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Wireless charging is confusing, but one fact is clear: If your charger could potentially give you a shock, or set your phone on fire, you should probably stop using it.Read more...

Many years ago, before I was a parent, I became an aunt. And this first niece of mine, around age two, loved a show called Yo Gabba Gabba! that was devoted to music and dancing. Me, being the incredible, fun aunt that I am, bought her this Yo Gabba Gabba! dance mat, which encouraged kids to “boogie down.” I imagined…Read more...

In theory, dogs are great. They’re loyal, loving companions who’ll sit with you after a hard day and tilt their head empathetically when you’re feeling down. But then, there are those dogs that love to hear themselves bark. It’s especially aggravating when your neighbor’s dog likes to bark all night long, or yaps…Read more...

Recipes are so easy to find online, even people with extensive cookbook collections tend to go to Google first. But when I’m so burnt out that the very concept of cooking dinner is offensive, the only cure is logging off and opening a cookbook. Read more...

Your holiday gift-shopping time is running out. If you’ve been dragging your feet, unsure of what to get for those last few kids on your list, my son is here to help you out. Because who better to advise you on what to get the nephew you haven’t seen all year or your best friend’s daughter, than a tween who takes…Read more...

I never minded the feeling of a mask against my lips until I wore one to the gym. Gasping for breath between the clean and the jerk, as one does, I kept involuntarily sucking cotton fabric into my mouth. Not fun. Read more...

So, you want to build a nuclear fallout shelter. You’re not alone: the civilian bomb shelter construction industry has been steadily growing to meet demand for the past decade, with past events igniting a full-on market boom, not to mention the pandemic and election.Read more...

I love reading, but I love telling people what to read almost as much. For five years, it was basically my job. And because reading the right book at the right time—to suit a mood, answer a question, or satisfy a craving—is definitely a hack, I want to keep doing it. If you’re looking for just the right book to read, …Read more...

It might feel like we’ve reached that point in the pandemic when we’ve simply run out of ideas for how to switch things up and conjure some fresh joy inside our four walls. But if you haven’t built your own indoor ball pit yet, you’ve still got at least one trick up your sleeve.Read more...

While there’s a lot of new technology coming with the iPhone 12, Apple is also making a move to reduce “e-waste” by giving you less stuff in your iPhone box. Taken together, these two facts mean that you’ll probably end up spending anywhere from “a little bit” to “a lot” more money after buying your brand-new iPhone…Read more...

Some parents opting to skip trick-or-treating this year are borrowing an idea from that other candy-friendly holiday: Easter. I’m talking, of course, of the candy scavenger hunt. Sure, you could host your hunt indoors or outdoors in broad daylight, but why do that when you could give it a Halloween twist—by making it…Read more...

Bidets are popular in many places around the globe, but for some reason we in the U.S. have been extremely slow to catch on. Washing your butthole with water instead of wiping it with toilet paper is, in most cases, a better way to live your life. Read more...

Prime Day is upon us. While I wouldn’t fault you if you’re all shopped out and want to check out for the next day or so, there are plenty of great deals to be had from everyone’s favorite retail overlord. And that’s especially true if you’re looking to do some PC upgrading. I recently rebuilt my system, but I’m still…Read more...

I’m kidding. The photo is a joke, I’m not here to suggest you store your kid’s sippy cups by wedging them between two tree trunks. That seems like a solution that only works for this one specific sippy cup, and surely you’ve got more than one. In fact, you probably have multiple, as well as plastic water bottles of…Read more...

If you’re not already playing old-school video games with your kid, I’m here to tell you it’s time to start. It’s great for family togetherness and it’s fun to be able to beat your kid at something. I’m hopeless against my 12-year-old at modern games, but I can smoke him at Joust any day. All those quarters were worth…Read more...

Bluetooth is convenient AF when it works and annoying to troubleshoot when it doesn’t. Conceptually, it should just... always work. One device pairs with another, they communicate happily as long as they’re both powered up, and they save you from having to deal with annoying cords and cables. Simple, right?Read more...

When you see a vacuum cleaner, you see a chore: one more thing you have to do that it feels like you just did and yet will have to do again in mere days. When a young child sees a vacuum cleaner, however, they see nothing but possibility: the noise, the effort required to push and pull an awkwardly shaped machine, the…Read more...

Amazon managed to cram about a dozen product announcements into a 50-minute presentation Thursday, unveiling everything from new Alexa smart speakers, to a cloud gaming service, to next-gen wifi routers, fitness trackers, and home security devices. It was a lot. If you blinked, you might’ve missed a few.Read more...