Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now.

This time of year brings two things to mind:

1. Gifts you need to get for everyone on your list (and, uh gifts you found for yourself while shopping for said gifts)
2. Show-stopping outfits to wear to holiday parties, high school reunions, or your cousin’s bar-mitzvah, which his parents just happened to plan on January 2nd. In another state. And your parents are making you miss NYE to go.

Well luckily for you, this week’s The Know hits both of those must-gets on your to-get list.

Photovisi:
There is really no one on this earth who wouldn’t love this gift.  Get it for your roommate and fill it with pics from that time you decided to turn your bed into a makeshift beer pong table. Get one for your mom and fill it with black and white photos from treasured family moments through the years (and score major Favorite Child points). Get it for that artsty friend of yours and fill it with her best photographs she’s taken (and no, I don’t mean that awesome shot she got of you doing a keg-stand). You can choose any template you want, load in the pics and order. My friend got me one of these filled with my favorite college memories for my birthday a few years back and it’s my most prized possession. Everyone needs one.

Wear Today Gone Tomorrow:
Don’t you hate it when you spend your time procrastinating that giant term paper and waste hours flipping through the pages of those fashion mags day dreaming about how nice it would be to be able to wear that designer piece to your big bash next week? How UNFAIR that Lindsay Lohan and Anna Wintour get all the insider perks! Here you are slaving away on a research paper about things that MATTER. What does LaLohan do besides spray tan?

Well, here’s the secret: celebs have been borrowing these amazing fashion pieces for their events for years.  And now we can, too. A former Lucky Magazine fashion editor has realized us regular girls love designer gowns just as much as the celebs (duh), so she’s renting them out to us. Now you can borrow a beautiful designer dress for a fraction of its retail price, risk-free. And membership is F-R-E-E. Just search (the online closet is massive!), click, order, wear, get tons of compliments (don’t forget the standard hand-on-hip red carpet skinny arm), return, repeat and still have money for dinner.

Oh, and unlike Rent The Runway (which, by the way, was created after WTGT!) that only carries dresses in sizes 0-8, this rental shop carries up to a size 14. Cheap designer gowns for all! Now that is something worth knowing about.

Who is Rihanna’s new boyf?

Make your own American Apparel infinity scarf!

Uh, this couple cannot be for real.

Target’s got some super cute winter coats.

Cute boots that burn calories? Sign us up.

WTF is Whitney Port wearing!?

The stars return for the U.S. premiere.

Who are the hottest vampires in Hollywood?

Why do contraceptives fail?

What did the Kardashian’s really think of Kourtney’s baby?

Lindsay Lohan’s meltdown continues….

Evil soccer player is full of regret….

And it’s Lilo’s sloppy seconds. Though, who isn’t?

Tread lightly, Ryan Seacrest.

Will John McCain fight back against Sarah Palin?

Speaking of Sarah, get the rundown of her interview with Oprah.

5 reasons kissing is good for you!

Wrong goal. Adorable video.

This guy is the least of your germ problems.

Despite the fact that I ran around for weeks downing Airbourne and bathing myself in hand sanitizer, I couldn’t outrun the flu and it currently has me severely down and out (don’t worry I’m not about to sprout a curly tail over here, it’s just our regular old seasonal pal).

As I spent the weekend lying in bed, underneath a pile of tissues and cough drop wrappers, I attempted to retrace my steps. Where did I go wrong? The first thing that popped into my head was a toilet. I mean, aren’t public restrooms pretty much the dirtiest places we visit? But I am positive that I had maintained sturdy squats never losing balance and always flushing with my shoe…

So where could I have picked up this infections, atrocious and nastalicious flu?

Apparently, the possibilities are endless. Well, not totally endless. It turns out the toilet is the least likely culprit. The porcelain god may be dirty, but it is cleaner than a lot of things we encounter every day. The worst part? We don’t even realize the things that are swimming in bacteria. Gross bacteria. The kind that definitely caused whatever has taken over my poor little body.

