Entertainment
10 Things I Never Travel Without
What little things do you always pack when you travel? My long-time personal checklist includes a gripping book and simple alarm clock, and I’d love to hear yours. Here goes…
1. Alarm clock. I like turning my phone off at night, so for an alarm, I just bring along my regular clock from my bedside table. It’s super simple and foolproof to use, even when you’re jet lagged.
2. Sunscreen (duh). Confession: Back in college, I used to go to the tanning salon, gahhhhhh. Now I’m older and wiser and a stickler for sunscreen. This stick lives in my bag all summer to reapply on the go, especially to the boys’ faces. And as I’ve mentioned before, I also LOVE the scent of Vacation and wear it on my arms and legs every day.
3. Self-tanning lotion. So, when I’m in the mood for a warm sun-kissed glow, I just turn to self-tanner. Over the years, I’ve tried dozens of different ones, and the stand-out winner is St. Tropez. It’s easy to apply without streaks and gives a very natural look. I put it on the night before a trip and feel ready to go.
4. Stamps. Okay, I’m a nerd, but! I like sending postcards on vacation, and it can be weirdly hard to track down stamps in a new-to-you place. So, I bring stamps to stick onto postcards for my dad, mom, and bff niece.
5. Deck of cards. Always and forever up for playing Gin Rummy on the beach, at the pub, whenever/wherever. My one cousin famously hates it, but everyone else has fun!
6. Quick-dry nail polish. My beauty friends all swear by Dazzle Dry, and here’s why: you have to swipe on multiple coats, but it dries quickly (like, 10 minutes) and lasts forever without chipping. I love painting my nails a fun color and then completely forgetting about them during the trip.
7. Hairspray. This tiny spray is the MVP of my suitcase. I use it for flyaways, humidity, frizz, a braid or bun after swimming, etc. A CoJ reader also recently commented that if you spray Elnett on the collars of your shirts, it helps prevent makeup and sunscreen stains. Who knew??
8. Great book. What books have you enjoyed on vacation? I’m currently in the middle of A Private Man, a debut novel by a poet, and her beautiful sentences keep making me gasp and clutch my heart.
9. Chocolate. You know when you get back to the rental house or hotel, and you wish you had something sweet at the end of the night? I always pack some Tony Chocolonely (winner of our taste test) or Reese’s for that exact moment.
10. Sunglasses. My doctor sister always begs me to wear sunglasses whenever I’m outside — the sun can really damage your eyes! I have transition lenses, so my regular glasses darken in the sun, but Alison was recently wearing these from a new-to-me California brand, and they were so cute. Now I’m tempted to get the cherry red. 🙂
What little things do you pack for trips? I’d love to hear. Please share below…
P.S. The trick for enjoying family travel, and what’s your #1 travel tip?
(Photos from past family vacations.)
Entertainment
Ive tested dozens of earbuds. I like these 3 AirPods alternatives.
Folks who prefer earbuds with a stem, people who want great ANC for under $100, anyone looking for excellent battery life, and anyone who wants an all-around pair of earbuds that make as much sense at the gym as they do in the office should opt for the EarFun Air Pro 4.
Most similar to: AirPods 4 with ANC
The EarFun Air Pro 4s are a no-brainer pick as an affordable AirPods alternative — they are Mashable’s favorite ANC earbuds under $100 after all. Performance-wise, they’ll sit more in line with the AirPods 4, but fit-wise, they’ll be more similar to the AirPods Pro 3, thanks to the silicone ear tips that situate more firmly in the ear canal. Honestly, that’s a plus — the AirPods 4 can be much more hit-or-miss at fitting different ear shapes. Beyond the design, these earbuds have impressively adept ANC powered by six internal microphones. Plus, it’s adjustable. I can’t say I noticed massive differences between the various levels, but still, I appreciated that the flexibility was there. Much like the Sony XM6 buds, EarFun shows up Apple when it comes to the customization of the sound profile, thanks to the custom equalizer and presets. Especially for the price point, the sound is surprisingly robust, clear, and dynamic. Maybe not quite on Apple’s level, but not too far off, either. Finally, you’ll get between seven and a half to eight hours of battery life per charge, plus 27 and a half additional hours with the case, making them a great option for anyone who finds themselves using their earbuds round the clock and running down the battery more often than they’d prefer.
Affordability: These earbuds are already $79.99, but almost always go on sale for $62.99, and occasionally even lower to $53.99.
