Feb 12, 2006
Does your cell phone cook your brain? Try this experiment and see! See also How Cell Phones Work.
Can soda act as an aphrodisiac? Try this new product and see! See also How Aphrodisiacs Work.
Can a pill give you better dreams and memory? Try this medication and see! See also How Dreams Work.
Can they build a cruise ship as big as the Death Star? Each year they get a little closer! See also How Cruises Work.
What if you fill a balloon with acetylene and light it in your car? Check this photo to see! See also How Bombs Work.
If you could visit the garden of Eden, what would it be like? Check this article to see! See also How Rainforests Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
Feb 6, 2006
New Air Force laser can take out any enemy target without an explosion! See also How Lasers Work.
Kama Sutra worm ready to destroy your files on Feb. 3 - back up now! See also How Viruses Work.
Russia will be mining Helium-3 on the moon by 2020, moon base by 2015! See also How Fusion Reactors Work.
Some of the best new games are free and have cool features! See also How Video Games Work.
802.11n should give WiFi a 10x speed improvement and much better range too. See also How WiFi Works.
Americans are more than happy to tell you what is wrong with American-made cars. See also How Cars Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
January 30, 2006
Pentagon is moving forward on Goliath - the blimp that can lift 1,000 tons! (with pic) See also How Blimps Work.
When you wash off your suntan lotion it goes down the drain and has big side effects! See also How Sun Tans Work.
What if you could die, freeze your body and will everything to yourself in the future? See also How Cryonics Work.
Have you ever seen a 737 driving down the freeway? Here's your chance! (w/pics) See also How Airplanes Work.
TV networks are burning their logos right into your new plasma screen! See also How Plasma TVs Work.
Supergun test coming up - should be able to shoot 240,000 rounds per minute! See also How Machine Guns Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
January 22, 2006
The Stardust satellite has delivered its dust canister - $212 million for a gram of dust! See also How Comets Work.
Jim Carrey cuts back on caffeine and reports that he feels much better! See also How Caffeine Works.
The newest graphics cards are breaking new ground and are faster than ever! See also How Graphics Cards Work.
Have you ever seen a 737 driving down the freeway? Here's your chance! (w/pics) See also How Airplanes Work.
New "Bookshelf" computer design may revolutionize the way we use our PCs! See also How PCs Work.
New beam weapons will revolutionize warfare, killing missiles at launch! See also How Missile Defense Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
January 15, 2006
Mega TVs are coming and that means lower prices for the rest of us! See also How HDTVs Work.
New pigs glow green under black light so they are perfect for experiments! See also How Cells Work.
On Sunday a 28,860 mph package will arrive over the West coast, containing stardust! See also How Comets Work.
Were you abducted by aliens? This 58-point checklist clarifies things! See also How UFOs Work.
Intel has released the EE955 - dual cores, 4MB L2 cache, 3.46 GHz! See also How Microprocessors Work.
New beam weapons will revolutionize warfare, killing missiles at launch! See also How Missile Defense Works.
January 11, 2006
New Superlens could completely change the ways that we bend light! See also How Telescopes Work.
These 18 tricks help you get the most out of your brain and body! See also How Your Brain Works.
OK, It's not ASIMO, but it will mop and shine the floor for you! (with pic) See also How Robots Work.
Were you abducted by aliens? This 58 point checklist clarifies things! See also How UFOs Work.
It turns out that Vitamin D is essential if you want to avoid certain cancers! See also How Cancer Works.
Intel has released the EE955 - dual cores, 4MB L2 cache, 3.46 GHz! See also How Microprocessors Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
January 3, 2006
The world's smallest R/C helicopter weighs only 6.9 grams! (w/cool video) See also How Helicopters Work.
A list of the 50 best robots ever with a photo of each one, including R2-D2! See also How ASIMO Works.
If you believe computer models, permafrost is about to become history! See also How Global Warming Works.
This snow man is as big as a house and has arms like small trees! (w/cool photo) See also How Snow Making Works.
It turns out that Vitamin D is essential if you want to avoid certain cancers! See also How Cancer Works.
Intel has released the EE955 - dual cores, 4MB L2 cache, 3.46 GHz! See also How Microprocessors Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
December 26, 2005
There is interesting stuff hiding in Google Earth if you take time to find it! (lots o' pics) See also How Google Earth Works.
Offbeat science news from 2005 includes the most perfect alarm clock known to mankind! See also How Clocks Work.
Car security is getting so good that you actually cannot steal a new car without the key! See also How Remote Entry Works.
Billionaires are building bigger and bigger subs, and now a sub cruise ship! See also How Submarines Work .
Woman's main AND reserve chutes fail and she lives to tell about it! (w/cool video) See also How Skydiving Works.
Bugatti delivers its first production Veyrons - zero to 60 in 3 seconds! (w/pics) See also How the Veyron Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
December 18, 2005
Billionaires building bigger and bigger subs, and now a sub cruise ship! See also How Submarines Work .
Newest skyscraper in Kuwait will be over twice as tall as Twin Towers! See also How Skyscrapers Work.
Your iPod or MP3 Player is probably making you deaf. DEAF! I said DEAF! See also How MP3 Players Work.
Woman's main AND reserve chutes fail and she lives to tell about it! (w/cool video) See also How Skydiving Works.
Your favorite search engine is getting corrupted by search engine optimizers! See also How Search Engines Work.
Bugatti delivers its first production Veyrons - zero to 60 in 3 seconds! (w/pics) See also How the Veyron Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
December 11, 2005
Sharks start moving up the food chain - now they are eating boats in Australia! See also How Sharks Work .
People are now beating professors up over Intelligent Design! See also How Intelligent Design Works.
We are about to run out of land for growing more food. Now what? See also How Food Works.
In a few months you can buy your dog a cell phone. Dial your dog when he is lost! See also How Cell Phones Work.
