One might say that the peregrine falcon is the cheetah of the sky: It lacks the cheetah’s distinctive orange-and-black coloring, but in mid-air, the predatory bird can travel up to three times faster than the land-bound feline.
The crow-sized falcon cruises at rates between 40 and 60 miles per hour, and can even clear an astounding 293 feet per second while diving to capture prey. Learn how the bird’s body is built for speed by watching the video below, courtesy of Vox.
Mixing high-end/low-end style isn’t exactly a new concept in the fashion world, but Balenciaga has taken the aesthetic to new—and slightly ludicrous—heights: As CNN reports, the French luxury brand has designed a blue tote bag that’s drawing comparisons to IKEA’s famously inexpensive and durable 99-cent shopping bag. Their version costs $2145.
It’s unclear whether or not Balenciaga actually drew sartorial inspiration from the popular Swedish furniture retailer, but the resemblance between their “Arena” tote and IKEA’s utilitarian “Frakta” carryall is unmistakable: Both bags are oversized, crinkly, and bright blue, with both short and long handles and plenty of storage space.
Balenciaga
Balenciaga
The difference is in the details: IKEA’s bag is made from a synthetic material, polypropylene, and its handles are emblazoned with the retailer’s logo. Balenciaga’s tote is crafted from “glazed leather,” and bears a gold-stamped logo (and costs 2145 times as much as its reusable counterpart).
IKEA
Balenciaga is selling its blue bag at high-end department store Barneys. But whether the concept of a luxury, IKEA-inspired bag makes you feel amused, angry, or simply poor, the situation is proof that customers from all income brackets can appreciate a roomy, ultra-practical tote.
“We are deeply flattered that the Balenciaga tote bag resembles the IKEA iconic sustainable blue bag for 99 cents,” IKEA commented, according to TODAY. ‘Nothing beats the versatility of a great big blue bag!” (Although an affordable price point never hurts, either.)
Score a sweet tax return? Resist the impulse to splurge on new stuff, and instead, shop around for a new bank account to stash your money in. That said, evaluating which checking or savings accounts have the highest interest rates, the lowest fees and charges, and the best perks can be a laborious process.
Luckily for us, WalletHub did the hard work for us: In search of the best offers, the personal finance website perused 50 popular online-only checking accounts, along with 480 savings and money market accounts from 233 online and branch-based banks and credit unions. According to them, the ones listed below can help penny-pinchers make the most of their savings.
One note: WalletHub limited their choices for best checking accounts to online-only ones, and many of their best savings account selections were also digital. If visiting a physical bank branch is still at the top of your priority list, those suggestions may not be the best options for you. However, keep in mind that by eliminating the cost of maintaining physical locations, online banks are able to provide customers with higher interest rates and lower or fewer fees—meaning they’re a good choice for those looking to avoid extra costs and grow their savings.
Best Savings Account: Salem Five’s eOne Savings
Regional banks tend to have lower or fewer fees across the board, and online savings accounts tend to yield higher interest rates—which may be why WalletHub’s choice for best overall savings accounts is eOne Savings, an online savings account offered by Salem Five, a regional New England bank. It’s reportedly one of the highest-yielding ones on the market, as it offers a 1.1 percent APY, or annual percentage yield. (The average APY for savings accounts is often lower than 1 percent.) Plus, there aren’t any monthly fees or withdrawal fees.
Best Checking Account for Rewards: Bank5 Connect’s High-Interest Checking Account
If you’re a fan of perks, go with the High-Interest Checking Account offered by online bank Bank5 Connect. Its APY is only 0.76 percent, but for every $2 customers make in debit card purchases, customers receive one point. These points can be redeemed for gift cards, travel, or merchandise—which, at the end of the day, equates to about 0.5 percent cash back. As for fees, there’s no monthly fee or ATM withdrawal fees.
