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Amazing Non-Food Uses For The Stuff In Your Pantry
Your pantry is full of stuff, some of which you might even have looked at in the last year. What you may not know is that many of the simplest pantry staples have multiple uses around the house. Beyond cleaning with baking soda and cleaning your face with olive oil, there are some more unexpected uses for these items.
You’ll have to click through to Lifehacker to see the full list, but here we’ll feature what we think are the most unexpected uses for each pantry staple.
Olive oil: You can use olive oil to remove heat stains from wooden furniture. You know, that awful mark that showed up when you set a bowl of soup on the coffee table.
Baking soda: The combination of vinegar and baking soda isn’t just for awesome explosions: it can also revive the absorbency of your bath towels.
Cooking spray: Have gum stuck in your kid’s (or your) hair? Cooking spray can help loosen gum for smaller tangles. You can also spray the rubber seals of your car doors in order to prevent them from freezing shut.
Flour: Put an unripe avocado in a bag of flour, and it will become edible much faster. You can also sprinkle flour inside jar lids to keep them easier to open.
Cornstarch: It can help you loosen stubborn knots and clean the surface of well-loved stuffed animals.
Uncommon Uses for Common Pantry Items [Lifehacker]
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
CFPB Alleges Mortgage Insurer Operated 15-Year-Long Kickback Scheme
The CFPB announced Wednesday that it is seeking a civil fine, an injunction to prevent future violations and victim restitution from PHH Corporation and its residential mortgage origination subsidiaries, PHH Mortgage Corporation and PHH Home Loans LLC, as well as it’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Atrium Insurance Corporation and Atrium Reinsurance Corporation, for violating the Real Estate Settlements Procedures Act and harming consumers through a kickback scheme beginning as early as 1995 and continuing until at least 2009.
The New Jersey-based corporation and its affiliates are accused of:
- Creating a system where it received as much as 40 percent of the premiums that consumers paid to mortgage insurers, collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks;
- charging more money for loans to consumers who did not buy mortgage insurance from one of its kickback partners. In general, they charged these consumers additional percentage points on their loans;
- pressuring mortgage insurers to “purchase” its reinsurance with the understanding or agreement that the insurers would then receive borrower referrals from PHH. PHH continued to steer business to its mortgage insurance partners even when it knew the prices its partners charged were higher than competitors’ prices.
An investigation by the CFPB showed that when PHH originated mortgages, it referred consumers to its mortgage insuring partners. In exchange for the referral, the insurers purchased reinsurance – a product that transfers risk to help mortgage insurers cover their own risk of unexpected losses – from PHH’s subsidiaries. As a result, consumers ended up paying more in mortgage insurance premiums.
Mortgage insurance, which is typically required on loans when homeowners borrow more than 80% of the value of their home, protects the lender against the risk of default.
Illegal kickbacks inflate the costs of insurance, which increases the burden on borrowers and increases the likelihood they will default on their mortgages. RESPA protects consumers by banning kickbacks and helps promote a level playing field by ensuring companies compete for business with fair and transparent terms.
The case will be tried by an Administrative Law Judge, who will hold hearings and make recommended decisions regarding the charges. No timeline has been set for a decision.
In recent months the CFPB has been cracking down on mortgage related fraud. In mid-January, the Bureau ordered Fidelity Mortgage Corporation, a Missouri mortgage lender, to pay $81,000 over an illegal kickback scheme.
The CFPB isn’t just going after corporations committing fraud, but taking step to better protect consumers, as well. Two weeks ago, the CFPB unveiled rules to protect mortgage borrowers, especially those who are military servicemembers,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Takes Action Against PHH Corporation For Mortgage Insurance Kickbacks [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
Lenovo Agrees To Buy Motorola From Google For $3 Billion
Not even three years after Google bought wireless device biggie Motorola for $12.5 billion comes news that it’s made a deal with Lenovo to take the manufacturer off Google’s hands for a fraction of that amount.
Reuters originally reported that Beijing-based Lenovo is looking to pay $3 billion for the handset maker recently responsible for Google’s Moto X and Moto G smartphones.
Almost immediately thereafter, Lenovo confirmed the news via press release, saying the current purchase price is US$2.91 billion.
The deal means that Lenovo, which bought its way into the US computer market in 2005 by acquiring IBM’s PC business, will now control the Motorola brand, which includes recent product launches like the Moto X and Moto G smartphones.
Why is Google accepting so much less than it paid for Motorola?
According to Lenovo, Google will maintain ownership of the “vast majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, including current patent applications and invention disclosures.”
“The acquisition of such an iconic brand, innovative product portfolio and incredibly talented global team will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones. We will immediately have the opportunity to become a strong global player in the fast-growing mobile space,” said Yang Yuanqing, chairman and CEO of Lenovo in a statement. “We are confident that we can bring together the best of both companies to deliver products customers will love and a strong, growing business.”
Adds Google’s Larry Page, “Lenovo has the expertise and track record to scale Motorola Mobility into a major player within the Android ecosystem. This move will enable Google to devote our energy to driving innovation across the Android ecosystem, for the benefit of smartphone users everywhere.”
