<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c67349370a61e03db28a0a5-1200/bill and melinda gates.jpg" border="0" alt="bill and melinda gates" data-mce-source="Bill Gates/Facebook" data-link="https://www.facebook.com/BillGates/photos/a.10150331291841961/10155645521796961/?type=3&amp;theater" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BillGates/photos/a.10150331291841961/10155645521796961/?type=3&amp;theater">Bill Gates/Facebook</a></span></p><p class="caption">Bill and Melinda Gates</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Bill and Melinda Gates keep saying the word is getting better and it's easy to look around and shrug off their optimism.</li><li>So I spent a day at their foundation, talking to the people working on some of the world's hairiest, most intractable problems.</li><li>And they are winning.</li></ul><p>Bill and Melinda Gates keep insisting that - despite problems like climate change, political divisions and income disparity, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-trust-me-the-world-is-really-getting-better-not-worse-2018-1">world is getting better for most people on Earth.</a></p><p>In late January, Bill Gates expertly trolled the 10-year challenge meme with a tweet that said: "It's hard to beat this #10YearChallenge." The tweet <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/18/18188511/10-year-challenge-global-poverty-good-news?linkId=62841733">included a graphic </a>that showed how, in the last 10 years, extreme poverty, child mortality and youth illiteracy were all way down, while life expectancy was up.</p><p>The Gates' optimism is delightful. But it's easy to shrug it off as the rose-tinted perspective of a couple luxuriating in an abundance of gifts: intelligence, love, family, success and more money than King Midas.</p><p>I recently spent the day at the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, walking a mile in the billionaires' shoes, so to speak, and talking with some of the managers and directors who run various programs there. </p><p>Hearing about their work was inspiring and gave me a newfound hope for the future, just like Bill's.</p><p>And the reason is simple. These people are taking on some of the world's hairiest, most complex and seemingly intractable problems. </p><p>And they are winning.</p><h2>Death to polio and malaria</h2><p>Gates' father, Bill Gates, Sr., was the first to run the family charitable foundation in the late '90s. The foundation has morphed into a much bigger entity over time, especially after it became the main focus of Bill and Melinda Gates themselves.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55b7924d2acae716008ba9b6-1886/gettyimages-181317443.jpg" border="0" alt="Bill Gates, father, Bill Gates Sr." data-mce-source="Brian Ach/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Bill Gates with father Bill Gates, Sr." data-link="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bill-gates-sr-and-bill-gates-are-seen-during-the-the-lasker-news-photo/181317443" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/bill-gates-sr-and-bill-gates-are-seen-during-the-the-lasker-news-photo/181317443">Brian Ach/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">Bill Gates with father Bill Gates, Sr.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The elder Bill Gates' presence still hangs large at the Foundation's visitor's center, which is a cross between a techie interactive kids' museum, a community educational facility, and a place to learn about the Foundation's work.</p><p>A video of Gates' dad introduces himself, and explains that because of the "other fellow" - that is, his famous son - he's known as "Senior." </p><p>In its early days, the foundation focused mostly on local charity, but turned its attention to global health after Bill Gates Jr. read an article on children in poor countries dying from preventable illnesses.</p><p>He sent the article to his dad with a note that said: "Dad, maybe we can do something about this."</p><p><span>Those words are now plastered in giant letters in the visitor's center.</span></p><p><span>T</span>he foundation has since become a major force in global health. It joined a global effort to eradicate polio in 2007. In 1988 there were an estimated 350,000 case of polio worldwide. In, 2018, there were only 29 reported cases.  </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c67345f2628981dfa4ee6c3-1429/gates-foundation-23.jpg" border="0" alt="Gates Foundation visitor's center" data-mce-source="Business Insider/Julie Bort" data-mce-caption="Gates Foundation visitor's center" /><p class="source"><span>Business Insider/Julie Bort</span></p><p class="caption">Gates Foundation visitor's center</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Gunning for malaria</h2><p>The success with polio is a source of pride and inspiration at the foundation. To them, it's proof that hard problems like distributing vaccines to poor, remote children can be solved by smart people and repeatable systems. </p><p>With Bill and Melinda as their leaders, the people at the foundation are stunningly smart with impressive credentials: I met neuroscientists, biologists and infectious disease specialists. </p><p>With polio almost over, the foundation now wants to end malaria.