50 Reasons To Stockpile Vinegar

1. Disinfect wood cutting boards.

2. Soothe a sore throat; use 1 tsp. of vinegar per glass of water, then gargle.

3. Fight dandruff; after shampooing, rinse hair with vinegar and 2 cups of warm water.

4. Remove warts; apply daily a 50/50 solution of cider vinegar and glycerin until they’re gone.

5. Cure an upset stomach; drink 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar in one cup of water.

6. Polish chrome.

7. Keep boiled eggs from cracking; add 2 tbsp to water before boiling.

8. Clean deposits from fish tanks.

9. Remove urine stains from carpet.

10. Keep fleas off dogs; add a little vinegar to the dog’s drinking water.

11. Keep car windows from frosting up; use a solution of 3 oz. vinegar to 1 oz. water.

12. Clean dentures; soak overnight in vinegar and then brush.

13. Get rid of lint in clothes; add 0.5 cup vinegar to rinse cycle.

14. Remove grease from suede.

15. Kill grass on sidewalks and driveways.

16. Make wool blankets softer; add 2 cups distilled vinegar to rinse cycle.

17. Remove skunk odor from a dog; rub fur with full strength vinegar and rinse.

18. Freshen wilted vegetables; soak them in 1 tbsp vinegar and a cup of cold water.

19. Dissolve mineral deposits in drip coffee makers.

20. Deodorize drains; pour a cup down the drain once a week, let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse.

21. Use as a replacement for a lemon; 0.25 tsp.. vinegar substitutes for 1 tsp. of lemon juice.

22. Make rice fluffier; add 1 tsp. of vinegar to water when it boils.

23. Prevent grease build-up in ovens; wipe oven with cleaning rag soaked in distilled vinegar and water.

24. Kill germs; mix a 50-50 solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle.

25. Clean a clogged shower head.; pour vinegar into a zip-lock bag and gang it around the shower head. let it soak overnight to remove any mineral deposits.

26. Shine patent leather.

27. Remove the smell from laundry that has been left in the washer too long; pour 1 cup of vinegar in with the load and rewash it.

28. Make propane lantern wicks burn longer/brighter; soak them in vinegar for 3 hours, let dry.

29. Act as an an air freshener.

30. Soften paint brushes; soak in hot vinegar then rinse with soapy water.

31. Remove bumper stickers and decals; simply cover them with vinegar-soaked cloth for several minutes.

32. Prolong the life of fresh-cut flowers; use 2 tbsp of vinegar and 3 tbsp of sugar per quart of warm water

33.  Prevent Mildew; Wipe down shower walls with a vinegar solution.

34. Soften calloused feet;  soak your feet in a mixture 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water for 30 minutes then scrub them with a pumice stone. The dead skin should slough off easily.

35. Treat Acne;  start with a solution of organic apple cider vinegar and water at a ration of 1:8, apply the toner to blemishes and  leave on a minimum of 2 minutes.

36. Preserve food; many vegetables that would otherwise require pressure canning may be waterbath canned if you pickle them in vinegar.

37. Remove stains from white counter tops; mix a paste of baking soda and vinegar, apply it to the stain overnight, then scrub it clean in the morning.

38. Remove cooking spray build-up; vinegar cuts grease on baking sheets when spritzed on from a spray bottle, then washed as usual.

39. Control blood sugar; drink high quality apple cider vinegar 4 times per day to keep blood sugar under control.

40. Keep psoriasis under control; wash the affected area with plain white vinegar several times per week.

41. Kill moss; spray it, undiluted, on moss.

42. Penetrating fluid for rusty items; soak metal items that are rusted together in vinegar overnight. If you begin to get some movement, replace the vinegar with fresh vinegar and soak for one more day. The items should become freed up.

43. Use in place of commercial fabric softener; add it to the last cycle in your washing machine. (Don’t worry, the water will rinse out any vinegar smell)

44. Remove pesticide from produce; soak produce in a sink full of water with 1 cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda

45. Remove ball point pen marks from walls; dab full strength vinegar on the spot with a cloth. Repeat until the mark is gone. (Don’t scrub, though, or you’ll just smear the mark all over the wall.)

46. Remove sticky residue from scissors; dip them in a cup of full strength vinegar. Then use that vinegar for other cleaning purposes.

47. Remove candle wax; if you get candle wax on your wood table, soften the candle wax with the heat of a blow dryer. Dip a cloth into equal parts vinegar and water, then gently scrub away the rest of the wax.

