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You Asked: If two bodies fall from the same point, will they reach the Earth at the same time? — Bhargav, Mumbai, India Marshall Brain Answered: Let’s say that you climb a flight of stairs and stand on a balcony. In one hand you hold a feather, and in the other you hold a bowling [...]
You have finally met the woman of your dreams and it is time to buy her an engagement ring. Or perhaps it is time for an anniversary present. Or maybe you are buying a gift for yourself. Whatever the occasion, buying diamonds is a bit daunting. Here’s how to do it right: See also: See [...]
The Netbook market, which only began 2 years ago with the introduction of the Eee PC, continues to heat up with the release of the Nokia Booklet 3G: This is a netbook with integrated 3G, GPS and HDMI port, along with 12 hour battery life: Nokia’s Booklet 3G Netbook Takes On Apple and Google Nokia [...]
Good question – What happened to Ashton Kutcher’s movie “Spread”
by Marshall Brain | August 25, 2009
A friend of mine pointed out that something remarkable happened with Ashton Kutcher’s movie “Spread”, which opened last week. Ashton Kutcher is well known as being the king of Twitter, with more than 3 million followers: Ashton Kutcher Twitter feed He also has 3 million fans on Facebook: Ashton Kutcher on Facebook His movie Spread [...]
By now, everyone knows that Scott’s a huge fan of racing — but his enthusiasm doesn’t stop at Nascar. Listen in as Scott and Ben take a look at the little-known sport of tether racing in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
Nuclear weapons are extremely well guarded, so stealing one would be quite tricky. Join Josh and Chuck as they discuss nabbing nuclear weapons, and some surprising facts about nuclear accidents, in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
There are “non computer people” – people who feel uncomfortable around computers and don’t know what to do when the machine or a program stops working… and “computer people” – those who feel comfortable around computers and can often fix things when they break. What is the difference? How are “computer people” able to work [...]
A few weeks ago I went over the various self defense strategies we can adapt from the armored ground cricket (the short answer: Dress and act like you’re a member of GWAR). Today, I thought we’d prepare ourselves to go all Wolverine on our adversaries by looking at couple of rather strange amphibians.
Atrazine: How Much Weed Killer’s in your Water?
by Sarah Dowdey | August 24, 2009
After researching John Snow and his “Ghost Map” of cholera cases in Victorian London for the podcast, it’s quite possible I’m hyperaware of water-quality issues. News that atrazine, a popular herbicide, exceeded federal safety limits in several states’ drinking water had me looking for Georgia on the list and wondering if Brita filters take care of things like that. (Georgia’s clear by the way, and simple filters do cut out atrazine — at least according to the National Research Defense Council.)
But it seems like everyone’s talking about atrazine this week. The New York Times published a feature possibly linking the weed killer to birth defects and menstrual problems. Low exposures in utero have also made research animals more susceptible to cancer. Research from Purdue University suggests that even small concentrations — 0.1 parts per billion — can cause low birth weights.
The EPA, however, has taken a fairly sunny outlook on all the data, especially considering levels of atrazine spike to their highest during summer months.
The lovely and talented (and much missed) Jane McGrath e-mailed me a link to a New York Times article that brings together the worlds of history, music and medicine. Bless you, Jane.
The name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart commands a certain respect. The man started composing as a child, about the time the rest of us are starting to sound out “Cat in the Hat.” His father was musical and so was his sister Nannerl, but little Mozart’s talents far outstripped theirs. He and his sibling went on tour as child prodigies and Mozart got better and better as a performer, but even after all the acclaim, it was difficult for him to find a job that gave him the creative freedom he needed. And money was tight — finances would be an issue for him his entire life.
Mozart remains one of the most popular classical composers. He left us symphonies, operas, piano concertos and sonatas. He also left us at the age of 35 after falling ill from a mysterious illness. He told his wife he was afraid that he’d been poisoned — and so the mythologizing began.
Luckily for you and me, researchers have decided to play detective in this history mystery.
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