Here’s a list of some of the culprits to watch out for. Be careful out there, people, or you may be joining me in my germ infested death bed come next weekend.

Purses. Researchers found hundreds of thousands of germs present on a woman’s purse, which included fecal bacteria, cold viruses and viruses that cause diarrhea. Pretty freakin’ gross. But I know none of us are going to throw out our gorgeous patent leather Kooba (or should I say Poo-ba) hobo, so if your bag has touched the ground (and who’s hasn’t) leave it there. Keep that beauty away from tables, desks or your bed so the germs stay as far away from you as possible.

Computer Keyboards. The gross truth is that you’d collect fewer bacteria if you rubbed your hands over a toilet seat than if you sat down and typed out an essay (one study found that the keyboard had 60 times more germs per square inch then a toilet in a public restroom). Bottom line: clean your keyboard! You can mix some dishwashing liquid on a damp towel and wipe the keyboard and screen down; you’d be amazed at how many of those little suckers you’d be killing off.

Towels. Since the majority of us live in dorms this couldn’t be more important. First off, NEVER put your towel down anywhere in a communal bathroom or let it sit in a heap on your bedroom floor. Regular old flu viruses are the least of your worries at this point; students have gotten staph infections that result in permanent scars and even death from having their wet towels laying around in a pile, or touching someone else’s and then reusing them. (Also, oils from your skin build up on towels creating bacteria that cause acne, so washing towels once a week is a must to keep our skin zit-free!)

Cell Phones. You know that device you have glued to your ear the entire day? It’s filthy (and I’m not talking about those naughty photos you’ve been sending around…). Bacteria that cause nasty annoyances like pimples and boils and life threatening illnesses like pneumonia and meningitis have all been found lurking on your Blackberry. Never lay your phone down on desks in class or tables in the caf, and disinfect it on a daily basis because our skin creates the most harmful bacteria. That’s right dropping our cells into a toilet would probably clean them off a little.

Lindsay Lohan. Or any other skanky starlet for that matter. Steer clear; you don’t need whatever they’re carrying lurking in your air space. This also applies to skanky starlet wannabe’s running around your campus swapping spit and bodily fluids with god knows who.

Grossed out? Me too. I’m going to go douse my entire life in Pine-Sol now.
I suggest you do the same.

Is that….Kim Kardashian??

Justin Bieber and Diddy = BFF?

That’s the smallest mom we’ve ever seen.

Lindsay Lohan is the new Britney Spears.

Robert Downey Jr. shows off his camel toe…

What is Amy Winehouse’s newest addiction?

Lindsay Lohan was dating Heath Ledger!?

Tracy Morgan is raunchy. And some people are surprised?

Scandal at Cornell! (And this is JUICY.)

Nicole Richie brings her style to Bebe.

Some women will do anything for a new pair of boobs…

Glee is a giant success! (Duh. It’s awesome.)

Jessica Simpson’s got beef with the CW.

How does the First Family do Halloween?

What’s the best sandwich in the USA?

Are ponchos coming back?

Is LiLo switching teams again?

This might be the most disturbing thing I’ve seen all day.

This girl looks familiar. Where do you know her from? Did she live on your hall freshman year? No… But you know that face. Those big brown eyes, that curly hair…

Waaaait a second.
You got it.
Yes! You know who it is!

Ruthie.
Ruthie Camden!
The adorable daughter to Rev. Eric Camden that we watched grow up on 7th Heaven.

Yeah, now she’s a 19-year-old sexpot taking promiscuous photos in her bathroom and posting them on the Internet. Not to mention the documented girl-on-girl tongue action. What happened to sweet, innocent, Jesus-loving Ruthie!?

I know what happened. Miley/Vanessa/Lohan happened. So thanks, girls, for ruining yet another young Hollywood starlet. Stay away from Abigail Breslin, bitches.

Best. Hollywood couple. Ever?

Michael Buble is a pot-head.

Your daily delicious dose of RPatz.

The 10 worst drug store shampoos.

I knew Angelina wasn’t perfect.

Pick up a dude this Halloween weekend!