Lifehacker

The thought of alien life has long seemed like a fantasy, immortalized in pop culture and cast aside in the mainstream as a wacky conspiracy, but a certain Republican Senator from Florida wants you to know that the truth, uh, may be out there.

I almost always have a couple of bags of frozen shrimp in my freezer, but a couple of weekends ago I decided to grab some “fresh” ones from the seafood counter at the grocery store, hoping to shave off the 15 minutes it usually takes to defrost the little guys from my meal prep. I got home and made a shrimp cocktail,…Read more...

On any given day, there are more than 400,000 kids in the U.S. foster care system. Some of those kids are in the system for days or weeks, while others spend months or years bouncing from home to home to home—and every single one of them has experienced trauma.

Over the last few days, we’ve seen lots of reports across Reddit and social media that Apple Music on CarPlay has been crashing unexpectedly. While we don’t know the specific cause, and there’s no confirmed fix yet, there are a few workarounds you can try while you wait.Read more...

We all have the same problems with our trash can: The bag falls in, you can’t pull the bag out, it smells terrible, etc.Read more...

Netflix has been killing it will original animated features lately, from the Oscar-nominated Over the Moon to the zany apocalyptic surprises of The Mitchells vs. the Machines. In June, they’re trying again with the premiere of Wish Dragon, a new Chinese-American co-production that’s trying so hard to recreate the…Read more...

Hanging plants can make your place feel like a beautiful oasis, but when those plants’ colors begin to fade and their leaves dry out, it’s hard to save them, especially if you have no idea what is going on. Some hanging plants outgrow their pots, while others are victim to the common overwatering, and even the more…Read more...

Anyone can set out a bowl of olives as part of a charcuterie board or snack plate, but serving a dish of warm olives is a pro move. You can gently heat them in a luxurious pool of warm olive oil—or you can blast them with the hot, whipping winds of the air fryer. Both are good options, but the latter is my current…Read more...

It’s time for Android 12 Beta 1—your first chance to try out all the fun new changes to Google’s operating system with less of a chance of encountering a nasty bug, taking a performance hit, or running into other beta-bred problems on your primary carry device. At least, I’m much more willing to check out the beta…Read more...

We put a lot of labels on our kids somewhat reflexively, and they’re not all good. We see an undesirable behavior and we point it out in the same way these behaviors were often pointed out to us when we were kids: Don’t be so stubborn, we say. He’s such a picky eater, we moan. Oh yeah, she’s really shy, we excuse.…Read more...

If you’re a recent college graduate or preparing to start your first salaried position, you might never have seen a job offer letter before, and it’s important to know what these documents mean. The letter is an offer of employment, yes—but the terms presented within aren’t necessarily set in stone, and can often be…Read more...

I tuned in to Google I/O this year with privacy on the brain. Chalk it up to the recent drama of Facebook-exec-turned-Apple-employee-turned-unemployed-employee Antonio Garcia Martinez, who famously said in 2018:Read more...

The law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, is hugely misunderstood. (For one thing, it’s spelled HIPAA and not HIPPA.) The latest people to misunderstand it are those who claim it’s illegal to ask them whether they’re vaccinated. Sorry, that’s not how the law works. That’s not…Read more...

Imagine you wake up to a smoldering piece of machinery in your yard, still smoking and sizzling after screaming towards Earth from space. This is an extremely unlikely scenario, but it remains true that space junk happens. Of all the scientific instruments we launch into the stratosphere, some of it, on occasion,…Read more...

Ho-hum, you think. Nothing big coming to Hulu in June. Love, Victor season two is out on the June 11; I should probably try to catch up with season one. Season two of Dave? I didn’t even know there was a season one. And then you spot it: A 2021 movie called Willy’s Wonderland. You google it and discover it stars…Read more...

The housing market isn’t overheated, it’s on fire. Both pent-up post-pandemic demand for homes and a supply shortage has pushed median sales price on existing single-family homes up 16.2% year over year during 2021's first quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. To navigate a seller’s market,…Read more...

