ALL ABOUT OZEMPIC PAGE 92 VINYL RECORDS “DAD, I STOLE A PICASSO” 20 TRICKS
FIBER BLEND including a PREBIOTIC COMFORT MUSCLES Blend of 30 grams of high-quality protein to feed muscles up to 7 hours BONES Excellent source of vitamin D and calcium to support bone health IMMUNE SYSTEM With protein, vitamins A & D, zinc, and antioxidants vitamins C & E and selenium BRAIN Vitamin B12 and folate to support brain health DIGESTIVE TRACT Comfort fi ber blend with a prebiotic to support digestive health and growth of good bacteria HEART Excellent source of plant-based omega-3 ALA† to support heart health 25 VITAMINS & MINERALS AND NUTRIENTS TO SUPPORT HEALTH OF: AVAILABLE IN 3 DELICIOUS FLAVORS: Vanilla, Milk Chocolate, and Strawberry ENSURE® FOR STRENGTH AND ENERGY AND COMPLETE, BALANCED NUTRITION® SAVE$4 INSTANTLY! Visit Ensure.com/instantcoupon Use as part of a healthy diet. * Vitamins C & E and selenium. † 450 mg plant-based omega-3 fatty acid ALA (30% of 1.6g DV). ©2024 Abbott 202316218(2)/January 2024 LITHO IN USA
SEAN MCCABE. COVER ICONS: TMB STUDIO. SEE PAGE 45 40 cover story DO MORE WITH YOUR TECH* Cool features than can help make life easier, safer, even more fun. by chris hoffman 50 tech The Scoop on Streaming A closer look at all the ways you can watch TV. by caroline fanning 56 inspiration Doing Dad’s Bucket List Laura Carney’s father died suddenly. So she started checking off the items for him. by sydney page from the washington post 50 Features A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World 62 national interest HOA Horror Stories* The good, the bad and the utterly bizarre! by bill hangley jr. 70 your true stories Popping the Question* Stories from both sides of the bend. by reader’s digest readers 74 drama in real life When a Snake Fell from the Sky The woman thought that was bad. Then the hawk swooped in. by derek burnett 82 true crime Hey Dad, Can You Help Me Return the Picasso I Stole?* A painting went missing in 1969, then turned up at a museum’s doorstep. by dan barry from the new york times 92 health Is Everyone on Ozempic?* The new diabetes drugs shaping the weight-loss revolution. by karen robock cover photograph by Emiko Franzen
ADAM LARKUM * Story referenced on cover reader’s digest Contents 2 june 2024 | rd.com 4 Dear Reader more to digest 5 RD on TV, Reader Letter and More world of good 7 Heard Any Good Jokes? everyday heroes 8 Surf’s Up ... Again by john rosengren glad to hear it 11 Under Milkweed, I Spy with My Little Eye and More best pet pals 12 Blue the Fire Dog food passport 19 Cue the BBQ by emily tyra 13 things 22 For the Record: Facts About Vinyl* by alan light department of wit 28 A Week Under My Son’s Roof* by allan ripp from the wall street journal Send letters to [email protected] or LETTERS, READER’S DIGEST, PO BOX 6100, HARLAN IA 51593-1600. Include your full name, address, email and daytime phone number. We may edit letters and use them in all print and electronic media. To submit humor items, visit rd.com/submit, or write to us at JOKES, 1610 N 2nd St Ste 102, Milwaukee WI 53212-3906. We’ll pay you $25 for any joke or gag and $100 for any true funny story published in a print edition humor department of Reader’s Digest unless we specify otherwise in writing. Please include your full name, address, email and daytime phone number in your entry. We regret that we cannot acknowledge or return unsolicited work. Requests for permission to reprint any material from Reader’s Digest should be sent to [email protected]. Get help with questions on subscriptions, renewals, gifts, address changes, payments, account information and other inquiries at rd.com/help, or write to us at [email protected] or READER’S DIGEST, PO BOX 6095, HARLAN IA 51593-1595. 28 Departments Humor Life in These United States ..................................... 14 All in a Day’s Work....................................................26 Humor in Uniform....................................................32 Laughter, the Best Medicine..................................38 the rd list 101 Lies and Weddings, Ezra, Amy Tan and More quotable quotes 104 Ali Wong, Ringo Starr, Coco Gauff and More where, oh where? 112 Highlighting a High Lighthouse The Healthy 33 Why Water Workouts Work by beth weinhouse 36 News from the World of Medicine Brain Games 106 Piece of Cake, Place Your Chips and More 109 Word Power
MATTHEW COHEN. GETTY IMAGES, ICONS: SEE PAGE 45 reader’s digest My husband is a true techie— he works for Apple. So you’d think that when I have a question about my phone or laptop, he’d be eager to help me, right? If you’re chuckling as you read this, you know what I’m about to say. Wrong. He wants me to figure things out for myself. And mostly, I do. But when I bug him for help, I usually wind up learning some trick I never knew. For one thing, we now have a shared grocery list in the Notes app. If I could just get him to remember to look at it when he goes to the store ... My husband’s favorite tip: Don’t be afraid of your devices! After all, he says, when you buy a car, you don’t just sit there and wait for the Jody L. Rohlena, content director Push Those Buttons salesperson to tell you what to do—you start pushing buttons and trying out features, right? Our phones, etc., are the same. The cover story (page 40) is full of handy hints for getting the most out of your devices, from someone who knows: Chris Hoffman, who was editor of How-To Geek and now writes the Windows Intelligence newsletter. He’s not the only heavy hitter in this issue. To write about vinyl records for 13 Things (page 22), we tapped Alan Light, a music journalist who has worked at Spin, Vibe, SiriusXM and more, and now has a podcast called Sound Up with pioneering MTV VJ Mark Goodman. And ace reporter Bill Hangley, who writes about RD’s Nicest Places in America, spotlights the absurdity of some homeowners-association regulations in “HOA Horror Stories” (page 62). You may remember me writing in this space before. I have a long history with Reader’s Digest, beginning with an internship when I was in college. I came to work as an editor here, worked at some other places, then returned in 2017. I know that some of you have been around even longer, and that we have lots of newbies too. Enjoy the issue! (Did you know you can read it on a phone, tablet or computer too? Get details at digitalaccess.tmbi.com.) Write to me at [email protected]. DEAR READER 4 june 2024
FROM TOP: TO LICENSE THE CONTENT FEATURED HERE, PLEASE CONTACT [email protected]. rd.com 5 ` ` Happy 400th, Fiction Favorites! That milestone—the 400th volume of our condensed books series (first dubbed Condensed Books, then Select Editions and now Fiction Favorites)— means more than 2,000 novels have been read and presented by our editors in just shy of three-quarters of a century, with notable titles including East of Eden by John Steinbeck and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Volume 400 has Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly, The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose, Change of Plans by Dylan Newton and The Second Stranger by Martin Griffin. To order, go to FictionFavorites.com/400. I found your article about inventor Ellen Xu’s prototype app that helps identify the signs of Kawasaki disease (February 2024) quite interesting. My son contracted it when he was 3 months old, although it took a lengthy hospital stay and the onset of some frightening symptoms to diagnose. He is now 45 and healthy, but an app like this might’ve helped save us loads of strife all those years ago. —sandi o’brien Nobleboro, Maine View RD on TV You know the moment of relief upon seeing a missed family member or a long-lost friend for the first time in a long time? Our Reader’s Digest channel on YouTube makes that feeling last a lifetime (er—20 minutes per the video’s run time) in “Most Heartwarming Reunions Ever!” See it and more inspiring moments at youtube.com/@readersdigest. More to DIGEST
May We Borrow Your Brain? ADVERT SEMENT Term nditions e age over who qual fy through scr ening W hearing fro our aders Joi the R ader s Dig t circle online community and share ideas with editors, other fans and readers of our s ster publications Get ins der news, answer quick join the Just participating, you will have the chance to win gift cards and more! Go to TMBINNERCIRCLE.COM to see if you qualify
