You Can Get Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac on Sale for $43 Right Now

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If you’re a Mac user who just wants the classic Microsoft Office experience without the whole subscription situation, this $42.99 deal on Microsoft Office Home & Business 2019 for Mac might be worth your attention. Normally priced at $229, it’s a one-time purchase that gives you lifetime access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and Teams Classic on just one Mac. That’s it—no monthly fees, renewals, or ongoing charges. You’ll get an instant email with your redemption code and download link, so you can be up and running within minutes.

This is Office 2019—not 365 or 2021. Microsoft has already ended support for Office 2019 on Mac, which means you won’t receive any more security updates or bug fixes. If you like staying fully up-to-date, this isn’t for you, but if your needs are simple—writing reports, sending email, managing budgets, making presentations—it still holds up just fine. It’s designed to work with macOS 13 through 15 and takes advantage of Mac features like Retina display support and full-screen mode. You’ll need at least 4GB of RAM and 10GB of hard disk space, so make sure your setup can handle it. Just one key step: once you install it, turn off auto-update. Otherwise, it might upgrade you to 2021, making this lifetime license pointless.

There are no frills here—just full access to the essential Office suite for a one-time price. This is a solid deal if you’re a student, freelancer, or small business owner who doesn't need cloud syncing or the newest version every year. You won’t get ongoing support and can't use it on multiple devices simultaneously, though you can switch devices (the license is tied to your Microsoft account, not your Mac). But for everyday productivity on a single Mac, it’s a straightforward, affordable solution—especially if you’re tired of renting your software.



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These Bose Ultra Open Earbuds Are $179 Right Now

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If you’ve ever wanted to wear earbuds that don’t actually go in your ears, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds might be the oddball pick you’ve been looking for. These open-style earbuds clip on and hook around your ear instead of sitting inside it, letting ambient noise in by design. That makes them great for runs, walks, or commuting—basically, situations where you want to hear your music but also that car barreling around the corner. And for the next six days or until it sells out, Woot’s offering refurbished models of these earbuds, in black, moonstone blue, and white smoke for $179—much cheaper than Amazon’s current $261.99 price.

Since these are refurbished, they might show a bit of wear, but they’ve been tested and cleared to function properly. You also get a 90-day Woot limited warranty, which is shorter than Bose’s standard, but fair for the price cut, and if you’re an Amazon Prime member, shipping is free (otherwise it’s $6). Just a heads-up: Woot ships only within the 48 contiguous states.

Bose doesn’t skimp on audio quality here: Despite the open design, they deliver solid sound with real punch and clarity. The bass won’t rumble like in-ear buds, but you still get that signature Bose balance. They also have Immersive Audio support, which adds spatial depth—though it's a little inconsistent depending on what you’re listening to and can feel gimmicky, according to this PCMag review. They also support Snapdragon Sound with aptX Adaptive and work especially well with podcasts and mellow playlists. That said, the biggest downside is that they don’t have any noise cancellation, which, again, is kind of the point, but still worth noting if you’re used to ANC earbuds. Battery life clocks in around 7.5 hours on a single charge (with Immersive Audio off), and the charging case gives you almost two full charges, which is decent enough. If you’re someone who prioritizes awareness and comfort over total sound isolation—and doesn’t mind a pre-loved gadget—this deal makes a pretty compelling case. If you’re more of a noise-canceling, zone-out-on-the-plane kind of listener, these probably won't cut it for you.



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My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The Dangbei Freedo Portable Projector

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Amazon's Big Spring Sale is almost over, but there are still deals you can take advantage of, including Lifehacker Associate Tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt's favorite tech deals. One deal you can take advantage of right now is the Dangbei Freedo, a portable projector with an official Netflix license and a 1080p resolution. You can get it for $399 (originally $549), the lowest price it has ever been, according to price-tracking tools.

Portable projectors, obviously, must work independently of an outlet and be easy to carry around. They don't get the best brightness, since they're meant to be light and portable and rely on a limited battery, so keep that in mind. This projector does all of the basics well. It's light, portable, has a 2.5 hours of battery life, which is on par with the competition, has 450 ISO lumens of brightness, which is good for its price, and has Dolby Audio and HDR10, nice perks that not all portable projectors have.

