Varied Reasons Search Results

News: The 5-Second-Rule Is BS, Say Scientists

There's no reason to waste a perfectly good Cheeto just because it dropped on the kitchen floor, right? The "5-second-rule" makes it fair game if you can swipe it up fast enough (this doesn't apply for liquids or foods with floor fuzz stuck to them.) But, is that errant piece of chocolate really safe after it's mixed with the bacteria-laden mud from your shoe?

News: AT-AT Made with Spare Computer Parts

Blacksmith Sage Werbock —also known as the Great Nippulini, "pierced weight lifting extraordinaire"—welded together this Star Wars Imperial Walker sculpture with a bunch of old computer parts and scrap metal. Currently listed on Etsy for $450, the AT-AT is artfully assembled as follows:

UPDATE: The Secret Behind Why McDonald's Hamburgers Won't Rot

For some reason, McDonald's hamburgers are mysteriously unsusceptible to Mother Nature's inevitable toll of decomposition. Yep, you pretty much have to dip a McDonald's cheeseburger in acid if you want it to decompose. So we're left with the question: Why? Why does a McDonald's hamburger retain its original shape, color and texture after 12 years?

How To: Ask your Inactive Friends to Delete FarmVille

We all have friends and family who have added the FarmVille application at one point, played it for a while, then for whatever reason decided they didn't want to play it anymore. They may have hidden the feed posts and blocked the game requests, but we still see them on our gift lists and certain features still try to get them involved with posts that go ignored (like pregnant pigs or truffles).

News: Metal Isn't Flammable... Right?

Theo Gray of Gray Matter explains the principle behind sending steel up in flames- as long as it's steel wool, of course. The process is beyond simple. Spend 2 bucks and 2 minutes: purchase a steel wool pad, hold in pliers, light with a match. But the question is, why is steel wool flammable, while other forms of metal are not? Explanation below the video. Theo says:

News: No, It's Not an App. It's a Japanese Soft Drink.

Shiny, pretty touchscreen vending machines have finally gone mainstream in Japan. My only question is... what's taken so long? The vending machine business can be quite lucrative (location, location, location), so all the more reason to make the interface as aesthetically appealing and user friendly as the iPhone AND as smart as a robot (read below). Features (translation via YouTube):

News: The story behind Sadako

Sadako Sasaki was a Girl from Japan who apperently survived the dropping of the A-Bomb over Hiroshima unharmed. But when she turned twelve it became obvious that she had leukemia as an aftermath of the A-bomb. As she was in hospital friends visited her and one of them folded an Origami Crane for her telling her the story of the 1000 cranes that grand you a wish. Hoping for cure she began to fold. At this point stories begin to vary some say she made it and continued as nothing happen after 10...

News: Brazil keeps getting away with more than two hands.

If you happened to be watching Brazil vs. Portugal, you might have noticed something weird in keeper Julio Cesar's back after he and Meirelles collided. It was some kind of steel rod support for his injured back. According to FIFA article 4, it's illegal for players to wear any kind of equipment that can be dangerous to the player wearing it or to others. This is the reason players can't wear chains around their necks, or rings in their fingers, since these things can get caught with other pl...

E3 2010: Kinect Workout Game

A demonstration of Ubisoft's Your Shape: Fitness Evolved for the Xbox 360's Kinect. This was probably the best demonstration for Kinect out of the whole conference. The game will come out around the same time of the launch of Kinect in November.

News: 48 HRs to Stop Monsanto! It takes 1 minute. Start Here!

Hi OLers. Take one minute out of your day and tell your congressman to get to work for you and Food Democracy NOW! Your congrassman has until the end of this week (48 hours) to sign the letter to ask Secretary Tom Vilsack to MAINTAIN the ban on Monsanto's genetically-modified (GMO) Roundup Ready™ alfalfa. You have the power to make the change, make your voice and theirs heard now. Send them this letter today asking them to do what they can to protect organics, farmers and the environment from...

News: Unconventional Edit in Mann's "Public Enemies" (DP: Dante Spinotti)

I watched Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" (DP: Dante Spinotti) last night for the first time and was struck by a very unconventional, yet effective (I think), cut. In the opening sequence (video below), Dillinger is driven up to the entrance of a prison and escorted out of the car. The scene is established in a long lens medium wide shot (probably 200mm from 150' away...Note: standard 35mm dimensions, not 2/3"). After a few steps/seconds, it cuts to a wide angle lens closeup (24-2mm from with...

HowTo: See Invisible Magnetic Fields

"Magnetic fields are everywhere- you just can't see them." The science-inspired-art project, Magnetic Movie, by Semiconductor, demonstrates the imaginary "secret lives of invisible magnetic fields". Don't miss it - it's an amazing project. The magnetic fields are beautifully depicted. However, they are indeed imaginary.

News: Yogi Bear in 3D Dot Heroes

Yogi Bear in 3D Dot Heroes God I loved that cartoon. Who doesn't like that silly bear and his innocent child companion Boo Boo. It was so nice to see Yogi raise the young Boo Boo by himself in an unmarked cave in the privacy of the forest.

How To: Explore textures with Sid the Science Kid

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to evaluate texture by going on a texture hunt. You will need to do this task in a group. Begin by going around the room and finding a texture that you like. Touch all kinds of things to feel the texture. When you found your texture, bring it back to the group and evaluate it. You will compare and contrast how the object feels. The texture of the objects will vary. They can be smooth, rough, hard, soft , sharp or have any other kind of feel. This vide...

News: Winning with 2-Letter Words

When your opponent throws down "AA", you tell them no abbreviations, but alas... it's not. They build "ZA" on the board for 64 points, and you say it's slang, but it's in the dictionary. Next is "EF", and you let them know that spelling out letters is not allowed and ridiculous... but it's totally legit.

How To: Use the Levelator to normalize your audio

Does your audio in your podcast or video vary in volume too much? Ever wonder how they get such even volume levels in radio and TV shows? It’s called normalization, and while you can normalize in Soundtrack Pro, the Levelator does a much better job! To learn how to use GigaVox Media's Levelator to normalize your own podcast, watch this how-to! Use the Levelator to normalize your audio.

How To: Pull a truck

There are a number of unconventional training methods which can be used to improve strength. The truck pull is one of them. When performing this exercise, the speed at which the vehicle can be pulled is very slow. Thus, it is ideal for building strength in the lower body.

News: Pushing the First Null Byte Suite Update!

Hello everyone. As many of you know, we've successfully launched the Null Byte Suite for our wonderful community. In addition to the prepackaged tools, there is a dedicated GitHub repository where tools submitted by the community will be pushed to for distribution in the suite. There have only been a couple submissions, and out of them, only one fit the requirements. So, out of anticipation, we've added it to the suite!