Lifehacker

Forget seeing a glass as half-full or half-empty. The best drinking-water-based test of your outlook on life is whether you’re shocked to find out that some bottle water is just tap water, or if you’re so cynical you’d be shocked to find out that any of it isn’t. The truth is, in fact, somewhere in the middle.

Social media might be the place you stash food, cat, and landscape pics, or maybe a convenient way to stay connected to distant friends and fam—but either way, it is arguably a vital hub of modern human culture. Sure, it’s important to the brands, content creators, and influencers who keep it running, but it’s even…Read more...

Every now and then a particular TV show takes over and commands the all-seeing eye of pop culture for weeks or months at a time—think the first season of Stranger Things, or the height of Game of Thrones manis. Right now, that show is Squid Game, which has become the most successful Netflix series of all time, not to…Read more...

A few months ago, I accidentally signed up for a farm box delivery service. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, except I buy a lot of food for work, and having too much perishable food in the fridge at any given moment gives me a small amount of anxiety.

Whether you write for a living, functionally as part of your job, or as little as humanly possible because thinking about high school English still sends you into a cold sweat, we can all use a periodic reminder of some writing best practices—and the most common mistakes to avoid.

If you’re like me, your Apple Watch is essentially glued to your wrist. A walk almost feels like wasted steps if my Apple Watch isn’t there to track each stride. And given that many of us rely so heavily on fitness bands to inform us about our exercise each day, we want that information is as accurate as possible.

Definitionally, science fiction is a genre built on the power of imagination—both for those who create it and those who consume it. Though expansive sci-fi films abound, like horror, the genre works just as well—or better—when it unfolds inside your mind, the confines of which aren’t limited by the budget for CGI. …Read more...

The iPhone takes very natural-looking photos. It doesn’t do a lot of color correction, it doesn’t saturate colors, and it doesn’t increase the contrast by default just to make an image pop. What I’m saying is, the iPhone camera is, by default, a bit basic.

For repairs and maintenance of tools and furniture, beeswax is a versatile, natural, and low-waste option that can be used as a lubricant, a protective coating, and a sealant. It can condition your cutting boards and help prevent your tools from rusting.

Courtesy of their new, Ultra-Wide camera sensor, iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max can now take stunning, super-close-up photos without attaching anything to your phone. When you get close enough to a subject, your camera will automatically switch to a cropped version of the Ultra Wide view, resulting in surprisingly…Read more...

The Microsoft Store has struggled in the past to garner approval from its users. It has had a reputation for being dysfunctional—or missing critical applications altogether. But with the Windows 11 upgrade comes the promise of significant improvements and increased functionality. Here are the key features to look out…Read more...

Sometimes the best way to stick with a budget is to follow a simple rule that doesn’t dictate how every last dollar should be spent. That’s the idea behind the 50/15/5 rule, which offers guidelines on managing your monthly budget while still keeping you on track of your saving goals. This rule is most relevant for…Read more...

Sagging couches tend to fall into two categories: Those that you got for free from a friend or relative (or the curb) and wouldn’t necessarily have picked out yourself, but the price was right; or a well-worn and well-loved piece of furniture that genuinely is past its prime, but is so comfortable that you can’t bear…Read more...

Are you someone who enjoys playing video games, trying out the latest and greatest gaming tech, and writing? If so, you may be interested in a job that involves all three activities, can be done from anywhere in the world, and pays $60/hour.Read more...

Whether you installed it yourself, or inherited it from a previous owner (or it was there when you rented your home), real hardwood floors can change the feel of an entire space. Whether light- or dark-colored, wide planks or parquet, hardwood floors are a sought-after feature in a home.Read more...

It’s usually pretty easy to spot a dog with the zoomies, as they run around at full speed, bouncing off walls or furniture in their own version of parkour, with a wide-eyed expression on their face. While “zoomies” may be the most accurate description of the intense burst of energy you just witnessed, the technical…Read more...

In your teens and early 20s, it was perfectly acceptable to tape or tack posters, photos, or basically anything else you wanted to your walls and call it decor. But as you get older, your tastes may change—including when it comes to art.Read more...

Summer was full of food deals, but not to worry—autumn isn’t falling behind when it comes to free and discounted eats. Though not as closely related to the season as apple cider doughnuts or candy corn, who doesn’t love a nice chicken sandwich to warm their hands as the temperatures drop?Read more...

In the latest chapter of the booster vaccine saga, the Food and Drug Administration’s advisory panel voted this week that they consider Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster doses to be safe and effective. This means they could be authorized soon, but a bunch of questions remain to be answered.

This month’s hunter’s moon got me thinking about moon names, and wondering if the full moon in every month has its own name. Spoiler: It does.

I give director James Wan an awful lot of credit. After making a boatload of money creating the Saw franchise (a series of movies that popularized the term “torture porn”), he turned around and reinvented the spooky haunted house genre in Insidious and The Conjuring. Tastes in thrillers vary wildly, but it’s hard to…Read more...

Adele’s first single “Easy on Me” in six years just dropped, yet for some reason, many of us are expected to keep working and living as normal today. One thing is clear: With the combination of releases from Adele, Mitski, and Taylor Swift, “sad girl autumn” is about to be in full swing.

Everyday people get sucked into conspiracy theories and violent movements all the time, although the process happens slowly. It starts small. YouTube’s algorithm might offer up an edgy, offensive video, which leads to more edgy, offensive videos. From there, someone can move to unsettling Reddit posts, Facebook…Read more...

My brain refuses to accept the fact that the 1990s ended 21 years ago—it definitely seems like it should only be 10, right?—and I’m having similar trouble coming to terms with the fact that I recently entered my fifth decade of existence. In my head anyway, I’m still roughly the same in every way as I was in my early…Read more...

There are many times in life when we hear a bit of information and incredulously mutter to ourselves, Duh. Of course I knew that. Who doesn’t know that?! And then there are times when we learn something so simple, so basic, and that solves such a persistent, annoying (albeit small) pain point in our everyday…Read more...

For all of Nintendo’s awards and praise, one area the company consistently draws criticism is its online experience. Compared to competitors like Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo has always been behind in letting people play games with friends and purchase digital content. The company is trying to improve, though, with a…Read more...

Nine years ago today, my partner and I went on our first date. Of course, I didn’t know it was a date at the time, and neither did he—we were acquainted through music and had played shows together, so when he was passing through the Bay Area (where I was then living) on tour, he asked me if I wanted to meet him in San…Read more...

The headline here is optimistic. If you tell someone who has feelings for you that you don’t want to date them, but you do want to sleep with them, you probably will sound like an asshole. But we have a few tips on how to sound less like one. You’re not actually a bad person, but when feelings are involved, it’s easy…Read more...

One of the best things about being a PC gamer is that it’s almost always possible to get your old games running on your new computer. However, unlike playing retro console games on modern TVs, there’s no universal solution for making that happen. Owing to the myriad hardware and software configurations you might be…Read more...

With more than one billion active users as of 2018, you’re probably on Instagram. At the same time, most of us have heard of social media’s negative effects on our mental health—we just go on Instagram to check our notifications and feed our addictions despite it. You might’ve had enough though and want to try taking…Read more...

The only thing sadder than a sunken, desiccated, mold-covered Jack-O-Lantern on your front step is one in your trash can. Even if you don’t have a compost pile in your backyard, there’s just no good reason to send your castoff Halloween decorations to the landfill—you can put them to good use in other ways. Here’s how…Read more...

As the weather cools off, our daily gatherings and activities tend to move inside. And once we’ve hunkered down for winter, we tend to stay hunkered down for winter. That means now is the time to tackle those last little home improvement projects to spruce up the exterior of your house and prep it for winter. That…Read more...

This week, kids and teens are watching the trailer for upcoming horror flick The Black Phone, opining about Willy Wonka’s outfit, and signaling with red flags. What does it all mean? You decide.

From green bean casserole on the Thanksgiving dinner table to the dutiful reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance by American school children, many of our cherished traditions and beliefs are actually based—at least in part—on good old-fashioned marketing and advertising. It’s part of what makes Capitalism fun!Read more...