It’s hard to argue that most of us have a little too much stuff lying around, but getting rid of your stuff can be difficult. Maybe you’ve formed a personal attachment to certain items or you truly believe you’ll have a practical use for it someday. Most of the time, though, “personal value” means “guilt” and…Read more...

First time growers are often told to buy plants like bamboo, cacti, or succulents. We’re told these are resilient plants that don’t need a lot of attention. And sure, while they are “hardy” as plants go, the notion that a succulent can survive anything you do to it is sadly mistaken.

It’d be nice if finding a therapist you’ll like were as easy as finding someone to paint your house. In both situations, you have to shop around, but interviewing your potential counselors is a lot tougher than just reading Yelp reviews—especially because there’s no guarantee a therapist’s methods will click for you…Read more...

How do you know if you’re doing too much in the gym, or not enough? We’ve talked about how to manage the intensity of your exercise, but what about the actual time you clock during a workout? The optimal length of an exercise session depends on your goals, and on what, exactly, you’re doing.Read more...

On one end of the parenting-style spectrum are the “helicopter parents” who hover in an ever-vigilant attempt to protect their children from basically everything. On the opposite end, we have the “free range parents” who let their kids roam—just like we all did in the good ol’ days, back when we only came home for the…Read more...

Loki, Luca. Luca, Loki. Disney Plus is doing its part to keep you indoors in June as it premieres the third TV series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the next feature film from Pixar.Read more...

It’s not the best week for a new feature that lets you turn your smart assistant display into a security camera, but one company’s misfortune is another company’s gain, I suppose. Regardless, a brand-new “Home Monitoring” setting lets you do just that with your camera-equipped Amazon Echo Show, offering a handy way to…Read more...

Considering the abundance of tax scams out there, it’s wise to be wary of unusual correspondence purporting to be from the IRS. However, if you recently received a jointly issued IRS-White House letter from Joe Biden confirming that you’ve been issued stimulus funds, it’s important to know that it’s not a scam, and…Read more...

Knowing the life cycle of your plants is vital to creating a healthy garden. Some plants grow all year round, like evergreens (hence the name) while others sprout only once a year, like geraniums. It can be hard to keep track of which plants come back every year (perennials) and which live only one cycle (annuals).…Read more...

If your old, beat-up collection of Barbies, Matchbox cars, or MEGA Bloks have overstayed their welcome, ditching them (without dumping them into a landfill) just got a lot easier.Read more...

People love to hate garlic presses. Anthony Bourdain hated them. Alton Brown hates them. Anna Hoffman at Epicurious hates them. Every one of these people has their valid reasons for hating this particular kitchen tool, but that does not mean that you have to hate the garlic press.Read more...

If you do a lot of deadlifts or other grip-exhausting exercises like pull-ups, you’ve probably developed some calluses on your hands. And if you don’t take care of those calluses, sooner or later one of them is going to rip. Fortunately, you don’t have to stop lifting while you wait for it to heal.Read more...

Not all advice need be professional. Sometimes your problems merit a bit of unvarnished honesty from a dude equipped with nothing more than a computer and a conscience. Luckily for you, I’m that guy. Welcome back to Tough Love.

The Google Phone app can now announce the caller ID for incoming phone calls out loud, so you’ll know who’s calling without having to eyeball your phone. The new feature is available globally for all Android phones that use the Google Phone app for calls.

If you’re behind on filing your taxes, consider filing for an extension today—before the 2020 tax deadline expires at midnight—as you’ll avoid costly IRS penalties for not filing your tax return on time. Here’s what you need to know.

A big part of parenting is setting rules, expectations, and boundaries—and then enforcing them. Every parent learns at some point that if we’re not consistent with our rules, they pick up on that real quick, and they start to test the strength of our resolve at any given turn. Let them skip brushing their teeth just…Read more...

Going paperless doesn’t need to be limited to office work. Between online bill pay and services like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Zelle, CashApp, and Venmo, you can get rid of nearly all your finance-related clutter. But why stop there? Going paperless can apply to virtually every area of your life, so here are a few ways…Read more...