With 450 lumens of brightness, you'll need to keep a room relatively dark to get the best picture. However, it is usable in a backyard with some low ambient light (with some sacrifices in color and contrast). Since it's officially licensed by Netflix, the app comes pre-installed, and it uses the Google TV operating system, which is my favorite because it means you get to cast your phone using Chromecast.

The Dangbei Freedo has a full HD 1080p resolution, but it supports 4K, meaning it'll receive the signal but it will scale it down to 1080p. It's also impressive that it can cast a screen of up to 180 inches. The auto focus and keystone correction automatically kick in and work well, which is important for a portable projector.



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These Are the Best Deals on Tech Products During the Spring Sale Season

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Cyber Monday is long gone, but with spring sales popping up this week in response to Amazon's Big Spring Sale event, there's still plenty of good tech to be found for cheap.

Across Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, and more, gadgets from laptops to TVs are seeing deep discounts. Shopping these sales can be a bit difficult unless you know how to track an item’s price history, but fortunately, I’ve already done all of the work for you. Keep checking in here throughout the week for the best deals on laptops, TVs, tablets, video games, and more. Prices are accurate as of time of writing, but you can expect them to fluctuate and for inventory to sell out, so you may not want to hesitate if you see a sale that grabs you.

The best deals on laptops

Sales events are a great time to buy laptops, as they're one of the most frequent items to go on sale during these periods. Here are some of my favorite picks for the best laptop deals available now.

  • Apple MacBook Air 13-inch with M4 Chip: $949 at Amazon (was $999). Released earlier this month, Apple's M4 MacBook Air is already on sale. At time of writing, the discount only applies to the 13-inch model with 16GB of RAM, but that's still enough for plenty of users.

  • Apple MacBook Pro with M4 Chip: $1,399 at Amazon (was $1,599). For a more powerful Apple computer, the MacBook Pro is the obvious choice. As time of writing, sales are present across all chip options (the M4 has multiple upgrades available), as well as across multiple RAM and storage loadouts, but you will need to stick to a 14-inch screen.

  • Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360: $1,475 at Amazon (was $1,699). A Windows-based alternative to the MacBook Air, although with power potentially rivaling the Pro at points, this lightweight laptop is a touch more expensive, but comes with a higher resolution OLED screen with a higher refresh rate, plus the ability to convert into a tablet.

  • Microsoft Surface Laptop: $921 at Amazon (was $1,400). A cheaper alternative to the MacBook Air, the Microsoft Surface Laptop offers a familiar form factor and, thanks to its Qualcomm chip, higher battery life and greater AI compatibility, although at the cost of some performance.

  • Lenovo IdeaPad 1i: $420 at Best Buy (was $600). This is a more basic, "get the job done" kind of laptop, but with a respectable mid-range chip, surprisingly generous storage for the price, and a touchscreen, there's quite a bit of value to be had here.

  • HP Victus 16 Gaming Laptop: $900 at Best Buy (was $1,500). The HP Victus 16 is a tremendous deal below $1,000, getting you a respectable chip, 16GB of RAM, and enough storage to get by, but also the RTX 4070 GPU, which is typically reserved for much more expensive machines.

The best deals on tablets

Good tablets are a bit rarer to find deals on during sales events, since iPads so overwhelmingly dominate the space, and Apple can be a little more stringent with supply. Still, there are good opportunities to be found if you're willing to look.

  • Apple 11-Inch iPad Pro with M4 Chip: $899 at Amazon (was $999). Apple's first iPad with an OLED screen, the M4 Pro is now available for less than four figures, with deals available for all storage configurations.

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+: $680 at Amazon (was $1,000). A premium Android tablet from Samsung, this rectangle boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, 12GB of memory, 256GB of storage, a 12-inch 2,800 x 1,752 AMOLED screen, and comes with a stylus.

