Category Archives: How-To Lessons

Quick, simple, practical lessons on a variety of topics.

How To Grab A Handful Of Liquid

By Ryan | Published: June 10, 2011

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 [...]

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How Locks Work (and how they get picked)

By Ryan | Published: March 24, 2011

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 [...]

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How to use i.e. and e.g. in the correct way

By Ryan | Published: September 10, 2010

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 [...]

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HOW-TO: eat a chicken wing elegantly

By Ryan | Published: November 6, 2009

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 [...]

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HOW-TO: cheat your friends at poker for fun and profit

By Ryan | Published: October 9, 2009

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. [...]

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HOW-TO: properly use everyday words every day

By Ryan | Published: October 4, 2009

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 [...]

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HOW-TO: five ways to remove the worry and stress from your life

By Ryan | Published: September 20, 2009

Tomorrow morning I vanish off the face of the earth, technologically speaking, for eight days. I’m leaving and I’ll be totally un-wired. I was planning on writing eight extra LSNED facts this weekend, and scheduling them to trickle out while I was gone. Eight. That’s a lot. Each one takes over an hour to uncover, [...]

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