According to Wikipedia, to be called "the Stradivari" of any field is to be deemed the finest there is... "A Stradivarius is a stringed instrument built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their s ...more
There are many ways to booby trap a cup, perhaps you think you've seen them all but here's one more. Not much is needed to pull off this prank, just some plastic wrap and a cutting tool which are pretty much household items you already have. It's great for a good laugh on an ...more
Separating an egg yolk from the white is one of the most universally hated kitchen tasks out there. Most cooks prefer using their hands or the egg's own shell to separate them. For those who don't like getting messy, there are countless devices designed solely for this purpose ...more
After years of making do with a cheap knife, I finally bought a really good 8" chef's knife—a Henckels, although I was also eyeing a Global santoku. It quietly but literally changed my life. I don't have amazing knife skills, but having a great piece of equipment in my hands ...more
Taking photos in the dark or in low-light settings can be tricky. Just using your normal flash can make your subject look washed out, but not using it can result in a totally dark photo with no subject at all. This DIY light by professional photographer Simon Ellingsworth of ...more
If you can think of a piece of junk, someone has probably found a way to turn it into a lamp. Granted, sometimes the result is more functional than beautiful, but DIY lighting is probably one of the most versatile projects you can take on. From string to a can of tuna, the li ...more
Update: After playing around with our new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus over the last couple weeks, it occurred to me to see if my DIY stylus would work with these new devices. I'm happy to report that it does, just as expected. Now, the level of functionality you'll get out of it is d ...more
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Mantis resides in the shadow of an Ego who considers himself the actual heart of the universe. But when it comes Halloween costumes? Mantis will be the center of attention every time. The internet sure has noticed Mantis, and it's abuzz with ...more
Keeping apples or avocados from browning after being cut is impossible; within minutes of being exposed to air, these fruits (yes, avocado is a fruit) begin to brown. No matter what you try—adding lemon juice, keeping the pits in place, immediately sealing the produce in an ai ...more
If you've never heard of or eaten temari sushi, then you're in for a treat. These pretty sushi balls are good for parties and festive gatherings, and even though they are so colorful and striking, they are not hard to make. Just like every other type of sushi, they are customi ...more
Video: . Step by Step Video Step 1: Ingredients Needed You will need the following: 2.5 Cups of Flour 3/4 of Sugar 1/4 tsp of Salt 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp. 2 tsps of Vanilla Extract 2 Tbs cream cheese, room temp, Royal icing Bottle Cap Straw Step 2: Mixing Mix to ...more
Sprinkles are a gateway to excitement, whether it's a birthday party with friends or an ice cream sundae by yourself. It may seem like these colorful creations can only come from the grocery store, but it's actually pretty easy to make beautiful sprinkles in your own kitchen. ...more
Ask 100 chefs what the most important tool in their kitchen is, and you'll get 100 chefs saying the exact same thing: their set of knives. For home cooks and professional chefs alike, nothing is more important (or exciting) than a good knife. A good knife allows you to work mo ...more
Since the emergence of GoPro, the company's cameras have been been on a steady incline for the past several years. Adventure enthusiasts had difficulty recording their extreme activities without a huge price tag before the GoPro came along in 2002. Now, every surfer, skateboa ...more
When you have a parent who cooks—and has you act as sous chef—the kitchen automatically becomes a less intimidating place. In other words, kids who know their way around the kitchen will most likely become adults who cook for themselves, which also means that they'll eat more ...more
Have an older car with nowhere to plug in your iPod? Rather than paying to have one installed, you can mount your iPod nano on your car's dash like Redditor hyeinkali did in his 2001 Honda Accord. Normally, there's just a boring digital clock between the air vents, but it's pe ...more
Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per U.S. resident and more than 54 times the number of people who live on the planet. That's why here in Santa Monica, thanks to a city-wide plastic bag ban, you won't ...more
A good cutting board is almost as important as the utensils you use on it. The wrong type can cause your blades to dull faster, and certain materials hold onto juices (and therefore bacteria) from food. You can wash a plastic board with just about anything, but what about wood ...more
Are you in dire need of some visual eye candy? Dazzle your eyes by building your own kaleidoscope with a sheet of foldable plastic, common household items and whatever small and sparkly things you can get your hands on. Many variations exist when it comes to building a kaleid ...more
Humans aren't the only ones who get to take part in the festivities on Halloween. We give our pumpkins human faces and dress up our pets, so why not include toys and stuffed animals in the fun? Lucy of the surprise-aholic is dressing up as a zombie child this year, so she dec ...more
