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Have You Heard About This Ghost Metro Station?

This is not a movie plot, although it could inspire one. Actually, the ghost metro station has become a historical spot in the capital city of Spain. The Chamberí’s underground station, holds so much history that it has become a main attraction in Madrid.

The story of this metro station dates back to October 17th, 1919. Chamberí became one of the eight stops of the first line of metro ever created in Spain.

Andén 0, The Ghost Metro Station

Andén 0 is the current name of the Chamberí’s platform. It was designed by Spanish known architect, Antonio Palacios. The legend says that during the Spanish civil war, many people took refuge in the station.

The walls of the station show evidence of how the bombings affected the infrastructure. Sometimes at night, people have claimed hearing voices and screams of people who probably died there, as a consequence of the war.

It Remains Closed Since 1966

Following the Spanish post-war reforms, the metro of Madrid was a primary concern. Chamberí metro station is situated on line 1, between the stops of Bilbao and Iglesia.

In 1960 the Madrid Metro Community decided to renovate all metro stations, and expand the lines. The platforms were lengthened from 60 metres (197 feet) to 90 metres (295 feet). However, Chamberí’s closeness to neighborring stations didn’t allow for its expansion. Therefore, it was officially shut down in 1966, and hasn’t been used since.

Free ”Ghost Station” Experience

Due to the rising interest in the story of this metro station, it was decided to convert it into a museum. In 2008, it was opened to allow its visitors a free of charge experience.

Andén 0 still represents the 60s in Spain. All billboards inside were preserved, and once you get in, you feel that you have reached a different era, and a different world. Chamberís’s ghost station is definitely worth a visit!

Photos: Pixabay, Metro de Madrid.

Tips To Help You Reduce Your Smartphone Addiction

In a pure technological era, not having a cell phone is absolutely rare. However, since the outbreak of social media, and the emergence of mobile internet, smartphones are some of the most sold items worldwide.

Several research and studies have warned against the harms of smartphone addiction. In fact, they have several serious consequences such as insomnia, brain and eye damage, and endless psychological troubles. Here are some tips from us, in order to help you reduce your smartphone addiction.

Track Your Usage

Most smartphones now allow the feature of tracking your usage. This way, you know how much time you spend, and where you spend it. Our dependence on social media has side effects that we are often not even aware of. Research backed up the theory that social media creates an urge of creating content to feel worthy.

Calm Your Mind

It is absolutely important to sometimes just push the button off. Basically, dependence on social media has wired the brain to release dopamine when someone likes your picture, or talks to you. In fact, you can replace the creation of this temporary pleasure, through natural ways such as meditation.

Stick To Your Plan

If you tell yourself that you will only use your phone for few hours a day, then stick to it. You can try to schedule your hours to check your phone, instead of being on it all day. For example, you can turn the wifi off once at work, so you can focus on doing one task at a time.

Read Before Bed

Replacing social media with books is a genius idea. Not only that it simulates your brain, it also help you fall asleep faster. Rays coming out from your phone screen and significantly more harmful at night. Research have also found a correlation between smartphone usage and insomnia.

Turn Off Notifications

Turn off your notifications at night for a peaceful night rest. Even though you are thinking about that special person, or waiting for a special text, just allow yourself to take a break. Relax, the messages will still be there tomorrow, and you’ll have gained a good night sleep with no disturbance.

Photos: Pixabay

Would You Sleep In This Hotel In Japan For One Dollar?

Traveling is one of the best pleasures of life. However, being able to afford the trip is the hardest part. Housing, food, and transportation often make traveling a luxury. But what about if we tell you that, you can actually stay a night in a hotel in Japan for just 1$?

The One Dollar Hotel In Fukuoka

Tetsuya Inoue, a 27 years old man inherited the hotel Asahi Ryokan from his grand-mother. However, his search for more clients and business, led him to come up with a strange plan.

The One Dollar hotel in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, offers you the possibility to spend a night in for just ¥100, which is about 1$.

Wait, There Is A Counterpart

If while reading this you thought that it’s impossible to find a room this cheap, well, you are right. This hotel allows to stay in Room number 8 for cheap, if you are willing to accept being live streamed the whole night.

The idea behind this service, is to market the hotel through a youtube channel. However, there are few restrictions regarding the video streaming. According to the owner, the livestream has no sound, and the bathroom area is camera free, so guests can have some ”privacy.” Furthermore, the hotel only offers one room with this service, so you can still rent a regular room within the property.

The Owner Claims That Young People Don’t Care About Privacy

To many people out there, this might sound like a nightmare. Yet, since the owner resorted to this ”business model” he had received 4 visitors in just one month. He claims that young people nowadays just want to travel and spend less money, that they don’t care that much about their privacy.

The Room Number 8 youtube channel has over 1,000 subscribers, and recorded over 4,000 view hours. When this particular hotel room doesn’t receive guests, the owner streams himself working in both Japanese and English.

Photos: Asahi Ryokan Hotel

Say Goodbye To Stalking on Instagram With The New Update

Stalking time on Instagram is officially over with their new update! One of the most used social media outlets of modern times, has removed its ”people you follow” feature. Although the users feedback rage from sad to happy, many people have admitted that this ”creepy” feature has caused more damage than anything else.

