As a lifelong X-Men fan, this trailer had me grinning from start to finish. Wolverine and Storm have always been two of my all-time favorite Marvel heroes, so seeing the X-Men finally sharing the spotlight with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes feels like something I’ve been waiting forever to see. (I may or may not have immediately replayed the trailer … more than once.) And if you’re anything like me, you probably finished watching with one thought: Wait … what did I just miss? Marvel loves hiding clues in plain sight, and this trailer is packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments.

Whether you spotted a few clues or missed them all, read on for a breakdown of the biggest Avengers: Doomsday Easter eggs hidden throughout the trailer.

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What is the plot of Avengers: Doomsday?

Marvel is still keeping most of the story a secret, but Avengers: Doomsday will see the franchise’s remaining heroes reunite after the events of Avengers: Endgame to face their biggest challenge yet. This time, they’ll be teaming up with the X-Men and other familiar Marvel faces from across the multiverse to take on Doctor Doom—the Fantastic Four’s legendary arch-nemesis. A genius inventor, powerful sorcerer and ruler of Latveria, Doom is one of Marvel’s most iconic villains. (Think of him as Marvel’s answer to DC’s Lex Luthor, but with magical powers.)

The movie also draws inspiration from Marvel’s Secret Wars comics, which center on multiversal battles and Doctor Doom’s rise to power. Adding to the excitement, Robert Downey Jr. is making his highly anticipated return to the MCU—but instead of reprising his role as Iron Man, he’s taking on the role of Doctor Doom in one of Marvel’s most shocking casting surprises ever.

What did the trailer reveal?

Without giving too much away, the trailer makes one thing crystal clear: This isn’t just another Marvel movie—it’s an event. The trailer, clocking in at a little more than 2 minutes long, is narrated by Thor, giving it an emotional, almost mythic feel as it sets the stage for what’s to come.

The footage offers fans their first real look at several of Marvel’s biggest heroes sharing the screen, including members of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Familiar faces like Thor, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, Bucky, Ant-Man and fan-favorite mutants—including Professor X and Magneto—make appearances, teasing the massive crossover fans have been waiting for.

Plus, there are plenty of unexpected team-up shots, like The Thing greeting some of Wakanda’s mightiest warriors, including Shuri, the current Black Panther.

What Easter eggs are hiding in the trailer?

One quick watch is enough to get you excited, but a second (or 10th) viewing reveals just how many callbacks and comic book references are hiding in plain sight. Here are the biggest Easter eggs we spotted.

Loki’s TVA badge connects directly to the Loki finale—and maybe Steve Rogers

If you look closely at Loki’s TVA ID badge, you’ll notice something familiar on the back: the multiversal tree. That’s no random design choice. It’s a direct callback to the emotional Season 2 finale of Loki, where the God of Mischief sacrificed his own freedom to become the guardian of the multiverse. His sacrifice weaved together countless branching timelines into the tree that now holds reality together.

There’s another intriguing detail in the same scene. The curtains behind Loki closely resemble the ones in the home where Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter shared their long-awaited dance at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It makes us wonder: Did Loki visit Steve after Endgame to warn him that Doctor Doom was coming?

Three Earths are on a collision course

One of the trailer’s most important clues is hiding inside the newly renovated Avengers Tower. In the background, three connected globes appear on display—not just as cool set dressing, but as a visual representation of the three realities at the heart of Avengers: Doomsday. Those worlds are believed to be Earth-616, the main Marvel Cinematic Universe; Earth-828, home of the Fantastic Four; and the original X-Men universe.

Comic fans know that when universes begin colliding, it’s called an incursion—a catastrophic event where two (or more) realities start occupying the same space. Unless someone finds a way to stop it, entire universes can be wiped out.

H.E.R.B.I.E. quietly sneaks into the X-Mansion

During the battle inside the X-Mansion, you might have spotted H.E.R.B.I.E., the Fantastic Four’s lovable robot assistant, tucked away in the background. It’s a fun nod to the character’s origins in the 1978 Fantastic Four animated series, where H.E.R.B.I.E. was created because Marvel couldn’t use the Human Torch. His appearance is another clue that Marvel is fully embracing the Fantastic Four as part of the larger MCU.

Is that really Captain America … or Captain Hydra?

One of the trailer’s biggest jaw-dropping moments comes when Steve Rogers steps out of the shadows with long hair and a beard—recreating his iconic Avengers: Infinity War entrance almost shot for shot—before lifting Mjolnir once again. But this isn’t the same hammer Steve wielded against Thanos in Endgame. After Thor: Love and Thunder, the reforged Mjolnir belonged to Love, Thor’s adopted daughter, leaving all of us wondering how it ended up back in Steve’s hands.

That mystery has sparked another wild theory: Is this even the Steve Rogers we know? Some comic readers believe Marvel could be teasing Captain Hydra, an alternate-universe version of Steve who was able to wield Mjolnir after Hydra altered the hammer’s enchantment. Others think it’s simply a nod to Steve’s beloved Nomad era from the comics. Either way, Marvel clearly wants us hitting the pause button.

Comic-accurate costumes finally take center stage

Marvel also appears to be leaning harder into the comics than ever before. James Marsden returns as Cyclops, but instead of the black leather uniforms made famous by Fox’s original X-Men films, he’s finally sporting the classic blue-and-yellow suit fans have wanted for decades. There’s also Namor’s black suit with shimmering blue scales—a strong resemblance to his moisture suit from The Sub-Mariner #67 (1973), which was designed to help him stay hydrated while on land.

Mystique’s new look is another standout—and so is Rebecca Romijn’s return to the role. The original X-Men star is back as the shape-shifting mutant, this time sporting a design that’s even closer to the comics, complete with vibrant blue skin, striking yellow eyes and a sleeker, more comic-accurate look than we’ve seen in previous live-action films.

What other fun details were in the trailer?

Those aren’t the only hidden gems. Doctor Doom speaks with a subtle Eastern European accent, marking the first time a live-action Marvel adaptation has honored his Latverian comic book roots. There’s also a satisfying bit of poetic justice when Thor charges Doom with Stormbreaker—the very weapon he famously aimed at Thanos’s chest instead of his head in Infinity War. This time, though, Doom casually stops the ax with nothing more than his fingertips, instantly showing how powerful he really is.

When is the movie coming out?

Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on Dec. 18, 2026, which means we’ve still got a little while to wait. But if this first trailer is any indication, it’ll be worth every second. Between now and opening night, we’re crossing our fingers that Marvel drops a few more trailers (and maybe a couple of sneak peeks) to keep the hype train rolling. Until then, we’ll be doing what every Marvel fan does best: rewatching the trailer, spotting new details and cooking up wild multiverse theories.

As for me? I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that Halle Berry’s Storm makes an appearance, because I refuse to give up hope until I see the end credits roll.

Sources:

• Super Hero Hype: “Avengers: Doomsday Trailer Hid Several Easter Eggs You May Have Missed”
• Screen Crush: “Every ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Trailer Easter Egg and Secret You Missed

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The post The <i>Avengers Doomsday</i> Trailer Just Dropped! Did You Notice These 5 Clever Easter Eggs? appeared first on Reader's Digest.

This weekend, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child, a son named Alec Neel Vance. And it made us think: How many “White House babies” have we seen in our nation’s history? And how many of these babies were actually born in the White House? I’m telling you right now it’s fewer than you think.

Any guesses? Our nation is now 250 years old, yet we can practically count the number of West Wing babies on our two hands and feet (give or take a few digits). Read on to discover just how many times our nation has literally welcomed new life into the White House.

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How many babies have been born to sitting presidents or vice presidents?

Officially, there have been six babies born to presidents and vice presidents while they were serving in office—three to presidents and three to vice presidents.

• Esther Cleveland (1893): Grover Cleveland, our nation’s 22nd and 24th president, had two children born while in office. The first was Esther, who was also the only child of a sitting president to be born in the White House. (More on that below.)
• Marion Cleveland (1895): The second of Cleveland’s five children, Marion was not born at the White House but at the president’s vacation home in Buzzard’s Bay, Massachusetts, during Cleveland’s second term.
• Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (1963): A sad chapter in the Camelot myth, Baby Patrick was born premature with hyaline membrane disease, now called neonatal respiratory distress syndrome, and lived just two days.
• William Calhoun (1829): The 10th child of John Calhoun, vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, William Calhoun was born during his father’s second term and died relatively young, at 29.
• Schuyler Colfax III (1870): Colfax II was vice president under Ulysses S. Grant, and Colfax III followed in his footsteps, career-wise, becoming the youngest mayor of South Bend, Indiana, at the age of 28—a record that still stands.
• Alec Neel Vance (2026): The fourth child of JD and Usha Vance, Alec was born on July 19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

It’s important to stop here and mention children who have historically been left off of these official lists. Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman living at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s estate, gave birth to at least six children fathered by the former president.

Four of these children survived infancy: Beverly, Harriet, Madison and Eston Hemings. Beverly was born during Jefferson’s first vice-presidential term in 1798, while Harriet, Madison and Eston were born while Jefferson was president, between 1801 and 1808.

Why are White House babies so rare?

The most obvious answer is that presidents and vice presidents tend to be older and more established by the time they make it to the West Wing. Most already have children, which has also become a kind of de facto requirement for national public office these days. Only five presidents had no children—George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and James Buchanan—and they all served more than 150 years ago.

Two presidents went on to have children after leaving office, perhaps most notably our 10th president, John Tyler, who had 15 children, some very late in life. Tyler’s last grandchild, Harrison, died in 2025—an incredible 235 years after the president was born in 1790. The other is making his second appearance here: Grover Cleveland. He had two sons, Richard and Francis, who were born after Cleveland’s presidency.

Were any babies actually born in the White House?

Yes, and the list of roughly 18 babies who physically entered the world at the White House is much longer than those born while their parent was actually in office. Here are the highlights, grouped by presidency and birth years.

• Jefferson (1802–1808): Eight children were born in the White House during Jefferson’s presidency, including one grandchild. Seven children were born to enslaved people who worked as cooks and blacksmiths.
• Adams (1828): Mary Louise Adams, the grandchild of sixth president John Quincy Adams and great-granddaughter of second president John Adams, was born in the White House in 1828.
• Jackson (1829–1835): Andrew Jackson’s wife died right before he took office, so his niece Emily Donelson and daughter-in-law Sarah Yorke Jackson served as acting first ladies. Donelson had two children in the White House, while Yorke Jackson had one.
• Van Buren (1840): Another widower president, Martin van Buren also tasked his daughter-in-law Anjelica with being the acting first lady. She gave birth to a daughter, Rebecca, who lived just a few months.
• Polk (1846–1847): James K. Polk, the nation’s 11th president, never had children, but his nephew and private secretary Knox Walker did. Sally Walker was born in the White House in 1846 and Joseph Walker in 1847.
• Grant (1876): Ulysses S. Grant’s granddaughter Julia was born in the White House on June 7, 1876.
• Cleveland (1893): Known as the “White House Baby” in the press at the time, Esther Cleveland (pictured above) remains the only child of a president to be physically born in the White House.
• Wilson (1915): Woodrow Wilson’s daughter, Jessie Wilson Sayers, had a baby in the White House in 1915. Named Francis, he became a reverend and was the former dean of the Washington National Cathedral. He died in 2008 at the age of 93.

Sources:

• Associated Press: “JD and Usha Vance welcome a baby boy, the first child born to a sitting VP in more than 150 years”
• Library of Congress: “Grover Cleveland Timeline”
• Clemson University: “John C. Calhoun”
• Monticello: “Slavery at Monticello”
• White House Historical Association: “First Children”
• People: “The Real Stories of Every Child Who Has Been Born in the White House”
• Pediatrics: “The 39-Hour Life of Patrick Bouvier Kennedy and the Rise of Modern Neonatology”
• Ballotopedia: “Ages of members of the 119th Congress (2025-2026)”

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The post How Many White House Babies Have There Been? See If You Can Guess Correctly (Hint: It’s Not a Lot!) appeared first on Reader's Digest.

It turns out that there actually is an answer to that question. “The ritual of blowing out birthday candles is a fairly recent and well-documented tradition,” says Kwasi Konadu, PhD, a historian and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Endowed Chair and Professor at Colgate University. “What’s really fascinating is how this ritual became global.”

Read on to find out the real, weirdly fascinating story behind why we stick fire on top of dessert and then immediately try to put it out with our own breath (and possibly spray spit over the cake) while everyone watches. It involves ancient gods, German toddlers, a Swiss folklore journal and, eventually, Mickey Mouse. (Everything always ends up back at Disney.)

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Have we always had candles on birthday cakes?

Nope. Candles didn’t show up on birthday cakes until the mid-18th century. That’s a little startling when you consider that candles themselves are ancient. People have been lighting wicks for religious and practical reasons for thousands of years, long before anyone thought to jam one into frosting.

So what did people do to celebrate a birthday before cake and candles became the standard? For most of history, if you were marking a birthday at all, it likely looked more like a religious observance than a party. The Romans, for instance, threw legitimate birthday celebrations for the elite, but the “party” was really an offering made to a person’s genius, a protective spirit believed to walk alongside someone for their whole life. Not exactly pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey type of fun, but celebratory, nonetheless.

What is the history behind birthday candles?

To understand how we got from ancient offerings to today’s tradition, you have to go back to the very old, very human idea that fire equals the divine.

Fire, cake and the gods

Across ancient cultures—from the Vedic world to Persia, Greece and Rome—flame was treated as a stand-in for something sacred. “The idea of fire as divine presence is incredibly old and cross-cultural,” explains pop culture historian Marie Nicola, who researches the history of human social rituals, including birthdays. Long before anyone was singing off-key over a Duncan Hines cake, ancient households and temples used fire in altars and ceremonies as a way to reach for something bigger than themselves.

This is also where you’ll run into the most popular (and most shaky) theory about birthday candles: that they trace back to ancient Greece, where cheesecakes (made with a ricotta-like cheese, flour and honey) called amphiphons were offered to Artemis, the goddess of the moon, and decorated with lit torches to mimic moonlight. It’s a great story. It shows up in museum placards, encyclopedia entries and many online articles. The problem is, there’s no actual documented link between those moon cakes and modern birthdays.

“The popular idea that this began in ancient Greece or Rome has no support in the historical record and thus remains folklore,” Konadu says. Nicola agrees it’s a tempting dot to connect … but not a provable one. “It’s plausible,” she says. “It’s just not supported by any historical evidence that we have found as of yet.”

Then Christianity showed up and rained on the parade

Early Christians didn’t celebrate birthdays at all. In fact, early church figures actively wrote against the celebration of birthdays for being self-focused and, frankly, a little too pagan for comfort. Instead, the first Christian calendars revolved around baptisms, Easter and the deaths of martyrs, which were viewed as a “birth” into heaven.

Candles, though, never went away. They stuck around in Christian liturgy to honor saints and mark sacred moments. Cake just wasn’t invited to that particular party for a very long time.

Cake makes its comeback

Cake didn’t reappear as a festive, nonreligious food until the late medieval period, mostly in wealthy homes. Then, in the 1600s, Protestant regions began shifting away from saints’ feast days and toward celebrating personal milestones instead—birthdays, baptisms and weddings. That shift set the stage for Germany, where, in 1691, a scholar named Johann Christoph Wagenseil documented children’s birthday cakes in his writings on the city of Nuremberg. No candles yet. But it’s the earliest known reference to an actual birthday cake.

So when did we start blowing out birthday candles?

The specific ritual of candles-plus-cake-plus-a-birthday-child is generally traced to 18th-century Germany, through a children’s festival known as Kinderfest. “Somewhere between 1691 and 1740, domestic innovation met symbolic logic, and the birthday candle was born,” Nicola says. Her theory is less about a single “aha” moment and more about old ideas quietly reassembling themselves. “The cake was already celebratory. The candle already meant life. The child already represented potential,” she says.

One of the earliest personal accounts we have comes from the writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who described a birthday cake from a celebration in the 1740s, surrounded by lights “like an altar.” It’s a strikingly literal image of exactly how sacred this little domestic ritual still felt, even generations after it had drifted away from actual religious ceremony.

As for the “why Germany, why then” of it all: Nicola points to Kinderfest’s roots in Pietism, a Protestant movement that emphasized heartfelt devotion and treated the home as a kind of moral training ground. “Kinderfest wasn’t about intercession—it was about time, memory and moral development,” she says. Candles came to represent a child’s inner growth, with one lit for every year of life, plus an extra “one to grow on.”

By 1881, the ritual had traveled to Switzerland, where researchers writing for the Folk-lore Journal documented the full candles-on-a-cake tradition among the Swiss middle class—with candles blown out before the cake was eaten. Konadu, who researches world traditions, says: “The earliest written record of the ‘make a wish and blow out the candles’ ritual only appears in the late 19th century, describing a Swiss tradition, which likely borrowed from a German tradition of burning said candles all day for the birthday child’s spiritual protection.”

How did making a wish get wrapped up in this birthday custom?

Short answer: breath. For a very long time, across many different belief systems, a person’s breath has been treated as basically synonymous with their life force or soul. “In many traditions, including early Christian mysticism, breath was tied to the soul,” Nicola says. “Blowing out a candle while making a silent intention carries echoes of votive prayer—only here, it’s domestic, child-centered and delightfully secular.”

So when you blow out candles, you aren’t just huffing at some wax. You are performing a tiny, private, almost prayer-like act—minus the incense and church. And with frosting.

How did all of this become (ahem) a full-blown tradition?

Once Kinderfest existed in Germany, it needed a ride across the Atlantic, and German immigrants provided one. “German immigrants brought it to the United States in the 19th century, and then in the early to mid-20th century, U.S. pop culture and postwar media expanded its practice and commercialization, making it worldwide,” Konadu says. German-language newspapers in cities like Philadelphia and Milwaukee published Kinderfest announcements throughout the 1800s, which is part of how historians can track the custom’s slow crossover into mainstream American life.

By 1900 to 1920, candles on cakes were a solid middle-class norm in both the U.S. and the U.K. By the 1920s, the ritual had gone fully retail: Candles were mass-produced and sold in age-appropriate sets, often with their own little holders, by big department stores.

Then came the moment that arguably locked in the tradition for good: In 1931, Disney released a short film centered on a birthday party, and it became the template millions of families would unknowingly copy for the rest of the century—cake, candles, a song and a wish, in that exact order. After World War II, American consumer culture shared that same script with the rest of the world, carried along by tourism, kids’ media and brands eager to sell party supplies.

Does everyone now follow this birthday tradition?

No, not every culture on Earth blows out candles and makes a wish in the exact same way we do. Plenty of countries that had their own ancient, homegrown birthday customs didn’t have a separate candle tradition at all—they simply picked up the German-American version once it went global. Nicola points to postwar Japan as a clear example, noting the country had adopted the candle-blowing custom by the 1950s, carried along by American media and brands. Meanwhile, other cultures have birthday rituals that have nothing to do with candles whatsoever—Ghana often starts the day with a sweet-potato breakfast dish called oto, Russians sometimes swap the cake for a personalized birthday pie, and China leans on a bowl of uncut “longevity noodles” instead.

Germany still does its own thing too. Rather than blowing out the candles right away, many German families use a wooden “birthday wreath,” lighting one candle for every year of a child’s life plus a taller “light of life” candle in the center, and let them burn all day—a tradition that continues for kids through about age 12.

What’s really wild, according to Nicola, is that the ritual has become so globally uniform mostly because of media, not religion or geography. “Pop culture doesn’t create the ritual. People create the rituals,” she says. “We generated that over centuries of gradual ritualistic celebrations and behaviors.” What pop culture did, she says, was standardize it into something researchers call a “ritual script.” As Nicola puts it: “We don’t necessarily need to be taught anything; we already know how it runs.”

And now you know!