As I said in this earlier post, there's no easy way to explain or define the Steampunk aesthetic. There are a large number of Steampunk tropes or "cues", as I call them, that bring to mind the feeling of Steampunk. These cues combine to push past the "not-Steampunk" threshold ...more
What’s better in the summer than playing around in the water? Lounging in the pool, water balloon fights, and playing in the sprinklers helps us forget how much it sucks to be outside in 100+ degree weather. Sprinklers are especially fun to play around in, particularly if you ...more
When you have a lot of equipment, dragging it everywhere with you can be a pain, especially when the weather's bad. Sure, you can put it in a camera bag, but a lot of them don't protect your stuff from water, and waterproof cases can get expensive. Rather than buying a case, ...more
Why is it that Mother's Day is the second biggest commercialized holiday when there are so many different DIY projects out there? In preschool, children make their moms clay handprint molds and cards with dry pasta glued on. So why not return to your crafty childhood ambition ...more
We've showed you how to make Butterfingers and Kit Kats, as well as custom-shaped chocolates, but have you ever thought about making your own gourmet chocolate bars? It's a fairly simple process, once you understand tempering, and there are endless flavor possibilities when y ...more
Need a broom and a dust pan to clean up your living space? Look no further than your recycling bin and upcycle some of your empty drink containers to make new cleaning tools for your home. Using 3-5 empty 2-liter bottles (labels removed), a wooden dowel, and a few tools from ...more
If you're lucky enough to have a dishwasher, you probably use that sucker to clean everything (minus your good cooking knives), and maybe even to cook your food, too. However, dishwashers are not without their faults. Dishes can still come out spotty and even with chunks of fo ...more
Video: . How to caulk. How to apply caulk. Caulking., An Uncle Knackers Exclusive!. No longer does caulk / silicone need to end up all over you or over your mum's new carpet. This technique can be used for things like caulking bathroom tub or shower caulking etc.What you will ...more
Video: . For the first prank you're going to need an empty container, preferably black, a smoke bomb and a lighter. I gotta say though this prank is not for just anybody so prank at your own risk. Let me show you how its done, first apply some hot glue on the bottom of the smo ...more
Garlic is a key ingredient in many delicious meals, and if you've been a fan of our site for even a short while, it's no secret that we love to share tricks and tips to make cooking with garlic even easier than you first assumed. Here are just 10 of the many ways to both prep ...more
When we were kids, snacks on-the-go or in our lunch box were often Kellogg's Nutri-Grain cereal bars. There were flavors like strawberry, blueberry, and our beloved apple-cinnamon. Don't Miss: Make These Easy Granola Bars with Only 2 Ingredients As we grew older, we realize ...more
Macarons are a sweet meringue-based confection made primarily from almond flour, sugar, and egg whites. They are usually filled with buttercream, curd, or ganache. A true fat cow cook will tell you that macaron is pronounced (mah-k-uh-rohn). While it's technically not incorrec ...more
This video will show you how to use a pipe cutter to easily cut copper pipe. Way easier and cleaner than a hacksaw. Video: .
Nothing is more relaxing than the sound of moving water in the garden. Here's how to build a one-of-a-kind water feature in a weekend. How to: Step 1: Plumb the pot For this step, you'll need your decorative pot, a 1 3/4" by 1" barb fitting, a 1 3/4" PVC female adapter, plumb ...more
The first time I encountered a deviled egg, the name freaked me out. Why was it called a deviled egg? Was it the spawn of some demonic chicken? If I ate it, would my soul be at risk? I was about eight years old at the time and sought counsel from my grandma. She patted my han ...more
Hello and Welcome to In the Kitchen with Matt, first of all, I am a big fan of Star Wars, and I LOVE Peanut Butter Cups, so in this episode we are making Star Wars Death Star Peanut Butter Cups. These treats are super creative, easy to make, and are sure to impress your friend ...more
Here's how to build a sexy looking water-fuel generator that will convert your tap water into an extremely powerful, clean burning gas! Video: . An oxyhydrogen generator, like this one, uses electricity from your car battery to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gasses. Toge ...more
Check out this video tutorial on how to make cheap dragon wings, controlled by body posture. You can do this project for $18 if you use plastic garbage bags and Scotch tape for the membranes. You'll see how to make very light and strong costume wings. How strong? That strong. ...more
To install the new toilet you will need a putty knife, hacksaw, tape measure, adjustable wrench, level, sponge, and replacement wax seal. Before you begin removing the old toilet, turn off and disconnect the water supply to the toilet. Then flush the toilet to get the water ou ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install a frost proof faucet. Steps: 1. Turn off the water and drain the old hose faucet, also called the sillcock. 2. Use emery cloth to clean the copper water pipe leading to the hose faucet. 3. Cut the pipe using a tubin ...more
