Lifehacker

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced it would leave its benchmark interest rate close to zero. “We’re not even thinking about thinking about thinking about raising rates,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference. As coronavirus cases continue to spike, the Fed also plans to extend its lending programs…Read more...

Sure, you and your friends might be spending your quarantine going through everyone’s queue on every streaming service that exists. And that’s all well and good, but what if you’re not in the mood for movie night? What if you just want to rock out with your buddies while remaining socially distanced?Read more...

We’ll be the first to say that being worried about someone knowing if you’ve read their text message is a little ridiculous. Reading the message is the whole point of texting, and yet…we can also admit there are strategic reasons why you might want a message to appear unread.Read more...

One of the joys of parenting has got to be sharing your favorite childhood movies with your kids. There’s no better time to bust out your favorite old-school family flicks than during These Days, particularly since your to-watch list may be feeling a little thin after so many months of binging all the shows. So let us…Read more...

WhatsApp is testing a new mute function for Android that lets you quickly silence conversations by tapping “Mute” directly from the system notification, rather than having to mute from within the app itself. There’s also a new “always mute” option coming too, replacing the “mute for one year” option. It’s perfect if…Read more...

I really love salt. As a child, I would often get jealous of the cows and their summertime salt licks; as an adult, I have been known to eat large flakes of Maldon like tiny little chips (this is called “snack salt”). All salt is technically sodium chloride, but additives, grain size, and crystal shape make pretty…Read more...

Most women reading this have probably been called “difficult,” “bossy” or “impossible” at some point in their professional career (and likely in their everyday lives). It tends to happen when we do something totally out-of-hand like, oh, asserting ourselves in any way—something men are societally conditioned and…Read more...

Vava 4K Dash Cam | $180 | Amazon

There’s no denying Costco offers pretty solid deals on some things—and amid the pandemic and a nationwide spike in new COVID-19 cases, there’s certainly never been a better time to bulk buy. However, if you don’t have a membership, the store’s $60+ per year membership requirement might feel like a huge deterrent,…Read more...

It’s been a nerve-racking year for investors. Almost four months ago, experts declared the end of the bull market after a series of drops. Yet after the stock market plunged almost 35%, investors saw a speedy recovery. The second quarter finished strong, nearly erasing the damage from February and March. Now that the…Read more...

A sale on blue light prescription glasses at GlassesUSA, a discount on PUBG Funko Pops, a marked down copy of The World of Cyberpunk 2077 Deluxe Edition, a Craftsman cordless drill, a fuckton of Ring Pops, a Sunday Scaries ‘Supermom’ CBD package, and a Honey Adult Play summer sale lead Thursday’s best deals.

macOS 8, not to be confused with OS X 10.8—which you’re probably much more familiar with—is a 1990s-era operating system that found a home on ancient Apple systems with decidedly old-school names, such as “Power Macintosh” and “PowerBook.” But now, you can use it for free on any modern Mac or Windows PC—or at least …Read more...

Every Friday morning I make a cocktail (for work), and every Friday morning I resist the urge to drink the entire cocktail right then. I taste it, obviously, but I’m not as young as I once was, and writing while drunk is not as fun as Hemingway said it would be. Instead of dumping the drink down the drain—which would…Read more...

Movies Anywhere recently rolled out a new “Watch Together” feature that lets multiple people meet for a synchronized movie night over the internet. The new feature works on your desktop or via Movies Anywhere’s iOS, Android and smart TV apps, and all movies on the service are available for group watch parties—as long…Read more...

Given how well things have been going on Earth lately, sending a robotic vehicle into space to scope out Mars is an even more intriguing idea than usual. And as of this afternoon, it looks like tomorrow’s launch of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is one of the few trips that hasn’t been cancelled this summer. If…Read more...

Nobody knows why people across the country are getting unsolicited packages of seeds from China, but the USDA is trying to figure it out. In a statement this week, they gave some advice on what to do if you receive one of these packages.Read more...

A new prize-linked savings account called Yotta Savings has sparked interest among Redditors and the Doctor of Credit blog. According to its website, Yotta wants to help Americans become more financially secure “by making saving instantly fun.” The company says the concept came from Premium Bonds—the UK’s biggest…Read more...