Bugatti delivers its first production Veyrons - zero to 60 in 3 seconds! (w/pics) See also How the Veyron Works.
Article offers instructions for hacking common Coke vending machines! See also How Lock Picking Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
December 5, 2005
Just what every home needs - a 900 pound V-8 powered snowblower! See also How Snow Making Works .
Article offers instructions for hacking common Coke vending machines! See also How Lock Picking Works.
Face it - the first face transplant is in your face! See also How Organ Transplants Work.
Weakening of the Gulf Stream may soon mean that Britain has tundra! See also How Global Warming Works.
Bugatti delivers its first production Veyrons - zero to 60 in 3 seconds! (w/pics) See also How the Veyron Works.
The Wired Holiday gift guide is chock full of cool gifts for your favorite geek! See also How Christmas Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
November 30, 2005
Bugatti delivers its first production Veyrons - zero to 60 in 3 seconds! (w/pics) See also How the Veyron Works.
The fatal kiss - allergic teen kisses peanut-eating boyfriend and dies. See also How Allergies Work.
New suspension lets car jump over 4-inch obstacles - not quite the Batmobile, but closer! See also How the Batmobile Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
New holographic disk will store 300GB and record 10 times faster than DVD! See also How Holographic Storage Works.
Very cool photo from the surface of Mars shows the rovers are alive and well! See also How the Mars Rovers Work.
The Wired Holiday gift guide is chock full of cool gifts for your favorite geek! See also How Christmas Works.
November 27, 2005
Making colored bubbles was a huge problem that got solved with cool chemistry! See also How Cells Work.
The Wired Holiday gift guide is chock full of cool gifts for your favorite geek! See also How Christmas Works.
Hypnosis can have some profound effects on the brain but only in some people! See also How Hypnosis Works.
A HUGE telescope 100 times more powerful than hubble will be built in Hawaii! See also How Hubble Works.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
Planning to torch your car to collect the insurance? They are already onto you! (w/video) See also How Car Insurance Works.
See how Shaolin monks break rocks with their bare hands, and many other feats! (lots of video) See also How Karate Works.
November 22, 2005
See how Shaolin monks break rocks with their bare hands, and many other feats! (lots of video) See also How Karate Works.
Planning to torch your car to collect the insurance? They are already onto you! (w/video) See also How Car Insurance Works.
The 10 worst software bugs in the history of the world caused some huge messes! See also How C Works.
Sons save their collapsed mother in California by watching her on a webcam! See also How Webcams Work.
They may soon give you a lie detector test at the airport checking for voice tremors! See also How Lie Detectors Work.
New PHASR rifle is the U.S. military's newest non-lethal weapon! See also How Machine Guns Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
November 17, 2005
New PHASR rifle is the U.S. military's newest non-lethal weapon! See also How Machine Guns Work.
Cruise ship uses super-loud beam of sound, to thwart pirate attack! See also How Pain Beams Work.
Scientists and astronauts are gearing up to blast asteroids out of collision orbits! See also How Asteroids Work.
The 10 worst software bugs in the history of the world caused some huge messes! See also How C Works.
Door openers in Canada were jammed for 10 days, but now they work fine! See also How Remote Entry Works.
New Taser will have a camera to record why the gun is being used! See also How Stun Guns Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
November 8, 2005
New Taser will have a camera to record why the gun is being used! See also How Stun Guns Work.
New Formula 1 cars will have a split tail that allows for drafting, like Nascar! See also How Nascars Works.
The Chinese will land on the moon in 2017, set up a telescope, mine Helium-3. See also How the Shuttle Works.
New wind turbine is vertical and may generate twice the power from the same wind! See also How the Power Grid Works.
What would a deer look like if it had a 24x7 video blog? (with cool photo) See also How Blogs Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
November 6, 2005
Students launch their own satellite which will launch 3 of its own satellites in orbit! See also How Satellites Work.
New fish robot is taking jobs away from real fish at London acquarium? See also How Robots Work.
Getting to Mars might be really interesting if we use a co-ed crew. See also How Human Reproduction Works.
Convert your digital camera to an IR camera so you can see some amazing things! See also How Light Works.
What would a deer look like if it had a 24x7 video blog? (with cool photo) See also How Blogs Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 27, 2005
New battery tech will hopefully boost the life of portable stuff like phones and laptops! See also How Batteries Work.
Photos of NASA's new rocket show how we will get to the moon and Mars...
...and getting there might be really interesting if we use a co-ed crew. See also How Human Reproduction Works.
The latest wedding craze is hot air balloon lanterns but they cause a UFO scare! See also How UFOs Work.
The most amazing clock in the world is mechanical and will last 10,000 years! See also How Clocks Work.
What would a deer look like if it had a 24x7 video blog? (with cool photo) See also How Blogs Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 24, 2005
The most amazing clock in the world is mechanical and will last 10,000 years! See also How Clocks Work.
Here's your chance to win $1 million! All you have to do is capture Bigfoot... alive! See also How Bigfoot Works.
New liquid rocket engine blows away the competition with twice the thrust! (w/pics) See also How Rocket Engines Work.
With Tsunami, Katrina, Rita and earthquakes, is the apocalypse upon us? See also How Urban Legends Work.
Punkin Chunkin guns can cost as much as $200K and can shoot nearly a mile! See also How Spud Guns Work.
Scientists don't know how gravity works or something, and they are excited! See also How Satellites Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 19, 2005
Punkin Chunkin guns can cost as much as $200K and can shoot nearly a mile! See also How Spud Guns Work.
Scientists don't know how gravity works or something, and they are excited! See also How Satellites Work.
