Ever notice how restaurant servers push the special of the day? Their reasons may be more economic than culinary. “When I go out to eat at other restaurants, I never order the specials,” says executive chef and owner Alberto Morreale of Farmer’s Bottega, in San Diego. “Some restaurants put together their specials for the day based on what’s about to expire or what they’re trying to get rid of faster.” Instead, he asks the server to recommend something made with local ingredients, or what arrived fresh that day. Don’t miss these secrets waiters will never tell you.

The post Here’s Why Chefs Never Order These 7 Foods in Restaurants appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Giant Jenga

$99.95

Shop Now

Make way for mega fun with this giant Jenga set. Make things interesting by writing truth or dare or drinking challenges on each Jenga piece. Whenever a player pulls out a piece, they’ve got to do the challenge written! Dust off these classic board games for even more fun.

Note: Prices listed were accurate as of press time; pricing fluctuations may occur.

The post 16 Outrageously-Fun Adult Party Games appeared first on Reader's Digest.

When it comes to cleaning, bleach is a magical ingredient—it’s one of the best disinfectants and stain removers you can find. Most of us use it for laundry, cleaning toilet bowls, or tackling tough stains. However, that doesn’t mean these are the only uses for bleach. In fact, there are a lot of other ways bleach can come in extremely handy. Here’s 10 of them that you probably did not know before. But first, check out the 5 mistakes you must avoid when cleaning with bleach.

The post 10 Different Ways You’re Not Using Bleach, But Should appeared first on Reader's Digest.

The plural of beef is… beeves! This is true only for “beef” in the sense of “cow”; If you’re talking about arguments between whiny celebrities on Twitter, then those are beefs. On top of trying to memorize these irregular plurals, you’ve probably been saying these 24 things wrong the whole time.

The post 11 Irregular Plural Words That Sound Completely Wrong—But Aren’t appeared first on Reader's Digest.

The post 9 Animals That Aren’t as Dangerous as You Think appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Who would have guessed dressing up as a plant could be so fun? Transform into a cute cactus costume by hot-gluing white yarn on a green dress. Add some colorful pom-poms for flowers. Check out Studio DIY for more detailed instructions. These last-minute adult costume ideas are worth checking out, also.

The post 18 Cheap Halloween Costumes for Adults Basically Anyone Can DIY appeared first on Reader's Digest.

You probably feel good after you complete a household cleaning task; it’s not much fun, but needs to be done and is definitely beneficial. Or is it? Frustratingly, there is a right and a wrong way to clean. Find out if you’re making any of these mistakes that could actually be sabotaging your home’s cleanliness. When you’re cleaning around the house, make sure you know these 12 items that shouldn’t be cleaned with paper towels.

The post 10 Cleaning Mistakes You’re Probably Making That Are Making Your Home Dirtier appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Why leaves change color, autumn babies are smarter, and half the world enjoys mating season in unexpected ways every fall. You’ll also want to check out these stunning photos of New England during the fall.

The post 21 Weird Ways the World Changes in Autumn appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Sure, it might be enticing to snag the cashmere sweater in the store window or the newest car on the lot. But making a purchase on a whim is something you will never see a wealthy person do. “If you buy things you do not need,” billionaire investor Warren Buffet told Forbes, “soon you will have to sell things you need.” It doesn’t mean millionaires don’t buy lavish items, they just put thought into them and their bottom line before swiping their credit card. Here are 13 nearly effortless ways to be more thrifty.

The post 13 Things Rich People Never Waste Their Money On appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Paper towels are a hot commodity these days, so the last thing any of us would want is to be wasting some. And yet, if you’ve recently cleaned your electronic screens, mirrors, or bathtub with paper towels, you’re wasting paper towels. Here are the 12 things you should stick to cleaning with sponges or reusable cloths instead. But make sure you’re still aware of the 9 extraordinary uses for paper towels.

The post 12 Things You Shouldn’t Be Cleaning with Paper Towels appeared first on Reader's Digest.

People can’t get enough antibacterial wipes right now as they’re reevaluating their cleaning regimens. Even the less-germophobic of us might be scrubbing down every surface in our homes. But… should we? Of course, it’s important to keep things clean, but if you’re making any of these mistakes with antibacterial wipes, you could be sabotaging your cleaning process. There are actually some mistakes you’re making while cleaning with bleach, too.

The post 10 Mistakes You’re Making with Antibacterial Wipes appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Washing your hands is essential to good hygiene, stopping germs in their tracks. Washing your hands limits the transfer of bacteria, viruses, and other germs, according to the Mayo Clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends using soap and clean water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to wash your hands, as studies show both are effective ways of keeping germs at bay. Of course, it’s impossible to keep your hands 100 percent germ-free all the time, but it’s absolutely essential after touching the following 10 things. And when cleaning, don’t overlook these 15 everyday items that are dirtier than a toilet seat.

