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When Amanda was a kid, she spent most of her time running around outside. So she's happy she grew up to be HowStuffWorks.com adventure editor, where her "work" is to edit articles about travel and the great outdoors. When she's not at the office drinking free Cokes and blogging, she enjoys running, playing the guitar and spending time with her dog, River. Amanda has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Georgia State University. You can find Amanda on Twitter at @CoolestStuffHSW and on Facebook at the official CoolestStuff page.
Most Recent: Amanda Arnold Postings
Yes, you can do this! A newish Web site called Campinmygarden.com enables you to connect with folks who’ll let you pitch a tent in their yards for a small fee.
It’s the same online community concept established by sites like Airbnb.com and Couchsurfing.org — only you’ll sleep outside the house, rather than inside.
William Gillette set up his castle to play tricks on people. He installed a mirror system, so he could spy on guests from his bedroom — that way he could burst onto his living room “stage” at the most magnificent moment. At dinner, he and his guests were seated on a cushioned bench along the wall; the dining table was on a track, and he pulled it toward the group and locked it into place. “HA HA HA” Gillette probably snickered inwardly. “I own the most clever table-on-a-track in the universe.”
Five years ago Brent Christensen thought it might be fun to build his kids an ice fort on his front lawn. Building such a fort wasn’t exactly a cinch, however, and he spent several winters perfecting the process for constructing what his kids came to call “the ice castle.”
Soon, locals were cruising by his house to gawk the icy mass …
Here’s the story: In 1992, an artist named Frederic Baron decided to collect “I love yous” from non-French-speaking strangers on the streets of Paris.
The rules were this: The paper always measured 8.2 by 11.6 inches (21 by 29 centimeters). The strangers could write “I love you” in one of four colors …
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.
Adventure Sleeping at a Mountain Resort in Germany
by Amanda Arnold | November 30, 2011
Do you wish to dangle from great heights while you snooze?
Yes, you do. And you might as well do it in Bavaria, Germany, at an adventure resort called Waldseilgarten. Here at the mountain retreat, you will have three sleep-up-high options. They are as follows:
The Mysterious Margate Shell Grotto
by Amanda Arnold | November 23, 2011
What if, one day, you discovered a grotto in your backyard?
This has not happened to me. But in 1853, it happened to a kid named Joshua Newlove in Margate, England. When a hole in the ground appeared during the digging of a duck pond, Joshua’s father, a school headmaster named James Newlove, lowered Joshua into the hole to see what was below.
Study Abroad in England … for Vacation
by Amanda Arnold | November 14, 2011
So what if you’re not in college anymore? You can still study abroad in England at Oxford and Cambridge. Here’s the scoop:
Oxford offers a program called the Oxford Experience. For about $1,818 (1,335 pounds), you’ll take a one-week course in something like …
Cute Animal Friday: Bat-eared Fox
by Amanda Arnold | November 4, 2011
This is the bat-eared fox and it can hear larvae chewing.
It’s no wonder it can hear larvae chewing when its ears are almost half as tall as its little body. Ears = 5.3 inches (13.4 centimeters). Body up to the shoulders = 11 to 15 inches (28 to 28 centimeters).
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
- Golden Fields of Canola
- The Park That Never Sleeps: Central Park
- Draw a Pretty Picture With Your Bike and Your Phone
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
- Blow Your Mind: Nebula in a Box
- Blow Your Mind: Three Minutes Till Impact
- Touching the Void: Psychedelics and Death
Stuff You Should Know
- Stuff You Should Know at SXSW
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Listener Mail: What’s the world’s largest engine?
- Listener Mail: What makes a “classic car” classic?
- Was Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” Super Bowl commercial a little too political?
How-to Stuff
- How to Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor
- How to Travel the World in 4 Days
- How to Smell Like Someone at HowStuffWorks
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 68: Astrology: What’s PopStuff’s Sign?
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 67: Collecting: PopStuff’s Cabinet of Curiosities
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 66: Tracy and Holly’s Running Playlists
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
- Good News from the Oldest Mayan Calendar
- One Year Later: Colony Collapse Disorder
- Who Killed Martin Luther King, Jr.?
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