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c6737c52628982c15595d92-1500/gates-foundation-mosquito nets.jpg" border="0" alt="Gates Foundation mosquito nets" data-mce-source="Business Insider/Julie Bort" data-mce-caption="Gates Foundation mosquito nets" /><p class="source"><span>Business Insider/Julie Bort</span></p><p class="caption">Gates Foundation mosquito nets</p></div><p></p></div></div>Like the others I met, Philip Welkhoff, the director of the Malaria team, has a personal interest in the mission - and impressive credentials. He grew up in Haiti and had malaria himself as a kid. He became a rocket scientist, then earned his PhD in computational neuroscience from Princeton and turned his attention to global health.</p><p>He loves his job because he's saving lives.</p><p>"All the work that the international community does together saves about 500,000 people from malaria every year compared to the early 2000s. That's a half million lives every single year," he told me. </p><p>The current challenge is to reach the most remote locations, which the foundation has expertise in doing, and containing outbreaks. No malaria vaccine is rolled out yet, but the foundation is having a lot luck by increasing the distribution of mosquito-killing bed nets.</p><p>But even a limited outbreak can turn into a bigger infection once mosquitoes start transmitting the illness, and people move from place to place. And so, malaria is even more complicated to eradicate than polio.</p><p>Still, there's steady progress, and the goal is to reduce malaria deaths 90% by 2030 compared to their 2015 level.</p><h2>The toilet team</h2><p>Outside of malaria, one of the projects that gets a lot of attention is Bill Gates' off-the-grid toilet project, which asks scientists to rethink the toilet.</p><p>Gates launched the<a href="https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/Documents/Fact_Sheet_Reinvent_the_Toilet_Challenge.pdf"> Reinvent the Toilet</a> challenge in 2011, asking researchers to come up with toilets that could sanitize human waste with no water, electricity, sewer or septic system. The toilets were to clean the waste and reclaim the water to safe drinking water standards, as well as to harvest other nutrients for other uses, a game-changer to those living without sanitation.</p><p>Some of those original teams went to the nines on their designs. One team even held a "smell summit" working with perfume makers who recreated latrine smells. This to help them test their methods for countering such smells. That work involving taking whiffs of those lovely scents.</p><p>The director of the toilet project is Brian Arbogast - though his real title is "director, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene," and his job involves more than just toilets. He's funding a variety of projects that improve human sanitation.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c6738a92628981ed6235776-2400/gates-foundation-toilet.jpg" border="0" alt="Gates Foundation toilet" data-mce-source="Business Insider/Julie Bort" data-mce-caption="Gates Foundation toilet" /><p class="source"><span>Business Insider/Julie Bort</span></p><p class="caption">Gates Foundation toilet</p></div><p></p></div></div>Arbogast was an early Microsoft employee, spending 22 years rising to the level of corporate vice president. He left the company to become a cleantech investor, and has been on the boards of various clean-water entities and charities. He worked closely with Bill Gates for decades before joining the foundation in 2013. </p><p>When the toilet project was first started, no one knew if it could really be done, Arbogast said. In 2015, though, one inventor produced a system called the Omni Processor. It's not a toilet, but an off-grid fecal sludge treatment plant that outputs purified water. One day it may also output electricity.</p><p>A working prototype has been operating in Dakar, Senegal in Africa for a few years. Arbogast believes the tech will eventually influence sanitation in the developed world, including green buildings, septic systems and remote, off-the-grid cabins.</p><p><span>The latest version has been licensed to three commercial companies: the US company created by the tech's inventor, Sedron Technologies, as well as a company in China and one in India.