Make Instant Ice

Have you ever seen water freeze instantly? This "Quick Clip" shows some of my personal experiences with making instant ice using a bottle of water supercooled in a freezer. Video: . To get this "instant ice" effect, I put unopened bottles of water in the freezer for anywhere b ...more

In one of my previous articles, I showed off how to make water freeze into ice instantaneously. In this article, I'd like to elaborate on this, and show how a glass of water can turn to ice instantly on command. What exactly is this supernatural power? Discover the secrets to ...more

In this Video I will show you how to make a ice pack with your loose change. I love making My Ice pack this way bc it stays Cold for a Really long time. The Items you will need is: 1) Your Loose Change 2) Hefty Bag Now just put the Loose Change in the hefty bag and Freeze it ...more

In my last quick clip, I demonstrated how to take a bottle of soda and freeze it on command. I received many requests for a more detailed article on this, so here we go. This "super cool" trick works with cans of soda too, not just bottles! Video: . This project was inspired b ...more

Glow sticks, a popular favor at parties and outdoor events, and a must-have on Halloween, can be traced back to the United States Navy in the mid-1960s. The military desired improved visibility during night operations, and glow sticks, with their small-size portability and lac ...more

Most of us have conducted an investigatory science project without even knowing it, or at least without knowing that's what it was called. Most science experiments performed, from elementary to high school students and all the way up to professional scientists, are investigato ...more

It's that time a year when winter storms begin causing havoc across the United States, and when "rotating outages" are common to help sustain the electrical grid during intense cold periods. That means pretty much anybody with snow and ice in their backyard can succumb to powe ...more

Ginger ale is an American classic, particularly beloved by native Michiganders, home of the popular Vernors Ginger Ale. Recently, my family stocked the pantry top to bottom with the soda for my father's birthday. Growing up in Detroit, Vernors is without fail, always his drin ...more

How to play Spy, my personal favorite class What do Spies do? Spies are the intel gatherers of the team, they preform key assassinations, destroy crucial buildings, and gather important information. Abilities and downfalls Abilities: The most important, they can instant ...more

Let's talk for a second about compound butter. No, scratch that, let's not. Because compound butters are too much work. You have to shape them and roll them and tie them and cut them... no thank you. Luckily, you can skip all that hassle without skipping the herb butter thank ...more

Want a to make any drink into a delicious semi-frozen drink called a slushy? Usually this means putting your desired drink in the freezer and waiting until it reaches the desired state of being frozen. However, with this awesome method you can have a frozen slushy drink in jus ...more

Ice cream never gets old in hot weather, especially if it's super cheap and made within the comforts of your own home! Last week, I illustrated a recipe for homemade ice cream where you roll an empty coffee can of cream, sugar, and whole milk inside of a larger coffee can ful ...more

This science experiment deals with sublimation of dry ice into carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. In the video, I'll demonstrate how pushing a quarter into a block of dry ice makes the quarter scream and shake vigorously. Video: . To do this trick, you'll just need a block of dry ice a ...more

As a self-proclaimed chocoholic, any day with chocolate mousse in it is a good day in my book. And thanks to prominent chemist Hervé This, one of the founding fathers of molecular gastronomy, chocolate mousse is not only easy to make every single day—but only requires two ingr ...more

Your grater and microplane may look like single-purpose tools, but they're actually one of the most diverse appliances in your kitchen. Sure, everyone knows to use a grater on cheese and a microplane on citrus zest, but why stop there? Here are 10 things you may not have thoug ...more

Need an instant headache cure? Grab a pencil from your drawer of office supplies and bite down on it (but not too hard). Tension headaches commonly occur from overexerting your jaw muscles, and biting down on a pencil is a quick way to relax them. If you don't have a pencil o ...more

Parties are a great way to celebrate and have fun with your good friends, so to make sure your next party rocks, I've assembled some of the biggest life-hackers on YouTube to bring you 10 outrageous party tricks your guests will not forget. Video: . All these YouTubers posted ...more

Seaweed isn't just for rolling sushi anymore. The food science world is introducing chefs and home cooks to dulse (rhymes with pulse), kale's wacky seaweed cousin that tastes surprisingly like bacon and may even be the next big superfood. Bacon and dulse seaweed have three ve ...more

I love Android, and I think its apps are great—the polish that came with the Ice Cream Sandwich update truly put Android design on the map. That being said, one of the more frequent complaints from iOS fans continues to be that apps just "run smoother" and "look better" on iOS ...more

It may be cheesy, but whipping out an origami flower while you're at the dinner table can really make someone's day, whether it's made out of a napkin, dollar bill, or burger wrapper. It's great for showing your waitress how much you appreciate the service, or for breaking the ...more

In Italian, the word affogato means "drowned." Kind of a morbid name for such a delicious goodie, right? But there's a reason it's called that. For those of you not in the know, affogato is a coffee-based treat usually consisting of a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream "dro ...more

It is a universal truth that Nutella is the nectar of the gods. It takes the already delicious (e.g., sandwiches, cupcakes, or even bacon), and turns it into something magical. Everyone also knows homemade is always better. So if you're looking to step up your baking game, fol ...more

Move over rainbow food trends, there's a new, darker kid in town: jet black ice cream. And no, it doesn't have squid ink in it. This frozen dessert may look mysterious and slightly intimidating, but trust us— it's insanely delicious. The blackish hue is created from activated ...more