World of GOOD Reasons to Smile There’s an old pay phone in Washington, D.C., where, if you press a button, you can hear a gag like this: “How does the polygamist hippie count his wives? ‘One Mrs. Hippie, two Mrs. Hippie …’” The voice belongs to Don Rutledge, a teacher and the creator of the Jokes Phone. Because he thought it would be fun, Rutledge, who lives nearby, bought the phone online, replaced its guts with a computer and placed it on the street. Press *1 (it’s free!) to hear a knock-knock joke or *2 for a kids joke. Pressing *5 plays fun facts. You can also press 0# to chat with “a random guy who thinks he has all the answers.” That guy is Rutledge, who told Washingtonian that callers often are “freaked out that somebody actually answers,” so they hang up. “But sometimes they stay on, and I just talk to them.” Heard Any Good Jokes? photograph by Nathan Hirsch rd.com | june 2024 7 reader’s digest
Surf’s Up ... Again every day; surfing was a source of joy and a means to maintain her mental health. Seeing her surfboards reduced to a pile of fibers—especially her prized baby blue Doug Haut custom longboard—was devastating. “I was so in love with that board,” she says. Jud Lau understood. The 53-year-old Maui native has been riding the waves since he was a teenager, and he’s been building surfboards for the last 15. He knows the value of a good surfboard. “A surfboard is part of your whole being—especially in Hawaii, where T he fire raced through Lahaina last August so fast that it killed 100 people and destroyed more than 2,200 buildings, most of them homes. It left more than 7,000 people without their possessions and in need of shelter. That afternoon, Kalyn Lepre, a 36-year-old nutritional therapist, grabbed her wallet and her grandmother’s pearls and drove out of town. She lost everything else in her fourbedroom house: clothes, documents, jewelry, GoPro gear, a computer and seven surfboards. Lepre surfed almost BY John Rosengren A Hawaiian helps victims of a devastating fire in the most Hawaiian way possible photograph by Marco Garcia reader’s digest EVERYDAY HEROES 8 june 2024 | rd.com
Jud Lau says he was glad to give the survivors “some consistency back in their lives.” World of Good
surfing originated,” he says. “Losing a board is like losing a part of your soul.” So, wanting to help the victims in some way, he started thinking about all the surfers who had lost their boards. “And I thought, That’s my area of expertise,” he says. “Surfing is a healing thing for surfers—getting in the ocean, connecting to Mother Nature.” He realized he could give that back to them. Lau started by connecting people who wanted to donate extra boards to those who had lost theirs, about 200 boards total. Friends in Oahu and California collected another 550 boards and shipped them to Maui for Lau to distribute. But many surfers, like Lepre, use custom boards designed to accommodate their size or the type of waves they ride. So Lau solicited cash donations—raising about $20,000—to cover the cost of materials for shaping custom boards to give away. Donating his labor, he made more than 40 boards that typically would have retailed for $600 to $1,500 each. He also enlisted the other shapers on the island, about a dozen of them, to make at least one board apiece, providing around 20 more surfboards. Lau shapes the boards in his studio 35 miles east of Lahaina, carefully designing and crafting them one at a time. He cuts each board from a block of polyurethane foam using a computer-aided machine, then takes an hour or two to finish it by hand with planes and sanding blocks. When that’s done, he takes it to the glassing factory next door to be finished with coats of fiberglass and resin. The recipients of Lau’s efforts include a Lahaina fireman who fought the blaze but lost his home and his surfboards; a man who had worked in a surf shop Lau managed 30 years ago; and Lepre. She messaged him what she’d lost, and he shaped her a high-performance, 9-foot, single-fin board with a sunset fading from yellow to orange, and “Lahaina” in deep red letters in the middle. “I cried when I saw it,” Lepre says. “He created an art piece for me, and this tool to help me move forward.” The new board allowed her to get back in the water and start healing. Her first time out was last September at Ukumehame Beach. She joined hundreds of others in the ocean to honor all that was lost. “Just getting back in the water was one of the more powerful experiences of my life,” says Lepre, emotion welling up in her voice. “It’s part of the healing you know you need, but you don’t know how to get. Feeling joy again helps the moving forward. Jud gifted me back a huge part of my mental health.” RD THE NEW BOARD ALLOWED HER TO GET BACK IN THE WATER AND START HEALING. reader’s digest 10 june 2024
Under Milkweed For years, Robyn Elman has raised endangered monarch butterflies in her New York City backyard by collecting their eggs from milkweed plants—the only food monarchs eat—alongside highways. But too often, instead of healthy plants, she found mowed stubs and obliterated eggs. She and a fellow enthusiast contacted Frank Coniglio, the city’s director of arterial highway maintenance, urging him to cut the butterflies a break. Over and over again. “At first, I was skeptical,” he told the New York Times. But then he got it: “What happens to the butterflies is going to happen to us, right?” So Coniglio went to work on not mowing. By the end of last summer, about 20 milkweed patches were protected throughout the city. “We’re doing something positive,” says Coniglio proudly. To Grandma’s House We Go In 2021, Sam Crowe was eating breakfast with high school friends in a St. Louis, Missouri, diner when he proclaimed, “My grandma cooks better than this.” So starting the next week, and every Wednesday morning during the school year, Peggy Winckowski happily proved her grandson correct by cooking a feast for him and the other kids. In 2022, Sam was killed in a hit-and-run. Grandma Peggy was devastated. Wanting to be there for her, Crowe’s friends showed up for breakfast as usual the following Wednesday. And they’ve been showing up every Wednesday after that. “Wednesday is my favorite day of the week,” Winckowski told the Washington Post. “I will feed them as long as they will come.” I Spy with My Little Eye ... Alaska’s Katmai National Park is dotted with cameras that let wildlife lovers view brown bears online. But last September, a human showed up on the screen instead. Wet from the rain and looking weary, the hiker faced the camera and mouthed, “Help me.” The camera, situated 2 miles from the nearest trail, is in rugged, inhospitable terrain. It’s easy to get lost there. Luckily, a viewer posted below the feed, “There is someone distressed on the camera.” That message reached a park ranger, who dispatched a search-and-rescue team. Within hours, the hiker was found. A park ranger told NPR, “Our A-DIGIT/GETTY IMAGES webcam viewers don’t miss much.” RD World of Good rd.com 11 GLAD TO HEAR IT 3 Stories to Make Your Day
L ast year, our house caught fire while my brother-in-law was watching my two toddlers: Isabella, who was 4 years old, and Shantel, who was 1. He was able to get Isabella to safety, but was blocked from reaching Shantel by a wall of flames and fallen debris. It was our pit bull, Blue, who was small enough to evade danger and make it into Shantel’s room. Five minutes after the fire started, firefighters arrived, and were alerted to her location by Blue’s barking and circling. Blue the Fire Dog detroit, mi Blue refused to leave the burning home without 1-year-old Shantel. Think your pet can match Blue’s heroics? See terms and submit your story at rd.com/petpals. JANET KELLY reader’s digest World of Good 12 june 2024 | rd.com Luckily, everyone made it outside safely. Blue was covered in soot, but miraculously wasn’t burned. We lost everything in the fire, and it’s been a long, hard journey to get back on our feet, but we finally have a new place to call home. To this day, Blue growls when he sees a lit candle or somebody using a lighter. Blue came to us scared and shy from a bad rescue situation. But I think he just wanted a family to love and love him back. If it wasn’t for Blue, my baby girl wouldn’t be here, and I’m grateful for this rescue pit every day. —Nominated by Janet Kelly BEST PET PALS
® Find targeted support for your pet: SUPPLEMENTS TO BY SURVEYED VETERINARIANS* HELP YOUR PET THRIVE TRUSTED SUPPLEMENTS BRAND Also available for cats Also available for dogs NEW *Online survey among qualified U.S. veterinarians who indicated brand as trustworthy among brands aware of (aided), Q4 2023. Purina trademarks are owned by Société des Produits Nestlé S.A.
