Disaster Preparation News
May 21st: End of the World or Zombie Apocalypse?
Could the world really be coming to an end tomorrow? Presuming you believe the biblical prediction from 89-year-old Harold Camping, May 21st, 2011 is undeniably Judgment Day. If you have confidence in that prophecy, you're probably not even reading this because you're too busy either A) preparing for the Rapture or B) sitting in your backyard bunker hoping to outwit annihilationism.
News: 5 Ways You Can Help Japan's Tsunami Victims Right Now, From Your Couch
A devastating tragedy occurred in Japan on Friday when a monstrous 8.9-magnitude quake hit, causing a 10 meter (33 foot) tsunami to engulf the northeastern coast of the country. There are reports of over 1,000 people who have lost their lives, tens of thousands evacuated, and massive damage. Whether you have a lot or a little to give, here are five ways you can aid in the relief effort this very moment, without even leaving your couch.
News: Rule #1 for Surviving Somali Pirates: Lay Off the Doobie
Though it's unlikely you'll ever have a need for hostage survival skills, it never hurts to take in a few tips on what to do in the event of being accosted by Somali pirates off the Horn of Africa. Wired has tracked down a HowTo guide that addresses such a scenario. Though most of the advice is fairly general, one important point addresses the dangers of lighting up with the enemy:
News: Boob Support = Life Support
Dr. Elena Bodnar proposes a silly idea. Why not wear a bra that double as a gas mask? No point in being ill equipped (in the event of fires, terrorist attacks, dust storms or a swine flu outbreak). The instructions are simple: In the event of an emergency, remove bra.
News: Identify Edible Plants in the Wild: Tips from an Iraq War Veteran
Robert Xyster, submitter to Love.Earn, demonstrates the universal edibility test using vegetation of the Iraq desert as an example:
News: Build & Hide a Campfire from Your Enemies: Tips from an Iraq War Veteran
Robert Xyster, submitter to Love.Earn, shares another military-grade HowTo. Yesterday's deadfall trap tutorial laid out how to catch and kill common Iraq rodents. Today's lesson demonstrates how to make a fire in the wild, and most importantly, how to conceal it behind enemy lines.
Kill This (and Other Prey): Tips from an Iraq War Veteran
Robert Xyster, submitter to Love.Earn, shares a military-grade formula for avoiding starvation in the wild. There are several deadfall trap tutorials on the web, but this HowTo is particularly unique because of its context.
News: Afrigadget
Yankee ingenuity is a trait we hold in the highest regard here at Wonderhowto. So imagine our delight in sharing Afrigadget, whose tagline is: "solving everyday problems with African ingenuity".
News: Play Me that Al Qaeda "Kill" in Superslomo NFL Instant Replay
As sports fanatics, we know how central instant replay is in professional sports. The NFL proved it to any non-believer many years ago. Now the rest of the world is playing catch up. Yes, I am pointing my fingers at the FIFA idiots who run the World Cup. (UK was robbed against Germany). And baseball... Selig should apologize to Armando.
News: U.S. Army Drops $461 Mil on Hummer-Tank Hybrid Wet Dream
Earlier this month, the U.S. Army agreed to drop quite a big chunk of change ($461m to be exact) on 423 M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicles (ASV), made by Textron Systems.
No SFX Necessary: 5 Real Life Iron Man Prototypes
How is it possible that Iron Man is not yet a reality? DVICE reports that super-powered exoskeletons are indeed within our grasp (if not quite as flashy as Hollywood SFX just yet). Real life exoskeletons fall into the realm of not-too-distant futuristic warfare.
News: Pentagon Searches for Perfect Body Extraction Bot
Rescuing wounded soldiers in a war zone is extremely dangerous. Again, (previous entry, Futuristic Warefare), the Pentagon turns to scifi technology and robotics for the answer. The current solution is to develop robots that perform as "combat casualty extraction system[s].” And not just one robot to go in and save the day, but an "autonomous EMS crew, complete with an unmanned ambulance and robodocs, who can aid fallen troops 'with minimal intervention by medic or other first responder opera...
News: Pentagon Funds Real Life Spider-Man Technology
Chemical engineers at Cornell have created a small device that may one day turn troops into real life spider-men. The device would cradle in the palm of the hand, allowing troops to scale walls. It uses an adhesive inspired by the Floridian leaf beetle, an insect that "can adhere to leaves with power 100 times stronger than its own body weight".
News: DIY Penny-Powered Stove
Light-weight, tiny, and easily doable, Mark Jurey's penny stove instructional demonstrates how to make a sleekly simple (and cheap) camping stove.
News: Make Fire With a Condom
From Wildwood Survival, how to make fire with a condom and water. Okay, so article author Rob Bicevskis doesn't use a condom (he suggests any kind of "plastic wrap"), but I think a condom makes it a little more fun. Nicely photographed how-to, click through for the text steps. Additional fire-condom How-To video further down.
News: Light fires with a waterproof DIY piston
The fire piston is a primitive device that many claim Rudolph Diesel used as a model for his namesake engine design. Both employ the use of compression ignition. The piston compresses the air to over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. This results in the ignition of the tinder in the tip of the bolt.
News: Make fire with a condom
Condom + Water = Fire Kinda. This is a quick 'survivalist' technique for makeshift solar fire-starting. Harness the power of sun. And at the same time you can make use of all those condoms* laying around.
News: AA battery + staple = fire
Creator Funditor claims right off the bat that this survival tip could save your life. We think that's slightly dramatic, but it shouldn't take away from his video's utility.
News: Make a lamp from a can of tunafish
One can of tuna fish is as versatile as a Swiss army knife. Just stock up on this stuff when traveling or camping.