Blog Posts by Real Simple Magazine

Made with pure fruit (and zero high-fructose corn syrup), these five juicy pops have iced the competition. By Emily McKenna

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Consider these solutions when dealing with those pesky pests. By Lindsy van Gelder

Do fair-skinned people really get bitten by mosquitoes more often?
No. And neither do women nor redheads nor any other specific group. Part of what attracts mosquitoes is the amount of carbon dioxide, heat, and moisture that a person emits. Unfortunately, those factors are determined by genetics, and they're hard to measure. The one phenomenon that scientists have noticed is that "the more you sweat, the more attractive you can become to mosquitoes," says James E. Cilek, professor of entomology at Florida A & M University, in Panama City. But they are not sure why. Whether this has to do with the scent or the moisture in perspiration isn't clear.

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How can I uninvite bugs from an outdoor summer party?
Avoid scheduling your event at dusk, when mosquitoes and no-see-ums are most plentiful, and cover food between trips to the buffet. Your best bet among

Legoland or Sesame Place seem too everyday? Here's where to go, at home and abroad.

Dickens World

Street urchins and a Great Expectations boat cruise that slogs through the "sewers" and ends, magically, amid the rooftops brings Victorian London alive in Chatham, England (dickensworld.co.uk).

See More: 29 Ways to Entertain Kids

Tropical Islands
A picture-perfect South Seas fantasy sealed within the world's largest dome...in Germany (pictured). Boasts a beach, a rain forest, a gigantic water slide, and more. Open year-round, 24 hours a day (tropical-islands.de).

Suoi Tien Park

Attractions like the Party of Four Supernatural Creatures, where you ride in boats around an enormous dragon, give this Vietnamese amusement park a fairy-tale vibe (suoitien.com).

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Gatorland
Get your fill of alligators and crocodiles, some weighing in at more than 1,000 pounds, at this 110-acre island park in Florida (gatorland.com).

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Although genetics help determine your sense of well being, life choices and goals play an important part as well. by Leslie Pepper

Measuring happiness is a tricky business. Still, that hasn't stopped individuals and institutions from trying to gauge how happy people are in an attempt to determine what it is exactly that brings joy. Most recently, British prime minister David Cameron proposed polling residents of the United Kingdom about their subjective well-being on an annual basis. Cameron hopes that by collecting this data, he can help the UK population thrive-perhaps even more than by improving the country's financial standing. As Cameron said, "It's time we admitted that there's more to life than money, and it's time we focused not just on GDP but on GWB-general well-being."

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There's a societal (in addition to an individual) benefit to making sure people are happy: Happiness is a cornerstone of productivity. Countless

Although genetics help determine your sense of well being, life choices and goals play an important part as well. By Leslie Pepper

A pair of flaming trousers (or a growing nose, à la Pinocchio) isn't the only sign that a person is spewing falsehoods. Here, five experts teach you how to smoke out a fibber.

A Person's Demeanor or Voice Radically Changes
As an investigator, I first try to assess how someone normally speaks. To do that, I begin an interview by asking questions that I know the answers to, like "What's your full name?" or "Where do you live?" Some folks are naturally animated and talk fast; others are more subdued. Once I know which type of talker a person is, I start asking him questions that I don't know the answer to. If his manner shifts abruptly-going from calm to agitated or lively to mellow-chances are he's not telling the truth.

Gregg McCrary is a retired FBI criminal profiler and a crime analyst in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

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The world is getting louder, and all that racket can have serious consequences for your health. Here's how to handle the increase in noise pollution and find a little peace for body, mind, and even soul. By Holly Pevzner

My husband's snoring is a health hazard. Or so I learned last year, when I bought a jar of earplugs and found out that I could pay for them with my flexible-spending account. According to medical experts, nighttime quiet is as important to my well-being as wearing eyeglasses or getting my daily vitamins, and even low-level noise prevents deep, restorative rest. Noise also contributes to high blood pressure, strokes, circulatory problems, and distracted thinking. Plus, anecdotally at least, it makes us cranky.

Lately we seem to be on the run from unwanted sound. There are more than 500 kinds of noise-canceling headphones on Amazon.com, and the iPhone White Noise Lite app has been downloaded more than 10 million times. Writer George Prochnik's In Pursuit of

A few do-it-yourself fixes that work, and others that don't.

Try...

Chicken soup for a cold. Many studies have shown that the homemade remedy has anti-inflammatory effects that soothe sore throats and clear stuffy noses.

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Cucumber compresses for a headache. The vegetable relieves a throbbing head by tightening blood vessels, lessening blood flow to the area, and relieving pressure. Bonus: Cucumber slices fit nicely over the eyes.

Green tea for bad breath. Drink a cup to kill any trace of garlic or onion.

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Krazy Glue for cuts. It made headlines for its ability to seal small wounds, but the Food and Drug Administration and many doctors recommend against this.

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Hemorrhoid cream for puffy eyes. Models may use the stuff to deflate eye bags, but over time more blood vessels will form and the skin will thin, causing even