What Is Spatial Audio and How Does It Work?

If you've bought a new iPhone like the iPhone 15 Pro Max or a new pair of Apple headphones or earbuds in the past year or two, then you've probably heard the sales pitch about spatial audio. But what exactly is spatial audio, how do you use it, and do you really need it? If you've been looking for the answers to these questions, then look no further.

What is spatial audio?

Spatial audio first started appearing on the original AirPods Pro and AirPods Max as a way to make your movies and videos more immersive. Now, though, Apple and others have extended spatial audio content to other apps, including Apple Music. At its root, spatial audio is how Apple brands its approach to immersive 360-degree audio. Apple isn't the only one to refer to the tech as spatial audio, so it can get a little confusing when you hear it in other places. But the basic idea is still the same.

If you're thinking, "this just sounds like regular old surround sound," then you wouldn't be wrong. At its core, that's all spatial audio is. However, with the tech that Apple has been putting in the newest AirPods Pro and AirPods Max in recent years, it offers a bit more than that, allowing you to actually have an anchor in place for sounds so that you can move around and actually experience 3D audio instead of having the sounds surround you.

How does spatial audio work?

While some content will act just like regular surround sound, providing you with different levels of sound for different effects depending on which direction they are coming from, spatial audio can also use your smart device as an anchor and then create a virtual 3D environment that is meant to make you feel like you're directly within the sounds that you're listening to.

As such, some content that has full spatial audio support will allow you to turn your head and change where the sound is coming from. For example, imagine you're watching an action movie, and you hear yelling and running off to the right. Well, with spatial audio on, you could turn your head to the right and the direction of the sound would change from being off to your right to being in front of you.

This creates an immersive experience that mimics 3D surround sound, allowing you to turn your head and listen as the audio moves to the left, right, or up and down, depending on how you move your head. We've also seen this tech utilized in Dolby Atmos, which is what Apple's spatial audio is built on.

In some headphones, like the newest AirPods, this movement is tied to sensors and gyros in the headphones themselves. Others rely on a completely virtual system to pull off the 3D audio. It's likely we'll see more headphones and earbuds launching with full gyros in the future to provide an even more immersive listening experience.

What Apple devices support spatial audio?

If you want to experience spatial audio for yourself, there are a myriad of Apple devices that support the system: The AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, AirPods 3rd Generation, and Beats Fit Pro. Apple also says that any devices running iOS 15.1 or later will be able to play spatial audio through their integrated speakers, including the HomePod 2, iPhone 7 or later, and the following iPads:

• iPad mini 5th generation and later

• iPad 6th generation and later

• iPad Pro 12.9‑inch 3rd generation and later

• iPad Pro 11‑inch, iPad Air 3rd generation and later

What apps support spatial audio?

It's about more than just having the right hardware, though. You'll also need apps that have content with spatial audio. Luckily there are more than a few, including Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max, Disney Plus, and Apple Music. Other apps like Tidal and Amazon Music HD provide Dolby Atmos support, too, but they have it tied to their own speaker systems. In Tidal's case, it's tied to Sony's 360 Reality Audio, so you can't use it with your Apple headphones.

YouTube also supports two different spatial audio formats. However, keep in mind that any content through these other apps will have to offer Dolby Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 to actually use spatial audio.

How to turn spatial audio on in Apple Music

For Apple and Beats headphones, spatial audio support will be turned on automatically. However, you can turn it on all the time for other supported headphones by heading into Apple Music's app settings and turning on the Dolby Atmos setting. To do this, navigate to Settings > Music > Dolby Atmos and tick it to Always On.

Is spatial audio worth the hype?

Ultimately, spatial audio is a really cool feature that makes audio more immersive. It isn't a dealbreaker, though, and if you already have a working pair of headphones or earbuds, I wouldn't say it's especially worth upgrading to a new pair for just that. Once more services support it, though, spatial audio will become one of the best ways to watch movies, listen to music, and enjoy a plethora of other types of audio content.

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LG's Smart Washer and Dryer Uses AI to Make Laundry Less of a Chore

I’ve always been sure there were easier ways to get the laundry done. While it’s not the head-to-tail solution I dream of wherein I throw my clothes to the floor at the end of the day and they magically regenerate clean and on hangers in my closet the next, the latest iteration of smart washing machines from LG do alleviate a surprising number of pain points.  I tested the Smart Washer with TurboWash® 360° and AI DD® Built-In Intelligence (currently $999, regularly $1299), and its mate, the Smart Electric Dryer with Sensor Dry & Steam Technology (currently $899, regularly $1199). That’s a mouthful, but the important part is that these new models use the LG ThinkQ technology as well as AI DD® Built-In Intelligence.  

Well-designed machines

Though most people tuck their washing machines away, you won’t need to do that with this pair. They have sleek, beautifully simple faces on the brushed metal frame. When off, you see the interface as a simple round dial with a black face, and a minimized drawer for the detergent bay on the washer. There are no rounded corners on the machine, everything is sharp mitered edges intersecting circles for the doors and dials. These machines are on the taller side, each standing almost 40 inches tall. Once stacked, they're tall enough you might strain to reach the top dial. If you’re shorter, one benefit of the connectivity of these machines is that, through the app, you can ask the machines to ignore the dial on the dryer, and use the washing machine controls for both machines. When on, the digital interface uses contemporary fonts, colors, and even seasonal pictures in a pretty high resolution. Turning the dial or pressing a button brings the machines to life; otherwise, there are no lights to bother you. Rather than buzzing when a cycle is complete, the machines offer a selection of classical tunes. Once a month or so, you’re sent new tunes and graphics to choose from. For winter, I had an animated snowman greet me and play Vivaldi’s "Winter." While I expected to be bothered by the noise and overall cheeriness, instead I was kind of delighted by a washing machine set that seemed to interact with me. 

