If you’re looking for the Connections answer for Saturday, September 16, 2023, read on—I’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solutions to all four categories. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 16, NYT Connections #97! Scroll to the end if you want some hints (and then the answer) to… Read more…

The world is full of blabbermouths, and that’s OK. We should all feel safe to lift our voices and sing; and what is even the point of life without lively conversation, deep discussions in the middle of the night, ridiculous banter, and loud, dumb jokes between friends? But in some situations, even an unapologetic… Read […]

After enduring countless meetings that could have been an email, the rise of remote work has helped ease some of that for some of us—at least the in-person variety. We may not be wasting as much time stuck in meetings, but the spike in written communication with our colleagues has come with a price: passive-aggressive… […]

Whether you’re a fan of listening to music while you read or you simply live in a household of noisy people, silence may not be something you’re used to finding before hitting the books—but it should be and it can be. Here’s why you should strive to study in silence, and some tips for actually […]

Fun guys (and gals) love fungi, mostly of the culinary persuasion (though an argument can be made for a different type of fun shroom, that’s not what we’re discussing today). Before enjoying them, mushrooms have to be cleaned of any dirt and debris, and the woody portion of the stems removed. Those stems, though not… […]

Smart hose timers make so much sense on paper—they allow you to turn anything attached to your hose spigot on and off from anywhere using your phone. And if it’s raining, the smart timer will know and turn off the flow for you. It will also track how much water you’re using, allow you to […]

Through September 17, you can get Windows 11 Home for $29.97 (reg. $139). It includes customized widgets, improved multitasking tools, shorter startup times, and stronger power management. It also has improved security features like Windows Hello logins and Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Read more…

I take mashed potatoes very seriously, and I can’t imagine Thanksgiving without them. Over the years, I have developed several recipes, methods, and hacks for making the creamiest, dreamiest, most flavorful mashers around. I start with a pretty standard base recipe, which you can find below. As with any dish with few… Read more…

Things are getting surreal in popular culture this week. There’s a weird blue smurf/cat chimera that suddenly appeared everywhere all at once, a hugely popular TikToker who’s whole thing is making sure faucets work correctly, and a newly discovered universal trait among men: thinking about the Roman Empire. Read more…

Mind-mapping is beneficial for productivity in your daily tasks, but it’s also a technique that is widely used for studying. A mind map isn’t just a diagram that lays out tasks, but a visualization of how ideas connect to one another. Here’s what you need to know when using one for studying and where you […]