Google’s purchase of Motorola, begun in 2011 and closed in spring of 2012, was an ill-fated attempt for the Internet giant to buy its way into the handset business in the hopes of going head-to-head with Apple.
Alas, while Google’s Android OS for smartphones and tablets continues to be very popular, the devices that were born out of the Motorola acquisition failed to catch fire with consumers.
Lenovo may have more luck with Motorola’s handset business, especially in China where the long-awaited release of Apple’s iPhone devices did not result in sales similar to what the company has seen elsewhere.
Likewise, the Motorola brand could help Lenovo crack the U.S. market, where it has virtually no market share among wireless users.
Motorola was founded more than 80 years ago in Chicago. The company, started as Galvin Manufacturing, created the Motorola brand of car radios and subsequently changed the company name to match.
Through the decades, it added televisions and set-top boxes for cable companies. 30 years ago, it launched its DynaTAC series of wireless phones, becoming the first manufacturer of commercially available cell phones.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Olive Garden Will Provide Free Babysitting If You’ll Eat Dinner There (One-Night Only)
Either Olive Garden is feeling helpful or just really, really wants customers to walk in its doors and sit down and eat. In any case, the casual dining chain is serving up free babysitting for any parents who eat dinner one of its participating locations around the country for free on Feb. 7.
The one-night only special is to promote its two-for$25 special but a spokeswoman assures potential diners that “guests are welcome to try other menu items during Parents’ Night Out as well,” reports the Orlando Sentinel.
And no, there isn’t a secret babysitting room at every Olive Garden — parents will be dropping off their tykes at one of 145 participating My Gym locations around the country.
You’ll want to check your local OG if you’re interested, as most of the events will run from 6 to 9 p.m. but it could vary by location.
And you’ll have to be quick to drop your kids off at your nearest My Gym, as space is limited that night to about 30 children at each location. You’ll have to pay a deposit up front (on your kids?) which will be refunded once you present your Olive Garden receipt upon collecting your offspring.
Your opinion on Olive Garden notwithstanding, it’s probably a pretty attractive BOGO deal for parents — buy one dinner (and evening away from your kids) and get one childcare session for free.
Planning a date night? Olive Garden will pick up the baby sitting tab [Orlando Sentinel]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
You Can Never Truly Vanquish Sweater Lint Pills
It’s not the most serious problem facing consumers, but it’s an annoying one. The Wall Street Journal examined the problem and some of its possible solutions.
Pills form in spots where fabric rubs against itself or against anything. Your armpits where cloth rubs against cloth? Pills. The spot on your shoulder where your favorite messenger bag sits? Pills. The areas on your forearms that rub against your desk while you type? Pills.
You should be able to avoid the unsightly fiber blobs by purchasing better-quality knitwear, though, right? Not so fast. Fabric pills form when the ends of fibers in the yarn that forms your clothing are exposed to friction and tangle with each other. That means that fine fibers like cashmere and sheep wool are more likely to form pills than longer fibers, explaining the lint scourge on woolen winterwear like sweaters and coats.
In general, there are a few ways to sort of prevent the problem. Materials with longer fibers resist pilling better than than materials with shorter fibers. Constant price pressure in the clothing industry mean that companies use cheaper materials, which might generally have shorter fibers. Sometimes a pricey sweater only lasts a few washings before turning into a pill-laden mess.
The best solution: don’t wear your favorite items as often. Yes, that’s counter-intuitive, but when a garment is in constant use, the fibers are always experiencing friction and tangling up. Let your favorite items rest for at least 24 hours between wearings.
Other solutions include lint shavers, disposable razors, and combs. One expert explained to the Journal that all these methods do is cut the fibers, possibly causing even worse pilling. One promising method is using a Sweater Stone, a pumice stone that removes fiber balls from your sweaters instead of dead skin from your feet.
How to Prevent and Fight Sweater Pilling [Wall Street Journal] (may require subscription)
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
Arby’s Restaurant Processes Six Months Worth Of Purchases In Single Night
You know how sometimes you’ll make a debit or credit card purchase and it doesn’t show up on your statement right away? Some businesses process their transactions in batches, so it’s just a matter of time until it pops up. But what about when there is a six-month delay on those transactions being processed?
Consumerist reader A. says he was looking at his bank statement the other day and noticed that there had been six consecutive small-dollar (under $25 each) transactions all attributed to something called “AZARB LLC.”
Since such purchases are generally an indicator that someone has stolen your ID and is enjoying a buying spree of some sort, A. contacted his bank to have a new card issued.
The mystery deepened when A. spoke to his wife and found she also had mystery charges from the same company — on two different cards.
Something was going on. An ID thief having access to one account is normal, but to three different accounts from two different people?
The picture got clearer when the AZARB name on their statements eventually changed to indicate a local Arby’s in Glendale.
But there was still a worrisome question — sure, A. and his wife had been to Arby’s but not nine or ten times in the last day.
So A. called the Arby’s in question where he was told that the store’s “computer” had apparently held on to six months’ worth of charges and then suddenly decided to finally process all those transactions in one night.