  • Microsoft Surface Pro 13-Inch: $999 at Best Buy (was $1,200). This pick blurs the line between a tablet and a laptop, coming equipped with Windows 11, which gives it a full desktop ecosystem of apps to explore. Plus, this particular model also has a few Copilot+ goodies thrown in. Storage is 512GB and RAM is 16GB.

  • Google Pixel Tablet: $279 at Amazon (was $399). A more affordable tablet, this device uses the same Tensor G2 chipset as the Pixel 7 line, has 8GB of RAM, and features a 2,560 x 1,600 display. That means it's on the humbler side, but as a positive, it can also double as a smart display.

The best deals on phones

My Favorite Robot Vacuum Is Half Off During Amazon's Big Spring Sale

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I test and review a lot of robot vacuums and mops. Usually, they're premium or flagship models, which makes the Switchbot K10+ an outlier, but it still impresses me every time I use it—so much that it is one of the few vacuums I've held onto to use myself. When Switchbot upgraded the K10+ to the K10+ Pro, it got even better (they made the vacuum suction more powerful and dropped the mop attachment). Right now, during Amazon's Big Spring Sale, it's $300, which is half off its regular price.

What makes it so special? It's tiny. About 2/3 the size of normal robot vacuums, it can get between and under spaces no other robot can. The radius it makes around chair legs and furniture is tiny, as well. It's quiet, and it doesn't get stuck on larger debris, or trapped in places because it's so small it can escape any spot most robots get stuck in.

Despite having about half the suction of premium robots, it works spectacularly across carpet, hardwood, tile, or rugs. The tower is petite, and is self-emptying. The Switchbot app is simple and easy to navigate, too. You can still create complicated maps and schedules.

While, generally speaking, I think most people should get a combo vacuum and mop these days, I've gifted the K10+ Pro to a number of people for their offices or smaller homes, and they've all raved about the machine. The current sale puts it below $300, and at that price, it is the best robot vacuum deal out there.

You Can Now Generate Podcast-Style 'Audio Overviews' Directly in Gemini AI

Last year, Google released a niche feature in its experimental NotebookLM product that turned out to be a sleeper hit. You could upload any document to NotebookLM, and it would use AI to generate a two-person conversational podcast out of it. These aren't meant to be uploaded online for viewership, but for you to listen to as a learning ad.

The idea is that there are times when it's easier to understand a concept when two people are just casually conversing about it. If that sounds appealing to you, good news: you no longer need to dive into the unfamiliar NotebookLM interface to try it out. Google's AI-generated podcasts, called Audio Overviews, are now available for free directly in the Gemini app and website. And now that Audio Overviews are integrated directly into Gemini, you can even use Gemini's own Deep Research reports as sources for your podcast.

Personally, I've found it useful to first prompt Gemini to create a Deep Research report on a topic, then directly generate an Audio Overview from it (skipping past having to read it myself).

Generate and download podcasts on any topic

To get started, use the Gemini website or the Gemini app. To upload your own document or slide show, click the Plus button and add in your desired source file. As soon as the file is processed, you'll see a button for Generate Audio Overview.

Uploading files and generating audio overviews.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Press the button and wait for Gemini to begin its work. It can take anywhere between 3–5 minutes to generate your podcast audio, depending on the depth of the material.

Alternatively, you can prompt Gemini to create a report for you using the Deep Research option below the text box. Here, too, you'll have to wait a couple of minutes until the research is ready. Then, open the Deep Research document, click the down-arrow button, and then use the Generate Audio Overview button. You can also just enter "Generate Audio Overview" in the text box.

Generate Audio Overview from Deep Research report.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak

When the processing is done, you'll get a notification from the Gemini website or the app. You'll now see a player in the chat box. Hit the Play button to start playback, and use the seek bar to jump to any point in the recording. Yes, there's speed control too, but you can only increase the playback speed up to 1.5x.

Podcast style Audio Overviews player in Gemini.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak

I got 10 minutes of podcast overview from a 12-page document, so the detail isn't bad. If you don't want to listen to your podcast right away, or if you'd like to share it, you can also download the audio for offline payback. Click the three-dot menu button in the audio player and choose the Download option.

Download audio overview.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak

From here, you can also choose the Share conversation option to share your Gemini chat and recording using a link.

