10 great apps on sale to help you out in 2019

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New year, new deals… well, almost.

The thing is, we’re still hung up on a handful of bargains on apps in the Mashable Shop from the past 12 months — so much so that we’re offering them once again for an additional 19% off their sale prices, provided you enter the coupon code NEWYEAR2019 at checkout. Hope that’s OK with you.

Check ’em out:

1. Private Internet Access VPN

Protect your online privacy while surfing the web at mind-blowingly fast speeds using this industry-leading VPN service from London Trust Media, which uses powerful Blowfish CBC encryption to keep your personal information locked down without lag. Read more…

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7 times ‘Carpool Karaoke’ was the ideal remedy to 2018

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When the news is so jam-packed with chaos, uncertainty, and just generally a lot of quite miserable stuff, it’s always nice to find something reliably capable of lifting the spirits.

Carpool Karaoke does a pretty decent job of ticking this box — and 2018 was no exception.

SEE ALSO: The definitive countdown of the best ‘Carpool Karaoke’ episodes of 2017

From random celebrity cameos to important discussions about Justin Bieber’s underpants, here are some of the highlights…

1. Melissa McCarthy’s random cameo in Christina Aguilera’s episode.

Alongside the outrageous harmonies and the entertaining segment where James Corden learns how to sing in a gravelly “Fighter” voice (0:30), Christina Aguilera’s episode also features a surprise guest appearance from Melissa McCarthy (2:58).  Read more…

More about Uk, James Corden, Ariana Grande, Carpool Karaoke, and Christina Aguilera

People are tweeting surprise holiday visits, and they’re just heartwarming

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They begin in a similar way: Someone sneaks down a hallway, stealthily opens a door, quietly comes down stairs. Then everyone starts screaming and hugging and someone almost always cries. 

Over the past few days, people have been tweeting videos recorded as they surprise their loved ones who didn’t expect them to be home for the holidays. The reveals have become so prevalent that Twitter made a moment to mark the trend. 

Watch a selection of the surprise videos below and let them warm your heart. 

SEE ALSO: 15 festive yule log videos perfect for every type of person

It’s safe to say my family was surprised! I am beyond blessed to be able to come home for Christmas when some of us can’t. ❤️

Peep my dad’s face in the background ? pic.twitter.com/YQRrrgSBBv

— Brooke (@BrookeMoeder) December 23, 2018 Read more…

More about Holidays, Family, Surprise, Culture, and Web Culture

BowWOW: Snapchat just released dog-friendly lenses

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That most modern of dilemmas — not being able to employ the full algorithmic might of Snapchat lenses on your canine companion — has finally been resolved. 

That’s right, as of Monday, the feature that you historically used to make yourself look like your dog can now be used to make your dog look like … well, lots of weird stuff. Like, for example, that it has a butterfly on its nose. 

SEE ALSO: Bow down to Aurora, fluffy cat princess and IRL Snapchat filter

Importantly, these are not human filters that just so happen to work on your pup. Rather, the new lenses are specifically intended to be dropped on dogs, and can do exciting and groundbreaking things like digitally add glasses to you pooch. Or a pizza.  Read more…

More about Dogs, Snapchat, Snap Inc, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Kevin Spacey tweets bizarre video after sexual assault charge

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Hot damn 2018, we didn’t think you could get any weirder. But oh man, were we ever wrong.

In what has to be one of the most bizarre PR moves of all time, disgraced actor Kevin Spacey released a three-minute YouTube video in which he appears to role play as Frank Underwood — his former part on House of Cards before he was unceremoniously removed from the production following numerous allegations of sexual misconduct — shortly after news broke that he was charged with felony sexual assault. 

The charge, laid out in a Cape and Islands District Attorney press release, concerns an alleged sexual assault of a teenage boy at a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016. Spacey is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 7, 2019. Read more…

More about Netflix, House Of Cards, Kevin Spacey, Entertainment, and Celebrities

Explaining the deadly volcanic tsunami that hit Indonesia

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Hundreds are dead, with more missing, following a tsunami that took the Indonesian coast by surprise on Dec. 22. 