WalletHub’s choice for best online checking account is offered by a credit union instead of a bank, which may be appealing for those looking to divest from big banks for personal or political reasons. Consumers Credit Union’s Free Rewards Checking has an APY of up to 4.59 percent, plus it doesn’t charge monthly fees, nor does it require customers to maintain a minimum balance. You will, however, have to make at least 12 debit card purchases per month to score the best return. To join Consumers Credit Union, simply make a $5 one-time donation.
Best No-Fee Online Checking Account: Bank of Internet’s USA X Checking Account
Fees are the bane of every account holder’s existence, but customers who sign up for the Bank of Internet’s USA X Checking don’t need to deal with monthly maintenance fees, ATM withdrawal fees, or overdraft fees. The Bank of Internet also reimburses customers for domestic ATM-owner surcharges, making it convenient (and free) to grab cash on the go.
Epic science fiction films are typically best enjoyed on the big screen, but as Nerdist reports, one creative dad’s design skills helped him transform an at-home tablet viewing of 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story into an experience straight out of a galaxy far, far away.
Donovan—who goes by the alias “The Beardless Man” on YouTube—enjoys both the Star Wars franchise and woodworking. Following Rogue One’s home video release, he combined these two interests by building a mini-movie theater for his kids, modeled after the Millennium Falcon spaceship. The theater’s ceiling contains a handy, built-in frame to support a tablet, which allows viewers to enjoy their small-screen showing without being forced to hold the gadget aloft.
Learn how to make your own Millennium Falcon theater by watching Donovan’s video below.
Whether they harmed property or people, were in cahoots with human outlaws, or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, these critters are proof that “crime” can sometimes be cuddly.
1. THE PIGEON THAT WAS ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF ESPIONAGE.
In 2015, officials in India arrested a pigeon they suspected was a spy. The bird’s body was stamped with a message written partly in Urdu—Pakistan’s official language—and what appeared to be a Pakistani phone number. It had landed in a village close to the country’s shared border with Pakistan, near the Kashmir region that’s claimed by both countries and has been the subject of multiple wars between India and Pakistan beginning in 1947. Though there was a ceasefire in 1972 (the current situation is that India controls 45 percent of Kashmir, Pakistan 35 percent, and China 20 percent), because both countries believe they have rights to the area, it’s frequently the site of military clashes and infiltration.
So when a 14-year-old boy found the suspicious-looking pigeon so close to Kashmir, he turned it over to authorities. The officials took it to a veterinary hospital for x-rays, and though they couldn’t find any concrete evidence of foreign fowl play, they kept the bird in custody, recording it as a “suspected spy” in their police diary.
That said, not everyone took the news as seriously as the Indian police did: In the days following the bird’s arrest, Pakistani social media was flooded with memes depicting the feathered detainee as a slick 007 type, and amused internet users coined hashtags like #PigeonVsIndia and #IfIWereAPigeon.
2. THE BEAVER THAT WAS APPREHENDED FOR A DESTRUCTIVE CHRISTMAS SHOPPING SESSION.
In December 2016, a wild beaver must have decided that forest trees weren’t festive enough, because it wandered into a dollar store in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, to browse Christmas trees and decorations. Workers noticed the animal knocking items onto the floor, and called the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.
Captain Yingling of the sheriff’s office arrived on scene to prevent the “shopping” beaver from ruining the store. “The suspect attempted to flee the area but was apprehended by Animal Control,” the sheriff’s department joked on their Facebook page.
Instead of allowing the beaver to finish up its holiday shopping, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff handed the critter over to a wildlife rehab center. As for the police, they said the quirky incident just marked another day on the job: “As a law enforcement officer, you just never know what your next call may be…” they mused on Facebook.
3. THE FOUL-MOUTHED PARROT IN INDIA THAT WAS ARRESTED FOR REPEATEDLY INSULTING HIS OWNER’S STEPMOTHER.
In 2015, police in the Indian state of Maharashtra taught a foul-mouthed parrot named Hariyal a lesson in politeness after they “arrested” it for swearing at an elderly woman named Janabai. According to locals, the pet bird had picked up the rude habit from Janabi’s stepson, Suresh Sakharkar. The two were embroiled in an ugly property dispute, and the latter had reportedly spent the prior two years training Hariyal to spout epithets whenever the estranged relation walked past his house.
