Lifehacker

Ever since Marvel’s Avengers was revealed to be an endless online game, a la Destiny, prospective players have wondered about potential microtransactions, and just how bad they are. To just be out with it: Yes, there are microtransactions in Marvel’s Avengers. No, you can’t pay your way to a superpowered character…Read more...

If you don’t regularly drive and park in a dense urban area, parallel parking might fill you with anxiety. Certainly it can be a a challenge for even the most seasoned drivers if they’re used to parking in driveways and parking lots—and while many cars now come equipped with automatic parking systems, it’s really a…Read more...

There are two absolute certainties in my life: I’ll never be able to insert a USB correctly on the first try, and I’ll always have to rotate my fitted sheet at least once before I manage to affix it to all four corners of my mattress. But I’ve recently come up with a solution to this problem, inspired by bedding…Read more...

The passing of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman due to colon cancer is tragic. He was young, he was successful, and he carried the weight of his devastating diagnosis quietly and privately. He is also not alone. “Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States,” says Dr. Mazen Alastie,…Read more...

As you probably know, wonton wrappers are thin, delicate sheets of flour, water, and egg used to make top tier foods such as fried wontons, wonton soup, and crab rangoon (just to name a few icons). But the little squares can just as easily be dropped into simmering soups, sauces, or plain ol’ water to make piles of…Read more...

Attention fans of free food, specifically food from Wendy’s, specifically chicken nuggets: There is a particularly good deal involving their popular fried and breaded chicken chunks this month. Not convinced? The offer involves 10 free savory nuggets. Here’s what you need to know.

In the latest round of What the hell has happened to humanity?, there are now parents on TikTok who are showing their kids pictures of disabled people or people with diseases that affect their physical appearance. And then they are pretending these strangers are their kids’ new teachers. Because, apparently, if a…Read more...

I’m not going to begrudge anyone for using the modem and router that their ISP provides them. You shouldn’t—because you’re probably paying your ISP to “rent” a device that isn’t very good—but not everyone has the patience or inclination to understand the nuances of wireless networking, or even their monthly bill.Read more...

Haters (people from New England) have said that grits are too “mushy,” but mush can be a glorious thing. Sometimes you don’t need texture or contrast; sometimes you just need something that’s warm, delicious, and scoopable. Sometimes (mornings), you don’t want to chew that hard.Read more...

Parents are shouldering extra responsibilities again this fall, with many school-aged students on a partial or fully remote schedule. Whether you’re relearning eighth-grade history to help your child or need some extra help with your college-level calculous, there are lots of apps and websites that will give you an…Read more...

Apple rolled out iOS 13.7 today. Update your device, and you’ll now be able to see if your state supports the COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Express system. More importantly, you’ll be able to opt-in to receiving these alerts without having to find and set up a standalone app. (Nobody likes app sprawl.)Read more...

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No matter how fast medicine moves us towards treatments, preventive medicine will always be the most effective and cheapest way to keep healthy. In this post, we’ll run down some common women’s health screening tests, when you should get them, and what you’re in for when you walk in. (If you’re looking for the same…Read more...

Though the coronavirus pandemic has temporarily halted travel for most Americans, big changes by major airlines could make flying more appealing in the future. Yesterday, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines announced plans to drop domestic change fees—a move that mirrored United Airlines’ own announcement from one…Read more...

I have made a lot of boxed mix brownies. Sometimes I make them according to the package instructions, but I usually make a few tweaks here and there, such as swapping out the vegetable oil for something fancier, or replacing the water with coffee.Read more...

Here’s a fun tiny hack: When you’re moving, make sure you’ve changed the address for any services you use. That includes any online retailers you frequently shop at, which should be a pretty obvious thing when you’re presented with your old address when buying something post-move. What’s less obvious, however, are the…Read more...

There are practically as many methods out there for potty training as there are toddlers resistant to them. There’s the classic sticker-chart-and-prizes method. The messy three-day method. The annoying toy method. Even the M&M method (it’s simple: you bribe them with M&Ms). A lot of these experiences boil down to some…Read more...

With pandemic that is especially dangerous to the elderly, older teens who want to help ensure that Election Day runs as successful as possible can sign up now to be poll workers on Nov. 3. The Poll Hero organization, founded and run primarily by college students, is recruiting thousands of other college and older…Read more...

Schools are opening, and inevitably at least some of them will close again as COVID-19 outbreaks are discovered among students and staff. There’s no federal system to track school outbreaks, but the National Education Association has been compiling news stories and listing them by school district.Read more...

Cereal is now our official beat here at Hack or Wack. Just when you thought we couldn’t possibly test any more methods to improve boxed dry goods, Lifehacker found a way.Read more...

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With the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates low, many savers are feeling the sting in their savings accounts. CNBC reports high-yield savings accounts have slashed rates to record lows—leaving savers looking for alternatives. One option that has been getting attention: high-yield rewards checking accounts. Here’s…Read more...

We know—it’s highly unlikely that you don’t have access to Netflix, either through your own account or one from your roommates, friends, or family members.

A Razer Blade gaming laptop, an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-month membership, a sale on X-Men Dorbz, a 48-pack of Energizer AAA batteries, an 800A Tacklife T8 jump starter, a Kyoku Damascus chef knife, a Bissell robot vacuum, and an AeroGarden Harvest seed kit lead Tuesday’s best deals.Read more...

If you’re a Facebook fan but hate its recent redesign, there’s hope. You can no longer revert back to “Old Facebook” simply by clicking a button in your settings menu, but you can install a Chrome extension that magically transforms the site, restoring the look and feel you previously enjoyed.Read more...

Now that we’re in the midst of a particularly active wildfire season, it’s a good time for a refresher on how to help protect your home against these natural disasters. Of course, a lot of this is preparation that needs to be done well before a wildfire hits, but there are some steps you can take immediately prior to…Read more...

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Beginning September 1 at 11:30 a.m. ET (8:30 a.m. PT), MIT is offering a course on “COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and the Pandemic.” The course’s lectures will be livestreamed every Tuesday and are free to the public. (Only enrolled students can ask questions, but everyone can watch.)Read more...

I love my smart speaker—as much as one can ever love a piece of privacy-stealing technology that only exists to gather information about you, I suppose—but that doesn’t mean I don’t find many things about it creepy, in a dystopian sort of way. And one of the things I find creepiest about Alexa is the fact that if you…Read more...

Flu shots are already available in many places, and as we’ve noted, it’s especially important to get your flu shot this year. (You don’t want to have COVID and the flu, nor do you want to catch the flu and seek testing and care because you don’t know whether it might be COVID.) So is it time? Go for it now if you…Read more...

Over the past few months, we’ve written about mortgage refinancing several times—and for good reason: New Freddie Mac data shows 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have dipped below 3% again. These rock-bottom mortgage rates have inspired crowds of folks to consider scoring a cheaper rate on their existing mortgage.Read more...

There’s a stunningly wrong statistic being passed around, saying that the CDC “admitted” that only 6% of documented COVID-19 deaths were actually from the virus. This is wrong, and is the kind of thing that you can only conclude if you don’t know how death certificates work. The deaths were all from COVID, and about…Read more...

Nature knows best when it comes to, well, most things. If you’re looking for an answer to how to stay cool in the heat, protect yourself from pathogens or form long-term friendships, other living organisms have probably already found a solution—and AskNature.org is compiling them for you.Read more...

Those living in the northern hemisphere have a pretty exciting astronomical week coming up. Between the full moon, a meteor shower and the opportunity to get a glimpse at Mars, there is plenty to see in the night sky over the next several days. If school has already started—especially if it is taking place at…Read more...

I rarely reheat leftover pizza, simply because I love cold pizza so much. But this morning I woke up vaguely hungover, and that pair of cold, two-day-old Domino’s slices just didn’t seem that appealing. They were dry and kind of hard (I had not wrapped them up that well), and it was clear they needed a little heat…Read more...

The world lost a great actor this year, one who brought life to a remarkable range of remarkable Black figures. Chadwick Boseman died Friday, August 28 after a four-year battle with colon cancer—a battle that was kept from the public throughout the filming of his most popular work. The Howard University alum was an…Read more...

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While there’s a growing push for more financial literacy in schools, most kids still learn about money at home. Research shows kids may understand the basics of personal finance as young as seven years old, so you can start teaching them early. One way is by allowing them to spend money under your supervision with a…Read more...

First, our kids decided it was exciting to watch other kids “unbox” new toys or other items. Now, watching other people play video games—or do, basically, whatever—live online is the height of entertainment. That’s why the live-streaming platform Twitch has grown in popularity; it is primarily used for live gaming…Read more...

Apple agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging the company falsely advertised its Powerbeats2 earphones as having a durable sweat and waterproof design. Per the terms of the settlement, Apple has to pay $9.2 million to back to customers, and it’s time for you to get your piece of the pie for your 2014-era…Read more...

Would you leave your family for three years to go on a mission to Mars? Normally that would be an easy no, but I haven’t been alone since March 11, so the prospect sounds... slightly attractive. If nothing else, I may at least enjoy the experience vicariously with Away, a new Netflix series premiering Sept. 4.

Grinding your own spices is one of the easiest ways to improve the flavor of your meals. Grinding them as you need them means they last longer and taste better, and whole spices are often significantly cheaper per ounce than the little jars of pre-ground at the grocery store. But whether you use a mortar and pestle or…Read more...

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To say that we could use a break right now is a massive understatement. And sure, it’s been nice not having to do our usual commute, there’s also something incredibly exhausting about spending all day interacting with other people exclusively online. If you keep dreaming of packing up an RV and spending a weekend…Read more...

One of the best parts of learning a new language is discovering words that we don’t have in English. Many of them describe a specific feeling or mindset—like schadenfreude—that we’ve experienced, but have never had a word to capture it. Some of these words are so accurately able to put a name to a feeling, that…Read more...

If you’ve already read your way through your bookshelf after spending months at home, you might be looking for something new. Maybe you’re usually into historical fiction, but don’t know to go about picking something from another genre. There are the usual ways, like getting recommendations from friends, getting…Read more...

If you’re someone who enjoys a good expletive, you may have found yourself in the position of unintentionally including one in an email—or at the very least, have wanted to. Depending on where and with whom you work, that may be frowned upon, or even automatically trigger an email surveillance system, if your company…Read more...

For the past few months, we’ve spent quite a bit of time outside in the evenings, taking in the night sky. We’ve had a few memorable space-related moments this summer—including a once-every-6,000-years comet and a bunch of meteor showers—and it has been something free to do and look forward to during a period when it…Read more...

With so much competing media coverage—between the pandemic, the police violence against people of color, the upcoming elections, a particularly active hurricane season—it’s a lot to take in. At the same time, though, you still might want to be aware of what’s happening in the world. If you’ve found yourself …Read more...