reader’s digest 14 june 2024 cartoon by Ali Solomon, the New Yorker, ©Condé Nast My favorite anecdote from Life in These United States was one where a woman admitted having embarrassed herself when, after watching Game of Thrones, she asked her husband, “When did dragons go extinct?” I shared that with my roommate, and the two of us laughed and laughed. After we both caught our breath, my roommate said, “So when did they go extinct?” —L.M. Aliceville, AL The lies parents tell: ) While we were driving, I asked my dad what the purpose of rumble strips were. He told me they were for blind drivers. ) Toys R Us is closed when the R is backward. ) Mannequins in clothing stores are kids who didn’t behave and were taken to the “dungeon” in the store, where they were turned into mannequins. ) My dad told me my goldfish ran away. —reddit.com A scammer called my friend’s aunt insisting he had all her passwords. If he thought he’d found an easy mark, he was sorely mistaken because she responded excitedly, “Hold on, honey, I need a pen and paper. Now, what are they?” —Hazel Bowman Prescott, AZ Me: Bathroom is cleaned. Wife: Thank you. Me: Why do we keep the toilet brush in the shower? Wife: What? Me: Why is the toilet brush in the shower? Wife: What are you talking about? Me: The puffy thing with the handle. Wife: MY LOOFAH?! Me: You named the toilet brush? — @RodLacroix “As a Father’s Day gift, I’m going to let Dad explain a Bruce Springsteen song to me.” LIFE in these United States
ANGIEPHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES rd.com 15 World of Good your funny story about friends or family could be worth $$$. For details, go to page 2 or rd.com/submit. I think part of the reason people cry during wedding speeches is because they’ve never heard their siblings say something kind about them. — @sydneybattle When I was a kid, our neighbors had a large bell on their porch, and every night the father would ring it loud enough so that wherever his sons were, they would hear it and come home for dinner. I thought it was a great idea and suggested to my dad that we get one. My very practical father replied, “We don’t need a bell. We’ll just eat when they do.” —Keith Crawford Gibsonia, PA There must be a story behind the names of these all-American towns: ) Big Bottom, Washington ) Hopeulikit, Georgia ) Beer Bottle Crossing, Idaho ) Number Eight, Missouri ) Cheesequake, New Jersey ) Dull, Ohio ) Whynot, North Carolina ) Accident, Maryland ) Handsome Eddy, New York ) Worms, Nebraska —zippia.com In his handmade birthday card for his grandmother, our grandson, 10, wrote: “I know birthdays get worse as you get older. But on the bright side, not many left now!” —Larry Hentges Jefferson City, MO I was lying on a float in the pool when my 3-year-old grandson climbed on top of me and had a close-up shouted, “you have spiderwebs in your nose!” —Nancy Tomlin Madison Heights, VA Here’s the joke I told my grandson: “What do you call a dinosaur that knows a lot of words?” The correct answer is “thesaurus.” His answer: “You.” —Sharilynn La May Eustis, FL THE LITTLE #$% DARLINGS In the United States, 18.8% of women ages 40 to 44 do not have children. Stories such as these may explain why:
The world’s smallest, thinnest†, and most discreet4 sensor sends glucose levels right to your smartphone‡. With this continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, you’ll know your glucose and where it’s headed, no fingersticks§ needed. See references, disclaimers, and link to Important Safety Information on the next page. Manage your diabetes with more confidence*1 and lower your A1c*2,3 Call 1-844-330-5535 to learn more Ask your doctor for a prescription today. Covered by Medicare for people managing diabetes with insulin||5 The #1 CGM prescribed for Medicare patients||¶4,5
Product images are for illustrative purposes only; not actual patient data. Medicare coverage is available for the FreeStyle Libre 3 system if the FreeStyle Libre 3 reader is used to review glucose data on some days every month. Medicare and other third party payor criteria apply. Abbott provides this information as a courtesy; it is subject to change and interpretation. The customer is ultimately responsible for determining the appropriate codes, coverage, and payment policies for individual patients. Abbott does not guarantee third party coverage or payment for our products or reimburse customers for claims that are denied by third party payors. The FreeStyle Libre 3 app and the FreeStyle Libre 3 reader have similar but not identical features. Fingersticks are required for treatment decisions when you see the Check Blood Glucose symbol and when your glucose alarms and readings from the system do not match symptoms or expectations. * Data from this study was collected with the outside US version of the FreeStyle Libre 14 day system. FreeStyle Libre 3 has the same features as FreeStyle Libre 14 day system with real-time glucose alarms. Therefore the study data is applicable to both products. † Among patient-applied sensors. ‡ The FreeStyle Libre 3 app is only compatible with certain mobile devices and operating systems. Please check our website for more information about device compatibility before using the app. § Fingersticks are required if your glucose alarms and readings do not match symptoms or when you see Check Blood Glucose symbol during the first twelve hours. || Patients must meet Medicare eligibility coverage criteria. ¶ Data based on total active Medicare patients with CGM readers. References: 1. Fokkert M, et al. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care (2019): https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2019-000809 2. Evans M, et al. Diabetes Ther (2022): https://doi.org/10.1007/s13300-022-01253-9 3. Yaron M, et al. Diabetes Care (2019): https://doi.org/10.2337/dc18-0166 4. Data on file, Abbott Diabetes Care. 5. Local Coverage Determination (LCD) L33822, Glucose Monitors, https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/lcd.aspx?LCDId=33822 For Important Safety Information, please visit https://www.freestyle.abbott/us-en/safety-information.html for safety info. The sensor housing, FreeStyle, Libre, and related brand marks are marks of Abbott. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2024 Abbott. ADC-87346 v1.0 Get the BEST of Reader’s Digest in your inbox! Sign up for our Read Up newsletter and enjoy even more timeless advice, stories and jokes! Sign up now at: rd.com/rdsignup
Tantalizingly tangy and sweet, Korean barbecue is hot off the grill—and a hot ticket item at food courts and food trucks alike. The beguilingly tender slivers of beef are typically topped with a sprinkling of scallions and served with rice. You can find it at grill-topped tables at “K-town” restaurants in cities big and small across the country and also in some less traditional preparations, such as folded into quesadillas, tucked into tacos or loaded onto cheese fries. Even beginners can make it at home with jarred marinades such as the We Love You Cue the BBQ A bowl of bulgogi is a treat for your taste buds BY Emily Tyra TMB STUDIO photography by Emiko Franzen reader’s digest Art of LIVING Food, facts & fun rd.com | june 2024 19