The situation escalated, and Janabi, Suresh, and his bird were eventually called to the police station. “Police should investigate and seize the parrot,” the embittered stepmother told Indian news channel Zee News. That said, Hariyal must have known he was in hot water, because he kept his beak shut. “We watched the parrot carefully but it did not utter a word at the police station after being confronted by the complainant,” a police inspector told reporters.
Instead of locking Hariyal up, officials gave the parrot over to Maharashtra’s forestry department, where he can presumably fly—and curse—freely for the remainder of his life.
4. THE SQUIRREL THAT WAS ARRESTED FOR “STALKING” A GERMAN WOMAN.
While walking down the street in the West German city of Bottrop in 2015, a woman realized that she had attracted a furry stalker: a tiny red squirrel. The animal was chasing her and acting aggressively. Frightened and unable to flee the rodent, the woman called the police for help. Authorities captured the squirrel, “arrested” it, and brought it back to the station. There, they discovered that the critter was suffering from exhaustion.
Police helped nurse the squirrel back to health by feeding it honey, and a spokesman said the squirrel would be sent to a rescue center instead of languishing away in a cell for its stalkerish habits.
5. THE BAD MONKEYS IN INDIA THAT WERE IMPRISONED IN “MONKEY JAIL.”
iStock
In 2004, a rogue monkey became infamous for terrorizing residents of the city of Patiala, in India’s northern Punjab region. The monkey was guilty of multiple crimes: It stole food from homes, ripped the buttons off people’s shirts, threatened kids with bricks, and once even swiped someone’s math textbooks and calculator. To keep the marauding jungle creature off the streets, officials sentenced it to “monkey jail”—a now-defunct detainment center in Patiala that was reserved for ill-behaving primates.
The “monkey jail”—which appears to have operated from 1996 until the mid-2000s—was located in the corner of a local zoo. The 15-foot-wide barred cell was secured with chain-link fencing and wire mesh, and had a sign that read: “These monkeys have been caught from various cities of Punjab. They are notorious. Going near them is dangerous.”
Punjab is filled with countless wild Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. Some of the animals have moved into cities and towns in search of food, as humans continue to destroy their natural jungle habitat. Others were once used as animal guards, or trained as performing monkeys, and were set loose by their owners once they turned violent. Particularly ill-treated or mischievous primates have been known to destroy property and pester—or even attack—humans. But since Hindus revere Hanuman, the monkey god, killing the creatures is verboten.
Wildlife officers in Punjab took matters into their own hands by opening the monkey jail. They responded to public complaints by capturing the creatures with trapping cages and tranquilizer guns. Once the monkeys were locked up, there was little to no chance of “parole.”
As of 2004, there were 13 jailed monkeys, all imprisoned for harassing people or committing petty crimes. Patiala’s primate penitentiary was eventually closed, and authorities announced it was going to be replaced by “reform school” that’s intended to train the monkeys to be less aggressive.
6. THE CAT WHO WAS DETAINED FOR HELPING OUT WITH A PRISON BREAK.
On New Year’s Day 2013, a cat took the heat for scheming Brazilian inmates who were likely either planning a jailbreak or attempting to communicate with outlaws on the outside. The white feline was slinking around the main gates of a medium-security prison in Arapiraca—a city in northeast Brazil—when guards noticed that its body was wrapped in tape. They apprehended the kitty, and discovered that it was carrying items including several saws and drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries, and a phone charger.
Prison officer Luiz de Oliveira Souza told reporters that the cat had been seen entering and exiting the jail before. It had been raised by inmates, and was often in the custody of one of their families. However, officials couldn’t figure out which of the jail’s 263 prisoners had tried to use the feline for their own nefarious purposes: “It’s tough to find out who’s responsible for the action as the cat doesn’t speak,” a prison spokesperson told local newspaper Estado de S.Paulo.