So the next time you’re standing in a dim kitchen, holding a lighter to a slightly bent candle while a small person vibrates with anticipation next to you, know that you’re not just doing a cute party trick. You’re the latest link in a chain that runs through Roman offerings, Christian liturgy, German Pietism and a Swiss folklore journal, all the way to whatever homemade or store-bought cake is sitting on your counter right now.

Even royalty gets in on a version of this pageantry. Queen Elizabeth famously celebrated two birthdays a year, so really, my household’s multiple-cake-relighting situation is basically monarch-level tradition.

So make your wish. Blow. Repeat as needed, ideally with a smoke detector in the room.

Sources:

• Kwasi Konadu, PhD, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Endowed Chair and Professor at Colgate University; personal interview, July 11, 2026
• Marie Nicola, pop culture historian; personal interview, July 11, 2026
• National Geographic: “Blowing out birthday candles is surprisingly ancient”

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Take food-storage containers. Turn them around or flip them over and you’ll likely find a row of little symbols, all of which tell you something about the material used to make the container and may influence your decision about whether you want to use it. There are a lot of different symbols—some with obvious meanings and some that are a bit more ambiguous. And that’s putting it nicely.

So we’re here to clear it all up with a guide to what these symbols actually mean, courtesy of Martin Bucknavage, a retired food safety and quality specialist. Read on to get the lowdown—and learn why this info is more important than you may realize.

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How important is it to pay attention to a food-storage container’s symbols?

When your personal safety is involved (which it is in some cases), it’s pretty important to listen to what these symbols are telling you. Ignoring some of them could potentially render your food inedible or dangerous to eat, while ignoring others could mean you’re missing out on an opportunity to make a choice that would support the environment.

But here’s where it gets weird: Despite the potentially high personal and societal stakes, these symbols aren’t very consistent. Except for the recycling symbol, which was created in 1970 and is used universally, and the food-safe symbol, which was created by the European Union and is an international regulatory standard, none of the other symbols on food-storage containers are standardized. In fact, most were created or added by marketing departments so that customers would know how to best use the products. Symbols that mean the same thing also tend to resemble one another but have slight differences, making it hard to keep track of what’s what.

Of course, that’s where we come in.

What do the symbols on food-storage containers mean?

Here are the most common ones, including what they look like and what they mean. You’re welcome in advance!

Food-safe

What it looks like: A wine glass and a fork next to each other.

What it means: “It indicates that the material used in the product is considered safe for food contact,” says Bucknavage. That means two key things. First, that there aren’t any contaminants left over from the manufacturing process on the surface of the container. And second, if you’re using the container regularly as it’s meant to be used, the material itself won’t become a source of toxins that could be transmitted to your food.

“It’s useful when containers don’t immediately appear to be food containers,” Bucknavage adds.

BPA-free

What it looks like: Usually, this one will just be the words BPA Free. Sometimes, it will be BPA in a circle with a diagonal slash across it.

What it means: “This indicates that the container does not contain Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make certain types of food containers but has been found to leach into foods, where it can potentially become a health concern, especially for infants,” Bucknavage says.

According to the Mayo Clinic, BPA exposure may harm the brains of fetuses, infants and children, while separate research has suggested a link between BPA and high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In other words, you probably don’t want it in the containers, dishes and cups you and your family use regularly.

Microwave-safe

What it looks like: Three horizontal wavy lines by themselves or inside a square meant to look like a microwave.

What it means: This one is pretty self-explanatory—it means you can safely put the container, with food in it, into the microwave for normal heating. “Not only should the container not melt or shatter, but there should not be chemical migration from the container itself,” Bucknavage says.

Freezer-safe

What it looks like: A snowflake inside a square, sometimes with a little drawing of a freezer.

What it means: The container will effectively protect food when put in the freezer. “The material is designed to withstand freezing temperatures without becoming brittle or cracking,” Bucknavage says.

Dishwasher-safe

What it looks like: A square with dishes at the bottom and water droplets coming down on them.

What it means: In short, that you can put the container in the dishwasher. To get a bit more technical, it means that the container can withstand the high temperatures of the dishwasher and any chemicals in your dish soap without warping or breaking.

Compostable

What it looks like: Leaves with the word compostable or BPI, or a compost pile that looks sort of like a cupcake with arrows around it.

What it means: “This indicates that the food-packaging material will break down into organic matter in a specific composting environment,” says Bucknavage. Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture, composting is the process of recycling organic materials into something that can be used to enrich soil and plants. If you compost at home, this symbol means you can add the container to your bin when you’re finished with it.

Biodegradable

What it looks like: A triangle made up of two arrows and one leaf, or this symbol inside a circle that says biodegradable or eco-friendly.

What it means: The material the container is made out of will eventually break down into simple, natural substances, explains Bucknavage. How is this different from the compostable designation? Something with a compostable symbol requires a composting environment, while the biodegradable symbol theoretically means the material will just break down on its own.

“The issue here is that there are questions about the time frame, the conditions in which the item will break down and whether any problematic materials are left,” Bucknavage says.

Recyclable

What it looks like: A triangle made of arrows with a number in the middle and a few letters beneath.

What it means: This symbol tells you if the type of plastic used in the container is able to be recycled. “Some are more apt to being recycled, like numbers 1 and 2, while others are rarely accepted or not accepted,” says Bucknavage. “You should be aware of what your recycling center accepts.”

Here’s what all the numbers and letters mean, per the U.S. Department of Energy.

• 1 PET: Polyethylene terephthalate, a very common and easy-to-recycle plastic found in water and soda bottles as well as prepared- and frozen-food containers.
• 2 HDPE: High-density polyethylene, another widely accepted plastic found in household cleaner bottles, cutting boards and some food containers.
• 3 V: Polyvinyl chloride, PVC, which is found in toys and bottles and is harder to recycle.
• 4 LDPE: Low-density polyethylene, a soft type of plastic used in thin plastic bags that’s typically accepted for recycling at grocery stores.
• 5 PP: Polypropylene, found in straws, cups and food containers, and usually able to be recycled.
• 6 PS: Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam, usually found in takeout containers and disposable cups, and generally not accepted in recycling programs.
• 7 Other: This includes BPA, polycarbonate and bio-based plastics—all tricky to recycle.
• 70 GL: Mixed glass, which can be recycled.
• 71 GL: Clear glass, which can be recycled.
• 72 GL: Green glass, which can be recycled.
• 20 PAP: Made of at least 75% cardboard and can be recycled.
• 21 PAP: Made of at least 75% plain paper and can be recycled.
• 22 PAP: Made of at least 75% mixed paper and can be recycled.

Which is the most important symbol?

“I think the ones indicating where the container can be used are most important in an immediate sense,” says Bucknavage. “When not properly adhered to, it can result in breakage like shattering, which could result in physical injury.”

If you want to put your container in the microwave, dishwasher or freezer, make sure that the appropriate symbol is present. Ignoring these could cause the most problems in the short-term.

What else should you keep in mind about food-storage containers?

While the microwave-, dishwasher- and freezer-safe symbols are super important to abide by, all of the symbols outlined above can help you make healthy choices. Here are a few additional considerations to keep in mind when choosing and using food-storage containers.

• Use the symbols to reduce waste. “Packaging waste is a huge issue,” says Bucknavage. “Whether it can be recycled or composted needs to be a concern for everyone.” Before even checking the symbols on your containers, make sure you know which plastics can be recycled in your town and, if you don’t compost at home, if there is a commercial composting center you can take those containers to. The environment will thank you.
• Keep BPA away from babies. “BPA-free is especially a concern when we are using containers for infants and small children,” Bucknavage says. If you’re buying bottles, cups, dishes and food containers for little ones, choose BPA-free or glass whenever possible.
• Consider ditching plastic altogether. “With concerns around microplastics getting into our foods, many are moving to glass or ceramic containers,” says Bucknavage. Indeed, scientific research has linked microplastics—teeny-tiny bits of plastic that can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation and even skin exposure—to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. We’re still learning about how much damage microplastics can actually cause, but if you want to switch to glass or ceramic food-storage containers to limit your exposure, it’s definitely not a bad choice.

Sources:

• Martin Bucknavage, food safety and quality specialist; email interview, July 2026
• Mayo Clinic: “What is BPA? Should I be worried about it?”
• U.S. Department of Agriculture: “Composting”
• U.S. Department of Energy: “Consumer Guide to Recycling Codes”
• The New England Journal of Medicine: “Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events”

What Those Numbers on Fruit Stickers Mean

What the Colored Dots on Food Packaging Mean

This Is What the Code on Your Milk Jug Means

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The post Where’s Your Third Space? appeared first on Reader's Digest.

Jimothy, a delightful, if strangely shaped, raccoon from Seattle, has moved into our hearts and social media feeds—and, like my resident raccoon friends, shows no signs of vacating anytime soon. He’s a little different from other raccoons, and people can’t seem to get enough of Jimothy’s odd little body and plucky attitude.

So why has this latest animal obsession taken over our lives? I mean, besides the obvious answer, which is that he is absolutely adorable. Read on to see what Jimothy’s been up to and why we are completely riveted by his antics.

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How did Jimothy come into our lives?

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Last week, Seattle’s Kiana Hall posted a video on Instagram of an odd-looking yet fleet-footed raccoon bounding across a park and up a flight of steps. It was her anniversary, and she and her partner were out for a walk when they spied the strangely shaped creature, which they first mistook for a cat. (“What am I looking at?” Hall can be heard saying in the background.)

As we do these days, Hall whipped out her phone, captured the cutest wildlife shot since Punch the Monkey and named him Jimothy. “He just looked like a Jimothy to me,” she said later. Sure, we can accept that. (Hey, when you come up with a raccoon name heard ’round the world, you can pick a different one.)

Why does he look like that—and is he OK?

Jimothy’s deformity appears to be the result of a congenital condition such as short spine syndrome, according to Dr. Marcie Logsdon, an associate professor at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital—though she says it’s impossible to know for sure without an examination.

Short spine syndrome occurs in utero when certain vertebrae fuse, leaving affected animals with a very short neck and back. But our new friend seems to be doing well, all things considered. “The question is, is the animal able to find food, and are they able to move?” Dr. Logsdon told the New York Post. “Jimothy seems to do both of those things reasonably well.” Phew!

“I was surprised and honestly a little bit inspired that he’s that resilient,” she told the Seattle Times. In fact, Seattle resident Ben Trammell posted a video of what appears to be Baby Jimothy, taken prior to his viral fame, and it’s clear just how much he’s grown. Trammell also described how much his mom and siblings helped him keep up when he was little. Awww.

Why is the internet obsessed?

It’s 2026 and we all need some lightness in our lives, that’s why!

“Times are hard for everyone,” Hall says of the video she shot on a lark. “Everyone could use something silly and fun like this.” And even if we didn’t have wars raging, gas prices soaring and polarizing midterm elections right around the corner, a feel-good story involving a scrappy little underdog is always welcome. Especially on the weird and wonderful internet.

“I never thought that my video of a raccoon would take off,” Hall says. “I’m really happy that he could bring some kind of joy to people.”

How has it become the summer of Jimothy?

How has it not, is the better question. Jimothy’s hometown of Seattle, which has a long history of embracing the odd and outcast with a certain coolness, has gone all-in on the OMG squeeing. Locals are posting pictures and videos of sightings, creating murals, sharing fan art and even getting tattoos of the summer’s breakout star.

On Sunday, July 26, the city will commemorate Jimothy Summer by issuing an official proclamation at a park near where he was originally sighted. (Bring your creative endeavors for a “friendly art competition”!) The University of Washington gave “Dr. Jimothy” an honorary doctorate, and the Seattle Mariners also got into the act, posting a picture on social media of Baby Jimothy “wearing” a Mariners ball cap.

Locals and the internet are calling Jimothy “the most Seattle animal possible,” but I think we can all use a little Hot Jimothy Summer right now (with a nod to Megan Thee Stallion). As a Redditor on the r/JimothyTheRaccoon subreddit said, “We needed something to unite us. Jimothy answered the call 🩷🦝.”

Sources:

• Today: “Seattle Darling Jimothy the Raccoon Has Scampered into Hearts Across the Globe”
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “‘Jimothy,’ a raccoon with short spine syndrome who roams Seattle, gains cult following online”
• People: “Oddly-Shaped Raccoon Believed to Have a Spine Deformity Becomes Seattle’s Newest Viral Star”
• UPI: “Seattle’s round raccoon Jimothy becomes viral star”
• New York Post: “The ‘sad’ truth about Jimothy, Seattle’s uber-viral mutant raccoon with a short spine”
• Reddit: “r/JimothyTheRaccoon”

Here Are the Smartest Animals in the World

Incredible Animals That Changed History

Photos of the Cutest Wild Animals Anywhere

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According to the queen’s ex-chef Darren McGrady, when the young prince wanted his preferred sweet treat, the queen had a magical way of indulging him. And let’s just say we are totally getting into Willy Wonka territory here.

So what did Prince William crave as a kid, and how did his doting grandmother fulfill those wishes? Read on to find out.

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How did Queen Elizabeth indulge Prince William’s love of dessert?

With the push of a button! Yes, it’s the stuff of dreams for any child: You press a button and ice cream appears—served by a gloved footman, no less! And that’s exactly what happened, according to McGrady, who worked for the queen before transitioning to a job in Princess Diana’s household.

“When I worked for the queen, Prince William loved dark chocolate and asked for chocolate ice cream,” McGrady told the U.K.’s Heart Bingo. “The queen would press a button, the page would come, she’d ask for the ice cream, and it triggered a long chain: head chef, pastry chef, silver pantry, glass pantry, linen room. Finally, 20 minutes later, William got his homemade ice cream presented to him.”

Let’s hope the long trot along the red-carpeted corridors didn’t mean the ice cream melted by the time he got it!

Did the queen join her grandson for ice cream?

We don’t know for sure, but we’re guessing she did at least some of the time. After all, the late queen loved ice cream too—so much so that she served it as part of her wedding reception in 1947. Guests tucked into Bombe Glacée Princess Elizabeth, aka strawberry ice cream in a dome. McGrady said that the queen regularly included variations of this at her banquets, such as the coffee-flavored Bombe Glacée Coppelia.

Like William, the queen adored dark chocolate, and that love wasn’t limited to ice cream. Her former lady-in-waiting, Lady Pamela Hicks, revealed on the documentary My Years with the Queen that the monarch always had a box of chocolates with her, which she hid in her room so her “greedy” family wouldn’t eat them before she did!

Her favorites were chocolates and pralines from upmarket chocolatier Charbonnel et Walker and chocolate mints from Bendicks. In fact, she enjoyed these treats so much that she awarded both brands royal warrants, meaning they were legally allowed to display the royal coat of arms on their offerings.

Was Diana stricter with William’s dessert intake?

Nope. Diana ran an even more casual kitchen environment at Kensington Palace, McGrady revealed. There was no magic ice cream button there—it was more a case of opening the freezer yourself. “At Kensington, it was much more relaxed,” he said. “William would walk into the kitchen and say, ‘Darren, can I have some chocolate ice cream, please?’ I’d say, ‘Help yourself.'”

According to the chef, William would “grab Häagen-Dazs chocolate chip—that was his favorite—open it, and sit in the windowsill eating it.” He added that Diana also liked to hang out in the kitchen, have a snack and catch up.

Does William still have a sweet tooth?

He sure does. To this day, he’s still a chocolate ice cream fan. He and Kate are often snapped enjoying ice cream, such as when the duo visited an ice cream parlor in Swansea, Wales, in 2020. “I am a chocolate man,” he told the owners of Joe’s Ice Cream Parlor.

Likewise, during William and Kate’s Caribbean tour in 2022, they visited a chocolate farm in Belize. While there, William jokingly asked if he could get a job as an apprentice, saying, “It’s my kind of thing.”

How else did Elizabeth and William bond?

When William was attending school at nearby Eton College—where he’s just enrolled Prince George—he would spend Sundays having tea with his grandmother at Windsor Castle. The prince revealed just how much those afternoons meant to him in a recent video tribute, saying, “I remember many a quiet afternoon, having tea with her and my grandfather at the castle, chatting, sharing stories and seeing how completely at ease she was here, surrounded by family and her much-loved dogs and horses. To this day, she’s given me a love of teatime that I never knew I needed.”

William also paid a special tribute to her with his and Kate’s choice of cake at their 2011 wedding. As well as a traditional fruit cake, William had a second cake—a chocolate biscuit cake, something the queen adored. McGrady told Today Food that the cake was “her favorite cake” and that if anything was left when she had it at Buckingham Palace, it then went “to Windsor Castle so she [could] finish it there. I used to travel on the train from London to Windsor Castle with the biscuit cake in a tin on my knee. It was half-eaten.”

Sources:

• Marie Claire: “Princess Diana’s Former Chef Shares How Queen Elizabeth Would Indulge Prince William with One Treat by ‘Pressing a Button’”
• Royal.uk: “70 Facts about the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s wedding”
• My Years with the Queen
• The Standard: “Kate Middleton and Prince William tuck into ice-cream scoops during Swansea visit”
• BBC: “William and Kate dance and taste chocolate during day two of Belize tour”
• The Royal Chef: “Queen Elizabeth’s Favorite Cake: Chocolate Biscuit Cake”

The Queen Loved This Two-Ingredient Cocktail

Queen Elizabeth’s Scrambled Eggs

Photos of a Young Queen Elizabeth

The post This Is the Sweet—And Oh-So-Royal—Way Queen Elizabeth Indulged Prince William’s Love of Dessert appeared first on Reader's Digest.

They’re so common that most of us never question them. But once you do notice them, it’s hard not to wonder: Are they decorative? Are they some kind of temperature sensor? Or did the manufacturer just decide the glass looked too plain?

As it turns out, those little dots aren’t just window dressing. They’re a carefully engineered feature—and they have a surprisingly important job. To see what’s really cooking, I turned to Himanshu Jain, PhD, a professor of materials science and engineering at Lehigh University and a leading expert in glass science and technology, and Dennis Godynuk, the owner-operator of Comfort Appliance Repair.

Read on for a closer look at this clever kitchen feature you’ll never look at the same way again.

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What are those little black dots on your oven door?

Those tiny black dots are called frits, or a ceramic frit pattern. They’re printed onto the inside surface of the oven door’s outer glass during manufacturing, so you can see them from the outside but can’t touch them.

“Frit is the very general term for glass powder,” Jain explains. So the process begins with finely ground glass that’s mixed into a printable paste. According to a spokesperson for appliance manufacturer Bosch, modern oven-door frits are made from ceramic ink containing a glass flux, black pigments and organic binders. The mixture is screen-printed onto the glass before it’s tempered, permanently fusing the pattern into the surface.

The frits typically form a solid black border around the perimeter of the glass before gradually fading into smaller, more widely spaced dots toward the center.

What’s the purpose of these little black dots?

The black dots do much more than frame the window. In fact, they have a number of practical purposes, as you’ll see.

They help the glass handle extreme temperature changes

Glass is an excellent material for an oven window because it allows you to see inside while tolerating high temperatures. But, as Jain notes, “it breaks easily.” The problem isn’t simply that ovens get hot. It’s that different parts of the glass can reach very different temperatures. The side facing the oven may become extremely hot while the outside remains much cooler. “Anytime material is subjected to a large difference in temperature, it is subjected to high stresses because the hot part expands, whereas the cool part is still fixed,” Jain explains.

The frit pattern helps smooth out those temperature differences, especially where the glass meets the metal door frame. “The purpose of these black dots is to basically reduce this temperature variation,” Jain says. “So it’s not a sudden change in temperature, but a gradual change in temperature.”

Essentially, Godynuk says, frits “help with glass durability by allowing the door material to heat and cool more uniformly. As a result, it prevents thermal shock.” How’s that for an interesting fact?!

They improve safety and help the oven operate efficiently

By reducing thermal stress, frits help make the oven door more durable—but that’s only part of the benefit. While preventing broken glass is important, you also want to prevent the glass from getting too hot to the touch. According to the Bosch spokesperson, the ceramic frits help distribute radiant heat more evenly across the outer glass panel, reducing localized hot spots and helping keep the exterior door within consumer-safety temperature limits.

