in 1897, Lynnewood Hall was built in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Courtesy of Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation
In 1897, Peter Widener built a mansion near Philadelphia with 32 bedrooms and 28 bathrooms.
Some of Lynnewood Hall's intended residents tragically perished aboard the Titanic.
The house housed Widner, his surviving heir, and a church before falling into disrepair.
Tucked away in a quiet suburb of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, lies Lynnewood Hall, a more-than-century-old mansion that its owner once referred to as "The Last American Versailles."
In 1897, Peter A. B. Widener, a millionaire who made his fortune via the butcher and transportation industries — and a major investor in the Titanic — commissioned the construction of the 34-acre estate.
He intended Lynnewood Hall to be a residence for him, his two sons, and their families. However, fate had other plans.
In 1912, Widener's son George, his daughter-in-law Eleanor, and their son Harry boarded the Titanic for their return from a trip to Europe. Tragically, George and Harry, along with hundreds of other passengers, perished when the ship sank to the ocean floor.
Widener continued to live in the home, eventually passing away from health complications in 1915. Lynnewood Hall was later inherited by his surviving son, Joseph, who was married and had two children. Following Joseph's death in 1943, the mansion cycled through several owners, including the First Korean Church of New York.
A pastor of the First Korean Church of New York, Richard S. Yoon, listed the home for sale in 2014. It remained unoccupied for several years and attracted the attention of numerous urban explorers, including Leland Kent, the blogger behind Abandoned Southeast, who ventured into the mansion in 2019 and snapped dozens of photos of the dilapidated interiors.
In June 2023, the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation purchased the estate from Yoon for more than $9 million. According to Edward Thome, the group's CEO and executive director, the foundation plans to restore the estate to its former glory.
Take a look inside.
The estate is about 34 acres, equivalent to more than 25 football fields.
Lynnewood Hall in 2019.
Courtesy of Abandoned Southeast
On the estate is Lynnewood Hall, spanning 110,000 square feet; Lynnewood Lodge, covering 18,000 square feet; and the Gatehouse, occupying 15,000 square feet, according to Thome, the head of the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation.
In addition to its 32 bedrooms and 28 bathrooms, Lynnewood Hall has a 1,000-person ballroom, an indoor swimming pool, and multiple fountains and gardens.
The estate used to be surrounded by world-class gardens.
A view of the back of Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
The estate's original gardens were designed by head gardener William Kleinheinz, according to the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation.
However, between 1914 and 1916, at the request of Joseph Widener, the home underwent extensive renovations. As part of this project, Jaques Greber, a distinguished landscape architect of his era, added French-style gardens to the property.
The home's construction cost $8 million when it was built in 1897, according to Thome. That's over $300 million in 2023 dollars, accounting for inflation.
The Great Hall of Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
Although many of Lynnewood's original furnishings and decorations have either been removed or degraded over time, it was once a masterpiece.
Widener entrusted its design to Horace Trumbauer, a then-29-year-old architect.
According to the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, the home has a Florentine bronze front door, and its main hall features marble and Caen stone, a limestone extracted from nortern France.
The Duveen Brothers, famous art dealers, furnished the majority of the home's interior, providing carved wood paneling from a French chateau, furniture sourced from Versailles, and tapestries previously owned by European aristocrats,the foundation said.
No detail was spared in the construction of the mansion.
A decorated ceiling within the mansion.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
Widener came from humble beginnings. He began his career as a butcher's apprentice and later established one of the earliest meat-store chains in the nation.
According to the historical website House Histree, he started to build his wealth by receiving a $50,000 government contract to provide meat to the Union Army during the Civil War.
Later in life, he helped start the Philadelphia Traction Company, which built public transportation systems in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago.
He was also a philanthropist, funding libraries and establishing the Widener Memorial Home for Crippled Children, according to the Philly History Blog.
Widener also collected fine art and had a gallery built in the home that featured numerous world-renowned paintings, including several by Claude Monet and Rembrandt, the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation said.
After assuming responsibility for the Widener art collection upon his father's passing, Joseph welcomed the public into the home from 1915 to 1940. When he passed, the family's collection was donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
The Great Hall’s soaring ceilings are decorated with carved crown molding.
The ceiling of the Great Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
Kent, the blogger who toured and photographed the mansion in 2019, told Business Insider that the home was unlike anything he had ever seen before.
"Any place that you go into that's large and dark has a spooky vibe to it," Kent said. "But as soon as your eyes adjust and you explore with a flashlight or walk through areas where there's sunlight, you can really see the material and the beautiful space."
The main architectural style of Lynnewood Hall is called Palladianism, according to Thome.
A ballroom in Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation.
Palladianism, an architectural style popular in England from 1715 to 1760, drew inspiration from the works of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio.
This architectural style is deeply rooted in Roman and Greek influences, emphasizing symmetry and classical details.
Many rooms in the mansion are now empty, except for some vintage chairs or beds.
Another view of the ballroom in Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
The ornate gold molding in the Reception Room looks similar to the wall decor found in many rooms throughout Versailles.
Some of Lynnewood Hall's dozens of bedrooms were designated specifically for staff.
A governess suite in the mansion.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
This room was a governess suite, typically reserved as private quarters for a woman hired to educate and mentor children in an affluent household.
A bathroom in the home reveals how wealthy people lived in the early 1900s.
A bathroom in the Lynnewood Hall as of 2019.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
The lavish bathroom features towering archways, polished mirrors, decorative molding, and a sizable marble tub.
A guest bedroom on the second floor of the west wing had dusty furniture and a broken ceiling.
One of the mansion's many bedrooms.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/Abandoned Southeast
The primary living spaces for the Wideners were located in the west and east wings of the second floor, at the front of the house. Housing for the domestic staff was in the basement, on the first floor, and extended to the third and fourth floors.
Several rooms contain old suitcases and books left behind by former occupants.
A deteriorated room in the mansion.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/Abandoned Southeast
When Kent, the photographer and blogger, visited Lynnewood back in 2019, the luggage in this room stood at the ready, as if anticipating its owner's imminent return.
An indoor pool lies in ruins.
The mansion's indoor pool.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
The state of the pool is a testament to the mansion's years of neglect and decay.
There are two main staircases in Lynnewood Hall.
Staircases in Lynnewood Hall as of 2019.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
The front of the house rises two stories, while the rear is five stories, including the basement. In total, there are only two main staircases, but there are seven throughout the residence. Today, the servant staircase is the only one that extends from the basement all the way to the attic.
There are tunnels running under the property, linking various parts of the house.
Tunnels in Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
Many large homes built during the Gilded Age often incorporated hidden passages, commonly referred to as servants' tunnels.
These tunnels served a dual purpose: not only did they ensure that servants could perform their duties without intruding upon the occupants' daily lives, but they also provided a comfortable way to move between different wings of the house during the frigid winter months.
"Usually in these types of homes, the staff were hidden from view," Thome told BI. "That's partially true in this house, but I would also say that there aren't as many back hallways and secret passages as you would imagine. The staff were a bit more public-facing in this home, which is unusual for the time, and has a lot to do with the fact that the Wideners were new money."
After years of neglect, the tunnels of Lynnewood Hall have taken on an eerie appearance.
"The tunnels are pitch black in both directions, and when you shine a light down there, the darkness seems to eat it up," Kent said. "You can only see about six to eight feet in front of you."
The Raphael room was turned into a classroom to educate seminary students from 1952 to 1996.
A classroom in Lynnewood Hall as of 2019.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/ Abandoned Southeast
In 1952, a faith-based Christian organization, Faith Theological Seminary, purchased the mansion for $190,000, as reported by the weekly newspaper, the Chestnut Local. Adjusted for inflation, that is roughly equivalent to $2.2 million in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For the next 44 years, hundreds of ministers and Christian leaders were educated on its premises, the seminary's website said.
