Lifehacker

It’s long past time to face that dreaded seasonal question: What am I going to be for Halloween? The guide below is designed to help you avoid some of the most common Halloween costume pitfalls and provide tips for truly impressing the guests at your upcoming Halloween Social/Apple Bob-a-Thon.

As every parent knows, children are master negotiators who are good at identifying (and capitalizing) upon your weaknesses. “Kids are amazing at picking up signals,” said Gaëtan Pellerin, a negotiation expert and author of the book “Mindful NEGOtiation: Becoming More Aware in the Moment, Conquering Your Ego and…Read more...

People love to denigrate the sexy costume. “Why does a lobster need to be sexy?” they will ask, clutching their pearls and shouting to God in heaven. “Why would someone want to dress up as a horny Bob Ross?”

Ever since Game of Thrones generated enough gold for HBO to make a Lannister green with envy, other networks have been trying to replicate the formula. I’m having trouble coming up with a single success story (MTV’s Shannara Chronicles ain’t it), but Amazon seems likely to have done it with its The Lord of the Rings…Read more...

If you’re lost while hiking, or your car has broken down and you’re stranded on the side of the road, the obvious thing to do is call for help. But what if your battery is low? Please don’t listen to any of those viral posts screaming that you should change your voicemail message. Text a friend instead.

Rattan is a natural material made from trees in the palm family, and it’s used to weave cane mesh for furniture. The best thing about rattan? Using it for furniture upgrades can give you a sexy 70s vibe or a boho vintage look without spending much money.

I’m not a senior citizen, even though I’m fussy, dislike loud restaurants and sometimes grunt when getting out of chairs. And yet, I’m also a card-carrying member of senior citizen advocacy group AARP, which qualifies me for all sorts of discounts when shopping. That’s because, contrary to popular belief, there’s no…Read more...

Reddit’s nosleep forum is a short-horror online crucible, wherein the most horrifically unsettling content is sent to the top and merely mediocre example of the macabre die an ignoble death.

Fortune may favor the bold, but Thanksgiving favors the prepared. Prepping your oven for Turkey Day in the last week of October may seem like overkill, but repairmen can be hard to schedule (getting you out to your home can take weeks!), and it’s best to identify any oven issues well ahead of time so as not to add to…Read more...

One of the most exhilarating stages of a new relationship is the moment when your butterflies start to turn into something a little more serious. At the same time, this is also the stage when you might be guilty of overthinking every last move. Should I wait until tomorrow to text back? Why am I the only one…Read more...

What’s in a name brand? Would a product by any other name not taste as sweet, or as salty, or as rich in mayonnaise-y goodness?

It’s painful to snap what seems like a fantastic photo, only to find an unwanted intruder in the frame. Maybe you didn’t realize you had a huge coffee stain on your shirt, or perhaps a nearby stranger accidentally photobombed. But before you turn to Photoshop, you can try a free option first.

The iPhone used to have one of the simplest camera layouts of any smartphone. Over the past couple of years, however, as the iPhone’s camera grew bigger and better, Apple added more and more features, buttons, and settings until it became a bit...bogged down. The iPhone’s camera app is due for a major redesign, but…Read more...

Spooky season will find you wherever you are, and that includes the gym. While you can do creepy-sounding exercises like skullcrushers and devil’s press any time of year, now is the perfect time to add a few to your regular workout—or try them all.Read more...

“Foreign” cinema has a reputation for being more erudite than mainstream American film—after all, watching a film with subtitles means you’re reading while you’re watching a movie, and reading is the smartest thing someone can do.Read more...

Even though iOS works great for most people, it has a lot of minor, frustrating annoyances. With a little bit of effort, though, you can get rid of most of these issues and make your iPhone work for you. Here’s a list of 10 things that are likely to bother you, and how you can fix them.Read more...

The full version of Android 12 dropped last week for Pixel devices, and we’ve spent the last few days testing out the OS, getting familiar with its new interface, features, and settings. It’s not a huge deviation from Android 11, but there are several changes and new features worth talking about.

