Serious Eats has posted a recipe for walnut fortune cookies, a fun homemade treat for your family and friends. Just think of all the customizable messages you can slip in there. Funny, naughty or just plain old sweet...
Self proclaimed, "The Worlds Fastest Lego Mindstorms RCX Speedcubing Robot", this little guy is built entirely from LEGOs. Apparently the Cubestormer can solve any 3x3x3 Rubik's cube combination in under 12 seconds, and the last single solve in the video happens in just 4:01 seconds!
No kidding, watch below as 500,000 volts of electricity literally course over a man's body. Of course, he has a little protection: the faraday suit. The video was shot in Austin, Texas, for a German television documentary. Producer Johannes Wiebus is quoted as saying:
Our very favorite ocarina craftsman is back, but this time he uses an egg, instead of a carrot. Mr. Heita demonstrates how to make the instrument in Japanese (with English subtitles).
The X-Ray Vision-aries Blog has compiled a list of YouTube's 100 Coolest Science Experiments. I particularly enjoy their introduction to the selection:
Remember the room with a rotating view? Dutch artist Zeger Reyers brings us an equally interesting installation, created for the exhibition Eating the Universe at the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Germany. The kitchen has been rotating since November 27th, 2009, and will continue to do so until February 28th, 2010.
Since WonderHowTo's inception, we have had a preternatural affection for toilet trained cats. The inspiration started with Millenium Y2Kitty and his owner's earnest toilet training lesson. We showed the video to everyone (from ad execs and journalists to our mothers) to showcase what unbelievable information WonderHowTo seeks to promote.
Tinkernut demonstrates how to crack a wifi connection, as well as how to better secure your own personal connection. Also included in the video gallery is Tinkernut's previous tutorial on the same subject.
Hubba, hubba, Mrs. Officer! Insanely ghetto fabulous pair of cop heels that belong in a Lil' Wayne video. These babies blink like a siren, and are laden with teeny, tiny law-enforcement detailing, such as headlights, turn signals and strobe lights. Designed by Tim Cooper.
This video has generated half a million views and quite the comment stream on YouTube. A paper airplane is placed between two fans, and suspends in the air for some time. The comments predominately charge that the action is "fake" (has a wired been suspended?).
Below is a great video that shows a classic illusion designed and built by Jerry Andrus. Jerry is a backyard magician and illusionist who created his own kind of special magic tricks for his entire life, up until his death in 2007.
Says Metafilter, "YouTube has launched Disco. From TestTube - the GoogleLabs of YouTube - it's like Pandora lite with videos. Create and share playlists, or just search for an artist and see what it comes up with."
An article in Friday's Wallstreet Journal examines a model for success that can't be ignored: the world is just goo-goo for Lady Gaga.
Clever little cinematography hack. Flickr user rtadlock mods an old kitchen timer into a panning timelapse motor controller.
We have seen it before (previous post: Human Powered Ferris Wheel), but it never gets any less amazing. Talk about resourcefulness. No need for electricity. Use humans to power your ferris wheel (if you had one sitting around... I wish I had one). Via Make,
An iPhone-controlled drone unveiled at the recently held CES is expected to revolutionize the world of video gaming. Called the AR.Drone (AR stands for augmented reality), this new product will literally bring video games to the streets.
The Golden State Warriors' Monta Ellis is some kind of basketball freak-of-nature. He just tosses it over his shoulder on his way to the locker room. Just like that.
Leave it to the Swedes to come up with this incredibly novel idea (a country that seems to constantly produce culture that sits at the pinnacle of hipness- in terms of design, fashion, and music).
Simple enough. You will need: 1 toilet paper tube, a dab of peanut butter, and a bucket or trash can.
Nick Cave is the Willy Wonka genius behind the extraordinarily imaginative "soundsuits" pictured below.
The world of knot tying is endless. Boy Scouts, mariners, and rock climbers will find a rich resource in WonderHowTo's approximately 700+ knot tying tutorials.