brand of bulgogi sauces or one of the pre-marinated meal kits. Bulgogi is among the latest foodie favorites, but this elemental combo of meat and flame (its name literally translates to “fire meat”) got its start way back during Korea’s Goguryeo era—that’s from 37 B.C. to A.D. 668— though it hasn’t always looked the same. Bulgogi began as kabob-like skewered meat, then morphed into a brothy dish of marinated beef before ultimately transforming into the charbroiled variety that is popular today. Boosting the bulgogi craze are culinary ambassadors like Emily Kim, better known by her blogger name, Maangchi, or, as the New York Times dubbed her, “YouTube’s Korean Julia Child.” In one of her videos, Kim arrives at a backyard barbecue in upstate New York with a big batch of marinated Korean beef bulgogi to toss on the grill. After a quick sear, she tucks slices of succulent beef inside cool lettuce leaves along with a dab of ssamjang—a spicy, crimson-hued dipping sauce. In the Smithsonian Institution’s publication Folklife, digital archivist Crystal Rie shares how bulgogi is as ubiquitous in South Korea as burgers are here in the U.S. “It’s common in school lunches, meals at home, and any mom and pop restaurant,” Rie writes. But even in Washington, D.C., where she lives, Rie is “no longer surprised to find food trucks serving bulgogi tacos or vendors selling bulgogi hoagies at Nationals games,” she says. One of Rie’s favorite ways of eating bulgogi when she was growing up was her mother’s “toasted sandwich bread with a schmear of mayonnaise, stacked with bulgogi and red leaf lettuce.” Rie’s own recipe starts with ribeye or sirloin—well-marbled cuts of beef are the most traditional choice—“sliced so thin I can see through it,” she says. Next comes the mouthwatering marinade, a combination of garlic, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and Asian pear. The juice of the pear contains an enzyme called calpain, which tenderizes the meat while adding a distinctive sweetness. Kiwi has a similar enzyme and can be used in its place. You could even substitute another pear variety in a pinch. But you don’t need to source the ingredients yourself. If you want a shortcut, Trader Joe’s has ready-made bulgogi in its freezer section, and Hello Fresh—the largest mail-order meal kit provider in the U.S.—offers dozens of bulgogi recipes, including meatballs, bowls and tacos. For those craving this Korean delicacy, it’s the best barbecue on the block. RD BULGOGI IS AS UBIQUITOUS IN SOUTH KOREA AS BURGERS ARE IN THE U.S. TMB STUDIO reader’s digest Art of Living 20 june 2024 | rd.com
For the Record: Facts About Vinyl BY Alan Light 1 We may live in an increasingly digital world, but sales of vinyl albums continue to boom. Last year was the 18th consecutive year that LP (long play) sales grew in the United States, and it was the biggest year for the format since Luminate, a company that tracks music sales, began collecting data in 1991. Almost 50 million vinyl albums were sold in 2023, up 14.2% from 2022—still a long way from the 1970s, when more than 300 million records would sell in a single year. 2 This recent surge is fueled by none other than Ms. Taylor Swift. Last year’s top-selling vinyl album was her 1989 (Taylor’s Version), the first record to sell a million copies in a calendar year since Luminate’s launch. Swift had five of the top 10 bestselling albums of 2023. Total sales of her albums (almost 3.5 million copies) accounted for 7% of all vinyl sold in the U.S. in 2023. illustration by Serge Bloch reader’s digest 22 june 2024 13 THINGS
3 In 1948, Columbia Records unveiled the first LP: a recording of the New York Philharmonic performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor. While previous phonograph records were made of shellac and played at 78 revolutions per minute, the new PVC (“vinyl”) disc played at 33⅓ rpm, hence better audio quality. It also increased the playing time from 5 minutes to 22 minutes per side. 4 LP sales began to decline in the late ’70s, with the success of cassette tapes and then compact discs (8-track tapes didn’t catch on the same way). By 1988, CDs were outselling LPs, but sales of all these formats dove dramatically in the 21st century, thanks to digital music distribution. 5 The bestselling albums in U.S. history are all from the LP era. Here are the top 6 according to RIAA, the trade organization for the music recording industry: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (Eagles); Thriller (Michael Jackson); Hotel California (Eagles); Back in Black (AC/DC); Led Zeppelin IV (Led Zeppelin); and The Beatles, aka the White Album (the Beatles). 6 Most music lovers will tell you vinyl sounds better than digital music, but its audio quality compared to that of CDs is hotly debated. Though LPs can scratch and degrade, vinyl fans argue that records more closely reproduce what the artist originally played in the studio. Engineer Adam Gonsalves of Portland’s Telegraph Mastering notes the “very warm” sound of vinyl, saying it comes closest to “the way that human beings hear music organically.” CDs eliminate the surface crackles and pops, but for many, the imperfections of vinyl add to its charm. 7 Last year marked the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, a celebration that also marked the birth of DJ-ing. At a party in the Bronx organized by DJ Kool Herc on Aug. 11, 1973, Herc unveiled a new technique he called the merry-goround: He played the brief drum or rhythm section “break” of one record, then switched to an isolated break from another record on a separate turntable. “The best part of records, I went to,” Herc says. And from that, a new art form was born. 8 The most expensive LP in history is the lone existing copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. The disgraced pharmaceutical exec Martin Shkreli bought it for $2 million in 2015. But after he was convicted of securities fraud, the government seized his assets and, in 2021, resold the album to a cryptocurrency group for $4 million. Art of Living rd.com 23
9 With more than 6 million albums, Brazilian businessman Zero Freitas is believed to have the world’s largest vinyl record collection. He is also a donor to the nonprofit ARChive of Contemporary Music, which houses more than 3 million sound recordings—including 18,000 blues records contributed by Keith Richards. But the archives are in danger of becoming homeless: The organization recently learned that its upstate New York space is designated for agricultural use, so it will be forced to move. 10 Record Store Day, created in 2007, is a day designated to celebrate the culture of independent record stores. The annual event is usually held on the third Saturday in April, with a second event on Black Friday. On these two days, hundreds of exclusive releases are sold at independently owned brick-andmortar record stores around the world. These albums have included highly coveted projects from Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Pearl Jam and (inevitably) Taylor Swift, who served as the Record Store Day ambassador in 2022. 11 The recent upswing in vinyl’s popularity has led to a backlog at pressing plants, most of which were closed when it seemed CDs had taken over the market. In 2022, Jack White (formerly of the band White Stripes and the founder of Third Man Records) called on major record labels to build their own record pressing plants. Last year, Metallica bought the plant in Virginia that they have used for their own projects since 2014. 12 Buying vinyl albums seems to be as much about fans showing allegiance to their favorite musical artists— or using the records as an interior design element—as it is about actually listening to the albums. According to one study, half of all consumers who purchased a vinyl record in 2022 admitted that they don’t even own a record player. 13 The trend of “albums as art” has resulted in a surge in collectible releases, including records pressed on different colors of vinyl. A newer Taylor Swift release might have as many as 10 variants with different colors and track lists. There have even been a few recent examples of the lightweight “flexi discs” that used to occasionally show up bound into magazines. But so far, there’s no sign of a resurgence of cardboard discs, like those the Archies and the Jackson 5 put out on the back of cereal boxes decades ago. RD reader’s digest Art of Living 24 june 2024 | rd.com
Blue CALL NOW TOLL FREE 24/7 ON: 1-800 733 8463 PLEASE QUOTE: RD4UCN OR ORDER ONLINE AT: www.timepiecesusa.com AND ENTER CODE: RD4UCN PAY BY CHECK: Timepieces International Inc. 10701 NW 140th Street, Suite 1, Hialeah Gardens, FL 33018 • Contemporary Blue Finish • Precision Quartz Movement • Split-Second Chronograph and Date Functions • 30 Day Money Back Guarantee • PERFECT FATHER’S DAY GIFT • Genuine Leather • LUXURY Presentation Box 85% OFF NOW JUST $99 plus s&h MSRP $699 *Special offer price limited to the first 2,500 ad respondents. RD4UCN featuring rose gold accents, designed for the modern man who values style and punctuality. This watch is perfect for any occasion, featuring a genuine blue leather strap, a durable steel case, and a sophisticated dial with rose gold plating. Included in the set is a premium 8.5” bracelet matching the watch’s design and materials, making a bold statement of style and quality. Father’s Day For a limited time, secure this exclusive box set for only $99 (plus S&H) with the promotional code: RD4UCN. Hurry, its popularity means this fabulous gift set will sell out quickly!
