Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for October, 2010
Neil Gaiman’s been talking about starting a new tradition in his blog and Twitter feed: gifting scary books on Halloween. This nifty idea has been dubbed All Hallow’s Read, and since HowStuffWorks.com’s editorial staff is full of readers, it seemed like a great excuse to put together some picks for things that spook, terrify or horrify us … especially if we could get a little off the beaten path of books typically shelved under “horror.”
Cristen and I are preparing a podcast about why so many girls like horses, and in the course of doing some research, I did some reading about Penny Chenery, the woman who managed the famous horse while raising a family. Chenery is portrayed by actress Diane Lane in the current film “Secretariat,” and many reviews of the movie usually make mention of the fact that Chenery’s success with her Triple Crown-winning horse is all the more impressive because horse racing was such a male-dominated field.
That’s why I was interested — and a little saddened, too — too see an Associated Press interview in which both Lane and Chenery go to great lengths to distance themselves from the idea of feminism.
We can thank Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks for not only pop culture’s recent warm embrace of womanly curves, but also a newfound appreciation for redheads. A natural blonde, Hendricks has dyed her hair since adolescence, notes a New York Times article chronicling the fashionable return of the redhead.
Nicholas Deleon over at CrunchGear reports that a New York court has ordered the LimeWire service to shut down its uploading, downloading and search features. In case you didn’t know, LimeWire is a peer-to-peer network client. You download the client and use it to search the Gnutella and BitTorrent networks for files. Organizations like the RIAA and MPAA target services like LimeWire because many (if not most) of its users engage in pirating content.
Invention – Behold, the robot lifeguard, 6 times faster than a human
by Marshall Brain | October 27, 2010
The robot lifeguard has arrived, and may be better than human lifeguards in some situations: A robot lifeguard patrols Malibu The final result is a remote-controlled contraption powered by a tiny electric pump called an impeller, which squirts a forceful stream of water, much like the propulsion system on a Jet Ski. Manufactured by Mulligan’s [...]
It appears that the $100 Android tablet computers are finally arriving
by Marshall Brain | October 27, 2010
For years we have been hearing about $100 or $200 laptops and tablet PCs that are always “just around the corner”. The idea of a “$100 laptop” for the developing world has been in the public consciousness since at least 2005. However, it would appear that these mythical devices are finally starting to materialize. For [...]
Travel to Transylvania to See Dracula’s Castle!
by Amanda Arnold | October 27, 2010
Did you know you can visit Dracula’s castle?
Well, anyway, you maybe sorta can. Novelist Bram Stoker, who wrote Dracula in 1897, based his creepy main character on a real-life, 15th-century Romanian ruler who came to be called Vlad the Impaler on account of how he liked to impale people.
The first laptops featuring Intel’s new Wireless Display technology are just starting to appear. Here’s how it works: You buy a laptop with the Intel Technology built in. The Thinkpad T410 and the Dell Inspiron 15R are typical. You buy an adapter for your HDTV. The NetGear Push2TV box is typical. Configure the laptop and [...]
A new MySpace is coming soon but is it too late?
by Jonathan Strickland | October 27, 2010
This morning, I read a piece by Mike Isaac at Forbes about how MySpace is undergoing a total redesign. Isaac quotes MySpace’s CEO Mike Jones as saying the new MySpace will be a “social entertainment destination” and that it’s not going to be “a social network.” The new site design is going into beta this week and will reach groups of users in batches. I don’t have it yet so I can merely speculate on what this will mean to MySpace.
NASA and DARPA Plan ‘Hundred-Year Starship’ To Bring Humans to Other Worlds And Leave Them There Forever – “If NASA ever gets a clear directive for interplanetary exploration, a new Hundred-Year Starship could be their version of the Mayflower. And like the first pilgrims, Martian explorers might set sail with the knowledge they would never [...]
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
