Latest news with #SwissArmy
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- General
- Buzz Feed
38 Products With Drastic Results That'll Make You Gasp
Anua heartleaf pore-clearing cleansing oil that dissolves makeup residue, blackheads, and excess sebum *without* clogging pores or over-drying skin. Reviewers say that they could actually see the oils and gunk leaving their face — kinda gross, very satisfying, and a major slay. The Pink Stuff, aka the Swiss Army knife of cleaning products because it can do it all. You can literally scrub your house from top to bottom with this jar of miracle paste and make everything ✨ sparkle ✨ once again. You got dirty grout? Gone. Grease? Good riddance. The caked-on gunk at the bottom of your cast-iron pan that seems impossible to get rid of? Buh-bye!!! Hard As Hoof nail-strengthening cream that can help renew your fingernails after years of nail biting or peeling off acrylics. If your nails are prone to cracking or peeling, this calcium, vitamin, and hydrogenated jojoba oil formula will help keep them hydrated and strong. And a nail renewal formula so you can treat that poor, discolored toe that you stubbed on the side of your bed (but obviously it was the bed's fault, duh, not yours). You'll start to see reduced discoloration and improved texture in as little as two days — don't believe me? Then trust these reviewers! A wire-free bra with a drawstring in the middle that'll give your boobs a push and allow you to adjust the tightness. Can a regular push-up bra do that? I think NOT. Tonymoly's octopus-shaped scrub stick to help remove whiteheads and blackheads *and* exfoliate your skin. You can just rinse it off with warm water when you're done, so no need to buy those costly one-time-use pore strips. A stain and odor eliminator because your poor carpet doesn't deserve to stink or stain. Instead of saying, "Bad dog!" you'll be shouting, "Amazing stain remover!" Spray and soak any mess your lil' stinker decides to make, and just like that — gone. An earwax removal kit so next time someone whispers in your ear, you won't have to scream "HUH???" This will soften and loosen earwax for easy cleaning so you'll be able to hear everything loud and clear. A stainless-steel skin spatula that scrapes all the gunk from your face. The vibration brings out blackheads, dirt, and oils from your pores, making them easy to remove. For less than $20, think about how much you'll save instead of going for a facial! And a stainless-steel tongue scraper so you can remove all the buildup and soft plaque that's been living on your tongue. It'll remove that weird taste from your mouth and odor-causing bacteria, so the next time someone offers you a stick of gum, you'll know it's NOT because you have bad breath. A jewelry cleaning stick for restoring your old rings so they'll stay true to the lyrics ~shine bright like a diamond~. Save yourself a trip to the cleaner, because all you have to do is twist the bottom of the pen and brush the solution on. Lo and behold, your gem is as shiny as new! An impressive peanut butter knife that had to have been designed by a genius. It'll scrape out all the PB from the sides, bottom, and crevices so you can enjoy every. last. drop. without getting any on your fingers. #PBloversunite! The bestselling, cruelty-free Essence Lash Princess mascara with a cone-shaped fiber brush that'll enhance your beautiful lashes — with such dramatic (+ clump-free) results, you won't need extensions or falsies ever again. Reviewers swear it delivers the same (if not better) results as name-brand mascaras for less than $5 — the 250,000+ 5-star ratings don't lie! A bottle of Sunny & Honey Carpet Miracle because your kids and pets have been dragging dirt inside your home for way too long, and it's finally time to clean it. This formula will tackle any messes and spills, leaving your carpet as good as new. A painless, mint-flavored teeth-whitening pen to help remove years of staining, and it takes only 30 seconds to apply! Plus, they won't cause sensitivity like other options (*cough* Crest Whitestrips) can. Your teeth will become so white, you'll never want to stop smiling — c'mon, show off those all-natural veneers. A brush kit that you attach to a drill. A DRILL. If you don't want to scrub the heck out of your mildew-infested tub (aka an unwarranted workout sesh), just attach it to the head and let the tool do it for ya — all you need to do is move it around! A Korean exfoliating mitt to buff all those dead, dry skin cells with its viscose fiber material, leaving you smooth as butter. This bb has the gripping power that loofahs and chemical exfoliants don't have, so it does a way better job of removing all the dead flakes. And afterward, your bod will absorb all your moisturizers and lotions even better! A ChomChom pet hair remover with over 