ThinkQ makes controlling your machines from the couch possible (mostly)

The machines pair seamlessly with ThinkQ, LG’s smart appliance app. It immediately picked up the machines and connected and led me through a two-minute setup. The app will prompt you to remotely turn the machines on and off, and configure your wash or dry cycle and then send that cycle to the machine. What it won’t do is allow you to remotely start the machine, even if the door is closed. You can activate “remote start” for each machine, which would allow you to do so, from the physical control panel, but remote start isn’t a perpetual state: You have to deactivate it to open the door after a cycle, and reactivate if after. Essentially, this means you have to go up to the machines to turn on remote start; once there, you might as well just start the damn thing. This is probably a safety feature, but I wish i could sign a disclaimer that I have neither cats nor children who’d climb inside my machine. My main complaint with the app—and it’s not a deal breaker by any stretch—is that although LG integrates with Google Home and other smart assistants, it doesn’t do so in any way that is particularly helpful. If you’d like to use your machines in automations, you can’t. At most, you’ll see the machines in your smart home dashboard, and that they’re on or off. 

A much more efficient process

Remote start aside, streamlined UX is at the heart of these machines, and where it’s clear LG has worked to try and make laundry as painless as possible. This starts with the detergent: Instead of adding pods and sheets or softener to every load, the detergent bay holds about a quart of detergent and softener, and will dispense it automatically. So far, I’ve only had to refill it every few weeks and it’s meant being able to store my drippy bottles away and eliminate use of dryer sheets altogether. There isn’t a reservoir for bleach, which would have made it a perfect trifecta. Once you place laundry in the machine, you can configure a wash and dry to the usual specifications regarding heat, length, level of agitation, dry time, etc, or you can simply activate AI wash, where it simply figures it out for you. While the dryer has occasionally required a little more time, the AI wash has done an admirable job of sensing the load and treating it appropriately. All of this translates to tossing laundry in, hitting one button and walking away.

Reminders that aren't judgmental

Where these machines really shine is when the cycle is over. I have never been a person who consistently moves the laundry as soon as it’s done. I know there are people who, like me, forget about their laundry or ignore it until they need to run another wash. If this is you, LG has you covered on two fronts. First, the app will, after a period of time, send you a non-accusatory or shame-y reminder that clothes don’t benefit from this kind of prolonged wait time, and will continue to remind you. They also offer you the ability to activate KeepFresh, which essentially tosses the laundry around occasionally to, yes, keep it fresh, until you get back to it. KeepFresh works in both the washer and dryer, so your clothes don’t get deeply wrinkled while you wait for motivation. All of that said, KeepFresh doesn't keep going forever, and I missed the quick rinse option that previous machines had. At best, LG has a quick wash, but it is an entire cycle, rather than a short rinse. This was how I previously had solved the problem of leaving laundry in the washer too long.

Steam cycle is one of the best features

In case you do get wrinkles, one of the most fantastic features of this dryer is the steam cycle. I was blown away with how effective it is. If you’re someone who has uses the dryer to get out wrinkles rather than iron, you are going to love this functionality.  As a test, I used the most wrinkle-prone laundry I could find—thin cotton cloth napkins, tablecloths and sheets. Ten minutes in a steam cycle and they looked pressed, with no curling corners or creases.

Where smart appliances could go next

I have almost no complaints about these machines—they cleaned very effectively, held an accurate amount of laundry for their size, and efficiently completed washing cycles. Mostly, they made me think about ways smart washing machines could get smarter.  At CES this year, Eureka introduced a wash tower where a robot vacuum was integrated into the footprint. At the same time, we’re seeing a new fleet of robot vacuum/mop combos that you actually pipe into your water line so they can fill and empty themselves. The next leap in smartness for these machines might be how they work with other home appliances, and even how they can use that AI to ensure the water from all these devices are safe and offload the gray water to house plants.

Bottom line: it doesn't cost much more to get a smarter machine

These machines are not dramatically more expensive than machines without connectivity or AI. Do you need any of these features? No. You don’t even need a washing machine—people got by before they existed. But I, for one, welcome every single tiny iteration that makes our lives easier.

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You Can Get Headway Premium on Sale for $50 Right Now

You can get a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium on sale for $49.97 right now (reg. $299) until February 4. Headway is a mobile app that summarizes best-selling nonfiction books, and it comes with access to over 1,500 of popular titles like How to Talk to Anyone, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and The 5AM Club. Summaries don’t replace actually reading a book, obviously, but they can offer useful insight in only 15 minutes, and up to 50 new summaries are added every month. Headway also offers daily insights, motivational widgets, personalized recommendations, and curated collections: It tailors your recommended content based on your goals and needs, so it becomes a more gamified learning experience that allows you to track your progress and collect achievements. There are audio versions of each summary as well. This offer is only available to new users and can only be installed on one desktop or mobile device.

You can get a lifetime subscription to Headway Premium on sale for $49.97 right now (reg. $299) until February 4 at 11:59 p.m. PT, though prices can change at any time.

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Your Air Fryer Isn't a Toaster

My family is weird about toasters. My stepmom and I long insisted that the toaster is a redundant and unnecessary appliance—you can toast bread under the broiler—while my father and boyfriend would much prefer access to the dedicated unitasker. My parents now have a toaster, however, and I’m not far behind. (The boys win this round.) Though I’ve been toasting all my bread in the air fryer, I recently had to admit to myself that it makes terrible toast.

Air fryers dry out toast

A toaster is a simple appliance that works by browning a slice of bread on both sides with direct, radiant heat. If it’s a decent toaster, this results in evenly toasted bread. An air fryer also uses direct, radiant heat, but only from the top down. This means that only one side of your toast is seeing that heat at any given moment. This is obviously solved by flipping the bread halfway through, which is a minor inconvenience, but not my main issue with air-fryer toast. My big gripe is those darned whipping winds.

Air fryers are great at getting food crispy because they are great at drying. The hot, circulating air efficiently removes moisture, which is why it’s such a good appliance for re-heating french fries (or making SPAM fries). It is, however, not great for toast, as those same hot gusts remove moisture from your bread, leaving it dry and cracker-like, instead of tender but toasted.

How you can toast bread in the air fryer

If you are determined to toast bread in your air fryer, slice it thick, choose a fairly moist bread, and keep a close eye on it. You can also lean into the textural aspect and make one giant crouton. No one could be mad at a giant crouton. I, however, will be purchasing a toaster. What about the broiler, you ask? Well, flipping halfway through really is inconvenient if you’re cooking something in addition to the toast.

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The iPad Air is $150 Off at Best Buy Right Now

The iPad Air is the thinnest—and one of the best—tablets Apple has to offer, and it's going for a pretty good price right now. You can get the latest 5th generation iPad Air with 64GB of memory for $449.99 (originally $599.99) at Best Buy, which also includes three months of Apple TV. For reference, this is similar to the price Amazon sells the used version for. (Amazon was matching the price for this Best Buy deal, but they've already run out of stock.)

There are rumors that there is a new iPad Pro and iPad Air coming out in March, according to the Bloomberg. This could explain why we're seeing these steep discounts at the moment. But as with all leaks and rumors, take it with a grain of salt.

On Jan. 23, Best Buy featured the iPad Air on its app for the same discounted price. It was only available for a couple of hours before it sold out. This wifi-enabled iPad Air with 64GB of internal memory was released in 2022. You'll get an M1 system-on-a-chip (SoC), a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, a 12MP front and back camera, as well as Touch ID through the tablet’s power button. It's just a tenth of an inch thinner than the iPad Mini, but about twice as heavy. As PCMag described it in its "outstanding" review, the iPad Air offers many of the same features of the iPad Pro, like the M1 processor and second-gen Apple Pencil support, for almost half the price with the current discount. Just don't expect the same camera, audio, or graphics as the Pro.

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You Should Be Using Apple's New Stolen Device Protection Feature

Privacy and security are a huge element of Apple's business model. When you buy an iPhone, Apple wants you to know that your iMessages are encrypted, Face ID is secure, and you have features to block trackers while browsing the web.

While these are great features to keep your data safe and secure, they're far from perfect. Back in February, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that iPhone thieves were able to reset their victims' iCloud passwords from a stolen device, allowing them to both take over the iPhone they stole and the Apple ID attached to it. This is possible if the thief knows your iPhone passcode, something that might be easy to learn if they spy over your shoulder as you type it in. While there are many iCloud features that require your Apple ID password to gain access, resetting your iCloud password only takes your iPhone's passcode to get started. If a thief has that, they can break into your phone and take over your digital life.

Back when this report broke, we recommended certain workarounds to protect yourself, but workarounds are imperfect. Luckily, with iOS 17.3, Apple has taken the first step towards a real solution.

Stolen Device Protection can prevent thieves from taking over your iPhone

With iOS 17.3, Apple has introduced a new "Stolen Device Protection" feature. When enabled, Face ID or Touch ID (if your iPhone has a Home button) will be required when accessing passwords and passkeys, making purchases with saved cards in Safari, applying for an Apple Card, viewing your digital Apple Card, erasing all content and settings, taking some Apple Cash and Savings actions in Wallet, disabling Lost Mode, and using your iPhone to set up a new device.

In addition, certain features will require Face ID or Touch ID and come with a one-hour delay when you try to enable them in an "unfamiliar location." That includes changing your Apple ID password, updating certain Apple ID account security settings, changing your iPhone passcode, adjusting Face ID or Touch ID settings, turning off Find My, and turning off Stolen Device Protection itself. When you try to use any of these features, and your iPhone detects you are away from a familiar location, you'll need to authenticate yourself with Face ID or Touch ID, wait an hour, then authenticate again.

In theory, this security delay should only kick in when you're not in safe, familiar places like your home, work, or other trusted areas. However, Apple pulls this info from your "Significant Locations," which records places you frequently visit, but takes in little other context. What your iPhone determines to be a familiar location can vary from logical places like your house, to illogical places like a laundromat or convenience store. Obviously there's a big difference: A thief is unlikely to steal your iPhone while you're using it in your house, but just because you go to CVS a lot doesn't make it a safe place for your iPhone.

Whether the security delay has kicked in or not, though, you won't have the option to punch in your passcode if Face ID or Touch ID fails. You will have the option to try again later if your scan doesn't work (say you forgot to take off your sunglasses), but bad actors will find their efforts to be in vain (unless they have also stolen your face).

How to enable Stolen Device Protection on iPhone

To get started, you'll need to be running iOS 17.3 or newer. Once updated, open Settings > Face ID & Passcode. Punch in your passcode, then scroll down and hit Turn On Protection. That's it! Stolen Device Protection will activate, and you'll be protected going forward.

If you don't want the feature on going forward, you can return to this page to disable it. However, remember that one-hour delay will kicks in when you try to turn the feature off when you're in an unfamiliar location, so maybe wait until you're back home or at your favorite CVS.

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The Best Doorbell Cameras to Buy in 2024

Doorbell cameras allow you to see who's at the door without actually getting up (or even being home). Or you might consider a doorbell camera for security—to prevent porch theft, monitor parked cars, or even to check on pets moving around the property. The best doorbell cameras work well in various lighting conditions, allow you to keep an eye on visitors, and communicate clearly.

Before buying a doorbell camera

If you are considering buying a doorbell camera, you should keep an eye out for the following features:

• Wired vs wireless: In general, wired cameras are better for people who want lower maintenance. There's no hassle of recharging the battery with wired cameras.

• Storage: Ideally you want a doorbell camera that lets you store footage on the cloud so that you can access it easily wherever you go.