The post Wash Your Hands Immediately After Touching These 10 Things appeared first on Reader's Digest.

On the first night of the police 
curfew in Minneapolis last summer, Rose McGee barely slept. “People I know were out on the streets,” says the 69-year-old resident of nearby Golden Valley. “I was worried.”

McGee decided to stay up the following night and bake sweet potato pies. She doesn’t really like to cook, but in times of crisis she often turns her kitchen into a pastry factory. This time, she also went on Facebook to invite others to swing by, pick up a pie, and take it to someone in need of comfort—or at least, comfort food.

In the morning, dozens of neighbors congregated around McGee’s front porch. Many had brought their own homemade pies to share. “It was surreal,” McGee says. Together, they delivered their baked goods first to mourners at George Floyd’s memorial site, just 14 miles away, and then to protestors and volunteers at the Minneapolis branch of the NAACP. The following weekend, they took dozens more to a makeshift food distribution center in St. Paul, where many grocery stores had been destroyed.

Sadly, McGee has made Sweet Potato Comfort Pies, as she calls them, all too often in recent years. She baked her first batch in 2014, after news broke of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police killing of Michael Brown. McGee drove more than 500 miles 
to Ferguson to personally deliver the 30 pies she had made. The next year, she shipped more to Charleston, South Carolina, where nine worshippers had been shot dead at the Mother Emanuel AME Church. In 2018, she sent a kosher batch to Pittsburgh in the wake of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. Tragedy also struck closer to home. McGee’s pies comforted those in and around Minneapolis after police officers fatally shot Jamar Clark in 2015 and Philando Castile in 2016.

McGee, who works for the Minnesota Humanities Center, an educational council and community resource, also hosts an annual pie-baking event to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.—the group made 91 this year, to mark the age he would’ve been if he were alive. In a sense, he is, at least in the participants’ discussions of how they can foster relationships and social justice. “As people carry these pies, they’re able to have dialogues, able to listen to each other,” McGee says. “If we don’t start listening more, I don’t know how we’ll ever be able to move forward. The pies are simply the catalyst for that.” Next, these uplifting stories of neighbors helping during coronavirus will inspire you to do the same.

Vintage Photos of Unity We All Need to See Right Now

Powerful Quotes That Speak Volumes in the Fight Against Racism

What It’s Really Like to Protest in a Small Town

The post In the Wake of George Floyd’s Death, This Woman Brought Her Minneapolis Community Comfort Through Baking appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Do you have your mom’s button nose? Did your dad pass on the curse of sneezing in bright sunlight? And where did your baby’s red, curly hair come from when there hasn’t been a redhead in your family for generations? These questions may sound simple but the answers get complicated fast. Why? Because the science of genetic inheritance is complicated, says Dawn Allain, licensed genetic counselor and director of the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “It’s nearly impossible to tease out exactly where each of your traits came from,” she explains. “Most traits are influenced by many different genes and you inherit some from each parent.” Plus, there’s the influence your environment plays; just because you have a gene for a certain trait doesn’t always mean you’ll end up with it, she adds. Then there are traits people often assume are inherited but actually aren’t.

The post 5 Traits You Didn’t Know You Inherit from Mom (and 4 You Inherit from Dad) appeared first on Reader's Digest.

There’s nothing like catching the scent of flowers drifting through the window on a warm summer breeze. From roses to sweet peas, here are the most aromatic flowers that will help freshen up any garden. When selecting flowers for your garden or even inside your home in a vase, make sure you know these 26 things florists won’t tell you.

The post 9 of the Best-Smelling Flowers That Belong in Your Garden appeared first on Reader's Digest.

If you don’t study science beyond high school you may have never learned some of these fascinating facts. Put on your learning caps because some of these science facts will make your jaw drop. Also, see if you can pass this 4th grade science quiz.

The post 25 Science Facts You Never Learned in School appeared first on Reader's Digest.

After going to the supermarket to buy groceries, placing foods in the refrigerator to last longer seems like the most common sense thing to do. But is the refrigerator the best place to store certain foods? For some foods, it might be the best place for storage, but for others, it might be the worst. These are the 13 items in your kitchen you need to throw out already.

The post 20 Foods You Shouldn’t Be Putting in the Fridge appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Grabbing a quick bite to eat is convenient, but certain fast food items will have you wishing that you cooked yourself a meal at home instead. Make sure to avoid these fast-food items that even employees won’t order. You have to order these fast-food items that made waves in the industry at least once though.