However, in 1996, due to financial challenges, ownership of the mansion was transferred in a sheriff's sale to Richard S. Yoon, pastor of the First Korean Church of New York and a former chancellor of the seminary.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2013 that Yoon had previously loaned the seminary $2.2 million to pay the mansion's mortgage.
The original kitchen was repurposed to cater to the hundreds of seminary students that studied at Lynnewood Hall over the years.
The kitchen in Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Abandoned Southeast
In 2019, when Kent explored the mansion, plates, spoons, and cups had been left in the kitchen, as if frozen in time.
The seminary students shared meals in this dining hall, according to Thome.
A dinning hall in the mansion.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/Abandoned Southeast
While the dining hall still looks dated, the table and chairs appear modern set against the rooms with elaborate molding.
A ballroom was transformed into a place of worship that was in good condition as of 2019.
When this picture was taken in 2019, the ballroom still had church pews.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/Abandoned Southeast
Yoon aimed to establish a branch of his congregation at Lynnewood Hall but encountered various obstacles along the way, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
After legal battles and the church forfeiting its tax-exempt status over allegations of not using the property for religious or educational purposes, Yoon chose to sell it.
He listed the mansion for sale in 2014 for $20 million. Despite significant interest, including inquiries from movie stars and millionaires, according to the Inquirer, Yoon refused to sell, leaving the home neglected for many years.
However, in 2023, he finally agreed to sell the property to the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation for $9 million.
The Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation has plans to revive the 127-year-old home.
An aerial view of Lynnewood Hall.
Courtesy of Leland Kent/Abandoned Southeast
The foundation has a three-part plan to restore Lynnewood Hall.
First, acquire the hall — a goal the foundation achieved in 2023.
Second, it will focus on the grounds, adding formal gardens and restoring the building exteriors. Third, it will renovate the interior, expand amenities such as the art galleries, and create venues for public events.
Altogether, the project is estimated to cost around $110 million, according to Thome. The funds will be raised via crowdfunding and donations.
"This has been a lifelong project for me," Thome said. "All of us at the foundation really view ourselves as stewards of the property."
The library looks clean and well-kept after the foundation cleaned it up.
The old library cleaned up.
Courtesy of Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation
The estate is meticulously restoring one room at a time to its historical beauty.
"It's really one of the most important residential architectural buildings in the country, and the fact that it's completely unknown is absurd," Thome added. "We aim to change that and return it back to the community as a piece of public art for educational, and recreational resources."
Building landmarks like the Statue of Liberty involved huge feats of engineering.
It took 14 years for the Sydney Opera House to be completed.
Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família in Barcelona remains a work in progress.
We know what famous landmarks look like today, but iconic structures like the Statue of Liberty and the Sydney Opera House looked a bit different while they were being assembled.
While it only took a handful of months for Argentinians to erect the 221-foot Obelisco de Buenos Aires, which was built in 1936 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the city's founding, other famous landmarks took longer.
The Sydney Opera House — whose iconic "shells" are covered in one million tiles and were built using cranes designed for the job — took 14 years and AU$ 102 million to complete, just in time for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia in 1973.
Meanwhile, Antoni Gaudí's famous Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain, which features 18 ornate towers, stained-glass windows, and numerous ruled surfaces, has been a work in progress since 1882.
Here are photos that show the construction of monuments in cities around the world — and the end result.
The construction of the Eiffel Tower began in Paris in 1887, in advance of the 1889 World's Fair.
The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889.
Roger Viollet/Getty Images
Gustave Eiffel's tower, which was actually designed by his senior engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier, is comprised of 18,000 pieces of wrought iron and cost $1.5 million to complete, or about $44 million today, Inc. reported in 2022.
When it was built, the Eiffel Tower — which measures 1,063 feet — was the tallest building in the world.
Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
Nikada/Getty Images
Although it was meant to be a temporary structure — and would have been knocked down in 1909 if city officials hadn't realized its potential as a radiotelegraph station — la Tour Eiffel is now one of the most recognizable monuments in the world.
Today, the world's tallest building is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Burj Khalifa construction site in 2005.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Measuring 2,716.5 feet tall, the Burj Khalifa — completed in 2009 after five years of construction — is almost triple the height of the Eiffel Tower.
It's also currently the tallest free-standing structure of any kind.
Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
Matthias Seifert/Reuters
In addition to being the world's tallest building, the Burj has broken several other architectural records: It's the tallest structure and the tallest free-standing structure, honors that used to respectively belong to the KVLY-TV mast in Blanchard, North Dakota, and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.
According to Guinness World Records, the Burj can also claim the records for the tallest elevator in the world, the most floors in a building, and the highest restaurant from ground level.
The Statue of Liberty, erected in 1886, was a gift from France. The parts were made in Paris before they were shipped to the US.
Construction of the Statue of Liberty's hand, circa 1883.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Gustave Eiffel designed the monument's frame and Edouard de Laboulaye, a French political thinker and abolitionist, was behind the statue's construction, according to the National Park Service. He proposed building a statue commemorating the United States' commitment to freedom and democracy.
Lady Liberty was sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who modeled her face on his mother's.
The statue, which measures 305 feet from her toe to her torch, was the tallest iron structure ever built when she was completed.
The Statue of Liberty during construction.
Horace Abrahams/Getty Images
After it was built in France, the statue was disassembled and shipped in pieces to the US. Once the pedestal was complete, the statue was swiftly reassembled and unveiled in 1886.
The statue, which is on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, stands as a symbol of freedom.
Front view of the Statue of Liberty, New York.
Nico De Pasquale Photography/Getty Images
For her centennial in 1986, Lady Liberty was outfitted with a new torch covered in thin sheets of 24K gold.
The construction of the Sydney Opera House, which was completed in 1973, took 14 years and involved 10,000 workers.
Sydney Opera House construction circa 1963.
J. R. T. Richardson/Getty Images
The modern expressionist design of the Sydney Opera House was the product of an international design competition. Its iconic concrete "shells" are covered in one million tiles and were built using cranes made specifically for the job, The Telegraph reported in 2013. The winner, Danish architect Jørn Utzon, was one of 233 applicants.
The first person to perform at the opera house was African American bass-baritone Paul Robeson, who climbed the scaffolding of the incomplete structure in 1960 and sang "Ol' Man River" to construction workers, The Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2017.
But it was Queen Elizabeth II who formally opened the building in 1973. Her Majesty made four subsequent visits.
In 2007, the opera house was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Sydney Opera House at night.
Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock
Every year, more than 10.9 million people visit the multi-venue performing arts center, which includes six separate performance spaces, according to its official website.
The Golden Gate Bridge, completed in 1937, was designed to connect northern California to the San Francisco Peninsula.
Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge with the roadbed being installed, San Francisco, California, 1937.
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
Although it was first proposed by a railroad executive in 1872, the idea for a bridge connecting northern California and the San Francisco Peninsula wasn't taken seriously until 1916. That was when structural engineer and newspaper editor James H. Wilkins finally convinced fellow engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy that such a bridge could become a reality.
Once the United States War Department approved the project, construction began in 1933. It took four years to complete the bridge, which spans 8,981 feet and weighs 887,000 tons, and yet another year before it was open to vehicles.
The Golden Gate Bridge was the world's longest suspension bridge until 1964, when New York's Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge surpassed it.
It is painted a custom-made color called "International Orange."
Aerial view of traffic moving on Golden Gate Bridge during sunset, San Francisco, California.
simonkr/Getty Images
You might not always see it through San Francisco's famous fog, but the now-famous hue was inspired by the red primer used for the bridge's steel beams and was officially selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow. The particular color is custom-made, according to Sherwin-Williams.
