortune or going somewhere public to get it.Read more...

One of the perks of living alone is the freedom to interpret the phrase “proper meal” however the heck you want. Even if your cohabiter’s diet preferences are in line with yours, their presence can repress your more feral tendencies, like making a bowl of ganache in the microwave and eating it with a spoon (just as an…Read more...

If you’ve had the fortune of coming across SMART goal setting, you’ll know the acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Assignable (changed into “Attainable”), Realistic, and Time-related. In particular, specificity makes goals easier to plan for and track. For example, “eat less takeout,” isn’t as good as, “eat…Read more...

Even if you’ve never purchased a Sara Lee product, you’re probably familiar with their long-running jingle, which makes the bold claim that “nobody doesn’t like” their line of frozen desserts and other tasty carbohydrates. But it looks like they may need to take people with peanut allergies off that list, following a…Read more...

Renting an apartment comes without the commitment of a mortgage, but often without the luxury of customization, too. Generally, the owner or landlord sets the rules on what can and cannot be changed, with some stricter ones even banning holes in the walls for pictures.Read more...

Given how much destruction droughts can cause, it can be easy to forget the fact that having too much water is also a problem. And not only when a massive, area-wide flood drowns a town—just one heavy rainstorm can do a surprising amount of damage to a garden.

Hearing your wireless devices are vulnerable to something called “FragAttacks” doesn’t exactly inspire joy. However, the word is scarier than the risk; there’s no evidence that anyone is actively exploiting wireless devices via these vulnerabilities, even given the millions that could be susceptible to…Read more...

WhatsApp’s controversial new privacy policy goes into effect May 15, 2021. The updated agreement gives Facebook permission to collect your WhatsApp data, and lots of people aren’t happy about it. That said, users are not forced to accept the new terms automatically—but those who don’t agree to them will experience…Read more...

I grew up in a rural town in Michigan with several relatives who are avid hunters and, therefore, had guns in their homes. (In one case, those guns were probably stashed in random ceiling tiles and hollowed-out books, in preparation for an imagined future government raid.) Today, I live in Flint, Mich., a city with…Read more...

Microsoft is rolling out an Outlook update to fix a strange bug for Microsoft 365 users that’s causing email text to disappear as it’s typed and incoming messages to show up blank. In other words: a productivity-killing nightmare, whether you rely on Outlook for work or for fun.Read more...

The CDC’s advisory panel on vaccines has now recommended the Pfizer COVID vaccine for everyone age 12 and up, in a 14-0 vote. This follows an FDA decision on Monday to extend the vaccine’s authorization to this age group. The vaccine appears to be as safe and effective in this age group as in young adults, according…Read more...

Just two days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children ages 12 and up, parents of adolescents got more good news: It can be given at the same time (or close to the same time) as any other vaccines they may be due to receive.Read more...

You can now add your preferred pronouns to Instagram, and I highly encourage you to do so even if you feel like you don’t really need. The more people that do, the more we can normalize this behavior and make the process of sharing and accepting pronouns better for all.

The IRS says that over $1.3 billion in 2017 tax refunds is still up for grabs—money that belongs to an estimated 1.3 million people who have yet to file their tax returns for that year. However, if you’re owed money, you’ll have to move fast—there’s only one week left to claim it, as the IRS will stop holding on to…Read more...

All signs indicate Americans are ready to get back into their regular vacation routines this summer, and airlines are doing what they can to lure customers back into the air. Airline staff, pilots, and flight attendants traveled a difficult road over the past 15 months, from figuring out how to operate with limited…Read more...

There are so many things to consider when you have to tell your kids you’re going to get divorced (we have a whole guide about it here). You want to present as much of a respectful, united front as possible; you want to make sure they know they’ll still be loved and supported by both parents, and that this isn’t…Read more...

Workout programs are typically organized by the week. You might lift weights on a three-day program, or a five-day program, for example, leaving the days in between as “rest” days. But what does resting really mean? You don’t have to just chill on the couch those days; you have options.Read more...

Anyone who has every plowed their way through a pile of fresh pineapple has most likely felt its sting. Eating too much of the fruit can make your mouth feel scraped raw, which is quite the betrayal when you consider that fruit is supposed to be “good for you.”Read more...

We’ve all wondered as we carry a bunch of mostly-empty glasses and mugs from the workspace to the kitchen: What would happen if I dumped these in my pothos plant?

Even though we’re well into spring, it’s not too late to plant your own garden. If you’re an experienced gardener—or at least have attempted to start one in the past—then you probably have at least some of what you need to get started again.Read more...

Cooking on your stove means cleaning your stove afterwards.Read more...

Crying is often regarded as a sign of weakness, and even something to be ashamed of. But let’s continue to normalize crying, not only because those arguments are bullshit, but because science agrees that crying is important, actually. It releases toxins like stress hormones from our bodies, it triggers the production…Read more...

Aukey makes good chargers, or so the many reviews and roundups of them lead me to believe. However, if you’ve been Amazon shopping lately, you might be surprised to find Aukey’s portfolio of products mysteriously missing.

With the recent upswing in cryptocurrency value during the pandemic, you might be feeling a sensation of intensifying FOMO if you don’t own some already. But are you really missing out, or is crypto an overhyped gamble? Well, the answer really depends on your investing strategy and your appetite for risk. Here’s a…Read more...

I love a boxed brownie mix. I think it is very hard to make a brownie that tastes better than one made with the Ghirardelli dark chocolate mix, especially when you consider the price point and amount of effort required. But that does not mean I don’t like to tweak and futz with the mix—part of fun of using mixes is…Read more...

At one time or another, we all say things we regret. Perhaps you have a tendency to make bad jokes (and can’t read the room). Perhaps you love to air your hot takes on the latest social media controversy (and find yourself a bit confused when the outrage turns back on you). Perhaps you’re just a bit of a loudmouth.

Returning to the gym after a long time off is a strange feeling. You’re either weaker than before, or you’re fit in a different way (maybe you didn’t lift while your gym membership was on pause, but you ran a lot), yet you still remember your old weights, your old paces, your old routines.Read more...

Introducing your friends to a new podcast is a lot easier if you can link them directly to a part of the episode you think they’ll enjoy. There are several podcasting apps that let users send time-stamped links that will start from a specific part of the episode—including, now, Spotify, which recently added the…Read more...

Maybe you forgot that your unemployment benefits were taxed, or that you had stocks which paid out taxable dividends tucked away somewhere in your portfolio—either way, a tax bill can surprise you, and sometimes when you can least afford it. If you won’t be able to pay your tax bill right on May 17, consider the…Read more...

Google is going to start enrolling all of its users in two-step verification, if they haven’t set it up already. Will it come as a shock to some? Sure. But that’s fine; the surprise will fade away, leaving accounts that are much more secure than they were previously, especially for those people who use easy-to-guess …Read more...