The first phase 3 trial of a coronavirus vaccine began this week, with plans to enroll 30,000 volunteers by the time it’s over—and more phase 3 trials are likely to begin soon. While we’re all hoping for a safe, effective vaccine as soon as possible, the only way to find out whether it’s safe and effective is for…Read more...

Remember water mattresses? God, those were awful. Absolutely the worst. But there is some logic behind sleeping on something that’ll contour to your body while still providing support. It’s just that it’s not all that great for your whole body. Let me introduce you to the world of water pillows.

Everyone loves Netflix, especially when they don’t have to pay for it. That’s why you’re sharing someone else’s account, right? Well, scammers love free Netflix, too, and a new phishing attack could get you to give up your precious user name and password, as well as other critical information you wouldn’t want others…Read more...

Even in normal times, school supply lists were often long and oddly specific (five orange pocket folders?). But this year, they’re long and oddly specific and we also have to spend money to set up remote-learning spaces in our homes, because even if our kids go back into the classrooms in the fall, we know it’s only a…Read more...

If you use Drizly, your data is probably for sale online. The online alcohol delivery service recently alerted its customers that a hacker breached its server and lifted a huge chunk of user information—including email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, hashed password data, delivery addresses, IP addresses and…Read more...

Like butterflies and fireflies, bee populations have been hard-hit by habitat loss. Honeybees are important pollinators for a wide range of plants, and while bee colonies fared a little better over the last year than expected, data show declines of up to 90% in some areas over a 15-year period.Read more...

A viral hack has been circulating on TikTok for a while now. In the countless videos of the #CerealBoxChallenge (does TikTok use hashtags? I am old...) people show how, instead of using the tabs built in to a cereal box, you can fold down the sides and top to make an adorable little “gift box” for the sugary goodness…Read more...

Waffle makers are very good at getting foods hot and crispy, and that just happens to be how I like my tofu (and my SPAM, prosciutto crisps, and potato cakes). I also like my tofu saucy, and waffled tofu—with its little square cups—holds sauce like no other.Read more...

When Lisa* met Adam* in graduate school, she thought she’d hit the dating jackpot. “He was very wealthy, very charismatic, and at first he was very charming,” she says. “He was constantly showering me with gifts, fancy dinners, and romanic nights out. He was playing by this 1950s courtship rulebook.” But over time,…Read more...

This week, Senate Republicans introduced the HEALS Act, the party’s next stimulus relief bill. While the $1 trillion plan calls for unemployment insurance, direct payments, forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and more—there’s not much in it for student loan borrowers. As CNBC reports, the HEALS Act…Read more...

Between the decimation of normal life in the spring and this long, boring-ass summer we’re all wading through, one thing parents may have become extra lax on is a consistent bedtime. Some days I decide enough is enough (for now) and my son needs to go to bed at a decent hour but mostly I’m just like, “What does…Read more...

A pair of Sony WH-XB900N noise-canceling headphones, a discount on 2 years of VyprVPN, a $100 Xbox gift card for $90, a Tom Nook case for Nintendo Switch, a cheap set of antimicrobial keychain tools, free shipping at the Disney Store, an Under Armour Gold Box and a BOGO sale at Fenty Beauty lead Wednesday’s best…Read more...

I stumbled across a service called Vicariously today, which allows you to create new Twitter lists based on who other Twitter users are following. It’s a simple and automatic way to build lists of interesting accounts that saves you a ton of time over the manual method—and lists greatly improve your experience over…Read more...

I honestly have a hard time trusting people who claim to not like breakfast cereal. It’s one of those foods that has been engineered to get people to eat it—it’s basically kibble for people!—and those who insist they are unaffected by flavor science are very suspicious to me indeed.Read more...

It’s National Chicken Wing Day—time to celebrate the American tradition of taking previously discarded parts of a chicken, deep frying them, covering them in butter and hot sauce and then selling them at a high markup. Well, technically, those are buffalo wings (which originated at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York…Read more...

Four of the most powerful tech industry CEOs will testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, July 29 to determine whether their companies engaged in anti-competitive business strategies against smaller, rival companies. The hearing will be streamed live via YouTube for anyone to watch.Read more...

