Lifestyle - Thursday, May 28, 2026

Cutting boards are some of the germiest kitchen items. We asked a food safety professor for the best ways to clean one to prevent bacteria The six best plastic-free cutting boards, tested Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things Your cutting board could be dirtier than a toilet seat, according to germ experts. When we recently asked microbiologists about surprisingly filthy everyday items, they ranked cutting boards among the germiest household items (alongside kitchen sponges and water bottles ). Many things at home are technically dirtier than toilet seats, a surface we emphasize disinfecting regularly. (We asked custodians for cleaning tips there.) So this is not something to spiral into a germaphobic panic about, but at dinner cleanup, it’s worth paying some special attention to that cutting board you just used to chop up zucchini or carve chicken. Knowing how to clean this kitchen surface is vital for avoiding unpleasant odors, unsightly stains and potentially harmful bacteria such as salmonella or E coli . Best dishwasher-safe cutting board: Material Kitchen MK Free Board Best dish sponge: Blueland Compostable Scrub Sponge Continue reading...

The pop singer said that suggestions that a recent outfit was ‘childlike’ were rooted in sexist attitudes toward women Olivia Rodrigo has responded to controversy over a recent babydoll dress she wore while performing on stage in Spain. The singer faced backlash online after she wore a short puffy dress with a floral pattern while performing her recent single Drop Dead at Barcelona’s Teatre Grec on 8 May. She also wears a similar style dress on the cover of her upcoming album. Continue reading...

After closing his upscale tasting-menu restaurant last June, chef Paolo Dungca is back with a more casual approach and a similar mission in Dupont Circle.

The precious nature of parting words of advice from dying parent to child is celebrated by Dr Ijaz Durrani . Plus letters from Mick Beeby and Anne Taylor Polly Hudson’s moving reflection on a father’s deathbed advice was touching precisely because it reminded readers of something modern life increasingly obscures: wisdom is rarely loud, fashionable or algorithmic (My dad was far from perfect – but I live by the advice he gave me on his deathbed, 24 May ). It often arrives quietly, distilled through suffering, failure and endurance. What struck me most was not merely the emotional intimacy of the article, but the contrast between generational wisdom and contemporary culture’s addiction to instant certainty. A dying parent does not speak in slogans, hashtags or productivity jargon. Such moments strip human existence down to essentials. The advice offered tends to concern dignity, kindness, restraint, courage or the proper conduct of one’s life – matters civilisation has grappled with since antiquity. Continue reading...

We tested top-rated bath towels from Parachute, Brooklinen, Quince and more to find the softest, most absorbent towels – at every price point Have I been drying myself all wrong? My investigation into absolutely massive ‘bath sheets’ Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things I am a huge fan of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. That book has taught me two things: don’t panic, and a quality bath towel will get you far in this world (it says that a towel “is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have”). A nice bath towel is also a simple way to add a dash of luxury to your daily routine. When it comes to bath towels, I want one that’s soft, fluffy, absorbent, and can withstand the rigors of life. Above all, it has to be worth the money. All of the best bath towels How I tested these towels Towels that didn’t make the final cut Best overall bath towel Parachute Organic Super Plush towel Best value bundle Brooklinen Super-Plush Turkish Cotton Bath Towels Continue reading...

Teaching body positivity is one thing. Helping a child navigate social pressure – while preserving agency – is another Hi Ugly, My nine-year-old daughter has become aware that she has a moustache. (I’m a hairy Italian, this is her birthright.) It’s more noticeable than anything her friends have, and visible in pictures. Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’? How do I respond to my friends when they criticize their own weight and looks? How should I be styling my pubic hair? How do I deal with imperfection? Continue reading...

An expert shares why the "boring stuff" is actually what changes everything. The post 7 Small Habits That Will Make You More Magnetic appeared first on Camille Styles .

As part of a growing anti-tech movement, startup dumb.co is pushing flip phones as a way for young people to find ‘social and spiritual freedom’ “They aren’t as dumb as they look,” our facilitator said, referring to the dark gray flip phone in his hand. He just as easily could have been talking about us, the 28 New York residents before him who had signed up to use the device for the entire month of March. He explained that the relic was loaded with WhatsApp, iMessage, Google Maps, Uber, Microsoft 2FA – nothing like my seventh-grade flip phone. We each had paid $75 to participate in Month Offline, or MO, a program that challenged us to swear off our smartphones entirely. Another $25 went to dumb.co, the company behind MO, for the so-called dumbphones we would use as we navigated daily life. Continue reading...

When we have access to so many products, what we choose says a lot about who we are. It’s hard to suggest you’re cultured with a supermarket home brand Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads In my taste test of Australian tinned tomatoes this week, I claimed it doesn’t matter what brand you buy – almost all of them can make a good sauce. The article led with a picture of me chugging pulped tomato from a tin (this isn’t how I ran the actual taste test) and a headline that said “The results ‘end my long-term relationship with Mutti.’” Within 24 hours, hundreds of people who read the article – or saw a social media post about it – let me know what they thought. It was like I’d entered a church and told the members God isn’t real. Only this congregation worships a different deity – Mutti. Continue reading...

It’s okay to go to bed angry, and other surprising marriage advice.