"A wonderful brain interprets something differently from what it actually is, but it doesn't mean it's made a mistake. It took the information it had and did it's best job." Those are but two tricks from Jerry Andrus (1918-2007), self-taught magician and illusionist, and one of great renown amongst other magicians. But he was more than a slight-of-hand man: he was also a poet, philosopher, inventor, humanist, agnostic, and skeptic. There are an impressive number of videos of him online, these are but a few to get you started down the rabbit hole: Jerry Andrus is visual poetry (Google video / YT, 28 minutes) :: Jerry Andrus at the Magic Castle (G.vid, 49 min), Jerry Andrus at 83 his Optical Illusions (G.vid, 41 min) :: Jerry Andrus and Ray Hyman on Uri Geller (YT, 26 min) :: James Randi on Jerry Andrus (YT, 5 min) :: James Randi - who was Jerry Andrus? :: James Randi describes Jerry Andrus. The last two clips are from Rex Young, a young illusionist who has recreated many of Andrus' illusions on his YouTube channel, and made some of his own.
posted by filthy light thief on Sep 12, 2011 - 25 comments

You're Doing It All Wrong A collection of How-To cooking videos from Chow.com.
posted by ColdChef on Apr 3, 2011 - 46 comments

Ever wish you could learn to weave cloth, forge a knife, sew a corset, or build a Tudor mansion?
posted by DU on Dec 6, 2010 - 22 comments

"The Japanese Tradition" was a series of nine short, parody "How To" videos that gently mocked the formality of Japanese culture, from comedy duo Rahmens (ラーメンズ) and Japan Culture Lab. They're available on DVD, but nearly all of them can be seen on YouTube, including Sushi and Ocha (tea). [more inside]
posted by zarq on Aug 25, 2010 - 54 comments

TRON-a-Sutra (NSFW), or Geeks. [more inside]
posted by bwg on Aug 24, 2010 - 17 comments

Make your own soda. Root beer. Seltzer. Cream. Ginger beer. Endless possibilities, maybe you'll be the next big thing at Galco's [more inside]
posted by MiltonRandKalman on Jun 2, 2010 - 31 comments

Saturday Night Simpsons Dance Remix Post: Dennal Plan, a remix, How it was made [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on Aug 29, 2009 - 26 comments

It's time to start planning for this year's Thrill The World! [more inside]
posted by hippybear on Jun 1, 2009 - 9 comments

Make make a pancake from Atlanta all the way to the Great Lakes! [via]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Aug 18, 2008 - 8 comments

A Big List of Sites That Teach You How To Do Stuff. That is what this is.
posted by brain_drain on Nov 30, 2007 - 14 comments

doFlick.com is a library of educational and instructional videos. It's short on content at the moment but it could turn out to be a useful resource. Who wouldn't benefit from knowing how to fold a plastic bag neatly?
posted by tellurian on May 16, 2007 - 24 comments

There's a new site, just up and running, that aims to be the YouTube of How-To. Not exactly overflowing with clips just yet, but it could perhaps become a handy web resource, if people really start uploading stuff, and if the folks running it keep pumping out the in-house productions that so far comprise the majority of the site's content. Anyway, it's already the place to go if you want a tutorial on how to make a California roll, or how to hang a door. And if nothing else, some of these clips are just screaming for a mashup treatment. They're calling it VideoJug.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Aug 28, 2006 - 52 comments