Awesome Etc

Most knives have an uninterrupted cutting edge, but this unique blade has a serrated edge that makes it look like a metal feather. Knives Project shows us how they created the knife by forging a hunk of steel, cutting and grinding its edge, and then etching a pattern into its blade. The shiny brass handle gives it a truly elegant look.

Guinea pigs are neither from Guinea nor are they pigs. But that didn’t stop scientists from naming them that. Language expert Name Explain talks us through some other improperly-named animals, like the mountain chicken and the bearcat, and explains the origins of their monikers.

Scientists estimate that life began on Earth about 3.7 billion years ago. But it’s quite plausible that life existed before this, shortly after the Big Bang created the universe. Kurzgesagt explains why this might have been possible and what sort of life forms might have been cooking in the universe’s primordial soup.

Gerber’s Hike Kit bundle includes the Armbar Cork multitool for opening bottles and quick fixes, the Stowe fixed-blade knife for food prep, and the Devour multi-fork utensil for chowing down. The Around Camp kit replaces the knife with a Tri-Tip mini cleaver and upgrades the utensils to the ComplEat kit.

This tiny knife from Lonfell is the perfect companion to any gear bag or backpack with MOLLE webbing. It’s designed to clip on easily to MOLLE straps and releases quickly with a press on its plastic holster. It can also be hung from a lanyard and comes in black, green, or orange.

Rumpl teamed up with Houdini to create its most technically advanced blanket. It offers protection from the elements with a dual-layer waterproof shell and Houdini C9 Ripstop fabric. A double-snap clip lets you wear it as a cape on chilly days, and it comes with a waterproof stuff sack to carry it in. Plus, it’s made from 100% recycled/recyclable materials.

Over two decades after Honda sold its last Prelude, the automaker turned up at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 with a new Prelude Concept that looks close to production-ready. Honda left us hanging in terms of specs, only mentioning that it’s an electric sports car and it will launch sometime this decade.

When you apply a curve to a mirror, it distorts the image it reflects. In these two videos, Dr. Boyd F. Edwards shows some of the strange visual effects that happen when an object is placed in front of a large concave mirror. Objects can appear upright, inverted, magnified, or minified depending on their distance relative to the mirror’s focal point.

The Backyard Scientist adds to his arsenal of giant-sized traps with the biggest bear trap we’ve ever seen. After investigating how spring-loaded animal traps work, he took what he learned to supersize the killer contraption. Powered by four coil springs from a Jeep, its ability to cut things in half is terrifying.

Rite in the Rain makes notebook paper that won’t fall apart if it gets wet. Their weatherproof Cordura cover provides added protection for their 7-ring field binders and pockets for pens and other small accessories. It comes in multicam, black, and desert tan fabrics.

There I Ruined It imagines how people celebrate Halloween in Kentucky by turning Michael Jackson’s megahit Thriller into a bluegrass song. We like to imagine the zombies dancing down the street in overalls and nibbling on straw. Also, it turns out this isn’t the first bluegrass version of the song.

Video games have been simulating way that organisms thrive, evolve, and die ever since 1970 with John Conway’s, Game of Life. Over the years, simulations have become far more sophisticated but don’t always produce realistic results. Curious Archive looks at the strange evolution of games that simulate life.

Despite their lack of wings, spiders can actually take flight. This video from the University of Bristol video explains a process called ballooning, in which spiders take advantage of static electrical charges and wind currents to carry silk – and their bodies – through the air.

We always assumed that an airplane needs its wings to be at the same height on both sides of its fuselage to remain airborne. Model airplane enthusiast Eternal Progression shows us how it’s possible to build a relatively simple R/C plane that flies with cardboard wings that are offset at different levels. He also made a flying R/C boat with fold-out wings.

Mayonnaise is one of those condiments that you either love or hate. This look inside the Duke’s mayonnaise factory from How It’s Made probably won’t convert any mayo haters, but it does offer a fascinating glimpse into the process of making mass quantities of the savory dressing. How about that truck filled with liquid eggs?

More than 30 builders from around the world assembled this epic domino display at the World Domino Collective 2023. It took more than two weeks to set it all up and 16 minutes to knock down all 800,000 dominoes – setting an amateur world record in the process. Domino expert Lily Hevesh posted this video of the event, hosted by the Dutch Domino Team.

This industrial robot from Eatch can cook up to 5,000 meals per day, with each meal prepared in its own small pot instead of one giant one. The system automatically dispenses cooking oil, fresh ingredients, and seasonings into the pots, then spins them at an angle over a flame. It even washes the pots after it’s done.

This set of geared shapes works like a Spirograph but lets you create more complicated and diverse patterns. The Planarc 2.0 Spiral Maker set includes 10 gears, three rings, and an outer frame to help you draw countless geometric designs. The basic set is made from acrylic, but there’s an aluminum version for a little more money.

A pocket knife is only as good as the sharpness of its blade. While modern knives have given us better edge retention than ever, you still need to maintain your blade. Everyday Carry ranked the top five pocket knife sharpeners you can buy today, including benchtop, portable, and motorized models.

Now that we know about the history of mustard, it’s time to learn about one of its companion foods. Mental Floss’ Food History is here to explain where the first pretzels came from, how they evolved from a religious food into the popular snack we know and love today, and why we have both soft and hard versions.

Popcorn: there aren’t any other foods we can think of which must explode to be enjoyed. This high-speed footage from The Slow Mo Guys is almost as tasty as a bucket of the buttery stuff is. They used a dangerous-looking popcorn pressure cooker to get a bunch of kernels to pop simultaneously, then fired up some puffed rice.

Andymation is known for making wonderful flipbook animations. He usually creates drawings on paper, but for this sequence, he used a super-thin, somewhat flexible glass called Corning Willow Glass. Can he make it to the end without shattering the fragile frames?

One place you never want to be when a fire breaks out is a theater. That is unless you’re in this “5D Cinema” theater that produces a real fire that leaps off the screen and across the ceiling above the audience’s heads. We couldn’t confirm where this attraction is, but apparently, it’s somewhere in China.