And while you're in Gemini, you might want to try creating your own custom AI Bots, called Gems, since those are now free for everyone to use.



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No, Microsoft Isn't Shutting Down OneNote (Just One Version of It)

You may have seen a headline this week imply that OneNote, the extremely popular note-taking application from Microsoft, is shutting down. That's not the case—only a specific version of OneNote, named "OneNote for Windows 10," is shutting down.

What's this mean? If you don't use Windows, this news doesn't affect you. If you do use Windows, and your version of OneNote does not say "OneNote for Windows 10" at the top of the window, this news doesn't affect you. If your version of OneNote does say "OneNote for Windows 10" at the top of the window, then this news is relevant: The version of OneNote you're currently using will be discontinued on Oct. 14. You can download the desktop version of OneNote for free, though, and all of your notes will sync over.

It's worth noting that the desktop version of OneNote offers features that OneNote for Windows 10 never did—it can save your notebooks offline, for example, meaning you don't need a OneDrive account to use the application. And the shutdown isn't a surprise by any means—Microsoft announced this transition would happen years ago.

Still, not everyone is happy about this. OneNote for Windows 10 was built to work well on mobile devices and, to this day, some users prefer it for touch screen Windows devices. I tested both versions while writing and regularly updating the OneNote review for PCMag and I personally find the desktop version more complete, but I understand why some might prefer the "for Windows 10" version—it's clean, fast, and does what most people want.

You can still, as of this writing, download OneNote for Windows 10 at this link. Microsoft advises you not to, and plans to show pop-ups and even intentionally slow down syncing speed in order to persuade people to switch. Support ends completely in October, after which there will be no security updates and, if history is any guide, functionality will likely slowly break.

So, if you're using OneNote for Windows 10, it's time to figure out what you want to use for note-taking going forward. I'd recommend downloading and trying the desktop version of OneNote first. If you're not a fan, there are other note-taking applications out there: Obsidian, which I've written about, can even import your notes from OneNote.



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Eight Cheap Gadgets That Will Lower Your Grocery Bills

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As we appear to be living in an age of perpetually rising grocery prices, we're all looking for ways to lower our food bills. Considering the average spend on groceriesis over $500 every month, I'm all open to suggestions. Extreme couponing? Tell me more. Intermittent fasting? Sounds doable. Ugly produce? Bring it on!

Spending money to save money? How does that work?

Kitchen tools like bread makers or chest freezers tend to pay for themselves over time, but often come with a hefty upfront cost. Yet there are some inexpensive gadgets that don’t require a big investment but which can trim your grocery bills significantly. Here are eight of them.

Bottle connectors

There’s nothing more frustrating than paying for a bottle of something and leaving a bunch of it in the bottle because physics refuses to release it. But if you throw away bottles of stuff—whether it’s condiments, shampoo, or anything else you pick up at the grocery store—with product still trapped in there, you’re throwing away money. Instead, pick up a bottle connector (which will let you transfer the dregs of an old bottle to a new one), a zero-waste cap (which will use gravity to help you use every drop of something in the bottle), or a bottle scraper of some kind to get every bit out of the bottle. It’s difficult to quantify how much money you can save by doing all these things, but it’s not nothing.

A food vacuum sealer

A food vacuum sealer isn’t the cheapest option; while you can find sealers for about $10, that could definitely be a penny-wise, pound-foolish kind of decision. But an initial investment of anywhere from $40 to $100 will save you money in several ways:

  • Reduce waste. Vacuum-sealing your leftovers and overflow ingredients will keep them fresher far longer.

  • Make bulk buying pay. Buying in bulk usually reduces your per-unit costs—but only if you can actually use what you buy. Vacuum-sealing makes it easier to buy something like meat or fish in bulk and keep it fresh long enough to actually eat. Additionally, if you happen upon a terrific sale on something perishable, you can make an unusually large purchase work economically by sealing and freezing most of it.

Herb keepers

If you cook with a lot of fresh herbs, a herb keeper can help keep them fresh for more than a week longer than if you just stick them in the crisper (or in a plastic bag, where all herbs go to wilt). That means you can actually use them in multiple meals and buy less of them overall.