Godynuk adds that the improved heat management benefits the appliance itself too. “Frits help maintain the oven’s internal temperature and reduce energy consumption in the process,” he says.

They hide hardware while preserving your view

The frit pattern also serves an aesthetic purpose by concealing the adhesives, seals, screws and brackets that hold the oven door together. According to Bosch, the ceramic border hides structural glass edges and other internal hardware while also reducing the “rainbow effect”—an optical phenomenon that can occur when light passes through multiple treated layers of glass—creating a cleaner, more uniform appearance.

The graduated dot pattern balances appearance with function. “The science behind it is that the color black is known for absorbing radiation, heat and light,” says Jain. “It absorbs, and then it radiates” the heat back into the oven’s interior. “But you don’t want to make the whole thing black because then you can’t see through it,” he adds. “You’d lose the whole purpose.”

Do frits affect how your food cooks?

Nope! Although frits help the oven door manage heat, they don’t change how food cooks or how heat circulates inside the oven. Instead, they allow the door to perform as intended by protecting the glass, retaining heat and maintaining a clear view into the oven.

Have oven doors always had frits?

No. Earlier ovens often featured simple, clear glass panels without the ceramic frit patterns common today.

Interestingly, though, ceramic frit technology is much older than modern ovens. Manufacturers first used ceramic frit coatings on car windshields in the mid-20th century to improve durability, protect adhesives and give window edges a finished appearance. (Yep, that’s the other place you’ve seen those dots, in case you were wondering!)

As oven manufacturers introduced larger viewing windows and more energy-efficient designs during the 1970s, they adapted the technology for kitchen appliances. In 1975, Shatterproof Glass Corporation received a patent for an oven door that incorporated ceramic frit coatings on the outer glass panel to help radiate heat away from the door while maintaining visibility.

Today, ceramic frit patterns are standard on many electric and gas ovens, where they continue to help manage heat while concealing the hardware inside the door.

Is there any significance to the pattern of the frits?

Yes. The dot pattern is carefully engineered rather than randomly placed. The border appears where heat management is needed most—around the perimeter where the glass meets the metal frame. From there, the dots become progressively smaller and farther apart.

“The color black is known for absorbing radiation, heat and light,” Jain explains. But making the entire window black would eliminate visibility, so manufacturers instead use a gradual transition.

According to the Bosch spokesperson, that gradient acts as a thermal bridge. Rather than creating an abrupt boundary between the coated and clear sections of the glass, the progressively smaller dots help distribute heat more gradually while also creating a softer visual transition. Without that gradual fade, the sharp difference in heating between the coated and uncoated glass could create additional stress.

Wait—my oven door doesn’t have frits! Is that a problem?

Probably not. While frits are common on many modern ovens, some manufacturers use different heat-management strategies. According to Godynuk, ovens without visible frits may instead rely on “multi-pane glass, low-emissivity coatings and other specialized insulation materials.”

Plus, if you own an older oven, it may have been manufactured before ceramic frit patterns became widespread.

How should you clean the frits?

The Bosch spokesperson notes that homeowners generally don’t need to worry about wearing away the frit pattern during routine cleaning because it’s permanently fused into the glass during manufacturing. On most modern ovens, the printed side of the glass is also positioned inside the door assembly, so you’re cleaning the smooth exterior surface rather than the ceramic coating itself.

Godynuk recommends cleaning your oven door using the foam side of a sponge or a microfiber cloth and avoiding abrasive cleaners, steel wool and razor blades. Those sharp tools aren’t likely to remove the ceramic frit itself, but they can create microscopic scratches in the glass that may weaken it over time.

If the black coating begins to peel, don’t assume routine cleaning is to blame. Godynuk says peeling can have a variety of causes, and while it’s usually nothing to worry about, extensive peeling may sometimes indicate damage to the oven’s enamel coating. “In general, the frits starting to peel or wear off is more of a cosmetic issue. However, if the peeling is significant, it could be a sign of damage to the enamel coating inside the oven.”

In that case, inspect the door for chips or cracks and consult the manufacturer’s recommendations. Because the ceramic pattern is permanently fused into the glass, significant damage typically requires replacing the glass panel—or, if replacement parts are no longer available, purchasing a new oven.

The bottom line

Those tiny black dots may be one of the smallest features on your oven, but they play a big role in keeping the appliance running safely and efficiently. So the next time you’re watching a batch of cookies through the oven window, you’ll know those little dots aren’t just decorative; they’re helping your oven do its job.

Sources:

• Dennis Godynuk, owner-operator of Comfort Appliance Repair; email interview, July 12, 2026
• Himanshu Jain, PhD, professor of materials science and engineering at Lehigh University; phone interview, July 14, 2026
• Bosch press office; email interview, July 14, 2026
• FreePatentsOnline: “Oven Doors”

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Jackson’s 2023 breakout debut, Pineapple Street, became an instant hit and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, winning readers over with its sharp yet heartfelt take on privilege and family dynamics in Brooklyn Heights. She then returned with her highly anticipated sophomore novel, The Shampoo Effect, a Read with Jenna pick that follows Caroline Lash, a short story writer who moves to the coastal town of Greenhead, Massachusetts, where she falls for Van Whittaker, a local man with a close-knit group of lifelong friends. “Soon she is swept up into their antics, their late nights, their partying, until she discovers that Van’s ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his baby,” says Jackson. “In a potent mix of rage and sorrow, she does something really terrible.”

Despite balancing two demanding careers, Jackson says one thing remains constant in her writing: “I really like to think about infusing my books with joy.” That sense of humor and hope shines through even as her novels tackle complicated emotions and imperfect characters.

For this episode of The Reader’s Digest’s Escalator Interview, Leigh Belz Ray caught up with Jackson at Barnes & Noble in New York City to discuss The Shampoo Effect, the books currently on her reading list, her preferred underrated genre and much more.

Watch the exclusive interview below, and then scroll down to shop her books and reading recommendations!

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Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece, Leigh Belz Ray interviewed author Jenny Jackson. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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Stapley soon came up with a gripping thriller about a heroine who happens to be a world-class criminal. It became a bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club pick in December 2021. Now, Lucky has been adapted into a seven-episode Apple TV series, which premiered on July 15.

Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) is Lucky Anderson, a scrappy reformed grifter who learned about the art of the con from her ne’er-do-well dad (Timothy Olyphant). After a botched heist, she goes on the lam from the FBI and a mob boss (Annette Bening). Further complicating matters? She can’t cash in a winning lottery ticket without revealing her true identity. “Everybody loves a con artist with a heart of gold,” she says. “She’s not this dark, dastardly person.”

Stapley achieved her own success the hard (and legal!) way. In addition to being an author, she’s worked as a sports reporter, cemetery gardener, bartender, travel rep, stable hand and creative-writing teacher in her native Toronto. Her popular novels include Things to Do When It’s Raining, Mating for Life, The Last Resort and The Holiday Swap—as well as The Lightning Bottles, which was that tough-to-crack book she had cast aside seven years ago (and became another Reese’s Book Club pick). Its TV adaptation is in early development.

And coming in 2027: No Such Thing as Lucky, a sequel that chronicles more of Lucky Anderson’s journey. “I’m so used to writing a character and finishing the book and moving on,” she says. “But Lucky has been with me for all these years, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

Just ahead of her coast-to-coast press tour, Stapley talked with Reader’s Digest about the new series and so much more. Read on to find out how closely it sticks to the book, why you’ll be rooting for her heroine and what’s next for Lucky.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Reader’s Digest: How did you land on the Lucky concept?

Marissa Stapley: My family and I were on a ski vacation in New York and listening to a story on the radio about how this lottery ticket was about to go unclaimed. One of the DJs said, “I wonder what would happen if you were wanted for a crime and can’t come forward to get your winnings.” I couldn’t get it out of my head.

But I wanted a character who was more morally gray. At the time, my son was really into watching those Ocean’s movies. I thought about how it doesn’t feel like the characters are doing a crime because we’re rooting for them. The reality is, getting conned is terrible—but there’s something really fun about watching people do it on screen or reading about it in books.

Reader’s Digest: And how did it work with Reese’s Book Club? Did Reese Witherspoon call you herself to deliver the good news?

Marissa Stapley: First, her team contacted my publisher and worked out the details. My agent and editor told me they were taking me out for dinner, and of course being a writer, l catastrophized and thought it was bad news. Then my editor said that I was going to be Reese’s pick for December and I needed to keep it quiet for three months. I immediately burst into tears of joy and relief—the book came out first in Canada in the middle of the pandemic, and it didn’t really set the world on fire.

I did hear from Reese. She emailed me the night before the announcement to tell me what she loved about the book. We’ve been in contact and have met a few times. I am still so struck by her commitment to elevate women’s stories.

Reader’s Digest: As a producer on the series, were you really hands-on?

Marissa Stapley: Yes. I was in close consultation with the producers. The first question they asked me was about casting Lucky, and the only actress I wanted was Anya Taylor-Joy. She got the book before we even met with her because her agent instinctively felt like it was right for her. That’s why she was attached right away.

Overall, the producers were so sensitive and caring. There are changes, but I believe an adaptation has to be different because sometimes a book transmitted to the screen can get a bit clunky. So I gave my blessing every single step of the way.

Reader’s Digest: Can you be more specific about the changes? What can readers expect?

Marissa Stapley: I think of the book as the movie’s companion. It’s actually more of a prequel because we learn a lot more about Lucky’s childhood and her relationship with her father. It’s like we threw these characters in boiling-hot water, but the foundation is this really complicated relationship.

I also want to note that in the book, the lottery ticket is the big hook. But the writers thought that it was almost too much with everything else going on around her. So now the hook is that she’s running for her life. I honestly don’t think I would have done it differently.

Reader’s Digest: What’s a favorite behind-the-scenes moment that immediately comes to mind?

Marissa Stapley: So I went to L.A. for a couple weeks last May for the shoot. Early on, I was hanging out in the makeup trailer, and I saw this woman lying totally flat for her application. She sat up, and it was Annette Bening. I was talking to myself in my head: Oh, my God, I’m not ready. Like, what am I going to say? Keep it simple. Just introduce yourself and say it’s an honor to meet her.

I took a deep breath. Then she walked past me, stopped, turned her head and said, “Oh, excuse me. Are you Marissa Stapley? I’m Annette. It’s such an honor to meet you.” I told her that she stole my line, and she was like, “Oh, that’s cute!” Then she walked out of the trailer.

She was so down-to-earth, and that really helped me settle in. I had to remember that everybody is just human and working and happy to be there.

Reader’s Digest: What’s the overall takeaway from this story?

Marissa Stapley: When I look back on this novel, I don’t even really remember writing it. My mom and I were so close. And even as she was dying, she told me, “You have to keep fighting, you have to keep working.” I was just surviving too, and the resilience was necessary for me to complete the book. To me, that is the takeaway: I know life can be hard, but I also know what can happen when you find it within yourself to keep going against all odds.

Reader’s Digest: What can you share about the sequel?

Marissa Stapley: It’s definitely intense. I put Lucky on another quest for freedom, knowing that her ultimate quest is whether she can escape the trauma of her past. So the plot deals with a lot of family difficulties and redemption—and it’s a dazzling globe-trotting heist. I loved being back with her. I would write endless Lucky novels if I could.

Reader’s Digest: We’re talking in July. How do you define a great summer read?   

Marissa Stapley: For me, the answer is beautiful writing combined with a page-turning plot to keep you focused—even when there might be a lot of stuff going on around you on a holiday.

Reader’s Digest: What books are on your list for this summer?

Marissa Stapley: Soooo many. Simon & Schuster sends them to me. I’m so excited about Homebound by Portia Elan. I’ve got Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive and Helpless by Jessica Knoll. And, of course, I’m going to read Before You Were Anne from Emiko Jean.

Reader’s Digest: Let’s do some book-related lightning-round questions. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

Marissa Stapley: Whistler from Ann Patchett. Nobody does family drama better.

Reader’s Digest: Where is your favorite place to read a book?

Marissa Stapley: I have a cottage in Haliburton, which is in Northern Lake County in Ontario. It’s my favorite place in the world, period.

Reader’s Digest: Last book that made you cry?

Marissa Stapley: I just reread Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Certain moments are just so human.

Reader’s Digest: Which book can get someone out of a reading slump?

Marissa Stapley: Can I say Lucky? Because I wrote it while I was in a slump myself!

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But before Hawk became the rare athlete who could cross from skate parks to PlayStation to Nickelodeon without anyone blinking, he was just a kid in a sport where “old” arrived early. Very early.

“The older skaters were in their 20s. That’s when they would quit,” Hawk, now 58, tells Reader’s Digest. He remembers seeing a photo of legendary skateboarder Mark Lake in Thrasher magazine with a caption marveling that Lake was “30 and still killing it.”

“I remember thinking, ‘That’s crazy—he’s 30,'” Hawk says.

Nearly three decades past that supposedly ancient milestone, the X Games icon is still on his board. But he’s no longer pretending his body is indestructible. “I learned the hard way that I’m not invincible,” he admits. “We’re all human, and we’re all fallible.”

That lesson became painfully literal in 2022, when Hawk broke his femur. Eager to get back to skating, he pushed his recovery too quickly and displaced the bone, which kept it from healing properly. He kept going that way for roughly eight months before needing another surgery. “I took my recovery much more seriously and much more methodically after that,” he explains. “I wasn’t so cavalier to get right back on my skateboard. And it worked, but I learned the hard way.”

Even now, decades of experience don’t make him immune to injuries.

This past March, the pro skater says, a relatively basic trick went wrong and he tore three muscles in his hip. The move itself wasn’t flashy, but it came with what he calls “sneaky dangers.” That may be the most relatable Tony Hawk injury story possible. Most people aren’t falling on a vert ramp, but plenty of us know what it’s like to realize our bodies have started keeping receipts. One day you’re invincible. The next, you turn your neck too fast backing out of the driveway and suddenly have a “good side.”

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“You have to listen to your body,” Hawk says. “I am as guilty as anyone of not listening to my body and pushing through pain, to the point where I sabotage my own health. I don’t do that anymore, but I used to do it in the worst way possible.” Listening, these days, is mostly unglamorous maintenance: Strength training, stretching, sleep, diet and roughly “eight supplements” every morning—four of them from Qunol, the brand he’s partnered with on its Move Like a Champion campaign. “[Taking supplements is] not something I ever imagined that I’d need or want,” he admits. “But it has allowed me to live this dream into my old age.”

He’s also stopped measuring himself against the guy who landed the first 900. “I’m moving like a 58-year-old champion. So that doesn’t look the same as moving like a 20- or 30-year-old champion,” Hawk says. “It just looks like movement.” Moving at all puts you ahead of the pack, by the way. Only about one in four American adults fully meets the CDC’s physical activity guidelines, which the agency considers a key piece of aging well. “[Movement] doesn’t have to be skating, obviously. It could be walking your dog. It could be dancing. It could be pickleball, chasing your grandchild.”

As for the campaign, the ask is simple. “What we’re doing is encouraging people to share how they move,” the San Diego native explains. Post a clip of whatever gets you off the couch and tag Qunol with #MoveLikeAChampion. Prize packs are up for grabs, including a Hawk-signed skateboard, no kickflip required.

Hawk, for his part, already knows his thing. After more than 45 years on a board, skating still gives him something nothing else has quite managed to replace. “Zen,” he says. “A peacefulness and a joy that I just haven’t found with any other activity. I appreciate it more at its most basic level now than ever. Because I still get to do it—it’s a privilege.”

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Sources:

• Tony Hawk; interviewed July 13, 2026
• Variety: “Kids’ Choice Awards’ Slime So Sublime”
• Skateboarding Hall of Fame: “Mark Lake”
• CDC: “About Physical Activity”
• Qunol: “Move Like a Champion Contest”

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Like the adult coloring book frenzy from a few years ago, and the continuing obsession grown-ups have for 1,000-piece Lego sets of the Millennium Falcon and other childhood icons, another toy company has been busy upping that “recommended ages” range to include full-grown people like you and me.

Read on to discover which childhood toy for adults you can buy right now, then kick back and spend a glorious afternoon reconnecting with this old fave.

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What nostalgic childhood toy is being released for adults?

It’s Play-Doh. Yes, colorful, moldable, wonderful Play-Doh is in stores now with new products aimed specifically at adults. Hasbro just launched Blooms by Play-Doh, a series of crafting kits for grown-ups that allow you to create intricate and colorful bouquets of flowers that you can display in your home, office or wherever you need a little forget-me-not.

“The Play-Doh brand has always been about the limitless possibilities of imagination. That feeling doesn’t fade as you grow up, it evolves,” Brian Baker, Hasbro’s senior vice president of Play-Doh (a real job), said in a press release. He added that Blooms by Play-Doh offers a “more elevated, hands-on way to slow down, get lost in the process and create something beautiful you can enjoy long after you’ve made it.”

The toys, er, kits, each come with multiple colors of Play-Doh, tools and accessories, a vase and step-by-step instructions. Which is good, because these flowers are detailed. Stems, petals, leaves, greenery—all in vibrant colors (or pastels, if that’s what you prefer)—that look shockingly real. When you’re done, you can lock in the design with a “finishing spray,” which is also included.

Blooms by Play-Doh

Meadow Flower Bouquet Kit

Shop on Amazon

Shop on Target

$39.97 at Walmart

Why do we love Play-Doh so much?

One major reason, besides the nostalgia trip we take thinking about our old Play-Doh Spaghetti Factory, is the smell. You remember it, don’t you? The company describes it as a “sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough.” I guess I can get all that, but to me it just smells like childhood. (Back in 2018, Hasbro actually trademarked the Play-Doh scent.)

Play-Doh is fun to play with, too, like an old-school equivalent of stress balls and fidget spinners. It just feels great to zone out and put your too-busy mind on an engaging, non-essential task that still requires some low-stakes concentration. No emails, no bosses, no phone (come on, you can do it) … just you and the Play-Doh. Like a squishy adult coloring book, if you will. Doesn’t that sound relaxing?

What items can you get?

The Blooms by Play-Doh series currently has six floral bouquet options, from $25 to $40, and Hasbro also sells refill packs if you run out of Play-Doh. The kits are available at Target, Amazon and Walmart, though not every item is at every store. Here are your options.

• Blush Bouquet Flower Kit: Large, bright pink blooms are the main draw here. Available at Amazon.
• Garden Flower Bouquet Kit: This pretty bouquet offers a range of flower sizes and colors. Available at Target and Walmart.
• Meadow Flower Bouquet Kit: Similar to the Garden Flower kit, but with a pastel vibe. Available at Amazon, Walmart and Target.
• Wildflower Petite Flower Kit: The petite kits are smaller and have more delicate blooms. This one has a wildflower motif. Available at Walmart and Target.
• Bluebell Petite Flower Kit: Bluebells bring a Texas vibe to your home or office with three bright blue blooms set against lavender and white flowers. Available at Walmart.
• Rosy Petite Flower Kit: This one is just what it sounds like: a small bouquet of roses in various colors. Available at Target and Walmart.

Sources:

• Hasbro: “Hasbro Introduces Blooms by Play-Doh, A New Creative Experience Designed for Adults”
• Hasbro: “Hasbro Trademarks a Favorite Smell from Childhood: The PLAY-DOH Scent”
• Wall Street Journal: “Hasbro’s ‘Aging Up’ Strategy Continues with a Reattempt at Adult Play-Doh”
• NBC News: “Play-Doh for grown-ups just launched with floral kits that start at just $25”
• YouTube: “Blooms by Play-Doh”

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Which is exactly why I had no business being as annoyed as I was a couple weeks ago, when I met a friend at our neighborhood pool for a low-key Saturday chat and instead walked into what can only be described as a birthday party with a production budget. You know, the ones that live forever on Instagram Reels, where the balloon arch alone probably cost more than my car. There were at least three dozen 6-year-olds. A unicorn pool floatie the size of a Buick. Tables groaning under the weight of food and gifts. A margarita machine, for the grown-ups who’d apparently decided a pool full of unsupervised 6-year-olds was the ideal setting for day drinking. And zero lifeguards—because ours is a swim-at-your-own-risk pool, and these parents were clearly much bigger risk-takers than I am.