48. Get rid of the smell of smoke; if you burn dinner (or have a smoker in your home), you can get rid of the smell by sitting a bowl of pure vinegar out in the area where the smell is.

49. Make a trap for fruit flies (gnats); put apple cider vinegar in a Mason jar.  Poke some holes in the lid large enough for them to get in. They’ll be drawn to the smell, then die in the jar.

50. Kill weeds in the cracks of your sidewalk; forget about using toxic Round-up on weeds. Spray full strength white vinegar on the plant at the roots. (10% is best if you have a real issue, not the kitchen kind).

These Are the Real Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has been touted as a cure-all for decades. I’ve seen claims that it can do everything from halt hiccups to whiten teeth, and even banish dandruff. Whether or not it's capable of all those things, there is some solid research to back up apple cider vinegar as a healthy elixir, as long as you use it correctly.

One promising benefit: It seems to help regulate blood sugar. A study published in Diabetes Care looked at men and women with type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that when the participants downed two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed with a snack (one ounce of cheese), they had lower blood sugar levels the next morning, compared to when they ate the same bedtime snack paired with two tablespoons of water.

Another study published in the same journal compared the effects of apple cider vinegar on healthy adults, people with pre-diabetes, and people with type 2 diabetes. Study participants in all three groups had better blood glucose readings when they consumed less than an ounce of apple cider vinegar with a high-carb meal (a white bagel with butter and orange juice), compared to when they the had the same meal and drank a placebo. People with pre-diabetes improved their blood glucose levels with vinegar by nearly half, while people with diabetes cut their blood glucose concentrations by 25%. 

Some research also suggests that apple cider vinegar may ward off scale creep. In a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, mice fed a high-fat diet along with acetic acid—vinegar’s key component—developed up to 10% less body fat than control rodents. The researchers believe the findings support the notion that acetic acid turns on genes that trigger enzymes to break down fat and prevent weight gain.

To investigate this effect in humans, Japanese scientists conducted a double-blind trial on obese adults with similar body weights and waist measurements in 2009. They divided the participants into three groups. Every day for 12 weeks, one group drank a beverage containing half an ounce of apple cider vinegar. Another group drank a beverage with one ounce of apple cider vinegar. And the third group had a drink containing no vinegar at all. At the end of the study, the people who drank one of the beverages with vinegar had less belly fat, lower triglycerides and waist measurements, and a lower body weight and BMI, compared to the no-vinegar group. 

Apple cider vinegar may also be a boon to digestive health, based on the results of a study done on mice with ulcerative colitis. The researchers found that when acetic acid was added to their drinking water, they had higher levels of good bacteria in their guts, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, and reduced symptoms of the gastrointestinal disease.

While the evidence behind apple cider vinegar seems promising, there are a few things to keep in mind before you start downing the stuff. First off, I don’t recommend drinking straight vinegar. Undiluted shots have been known to wear away tooth enamel, and damage the esophagus. Also, too much apple cider vinegar may lower potassium levels in the body. 

If you want to give it a go, swirl two teaspoons of organic apple cider vinegar and a teaspoon of organic honey into a cup of warm water once a day. Or simply use apple cider vinegar as a main ingredient in salad dressing, or chilled veggie side dishes, like vinegar-based slaw. 

My go-to recipe: Whisk together one tablespoon each apple cider vinegar and lemon juice, add a half teaspoon of minced garlic, a dash of ground black pepper, and a few fresh basil leaves, chopped. It's fantastic drizzled over fresh leafy greens, broad beans, or cooked, chilled fingerling potatoes.

Just remember, making vinegar a daily habit won't cancel out the effects of overeating. Think of it as one piece of your wellness puzzle, and not a panacea.

Venezuela's currency now worth so little shopkeepers weigh vast piles of notes instead of counting them

Inflation in Venezuela is expected to reach 720 per cent this year, with the largest bolívar bill now worth just five US cents on the black market. 

Some shopkeepers have reportedly taken to weighing rather than counting the wads of cash customers hand them, and standard-size wallets have become all but useless in the socialist South American state. Instead, many people stuff huge volumes of cash into handbags, money belts, or backpacks, in scenes analysts have said are suggestive of "runaway" inflation.

In 2014, plummeting global oil prices decimated Venezuela's economy. President Nicolás Maduro responded by fixing the official exchange rate and ordering banks to print more cash, which ultimately devalued the currency further, while goods prices soared.   

