Archive for June, 2011
This year HowStuffWorks.com sent Tech Editor Holly Frey to the Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Since she doesn’t have her own blog account yet, I’ll be posting her updates this week. Judging by what I’ve read, she’s having a good time!
I’ve just permanently installed my scat freak flag in my cubicle. (Perhaps I should refer to it as a fecal flag.) Today’s podcast, “The Brilliant and Terrifying Future of Toilets,” could finally cement my rep here at HSW as the resident Scatologist (please, please, please!)
From fecal transplants and the unorthodox digestive lives of sloths, to the toilet that Dante might have had Satan use, we’re doing the dirty work to keep you all updated on scat innovations as much as possible.
Why? Because three things in life are necessary to our survival: eating, sleeping and pooping. Without the latter expression of our physicality, we’d pretty much be toast. With that in mind, once again Robert and I delve into the heart of darkness, this time to podcast about what kind of toilet technology you can expect to see in the future.
I recently checked out an excellent TED talk from Alex Steffen of Worldchanging.com. In the clip below, Alex addresses the subject of a sustainable future (and what it will take to achieve one). This wide-reaching presentation touches on numerous issues, from the emergence of megacities to patterns of technology adoption and brilliant inventions built to empower [...]
I love when the sky gets to look at itself in the mirror.
The mirror in the picture is Lake Eyre, a placid, 3,741-square-mile (9690-square-kilometer) flooded salt flat in northeast South Australia. When it’s not flooded with water, it’s a salty-white, blank surface stretching to the horizon.
The 2011 World Science Festival in New York City culminated in a street fair by New York University and Washington Square Park. The event boasted six hours of scientifically inspiring entertainment.
So as you might imagine, children were everywhere and science experiments were rampant. Let’s look at some photos.
Yesterday afternoon, as Rep. Anthony Weiner stood before a hoard of media and described his sexting relationships with “at least six women over the past three years,” he emphasized that it never crossed the line into physical contact. “I’ve never had sex outside of my marriage,” Weiner told the press.
During the Conscious after Decapitation episode on SYSK, we all closed our eyes and counted off four seconds, since that’s about how long it’s been determined a person can stay conscious after being decapitated. We thought about all of the sights and sounds and sensations that can be experienced in four seconds and we were all thrilled with the horror and dread of it all.
Today was the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, or WWDC. The event is a little different than other Apple conferences; with the focus on developers, the tone is more likely to be about software than the latest gadget or an updated computer line. There was a lot of news, but few surprises at today’s event.
There were few surprises at today’s event. CEO Steve Jobs, who has been on medical leave, made an appearance to lead the keynote, which finally revealed the cloud service that many had been expecting for some time.
Even — even! — if you don’t care about being rich at all in the least. Even if you’re a freegan or give almost all of your disposable income away to sponsor children, even if you’re pretty sure that money actually is the root of all evil, even if you are a dyed-in-the-wool Marxist, there are some things out there that kind of make you want to be rich just long enough to purchase them. One website that makes a sterling case of this idea is Private Islands Magazine.
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

