So how is a material both water-displacing and hygroscopic? How is a material that's 15% mineral oil not a lubricant? I've used it on all of the applications that people have listed here (including a saxophone) and still have all my fingers and toes and no bad experiences.

The statement that "the use of grooves on highways has reduced highway traffic accidents by 85 percent" is irresponsible nonsense. Grooving accident prone sections of highway plus the development of better tire designs to handle hydroplaning may have reduced that particular type of accident somewhat, but that's it. …

I don't discredit it in the least - it's absolutely wonderful; at a recent family reunion we were using tablets to show videos from elderly relatives who couldn't attend and videos of grandkids were going home the same way. I was just surprised by how pervasive this was, once I began to notice it. This, plus the…

Interesting that the real, fun utility of a reasonably good tablet only starts to surface once you get away from the reality distortion field and appalling profit margins created by Apple and their acolytes (Applelytes?).

Funny that Wansink should make his first career telling the food industry how to sell more food and renew old product lines. This is the old "eat ice cream with a small spoon" argument, and doesn't work.

Few experienced users would fall for this kind of manipulative scam, so it's a triple fail for Lifehacker; useless, abusive and dishonest.

If you want to maximize the moisture removal using any dessicant (rice, damp rid, silica gel, sugar, oven dried paper shreds etc.) it has to be warm (not hot enough to damage anything) so that the water will vaporize and diffuse out of the gadget. Putting it in a paper bag will slow this somewhat but will keep the…

If you're traveling in the U.S., carry a prepaid Priority Mail "all you can fit" envelope or box from the USPS - when you're standing in the TSA line and suddenly remember your multi-tool/Swiss Army Knife/flamethrower/plutonium sample is in your carry-on, you can mail it, usually right from the airport. Costs a few…

Apparently it's too much Eloi in the diet

Why not use it to *add* some interesting locations for the next time you're stopped by the police? Your cell phone and the State Police

"Liquid Electrical Tape" is essentially the same thing and works wonderfully.

@GHDave has it right - Hipmunk is the best metasearch site and will even find flights that the airlines themselves mask in their "low price" searches. Then go back to the airlines and book direct to avoid Travelocity/Priceline etc. fees/hassle after comparing with SWA.

The antifungal agents (Thymol in Listerine and its clones) are very good at, duh, killing fungus - athletes foot was one of the original uses as was general wound cleaning and antibiotic treatment. Good in a pinch but it stings like the dickens.

Window fan on a timer. Run it at night to cool the house, close most of the windows during the day to keep the heat out. This won't work in the swelter of summer unless you have good insulation and unusually cool nights but will carry you past some of the spring and autumn cooling bills.

This looks like a good solution to cross-platform productivity (Windows/Mac/Linux) that simple file handling can't manage. We have a fair number of "legacy" systems (Xp mostly) in the lab and run equipment or apps not supported for Windows 7 - this may be a useful way to make them all play nice.

Passport and money. In dire circumstances just money.

Open the case - 2 minutes in the microwave (don't breathe the fumes). Serve warm, with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Pay attention.

If you're going to build your own, be aware that the typical 5V regulator (7805) may start to get a little odd when the supply voltage begins to drop below ~6.5 volts - I always add an extra cell to keep it happy (though that sounds odd and may not always be necessary).

Guess what, kids - *all* salt, from your driveway to your blood-pressure cuff is sea salt. Nobody's synthesizing the stuff, it's just a question of whether it's mined from an underground deposit (prehistoric sea), that big white spot just west of Salt Lake City (current inland evaporite pan), or some other place…