Winter is already here, and when Jack Frost is nipping at your nose, he tends to nip on your wallet, too. That's right—between holiday parties, gift-giving, heating bills, and all the required snow and wet-weather gear you need, the winter months can get pretty expensive. So ...more

There's only one day that can top the aftermath of Easter and its copious amounts of leftover candy, and that is November — the day after Halloween. As you come down from your sugar rush and realize you now own more chocolate than your stomach can physically hold in one sittin ...more

Homemade ice cream is so good and you can make it with just a few ingredients and no special equipment. Most cookbooks and magazine recipes expect you to have an ice cream maker at home, but you can imitate the churning effect of an ice cream maker by shaking or tossing around ...more

Unless you're well off, you've probably experienced the hard liquor purchasing conundrum. You know the one: you want to stock your home bar with more than just one spirit, but you don't want to drop $100 or more just so you can have some variety in your alcohol cabinet. Thank ...more

Coffee liqueur is pretty easy to make at home, and if you've read our guide on why instant coffee is a pantry essential, you know that we recommended the powdered stuff over fresh-brewed when making your own Kahlua at home...until now. Inspired by Los Angeles-based company Fl ...more

Some food jars seem like they're actually designed to prevent you from enjoying every last bit inside. The remnants of sticky foods like Nutella and peanut butter are almost impossible to scrape out with a knife or spoon, and it's a shame to throw out something that tastes so ...more

Chrome has some built-in Flash support, which is great, but sometimes it just doesn't work—and it doesn't work for everything. Unfortunately, the Flash Player plugin was discontinued by Adobe back in the days of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), and you can't get it on Google ...more

Maybe you've had a long day... or maybe you just want to treat yo' self. So you head to your local watering hole for some tasty, tasty liquor. Your current fave on the cocktail list is a drink of something strong with bitters; you don't know what bitters are, but damn if that ...more

Emojis, for better or for worse, have essentially taken over online forms of communication. And now, thanks to a recently discovered feature in iOS, they are going to change the way you search for nearby places. The process is actually very simple. Let's say you're looking fo ...more

The original frozen hot chocolate is from Serendipity 3, an extremely famous eatery in NYC. However, its fame had created many copycat recipes, which eventually prompted its owner, Stephen Bruce, into releasing the delicious recipe in 2004. Don't Miss: 'Hot Chocolate' Balls = ...more

If you love quenching your thirst with an ice-cold glass of lemonade but aren't a fan of artificial powder mixes, then this hack is for you. When your next lemonade craving strikes, instead of reaching for a glorified Kool-Aid packet, get an instant sip of summer by using pre- ...more

My Cuisinart ice cream maker was a wedding gift; it wasn't something on my list, but I jumped up and down with delight when I unwrapped it. I never would've purchased this appliance on my own because it didn't seem practical, yet I loved the idea of making homemade ice cream. ...more

Stock is a crucial ingredient for so many recipes: soups, gravies, and risottos depend on stock; quinoa and rice are both more flavorful when cooked with it, too. So, chances are that broth is a staple on your weekly shopping list. But I'm here to tell you that it shouldn't b ...more

Before I get ostracized by all of you whisky lovers who live and die by whisky served neat, let me say my piece. In the past, I haven't been much of a whisky fan—I would shoot it back or add it to Coke or ginger ale, but I certainly wouldn't sip on it and enjoy it. In fact, t ...more

Winter—or any cold, gray day, for that matter—is the best time for a warm cup of something hot. For me, hot chocolate is my "warm cup" of choice: rich and milky, deliciously sweet, and oh-so-comforting. On super-cold days when I can't feel my face, a nice, large cup of hot ch ...more

Oatmeal isn't the most glamorous breakfast, but it's definitely one of the best. It's healthy, filling, delicious, and easy to personalize. And, if you have instant packets, oatmeal is also a very quick and easy breakfast. Like so many foods, instant oatmeal is healthier and ...more

Ask ten different people how they feel about boxed cake mixes, and you'll likely get ten different answers. Some baking purists will berate them and throw them in the same category as garlic presses and knife sets sold on infomercials. Many people will say that they prefer not ...more

There's no reason to wait for Halloween to play with dry ice. It definitely creates a creepy fog-like effect when you add a little water to it, but there are some other really cool things you can do wit dry ice. Here are just 5 non-Halloween ways to use dry ice for tricks or p ...more

With the warm summer months right around the corner, just the thought of having to bake anything in your oven may have you perspiring profusely. But you don't want to give up dessert, especially not luscious, layered cakes, so what's a sweaty sweets-lover to do? Icebox cakes ...more

When it comes to your baby and your time, nothing but the best and most efficient will do. These high standards carry through every aspect of your life as a new parent, from diapers to strollers and especially to food. Luckily, making your own baby food isn't as complicated a ...more

Protein powder is a fad in the same way that Justin Bieber's music is: you either love it, or you hate it. Everyone I know has a strong opinion about protein powder, ranging from "daily necessity" to "utterly useless." The funny thing about protein powder is that these opinio ...more

Okay, it's true: even the highest quality instant coffee is never going to replace really good fresh beans (and properly cleaning your coffee maker) when it comes to creating a great cup of joe. However, instant coffee does have all kinds of uses in the kitchen, as the smart f ...more

Here's how to make dry-ice at home, or wherever you feel like it! All you need is a pillow case, and a CO2 fire extinguisher. Video: . WARNING: Dry Ice is extremely cold! (-78C/-109F) and can cause instant frost-bite to exposed skin. This project should not be attempted withou ...more