Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for December, 2011
PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 23, Why do we watch what’s hard to watch?
by Tracy V. Wilson | December 12, 2011
Whether they’re just too horrifying to look away from, or they’re somehow good for us, we just can’t seem to keep our eyes off of some things that are truly, truly hard to watch. Why do we watch these things?
Coffee and Ice Cream in Vienna
by Kathryn Whitbourne | December 9, 2011
This podcast was partially inspired by Rachel and my love of coffee. And Vienna is world-famous for its coffee houses, where intellectuals gathered in the days before home central heating, to discuss the ideas of the day (and still do). While in the U.S., we tend to think of Viennese coffee as very specifically prepared [...]
How Winners Work: The Great HowStuffWorks Contest of ’11
by Josh Clark | December 9, 2011
First, let me say they made me write this. They being the marketing department, the people who make others write about themselves in blog posts about contests that the writer figures into as a prize. Would it be too unsettling to write about myself in third person instead? Let me try that.
Nanohealthcare: The Tiny Doctors Inside Me
by Robert Lamb | December 8, 2011
Imagine a future in which targeted medications soften the side effects of chemotherapy, replacement organs grow in magnetic fields and smart pills work for months on end. Thanks to advances in nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing, this age of super medicine is nearly upon us. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I explore the world of nanohealthcare and get to know the tiny bots that will change healthcare forever.
It’s inevitable — if you have a pet, at some time you’re going to have to face the loss of that pet. There are countless articles containing suggestions on how to prepare for that loss and how to cope once it’s happened. But there don’t seem to be that many that cover how to know when it’s time to bring a new pet into your home. I know this because I’ve been looking for some guidance in this area.
As I write this, it’s been exactly four months and four days since our dog succumbed to cancer. She was just one week from reaching her 11th birthday, and she’d spent pretty much all of her almost-11 years as part of our family. Well, if truth be told, she wasn’t just a part of our family; she completed it.
PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 22, Are cheat codes cheating?
by Tracy V. Wilson | December 8, 2011
If a cheat code is built into a video game, is using it cheating? What about inventive uses of game mechanics that maybe weren’t quite intended by the game designers? Or looking things up on the Internet? Turns out, these are questions people study the answers to, not just ones that fascinate Holly and me.
Does anyone believe in the idea of utopia anymore? Today, we view the concept through dharma-colored shades and label it a destructive and illusory extreme. Even our fictions err on the side of dystopia, where only mad scientists dream of a perfect tomorrow.
But what if science can actually pull it off?
OK — so, right now this is just a big idea, not an approved plan. But a French consulting company released an infographic detailing its hopes to cloak the Eiffel Tower in plant life, enabling it to serve as the ultimate symbol of France’s dedication to sustainability.
Will birds build nests in the tower? Will it turn golden in the autumn and then shed its leaves in the winter like a real tree? Good questions, good questions.
Sometimes you watch a movie and you think: This place is pretty. I would like to go there.
In this case I’m speaking of “Melancholia,” a not-at-all hilarious movie, filmed at a gorgeous waterfront property in Sweden called Tjoloholm Castle.
PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 21, Holiday Foods: Get Your Pumpkin On
by Tracy V. Wilson | December 5, 2011
Holly and I are fans of food, and every season we’ve got something else to look forward to on the menu. When we recorded this episode, it was high pumpkin season, though the year has turned more toward peppermint since then. This seasonality of (processed) food got us thinking: Which treats are available (and heavily marketed) only at certain times of the year? And why?
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
