Lifehacker

McDonald’s may be a hamburger restaurant, but it’s the fries that keep them coming back. Oddly, the fries that made McDonald’s famous—the ones that truly set them apart from their fast food rivals—are not the fries they serve today. The original golden fry from the Golden Arches was cooked in beef tallow, which gave…Read more...

Among the near-constant discussion of an impending recession, you may have noticed some rumbling about our worsening national deficit. But you may be confused about how that national debt happens, and what it means for how the country’s finances are run.Read more...

How’s the cycling going? If you’re new to our fitness challenge, this September we’ve been hopping on our bikes (indoors or out) for some cycling workouts. If you’re having fun and want to take it to the next level, here are some beginner training plans to try.Read more...

Whistleblowing seems to be in the news a lot, lately. And it makes us ordinary schmoes wonder: How would we handle ratting out our colleagues, or our superiors, if we had to—either to protect other consumers and citizens or merely to cover yourself? If a worker sees some dirty deeds and want to call attention to them,…Read more...

When my son was four, my husband and I took him and his then two-year-old sister to spend the day on a Florida beach. The scene was picture perfect: The sun was shining, we’d managed to remember sunscreen and beach toys, and both kids were content to build sand castles in front of our beach blanket. When my husband…Read more...

Some of the most influential people in history kept detailed journals of their lives, including Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison and Frida Kahlo. Those journals served two purposes: a permanent record for posterity and, presumably, a cathartic release for the people writing them.Read more...

We normally say it’s probably a good idea to update to the latest version of iOS whenever possible—for the extra features you get to play with, the potentially improved performance, and any bug patches or security fixes you might get. Though iOS 13 just launched yesterday, there’s one great reason why you might…Read more...

Reddit must know it’s Jerk Week. The top post on r/AskReddit last night asked, “What is something we can all agree on being a ‘dick move’?” The top answers, agreed upon by thousands of Reddit users, shared a theme: the most universal dick move is being selfish in a crowd. Especially being selfish in a crowd that’s all…Read more...

In case you’ve missed it, it’s currently Jerk Week over at Lifehacker HQ, which means we’ve been telling you how to deal with jerks all week long—but what happens if you might be the jerk? Sometimes, it’s not exactly clear who the culprit is.

SodaStream Jet | $60 | Amazon

Avoiding banking fees is one of the pillars of financial fitness, but can be tricky to achieve when it comes to unplanned moments when you need cash. Why should you pay to access your own money at an ATM just because the machine is run by a different bank? If you’ve ever felt cornered by an out-of-network ATM at a…Read more...

Phones age like bananas, or relationships. Our culture pressures us to spend money on the latest and greatest (phone, not banana). But there’s a wide range of ways to make your current phone feel new, for cheap or for free.Read more...

A new study found that tap water contaminants may cause 100,000 cases of cancer in the US every year. While the numbers may be right (it’s hard to be sure), that doesn’t mean you should worry too much about your tap water.Read more...

Hello, you hideous and shimmering sexbeasts, and welcome to Ask Dr. NerdLove, the only dating advice column to guide you through the Metroidvania of love.Read more...

Earlier this year, Christini Tosi changed the name of “Crack Pie” to “Milk Bar Pie,” explaining that the name “fell short” of Milk Bar’s mission “to spread joy and inspire celebration.” It wasn’t exactly an apology, and it wasn’t clear if Tosi really understood why the name was a problem in the first place, but at…Read more...

Cuisinart MultiClad Pro 12 Quart Stock Pot | $56 | AmazonRead more...

Delta is running a flash sale on fares today that bring a number of round-trip tickets down in price, one as low as $93.

The bad news is, I’ve been disposing of my son’s dirty, germy tissues wrong for the whole first half of his childhood. The good news is, some things are about to change around here.Read more...

Smartphone addiction is real. According to a log of my screen time, in the last seven days, I spent three hours and 15 minutes a day on my iPhone (and over 22 hours in total last week—almost an entire day). And I’m not alone. Our social media producer, Tim, spent three hours and 36 minutes a day on his phone last…Read more...

Friends is turning 25. To celebrate, Google added a ton of Easter Eggs to search centered around the show’s main characters.

Thanks to the upcoming release of iPadOS, the iPad is one step closer to becoming a viable laptop replacement for most people.Read more...

With all the big corporate data breaches that have been discovered over the past few years, you might have forgotten about the one at Yahoo that exposed 500 million account passwords in 2016.

Happy iOS 13 release day! Now that the update is live, resist the urge to tap your way through to the big iOS update. There are a few things you can do before you start installing it—really, things worth doing at least once a year, and iOS update time is the perfect reminder to do them.Read more...

I’ve taken a few CPR classes, and I admit I walked away with the mistaken impression that a person who needs CPR will be unresponsive and not breathing at all. But a common symptom of cardiac arrest is agonal breathing, which can look like the person is gasping or snoring.Read more...

