Daily Inbox: Daily Tips for a Stylish & Fulfilling Life

15Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Business

People Are Camping Out at Chik-fil-A

Americans love camping. So much so -- in fact -- that in 2013 they spent a total of about 516.6 million days doing so. Americans also love Chik-fil-A. In 2011, the fast food chain reportedly sold a staggering nine sandwiches per second. So when the fast food chain offered a free meal per week for a year to some lucky contest winners, people naturally lined up from all over the country and camped out at the participating restaurants. "Before there were people coming from Illinois, there were people coming from Alabama and they would travel for a few weeks going from state to state, and that’s the reason why before I didn’t get in," Stephanie Robertson, who had previously attempted attending a Chik-fil-A opening, told WSB-TV. She was turned away when there were 200 others in front of her. ...

Lottery Winner Pays Friend $1,000 to Deliver Social Security Card So He Can Claim Prize

15Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

Lottery Winner Pays Friend $1,000 to Deliver Social Security Card So He Can Claim Prize

A Lincoln Park man who has chosen to remain anonymous won $4 million on a $30 World Class Million scratch off lottery ticket. "I scratched the numbers on the ticket first, before revealing the prizes," said the winner, who did the game right there in the store. "When I saw I had a match, I figured that I had won my $30 back. As I scratched the prize off, I quickly realized it was more than $30. Once I saw the '4MIL' symbol, I could barely breathe and thought I was having a panic attack." Only a few people were in the store at the time, all of whom kept staring at the winner "because I was acting pretty funny," he said. He handed the ticket to the clerk so he could scan it, who then started screaming, and told the winner to sign the ticket quickly. When the winner got home, his girlfrie...

Hitler at Home: How Interior Design and Propaganda Sold a Monster

14Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

World

Hitler at Home: How Interior Design and Propaganda Sold a Monster

About one in two Americans (47% to be exact) haven't updated their home's design in five years or more, and outside of guilty pleasure reality TV shows, most Americans think of interior design as a distraction, if they think of it at all. But a fascinating new book from a University of Buffalo author shows exactly how interior design was used to soften the image of the world's most notorious dictator, Adolf Hitler. Before Hitler was exposed as the war-mongering, genocidal egomaniac we all know and loathe today, he was the subject of often fawning profiles in the international press. Despina Stratigakos is an architectural historian and the interim chair of Architecture at the University at Buffalo; she recently wrote Hitler at Home, which details how interior design was incorporated into ...

2 Young People Killed While Camping in Yosemite

11Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

2 Young People Killed While Camping in Yosemite

Two young children have passed away after an oak tree limb fell on the tent they were sleeping in at a popular Yosemite National Park campground Friday. Because they were minors, authorities say they will not be releasing the names or the ages of the children involved, and they ask for privacy after this tragedy. Park spokesman Scott Gediman also says the deaths are currently under investigation. "Our thoughts are with the families as they grieve this tragedy," park superintendent Don Neubacher said in an official statement. Reports say that the children were sleeping in a tent at Upper Pines Campground in Yosemite Valley when the limb fell around 5 in the morning. After receiving several 911 calls to report the incident, medics arrived to find the two dead. The event is under investigat...

North Carolina Lottery Winner Spends Millions on Bail For Fiance

11Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

North Carolina Lottery Winner Spends Millions on Bail For Fiance

A North Carolina woman who won $188 million in the February Powerball lottery likely spent millions of dollars bailing out her fiancé, twice. The New York Daily News reported that Lamar “Hot Sauce” McDow, who is engaged to lotto winner Marie Holmes, has been released on bond from prison two times this year. McDow as arrested in November of 2014 for charges of trafficking heroin, which posted a $3 million bail. He was then sent back to jail in July on similar charges, with an escalated bail of $6 million. While Brunswick County Police have not released the name of the individual responsible for paying McDow’s bail, it is likely that Holmes fronted the bill for her fiancé's wrongdoings. These incidents were not the first crimes committed by McDow, who has a long criminal history. His crim...

