Archive for November, 2009
How advanced, scientific, computer-generated origami works
by Marshall Brain | November 30, 2009
This is a very interesting video that talks about advanced, scientific, computer-generated origami – origami engineering if you will, with an origami expert named Robert Lang. The video includes a detailed discussion of a computer program (called TreeMaker) that can turn almost any shape into a set of origami folds. At the 3:00 point it [...]
A guy named Bill Sparkman was looking for extra money when he took a job as a part-time census taker (called an enumerator, Chuck and I recently learned). It turns out that he was looking for a bit more than the $350 a week the Census Bureau paid him as a part-time temporary worker. He was looking for something more like a $600,000 pay off, not for himself, but for his son. Whom he’d named as the sole beneficiary to two life insurance policies he’d taken out before heading door to door in Clay County, Kentucky, where he’d been assigned.
It has been pointed out that the word “Climategate” really did not exist prior to November. Yet today (November 30) there are more than 13,000,000 citations for the word in Google. Even so, as with the Balloon Boy saga, it is possible that you have missed Climategate because its coverage peaked during the week of [...]
Have you ever thought about this – why don’t people ride zebras? Despite the movie Racing Stripes, zebras are not commonly domesticated. But why? People do ride horses. And zebras look a lot like horses – Zebras have four legs, hooves, manes, swishy tales, etc. and look almost exactly like horses with stripes. So why [...]
It’s called the “First Else” phone from Emblaze Mobile. Its goal is to change the face of Smart Phones, especially the user interface. Here’s a look at the new phone: It has the same processor and screen found in the Motorola Droid, as well as a 5 megapixel camera, etc. Engadget is smitten: Emblaze’s First [...]
To breastfeed or not to breastfeed? That is the question. Join Molly and Cristen as they sift through numerous studies and anecdotal information in search of the answer in this episode of Stuff Mom Never Told You.
At its height, the city of Angkor was larger than Rhode Island. Replete with ornate architecture, the metropolis also served as a religious center. Yet by the time Europeans discovered the site, it was ruined. What happened? Listen in and learn more.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Golden Fields of Canola
- The Park That Never Sleeps: Central Park
- Draw a Pretty Picture With Your Bike and Your Phone
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Blow Your Mind: Nebula in a Box
- Blow Your Mind: Three Minutes Till Impact
- Touching the Void: Psychedelics and Death
Stuff You Should Know
- Stuff You Should Know at SXSW
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Listener Mail: What’s the world’s largest engine?
- Listener Mail: What makes a “classic car” classic?
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
How-to Stuff
- How to Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor
- How to Travel the World in 4 Days
- How to Smell Like Someone at HowStuffWorks
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 68: Astrology: What’s PopStuff’s Sign?
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 67: Collecting: PopStuff’s Cabinet of Curiosities
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 66: Tracy and Holly’s Running Playlists
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
- Good News from the Oldest Mayan Calendar
- One Year Later: Colony Collapse Disorder
- Who Killed Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics


