Lifehacker

There’s a video out there that claims to show a scientist being silenced by the government. I keep seeing people share it while saying things like “What do you think of this?” or “I don’t know if this is right, but it’s worth listening to.” If you want to learn more but are wary of being taken in by propaganda, I’ve…Read more...

It appear to somehow be Friday again. If you’re on the hunt for something great to watch while staying in this weekend, we’ve rounded up some of the freshest options out there.

Streaming libraries expand and contract. Algorithms are imperfect. Those damn thumbnail images are always changing. But you know what you can always rely on? The expert opinions and knowledgeable commentary of The A.V. Club. That’s why we’re scouring both the menus of the most popular services and our own …Read more...

We’re all getting creative with how we celebrate big milestones while also physically distancing our way through the pandemic. One popular tactic, particularly for birthdays, has been the drive-by party parade. Guests “gather” around the block by lining up in their cars and then drive by the birthday boy/girl’s home,…Read more...

It’s probably safe to say that more people love Bing’s wallpapers than its search engine. So much so, in fact, that Microsoft has released Bing’s wallpapers as desktop backgrounds for Windows, and it even recently launched an official Bing Wallpapers app for Android devices.Read more...

It’s been a weird few years for science. Even as debates over climate change have turned increasingly political and many elected officials have incited the public to distrust scientific data, now that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, people are expecting major scientific breakthroughs at lightning speed. And…Read more...

As the pandemic stretches on and summer approaches, you may be wondering if there are safe ways to get outside and see other people, in person, without risking transmission. How safe is it for two friends to meet at the park—even while observing physical distancing?Read more...

A summer internship can help a college student or entry level worker jumpstart a career. But the coronavirus outbreak has put many of those summer plans on hold. So what can you do about it?

We began this month’s fitness challenge—revisiting classic home workouts—with the scientific seven-minute workout. This week we go back a bit further in history to the Canadian institution 5BX, originally invented for military pilots stationed in places without a gym or much space to exercise. I bet a lot of us can…Read more...

Custom Zoom backgrounds prevent you from having to show off the same boring wall, messy apartment or kid-caused chaos in every meeting. And if you grew up on BBC shows like “Doctor Who,” “EastEnders,” and “BlackAdder,” you can now bring nostalgia to your conference calls with backgrounds from your favorite TV sets.

If you’ve ever made a meringue, custard, or super-fluffy sour, you have experienced the predicament of excess egg. Whether it be a white or yolk, throwing away the unused portion of an egg feels bad and wasteful, and I am not interested in feeling either of those feelings.Read more...

If you’ve ever tried to upload a panorama picture to Instagram—or if we’re being honest, any interesting horizontal picture—then you’ve likely run into issues.

Millions of high school seniors will be finishing up their final classes, submitting the last of their assignments and taking their end-of-school-year exams this month. Their long journey toward graduation is about to conclude, and they probably won’t get to walk across the stage, shake a bunch of hands or toss their…Read more...

There’s a lot you can’t do in a pandemic—at least, if you’re smart. You shouldn’t be going to the mall (even if it’s open), nor should you even consider just lollygagging around the Apple store and taking stupid pictures on their demo devices.Read more...

The imminent iOS 13.5 update includes a new feature that could save your life. Once the update drops, you’ll be able to opt into automatically sharing your medical ID with 911 dispatchers and first responders, which will then provide you with the best care.

You’ve heard the warnings that financial scams are on the rise during the coronavirus outbreak. But when you’re going about your daily life, it can be hard to make a snap judgement about what’s a scam and what’s genuine.

Burnout is defined as a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged stress. Given the nonstop barrage of stressors these past few months, many of us are probably well on our way to developing burnout, if we aren’t there already.Read more...

About once a year, my mom and I have taken a trip to Calistoga, California to drink wine, soak in mud and lie very still in hotel beds. On our drive back to my mom’s house in Sacramento, we’ll often pass through Yountville to gawk at the sheer Stepford-like bougie-ness of it all. “There’s The French Laundry,” we’ll…Read more...

Have you ever opened your suitcase only to find your favorite hair product has leaked all over your clothes? If you’ve ever had your toiletries make a mess of your luggage, here’s how you can keep that from ever happening again.Read more...

Google Authenticator is getting its first big update since September of 2017, and you’ll enjoy more than just a few cosmetic upgrades once the updated app rolls out to your Android (and eventually, we hope, your iPhone/iPad).Read more...

We’ve almost made it to the end of the week! If you’re looking for something to watch tonight to help you sail into Friday, as usual, we’ve rounded up some of the best streaming events we’ve found on the web for the day.

What do you do if a recipe calls for baking soda but you only have baking powder, or if you have baking soda but not baking powder? As it turns out, there are options. You can make that quick bread, biscuits or cookies after all. You could even make all of them, which is always an acceptable choice in these stressful…Read more...

With college campuses shut down and admissions offices working remotely, prospective students may be unable to do in-person visits for the foreseeable future.Read more...

Google Lens has let users scan, save, and translate text using their smartphone cameras for years, but recent updates have added new features like text-to-speech narration, barcode scanning, and, as of the most recent update, the ability to snap photos of text—including hand-written text—and send the translated…Read more...

For more than 70 years, The Hartford Insurance Group has been training kids to become “junior fire marshals”—and now, with so many children out of school during the pandemic, the company has created an online training academy so children can continue to learn about fire prevention from the safety of their own homes.

