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It has started getting cold at night. Last night it got down to 30 degrees F here at home. In December in North Carolina we often get into the teens. It rarely snows real snow in North Carolina. But at 15 or 20 degrees F it seems like you could use snow maker technology to [...]
Catalonia: Where Towers are Made of Humans
by Amanda Arnold | November 19, 2010
It’s a cheerleading pyramid on steroids: the human tower. You’ll witness the construction of these towers, or castells, in the town squares of Catalonia, Spain. So how are these human sandcastles built?
TechStuff Recharges With Some Rare Earth Metals
by Jonathan Strickland | November 19, 2010
It’s been an odd week here at HowStuffWorks.com. We’re preparing for the <a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/thanksgiving.htm" target="_blank">Thanksgiving holiday</a> next week. So far, the TechStuff crew has painstakingly determined how turkeys work, whether cranberry sauce makes a good cooling system for your PC and how much pie Chris can eat before he says he’s not feeling well (it’s more than you’d think!). We’re also creeping toward that magical time of year when Chris and I have to revisit the predictions we made for 2010 and consider what technological advancements we’ll see next year. But before we open that can of worms, we have a few other episodes to talk about.
Podcast Goodness: Good Ideas and Life Straw
by Charles W. Bryant | November 19, 2010
Hey there, Stuff You Should Know Army! It’s Chuck here for a little podcast recap for the week of November 15, in the year 2010. That’s right, it’s 2010, so if you’re still living on 2009 time, then you’re almost a full year behind. Get with it, why don’t you. I kid.
So this week on the Stuff You Should Know podcast program we covered good ideas in a couple of ways.
Scientists capture antimatter atoms in particle breakthrough – “Scientists have captured antimatter atoms for the first time, a breakthrough that could eventually help us to understand the nature and origins of the universe. Researchers at CERN, the Geneva-based particle physics laboratory, have managed to confine single antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic trap…” Point: Steve Wozniak: [...]
Over the last week or so, there seems to be something that has changed. It seems like the general public is broadly becoming more activistic. The most obvious sign of it is the reaction to the new, more aggressive stance of the TSA. There is a huge uproar about backscatter X-ray machines and the “groping” [...]
The Roman Forum is the ultimate public square. Over the centuries it’s been used as a market place, a court and everything between. Tune in to learn more about the astonishing Forum — and how it’s used today.
Unlike many modern inventions, high heels can’t be traced to a single inventor. In fact, this unique form of footware dates back into antiquity. Listen in and learn more about the evolution of high heels.
I know that trends tend to come in threes, but I really didn’t need any more proof that zombies had eclipsed vampires as the hot supernatural creature du jour. Weren’t “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” “Zombieland” and “The Walking Dead” enough?
As it turns out, the man who helped reinvent the vampire myth (for grownups, anyway) has taken on … well, the walking dead.
Blow Your Mind: Go on a Date with an Extraterrestrial
by Robert Lamb | November 18, 2010
We’d all love to date an extraterrestrial. Yes, all of us. Whether your dream date is a furry blue Jeff Goldblum or simply a clothing-optional space vampire, it’s certainly crossed your mind at some point. To misquote Arthur C. Clarke, “Either we are alone in the Universe or we might possibly meet hotties from another planet. Both are equally terrifying.” Yes, terrifying. Because as Julie and I explore in this week’s podcasts, humans bring a considerable amount of anthropomorphic baggage and plain old human drama to the table.
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