139,000 5-star reviews (!!!), and over 5,000 of them call it "the best," a word that shall not be taken lightly. It's like a reusable lint roller (without those annoying sticky papers) and designed to pick pet hair up efficiently — once fur is locked in, it doesn't go anywhere until you empty it out! A set of fast-acting Keurig cleaner pods to cleanse your machine of old coffee grinds and residue. Just pop it in like you would with a K-Cup and let it run. It can help extend your Keurig's lifespan and make your coffee taste super-duper fresh! A jar of super moisturizing O'Keeffe's hand cream that may be the savior for your extremely dry, cracked hands. It's a concentrated moisturizer (unscented and non-greasy!) that will actually keep 'em hydrated instead of wearing off after an hour. A bestselling pack of Mighty Patches so you can tackle that pesky pimple head-on. These discreet patches help conceal pimples and prevent you from picking at them while the hydrocolloid absorbs the gunk inside — so they can actually heal faster! They're great for daytime or overnight use. Plus, a pack of nose pore patches because the grime and excess oil in your nose are begging to be released. Just leave it on overnight and take it off in the morning to see all the goop and gunk it pulled out, plus your clearer, smaller pores. A medicated dog shampoo that could help your poor doggo who's been dealing with dry, flaky, and oily skin. Plus, it can give them a healthier-looking coat! Happy dog = happy you. A cooktop cleaning kit to take you one step closer to having the kitchen you've always dreamed about. Now you can chef it up all day long without having to worry about a messed-up stove! Or a gas range cleaning spray that'll make cleaning your stovetop easy-peasy, no-more-grease-y. All you have to do is spray and wipe to make your stove look good as new! A popular anti-dandruff shampoo to help get rid of those stubborn flakes that refuse to leave your scalp. The antifungal formula helps eliminate the very *source* of dandruff (begone 🤺) so you won't have to deal with the flaking and itching anymore! Base Labs keloid minimizer that helps reduce and heal those pesky lil' (or, in some cases, big) bumps that decided to grow in with your new piercing. First Aid Beauty's KP Bump Eraser, a body scrub for exfoliating dry and rough bumps, especially those caused by keratosis pilaris (aka "strawberry" or "chicken" skin). It also helps decongest pores and remove dead skin. It's vegan, cruelty-free, and safe for all types of skin! A two-pack of kojic acid dark spot remover soap that helps improve the appearance of scars and hyperpigmentation, restores moisture, and leaves your skin glowing. Its hyaluronic acid, shea butter, olive oil, retinol, and turmeric formula can be applied anywhere on your body — including your bikini area! A bestselling (and surprisingly inexpensive) argan oil hair mask because your locks deserve to look shinier and feel healthier. It'll revive and strengthen your weak, damaged hair — a "miracle in a jar," according to a reviewer who saw incredible results after just one use! A bottle of Bio-Oil that uses natural oils (vitamins A and E, chamomile, lavender, and rosemary) to reduce the appearance of battle scars over time on all skin tones and textures. It's like a magician performing a long-term disappearing act! Miracle-Gro indoor plant food spikes because as much as you want to be a plant parent, your green kiddos are struggling — even though you *swear* you're feeding and watering them enough. I don't know what kind of sorcery was put into these tiny spikes, but what I *do* know is that they can revive the saddest, limpest plants, hence the name ~Miracle-Gro~. Stick these into the soil, and they'll fertilize it for up to two months! A value-size bottle of sulfate-free biotin shampoo that might be your savior if you've noticed your hair thinning. The keratin, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, and — of course — biotin formula helps nourish your scalp so your locks can grow in thicker than ever. A foot file to scrub away all the rock-hard calluses your feet have worked up. It's basically like a cheese grater for your dead skin. And Lee Beauty callus remover gel so you can soften the hard skin to easily exfoliate! Why spend big bucks getting a pedicure when you can DIY at home? Just soak your feet in hot water, apply this gel wherever needed, rinse it off after 5–10 minutes, and use a pumice stone or rasp to scrub away. 🧽 AND! A Dermora foot mask that peels off dead skin buildup on the soles of your feet and helps repair cracked heels. Just leave the mask on for about an hour, and within 6–11 days, your ~dogs~ will start to shed. It'll basically turn you into a snake, but in the best way possible. Kinda gross but also really satisfying, right? Easy-to-use retainer cleaner tablets if you've sniffed your retainers lately and been like "woof." 😳 Just drop a tablet into a cup of water and let the retainer soak for about 15 minutes to remove all odor-causing bacteria and stains. A pumice stone to scrub off the scum that's chilling in your toilet bowl — the stuff that, no matter how hard you scrub with bleach, never comes off. This scouring stick removes mineral deposits, limescale, rust, and other stains in a matter of minutes *without* damaging your porcelain.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