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c673ad20d15f50e063cd756-1174/peter janicki and bill gates water.png" border="0" alt="Peter Janicki and Bill Gates water" data-mce-source="YouTube/GatesNotes" data-mce-caption="OmniProcessor inventor Peter Janicki pours Bill Gates a glass of water processed from human fecal sludge." data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVzppWSIFU0&amp;t=25s" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVzppWSIFU0&amp;t=25s">YouTube/GatesNotes</a></span></p><p class="caption">OmniProcessor inventor Peter Janicki pours Bill Gates a glass of water processed from human fecal sludge.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><h2><span>Poop hats and toilet water</span></h2><p>Bill Gates famously drank the sewage water produced from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVzppWSIFU0">Dakar Omni Processor in 2015. </a>And there are lots of stories at the foundation and in the Gates household about that water.</p><p>"Two weeks before [Bill drank], I had to drink from it, as did most of the team," Arbogast told us.</p><p>Melinda Gates told us that her daughter made her drink that water, too. Bill Gates drove around with a 2-liter bottle of it in his car for weeks, and every time someone got in the car, their daughter made them drink some.</p><p>"I<span>f we got sick - which we didn't - it would not have not been from the water, but because we're all passing it around,"  Melinda Gates laughed.</span></p><p><span>Gates spread the love around, too: In 2015, he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-jimmy-fallon-poop-water-2015-1">tricked Jimmy Fallon</a> into drinking that water on the air, as well. </span></p><p>And there are actual toilets in development, too, with models on display (but not available for use) at the foundation's visitor's center. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c6739502628981de0110629-800/poop emoji hat.jpg" border="0" alt="Poop emoji hat" style="color: #222222;" data-mce-source="Amazon" data-mce-caption="The Poop emoji hat is a symbol of honor for the Gates water sanitation team. The person who came up with a brilliant idea gets to wear it for the day." /><p class="source"><span>Amazon</span></p><p class="caption">The Poop emoji hat is a symbol of honor for the Gates water sanitation team. The person who came up with a brilliant idea gets to wear it for the day.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>In November, Arbogast's team and Bill Gates spearheaded the Reinvented Toilet expo in Beijing. It drew in 1,200 attendees, and loads of exhibitions for new sanitation tech.</p><p>Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, keynoted the event - but Gates stole the show by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-wants-world-to-move-past-flush-toilets-2018-11">bringing a jar of poop on stage</a> to use as a visual aid.</p><p>The group wears their association with poop as a badge of honor, Arbogast says.</p><p>He keeps a hat that looks like a poop emoji in his office, and someone on his team often gets to wear it like a crown.</p><p><span>"The poop hat gets passed on for a job well done," he said.</span></p><h2>Worldwide clout</h2><p>Dr. Kathy Kahn is a scientist who funds agricultural projects. Kahn is having success with projects that improve how <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/01/03/681941779/scientists-have-hacked-photosynthesis-in-search-of-more-productive-crops">plants do photosynthesis</a>. These plants grow faster using far less water. It's a promising field for arid countries, as well as for growing food adapted to climate change.</p><p>Kahn came to the foundation after working at the <span>U.S. Department of Agriculture. She said one of the things that makes her work here different is the foundation's name recognition. </span></p><p><span>While other nonprofits toil in obscurity, the Gates Foundation carries prestige. She gets a seat at the table with worldwide policy makers and the top scientists in her field. It's a scientist's dream, she says. </span></p><h2><span>In awe of the Gates'</span></h2><p>One of the themes we heard repeatedly was how much employees appreciated their access to Bill and Melinda Gates. They are heavily involved, eagle-eyed, ask penetrating questions and they work as a team, each bringing different perspectives. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a05bfcf3dbef4b5748b4c86-1335/ap110602119379.jpg" border="0" alt="Bill Gates Melinda" data-mce-source="Elaine Thompson/AP Images" /><p class="source"><span>Elaine Thompson/AP Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Progress meetings with them can feel exhilarating and nervewracking, like any employee feels about presenting to their CEO.