Author: Stacy

The next time you see a neon sign, appreciate the science and skill it took to create it.

Give your flowers a little drink of bleach. They’ll thank you, we promise.

Kevin Kowalski uses wet clay and pigment-laced acid to create gorgeously unpredictable designs on pottery. You can find more of his work on Etsy.

Neighbors, friends, heroes—who do we talk about when we talk about refugees?

The tradition of christening a new ship by breaking a bottle of champagne (or other alcohol) over it is a time-honored one. The U.S. has done it since the launch of the USS Constitution in 1797, but the practice was taken from the Brits, who borrowed the concept from the ancient Greeks among others.

After so many centuries, you’d think that we would have the practice down—but as First Lady Bess Truman found out in 1945, practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect. Bess was supposed to christen a pair of new ambulance planes for the Army and Navy, but when she tried to break a bottle of bubbly on the nose of the Army plane, it refused to break. Someone had forgotten to score the glass on the bottles ahead of time, which, it turns out, is the secret to a successful smash.

When it came time for the Navy ambulance plane to be christened, they came up with a crafty solution to the seemingly unbreakable bottle—positioning a hammer under the plane’s nose, where Bess duly aimed.

 
The crowd members weren’t the only ones who got a kick out of the bungled bottle—the president was also entertained. “They showed me pictures of you trying to break that champagne bottle on the plane,” he wrote to her. “They are very good. They caught the navy with the hammer redhanded.”

The first bottle never did smash—you can still view the stubborn, sturdy thing at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri.

Bonsai trees may be small, but according to David Castro, curator of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Bonsai Museum, they have big stories to tell.

Kermit got it all wrong: It is easy being green. Going green doesn’t have to mean committing to a 10-mile walk to work or abiding by “if it’s yellow, let it mellow”—you can make a difference by making small adjustments that add up to big change. Here are 11 ideas to get you started.

1. USE YOUR DISHWASHER.

It may seem counterintuitive, but your dishwasher is way more energy- and water-efficient at washing dishes than you are, as long as you’re running a full dishwasher. According to one German study, dishwashers use half of the energy and a sixth of the water, not to mention less soap. So, don’t feel guilty about skipping the sink of sudsy water, or about not pre-rinsing before loading up the machine—you’re actually doing the environment a favor by firing up your dishwasher.

2. SWITCH TO ONLINE BILL PAY.

Not only is it convenient to pay all of your bills with a click or two, it’s also environmentally friendly. One study found that the average U.S. household receives 19 bills and statements from credit card companies, banks, and utilities every month. By switching to online statements and online bill pay, each American household could save 6.6 pounds of paper per year, save 0.08 trees, and not produce 171 pounds of greenhouse gasses. Not bad for simply clicking a few “receive online statements” boxes.

3. OPT OUT OF JUNK MAIL.

While you’re paring down the amount of stuff that arrives daily in your mailbox, visit Catalog Choice to opt out of various mailers you don’t want to receive. So far, the nonprofit organization says they have saved more than 500,000 trees, over one billion pounds of greenhouse gas, more than 400 million pounds of solid waste, and approximately 3.5 billion gallons of water.

4. PLANT A TREE OR TWO.

Planting trees is obviously great for the environment, but if you’re strategic about it, it can help you reduce your energy costs and use less fossil fuel. According to ArborDay.org, planting large deciduous trees on the east, west, and northwest sides of your house can shade and cool your home during the warmer months, even slashing your air conditioning costs by up to 35 percent.

5. TURN OFF THE TAP.

If you leave the tap running while you tend to your pearly whites, you’re wasting approximately 200 gallons of water a month. Just turn the tap on when you need to wet your brush or rinse, instead of letting H20 pour uselessly down the drain. The same goes for anyone who shaves with the water running.

6. GO THRIFTING.

Take some advice from your old pal Macklemore and hit up some thrift shops—and that goes for whether you’re getting rid of clutter or adding more to your home. Buying and donating to thrift stores and second-hand shops means you’re recycling, supporting your local economy, and saving money. In fact, by some estimates, every item of clothing donated reduces 27 pounds of carbon emissions.

7. GET A HOUSEPLANT.

And grab a little guy for your desk at work, too. House plants and desk plants have been proven to improve your mood and raise productivity, but they also purify the air by removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in homes and offices. They also absorb carbon dioxide and increase the humidity. Low-maintenance plants include pothos, spider plants, jade, various succulents, and peace lilies.

8. GET SCRAPPY.

Cut up paper that has only been used on one side and use it to scribble reminders, notes, grocery lists, etc. Or flip it over for any kids you know to color on. (You can color on it, too, if you want.)