reader’s digest 26 june 2024 cartoon by Dan Reynolds Ever wanted to call your co-worker a name? Here are a few choice ones to pick from: Drill Bit: Small boring tool KitKat: Always taking a break Justin: Does justinuff not to get fired Lantern: Not very bright and has to be carried E.T.: Just wants to go home. —ifunny.co I am the first to admit Szypulski is not the easiest name to pronounce or spell. That became No one has ever suggested that learning English was easy. And that goes for the best and brightest students, some of whom take my English as a second language course. I realized this was the case when one young woman expressed her gratitude for the class by saying to me, “I thank you from the heart of my bottom.” —Yefim M. Brodd Kirkland, WA Sign spotted outside a local auto body shop: “The next time we meet will be by accident.” —Steve Berstler West Chester, PA If you work from home and miss going to the office, just drive around for 2 hours to waste time and keep your home temp at 61 degrees so you always need a sweater. — @adam_karpiak All in a Day’s WORK
DNY59/GETTY IMAGES rd.com 27 Art of Living abundantly clear on my first day on the job as a programmer, when I answered a phone call from a co-worker. She hesitantly asked, “Hi, is this Robert … [long pause] S … many letters … I?” —Robert Szypulski Irwin, PA Last year, police in British Columbia fielded more than 2.3 million 911 calls. Here are the less-thanurgent reasons why some were made: ) To ask for directions home from the Drake concert. ) The traffic light was taking too long to turn green. ) They lost a nose ring down the shower drain. ) Their Uber Eats order was taking too long. ) A burger joint wouldn’t let them in before opening. ) They couldn’t find their cellphone. ) The barber gave them a bad haircut. —ctv news I’m a school nurse. One day, a student came your funny work story could be worth $$$. For details, go to page 2 or rd.com/submit. into my office vomiting and feeling nauseated. I had him lie down, and then I called his father, who didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “He doesn’t have a stomach virus,” he insisted. “My wife’s just a bad cook.” —Diane Nickoloff Orangeburg, NY YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK ) Humility is a fine trait for everyone but politicians. Last November, Damion Green ran for a seat on the Rainier, Washington, city council, but nixed voting for himself. Doing so, he told KING 5, a local TV news station, felt “narcissistic.” Instead, he didn’t vote. His opponent Ryan Roth felt similarly. The difference was that Roth’s wife demanded he go vote for himself. So he did. And now he’s on the city council after winning the race 247 votes to Green’s 246. ) In 2010, Maryland commemorated the War of 1812 on its license plates with the website of a nonprofit set up to educate people about the war. Recently, a curious Marylander typed the URL, starspangled200.org, into his phone. What popped up was “not at all what I was expecting,” he told the Washington Post. The nonprofit had since relinquished the URL, so he and 800,000 other drivers with the same plates were now advertising a Filipino gambling site. The URL has since been bought by the state.
reader’s digest 28 june 2024 illustrations by Adam Larkum BY Allan Ripp from the wall street journal A Week Under My Son’s Roof When roles reverse, it’s payback time T here comes a time for every family when the tables turn and the parent has to answer to the child. Mine came recently when my wife and I stayed with our elder son in Los Angeles—our first visit in several years and the longest since he moved west in 2014. A whole week under his roof! “Dad, don’t leave the water running when you brush your teeth,” Nathaniel admonished on our first night. Ditto when I washed my hands. All right, I figured, this is California, where drought is a concern. But I also got busted for pulling extra paper towels to wipe the kitchen counter and was instructed to use the dishcloth, which didn’t seem sanitary. More edicts followed. Not to leave my clunky walking shoes sitting out, and did I even need such ugly footwear? Don’t wear a neck warmer when walking the dogs in the morning—it will warm up when we get to the park. Why drink so much seltzer? One pump of hand sanitizer is enough. This is how you should refold the southwest-style DEPARTMENT OF WIT
Art of Living rd.com 29
30 june 2024 reader’s digest rug over the chair after you use it to cushion your pushups. And do you have to take a shower before we drive to Topanga? At first I wondered how I’d raised such a tyrant. Then I remembered how often I threw the golden rule of parenting at Nathaniel and his siblings when they were young. “Someday, you’ll have a home of your own and can live however you want,” I’d say. “Until then, you’ll have to do as we ask.” An obnoxious decree, but it did get the occasional juice glass in the dishwasher or sweatshirt off the floor. Now it was payback time. I remembered bristling at my own father’s commands growing up, how he always adjusted my collar or came into my room at dusk to close the shutters. Or told me to move a glass of water away from the toaster because an arc of electricity might spark a fire. And so I smilingly followed Nathaniel’s household diktats, but with a touch of subversion, like sneaking a separate roll of paper towels into the pantry, or moving one of his favorite photographs a few inches. There were perks to playing beta to Nathaniel’s alpha. He cleaned dishes after dinner, assuming he would do a better job than my wife and me. He also set our daily outings, including an inspired trip to the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park. And he willingly drove everywhere, sparing me the agony of Los Angeles traffic, though that meant getting carsick riding shotgun.