Produce savers

Buying fresh produce is often an exercise in expensive frustration. You pay for a bunch of apples, and some of them are already rotting seemingly before you even get them home from the store, and the rest don’t fare well no matter where you store them. You might be one of those folks who thrills at turning black bananas into banana bread and soft apples into pies, but it would be better if everything just lasted longer. That’s where products like GreenBags and the BlueApple Produce Saver come in. Both extend the life of fresh produce by days, giving you extra time to use up what you buy and improving the taste and overall experience of the produce you’re eating. Over time they’ll pay for themselves in fresher fruits and veg, and lower grocery bills.

A cheese grater

You might not think of a cheese grater as a gadget, but tell that to the people who lived before its invention. Buying your cheese pre-grated will definitely save you money (and give you a better cheese experience, as pre-grated cheese usually is coated with a bunch of stabilizers and preservatives in it to keep it from clumping). Block cheese will almost always be cheaper than pre-grated cheese, so aside from the better eating and cooking experience, grating your own cheese will pay for the grater over time, and then some.

Silicone stretch lids

If you use foil or plastic wrap on a regular basis to cover bowls, old plastic storage tubs that have lost their lids, or pots straight off the stove (smash cut to your eating directly from the saucepan with a spoon later that night), you’re paying money every time you tear off a sheet. Instead, use these stretchy silicone lids. They’ll fit just about any bowl or tub you’ve got and will keep their contents nice and fresh, with an airtight seal that’s almost certainly better than that mangled lump of aluminum foil you were going to use. One note: You shouldn’t use these to leave extra canned goods in the can. Yes, the lid will cover and seal the can effectively, but once opened, your food will start reacting to the metal of the can, which can degrade the flavor and kickstart bacteria growth.

Reusable paper towels

If you’re using a lot of disposable stuff from the grocery store, a great way to save money is to switch to reusable, washable versions. Makeup removal pads and paper towels (which can also be used as casual napkins) are two easy switches. Rayon paper towels made from bamboo are sustainable and can be used about 50 times. In the meantime, not buying a new supply every week or so will definitely save you some cash—have you seen what Target wants for a thing of paper towels these days?

Dryer balls

If you use dryer sheets when you do laundry, you can probably reduce your shopping bills by switching to wool dryer balls. Dryer sheets range in price from about four cents per sheet on the low end to about ten cents a sheet (mainly for specialty sheets, like the ones intended for homes with a lot of pet fur). Wool dryer balls help reduce drying time, wrinkles, and static cling and are reusable (up to about 1,000 times). So a six-pack of dryer balls will get you at least 6,000 loads of laundry for about $10, as opposed to $240 for dryer sheets. Even if you wash large loads and use 2-3 balls per load, you’ll still seeing significant savings over dryer sheets.



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The Sonos Arc Soundbar Is $250 Off Right Now

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I love soundbars. I'm still traumatized by having to rig speakers all over my living room to get decent audio back in the day—not to mention finding a place for a damn subwoofer—so enjoying high quality audio from an easy-to-set-up, compact soundbar like the Sonos Arc is a great relief. It's on sale now for Amazon's Big Spring Sale for $649.00, 28% off the list price.

The Arc is a slick-looking piece of kit—a 45-inch oval cylinder that's only 4.3 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall and is available in black or white—but more importantly, the Arc's sound quality is top-notch, whether you're watching movies or listening to music.

The Sonos Arc is powered by Dolby's Atmos system that creates a three-dimensional "sound globe" that lets you hear anything from any direction—jets sounds like they're overhead and whispers sound like they're right in your ear. There's even a dialogue enhancer so you don't miss any lines. As for music, just put on Hawkwind's "Master of the Universe" and tell me it doesn't change your life.

Our pals over at PC Mag put a Sonos Arc through its paces and were impressed enough to give it four stars and name it an Editor's Choice.

Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including:



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Signal Is Private, Sure, but Not That Private

Another day, another security breach, but this time it's going down in the group chat. On Monday, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, reported that he had been added to a Signal conversation with Trump administration officials—including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz—who were discussing highly sensitive "operational details" about impending attacks in Yemen.

Signal is a secure messaging app, but as a publicly available service, it's not meant for coordinating military operations (the U.S. government doesn't allow its use to communicate classified information). Here's what Signal is great for—and the limits to the privacy it ensures.

When you should use Signal

Signal is a free, open-source messaging app with end-to-end encryption, allowing users to keep conversations (including text, images, audio and video messages, and calls) private and safe. It's one of our top picks for secure communication, and its privacy and security settings and open-source protocol are lauded by the Electronic Frontier Foundation as well as many data security experts.

In addition to end-to-end encryption, Signal has a disappearing messages function, which deletes chats after a set period of time, as well as features like photo blurring, hiding your phone number by default, and other security settings to protect your identity and your data.

All of these factors make Signal an excellent choice for communication you want to keep private, whether you're transmitting personal or sensitive information or are engaging in activism or otherwise want to know that no one but you and the intended recipient can read your messages. If you're an iPhone user, you can make Signal your device's default messaging app. (Signal used to support SMS/MMS on Android, allowing you to use it as your default messenger, but removed that functionality in 2022.) But there's still a couple of sticking points to keep in mind.

Signal still has privacy risks

While Signal is an excellent tool for encrypted communication, it doesn't guarantee absolute privacy for classified information, such as that related to matters of national security.

As recent events show, users can be added to group chats—mistakenly or on purpose—leaving open the possibility that your messages will be exposed to someone not meant to see them. You should verify the identity of everyone included your threads before sending sensitive information to them, and consider utilizing Signal's group chat settings to require approval of new members or restrict who can add members to the thread.

If private information is being shared, you can also verify a contact's safety number to ensure they are who you think they are.

But even if you maximize all of Signal's security settings, the mobile device you're using could be compromised by spyware, as Apple has warned users in more than 150 countries. These campaigns attempt to install invasive malware on smartphones to capture users' location, data, and activity—defeating any encryption benefit Signal offers in the process. Bad actors are most likely to target high-profile politicians, activists, journalists, and others who have access to classified or sensitive information.

Additionally, Signal can also be downloaded and accessed across multiple devices, including a desktop app, where data may be stored less securely or compromised by malware.

Finally, there's always the possibility that your device could simply be swiped, leaving your data open to whoever can unlock it (a good reason to enable disappearing messages).

With that in mind, while installing Signal is a good place to start, it shouldn't be the entirety of your privacy routine. If you have an iPhone, here are a few additional steps you can take to keep your data secure—perhaps our government officials could benefit from going through this checklist, too.



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What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: The Great Pyramids

This week, there has been a lot of chatter in the weirder parts of the online world about the supposed discovery of a hidden complex of underground chambers beneath the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. It seems a team of researchers announced they'd used SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) to reveal a number of underground buildings beneath the Khafre Pyramid.

This discovery could offer proof the ancient Egyptian civilization was far more advanced than is generally believed, and possessed technology that rivals our own. It could change everything we think we know about humanity itself! In other words, big if true. 

Spoiler: It's not true though. All signs point to the “discovery” being an especially elaborate example of pyramid-based misinformation, another in a long string of untrue claims about the ancient Egyptian monuments that never seems to end, because cranks just love making up stories about the pyramids.

What was supposedly discovered under the Great Pyramids? 

I gotta give the “researchers” behind this "discovery" an A for effort. The supposed results of the SAR-based research were shared with the world at a press conference held in Bologna, Italy, on March 15, and it all looks very official. Here’s a video of the event:

It’s in Italian, and there are no English translation available yet, so I’m relying on other people’s translation work, but the gist is that the GIZA Project involves a team of “researchers, historians, archaeologists, and technologists” using high tech imaging techniques. They say they've discovered five identical structures connected by “geometric pathways,” eight “structures resembling vertical wells, surrounded by descending spiral pathways,” and “two large cubic structures measuring approximately 80 meters per side at a depth of 648 meters” at the site of the Great Pyramids.