Have you considered turning your life into a video game? And no, we’re not referring to this TikTok trend.Read more...

After you have a baby, you may be expecting to bond with all the other new parents you meet and parks, playgroups, and sing-alongs—but while those folks are certainly easy to meet, it’s surprisingly hard to keep those relationships going.

For some, dark mode is the only mode. For others, it’s the theme they want at night. Either way, whatever your phone’s theme is, you want your apps to match. Let’s take Twitter, for example: If the rest of your phone is in dark mode, you probably don’t want your bright white tweets to burn your eyes. Here’s how to fix…Read more...

Back in the good old days, we encouraged you to consider deleting your Facebook account because of privacy breaches that left your personal information vulnerable to nefarious bad actors the world over. And we can all still agree that isn’t great. But the last new years have given us many more reasons to want to wash…Read more...

Is any social media platform truly troll-free? My theory is that LinkedIn will be our last bastion of exclusively earnest posting. In the meantime, TikTok continues to update ways for users to limit the hate and harassment thrown their way.

If you and your kids are tired of watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and The Paul Lynde Halloween Special over and over and over every October, these 10 new Halloween specials, special episodes, and series are kid-friendly spooky alternatives, and fresh-as-a-newly killed corpse—and all of them are …Read more...

Well, it’s been a year. And like all years, some new and exciting terms have irrevocably entered our lexicon, as evidenced by their inclusion in the dictionary. Keep in mind, a word needs to be circulating for a while—often years—before it can get on Merriam-Webster’s radar. (Except COVID-19: That bastard went from…Read more...

AirPods Pro are one of Apple’s best products. For $249 a pop, they aren’t cheap, but they don’t feel cheap, either. These tiny earbuds pack a ton of power into a small package, delivering excellent sound quality with some great noise control features. There’s just one small hitch; you might start hearing some static…Read more...

I’m about 50/50 on remembering to bring leftovers home from a restaurant. The food is so delicious that I’m taking a special effort to bring it home and eat it again, and yet, I forget it exists for the entire time between getting it boxed up and looking for it in my fridge the next morning.

Noting that South Korean pop culture has become at least as loved outside the Republic as within it should brook no argument in 2021. It all started with the international rise of K-pop, a broad umbrella term for just about any popular music coming from Korea—I’ve spoken to friends with young kids in at least five…Read more...

In recent weeks, you may have seen a recipe for a salmon rice bowl making the rounds on TikTok. In this recipe, TikTok user Emily Mariko puts leftover salmon on a plate and covers it with day-old rice. She then places an ice cube in the rice, covers it all up with a parchment paper, and puts it in the microwave for a…Read more...

Whether you have a Google Home, Amazon Echo, or Apple’s HomePod, your smart speaker shouldn’t go ignored this Halloween. Just as you can ask Alexa to set a timer while you cook, or inquire about the weather with Google, you can also ask your smart speakers to embrace spooky season—if only you know what to ask.

I love cooking. I love eating. I love eating what I have cooked. I do not, however, like decorating my food. Don’t get me wrong, I love a theme, and am always delighted by playful seasonal fare, but I am severely lacking in artistic skills. I am also quite lazy, and easily frustrated by detailed work.Read more...

The general consensus is that everybody hates spoilers, and if you spoil a movie or TV show online, you are a bad person. I tend to agree. It’s a small thing to not be careless about dropping a big plot reveal, on social media or elsewhere (a movie blogger I’ve followed for 20 years decided to ruin the new James Bond…Read more...

Spooky season has arrived, and we are here for it. But one thing that weighs on my mind every Halloween—every holiday, really—is the amount of waste it creates. One UK study revealed that more than 2,000 tons of waste are generated yearly from the costumes alone. How can we have all the fun, all the high-spirited…Read more...

In our image-obsessed society, I understand the temptation to at least try some of the weird beauty hacks I hear about, whether those “tips” come from self-proclaimed beauty gurus on Instagram, glossy magazines, or your mom’s friend Diane who swears it works. I’ve wasted an embarrassing amount of money accidentally…Read more...