And if you're wondering, NPR reported in 2011 that it takes between 5,000 and 10,000 gallons of paint to annually retouch the bridge's 10 million square feet of steel.
Before London's Tower Bridge was built in 1894, pedestrians had to cross the Thames river via tunnel.
Construction on the Tower Bridge, which took eight years to complete, began in 1886.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
It took 432 construction workers eight years — and 31,000,000 bricks — to build Tower Bridge, The Telegraph reported. The Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and his wife officially opened the bridge at a ceremony held in June 1894.
Before the bridge's completion, one million people relied on the Tower Subway, a 410-meter (1,345-foot) tunnel, to cross the Thames each year.
Today, more than 40,000 people cross the bridge every day.
The Tower Bridge at night.
Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images News
The bridge's open-air walkways were closed between 1910 and 1982 because they were frequented by sex workers and pickpockets. In 1982, the walkways were reopened in honor of the Tower Bridge Exhibition, a permanent exhibit about the bridge's history on display in its twin towers, according to Londontopia.
The construction of Barcelona's Sagrada Família, designed by Antoni Gaudí, began in 1882 — and it's still not done.
Gaudí's Sagrada Família, circa 1940.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Famed Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí worked on the awe-inspiring Gothic and Byzantine-influenced cathedral from 1883 until his death in 1926. By then he had only completed a quarter of the building. Construction started under architect Francisco Paula de Villar in 1882.
It is expected to be completed by 2026, just in time for the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death.
The interior of la Sagrada Família.
David Ramos/Getty Images
Despite a string of collaborators who picked up where Gaudí left off, the Sagrada Família remains under construction due to its intricate design and disruptions caused by the Spanish Civil War.
According to current chief architect Jordi Fauli, the building reached its final stage of construction in 2015, The Atlantic reported. While the cathedral is expected to be completed by 2026, for the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death, it might take some additional time to add the final decorative elements.
The Gateway of India in Mumbai, constructed to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary, was completed in 1924.
View of the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Gateway of India in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, circa 1930.
The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images
When the British royals arrived in Mumbai — then called Bombay — to be officially instated as the Emperor and Empress of India, the monument had yet to be completed. Instead, they were shown a cardboard model.
Built in the Indo-Saracenic style by Scottish architect George Wittet, the Gateway — which overlooks the Mumbai harbor — features a dome that soars 83 feet high, according to Mumbai.org.
Today, the Gateway of India is a major tourist attraction.
Gateway of India is in the Heart of Mumbai's tourist district and is the city's most famous landmark.
Danny Lehman/Getty Images
The massive structure is the first sight that greets visitors who enter Mumbai by sea. For that reason, it's often referred to as the "Taj Mahal of Mumbai." The real Taj Mahal is located in northern India in the city of Agra.
Erected in 1936, the Obelisco de Buenos Aires was built to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first founding of the city.
A view of the Obelisco de Buenos Aires in the Plaza de la Republica in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Although Buenos Aires was reestablished in 1580, the Obelisco was constructed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first (albeit unsuccessful) founding of the city by the Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza, according to Britannica.
Despite initial criticism and controversy surrounding the monument — such as it being erroneously blamed for the destruction of a historic church — Argentinians have come to embrace the so-called "silver sword," which stands 221.5 feet tall.
Situated in Buenos Aires' theater district at the intersection of two major thoroughfares, the monument is a popular gathering place for national celebrations.
Argentine soccer fans at the Obelisco during the 2004 World Cup.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
From Argentine soccer fans congregating to cheer on their nation's team to festivals focused on the art of tango or artisanal ice cream, the Obelisco has seen it all.
Mount Rushmore's symbolic tribute to US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln was seen as both patriotic and controversial.
Lincoln's head under construction on Mount Rushmore.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Initially, the idea for the faces on Mount Rushmore was Doane Robinson's, a South Dakota historian. He enlisted the help of a controversial sculptor (with ties to the Ku Klux Klan) named Gutzon Borglum, according to Smithsonian magazine.
From the get-go, it was vehemently opposed by the Native people in South Dakota. The Black Hills of South Dakota, where the monument is located, belonged to the Great Sioux Reservation and the Lakota Sioux people before the US government seized the land, and the mountain in question had been a sacred location for them.
The project took years to garner enough support and eventual funding — mostly from the federal government — before getting underway. It would cost $1 million.
It took 400 workers 14 years to complete Mount Rushmore, and it was finished on October 31, 1941.
Close-up view of Mount Rushmore.
blackestockphoto/Getty Images
Sculpted into the southeastern face of the Black Hills mountainside, each 60-foot-high face was meant to represent a different aspect of America's democracy and exceptionalism.
First, George Washington was associated with the birth of US democracy. Next, Thomas Jefferson symbolized US expansion with the integration of land from the Louisiana Purchase. Then, Theodore Roosevelt was representative of America's economic prosperity and last, America commemorated Abraham Lincoln's role in saving the nation from collapse following the Civil War, according to National Geographic.
Nowadays, the patriotic memorial rakes in tourists by the millions.
Situated between 33rd and 34th streets on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, the Empire State Building was the world's first building to exceed 100 stories.
Aerial photo of the Empire State Building under construction, circa 1930.
Bettmann/Getty Images
In 1928, what was the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Fifth Avenue was acquired by the Bethlehem Engineering Corporation. The building was torn down to make way for what would become the Empire State Building.
On March 17, 1930, 3,000 workers set to work on the 103-story project. It took just one year and 45 days to complete, meaning they built 4.5 floors every week, CNN reported.
It officially opened in April 1931. Then-President Herbert Hoover illuminated the building by pressing a button — all the way from Washington, DC.
The Empire State Building, an icon of New York City, is the most photographed building in the world.
New York cityscape seen from above with the Empire State Building in view.
Alexander Spatari/Getty Images
The Empire State Building has been recognized as a national historic landmark since 1986. It has been the tallest building in New York City twice — once, upon completion in 1931 until 1971 when the World Trade Center was built, and then again following its collapse in 2001 and until the new One World Trade Center was constructed in 2012, CNN reported.
On a clear day, the two observation decks allow for sights up to 80 miles away. Many movies have also featured the iconic building, from "An Affair to Remember" and "King Kong" to "Superman II" and "Elf."
Today, the popular tourist spot sees more than 4 million visitors every year, according to its official website.
Initially known as the Boulder Dam during its five-year construction, Hoover Dam would become the highest dam in the world at the time.
Aerial view of the construction of the Boulder Dam, renamed the Hoover Dam in 1947, shortly before its completion.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
During the Great Depression, it fell upon the US Bureau of Reclamation to come up with a solution to provide flood control and distribute water from the Colorado River through the Southwest.
Then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover would play a pivotal role in the 1920s in seeing what was called the "Boulder Canyon project" forward so that construction would begin during his administration. It would be named officially after President Herbert Hoover in 1947, according to Britannica.
In July 1930, 21,000 men set to work in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River on what would be the height of a 60-story building, as dense and long as two football fields, and able to manage the quantity of water that pours over Niagara Falls, according to the National Park Service.
Hoover Dam holds the US' largest man-made lake by volume, when full.
Hoover Dam.
Mark Newman/Getty Images
Hoover Dam cost $49 million in 1930, which is an estimated $900 million today. The power plant and generators were another $71 million, or $1.3 billion today. However, by 1987, the dam was paid back in full, according to The Hoover Presidential Library.
The Hoover Dam has allowed for the establishment of major cities across California, Arizona, and Nevada. It can irrigate up to 2 million acres and fuel 1.3 million homes with its 17 turbines. Recognized as a national historic landmark in 1985, it receives seven million visitors every year, according to its official website.
The famous Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles was built in 1923 as an advertisement for a forthcoming real estate development.
A group of surveyors and builders working on the new housing development known as Hollywoodland circa 1925.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler spent $21,000 on a billboard to draw residents to his housing development called "Hollywoodland," according to the Hollywood Sign's official website.