But this was no typical tsunami. Rather, it was a volcanic tsunami, and understanding what that means may help explain why this particular manifestation of nature’s power was so devastating. 

The tsunami that struck between the Sumatra and Java islands was triggered not by an earthquake — as is typically the case with tsunamis — but instead by an active volcano in the area known as Anak Krakatau. The volcano reportedly partially collapsed, triggering a landslide underwater, which then in turn kicked off the tsunami, said Dwikorita Karnawati, who leads Indonesia’s meteorological agency, according to multiple news reports. Read more…

More about Volcano, Indonesia, Tsunami, Science, and Climate Environment

15 festive yule log videos perfect for every type of person

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Ah, the yule log! 

A time-honored American tradition, the yule log first began in 1966, when local New York news station WPIX had a 90 minute-long slot it needed to fill on Christmas eve, according to Quartz. 

The station’s president suggested filling the time with footage of a burning log with holiday music looming in the background, as a kind of Christmas card to WPIX’s viewers. Since then, there have been several iterations of this popular program, many of which can now be found on YouTube.

There are quaint, comforting yule log videos that will make you feel as if you were in a rustic cottage, and then there are the humorous ones that feature comedians and viral celebs. Read more…

More about Youtube, Yule Log, Yule Log Video, Holidays 2018, and Culture

5 things to know about DNA tests before you send your spit

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This Christmas, plenty of people will find DNA tests under the tree. 

They’re easy to use — just send 23andMe, Ancestry, or one of their competitors your spit, and in exchange you’re promised a detailed breakdown of your heritage. For a little extra cash, you can learn about your genetic health risks, too. 

23andMe and Ancestry are privately held companies that don’t disclose sales numbers. But ads for them are all over the internet these days. Last year, Ancestry claimed it sold 1.6 million kits (which regularly start at $99) in the four days leading up to Cyber Monday. 

The appeal is obvious. It’s fascinating to learn where your family is from. And when it comes to your health, the more you know, the better, right? Well, before you send in your saliva, you might want to know a few things.  Read more…

More about Science, Dna, Dna Test, Dna Kit, and Science

I ate 100 different ‘pigs in blankets’ at a sausage party and it was painfully delicious

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What’s the best accompaniment to Christmas dinner? Red cabbage? Get out of here. Parsnips? Come on, now. Sprouts? That’s an argument for another day. 

The obvious correct answer is: ‘pigs in blankets’. And I mean proper pigs in blankets which, in the UK, means a sausage wrapped in bacon — none of this pastry nonsense. 

SEE ALSO: Could the mince pie flat white be the British PSL? I bloody hope not

Whoever thought of taking a sausage and giving it a little pork jacket deserves some kind of medal or at least a little mention in a national anthem. There are people in the world who also think like this, which is why they’ve set up the world’s first “pigs in blankets party” in Margate, a seaside town in Kent in the south of England.  Read more…

More about Uk, Food, Food And Drink, Sausages, and Culture

End the year on a high note with these great tech deals

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As this particularly trying year mercifully draws to a close, we have only one thing to say to 2018: Thank you, next

To celebrate the conclusion of the year, we’re rounding up the 10 best Mashable Shop deals on gadgets from 2018, all of which you can still snag for the next few days only. Plus, you can start your New Year off on a high note by entering the code NEWYEAR2019 at checkout to save an additional 19%.

Shop the deals below:

1. TREBLAB Z2 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones — $63.98

Featuring advanced Sound2.0™ technology with aptX and T-Quiet™ active noise-cancellation, these comfy wireless headphones block unwanted background noises so you can listen to your favorite bops in unparalleled clarity. They’ve also got up to 35 hours of battery life on a single charge so you can be sure your 100th listen-through of Sweetener will go uninterrupted. Read more…

More about Headphones, Drone, Mashable Shopping, Shopping Stackcommerce, and Tech