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From ostentatious patterns and colors to ill-advised past-decade throwbacks (mostly from the ’90s), 2018 was loaded with fashion pitfalls. Here are all the styles from the past year that need to go the way of the dodo—like, yesterday. 1 Chunky Dad Sneakers The world’s ugliest sneakers became fashion’s hottest footwear this year. But like a lot of other eye-catching fashion trends, this one is already on its way out. Opt for cleaner, more classic sneaker silhouettes for an athleisure look that will never go out of style....

READ THIS NEXT: The 7 Best Dogs for Beginners, Vets Say. With no need for house training or a walking schedule, fish are one of the easiest animals to take on as a first-time pet parent, period. And according to experts, they’re also well suited for anyone who may have to head out of town often—especially if they can get help from a friend, roommate, or neighbor while they are gone....

RELATED: This Is the Worst Place to Sit on a Plane, Flight Experts Say. If you’re looking for crystal clear water, cloud forests, and ziplining, you’re in luck. Costa Rica is an ideal spot for post-pandemic travel since it requires no quarantine on arrival or negative COVID test to enter, says Peddicord. “But if you’re not double vaccinated, you must have travel health insurance that covers COVID,” she explains. There’s also a Health Pass that you must fill out, as well....

RELATED: She Played Daisy Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard. See Catherine Bach at 67. As reported by People in August 1982, stars Wopat and Schneider sued Warner Bros. for $25 million, claiming they weren’t given their fair share of royalty money made from the sale of Dukes of Hazzard merchandise, such as toys and clothing. The suit was filed prior to the start of filming for the show’s fifth season....

That may seem obvious to some but, according to the new CDC report, in May and June, there were 15 cases of alcohol poisoning “associated with swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Four patients died, and three were discharged with visual impairment.” And it’s one specific kind of alcohol-based hand sanitizer that’s causing these problems, the CDC notes. Hand sanitizers should only contain ethanol or isopropanol. (To be exact, according to the CDC, your hand sanitizer should contain at least 60 percent ethanol or at least 70 percent isopropanol....

RELATED: Half of People Who Have a Stroke Notice This a Week Earlier, Study Says. While blood clots can happen to anyone, certain activities make otherwise healthy individuals more likely to develop blood clots. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sitting for four hours or more can significantly increase your risk of developing blood clots. Though the CDC notes that, even during lengthy periods of travel, the overall risk of developing a blood clot is low for most people, there are numerous factors that may increase your risk of developing the condition....

RELATED: 74 Percent of Delta Variant Infections Have This in Common, New Study Says. Mary Jo Trepka, MD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Florida International University who tracks the trajectory of the virus in the state, told The Wall Street Journal that rising hospitalizations in certain states due to the Delta variant might have encouraged some people to take more COVID precautions that they may not have taken beforehand. According to the WSJ, vaccination rates rose in many states hit hardest by the variant in July and August....

A study published Feb. 22 in the American Journal of Infection Control used data from more than 27,000 people tested for COVID between Feb. 27 and July 15 in the Michigan Medicine healthcare system. Out of that group, researchers reported that only 47.8 percent had gotten the flu vaccine in the last year (between Aug. 1 and July 15), while 52 percent had not. Gathering the number of positive cases from the two groups, researchers found that the odds of testing positive for COVID were reduced by 24 percent for patients who had been vaccinated against the flu compared to those who hadn’t been....

READ THIS NEXT: The Most Affectionate Zodiac Sign, According to Astrologers. Geminis are known for their creativity. Astrologer and tarot reader Inbaal Honigman describes this clever sign as “quick to pick up techniques, learn an instrument, memorize lines, or flow with new ideas.” Since Geminis are often good with words, they are great songwriters, including Paul McCartney and Prince. “Gemini can find expression through the arts to be a beautiful way to harness their creative talents,” says Honigman....