If you look at what a person is eating you can tell a lot about their emotions! See also How Food Work.
Over 2,500 credible Bigfoot sitings add up to a big Bigfoot conference! See also How Bigfoot Works.
The Archimedes Death Ray at MIT shows how $200 in mirrors can bring down a navy! (w/pics) See also How Solar Cells Work.
Strange art found on chips shows how creative engineers get! (w/pics) See also How Microprocessors Work.
October 17, 2005
The Archimedes Death Ray at MIT shows how $200 in mirrors can bring down a navy! (w/pics) See also How Solar Cells Work.
Strange art found on chips shows how creative engineers get! (w/pics) See also How Microprocessors Work.
Satellites help create startling video of earth as seen from space, minus clouds! See also How the Satellites Work.
New machine ages wine in 15 seconds rather than 15 years! Are kids next? See also How Winemaking Works.
NASA cooking up a new batch of robots to make spaceflight better/easier! See also How Robots Work.
If you add up the real cost of printing inkjet photos, it is nuts! See also How Inkjet Printers Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 13, 2005
New machine ages wine in 15 seconds rather than 15 years! Are kids next? See also How Winemaking Works.
China gets ready for 2-man space flight on Wednesday. Will they win the moon? See also How the Space Shuttle Works.
There are 3 safety features your car really needs to have! See also How Air Bags Work.
Boeing showing off new planes with phones, WiFi, Internet and TV! See also How Airplanes Work.
NASA cooking up a new batch of robots to make spaceflight better/easier! See also How Robots Work.
If you add up the real cost of printing inkjet photos, it is nuts! See also How Inkjet Printers Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 11, 2005
Alligators and pythons are battling it out in the Everglades - this fight was particularly gruesome! (w/pic) See also How Alligators Work.
New sport: see how high you can blow on a breathalyzer at a bar. Some aren't amused. See also How Breathalyzers Work.
"Milky sea" makes the ocean glow at night and it is totally unexplained! (with pic) See also How Light Sticks Work.
WiMax is getting ready for market and may change the world! See also How WiMax Works.
43 robots competing to be in the Grand Challenge are actually completing the course (w/pics)! See also How Robots Work.
Ghosts in New Orleans are spooking U.S. soldiers! (w/video) See also How Ghost Busters Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 5, 2005
high-tech survival tools will make it easier to survive next disaster! (with photos) See also How Hurricanes Work.
200 people saw this UFO land and it is finally getting studied! See also How UFOs Work.
This year's coolest Xmas gifts include $3.5M flying car, $65K Indy simulator, $90K sculpture! See also How Xmas Works.
World's biggest gathering of entrepreneurial space ships - Oct. 6 in NM! (w/pics) See also How the X Prize Works.
43 robots competing to be in the Grand Challenge are actually completing the course (w/pics)! See also How Robots Work.
Ghosts in New Orleans are spooking U.S. soldiers! (w/video) See also How Ghost Busters Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
October 2, 2005
This year's coolest Xmas gifts include $3.5M flying car, $65K Indy simulator, $90K sculpture! See also How Xmas Works.
Tons of snow turn SF street into ski slope -- in Summer! (w/amazing photos) See also How Snow Makers Work.
World's biggest gathering of entrepreneurial space ships - Oct. 6 in NM! (w/pics) See also How the X Prize Works.
43 robots competing to be in the Grand Challenge are actually completing the course (w/pics)! See also How Robots Work.
10 winning science photos will blow you away! (with 10 winning pics) See also How Digital Cameras Work.
Ghosts in New Orleans are spooking U.S. soldiers! (w/video) See also How Ghost Busters Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 29, 2005
36 killer dolphins with poison dart guns were freed by Katrina - are now roaming the gulf! See also How Whales Work.
First test of a space elevator protoype shows that it may just work! See also How Space Elevators Work.
Huge discovery of Aztec gold off coast of Chile has everyone arguing! See also How the Stock Market Works.
Are you ready to see the world's first 500-foot stuffed animal? Click here for the photo! See also How Diamonds Work.
This gathering of leading, serious UFO experts will probe for the reality of UFOs. See also How UFOs Work.
Ghosts in New Orleans are spooking U.S. soldiers! (w/video) See also How Ghost Busters Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 25, 2005
NASA is ready to go back to the moon although it will take 13 years! (w/pics) See also How the Space Shuttle Works.
Amazing roundup of this year's Halloween candy options makes shopping easy! See also How Chocolate Works.
Nature is acting as inspiration for more and more inventions! (w/pics) See also How Cells Work.
Can you build up 30,000 volts by shuffling on carpet? According to this article, maybe! See also How Lightning Works.
You have to be careful where you sit or you get a nasty UV burn! See also How Sunburn Works.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 19, 2005
What if you drop, stomp and drive over an ipod? It keeps on going! (w/pics) See also How MP3 players Work.
New 16-Gbit flash memory chips will lead to 32 gigabyte flash memory cards! See also How Flash Memory Works.
New backpack frame generates power as you walk! (w/pics) See also How Batteries Work.
The newest military Humvee system allows email, chat and calls in a warzone while moving! See also How Email Works.
Your new home theater system can cost more than a house! See also How Home Theater Works.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 11, 2005
Katrina disaster map wiki lets survivors track the damage, see how everyone is doing. See also How Wikis Work.
Electronic paper may make it to market - prototype is ready! (w/pic) See also How Electronic Paper Works.
Virtua Fighter 5 looks nearly real in terms of graphics and moves! (w/video, pics) See also How Video Games Work.
List of space spinoffs shows just how creative NASA can be! But not velcro. See also How Robots Work.
If their parents smoke or drink, it's AMAZING what the kids pick up! See also How Nicotine Works.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 5, 2005
New military weapons include artificial lightning, lasers plus "voice of God"! See also How Lightning Works.
The latest space tourist is ready to fly to the space station - blast off on October 1! See also How Space Tourism Works.
Microsoft prepares for invasion of the world of VoIP - may add click-to-call features to XP! See also How VoIP Works.