The post 12 Fast-Food Items You Should Never Order, According to Employees appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Have you heard about these unsolved mysteries in the news? Keep reading for more details on these cases that can’t be cracked. For some though, there is an end in sight. These are the mysteries that could be solved in the next decade.

The post 19 of the Strangest Unsolved Mysteries of All Time appeared first on Reader's Digest.

If you’re going to live in the United States or converse with English speakers, you’ll need to master our most commonly used idioms. What’s an idiom, you ask? Google.com’s handy dictionary offers the simplest explanation:

1. Idiom (noun): a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light).

The thing about idioms is that they’re often scrambled, mixed, and lost in translation! Here are some of the most common mix-ups. Don’t miss the grammar mistakes you could be making.

The post 24 Everyday Idioms You’re Getting Wrong appeared first on Reader's Digest.

“Stuff like lettuce and fresh vegetables gets replaced daily but the less popular or smaller items, like beans and beets, often don’t get replaced more than once a week—if that. With some of the items, like olives and pickles, I’m told to just dump the new stuff on top so the bottom layer could be months old. So vile!” —Chris P. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Find out 57 more secrets your server isn’t telling you.

The post 13 Things Servers Won’t Eat at Their Own Restaurants appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Like every year before it, the summer of 2020 will be over before you know it. Students are already going back to school, some offices are reopening, and the days are starting to get a little colder. While this summer certainly hasn’t been what anyone expected, the fall season is a whole new can of worms. Fall spells leaves changing, apple picking, pumpkin pie, and cozy sweaters. What happens to our beloved fall traditions during a worldwide pandemic? Will our world ever go back to normal?

While we know Halloween will look incredibly different this year, is there still hope for one of the most universally-beloved seasons and its festivities? These activities are hopefully not canceled, but you might be surprised.

The post 5 Classic Fall Activities That Will Be Different This Year appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Even though coronavirus is still a very big threat, some states are starting to open back up again after being in lockdown for months. One place that people are excited to get back to is their hair salons. For some, at-home hair cuts didn’t cut it and they’ve endured weeks of unruly hair while patiently waiting to book an appointment with their stylist. And, just like with grocery stores, nail salons, and gyms, hair salons have adapted to a new normal and there are a lot of changes that are being made. Things will carry from state to state, but we talked to some stylists to learn about the changes they’re making to their salons based on the CDC guidelines for reopening. Read on to find out what you should expect the next time you head to your hair salon. Also, read up on the secrets your hairstylist won’t tell you.

The post 14 Things You Won’t See in Hair Salons Anymore appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Rarely does anyone need every single thing that’s collected in their home—and we’re here to tell you it’s ok to get rid of it. Read on to find out what you probably don’t need that’s sitting around your house, taking up space and adding to overall clutter.

The post 43 Things to Get Rid of in the Next 43 Days appeared first on Reader's Digest.

People’s Daily, China tweeted out this math puzzle in which each picture represents a number.

Are you a math genius? Test your brain with this Chinese math puzzle. Did you get it right? (HINT: The correct answer is 16) pic.twitter.com/BpdFyzB73y

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) November 30, 2017

These algebra problems might seem easy at first glance, but hold on. People’s Daily was nice enough to give away the answer before you began. If you didn’t get 16, you did something wrong. Take a closer look at the pictures—you probably missed a few key details. You’d need to look closely to solve this easy math problem that baffled the Internet, too.

Still stumped? We’ll walk you through it (like we did for this coffee brainteaser). For the sake of the explanation, we’ll call the shoes S, the cat C, and the whistle W.

The first equation sets up the whole math puzzle. Three pairs of shoes added together equal thirty. S + S + S = 30, so divide 30 by three. Each pair of sneakers represents the number 10. Easy enough.

Now the second equation is clearer. Sub the shoes out for a 10, and you’ll find out 10 + C + C = 20. Subtract 10 from each side, so C + C = 10. Each cat must represent the number 5.

Look closely at the next equation before you jump into it. In the third equation, there are two whistles in each line, but the final one only has one whistle. So 5 + 2W + 2W = 13. If 4W = 8, then each whistle represents the number 2.

OK, so that clears up a bit of the next equation—until you plug the numbers in. Sub S + C x W for 10 + 5 x 2. Remember your order of operations? Multiply first, then add. So 10 + 10 = 20. What went wrong? (Hint: It’s similar to this “simple” math problem for kids that has adults stumped.)

The key is in the cat’s clothes. In the second and third equations, the cat has a whistle around its neck—but not in the last one.