The sign was only supposed to be on display for 18 months, but it outlasted the Hollywoodland real estate development it once advertised that shuttered in the 1940s.
The Hollywood Sign became an official landmark in 1973, but was in desperate need of repairs.
Officials paint the Hollywood Sign in 2005.
David Livingston/Getty Images
By the late 1970s, the Hollywood Sign was in need of $250,000 worth of repairs, or around $1.2 million in today's dollars, according to the site's official website. Hugh Hefner hosted a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion in 1978 where celebrities pledged to sponsor the replacement of individual letters for $27,700 each. His efforts were successful, and the Hollywood Sign was completely rebuilt that same year.
The landmark was upgraded with new security measures in 2000 and a fresh coat of paint in 2005.
The Hollywood Sign celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023.
The Hollywood Sign in California.
AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
The sign remains an instantly recognizable landmark celebrating Hollywood's history and ongoing role in the entertainment industry. Nearly 50 million people visit the Hollywood Sign every year, according to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Luke Newton as Colin Bridgerton and Nicola Coughlan as Penelope Featherington in "Bridgerton" season three.
Liam Daniel/Netflix
Part two of season three of "Bridgerton" premiered on Netflix on Thursday.
Season four has no release date yet, but historical romance books can make the wait easier.
You can start with "Romancing Mister Bridgerton" by Julia Quinn.
The final four episodes of "Bridgerton" season three premiered on Netflix on Thursday after weeks of anticipation.
The steamy show brought Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton's beloved friends-to-lovers romance from the page to the screen, and it quickly became a fan favorite.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the show accumulated 45.05 million views in its first three days on Netflix, making it the best opening weekend for "Bridgerton." And on Friday, Netflix and Shondaland announced that "Bridgerton" has brought over £275 million, or about $349.3 million, to the UK economy.
Despite its popularity, viewers will likely have to wait until 2026 for the show's next season.
While you wait for the Bridgerton siblings to return to Netflix, historical romance books may help pass the time.
From stories of marriage of convenience to enemies-to-lovers epics, check out some of the best books for "Bridgerton" fans.
"Romancing Mister Bridgerton" by Julia Quinn
The cover of "Romancing Mister Bridgerton" by Julia Quinn.
HarperCollins
If you can't get enough of Colin and Penelope's love story, you can read Julia Quinn's novel "Romancing Mister Bridgerton," which is part of the book series the Netflix show is based on.
Colin and Penelope are just friends at the start of "Romancing Mister Bridgerton," though they're older than they are in the TV series. At 28, Penelope has become a quietly wealthy spinster thanks to the money she earns from her Lady Whistledown column, and she still harbors a secret crush on Colin, a 33-year-old bachelor who has just returned from his latest world travels.
After Penelope discovers Colin has a secret writing skill, a new closeness develops between them. When Penelope asks Colin to kiss her in a moment of desperation, he finds himself drawn to her in ways he never expected. But Penelope is still keeping secrets, and she doesn't know how Colin will react when he discovers the woman haunting his dreams has been gossiping about him in the papers for years.
"Romancing Mister Bridgerton" is the fourth installment in Quinn's series about the Bridgerton family, so you may want to read "The Duke & I," "The Viscount Who Loved Me," and "An Offer From a Gentleman" before diving into the friends-to-lovers romance.
"Bringing Down the Duke" is the first installment in Evie Dunmore's "A League of Extraordinary Women" series.
It follows Annabelle Archer, one of the first women admitted to the University of Oxford in 1879. Annabelle is a scholarship student, and her financial support is dependent on her commitment to getting influential men to join the suffragette movement.
Annabelle doesn't know how she'll convince Sebastian Devereux, the Duke of Montgomery, to help her cause. His support is crucial because he directly influences the Queen's policies, but the removed Sebastian is more interested in finding a suitable wife than in women's rights.
Worst of all, neither Annabelle nor Sebastian expected the palpable attraction between them, threatening to derail everything they were both working toward. They'll have to see which is more powerful: their goals or their feelings for each other.
If you love the ensemble cast of "Bridgerton," Krystal Marquis' "The Davenports" is the perfect addition to your to-be-read list.
Inspired by the true story of Charles Richard Patterson, Marquis' novel follows the family of William Davenport, a previously enslaved man who became a successful business owner with the Davenport Carriage Company. By 1910, his family is wealthy and secure, and his children — particularly his daughters Olivia and Helen — have become fixtures of high society.
When "The Davenports" begins, Olivia is set on marrying a suitable match until she finds herself drawn to Washington DeWight, a civil rights activist, while Helen can't stop thinking about the man who is supposed to be courting her sister, Jacob Lawrence. Meanwhile, the girls' former close friend and current maid Amy-Rose and Olivia's best friend Ruby end up in a love triangle with John Davenport, Olivia and Helen's charming brother, until Ruby falls for someone she never anticipated.
Full of heart and no shortage of romance, the first installment of "The Davenports" series can help to fill the gap left by the end of a season of "Bridgerton."
Like "Bridgerton," Diana Gabaldon's historical romance "Outlander" became a successful TV series. But unlike Quinn's works, her nine-book series comes with a side of magic.
When "Outlander" begins, former combat nurse Claire Randall is trying to find her footing after the end of World War II in 1945. In an attempt to find a new normal, Claire and her husband Frank visit the Scottish Highlands, but a walk through a stone circle sends Claire back in time to 1743 when war was the backdrop of Scotland.
Claire is desperate to return to her life, but to stay alive, she finds herself forced to marry the surprisingly kind warrior Jamie Fraser. As time passes, her reluctant marriage to Jamie becomes a passion Claire has never known. Will she return to her life in the future or take on an adventure in the past she never expected?
KJ Charles' "The Magpie Lord" has all the aristocratic fun of "Bridgerton" with the added flair of dark magic.
It's been two decades since Lucien Vaudrey set foot in London following his exile to China. But when his father and brother suddenly die, Lucien has to return to a life he never expected as the new Lord Crane.
But his earldom comes with the same adversaries his father had, leaving Lucien in danger of nefarious magic. He enlists the help of Stephen Day, a magician who can't stand the Crane family, to help him.
Stephen expects to loathe Lucien as he did his relatives, but to his surprise, Lucien is relaxed, tattooed, and clearly wants him. As Stephen's feelings for Lucien deepen, evil continues to invade the lord's home, putting them both at risk.
Just like Penelope Featherington, Amanda Briars decides to take her sexuality into her own hands in "Suddenly You" by Lisa Kleypas.
As a 30th birthday gift to herself, the author and spinster Amanda decides to seek out a male companion so she can experience intimacy. So when Jack Delvin, a publisher who wants to work with her, appears on her doorstep, she assumes he's there for a very different reason, leading to a night of passion neither anticipated.
After their encounter, Amanda and Jack still have to work together, and neither can ignore their attraction. Will their different backgrounds keep them apart, or will love bring them together?
"The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels" by India Holton
"The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels" by India Holton.
Penguin Random House
If you want a romance like "Bridgerton" with a touch of darkness, "The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels" by India Holton will hit the spot.
Although Cecilia Bassingwaite looks like a demure Victorian woman, she's actually a thief. She uses her societal standing to swindle goods from England's upper class as a member of the Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels.
Assassin for hire Ned Lightbourne is tasked with taking Cecilia out for his boss, Captain Morvath, but everything changes when Ned lays eyes on her.
Cecilia and Ned have no choice but to work together to save the Wisteria Society from Morvath's wrath — drawing them closer and closer together.
In "Rebel" by Beverly Jenkins, Valinda Lacy is making a new life for herself in Reconstruction Era New Orleans.
Originally from New York City, Valinda has big dreams of helping rebuild the city, but her hopes are dashed when ruffians make a target of her and the school she created.
