It’s normal to form personal relationships with the professionals we pay to style our hair, file our taxes, or walk our dogs. And it’s also normal to realize that we’re no longer happy with or in need of those people’s services. But having that realization and taking the steps to part ways are two different things; it can be difficult to know what to say or do to avoid hurting feelings and burning bridges. If you’re in this position, check out Wired’s advice on how to “break up” with a service provider, from deciding if it’s really the end to forming a plan and lining up a replacement.
Featured Story
Researchers Develop Simple, At-Home Test for Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is exceedingly prevalent in men: It’s the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death among males worldwide. One way to identify those at risk is a blood test that checks for elevated prostate-specific antigens, or PSAs — something that must be completed in a doctor’s office. But a new, DNA-based screening method may be more accurate and can be performed in seconds at home. Researchers say it’s also better at identifying aggressive forms of the disease earlier and could prevent men with lower risk from undergoing unnecessary treatment. Click below to learn how the test works and dive into the statistics from a trial.
High-interest debt getting in the way of your financial goals? A balance transfer, in which you move credit card debt to a new card with a lower APR, may help you pay down your balances faster and save money on interest. The editors at FinanceBuzz reviewed dozens of cards with 0% intro APR offers, so you can make an informed decision about which credit card is best for your balance transfer — read up on what they found below.
At first glance, diverging diamond interchanges look unusual and perhaps even scary, but these unique intersections can actually clear up traffic jams and make roads safer. Created by traffic engineer Gilbert Chlewicki, diverging diamonds involve the left and right sides of the road crossing each other, which briefly has drivers feeling like they’re driving on the wrong side. “There were a lot of people who looked at me like I was a little nuts,” Chlewicki told NPR. “Like, why are you putting me on the other side of the road?” The major benefit, he explained, is that the cross-over makes left turns safer and easier because there’s no oncoming traffic. It took some time for people to come around to Chlewicki’s idea, but there are now over 200 diverging diamonds in more than 30 U.S. states. The first was installed in Springfield, Missouri, in 2009. Stacy Reese, a district engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation, said it immediately cleared an often traffic-clogged intersection. Better yet, it improved safety. “We did see the crashes reduced somewhere in that 40% to 50% range, pretty much instantaneously,” she said. Check out a clip of a diverging diamond in action.
The Airline Excellence Awards from AirlineRating.com are in, including a ranking of the top 25 flight purveyors for 2024. Qatar Airways took the No. 1 spot, dethroning last year’s winner, Air New Zealand. The airline still made it into the top five, though, along with Korean Air, Cathay Pacific Airways, and Emirates. Qatar Airways, headquartered in Doha, Qatar, scored particularly well when it came to passenger reviews, the site’s editor-in-chief, Geoffrey Thomas, said in a statement. It also earned other accolades in the Airline Excellence Awards — “best business class” and “best catering.” “In our objective analysis, Qatar Airways came out No. 1 in many key areas, although it was a very close scoring for the top 10,” he explained. “The passenger reviews, however, scored Qatar Airways ahead of all airlines and its consistency and high standard of service delivery came through in the feedback.” See the rest of the top 25.
Culture
From a Curious Dog to a Trapped Cat, See This Year’s Funniest Pet Photos
One of the internet’s favorite events is here: the unveiling of the latest Comedy Pet Photo Awards winners. The annual competition, now in its fifth consecutive year, is an ode to the silly situations and poses our pets often find themselves in. Creators Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam also aim “to highlight the positive and vital role that pets have in our lives and to encourage engagement around animal welfare.” “We’ve had a fantastic competition this year, with so many really good entries from across the globe,” Michelle Wood, who helps run the awards, said in a press release. She added: “In a world that can be hard to fathom, our pets are the one constant in our lives that make sense and are a vital source of support, joy, and sometimes, great hilarity.” The photo above, titled “I think I saw a mouse,” won in the horse category — click here to peruse the rest of the winning and highly commended images.
In 2015, the world fell in love with the animated embodiments of joy, fear, anger, disgust, and sadness — the emotions young protagonist Riley grapples with in the Oscar-winning Disney-Pixar film Inside Out. This Friday, a sequel is coming to theaters, and an expanded cast of characters is in play as a now-teenage Riley learns to deal with feelings like anxiety, envy, and embarrassment. The all-star voice cast includes Amy Poehler, Ayo Edebiri, Maya Hawke, and Lewis Black. Click the photo to take a peek at the trailer, and stream the original on Disney+ or Prime Video.
Something We Love
Life Is Good Vintage T-Shirt Collection
Founded by two brothers who started selling homemade T-shirts in college dorms three decades ago, Life Is Good is on a mission “to spread the power of optimism,” a goal we can get behind. Its vintage collection for men and women is a nod to ’90s nostalgia, featuring the bestselling designs from the brand’s early days. Best of all, 10% of annual profits are donated to the Playmaker Project to help kids heal from trauma.
Forty-two years ago this Tuesday, a quirky extraterrestrial with a penchant for Reese’s Pieces made contact with Earth. Directed by Steven Spielberg, then 34, E.T. was an immense success, earning four Oscars and becoming an instant classic. Per History.com, Spielberg worked closely with screenwriter Melissa Mathison, drawing on his own experience as an “unusually imaginative, often lonely child of divorce” to shape the heartwarming movie. Watch the incredible audition that earned 9-year-old Henry Thomas the starring role of Elliott — and be prepared to shed a few tears.
Get One of the Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Balance transfer cards with low APRs can help you pay down debt faster — a great choice for anyone looking to get rid of credit card debt without adding to it. FinanceBuzz identified one of the best cards for balance transfers, with an extra-long no interest period and simple cash back structure.*