The new update of removing the tab came as Instagram’s second revolutionary change. Few months back, they announced that they will be taking out the like count of pictures. This news came off as scary to a lot of people, especially influencers on Instagram.

What Did the Following Tab Activity do?

Mainly, the follow tab allowed us to see what our ‘‘friends” are doing on Instagram. you could see who liked what, who commented on what, and sometimes, even who tagged who in what.

Many people admit to having had relationship problems because of this feature. Partners were able to stalk their significant other, keeping an eye on who they follow, and which people’s pictures they like.

Is This New Update Good or Bad for Instagram?

Instagram eventually decided to remove this feature amid claims that users were getting depressed and paranoid, according to the Mail Online. However, several Instagram users are not happy with the change, wondering how could they now stalk their ex/crush.

Regardless of wether this update is accepted by the world or not, Instagram is still winning according to the app directors. Now, all users will resort to Facebook to do ”some stalking”. Both Social media platforms are owned by the same person, therefore, this move could be benefiting the owners more than the actual users.

Photos: Twitter, Pixabay

Handy Hacks That Make Your Household Chores Easier

No one (okay, very VERY few people) like doing household chores. Putting on some music can ease the process, but being more productive by cutting your cleaning time is even better. These simple and handy hacks will ensure you save time doing your household chores, so you have more time to do the things you truly love!

Get Rid Of Clothing Wrinkles With Ice Cubes

ice cubes on a black cloth- the first of our hacks.
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Tired of hand ironing every, single item? Or have you just given up entirely and go to the office with an embarrassing amount of wrinkles? Either way, this hack will solve your problem. Place your dryer on the hottest setting, and put in a couple pieces of clothing along with three ice cubes. Leave them in for 10 minutes max and voila! Wrinkle-free fabric!

Pick Up Glass Shards With Bread

spongey white bread used for cleaning up glass.

For the clumsy ones amongst us, dropping a glass or shattering a bowl can be pretty commonplace in the kitchen. As much as we sweep and swear there’s no remnants left, there is always the chance you’ve left a shard or two. To avoid any additional painful accidents, try dampening a piece of bread and pressing it to the floor where the glass fell. The glass will be absorbed into the bread without slicing your hands or feet in the process.

Clean Bathroom Surfaces Naturally With Grapefruit

grapefruit can be used for cleaning hacks.

Having a bathtub sounds luxurious, until you have to clean away the gross residue and stains left behind. (Makes you wonder how DIRTY you really were…) If you want to avoid using harsh chemicals that are bad to breathe in, a safe alternative is grapefruit! Rinse the designated area you want to clean, and then sprinkle some salt on a sliced grapefruit and scrub away. This combination quickly removes stains and leaves your bathroom smelling fresh and sweet. We love any cleaning hacks that help the environment too!

Clean Your Blender In Seconds

a blender with an orange smoothie inside.

How many of you love the idea of a smoothie, but the thought of having to clean the blender afterwards is enough to turn you way? No longer will you dread cleaning the blender, as this is one of the fastest hacks ever! Instead of taking apart the blender and risking cutting yourself in the process, fill the blender with water and a little bit of soap, put on the lid and blend!

Photos: Freepik

Keep Your Information Safe By Avoiding These Online Actions

In the digital age where anything and everything is done online, it can be difficult to keep your information and identity safe. Even people who think they are being hyper-aware of the information they share on social networking sites can find themselves the victim of a cybercrime. To keep your information safe, you should avoid at all costs doing these common online actions.

Online Personality Quizzes

woman's hands on a mobile phone on facebook, with many faces of people in the background.

Facebook lost a lot of its credibility (and was fined big time) after a quiz site called “Cambridge Analytica” created personality quizzes that stored the information of all of its participants (and the Facebook friends of those participants). What seems like an innocent quiz about “what type of dessert are you,” is actually taking personal information from under your nose. Questions like “what was your first car” might seem innocent, but it’s the answer to a lot of security questions online… That said, you should avoid these quizzes at all cost, especially if they are from an unknown source.

Public Wifi

a hand clicking on wifi on a phone and other sources of information around it.

When you’re on vacation and don’t have wifi or data, it can be tempting to check in to the public wifi whenever you can. However, often these “public” hosts are not reliable, and actually track all of your actions while surfing. Logging into your email, monitoring your bank account, and checking other sites with personal and private information might all be traced and saved by hackers. It is best to wait until you are at a private Wifi zone with a secure password.

Text Message Promotions

a girl clicking on a link on her phone for more information.

Cyberhacks can also occur via text message through what is called “smishing.” If you have ever received a text message for a store discount with a link that redirects to a site asking for personal information, delete immediately! These are unlikely to be originally sent from the company. If you are not sure if the promo is valid or just a scam, try searching the domain name online to see if it is truly connected.

Posting Boarding Passes

An apple watch showing a boarding pass with personal information.

You have every right to feel ecstatic about your upcoming trip and sharing it with the world. However, sharing a photo of your boarding pass (or passport, license, etc) makes it possible for hackers to steal your identity. While a boarding pass might seem innocent to share, it actually contains information that could be used to access a frequent flyer account and credit card information. Ensure your vacation has zero security breaches by traveling with caution and care!

Photos: Freepik, Pixabay, Unsplash