Making Things Easier

July 18, 2010 11:14 AM

Broken Secrets is all about things you may not know but might find useful. These secrets are not things you shouldn’t know; more likely, they’re just interesting things you might not know yet.

For example: Mosquitoes are Attracted to Men More Than Women. Mosquitoes detect mammals by picking up two chemicals: CO2 and 1-Octen-3-ol. CO2 is obviously in our breath when we exhale. The more air you exhale and the more sweat you generate, the easier it is for mosquitoes to find you. Typically, men are: larger than women, have higher body temperatures, sweat more and exhale more CO2.

There Are Three Stanley Cups. The original “cup” resembles a large bowl and is mounted to a wooden stand. It no longer has bands at the bottom and was retired after its first 71 years of service — it remains on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Then there are two nearly identical cups. One is the official cup and bears the official seal on the bottom, the other is a replica and remains on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame when the official cup (“Authenticated Cup”) is elsewhere.

Use Your Watch As a Compass. You hold your watch face flat (parallel to the ground). Keeping your watch flat, you turn until the hour hand is pointing at the Sun. Draw a line between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. This line points in two directions, the direction furthest from the Sun will be North.

Free Text Messaging on iPhone and iPod Touch. Ever since the introduction of the iPhone 3GS and the 3.0 Operating System, push notifications have been available to iPhone users. Basically, these are real time messages that can be sent to your phone from Apple’s notification server.

posted by netbros (19 comments total)

Grease-free keyboard snacking:

1. Pour bite-size snacks into a cup or glass.

2. Angle cup into your mouth so bite-size snacks fall into your mouth.

3. Chew, swallow and repeat from step 2.

Ew.
posted by The Whelk at 11:23 AM on July 18, 2010

Fascinating stuff. Commence the corrective comments!
posted by pyrex at 11:26 AM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

Think back over a thousand years. Could you imagine what it was like when magnets were first discovered? The amazement, confusion and challenge to explain how they worked.

I can imagine this quite clearly, actually.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:33 AM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm actually more surprised that something made The Whelk go "ew"
posted by infini at 11:37 AM on July 18, 2010 [3 favorites]

Could you imagine what it was like when magnets were first discovered?

Bloody magnets, how is it that they function in the way that they do?!
posted by pyrex at 11:46 AM on July 18, 2010 [4 favorites]

I don't get the one on "That Falling Feeling When Going To Sleep" because it spends the entire time talking about sleep paralysis.

As far as my experience has told me, the two are not the same at all. I get sleep paralysis frequently enough, but it never feels like I'm falling.

I usually get that when falling asleep sitting up, like in the car or something.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 11:47 AM on July 18, 2010

Hypnic jerks on AskMe.
posted by desjardins at 12:25 PM on July 18, 2010

I often get very short falling dreams, but never sleep paralysis. They usually happen during the period between being awake and being truly asleep. Only a few seconds in length, they start mid-fall, sometimes with context (a tall building wooshing by, a tarmac or concrete ground rapidly approaching) - sometimes without (just a feeling of falling). Then BAM(!), I hit the ground, my whole body spasms followed by a short feeling of confusion, then back to sleep.

Sudden deceleration syndrome. Heh.
posted by pyrex at 12:25 PM on July 18, 2010

The onlt time I ever had a falling dream was on codeine for my wisdom teeth removal. Very distressing feeling, I'd go into mental panic right before knocking out. Very uncomfortable.
posted by The Whelk at 12:27 PM on July 18, 2010

It's a little different Citrus... the falling their referring to is the feeling after/during sleep paralysis when you feel like you've taken a sharp fall off of your bed or couch. This is conscious you inthe real world thinking "I just woke up and am falling out of bed--craaaaaaap!" All of the above happens to me all too often!
posted by themadjuggler at 12:38 PM on July 18, 2010

Use Your Watch As a Compass.

This probably would have worked quite well before the advent of standard time and daylight savings. Now, though, it's really only as accurate as Okay, let's go kind of over there-ish.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:14 PM on July 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

The site's nicely put together but man, this is what passes for 'secrets?' Dude's gonna get his mind blown when he borrows an old Big Secrets book from the library or tunes into Mythbusters...
posted by jtron at 1:44 PM on July 18, 2010

Reminds me of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
posted by spilon at 5:29 PM on July 18, 2010

Facinating! (SLYT)
posted by Drasher at 5:48 PM on July 18, 2010

This probably would have worked quite well before the advent of standard time and daylight savings.

Not to mention digital watches.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:15 PM on July 18, 2010

Tea Contains Less Caffeine Than Coffee

Huh? Isn't that common knowledge?

Dunkin’ Donuts (or Dunkin’ Coffee as they call it in Spain)

WHOA.
posted by Put the kettle on at 8:03 PM on July 18, 2010

This is the real explanation for the feeling of falling whilst asleep.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:12 AM on July 19, 2010

oops desjardins wins!
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:13 AM on July 19, 2010

I can imagine this quite clearly, actually.

I'm still not entirely sure how magnets work. Sometimes the confusion makes me quite profane.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:26 PM on July 19, 2010