Following the cat’s “arrest” and brief imprisonment, it was taken to a local animal shelter to receive medical treatment.
7. THE TOUGH PRISON PET THAT WAS ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD BOY.
Courtesy of Eastern State Penitentiary
Unlike some animals on this list, Pep the dog was a very good boy. But in 1924, Pennsylvania governor Gifford Pinchot allegedly sentenced the dark-haired Labrador to a life sentence without parole. Pep was taken to Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary, where officials jokingly gave him his own inmate number and mug shot. Reporters nicknamed the canine “Pep The Cat-Murdering Dog,” as he was said to have killed the governor’s wife’s cat.
Thanks to all the media hype, Pep had quite the tough reputation. But a few years after the canine’s imprisonment, the governor’s wife, Cornelia Pinchot, set the story straight in an interview with The New York Times. Turns out, Pep had never murdered her pet feline; her family simply bred Labradors, and owned too many dogs. Pep, she said, was a gift to the prisoners to lift their spirits.
Today, researchers say that partisan journalists twisted the facts around, and that Pep was actually a beloved prison pet that freely wandered the hallways and was adored by all. As for the “life sentence without parole” part, the Lab was eventually moved to a newer prison; when he died, he was buried on its grounds.
8. THE FEISTY DONKEY IN MEXICO THAT WAS LOCKED UP TO SETTLE A SCORE.
iStock
In 2008, police in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas arrested a feisty donkey named Blacky after it bit a man in the chest, and kicked a second man trying to rescue him. Police apprehended the burro and locked it in the jail’s drunk tank. “Around here, if someone commits a crime they are jailed, no matter who they are,” said Officer Sinar Gomez.
Police said that the donkey would remain behind bars until its owner, Mauro Gutierrez, paid the injured parties’ medical bills and salary for the days they missed work. The boisterous burrow served three days in jail, and Gutierrez settled the score by paying Blacky’s victims.
On Tuesday, March 7, you can splurge on carbs—and save money—at the International House of Pancakes. In honor of its 12th annual National Pancake Day, IHOP will dish out one free short stack of buttermilk pancakes to customers between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m, with select locations extending their hours until 10 p.m. In turn, patrons are asked to donate to charitable children’s organizations, including Shriners Hospitals for Children, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
But wait, didn’t we just have a Pancake Day? Let’s sort out that holiday confusion: IHOP’s National Pancake Day has nothing to do with International Pancake Day, an annual pancake festival held in Liberal, Kansas, right before the Christian season of Lent. Nor is it related to Shrove Tuesday, which is also called Pancake Day or Mardi Gras—the day before Lent in which cultures around the world savor a hearty pancake supper before commencing 40 days of penance. While IHOP has hosted National Pancake Day on Shrove Tuesday before, the delicious fundraiser often takes place on a generic day in late winter, according to TIME.
This year, IHOP’s National Pancake Day doesn’t seem to fall on any particularly special occasion, which is fine with us—we don’t need a specific occasion to chow down on pancakes, especially when it raises money for a good cause. Since launching National Pancake Day in 2006, IHOP says its restaurants have raised $24 million for charity. This year alone, the chain is aiming to raise $3.5 million.
To make life easier for patients with digestive disorders, Epicured, a new meal delivery service spotted by The Mighty, provides subscribers with meals that are compliant with their treatment plans.
People with digestive disorders often have a hard time finding or cooking health-appropriate foods. Individuals with celiac disease—a genetic digestive disorder that causes harm to the small intestine—can’t eat gluten. Meanwhile, experts still don’t know what causes conditions like Crohn’s Disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), but research suggests that following a low FODMAP diet may improve symptoms.
Renee Cherkezian, a nurse, and Richard Bennett, an entrepreneur and former healthcare professional, launched Epicured in 2016. Other companies provide gluten-free meal plans, but Epicured bills itself as the only food delivery service that’s FODMAP-compliant, too. (For the uninitiated, FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols—all short chain carbohydrates, found in dairy products, wheat, certain fruits, onions, sweeteners, and more.)
