Whether you have allergies to some of the ingredients in commercial deodorant, or just prefer to make your own and smell the way you want to smell (or go fragrance-free), this recipe for homemade deodorant from Instructables user doodlecraft hits the spot.
We've talked a lot about finding a good work/life balance , and a lot of us find it pretty difficult. Developer/designer Pam Selle disagrees, saying that as long as you remember a few key things, it should be pretty easy to stop working at the end of the day and get back to your life.
Reader Bill was getting some sandwiches and paying with a credit card when he noticed something new and unusual on the payment machine. It prompted him to leave a tip between ten and twenty percent, to choose his own tip amount, or to decline tipping entirely. This makes sense in a country where most of us don’t carry much cash anymore, but there’s something about it that Bill doesn’t like.
We won’t say just yet which company this was, because we’re waiting for confirmation that it’s rolling out chain-wide. Also, the identity of the company and your opinion of the food isn’t really important: What we can tell you is that the establishment is a sandwich shop, not a place with table service. Is this the touchscreen equivalent of a tip jar, or would you feel uncomfortable tapping the “No Thanks” button?
“As a customer, I don’t like being put in a position where I pro-actively have to decline a tip, especially with an employee watching,” writes tipster Bill. He wonders how other people feel about this, so let’s take a poll.
Take Our Poll
Our younger readers may not remember this, but it used to be that Nestle Crunch bars weren’t the only choco-crisped-rice game in town. Nope. Back in the heady ’90s, candy-eaters could also buy full-sized Krackel bars. Yes, the crisped rice bars that you find as part of a Hershey’s Miniatures bag have been called back up to the big leagues and will be available on candy racks.
Even better news: the bars consist of actual milk chocolate, not whatever chocolate-like substance Hershey has been inflicting on us since 2008.
While we’re always happy to hear the latest news from the snack world, the press release from Hershey has us a little worried. “The Hershey Company Announces A Big Comeback: Krackel Bar Is Back!!!” it exclaims. We’ve learned over the years to take a few metaphorical steps back from anyone who uses more than one exclamation point in a row.
When faced with the decision between purchasing a plain, silver ice cream scoop or a light blue, whale-shaped ice cream scoop, you better believe I’m picking the cute sea mammal. But will that adorable scoop lead me down a path of even more indulgent spending?
A new report, “So Cute I Could Eat It Up: Priming Effects of Cute Products on Indulgent Consumption”, in the Journal of Consumer Research found that consumers are more likely to be indulgent and spend money on items they perceive to be cute or playful rather than ordinary, plain products.
The study [PDF] builds on prior research that has shown exposure to cute babies or baby animals leads to more careful behavior from consumers.
“We were not convinced that all cute products would lead to the restrained behavior that stems from baby-cuteness. Our research examined whether there are indeed different types of cuteness, and if these differences could lead to more or less indulgent behavior,” authors Gergana Y. Nenkov, from Boston College, and Maura L. Scott, from Florida State University, say in a news release..
Researchers conducted several experiments to examine consumers’ consumption and indulgence behavior.
The first study examines the effect of whimsical products – in this case an ice cream scoop – on actual consumption.
Study participants were given either a playful scoop or neutral scoop and then asked to serve themselves as much ice cream as they wanted. Participants who served themselves with the whimsical utensil scooped and ate more ice cream than those who used the neutral scoop.
Researchers say the result provides evidence that the effects of cute products on indulgence extends to utilitarian products used for pleasurable consumption.
The second study examined consumers’ usage of a whimsical product, in this case an alligator-shaped stapler, versus a neutral, plain stapler.
When consumers were exposed to a whimsical option they were more likely to use the stapler for indulgent purposes, such as crafts, while they tended to use the neutral stapler for work-related purposes.
The idea that whimsically cute stimuli leads to more indulgent behavior was further proven when participants were given either a brightly decorated or a plain Amazon gift card and asked to purchase a movie. Participants with the whimsical gift cards were more likely to purchase indulgent or lowbrow videos.
While the research shows a connection between consumer’s indulgent nature and cute products, the researchers say the data could translate into other aspects of consumer behavior.
“Even though we examined the effects of playful products on indulgence in the domains of eating, shopping, and product usage, we expect that exposure to whimsical products could have similar effects on helping people focus on having fun and rewarding themselves in other important life domains like savings, debt repayment, or time management,” the study authors say in a press release.
Too Cute to Resist: Do Whimsical Products Make Consumers Overspend? [Journal of Consumer Research]
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The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at the prescription of antibiotics for acute bronchitis between 1996 and 2010 and found that, in spite of efforts like those taken by the CDC, the rate at which doctors were prescribing the unnecessary drugs actually increased slightly.
“You’re taking a medicine that has no chance of helping you and has a very real chance of harming you,” says study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Linder of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
There are several concerns about taking unnecessary antibiotics. First, patients may see unpleasant side effects like diarrhea and nausea. Why would you subject someone to that for a medication that isn’t treating their illness? Second, there’s the larger issue of antibiotic overuse and how it is resulting in medicine-resistant bacteria. Then there’s the fact that you could actually get more ill, as antibiotics can increase the risk of a colon infection called C. difficile.
There are cases in which bronchitis patients might receive antibiotics — either to treat additional ailments or to rule out non-bronchitis illnesses. But the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set — performance measures used by the healthcare and insurance industry — says the antibiotics prescribing rate for acute bronchitis on its own should be zero.
But the researchers for the JAMA study found that the actual rate is around 71%.
While doctors generally know they shouldn’t be prescribing the drug, there is pressure from patients who believe antibiotics will help them. The study’s co-author also says there are some doctors who believe that patients all want antibiotics.
