Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for September, 2010
A different way to build a house #59 – Making the most of small apartment spaces
by Marshall Brain | September 27, 2010
You may recall the amazing “transformer apartment”:
A tiny apartment with moving walls becomes 24 different spaces
Now there is a new take on this idea using rolling walls on tracks, similar to the mechanism seen here…
How Justin Bieber Works -and- How teenage girls work
by Marshall Brain | September 27, 2010
Even if you don’t like the music, the persona or the fame of Justin Bieber, you may be interested in in the human being named Justin Bieber and the psychological effects that his fame is having on him. Also, what is the deal with teenage girls that causes the same thing to happen over and over again? Think about Elvis Presley, the Beatles, David Cassidy… it’s bizarre… like “teenage girls” are an army of insects, pre-programmed by some ancient evolutionary brain force to behave in exactly the same, timeless, irritating ways generation after generation. Anyway, here is an article that describes Justin’s current plight, which appears to be directly caused by the insect-force buried deep inside the brains of many teenage girls…
Two inches of water spread across 10,000 square feet equals 13,000 gallons or so (enough to fill a small swimming pool). Do that for 10 weeks and it is 130,000 gallons, or $1,300. That’s enough money to buy a nice HDTV, spent on water. It could make a good argument for not planting a lawn, except that when you’re not in a drought, that $1,300 falls for free from the sky. For free! That’s the miracle of rain….
How can you store an entire movie on one little DVD disc? It’s all about compression! In this episode, Marshall explains the technical details and standards of video compression.
In this episode, Molly and Cristen take a nostalgic trip down memory lane as they pay tribute to three beloved (non-Barbie) dolls from their childhoods.
Although Herman Melville’s opus is a work of fiction, it was inspired by real-life events. In this episode, Katie and Sarah explore the story of the real-life Moby Dick — and the unfortunate vessel that encountered it in the Pacific.
Bigger than Wi-Fi – “The reason these channels are so valuable—and why they were chosen for terrestrial television in the first place—is because their signals travel for kilometres, can carry a lot of information, are unaffected by weather and foliage, go through walls and penetrate all the nooks and crannies within the bowels of buildings. [...]
Mini unveils the all-electric scooter that only costs 1p a mile – “Aimed primarily at younger drivers for urban use, the MINI electric scooter expected to produce 1p a mile motoring, with a range of about 30 miles and a top speed restricted to about 50 mph…” Marvell’s 1.5GHz, Triple Core ARM Processor Can Handle [...]
You Asked:
How is weather report visibility measured? — Pete, Fairfax, Va.
Marshall Brain Answers…
Good question – What’s it like inside the Soyuz capsule?
by Marshall Brain | September 24, 2010
This article paints a rather interesting picture of landing back on earth in a Soyuz capsule:
Space Station Crew Prepares for Landing: Can Feel Like a Car Crash, Astronaut Says
An American astronaut getting ready to ride a Russian Soyuz spacecraft home early Friday said she’s excited for what’s rumored to be a pretty wild ride.
“I’ve heard it described as a train wreck followed by a car crash followed by falling off your bike,” NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson said…
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
- Have a Coke and a Smile
- The Latest in Frugal Lodging: Camping in Somebody Else’s Backyard
- The Painted Beauties of Bucovina
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
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
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