Honestly? I could have lived with all of that. What actually got me was that every chair was taken, every table moved, every pavilion spot claimed. Even the airspace had been colonized by a speaker blasting music that was extremely, aggressively inappropriate for the 6-year-old demographic currently in attendance.

Was I annoyed? Absolutely. Did I have any actual right to be? That’s the part I’m still not sure about, and I turned it over the whole walk home, slightly sunburned (there was no shade left, obviously) and more than slightly petty.

This isn’t just a me problem, nor is it limited to children’s birthday parties. My neighborhood’s Nextdoor page has become a low-grade war zone over this exact issue, and when I went looking, I found the same fight playing out in towns everywhere: free public pools swarmed by private parties, park pavilions colonized at dawn by families who treat “first come, first served” as a personal challenge, beach grills with homemade “reserved” signs that carry all the legal authority of a toddler’s crayon drawing, and gender reveals that leave the ground littered in pink plastic confetti for the rest of us to enjoy for weeks.

So help me work through it: Do people have the right to throw a party in a public space, even if it effectively pushes everyone else out?

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The case for having your party wherever you want

Public means public. That’s not a technicality—it’s the entire point. If the pool is free and open to residents, and the pavilion is first come, first served, then a family celebrating a 7th birthday has exactly as much claim to that space as a woman who just wants to read her book in peace. Nobody’s paying for VIP access. Showing up early and reserving the best pavilion isn’t rude; it’s just how it works in the world of shared amenities. It’s no different, really, than the debate over who gets to recline their airplane seat on a flight you’re both stuck on. And if you didn’t get there before the streamers went up, that’s a you problem.

There’s also a practical reality: Birthdays happen, families are big, backyards are small (or nonexistent, if you rent), budgets are tight, and a public park with a pavilion and a working grill is often the only affordable option a family has. Telling people they can’t celebrate in a space that’s explicitly designed for public use isn’t etiquette—it’s gatekeeping with extra steps.

Just know that public cuts both ways: You get the birthday party, and the birthday party gets the guy on the next bench practicing his ukulele.

The case against hosting a family reunion on the volleyball court

Here’s where it gets messy for me: There’s a real difference between using a shared space and functionally annexing it like a feudal lord expanding his estate but with folding chairs. A family of 10 having a picnic at a pavilion is using the park. A party of 60 that brings its own DJ, cordons off half the pool deck with pool noodles and ignores every posted rule about glass bottles, alcohol and pets isn’t sharing the space—it’s evicting everyone else from it, even though nobody in that other group did anything wrong.

And unlike privately held parties, monopolizing a shared public resource has real victims. They are the other people who also paid taxes, or membership fees, or simply showed up expecting to use the thing that’s supposed to be theirs too.

Most of the conflict starts the moment a host expects strangers to behave like invited guests—moving out of the background of photos, avoiding “their” section of the pool, treating a taped-on “reserved” sign as though it carries the force of law. Reader, it does not. That sign has never held up in any court, including the court of public opinion currently convening on Nextdoor.

What to do if it’s your party

The etiquette really is a matter of scale, age and behavior. A cluster of supervised toddlers is chaotic but harmless; a pack of unsupervised teenagers can flip the whole mood of a space in four minutes flat.

And size isn’t just a vibe—it’s often a legal line. For instance, NYC Parks requires a special events permit for any gathering over 20 people in a park or on a beach, and plenty of other cities and counties draw a similarly hard number. So when some killjoy bystander mutters, “Isn’t there supposed to be a permit for this?” they might not be a killjoy at all; they might just be right.

Behavior is where good parties go bad. Outdoor spaces are loud by nature, and that’s fine. What’s not fine is treating public as a synonym for mine: blasting music that drowns out an entire pool deck, hoarding every chair in a 50-foot radius or shooing other families out of “your” area because they’re wrecking your carefully staged candids. If your party requires other humans who have every right to be in that space to relocate their entire existence, you need to take a step back and really think about what you’re doing.

The beach, for what it’s worth, plays by slightly different rules than the pool or the park pavilion. There’s no fence, no gate, no single deck everyone’s fighting over—just a very long stretch of sand and occasionally grills and boardwalk access. That’s why a beach bonfire rarely triggers the same fury as a birthday party colonizing the only shaded pavilion in a 2-mile radius: There’s usually somewhere else to put your towel. The exception is when a group tries to rope off a chunk of public shoreline as if it’s a private resort.

The good news is that hosting well in a public space isn’t complicated. It just requires the same manners your mother tried to teach you at age 6: Follow the posted rules (the “no glass, no alcohol, no pets” signs aren’t decorative), actually supervise the kids and the uncle who’s four beers deep at the grill, and clean up every balloon, streamer and scrap of confetti before you leave, because nothing ruins a public park faster than leftover glitter. And if a stranger politely asks you to turn down the music, the correct response is “sure thing,” not a monologue about your rights as a taxpayer.

What to do if a party invades your space

If you’re the one on the receiving end of somebody else’s takeover, give people a little grace first. Most party fouls aren’t malicious—they’re just obliviousness with a bounce house attached, and a polite “Hey, would you mind turning that down?” solves more conflicts than any strongly worded Nextdoor post ever has.

But what if polite doesn’t work? Maybe it’s because the response you get is a shrug (or, worse, attitude), or because the pool is genuinely at capacity and there’s nowhere else for you to go—no other chair, no other patch of shade, no version of this afternoon that doesn’t involve you standing awkwardly at the edge of someone else’s cake table. That’s when you stop negotiating with the host and go straight to whoever’s actually in charge of the space: the lifeguard, the ranger, the person at the front desk or even just the posted phone number for the city. They’re the ones with the authority to enforce capacity limits and posted rules, and frankly, it’s their job, not yours, to be the bad guy. You are never obligated to just quietly evaporate from a public space you have every right to use, even if the person currently hogging it is being a jerk about it.

And you are allowed to call the police, but save that for genuine safety issues, not for airing your grievances about someone’s Spotify playlist. Nobody needs to see that video go viral, least of all you.

The verdict

It is not rude to host a birthday party at a public pool or park. It is rude, however, to behave as though a public space became your private venue the second the balloons went up. The right test isn’t “Did I get here first?” or “Is this technically allowed?” It’s “Could a stranger show up right now and still have a decent afternoon here?”

If the answer is yes, throw your party with joy. If the answer is no, you’ve crossed from celebrating in public to squatting in it, and no amount of cake is going to make that OK.

And if you’re the one standing there, fielding a 60-person rager without a permit and a standoff over whether Fido is actually allowed on the pool deck, well, at least you’re providing great fodder for the next Facebook group meltdown.

Have a social situation you can’t stop ruminating on? Email us at advice@tmbi.com, or message Charlotte on Instagram at @CharlotteHiltonAndersen.

Why trust us

Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of etiquette stories that help readers navigate communication in a changing world. We regularly cover topics such as the best messages to send for any occasion, polite habits that aren’t as polite as they seem, email and texting etiquette, business etiquette, tipping etiquette, travel etiquette and more. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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Christopher Nolan, the genius director behind Oppenheimer, Inception and The Dark Knight (though my personal favorite is Memento), has been plotting his version of Odysseus’s struggle to return home for more than 20 years. And with a budget of $250 million, an all-star lineup and more than 2 million feet of film shot, his opus is shaping up to be quite the homecoming party.

If you’re scratching your head right now—like, are we really trying to make an ancient poem happen? In 2026?—I get it. But you’re not going to want to miss this boat, because literally everyone is talking about The Odyssey. And the chatter is transcending the typical buzz from a big action flick or click-baity summer release. This will undoubtedly be an Oscar contender, sure, but The Odyssey is more than that. Way more. In fact, this tale of an unlikely hero battling the forces of nature, the gods and his enemies is a timeless story relevant to anyone who has faced long odds … and that includes all of us right now. Yes, in 2026.

So what do you need to know about the hottest movie ticket around? The Odyssey comes out July 17, and we scoured the web for hot takes, helpful background info, fun facts and buzzy debates to help you understand why this epic just might be, well, epic. Read on for all the details before you head to the theater.

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What it is

The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus (Matt Damon), a king who left his home on the Greek island of Ithaca to fight in the Trojan War. We meet Odysseus after the war, as he’s trying to return home to his wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway), and his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Along the way, he faces a series of trials and tribulations—not to mention gods, monsters and otherworldly creatures—that test his mental and physical strength, his philosophy and his life choices.

While this isn’t the first attempt to translate the poem into film, it is the most ambitious. “As a filmmaker, you’re looking for gaps in cinematic culture, things that haven’t been done before,” Nolan said about why he wanted to tackle The Odyssey. He had grown up with films like 1981’s Clash of the Titans—a delightfully cheesy telling of the Greek myth of Perseus (and the origin of the now-ubiquitous “Release the Kraken!” catchphrase)—but knew the genre needed a revamp.

“I’d never seen that done with the sort of weight and credibility that an A-budget and a big Hollywood, IMAX production could do,” he explained. Well, The Odyssey definitely has big-name backing now, and it’s the first feature film to be shot entirely on IMAX 1570 cameras.

Who it’s for

Almost everyone. Nolan describes The Odyssey as part coming-of-age story and part homecoming tale, and who can’t relate to that? He told the Associated Press that it’s for people who know everything about The Odyssey—and those who know nothing at all. “We’re making the film for that whole range of people’s relationships with this foundational text of this incredible story.”

A quick note for the parents out there: The Odyssey is rated R for language and violence, so take that into consideration before bringing your littlest ones. And with a run time of 172 minutes (nearly 3 hours), this epic is also epically long, so people looking for a 90-minute rom-com should probably steer clear.

Why it’s such a big deal

It’s the biggest movie event of the year, that’s why! It’s also a fantastic chance to dive into the source material of so many of our pop-culture favorites, from The Wizard of Oz to Star Trek to Game of Thrones. Yep, these modern stories of wanderers and seekers are cribbed right from Odysseus’s journey. Plus, you just might end up relating a whole lot to Odysseus.

Here’s what you need to know.

The A-list cast is a veritable who’s who of Hollywood

Heady, intellectual questions posed by an ancient text work best when delivered by A-list celebs with multiple Oscars between them—at least according to this adaptation. Everyone involved with this movie should clear off a statue-sized spot on their mantel right now, because it’s already generating major Oscar buzz.

In addition to Damon, Hathaway and Holland, the lineup includes Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron, Elliot Page and Zendaya, whose fashion-forward press tour is turning heads all over the planet. Leaning into her role as Athena, she’s been rocking the Greek-goddess look, with ethereal dresses, white tunics, breastplates, lace-up gladiator sandals, feathers and other symbolic nods to her character’s duality.

Read more on Variety and Vogue

Its themes of identity and resilience may particularly resonate with Gen Z

Odysseus spends much of The Odyssey in a struggle against outside forces and chaos, which also serve as stand-ins for humanity’s inner struggles. And while we can all relate on some level, these themes of identity and perseverance take on added relevance for younger generations. “The Odyssey is also an epic about identity, what it means to be a human being, what it means to be at home … and what we are willing to do to survive,” Jonas Grethlein, a classical philologist, told DW History and Culture. That’s a perfect fit for Gen Z, who’s been raised in an era of uncertainty and change—from technological to societal to climate. It’s a story of struggling to find your way when the world seems stacked against you.

You might think an old Greek poem would be a hard sell to the online generation, but Gen Zers are already primed to be receptive. Epic: The Musical, a nine-part, sung-through saga based on The Odyssey developed by college student Jorge Rivera-Herrans, took off like wildfire when the first installment dropped in 2021. It’s since become a 40-song collaborative effort (fans supply the art, aka “animatics,” as well as sing on the tracks), with billions of streams across multiple platforms.

See more on DW History and Culture and The Guardian

Odysseus is a complicated anti-hero

When it comes to central characters, especially heroes, big-budget films often center earnest, do-gooder, über-moral types. That’s definitely not happening here. “Odysseus is a warrior with wit and intellect, a con man and fabulist who constantly reinvents himself,” writes David Denby in The New Yorker. “Yet this complicated man wants only what any of us would want after terrible troubles—recovery and consolidation.” He’s just as flawed as anyone you’d meet on the street or find holding the levers of power. In other words, he’s human.

And the gods! These are not the benevolent, cloud-lounging angels you might be picturing. They play favorites, pit people against one another and punish the insufficiently deferential.

The struggles society faces today—from an increasingly inhospitable Earth, a spiraling economy and leaders who seem to care more about keeping their jobs than improving our lives—mirror Odysseus’s fights against the cyclops, sirens and giant cannibals that test his ability to navigate the life he is desperately trying to return to. In today’s complicated society, we need an Odysseus right now.

Read more on The New Yorker

It’s an antidote to the AI slop we all hate

Theaters used to be filled with larger-than-life epics, from Lawrence of Arabia to Titanic, that had big budgets, far-flung shooting locations and hundreds of cast and crew. But artificial intelligence and its decidedly substandard output have changed how people view the creative process, leading stars like Damon to mourn the loss of quality filmmaking.

But Nolan disputes the worry, and the director has first-hand evidence for his confidence: his kids. “Their judgment of AI slop has been immediate and harsh,” Nolan said. “They see it for what it is very quickly—and it’s much easier for them to identify it, because it grew out of an online world they know really well.”

Read more on The Telegraph

Speaking of which, this was quite the production

We’ve already mentioned the 2.1 million feet of film that Nolan used to shoot this movie. But what else does a $250 million budget buy you (aside from those A-list salaries)? For starters, the production spanned multiple locations in six countries—Greece, Italy, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland and the United States. Plus, designers created 5,300 costumes for the movie, and Nolan hired 2,o00 extras just for the siege of Troy scene.

And while this next tidbit has nothing to do with budget, it does show you just how “real” this production was. To film the Ithaca scenes, most of the cast and crew hiked for 45 minutes—up a rugged 900-foot hill—to get to the shooting location. Talk about dedication!

Read more on AP News

But history buffs will notice a few anachronisms

We love a good history fact, and we know you do too, so you’ll appreciate this game of Spot the Anachronism. People have their tunics in a twist over a few things that just were not a thing in ancient Greece. First up, the boats. Apparently, the Viking longship featured in the trailer would not have existed when The Odyssey was written.

Then there’s the matter of the pants. As a few very perplexed archaeologists have noted, ancient Greeks wouldn’t have been caught dead in pants. In fact, they would have found it “barbaric” and “odd,” which is how they discussed it when they encountered Persians wearing this now-common attire.

The Odyssey‘s armor and helmets also get the side-eye, since they are too dark to be realistic for ancient times, when warriors actually wore bright bronze and colorful adornments. One archaeologist specifically calls out Agamemnon’s helmet, which he says looks a lot like Batman’s signature headgear—something that has subsequently prompted “Batamemnon” mash-ups.

See more on Britannica, Annelise the Archaeologist and The Welsh Viking

Odysseus and Penelope are #relationshipgoals

Nothing screams “old-fashioned movie” like antiquated portrayals of relationships between men and women. So you might think a 3,000-year-old story would score pretty low on the enlightenment scale … but you would be 100% wrong. Odysseus and Penelope have what’s known in Greek literature as homophrosynē, or likemindedness, and according to Hathaway, Nolan showcased that copacetic sensibility here.

“There’s this impression of Penelope that she’s kind of the picture of modesty,” Hathaway told Time. “And I said, ‘Chris, if I’m not mistaken, you’ve written someone who is full of fury, and you seem to be implying that she’s actually Odysseus’s equal.'”

Instead of pining away, Penelope deals with her own internal and external crises, including outwitting dozens of plotting suitors and usurpers. “I found her to be this volcano of a human that was always simmering,” Hathaway said. “It was really fun when she finally exploded.”

Read more on Time and OpenLearn

It’s an action flick at heart

In addition to vengeful gods and murderous cyclops, our anti-hero and his compatriots must also contend with duplicitous, conniving—and very violent—human foes. The primary villains of the movie are Penelope’s suitors, who plot and scheme to take Odysseus’s place, and the biggest baddie of them all is Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson. And since he’s just one of more than 100 usurpers, you’ll see lots of fights and action.

You should also remember that this is a war film, so expect epic naval and land battles as well as fights with creatures like the Laestrygonians. “It was a fun sequence to shoot,” Nolan told Empire of Odysseus’s battle with the giant cannibals. “It’s really a thing of trying to get across the brutality. They’re warriors, and their weapons and armor [are] of a level of sophistication that Odysseus has never seen.”

See more on Today and Empire

But it speaks to universal human emotions

Odysseus’s story is centered around his homecoming and the challenges of reintegrating into his family and society, but it also examines concepts as lofty as loyalty and as pedestrian as being a good host. Characters in The Odyssey experience joy, rage, excitement and grief, and this universality is one reason Nolan says he’s been telling this story for years—in all of his films.

“It’s a family story, a love story, a revenge story, a war story, a coming-of-age story,” he told the Los Angeles Times of Homer’s epic. “It’s a very strong foundational text for me.”

Read more on The Los Angeles Times

Controversies have prompted heated debates

If you’ve been blissfully unaware of these controversies, here is the CliffNotes version: Helen of Troy is played by Lupita Nyong’o, who is Black (she also plays Clytemnestra in a dual role). This has caused so-called Odyssey purists, including Elon Musk, to cry foul as an ahistorical casting choice. Curiously, no one seems to be mad that the Boston-born-and-raised Matt Damon is playing someone of Greek origin.

The other main controversy is over the language the characters use, which is decidedly more contemporary than anyone in ancient Greece would have spoken. (Telemachus calls Odysseus “Dad” at one point.) Nolan has defended his choice to make the movie more accessible for today’s audiences, but it’s falling on deaf ears in some corners of the internet.

Emily Wilson, the first female translator of The Odyssey, whose 2017 work Nolan cites as an inspiration, is seeing an uptick in this chatter now that the movie release is imminent. “It’s a stand-in for a whole lot of made-up culture-war things,” she told Vulture. And isn’t that just so 2026?

Read more on Vulture

Do a deep dive

Now that your curiosity is piqued about this classic poem and soon-to-be summer blockbuster, you may want to go all-in. Here are five great links to take you deeper into The Odyssey rabbit hole.

• Read: The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
• Watch: The Odyssey: Behind the Scenes
• Discuss: r/entertainment subreddit: The Odyssey first reactions
• Listen to a podcast: What’s epic about The Odyssey? Everything.
• Listen to the musical: Epic: The Musical

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More than 7,000 people have already gotten sick with cyclosporiasis across 34 states this year—and unfortunately, that number is expected to grow. And while cyclosporiasis is more common in tropical and subtropical parts of the world, it causes outbreaks in the U.S. every year. In fact, cases tend to spike between May and August, when fresh produce linked to infections is most commonly on our plates. That said, this outbreak is a lot worse.

The good news? This isn’t a reason to swear off your favorite grocery store’s fruits and vegetables altogether. A few smart swaps—and knowing which foods are a lower risk right now—can help you keep enjoying produce while protecting yourself.

Read on to learn why fresh produce is such a big part of this outbreak, which foods are considered the safest bets and what you should avoid until this outbreak settles down.

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Why is fresh produce such an issue with this cyclosporaiasis outbreak?

Time for a quick (and easy-to-understand) science lesson. Cyclospora is a tiny parasite that causes an illness called cyclosporiasis. It spreads when people eat food or drink water contaminated with feces (yes, poop) containing the parasite. Fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated at several points, from the farm where they’re grown to the facilities where they’re harvested and packaged. And since most are eaten raw, they’re never exposed to the high heat that would kill the parasite.