Architect Captain Drake LeVeq steps in to help Valinda, who is immediately smitten with her. Drake finds everything about Valinda alluring, especially her independence, so he's devastated to learn she has a responsible fiancé to return to in New York.
But the more time Val spends in New Orleans with Drake, the less she wants to return to the life set out for her.
The first installment of Jenkins' "Women Who Dare Series," "Rebel" is exciting and steamy.
The first installment in Tessa Dare's "Girl Meets Duke" series is "The Duchess Deal," a perfect story for fans of the marriage of convenience trope.
The Duke of Ashbury rarely leaves his home after the war, hiding the burns and scars he took home with him. But he needs to have a child, so he has to get married.
When his fiancée abruptly pulls out of the wedding and he spots his seamstress, Emma Gladstone, with the dress in hand, Emma agrees to step in and become the duchess.
The duke plans to keep Emma at arm's length, only visiting her bed at night to produce an heir and keeping his distance during the day. But that won't work for Emma, who insists they dine together every night. And the longer Emma is in the Duke of Ashbury's world, the more enamored she is.
Like "Bridgerton," Liana De la Rosa's "Ana María and the Fox" takes place during a society season in Victorian London.
Mexican heiress Ana María Luna Valdés ends up in London with her sisters when the French occupy her home country, giving her the first chance to see what life is like when she isn't under the watchful eye of her father. She can't help but notice Gideon Fox, a politician with ambitious plans to bring an end to the Atlantic slave trade.
Gideon is sure he doesn't have time for a romance with anyone, no matter how alluring he finds Ana. But he has no choice but to protect her when a rival politician makes advances on her — nor does he have a choice in the feelings he develops for her.
Scooter Braun speaks at the Billboard Power 100 event in 2023.
Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images
Scooter Braun announced he's retiring from music management after 23 years.
Braun is best known for guiding the careers of young stars like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
He also made headlines for buying Taylor Swift's back catalog, which led to an explosive feud.
After discovering one of this century's biggest pop acts, Justin Bieber, as a tween in the 2000s, Scooter Braun also became one of the music industry's power players — building a reputation as "a trailblazer who harnessed the power of social media to turn his artists into global brand names," according to Business Insider's Anna Silman.
On Monday, the music mogul officially retired from management after 23 years.
His announcement paid tribute to high-profile clients like Bieber, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande, all of whom severed ties with Braun last year. He will remain active as the CEO of Hybe America.
From his days working as a party promoter in Atlanta to his $300 million acquisition that got him on the wrong side of Taylor Swift, here's everything you need to know about Scooter Braun.
Scooter Braun, 42, was born in New York City and grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Scooter Braun attends a 2018 gala in New York City.
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Braun's parents, Ervin and Susan, raised Scooter (real name Scott), and his siblings Adam, Sam, Cornelio, and Liza in the suburbs. In their household, sports like basketball, football, and swimming, were given priority, according to The New Yorker.
He was his high school class president at Greenwich High School, according to Atlanta Creative Loafing.
Scooter is a childhood nickname that just stuck around — and he hates it.
Scooter Braun managed Kanye West for about two years.
Ben Rose/WireImage
Scooter's parents named him Scott but everyone else in his life knows him by his nickname Scooter, which he was given while attending a first-grade birthday party.
"I hated it, and my brother found out that I hated it and kept calling me Scooter," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012.
The nickname stuck, with the manager confirming that — with the exception of his parents — "pretty much everyone else calls me Scooter."
Braun said basketball played a huge role in his career.
Scooter Braun and his ex-wife, Yael Cohen, sit courtside in 2015.
John Salangsang/Invision/AP
Basketball was especially important in Braun's upbringing, he told The New Yorker.
His father Ervin founded an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team called the Connecticut Flame. In 1998, when Scooter was 17, the Brauns became the legal guardians for two AAU players who once played on the Mozambique national team — Sam Manhanga, then-15, and Cornelio Gouibunda, then-14.
"The game made me professional," he said of the real-world business values he believes he has because of it. "That I shouldn't be afraid of a full-court press. It's my fault when we lose; it's their victory when we win."
Braun attended Emory University, where he played Division III basketball and earned money by promoting parties.
Scooter Braun attends the So So Def anniversary party on February 23, 2013.
Prince Williams/Getty Images
According to Emory University, Braun hit the ground running when he got to Georgia.
The college student promoted parties at clubs around Atlanta. The events attracted high-profile guests like Usher and Ludacris.
Through his club promotion work, Braun got a job offer to run marketing at So So Def Recordings. He never finished his degree at Emory.
Usher and Jermain Dupri perform at the So So Def 20th anniversary concert.
Prince Williams/Getty Images
As Braun tells it, Jermaine Dupri approached the then-college student at an event and offered him the role of head of marketing at his label, So So Def.
Braun accepted, left Emory without a degree, and that was that, according to The New Yorker.
After leaving So So Def, Braun took to alternative routes to finding work and new talent. That's when he stumbled upon little-known rapper Asher Roth on MySpace.
Asher Roth is best known for his 2009 debut single "I Love College."
Ethan Miller/Getty Images for MGM Resorts International
During an interview with Complex's "Blueprint" podcast, Braun said that when he was fired from So So Def, he had enough money to sustain himself and his two, then-unknown clients for 13 months.
Eleven months in, things were looking bleak; money was running low and his clients weren't quite having the luck he'd hoped for.
On a particularly hard day, he called his dad crying. And then, Asher Roth arrived.
"The next day Asher came in and played me 'I Love College,' and the publishing deal saved our company," Braun said. "It just shows you how close success and failure lie."
Around the same time, he found a young singer from Canada on YouTube. His name? Justin Bieber.
Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun were a dynamic duo for many years.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
As a young teenager, Justin Bieber spent his time busking and sharing videos of himself singing on YouTube. Luckily, he caught the attention of Braun, who told The New Yorker that he pitched Bieber to both Usher and Justin Timberlake.
Both men were interested in signing the young singer and reportedly engaged in a bidding war. But it was up to Bieber, who chose to be mentored by Usher and signed to Island Def Jam.
The rest was pop history.
Braun once said he considers himself a "camp counselor for pop stars."
Scooter Braun and Ariana Grande attend the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards.
Kevin Mazur/MTV1415/WireImage
While Bieber was his brand's flagship star for many years, Braun has been credited for guiding a long list of A-list artists.
Indeed, Braun seems to have a hand in every pot in the music industry, but especially pop music. He signed Carly Rae Jepsen after she broke out with the diamond-certified smash "Call Me Maybe" and began mentoring Ariana Grande when she was still a young actor on Nickelodeon.
Braun has also managed clients like Kanye West, Usher, Karlie Kloss, Tori Kelly, The Black Eyed Peas, and Martin Garrix, per his website.
In 2018, he branched out into film, forming Mythos Studios, which seeks to make movies based on comic book franchises.
Former chairman of Marvel Studios David Maisel and celebrity manager Scooter Braun.
Alexandra Wyman/WireImage; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Pencils Of Promise
In 2018, Braun teamed up with Marvel Studios' founding chairman David Maisel to create Mythos Studios, their own studio focused on creating comic book movies and franchises, Vulture reported.
At the time it was reported that the studio had three movies in development, "Fathom" and "Soulfire" — based on the cult Aspen Comics properties — and "Cupid," which was slated to feature Justin Bieber as the titular character.
While the movies haven't made it to the big screen in the five years that have passed, The Hollywood Reporter said in May 2023 that "Cupid" is still in development (and Bieber is still attached). There have been no updates on the status of the other two movies.
Braun is also involved in philanthropy, including the March for Our Lives.
Activist Cameron Kasky, Ariana Grande, and Scooter Braun attend March For Our Lives in 2018.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for March For Our Lives
In 2017, Billboard called Braun "Music's First Responder."