Live reports from the heart of New Orleans are incredible - show how effective blogs can be! See also How Blogs Work.
Killer whale uses dead fish as bait for sea gulls - gull wings apparently a tasty treat! See also How Whales Work.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
Will 1,000 crunches give you six pack abs? Find out now! Plus 9 other myths. See also How Muscles Work.
September 1, 2005
New military weapons include artificial lightning, lasers plus "voice of God"! See also How Lightning Works.
Latest muscle cars have lots of HP right off the shelf! See also How Cars Work.
New carbonated ice cream goes 'whoof' on your tongue! See also How Ice Cream Works.
New glass skyway will let you walk over Grand Canyon and look straight down! See also How Bridges Work.
The Spirit rover on Mars climbs highest hill for a spectacular view! (w/pic) See also How the Mars Rovers Work.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
The top 10 unbreakable sports records show humans at their best! See also How Exercise Works.
August 28, 2005
New drug is better than caffeine - eliminates the effects of sleep deprivation! See also How Sleep Works.
If you eat so little that you look like a skeleton you may live a lot longer! See also How Food Works.
Angry illegal immigrants bring down chopper by pelting it with stones! See also How Helicopters Work.
New glass skyway will let you walk over Grand Canyon and look straight down! See also How Bridges Work.
There is a mountain of data supporting the existence of UFOs! See also How UFOs Work.
August 25, 2005
Japan is starting to test its supersonic airplane - a new Concorde! (w/pic) See also How the Concorde Works.
The world's first 1,000 watt power supply for a PC available in October! (w/pic) See also How Power Supplies Work.
There is a mountain of data supporting the existance of UFOs! See also How UFOs Work.
How well do you know Linux? Take this Quiz to find out! See also How Operating Systems Work.
August 22, 2005
New hi-tech Navy destroyer may have railgun and 350 mile range! See also How Aircraft Carriers Work.
Would you pay $10 for a roll of luxury toilet paper? Lots of people might! See also How Toilets Work.
We may soon see elephants and lions roaming free in America! See also How Global Warming Works.
Man gives waitress a Porsche for a tip - Christmas must be amazing! See also How Tipping Works.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
How does a Kung Fu fighter break a board? Physics explains it! See also How Karate Works.
The top 10 unbreakable sports records show humans at their best! See also How Exercise Works.
August 17, 2005
The first Beta of IE 7 is out. Shows where Microsoft wants to go. See also How Firefox Works.
New techniques allow meat to grow in petri dishes! Can vegetarians eat it? See also How Cells Work.
Can we turn the red planet green by adding greenhouse gases? And do we want to? See also How Mars Works.
New Flash memory hard disks are faster, use 5% of the power of spinning disks. See also How Hard Disks Work.
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
How does a Kung Fu fighter break a board? Physics explains it! See also How Karate Works.
The top 10 unbreakable sports records show humans at their best! See also How Exercise Works.
August 14, 2005
New flash memory hard disks are faster, use 5% of the power of spinning disks. See also How Hard Disks Work.
As Siberian permafrost melts, it may melt the globe! Melting releases methane. See also How Global Warming Works.
Want to make high-speed stop-action photos? Here's how! (w/pics) See also How Camera Flashes Work.
Make your own fly-powered airplane for fun and profit! See also How Airplanes Work.
August 11, 2005
This list of the 10 worst foods is really depressing... but enlightening. (w/pics) See also How Diets Work.
SafeSimpleSoon shows how to create cheap rockets to replace the shuttle! (w/pics) See also How Space Shuttles Work.
Is this right? Chewing makes you smarter? - try it and see! See also How Your Brain Works.
Want to make high-speed stop-action photos? Here's how! (w/pics) See also How Camera Flashes Work.
CNet's big list of 10 dead technologies brings back memories. See also How Electric Cars Work.
How does a Kung Fu fighter break a board? Physics explains it! See also How Karate Works.
August 7, 2005
How does a Kung Fu fighter break a board? Physics explains it! See also How Karate Works.
What if your jet fighter sucked in a bird during takeoff? Big, BIG problems. (with video) See also How F-15s Work.
SafeSimpleSoon shows how to create cheap rockets to replace the shuttle! (w/pics) See also How Space Shuttles Work.
Radiation on Mars may make it very hard to live there. Cancer is a threat. See also How Mars Works.
Bottled water is no different from tap water except it costs more and fills landfills. What to do? See also How Landfills Work.
Coke creates a beverage that burns 100 calories! It's called Enviga. See also How Calories Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
August 3, 2005
Coke creates a beverage that burns 100 calories! It's called Enviga. See also How Calories Work.
Cable TV, high-speed Internet, telephone service... and now wireless, too! See also How Cable Modems Work.
No laser show can compete with this extravaganza! Prepare to be amazed! (with photo) See also How Projection TV Works.
How much soda would it take to kill you? Try this handy calculator! See also How Caffeine Works.
The colony on Mars will be quite comfy! And it should be ready in 20 years! See also How Mars Works.
Nurse shark embryos eat each other in the womb and are nearly extinct. What to do? See also How Sharks Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
July 28, 2005
Your cable modem will be running at 100 megabits soon -- like next year! See also How Cable Modems Work.
Problem with your PC? Throw it away! That's what everyone is doing! See also How Spyware Works.
NASA will end conspiracy theories by photographing the moon landing sites! See also How Satellites Work.
High school students build and race amazing solar cars for 900 miles! (w/pics) See also How Solar Cells Work.
Why is the sky blue? There's a new theory -- it's in our eyes! See also How Vision Works.
What would happen if you lit ALL the fireworks at once? Watch the video! See also How Fireworks Work.
July 19, 2005
Airliners may get protection from shoulder-launched missiles like the Stinger. See also How Stinger Missiles Work.
BMW adds night vision to all 7-series cars! (with photo) See also How Night Vision Works.
When your hard disk blows up, who you gonna call? See also How Hard Disks Work.