Don’t let the pandemic ruin your weekly board game nights. In the video above, I share some ways I’ve been playing some of my favorite board games—including RISK, Monopoly and Settlers of Catan—online.Read more...

If you received a stimulus check made out to a deceased relative, or a direct deposit into one of their accounts that you control or even if you and a deceased spouse received a joint stimulus payment, the IRS is requesting that you return the money (or half of it, in the case of a joint payment). But how do you do…Read more...

Shallots are a top-tier allium. Sweeter and less harsh than yellow or red onions but every bit as flavorful, they’re one of those magic ingredients that make everything taste just a little bit more delicious. But they also make you work for it: Peeling shallots is a universally despised task, and for good reason.Read more...

Save 70% on 3 Years | NordVPNRead more...

Every day the internet forces me to confront the fact that I am much older than I think I am. Recently, this (since deleted) tweet did a nice job of it:Read more...

Recently, my son turned one year old, and with this milestone, he was due for his 12-month wellness visit. Or—wait—was he? I thought navigating appropriate finger foods for my son was tricky, then the world threw me a pandemic curveball. I wondered if the stay-at-home order in my state of Indiana, and the necessary…Read more...

Whether you love or hate Amazon doesn’t matter. Right now, two facts are clear: It’s probably taking you a bit longer to receive non-essential items from the retail giant, depending on what you’re ordering and when you’re ordering it, and there are a ton of small businesses going out of business right now because of…Read more...

The A.V. Club The best movies on Netflix |The Takeout The best cake recipes don’t need a special occasion |Kotaku The Best Star Wars Video Game |Gizmodo A Brief History of the Not-So-Brief Wait for Avatar 2 |The Root Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp: I Totally Messed Up Reopening the State, Growing Outbreak Is Stressing Resources |Read more...

We hear a lot about how the COVID-19 lockdown has affected small businesses and restaurants, but it’s impacting all aspects of our culture. Museums and art galleries are no exception, but as long as you have an iPhone, there’s a way to bring the art exhibits into your home—virtually, that is.

Asian giant hornets are large and stripey, yes. But so are several other insects. If you see something that looks a little like these “murder hornets” you’ve heard so much about, you may be tempted to kill it and/or convince yourself that the apocalypse has truly arrived. But please don’t. It’s almost certainly a case…Read more...

Right now, with travel at a standstill and essential workers toiling around the clock to keep us safe, it’s important we find ways to contribute whatever we can. If you’re looking to donate to worthy causes, there’s another way you can pitch in: by giving away the miles and points you’ve accrued through airlines and…Read more...

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and with a global pandemic keeping us apart, we still should celebrate the day for what it is—giving thanks to the women who made us who we are. Obviously mothers don’t have to be biological, maybe you’ve had an aunt or female figure in your life that gave you love. Either way, you should…Read more...

I try not to Slack on my phone if I can avoid it—the notifications get to be a bit much—but if I did, I’d do it on Android, for sure. And I’d also make sure I was enrolled in the beta for Slack’s Android app, because the new UI enhancements Slack is testing make the app even easier to navigate.Read more...

It’s Wednesday! If you’re looking for something to help you get over the hump and on to the end of the week we’ve dug up some of the best streaming options out there.

Google is about to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for all Nest users. That’s a good thing! Most people shouldn’t experience any difficulties with this security-enhancing measure, but there are a few quirks you should know about.Read more...

If there’s one thing this pandemic has taught us, it’s that we really like it when celebrities read to us. Actor Josh Gad was among the first (and he’s still at it!). Then American hero LeVar Burton stepped up to bring stories to life for kids, young adults and grown-ups alike. And now, Harry Potter himself is kicking…Read more...

Acknowledging the positives is a way to remember all that is good about life. However, as with everything, there can be too much of a good thing. This includes what is called toxic positivity, which is the relentless focus to only concentrate on the good, at the cost of ignoring all of the bad.Read more...

My budget makes absolutely no sense right now.Read more...

The CARES Act allows federal student loan borrowers to put off loan payments until October 2020—and many of those loans will be set at 0% interest during the forbearance period. This is different from other types of forbearance programs (think credit cards, mortgages), in which payments are waived but interest…Read more...

Your Google Home is a great device for requesting the weather, setting alarms, controlling your smart home or even creating a network of connected speakers, but you might not have an extra Google Home speaker to create an awesome sound setup in your home or apartment. That’s fine: You can just route your music through…Read more...

Are you noticing the birds outside your window more than you used to? No matter where you live, there’s probably some chirpy thing hanging around. If you’d like to test your knowledge—or just open your ears to the world around you—try this simple quiz.Read more...

If you are awake early Thursday morning, go outside and look up: It will be your last chance to view a supermoon this year. This month’s full moon is called the “full flower moon,” so named as a reference to all the flowers that are reaching full bloom around now. The next supermoon won’t happen until April 2021,…Read more...

As we get used to the new “normal” of shopping during the coronavirus outbreak, you’ve probably seen businesses advertising contactless transactions.Read more...

Remember when the coronavirus was not all anyone talked about? Remember the days when the topic that dominated conversation was a certain big-eared, wide-eyed little being that sort of resembles Yoda but in an impossibly cute way? I am, of course, referring to The Child, better known in all of our hearts as Baby Yoda,…Read more...

The road to haircut hell is paved with good questions. Questions like: Is the coronavirus pandemic the Flowbee’s time to shine?