The country of 30 million does not publish consumer-price data on a regular basis, but observers have said scenes on the streets of the capital, Caracas, are reminiscent of the past century's most chaotic cases of hyperinflation. 

Humberto Gonzalez, who runs a delicatessen in the city, said he uses the same scales to weigh slices of salty white cheese and the stacks of bolívar notes handed over by his customers .

“It’s sad,“ Mr Gonzalez told Bloomberg. ”At this point, I think the cheese is worth more.”

Jesus Casique, a consulting firm director, told the news site that although weighing cash was not ubiquitious, it was indicative of a financial crisis.

“When they start weighing cash, it’s a sign of runaway inflation,” he said. “But Venezuelans don’t know just how bad it is because the government refuses to publish figures.”

Oil makes up a staggering 95 per cent of Venezuela's exports, and accounts for a quarter of the country's economy, with oil-related revenues having historically supplied roughly half the government budget. This kind of over-reliance on a single export notoriously depresses all other industries in a country, in a phenomenon known by economists as "Dutch Disease".  

When the price of oil on the global market collapsed by two-thirds in 2014, Venezuela had little else to fall back on, so a natural reaction would have been for the bolívar to collapse. But Mr Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chávez following the revolutionary leader's death in 2013, instead tried to control the exchange rate, creating a massive black market for currency.

Figuring out scams to get dollars and then sell them for bolívars became hugely lucrative business for Venezuelans, setting off a feedback loop that drove the inflation rate higher and higher. 

In one of Caracas richer neighbourhoods, the owner of a tiny kiosk selling newspapers, cigarettes and snacks told the Washington Post that every evening he quietly stuffs a plastic bag full of the day’s earnings, around 100,000 bolívars (about £42) in notes of 10, 20, 50 and 100 bolívars. Venezuela has one of the highest crime rates in the world, and he said carrying that much cash frightens him.

“All of Caracas is unsafe,” the 42-year-old told the newspaper, opting not to give his name.

His best-selling item is cigarettes, he said, which have climbed in price from 250 bolívars to 2,000 bolívars a pack — at least 20 bills.

The shrinking value of the currency has meant that withdrawing the equivalent of £5 from an ATM produces a fistful of more than 100 bills. Some ATMs now need to be refilled every three hours, because the machines can only hold so much cash. This means there are often a limited number of functioning ATMs in Caracas, and long queues to withdraw money. 

Electronic payment is increasingly common in the country Henkel Garcia, director of the Venezuelan economic think tank Econométrica, told the Washington Post. “The use of online payments is likely to have soared," he said.

But it is expensive for small businesses to buy and set up credit-card machines.

Mr Maduro, who has largely continued the socialist policies of his predecessor, blamed the situation on an “economic war” waged by his opponents in the business community and in the United States. But, in a sign his government recognises the severity of the problem, he recently announced the issue of larger-denomination bills, expected in January.

The notes are reportedly set to start at 500 bolivars and reach 20,000 bolivars, or just over £8.

Until the notes are issued, however, the Venezuelan people are poorer than ever, while the country is awash with cash. 

Bremmer Rodrigues, who runs a bakery on the outskirts of Caracas, said his family are at a loss over what to do with their bags of bills. Every day his business takes in hundreds of thousands of bolívar, he said, which he hides around his office until packing them up in boxes to deposit at the bank. He said if someone looked in on him, he might be mistaken for a drug dealer.

GOP rep: 'No president is allowed to burn the First Amendment’

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) on Tuesday defended the constitutionality of flag burning, saying President-elect Donald Trump would violate freedom of speech if he cracked down on it.

"Nobody should burn the American flag, but our Constitution secures our right to do so. No president is allowed to burn the First Amendment," Amash tweeted.

Trump earlier Tuesday floated severe penalties for flag burning, mentioning loss of citizenship or a year in jail.

“Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” he tweeted.

Trump did not specify what inspired his 7 a.m. tweet about flag burning, which is considered protected speech under U.S. law. The Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 that burning the American flag is allowed under the First Amendment.

A spokesman for Trump on Tuesday said he agrees with Trump that the controversial act should be outlawed.

“I think most Americans would agree with me that flag burning should be illegal. It’s completely despicable,” Jason Miller told CNN’s “New Day."

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) told CNN he disagrees with Trump, though.

“I don’t think we want to make this a legal issue. So I disagree with Mr. Trump on that, and the court is probably right," Duffy said.

