To make sure you’re ready to go for April Fools Day, I’m going to teach you how to eat a goldfish to shock and awe your friends. I’m not talking about Goldfish crackers. That’s less exciting. Rather, imagine you are at your friend’s house. You are admiring her fish-tank when you reach into the tank, [...]
When you mix regular off-the-shelf cornstarch with regular from-the-tap water you get yourself a physical anomaly. A substance that can be both a liquid and a solid at the same temperature. It’s called a non-Newtonian fluid because it doesn’t behave according to the what Sir Isaac Newton discovered about the viscosity (flow) of liquids. In [...]
It’s Harry Houdini‘s birthday today. In his honour let’s talk about locks. As a famous escape artist, lock picking was his bread and butter. First, let’s understand how a lock works. I’ll only be talking about the common pin-tumbler lock. (usually called a Yale lock, after its inventor in 1860) This is the sort you [...]
When you are writing something (e.g. an article, book, blog) and you want to add some more information (i.e. supplement your text with additional facts) then it’s time to pull out your letters. (i.e. e.g. and i.e.) (e.g. i.e., e.g.) The trouble is knowing which one to use. Having just learned this myself, I shudder [...]
For most people, including myself, the process of eating a chicken wing was not pretty. Nibbling, gnawing and doing whatever it takes to get your 25 cents worth of honey-glazed nourishment. Well I just learned an amazingly efficient method to eat a chicken wing, that I’d love to share with you for “casual Friday”. Note [...]
Closing out the first ever theme week on the topic of deception, here’s a little do-it-yourself deceit lesson. Of course, it comes with the disclaimer that this is in the interest of protecting yourself from cheats, not to inflict it upon others… promise? So you find yourself playing poker with your grandma and your uncle. [...]
I’m a bit of a schoolmarm when it comes to word usage. I don’t get upset or annoyed by improper use but, as evidenced by my discovery about mispronouncing ‘often’, I do my best to keep my words in order. Here’s a few more common errors made with words… everyday or every day: I see [...]