3 Lessons AI Agents Can Teach You About Delegation
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash If you're not used to doing it, delegating can be hard. As a bootstrapped founder, I was accustomed to doing everything myself. In many ways, this was a good thing—being a one-man Swiss Army Knife was an effective way to learn a ton of different skills that would eventually help grow my business. On the other hand, I was exhausted. It was a huge relief when I finally hired my first employees, but it was also harder than I thought it would be to relinquish control of the areas of my business I'd grown used to navigating alone. There was a learning curve around which tasks to hand off completely, where I should delegate but oversee, and what I should continue to do myself. Plenty of others share this struggle. As the businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad put it, 'The inability to delegate tasks is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.' Research bears this out, with data from London Business School revealing that a mere 30 percent of business leaders delegate effectively. In contrast to overthinking founders, AI agents excel at task management—it's kind of their whole thing. Here are three ways founders can emulate the delegation strategies used by AI. Break It Down One of the challenges of delegation is figuring out what, exactly, you're delegating. Say you instruct a marketing associate to handle an upcoming product launch campaign. The ambiguity of the request is bound to cause problems: should the campaign focus on social media ads, or influencer outreach? What are the KPIs? What is the goal of the messaging? Agents don't paint in such broad strokes. Instead, they work backwards from the objective they've been given, planning tasks around the final outcome to be achieved. In order to do this, they break down the goal at hand into several smaller, actionable tasks and perform them based on specific conditions. Leaders can emulate this structured approach to delegation by deconstructing projects into hyper-specific tasks before assigning them. Of course, AI can help you do this part, too—tools like Trello and Asana can even suggest task assignments based on team member availability, workload, and expertise. Urgency Versus Impact Founders making the transition into leaders will likely run into a common problem: How do you figure out what to delegate, versus what to continue to do yourself? As Jesse Sostrin writes in Harvard Business Review, the shift from 'doing' to 'leading' can be a tough one: 'Your involvement is a mix of the opportunities, mandates, and choices you make regarding the work you do,' he says. 'How ancillary or essential you are to the success of that portfolio depends on how decisively and wisely you activate those around you.' One of the remarkable features of agentic AI is its ability to reason, which it achieves by gathering and analyzing huge amounts of data. This capability allows agents to assess the urgency and importance of tasks in real-time, adapting to changing circumstances to maintain efficiency. For instance, AI agents can plan workflows, utilize tools, and make informed decisions to accomplish complex tasks, thereby optimizing their actions based on task priority In addition to using apps like to help you prioritize automatically, you can also take a page from agentic AI's book when it comes to systematically assigning urgency to a given task. I personally love the Eisenhower Matrix, which divides tasks into one of four quadrants: Urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, neither urgent nor important. The urgent and important items are what you should do yourself. The urgent and unimportant ones are what you delegate. Embrace 'Good Enough' AI agents are incredibly efficient at what they do—and the results are not always perfect. That's why they're considered complementary to their human counterparts, rather than replacements. Take one of the tasks for which agents are especially well-suited: drafting emails. Agents are capable of pulling past message content and previous interactions to create personalized, human-sounding drafts, freeing you up from the tedium of doing it yourself. This is especially useful when it comes to messages that, while