• Video quality: You should opt for a doorbell camera that has night vision and where the quality is good enough to discern faces in all lighting conditions.

• Field of view: A doorbell camera should capture a wide enough view for you to monitor your driveway, yard, or porch.

• Notification speed: Your doorbell camera should send alerts quickly—you don't want to miss out on visitors or package deliveries because the alert came too late.

• Audio quality: It's a good idea to check mic quality when you get a doorbell camera. You should be able to hear visitors clearly (and vice versa).

• Smart home platform: The doorbell you pick should be compatible with the smart home platform of your choice, such as Google Home, Alexa, or Apple's HomeKit. This will ensure better compatibility with your other smart home devices.

Sometimes the only way to test these features is by buying a product. You can test it out and return the product if it's not working as well as you hoped.

Privacy concerns with doorbell cameras

Before you spend on a doorbell camera, you should know that almost all of the companies making these devices tend to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Footage recorded from your camera could be made available to police or other government agencies without your consent. Some of these doorbell camera companies require a subpoena or a warrant for this, but others cooperate even without that. You can stop this by purchasing a camera that supports end-to-end encryption and enabling that feature, but you can never totally be sure about your privacy. Some data ends up leaking on to the cloud in many cases, so it's best to be aware of what you're getting into before you make a purchase.

Best doorbell camera for a tight budget

Credit: Arlo

The Arlo Essential Video Doorbell has a lot of good features at a sub-$100 price. You get night vision, 180° field of view, and the ability to identify people or animals. Some features, such as longer video clips, cloud storage, and improved identification, are locked behind the Arlo Secure subscription. This starts at $7.99 per month for a single camera, which is a reasonable price.

Buy: Arlo Essential Video Doorbell (currently $72.83)

Best doorbell camera with quick alerts and face detection

Credit: Google

The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) offers something that most competitors do not—up to three hours of free event video history stored on the cloud. Event video history is a term used for motion or other events detected by the smart doorbell. You can top it up by getting a Nest Aware subscription at either $8 or $15 per month, depending on the plan you select. With Nest Aware, you get longer video history and on the pricier plan, continuous video recording history too. The Nest Doorbell is great for sending quick alerts and detecting faces of people you know; its paid subscription supports unlimited devices.

Buy: Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen) (currently $168)

Best premium doorbell camera

Credit: Ring

If you want to splurge on top-notch features, the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 is a good option. Its best feature is Bird's Eye View, which shows you an aerial view to track movements in certain zones around your home. This camera offers better quality video and audio than many of its competitors, which could help some people justify the additional cost. You can also set up the camera to take photos at regular intervals in case you want to monitor your yard for trespassing. To use alerts and cloud storage, you'll have to get a Ring Protect subscription, which starts at $3.99 per month for one camera.

Buy: Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($249.99)

Best doorbell camera for package tracking

Credit: Eufy

Eufy's Dual Camera Video Doorbell (S330) is great for people who dislike monthly subscription fees and want a doorbell camera that can track people and packages. It has two cameras, with the second one pointing toward the floor. This way you can always have an eye on packages delivered to your front door. 

Buy: Eufy Dual Camera Video Doorbell Wired (S330) (currently $129.99)

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The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What is 'Palworld?'

If the gamer in your life is suddenly locked into Palworld and you want to know what's up, read on. The upstart game is causing some controversy with Nintendo, but it's not the only dust-up in youth culture this week. There's also the feud between Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion, a South Korean cosmetic surgeon vs. TikTok, and 4chan's perpetual battle against all that is good and pure in the world. Even this week's viral video, a song from Hazbin Hotel, isn't free of conflict.

What is Palworld (and why does it make Nintendo mad?)

Palworld is an open-world monster collecting and crafting game that has taken off in popularity very quickly. Published by Pocket Pair, Palworld was released on Jan. 19, and has already sold six million copies. It’s on the top of Steam’s charts for concurrent players. Powerhouse Twitch streamers like IronMouse are streaming Palworld. These are Fortnite and Minecraft numbers: Palworld is a phenomenon already, and it’s less than a week old.

In Palworld, players can choose to live peacefully among the world's many creatures (known as Pals), or they can kill them and eat them—just like real animals! You can also train your Pals to work in factories and on farms, and you might find yourself forced to consume your beloved Pals in order to survive. You capture Pals in a ball, and you can train them to fight against the Pals of other collectors, leading some to describe the game as “Pokémon with guns.” That’s where the controversy comes in. The possibly actionable similarity between Nintendo’s property and Palworld prompted Nintendo to release a statement saying it intends to “investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.” Bottom line: If you’re curious about Palworld, don’t put off giving it a go; it might not be around forever.

The Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion feud, explained

A feud of epic proportion is raging between rappers Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion this week. The static started last week when Stallion, best known for her hit “Savage,” released “Hiss,” a new single that takes aim at a wide variety of haters and under-appreciators. Stallion doesn’t mention Nicki by name, but the lines, “These hoes don't be mad at Megan, these hoes mad at Megan's Law" seem like a dig at Minaj. They are a reference to the national sex offender registry; Minaj’s husband, Kenneth Petty, is on the registry for a crime he committed in the 1990s, and he recently spent a year on house arrest for failing to register after moving to California. That seems to be the immediate cause, but like all wars, the real basis seems to be long-simmering tension between two would-be queens of hip-hop—town’s just not big enough for both of ‘em.

Minaj, best known for “Anaconda,” responded by getting epicly-mad on X (formerly Twitter), posting a deluge of disses over the course of half a week. It culminated in a full battle-rap from Minaj, “Big Foot.” Judging from the comments, Stallion is coming off better and it’s not a close contest. YouTube commenters are calling attention to Minaj’s outsized reaction as opposed to posting things like, “cracking good diss track! Good on you!” To be fair, Minaj put the track out quick. Anyway, feel free to listen to both and pick your favorite if you’re bored or something. 

