Archive for December, 2010
FCC Reveals Dell Looking Glass Tablet – “Thanks to documents posted over at the Federal Communications Commission’s website, we now have a sneak peek at Dell’s upcoming Looking Glass tablet. The documents cover the testing of the tablet to ensure the device complies with various regulations. Although we certainly can’t get every detail about the [...]
The world’s easiest-to-build potato cannon (spud gun) – now combustion free!
by Marshall Brain | December 30, 2010
This is a classic HowStuffWorks article that describes the construction and operation of the traditional potato cannon: How Spud Guns Work The traditional potato cannon is a combustion device – it uses hairspray as its fuel and the spark unit from an outdoor grill to ignite it. This works fine but it is a little [...]
Mind-blowing Video: The Project Excelsior Skydive
by Robert Lamb | December 30, 2010
It doesn’t get much more mind-blowing than this. By the late 1950s, the U.S. Air Force needed to upgrade their flight crew ejection technology to meet the needs of increasingly high-speed and high-altitude aircraft. So along came Project Excelsior, which culminated in Captain Joseph W. Kittinger Jr.’s record-setting skydive from an altitude of nearly 20 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Come on inside, we’ve got footage.
Would NASA benefit from a better ad campaign? Could NASA’s fans help?
by Marshall Brain | December 30, 2010
The following video contains a fan-made ad for NASA. According to the creator: “My interpretation of what a NASA advertisement would look like if they had a social media marketing department.” Does it give you a better feeling about NASA? Perhaps it is the case that, in the same way that Microsoft has lost its [...]
It snows. You find that you have a yard or a drive way or a parking lot full of snow. What are you going to do about it? Clearly you need to build something. Here are a few ideas: Snow Castle Jabba Agressive snow ball Snow man Snow man Very accurate snow sculpture of car, [...]
Consumers pay a premium for hybrid cars, so does it follow that the resale value is higher? In this episode, Scott and Ben discuss the factors that affect resale values — and why hybrids don’t tend to hold their value as well as regular cars.
Blow Your Mind: Animal Cannibals and Thinking Guts
by Robert Lamb | December 29, 2010
YES, I tried to find the creepiest art possible for this post because we’ve quite a bizarre pair of Stuff to Blow Your Mind episodes for you to sink your teeth into. Only bacon-munching humanoid pig lovers can possibly prepare your pallet.
Fine Young Cannibals
Your workplace or school probably frowns on cannibalism but nature has no such qualms. So in this episode, Julie and I strip away the fatty layers of human fear and tuck right into the zoological cannibalism. Plus you’ll get to learn why sexual cannibalism means never having to say, “I’m sorry I devoured your brain during coitus.”
Artificial intelligence to transform web: Russian tycoon – “”I think that in 10 years if you ask a question on a social network and you get an answer you will not know if a computer or a person has answered you,” Milner told the financial daily. “When you receive a question, you will not know [...]
A hard core science test from NewScientist: New Scientist 2010 holiday quiz You have to have been paying attention to ace this one. See also: More info: – How Movie Screens Work – How to make real, authentic movie-theater popcorn at home [[[Jump to previous - Test yourself – Learn about the United States Federal [...]
Once upon a time, like about 100 years ago, getting to the South Pole – deepest Antarctica – was hard. Very hard. An expedition in 1907 failed to reach the South Pole. The pole was finally reached in 1911 according to this page. Fast forward to 2010. In the same way that Mt. Everest was [...]
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