important, tend to be repetitive to write, like customer service responses. Still, leaders with perfectionist tendencies often have a hard time accepting 'good enough,' even in areas where it's not absolutely crucial, or even important. This is a damaging habit: according to research from the Hardin Group and the Social Research Lab, 86 percent of respondents believe perfectionist expectations impact their work, and 68 percent believe perfectionism leads to burnout. Instead of spending valuable time crafting each individual message, entrepreneurs can rely on AI agents to handle the heavy lifting, allowing them to focus on higher-level strategic tasks. While the drafts may not be winning any Pulitzers, they're often 80 percent of the way there—requiring only minor edits before hitting send. This aligns with another one of my favorite productivity hacks, the 80/20 rule, which holds that 80 percent of desired results come from just 20 percent of the effort. The key is recognizing when 'good enough' truly is good enough. AI-generated emails might occasionally miss subtle emotional cues or industry-specific jargon, but in many cases, the time saved far outweighs the need for perfection. Plus, the technology is continually improving, learning from corrections and user preferences to get closer to the mark over time. Delegating effectively isn't about giving up control; it's about optimizing your time. By taking a page from the agent playbook, leaders can free themselves from micromanagement, scale faster, and focus on what truly drives their business forward.
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
5 Burning questions on the Bucs defense that need answered ahead of 2025
As the Buccaneers finalize their roster and coaching setups under Todd Bowles and Larry Foote, every defensive unit enters camp with a defining question. Answering these will shape Tampa Bay's performance in a competitive NFC South. Defensive Line: Can Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey sustain dominance and health? The interior thrives on the presence of Vita Vea, a force against both the run and the pass, and Calijah Kancey, whose quick interior pass rush made a national impact in his sophomore season. However, Kancey has dealt with calf injuries that have forced him to miss multiple games in his first two seasons. With depth from Logan Hall, Greg Gaines, and rookie Elijah Roberts providing rotational support, the question is: Can this interior line stay healthy and consistently disrupt offenses from Week 1 to the (hopefully) postseason peak? Safety: Can Antoine Winfield Jr. maintain elite play while mentoring youth? Antoine Winfield Jr. remains the backbone of Tampa Bay's secondary, excelling in the deep zone, the slot, run support, and turning plays over. He'll have a new running mate in the secondary in Tykee Smith, as the defensive Swiss Army knife makes the transition from corner to safety. Behind the duo is Kaevon Merriweather, JJ Roberts and possibly UDFA Shilo Sanders The core question: Can Winfield Jr. continue to play at an All-Pro level while grooming these young safeties to fill his sizable shoes? Edge Rushers: Will young talent translate to consistent pressure? The edge group holds high upside but has inconsistencies. Yaya Diaby, the team's most successful pass rusher in 2024, looks to turn his pressures into sacks with the help of newly acquired Haason Reddick, while Chris Braswell enters his sophomore season with the opportunity for more snaps with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka moving on to Cleveland. Depth includes Anthony Nelson and Rookie David Walker rotating in. The question is: Can the young rushers sustain a high level of play and generate pressure weekly, rather than flashes? Cornerbacks: Will Zyon McCollum emerge as a true CB1? After a breakout 2024, Zyon McCollum is expected to anchor the back end. Jamel Dean, when healthy, adds veteran presence, while Christian Izien and possibly rookie Jacob Parrish play nickel. Behind them, depth pieces like rookie Benjamin Morrison, Kindle Vildor, and Josh Hayes fill out the rotation. The question: Can McCollum cement himself as a top-tier CB1 while emerging depth holds up during the inevitable NFL attrition? Linebackers: Can Tampa stabilize the linebacking core through youth and new signings? The linebacker unit presents the biggest question mark. Lavonte David still commands respect and production at 14 years in the league. Free-agent addition Anthony Walker Jr. brings experience, and SirVocea Dennis returns full-time after an injury. Backup names include Deion Jones and Antonio Grier Jr., who are mostly special-teams contributors at this point. The primary question: Can the younger linebackers and free-agent additions absorb responsibility and form a reliable corps alongside a Hall of Famer?