Art of Living rd.com 31 Our role reversal revealed another side to my elder boy, giving me hope for his future parenting ability. We were walking along El Matador Beach our last afternoon and hit an extended patch of rocks—clearly the end of the line, I thought. Nathaniel wouldn’t hear of it and coaxed me across one large stone to the next, patiently telling me where to place my arthritic feet and hands as ocean waves came close. I was terrified, but after a couple hundred yards we made it to a fresh sandy stretch. “You did it! I’m really proud,” he said, beaming, as if I’d just learned to ride a bike. It was then that I knew for sure that the son also rises to fatherhood. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ( JAN. 10, 2022) ©2022 DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The Building Blocks of Happiness A recent study of job satisfaction conducted by software company BambooHR found that—despite involving hard, physical labor—construction is the happiest industry. Some of the biggest reasons why: camaraderie among co-workers, time spent outside, and the fact that it’s virtually impossible to bring the work home with you. rd.com
32 june 2024 I got sloppy with my shaving one morning and nicked my skin. I stanched the bleeding and ran off to school where I was a substitute teacher. As it was Veterans Day, I let my first graders know that I, too, was a veteran. As I was talking, a student pointed to my face and said, “Your ear is bleeding.” As I wiped off the blood, his classmate whispered solemnly, “Remember, he was in the war.” —Alan Whittemore Orlando, FL The Navy has a language you won’t see in civilian life. Case in point, this sign in a latrine at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field: “All Hands Must Wash Hands Before Leaving the Head!” —Robert McAuley East Atlantic Beach, NY Before we embarked on a few days of survival training at our ROTC summer camp in Florida, our instructor raised the topic of snakebites. “Since the venom of rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins will affect the circulatory system,” he told us, “their bites are to be treated with tourniquets, incisions and suction. The poison of the coral snake, however, affects the nervous system.” And with that, he closed his manual. “Sir,” asked a cadet, “what do we do if a coral snake bites us?” “Turn to page A1-7 in your manuals.” We flipped to page A1-7. It consisted entirely of interdenominational prayers. —gcfl.net YOUR FUNNY MILITARY story could be worth $$$. For details, go to Rd.com/submit. Humor in UNIFORM cartoon by DT Walsh reader’s digest Art of Living
illustrations by Kate Traynor Why Water Workouts Work I magine finding out that chocolate cake is the ideal health food. OK, that’s not true. But it is true that something you might only associate with vacations, leisure time and sheer fun is one of the best exercises around. We’re talking about swimming and other aquatic exercises. Working out while all or partially submerged in water has multiple benefits for both the mind and the body and can be done by almost anyone of BY Beth Weinhouse Swimming and other aquatic exercises have special benefits The HEALTHY Wellness from Thehealthy.com rd.com 33
reader’s digest 34 june 2024 any age at any fitness level. A 30-year observational study at the University of South Carolina found that swimmers had about half the risk of death from any cause over the course of the study compared to participants who were runners, walkers or sedentary. Swimming is the fourth-mostpopular sports activity in the United States. And you don’t have to do the crawl, breast stroke, side stroke or even the dog paddle to get benefits. Water aerobics, pool walking and water workouts with weights are also great ways to get in shape. Journalist Jackie Duda even credits her pool workouts with giving her back her health and independence after a near-death experience. A New Lease on Life Duda, 61, suffered from multiple medical problems, including Crohn’s disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (which affects the body’s connective tissues) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (a condition that causes a rapid heartbeat when a person stands up). She relied on a scooter and other mobility aids to get around. But it was undiagnosed diverticulitis leading to septic shock that nearly killed her in 2021. Duda was put on a ventilator and flown by helicopter to a Baltimore trauma center, where surgeons removed a third of her colon and left her with a 10-inch scar and a temporary colostomy bag. Months later, after her colon was reconnected, Duda began physical therapy. Down to 117 pounds, with scrawny legs and flabby arms from lack of muscle tone, she was barely strong enough to lift her phone. Her primary care provider, physician assistant Renee LaPointe, recommended that she add water therapy to her program. “I walked, waded, marched and performed squats,” Duda remembers of her first day in the pool. “I was amazed; I felt gloriously pain-free.” Duda went from swimming every other day to swimming every single day for more than a year. Today she says she has more energy and less pain than she’s had in decades. In fact, she now swims 4 or 5 miles a week, and walks for 4 or more miles every day without mobility aids. The Many Benefits of Water Fitness Exercising in water can help anyone become more fit, and the many advantages of water workouts—besides the fitness factor—may surprise you. Consider these perks: ) Water’s buoyancy minimizes the effects of gravity, meaning it’s gentle on joints. This makes exercising in water an excellent choice for people with arthritis—and for people who want to prevent it. ) Swimming engages most of the body’s major muscle groups, including those in the legs, upper body and core. It’s a combination of stretching, strength training and an aerobic
rd.com 35 The Healthy workout. Swimming even helps strengthen bones. ) While you don’t feel as hot and sweaty in the water as you do when you work out on land, swimming and other aerobic workouts in water still raise your metabolic rate, burn calories and help with weight loss. ) Swimming and other water aerobics get your heart pumping without putting as much strain on the body as other aerobic activities. Regular swimming can help lower blood pressure and relax stiff arteries, reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. ) Swimming helps improve balance and coordination. One Australian study compared swimming with several other kinds of exercise, including calisthenics and workouts on treadmills, and found that only swimming helped people prevent falls. ) Submerging yourself in water just feels good, sometimes bringing up happy summer memories from childhood. Like all aerobic exercises, swimming, pool walking and other kinds of water aerobics release the feel-good hormones called endorphins in your brain. The extra boost of these chemicals helps combat anxiety, depression and stress. jackie duda experienced many of these benefits, and for that reason she plans to keep up her water workouts for as long as she can. “After I get out of the pool, I feel like I’m 31, not 61,” she says. “Being in the water is what has made me feel like myself again.”
Research by Meaghan Cameron, MS, and Patricia Varacallo, DO reader’s digest 36 june 2024 The Exercise That Takes Years off Your Brain Most people work out to improve their bodies, but one popular workout may have a powerful effect on brain health too. Tai chi is a form of exercise popular among older adults who want to improve their balance, mobility and general fitness. Now it turns out that this ancient Chinese art may also help keep the brain young. An Oregon study of more than 300 people in their mid-70s with mild memory loss found that practicing tai chi for six months led to improved scores on memory tests, equivalent to gaining three to six years of brain health. The researchers believe that it’s the combination of physical movement and the mental challenge of memorizing and executing sequences—much like learning a new dance routine—that’s responsible for the effect. BREATHING FOR BLOOD PRESSURE Chances are that, unless you have respiratory problems, you don’t think much about your breathing—it just happens. But your breathing can affect the health of your entire body, and a new study from Florida State University suggests that how you breathe can even lower your blood pressure. In the study, healthy adults with slightly elevated blood pressure were asked to breathe through the nose for five minutes and then through the mouth for five minutes, while at rest. Their blood pressure measurements were lower when they inhaled and exhaled through the nose only. The researchers hope that future studies will help determine just how to use these findings to help people manage or improve hypertension. News From the WORLD OF MEDICINE BY Beth Weinhouse
GLOBE: THE VOORHES. BERRIES: ADAM SMIGIELSKI/GETTY IMAGES The Healthy rd.com 37 The Sound of Diabetes Diabetes is generally diagnosed through blood tests, urine tests and symptoms such as excessive thirst. Now scientists have found a change that might help diagnose type 2 diabetes even before someone shows up at the doctor’s office for testing. Scientists recruited 267 participants, some with diabetes and some without, and had them record a specific phrase on their smartphone six times a day for two weeks. The researchers then used artificial intelligence to analyze the recordings. The AI was able to detect subtle voice changes, not noticeable by human ears, that indicated type 2 diabetes with almost 90% accuracy. While more research is needed, the scientists hope their work will lead to simpler, quicker and less expensive screening. A Surprising New Use for Statins Statins such as Lipitor (atorvastatin) are the most prescribed Foods to Start and End the Day Right It’s not just what you eat, but when you eat that matters. That’s the conclusion of two separate studies, one looking at breakfast and the other at bedtime eating. In the first, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, scientists studied the breakfast habits of more than 20,000 American adults. Those who ate breakfast regularly—especially if the breakfast didn’t include inflammatory foods like red meat, processed meat (like bacon—sorry!) and commercial baked goods—had lower rates of depression. In the second study, Penn State University scientists found that people who regularly ate berries—any kind, but especially blackberries—had fewer nights of short sleep (less than six hours). Add some blueberries to your morning oatmeal and have a bowl of blackberries after dinner. And sweet dreams! medicines in the U.S., used to help millions of people lower their cholesterol. Now a new study shows that these drugs may also be useful for treating breast cancer. Researchers in Finland found that women who began statin therapy after a breast cancer diagnosis had a significantly reduced risk of mortality. (Interestingly, those who were already taking statins did not see the same benefits.) Women with estrogen receptor– positive tumors found the most benefits.