The conference featured multimedia detailing the supposed discoveries, charts and graphs, people acting very serious, and all sorts of “this is real science!” frippery, so as you’d expect, the easily fooled were fooled, easily. Alex Jones touted this as “greatest archeological find in HISTORY.” Others wondered if the structures under the pyramids are part of a massive power plant, or maybe an ancient super weapon, or part of the “legendary Amenti,” a subterranean city “linked to ‘universal knowledge of humankind and its ultimate spiritual transformation.’”

Or maybe the entire thing is nonsense and nobody discovered shit.  

Where does this new pyramid research come from?

Many of the claims made in the press conference aren’t based on any published research, so it’s just people saying stuff in Italian, but the facts that can be checked are largely based on a research paper published in the journal Remote Sensing in 2022. Corrado Malanga and Filippo Biondi are listed at the top of a paper named “Synthetic Aperture Radar Doppler Tomography Reveals Details of Undiscovered High-Resolution Internal Structure of the Great Pyramid of Giza.” It’s a dense read, full of technical information and equations like this:

Math equations
Credit: Remote Sensing

Don't bother plowing through it and checking the math: The paper’s most notable feature is that it’s not peer reviewed, so you can safely ignore it for now. No independent expert in imaging has looked at this paper in a serious way to determine if SAR could even work like this, and radar experts doubt you could penetrate 648 meters through limestone bedrock. No archeologists have substantiated these claims. Neither have any historians or sociologists. Bottom line: without peer review, there’s no reason to take this paper more seriously than you’d take wild claims made by a random person on a bus. 

And that’s the generous interpretation. A less generous view is expressed by established Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass, who wrote on his Facebook:

All this information is completely wrong and has absolutely no scientific basis… the claim that a radar was used inside the pyramid is false…These people who announced this wrong information, they used techniques that are not approved nor validated, the details announced would never have been seen by using this technique.

Until actual scientists have a look at this research (and I wouldn’t hold my breath) it’s safe to file it under “pyramid misinformation,” a hearty mind-weed that’s been around forever and seems impossible to kill. But pyramid myths are at least fun, so here are some other common things people get wrong about them.

Myth: The pyramids were built by slaves or aliens

Conspiracy theorists often argue that “mainstream” archeologists and historians shouldn't be believed because they have a compelling interest in rejecting new ideas to maintain the academic status quo. But until relatively recently, many historians, archeologists, and most of the general public believed the pyramids were built by slave labor—specifically by the Jews. This is probably because Egyptians enslaving Jews is mentioned in the Bible (though the pyramids are not) and because Greek historian Herodotu reported that slaves were building the pyramids when he visited in 450 B.C. 

Even though it challenged the orthodoxy of their field of study, archeologists uncovered new evidence and reexamined existing evidence to change the conventional wisdom. It turns out the pyramids were not built by slave labor, at least not as we understand slavery today. Instead, the archeological evidence suggests the the pyramids were built by around 20,000 Egyptians who were paid, well-fed, had the equivalent of medical care, worked seasonally, and even left graffiti behind bragging about how awesome their work crew was compared to the others. This evidence also helps us cross "aliens" off the list of potential pyramid-makers. (Giants didn’t build the pyramids either.)

Myth: Ancient people could not have moved the pyramids' heavy stones

We don’t know exactly how the stones they used to build the pyramids were moved into place, but we have evidence that the ancient Egyptians loaded the stones on barges, floated them down the Nile, then dragged them on sledges over pathways they’d made of of slaked lime or tafla, probably using water to reduce friction. No advanced technology or extraterrestrial help was needed, and there’s no evidence at all to suggest they were employed. A lot of people working together can accomplish great things, especially if they have all been given enough beer.

Myth: Pyramids existing independently in different prehistoric societies is evidence of a common culture

From Mayan pyramids in Central America to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, many disparate ancient civilizations built pyramid-shaped monuments, leading some to suggest they had a common culture or there was an ancient means of communication between groups. Some think there’s something inherently “spiritual” in a pyramid’s shape.