In this project, you'll learn how to re-purpose low-cost sprinkler parts into a high-powered CANDY CANNON. Be the coolest person on the block by building a pneumatic device that will launch candy 100 feet in the air—you can make it rain down all kinds of sugary treats!!! It's ...more
Since the invention of the mechanical clock, enclosure of the commons, and proletarianization of labor, the alarm clock has been the bane of our existence. While not actually evil, it does represent the constant and uncompromising glare of our owners shaking a patronizing fing ...more
Breaking off a piece of that Kit Kat bar gets a lot more difficult when the whole thing weighs 13 pounds. Ann Reardon, a food scientist and dietitian with an ironic obsession for unhealthy desserts, started the very successful blog How To Cook That back in 2011 to showcase he ...more
Eggs are a staple food for most Americans, which is no surprise, considering how necessary they are in savory and sweet recipes alike. On their own, they're usually not too eggs-citing. However, these clever egg hacks will make your egg-making easier, more fun, and more intere ...more
Halloween is only a few short weeks away, and most people are scrambling to get their costumes together before the big night. The secret to a great getup is all in the details, and including your pet in the fun can be exactly what you need to take your costume to the next leve ...more
Butter is one of the most versatile ingredients in the world: its variety of uses range from brightening a morning piece of toast to finishing a beautiful rib-eye steak with decadent flair. When warm butter is mixed with herbs, spices, and other supplementary ingredients, the ...more
Planning a Super Bowl party, or any football-themed party for that matter, can be fun for even the most craft-adverse host, as almost anything brown can turn into a football with just a little decoration. With a little planning, you won't be serving up any Pinterest fails this ...more
I know, "Steamdown" conjures images of a hoedown, but "Steampunk prop breakdown" is a bit of a mouthful, I thought. Anyway, I'm going to show you how I made my very first Steampunk prop! It doesn't require any tools at all, just some glue and some parts from the hardware stor ...more
If you're going to build yourself a water gun to cool down this summer, or maybe just a useful water pump, you'll need some check valves. However, the most expensive parts of a water pump or DIY super soaker are usually the check valves. So, let's make some from scratch for as ...more
At one point in the '90s, about fifty percent of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. About fifty percent of the CDs in my home still have that AOL promise of 500 free hours on them. Though they never got me to join their internet service, I did get a lifetime supply of ...more
There's a lot that goes into making a nice crystal radio set, so this is going to have to be broken down into two parts. The first part is the actual making of a functional radio, and the second part is making the whole arrangement look nice. In this part, I'm actually going t ...more
Airsoft doesn't get any better than a cloud chamber BB machine gun, aka Cloud BBMG. This design has an incredible rate of fire. If you've got a full charge of compressed air, it can easily fire more than 50 rounds per second at a 350 ft/s muzzle velocity. Since this is a legit ...more
Make this Valentine's Day one to remember! Well... because you forgot. But don't worry, you can still make that heart pitter-patter for your love by saving face and getting some last minute Valentine gift ideas on the cheap. There's no reason to shop at Hallmark or buy expens ...more
It’s called Urophagia—the art of consuming urine. There could be any number of reasons for having the desire to drink your own urine (or somebody else’s). There’s the so-called term “urine therapy,” which uses human urine as an alternative medicine. In urine therapy, or uropat ...more
Poke, jab, and stab your opponent without taking out an eye. You Will Need * 1/2-inch PVC pipe * A hacksaw * Measuring tape * Sandpaper * Gray duct tape * A swim noodle * A razor blade * 100% silicon caulk * A caulk gun * Open cell foam * Electrical tape * Cellophane (optional ...more
Plastic bags on their own aren't quite strong enough to hold anything too heavy (at least not for an extended period of time), but when broken down into "plarn" - plastic yarn - they can be woven into some very sturdy fabric. This video teaches you how to make "plarn" for wea ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to vent a bathroom fan. Steps:1. Screw the humidifier to a wall near the furnace. 2. Cut away insulation from the duct using a utility knife. 3. Position the hole-cutting template onto side of duct. 4. Drill pilot hole through ...more
I decided to make a quick banner for my RC plane. It was basically free, but you might need to get a few materials if you don't have them. My plane is a Hobbyzone Champ, which is a hardy but tiny plane, weighing only 1.3 ounces with the battery. My how-to is modeled after this ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to build your own prop shotgun. To make this, you will need: one 2x6 that is 2 feet long, one 1x3 eight inches long, two 8" diameter PVC piping 2 feet long, two one inch PVC end caps, picture hangers, assorted nuts, bolts, and crews. First, draw ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to recycle plastic grocery bags into a dog leash. To begin, you will cut the plastic bags in half, then cut off the handles of the bags. Next, apply glue to the entire bag, then roll up into a straight line. Continue to do this for several differ ...more