</p><p>But there's a general sense of good humor, too. </p><p>If a technical issue occurs, say with the videoconferencing system, and an employee can't immediately fix it, Bill Gates can do it without blinking an eye. There's nothing like having one of the fathers of the PC industry in the room when tech support is needed.</p><p>Another theme was just about the thrill of having Bill or Melinda Gates get excited about the employee's projects or work. </p><h2>Helping whole countries get healthier</h2><p>Of all the stories, Dr. Jean Kagubare's was one of the most moving.</p><p>Born in Rwanda, his parents fled the country when he was a baby. He became a doctor and returned to Rwanda right after the genocide of the 1990s. He ran several national health programs and one the country's biggest hospitals before moving to the US and getting his PhD in health systems at John Hopkins. He stayed in the US, working in global health, landing at the foundation about two years ago. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c6744672628982067237474-2000/gates-foundation-25.jpg" border="0" alt="Gates Foundation" data-mce-source="Business Insider/Julie Bort" data-mce-caption="Gates Foundation takes a broader approach to global health and measures holistic outcomes." /><p class="source"><span>Business Insider/Julie Bort</span></p><p class="caption">Gates Foundation takes a broader approach to global health and measures holistic outcomes.</p></div><p></p></div></div>His job is to coordinate resources and measure results to ensure the healthcare system is improving. For instance, the foundation has funded a telemedicine app that helps doctors treat far-flung patients in villages without forcing them to travel to a healthcare facility.</p><p>Prior to this program, global healthcare workers would sort of parachute in to a country and focus on their one area - distributing vaccines or providing prenatal care, he explained. Those programs still exist, but now they are coordinated in a more holistic way, and his program measures total healthcare improvement, rather than just progress in one area.</p><p>"<span>Bill Gates asks the question all time: Is our money going to where it should be? Are the right people getting help?" he said. </span></p><p><span>All of this means that Kagubare is helping far more people across the globe, and especially in his home country, than he could when he worked as a doctor.</span></p><p>"<span>I was in Rwanda two months ago and talked to people and patients there. Patients are getting treatment that costs less and they don't have wait four hours at facilities, the average wait time, or pay to go to [far away] clinics," he said. </span></p><p>It's the best feeling.</p><ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/melinda-gates-explains-why-data-can-be-sexist-2019-2">Melinda Gates points out a major problem with how we make decisions: data is sexist</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-warns-cow-farts-climate-change-2019-2">Bill Gates warns of the dangers of cow farts - and the world should take his words seriously</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/melinda-gates-advice-working-moms-manage-stress-2019-2">Melinda Gates has some great advice on how working parents can reduce stress</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/after-talking-to-teens-last-year-about-anger-management-bill-gates-admits-that-some-of-his-famous-microsoft-tantrums-might-not-have-been-wise-2019-1">After talking to teens about anger management, Bill Gates admits that some of his Microsoft meltdowns were over the top</a></li></ul></li></ul>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-macbook-air-laptop-microsoft-surface-go-tablet-review-2019-1">We compared the $1,200 MacBook Air with the $500 Surface Go, and the results were a mess</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/DfYNObs2-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

I spent an uplifting day at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and discovered what it's really like to work there

NASA's future missions to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and beyond could hit a nuclear roadblock within the next decade

<p>Amazon just published <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=2002024">its post-Christmas press release</a>.</p>
<p>These are always packed with interesting nuggets.&#xa0;<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Here's a few things that popped out:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>On Cyber Monday,&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers ordered more than <em>18 toys per second -</em> and that's just from mobile.&#xa0;</strong></li>