He also lent an organizational hand to the student organizers of the anti-gun violence protest, March for Our Lives, held in Washington DC in 2018, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Braun has a large stable of labels and companies. It briefly included Big Machine Records, which he purchased in 2019. He sold the label to the South Korean company Hybe in 2021.
Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta announced their partnership in 2019.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Ithaca Holdings
In June 2019, Braun's company, Ithaca Holdings LLC, acquired Big Machine Label Group.
In the $330 million purchase, Braun gained control of Taylor Swift's first six albums, which she had released through the Nashville-based label before she signed a new contract with Republic Records.
Swift's master recordings made up $140 million of that valuation, according to Billboard.
In April 2021, it was announced that South Korean company Hybe had acquired Ithaca Holdings, including Big Machine, in a $1.05 billion deal. As part of the sale, Braun became Hybe America's CEO and joined the company's board of directors.
Braun's purchase of Big Machine sparked an explosive feud with Swift, who said she was not given a fair chance to buy her own music.
Taylor Swift launched her "Taylor's Version" series in 2021.
Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images
Swift was a foundational client for Big Machine, which was founded in 2005.
A few hours after Braun's purchase of Big Machine was announced, the megastar wrote a blog post on Tumblr to express her disapproval. Swift said she'd tried to buy her master recordings for years but had not been given the chance.
Instead, Swift had said she was offered the chance to sign a new contract that would require her to create six more albums under the label in exchange for the masters of the first six, a term that she felt was "unacceptable."
Swift added that she was unaware that Braun — whom she described as an "incessant, manipulative bully" — would be the one to acquire her music until it was publicly announced.
"Scooter has stripped me of my life's work, that I wasn't given an opportunity to buy," she wrote. "Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it."
In no uncertain terms, Swift also decried Big Machine CEO's Scott Borchetta's role in the scenario.
"This is my worst case scenario," she wrote. "This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term 'loyalty' is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says 'Music has value,' he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it."
Swift's post caused a ripple effect across the industry.
Taylor Swift has been vocal about her issues with Scooter Braun.
Dave J Hogan/Rich Fury/Getty Images
It seems like everyone had an opinion about the clash between Swift and Braun.
After Swift shared her post on Tumblr, Bieber fired back with a long Instagram caption defending Braun.
Hailey Bieber commented on the post, calling her husband a "gentleman." But Cara Delevingne commented that he missed the point and called Bieber out in the comments for "tearing women down."
Last year, many of Braun's biggest clients parted ways with him. J Balvin, who signed with Braun in 2019, announced he was moving to new management in May.
J Balvin performs at Lollapalooza in 2019.
Josh Brasted/FilmMagic
The Columbian singer, best known for hits "Mi Gente" and "I Like It," has been managed by Roc Nation since his departure from Braun's SB Projects in May 2023, according to Billboard.
At the time, Justin Bieber was still under contract with Braun but was reportedly seeking new management.
Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun at the 2012 AMAs.
Kevin Mazur/AMA2012/WireImage/Getty Images
The rumors of an exodus from SB Projects kicked off when Puck News reported that Bieber and Braun hadn't spoken in months. (This story was echoed by People.) Puck's Matthew Belloni reported that Bieber was "poking around for a new agency or manager."
Prior to their reported estrangement, Braun steadied Bieber's career through tough times, including his string of arrests for vandalism, dangerous driving, and assault, and periods of low mental health.
Demi Lovato dropped Braun as a manager, which sources described as an "amicable" and "mutual" decision.
Scooter Braun and Demi Lovato attend the 2021 premiere of "Dancing With The Devil."
Rich Fury/Getty Images for OBB Media
Billboard broke the news that Lovato, who signed with Braun in 2019, was seeking new management after splitting with Braun sometime in July. A source close to the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer confirmed the news to Business Insider.
A source also told Variety the decision was mutual and amicable.
Mere days later, representatives for Carly Rae Jepsen, BabyJake, and Asher Roth confirmed to AP that none of them were still working with Braun "and haven't for quite some time."
It was then reported that Ariana Grande, another of Braun's biggest clients, had also dropped him.
Although sources close to Braun initially denied Belloni's report, Billboard, People, and Variety subsequently confirmed Grande's departure, calling the decision "her choice." Some attributed the change to Braun's lack of engagement, saying that he had stepped back from management duties in recent years.
After 23 years, Braun announced the end of his management career. He described himself as "a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more."
Scooter Braun at Crypto.com Arena on December 6, 2023.
Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images
Nearly one year after Bieber, Lovato, Grande, and more severed ties with Braun, the mogul said his time as a manager had come to an end.
Instead, Braun will focus on his role as the CEO of Hybe America — the entertainment group that reps K-pop acts like BTS, Seventeen, NewJeans, and more — and on raising his three children, whom he shares with his ex-wife Yael Cohen.
"It's a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question 'who would I be without them?'" Braun wrote. "I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it."
"But as my children got older, and my personal life took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn't willing to lose," he continued. "The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify."
Braun said his plan to transition out of management was solidified last summer, when one of his "biggest clients" decided to "spread their wings and go in a new direction."
"We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign," Braun said, declining to identify the client in question. He added, "I always tried to take the high road."
Harry Jowsey, Stevan Ditter, Justin Assada and Brittan Byrd in "Perfect Match" season two.
Courtesy of Netflix
Harry Jowsey admitted he doesn't remember much of filming "Perfect Match" season 2.
He said on his podcast, "Boyfriend Material," that he was drunk 90% of the time.
He said he wasn't in the right headspace to be on the show because he'd just broke a 13-month sobriety.
Harry Jowsey may have made some bad decisions on season two of "Perfect Match," but he says he doesn't remember making many of them.
The reality star, who's best known for building a career as a YouTuber, influencer, and podcaster after appearing on season one of the Netflix dating show "Too Hot to Handle" and recently appeared on season 32 of "Dancing With The Stars," caught the ire of "Perfect Match" fans after he abruptly dumped his first partner, Elys Hutchinson, for "Love Is Blind" star Jessica Vestal. Then, in episode nine, his relationship with Jessica begins to fall apart after he's accused of kissing another contestant off-camera.
Addressing his behavior on his podcast, "Boyfriend Material," Harry acknowledged he made many "dumb decisions" but was not in the right mindset to film the show.
"I just want to preface that it was a year ago. At that time, I just broke my 13-month sobriety. I was going through a bit of a breakup. I was going through a hard time," Harry said.
He added that alcohol was a factor in his behavior on the show, and said he didn't remember much of filming it because he was drunk.
"I was absolutely sideways 90% of the time," he said. "There's a lot of conversations and things that we all see that I'm seeing for the first time and I'm like, 'Why did I say that? What is going on?'"
"If you look at my eyes, I look very drunk. I look like I've got problems, and I did have a lot of problems," he continued.
Harry recalled that he would joke about drinking shots instead of water and said he brought alcohol into the vans that would take the cast to the couples challenge locations.
"There was no limits with the alcohol, so we just kept going, and I realized that maybe there's alcoholic tendencies inside of me that were coming out like every day," Harry said, adding that he "lived a hundred different lives" since the series was filmed and would have made different decisions now.
It's not uncommon for cast members on a reality TV show to have unlimited access to alcohol, though some series like "Love Island" and "Bachelor in Paradise" have institutedlimits on how many drinks a cast member can have each day or each hour in recent seasons.
Harry said he turned to alcohol instead of talking to Elys after his date in episode three.
Elys Hutchinson and Harry Jowsey in "Perfect Match" season two.
Courtesy of Netflix
On the podcast, Harry addressed his argument with Elys after he decided to dump her for Jessica in episode three.
On the show, Harry avoids speaking to Elys for most of the night after his date with Jessica, then tells Elys their relationship is going nowhere.
