Restaurants Are Using Sneaky Tactics to Increase Tips

Customers are preparing for a tip take-down, after several restaurants have begun using a sneaky method of increasing their tips. Customers are asked to make a tip selection, typically anywhere from 15% to 25%. The percentage amounts aren’t shocking — the sneaky part is that restaurants are calculating the tip after tax and before discounts. A cardinal rule of tipping culture is that the gratuity should be a percentage of the pre-tax total, not on taxes they never paid for. With tipping getting out of control, some customers are using their own tactic to skirt the restaurants' calculations. Customers say always tap “custom” and calculate the tip manually. Base the tip on the pre-tax subtotal, not the final total. Always ask for a paper receipt so you can see the breakdown clearly, and pay cash when possible to avoid screen-based pressure. A recent survey found that 75% of Americans believe the tipping culture has gone too far. Now there’s something you can do to fight back.

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Cheetos and Doritos Have Given Your Favorite Chips a Dye-Free Makeover

Several of America’s favorite snacks have undergone a makeover, as manufacturers begin to eliminate the use of artificial ingredients. The new stripped-back versions of Doritos and Cheetos have begun to appear on shelves at Walmart in white packaging rebranded as “Simply NKD” — meaning “simply naked” to show that they are versions stripped of artificial flavors and dyes. Inside, the Doritos are now a faded yellow, and the Cheetos are nearly white instead of their usual red and orange hues. PepsiCo said the texture and taste of the snacks remains the same and hopes to soon roll them out to more stores. Many people have taken to social media to celebrate the new snacks, saying they taste identical to the additive-laden versions and have a “delightful, crunchy texture.” Others have been less thrilled with the new snacks, pointing out that the new Doritos taste nothing like the old version, leaving a “gross taste in the mouth afterwards.” The new versions are retailing at the same price as the originals, at just under $4 per bag, and are being sold alongside them rather than as a replacement.

 

 

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Before-and-After Photos of Plastic Surgery That Seriously Changed People’s Looks

Imagine hopping in a time machine, going back a century, and telling someone that today, if you have the money for it, you can walk into a clinic and come out with a new nose or a face that looks 20 years younger. It’s likely they would think you had lost your mind, but here we are and plastic surgery is no longer rare. It follows that better results are being shared in a variety of public forums. Some plastic surgery is required to fix birth defects, while much of it is purely cosmetic. Regardless of the reason, there are mixed feelings on both sides of the issue. Take a look at these before-and-after photos and see what you think.

 

Rhinoplasty (nose job) for cleft lip and palate

Rhinoplasty (nose job) and lip filler

Blepharoplasty (eyebag removal)

Brachioplasty (arm lift)

Double chin liposuction

Forehead reduction

Necklift

Rhinoplasty (nose job)

Jaw Surgery

 

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Why Olympic Curling Stones All Come From the Same Tiny Scottish Island

Every four years, sports fans tune into the Winter Olympics to watch athletics they don’t normally see anywhere else, including bobsledding, ski jumping, and speed skating. Curling has also become a trending spectator sport. Curling is a strategic winter team sport played on ice, where players slide 42-pound polished granite stones toward a target circle, called the “house." Two teams of four take turns delivering stones, using specialized brooms to sweep the ice in front of the stone to influence its speed and direction. The goal is to have the closest stones to the center compared to the opponent after all the stones are thrown. The granite stones, which weigh between 38 and 44 pounds, come from a small island off Scotland called Ailsa Craig. The island's granite has been specifically used for curling stones because it’s one of the hardest in the world, allowing it to maintain its shape when used on the wet ice surface. The curling stones are made from two different types of granite from the island: blue hone granite and common green granite, to make them easily handle the cold and wet of the ice, as well as to give them the strength to hit other curling stones during play. All of these features come together to make the stones predictable when curling, giving competitors a good reference on how stones will slide, and making the granite from Ailsa Craig ideal for curlers.

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