One interesting thing about cyclospora is that it doesn’t make people sick immediately after leaving an infected person’s body. It actually needs days to weeks in the environment to become infectious. That means people don’t typically catch it directly from someone who’s sick—it’s much more commonly linked to contaminated food or water.

And unfortunately, simply rinsing your favorite grocery store‘s produce under the faucet isn’t always enough. The parasite can cling to the surface of delicate fruits and leafy greens, making it difficult to wash away completely.

Which types of produce are safe to eat?

If you’re trying to play it safer while this outbreak is going on, the general rule is simple: Foods with protective skins, sturdy surfaces or that are cooked are your best bet. Here are some of the safest options:

• Thick-peeled fruits: Bananas, oranges, pineapples, avocados and watermelons
• Firm, smooth vegetables: Cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots and broccoli
• Layered vegetables: Cabbage (discard the outer layers before washing)
• Commercially frozen products: Frozen spinach, frozen berries and frozen vegetables
• Cooked or processed foods: Canned items, baked goods and hot soups

Which types of produce should you skip?

If you can, avoid the below foods for now. If you do decide to eat them, they’re much safer when thoroughly cooked. Here’s what you might want to avoid eating:

• Raw berries: Fresh raspberries, blackberries and strawberries
• Soft-skinned fruits: Peaches, plums, nectarines and grapes
• Raw leafy greens: Fresh spinach, romaine lettuce and kale
• Prewashed salad mixes: Bagged salad kits and precut greens
• Precut grocery fruit bowls: Mixed melon or berry cups
• Fresh raw herbs: Cilantro, basil and parsley

What other safety tips should you keep in mind when eating fresh produce right now?

You don’t have to avoid produce completely, but a little extra caution goes a long way. Here are a few safety tips to reduce your risk of getting cyclosporiasis.

• Wash all of your produce. Yes, even if you plan to peel it later. Washing won’t guarantee the parasite is removed, but it can help reduce dirt and other germs.
• Cook when possible. High heat destroys cyclospora, making cooked vegetables much safer than raw ones.
• Consider eating frozen produce. Commercially frozen fruits and vegetables are generally considered a lower-risk option because they’re processed under controlled conditions. Plus, they haven’t been commonly linked to outbreaks the way certain fresh produce items have.
• Be careful when eating out. This includes all of the salads, garnishes and herbs served at restaurants. (That yummy fresh salsa is included too).
• Stay on top of recalls. While there hasn’t been a specific brand tied to the outbreak, if one comes up, throw it away immediately. Don’t let the smell or look change your mind.

What happens if you get sick?

Cyclospora isn’t your typical 24-hour stomach bug. Symptoms often show up about a week after eating contaminated food and can include watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue and weight loss. Without treatment, some people feel sick for weeks (or even months!) with symptoms that come and go.

If you’ve recently eaten fresh produce and develop persistent diarrhea, especially if it lasts more than a couple of days, it’s worth calling your health-care provider. Luckily, cyclospora can usually be treated with prescribed antibiotics, and getting diagnosed early can help you start feeling better sooner.

Sources:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Preventing Cyclosporiasis”
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration: “Cyclosporiasis and Fresh Produce”
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Food Poisoning Symptoms”

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Aries: Ron Weasley

(March 21–April 19)

OK, I did put a redhead in the most feral and impatient fire sign of them all. But you have to admit that Ron is a bit of a hothead. He’s so easily flustered, like when Hermione picks on his rat, Scabbers. But what do you expect when your sign is ruled by Mars, the planet of anger and war? You have to be reactive, because you were born to fight—especially to protect the ones you love. Ron was the first to draw a wand when Malfoy called Hermione a “filthy mudblood.” And even with an injured leg, he steps in between the assumed-dangerous Sirius Black and Harry to protect his friend.

Though being Mars-ruled can provide a burst of confidence, it also means you can be a little overly competitive. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, so naturally, you always want to be first. But something in you feels like you need to prove yourself in order to be first, just like Ron. As one of seven talented children in the family, he had to compete for attention.

Aries is often referred to as “the baby” of the zodiac because, like a toddler, people born under this sign are known to throw tantrums when they don’t get their way. Just think back to when Hermione goes to the Yule Ball with Victor Krum. Ron threw a hissy fit because he wanted to take her but wasn’t brave enough to ask.

Taurus: Hagrid

(April 20–May 20)

Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of beauty and money. Hagrid doesn’t remind us of beauty or money, I realize, but Taurus is also highly connected to nature—just like Hagrid. This is the sign opposite Scorpio (death), and it’s associated with springtime, life and new beginnings.

This inherent bond to nature also gives Taurus natives a special connection to animals. Like, let’s be real: You’ve definitely saved a baby kitten off the street. Something about this sign just knows how to draw animals in, understand them and be an advocate. I can hear Hagrid now, saying, “Buckbeak was a good hippogriff—always cleaned his feathers.”

Relying on raw, natural and sometimes shabby home remedies, as opposed to anything medical, is also a very Taurus thing to do. For example, my grandmother (a stereotypical Taurus) swears by ginger teas, tinctures and powder for everything. And it’s because Taureans have such a deep connection with nature that they know exactly how to keep themselves healthy and healed. Raw dragon meat for cuts, anyone?

Gemini: Fred and George Weasley

(May 21–June 20)

Can you imagine a better Gemini representation than the infamous wit-centric twins themselves? As a Gemini, you know you’re symbolized by the celestial Twins because of your dual nature. And I’m sure you can see yourself in Fred and George, with their intelligent, childlike charm and cheeky, playful nature. Very few can get by a Gemini without being teased. Case in point: Fred and George often make fun of their brother, Percy, for holding the stately title of Head Boy.

Like Fred and George, you’re also quite innovative and curious, two traits that helped the brothers when creating their business, Weasley & Weasley. Even the business itself—selling products to fake sickness, perform practical jokes or generally pass by the rules—is intimately aligned with Gemini’s mischievous nature.

Fred and George also tend to speak in riddles with plays on words, a classic Gemini-ism that you can likely relate to. Remember their answer to Hermione, who asked where they got the money for Weasley & Weasley: “Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies.”

Cancer: Dobby

(June 21–July 22)

The sign of home and family, Cancer’s most classic trait is a fierce protectiveness toward loved ones. Dobby protects Harry, yes, but he also fights the consistent feeling that he is unlovable. It’s Harry’s acceptance of Dobby that makes him feel loved, and therefore in need of his lifelong service.

As a Cancer, you can probably relate to Dobby’s intense, slightly obsessive love for Harry—like when he enchanted a bludger to go after Harry or hid all his letters from Ron and Hermione. These kinds of actions border those of a deranged fan, but you just want your loved ones to be safe! So you love hard, coddling when you feel devoted.

Sure, someone might get a bludger to the face, but Cancers also give the most selfless kind of care. Dobby risks his own safety and subjects himself to punishment from the Malfoys, just to stay close to Harry and warn him of approaching danger. That’s the most selfless thing I can think of.

Leo: Gilderoy Lockhart

(July 23–Aug. 22)

People often think of Harry as a Leo—and don’t get me wrong, Leos can be brave. (This is the sign of the Lion, after all!) But Leo’s more shadowy trait is one that Gilderoy Lockhart definitely possesses: vanity. Be honest, how often do you look at your reflection when passing by a mirror or store window? Yeah, there’s a little vanity in that. But hey, you’re beautiful and you know it!

This is where vanity and assuredness collide to become Leo’s classic self-confidence—and no one in the Harry Potter series screams narcissism like Gilderoy Lockhart. With a draw to fame, good looks and the public eye, his top priority is looking beautiful and being admired. And funny enough, this is your main mission as well. As a Leo, you adore being in the spotlight, can hold attention without trying and are a very skilled storyteller.

Lockhart definitely has the storytelling skill, with all his books. He’s able to share tales with such detail that no one even realizes he’s never done any of it. The funny thing about Leo is that this sign feels very authentic, even when Leos are afraid to be completely themselves for fear of being rejected (right?). Lockhart shows that story.

Virgo: Professor McGonagall

(Aug. 23–Sept. 22)

Ah, Virgo: righteous, precise, perfectionistic and grounded. You might relate to Hermione because of her know-it-all nature (especially in the first few movies), but Professor McGonagall has more grounded earth energy. Like you, she’s less of a risk-taker and always sticks to the rules when she’s unsure. (Hermione, we know, does not.)

As a Virgo, you’re ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication, so you have a deep connection with words and use that to your advantage. What often goes unmentioned about McGonagall is her incredibly sharp wit and deadpan humor. Whether it’s joking that she’ll turn Ron or Harry into a pocket watch so one of them will be on time, or telling Harry that if he dies he doesn’t need to turn in his homework, her sardonic one-liners are legendary.

But the most Virgo-esque trait I can think of in Professor McGonagall is her humbleness and hard work—something I’m sure you understand well. She tirelessly works behind the scenes to give the students everything they need to succeed, without asking for any of the credit. That much can be seen when she recommends Harry to the Quidditch team in his first year and even buys him his first broom.

Libra: Harry Potter

(Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Nothing says Libra like being friendly, fair and humane to all people and animals. Harry Potter (and you) are just that. Known for his compassion for underdogs—like Buckbeak, Dobby and Neville Longbottom—Harry is seen time and time again standing up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. For example, when most of the school makes fun of Luna Lovegood, Harry consistently invites her to sit with him so she feels included.

You’re the sign of the Scales, which means you’re extremely diplomatic. A Libra is always seeking harmony, and I’m sure you’re the pacifier in all sorts of situations—just like Harry, who often finds himself in the middle of squabbles between Ron and Hermione or Malfoy and whoever he’s picking on.

But with Libra, there’s also this unique ability to see into the eyes of other people. That’s what helps you connect so deeply. This empathetic perspective is what allows Librans to become pacifiers. And, of course, it’s a major identifiable trait in Harry, as he forgives his darkest enemies—like Draco Malfoy and Voldemort—even to his detriment.

Scorpio: Voldemort

(Oct. 23–Nov. 22)

Scorpio is ruled by Pluto, the planet of the Underworld, and as someone who escapes mortality and comes back to life, You-Know-Who is a literal representation of the Underworld at work. And you know you kind of love the dark side of Voldemort! He shamelessly reveals people’s deepest secrets because he’s not afraid of the darkness—he lives it.

Let’s also talk about those nicknames, You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Voldemort has created his power through one thing: mystery. The power he holds is in not having a human form—others are clueless about where he is, how powerful he’s become or what he wants. To be honest, this is a telltale Scorpio tactic you probably use when you’re backed into a corner: Give zero personal information that can be used against you.

Scorpio is also the sign most associated with death. J.K. Rowling has said that Voldemort was inspired by French words meaning “flight” or “theft” of death. By splitting his soul into different horcruxes, Voldemort essentially cheats death and tricks his way into immortality—something only a Scorpio would dream of doing. Plus, Voldemort is spooky, and as a Scorpio, you love Halloween, ghosts and darkness. You take pride in being spooky. See? It fits.

Sagittarius: Hermione Granger

(Nov. 22–Dec. 21)

This one might be a tough sell for some folks, but hear me out. Like I said earlier, Hermione is definitely a know-it-all. But underneath her academic and do-gooder personality, she actually breaks more rules than she follows—and it always seems to get her into trouble.

Just think about the time she illegally brewed polyjuice potion, broke into the restricted section of the library or abused the use of a time-turner to attend more classes. I bet in the back of your mind, you cheered her on for being so brazen because you’ve broken a few rules yourself. But this adventurous fire sign’s propensity to bend the rules also allows her—and you—to be a leader. It’s often Hermione who takes the first step into the unknown, not Harry or Ron. She’s the one who first initiated Dumbledore’s army, after all!

Don’t be fooled by your wild-child side, though. You may be a rule-breaker, but like Hermione, you’re also incredibly intellectual. Sagittarius is known for high-minded academics, philosophy and big-picture thinking.

Capricorn: Dolores Umbridge

(Dec. 22–Jan. 19)

If there’s one thing you might remember about Dolores Umbridge, it’s her wall-full of “educational decrees.” In other words, rules. And let’s be clear on one thing here. It’s not that she likes following rules; she likes setting them. I can’t think of a more Capricorn trait than seizing control and laying down the law before anyone has a chance to question it.

Like Umbridge, you may also have a taste for class and poise. You might even dress in tweed skirts and blouses like her. But Capricorns also have something else: a domineering personality that makes them want to be the boss. Umbridge practically appointed herself to a position of leadership—something only a Capricorn would have the gusto to do.

Sure, she may be a little power-hungry and controlling (also very typical Cap), but she runs a tight ship. And nothing will get done unless you do it the way you want, right? It’s the call to leadership, status and power that makes her such a Capricorn.

Aquarius: Albus Dumbledore

(Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

Dumbledore is an incredibly wise and powerful figure in the Potter series. A natural leader, he takes fair action in everything he does, which is something you’re also very good at. Aquarius is the sign of community, so keeping everyone together is important to you—similar to Dumbledore’s passion for keeping the school and its students connected.

One very Aquarian Dumbledore trait that you might share (and one that’s a bit unseemly) is his ability to emotionally detach from a person or situation. He can turn his feelings on or off, like when he tosses Harry into the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a young boy or uses him to get to Voldemort. This can feel downright cold-blooded, but at the heart of it all, being an Aquarius means you see all sides with an objective mind.

Like Dumbledore, you’re analytic and strategic—but borderline ruthless—when it comes to doing the right thing. For many Aquarians, this kind of logical mindset leads people to consider them heartless or merciless. And Dumbledore does have some questionable methods of teaching—for example, allowing Severus Snape to bully his students. But this makes him a perfect Aquarian candidate. If you’re not ruffling feathers by doing things differently, you’re not an Aquarius.

Pisces: Luna Lovegood

(Feb. 19–March 20)

Ah, Luna and her Nargles. From the outside, Luna looks like a nutcase. And to be honest, Pisces energy has that vibe. (Sorry, Pisces, but you know it’s true.) This is the sign that rules the things we can’t see in the physical world—including dreams, magic, intuition, the subconscious, imagination, liminal space and “the other side.” So, you might act a bit like Luna: detached and mystified, as if seeing a world beyond the one we live in.

And the thing is, she does! She sees Nargles, Wrackspurts and Thestrals (you know, the skeletal and winged horses only people who have seen death can see). You can’t say that you’re not mystified when your dreams actually mirror the real world, right? But it makes total sense because Pisces is the sign most connected to ghosts and spiritual beings. You may have even had psychic experiences!

Despite being picked on by the school bullies, Luna remains exactly who she is—which is something you love about her. And that’s because you probably feel misunderstood sometimes too. As a Pisces, your wide views of the world (this one and beyond) can make you feel a little different, so you tend to stay on the outskirts of society because it’s more comfortable.

Why trust us

Reader’s Digest provides an easy-to-understand guide to all things astrology—from understanding sun signs, moon signs and rising signs to exploring each zodiac sign’s strengths, challenges and desires. You’ll learn about your ideal match in love, career, hobbies and more, as well as learn how big astrological events will affect you. We’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including practicing astrologers, as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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That desire to be seen—across the land or ocean, as well as more philosophically—helps explain why, even though there’s no law requiring countries to develop a flag, we all do it. “No one wants to be left out,” he says. “It’s almost like we’re hardwired for it, you know?”

But choosing a color? That posed a problem—for a while, at least.

“Let’s say I want to turn this fabric into a new color,” Ferrigan says. “How do I do it?” One option, human blood, would have eventually worn off. Paint and natural pigments came next, but like blood, these coatings didn’t last long. Dyes changed the flag game considerably, but it turns out not all dyes were created equal—which is why we hardly ever see one particular color on flags.

I talked to Ferrigan and Michael Green, the vexillologist behind Flags for Good, an Indianapolis-based company that makes flags they believe in (and donates a portion of every sale to relevant causes), to learn why this color has been so historically absent. Read on to discover the rarest flag color—and see if you guessed correctly.

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What is the rarest color for a national flag?

Believe it or not, it’s purple. Currently, only five countries (out of nearly 200) have purple in their official or co-official flags. “It’s exceedingly rare,” Ferrigan says. And those countries are …

• Dominica: “You have the Sisserou parrot on Dominica’s,” Ferrigan says. This protected (and purple) parrot, which is the national bird of the Caribbean-island nation and isn’t found anywhere else in the world, is featured prominently on many of the country’s national symbols.
• Spain: “The lions on Spanish flags are properly called purpure, or morado,” Ferrigan says. “So they’re purple.” (Purpure is a shade of purple common in heraldry, and morado is the Spanish word for “purple.”) Sometimes the lions appear pink, especially on the internet, but purple is the official color used on Spanish coats of arms and flags.
• Nicaragua: The blue-and-white-striped flag of this Central American country centers its coat of arms, which features a rainbow over volcanoes and a Phrygian cap, a red headpiece that symbolizes liberty and freedom. There is a tiny purple stripe in the rainbow.
• El Salvador: Like Nicaragua’s flag, El Salvador’s derives from an earlier Federal Republic of Central America flag, with blue and white stripes and the country’s coat of arms. Again, there is a small bit of purple in the center rainbow.
• Bolivia: There is no missing the purple in the Wiphala, a checkerboard banner with a rainbow motif that is the co-official flag of Bolivia. Adopted in 2009 to honor Indigenous peoples of the Andes region, it flies alongside Bolivia’s traditional tricolor flag on government buildings.

Why do so few countries use purple?

“Until the 1850s, purple was the hardest dye to produce,” Green says. “It was mainly made by using a sea snail, and it took a ton of them to make even a small amount of dye.” Ferrigan says you’d need something like 10,000 of these little mollusks, which were found only off the coast of modern-day Lebanon, to dye a single garment!

In 1856, an 18-year-old British chemist accidentally synthesized the first purple synthetic dye, but by then, the die was cast, so to speak. “Since most national flags were designed before the 1850s, purple was just not a practical color,” Green says. 

What does purple traditionally symbolize, and who uses it?

Because of the rarity of the sea-snail dye (called Tyrian purple) in ancient times, only the very wealthy and powerful had access. “So purple was reserved for royalty and those who could afford it,” Green says. Even today, 170 years after purple dye became available to the masses, purple is widely used by monarchies around the world, perhaps most familiarly by the British royal family.

The late Queen Elizabeth and the current King Charles wore deep purple velvet garments called Robes of Estate at their coronations. Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, and Queen Camilla also wore purple robes, and Britain’s Imperial State Crown is purple. Royal families in other countries, including Japan, Thailand and Spain, also wear purple royal attire.

What is the most common flag color?

“Far and away, red,” says Green. Red not only represents the “blood of the patriots that fought” for their country, independence or a cause, he notes—it’s also an easy color to produce. “In fact, it appears on over 70% of national flags,” he says. Blue comes in second, and white, which is arguably the easiest color to use for a flag, is third.

Primary colors came to dominate because they were readily available and could be acquired locally, Ferrigan says. He gives the example of Denmark’s 800-year-old national flag, the oldest in the world, which has a white cross on a red background. The red was probably a vegetable dye called madder until cochineal, an insect-based dye used by Native Americans, was introduced to Europe. Wood pulp, bark and flowers were used for other colors, and indigo (a deep blue dye) spread in the 16th century.

After that, it was off to the races for red, white and blue—in all kinds of combinations. Ferrigan says the Dutch used these colors on their ships (after trying orange and finding it didn’t last), which prompted Peter the Great, who studied shipbuilding in the Netherlands, to bring the combo to Russia. And then there’s the red, white and blue flags of France, Britain, the U.S and dozens of other countries.

What other flag colors are unpopular?

“Orange is another great example of a color that rarely appears on flags, and for good historical reason,” Green says. “It was used, but when exposed to UV light, the orange colors would fade quickly and turn into undesirable shades.” That’s one reason the Dutch swapped out orange for red on their flag back in the early 17th century (though orange is still the national color, as anyone watching the World Cup can attest).

Gray, brown and pink are also unpopular national flag colors.

Is the prevalence of purple changing?