<li><strong>In total, nearly 60% of people shopped on their phones.</strong></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em; font-size: 15px;"><strong>The last order successfully delivered before Christmas was placed at 10:24 PM on December 24 and delivered at 11:06 PM</strong>. The customer ordered via "Prime Now," a service Amazon launched this month which lets New York City residents get deliveries in two hours or less.&#xa0;</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Over 10 million people joined Amazon Prime, the $99 service that gives you free two-day shipping, this holiday season</strong>. Last year, 1 million people joined Prime around Christmas time. Considering that the service only cost $79 back then, that's pretty insane growth.&#xa0;</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Those were some of the highlights. Here's the entire release:</span></p>
<p>SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 26, 2014-- (NASDAQ: AMZN) - Amazon's 20<sup>th</sup>&#xa0;holiday season brought record growth to the company's fast, free shipping program Amazon Prime - more than 10 million new members worldwide tried Prime for the first time.Amazon&#xa0;customers also benefited from low prices this season, including more than 25,000 Lightning Deals.</p>
<p>"We are excited to welcome more than ten million new members to&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;Prime this holiday season, who benefited from unlimited&#xa0;Free Two-Day Shipping&#xa0;on their holiday gifts. Prime members can also borrow more than 700,000 books, listen to one million songs and hundreds of playlists, save unlimited photos and watch tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes including the Golden Globe nominated show from Amazon Studios,&#xa0;<em>Transparent</em>," said&#xa0;Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of&#xa0;Amazon.com. "We are working hard to make Prime even better and expanding the recently launched Prime Now<em>&#xa0;</em>to additional cities in 2015."</p>
<p>Amazon Prime has come to mean fast, free shipping, free streaming and free reading. This year,&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;added nearly a dozen new features and benefits to Prime. In addition to Prime Instant Video and the&#xa0;Kindle Owners Lending Library, members now enjoy Prime Music, Prime Photos, Prime Pantry, Amazon Elements, critically-acclaimed and exclusive streaming content, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive pricing on select&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;devices, exclusive pricing on Same-Day Delivery and more. Following the November launch of Prime Photos, members also uploaded nearly one billion photos with free unlimited photo storage inAmazon Cloud Drive.</p>
<p><strong>Holiday Fun Facts:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Shipping:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;shipped to 185 countries this holiday.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Sunday Delivery expanded across the country, delivering holiday packages to thousands of cities in the US.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">This holiday,&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers ordered more than 10 times as many items with Same-Day Delivery, over 2013.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The last&#xa0;Prime One-Day Shipping&#xa0;order on&#xa0;Amazon.com&#xa0;delivered in time for Christmas was placed on&#xa0;December 23, 2014at&#xa0;2:55 p.m. EST&#xa0;and shipped to&#xa0;Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The order included Nature's Miracle No More Marking, 24-ounce spray and a men's Champion Evo Fleece Full Zip Hoodie.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The last Prime Now order that was delivered in time for Christmas included 3 different 12-packs of Bai5, 5 calorie, 100% Natural, Antioxidant Infused Beverage, 18-ounce bottles. Flavor varieties included Costa Rica Clementine, Limu Lemon and Molokai Coconut. The order was placed on&#xa0;December 24&#xa0;at&#xa0;10:24pm&#xa0;and was delivered at&#xa0;11:06pm.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Amazon Devices &amp;&#xa0;Digital Media:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon Fire TV is the best-selling streaming media box on&#xa0;Amazon.com&#xa0;this holiday season.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Fire TV Stick, Fire HD 6 and Fire HD 7 were among the most wished-for items on&#xa0;Amazon.com&#xa0;this holiday season.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Fire tablet sales on&#xa0;Amazon.com&#xa0;were up over three times year over year this Black Friday; Kindle e-reader sales on Black Friday grew nearly four times year over year.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">J.D. Power&#xa0;ranks&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;"Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Tablets."</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Fire TV Stick is the fastest-selling&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;device ever.