READ THIS NEXT: The Most Sympathetic Zodiac Sign, According to Astrologers. Pisces are the daydreamers of the zodiac and often lose touch with reality. But their tendency to live in their own heads makes them a romantic sign with great empathy for others. “They are compassionate yet short-tempered,” says Emily Newman, astrologer and founder at Best of Psychic Reader. “They make mistakes as well, but they care deeply.” This sensitive water sign will always try and help others, but they have to be careful not to take on too much, so they don’t get hurt themselves....

READ THIS NEXT:The Most Sympathetic Zodiac Sign, According to Astrologers. Commonly known as one of the sensitive water signs, Pisces are also incredibly reliable. They’re not very realistic most of the time and tend to live with their head in the clouds, but this daydreamy nature doesn’t mean they aren’t dependable. “They will always be there for you when you need emotional support,” Emily Newman, astrologer and founder of Best of Psychic Reader says....

During a press conference on Dec. 21, scientists advising the British government announced that there were significant differences between the previous strain of the virus and the new variant that is currently responsible for 60 percent of cases in London and the southeastern region of England. “There is a hint that it has a higher propensity to infect children,” Neil Ferguson, PhD, infectious disease epidemiologist at Imperial College London and member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG), told reporters....

RELATED: This Founder Bought a Lottery Ticket for the $810 Million Mega Millions Jackpot For 50,000 of His Employees 1 He Wants to Prove He Is One with the People Harry, who now lives in Montecito, California with his wife and their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, wants to prove he is one with the people. “I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become,” the 37-year-old wrote in his statement announcing the book....

According to the health authority, wearing gloves in everyday public settings “will not necessarily protect you from getting COVID-19 and may still lead to the spread of germs.” They posit that gloves are “not necessary in most situations,” citing the examples of pushing a shopping cart at the grocery store or using an ATM at the bank. David Cutler, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, agrees with the CDC’s recommendation, and notes that the practice of wearing gloves in non-medical settings has always been “unsupported by science....

Writing for Forbes, Leadership IQ owner Mark Murphy explained, “One of the most powerful techniques you can employ is to ask your boss the following question, ‘I want to make sure I keep growing and improving, so if you were me, what would you choose to work on?’” This is not a topic you should broach weekly but rather something you should ask once a month at one of your virtual meetings....

RELATED: Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Other Retailers Are Pulling This Product from Stores. Experts advise that you stay clear of the cleaning supplies offered at Lowe’s, which make for unwise impulse buys. “The selection of cleaning supplies at Lowe’s isn’t very big compared to grocery stores, so your choices are already going to be limited,” explains Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with the shopping comparison site DealNews.com. “But even for the items that are there, prices usually aren’t great either....

1 The Proposed Nickname: Queen Elizabeth the Faithful Per The Mirror, former Tory party treasurer Michael Farmer proposed giving Queen Elizabeth the nickname Queen Elizabeth the Faithful. This would help the longest reigning monarch “stand out in the sweep of history.” “It has useful ambiguity, as it’s directed both to God and country – work still in progress,” he said. He asked the government to call in legislation to add “Faithful” to her title....

Mental stress can eventually lead to cardiovascular events, such as stroke, heart disease, or thrombosis. Thankfully, there are ways to mitigate some of these damaging effects. A March 27 study out of the University of Birmingham found that drinking cocoa could help protect your heart when you’re under stress. The study, published in Nutrients, found that blood vessels were able to function better during stress when people were given a cocoa drink with high levels of flavanols as opposed to a drink without flavanols....

READ THIS NEXT: The City You Should Retire in Based on Your Zodiac Sign. Lauren Ash is an astrologer and culture writer based in St. Louis. You can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her blog for monthly horoscopes and cosmic guidance. You’re always on the cutting edge of what’s cool and trendy, Aries. While other people follow the crowd and flock to more popular metropolitan areas, you prefer to seek out the hidden gems—as long as they have equal access to nature and bustling nightlife....

To find out, we turned to Rotten Tomatoes and ranked every one of Jackson’s films by its critical score—that is, the percentage of critics who gave the movie a positive review. Any movie under 60 percent is considered rotten, but we focused on films that earned under 40 percent to make sure we were singling out the least liked Jackson films. These are the movies that reviewers soundly rejected, and many of them weren’t hits with fans either....