Rising Dental Fees Forces U.S. Seniors to Seek Dentists in Mexico

9Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Business

Rising Dental Fees Forces U.S. Seniors to Seek Dentists in Mexico

As dental expenses continue to rise, seniors without dental insurance have begun to look for new alternatives. For many seniors, this means crossing the border to Mexico. Each year, more and more Americans adopt a dental plan. Currently, about 60% of U.S. citizens are covered by dental insurance, the highest percentage of coverage in years. Despite this, a recent 2013 Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Oral Health America showed that nearly 70% of U.S. seniors do not have dental insurance. This leaves many seniors unable to access the care they need to protect their teeth. Most government-based programs such as Medicare do not offer dental insurance, and many employers lack a post-retirement dental insurance program. While there are dental care insurance options through the recent...

Hawaii College Suggests Students ‘Boil Water’ to Shower Due to Plumbing Problems

8Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

Hawaii College Suggests Students ‘Boil Water’ to Shower Due to Plumbing Problems

When someone suggests you "boil water," one would hope they're giving you instructions on how to cook pasta, not take a comfortable shower. Oddly enough, the latter was the case for a group of unlucky students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. According to local news affiliate KHON-2, the campus's student housing service sent out the strange e-mail after students complained of a wide range of plumbing issues. The e-mail included the phrase, "if you absolutely cannot have a cold shower or want to clean dishes and the like, you might want to get a big pot or bowl and heat up your water." Um, what? UH-M student Raquel Lasconia said the bathroom floor of her apartment is constantly soaked. To add to her problems, she claims that "once you turn (the shower handle) to the hot side, it t...

CPAP Machines Can Save Sleep Apnea Patients From Brain Damages, Say Doctors

8Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Lifestyle

CPAP Machines Can Save Sleep Apnea Patients From Brain Damages, Say Doctors

A new study posted in the most recent edition of the Journal of Neuroimaging has reported that patients with untreated sleep apnea may be harming their brains. Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder in which the patient experiences multiple pauses in breathing during their sleep, and is thought to affect approximately 22 million Americans. There are many different causes for sleep apnea, including obesity, allergies, or acid reflux. Sleep apnea is most commonly treated by a special type of medical equipment that allows the opening of blocked passages, known as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. “The technology available in CPAP/BiPAP machines have become pretty impressive as well,” says Bo Brown, President, Mobility Healthcare. “Most insurance plans will require proof t...

NASA Wants To Turn Astronaut Poop Into Plastics for 3D Printers

8Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

World

NASA Wants To Turn Astronaut Poop Into Plastics for 3D Printers

This summer, NASA awarded Clemson University researchers a three-year grant to study methods for transforming human waste into vitamins, plastics, and other useful materials for long-duration space flight. The South Carolina scientists will receive $200,000 per year for their research project, officially titled "Synthetic Biology for Recycling Human Waste into Food, Nutraceuticals, and Materials: Closing the Loop for Long-Term Space Travel." With the advanced alchemical process, the researchers say, they can use genetically engineered yeast to synthesize plastics from the waste. The plastics can then be used in 3D printing machines to make tools and parts on demand. NASA hopes the Clemson team can find new ways to recycle waste -- including carbon dioxide from human breathing, urine, and ...

Drivers in D.C. Waste More Time in Traffic Jams Than Commuters in Any Other City

3Sep

By rocitoutNo Comments

Local

Drivers in D.C. Waste More Time in Traffic Jams Than Commuters in Any Other City

New York City and Los Angeles are probably the top two cities that have a reputation for having "the worst traffic ever," but it seems that neither of these metropolitan monsters can win against the nation's capital, Washington D.C., for that coveted title of disdain. A new study was just released by the Texas AandM Transportation Institute and Inrix, a travel data analysis company located in Kirkland, Washington, and the findings show that D.C. tops the list of worst rush hour traffic congestion in major U.S. cities. As USA Today described it, "Rush hour congestion adds 82 hours of suffering each year to the average commute around Washington, D.C." Runners-up for the unofficial Worst Traffic Ever title include L.A., where the average commuter spends 80 hours stuck in traffic, San...