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The most gifted Kindle book during the holiday season was&#xa0;<em>Unbroken</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Laura Hillenbrand.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;unveiled&#xa0;<em>All Is Bright</em>, the first-ever exclusive playlist of newly-recorded&#xa0;holiday&#xa0;songs available&#xa0;for listening onAmazon's&#xa0;Prime Music&#xa0;service this holiday season.&#xa0;<em>All Is Bright</em>&#xa0;features performances of holiday favorites, rarities and newly-written songs from extraordinary artists including&#xa0;Ashley Monroe,&#xa0;Brandi Carlile,&#xa0;Jessie Baylin,&#xa0;Liz Phair,&#xa0;Lucinda Williams,&#xa0;Yoko Ono&#xa0;with the Flaming Lips and many more.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon Prime members can instantly watch and enjoy Amazon Original Series, including the Roman Coppola and&#xa0;Jason Schwartzman&#xa0;comedy,&#xa0;<em>Mozart&#xa0;in the Jungle</em>; Golden Globe nominated dark-comedy,&#xa0;<em>Transparent</em>; fan-favorite,&#xa0;<em>Alpha House,&#xa0;</em>now in its second season; and<em>&#xa0;</em>children's series&#xa0;<em>Gortimer Gibbon's Life on&#xa0;Normal Street</em>.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Prime Instant Video is the exclusive online-only subscription service for great TV series including popular&#xa0;HBO&#xa0;shows such as<em>&#xa0;Boardwalk&#xa0;Empire, True Blood, The Sopranos&#xa0;</em>and&#xa0;<em>The Wire,&#xa0;</em>as well as binge-worthy primetime series including&#xa0;<em>24, The Good Wife, Downton Abbey, Under the Dome, Extant&#xa0;</em>and<em>&#xa0;Vikings</em>, and favorites for children including&#xa0;<em>SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Team Umizoomi, Blue's Clues,&#xa0;</em>and<em>&#xa0;The Bubble Guppies.</em>
</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon Appstore selection worldwide more than doubled in 2014 over 2013.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The top three holiday songs requested of Amazon Echo are&#xa0;<em>Jingle Bells</em>,&#xa0;<em>Frosty the Snowman</em>, and&#xa0;<em>Jingle&#xa0;Bell Rock</em>.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Top holiday movies identified using Firefly were&#xa0;<em>Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas</em>,&#xa0;<em>White Christmas</em>&#xa0;and&#xa0;<em>It's A Wonderful Life</em>.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Customers have saved over 100 million seconds since the launch of Amazon Fire TV thanks to ASAP; that's enough time to watch all eight&#xa0;Harry Potter&#xa0;movies more than 1,400 times.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Customer Purchases:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Nearly 60 percent of&#xa0;Amazon.com&#xa0;customers shopped using a mobile device this holiday.&#xa0;Mobile&#xa0;shopping accelerated as customers got later into the shopping season.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Cyber Monday continues to be Amazon.com's peak mobile shopping day. Black Friday had the most rapid growth in mobile shopping.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Total holiday sales from the&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;app for smartphones doubled in 2014 in the US.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">On Cyber Monday,&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers worldwide ordered more than 18 toys per second from a mobile device.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">This holiday, 16 times more&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers shopped on smile.amazon.com than over the 2013 holiday season.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Since launching, AmazonSmile has generated millions of dollars in donations for customers' favorite charitable organizations.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">This holiday season, AmazonSmile customers supported seven times more charitable organizations than last year.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough Elsa dolls to reach the top of Cinderella's castle 855 times.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">If all of the Percy Jackson&#xa0;<em>Heroes of Olympus</em>&#xa0;books purchased by&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers during the holidays were piled up, they would be more than twice as tall as&#xa0;Washington State's&#xa0;Mount Olympus&#xa0;and&#xa0;Mount Olympus&#xa0;in Greece-stacked on top of each other.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough Sophie the Giraffe teethers to equal the height of 788 real giraffes.