Fujitsu has new form of bendable electronic paper! (w/pics) See also How Electronic Ink Will Work.
There are assassination attempts happening all over NYC... with Super Soakers! See also How Water Blasters Work.
What would happen if you lit ALL the fireworks at once? Watch the video! See also How Fireworks Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
July 14, 2005
Gigantic projects may be able to save planet Earth from global warming! (w/pics) See also How Global Warming Works.
The space station has plenty of food, water, air... but can the toilet handle nine? See also How Space Stations Work.
There are assassination attempts happening all over NYC... with Super Soakers! See also How Water Blasters Work.
People who drive while using a cell phone are four times more likely to crash into YOU! See also How Cell Phones Work.
Now you can watch cell phone videos on a huge virtual screen! (w/pic) See also How HDTV Works.
What would happen if you lit ALL the fireworks at once? Watch the video! See also How Fireworks Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
July 11, 2005
Build your own wireless backpack and have a hotspot wherever you go! (w/pics) See also How WiFi Works.
The V-22 Osprey may actually fly after 22 years -- coincidence? (w/pics) See also How the V-22 Osprey Works.
Because it is missing a tiny, 50-cent part, huge ferry crashes in Canada. See also How Emergency Rooms Work.
New AIDS vaccine may actually work -- uses new way to stop the virus! See also How AIDS Works.
What would Microsoft Flight Simulator look like with 13 screens? Find out! (w/pic) See also How Airplanes Work.
What would happen if you lit ALL the fireworks at once? Watch the video! See also How Fireworks Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
July 7, 2005
In U.S. courtrooms, shock belts may be the new way to control people. See also How Stun Guns Work.
What would happen if you lit ALL the fireworks at once? Watch the video! See also How Fireworks Work.
If you find yourself in a burning skyscraper, what should you do? Question authority. See also How Skyscrapers Work.
If you could see ghosts, what would they look like? Find out! See also How Ghost Busters Work.
What would Microsoft Flight Simulator look like with 13 screens? Find out! (w/pic) See also How Airplanes Work.
If 600 million people all jumped on July 20, would it save us from global warming? See also How Global Warming Works.
July 5, 2005
If 600 million people all jumped on July 20, would it save us from global warming? See also How Global Warming Works.
We are about to witness the true all-in-one phone -- phone, camera, PDA, MP3 player! See also How Cell Phones Work.
New form of WiFi could piggyback on local radio! Would make it cheaper, easier. See also How WiFi Works.
Eco-car is so efficient it could travel 25,000 miles on 2 gallons of gas - powered by H2! See also How Hybrid Cars Work.
Russian astrologer sues NASA for $300 million for hitting Tempel 1! See also How Horoscopes Work.
What would Microsoft Flight Simulator look like with 13 screens? Find out! (w/pic) See also How Airplanes Work.
The top 10 unbreakable sports records show humans at their best! See also How Exercise Works.
July 4, 2005
Can a new "space ring" save us from Global warming? And is it worth $6 trillion? See also How Global Warming Works.
Dogs have been chilled "dead" for several hours and then revived -- humans are next! See also How Cryonics Works.
Japan's new bullet train should be able to go 223 mph! (with photo) See also How Maglev Trains Work.
Nano-lever memory uses tiny, etched levers to store data - better than electronic RAM? See also How RAM Works.
India will launch lunar satellite in 2007 carrying U.S. and ESA instruments! See also How Satellites Work.
At LDRS 23 (Large Dangerous Rocket Ship) festival, the model rockets are 10 feet tall! (w/pics) See also How Rockets Work.
The top 10 unbreakable sports records, show humans at their best! See also How Muscles Work.
June 27, 2005
Would you rather be hit by a Taser or pepper spray? Watch these videos! See also How Stun Guns Work.
Build your own WallTop by stuffing a laptop into a picture frame! (with photos) See also How Laptops Work.
Man who made $28,000 a year saves every penny, leaves $2.1 million to Alma Mater. See also How Philanthropy Works.
The wheel has been reinvented -- it is now hollow and has no hub! See also How Tires Work.
You can build a very cool gauss rifle with a few magnets and a ruler! See also How Machine Guns Work.
At LDRS 23 (Large Dangerous Rocket Ship) festival, the model rockets are 10 feet tall! (w/pics) See also How Rockets Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
June 21, 2005
At LDRS 23 (Large Dangerous Rocket Ship) festival, the model rockets are 10 feet tall! (w/pics) See also How Rockets Work.
A very large Goodyear blimp crashes in a Florida industrial park! (with photo) See also How Blimps Work.
The replacement for the space shuttle has a successful test flight! (with photos) See also How Space Shuttles Work.
Did the WTC implode because of the intense heat on 9/11 or did C-4 bring it down? See also How Skyscrapers Work.
Microsoft is getting ready to release its version of BitTorrent, giving P2P even more credibility. See also How BitTorrent Works.
You can build a very cool gauss rifle with a few magnets and a ruler! See also How Machine Guns Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
June 16, 2005
Bezos's new rocket will take off and land vertically with three or more people on board! See also How Rocket Engines Work.
German motorcyclist clocked at 250 KPH (155 MPH), sets unofficial record for speeding! See also How Harleys Work.
500-GB disks are ready now, and 1-terabyte disks are on the horizon! See also How Hard Disks Work.
You can build this very cool gauss rifle with a few magnets and a ruler! See also How Machine Guns Work.
Movie trailers cram a lot into 2 minutes, but why do they all sound alike? Find out! See also How Blue Screens Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
June 12, 2005
New diesel car gets 70 mpg and can carry four adults in style! See also How Diesel Engines Work.
New SCUBA system is back in the news -- extracts oxygen with an electric centrifuge! See also How SCUBA Works.
You can build this very cool gauss rifle with a few magnets and a ruler! See also How Machine Guns Work.
An airplane flying over Mars sometime around 2011? Could be! See also How Airplanes Work.
Cold fusion is back in the news, and this time it might actually be for real! See also How Nuclear Radiation Works.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.
June 2, 2005

