The World's Most Expensive Mansion Will Probably Be Empty And Other Facts
Welcome to What We Learned This Week, a digest of the most curiously important facts from the past few days. This week: Why no one will live in the most expensive house in the world, you're tying your shoe wrong and learning how to kickflip in less than 6 hours.
IF YOU BUILD IT, NO ONE WILL COME
No One Will Live In The Most Expensive Home In The World
Right now, in the hills of LA, sits what will be a 100,000 square-foot house that will sell for $500 million. If, or most likely when, it is sold at this price, it will dwarf the previous record for Most Expensive Home In The World: a London penthouse that fetched a paltry $221 million. And if, although most likely when, this $500 million "gigamansion" sells — with its five swimming pools, casino and nightclub — it will most likely remain empty. This is because, in this economy, ultra-expensive homes are not to be lived in. They are meant to be swallowed up by the cash-rich but asset-poor oligarchs of this planet. People will not live there, but their money will.
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BUT DO KNOT PANIC
You're Tying Shoes Wrong
Sure, the loop-swoop-pull is good enough for kindergarteners, but you're an adult — or at least old enough to use the Internet and read this sentence — so you're ready to move onto Advanced Shoe-Tying . The next time you tie your shoes, use a surgical knot, and your laces will look nice and flat and never come undone on their own. And while you're at it, think about re-lacing your shoes. Use straight-bar lacing on your oxfords — or any shoe where there's no extra material around the lace holes — and it'll better distribute the pressure across your foot, giving you a more snug, more comfortable fit.
THEN YOU CAN POP SHOVE-IT INTO YOUR CLOSET
It Takes About 6 Hours To Learn How To Kickflip
Thanksgiving is coming, which means you'll have to meet with relatives you haven't seen in months and come up with Life Updates that will both demonstrate you aren't stagnating but aren't entirely becoming an unrecognizable person. Also, talking about life events can be so exhausting! Instead, take this weekend to procure a skateboard and learn how to do one of the most basic — but still fairly impressive — tricks. Now, when your uncle asks what you've been up to these days, you can just confidently tell him "Well, recently I learned how to kickflip!" And then you can quickly get back to making inconsequential remarks about whatever is on the TV.
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IT'S GONE ROTTEN
Apple Design Is Now Bad
In the old days, Apple products were nice to look at and easy to use. Today, Apple products are still nice to look at, but are arguably harder to use. Crucial functions are hidden away and are stumbled upon by accident. The design is neat, but it's not clear what things do? When can you swipe? What does a double tap do in a given situation? Users can touch and interact with their devices, but somehow, they can do less.
TOO MUCH BACHELOR PAD THAI
People Who Live Alone Have Terrible Diets
A recent study of Australians who live alone found that they eat a less diverse amount of food, with fruits and vegetables being the most compromised food group. And, as anyone who shops for themselves can vouch, feeding yourself is much harder than feeding multiple mouths. Like most things that are good in life, healthy foods are expensive and spoil long before you can get your money's worth. The good news is that it'll soon be winter in the Northern Hemisphere, so just buy a bunch of produce and turn it into a tasty stew or soup. Sure you'll be eating it for lunch and dinner for the rest of the week, but it's for your own good.
EVEN IF YOU COULD TRY AT HOME, DON'T
This Homemade Railgun Works, But It's Dangerous As Heck
Look. if you have the knowledge and resources to construct something like this by all means fire away. But maybe storing the gun's power source — a load of 9-volt batteries and capacitors — in the trunk of a car directly above the gas tank, is not the best idea.
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