Megan Thee Stallion's "Hiss"

Nicki Minaj's"Big Foot"

Why is Dr. Kim causing a commotion on TikTok?

Dr. Kim is a South Korean plastic surgeon who who seems to specialize in facelifts and eye-lifts and is going viral on TikTok this week, with commenters sharing the vids he posts and commenting on the appearance of his patients. Along with rando TikTokers, Dr. Kim has started drawing commentary from other online plastic surgeons, who are dropping diss videos that go as hard as Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion. (OK, maybe that's an overstatement: They’re just saying things like, “Every surgeon has to make their own decision as to what’s right, and for me: no thank you.”)

Based on comments, Dr. Kim’s patients look shockingly ironed and processed to people on TikTok and X. But who are they to judge? South Korean people seem to have a different standards for what’s attractive than we have in the west—both the “eye smile” procedure and surgery meant to result in smaller, V-shaped faces are common in South Korean plastic surgery circles, but are rarely practiced in the U.S. By contrast, people in the U.S. have more breast augmentations done than they do in South Korea. I don't understand giving people any flack for whatever plastic surgery they want, as long as the patients are happy with the result. In fact, I hope it goes further, and people start giving themselves extra noses or pyramid-shaped heads. Let's get weird with this shit, right?

New slang: what does “41% yourself” and “WPS” mean?

The controversy continues with a couple of very-online slang terms. The first, “41% yourself,” originated on putrid nightmare-chamber 4chan. "41% Yourself" is a way for online cretins to say “kill yourself” and make it even worse by referencing a 2014 National Transgender Discrimination Survey that indicated that 41% of respondents had attempted suicide. (People were a bad idea.)

The second term, “WPS,” means “white people shit” and it's more tongue-in-cheek. It refers to things white people are into, like really enjoying TED Talks or listening to Queen. The term has been around for a while, but it’s enjoying a resurgence in 2024 on TikTok, largely due to a video of a couple who don’t wear shoes, even in winter. These people really earned the three-letter descriptor. 

Viral video of the week: "Hell’s Greatest Dad"

This week’s viral video is a clip of a song from Prime's new series Hazbin Hotel. The cartoon features voice acting from Broadway heavyweights like Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Krystina Alabado, and Lilli Cooper, paired with the work of straight-from-the-internet writers and animators headed by Vivienne Medrano. Hazbin’s show-tune inspired music is excellent, and it’s gratifying that it seems to be finding an audience so quickly—the clip of “Hell’s Greatest Dad” has been shared nearly five million times in its first three days and is accompanied by the kinds of comments only a passionate fandom leaves behind. It wouldn’t be a passionate fandom if people weren’t pissed about something, though. Some Hazbin fans are not happy that the entire voice cast from the original, YouTube pilot was replaced. No official reason for the recasting has been given, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s because the new cast is way better. 

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Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Tuesday, January 30, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for January 30, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is medium-hard; I got it in five. Beware, there are spoilers below for January 30, Wordle #955! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

---

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

Three of the letter today are common. One is medium-common, and one is pretty unusual. 

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

To kick out, like from school. 

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

One of the letters is repeated, but in two different places in the word (not in a row).

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

Only one, but it appears twice.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with E. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with L. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is EXPEL.

How I solved today’s Wordle

After CRATE, I went with ENJOY to see if I could get the E in the correct position and eliminate additional vowels. I guessed EBBED to test vowel placement and another common consonant, found the second E, and eliminated a bunch of common words that utilize the letters already knocked out. EX- seemed like a likely beginning, which led to EXCEL and—the answer—EXPEL.  

Wordle 955 5/6

⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
🟩⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟩⬛⬛🟩⬛
🟩🟩⬛🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

---

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: 

• Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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You Can Get Windows 11 Pro and Microsoft Office for $80 Right Now

You can get Microsoft Office Pro 2019 for Windows and Windows 11 Pro together on sale for $79.99 right now (reg. $408). Windows 11 Pro includes support for biometrics login (for compatible devices), encrypted authentication, and Bitlocker device encryption. Windows 11 Pro also expands hardware compatibility with support for up to two CPUs with a max of 128 cores and up to 2TB RAM. This Microsoft Office 2019 key comes with the 2019 version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access. It's a one-time purchase that can be installed on one computer. 

You can get Microsoft Office Pro 2019 and Windows 11 Pro together on sale for $79.99 right now (reg. $408), though prices can change at any time. 

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12 Podcasts for People Who Miss 'Reply All'

Nine out of 10 podcast lovers who listened to Reply All—everyone’s favorite podcast about the internet, hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman—deeply, deeply miss it. It’s been more than a year since the show ended, and even though nothing can truly replace what was lost, some shows come awfully close.

Search Engine

Credit: podcast logo

If you were a fan of Reply All, you might have followed PJ Vogt to his next pursuit, Crypto Island, which explored the world of cryptocurrency and the weird human stories behind the blockchain. He’s now using that feed for a new show, Search Engine, where he explores the kind of questions you usually can’t find online. (Why are monkeys at the zoo sad? Why is cannibalism taboo?) If you miss Reply All partially for PJ’s laugh, rest assured—it’s back.

Never Post

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Never Post is a brand-new podcast all about what's happening with, to, and on the internet, and what people are saying about it, placing the weird and wonderful and contradictory alongside the philosophical, legal, linguistic, artistic, and more. It draws connections and asks questions—it’s about the questions as much as it is the answers. These conversations will stir your curiosity about the internet and your relationship with it, and how it’s impacting your relationship with others. It’s hosted by Mike Rugnetta (formerly of the five-time Webby-award-winning YouTube series "Idea Channel," also "Fun City" and "Reasonably Sound") and produced by Hans Buetow (who was behind many shows you’ve listened to and loved, like Still Processing, Modern Love, The Daily, In The Dark, and more.)

