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Apple Pie Refrigeration: At a Glance

Traditional apple pie (sugar-sweetened fruit filling)
Up to 2 days covered at room temperature, then up to 2 more days in the refrigerator

Refrigerated from the start
Up to 7 days per University of Maine Extension. Do not add this to days already spent on the counter

Apple pie with a custard, cream or cream cheese filling, or a perishable topping
Refrigerate. Limit time out to 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F

Sugar-free apple pie
Iowa State: eat within 1 to 2 days and refrigerate in an airtight container

In the freezer
Up to 4 months for best quality, per Iowa State and University of Maine Extension

Warm kitchen or climate
LSU AgCenter: always store fruit pies in the refrigerator in warm climates

Store-bought pie
Follow the package, including after opening

Signs to toss
Visible mold, or a pie past the storage times above

Key Takeaways

Extension sources give the same rule for a traditional baked apple pie with a sugar-sweetened fruit filling: up to 2 days at room temperature, covered, then about 2 more days in the refrigerator.
Sugar and the fruit’s acidity help slow bacterial growth in traditional fruit pies, per NC State and Iowa State. That supports the limited 2-day window. It doesn’t make the pie spoil-proof, and it doesn’t extend to custard, cream or sugar-substitute pies.
The rule is about the filling and perishable toppings. If the pie has a custard, cream or cream cheese filling, or a whipped cream topping, refrigerate it.
There are two schedules, not one. It is 2 days on the counter plus 2 in the refrigerator, or up to 7 days if the pie is refrigerated from the start, per University of Maine Extension. Don’t add the 7 days to days already spent on the counter.
In an unusually warm kitchen, refrigerate the pie. LSU AgCenter says experts recommend alway 

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Sushi in the Fridge: At a Glance

Raw-fish sushi and sashimi
Eat the day you buy it. We recommend 24 hours at most (UF/IFAS). FSAI allows up to 2 days under strict business controls

Rolls with cooked fillings
Our suggestion: 1 to 2 days. Neither UF/IFAS nor FSAI sets a separate limit by filling

Vegetable-only rolls
Our suggestion: 1 to 2 days

Time out of the fridge
2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, per FDA

Refrigerator temperature
40°F or below, per FDA

Freezing
No freezer time found for assembled sushi. Don’t freeze it to rescue it. FDA says freezing doesn’t kill all harmful germs

Reheating
Doesn’t fix fish or rice that sat out. The toxin from rice bacteria survives heating

Who should avoid raw sushi
Pregnant people, young children, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system

Key Takeaways

UF/IFAS food scientist Keith Schneider said sushi is meant to be consumed the day you buy it, and the 2007 article advised discarding leftovers still in the fridge after 24 hours. It said restaurant takeout should be eaten when you get home or thrown away.
Ireland’s food safety authority (FSAI) says leftover sushi or sashimi can be kept for two days if it was prepared hygienically and held at 5°C or below, and never past the original use-by date. That is guidance for food businesses, not a promise for takeout or homemade sushi.
Schneider added that it’s difficult to put a shelf life on sushi because each food item spoils at a different rate, and that the rice is more likely to cause problems than the fish.
FDA says that seafood to be used within 2 days after purchase should be kept in a clean refrigerator at 40°F or below. That is guidance for fresh seafood, not for assembled sushi.
FoodSafety.gov’s chart lists fatty fish such as salmon and tuna at 1 to 3 days in the refrigerator. It doesn’t say whether that is raw or cooked fish, and it isn’t a sushi or sashimi figure.
Cooked rice can  

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Key takeaways

Most outdoor AC condensers are built for weather. A cover is optional, not required.
Never cover a heat pump that is running. It needs open airflow all winter.
Plastic tarps and tight wraps can trap moisture and invite rodents.
For an AC-only unit that is shut down for the season, top-only protection may be appropriate if your manufacturer permits it. Do not put a storage cover or lid on an operating heat pump.
Take off any cover before you turn the system on.
Check your manual and warranty first. Lennox says covering may affect warranty coverage, depending on the manufacturer.

At a glance

Your situation
Cover it?

AC-only condenser, mild winter
Usually no. Keep it clear of debris.

AC-only condenser, specific falling-debris hazard overhead
Ask your installer whether top-only protection is appropriate.

Heat pump used for heating (including a mini-split that heats)
No storage cover or lid. Maintain airflow and clear surrounding snow.

Window AC unit
Remove it if practical, or use an appropriately sized winter cover.

The short answer from manufacturers
Lennox generally advises against full winter covers, saying that covering a unit completely, “especially with a plastic or vinyl material,” can do more harm than good, and that moisture captured under a cover can lead to rust and corrosion. Amana addresses a narrower point: it says never to operate an outdoor unit while it is covered, because restricted airflow can cause system damage.
This is manufacturer guidance, so it reflects what these companies say about their own equipment. Your unit may have different instructions, so your owner’s manual is the tiebreaker.
Why a full cover can backfire

1Trapped moisture
A cover that does not breathe holds in condensation. Lennox warns that trapped moisture can lead to rust and corrosion. InspectApedia, an independent building inspection reference, makes the same point about covers that trap moisture and corrode metal and electrical parts, and recommends breathable material if you cover at all.