“I think the court is probably right that we want to protect those people who want to protest and their right to actually demonstrate with disgracing our flag, even though so many of us who love our country and love our flag object to it.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) also split with Trump and defended flag burning as free speech.

“We have a First Amendment right. We’ll protect our First Amendment. That’s what the court has upheld,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday.

Every single Trump cabinet member so far opposes LGBT rights

Every single cabinet member appointed by Donald Trump so far opposes LGBT rights.

The Republican President-elect has begun appointing his top team ahead of his inauguration in January.

So far the billionaire – who claimed he would “protect our L-G-B-T-Q citizens” while running for election – has appointed a string of politicians who oppose LGBT rights.

With many spots still up for grabs, here’s a run-down of Trump’s cabinet so far:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions is known as one of the most conservative and anti-LGBT members of Congress, holding a 0 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard on LGBT rights.

He fought vocally against equal marriage and discrimination protections for LGBT people, and opposed lifting the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos

Betsy DeVos is a prominent donor to the anti-gay marriage lobby. She previously donated $200,000 in a successful bid to add an anti-gay marriage amendment to the Michigan ballot.

DeVos family organisations have also made large donations to anti-gay marriage causes – $500,000 to the National Organization for Marriage, and $100,000 to Florida4Marriage.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price

Another opponent of LGBT rights in Congress, Price is a co-sponsor of the First Amendment Defence Act, which would legalise discrimination against LGBT people on the grounds of religion.

He holds a zero rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard on LGBT rights, opposing anti-discrimination protections.

When equal marriage became law, he fumed: “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court serves only as further encouragement to use the court system as a systematic springboard to enact agendas outside the democratic and legislative structures of government.

“Thirty States have held statewide ballots banning gay marriage since the year 2000, and yet legislating from the bench has superseded both public approval and our elected representatives.

“This is not only a sad day for marriage, but a further judicial destruction of our entire system of checks and balances.”

Vice President Mike Pence

The Governor of Indiana stirred up international outrage last year when he signed Indiana’s controversial ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, giving businesses the right to discriminate against gay people on the grounds of religion.

Pence claimed the law was intended to “protect” organisations from having to provide services for same-sex weddings,.

Earlier this year appeared unable to answer when asked whether it should be legal to fire people because of their sexuality.

Pence recently confirmed plans to roll back Barack Obama’s executive protections on LGBT rights, so that “the transgender bathroom issue can be resolved with common sense at the local level”.

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao

Secretary Chao served in George W Bush’s Cabinet as Labor Secretary, overseeing a Department of Labor which was opposed to LGBT anti-discrimination protections.

In recent years she has campaigned heavily for her husband, Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell, who led opposition to LGBT rights in the chamber, voted against adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes and supported a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage.

The below are Cabinet-level officials

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus

The current Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Priebus has steered the GOP into its most anti-LGBT position in decades, helping pass its most homophobic policy platform in decades.

The GOP platform opposes same-sex marriage and adoption, opposes a ban on ‘gay cure’ therapy, and supports ‘religious freedom’ laws to effectively permit anti-LGBT discrimination.

Defending the platform earlier this year, Priebus claimed that “the facts say” that children who aren’t raised by opposite-sex couples are more likely to be drawn to drugs and crime. His claim was rated false by PolitiFacts.

Priebus has – you guessed it – a nought percent approval rating on HRC’s congressional scorecard.

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn

The retired US Army Lieutenant has a history of opposing LGBT rights, recently attacking Obama administration for lifting the ban on transgender people serving in the military.

After the Pentagon lifted the ban, he fumed: “Too often, way too often, our troops are instead are distracted by trivial matters, trivial matters about what words to use, what terminology is politically correct and what bathroom door to open up.

“My God, war is not about bathrooms. War is not about political correctness or words that are meaningless.”

Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley

The Governor of South Carolina initially vowed to defend her state’s ban on same-sex weddings amid a lawsuit.

She said: “The citizens of South Carolina spoke – they spoke something that I, too, believe, which is marriage should between a man and a woman. I’m going to stand by the people of this state, stand by the constitution, I’m going to support it and fight for it every step of the way.”

Haley also only agreed to endorse Mitt Romney in 2012 after checking he opposed equal marriage, confirming: “I asked him about family and he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

The Governor appears to have toned down her opposition in recent years. Governor Haley dismissed calls for an anti-trans bathroom law in her state, and also cryptically called on the GOP to “respect modern families” in a recent speech.

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