No need to go back and redo all your hard work. Just change the last equation to S + (C – W) x W. Now plug the numbers in: 10 + (5 – 2) x 2. Work your way through it. The equation goes to 10 + (3) x 2, then 10 + 6. Finally, you get 16—problem solved!

Ready for more? These printable crossword puzzles will test your smarts.

The Internet Can't Figure Out How Many Triangles Are in This Image

Brain Games Guaranteed to Boost Your Brain Power

Brain Teasers That Will Leave You Stumped

The post If You Can Solve This Math Puzzle, You May Be a Genius appeared first on Reader's Digest.

As people around the world become vastly more attentive to cleaning, they’re buying antibacterial wipes as fast as retailers can keep them stocked. People are using them to wipe down everything, in hopes that it’ll make their homes a little cleaner and safer. And, of course, we get it—they’re certainly easy to use. While it’s a great cleaning tool, there are lots of potentially surprising things that you shouldn’t use them to clean. Of course, we still love wipes—and here’s why Clorox wipes are so good at killing germs.

The post 10 Times You Should Never Use Antibacterial Wipes appeared first on Reader's Digest.

They essentially stand on tip-toe. Their knees are closer to the body and are covered by feathers. This is just the first of many weird facts to blow our minds!

The post 46 Weird Facts Most People Don’t Know appeared first on Reader's Digest.

The most extensive collection of free books online is available on Google Books. If you pick the right book, you may find some of the best book quotes that inspire you in your life. Searching for a book feels exactly like typing a question into Google. Unfortunately, not all books on Google Books are available for free. After you search for your book, click on “Search tools” and change “Any books” to “Free Google eBooks” to make sure that you’re looking at free content. Here are 20 books you should have read by now to help you get your search started.

Google Books

The post 15 Places You Can Read Free Books Online appeared first on Reader's Digest.

In June 1994, Princess Diana wore a dress not so fit for a princess—an off-the-shoulder, form-fitting black silk dress. Despite being estranged and separated from Prince Charles since 1991, Diana still embodied an elegant radiance, even if the slinky number broke royal protocol. The iconic dress was soon dubbed the “revenge dress” because of a huge confession that was heard around the world that very same night. Find out the secrets we learned about Princess Diana only after her death.

Two things happened on that fateful night—Princess Diana made a public appearance at a party hosted by Vanity Fair and Prince Charles’ tell-all documentary premiered on national television. The documentary was made in an effort to bring Prince Charles back into a more sympathetic light after his separation from Diana, who was loved by all as “the people’s princess.” Unfortunately, the film’s intent backfired when the interviewer asked Charles on screen if he’d been “faithful and honorable” to Diana during their marriage. “Yes,” Prince Charles answered. “Until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.” His subtle confession was all it took to land the prince back in hot water again. Here’s the reason why Princess Diana never wanted a divorce.

“We called that “The Revenge Dress”[because] she wore that the same evening Prince Charles confessed to his adultery with Camilla,” Kerry Taylor, whose company auctioned off ten of the most recognizable Diana dresses in 2013, told womanmagazine.co.uk. “While some would have been like, ‘I can’t face it this evening,’ Diana went out in that dress looking drop-dead gorgeous. She made a big statement right there.”

But we may never know Diana’s true intentions for wearing the iconic black dress since the designer Christina Stambolian revealed that the dress had actually been made for Diana three years prior to its first appearance in the spotlight. At the time, the princess had been too nervous to wear it because she claimed it was “too daring.” In fact, Diana had initially planned on wearing a Valentino dress until her outfit of choice was released to the press ahead of the event, according to reports from the Telegraph. Instead, she made a last-minute switch and opted for the “daring” Stambolian black dress. Anna Harvey, her former stylist, said that she wanted to “look like a million dollars” that night. If the dress was Diana’s small act of revenge, she sure did look like a million bucks doing it. Next, learn more about the 9 things Princess Diana lost after her divorce from Prince Charles.

Times Princess Diana's Body Language Told the Real Story

Stunning, Rarely Seen Photos of Princess Diana

Why We're Still So Fascinated with Princess Diana

The post The True Story Behind Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Halloween, one of the most popular candy holidays of the year, is just around the corner. While the spookiest night of the year might look a little different this year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it will still involve creative costumes, lots of tricks, and more sweet treats than you can handle. Due to the fact that the best Halloween candy (and sweetest deals) tend to disappear weeks before the holiday, you might want to consider getting your candy shopping done early. Here are the best deals on all of your favorite Halloween candy in 2020.

Note: Prices listed were accurate as of press time; pricing fluctuations may occur.

The post The 25 Best Deals on Halloween Candy for 2020 appeared first on Reader's Digest.