2Shelter for pests
A full cover may create a sheltered place for rodents and other small animals. Lennox says covered units can attract them when they are looking to escape the cold. InspectApedia notes that mice may chew wiring. If you have ha 

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A silver boomtown, a hotel that briefly became a cancer clinic, and a village that renamed itself after a headless horseman. The spookiest cities in the US have stories that do not need a ghost to be memorable. Here are 12 cities and towns where the legends are fun, the history is real, and we keep the two clearly labeled. It is an editorial selection in no particular order, so the numbers are just for navigation.

A quick note on the ghosts
Reported hauntings are folklore and personal accounts, and we cannot verify them, so think of them as campfire stories. The dates, numbers and events in the history lines come from the sources we link. Anything labeled legend or lore is a story people tell, not a proven fact.

The spookiest cities in the US at a glance

City
Known for

New Orleans, LA
Above-ground tombs and voodoo lore

Salem, MA
The 1692 witch trials

Savannah, GA
Moss-draped cemeteries and ghost tours

Gettysburg, PA
A Civil War battlefield

Virginia City, NV
A historic silver boomtown with saloons and ghost stories

Tombstone, AZ
The famous 1881 gunfight

Eureka Springs, AR
A hotel with a very strange past

Estes Park, CO
The hotel that inspired The Shining

Austin, TX
The most reported ghost sightings in one 2026 study

Deadwood, SD
Wild Bill Hickok and a gold rush

Weston, WV
A vast former psychiatric hospital

Sleepy Hollow, NY
The Headless Horseman

12 spooky cities and towns, in no particular order
John Buford and John Reynolds memorials at Gettysburg National Military Park | Photo: Better Living

1New Orleans, Louisiana
Some cities have a few haunted spots. New Orleans has whole neighborhoods of them, with walking tours. Stroll past white tombs stacked shoulder to shoulder, add a little voodoo lore and a lot of humidity, and every shadow starts to look suspicious. Nomad eSIM’s 2026 ranking put it first, with 147 Tripadvisor ghost-tour listings, so you will not be short of company after dark.
The real history: those tombs echo the city’s French and Spanish roots, and 64 Parishes says flooding probably kept them in use. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 opened in 1789 on low ground at the edge of town, and Marie Laveau (1801 to 1881), a voodoo practitioner, is buried there. Bring a little New Orleans home with our seafood gumbo recipe.

2Salem, Massachusetts
Salem’s story is one of the darkest chapters in American history, and the town carries it today, from its museums to its Halloween crowds. Local lore says the ghost of Giles Corey, who died during the trials, appears before disasters. That is a legend, not a documented fact.
The real history: more than 170 people were accused in the Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 and 1693, according to the Peabody Essex Museum. Nineteen were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge, Giles Corey was pressed to death, and 25 innocent people died in all, including some who died in prison. The Library of Congress places Corey’s death in September 1692. The accusations began in Salem Village, a 

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Cooked Turkey Sitting Out: At a Glance

Room temperature
2 hours maximum, per USDA

Above 90°F
1 hour maximum, per USDA

Why
Bacteria grow fastest between 40°F and 140°F and can double in as little as 20 minutes

Keeping it hot
Hold at 140°F or warmer, per FDA. Check the turkey with a thermometer, not the warmer

Past the limit
Discard. Reheating may not make it safe, per University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Fridge
3 to 4 days in a fridge below 40°F, per USDA. Count from the day it was cooked

Freezer
USDA’s Turkey Basics: 4 months for plain slices, 6 months covered with broth or gravy

Reheat
165°F, and a rolling boil for gravy, per USDA

Safety
We don’t suggest tasting or sniffing turkey to decide. Time and temperature are the test

Key Takeaways

Cooked turkey can sit out for 2 hours, or 1 hour if it’s above 90°F, per USDA. USDA words the limit as 2 hours from cooking, if the food isn’t being held above 140°F. Unless you’re holding it hot, we’d start the clock when the turkey comes out of the oven.
The reason is the Danger Zone. USDA says bacteria grow most rapidly between 40°F and 140°F and can double in as little as 20 minutes.
Turkey kept at 140°F or above is outside the Danger Zone. FDA says hot foods on a buffet should be held at 140°F or warmer.
Past the limit, we’d discard it. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension says reheating may not make food that sat out too long safe, because some bacteria form a toxin that cooking can’t destroy.
Cut the turkey up and refrigerate it in shallow, covered containers. FoodSafety.gov says to do it even while the food is still steaming.
Leftover turkey keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge. USDA’s Turkey Basics gives 4 months in the freezer for plain slices and 6 months for turkey covered with broth or gravy.
Some sources mention four hours. That is a food-service procedure with written rules and time marking. For a turkey dinner at home, every USDA and FDA consumer page 

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