Have you ever wanted your own R2-D2?
Admit it -- it would be nice to have an R2 unit helping out around the house. We know from the movies that R2-D2 can be quite useful. He is able to extinguish fires, repair things, fly through the air to perform search and rescue missions, and can even act as a waiter/waitress on your Sail Barge. Surely if he can do all of that, he can probably handle some light housework as well, and maybe even do the laundry.

The problem has always been, where to buy one?

Now it turns out that you can make your own. Go visit Astromech.net and check out their detailed construction articles, their photos and the videos that show other R2 units that people have built. There is a wide assortment of other information as well for the aspiring R2 manufacturer.

OK, a home-built R2 unit is not going to have the intelligence necessary to deceive humans of repair a ship's shields, and it definitely is not going to fly. But it still might be cool to have one around. You could remote-control it like ASIMO for now and wait the 20 or 30 years it will take for the AI capability to become available.

If you know of someone who has successfully built an R2 unit, please send an email.

The top-secret Google lab
Do you remember the first time you heard about Google? It's surprising, but many people actually can. Ask your friends -- I will bet that many of them can recall their first encounter with the world's most popular search engine. For me, a friend told me about Google at lunch. He raved so much that I actually sat down to try it when I got home. Google worked so much better than the other search engines available at the time that: a) I instantly became a Google user, and b) the event imprinted a lasting impression on me.

Ever since that fateful day, I have had a lot of personal interest in all things Google. So the stories that have been circulating about the secret Google lab called eval.google.com caught my attention. This article talks about it a bit.

It is not surprising that Google does this. If they did not use people to "purify" the index, the amount of porn leaking in would be astronomical (a good example -- recently I was looking for an airbag image and was rather surprised at the first image that came up in the Google image search for "airbag" (don't try it if you are easily offended...)). The only way to filter out stuff like that today is with human beings. What's surprising is that Google has not yet come up with a way to somehow enlist the audience's help.

3-D firefighting
Let's start with a question about fire trucks. I received a very nice note from a 6-year-old (or maybe his mother) last week asking a common question. If you look at this photo from How Fire Engines Work you can see what we are talking about:

Those big black pipes hanging on the side of the truck have been there for more than a century. What are they for? Especially since all the other hoses on a fire truck are foldable and made of fabric.

Those are called "hard suction lines". In a city, a fire truck normally gets its water from a fire hydrant. But if you are out in the country fighting a fire and there are no fire hydrants, then the fire truck will typically use a pump to suck water out of a river, lake, swimming pool or whatever. Because it is using suction, you can't use a collapsible hose -- the suction would collapse it. Hard suction lines are rigid, and they keep their shape even when there is a lot of suction from the pump.

So here is an interesting link related to all of this: The Fire Rebels. The article discusses a relatively new firefighting technology called "3-D firefighting" that looks at fires in a completely new way. The technique can really cut down on the amount of water needed to fight a fire and also makes the scene of the fire much safer for firefighters. It is an interesting article because it looks at fire in a completely different way.

Ion engines
Let's say that you would like to create a space ship that can reach speeds like 200,000 miles per hour. That's not warp speed, obviously, but it is 10 times faster than anything we have today.

The chemical rockets that we use today are not going to be able to do it (see How Rocket Engines Work), but a relatively new technology called an ion engine can get us there. This article has a nice overview of the technology: Ion Thrusters Propel NASA into Future.

The difference between a chemical engine and an ion engine goes something like this:

  • In a chemical engine, you burn the chemicals. The chemicals heat up, expand and rush out the engine's nozzle.
  • In an ion engine, you create electricity through solar panels or a nuclear reactor. You use the electricity to ionize atoms, and then accelerate the ions in an electromagnetic field so that they shoot out the engine's nozzle.
The advantage of an ion engine is that the ions can leave the nozzle at a speed that is very much higher than the speed of the atoms leaving a chemical engine. That makes the engine a lot more efficient -- you have to carry less weigh in fuel to achieve the same amount of thrust.

Read the article to learn more about NASA's upcoming ideas for ion engines and long-range plans to use them.

May 26, 2005

Helicopter lands on the top of Mt. Everest
They have finally landed a helicopter on top of Mt. Everest for the first time. Up until this week, the only way to stand on the top of Everest was to climb, and the climb is not easy.

