The Things I Wish I'd Known Before Buying My First Home

Several years ago, my wife and I were in a bit of a bind. Wed already been forced into getting pretty creative with arrangements with one baby in the home, but two? It was clear thatwe needed a bigger place. With that, we started house hunting. We didmanythings wrong during our house search, our move, and our early days of home ownership. But, unfortunately, I dont have a time machine....

March 3, 2021 · 3 min · 521 words · Daniel Brown

How and When to Plant a Spring Garden

Heres what to know about how and when to plant a spring garden. When should you plant a spring garden? I strongly advise preparing soil two to three weeks before you plan to plant your seeds. If you have not done this yet, you may need to plan for more summer-friendly veggies. Rake any debris left over from last fall and pull any weeds. Next, use a straight spade or shovel to dig eight to 10 inches into the ground....

March 2, 2021 · 2 min · 214 words · David Richard

Boot Scrapers

However, what was unacceptable then, and is still now, is treading into homes with muddy boots. But a simple doormat was not enough to get rid of the filth that stuck to ones shoes. What was needed was a shoe scraper. Visitors would scrap the mud off their shoes on these simple devices before stepping into the building. The French called them decrottoir. Others called them simply boot scraper. An antique boot scraper in a German city....

March 1, 2021 · 1 min · 204 words · Elizabeth Bryan

The Pumps That Keep Germany Dry

Likewise, steel production rose from a mere 11,500 tons per year to 8 million during the same period. View over the Ruhr Area from the Mottbruchhalde, in Gladbeck. Photo:Berndbrueggemann / Dreamstime.com Ruhrs exponential industrial growth drove massive urbanization across North Rhine-Westphalia. Ruhrs coal industry began to decline starting from the mid-20th century. By the 1970s, Germany had exhausted the easy-to-reach coals and mining the Ruhr valley was no longer competitive....

March 1, 2021 · 2 min · 214 words · Teresa Gross

How to Ferment Your Own Pickles Without Freaking Out

Your only role is to create an environment in which friendly bacteria can do the real work. Where do the Lactobacillus come from? Your environment is filthy with them. Theyre present on the vegetables themselves, and probably all over your kitchen, and even on your hands. Sanitize, okay; sterilize, no). The bad bacteria hate salt, while Lactobacillus are cool with it. Youll note that brine math uses mass to measure salt, not volume....

February 26, 2021 · 2 min · 407 words · Heidi Duke

Everything You Need to Consider Before Having Another Child

In many ways, deciding whether to have another child is even harder thandeciding on having the first one. Its a lot more complex than asking Do we want more children and do we have enough money? Adding another child is almost like creating a whole new family again. Here are some things you should consider as you ponder this difficult choice. To be fair, many people dont struggle with this....

February 25, 2021 · 2 min · 419 words · Cheryl Elliott

The Great Smog of 1952

By nightfall, the fog became so bad that visibility dropped to a few meters. In some areas, people couldnt see their own feet. It was like somebody had set a load of car tires on fire. Trafalgar Square in London during the Great Smog of 1952. Photo: TopFoto / The Image Works The smog smothered the city for five days. Transportation came to a virtual standstill. Flights were grounded and trains cancelled....

February 24, 2021 · 2 min · 291 words · Jose Jacobs

Share and Receive Files Anonymously with 'OnionShare'

To get started, download and implement the free OnionShare app (for Windows/macOS/Linux). Launch it, and youll automatically start connecting to the Tor web connection. Now, you’re able to do everythingfile-sharing, website-hosting, and anonymous chattingat once. Those sendingyoufiles via their Tor browsers will see a simple screen that looks like this: And thats it. Sending files from one system to another is simple, but itwilltake a bit of time. When you do, youll get another OnionShare URL that youll need to send to others....

February 23, 2021 · 1 min · 126 words · William Coleman

How to Talk to Young Kids About Race

(I say especially white parents because parents of color have always talked to their kids about race.) But sometimes parents arent sure how, or when, to get started. For the most part, I was just happy they were making friends. She turned to me and said, We dont even see Becks color! Hes just Chances friend! It felt like someone had kicked me in my stomach. I couldnt respond to what she said....

February 22, 2021 · 2 min · 293 words · Jennifer James

Johann Josef Loschmidt And Avogadro’s Number

That number is Avogadro’s number, or Avogadro’s constant. But the company went bankrupt. Johann Josef Loschmidt In 1856, Loschmidt became a high-school teacher in Vienna. During his free time, Loschmidt conducted experiments in a small laboratory that the school allowed him to keep. Figures of molecular structure, as they appeared in Loschmidts 1861 booklet Chemische Studien I. Photo: Alfred Bader In this same book, Loschmidt discussed benzene, a compound that baffled scientists....

February 22, 2021 · 1 min · 200 words · Hannah Paul

How Do I Fix a Glitched Photo Library in macOS?

You do everything right, yet disaster still strikes. At least, thats where Lifehacker readerJoannefinds herself today. I had 31700 photos and 1100 videos on my iMac photo library. Releasing there were some duplicates I downloaded photosweeper, just started the process when photo library crashed. Can you offer any help or advice? When a recovery doesnt recover Im sorry youre dealing with this, Joanne. First off, have you checkediCloud? Before we do anything else, though, lets back up your existing Photo Library....

February 19, 2021 · 2 min · 217 words · Nicholas Ford

How to Improve Your Chances of Scheduling a COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment

We wereat least in theoryone step closer to normal. That leaves the option of attempting to book online. You have to be computer-savvy and be able to take time to work to get an appointment, saysDr. That means that some people who need to be protected against COVID-19 arent able to get the vaccine. In most cases, it involves some prep work before you even get started. If youre younger, and making an appointment for yourself, its all about paying attention....

February 19, 2021 · 3 min · 475 words · Carly Page

The Mad World of Hat Making

Mercury poisoning among hat-makers is widely believed to be the origin of the proverbial saying mad as a hatter. John Tenniel’s illustration of the tea party scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Accompanying Alice at the table is March Hare, the Dormouse and the Hatter. It is from Milan that the term millinery or hat-making comes from. Mercury was first used in hat-making in France. A worker at a Connecticut hat manufacturing plant treating a hat under water....

February 19, 2021 · 1 min · 198 words · Colin Payne