Lifehacker

You’ve become the “go-to” person in your office for a slew of tasks that nobody else can (or will) do. Good news: You feel indispensable. Bad news: You can basically never take a vacation. Here’s how to get out of this mess—or, better yet, avoid it in the first place.

If you recently booked a British Airways SEA-LHR award ticket through American Airlines, you may be eligible for a fuel surcharge refund.Read more...

Will Shortz is the most prestigious name in crosswords. As editor of the daily New York Times crossword, he has worked on every puzzle since 1993. He’s also the founder of the World Puzzle Championship, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and owner of the Westchester Table Tennis Center.

When you have a partner, you inevitably sign up for memberships and accounts that equally affect both of you: a dual theater subscription, or health insurance that covers you both. Annoyingly, many of these memberships only let you sign up with one email address. Instead of setting up a third email account, or making…Read more...

As a recently out gay woman, I was a little unsure at first about how to talk with my kids about LGBTQ+ topics. But, even before I accepted my identity and told my family I was gay, having these conversations was something that was important to me. I wanted my kids to be allies, not just for me, but for the queer…Read more...

I got a gift card the other day—one of those $100 Visa ones. Within an hour, I had already used it. I didn’t buy a new gadget, nor a bunch of Overwatch loot boxes; I used it to buy another gift card.Read more...

You never know what scary, life-threatening event might be right around the corner. Sure, it’s anxiety-inducing to even think about—and you can’t possibly know what to do in every situation—but one post on Reddit might get you a little more prepared to avert tragedy. The “What knowledge might save your life one day?”…Read more...

In June, American Airlines was forced to cancel 7,500 flights because of severe weather, mechanical issues, and the grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes. Together, these cancelations made up 4% of the airline’s entire schedule of flights that month—and likely annoyed a hell of a lot of travelers with other arrangements…Read more...

Smartphone cameras perform so much better than they used to, but they’re still a bit limited when it comes to nighttime photography. Whether you’re snapping photos in a bar or outside under the moonlight, your phone’s camera sensor is probably still too small to perform on par with a full-size camera.

Lysol Laundry Sanitizer Additive 2-Pack 90 oz. Bottles | $17 | AmazonRead more...

We’re a month into summer, which means it’s already time to start thinking about vacation-planning for the fall if you want to grab a good deal on a flight. Fortunately, JetBlue is having a major two-day sale on trips departing between August and November—with some one-way tickets costing as little as $44.

Either some intern is having the most boring Silicon Valley summer or HP’s YouTube team has gone mad with power. Whatever the reason, the company has been on a YouTube flurry lately, uploading hundreds of detailed technical support videos covering countless ways to disassemble, fix, and otherwise mess with its many…Read more...

They go by many names. “Crispy tacos,” “Anglo tacos,” and even “mom tacos,” but no matter what you call them, the tacos with the crunchy corn shell offer a unique—somewhat frustrating—home dining experience. Yes, I am talking about the dreaded shell split.Read more...

A new Android threat was recently discovered by ESET researchers, and it has a quirky adult theme that might be enough to sucker unsuspecting users into installing it.Read more...

When my son started kindergarten a few years ago, I vowed to myself to draw a cute little picture on his foil-wrapped sandwich every day. Just a little something to remind him of home, to let him know I was thinking of him, to make him smile or feel loved.

One of the more jarring experiences you’ll encounter when updating your iPad to Apple’s iPadOS 13 this fall—including having to call it that from now on—are the slightly smaller icons now gracing your iPad’s Home screen and pages.Read more...

When I was in college, I had an adviser who kept telling me to focus on the process, not the product. I wasn’t very good at following that advice, in part because I didn’t really understand what it meant.

Intermittent fasting isn’t magic, but it works well as a weight loss tool for people who manage to stick to it. If that’s you, consider using one of these fasting trackers to remind you of start and end times and to keep tabs on how well you’ve stuck to your plan in the past.Read more...

Kids with ADHD can seem unfocused, indecisive, impulsive and undisciplined. But they’re actually experiencing and processing the world around us in a different way. Gaining a little insight into their perspective—and understanding that it’s not simply a matter of them needing to sit still and focus—can go a long way…Read more...

The humble veggie burger has come a long way in the past few years.Read more...

Many of us spend a little time every day writing about what’s going on in our lives, or how we’re feeling, or what we’re grateful for.Read more...

When it comes to summer produce, nothing (besides a really good tomato) gets me more pumped for the season than corn. I will eat it grilled. I will eat it steamed. I will eat it raw. But when I see people shucking their corn in the store, leaving behind the husks and silks, I weep, for they are leaving behind flavor.Read more...

Capital One has already started the notification process for its most recent data breach—affecting approximately 100 million people in the U.S. and an additional six million in Canada (for now). If you happened to catch the company’s announcement about the issue, though, it sure sounded like everything is fine and…Read more...

X-Chew Silicone Cooking Gloves | $8 | Amazon | Clip the 5% off coupon and use promo code JSSLT8IGRead more...

In December, a three-month-old Tesla spontaneously caught on fire while at a repair shop for a flat tire. Six hours later, after the fire was finally extinguished, the car burst into flames again.

