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Jessika has traveled to 47 of the 48 continental United States -- New Mexico, you're the big holdout. Of course, it's helped that she's lived all across the U.S. -- in Washington, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado and her current digs, Atlanta. She earned two undergraduate degrees from Georgia State University, one of which was in print journalism. Besides being a staff writer for HowStuffWorks.com, Jessika enjoys painting, expanding her vegetarian recipe repertoire and spending afternoons by the pool. She's also a junkie for modern American literature, although she takes in a nonfiction book as often as she can tear herself away. You can find Jessika on Twitter at @HowtoStuffHSW and on Facebook at the official How-to Stuff page.
Most Recent: Jessika Toothman Postings
I would have written this post earlier, but I was too worried I’d jinx my second shuttle launch attempt if I got cocky and started handing out advice and whatnot without ever actually having watched one lift off. Now that I’ve seen Endeavor safely into the sky, however, here goes. Because while seeing a shuttle launch wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t cheap, it was so amazing it brought tears to my eyes. I’m tearing up a little now just reminiscing about it. And to any aeronautics enthusiasts out there who are debating, I have to say, it was well worth the effort and expense. 100 percent. The experience is incredible, and now that I’ve seen a shuttle blast off into space, I can’t imagine passing up the chance while I had it.
So for anyone out there harboring the dream, you have one more shot with the space shuttle Atlantis (tentatively targeted for June 28 or possibly mid July) and I’ll give you the lowdown on what I found works and what doesn’t after the jump.
It’s finally grilling season again, and my first responsibility of the year as barbecue host is this weekend. To be honest, I prefer spelling it barbeque or BBQ — the letter Q is so underappreciated — but the great AP Stylebook Gods have spoken. My hands (or fingertips, I guess) are bound. Anyway, I’m not tied to any regional grilling styles or gathering agendas, but here are some ideas for what I have found helps move any barbecue from good to great.
I like to mix it up on Mother’s Day. This year, for example, I got my Mom (and Dad) glass spheres from a weekend festival for their respective parental holidays. Another year — I was 25, I believe — it was hand-painted macaroni necklaces. Frankly, I think by this point my parents get a little nervous when I whip out the gifts. Is it going to be a good year, or a weird year? But regardless, I figured for this week’s blog post, I would do a short roundup of (what I think are) some of the coolest potential Mother’s Day crafts hanging out on the Web.
I’ll admit, I don’t really do anything to celebrate Easter except eat awesome food with the fam, but that doesn’t mean I pass at the opportunity to put together a fun centerpiece with flowers to brighten up the table, too. So after the jump, there’s a collection of ideas and advice for putting together a lovely little Easter showpiece without spending lots of money.
With the limited number of retiring space shuttle orbiters to go around, competition among museums and other science-related facilities was understandably pretty stiff, even considering the bare-bones price tag would set each institutional recipient back a minimum of $28.8 million. The final cost of the complicated process required by NASA for transporting and displaying each orbiter may end up closer to $100 million a pop by the time everything’s said and done.
I have cats, and for the most part they’re pretty much jerks. One of the many ways they continually hammer this point home is by uprooting and/or deleafing various houseplants they find either offensive or alluring. Not sure which. So while I’m experiencing some trepidation about moving my plants outside (many I got over the course of the winter making this their first time outside) I’m very excited that the cats — and I’m looking at you here, Liz — will no longer be able to omnomnom/scissor kick them.
I’ve been increasingly working toward eating an ever-healthier diet lately — doing things like frequenting a farmers market (fyi: the spices there were AMAZINGLY cheap!) and buying a bread maker — so this was bound to catch my eye when I saw it on NPR: The controversy surrounding artificial dyes and the FDA meeting going on this week to discuss them. Luckily, my food intake is largely unprocessed (or technically, I suppose, mainly processed by me) so that takes out a lot of potential worry right there, but still, it did compel me to do a little research on artificial food dyes and how to avoid them.
How to Plan a Vacation Abroad: Part Two, Passport Edition
by Jessika Toothman | March 24, 2011
I finally sent off my passport application in the mail today. My old one wasn’t expired, but several years ago I changed my name very slightly (that “k” started out as a “c”) and although it was a minor change which is overlooked surprisingly often in somewhat official situations, I didn’t want to take any chances of being turned away in customs. Not on this trip! Then, too, there was my travel companion to consider; he doesn’t currently have a passport and needed to apply as well. During the whole application process, I learned quite a bit. So I thought I’d share some of the more useful info I garnered.
I saw this interesting video on Treehugger today, and it inspired me to blog about beekeeping. Urban beekeeping is growing in popularity, and that’s a good thing because bee populations face threats from many vectors ranging from mites to viruses to pesticides. They’re incredibly important as agricultural pollinators, however, so beekeeping could not only prove to be a fascinating new hobby, it would also be helping maintain a vital player in the ecosystem.
The news out of Japan over the past few days has been grim indeed. The 8.9-(ish)-magnitude earthquake that ripped across northern Japan — preceded and followed by foreshocks and aftershocks tremendous in their own right — and the tsunami triggered by the quake generated widespread devastation and chaos. This is one particularly heart wrenching image gallery from the Washington Post. So now, with the region’s infrastructure thoroughly crippled, millions of survivors are left without adequate stores of food and water, and there have been widespread power outages, further hindering rescue efforts. So how can you help? There are lots of ways, but the best bet is to just donate cash. That way aid organizations can fund rescue efforts faster and more efficiently. Get details after the jump.
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
