The Week - USA (2021-02-12)

The best of...hibernating with your sweetheart

Consumer

Autoblog.com

“We won’t mince words: The 2021 F-150

PowerBoost is the most impressive

everyday pickup we’ve sampled, perhaps

ever.” The truck’s hybrid power train—the

most noteworthy new option available on

the latest edition of America’s best-selling

vehicle—boosts the half-ton pickup’s

combined fuel economy to 24 mpg while

dramatically increasing its responsiveness

off the line. What’s more, because the bat-

tery feeds power to electrical outlets in the

truck bed, the hybrid system doesn’t just

make the F-150 a better truck: “It makes

it a better offi ce, a better campsite, and a

better workspace.”

Detroit Free Press

“The thought and creativity that went into

the new F-150 are apparent in ways large

and small.” Those outlets can power every

tool on a job site, and do it much more

quietly than a generator. And the cabin now

features a shifter that folds fl at to create

a tray table for a laptop or lunch. Clever

new tailgate details, meanwhile, “will have

competitors smacking their foreheads for

not thinking of them fi rst.”

Automobile

That tailgate is now a better worktable,

with a built-in measuring stick and slots for

C-clamps. A new 12-inch screen inside the

cabin complements new driver-assistance

features. Ford is on a roll. “It just keeps

listening to its customers, coming up with

more useful features, and packing them

into a truck that just works.”

28 LEISURE

Tip of the week...
Laundry know-how for blankets

Best apps...

For brief escapes from reality

And for those who have

everything...

“If Cove delivers

on its promise, it

could fi x the entire

American work-

force.” The device,

which wraps

around the back of

the head, applies

gentle vibration behind

the ears to reduce stress by stimulating the

part of the brain that regulates anxiety. It

arrives on the market backed by extensive

clinical tests in which participants reported

reduced anxiety and better sleep. The

maker of the product says dramatic results

are possible by using it just 20 minutes a

day, and we want to believe. “Honestly,

we’re so stressed we’d try anything, includ-

ing wearing this rather unfashionable and

startlingly expensive device.”

$490, feelcove.com

Source: Esquire.com

QCotton: To reduce shrinkage, wash cotton
blankets in cold water and dry on low heat
for their first few cycles through the laundry.
From then on, they can better withstand
heat than other blankets—enough heat to
disinfect them and eliminate dust mites.
QWool: Many wool blankets are dry clean
only, but if you see a “machine washable”
tag, throw the blanket in, add detergent, and
choose the machine’s coldest and gentlest
setting. Never put a wool blanket in a dryer
unless the label specifically allows it. Air-
dry instead, spreading the blanket over a
large surface and adjusting it over the next
24 hours to expose the whole surface to air.
QSynthetics: Polyester fleece can go in a
washing machine, but choose cold or warm
settings to avoid shortening the blanket’s
useful life. Drying at high heat will also
degrade the fibers, but an hour on low heat
is sufficient for most synthetics.
Source: NYTimes.com

QPortal provides access to soothing

ambient sounds from all over the world,

including a thunderstorm in the Amazon,

the ocean in Hawaii, and a springtime

meadow in the U.K. The iOS-only app also

provides relaxing visuals and can assist

with breathing exercises.

QMonument Valley 2 is a popular puzzle

game that provides an unusually “chilled-

out, relaxing mobile-gaming experience.”

You help a mother and child navigate

through a series of fantastical architectural

settings by climbing staircases and finding

hidden doors, and it’s soothing to do so.

QMy Oasis 2 tasks you with creating your

own desert oasis, complete with plants,

animals, and peaceful music. It’s “half

meditation and half world-building game,”

and “that combination works pretty well,

whether you’ve got two minutes of free

time or 20.”

Source: Gizmodo.com

The Ford F-150 PowerBoost: What the critics say

The new F-150 Lariat, from $45,195

LoveleeCookies Hot

Chocolate Bombs

When heated milk is

poured over a hot cocoa

bomb, “it’s like watch-

ing Willy Wonka magic

unfold in your mug.”

Each heart-shaped hand-

made chocolate truffl e

is packed with miniature

marshmallows and a

gourmet cocoa mix.

$7.50 each, etsy.com

Source: Glamour.com

Gravity x Modernist

Weighted Robe

This “ridiculously soft”

bathrobe from the com-

pany that popularized

weighted blankets “feels

like a never-ending hug.”

The fl eece fabric is “the

kind you want to curl up

in,” and the weighted

collar applies just

enough pressure.

$130, bloomingdales.com

Source: Reviewed.com

Printworks

Chess Game

Fans of The Queen’s

Gambit can channel

their inner Beth Harmon

with this chic small-

scale set. Created for

Anthropologie by a

Swedish design fi rm,

it pairs wooden pieces

with a plexiglass board.

$58, anthropologie.com

Source: WhoWhatWear.com

Kissing Mugs

The next time you’re

enjoying a hot drink

with your special some-

one, use these cute his-

and-hers mugs, which

were molded to resem-

ble two faces smooch-

ing. They’re handmade

of dishwasher-safe por-

celain in Asheville, N.C.

$65, uncommongoods.com

Source: CountryLiving.com

FLIKR Fire

“No built-in fi replace,

no problem.” This

tabletop hearth burns

isopropyl alcohol,

which produces no

smoke, and the fl ame

lasts an hour at a time—

“just long enough for

you to get snuggled up

and make s’mores.”

$95, fl ikrfi replace.com

Source: CNN.com