An indoor cam caught a dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery power bank, which then set the house on fire. The flames spread through the living room in minutes. The family (and all their pets) got out safely. Note to self: Keep power banks up high away from Abby.
Master Excel with these 5 genius tricks
You can’t keep track of everything on paper. Excel can play a significant role in your daily workload. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro user, there’s much to learn — like these five useful Excel tricks.
Want to become an Excel expert? It’s a good strategy for small business owners who want to grow this year. After all, you’ll generate tons of data. Speaking of which, here’s how to stop third parties from selling your data.
Maybe you’re overlooking the most useful Excel strategies. Scroll down for five Excel tricks to simplify your professional and personal life.
1. First of five useful Excel tricks: Solve errors
Microsoft Excel is chock full of practical formulas. They help save hours you’d otherwise spend clacking away at a calculator.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to make mistakes when calculating through Excel. Its formulas reference many cells, and you can confuse them if you don’t pay attention. Use this table to fix common Excel error messages:
| Error message | Why did you get it? | How to fix it … |
| ##### | One of your columns isn’t wide enough. | Increase the column width. |
| #DIV/0! | Your formula refers to a cell that has 0 or is blank. | Make sure your divisor in a function isn’t blank or zero, or try these other solutions. |
| #REF! | Maybe you deleted or moved a cell one of your formulas refers to. Either way, your cell reference isn’t valid. | Restore any cells you deleted or change the formula. |
| #N/A | One of the values in your function or formula isn’t available. | Replace #N/A with new data. |
| #NAME? | Excel doesn’t recognize the text in your formula. | First, make sure the cell name exists. Then, check for spelling errors. |
| #NULL! | You made an error when specifying an intersection of two areas. | Use a colon (:) to separate references to a contiguous range of cells. Are you referring to two areas that don’t intersect? Use a comma (,) instead. |
| #NUM! | Your formula or function has invalid numeric values. | Make sure the arguments used in functions are numbers. |
| #VALUE! | You used the wrong type of variable or value in a math operation. | Double-check your formula, function and cells referenced by the formula. |
2. Transpose data in a snap
So you transferred some data into Excel — but it didn’t look how you wanted it to. Maybe you entered the data as rows when you wanted them to become columns. Don’t worry: You don’t have to reformat each cell manually.
With these steps, you can rotate data in your worksheet from columns to rows and vice versa.
- First, select the data in your desired column or row.
- Then, press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
- Right-click an empty cell in a row or column where you want the copied cells to go.
- Select Transpose from the paste options.
Just like that, you’ll be able to reformat your data.
LinkedIn features you should start using
LinkedIn is one of the biggest social media sites for professionals. If you want to reconnect with old coworkers or find new jobs, it’s the place to be. Users love its many features, especially the profile page you can use to brag about your accomplishments.
Upgrade your kitchen
I love spending time cooking for the week on a Sunday. And you know what makes meal prep more fun? New gear to get the job done.
- This set of six rainbow-colored Cuisinart knives brightens things up.
- The Rapid Dash Egg Cooker is a sweet solution for making fast hard-boiled and soft-boiled eggs. It’s 11% off — and no more rings around the yolks!
- A marble cheese board with a built-in slicer for a fancy happy hour spread. Yes, please.
- Upgrade your fussy garlic press with a simple and elegant stainless steel rocker. It’s 17% off and super easy to use.
- A DIY indoor organic herb garden, because your food deserves fresh herbs — and so do you.
- I use these to freeze soup. One cube equals one bowl. So easy to thaw. Souper-duper!
- A food scale makes baking so much easier. Fewer measuring cups to wash!
- Sick of cleaning out the air fryer? Grab a pack of liners. I use these every time.
- Grate gracefully with a microplane. I got one — now I have a zest(er) for life.
- Stop buying bags of popcorn covered in yellow gloop. This bowl works with kernels in the microwave!
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Stop squinting to read the text on your phone: Instead of messing around in your settings, do it the easy way: Find the text you want, pinch your fingers together, then spread them apart (the classic zoom-out motion). Works in messages and most other apps. You’re welcome!
What to do about TikTok and the anti-Semite mob
Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America” is popping up across TikTok. If you spot it, here’s how to curb its spread.
AI becomes way too human: A startup called Altera lets its AI-powered agents run wild in Minecraft. What happened? The bots made friends, created jobs, debated taxes and spread the parody religion Pastafarianism, all with zero direct human input. “A Minecraft Movie” is coming out in April 2025, and it’s going to be a blockbuster. (Now, that was a good one!)
45 days of parental leave
Can be transferred to a friend or family member in Sweden. Folks will earn 80% of their salary by looking after their grandkids. Sweden was the first country to allow parental leave, so maybe this benefit will spread to other countries, too. It makes perfect sense!
Celebrity news? Nah, that’s so fake
There’s fake news, and there’s fake celebrity news. Guess which one is spread the most and does the most damage on social media? You’re so smart. Yup, it’s fake celebrity news.
ExpressVPN’s 2023 Misinformation Index includes a whole lineup of our famous friends who got caught up in a mess of misinformation. Let’s dig into some of the wildest, weirdest stories.
Plan now for the summer solstice
It might feel like summer in Phoenix (and many other places), but it’s not official until June 21. There’s no single day with the earliest sunrise and latest sunset. It varies depending on where you live.
You don’t need to go all the way to Sweden for “Midsommar.” (Yes, like that creepy movie.) Check out these solstice celebrations … and yeah, it’s not too late to catch a flight.
50,000 gallons of water
To put out a Tesla Semi fire. After a crash in California, the truck’s massive lithium-ion battery reached up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Firefighters had to call in an aircraft to drop fire retardant around the electric semi to make sure the fire didn’t spread.
I keep pressing the spacebar, but I’m still on Earth: NASA’s new solar-sailing spacecraft has successfully spread its wings above Earth. Just like the wind pushes a sailboat, this spacecraft uses energy from the sun to propel itself through space. In the coming weeks, engineers will test its maneuvering capabilities. The goal? Low-cost travel options that could help us reach more destinations across the solar system.
🔥 You really have to see this: An indoor cam caught a dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery power bank, which then set the house on fire (video here). The flames spread through the living room in minutes. The family and all their pets got out safely. Phew.
The big mistake you’re making cleaning your TV
Once the TV is on and you’re watching your favorite show, you have something else to contend with: All that tracking. Yes, your TV will likely keep tabs on you and share that data. Tap or click here for the steps you can take to stop the privacy invasion.
8 handy products to make gross household chores easier
As the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness. But not all of us want to pour countless hours into the never-ending battle against dirt, dust and grime. Tap or click here for the best way to clean all the dirt and grime off your tech.
Don’t fall for this Facebook scam that steals your password
Social media accounts are more valuable to cybercriminals than you might think. Tap or click for 10 accounts more valuable to cybercriminals than your credit card. That’s why thieves are constantly finding new ways to steal credentials. That brings us to a recent Facebook phishing attack. If you fall for it, you’re handing over your account to criminals.
These 10 bad habits are destroying your home appliances
A meme on social media shows a hideous green refrigerator from the ’70s with the caption, “A new fridge from 2022 needs to be replaced in four years, but this old monster will outlive you.”
While that is a bit exaggerated, there is some truth to classic appliances lasting forever. But if your newer appliances don’t last as long as you think they should, you might be part of the problem. Tap or click here for tech upgrades that make your house worth more money.