In order to stop this ill-advised practice, it’s going to take doctors who refuse to give into misinformed patients, and patients who realize there isn’t much you can do for acute bronchitis other than muscle it out.
“If you develop a cough and don’t have a fever and otherwise feel pretty well, the normal duration of cough is three weeks, and taking an antibiotic doesn’t shorten that,” says Dr. Linder.
Most Doctors Prescribe Antibiotics That Don’t Work [BusinessWeek]
This card-shuffling incident happened in mid-April, and local news station WTVR made it public earlier this week, but Credit.com brought it to our attention today. It’s hard to picture eight bogus transactions going through without raising some kind of flags in the system: plenty of Americans might be struggling with credit and have a stack of maxed-out cards, but eight seems like an excessively high stack. The shopper’s companion had better luck with his own stack of cloned cards: he only had to try five cards before finding one that worked.
According to police, the shoppers then took the cards that had worked at Walmart over to a nearby GameStop store and made purchases there. The pair was caught on surveillance cameras, and police have released their photos.
With the right equipment, it’s about as easy to make a duplicate credit card as it is to burn a few tunes on a CD. That’s part of why Walmart will start requiring 3-digit CVV codes during credit card transactions for now: that information generally isn’t part of the information that fraudsters download when they buy a stolen card number online.
Police: Walmart rejects man’s eight credit cards, accepts ninth – it was stolen [WTVR] (via Credit.com)
Looking for a reasonably-priced but effective laundry detergent? Consider signing up for a warehouse club if you aren’t already a member of one. Our high-efficiency colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports put out their list of great performers at reasonable prices, and two of the top three are house brands from Sam’s Club (Member’s Mark) or Costco (Kirkland). Non-members can check out Wisk Deep Clean instead.
Pricier brand-name detergents took the top scores for performance, but the warehouse club brands cost about half as much as big name Tide. The finest liquid detergent/underground currency that Procter & Gamble makes will run you about 28 cents per load, but lower-priced options cost only about half as much.
Low-cost detergents that get top marks for cleaning [Consumer Reports]
Prince William County community calendar, May 22 to 28, 2014 Washington Post Thursday, May 22. Manassas farmers market, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday, Loy E. Harris Pavilion, 9201 Center St., and 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Parking Lot B, West Street (next to the train station visitors center). 703-361-6599 or www.visitmanassas.org. and more » |
Fairfax County Animal Watch Washington Post FAIRFAX COUNTY. The following incident was reported by the Animal Control Division of the Fairfax County Police Department. For information, call 703-246-2253. TOPSHOTS World War II veterans Geoffrey Pattison (L) and Ronald Knight speak aboard ... |
If you wear glasses, you've likely tried every trick in the book to try to improve your vision when you can't find your glasses. From squinting to holding up a piece of paper to your eye, they all work to a point, but Minute Physics says that using your fist works best.
Dear Lifehacker,
I'm looking for a new job, but my company regularly scans job sites and LinkedIn to see when employees update their resumes or profiles. Then they report them to their managers. How can I conduct my job search privately without anyone finding out?
There are a number of good times and places to shop thrift stores. In upscale neighborhoods or during the Spring , for example. One other handy strategy if you want to find some awesome deals: hit up the thrift stores near college campuses, or fire up Craigslist when it's time for students to head home.
No one wants to be annoying or bothersome to a professional contact, especially when you want a job, meeting, sales dollars, or something else very important from that person. But the average person can get a few hundred emails a day, and some of your messages might go unanswered. How do you know when it's okay to send a follow up message without being annoying?
Bad credit can haunt you. You may still have to deal with your money mistakes years after you've gotten your finances in order. A bad credit report can make some tasks difficult: renting an apartment, for example. If you're having trouble renting because of your credit history, here are a few options.
Skills: check. Education: check. Experience: not so much. What should you do when you know you're capable of a job, but the requirements says you're too inexperienced? The workplace experts at Stack Exchange offer some helpful advice.
Regardless of which end of whatever pond you’re on, region blocked content is annoying. Whether you’re an ex-pat looking to watch reruns of The Wonder Years, or you’re hankering for a dose of Dr. Who, here’s the best (and easiest) way to get that content.
Cleaning kits for your laptop, TV and other electronics are nice, but the Wall Street Journal tested and found that water and a microfiber cloth are just as effective at cleaning your screen.
Whether you've got a green thumb or not , you probably want your houseplants to thrive. Besides fixing the reasons they might be droopy , try watering them with club soda to make your plants grow beautifully.
On average, closing costs make up two to five percent of the purchase price of a home. Two percent doesn't seem like a high number, until you remember that houses are pretty expensive. With the average home price at $152,000, that means you can expect to pay an extra $3,000 to $7,600. And that's just on average. This can be quite a surprise to new homeowners, so here's a round-up of closing costs to watch out for.
You already know that meditation has real benefits , both emotionally and health-wise , but getting started is easier said than done. Finding the right type of meditation for you can be difficult. That's why the team at Lift put together this guide for beginners who want a more instructive approach.
There are plenty of starter kits to choose from if you're interested in tinkering with electronics, but the Discovering Arduino DIY Kit is one of the more expansive. It gets you started both with general electronics and Arduino programming.
We've shared many ways to remove a stripped screw over the years, but Household Hacker has rounded some of the best up into one, easy to follow video.
Even with the recent housing crisis, many of us still consider buying a home part of the "American dream." Meanwhile, naysayers point out all the downsides to homeownership, especially if you think of it as an investment . Where do you stand on this issue?