Heavyweight

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Debuting in 2016, Gimlet’s Heavyweight, quite possibly the most beloved podcast of all time, is a narrative show that puts quirky host Jonathan Goldstein in hot pursuit of solving personal and intimate mysteries, like whether or not the stories a woman’s father told her were true, or why the school’s prettiest, most popular girls asked a misfit to prom. It’s not about the internet, but it shares this sense of wonder and optimism for the world around us that I think Reply All listeners will appreciate. Self-deprecating Jonathan brings humor and heart to his investigations, and the best part is that it’s not just entertaining: Jonathan really helps people. Everyone has a favorite Heavyweight episode, from Gregor to the award-winning Skye.

Decoder Ring

Credit: Podcast logo

Slate’s Decoder Ring explores the cultural history and significance of quirky objects, concepts, and phenomena—everything from the smiley face to the suburban mall to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series. Host Willa Paskin delves into the origins and evolution of each topic, always revealing unexpected connections and surprising stories along the way as she chats with experts, historians, and cultural commentators, lending us a deeper understanding of the world around us and the invisible ways culture shapes our lives.

Underunderstood

Credit: Podcast logo

Every episode of Underunderstood takes a look at an un-googleable mystery and gets to the bottom of it. The hosts walk each other through the mysteries, like tracking down strangers in photos, debunking reality TV scandals, answering abandoned Twitter threads, and more. It’s part chat show, part documentary, and almost always surprising. If you liked the Reply All episode #158 The Case of the Missing Hit, then start with the Underunderstood episode Lou Pearlman Tried to Send a Boy Band to Space.

Go Touch Grass

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Comedians Milly and Alise think we all need to log off the internet—right now!—and Go Touch Grass. On their show, they spend all their time keeping us up on internet gossip, as well as trends, memes, and hashtags that are lighting the internet up today. Interviews with influencers and other digital personalities give an unfiltered look at the stories our screens are telling us. Milly and Alise are hilarious. Time flies when you’re listening to them unpack the internet; it feels like you’re jumping in on the best group chat. 

Endless Thread

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Most Endless Thread stories begin with something strange found on Reddit, and evolve from there into a story about people IRL. Using storytelling, interviews, and discussions, hosts Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson find the people involved in the stories and bring their threads to life. The show is full of mysteries and personal experiences that will give you a glimpse into the lives of people around the world, both online and off.

The Content Mines 

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Miss fun internet culture and Reply All’s buddy vibes? On The Content Mines, hosts Ryan Broderick (of the Garbage Day newsletter) and Luke Bailey (head of digital for inews.co.uk) talk about digital content—whether that’s Facebook magicians, TikTok landlords, crypto scams—and what makes it good and bad. Ryan and Luke spend a lot of time online, engaging with it, and explaining it to others, and are smart enough to make sense of it in a really entertaining way.

Mystery Show

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If you asked 10,000 podcast nuts the #1 show they miss, I bet you’d get a ton of votes for Mystery Show, and it shares DNA with Reply All. Long long ago, in the early days of podcasting, Starlee Kine would solve weird mysteries, like what happened to a video store or the real height of Jake Gyllenhaal. Starlee was fully committed to these tiny mysteries and investigated with both seriousness and a sense of humor, and all of her heart. There are only six episodes. Cherish them.

ICYMI

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On ICYMI, hosts Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim pick up on the digital threads and trends that everyone is talking about—the ones that are shaping our culture—and explain why. If you’ve ever felt left out of the discourse, this is a way to wrap your brain around it. The hosts are completely knowledgeable about #CruiseTok, Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s influencer era, the TikTok joy of Mychal the Librarian, and whatever wild thing is happening in the digital zeitgeist. 

Every Little Thing

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Why do we baby talk? Why do we keep goldfish in bowls in our houses? Why is it so hard to catch a roadrunner? Why, why, why? Every Little Thing (another beloved and now-defunct show) took calls from listeners about little things that puzzled them and tracked down experts to come up with an answer. The questions aren’t necessarily silly; they were always about things you’ve probably never really thought about before. Flora Lichtman’s deep dives will make you an expert by the end of each short episode. 

TLDR 

Credit: Podcast logo

It’s been almost 10 years since TLDR released its last episode, but when it comes to Reply All, it’s kind of where it all began—TLDR was where PJ and Alex started podcasting. For each episode, they’d take turns sharing weird stories about the internet. A new host, Meredith Haggerty, popped in at the end. Those episodes are great, too.

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You Can Get This PC Gaming Cheats Subscription on Sale for $50 Right Now

You can get a premium lifetime subscription to Cheat Happens on sale for $49.99 right now (reg. $99). Cheat Happens is a platform for PC gamers that offers cheat codes, trainers, and savegames for over 6,000 PC games, with more added monthly. Cheat Happens has their own team of in-house programmers who make custom gaming cheats based on the feedback and requests of the community of subscribers. Membership gets you access to over 27,000 game trainers with an average of 170 cheats and trainers being added every month. The membership also gives you access to the Trainer Manager, CoSMOS Memory Scanner/Hacker software, and an upcoming mobile app. Premium members can actively participate in forums, discuss games, and request new trainers. 

You can get a premium lifetime subscription to Cheat Happens on sale for $49.99 right now (reg. $99), though prices can change at any time. 

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Six Reasons Your Home Isn't Selling (and What to Do About It)

When it comes to selling your home, there is no shortage of information on how to maximize its value and minimize its time on the market. So let's say you've done your homework, and listed it at a price that appropriately reflects its condition, location, and overall value. A price reduction or two later, it's still not moving, and you've reached—or are close to—the point where you can't go any lower.

You aren't an absentee seller whose never set foot on the property. You don't see any obvious issues as far as staging, cleanliness, or the overall state of your home (that aren't already factored into the price). What are you missing?