What you might miss: Despite the similarly stemmed design to AirPods, EarFun opts for touch controls on these earbuds, which are mildly consistent at best and straight-up inconsistent at work. During my testing of the buds, I ended up toggling the touch controls off because I found them a little too frustrating to use. The case is also on the bigger side, making the earbuds not quite as portable as AirPods.
Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 17, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some sports and pop culture knowledge.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: NFC North
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Green: Allegedly an East Coast-based conference
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Blue: Too many Jalens in the NBA
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Purple: Caps. financial or fashionable
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #601 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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An NFC North Athlete: BEAR, LION, PACKER, VIKING
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An ACC Athlete: CAVALIER, EAGLE, HOKIE, MUSTANG
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Ja(y)lens in the NBA: BROWN, BRUNSON, DUREN, GREEN
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___Cap: BASEBALL, GUARDIAN, RALLY, SALARY
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Entertainment
NYT Pips hints, answers for May 17, 2026
Welcome to your guide to Pips, the latest game in the New York Times catalogue.
Released in August 2025, Pips puts a unique spin on dominoes, creating a fun single-player experience that could become your next daily gaming habit.
Currently, if you’re stuck, the game only offers to reveal the entire puzzle, forcing you to move on to the next difficulty level and start over. However, we have you covered! Below are piecemeal answers that will serve as hints so that you can find your way through each difficulty level.
How to play Pips
If you’ve ever played dominoes, you’ll have a passing familiarity with how Pips is played. As we’ve shared in our previous hints stories for Pips, the tiles, like dominoes, are placed vertically or horizontally and connect with each other. The main difference between a traditional game of dominoes and Pips is the color-coded conditions you have to address. The touching tiles don’t necessarily have to match.
The conditions you have to meet are specific to the color-coded spaces. For example, if it provides a single number, every side of a tile in that space must add up to the number provided. It is possible — and common — for only half a tile to be within a color-coded space.
Here are common examples you’ll run into across the difficulty levels:
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Number: All the pips in this space must add up to the number.
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Equal: Every domino half in this space must be the same number of pips.
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Not Equal: Every domino half in this space must have a completely different number of pips.
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Less than: Every domino half in this space must add up to less than the number.
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Greater than: Every domino half in this space must add up to more than the number.
If an area does not have any color coding, it means there are no conditions on the portions of dominoes within those spaces.
Easy difficulty hints, answers for May 17 Pips
Greater Than (5): Everything in this space must be greater than 5. 6-4, placed vertically.
Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 4-2, placed vertically.
Greater Than (2): Everything in this space must be greater than 2. 4-3, placed horizontally.
Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 4-4, placed horizontally.
Equal (4): Everything in this space must be equal to 4. The answer is 4-5, placed horizontally; 6-4, placed vertically; 4-3, placed horizontally.
Medium difficulty hints, answers for May 17 Pips
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 5-1, placed vertically.
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Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 5-2, placed horizontally; 2-4, placed vertically.
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 5-1, placed vertically.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-1, placed vertically; 2-4, placed vertically.
Greater Than (4): Everything in this space must be greater than 4. 2-6, placed horizontally.
Greater Than (5): Everything in this space must be greater than 5. 6-0, placed horizontally.
Less Than (2): Everything in this space must be less than 2. The answer is 6-0, placed horizontally.
Number (2): Everything in this space must add up to 2. The answer is 6-1, placed vertically; 3-1, placed vertically.
Hard difficulty hints, answers for May 17 Pips
Number (6): Everything in this space must add up to 6. The answer is 6-2, placed vertically.
Number (4): Everything in this space must add up to 4. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically.
Equal (2): Everything in this space must be equal to 2. The answer is 2-4, placed vertically; 6-2, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Equal (6): Everything in this space must be equal to 6. The answer is 6-6, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically.
Number (5): Everything in this space must add up to 5. The answer is 4-1, placed vertically.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 5-0, placed vertically; 2-5, placed vertically.
Number (9): Everything in this space must add up to 9. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically; 6-5, placed vertically.
Number (0): Everything in this space must add up to 0. The answer is 4-0, placed vertically.
Number (10): Everything in this space must add up to 10. The answer is 6-4, placed vertically.
Equal (5): Everything in this space must be equal to 5. The answer is 5-5, placed vertically.
Not Equal: Everything in this space must be different. The answer is 2-3, placed vertically; 1-6, placed vertically; 0-6, placed vertically.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
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