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">If every&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customer who purchased a copy of Pokémon Alpha Sapphire or Pokémon&#xa0;Omega Ruby&#xa0;this holiday season caught every species of monster in the game, they would have collected more Pokémon than the entire population of the US.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough Lifestraws to sustain more than 115,000 thirsty campers for a year.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">If every shoe from each pair of pumps Amazon Fashion customers purchased this holiday season were stacked on top of each other they would equal 52 times the&#xa0;Empire State Building.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The number of pairs of cowboy boots Amazon Fashion customers purchased this holiday season is enough to provide a new pair of boots to the population of&#xa0;Cheyenne, Wyoming, home of one of the largest rodeos.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough wiper blades for every driver in&#xa0;Mobile, Alabama, the rainiest city in the US.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">The total length of Duck Brand Disney Frozen duct tape purchased by&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;customers this holiday season could stretch to the top of Disneyland's Matterhorn more than 729 times.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Assuming the average customer moisturizes twice per day,&#xa0;Amazon&#xa0;sold enough O'Keefe's Hand and Foot Cream to provide a lifetime supply to the entire&#xa0;Seattle Seahawks&#xa0;football team roster.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough laser pointer pet toys to give more than seven to every Lasik eye surgeon in the US.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough commercial butane torches to caramelize 31,000 crème brulees.</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon&#xa0;customers purchased enough&#xa0;Rubbermaid&#xa0;storage containers to pack a lunch for the entire population of&#xa0;Montana.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Holiday Best Sellers&#xa0;</strong>(Amazon.com&#xa0;only)<strong>:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Tablets: Fire HD 7, Fire HD 6, Fire HDX 7</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Books:&#xa0;<em>Laugh-Out-Loud Jokes for Kids&#xa0;</em>by&#xa0;Rob Elliott;&#xa0;<em>Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Jeff Kinney;&#xa0;<em>Killing&#xa0;Patton: The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General&#xa0;</em>by&#xa0;Bill&#xa0;O'Reilly</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Kindle Books:&#xa0;<em>The Burning Room</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Michael Connelly;&#xa0;<em>Gray Mountain</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;John Grisham;&#xa0;<em>Gone Girl</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Gillian Flynn</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Amazon Instant Video:&#xa0;<em>The Walking Dead</em>&#xa0;Season 5;&#xa0;<em>Sons of Anarchy</em>&#xa0;Season 7;&#xa0;<em>Maleficent</em>;&#xa0;<em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em>
</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Prime Instant Video:&#xa0;<em>Hunger Games: Catching Fire;&#xa0;Alpha House&#xa0;</em>Season 2</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Movies:&#xa0;<em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em>&#xa0;(3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Digital Copy +DVD);&#xa0;<em>Maleficent</em>&#xa0;(2-Disct Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Prime Music:&#xa0;<em>Christmas</em>&#xa0;by Michael Bublé;&#xa0;<em>Greatest Hits</em>&#xa0;by Journey;&#xa0;<em>All the Little Lights</em>&#xa0;by Passenger</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Music (CD):&#xa0;<em>That's Christmas to Me</em>&#xa0;by Pentatonix;&#xa0;<em>1989</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Taylor Swift;&#xa0;<em>Frozen Karaoke</em>&#xa0;from&#xa0;Disney's&#xa0;Karaoke Series</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">MP3:&#xa0;<em>That's Christmas To Me</em>&#xa0;by Pentatonix;&#xa0;<em>1989</em>&#xa0;by&#xa0;Taylor Swift;&#xa0;<em>Sonic Highways</em>&#xa0;by Foo Fighters</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Toys: Disney Frozen Sparkle Princess Elsa Doll; Anki DRIVE Starter Kit Smart Robot Car Racing Game; Bounce-Off Game</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">TVs:&#xa0;Samsung&#xa0;32-inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED TV;&#xa0;Samsung&#xa0;40-inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED TV;&#xa0;LG Electronics&#xa0;42-inch 1080p 60Hz LED TV</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Cameras: GoPro Headstrap Mount + Quick Clip; GoPro HERO4 SILVER; Accessories Kit for GoPro