The online listing is substandard

By now, most people are aware of the importance of online real estate listings—from eye-catching and aesthetically pleasing photos, to a clear and concise description of the property. But understanding that and following through on it are two different things.

According to Seamus Nally, CEO of TurboTenant, potential homebuyers typically look at the online photos of a home before scheduling a tour or attending an open house—eliminating houses from consideration solely on the basis of pictures (or the lack thereof) included in the listing. "A home’s digital presence is essentially its new curb appeal, so you have to prioritize it," he says.

You're working with the wrong agent

Even if a particular real estate agent comes highly recommended, that doesn't necessarily mean they're the best option for you and your home, says Stacy Brown, the director of training at Real Property Management. In addition to finding someone with "deep personal knowledge of your neighborhood and town," Brown also recommends choosing an agent who can reach "the true demographic that would want to live in your neighborhood" when marketing your home.

Inconvenient conditions of sale

Conditions of sale—especially the sale being contingent on the seller finding adequate housing—can be a major turnoff for potential homebuyers, according to Martha Gaffney, a licensed real estate broker and strategic real estate advisor at Real Estate Bees. "Buyers may not want to risk the time waiting for a seller to find housing," she says. To avoid the risk of losing a great offer, Gaffney recommends that sellers come up with alternative housing options well in advance of a potential sale.

Undesirable location

Even though there's nothing you can realistically do to about the noisy train that barrels though your neighborhood twice a day, it's still going to affect your home's sale price, says Gaffney. In this instance, she recommends that sellers compensate for this with an immaculate interior and plenty of curb appeal. "Have your broker highlight some of the best features of the neighborhood."

The reputation of your HOA or co-op board

If you live in a co-op building or a development with a homeowners association (HOA), there's a good chance potential buyers are looking into their rules, regulations, and most importantly, their reputation, says Gaffney. Having an HOA known for being a nuisance could be making it harder for you to sell your home. Again, because this is something beyond your control, Gaffney says that you'll have to find a way to compensate for that, either by ensuring your home looks amazing, reducing the price, or both.

Discriminatory practices

In some cases, a property may sit on the market for reasons unrelated to the listing or even the home itself, according to Lee Davenport, PhD, a strategic coaching advisor at Real Estate Bees. "The elephant in the room when it comes to being lowballed while selling a home [is] unfair housing practices," she says.

Though fair housing laws have been on the books for decades, they didn't magically bring about an end to discriminatory practices, Davenport points out. "Since the 1940s and 1950s, often the only way that unfair housing—and lending, including lowballed appraisals—can be determined is if testers, similar to secret shoppers, of a differing protected class step in and pretend to be the homeowner," she says.

While there's no quick fix this time, Davenport advises documenting and reporting any instances of housing discrimination you encounter. "Often, the reason unfair housing can continue unchecked is because it's typically not reported," she says.

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This Is Actually the Best Way to Reheat Fries

It wouldn’t be fair to say that I bought an air fryer simply to reheat french fries, but it would be disingenuous to claim that my desire to reheat french fries had nothing to do with the purchase. A few years ago—when we were young and the air was sweet—I wrote a blog claiming that waffling sad, cold fries was a first-rate way to reheat them.

Almost immediately, the comments started rolling in. “You fool, you absolute imbecile,” they said. “An air fryer is the only tool you should use to reheat french fries, and you are an idiot for suggesting otherwise.” (I am paraphrasing, but this was the feel of the comments, at least as I recall it.)

“Maybe I should get an air fryer,” I thought, before waiting another eight months to get one. (I finally got the Instant Pot Vortex Mini, because it is small and red and $50.)

The tiny, powerful convection oven—which does not technically fry anything—is quite handy. I’ve already got a whole list of stuff I plan to air fry, but I started with cold fries (and ate them for breakfast), because that’s what brought us to this point in the first place.

My friends, you (and everyone else who yelled at me) were not lying. When it comes to restoring limp, cardboard-like fries to their former crisp, golden glory, the air fryer kicks the waffle maker’s ass (though I maintain waffled leftover fries make excellent breakfast potatoes).

How to reheat cold fries in the air fryer

Beyond re-heating completely cold fries, this is a great way to revive takeout fries that may have sat in a paper bag or plastic container for too long. Just five to 10 minutes in a 375-degree air fryer perks ‘em right back up. Timing will vary from air fryer to air fryer but, unlike the Instant Pot or a sous-vide circulator, it’s very easy to check on your air fried food mid-cook—just slide the little basket out. Try not to over-pack the air fryer, you want the hot air to be able to circulate around each fry. It took my air fryer a mere five minutes at 375℉ to restore cold, lifeless, fairly thick-cut breakfast fries to their former glory, which is dangerously quick, particularly in a household that is prone to over-ordering french fries.

While a little overlapping is fine, try not to crowd your fries. Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

What makes leftover fries so sad?

Leftover fries are sad and soggy due to moisture migration, and the air fryer takes care of that nonsense in short order. Once a fry starts to cool, the water inside the fluffy starch granules moves out towards the crust, rendering the insides of the fry grainy and the outsides mushy.

Why reheat fries with an air fryer?

An air fryer can’t rehydrate those starch granules, but it certainly revives a fry’s soggy outsides. The hot, circulating air drives off moisture and gets any dormant fry grease movin’ and groovin’, re-crisping the potato’s crust. And while the insides aren’t quite as tender and fluffy as they are when you first take them out of a deep fryer, they are pretty damn close. The ones I ate for breakfast this morning were almost indistinguishable from fresh fries, though it’s worth noting that they seemed to be a “fresh-cut, once cooked” kind of fry, so this may have only been their second (not third) heating.

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How Apps Use Push Notifications to Spy on You (and How to Stop Them)

Back in December, we learned that governments and law enforcement agencies are able to spy on your smartphone activity by requesting your push notification data from Apple or Google. Very cool and unconcerning! But as it turns out, it's not just the authorities who can scrape your push notification data: Apps do it too, without you ever opening said app in the first place. But you can put a stop to it.

