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This video contains a nice animation showing how carbon monoxide poisons people: Inside each red blood cell, there are binding sites that oxygen and carbon dioxide use for transport to and from the lungs. When carbon monoxide gets into your lungs, it attaches to those same binding sites. But carbon monoxide won’t let go. If [...]
Toilet paper is one of those things we all use every day without really thinking about it. So there are factories all over the country churning it out: What is it that makes the paper so soft? It turns out it has to do with the fibers that go into it: Mr. Whipple Left It [...]
The Internet’s 99 Greatest Hits – “So if you have a lot of free time, here are the [99] best things the Internet has to offer…” Everything you ever wanted to know about LCD monitors – “If you come away with just one insight from this LCD technology expose, for the love of liquid crystal [...]
Hemp fibers are coarse and strong, perfect for things like rope — hemp is also more environmentally friendly than many other crops. Listen in as Marshall Brain takes a look at the controversy surrounding hemp in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
A fresh perspective on the world today: I will admit that I watched this twice, and by the end of the second time I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard. [See previous Funny...]
You may have a hard time believing this, but it’s true — Ford Motor Company is giving away cars!
It’s all part of the Ford “Fiesta Movement” that’s currently underway, and if you’re not in yet, well, maybe you should consider it.
The 2011 Ford Fiesta, a car that Motor Trend called a “Gotta Have” car, is headed to U.S. roads, but not until early 2010. Ford is providing a few individuals (they’re calling them “special agents,” by the way) with the chance to be the first in the nation to drive the new Fiesta, at no cost to the driver, for six months.
The Ford Fiesta Movement Web site says, “As a driver, you’ll receive monthly secret assignments from Ford Mission Control that will take you to places you’ve never been, to meet people you’ve never met, and to experiences you’ll never forget. And you’ll bring your friends and followers along for the ride.”
Human sexuality tends to provide us with enough complexity on its own, but the occasional glance at the rest of the animal kingdom helps put everything in perspective.
Yep, according to a new study, the beetles with the “longest and spiniest genitalia” experience the most success in passing on their genes. National Geographic even provides a photo gallery of “bizarre beetle genitalia” if your boss isn’t watching over your shoulder. Scientists believe these spines help to anchor the male in place for the duration of the coupling, internally injuring the female in the process.
Don’t drag all your anthropomorphic baggage into this, though. I think doomed mad scientist Seth Brundle put it best in “The Fly.” “Have you ever heard of insect politics?” he asks. “Neither have I. Insects don’t have politics. They’re very brutal. No compassion, no compromise.”
You asked: Why doesn’t a ship sink? — Phil, Philadelphia, Pa. Marshall answered: In order for something to float, it needs to displace its weight in water. So if you have a canoe that weighs 100 pounds and you put it in water, it will sink into the water enough to displace 100 pounds of [...]
You asked: How do GPS systems work? — Joe, Lodi, N.J. Marshall answered: The basic idea in the GPS system is triangulation. Your GPS receiver receives radio signals from the GPS satellites that let it measure, with a high degree of accuracy, the amount of time it took for a radio signal leaving the satellite [...]
You asked: How does an impeller work on a wave runner? — Jeff, Roy, Utah Marshall answered: An impeller is basically a propeller inside a tube. Because it is inside a tube, a spray of water comes out of the tube that is not unlike the spray of water coming out of a fire hose. [...]
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