One of the neatest things on the Web is the plethora of "how-to" videos that tell you how to do practically anything. Problem is, the videos are everywhere: YouTube, metacafe, and so on.
I'm currently browsing the How to Hack section, which has over 600 videos on how to hack your gadgets, computers, and even video game consoles. Many of the videos are duds - which is why Wonder How To lets its viewers sort the clips by grade (from A to F).
For example (links open in a new browser/tab)
Google Hacks Did you know that there are literally thousands of hidden search terms that you can use within Google to search for otherwise restricted content? Learn these commands and how to use Google to control webcams and find everything from website statistics, to hidden files, to free mp3s.
How to Hack An Elevator to Go Directly To Your Floor This video tutorial shows a very easy way to hack elevators so they don't stop for anyone that calls it. If you're ever in a hurry and need to get to the bottom or top floor quickly, this video is great for you. You can use this elevator hack in most modern elevators.
How to Make A Blu-Ray Laser Phaser Kipkay shows you how to combine a laser and a classic Star Trek phaser gun. The new gun shoots a cool blue violet beam. Plus it costs less than $100.
How to Construct a WiFi Super Antenna An easy to build 10$ WLAN antenna that gives 6 times more range than a standard antenna. You need some trash packaging materials and the rest are standard parts in electronics component shops.
Photo via Arbroath (who knows what it’s all about?)
Hooray! It’s time for this week’s Neatorama and Hobotopia’s Caption Monkey game. Funniest caption wins an original Laugh-Out-Loud Cat comic by Adam "Ape Lad" Koford.
Contest rules are simple: place your caption in the comment section. One caption per comment, please. You can enter as many as you can think of.
For inspiration, check out Adam’s blog. Good luck!
The problem with the Bailout Plan, according to the White House, is that it has the word "bailout" in it! Here’s what White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto prefers us to use instead of the B-word:
To hear the White House tell it, one factor in the House vote yesterday against the administration’s bailout plan – was the word "bailout."
"It’s really unfortunate shorthand for a very complicated issue." says White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto. He says the administration plan to rescue the financial markets is "not a bailout for Wall Street" and "certainly not a bailout for Wall Street CEOs."
Okay then – what should we call it?
"It’s an effort to fix this problem of a frozen asset class that has implications over our entire economy," said Fratto at the daily White House press briefing. That certainly rolls off the tongue: "an effort to fix the problem of a frozen asset class."
Greg LeNoir really, really loves his dog Jake. When a shark suddenly grabbed the rat terrier during its daily swim, Greg jumped in and punched the shark until it let go of the dog!
A big dark green shape which I realized was a big shark’s head zoomed up from under Jake. Jake screamed … Oh, you don’t ever want to hear … it’s such a death scream and it sucked him under.
The shark clamped down on jake but its owner Greg LeNoir wouldn’t have it. I dove straight down in like a battering ram. I drove my fist under the water into the shark and pushed it down. It felt like concrete on my hand …
If you want to save a few bucks, skip the car wash and wash your car in your own driveway.
Except if you live in Washington State, that is. There, washing your car in your own driveway is illegal:
Washing your car or boat in the driveway or street is a residential ritual as American as backyard barbecues. But the state of Washington is telling its local governments they must prohibit home car washing unless residents divert the wash water away from storm drains, where they say it causes water pollution.
"I understand this is something people have done for a long time," says Bill Moore, water quality specialist with the Washington state Department of Ecology, which is requiring the ban. "It’s not something we should be doing any longer."
He says the soapy runoff is toxic to salmon and other fish and that small metal particles that wash off cars, such as brake dust, is harmful, too.
After Sarah Palin announced her now oft-repeated line that "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska," Gary Tuchman from CNN’s news show Anderson Cooper 360° went to find this island. Here’s his report:
The island is called Little Diomede. It looks like a rock plopped into the Bering Strait. Only about 150 Alaskans live on the whole island. And just about two miles away; in full view of every single house on the island is the nation of Russia. Specifically, it is the Russian Island of Big Diomede which sits about 25 miles from the Russian Siberian mainland (which you can also see from the American island.) [...]
We were curious what the Little Diomeders thought about Palin’s claim of foreign policy experience because of the proximity of Siberia. Interestingly, many of these Alaskans had no idea who Sarah Palin was! It turns out they have no TV on the island, and therefore, many don’t follow the news.
A 13-year-old Indian girl named Twinkle Dwivedi has a medical condition that baffles doctors: she bleeds through her skin without being cut or scratched!
Twinkle Dwivedi, 13, has a strange disorder which means she loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched.
She has even undergone transfusions after pints of it seeped through her eyes, nose, hairline, neck and the soles of her feet.
Sometimes her condition is so bad she wakes up with her entire body covered in dried blood.
Police arrested 32-year-old Michele Allen for disorderly conduct … while wearing a cow costume!