Potentially, but slowly. Every national flag using purple today was developed after the dye became readily available, but it’s not like countries change their flags often. “Designs rarely change at the national level unless there is a large upheaval in the government,” Green says. “But we now are seeing a surge in subnational identities, like states and cities, moving toward wanting to utilize the power of flags to build identity, pride and belonging.”

The Wiphala, Bolivia’s co-official national flag, is a good example of a young flag using purple, but it’s a rarity. “Most national flags are simplifications of historic coats of arms,” Green says. “Younger nations, the United States included, follow the vexillological traditions set by their predecessors.”

Why trust us

At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Sources:

• James Ferrigan, vexillological historian and treasurer of the North American Vexillological Association; phone interview, July 9, 2026
• Michael Green, founder of Flags for Good and technical editor of The Complete Guide to Flags of the World, 4th Edition; email interview, July 10, 2026
• Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica: “National Bird”
• Gov.uk: “The Coronation Roll”
• Royal.uk: “A first glimpse at Their Majesties’ Coronation robes”
• Science History Institute: “William Henry Perkin”
• World Population Review: “Countries with red, white and blue flags”

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But let’s start from the beginning. Diana and Charles seemed like the perfect couple on paper, but as we now know, they were a mismatch from Day One. Even before they tied the knot on July 29, 1981, they were having problems. That being said, they really tried to make it work, and Charles made a huge sacrifice for Diana—and, if you ask us, quite a drastic one. He gave up one of his absolute favorite companions, a yellow Labrador retriever named Harvey, because Diana wasn’t a fan. (We know.)

Read on to find out what happened—and whether Diana ever embarked on a puppy-redemption arc.

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Was Princess Diana a dog person?

Apparently not! Diana grew up at Park House, Sandringham, and later Althorp in Northamptonshire, in the English Midlands, surrounded by animals, but dogs weren’t her favorites. Instead, the late Princess of Wales adored horses. As a 14-year-old, she fell in love with her pony Scuffle. Later, she took riding lessons and could often be spotted supporting Prince Charles at polo matches and cheering on the riders at the Royal Ascot races.

Diana also had a favorite childhood cat named Marmalade, who made an appearance in a family portrait by Polish artist Aniela Pawlikowska. And while we don’t want to get too morbid, the island in the middle of the Oval Lake at Althorp, where Diana was buried after her tragic car accident, was a former cemetery for family pets, including Marmalade.

Why didn’t Diana like Harvey?

According to royal insiders, the Princess of Wales thought Charles’s beloved dog was “smelly.” The Lab had come into Charles’s life in the late 1970s, before Diana herself, and had frequently accompanied him on fishing trips. However, three years into their marriage, Diana reportedly insisted that Harvey should leave the royal household.

Considering how much of a dog person Charles is—he welcomed his latest puppy, Snuff, an adorable Lagotto Romagnolo, in 2025—we can’t imagine how heartbroken he must have been to say goodbye to his buddy. In the letter that has now become public, he described Harvey as “a splendid character” that made him “laugh so much by his dotty antics.”

What happened to Harvey?

When Diana insisted on getting rid of Harvey, Charles made sure he went to the best possible new home. In 1984, he gave Harvey to Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Creasy, the comptroller of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the time, and his wife.

Sadly, the dog had to be put to sleep in December 1987. Mourning his “loyal old friend,” Charles said in the letter that Creasy was “absolutely right to take the decision … although it is always a desperate one to have to take.” He then added that he was “so pleased” Harvey’s new family “loved him so much” and thanked his employee for his “great kindness in agreeing to look after him and for giving him such a happy retirement away from those damp kennels.”

Did this cause tension between the couple?

Well, nobody has (yet) spilled the beans about whether the Harvey situation caused another rift between the already-troubled pair, but we think it’s safe to say that Charles wasn’t thrilled about giving away his beloved dog. After all, he was (and still is) a huge dog lover. But as we know, the royals tend to keep their disagreements behind closed doors whenever possible, so we may never know what actually happened before Charles gave in.

Did Diana ever come around and become a dog person?

Surprisingly, yes! Diana and Charles later welcomed two Jack Russell terriers, Tigger and Roo, to the family. And, according to Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell, both William and Harry were “eager to play” with them as kids. Burrell also revealed that Diana remained a dog person even after her divorce from Charles. She reportedly planned to buy a golden Lab in the summer of 1997, but sadly, this never happened, and then she died on Aug. 31 of that year.

Does Charles have dogs now?

Yes, Charles and Camilla are huge dog lovers, just like Queen Elizabeth II (remember her famous corgis?) and currently have three of them. Camilla, a longtime ambassador and patron of the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London, adopted two Jack Russells from the organization in 2017—Bluebell and Beth, who were famously featured on Camilla’s coronation gown.

Sadly, Beth passed away in November 2024, but Camilla adopted a mixed breed named Moley from the same rescue in November 2025. And then there’s Snuff, Charles’s first dog in more than 20 years, who joined the family in 2025 as well. Unlike the others, the pup was a private gift, not a rescue dog. The king was reportedly “besotted” with the Lagotto Romagnolo, and they both share a love for mushroom foraging. It sounds like true (puppy) love!

Sources:

• Telegraph: “King mourns ‘loyal old’ Labrador in 40-year-old letter”
• The Standard: “Beth and Bluebell are the new dogs of Buckingham Palace”
• Vogue Australia: “Princess Diana’s childhood home is opening to the public”
• Chicago Tribune: “Isle where Diana is buried was family’s pet cemetery”
• Town & Country: “Photos of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, and more royal family members hanging out with horses”
• Metro: “King Charles gets first new dog in 20 years – and they have ‘a lot in common'”

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We’re used to hearing about stolen credit card numbers and hacked bank accounts, but this type of breach could create a whole different set of problems. That’s because the very detailed information on your driver’s license could give criminals another piece of the puzzle they need to impersonate you or target you with scams.

So what happened, who may be affected and what should you do if your information was exposed? Read on for everything you need to know about the breach and how to check if you’re on the list.

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What happened, exactly?

An insurance company called AssuranceAmerica was hit by a cyberattack, and it wasn’t just a handful of customer records that were exposed—we’re talking about nearly 7 million people. The breach actually happened back in March, but the details are only now becoming public, which is why we’re all suddenly hearing about it.

According to the company, hackers got into its systems after targeting an employee and were able to copy customer files. Those files reportedly included everything from insurance policy and claims information to driver details and—yes—driver’s license numbers. The good news? There haven’t been any public reports that the stolen information has been misused so far. But identity thieves are known for playing the long game, so this is definitely one of those “better safe than sorry” situations.

Which states are affected?

If you’ve ever had auto or renters insurance through AssuranceAmerica, now’s the time to double-check where you stand. The company writes policies in these 12 states:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Florida
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Nebraska
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia

What kind of info is on your driver’s license—and what can scammers do with it?

There’s a surprising amount of personal information on that little card. Along with your photo, your driver’s license usually includes your full name, address, birthday, driver’s license number and other details that help prove your identity.

That’s why this kind of breach can be more of a headache than a stolen credit card. If someone gets your credit card number, you cancel it and move on. Your driver’s license is a different story. Scammers can more easily use that information—especially when it’s combined with other personal data from a breach—to open accounts in your name, create fake IDs, change your mailing address or pull off other identity-theft scams.

What should you do now?

If you had a policy with AssuranceAmerica, keep an eye on your mailbox. The company says it started sending notification letters to affected customers on July 10. But even if you never get one, it’s still smart to take a few precautions if the company has your information.

Start by freezing your credit and setting up fraud alerts if you haven’t already. Then keep a closer-than-usual eye on your bank accounts and credit reports for anything that doesn’t look right. Since your driver’s license number may have been exposed, you might want to request your driving record and even run a background check on yourself. It might sound over the top, but it’s one of the quickest ways to catch if someone is using your identity before a small problem turns into a much bigger one.

And if you do find evidence that your license information has been misused, contact your state’s DMV right away. Depending on where you live, you might be able to get a new license number.

Sources:

• TechCrunch: “Another Massive Data Breach Exposed Millions of Driver’s License Numbers”
• Consumer Reports: “What Information Is Available When Someone Scans My Driver’s License?”

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According to Expedia’s new 2026 Destinations of the Summer report, a handful of U.S. destinations deserve a spot on your travel radar this season. The list features everything from sunny beach escapes and outdoor-adventure hubs to charming smaller cities. And if you’re hoping to keep things easy with a road trip or a quick flight, you’re in luck—Expedia found that domestic destinations within driving distance or a short hop on a plane are the places travelers are flocking to this summer.

Read on to see which destination claimed the No. 1 spot and why it should be on your list too.

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How did the report determine the best summer travel destinations in the U.S.?

It wasn’t just a matter of picking a few pretty vacation spots. Expedia looked at where interest is surging the most by comparing accommodation searches for trips between May 22 and Aug. 31, 2026, with the same summer travel period in 2025. It also dug into social media conversations to see which U.S. destinations everyone has been talking about this year.

To round things out, Expedia partnered with the market research firm OnePoll, which surveyed 11,000 travelers across nine countries about their vacation habits. The result? A snapshot of the U.S. destinations that are generating the most excitement and bookings for summer 2026.

What is the No. 1 summer travel destination for 2026?

Drumroll, please … it’s St. George, Utah. The desert city took the top spot after seeing the biggest jump in accommodation searches compared to last year—by 125% percent, to be exact.

While many visitors use the city as a jumping-off point for nearby Zion National Park, St. George has plenty of reasons to stick around. Think: scenic hiking trails, dramatic desert views, golf courses surrounded by stunning landscapes and a growing food scene. Plus, you can spend the morning exploring red-rock trails—all without the crowds (or price tags) of some of the West’s bigger vacation hot spots.

What are the best things to do in St. George, Utah?

I’ve never visited St. George, but after visiting Moab, I understand why southern Utah has such a loyal fan club. Between the towering red-rock arches and dramatic canyon views, it feels like stepping onto another planet. (No wonder NASA tests its space rovers and trains its astronauts in the Utah desert.)

Like Moab, St. George gives you plenty to explore without having to spend your entire trip in the car. Start with Snow Canyon State Park, where fiery red cliffs, ancient lava flows, petrified sand dunes and scenic trails make it feel like a mini desert right outside town. For an easy adventure with a big payoff, head to Pioneer Park and Dixie Rock, where you can scramble around the red rocks and take in sweeping views of St. George.

Want to cool off after a day of hiking? You can swim, kayak or relax at Sand Hollow State Park. Then, explore Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, where trails lead through colorful rock formations and peaceful landscapes that showcase exactly why this part of Utah is so unforgettable.

What are the other best summer destinations in the U.S.?

If St. George, Utah, isn’t on your summer bucket list (yet), there are plenty of other destinations Expedia says should be on your radar. Here are the other U.S. destinations that earned top billing on Expedia’s report.

Tacoma, Washington

Located just south of Seattle, Tacoma makes a great home base for exploring some of the Pacific Northwest’s most jaw-dropping scenery. If you love basking in the outdoors, you can easily make the drive to Mount Rainier National Park for hikes surrounded by wildflowers and glacier views. Or head to Olympic National Park for rugged coastlines, forests and waterfalls. Don’t miss spots like Point Defiance Park, a waterfront escape with trails and views of Puget Sound, and the Museum of Glass for a dose of the city’s creative side. The closest major airport is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), about a 30-minute drive away.

Asheville, North Carolina

Asheville is the kind of place where you can spend the morning chasing mountain views and the afternoon hopping between breweries. Take in the scenery along the Blue Ridge Parkway, or explore the sprawling gardens and architecture of the Biltmore Estate, America’s largest home. When you’re ready to eat and drink your way through town, Asheville’s River Arts District and lively downtown are filled with local restaurants, craft breweries and plenty of personality. Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) makes getting there easy.

Bradenton, Florida

If your ideal summer trip involves sunshine, water and a slower pace, Bradenton checks all the boxes. This Gulf Coast city is the gateway to Anna Maria Island, where you’ll find sugary beaches, turquoise water and old-Florida charm. Spend the day relaxing at Coquina Beach or explore the natural beauty of Robinson Preserve, where trails and waterways make it a favorite for kayaking and wildlife spotting. The closest airport is Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), which is only a short drive away.

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the definition of a classic California beach getaway, with a laid-back surf scene, ocean views and loads of nostalgic charm. Spend the day riding the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, then watch surfers catch waves at Steamer Lane, one of the city’s most iconic surf spots. For a quieter side of town, take a stroll through Natural Bridges State Beach, known for its dramatic coastal views and tide pools. The closest airport is San Jose International Airport (SJC), about a 45-minute drive away.

Siesta Key, Florida

Famous for its powdery white-quartz sand, Siesta Key feels like the kind of beach destination made for doing absolutely nothing—and enjoying every minute of it. Spend your days swimming in the clear Gulf waters at Siesta Beach, or explore the nearby Turtle Beach area for a more relaxed vibe. When the sun starts setting, head to Siesta Key Village for restaurants, live music and a classic beach-town atmosphere. Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) is the closest airport.

Truckee, California

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ adventure? Truckee is the best year-round basecamp for Lake Tahoe, where outdoor activities are practically endless. In summer, hike trails around Donner Lake, spend the day swimming or kayaking at Lake Tahoe, or explore the charming historic downtown filled with local shops and restaurants. The closest major airport is Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), about a 45-minute drive away.

Bozeman, Montana

Bozeman is the kind of destination that makes you want to spend as much time outside as possible. It’s a popular jumping-off point for Yellowstone National Park. Closer to town, hike the scenic trails at Hyalite Canyon, or stroll through downtown Bozeman’s restaurants, breweries and boutiques. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN) is conveniently located just outside the city.

Prescott, Arizona

Prescott offers a cooler, more unexpected side of Arizona with pine forests and mountain views. Take a walk around Watson Lake, known for its unique granite boulders and bright blue water, or explore Thumb Butte, one of the area’s most recognizable landmarks with panoramic views from the top. The closest airport is Prescott Regional Airport (PRC), though you can also fly into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and make the drive.

Providence, Rhode Island

This New England city blends historic charm with a surprisingly lively arts and food scene. Take a walk along the Providence Riverwalk, catch the city’s famous WaterFire event or explore the colorful streets of the College Hill neighborhood near Brown University. Consider yourself a foodie? Check out Federal Hill, known for its Italian restaurants and local favorites. The closest airport is Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD), just minutes from downtown.

Sources:

• Expedia: “Where to Travel This Summer: Closer-to-Home Getaways Dominate Expedia’s Destinations of the Summer List”

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While many of us reach for classic favorites like juicy burgers and all-American hot dogs, you might be surprised to learn that grilling tastes vary from state to state. According to a recent study from Innerbody, Americans aren’t all putting the same foods on their grills. Some places can’t get enough of chicken wings, others fire up the grill for carne asada and some even have a surprising love for grilled onion rings (which, honestly, might need to make their way onto my next cookout menu).

Read on for the most popular grilled food in every state, and see if your go-to grill order made the list.

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How did this report determine the most popular grilled food in every state?

To uncover America’s favorite grilled foods, Innerbody analyzed Google Trends search data from the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The team started with a huge list of grilling favorites and looked at searches like “grilled rib eye” and “how long to grill corn” to make sure the results captured true grilling interest—not just general food cravings.

From there, they narrowed down the list to 57 popular grilled foods across categories like beef, chicken, pork, seafood, fruits and vegetables to find each state’s top pick.

What is the most popular grilled food in each state?

Not every state is known for burgers! Here’s what Americans are slapping on the grill.

• Alabama: Chicken wings
• Alaska: Flank steak
• Arizona: Carne asada
• Arkansas: Burgers
• California: Tri-tip
• Colorado: Rib-eye steak
• Connecticut: Cod
• Delaware: New York strip
• Florida: Chicken wings
• Georgia: Porterhouse
• Hawaii: Shrimp
• Idaho: Pineapple
• Illinois: Skirt steak
• Indiana: Chicken breast
• Iowa: Chicken breast
• Kansas: Mushrooms
• Kentucky: Peppers
• Louisiana: Tuna steak
• Maine: Sausage
• Maryland: Flank steak
• Massachusetts: Sausage
• Michigan: Burgers
• Minnesota: Green beans
• Mississippi: Chicken wings
• Missouri: Chicken wings
• Montana: Rib-eye steak
• Nebraska: Zucchini
• Nevada: Tri-tip
• New Hampshire: Sausage
• New Jersey: Filet mignon
• New Mexico: Rib-eye steak
• New York: Skirt steak
• North Carolina: Hot dogs
• North Dakota: Burgers
• Ohio: Chicken breast
• Oklahoma: Chicken legs
• Oregon: Flank steak
• Pennsylvania: Hot dogs
• Rhode Island: Cod
• South Carolina: Oysters
• South Dakota: Zucchini
• Tennessee: Chicken wings
• Texas: Onions
• Utah: Carne asada
• Vermont: Sausage
• Virginia: Tuna steak
• Washington: Flank steak
• West Virginia: Eggplant
• Wisconsin: Burgers
• Wyoming: Steak

Was there a clear winner across the country?

While burgers ranked No. 1 nationwide as the top grilled food of interest, steak stole the spotlight across much of the country. The study found that 17 states preferred a steak cut over any other grilled food, showing that plenty of Americans crave a perfectly grilled piece of beef.

Following close behind were chicken breasts, highlighting Americans’ continued love for another classic grilling favorite. Seafood fans also made their preferences known, with shrimp and lobster emerging as the top grilled seafood choices, while corn claimed the top spot among produce.

What states love grilling the most?

Minnesota came in first for the biggest grilling fans in the country, followed by Wisconsin and South Carolina. Minnesota’s love for the grill might come as a surprise to some, but the state is known for its outdoorsy vibes during warm-weather months.

Neighboring Wisconsin’s strong showing also makes sense, with its famous love for backyard cookouts and bratwurst. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s spot on the list may be tied to its deep barbecue traditions, where slow-cooked meats and outdoor cooking are woven into the state’s food culture.

Were there any big surprises?

Yes, quite a few! The biggest surprise was seeing pineapple on this list as the sole grilled fruit. I’ll admit, I’ve never thought to throw pineapple on the grill, but its natural sweetness and juicy texture apparently make a smoky, caramelized flavor combination that’s hard to resist.

Corn also made a major splash this grilling season. After analyzing search data from the three weeks leading into summer, Innerbody found that corn was the fastest-rising grilled food in 23 states, including California, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But perhaps the most unexpected finding was that Texas—a state famous for barbecue and meat—ranked among the states with the least grilling interest. Plus, grilled onions took the top spot there! Who would have guessed?!

Source:

• Innerbody.com: “What’s on the Grill? America’s Top Grilled Foods”

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Oh, yes, it is. Since its June 18 launch on Netflix, the eight-episode series has become the TV smash of the summer, with more than 60 million viewers worldwide (and counting) hooked on the drama. Worthington stars as David Burroughs, a man languishing in prison for the murder of his young son. When David receives evidence that his boy may still be alive, he embarks on a prison break and goes on a quest to find him. No spoilers … except to say that the climactic reveal is a Reddit thread–worthy stunner.

“I’m your twists-and-turns guy,” says Coben, an executive producer on the show. “I love to play with your expectations and make you guess. But in many ways, it’s not necessarily about the cliff-hanger—it’s about the other side of that cliff-hanger, because we’ve seen all the shows where you can tell what’s going to happen next. I want you to trust me and see how it’s all going to work out.”

I Will Find You marks the author’s 13th project with Netflix since 2018. The list also includes Fool Me Once, Missing You, The Stranger and Run Away, while an adaptation chronicling his sports agent/investigator character Myron Bolitar recently started production in New York City. The appeal is no mystery: Coben’s twist-packed novels are usually built around ordinary people whose lives become upended because of a big secret. “Suspense is making you want to turn the page or click to the next episode,” he says. “I hope my books and shows deliver that.”

