Blog Posts by Reader s Digest Magazine

These jolly holiday jokes and Christmas quotes will bring cheer even to the grumpiest Scrooge.
Christmas QuotesChristmas quotes


PLUS: 32 budget-friendly Christmas decorating ideas >>











PLUS: Top holiday movies guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit >>









PLUS: More fun Christmas quotes>>
Christmas quotesChristmas quotes

Read More »from Ho, Ho, Ha: Funny Christmas Quotes

11 Things Your Pediatrician Won't Tell YouWhen it comes to judging someone's chances at living a long, healthy life, some clues are more obvious than others.

Read More »from 5 Weird Things that Predict Good Health

Thanksgiving questionsWhat's the all-time best Thanksgiving tip? Roast the turkey upside down. It'll protect the breast from overcooking, and juices will seep down and keep it moist.

I don't own a roasting rack. Do you have any DIY alternatives I can use instead? Scrunch foil into a three-foot snake, then coil it into a ring. Or use clean, empty tuna cans.

What should I serve vegetarians? No tofurkey, please! Make a butternut squash lasagna, and all your guests will sneak some, vegetarian or not.

20 easy appetizer recipes-in 20 words or less! >>

What's the best way to reheat cold turkey? Tastiest is in the gravy. Slice turkey and simmer in a skillet with gravy and some broth or water.

What size turkey should I buy? Calculate one pound per adult. If you have a small oven or lots of guests, roast two smaller turkeys.

How do I defrost a turkey-fast? Submerge the turkey (still in the packaging) breast side down in cold water. Change the water every hour.

9 funny thanksgiving quotes >>

What happens if I start to

Read More »from 20 Most-Asked Thanksgiving Questions, Answered in 20 Words or Less

8 signs you're on a bad dietIs your weight-loss plan too good to be true? Watch for these less-expected red flags that could stand in the way of long-term success.

If there's one common element among people who've successfully lost weight and kept it off, it's that they made a "lifestyle change." It may sound cliché, but this usually includes combination of controlling portions, limiting unhealthy foods in favor of healthier ones, and identifying environmental and emotional triggers that lead to overeating.

Many diets don't lead to such lifestyle changes-including crazy fad diets-because they're simply hard to maintain long-term, or even after you've reached your goal weight. If you're deciding between different weight-loss routes, vet yours against this list of signs that your diet may be setting you up for failure.

PLUS: 15 Foods You Should Never Buy Again >>

Bad diet: It's a total 180 from the way you currently eat. Can't imagine a Sunday dinner without roasted meat as a centerpiece of the Read More »from 8 Clear Signs that You’re on a Bad Diet

Why do they do that?Why does Walmart have greeters? What's Facebook doing with your photos? Here, bizarre secrets from large businesses.You know those jumbo shrimp you just ordered at the restaurant? Chances are they're prawns. But put the word jumbo in front of anything and we Americans are bound to buy it. Similarly, dry cleaning isn't really dry. Instead of using water to clean the fabric, the launderer uses an equally wet solvent called perchloroethylene. Does "dry cleaning" sound so much better than "wet cleaning"? Some launderer thought so. In this article, we'll demystify a few more intriguing business practices. We'll reveal the magic employed, the common sense practiced, the manipulation perpetrated-and arm you with facts you can use to protect yourself.
PLUS: 13 things you didn't know about online travel sites >>

Why do chip companies put so much air in their bags?
To dupe us into thinking the foil bags are filled with chips? Actually, no. In fact, the bags don't contain oxygen. They're

Read More »from Why Do They Do That? 5 Intriguing Big Business Practices

Extreme travel.Discover the coldest, hottest, driest and most extreme travel destinations on earth: Find out which spot on the planet is the closest to outer space and which hard-to-reach landmark will take your breath away.

1. Steepest peak on Earth: Mount Thor, Nunavut, Canada At 5,495 feet tall, Mount Thor is not the world's highest peak, but it is the steepest. The most famous summit in Canada and made of pure granite, Mount Thor has a 4,101 foot vertical drop, at an average angle of about 105 degrees. Despite the fact the mountain is in a remote area, it's a popular destination for avid mountain climbers. If taking on the peak is too much for you to handle, you can also visit the site and camp out instead.
PLUS: 13 things you didn't know about online travel sites >>

2. Coldest inhabited place on Earth: Oymyakon, Russia As the coldest inhabited place on earth (with a recorded temperature of -96.16 degrees F in 1924), the small Russian town of Oymyakon, with a population of 500, was once only used

Read More »from Top 10 Most Extreme Travel Adventures in the World

HR1. "Once you're unemployed more than six months, you're considered pretty much unemployable. We assume that other people have already passed you over, so we don't want anything to do with you." -Cynthia Shapiro, former human resources executive

2. "When it comes to getting a job, who you know really does matter. No matter how nice your résumé is or how great your experience may be, it's all about connections." -HR director at a health-care facility

3. "If you're trying to get a job at a specific company, often the best thing to do is to avoid HR entirely. Find someone at the company you know, or go straight to the hiring manager." -Shauna Moerke, an HR administrator in Alabama

4. "People assume someone's reading their cover letter. I haven't read one in 11 years." -HR director at a financial services firm

5. "We will judge you based on your e-mail address. Especially if it's something inappropriate like kinkyboots101@hotmail.com or johnnylikestodrink@gmail.com." -Rich

Read More »from 13 Things HR Won't Tell You

James BondThink you know James Bond movies? We dug up little-known trivia about Agent 007 in celebration of the character's 50th birthday.

1. He's the man with the golden franchise.

Adjusted for inflation, the James Bond films are the top-grossing film franchise ever, according to money-tracking website Box Office Mojo. That's right: It's ahead of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Batman.

PLUS: Genius ways to save money on gas >>

2. He introduced the idea of a European vacation to America. From Vanity Fair: Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton once said, "Buy your ticket-we're going to take you places!" And at the time, he was right. "As of 1960, fewer than 2 percent of all Americans had traveled internationally by air," reports VF, "So both Dr. No and From Russia with Love include what are essentially fetish shots of Pan Am jets landing on runways."
PLUS: 27 free pumpkin carving stencils >>

3. Before the Aston Martins, he was a Chevy man. Though rides from the luxury British automaker have Read More »from 13 Things You Didn’t Know About Bond…James Bond