Harry said on his podcast that he felt the relationship was "stagnant," but admitted he should have spoken to Elys immediately that night.
"Harry today would have just bit the bullet and had that confrontational conversation," he said. "Harry back then was so afraid of conflict and confrontation that I was like, what would be great is if I just go get drunk and then figure it out later."
Harry said that he was drunk during his conversation Elys, so he "didn't know what was going on" but felt he needed to "follow my heart" rather than string her along.
"I was also a little bit drunk, and I want to tell her how I felt, and quite honestly, I look like a bit of a tithead in that situation," he said.
Elys responded to the podcast episode by sharing a TikTok video with the caption, "Imagine thinking releasing a podcast would be a good idea."
The US Treasury and IRS are closing a tax loophole used by the uber-wealthy.
They're cracking down on 'opaque' business structures that 'inflate' deductions.
The proposed regulations could generate $50 billion in fresh tax revenues, the agencies said.
The Treasury and IRS proposed new tax regulations Monday targeting the uber-wealthy that they say could result in $50 billion in fresh tax revenues over the next decade.
The initiative seeks to crack down on "related party basis shifting transactions" — or the use of "opaque business structures to inflate tax deductions," according to a Treasury press release.
This occurs, for instance, when a single company operating as different legal entities shifts the tax basis from a property that doesn't generate deductions to one that does, the agency explained.
The practice is contributing to the $160 billion annual tax gap among the top 1% of filers, the Treasury said.
Filings from pass-through businesses with more than $10 million in assets increased 70% from 2010 to 2019, the Treasury said, as audits fell from 3.8% to 0.1% over the same period.
The multi-stage initiative follows a year of research, the Treasury said, and proposes several new rules, including increasing reporting for basis-shifting transactions.
The agencies also issued a revenue ruling stating that certain transactions will be challenged for lacking economic substance.
"Treasury and the IRS are focused on addressing high-end tax abuse from all angles," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement, noting that "resources from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act" have helped combat "long-standing abuses."
The agencies said they will consider public comments before issuing final rules.
"I like history podcasts in general," he said, according to one Tesla fan's recap of the 5-hour livestream. "I just generally love history. Any kind of narrative is just a story really, it's a story about reality or at least someone's perception of reality."
Musk named the "Explorers Podcast," which focuses on "the lives, explorations and discoveries of history's greatest explorers," according to its website. He's also a fan of "The Age of Napoleon Podcast," which is described as centering on "the life and career of Napoleon Bonaparte as well as the general context of Europe between the early eighteenth and early nineteenth century."
Dan Carlin's "Hardcore History" podcast — known for its "unique blend of high drama, masterful narration and Twilight Zone-style twists," according to its Apple Podcasts page — is "probably my top recommendation," Musk said.
Musk also shared some of his favorites in another medium: audiobooks. He likes "The Story of Civilization" by Will and Ariel Durant as well as the Penguin edition of "The Iliad."
Many argue the poverty line is an outdated measurement. But it may not go away anytime soon.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
Many Americans are struggling, but make too much money to qualify for social assistance.
That's because the US poverty line is outdated, leaving behind workers who could benefit from help.
Experts suggest modernizing poverty measures to reflect real costs and provide better access to aid.
Jason Hopkins, 43, has never made over $35,000 a year.
"If I made $45,000 a year, I would feel wealthy," the Illinois-based custodian told Business Insider.
Hopkins said he's lived paycheck to paycheck for the last decade. He's unable to save money from his income and doesn't go out; he buys a new shirt once a year. Existing like that is "draining," he said.
But he makes too much money for most forms of social assistance. This is a common predicament among Americans who are ALICE — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed. Many forms of help are tied to the federal poverty line, which is calculated using a formula that has largely not been updated since the 1960s.
Jason Hopkins and cat Nyx.
Jason Hopkins
"The way we measure poverty is incredibly outdated," said Beth Jarosz, senior program director at the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit organization that conducts demographic analyses.
BI has heard stories from parents forced to choose between putting food on the table and supporting their children's education, older adults worried they will never be able to retire, childfree couples unable to access social services, and individuals concerned they will never be able to pay down debt.
These households could use more access to social assistance — but the US' poverty threshold is leaving them behind. If America modernized its way of measuring economic needs, millions of low-income families could better make ends meet. The real question is whether the US ever will.
The poverty line is calculated in an outdated way
The current federal poverty line for the 48 contiguous states and Washington, DC, is $15,060 a year for one person, $20,440 for a family of two, and $31,200 for a family of four. This does not vary by location or cost of living, but it's adjusted for inflation each year.
"Straight up, it is too low. It is not a sufficient way to measure how current families are doing," Kyle Ross, a policy analyst for inclusive economy at the Center for American Progress, told BI.
Per the most recent Census data, the official poverty rate in 2022 was 11.5%, or about 37.9 million Americans. In 2022, 42% of Americans were below the ALICE threshold, the amount households need to cover their essential costs, according to research organization United For ALICE.
Mollie Orshansky, a government worker, originally estimated the federal poverty line formula in the 1960s using USDA data, which showed people often spent around a third of their income on food.
But that doesn't account for how Americans actually live. Americans now spend just around 13% of their income on groceries, as food prices have fallen relative to incomes and housing costs have risen disproportionately. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, people spent 33.3% of their income on housing last year.
"With the way that costs have changed, the poverty measure that's just based on how much you're spending on groceries really does not reflect what people are paying for their expenses today," Jarosz said.
Over 30 government programs use the Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines — or higher percentages based on the federal poverty line — to determine eligibility criteria.
For instance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is capped at 130% of the federal poverty line — which would be $2,694 in gross monthly income for a family of three — while the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is 185% — $47,767 a year for a family of three. Head Start, the National School Lunch Program, and parts of Medicare and Medicaid are among other programs relying on federal poverty line eligibility.
Notably, some outlier programs like Supplemental Security Income, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Section 8 low-income housing assistance do not rely on the federal poverty line.
"So much of federal policy, state policy is focused around the poverty level," Stephanie Hoopes, national director at United For ALICE, told BI.
That's all leading to an ever-widening gap of Americans who are technically in poverty but still aren't getting by.
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"These thresholds have a cliff problem where they often become a trap where you have someone who is at a very low-income level and work because oftentimes programs have work requirements," Jarosz said. "Maybe over the holidays, they get an additional shift that they've picked up, and that bumps their income up just enough that they lose their Medicaid coverage that month."
That financial cliff has left people like Melinda Binkley, 56, "less than $100" away from receiving SNAP or rental assistance but struggling to keep a roof over her family's head in Stillwater, Minnesota. Ryan Arbuckle, 36, also doesn't qualify for government help on his IT job salary. He's a single father to five children near St. Louis and can barely afford groceries and utility bills.
Oleg Parubin, a 45-year-old security guard in Manhattan, makes $45,000 a year but struggles to afford insulin for his Type 1 diabetes and worries about eviction. Once he started making more at his job, he became ineligible for various benefits such as SNAP or reduced-fare transportation, which he estimates amounted to over $10,000 a year in lost benefits.
"I wasn't able to find an answer to how people can make it today, " Parubin said. "I just decided it is a faulty system, something is broken and doesn't work properly. But I still don't know what can I do."
To survive, these Americans who fall outside financial safety nets have resorted to selling plasma for extra income, skipping meals, and risking the loss of their electricity or water supply because of delayed bill payments.
"It really creates a lot of additional stress and burden on families in a case where having consistent benefits available to everybody would be much more efficient for society as a whole," Jarosz said.
There are better ways to calculate poverty
Though manyexpertsagree the poverty line is outdated, it's still used to determine cutoffs for a slew of federal assistance programs, leaving people like Melissa Hedden behind.
