Interactive Ferrofluid Sculptures
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In researching all of the uses for Interactive Ferrofluid Sculptures, I found myself continuously returning to one standout: time waster. The hypnotizing borosilicate glass vials filled with mutable elemental amoebas will probably suck up most of my Monday, and I don't even have one in front of me. I'm just watching the video, dude.
Available in two sizes, the smaller of which comes with a detachable magnet for spiking, gliding, and dividing the ferrite, and the larger a pair of magnetic styli (woot! woot! plural of stylus), the sculptures are set in sturdy, CNC-machined enclosures. Their proprietary clear suspension liquid promises to display cloudless, detailed ferrite activity without staining for years to come.
Smaller Ferrofluid Sculptures measure 4-1/2" tall x 2" in diameter, and big boys are 6" tall x 3" in diameter. Recommended for ages 18 and up. You know what else I recommend for ages 18 and up? All restaurants serving alcohol, sporting events, ice cream shops, and zoos.
Hang a Laundry Hamper on The Back Of Your Closet Door to Save Space
If you have a small closet, a laundry basket or hamper can take up a ton of valuable floor space. Luckily, you can take it back by hanging the hamper on the back of the closet door.
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PowerChef Tabletop Grill
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This electric grill sits on the tabletop. Which means it is going to reduce the amount of time it takes for babyback ribs brushed with KC Masterpiece and teriyaki shrimp kebabs to transfer from its cooking surface to my mouth. Probably by at least 15 seconds. Two thumbs up to the Dimplex PowerChef!
This almost looks like I'm grilling meats for my midget little people friends, or hobbits as they're often called in the realm of fantasy, but it does well for single larger-sized person meals. And that reminds me, one thing that really annoys me while shopping (other than the fact that it is no longer socially acceptable to ask women out in the frozen foods aisle) is that it is impossible to just get a single serving of anything anymore. It seems like I'm forced to buy in bulk. And, I know I'm not going to want peas or green beans two days in a row. I hardly want them one day in a row. You gotta eat them though man. You gotta. Then they end up going to waste and sitting in my food graveyard (fridge) for 1-5 years until I end up moving or getting a girlfriend who has the cherished old-school beliefs that a woman's place is in the kitchen and cleans my fridge out for me.
With claims of delivering big power in a small package, the tabletop grill has dual elements to spread up to 650 degrees of heat over every one of its 216 square inches. Weatherproof for balconies and easily hidden from view in places that forbid real grilling altogether, such as apartments and vegetarians' houses.
This Infographic Guides You to Healthy, Tasty Baking Substitutions
Whether you're trying to cut down on white flour or sugar, or you're just looking for some creative substitutions for better baking, this guide from our friends at Greatist will help you cut the sugar, wheat, or even the fat from your baked goods if you want to.
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The Poke Test, Using a Fork to Flip, and Other Steak-Cooking Myths
You've probably heard some of these steak cooking tips before: Use the finger test
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Nitinol Shape Memory Paper Clip
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Nitinol. It's kind of like Rain Main. Has an infallible memory and a habitual state to which it always returns precisely and without fail, but...it doesn't deal with deviations from what it knows very well. Also, it is an excellent driver.
A metal alloy sometimes referred to as "memory metal" or, more appropriately, Shape Memory Alloy, Nitinol is perhaps most famously used in the hilarious "bending teaspoon" trick. You know, give someone a teaspoon for stirring their coffee or eating their soup, and the second it hits the hot liquid it collapses like an old flaccid, uh...heat-reactive metal alloy. Sold here as paper clips, Nitinol's shape memory allows curious kids to bend, kink, spiral, and warp the wire as much as they want, and then watch it return to its perfect, original form when dunked in a dish of water heated to about 113 degrees F.
Made from Nickel and Titanium, Nitinol demonstrates two distinct types of crystal structure, depending on whether it is above or below its critical transformation temperature. Below that temperature--between about 104 and 115 degrees F in this case--Nitinol wire is completely malleable. But once the heat rises, its memory kicks in, and it snaps back to the state in which it was originally "cured".
Programming, or annealing, a piece of Nitinol requires holding it in its desired shape while the alloy is heated to and held for a period of time at a very high temperature--750 to 900 degrees F or so. Once it cools, the bendability properties set in, but the memory remains and snaps to any time the structure encounters even much milder heat levels thereafter.
In addition to Nitinol paper clips, vendor Grand Illusions also peddles a few other shape memory alloy wares, including a wire bent to read "Hot" and a spool of Nitinol for users to manipulate however they desire (beware, though, making your own shape takes some skill and proper equipment).
The Best Ways to Keep Opened Wine Fresh
If you're drinking a good bottle of wine, there shouldn't be any left over, but if you're drinking a lot or hosting a party, you may need a way to keep half-poured bottle fresh overnight or for a few days. You could re-cork it, but air is an open wine's worst enemy. Wired tested some alternatives that make the grade.
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