The person he spoke to apologized for the inconvenience, but A. is concerned that this glitch (or oversight or whatever it was) could affect an awful lot of people.
“I asked myself, how many hundreds of customers attend an Arby’s and pay with a credit card over six months?” writes A. “What about frequent customers, who might eat there almost every day? I only got hit for a couple hundred dollars, but some people might get hit with far more. It seemed a rather appalling business practice. I can imagine people finding cards maxed, or their checking accounts mysteriously drained, probably like me assuming some kind of fraud.”
We reached out to Arby’s Restaurant Group with the details of A.’s story and received the following statement in response:
We are currently investigating the situation and will take corrective action based on our findings. Based on preliminary information, this appears to be a processing issue isolated to one franchised restaurant in Glendale, Arizona. At this point, we are not aware of any breach of data security at this location.
Interestingly enough, though we didn’t share A’s name or contact info with Arby’s HQ, he tells us that after we contacted the company, he received a follow-up call from someone at the fast food chain.
“He told me to bring my account statements to the Arby’s and they would reimburse my expense related to this incident,” A. tells Consumerist. “I was both surprised and pleased.
A. says that when he shared his belief with this company rep that this glitch/oversight/goof may have affected many customers, the Arby’s rep told him, “Yes, quite a few.”
“I find it rare that a fast food franchise respond so swiftly and decisively to a consumer difficulty,” writes A.
We’re just curious how a fast food franchise doesn’t realize that it hasn’t processed credit and debit card payments for a week, let alone several months.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Is Greek Yogurt Still Greek If It’s Made In America?
It’s all Greek-style to us.
We label all sorts of products with country names — Italian ice, French dressing, Swedish meatballs — regardless of where they were made, or even if they have any actual ties to the country being name-checked. But a court in the UK has ruled that Chobani can’t label its product as “Greek Yogurt” because it is made in the U.S.
The ruling comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by Athens-based yogurt company Fage against Chobani, which is headquartered in New York.
The AP reports that Fage had long dominated the Greek yogurt market in the UK with its TOTAL brand, but that it began to lose customers to Chobani when it launched its product in Britain in 2012.
Last year, a UK court ruled that Chobani’s use of the phrase “Greek Yogurt” on its label was misleading to consumers who may then believe that it’s a product of Greece instead of Chenango County, NY. At the time, the judge issued an injunction prohibiting Chobani from using that descriptor on its products.
Chobani appealed that ruling, but earlier today an appeals court once again ruled against the U.S. yogurt company, upholding the lower court injunction against the use of the term “Greek Yogurt” to describe something made not in Greece.
Never to be daunted, especially when they have friends like hunky John Stamos, Chobani says it plans to take its case further up the UK appeals ladder.
“We remain of the view that the population of the U.K. know and understand Greek yogurt to be a product description regardless of where it is made,” said Chobani in a statement. “We remain committed to the U.K. market and to breaking the monopoly on the use of the term Greek yogurt enjoyed by Fage.”
It seems unlikely to us that this specific issue will end up being raised stateside, mostly because “Greek yogurt” is a relatively new item to many American consumers. As mentioned above, American shoppers are used to the idea of country names being used as adjectives to describe a style of food that may not necessarily be the source of that food product. After all, Philadelphia cream cheese was not created in Philadelphia nor is it made here.
Meanwhile, it hasn’t been a banner year for Chobani. Last fall, the company issued a recall of some of its products after complaints of moldy and exploding yogurt containers. At the time, the FDA said it knew of 89 illnesses believed to be related to the recalled yogurt.
Then in December came reports that high-priced grocery haven Whole Foods was going to phase out Chobani over concerns about possible genetically modified content in the yogurt.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
Would You Ever Be Able To Forgo Using Toilet Paper?
Every time you wipe in the bathroom, you’re basically flushing money down the toilet, not to mention creating well, waste with your waste. But is there any way you could ever do away with the whole thing and not use toilet paper?
We know what you’re thinking — it sounds crazy, even laughable. It’s not like most American bathrooms come with a bidet or any other kind of splashy alternative for keeping clean.
But three anti-TP users who spoke on HuffPo Live this week say it’s really no big deal — they just use cut up sheets of old fabric and keep it in a box in the bathroom. Once you use it, it goes into a bucket with a lid and gets tossed in the laundry once a week.
While one woman admits during the program that she and her husband are 80/20 on it — meaning they’ll use regular toilet paper about 20% of the time if they’re out and about — for the most part it seems to be a pretty normal part of their hygiene routines.
HuffPo host Caitlyn Becker seems a bit skeptical about the whole thing, as admittedly many people would be. And if you don’t have a washer/dryer in your home, doing the “bathroom laundry” once a week might be a bit tougher.
So we want to know:
Yes, There Are People Who Don’t Use Toilet Paper [HuffPo Live]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
Qué dice Google de ti y cómo mejorarlo #infografia #infographic #marketing
Hola: Una infografía sobre qué dice Google de ti y cómo mejorarlo. Vía Un saludo
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