To climb Everest the "normal way", you start in the town of Lukla in Nepal. It has a small airport, so you can fly in from Katmandu. Since Lukla is nearly two miles up, you spend some time there getting used to the altitude. Then you hike for a week to the first base camp at 17,000 feet. Then you spend a couple weeks there getting used to the altitude again. Then the real ascent starts, going from the base camp to camp 1, 2, 3 and 4, and finally the summit. That whole process takes a couple of weeks. And then you have to climb back down and recover.

Lots of people (hundreds every year) go through all of that because it is cool to stand on top of Mt. Everest.

Now imagine what happens when someone starts offering helicopter rides to the top of Everest. There will be a steady stream of rich people having picnics on the summit. Fortunately for Everest, there's only about a month when those picnics will be possible. During a good part of the year, the top of Everest actually sits in the jet stream and 150 MPH winds keep everyone away.

Why has it taken so long for a helicopter to fly that high? It's mainly because of the thin air at that altitude. The helicopter's rotors don't have much to grab hold of. You need big rotors and a lot of power to get that high, and only recently have such helicopters been built. These links give you a lot more detail:

Attacking the Internet
The Internet is under attack from several angles, and the government isn't going to take it any more.

One angle of attack comes from spam. It turns out that more than half of all spam comes from "zombie machines", and there are probably at least a million of them. An unprotected machine in someone's house gets hit by something like the SoBig virus, and spammers then cause the machine to start spewing spam onto the Internet.

The FTC has decided it is time to crack down on the zombies. According to this article, "Internet providers should identify computers on their networks that are sending out large amounts of e-mail and quarantine them if they are found to be zombies, the FTC said. They should also help customers clean their machines and tell them how to keep them safe in the first place, the FTC said."

Anything we can do to cut the amount of spam by half sounds like a good idea.

Over at the CIA they are looking at a different kind of attack. According to this article, "The CIA is conducting a war game this week to simulate an unprecedented, Sept. 11-like electronic assault against the United States. The three-day exercise, known as "Silent Horizon," is meant to test the ability of government and industry to respond to escalating Internet disruptions over many months".

The basic idea is to answer this question: "What if a bunch of hackers (foreign or domestic) tried to attack the Internet in the United States?" Let's hope they get it figured out. In 5 years just about every electronic thing in the world is going to hook to the Internet in some way.

And Congress is also helping out by trying to make spyware and phishing illegal. If you read section 4 of this bill, you can see what they are trying to accomplish. If we could end spam, spyware, phishing and cyberterrorism in 2005, it would be a good year.

Radioactive children
As you may recall, a big nuclear power plant blew up in Chernobyl in 1986. Something like 5% of the nuclear fuel in the reactor ended up getting ejected into the atmosphere, and it rained down over a wide area. For example, 1,000 miles away the reindeer are still radioactive in Norway because of Chernobyl.

People who live near Chernobyl have been affected by the radiation as well, and according to this article, they are not doing too badly. Their IQs are higher, their reaction times are faster, their immune systems are stronger and they grow faster. They probably also clean their rooms without being told, but the article does not mention that.

Given that the Sun is just about the only source publishing this story at the moment, it may turn out to be a hoax. However, it does appear that Vladimir Mikhalev is a legitimate and active scientific researcher in this area. Maybe we will all be taking radioactive vitamin pills in the near future.

See also:

The latest, greatest keyboard is blank
Looking for an easy way to speed up your typing by 100%? This keyboard may be for you. Apparently, by removing the labels, you stop looking at the keyboard. And the keys have different springs in them (depending on position) to make typing even easier. See also How keyboards work.

May 25, 2005

Cooling with liquid metal
The chips that go into computers are getting hotter as the become more and more powerful. The most advanced microprocessors from Intel need massive heatsinks, and if you do not pay close attention to airflow you can still have problems. As video cards advance, they face the same problems.

Some PC makers (including Apple) have turned to water cooling. But water cooling has some problems and water is not a particularly good conductor.

Now there is a new alternative -- liquid metal cooling. You take a metal that melts at a low temperature and you use it in place of water as a coolant. Since it is a metal, you can pump it with electromagnetic pumps (no moving parts), and it also is a great conductor. Several articles are reporting that liquid metal conducts heat about 65 times better than water.

The obvious question is, "What kind of metal turns liquid at such a low temperature?" Mercury is one, but there are so many problems with the health effects of mercury that you cannot use it. Most people are speculating that it is a gallium alloy, probably gallium/tin, which melts at about 70 degrees F (20 degrees C).

These articles are interesting if you want to learn more:

Slightly related -- Tom's Hardware did a very cool experiment last year using liquid nitrogen to super-chill a chip and get its clock rate up to 5 GHz. It is not very practical, but it was a great experiment and the write-up they did is fascinating.

Spying on neighbors who are spying
This link is interesting for at least three different reasons:

  • It is essentially a homemade TV show that is being distributed on the web. Lots more of this will be happening in the future. Hell, you could be creating your own TV show right now if you wanted to.
  • It shows how to actually build something electronic that is fairly complicated and interesting.
  • It shows how much effort people will go to to snoop on something.
What they do in the video is they create a portable box (complete with batteries, a receiver and an LCD screen) that allows you to snoop on wireless security cameras. Click here to see how they do it. I know the WMV feed works today.

Gigantic lasers
The U.S. is in the process of building the world's biggest laser in their quest to ignite a small fusion reaction that is actually energy-positive. The system uses 192 separate laser beams that hit a BB-sized target from 192 different angles. The goal is to compress and heat the target so much that it duplicates conditions in the center of the sun (or the center of a hydrogen bomb).