9. PUT YOUR CAFFEINE TO WORK.

Your coffee likely traveled thousands of miles to arrive in your pantry, so get good use out of it. Use your grounds to mulch plants that love acidic soil, like roses, evergreens, and rhododendrons. If your garden problems tend to be less about the dirt and more about the things that live in it, certain garden denizens hate coffee—namely ants, slugs, and snails. Sprinkle grounds in problem areas to deter them.

10. ENLIGHTEN YOURSELF.

Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs—the spiral light bulbs) may cost more upfront, but they’ll save up to $57 over the life of the bulb. More importantly, they use 70 percent less energy than traditional bulbs and installing them is as easy as screwing in a light bulb. (Insert joke here.)

11. MAKE TRACKS.

You don’t have to cut out your daily driving entirely, but when you only have a few blocks, or perhaps just a mile or two to travel and don’t need to transport anything bulky, consider walking or hopping on your bike. Walking 1.5 miles generates less than a quarter of the greenhouse gasses that are emitted by driving the same distance.

All images via iStock.

Ksenia Penkina has perfected a glazing technique that results in cakes that are works of art. (Check out more of Penkina’s work on Instagram!)

Indian farmer Dashrath Manjhi is an inspiring example of how selflessness and hard work can make a massive difference in people’s lives.

Your freezer is probably stocked with frozen pizzas and pints of ice cream, but the chilliest part of your fridge could be doing more. If stocked right, the freezer could be utilized in ways that could save money, prolong the life of products, and make you look like a well-prepared host who is always ready for impromptu guests. Here are 10 items you should always keep stashed.

1. CHICKEN STOCK

We’re not talking about the stuff at the store that comes in a can or a box. The next time you make a rotisserie chicken (or buy one ready-made), make a quick stock out of the leftover bits. Throw it in your freezer and you’ll have a rich, delicious liquid on hand that will make your soups, pastas, and sauces exponentially more flavorful.

2. BATTERIES

You may have heard that keeping batteries in your freezer will extend their shelf life, and that’s true, but only for specific types. Putting your run-of-the-mill alkaline batteries on ice isn’t going to make much of a difference, but the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) batteries that are often used in electronics—that’s a different story. Those self-discharge a few percent every day, but storing them at low temps will help slow that down. (You’ll want to bring them to room temperature before putting them to use, however.)

3. PEAS

A bag of frozen peas serves a dual purpose. You can eat them, of course. But frozen peas can also soothe an injury in a way that other ice packs can’t. The individual peas in the bag can be molded around an achy body part more easily than other forms of relief (like, say, the stereotypical slab of meat).

4. COOKIES

The next time you make a batch of cookie dough, resist the urge to eat it all. Scoop the mixture into single cookies as if you were going to bake them. Then, freeze the dough in an airtight container or plastic bag. Later, you can pull out a cookie or two and bake whenever you’ve got a craving for something sweet.

Another option: Go ahead and bake the cookie dough but instead of digging in afterward, seal the sweets in an airtight container and throw them in the freezer. When you have guests, pull the cookies out to thaw and wow them with no-fuss, made-from-scratch treats.

5. CANDLES

Before you burn a new candle, toss it in the freezer for a day. Keeping it cool will chill the wax and extend the candle’s burning time. This little trick is especially helpful for tapers, which are notoriously fast burners. You can also freeze your jar candles when they’re spent. This helps loosen up the remaining wax, making it easier to pop out what’s left of the candle so that you can reuse the jar.

6. HERBS

Want fresh herbs all year-round without paying a premium price? Buy them at a farmer’s market when they’re in season, then freeze. Serious Eats tested several methods and determined that covering chopped herbs in canola or olive oil prior to freezing is the best way to retain flavor and texture.

7. CRUMBLE TOPPING

Crumble topping—usually a mixture of butter, sugar, and flour—is delicious and versatile. Unfortunately, making it can be time-consuming. Instead of whipping up a fresh batch every time a recipe calls for it, make a large amount and freeze it. When you need crumble as a topping for coffee cake, pie, cobbler, or ice cream, you’ll save both time and effort by reaching into the freezer and pulling out a cup of the sweet stuff.

8. WINE

Have leftover wine? Pour it into ice cube trays to make individual cubes. You can use them later as a creative way to chill a glass of red or white from a fresh bottle or in soups, stews, coq au vin, or any other recipes that call for a splash of vino.

9. PLASTIC WRAP

If you’ve ever experienced cling wrap that’s a bit too clingy, you know how frustrating it can be. But if you store your rolls of wrap in the freezer, the material will be less likely to stick to itself. Don’t worry; it’ll still have enough oomph to cover bowls and plates.

10. ICE

It may sound like a no-brainer, but keep a fresh batch of ice on hand. You never know when guests might stop by, and if you haven’t refreshed your stock in a few days, you could be too low to serve them. Worse, you could have ice that has picked up flavors from other items in your freezer. Either way, it’s best to refresh your ice box every few days.