While some ancient civilizations did communicate and trade with each other, the main reason pyramids all look similar is the same reason sand castles all have a vaguely pyramidal shape: It's the most stable way to build anything upwards, no matter where your ancient civilization is located. 

Plot-twist: A real anomaly was discovered near the Great Pyramid

This news was not breathlessly tweeted by Alex Jones, but in 2024, real scientists announced they’d discovered a mysterious structure under the royal graveyard near the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Using ground penetrating RADAR and electrical resistivity tomography, researchers from Higashi Nippon International University and other institutions identified an L-shaped structure that is about 33 feet long and is buried 6.5 feet deep. Maybe that's not as impressive as a city-sized proto-battery under hundreds of meters of limestone, but beneath that there's a "highly resistive anomaly!"

It's totally unknown, so you can pretend it's an alien spaceship if you want, but scientists think it's probably a mix of sand and gravel or “an air void.” It’s not an underground city or the remains of an ancient battery, but at least it’s real.  



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The Five Best DIY Home Improvement Projects for Beginners

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If you want to get started on doing your own home improvements, repairs, and maintenance, but you’re not sure where to begin, there are a few projects that can help you sharpen your DIY skills. Learning how to use your tools and getting the hang of techniques that you can apply when tackling larger jobs is a good way to cut your teeth on DIY home improvement.

Hang some shelves

If you haven’t ever tried it before, hanging shelves is a good way to get used to using a tape measure, a level, a stud finder, and a drill.

For this project, you’ll use your tape measure to set the height of your shelves and make sure your shelf will fit in the area you want to hang it, your level to make sure it’s parallel to the ground, and your stud finder to find where the appropriate attachment points are. The drill can be used to drill holes for your shelf brackets and drive your screws into the wall. You can probably complete this project in about an hour and it should cost between $150 and $200 for all of the tools and materials you need.

Patch a hole in your drywall

If hanging shelves didn’t go as planned, or you just need to patch a hole from an accident or an old set of brackets, a drywall patch is a good project for a DIY beginner. You'll use a drywall patch kit that comes with sandpaper, a small putty knife, some spackle, a small patch, and some gloves. To perform your repair, you’ll use your patch to cover the affected area, the putty knife to apply the spackle, and the sanding block or sandpaper to even out the surface to prepare it for paint. This repair takes between 30 minutes and an hour of work time and takes a full 24 hours to cure. The materials for this can cost as little as $20, including all the materials you need.

Clean out your dryer duct

Cleaning out your dryer vent is a chore you should do at least once per year, and it’s simple enough for even the most novice DIYer to tackle. You’ll need either a dryer vent cleaning kit or a shop vac with a long nozzle attachment as well as some gloves and a screwdriver to detach the duct from the dryer.

You’ll use your screwdriver to remove the hose clamp that holds your dryer duct onto the back of your dryer and the cleaning kit with your home vacuum or shop vac with a long nozzle to clear any lint buildup from inside the duct. This project takes about 30 minutes and only costs between $35 and $55.

Replace a broken fence board

Fixing a fence board will give you a chance to practice using your drill, a tape measure, your chop saw or hand saw, and some screws along with your fence board. You will use your tape measure to measure the height of your fence board, your chop saw or hand saw to cut it to length, and your drill to drive your new screws into your board to attach it to the fence. This project will cost between $150 and $300 for everything you need, depending mostly on whether you decide to go with a hand saw or a chop saw. If you only have one board to replace, a hand saw is likely sufficient, while cutting several boards will be much simpler with a chop saw. You can likely complete this project in about an hour including measuring and cutting as well as attaching your board.

Regrade the gravel on a walkway

If you have a gravel path, chances are at some point the gravel will be scattered from footfalls or from weather. To regrade your path and keep it from eroding, you’ll need some fresh gravel, a piece of string, a pair of stakes, tape measure and a rake. You’ll use your gravel to patch any bare spots on your path and your rake to spread it evenly along the path, using your stakes, string, and tape measure to ensure that the center of your path is one to two inches above the edges to allow for drainage. This project can take between one hour to an afternoon depending on how long of a path you have. The materials for this can cost between $30 and $100, depending on how much gravel you need.



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