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The best investment you can make right now is probably something your child plays with
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A new report from The Telegraph has found that Legos can be a better investment than the stock market or gold. That's right. Legos. - photo by Herb Scribner
If youre playing the long game and want to make an investment that will pay off down the road, dont buy gold, save for a 401(k) or invest in the stock market.

Buy Legos.

A new report from The Telegraph found that Lego sets have the best return on investment for investors, better than investments in the stock market, gold or bank accounts. In fact, Legos have increased in value by 12 percent since the year 2000, with the value and price of a set rising considerably after it goes out of production.

Meanwhile, gold has only increased by 9.6 percent every year for the last 15 years, where as a savings account has jumped only 2.8 percent, The Telegraph reported.

This still occurs today, as recently produced Lego sets that are no longer on sale are sold for 36 percent more than the original price, The Telegraph reported.

The best investments are in Legos that come from movie sets, like Star Wars. But even the more normal sets like of police stations or towns increase in value. For example, the Cafe Corner hotel set that went on sale in 2007 had a starting price of 89.99 (about $132). It is now worth 2,096 (about $3,075), The Telegraph reported.

"The neat thing is that all sets are retired at some point, and several hundred are retired each year a movie run ends, a license expires or the Lego company wants to refresh its range," Ed Maciorowski, founder of investing website BrickPicker.com, told The Telegraph. That means anyone with a set at home large or small, it doesn't matter could have quite an investment on their hands if it's in good condition, as this stuff appreciates very well in value."

Of course, the report says that Legos only have value if they remain unopened and in mint condition.

But this isnt always the case. Tom Alphin, a programming manager at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post that buying and reselling used Legos can earn people some money, too. Alphin, a long-time Lego builder, explained that some of the older Lego sets are so rare that people will pay between $150 to $200 for the used versions to complete their collection.

Alphin said he was trying to resell an Imperial Star Destroyer Star Wars Lego set through Craigslist, but didnt have luck at first. Soon, however, he met someone on the classifieds website who said they were looking for a specific piece and booklet with the set, which made the sale easy and profitable.

Still, Legos often are a little more pricey than other toy products, Daily Finance reported. This is often because the companys founder was a perfectionist whose motto was only the best is good enough. The Lego Group has ensured that the product is top of the line, allowing them to raise the price.

"If you ever looked at a Mega Bloks set, and then you looked at a Lego set, you would definitely spend the extra money," Manfred Abraham, the head of brand strategy, told Daily Finance.

But this also allows people to buy a product that they can pass on to their children, Daily Finance reported. When people buy Legos, they dont just think about themselves, but their children and grandchildren, hoping that the product is durable enough to last another two generations.

"The ultimate question comes down to, how would I feel about giving my grandson fake Legos? I wouldn't do it, Amy Shea, the executive vice president of Brand Keys, a research consultant, told Daily Finance. Even if I thought they wouldn't know the difference, I would know the difference. The knockoffs just don't have that emotional meaning."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.