Election Day is November 3 this year, and it’s less than 100 days away. From the ongoing pandemic to the political firestorm over vote-by-mail, there are plenty of reasons to be apprehensive about what’s to come, but there are a few things you can do to help put your mind at ease. In addition to checking that you’re…Read more...

One of the best parts of buying a Chromebook is perusing all the deals Google dumps on top of your purchase. (You do know about the deals, right?) Admittedly, a number of these “perks” are actually extended or souped-up trial offers aiming to get you hooked into a subscription you might not otherwise have purchased,…Read more...

As I read the many pages of our district’s return-to-school plans, I only had two questions in mind: How will you know if somebody has the coronavirus? and Assuming that the virus makes it into the school, because it will, how will you make sure that it doesn’t get transmitted to anybody else? The plan did not answer…Read more...

Despite being told for months that the novel coronavirus is unlike anything we’ve dealt with in modern times, it’s still tempting for us to think of it in terms of influenza. (Even though they’re definitely not the same thing.) This makes sense because we’re familiar with the flu, and with flu season, and they seem to…Read more...

Heating the inside of my home while it is very hot outside of it is not something I enjoy. During a heat wave, even the act of eating hot food can feel like a punishment. That is why it’s helpful to have an arsenal of no-cook meals at the ready.Read more...

Spotify is available on almost every popular device we can think of. Each app does virtually the same thing whether you’re listening on a smartphone, computer, or through a smart tv app, but there was an odd limitation for desktop users: You couldn’t cast Spotify to a “Google Cast” device like a Chomecast or a Google…Read more...

Yesterday afternoon, Senate Republicans unveiled the HEALS Act, their latest response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As expected, the HEALS Act includes a provision for another round of $1,200 direct payments—similar to what the CARES Act offered. While the second stimulus check is a welcome relief, millions of…Read more...

The coronavirus has gifted us many tragedies and inconveniences both large and small this year, and among the latest is one that most of us probably wouldn’t have predicted a few months ago—a nationwide coin shortage.Read more...

There’s a viral video out there—removed from many platforms, but there’s a good chance you’ll see it soon if you haven’t already—in which a doctor standing in front of the Supreme Court steps claims that “you don’t need masks” because “there is a cure” for the coronavirus. It’s wrong and dangerous.Read more...

Monarch butterflies are in danger—so much so that they may soon be officially endangered. Due to deforestation, climate change and associated habitat loss, monarch populations are in sharp decline, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide whether to add the monarch to the endangered species list…Read more...

You probably already know that wrapping beautiful little wedges of cheese in clingy plastic wrap is a bad thing to do. Cheese is a treat that demands—and deserves—a little respect, a little care, a little (moist, but not damp) room of its own. Cheese needs space, damn it. And a children’s segmented lunch container…Read more...

When you think of what it costs to get fast delivery through Amazon Prime, you probably think of the annual membership fee of $119—and that might be just too high for you, especially if your renewal is coming up but you’ve recently experienced a pandemic-related layoff. On the other hand, with coronavirus cases surgingRead more...

Don’t overthink it. In the age of modern smartphones, there are not many reasons to completely turn your phone off. In the video above, I explain the few instances where restarting your phone can be helpful and why you shouldn’t worry about doing it regularly.Read more...

With the unemployment rate lingering in the double digits, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 26.8 million people could soon become uninsured if they don’t sign up for other health coverage. If you are one of the millions of Americans who have experienced job loss during the pandemic, you may be facing a tough …Read more...

As much as one might like to, one cannot keep track of every stat of the nearly 900 Pokémon currently in existence. Sometimes you need to look up a quick stat, and sometimes you want to immerse yourself in a pile of abilities and weaknesses. Either way, every Pokémon fan must have quick and easy access to a Pokédex.Read more...

Yes, Telegram. You probably know it as a chat app some use in place of—or to supplement—standard iOS or Android messaging apps. I’m a geek, and I don’t really use anything but the typical ones, but there’s at least one other great reason to try Telegram out: It provides you with free, unlimited storage for all of…Read more...

As temperatures continue to rise, our need for cold and refreshing consumables intensifies. Though you may be accustomed to consuming molasses in baked goods like gingerbread, the dark, flavorful sweetener can be used to make delicious summer treats.