As a somewhat rational, somewhat-grown-up, I can handle ghost movies. Once the movie ends, I can safely resume normal life knowing that those ghosts, demons, and zombies probably can’t hurt me. But psychological thrillers? Home invasions? Vengeful ex-lovers? Those are the kinds of scary movies that get under my skin…Read more...

At some point in our childhood, we learn that living in a society means controlling certain emotions. We suppress, in particular, emotions we consider to be “negative”—fear, anger, jealousy, selfishness—for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that we consider them shameful. However suppressed these negative…Read more...

While car rental prices have eased somewhat since summer, we’re not out of the woods yet. Rates were still 51% higher last month compared to September 2019, and demand is expected to spike again for the holidays. To mitigate some of the price shock, now might be the time to consider the car rental discounts available…Read more...

When it comes to dollar stores, there’s a lot to unpack—like their tendency to pop up in food deserts, and their impact on a local economy—but that’s not what we’re talking about today. Because regardless of how you view these discount chains, 80% of Americans shop at dollar stores at least occasionally, according to…Read more...

Clearly, at this point, we know there’s no such thing as “work-life balance.” There never was, and there definitely isn’t now, during a pandemic. And then there’s “work hard, play hard.” Remember that old chestnut? The assumption was that the harder you work, the more plentiful and enjoyable your leisure time will be.Read more...

Attics already have that mysterious quality, where items that were at some point important to us (or the home’s previous owners) fill boxes that we forget about, and then eventually rediscover. And the fact that many attics are accessed through a trap door built into the ceiling only adds to the intrigue. (Or maybe…Read more...

Unless you spring for the expensive anti-scratch coating, or take really good care of your glasses, chances are you’ll end up with a few scratches on your lenses from time to time. And even if you don’t wear prescription glasses, you probably have a pair of sunglasses sitting around somewhere, and they also have a…Read more...

If you’re looking for a rug for a specific spot in your home, chances are the one you fall in love with won’t fit the space. But the good news is that if it’s too large for the area, you can resize it yourself, using a utility knife and some glue. Here’s what to know.Read more...

Being an adult can be hard, and sometimes you probably wish you could go back in time to when it was acceptable to spend afternoons playing with toys. If that sounds about right, you may be interested in a new position that pays $1,170 to test and review some new Nerf products. Here’s what to know.

Online multiplayer is great, but sometimes you want to plop down on the sofa next to your friend or spouse and play a game on the same screen. These 12 split-screen games were all released within the last five years, and any would make an excellent choice on your next couch co-op game night.

Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings, and usually different spellings. Some are easy to distinguish (plane and plain, flower and flour—though I still pause and reflect every time I need to write “cauliflower”) and some are harder. Here, we’ll focus on the trickier ones people easily get…Read more...

Jeremy Renner is aiming to have a double-plus good November. Over on Disney+, he’s the face of the next Marvel Cinematic Universe spinoff, Hawk Guy Hawkeye, while on Nov. 14, Paramount+ is launching Mayor of Kingstown, a 10-part crime thriller series with the Oscar-nominee playing the head of a Michigan crime family…Read more...

Espresso Martinis are really having a moment right now. I know this not because I’m diligently on the pulse of cocktail culture, with my social media feeds filled with the Hear Ye Hear Ye of libation trends (as it probably should be), but because my gorgeous and affable editor, Claire, graciously enlightened me…Read more...

When you find yourself with leftover rice, your first instinct may be to use it to make fried rice. (And your instincts are correct, as dried-out, day-old rice is preferable to the fresh stuff here.) However, as delicious as this option is, there are plenty of other ways to use up your leftovers, too.

The FDA and CDC have now authorized booster doses for all three of the COVID-19 vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. The details get a little bit complicated, so let’s break down who should get a booster, who can get a booster, and whether you should get a different brand than the one you got in the first…Read more...

We just got done telling you that Hollywood doesn’t make flashy, expensive adult dramas anymore when along comes Warner Bros.’ King Richard, a $50 million bio-pic/Will Smith star vehicle that seems poised to finally deliver the one-time master of the July 4 blockbuster the Academy Award he’s been chasing since 2001's …Read more...

