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You can ring my (Liberty) Bell
by Kathryn Whitbourne | September 30, 2011
Inspiration for this podcast came from a trip to Philadelphia back in August to attend the National Association of Black Journalists conference. It was my first visit there and so I had to go see that most famous landmark, the Liberty Bell. The only thing I’d known about the Bell was the celebrated crack. The [...]
Blow Your Mind: Splendid Isolation and Pet Peeves
by Robert Lamb | September 30, 2011
It was another busy week at HowStuffWorks, full of multiple podcast recording sessions, piles of research and more work on “How Frankenstein’s Monster Works” and “How Ghouls Work.” Ah, but I did not forget about you, dear Stuff to Blow Your Mind blog readers. Here’s a quick run down of the episodes that published this week.
Three Must-see, Car-free Destinations
by Amanda Arnold | September 29, 2011
Motorized vehicles aren’t really permitted at these travel destinations, which is a good thing — because you’ll want to drink in these gorgeous sights very slowly (aka by foot):
Mont St. Michel, France: This one was settled by hermit monks in the 6th century, who likely were flooded with peace each time the tide rolled 8 miles in over the mud flat and put a sea between them and the mainland.
Yesterday’s episode of TechStuff was the culmination of a month-long experiment. In August, I asked Chris “what would happen if we outsourced the research for one of our episodes?” Chris got that sparkly, happy look in his eyes and said “that means we wouldn’t have to do any work!” Believing that we had stumbled onto [...]
I often catch myself saying, “as we talked about in previous podcast…” — but what if listeners understandably don’t know which podcast episode to reference or how to go about hunting it down? From time to time, I’m going to start posting All-Star MomStuff playlists of five or six previously released episodes that happen to all focus around a broader topic to help break down the Stuff Mom Never Told You library into more digestible bits.
Cute Animal Friday: Sloth Bear
by Amanda Arnold | September 23, 2011
It’s not technically related to the sloth. For one thing, it’s not slow; it can run faster than a human (which is unfortunate, since it’s known to attack humans when startled). But its long, curved, non-retractable claws look like that of the sloth, and it’s been known to hang upside down from trees from time to time, so that’s how it got its name.
The sloth bear has a couple of cute features: One, it’s a loud eater.
CERN Measures Faster-Than-Light Particle
by Robert Lamb | September 22, 2011
So the big news out of CERN this afternoon is the Associated Press report that researchers have clocked a subatomic particle traveling faster than the speed of light. They’re only reporting an overage of 60 nanoseconds (with a 10-nanosecond margin of error), but that’s still enough to send shock waves through the scientific community. Why’s this big news? Because based on everything we know about physics, faster-than-light travel should be impossible. T
Hot on the heels of recent changes to your Facebook profile is the f8 conference. That’s a developer conference held by Facebook that gives app developers a look into upcoming changes to the platform that will help them design the next generation of Facebook apps. Facebook was kind enough to live stream the keynote presentation of the conference, giving all of us a glimpse into what we can expect (beyond the predictable backlash that always accompanies any change). So what did we learn?
Should NASA fake an interplanetary holy war?
by Robert Lamb | September 22, 2011
Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the last person to suggest NASA falsify the threat of alien invasion to play on humanity’s fears. I also doubt he’d suggest that the space agency exploit America’s religious conservative movement with “proof” that said aliens are governed by demons.
But just for the sake of argument, let’s you and I go there.
STBYM Interview: Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson
by Robert Lamb | September 22, 2011
What does the planet’s leading science communicator have to say about the future of space travel, mind-blowing cosmology and the state of science in America? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I interview astrophysicist and all-around science champion Neil deGrasse Tyson. He chats with us about the forces that motivate humans to invest in super projects, particle research, manned space exploration and he even weighs in on the wooly mammoth. Bring it back or leave it on ice?
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