Euronews
3 days ago
- Politics
- Euronews
Switzerland revives wartime bunkers amid heightened security concerns
Switzerland is seeking to revive its system of wartime bunkers, many of which have remained unused since the 1990s. Triggered by heightened security concerns following Russia's all-out war in Ukraine, the Swiss military is reconsidering the role of an estimated 8,000 bunkers scattered across the country, some dating back to 1886, and how to best modernise them. Originally constructed to guard strategic locations, such as the Gotthard railway and Alpine passes, the system of bunkers became a key component of the Swiss National Redoubt, a network of fortifications designed to repel invasion during World War II and the Cold War. While many bunkers were once fitted with advanced defence systems to shield against Soviet missile threats, their use declined after the Cold War. Budget cuts and changing defence priorities led to many of the sites being sold to civilians. Buyers found surprising new uses for them, from cheese cellars and art galleries to data storage hubs and hotels. Some were even turned into high-security vaults for cryptocurrencies, such as the Swiss Fort Knox in Bern canton. However, in 2023, the Swiss army halted all sales of these shelters, opting instead to assess how best to repurpose them. "We have to make use of what we've got," Swiss Army Chief Thomas Süssli told domestic media. 'The nature of military threats has changed. The bunkers are poorly placed and the weapons they contain will only last for another ten or twenty years,' he added. For the army, the goal is to convert these bunkers into 'difficult-to-attack defence nodes' using cutting-edge technology, while ensuring the upgrades are cost-effective and require minimal staffing. Aside from strengthening national defence, some cantons have also adapted civilian shelters into temporary accommodation for refugees. According to local media, the Swiss Society for Technology and Armed Forces plans to host an 'innovation day' in mid-September, where more details will be unveiled and participants can pitch their ideas. "We're looking for ideas from all sectors, not just defence," the STA emphasised.
The Star
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
What would Jane Birkin have thought of the craze over her namesake bag?
The world is in the throes of Birkin mania. This month the original Birkin bag, made by Hermes for British actress Jane Birkin in 1984, sold for US$10.1mil (approximately RM42.9mil) at Sotheby's in Paris. The way Jane wore it, festooned with nail clippers and stickers for political causes, has led to its own slang: to 'Birkinify' one's bag. The omnipresent Labubu plush toys that fans like to hang on their bags are said to have been inspired by the way Jane affixed eclectic trinkets to her Birkins. Riffs on the Hermes classic, such as the Boatkin, have become sought-after novelty items that fetch their own hefty prices. On social media, explainers proliferate on how to emulate Jane's late 1960s carefree, bourgeois-bohemian style, with sheer crocheted dresses and ballet flats. Read more: Still obsessed with Labubu? Sorry, fashion did the bag charm trend first All of this is happening two years after her death on July 16, 2023, after a cancer diagnosis and more than a decade of treatment. She was a cult figure, particularly outside France, where she lived most of her life. Jane, who was born in London, became a revered actress who appeared in more than 70 films and a musician whose most famous song, Je T'aime… Moi Non Plus (I Love You… Me Neither), with Serge Gainsbourg, was a worldwide hit. It was banned by the Vatican for its lasciviousness, and Jane responded that the pope was their best publicist. In 2023 , the black-walled house on the Left Bank where the couple lived opened as a museum, and tickets to tour the residence sell out months in advance. In Jane B By Agnes V , a 1988 documentary directed by Agnes Varda that was made as Jane was turning 40, she dumps out the contents of her original black Birkin bag – the first 'What's In My Bag' video perhaps? Out of the beaten-up black vessel tumble multiple notebooks, a Swiss Army knife, newspaper clippings, Maybelline Great Lash mascara, pencils, cash, cigarettes, a Fyodor Dostoyevsky novel and Scotch tape. She fixes her gaze on the camera with a wry look and says: 'Find out anything after seeing what's in the bag? Even when you show it all, you reveal very little.' Jane knew that the bag had more name recognition than she did. During her life, people would ask