While you’re suffering through your workaday, Joe-Lunchpail life, kids are running around wrecking social media platforms before they even launch, playing Squid Game on the playground, and getting anything they want—just by wanting it.

It’s update season, people! Apple’s latest for the Mac, macOS Monterey, is set to hit devices on Monday, Oct. 25, following four months of beta testing. The update comes standard on the new MacBook Pros, and brings tons of features and changes to your Mac. Let’s take a look at the 31 most exciting upgrades you’ll find…Read more...

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be sneaky-good retirement savings vehicles, but only a mere 9% of account holders actually invest their funds, according to recent research. And yet by doing so, you can rapidly grow the funds in your account, with the added bonus of being able to spend that money penalty-free on…Read more...

Nothing feels less sexy than a giant hoodie layered under a big coat, but that’s winter fashion for you. When it’s cold outside, it’s easy to fall into a seasonal funk, but you don’t have to fall into a simultaneous round of insecurity. Your body is covered up and you might be inclined to treat it a little less kindly…Read more...

Generally, I think generic items get a bad rap. Most everything you buy is available in a store-brand alternative, and almost always, it’s basically indistinguishable from the pricier, name-brand one that gets all the glory. Sure, the packaging might look a little strange, but it’s what’s inside that counts—and…Read more...

Your friend sends you long paragraphs about their breakup or their boss or their grief. How can you show them that you’re engaged and listening? Even before the pandemic, we’ve known there are certain aspects of face-to-face communication that are impossible to replicate over text or call. When you want to comfort a…Read more...

Ageism is the “last acceptable bias,” at least according to the AARP. While age-based prejudice is more often directed at older workers, it does go both ways: “Both older and younger adults are often disadvantaged in the workplace and access to specialized training and education decline significantly with age,” says…Read more...

If you pronounced the words above as duh-trai-tus, ti-nuh-tuhs, and chaach-kee, well done. You nailed it. If not, you’re not alone. A recent study conducted by Preply found that 44% of people have mispronounced or misused a phrase for more than a year before finding out. The same study found that eight in 10 “get…Read more...

Is your closet brimming with stuff you don’t wear anymore? Maybe your shelves are overflowing with knick-knacks that seemed a good idea at the time, but now only trigger an existential crisis? Maybe you just need money, fast (you know why)? Whatever your reason, it’s probably time to simplify your life and sell some…Read more...

A new survey offers some insights into the habits of “super savers,” who are defined by their ability to sock away 90% of the contribution maximum for their 401(k)s (or alternatively, at least 15% of their pay). Of course, making a lot of money helps, too (duh), but half of the respondents included made less than…Read more...

When consumed in casseroles and sandwiches, “breaded and fried” seems to be the default preparation method for eggplant. As a person of Southern origin, I am not opposed to a breaded and/or fried thing, but eggplant doesn’t need it. There are two other efficient ways to prepare eggplant for layering into casseroles…Read more...

The spread of modern technology has changed nearly everything in our lives—including what even the most common of words mean. Rather than invent a word for each novel thing or concept, our language is flexible enough that we can just borrow old words and tweak their meanings. We don’t even need to think about it much!…Read more...

The HomePod (and its little sibling the HomePod mini) aren’t nearly as ubiquitous or out-of-the-box useful as Amazon’s Echos, but they are perfectly good smart speakers for those who are married to the Apple ecosystem. However, you don’t have to submit yourself to perpetual Alexa FOMO—with a few tweaks to your HomePod…Read more...

Nearly one in three U.S. adults live with an “extra adult” in the same shared household, according to Pew Research. Whether it’s with a spouse, sibling, best friend, elderly parent, or a roommate you found on Craigslist, many of us are cohabitating. Which often means sharing a bathroom, the very space in which we…Read more...

When we focus on improving our health, we often end up with a mental list of things we aren’t doing: I should exercise, I should drink more water, I should eat a vegetable sometime. But what about the healthy habits you’re already doing? There are probably more than zero.

Unless you’re incredibly fortunate, your time as a renter has probably included a bad landlord or two. Whether they want to keep your deposit for questionable reasons or refuse to answer requests for repairs, there are a few helpful apps and websites that can get you out of a sticky situation—or help you avoid one…Read more...