“We’ve listened carefully to feedback from our customers,” Instacart said in its statement. “And we understand that the tests we ran with a small number of retail partners that resulted in different prices for the same item at the same store missed the mark for some customers. At a time when families are working exceptionally…
“Based on almost 1,000 individual car seat installations and nearly 130 crash tests, CR’s infant car seat ratings represent a comprehensive and rigorous program that allows us to make distinctions between car seat models and offer clear recommendations,” says Michael Bloch, who oversees child seat testing at Consumer Reports’ Auto Test Center. “They show the…
If you’ve ever found yourself in a restroom with single-ply toilet paper you needed to use a lot of, you know what I mean. Comfort and softness are critical to a good roll of toilet paper, but other factors come into play as well. We tested 15 different types of toilet paper through rigorous testing…
Adding more fuel after the gas pump clicks off can damage the charcoal canister by saturating it with fuel and cause the check-engine light to illuminate. If the ORVR is damaged, it won’t adequately capture those harmful vapors. The system typically lasts the lifetime of a car, but topping off could lead to an avoidable…
Sharpening your own knives may seem intimidating, but once you get over the initial learning curve it can be a cost-effective way to transform your dull knives into a new set. To further put my expertise into perspective, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of sharp knives since my dad, a former butcher, taught me…
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In 1939, upon arriving late to his statistics course at UC Berkeley, George Dantzig—a first-year graduate student—copied two problems off the blackboard, thinking they were a homework assignment. He found the homework “harder to do than usual,” he would later recount, and apologized to the…
Just about any monitor can work with a Mac Mini. It doesn’t need to be made by Apple or have any official certification. There’s a case to be made for using a cheap 1080p monitor with the Mac Mini, but most Mac users will want something a bit more premium. As you can see by…
With certain gift cards that are widely accepted—think Visa, American Express, or Amazon—this might not be an issue because it’s easier to deplete balances. On the other hand, brand-specific gift cards, which limit consumers to a single establishment, can be a slippery slope to overspending. An annoyance to shoppers, it’s a beneficial outcome for merchants…
Remote start: Like a remote control for your car, these devices let you start your car’s engine from inside your home or office to warm up the cabin in advance. Many newer vehicles can remote start via the key fob or smartphone. Some states have enacted legislation to minimize vehicle idling, including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,…
Ostensibly, plant lovers should be the easiest to shop for. Just get them a plant, right? Wrong. (Well, most of the time.) I review indoor hydroponic gardens for WIRED and have been a proud plant parent for almost 30 years, so I can say that even if you have a running mental catalog of all…