Coben, who’s currently working on his next novel, takes us down the dark and windy path of his writing process, what he loves in a book and why I Will Find You became the surprise hit of the summer. Read on to find out why we’re completely hooked.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Reader’s Digest: Of all your book-to-screen adaptations, why do you think I Will Find You, in particular, has drawn such a huge and rabid audience?

Harlan Coben: It has the thrills that people want, especially the gasping twist at the end of Episode 7. But what separates this one is the heart—you’re really with Sam Worthington as he searches for his child. A lot of us empathize with his pain. What if we had this second chance? We all want to protect our children, and I think that resonates.

Reader’s Digest: What kind of feedback have you been receiving?

Harlan Coben: People are genuinely moved, and I’m thrilled by that. I’ve gotten a lot of messages that people were crying and really welling up happily with tears at the end. That makes me very happy.

Reader’s Digest: In general, what makes a Harlan Coben story work so well on the screen?

Harlan Coben: You have the twists and turns, but I do I think it’s the heart, because you end up caring about the people. It’s like I bought the most expensive car in the world, but if it doesn’t have gasoline in it or electricity powering it up, it’s not going anywhere. In I Will Find You, you really care about the characters that Sam and Britt [Lower] and even Milo [Ventimiglia] played.

Reader’s Digest: How hands-on are you as an executive producer? What are you doing behind the scenes?

Harlan Coben: I’m very heavily involved in all aspects of all the production. I was rewriting the scripts and worked with the casting director for I Will Find You. I had meetings with all the major cast members before they took their roles. But when I got to the set and saw this cast and crew, I just looked around and thought, Man, I had this little idea in my house in New Jersey, and now all these wonderful people are going to bring it to life and it’s going to be sent out to the world. That feeling never gets old, you know?

Reader’s Digest: Let’s talk about writing. What’s the biggest misconception about the process of writing a juicy nail-biter?

Harlan Coben: Literally, everything. My next book, which comes out in early September, is called Plot Twist: Life, Craft and the Messy First Draft. It’s a memoir on writing, life, craft and message. I take on all of the sacred cows of writing and say why it’s wrong to get caught up in these rules. I think most people have tremendous misconceptions of how it all works. Writing is messy, and things bleed. There’s no neat formula in the process of writing a story—and if there is one, I haven’t found it.

Reader’s Digest: How do you know when you’ve nailed the right twist?

Harlan Coben: Oh, you don’t. A lot of it is just trial and error. For I Will Find You, the first thing I came up with is the concept. I wanted to write a book that started in the darkest place imaginable. David is a nightmare scenario. He feels that he’s failed as a father but now has a chance at redemption. Then I have to know the answer to the last twist before I start. It takes a long time, but I know the ending before I start the first word.

Reader’s Digest: You know the end in advance for your other books too?

Harlan Coben: Yes, I always know the ending before I start a book. But sometimes I’ve changed the ending a little bit for Netflix, just to mess with the people who have read the book and think they know what’s going to happen.

Reader’s Digest: What’s the difference between a satisfying twist and a shocking one?

Harlan Coben: I’m aiming for both, usually. If I feel the emotional resonance, that’s usually the sign I’ve done it right. You want to surprise but also play with the emotion. Otherwise, the story isn’t going to work and people won’t be telling their friends about it.

Reader’s Digest: Which one of your books really stuck the landing? Do you have a favorite?

Harlan Coben: The answer always changes, because every day, I have love-hate relationships with my books. I really do think I Will Find You has one of the better twists and endings. Run Away also has a number of big twists that no one sees coming. Those are two of my favorites, but I could change my mind tomorrow.

Reader’s Digest: What books are on your nightstand right now?

Harlan Coben: I’m reading two right now, which is unusual for me. Usually, I like one at a time. Michael Connelly is a longtime friend and one of my favorite writers, and I have his new novel, Ironwood. I’m also reading Lena Dunham’s memoir, Famesick. My daughter told me I would like it, and when my kids recommend something, I almost always have to check it out.

Reader’s Digest: Why do thrillers make such great summer reads?

Harlan Coben: I don’t think they make good summer reads; they make good reads, in general. I don’t look at thriller or mystery as a genre because within the form, I can do anything. I Will Find You is a story about fathers and sons. I’ve done redemption, I’ve done loss, I’ve done love, I’ve done family. You still have to remember to tell a story. If you name your favorite five novels from the past 100 years, I guarantee at least four will have a crime in them. So I’m following in a rich tradition.

Reader’s Digest: Given your impressive writing speed, will you go back to your laptop as soon as you’re done with this interview?

Harlan Coben: Oh, man. I know this sounds crazy, but I always feel behind. Right now, I’m working on my next novel, which is going to be another stand-alone thriller. Hopefully I will start writing as soon as we’re done. I need to be further along on it!

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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

Source:

• Variety: “How Harlan Coben and Netflix Found Record-Breaking Success Together—and What Comes Next for Their Mystery-Thriller Universe”

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The post EXCLUSIVE! Author Harlan Coben Reveals Why We’re Obsessed with Netflix’s <i>I Will Find You</i>—And the Secret to the Perfect Plot Twist appeared first on Reader's Digest.

But there’s one other thing I do that saves me major money, and it couldn’t be simpler. It’s something that I learned from more than a decade working at a major food-testing laboratory, but according to a new survey by NetCredit, not a whole lot of my fellow Americans are doing the same. And it turns out it’s costing the average person more than $700 a year.

Interested in keeping your hard-earned cash? I thought so. Read on to learn how to reduce your family’s grocery bill—potentially by thousands of dollars—and help your community and the planet while you’re at it.

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What common mistake could be costing you big bucks?

Americans are literally throwing perfectly good food straight into the garbage—and it’s happening in large part because we misunderstand the “best by,” “use by” and other stamped dates on our packaged food. That thing I do that other Americans don’t? I don’t automatically throw food away just because the date passed.

According to NetCredit’s survey, which combined EPA food-waste data with more than 2,000 respondents’ beliefs, nearly three-quarters of Americans (and an incredible 88% of Gen Z) think these dates tell them when food is no longer safe to eat. As someone who worked in this industry for years, I can assure you that this is not the case.

Hold on—what do these labels really mean?

You’re right to be confused. One of the most common questions we fielded at the lab was about dates on food. Of course this makes sense, because who wants to roll the dice on food poisoning when you’re not sure something is good?

But rest assured that most dates stamped on food packages have nothing to do with safety, and they’re often not required by federal law (the one exception is infant formula, which you should not use after the date). Here’s what the labels actually mean:

• Best if used by or before: A best-by date is a quality indicator, not a safety one. After this date, the product might not be at its freshest, crispest or most flavorful.
• Sell by: This date is an inventory-management code for stores so they know how long to keep the product on the shelves before swapping it out for newer items.
• Use by: Manufacturers stamp this date on food to tell you when they think the product will taste best. Unless it’s infant formula, this date has nothing to do with safety.
• Freeze by: Meats and other commonly frozen foods often have this date on the label. Freezing food by this date will preserve the food at its peak quality, but it’s not an expiration date.

So when should you throw food away?

Don’t go by the label—instead, go with your own senses and recommended food-storage guidelines.

Food stored at proper temperatures (under 40 degrees in the fridge, or in the freezer) will typically be safe after the date on the package unless there are spoilage indicators like bad odors, textures or tastes. Bread gets moldy, meat gets slimy and milk starts to smell funny due to the presence of spoilage organisms like yeasts, molds and bacteria.

One important note: Common foodborne pathogens, like listeria and salmonella, cannot be seen by the naked eye and do not typically change the quality of the food. To prevent pathogenic bacteria from multiplying, it’s important to cook foods thoroughly and store meat and prepared foods in the fridge for a limited amount of time before eating or freezing.

Which foods are people losing the most money on?

Bread is the big winner (loser?) here. According to NetCredit’s survey, Americans throw out nearly a quarter (22.7%) of the bread they bring home. Right behind bread is lettuce (22.6%), milk (22.4%) and chicken (21.3%). Potatoes, beef, bananas and deli meats are high on the throw-away list as well.

Interestingly, fish (16.7%) and pork (16.4%) are the two foods that are least likely to be tossed.

Which states are the worst offenders?

Utah throws away the most edible food per year, but it’s not because the Beehive State is more wasteful than any other—they simply have the biggest families. The average Utah household has 2.99 people, so the EPA’s $728-per-person finding means that Utahans could save $2,177 per year, per family, simply by throwing away less food.

California throws away slightly less food per household ($2,082), but because of the state’s enormous population (nearly 40 million people), they contribute $28.71 billion per year to America’s discarded food bill. Other high-volume food wasters—again, due to population—are Texas ($22.78 billion), Florida ($17.02 billion) and New York ($14.47 billion).

Maine comes in at the low end of the spectrum, with a household average of $1,653 in discarded edible food each year.

How else can you combat food waste and save money?

Besides taking those “best by” dates with a grain of salt and using smart storage strategies to keep food fresh longer, you can combat food waste in other ways. It starts with shopping smart.

• Only buy what you need. Instead of going to the store hungry or picking up stuff “just in case,” plan your meals for the week and only purchase items you can use within a reasonable time frame.
• Consider your family and storage options. I love Costco, but my two-person household is highly unlikely to rip through multiple pounds of fresh shrimp or chicken salad before it spoils. Make sure you have an appetite (and fridge and freezer space) for bulk buys.
• Check the label. Not because the food will go bad after the date, but because you might not be able to eat it before it finally does.
• Donate extra food. It’s perfectly OK to donate food that’s passed its expiration date—if you’ve stored it properly. (Never donate rotten food!) Look for food pantries in your area; many will take fresh produce and other perishable items.
• Compost extra food. Food is the No. 1 item taking up space in municipal landfills. As it rots, it releases massive amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas. Backyard composting is a great way to do your part for the environment.
• Do a sniff test. It bears repeating: If you reach for the milk and notice the date has passed, don’t just blindly dump it down the drain. Trust your senses.

Sources:

• EPA: “Estimating the Cost of Food Waste to American Consumers”
• NetCredit: “How Much Could Americans Save by Reducing Food Waste?”
• EPA: “Quantifying Methane Emissions from Landfilled Food Waste”
• USDA: “Keep Food Safe! Food Safety Basics”
• FoodSafety.gov: “Cold Food Storage Chart”

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In fact, just three days later, Meta hit reverse and pulled the feature altogether. But even though it’s already gone, the brief rollout revealed a lot about where Instagram—and AI—is headed next.

So what happened, how could it have affected your Facebook posts, and what does Meta’s quick U-turn mean for the future of your content on Instagram? Here’s everything you need to know.

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What did this controversial AI feature do?

If you had a public Instagram account, this feature would have applied to you. Meta briefly rolled out Muse Image alongside more than 30 new AI-powered creative tools for Stories, allowing users to generate entirely new AI images inspired by public Instagram photos and people’s likenesses.

In other words, someone could have used Meta AI to create AI-generated images based on your public content—not by copying your exact photo, but by using it as inspiration to generate something new.

And apparently, if you had a public account, you were automatically opted in unless you manually changed the setting. Yikes.

FYI, the policy was different for those who were under 18, as teen accounts have stricter privacy protections by default.

Hold on—was this even legal?

Technically, yes. Meta had updated its policies to allow certain public content to be used with its AI-powered features. Because the setting was built into Instagram’s terms and privacy controls, the company was able to automatically enable it for eligible public accounts.

What frustrated many users wasn’t just the feature itself—it was how difficult it was to find. The setting wasn’t front and center in the app. Instead, it was tucked away in Settings, under “Sharing and reuse.” Many people had no idea the option even existed until they went looking for it.

So is it safe to post again?

Yes—for now. Meta didn’t exactly slam the door shut forever. The company described the move as a rollback rather than saying the feature was gone for good, leaving the possibility that a similar AI tool could return in the future, perhaps with clearer disclosures or different controls.

What other features might you want to turn off?

Even though Meta rolled back this controversial AI feature, there are still a couple of other privacy controls worth checking.

One setting that remains available is “Allow people to create with and reuse your content” under “Sharing and reuse.” When I checked my own account, the new AI feature disappeared after Meta’s reversal—but this setting was still set to Everyone. Yep, I changed that immediately.

This option controls whether other people can use your public photos and videos in their own Reels, Stories or other creative experiences. If it’s set to Everyone, virtually any Instagram user can incorporate your public content into their own creations.

Right below it, you’ll also find “Allow people to create with and reuse your original audio on Meta AI.” If this setting is turned on, anyone can part or all of your original audio across Meta AI apps and websites. If you’d rather keep your voice, narration and original sounds from being repurposed, it’s another setting you should switch off.

Did this also affect Facebook?

Yes. Meta offers AI-related settings across both platforms. If you regularly post publicly on Facebook, it’s a good idea to review your privacy settings to understand how your content may be used.

You can check by heading to “Settings & Privacy,” then reviewing the sections related to AI features, privacy and sharing.

The bottom line: If you regularly post publicly on any Meta-owned platform, take a few minutes to review your privacy settings. You may discover options you didn’t even realize had been switched on—and that’s five minutes well spent.

Sources:

• Instagram: “New Effects in Stories from Meta AI”
• Meta: “Introducing Muse Image: Image Generation Built for Your World”

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That decision ended up shaping her entire career.

Since The Beach Club splashed onto shelves in 2000, Hilderbrand has built a remarkable 27-book universe around the picturesque Massachusetts island and turned its beaches, boutiques and close-knit community into a backdrop for irresistible drama. Now, that world is coming to life in a whole new way with the star-studded Peacock adaptation of her 2023 bestseller, The Five Star Weekend.

The narrative centers around Hollis Shaw (Jennifer Garner), a famed cook/food blogger left devastated by the sudden death of her husband. To help cope with the loss, she invites four girlfriends from each stage of her life—played by Chloë Sevigny, Regina Hall, Gemma Chan and D’Arcy Carden—to her coastal abode for a theoretically relaxing weekend. And while the eight-episode series (which premieres on July 9) is indeed an escapist confection featuring to-die-for production design, it also touches on themes of love, self-discovery and forgiveness.

“I’ve never wanted my stories to be cheesy or silly or easy-breezy, even though they’ve been called that,” says Hilderbrand. “I want them to have real things and real nuance. And The Five Star Weekend is complicated in a way that everybody can relate to.”

Hilderbrand, also an executive producer, reports that she had the “best, best, best” time during the production—especially because the entire 275-person cast and crew descended to Nantucket last fall. “There was a little pushback from the locals at first because they didn’t want anybody coming into their little village,” she recalls. “But by the end, most people were enormously delighted.”

The author was at her Nantucket home autographing tip-in sheet inserts for her upcoming novel The Thoroughbreds—co-written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham—when she hopped on Zoom to chat with Reader’s Digest. Read on for some fun behind-the-scenes details about The Five Star Weekend (including Jennifer Garner’s new Nantucket hobby), what to expect from the series, and the books that should be on your summer reading list.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Reader’s Digest: The Five Star Weekend has an amazing cast. Do you picture certain actresses when you’re writing?

Elin Hilderbrand: I almost never do that. It’s so dangerous because then you’re writing for an actress and not for the story. I would say this to anybody thinking about having their novel adapted. It is always better to write for the book and let the actors fit into the narrative rather than write for the actors and have the narrative fit them.

Reader’s Digest: Jennifer Garner didn’t even cross your mind? Really?

Elin Hilderbrand: I was thinking of an Ina Garten type, because her fans feel like they’re in good hands with her in the kitchen. But she’s older than Hollis. And Hollis is a blonde. She looks a little bit like me.

Reader’s Digest: Was Jennifer Garner a regular presence around town?

Elin Hilderbrand: She threw herself into life on Nantucket. She went to hot yoga, she went to church, she went to the shops and boutiques. And she didn’t just shop! There’s a store called Nantucket Looms, and they weave blankets. She learned how to use the loom and wove a blanket. Then she ended up buying her Christmas gifts from Nantucket Looms—that’s an enormous boost to a small female-run business. She also went out on a sailing charter called the Endeavor, and she learned how to hoist the sails. She was very hands-on.

Reader’s Digest: Let’s hear the funniest story from the cast’s time on location.

Elin Hilderbrand: The night that they wrapped, the five lead actresses went out for a cast-only dinner. Then they went to this bar called the Gaslight that has live music and karaoke. So they stood up and did karaoke with a local tour guide. He had no idea who they were, and it was hilarious! The story was all over the Nantucket news, and it left everybody with a really good feeling.

Reader’s Digest: What was your reaction after you watched the whole series?

Elin Hilderbrand: I was amazed. I’ve watched all eight episodes multiple times. I think my favorite episode is Episode 4. That’s the spa episode, which is very ironic because we don’t have a day spa on Nantucket like that. That was fully a creation by our showrunner, Bekah Bruntstetter. But it’s so funny and poignant and memorable. And Episodes 7 and 8 are so heart-wrenching. I could not have asked for a more thoughtful, intentional and yet delicious and fun adaptation.

Reader’s Digest: What does this story say about female friendship at this stage in life?

Elin Hilderbrand: This show is made by women, starring women, about women and for women. So everybody brought their deep and wide experience with friendship—that goes from when we’re little girls on the playground all the way up through high school and then into college and then with our mom friends. It’s hardest to meet new friends when you’re in middle age because the kids are grown and maybe you work from home. That’s why we included the Gigi character (played by Chan). But female friendship is so varied and complicated, and I think that’s true in the show too. Everybody can relate.

Reader’s Digest: In your expert opinion, what kind of book makes for a good summer read?

Elin Hilderbrand: I mean, I’ve written 27 novels all set at the ultimate summer resort, right? We have this adorable, historically preserved downtown, and then we have 50 miles of pristine beach. When people come here, they’re coming for the quaintness. They want to stroll the cobblestones and go to a lovely dinner and eat the seafood. The experience can’t really be described, though I’ve tried, like, 30 times.

So l do like describing my novels as summer books. But I believe that any book can be a summer book—as long as it has a propulsive plot, it moves along and you’re invested in the characters. I personally don’t like anything that’s overly cerebral or heavy or dark, although I know lots of people who love really dark psychological thrillers at the beach. To each their own.

Reader’s Digest: Do you have an all-time favorite?

Elin Hilderbrand: I do. It’s The Vacationers by Emma Straub. It was one of her first books. I fell in love with her then. We’re dear friends now. I love her so much. The Vacationers is about this family in complete disarray, and they go away to Mallorca. It’s so funny and smart. You feel like you’re on vacation with this family.

Reader’s Digest: What are you reading right now?

Elin Hilderbrand: I read all the time—by which I mean I always have a book within arm’s range. See? I’m reading Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong. It is so good. I’m leaving for Los Angeles tomorrow and was trying to finish it before I got on the plane. I have another book packed in my bag that I will read in the airport and on the plane. I always make time during my workday to read because I think reading really good books is one way to become a better writer. Then I will also read before I go to bed. I try not to go on my phone. It’s just bad for you.

Reader’s Digest: Does that mean you don’t have a favorite reading spot?

Elin Hilderbrand: Every spot is my spot. The bed, the beach, the car when I go to the dentist. In L.A., I have an interview that is a 30-minute ride from my hotel, and I intentionally packed a purse that is big enough to accommodate my paperback book because I am not sitting in that Uber on my phone.

Reader’s Digest: You’ve retired from Nantucket-set books, but you’re still writing. Talk about the series with your daughter.

Elin Hilderbrand: So last year, I wrote a novel with my daughter called The Academy. It follows a group of students at a New England boarding school. She went to a very fancy and snobby New England boarding school. I went to public school. So we wrote it together. We have a sequel coming out in September called The Thoroughbreds. Right now, we’re both autographing 18,000 tip-in sheets that my publisher will insert into the books. It’s easier than signing 18,000 books.

Reader’s Digest: You don’t sign books?!

Elin Hilderbrand: I’m at the point where there are too many things going on for me to do it. Signing 18,000 books is not right!