Hedden, 41, has spent most of this year moving between Airbnbs and hotels in southeastern North Carolina with her partner and 11-year-old daughter. Her family's landlord raised the rent and evicted them last fall, and she can't afford the fees necessary to lease a new apartment. Still, her $3,300 monthly household income is too high to qualify for a rental voucher.
"I'm not homeless enough to get certain help because I have a roof over my head," she previously told BI. "But I'm too homeless to get a job because I don't know where I'm going to live in three weeks. What do you do?"
Melissa Hedden's household income is above the poverty line, but she struggles to afford housing and healthcare.
Courtesy of Melissa Hedden
Much of the resistance to changing the federal poverty line could stem from the government's desire not to inflate the number of people in poverty overnight.
"No one really wants to be the politician that is behind an increase in poverty," Ross said, adding: "Even if it may be a more accurate representation of how Americans are really doing financially, it looks pretty concerning on paper."
Expanding eligibility would also mean that, intuitively, more people would receive assistance — and that could cost a lot more money.
"It can definitely be a costly measure to do that," Ross said. "I personally think that would be worth it; already, these programs are not meeting the needs of families as they are."
Other barriers to updating the poverty line are political. Congress would need to pass legislation in order to officially change the way the US measures economic need, or the Biden administration would have to step in, which would both be unlikely in such a polarized political environment.
Bills that expand social services and tax credits are also expensive and historically difficult to pass — most recently, with the expanded child tax credit being stalled in the Senate, and plans to expand Medicaid being blocked in multiple states this year.
Experts differ on how to fix poverty measures, but there is already progress on solutions
While researchers differ on how the poverty line should be tweaked, many agree it needs an overhaul.
"We know the poverty level is too low to reflect the true number of people who are in need," Jarosz said. "Is there really a need to have a threshold? Is there really a need to have a cap?"
And Ross said that even if thresholds don't change, programs could still work to eliminate many barriers to entry, like burdensome application processes — making them more accessible to people who do qualify.
Rep. Kevin Mullin, a Democrat from California, has introduced legislation — called the Poverty Line Act— that would modernize the federal poverty line, taking into account actual costs of goods and how prices differ across regions.
"The current poverty line is woefully out of touch with the realities that Americans face today," Mullin told BI in a statement, noting that the line doesn't account for how costs vary across the country — especially for key essentials like childcare and home rentals.
"Unfortunately, many working families make too little to afford their basic needs, yet because the federal poverty line is so low, they are not eligible for safety net benefits," Mullin added.
The federal poverty line probably won't be changed for some time, Jarosz said, given how many benefits programs rely on it. Still, there is precedent for programs providing more widespread boosts or sidestepping stringent eligibility and spending requirements.
The universal or guaranteed basic income model, which typically gives participants between $100 and $1,000 a month with no strings attached, has been tried over 100 times since 2019 and has helped thousands of households find housing and food security.
Unlike traditional social services like SNAP or Medicaid, participants can spend the money wherever they need it most. Basic income gives households an income floor, said Michael Tubbs, the founder and chair of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and former mayor of Stockon, California, which launched the recent wave of GBI pilots.
"The top benefit is the choice and the ability to have agency and to figure out how to use your money because we know that no one's smart enough to think for everyone," Tubbs said.
Hopkins — the ALICE in Illinois — has benefited from government assistance before. When the pandemic hit, he received enhanced unemployment benefits and a stimulus check — two measures that, unlike many other forms of social assistance, were widely available and not constrained by the federal poverty line.
For him, that unprecedented support meant he could buy a house with his fiancé and live alongside two other roommates.
"The only way I could afford the down payment on this house is from the expanded unemployment during the pandemic and the stimulus," he said. "If we didn't have this house, I don't know how we would live."
A new study questions the decades-long theory about why giraffes have such long necks.
Douglas Cavener
Giraffes have the longest necks of any living animal but scientists can't agree on why.
Scientists largely agree that males drove the evolution of long necks to compete for mates.
But a new study offers clues to the contrary, challenging the leading "necks for sex" theory.
Giraffes didn't always look like the elegant giants we recognize — ancient giraffes looked more like deer. But something happened over the past millennia that drove giraffes to evolve the longest necks of any living animal.
What that driver was, however, has been the subject of a 150-year-long debate among evolutionary biologists.
In the 19th century, Charles Darwin and Jean Baptiste Lamarck suggested that giraffes evolved long necks to help them snatch leaves on trees. A later theory usurped Darwin and Lamarck's, suggesting that male giraffes evolved long necks to fight and compete for female mates. This "necks for sex" idea has been the leading theory since the late '90s. But that may soon change.
A recent study published in the peer-reviewed journal Mammalian Biology offers new clues to the debate that could prove Darwin and Lamarck may have been at least partially right all along.
Size doesn't always matter
Douglas Cavener has been studying giraffes for years. In the early 2010s, he led a team that sequences the giraffe's genome.
Douglas Cavener
Male giraffes have longer necks than females. For that reason, biologists have speculated that males drove the evolution of this physical feature.
Lead author of the new study, Douglas Cavener, wasn't entirely convinced. Yes, males have longer necks, but everything else on them is larger too, Cavener, who is a professor of biology at Penn State, told BI.
"I realized that the important question was, 'Do males have proportionally longer necks compared to the rest of their body?'" Cavener said.
So he and his colleagues — including his wife and daughter, who are co-authors on the paper — started to investigate. They estimated neck length from photos of adult Masai giraffes, a species of giraffe native to Tanzania and southern Kenya in East Africa.
Cavener and his colleagues calculated the proportions of male and female adult giraffes and were surprised by what they found.
Douglas Cavener
They counted pixels in each photo of both captive and wild giraffes to measure various body parts including the neck, legs, and body trunk. When they crunched the numbers, Cavener and his colleagues discovered that the males fell short.
"What we found was pretty surprising, which was that females have proportionately longer necks than males, just the opposite of the prediction," Cavener said, adding that "it turns out that females also have longer trunks proportionally."
"So that kind of turned things upside down," Cavener said.
Why giraffes have long necks
Female giraffes give birth about every two years. Gestation takes about 15 months. So, that means they're pregnant or lactating most of their reproductive lives, Cavener said.
That requires a lot of energy. But female giraffes are picky eaters, so "they'll telescope their neck into a bush to really get" the best leaves, Cavener said.
Cavener said she thinks that because females are consistently in need of more energy and nutrition, this is what drove ancient giraffes to develop such long necks over millennia.
Cavener's study questions the leading theory for why giraffes evolved such long necks. It's probably more related to foraging than sex.
Art Wolfe/Getty Images
"It sort of goes back to Darwin and Lamarck's theory that this was likely driven by competition for food rather than for mating success. But the important twist is it puts the emphasis on females rather than males," Cavener added.
Cavener said this may be the first study to suggest that females, not males, are the reason for giraffes' long necks. That's important not only for understanding giraffe evolution but how male and female giraffes behave differently, which could help with conservation efforts.
"This study, for me, highlights the importance of understanding the different behavioral strategies used by males and females in their skills for survival," and how those strategies can drive evolution in a species long-term, Zoe Raw — a behavioral biologist and giraffe expert who wasn't involved with the research — told Business Insider over e-mail.
Cavener's study is part of a larger effort to help preserve the species. In 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature listed Masai giraffes as endangered. Illegal poaching and other human interference have decimated the population. Hunting Masai giraffes is illegal in East Africa, but poachers still track them down for bushmeat and the purported health benefits in their bone marrow and brains.
While there's typically pushback anytime a new idea enters the conversation, Raw said the new study is convincing enough to challenge the leading "necks for sex" theory.
"Nothing can ever 'prove' what causes evolution, but as far as developing a robust and realistic, evidence-based theory, I think this paper has nailed it," Raw said.