At least two young people have been injured by bison in national parks in the past week. It’s mating season, so the bulls are more aggressive right now, but there’s one thing you need to know if you see a herd of bison: Stay the heck away.Read more...

On Monday night, Capital One reported that a hacker gained access to more than 100 million of their customers’ accounts and credit card applications. According to a press release, this breach included access to users’ names, addresses, phone numbers, date of births, and email addresses—in addition to 140,000 social…Read more...

If you’re home with young children and have work to do, I’m sorry. This is hard. There’s no denying that. You’ll have use the “in-between” moments—usually nap times or quiet times—which are never long enough, but alas, they’re what you have available.

Anyone who’s ever had a period knows that the accompanying mood swings, fatigue, and cramps can be rough. Of course, everyone is different, and your mileage may vary, but if you do suffer from severe symptoms, it can be hard to drag yourself off the couch for literally any reason – including your workout.Read more...

Tonight, the second round of Presidential Democratic debates kicks off in Detroit, with top-polling candidates including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren taking the stage. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden and California Senator Kamala…Read more...

Tomorrow’s Kitchen Silicone Stretch Lids 12-Pack | $14 | Amazon | Promo code 20OFFKINJARead more...

If stargazing is on your summer agenda, then dust off your telescope: thanks to black supermoons, the next two weekends will be ideal. Here’s what that means and how to make the most of these extra-dark nights.

Traveling can open your eyes to so many things. Just recently, on my way to a sous vide conference, I saw a woman eating a full-blown thing of Cup Noodles at 5:10 in the dang a.m. Obviously, this woman is a hero, and should be revered as such.Read more...

Now that we’re on Beta 5 of Android Q, we’re getting very close to the official release of the new version of the operating system. Google has only intended to release six total betas before the final release candidate goes live, and the company has narrowed the Android Q launch window down to the “third quarter” of…Read more...

Every summer, there are scary news stories about people who catch infections—and sometimes die—from germs in the water. Here’s what you should know about some of the high-profile (but rare!) infections that have been in the news lately.Read more...

It’s time again for another PSA about updating your old- to semi-old Android devices, this time to protect your smartphones and tablets from a newly discovered exploit that could let hackers take control of an Android device via malicious code embedded in video files played on the device.Read more...

Gum is good, but if bubble blowing, gum popping, or just the act of chewing in general offends you, it might be wise to exclusively look to mints for your breath-freshening needs.

You can target the air conditioning toward your body, your feet or both. You can crank it up from cool to super cold. But in the heat of the summer, if you’re not using your car’s “air recirculation” button, you’re not getting the coolest driving experience possible.

Before you head to the airport, be sure to check your reservation for an actual ticket number—or you might end up paying for a $1,200 same-day flight.Read more...

Two meteor showers—the Delta Aquarids and the Alpha Capricornids—are both reaching their peak tonight and into Tuesday morning. And with a moon that will be just 6% full, the dark skies could be the perfect stage for quite a meteor show.Read more...

Stubborn, sticky price stickers and their residue can mar an otherwise pretty dish, and stores always seem to stick ‘em right in the center of the plate (or bowl, or platter). If you’re lucky, they peel off in one piece, leaving a smidge of adhesive behind that’s easily scraped off with your fingernail. But the more…Read more...

The computer ate my term paper! We’ve all been there. You delete an important file—maybe even shift-delete it by accident (on Windows)—or you forget about it until that split-second after you clear out your Recycle Bin or Trash. It’s gone forever, right?

We asked for your gym etiquette questions, and you answered! Or, rather, asked. A lot. Thanks! Today we’ll tackle a tough question about what to do when somebody is using the equipment you want, and seemingly wasting their (and your) time.Read more...

After many lessons, my six-year-old daughter is becoming a proficient swimmer. She can tread water, retrieve toys at the bottom of the pool, and find her way to the wall after jumping into the deep end. But there’s a skill she still needs to learn, and it’s one that I don’t think her instructors will be teaching. That…Read more...

Emotions can be hard to manage. We spend a lot of time trying to regulate them with things like yoga, meditation, deep breathing in a locked bathroom, or a good old-fashioned bitch session with our friends. But some new research shows that our inner motivations—how we want to feel—can have a lot of impact on how we’re…Read more...

In Scottsboro, Alabama, there’s an “Unclaimed Baggage Center” store full of mink furs and iPads—items left on flights that were never claimed by their owners and now up for sale. As the New York Times writes, these items might have been intentionally ditched, forgotten or just ... lost.

Animated Knots is a perfect site for learning everything about knots: how to tie them, what they’re for, and how to choose the best knot for a specific job.

YAMAZAKI home Plate Toilet Paper Stocker | $38 | AmazonRead more...

August is coming in hot with everyone’s favorite déjà-vu rom-com, Groundhog Day. Fittingly, this is not the first time Groundhog Day has arrived on (only to depart from) Netflix—and it won’t be the last, so enjoy it while you can. And as if Groundhog Day doesn’t provide all the Andie MacDowell we could ever want or…Read more...

If you’re a fan of chicken wings, then this week is going to kick off pretty well for you. Monday is National Chicken Wing Day, an unnecessary holiday that results in some pretty necessary discounts on chicken wings at a number of restaurants around the country.