Hero4</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Accessories: Amazon Basics HDMI Cable, 6.5 feet; Amazon Basics HDMI Cable 2 pack, 6.5 feet; Amazon Basics HDMI Cable, 3 feet</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Computers: Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-inch, 2GB); ASUS Chromebook 13-inch with Gigabit WiFi (16GB, 2GB); HP 11-2010nr 11.6-inch Chromebook (Snow White)</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Video Games: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare;&#xa0;Just Dance&#xa0;2015; Super Smash Bros</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Baby Banana Bendable Training Toothbrush;&#xa0;Baby Einstein Bendy Ball</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Beauty: L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream; Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner; LORAC PRO Palette</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Sports: SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop; SKLZ Pro Mini Hoop XL;&#xa0;Spalding NBA Street&#xa0;Basketball, official size 7; Wilson NFL MVP Football</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Outdoors: Lifestraw Personal Water Filter; Emergency Mylar Thermal Blankets; Zippo A-Frame Hand Warmer</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Pets: Nylabone Dura Chew Original Flavored Dental Dinosaur Chew Toy; Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food, Hi Prairie Canine Formula with Roasted Bison and Venison; KONG Cozie Marvin the Moose, Medium Dog Toy, Brown</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Patio, Lawn and Garden:&#xa0;Masterbuilt Butterball Indoor Gen III Electric&#xa0;Fryer Cooker Extra Large Capacity; Toro Ultra 12 Amp Variable-Speed (up to 235) Electric Blower/Vacuum with Metal Impeller; GreenWorks 12 Amp 20-inch Corded Snow Thrower</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Home Improvement: O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream, 3.4-Ounce; WBM Himalayan Light #1002 Natural Air Purifying Himalayan Salt Lamp with Neem Wood Base, Bulb and Dimmer Switch; Nest Learning Thermostat, 2nd Generation</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Tools: Stanley 66-344 4-in-1 Pocket Screwdriver; DEWALT DC970K-2 18-Volt Drill/Driver Kit; Dorcy 41-2510 Floating Waterproof LED Flashlight with Carabineer Clip, 55-Lumens, Yellow</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Kitchen: Artisan (2 pack) Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat Set, 16 5/8 x 11;&#xa0;Rubbermaid&#xa0;42-Piece Easy Find Lid Food Storage Set; Cuisinart GR-4N 5-in-1 Griddler</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Automotive: Swiss+Tech ST53100 Micro-Max 19-in-1 Key Ring Multi-Function Pocket Tool; Mallory 532 26-inch Snow Brush with Foam Grip; Battery Tender 021-0123 Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Business, Industrial and&#xa0;Scientific Supplies: Amprobe BAT-250 Battery Tester; Rubbermaid Commercial Products High Heat Spoon Scraper 9 1/2-inch, Red</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Women's Apparel: Columbia Women's Benton Springs Full-Zip Fleece Jacket; Playtex Women's 18-Hour Original Comfort-Strap Bra #4693;&#xa0;Hue Women's&#xa0;Ultra Leggings with Wide Waistband</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Women's Shoes: Dr. Martens Women's 1460 Originals Eight-Eye Lace-Up Boot; Minnetonka Women's Cally Faux Fur Slipper; ASICS Women's GEL-Kayano 20 Running Shoe</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Jewelry: Sterling silver&#xa0;<em>I Love You To The Moon and Back</em>&#xa0;two-piece pendant necklace, 18-inch; Two-toned sterling silver with yellow gold flashed heart&#xa0;<em>Mom I Love You To The Moon and Back</em>&#xa0;pendant necklace, 18-inch;&#xa0;Alex and Ani Bangle Bar<em>Path of Life</em>&#xa0;Rafaelian silver finish expandable bracelet</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Watches: Disney Kids' Frozen Anna and Elsa Digital Watch; Disney Kids' Frozen Anna Snow Queen Stainless Steel Watch; U.S. Polo Assn. Sport Men's Watch</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Men's Apparel: Duofold Men's Thermal Mid Weight Wicking Bottom; Columbia Men's Steens Mountain Full Zip 2.0 Fleece Jacket; Levi's Men's 501 Original Fit Jean</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Men's Shoes: Clarks Men's Bushacre 2 Desert Boots; ASICS Men's GEL-Kayano 20 Running Shoe; Timberland White Ledge Waterproof Boot</li>
<li class="bwlistitemmargb">Kid's Apparel: Little Girls' Disney Frozen 7-Pack Panty Set; Jefferies Socks Little Girls' Cable Tights selling;&#xa0;Gerber Uni-sex 5-Pack Variety Onesies</li>
</ul>
<p class="tagline">Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company Bezos Expeditions.</p>

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