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At Reader’s Digest, we’re committed to producing high-quality content by writers with expertise and experience in their field in consultation with relevant, qualified experts. We rely on reputable primary sources, including government and professional organizations and academic institutions as well as our writers’ personal experiences where appropriate. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.

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The post EXCLUSIVE! Author Elin Hilderbrand Dishes on the Buzzy Adaptation of <i>The Five Star Weekend</i> and This Summer’s Best Beach Reads appeared first on Reader's Digest.

And the numbers back it up. While consumer prices have risen about 30% over the past decade, Chick-fil-A menu prices have increased by an average of 57% since 2014. That’s why one dad’s order has everyone talking: He managed to feed his family of five for under $25. Yes, you read that right—under $25! It sounds almost impossible these days, but his simple ordering strategy is something any family (or group of friends) can try.

Read on to see how he did it and how it could save you money on your next Chick-fil-A run.

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What is this Chick-fil-A ordering hack?

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A post shared by Jeff Johnson (@jeffejohnson)

Instead of ordering five separate chicken sandwiches, Jeff Johnson came up with a simple way to stretch his Chick-fil-A order: He bought a 30-count order of Chick-fil-A nuggets for just over $17 and buttered buns for 25 cents apiece ($1.25 total, for himself, his wife and their three kids). Then, the family turned the nuggets into their own Chick-fil-A-style chicken sandwiches. Each person had the chance to add as many nuggets to their buns as they liked, creating a sandwich that’s surprisingly similar to the classic Chick-fil-A order.

Double-checking your mental math? Yes, those makeshift sandwiches cost them less than $20.

Pro tip: To make them taste even more like the real deal, you can add a side of Chick-fil-A sauce for just 25 cents per packet. You’re welcome!

How much would it normally cost to feed a family of five at Chick-fil-A?

Johnson spent around $18.25 for his chicken sandwiches, but if he had purchased them individually, they would have cost around $5 to $6 apiece, depending on the restaurant’s location. That would have put him in the neighborhood of $25 to $30—before adding sauces, sides and drinks. So Johnson’s hack saved him—and could save you—roughly between $7 and $12 (again, depending on where you live).

If you use fewer nuggets for your sandwich, you could stretch those savings even further. It depends on how big your family members like their sandwiches—and how hungry everyone is!

How much extra would the meal cost with sides?

Of course, most people aren’t stopping at just the sandwich or the nuggets. Once you start adding Chick-fil-A’s famous waffle fries and a drink for everyone, the bill can climb pretty quickly.

Waffle fries usually cost between $3 to $4, depending on whether you get a medium or large order. So that could add another $15 to $20 to your order. Drinks for each person could add another $2 to $3.50, so that’s an additional $10 to $17.50. Don’t worry—we’ll do the math for you. You’re basically looking at about $50 to $70 for your entire Chick-fil-A order. (And in case you were wondering, a combo meal with the sandwich, fries and drinks for five people is equally pricey, as Johnson notes when referring to the $45 or so he’d normally spend.)

Our suggestion? Get two or three sides and drinks and split ’em up! You’re already getting scrappy, so keep it going to extend the savings. Because let’s be honest—who’s not ordering fries at Chick-fil-A? And that shared order will still land you under the $25 mark.

What are people saying?

Johnson’s video earned more than 23,000 likes and plenty of comments, with parents chiming in about their own fast-food hacks. Some people said they’d already been doing the same thing for years. One commenter wrote, “My husband does this (gets a smaller nugget count for just him) if he ever has to go out for lunch for work and it’s awesome.” Another shared, “My mom did this in the ’90s.”

For families trying to stretch their dining-out budget, many agreed it’s one of those ideas that’s so simple, you can’t help but wonder why you didn’t think of it first.

Sources:

• Instagram: @jeffejohnson
• The Street: “Chick-fil-A Keeps Quietly Raising Prices”
• U.S. Bureau of Statistics: “Consumer Price Index”

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As we stood amid the coal-black volcanic landscape snapping photos and watching lightning flash in the distance, several women’s long hair suddenly began to stand on end, reminding me of those mad-scientist Van de Graaff electrostatic generators that always got laughs in high school physics class. This was Mother Nature’s not-so-amusing way of warning us of the very real danger that lightning could strike nearby. Our guide rushed us back into the truck for safety, and we descended the volcano as the storm rolled through.

The experience really got me wondering: If our truck could shield us from dangerous lightning on the surface of a volcano, just how safe would I be aboard an airplane traveling tens of thousands of feet above Earth in unstable air, surrounded by storm clouds—and what would happen if lightning struck that plane mid-flight?

To find out the answer (and to proactively put my mind at ease for my next air travel involving bad weather), I spoke with Daniel Bubb, PhD, a former pilot and the author of Landing in Las Vegas: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Tourist City. Keep reading to find out just how worried he says passengers should be when flying in and around storms.

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Could lightning hit an airplane?

Yes. Lightning strikes on planes can happen because aircraft must regularly fly near or through thunderstorm systems, where the air is charged. When a plane enters these regions, it can briefly disturb the electric field, making it easier for electricity to jump to the aircraft as lightning instead of passing through the less conducive surrounding air.

Airbus notes that in-service aircraft are struck by lightning about once per year, which works out, on average, to roughly once every 3,000 flight hours, according to the company. To put that into perspective, a plane would need to make about 250 round trips between New York City and Los Angeles (at 12 hours each trip) before it would statistically get hit.

How dangerous is this?

Even when lightning makes direct contact with a plane, it usually has extremely limited impact on the aircraft and no effect on passengers. “Passenger planes are designed to mimic a Faraday cage, which acts as a receptor to absorb the electricity,” Bubb explains.

In practice, a metal structure—such as the 4×4 truck on my trip to the volcano or the body of an airplane—conducts electricity along its outer shell, allowing the current to travel across the exterior surface before safely exiting rather than passing through the cabin and the people inside.

That same principle also explains why an airplane passenger touching something metal inside the cabin, such as a seat frame, would still be safe in the event of a lightning strike. The aircraft’s structure conducts the electrical current primarily along its metal skin, while the inside of the aircraft remains electrically balanced, so electricity won’t flow through it. Imagine lightning as water from a faucet and a plane as a sealed tin can under its stream. The outside may get wet, but everything inside stays dry.

When can lightning be a bigger problem?

“It is rare, but the electricity from the lightning can interfere with the avionics and instruments,” Bubb says. “That would prevent the pilots from being able to talk to air-traffic controllers and use certain cockpit systems.”

Thankfully, there are numerous backup instruments and system redundancies built into planes to avoid scenarios like this. “I think the biggest misconception people have about airplanes that get hit by lightning is that they will explode, or the engines will fail, and the airplane will fall out of the sky,” says Bubb. “I attribute part of this to Hollywood movies. The likelihood of that happening is zero.”

Do airline pilots take any particular precautions to avoid lightning strikes?

Pilots always take precautions when it comes to severe weather. “We do not know the severity of a thunderstorm until we enter one, which is why we try to avoid them,” Bubb says. He adds that despite pre-departure weather briefings and helpful cockpit radar instruments, “lightning can hit a passenger plane during any phase of flight.”

In the rare event lightning does do damage to the airplane—which is designed to withstand such strikes—the pilot would follow standard protocol by flying the airplane away from the thunderstorm and landing at the nearest airport.

What should you do if your plane has been hit by lightning?

If your plane is ever struck by lightning, you might see a flash and feel a bump—but that’s usually about it. In such cases, Bubb advises, “stay calm, because even though it might be startling, the plane is safe, and the pilots are well qualified to handle any issues that might arise because of the lightning.”

And if you’re worried your aircraft was damaged in a past electrical storm? Don’t be. “If an airplane is struck by lightning, a mechanic will inspect it to see if there is any damage before the airplane reenters service,” Bubb says. Airbus, for example, has guidelines that include multiphase post-lightning-strike surface and system inspections, as well as a strict maintenance process to ensure planes remain 100% safe to fly.

Sources:

• Dan Bubb, former first officer at Air Vegas Airlines, professor in residence at the University of Nevada and author of Landing in Las Vegas; email interview, June 2026
• Airbus Operations: “Lightning Strikes”

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But does leaving a fan on all day actually work? We consulted Marlon Chambers, a Thumbtack pro advisory board member and the owner of Climate Control Systems, a Maryland-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company. He’s going to set us straight on this very timely debate and strategy.

Summer heat is cranking up, so read on to learn the truth.

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Should you leave a ceiling fan on all day?

If you’re not going to be in the room, the answer is no. Despite what you might think, a ceiling fan doesn’t really cool the air. “It’s actually creating the effect of cooling on your body,” Chambers says.

Here’s why: As air moves across your skin, it speeds up the evaporation of sweat. Chambers likens it to the way moisture-wicking athletic clothing helps pull moisture away from your body. The result? You feel cooler, even though the room itself hasn’t changed temperature.

Your air conditioner works differently. Rather than cooling your body, it’s removing heat and humidity from your home. A ceiling fan can help circulate that conditioned air while you’re in the room, but by itself, it won’t turn an 80-degree room into a 75-degree one. As Chambers puts it, “Your fans are not really cooling the house. You may feel cool because the fan air is moving over you, but the temperature is what it is in the house.”

What are the issues with leaving your ceiling fan on all day?

If no one is there to enjoy the breeze, leaving the fan running comes with a few downsides.

It increases your energy bill

Ceiling fans are efficient, but they’re not free to run. Most modern ceiling fans, including Energy Star models, use roughly 15 to 100 watts of electricity, depending on size and speed. That may sound small compared with an air conditioner, but it adds up over time.

If a mid-range fan runs continuously for a month, it can consume 50 to 100-plus kilowatt-hours of electricity. That’s enough to add roughly $10 to $20 per month per fan in many U.S. homes, depending on local energy rates. Run it all summer, and you’re easily looking at the cost of a couple of takeout dinners for a room no one is in.

It can actually warm the room (slightly)

It sounds counterintuitive, but every electric motor produces heat as a by-product of doing its job. A ceiling fan won’t turn your living room into a sauna, but it does gently offset some of the cooling you’re trying to maintain.

In a closed room, that small heat output—combined with constant air movement—means the fan is not actively lowering the temperature. Instead, it’s simply redistributing air that’s already there. “There’s no such thing as cool air being created by a fan … only heat being moved around or removed by air conditioning,” says Chambers.

So while you won’t feel the difference on a thermometer, the idea that the fan is “pre-cooling” an empty room doesn’t hold up.

It adds wear and tear

Like any appliance with a motor, ceiling fans have a finite lifespan measured in operating hours. Most residential ceiling fans are designed to last around 10 to 15 years under normal use, but running them continuously accelerates that clock.

Every hour of unnecessary operation adds up: more strain on bearings, more vibration over time and a greater chance of needing maintenance or replacement sooner than expected. In other words, it’s not that the fan will fail tomorrow; it’s that you’re spending its lifespan while getting no real benefit in return.

It can stir up dust

If blades aren’t cleaned regularly, they collect particles that get redistributed every time the fan spins. That’s more than a cosmetic issue. Dust in indoor air is a known irritant, and for people with allergies or asthma, it can make symptoms worse.

Chambers emphasizes that maintenance matters. “You definitely want to keep it clean,” he says. “The dirtier the fan blade gets, it uses more power to operate that fan.” In other words, dust gets blown around and makes the motor work harder, reducing efficiency.

Chambers recommends cleaning ceiling-fan blades about once a month, or more frequently in homes with pets or high dust levels. It’s a small chore, but one that keeps both air quality and efficiency in check.

What will actually cool down your room?

A ceiling fan is still one of the best tools for staying comfortable. You just have to use it correctly.

In summer, the blades should rotate counterclockwise to push air downward. Most ceiling fans have a small switch near the motor housing that lets you reverse the blade direction with the seasons. In winter, switching the fan to a clockwise rotation at a low speed helps recirculate warm air that collects near the ceiling.

To help your air conditioner work more efficiently, Chambers also recommends blocking heat before it gets inside. Blackout curtains or shades can reduce solar heat gain during the hottest part of the day, and UV-blocking window film (available at most home-improvement stores) can help keep sunny rooms from heating up as quickly.

What else should you keep in mind about your ceiling fan?

The right fan can make a bigger difference than many homeowners realize. Chambers says people often choose smaller, decorative fans based on looks, but a fan that’s too small for the room won’t circulate air effectively. Larger spaces need longer blades that can move air across the room, not just directly beneath the fixture.

If you’re tempted to leave the fan running while you’re out, you’re not alone. “Quite often we see people who just leave their fan running,” Chambers says. But the cooling they’re counting on isn’t happening. Save the breeze for when you’re actually in the room, and let your air conditioner do the job it was designed to do.

Sources:

• Marlon Chambers, Thumbtack pro and owner of Climate Control Systems in Maryland; interviewed, June 2026
• Energy Star: “Certified Ceiling Fans”
• Pick HVAC: “Ceiling Fan Electricity Usage”

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Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds, and don’t worry—we won’t keep it a surprise. Read on to find out exactly what’s in our party package, and celebrate all the wonderful things our nation is and can be. Happy 250th, America!

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America: Then and Now

• Here’s What Life Was Like in 1776 vs. Today
• 12 Totally American Foods That Didn’t Originate Here—And 8 That Did
• Not in a Celebratory Mood? America Has Overcome Hard Times Before, and These 5 Historical Facts Prove It

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• An Ode to Our Favorite Things That Are “So American”
• What’s Your Greatest Wish for America?
• Readers Share the Moments That Make Them Feel the Most American

All-American Trivia and Stats

• Can You Answer These Tricky U.S. Trivia Questions?
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• Funny Stats About Americans
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• The Best Breakfast in Every State
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Constitutional Quirks and Other Founding Facts

• Why Did the Founders Create the Electoral College—And Why Do We Still Have It?
• The Declaration of Independence vs. The Constitution: What’s the Difference?
• Here’s Why the U.S. Constitution Uses the F’s for S’s
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The Best in Every State

• The Best Bucket-List Trips in Every State
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• The Most Historic Landmark in Every State
• The Coolest Hidden Gems in Every State

And that’s just the beginning. Click here to find even more great content featuring the best things in every state, so you can explore and eat your way through this great country of ours. After all, America is about all of us, and you deserve to be celebrated too.

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Speculation was running rampant before the big day, with both insiders and regular people like us left in the dark about the details. Would it even be at MSG? (Yes.) Would Stevie Nicks perform? (Yes again.) Was it going to be expensive? (Oh my gosh, yes times a million.) Rumors that seemed plausible—like that they were secretly already married—evaporated into the New York heat wave as soon as we saw the JUST&T MARRIED marquee outside the venue on Friday night.

Other details are emerging too: Adam Sandler officiated—raise your hand if you had that on your bingo card (you did not!)—and scores of A-list celebs that we didn’t even know were friendly with the couple attended the soiree. Paul McCartney even dusted off the Beatles’ mega hit “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” performing the cheery plea for the first time in more than 60 years.

But even if many of us whiffed on the details, one thing was definitely true: This wedding was off-the-charts expensive. Initial estimates put the price tag at close to $25 million, but that number has been revised up—way up. Only time (and someone spilling the details) will tell, so right now, let’s just say it was pricey. Just how pricey are we talking? Read on.

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What did the wedding cost?

The eye-popping numbers now range from a low of $10 million all the way up to $50 million, which is the estimate one high-profile wedding planner gave to People this weekend. Yes, that’s pricey, but it’s New York! And Taylor! When you start tallying the security and the food and the cost of renting the massive venue itself—plus transforming it into an emerald-draped garden paradise, complete with full-sized trees, as the Daily Mail reported—things can add up quickly.

How does this break down, exactly?

Venue: $8 million to $10 million

Rates for booking the Garden run anywhere from $1 million to $2 million per day, Today reports. But that’s just the baseline rent. You also have to factor in insurance and the fact that the couple likely had to buy out the MSG staging crew’s contracts for the weekend. It also seems that the couple brought in their own crew: One equipment operator was wearing a “Taylor Swift Carpenters” shirt from her 2011 tour.

Security: $3 million to $6 million

Security for the event and all the celebs in attendance could have topped $1 million to $2 million per day, according to multiple sources. CNN reports that the couple wanted a “hermetically sealed environment” away from paparazzi, stalkers and other prying eyes, and you can bet that kind of security was not cheap.

Flowers: $1 million

Flowers are one of the most expensive parts of any wedding, and it’s doubtful these two reduced costs by making their own arrangements—though snaps from the wedding show that Ashley Smith, sister of Kelce’s teammate Trey Smith, caught a rather understated (and slightly limp) bouquet. In addition to the trucked-in trees, there were tens of thousands of peach and white roses, both setting the scene and adding to the cost.

According to People, Kelce spent $38,000 transforming his backyard into a flower-filled garden for the proposal, so we know that at least one half of the couple has no problem shelling out money for blooms. A wedding planner quoted by CNN says that while $500,000 is not unheard of for high-end weddings, Swift’s flower bill could have easily hit the $1 million mark.

Food: $700,000 to $1 million-plus

Early reports were scarce on this aspect of the Swift-Kelce nuptials, though Page Six snapped tons of pictures of food, including lobster, chicken, eggs and fresh produce, being delivered to Madison Square Garden before the big day.

A source told NBC News that a high-end wedding with a three-course meal costs at least $600 per head, but since the couple opted for a buffet (TMZ reported that celebs stood in line for grub just like us regular people), food costs are a little hard to pin down.

Entertainment: Possibly $2 million-plus

Someone has to get the dance floor hopping, and Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney were more than happy to oblige. According to a celebrity booking agency, Stevie Nicks commands roughly $2 million per event, but since she and Swift are pals, she may have performed gratis as a wedding gift. (Sir Paul, if paid, would not be cheap either!) In other words, this price tag is up in the air.

The couple also made charitable donations of $26 million

Yes, you read that right: The couple generously gave $26 million to charities working to combat food insecurity, including Kansas City’s Harvesters Community Food Network, New York’s City Harvest, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s The Store, which helps feed people in Nashville.

Others who received donations were the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Grammy Museum Foundation and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Dolly even posted a sweet thank-you message to the couple on social media!

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A post shared by Dolly Parton (@dollyparton)

Why $26 million? Swifties know that the number 13 has special significance to Taylor, so speculation is rampant that the charitable donations double that number.

How does this compare to a normal wedding?

It’s just a smidge more. The average cost of a wedding in 2025 was $34,200, according to a survey by The Knot of more than 10,000 U.S. couples who got married last year. The biggest driver of the cost, whether you’re an international superstar or a regular person getting married in a church basement, is location, location, location—and New York City tops the list.

Is this the most expensive wedding ever?

No, but it’s definitely rubbing shoulders with some pricey unions. Here are the price tags for some other famous—and not-so-famous—nuptials. (Those two couples at the top of the list? Anant and Isha are siblings … and the children of the richest man in India.)

• Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant: $600 million
• Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal: $100 million
• Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez: $46 million to $55 million
• Prince Charles and Diana Spencer: $48 million
• George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin: $4.6 million
• Kim Kardashian and Kanye West: $2.8 million

Sources:

• Today: “So, How Much Does a Wedding at Madison Square Garden Actually Cost?”
• People: “Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s MSG Wedding Is a ‘Herculean Effort’ That Could Cost Up to $50 Million, Expert Estimates”
• Mediaite: “Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Creating a ‘Hermetically Sealed Environment’ for Their Wedding in the Middle of NYC”
• Daily Mail: “Inside Taylor Swift’s $50 million wedding of the century”
• TMZ: “Taylor & Travis’ Wedding Guests Waited in Line for Buffet, Struggled to Find Seats”
• People: “How Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Hand-Picked Charities Learned About $26M Donation: ‘Boy, Have I Got News for You’”
• The Knot: “Average Wedding Cost”
• The Knot: “The Most Expensive Weddings in History, Ranked by Their Eye-Popping Price Tags”
• People: “Taylor Swift’s Fairytale Engagement Flowers Likely Cost Up to $38K and Used Over 2,000 Blooms, Says Expert”

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