reader’s digest cartoon by Bob Eckstein For the umpteenth time—no, I can’t count! —Submitted by Daniel Brooks La Grande, OR get up on my steed!” Then, with superhuman effort, he leaps onto the horse’s back and falls off the other side. Once again on the ground, he calls to the heavens, “All right, just half of you this time!” —christianforumsite.com What font is alphabet soup? Times New Ramen. —Submitted by Alice H. Murray Niceville, FL “Dear,” a woman calls to her husband in another room. “Do you ever get a shooting pain in your stomach, like someone is sticking a pin into a voodoo doll of you?” An old-time pastor is rushing to get to church on time when his horse stumbles and pitches him to the ground. Lying in the dirt with a broken leg and no help in sight, the pastor calls out, “All you saints in heaven, help me LAUGHTER The best Medicine 38 june 2024 | rd.com
HIDESY/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS The Healthy Her husband, after thinking about it, replies, “No.” A minute later: “How about now?” —Submitted by Gary Katz Long Grove, IL To make a good movie even better, combine it with another. That’s what Fark readers did: ) Apollo 13 Going on 30 ) Godfather of the Bride ) From Russia with Love Actually ) Kramer vs. Kramer vs. Alien vs. Predator ) Birth of a National Velvet ) All Reservoir Dogs Go to Heaven ) It’s a Mad Max, Mad Max, Mad Max, Mad Max World ) The Grapes of Wrath of Khan The ultimate knock-knock joke: “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Grandpa.” “STOP THE FUNERAL!!!” —Submitted by Perry Rose Denham Springs, LA A little boy went to the library to check out a book titled A Comprehensive Guide for Mothers. “Is this for your mom?” the librarian asked. “No,” said the boy. “Then why are you checking it out?” Got a funny joke? It could be worth $$$. For details, go to rd.com/submit. “Because I just started collecting moths last week.” —thelaughline.com THE DAD COMMANDMENTS According to the new book Dad Law (Chronicle Books) by Ally Probst and Joel Willis, all fathers follow the same rules. Here are a few: A dad will guard the thermostat, and none shall be permitted to adjust it. If a family member states that they are cold, a dad will respond, “Hi, Cold, I’m Dad.” Upon receiving a bill at a restaurant, a dad will say, “You got this one?” while passing the bill to a child. Upon running into a fellow dad, a dad must greet him with one of the following: ) “Look at this guy!” ) “Who let this guy in here?” ) “I guess they’re just letting anyone in here now.” When speaking to an individual who had a haircut, a dad is required by Dad Law to comment: “Looks like you got your ears lowered.” If a dad is picking up a passenger, as the passenger approaches he’s required to scoot the car up just a little. This may go on five to 10 more times.
40 june 2024 photographs by Emiko Franzen reader’s digest
You’re undoubtedly missing out on cool features that can help make life easier, safer, even more fun BY Chris Hoffman DO MORE WITH YOUR rd.com 41 COVER STORY
While the tech industry is always hyping the next hot gadget, the reality is that you already own a lot of awesome gear. And you can certainly do much more with all the devices you already own. Here’s how to use them to live a better life today—no purchase necessary! same time. On a Mac, press command, control and the space bar at the same time to reveal the emojis. Get Your Smart Speaker Talking If you have a smart speaker such as an Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod or Google Nest, you’re probably asking Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant to set timers, play music, turn lights on and off, and maybe even control smart home devices like the thermostat. But these speakers are a lot smarter than that. For one thing, you can use them as a convenient translation device. With an Alexa speaker, say “Alexa, translate Spanish” (or your language of choice) to get started. With a Google speaker, say “Hey Google, interpret French” (or your language of choice). Then just speak to hear your words translated. Apple’s Home Pod, aka Siri, will translate what you say from English, or whatever language it’s set to. Find Emojis on Your Computer Smiley faces and party poppers aren’t just for text messages on your phone. You can use emojis in many programs on your Mac or PC, too, with an emoji keyboard just a quick keyboard shortcut away. On a Windows PC, press the Windows key and the period key at the TMB STUDIO. KILROY79/GETTY IMAGES (SPEAKER); OPPOSITE: EVOLVECT (EMOJI) , VLADYSLAVA YAKOVENKO (EMOJI) reader’s digest 42 june 2024
If you have multiple speakers, you can use them to broadcast announcements. For example, say to your speaker, “Alexa, announce dinner is ready.” The other connected speakers will relay your message to family members scattered around your home. Use Your Phone in Your Car, Hands-Free Depending on your car, you connect your phone via a USB cable or possibly wirelessly, then either press and hold a voice-control button on your steering wheel or say “Hey Google” (on Android) or “Hey Siri” (on iPhone), then speak voice commands. Those commands can help you navigate to a location, choose a song to play, or listen and respond to incoming text messages—all while you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. Watch Videos on a Big Screen On most modern TVs, “casting” content from a phone app to a bigger screen is “almost shockingly easy,” says JR Raphael, who writes the Android Intelligence newsletter. “In the YouTube app, for instance, if you tap on any actively playing video, you’ll see a rectangular icon with a Wi-Fi symbol in its corner. That’s the Cast icon, and tapping it will let you play whatever video you’re watching on any compatible TV or dis- GETTY IMAGES: LYSENKOALEXANDER (MUSIC), MRSWILKINS (LAPTOP), MUZYKA DARIA (PHONE), SANTIMA.STUDIO (WIFI), VERONIKA MALYKHINA (C play around you,” says Raphael. A menu HATBOT), FOURLEAFLOVER (GEARS), RAMBO182 (E-READER), ELVINAGRAPH (TV, DOWNLOAD & REMOTE), SPRINGSKY (CLICK), HERBA MYKHAILO (PHONE), ON COVER, EDITOR LETTER AND THROUGHOUT rd.com 43 Cover Story
of devices will pop up; just select the one you want. You’ll see the same Cast icon in other apps that play video. It works the same on iPhone and Android. In some iPhone apps, you will also find an AirPlay icon that looks like a rectangle with an up arrow below it. Tap that and you can cast videos to a selected device using Apple’s AirPlay. Play Music on Your TV You can play music through your TV’s sound system as you do on a portable Bluetooth speaker. Start by going into your phone’s settings and choosing Bluetooth, then put your sound bar in pairing mode (by pressing a button on the speaker or remote—it varies) and choose it from the list of devices on the Bluetooth settings screen. You’ll be hearing your playlist in seconds. Run Multiple Apps on Your Phone ... On an Android phone, you can use the picture-in-picture feature to run Google Maps while using another app at the same time. Just open the Google Maps app and choose your destination, then switch to another app. The map will stay LUKMAN HAKIM/GETTY IMAGES (VIDEO) reader’s digest 44 june 2024