Google’s mobile service, Google Fi, finally has an unlimited data plan. Though the previous sliding-scale “Flexible plan” that defined Fi’s service still remains available, the new unlimited plan offers a more traditional pricing structure, reduced data throttling, and a few other perks. Let’s examine Fi’s new…Read more...

If you’re trying to live in a way that helps mitigate the effects of climate change, you might resolve to fly less often or eat less meat. But what about switching banks?Read more...

Serving hot food on a cold plate can be a little sad, particularly if that food is prone to cooling off quickly (looking at you, eggs). A lot of fancy restaurants have fancy plate warmers to help elevate your eating experience, but it’s unlikely you have the counter space for one of those. Instead, you can quickly…Read more...

So, you had kids with an asshole. You probably didn’t mean to. Maybe they were much less of an asshole before the kids came along—or maybe their dickish tendencies were just easier to deal with when you weren’t also trying to keep small humans alive. Whatever the case, you’re here now, looking forward and dreading the…Read more...

Gillette Fusion Power Razor Refill Cartridges, 8 Cartridges | $10 | WootRead more...

Even though many of us were taught as kids that it’s not polite to talk about money, the world is overflowing with people who want to tell you exactly what you should do with yours. From the gurus who seem to think the coffee is the root of all money problems to your neighbor who just loves to hand out pearls of…Read more...

Riddle me this: You’re out somewhere and you need to hop on a wifi network with a new device. You realize you have the wifi password saved on your laptop, but not on whatever device you’re looking to connect. And you’re either too lazy to ask for the password again, or you have no way to acquire it in your present…Read more...

Earlier this week, we explained why you should never swap seats on a flight to make room for another passenger—but what about overhead space for their carry-on?

Have you ever found yourself totally immobilized in the face of a decision? Why is making choices so, difficult, whether it’s deciding what to have for dinner or whether we should move across the country? This week, we spoke with neuroscientist David Redish, author of The Mind Within the Brain: How We Make Decisions…Read more...

Just because a flavoring is safe to eat doesn’t mean it’s safe to inhale. But flavored vapes have become common, thanks to a loophole in regulations.Read more...

Walmart has two new credit cards launching next week, both promising big rewards for fans of the retailer. But the cash-back credit card scene is super competitive right now, and one big catch to Walmart’s rewards program makes it only a so-so choice if you’re considering opening a new card before the holiday shopping…Read more...

Like scary movies? Dish might have the perfect job for you. The company is looking to hire someone to watch 13 movies based on Stephen King novels before Halloween. The salary? $1300.Read more...

People like drinking in bars, because that’s where the alcohol is. But, in the case of good bars, that’s also where the people are, which means you may not always get your drink as quickly as you think you should.Read more...

A friend of mine once went on a tirade about how she would not raise a disrespectful kid. “That’s just not happening,” she said. “He will not talk back. Respect is way too important to me, and I won’t put up with him being rude.” Her son was about a year old at the time. Mine was a few years older. So, I laughed.Read more...

The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates again, the second time it has done so in 2019. What does that mean, and how might it affect your spending decisions?Read more...

It’s no secret that the U.S. medical system is completely fucked up. We seek medical care without knowing how much it will cost; prices are negotiated between hospitals and insurance companies, and we have little to no choice but to pay our premiums, deductibles, and whatever bills might come our way.Read more...

One of my favorite breakfasts is the Egg McMuffin from McDonald’s, but not having an automobile means I have to order them from UberEats, and nothing makes me feel like more of a dirtbag than having McDonald’s delivered. Luckily, I have figured out how to make a McMuffin-esqe sandwich in about five minutes, using my…Read more...

Pocket Casts was already a great podcast app, and now it’s even better—mainly because it’s free.

Mario Badescu Peptide Renewal Serum | $38 | AmazonRead more...

In the span of five days, Saturday Night Live hired and fired comedian Shane Gillis after his use of sexist, homophobic, racist language—including comments that incorporated racial slurs and mocking a Chinese accent—all came to light on social media. In an initial statement, Gillis sort of tried to apologize. “I’m a…Read more...

Google has officially rolled out the most useful addition to Docs we’ve seen in years: a word count. Or, to be more specific, a feature that allows you to get the live word count for whatever document you’re working on. It’s a lot more convenient than having to click through menus to see a static word count over, and…Read more...

Welcome to October on Netflix, featuring a lot of splashy originals with massive stars that some executive somewhere is gnashing their teeth to powder over, hoping against hope their multimillion-dollar, big-name gambles will become hits.

If you’re a college student who is also a parent, you might not be aware that there are federal grants designed to help assist you with the cost of childcare.

Simple Houseware Foldable Cloth Storage Box | $14 | AmazonRead more...

It’s National Cheeseburger Day, the made-up annual holiday where you can score everything from deeply discounted to free cheeseburgers depending on where your travels take you.

Fall foliage is gorgeous, but tricky. In some areas, you might wait all year for the leaves to change—only to wake up one morning and they’re all on the ground. Or if you live somewhere that doesn’t have four seasons, maybe you used prediction maps to plan when and where you’re going to go. Those are great, but like…Read more...