Saturday night, people in the 3100 block of Wilbraham Road called police to report a woman wearing a cow costume was chasing kids, and blocking traffic. Michele Allen also allegedly urinated on the porch of one neighbor.
Confused about the 2008 financial meltdown? Conor Friedersdorf of Culture 11 has a run down on the bailout legislation, why so many members of Congress were against it, and what the big plunge in the stock market meant. For example:
2) Why did its Congressional critics — especially House Republicans — vote against it?
Daniel Larison dissents from the conventional wisdom:
"The failure of politics that culminated in the defeat of the bill was the failure of the proponents of the legislation to make an argument that did not rely very heavily on prophecies of disaster.
There was no real attempt at persuasion, and the haste in which everything was done generated far more intense opposition than was necessary. The supporters of the bill wanted to ram it through with as little deliberation and scrutiny as possible. On any other issue, on any other bill, this would be seen as outrageous and you would hear about the wisdom of having a lower chamber that was more responsive to the people.
Now opposition to this hasty adoption of a bad plan is derided as irresponsible? Let me break it down for you: if things are indeed as bad as the proponents say, and if they are the responsible, sober voices of wisdom that they pretend to be, the truly irresponsible thing was to wait up until the last weeks before the recess, rush out a terrible plan, demand immediate adoption of this terrible plan (which they were happy to admit in public was a terrible plan) and then not even correctly gauge the level of support for the legislation before bringing it to a vote."
Another tornado caught on camera. These weather phenomena never cease to amaze me but I’m glad I don’t live in an area where tornado formations are frequent.
Impersonating an imperial storm trooper gets a lot more comfortable with a hoodie from Mark Ecko. The front zips up to look like a mask, but I can’t tell if you’d be able to see out of it or not. Also available in Bobba Fett style. Link-Thanks, Max!
Being a guinea pig for the British government’s Common Cold Unit in 1946 was very popular with students. They saw it as a cheap holiday: getting free accommodation in spacious flats fully equipped with books, games, radio and telephone, and spending your leisure time playing table tennis, badminton, or golf. You even got paid three shillings a day.
The students were instructed to maintain a distance of at least 9 metres from all unprotected persons, other than their flatmates. The unpleasant part of the experiment began when the participants had to spend half an hour in a draughty corridor after taking a hot bath, had to wear wet socks for the rest of the day, and were infected with nasal secretion from a cold sufferer.
This was the experiment that contradicted what your mother told you: the common cold is not caused by cold temperatures, but by infection. This is just one of nine of the oddest experiments ever, detailed at New Scientist. The last one is a hoot! Link -via Digg
From the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Vikings invaded community after community across Europe and even parts of Asia and the western hemisphere. According to a new study published in the current issue of Antiquity, the reason behind all that travel is -a shortage of wives!
An intriguing archaeological clue is that much of the bounty plundered from Britain — particularly from monasteries — wound up later in the graves of Viking wives. The items included precious metals, fine cloth, jewelry and other handicrafts.
Barrett’s analysis of Nordic historical records found that Scandinavian men often served as warriors, frequently forming “military brotherhoods,” until they were able to marry and establish their own households, which were key to prestige and power.
The Vikings themselves may have caused the shortage, by practicing female infanticide. Link -via Metafilter
Artist John Chiara thinks big. He built his own box camera, and made it as big as a room. Chiara takes it to a location on a trailer and puts it together on site. One benefit is that the camera never wiggles! He must also develop his own film, because the photographs are huge, too. -via the Presurfer
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One of the neatest things on the Web is the plethora of "how-to" videos that tell you how to do practically anything. Problem is, the videos are everywhere: YouTube, metacafe, and so on.
Greg LeNoir really, really loves his dog Jake. When a shark suddenly grabbed the rat terrier during its daily swim, Greg jumped in and punched the shark until it let go of the dog!
If you want to save a few bucks, skip the car wash and wash your car in your own driveway. 
After Sarah Palin announced her now oft-repeated line that "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska," Gary Tuchman from CNN’s news show Anderson Cooper 360° went to find this island. Here’s his report:
Ten months ago, a 15-year-boy and his friends were attacked when they tried to stop a friend from being robbed at a bus stop. 
A 13-year-old Indian girl named Twinkle Dwivedi has a medical condition that baffles doctors: she bleeds through her skin without being cut or scratched!
Police arrested 32-year-old Michele Allen for disorderly conduct … while wearing a cow costume!
Confused about the 2008 financial meltdown? Conor Friedersdorf of Culture 11 has a run down on the bailout legislation, why so many members of Congress were against it, and what the big plunge in the stock market meant. For example:
From the late eighth to the mid-eleventh centuries, Vikings invaded community after community across Europe and even parts of Asia and the western hemisphere. According to a new study published in the current issue of Antiquity, the reason behind all that travel is -a shortage of wives! 
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