open as a thumbnail on your screen, navigating you on your way, while you use other apps. You can’t do that on an iPhone, but on both iPhone and Android, you can use picture-in-picture mode for video calls in apps like FaceTime and Zoom. While you’re chatting, you’ll see the other person’s face while you simultaneously use other apps—for example, to look up what time a restaurant opens so you can decide what time to meet. … and Your iPad Newer iPads let you see two apps in action at once. To do this, first open one app, then swipe up from the bottom of the screen with one finger until the dock pops up showing all the apps. Touch and hold the icon for the next app you want to use, then drag it to one edge of your screen to use both apps side by side. Watch Videos While Multitasking Speaking of doing more than one thing at once: “Picture-in-picture is an incredibly useful multitasking option most folks tend to overlook,” says Raphael. It lets you do things, like read a text message or pay a bill on your banking app, while a video plays on your iPhone or Android phone. On an iPhone, just start playing a video in the YouTube app (or another video app) and then swipe up from the bottom of the screen to switch to another app. The video will keep playing in a small player thumbnail. On Android, once you’ve enabled picture-in-picture in Settings, you can open YouTube (or another video app), start watching a video and then switch to another app. The video will keep playing in picture-in-picture mode. Tell Your TV What to Do Many modern smart TVs and streaming devices have remotes with built-in microphones. Just hold down the mic button and speak to change the volume, say what you want to watch, launch streaming channels and more. On menus where you have to spell out your choices using an on-screen keypad, you may also be able to press and hold the mic button and speak to type with your voice instead of using the cursor to slowly choose each letter individually. Get Free eBooks Your library (all those books!) is just a few taps or clicks away. Download the Libby app on your phone or tablet, then sign in with your library to borrow e-books—free, just like the books you borrow from the building. The Libby app even lets you send borrowed e-books to your e-reader. Prefer to listen to your books? Good news: Libby provides free access to audiobooks too. Save Money on Office Software You don’t have to pay for Microsoft Office to get powerful office software. On a Mac, iPad or iPhone, you can use Apple’s free iWork suite, with Pages rd.com 45 Cover Story
(word processing, like Microsoft Word), Numbers (spreadsheets, like Excel) and Keynote (presentation software, like PowerPoint). These apps may come preloaded on your device, or you can download them free from the App Store. On a Windows PC, you can use webbased versions of Microsoft Office (now called Microsoft 365) applications in a web browser. You get surprisingly fullfeatured versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just head to office.com or microsoft365.com and sign in with a Microsoft account to get started. Tap into Your Wi-Fi Network’s Superpowers Wireless routers are packed with great features. For example, you might see a Quality of Service or Traffic Prioritization feature that lets you prioritize specific devices. So even if your kid fires up the Xbox and starts downloading a huge game, your computer work won’t be slowed down. Other useful features include parental controls and guest access to set up a temporary guest Wi-Fi hot spot. Your router’s manual will tell you all about these features and how to access them, possibly through an app or web browser. If you don’t have a manual, you can probably find one on your router manufacturer’s website, or by doing a web search for the model of your router and “manual.” reader’s digest 46 june 2024
Watch Your Show in Every Room Jared Newman, who writes the Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter, recommends using the same streaming platform on all your TVs. For example, if you have a Roku in one room, use Roku in your other rooms too. That way, you can quickly resume whatever you were last watching and get the same recommendations, all from your streaming device’s dashboard. Stream Your Shows in a Hotel At some hotels, you can sign in to smart TVs for access to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu (more on those in “The Scoop on Streaming” on page 50), but it depends on the hotel and what services it supports. So why not travel with your own device and plug it into the hotel TV? Newman recommends Roku for this, as Roku devices have a Hotel and Dorm Connect mode for getting on hotel Wi-Fi connections. “The Roku Streaming Stick 4K is ideal for travel as it doesn’t require any external HDMI cables,” he says. Navigate Faster Using Your Laptop’s Touchpad Touchpads on modern Windows laptops and MacBooks respond to a lot of smartphone-style gestures. For example, you can place two fingers on the touchpad and move them apart to zoom in, or move them closer together to zoom out. On Windows laptops, you can place three fingers on the touchpad and move them around to switch between applications. (Set this up in the Settings app, which you access from the Start menu. On Windows 10, it’s in Settings under Devices > Touchpad. In Windows 11, it’s under Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad.) On a Mac, swipe up on the touchpad with four fingers to open Mission Control and see all your open windows. (Set this up in System Settings, on the Trackpad screen.) Try a Touchscreen Many modern PC laptops come with touchscreens, so you can operate your computer by navigating around the screen with your fingers as you do on a phone or tablet. Apple users can simulate the experience by docking an iPad into a case with a built-in keyboard. rd.com 47 Cover Story
Go Back in (Browser) Time Browser tabs you just closed aren’t gone forever. In Chrome and Firefox, just right-click in the empty space at the right end of your browser’s tab bar and select Reopen Closed Tab. On a PC, you can also press the control, shift and T keys at the same time to do this. On a Mac, press shift, command and T at the same time. To find a tab you recently visited, look under the History tab at the top of the screen and click the page you want to reopen. Declutter Webpages On web browsers, Reader Mode re - moves ads and clutter from webpages, making them easier to read, especially on phones’ small screens. In Safari for iPhone, tap the “AA” button on the bar at the top or bottom of the screen. (If you don’t see it, swipe down to scroll up and it should appear.) Then tap Show Reader. This option will be grayed out if it isn’t available. In Google Chrome on an Android phone, you can open the Google Play Store and install the Reading Mode app made by Google to get this feature. In Safari on a Mac, click the Reader Mode icon, which looks like a piece of paper and appears to the left of the web address on the toolbar. (It will only appear while you’re reading an online article, and it will be hidden if Reader Mode isn’t available for the page.) In Google Chrome on a computer, right-click a webpage and select Open in Reading Mode. Banish Ads on the Web Instead of using Reader Mode, you can install an ad blocker to remove ads as you browse on your computer. I recommend uBlock Origin, available free at ublockorigin.com. Note that an ad blocker can cause problems with some websites, so if something doesn’t work right, try disabling it for the site you’re on. For example, click the uBlock Origin icon and then click the big power button in the pop-up to disable it. But ad blockers can cut down on distractions and speed up all webpages, so if that appeals to you, they’re worth a try. Enlist AI Assistance Have you tried ChatGPT or other AI chatbots yet? Benj Edwards, AI reporter for the technology website Ars Technica, says AI can be a helpful assistant. He describes ChatGPT as “a good conversational mirror that can help you develop your ideas through discussion.” So it can be useful for figuring out what you want to say in an email or letter, or outlining steps for a project, for example. “It can help you fix logical mistakes and tone down heated language you might miss,” says Edwards. Don’t rely on any AI chatbot for facts, though, as they can inject false information into your project. ChatGPT is free; you can sign up at chat.openai.com. Edwards recommends subscribing to ChatGPT Plus to access the more powerful GPT-4 model, which will better understand your reader’s digest 48 june 2024