If everything works as planned, it will be working in 2008. This article offers a great perspective on the whole project.

A gamer's manifesto
If you like video games, this manifesto is both hilarious and enlighting:

May 23, 2005

Kidneys are in the news
Kidneys are in the news this week. First there is this report of a French woman claiming that she has one of Princess Diana's kidneys. The part that is amazing is that, after the operation, and woman claims that she began speaking a lot more English. The article says, "Improbable though it sounds, there are many documented accounts of organ recipients taking on characteristics of their donors." That is where this particular story gets very interesting. Read on for details.

Then, over in Baghdad, there is a brisk black market trade developing around the sale of kidneys. Money is tight in Iraq (unemployment is at 60%, for example) and a quick kidney donation is an easy way to earn $1,000 to $2,000. This report goes into the details, with interesting insights like these: "As news of the black market trade has spread, however, wealthier transplant "tourists" from around the Arab world have started flocking to Baghdad, attracted by the rock-bottom prices."

See also:

The transformation of television
Given that we have been watching television for half a century, it would seem like TV would be a pretty static technology. Right now, however, TV is undergoing a huge transformation. As this article points out, we are about to enter an era where the motto is: anything you want to see, any time, on any device.

The article talks about video on demand, time shifting, plasma screens, video on cell phones... It is amazing to see how many different things are changing right now. See also:

Getting free music and movies
On Friday we talked about the many forms that human creativity can take. One area where human creativity seems unbounded involves free music and movies. As this article points out, people will go to amazing lengths to get "free stuff" if the "stuff" is free music and movies.

The original Napster got shut down. Kazaa and its friends arose to fill the gap but they are now under fire. BitTorrent moved in, and now there is trackerless BitTorrent. But BitTorrent is causing alarms to sound in Hollywood as well.

So people have switched back to one of the oldest technologies available -- newsgroups. Yes, they are shockingly slow and difficult to use, but no one seems to be monitoring newsgroups right now. The article says, "more than 60 GB of complete DVD rips are now being posted each day to a single Usenet forum." That is a lot of free video. We can watch and see how long it takes for Newsgroups to get shut down.

See also:

May 20, 2005

A bigger, better Maybach
If you have read How the Maybach Works, you know this is already an amazing car. Yes, the Maybach is priced in the $300,000+ range and no normal person will ever own one, but it is still amazing.

Now an even more amazing Maybach is taking shape. It has a 700 HP V-12 engine with two turbo chargers, a radical, streamlined body that looks vaguely like something Batman would drive, and it can tool down the road at over 200 MPH.

It is called the Maybach Exelero.

For a detailed report on the Exelero and its remarkable features (along with a bunch of photos), this article has what you are looking for.

See also:

Ghosts are for real?
So there is this place in Edinburgh called Mary King's Close. What it is is an underground series of rooms. They were buried in the 1700s underneath another much larger building that was constructed on top of them (see this page if you want to learn more and/or see photos of it).

The unique thing about Mary King's Close is that it is supposed to be quite haunted. So a scientist set out to decide if it was truly haunted or not. To do this, he sent people down to 4 areas of the Close. Two of these areas have a high number of paranormal events associated with them, while the other two do not. The people involved in the study did not know which was which. According to the article:

    About 70% of those visiting the "haunted" locations reported unusual phenomena.

    In contrast, only 48% of people exploring the locations not reputed to be haunted had spooky experiences...

    At the "most haunted" site, where a sinister figure in black has repeatedly been seen, more than 80% of the volunteers reported something strange happening.

    "There was a massive difference between the locations," said the professor from the University of Hertfordshire.

Click here to read the article -- it is pretty interesting. See also:

500 hours of free time
Let's say you found yourself with 500 hours or so of free time and nothing to do with it. How might you occupy the time? Here are three unique answers to that question:

  • Idea #1 - Pull up a copy of MS Paint and create an absolutely stunning painting.

  • Idea #2 - Pull up a whittling knife and a wooden pencil and start carving some amazing designs.

  • Idea #3 - Create an ASCII-animated version of Episode IV: A New Hope.
Human creativity will never cease to amaze me...

Thoughts? Ideas? Links? Click here to send your comments and suggestions. May 16, 2005

Inventor creates a new kind of gun - shoots steel balls using centrifugal force! See also How Machine Guns Work.
New, spinning bed will help NASA explore weightlessness! See also How Weightlessness Works.
Something like 5 million people may call in sick when Episode III comes out! See also How Viruses Work.
A new device can smell money up to 10 feet away - will help catch drug dealers. See also How Counterfeiting Works. May 12, 2005
All-glass, underwater restaurant opens next to a coral reef in the Indian Ocean! See also How Submarines Work.
Dual-core processors are landing on store shelves and have lots of advantages! See also How Microprocessors Work.
A $600,000 restroom in China has lines up to two hours long! See also How Toilets Work.
New footage of Bigfoot shot in Manitoba! -- 169 seconds' worth on tape. "It's the real deal." See also How Bigfoot Works.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work. May 1, 2005
New footage of Bigfoot shot in Manitoba! -- 169 seconds' worth on tape. "It's the real deal." See also How Bigfoot Works.
The new Army Humvee will be a cheap hybrid vehicle with interchangeable bodies! (w/pics)! See also How Hybrid Cars Work.
Scientists can now put a mouse in suspended animation for hours at a time! See also How Anesthesia Works.
Even penguins go through the airport metal detector! Pet penguins? (w/pics) See also How Metal Detectors Work.
If you want to bulk up your muscle mass, there are two things that you've got to know! See also How Muscles Work.