WikiHow: Compost bin for garden debris

I want one of these:

How to Build a Cedar Lattice Compost Bin

This bin is built using one 4x8 sheet of the extra-thick lattice panels. The "open" feature of the lattice allows for quicker, easier composting. It's easy to take apart, which is all you have to do when you want to use the compost. This good-sized box is best for vegetable gardeners - a place to compost your grass, carrot tops, corn shucks, tomato stems - anything from your garden.

The 24-inch dimension means that no part of the interior is ever more than 1 foot from available sources of oxygen and nitrogen - critical for complete composting. This means you don't have to touch your compost after throwing it in - no stirring, no turning, no layering, no having to transfer from one bin to another. The 2-foot narrow dimension assures that your yard waste, etc. will compost evenly and completely over the course of the composting year. If you need faster composting, Build a Tumbling Composter. [...]

It goes on to give step by step instructions. Sounds very sensible and useful.
     

Potatoes and Car Windshields go together?

According to today's WikiHow, they sometimes do:

How to Keep Car Windows Fog Free Using a Potato

This simple method will help keep your windows fog-free. It's a fun one for the kids to try too; they might even consider doing it before you reach the car! [...]

I haven't tried it out, but if it's true... gee, who knew?
     

Zen Driving, Hypermiling, from WikiHow

How to Practice Zen Driving

Driving can be stressful, since people can become very impatient, selfish and discourteous when behind the wheel. By applying the principles of Zen, however, you can make driving an enjoyable, relaxing experience, no matter how everyone else is driving. [...]

How to Hypermile

Hypermiling refers to a collection of driving techniques aimed at improving your car's fuel efficiency by reducing the demands placed on the engine. Since it's possible to improve fuel economy by 37% just by changing the way you drive[1] hypermiling is gaining interest in light of high fuel costs. While some hypermiling methods are controversial and potentially dangerous, this article will focus on safer techniques that can still save you gas and money. [...]

     

WikiHow: for the Awkward Questions

I get random wikiHow links on my iGoogle page every morning. Sometimes they are interesting and or unusual topics. Today's wikiHow tackles an awkward topic:

How to Use a Squat Toilet

If you're traveling to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and some parts of Latin America, you're likely to encounter a squat toilet (otherwise known as a squatty potty). Even though most of the people in the world (and most of the people throughout human history) find squatting to be the most natural way to go, it can be an intimidating (and messy) task if you've never done it before. Sure, the explicitness of these instructions might make you a little uncomfortable, but not nearly as uncomfortable as it'd be to ask someone how to use a squat toilet, or walk away from one with a mess on the floor and on your clothes. [...]

OK, I can see why reading the wikiHow could save you some... trouble. It then goes on thru the 7 steps of the process... and ends with a video on the topic.

Very educational. In some counties, when they say "Public Restroom", they REALLY do mean PUBLIC. Yikes.

And in some areas of rural China... well, see the video. If you dare ;-)
     

iGoogle and it's WikiHow offerings

For quite some time now, the home page of my Firefox web browser has been iGoogle, which is a customizable start page, which gives you many options to add content you enjoy or find useful. I've configured mine thus:


One of my favorite features of this has been the links under "How to of the Day", which links to randomly selected How-To articles from wikiHow. I often see something interesting or useful, where I think "I've always wanted to know how to do that" or "I wonder if it has some tips on how to do it better?" I have often found entertaining and useful information there. Here is a sample, of today's links:

How to Power Nap
Have you ever noticed that a short nap can be refreshing, while a longer nap can leave you feeling even more tired? There is a reason for that:

[...] What you're doing during a power nap is capturing the benefits of the first two of the five stages in the sleep cycle. These first two stages take place in the first twenty minutes. In addition to making you feel more rested and alert, the electrical signals in your nervous system strengthen the connection between neurons involved in muscle memory, making your brain work faster and more accurately.

[...]

Sleeping for any longer than 20 minutes will be counterproductive. A half hour can lead to sleep inertia, making you feel sluggish and more tired than ever. [...]

The wikiHow instructions also offer tips for the topic, and often have footnotes at the end to follow up on if you want more information.

The other tip for today was about a difficult task cat owners sometimes have to face:

How to Give a Cat Medicine


"Expect a struggle"

While anyone who has ever tried to do this with a cat knows it won't be easy, there are ways to make it easier, and the wikiHow gives you relevant tips. It also helps by telling you what NOT to do as well:

[...] DO NOT squirt liquid medication into the cat's throat or tongue. Liquids are likely to go down a cat's windpipe, making the cat choke. For liquid medications, insert the dropper between the cat's cheek and teeth. [...]

Just getting through the experience without getting scratched or bit is worth taking the time to read the wiki. If you can get the medicine down successfully as well, so much the better.

These two examples from wikiHow may not seem terribly exciting, but keep in mind that the subjects chosen are random, so over time you end up with quite a selection of topics. Even topics that may seem stupid or irrelevant to you can be amusing to read. Sometimes you discover that a topic you thought was simple actually is a lot more complex than you thought, because of factors you had not considered or didn't know about.

All in all, it's been educational and fun. I'm definitely a wikiHow fan now.