Epicured’s menu changes seasonally; current offerings include everything from baked lasagna to Thai green curry to Tikka Masala. Not only are these choices diverse, they’re all 100 percent low FODMAP and gluten-free. “Many of our customers have not been able to derive a lot of pleasure from food, and we want to give them back that ability,” Bennett told The Mighty.
Epicured’s services are currently only available in the New York metro area, but the company plans to expand to include other East Coast cities. (Check here to see if Epicured delivers to you.) Before placing an order, though, consult with a doctor to make sure the meal plans fit your individual health needs.
Tim Linhart makes musical instruments from an unlikely material: ice. Around 20 years ago, the ice sculptor from Colorado liked what he heard after playing a string bass he carved for himself. Inspired, he ended up founding Ice Music, an orchestra of frozen violins, cellos, basses, and more.
To keep Linhart’s fragile “ICEstruments” from melting, Ice Music’s members perform in a specially designed igloo concert hall in Luleå, in Swedish Lapland. Watch them perform a variety of songs in the video below, courtesy of P2 Photography.
If you’re a tech-savvy American who dreams of living abroad, Wellington, New Zealand wants to make your expat fantasies come true. As Forbes reports, the island nation’s capital city is looking to recruit 100 employees from around the world—U.S. residents, in particular—to work for its start-up scene.
Wellington is famous for its scenic shoreline and its arts and culture scene, but the city is also an emerging tech hub (it has even been nicknamed “Silicon Welly”). To promote growth in the technology sector, the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) joined forces with Workhere New Zealand—a business that connects skilled foreign workers with New Zealand employers—to launch a talent recruitment program called LookSee Wellington.
LookSee Wellington hopes to attract top-notch applicants by offering what they’ve dubbed “the ultimate career trip.” The LookSee team will pre-screen applicants, and prospective employers will choose the 100 most promising candidates. In May 2017, LookSee Wellington will fly the lucky finalists to Wellington—all expenses paid, including travel and accommodations—for four days of prearranged interviews, meet-ups, and sightseeing tours. (You’ll have to cover your own food, beverage, and entertainment expenses.)
“At the end of the week there’ll be offers to jobs you never knew existed in a place with a lifestyle you never thought possible,” LookSee’s website promises.
Already dreaming about life as a Kiwi? Candidates can register for consideration online; applications are due by March 20. This isn’t the first time New Zealand has actively recruited foreign workers: In July 2016, the tiny, 800-person town of Kaitangata offered housing packages worth around $165,000 to applicants willing to live in the area and work at its dairy processing and freezing works plants.
Love it or hate it, mayonnaise is everywhere—in sandwiches, salads, and even on French fries. But as Mashable reports, Japan is set to take the creamy condiment craze to new heights: Kewpie, the Japanese mayo brand, is launching two pop-up restaurants featuring mayonnaise-based menus.
Kewpie will open a “mayonnaise cafe” in Tokyo’s Shibuya district for the entirety of March (fun fact: March 1 is “Mayonnaise Day” in Japan). The second pop-up will arrive in Nagoya, in central Honshu, on April 3, and remain open through April 30.
Calm your fears, mayo-phobes: neither establishment will sell big bowls of mayo with spoons on the side. Instead, they’ll use the condiment to marinate chicken, add extra flavor to omelets, and make a custard-like dessert. (There’s even mayo pizza!) Dishes will range in price from around $3.50 for a small dessert to about $14 for the chicken chop.
That said, Kewpie mayo isn’t your grandma’s Hellmann’s, meaning these dishes will likely taste much different from what American eaters would expect. As Kotaku explains, the Asian condiment is made from egg yolks and apple or rice vinegar, which gives it a taste that’s richer and sweeter than American mayonnaise, which is typically made from whole eggs, distilled vinegar, salt, and sugar.
This isn’t Kewpie’s first foray into the restaurant industry: In March 2016, one of the brand’s pop-up cafes served dishes including Taro Miso Mayonnaise Gratin, fries with different-flavored mayos, and more.