How apps spy on you through your push notifications

As security research duo Mysk explains in this video, apps are taking advantage of a loophole in iOS push notifications to scrape personal data on your iPhone and send it back to remote servers. Here how it works: iOS allows apps to wake in the background when push notifications come through in order to allow the app to decrypt the payload (the message contained in the notification), or download data attached to the alert. But according to Mysk, many "data-hungry" apps use this as an opportunity to send data analytics to their servers, rather than just make network calls to customize the notification, as would reportedly be expected.

Aside from being a sketchy practice, this abuse of push notification downtime can actually be used to "fingerprint" (that is, track) users. Mysk demonstrates how when a TikTok notification comes through, the app immediately sends off data analytics. When Mysk clears the notification, TikTok sends more data, including system uptime (how long iOS has been up and running on your iPhone). That means TikTok can see how long it's been since you restarted your iPhone, even though you never actually opened the app.

Something similar happens with Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Bing notifications: When Mysk clears these alerts, the app scrape the iPhone's uptime, in addition to other device information. As explained in a post on X, other device data includes locale (your device's language settings), keyboard language, available memory, battery status, device model, and display brightness, among others. Theoretically, Mysk says, this data can be used to track a user's activities across iOS without you ever actually opening the app involved.

How to stop apps from tracking your activity through push notifications

At this time, the only known solution is the most obvious: disable push notifications for all apps. It's the same solution we offerd when we learned law enforcement agencies and governments are able to request user push notification data from Apple and Google: simply cut off access to the data these companies want so badly.

Of course, that's easier said than done. Notifications can be useful, especially with messaging apps that let you know when a new text has come through. Disabling push notifications for these apps puts you at risk of falling far behind in group threads and personal chats, which defeats much of the purpose of carrying a smartphone in the first place.

That means it's really up to you: what level of data tracking can you tolerate? My recommendation is to disable notifications for any and every app you can afford to. I keep Snapchat notifications turned off at all times, for example, because I'm fine manually checking the app for new snaps (an added benefit: I cannot stand the obnoxious and irrelevant notifications Snapchat loves to spam me with, and no I don't get them). I keep notifications enabled for my messaging apps, because even if Meta is scraping my data, I don't want to miss new alerts from friends and family.

Hopefully Apple will address this privacy and security flaw soon, and block apps from being able to leach this information whenever a push notification comes through. Until then, our only option is to block these apps from alerting us at all.

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Will TikTok's 'Sleepy Girl Mocktail' Actually Help You Sleep?

Everyone can appreciate a delicious beverage, and if it helps you navigate Dry January while also making it easier for you to fall asleep, what’s not to love? TikTok is currently all about the so-called "Sleepy Girl Mocktail," a drink made with tart cherry juice and a bunch of link-in-bio supplements. But will it actually help you sleep? Well…maybe.

How do you make the Sleepy Girl Mocktail? 

After completing entire minutes of TikTok research, I can report that the Sleepy Girl Mocktail has three key ingredients: 

1. Tart cherry juice

2. Seltzer

3. Magnesium supplement powder

The various TikTok creators making this drink each put their own spin on it. Sometimes you use a specific amount of tart cherry juice and then add seltzer to fill your glass; sometimes the other way around. You can toss in a fancy ice cube. You can use a flavored seltzer. And you can, of course, argue that you should use this brand or type of magnesium instead of that one. 

Supplement marketing  seems to be driving this trend. (Whichever one the creator recommends is usually available for purchase if you click through to their storefront.) One of the top results for the mocktail recipe on TikTok is from Moon Juice, which sells a $10/ounce magnesium powder. (A normal price for magnesium supplements is more like $1/ounce, as in this one-pound tub from Nutricost. Just saying.)

Does tart cherry juice really help you sleep? 

Maybe. Tart cherry juice contains a small amount of natural melatonin, and melatonin is a hormone that our body uses to recognize when it’s nighttime. Melatonin supplements are widely available, and you can pick up some melatonin pills or gummies at any old grocery store if you’d like to see how it affects your sleep. 

That said, melatonin can have side effects if taken in large doses, and it isn’t a quick fix for a messed-up sleep schedule. It's best to think of it as one potential tool you can use to get better sleep—one part of a larger picture.

Many fruits do contain melatonin. Tart cherry has higher levels than most, so it’s fair to ask whether tart cherries, or their juice, really help you sleep. Several studies have done just that, and they don’t provide conclusive evidence either way. A 2010 study on 15 older adults with insomnia found that tart cherry juice may help with sleep, but not as much as melatonin supplements, sleep medications, or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Examine.com, which collects the results of a wide range of supplement studies, could only conclude that tart cherry juice is “possibly” helpful for improving your sleep quality.

Does magnesium really help you sleep? 

The verdict on the sleepy time benefits of magnesium is also unclear. There is some evidence to suggest magnesium may help with sleep, but as with tart cherry juice, the evidence isn’t very strong, and many people find that it has no effect on their sleep. 

One thing we do know about magnesium is that, taken in large doses, it can have a laxative effect. Sometimes people take magnesium supplements specifically for this reason—it’s sometimes recommended as a treatment for constipation. This laxative effect is more pronounced in some forms of magnesium than others. For example, magnesium carbonate, magnesium chloride, magnesium gluconate, magnesium hydroxide, and magnesium oxide are the most likely to trigger it, according to Examine.com, but effects vary from person to person. On TikTok I saw creators saying to avoid magnesium citrate because it “cleans you out,” but the conventional advice is that magnesium citrate is the least likely to have a laxative effect.

Whichever supplements you choose, you may want to experiment with a small dose before stirring a heaping spoonful into your Sleepy Girl Mocktail.

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