Eufy makes a ton of cameras for various household needs: doorbell cameras, cameras you can set on at table to chat with people while you work, security cameras you can stuff in the corner of a ceiling, and more. The one attribute they share in common is that some kind of bug, vulnerability, or unfortunate issue on…Read more...

This week we’re conquering our addiction to processed foods with help from Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Michael Moss. Michael is the author of the New York Times bestselling Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, and his latest book is called Hooked: Food, Free Will, and How the Food Giants Exploit Our…Read more...

Dogs love treats, and humans love giving dogs treats because we like seeing our dogs happy and excited. Not all treats, however, are created equal. Some, like table scraps that contain a lot of salt and fat, are not good for your pooch; and some, like those little dog-specific “ice cream” cups, are very expensive.…Read more...

The next celestial event to light up the sky across the Northern Hemisphere has a name befitting its red-tinted hue: The Super Flower Blood Moon. No, that mouthful of a name isn’t a purely scientific term, but as far as full moons go, this month’s is definitely worth the space on your calendar. It’s the product of a…Read more...

So you’re finally headed back to the gym after some time off. Whether you kept up your fitness a bit with home workouts, or completely forgot to work out, you’ll have some ground to make up when you head back to the gym.

Millions of college students will be released from their college careers and into the real world soon, and while it’s such a promising time, there are ways to ride that wave of enthusiasm into a more practical set of plans to launch your new life. Here are 10 tips for making the most of it.

Buying groceries is one of those universal chores most of us could probably do better at, whether it’s saving money on food or spending less time shopping. Here are ten common mistakes we tend to make at the grocery store—and how to avoid them.

At some point, you may notice a few signs that suggest your teen needs help. Maybe their grades are starting to slip, they’re going through a rocky break-up with their first love, or they’ve become withdrawn for a significant amount of time. You think it might be helpful for them to speak to a therapist, but you’re…Read more...

I try my best to keep an open mind when reading new and creative food hacks from around this world-wide web of ours. I mean, just imagine if I’d never given popcorn salad a chance. How sad would that be? (Moderately sad.) But even still, there are a few “hacks” I have avoided for years, and we’re testing one of them…Read more...

According to the 2019 American Time Use Survey, people are spending anywhere from one and a half to two and a half hours in their gardens. Unfortunately, no matter what your plans are for the day, the weeds will keep growing and flowers still need watering. So how do you regularly tend to your garden and make time for…Read more...

You might need to hire a home appraiser to set up your estate for inheritance, qualify for insurance, reduce property taxes, or to help you determine future improvements to your home. But what does an appraiser actually do, and what should you be looking for?Read more...

After all the time and effort you’ve put into your search, you’ve finally found the home of your dreams (or at least one in your price range that you’re mildly excited about). You’ve made an offer, had the home inspected, and soon it’ll be time to close.Read more...

Pets are lucky they’re (usually) cute, because humans will go to all kinds of lengths to keep them happy, healthy and comfortable. Sure, that’s your favorite chair, but it’s also your dog’s favorite chair, and once she looked you in the eyes and sighed, you gave in and let her have it. That kind of thing.Read more...

Visiting a ghost town is one of the closest things we have to time travel. If left undisturbed, the town remains suspended in time; perpetually stuck in the year it was abandoned. Fortunately, some ghost towns have been incorporated into state and national parks, which tend to leave them in their state of natural…Read more...

While some gardeners enjoy spending time with and caring for their plants every day, others are looking for more of a hands-off approach. It’s one thing to take some time in the spring or early summer to plant some flowers, for example, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll have a consistent carpet of colorful buds all…Read more...

Everyone has their own goals in life. For some, it’s climbing a mountain or writing a novel. For others, it’s taking a photo of extreme weather that is subsequently featured on their local weather report. The problem is, snapping a decent-quality picture of an incoming storm or cloud formation isn’t as easy as it…Read more...

After a year of being cooped up inside without the escape of non-essential travel, we’re more than ready to hit the road. Sure, it’d be nice to venture off to far-flung destinations, but there’s also (probably) so much to see right there in your home state.Read more...