Jim Moyer builds tiny engines, with as much attention to detail and craftsmanship as some of our other favorite hobbyists (check out obsessive model airplanes and teeny tiny weapons). The engine demonstrated in the first video below is supposedly the smallest V-8 engine in the world, a 1/6 scale model of the 327 cubic inch motor in a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette. More images and info at Jim's site. Previously, Obsessively Authentic LEGO V-8.
We've seen screenprinted t-shirts, sweatshirts, maybe even a dress or tie... but what about tights? Predicted trend forecast for 2010, these hand printed tights are available in limited quantities from designer Les Queues de Sardines. You can buy now at (my favorite) Colette, the famed French boutique, always on the forefront of fashion.
ProjectExciteBike is a device that harnesses the manpower pedaling speed of an exercise bike and in turn, converts the energy into a single control button on a gamepad (which would translate as the "gas pedal" for racing games). This particular project works with XBox 360, but can be adapted for other systems as well.
Conceptual artist Michel de Broin has created the biggest disco ball the world has ever seen, which he suspended over Paris for one night.
Another video from our pals over at Vive Cool City. We've seen the Aussie crew interview the Tokyo Yo-yo Master, as well as the ultra repressed Box Warriors.
Bonafide How-It's-Done (not exactly a HowTo) on remote-controlling your car via iPhone and Power Wheels. Brought to you by some crazy Texans, over at Waterloo Labs.
How much do the producers of Lonely Girl make? How much do the producers of American Idol make? How much does COPS cost to make? I decided to share what I have learned for the CES audience in Vegas.
I want to drive one of these monsters around this winter. DC Shoes Co-Founder and Rally Team Driver Ken Block collaborates with Subaru to create the worlds fastest cat track operation automobile for backcountry access for snowboarding.
Darin Cosgrove, founder of Ecomodder.com, used just cardboard, aluminum and duct tape to make his DIY "boat tail", a mod that creates aerodynamic efficiency. The tail, attached to his 1998 Pontiac Firefly, extends the car by 4.5 feet and increases the fuel economy to 64 MPG.
Just a normal day in the life of the Dunn family. Seasoned stunt professionals Jim and Celia Dunn have appeared in Hollywood films such as Poltergeist , Scary Movie, X-Men II, Shanghi Noon and Jumangi. Their children, Connor, 15, Ali, 11, and Austin, 9, boast impressive IMDB resumes as well.
Trout tickling is the mystical art of rubbing a trout's underbelly until it goes into a lax, trance-like state. The fish is then scooped out of the water and thrown onto land. Similar to catfish noodling, the sport is lauded for its lack of equipment or tools of any kind, as used in traditional fishing.
Japanese martial artist Hiroki can play badminton, baseball, golf, and open champagne bottles with his weapon of choice: the nunchucks. Don't miss the videos below- Hiroki's talent takes serious skill and precision.
As 2009 comes to a close, the Telegraph presents a compilation of this past year's wackiest inventions. As always, here at WonderHowTo, we are inspired and impressed by ingenuity. The contraptions below range from utter silliness (engagement ring bra) to downright amazing (see-through concrete). Check it out.
We've seen the talented Diego Stocco's music from a tree and experibass. YouTube's Julian Smith now brings us something equally unusual. The combined sounds of an old Jeep Cherokee (slamming doors, pushing door locks, revving the engine, setting off the door alarm, etc) make a techno song.
Backyard sledding can be more than just kiddie fun. These guys take it to new levels. Unfortunately, total wipe-out is the outcome of every run.
As said in the video below, "In South Carolina, you don't need no bass boat. All you need is a trackhoe and a mudhole." Those rednecks. So resourceful.
Reborning, the insanely creepy (!!) art of transforming vinyl dolls into strikingly realistic newborns, known as "living dolls" or "unliving dolls".
Unicycle + tandem = ummm.... pretty sure the odds that I'd be able to make it across the driveway are impossibly low.
Uh oh. Somebody screwed up big this time. It has recently been reported that Iraqi insurgents have used $26 software to intercept live video feeds from U.S. drones located in Middle East conflict zones. The drone (a remotely piloted aircraft) is considered one of the U.S. military's most sophisticated weapons. Apparently not sophisticated enough, however.