if she was the same Birkin as the bag. She'd say, 'Yes, and the bag is going to sing now!' In person, the original Birkin looks as if it might have been found in a shipwreck, with its fraying handles and mottled leather patina and marks from where she had affixed Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF stickers. The nail clippers she had dangled from the bag were still there. It was designed with Jean-Louis Dumas, then the Hermes CEO. In a kind of rom-com-style meet-cute, the two sat next to each other on a flight from London to Paris and came up with the idea for a holdall that would be more suitable than the baskets Jane had carried as bags since she was a teenager. 'She didn't treat it as an art piece,' said Adam Lena, a couture dealer from Warsaw, Poland, who went to the public viewing at Sotheby's. 'It's just a normal bag for every day. That's the amazing thing about it. She didn't treat it as an heirloom.' Everyone else has a very different relationship to the bag. It's nearly impossible to walk into an Hermes store and just buy one. Someone who wants a Birkin has to establish a relationship as a customer of the house, often buying scarves or wallets or sweaters or smaller bags before they are 'offered' one, in Hermes parlance. The bag cost US$2,000 (RM8,500) when it was released in the mid-1980s. Today the least expensive Birkin at US retail would sell for more than US$10,000 (RM42,500), depending on the size, colour and material – tariffs and state taxes notwithstanding. Faye Landes, a longtime retail analyst, said the value of the Birkin prototype was closely entwined with Jane's status as an icon – a category of person as rare and coveted as the handbag she carried. 'Very few people have either the talent or the resources' to become one, she said. At 4:16 p.m. July 10, bidding on the bag began. Some 270 participants from 38 countries had registered for that day's auction after the bag had been displayed in Asia, Europe and the United States. After an invitation-only cocktail party for clients, during which Sotheby's served Champagne and chocolates shaped like tiny Birkin bags, the bidding began. As in a scene from a film, there were gasps as the figure rose from US$1.7mil (RM7.2mil), rapidly increasing in a nine-way bidding war that played out over 10 tense minutes. The bidding ended at US$10.1mil (RM42.9mil), including a buyer's premium, the bag going to Valuence, a Japanese fashion conglomerate. Strangers cheered and hugged one another. The Birkin broke all kinds of records. It became the most valuable handbag ever sold at auction. It outsold the hat of Emperor Napoleon I and Princess Diana's sheep sweater. The truth is that owning a Birkin has become shorthand for making it. Many Real Housewives and Kardashian-Jenners own them. RickDick, the name of an artificial intelligence meme artist on Instagram, posted a parody video of Kim Kardashian breaking the glass of the Sotheby's display and stealing the bag. Kim reposted it. Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, another perpetual object of style obsession, owned a large black one. So what could be more indicative of success than owning the original Birkin? Read more: Like the famous bag named after her, Jane Birkin is a style icon But, what would Jane think of all this? As someone who eschewed plastic surgery on her own face, she would probably find the so-called "Birkin Body" – a US$75,000 (RM318,450) body lift from the neck to the knees offered by Dr Ryan Neinstein – darkly funny. She was a lifelong progressive activist who would have loved that her name was appropriated in the Bushwick Birkin – the nickname for the Telfar Shopping Bag popular with creative types, particularly among people of colour and within the queer community. She might even have taken a shine to the divisive Labubus. She'd had a beloved stuffed toy named Munkey since childhood until she buried it with Gainsbourg, her former lover who died in 1991. Her burial plot is just a few yards away in Montparnasse Cemetery in an overgrown English secret garden where fans leave tokens for her: miniature bulldog figurines, headshots, notes, bouquets of sunflowers. Jane lived a life full of surprises and contradictions as she confronted motherhood, sexuality, fame, consent, abuse, respect. But the Hermes bag that is synonymous with her to this day? Its creation myth didn't warrant even a sentence in Jane's diary. Her life cannot be summed up in one outfit, one relationship, one song, one role or even one bag. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
