Seeking recommendations for a decent at-home first-aid kit.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Armed Only With Hubris at 6:38 PM on August 15, 2021 (25 comments)

I have seen lots of great science communication about how the Webb telescope was designed, built, launched into space, and unfolded. I have marvelled at the photos that have come back, but I'd like to know more about how the telescope has changed our understanding of science so far. What have they been prioritizing in the research so far, and have there been exciting and important results that advance our understanding of basic science, astrophysics, and the history of the universe?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by sindark at 9:30 PM on October 30, 2023 (4 comments)

I'm on the hunt for more crossword puzzles that are about as hard as a Saturday NYT or a Monday New Yorker. I already do the LAT and sometimes WSJ. Where are the other good — tough!!!!!! — x-words I can dig my nerdy teeth into? (I already know about the Times archive, and I'm not interested in cryptics.)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Charity Garfein at 4:45 PM on October 30, 2023 (6 comments)

My family likes jigsaw puzzles, but with quite specific parameters. What's the best/cheapest way for us to get our fix?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fingersandtoes at 8:29 PM on October 28, 2023 (11 comments)

I'm looking for games which you can play in a browser by using your smartphone as a controller, but not in a button-mashing sense. I am aware of AirConsole, but it only transforms your smartphone into a gamepad. What will make me get off the couch and move without buying a Wii or Kinect or something else?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by gakiko at 7:09 AM on October 29, 2023 (2 comments)

Help me plan for an organised vegetable plot in 2024 with limited resources.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by chives at 9:37 AM on October 29, 2023 (13 comments)

I want to get better at "regular" dancing: Like not learn salsa or ballroom or something - I want to be better at the regular kind of dancing people might typically do at a club or party or wedding. How do I do this?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ManInSuit at 4:28 PM on October 28, 2023 (16 comments)

7 emotional blocks making it harder to declutter.
#1 My Stuff Keeps Me in the Past. Looking at these items may reinforce that your best days are behind you.
#2 My Stuff Tells Me Who I Am. Ask what am I looking to these things to tell me about myself?
#3 Stuff I'm Avoiding. (It me! It me!)
CBC interview with decluttering maven Tracy McCubbin (onTikTok).
posted to MetaFilter by spamandkimchi at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2023 (67 comments)

It's cold and flu season - buckle up and watch yourself on trains and subways, because if you get what I've had, it's a doozy!. Let's bone up on how to make yourself (or your loved ones) feel better when you/they feel terrible. And by all means, share your favorite remedies!
posted to MetaFilter by drewbage1847 at 10:07 PM on October 23, 2023 (55 comments)

How L.A.’s bird population is shaped by historic redlining and racist loan practices
posted to MetaFilter by kaibutsu at 10:25 AM on October 17, 2023 (12 comments)

On each anniversay of the Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings), Maria Popova writes about the most important lesson she's learned that year. Today, on the 17th anniversary, we have one new lesson and the sixteen previous lessons. Learn how to question your universe from a poem about pi. Learn how to outgrow yourself. And don't forget to embrace joy.
posted to MetaFilter by tofu_crouton at 2:10 PM on October 23, 2023 (3 comments)

Many years ago, I read a great book based off a MeFi recommendation. I need help finding it again. It was short historical summaries, maybe 5-10 pages long each, with a high level summary of rationale for conflicts within the world (think India/Pakistan, USA/Cuba, Israel/Palestine, etc.). I seem to recall it as even-handed and factual, rather than editorial. Any ideas?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by evadery at 7:25 AM on October 20, 2023 (5 comments)

It's another year of microscopic photographs! Please gaze upon these photos of the teeny and tiny. Enjoy your coffee with crystals of caffeine and sugar . Be amazed at this striking close-up of a match being struck. Wonder how slime molds can be so whimsical.
posted to MetaFilter by Prof. Danger at 5:39 PM on October 19, 2023 (13 comments)

How to Fix The Internet "We’re in a very strange moment for the internet. We all know it’s broken. That’s not news. But there’s something in the air—a vibe shift, a sense that things are about to change. For the first time in years, it feels as though something truly new and different might be happening with the way we communicate online. The stranglehold that the big social platforms have had on us for the last decade is weakening. The question is: What do we want to come next?"
posted to MetaFilter by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:42 PM on October 18, 2023 (65 comments)

I want to know the best eye makeup remover for black eye makeup.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bookworm4125 at 10:24 AM on October 18, 2023 (22 comments)

An Abundance Of Beasts is an endless medieval bestiary generator, creating new creatures every time you look.
posted to MetaFilter Projects by dng at 10:20 PM on August 26, 2023 (5 comments)

I have video footage and photographs that I want to use to make a documentary about a certain part of my life. It's a personal project and I don't have any intention to release the resulting film, but I would like to make it as well as I possibly can. I envisage working on this documentary to be my hobby for the next few years.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by roolya_boolya at 4:24 AM on October 15, 2023 (5 comments)

“I am still Matt, this is still Web Curios, and you could probably do with some interesting links and internet ephemera to take the edge off so, well, here you are.”
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeyToes at 4:36 PM on October 14, 2023 (13 comments)

World Migratory Bird Day is October 14. Because birds use magnetic fields to navigate at night during long-distance migrations, severe space weather can throw them off course. Cheyenne Bottoms (KS) is the most popular rest stop for North American migratory shorebirds. Thousands of Vaux's swifts will roost together in a single chimney. Lili Taylor's PSA for the Lights Out for Birds campaign.
posted to MetaFilter by spamandkimchi at 4:32 PM on October 14, 2023 (12 comments)

Following up from this, I'd like to know what else should be looked into/explained when looking for a house. Flood maps? Cancer clusters? Home inspections? Radon inspections specifically? Credit reports? Grants? Realtors? Anything besides Zillow? Starting from zero here.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by queen anne's remorse at 9:22 AM on October 12, 2023 (21 comments)

I'd like to mend this hole in my vest, so that down doesn't come out and it looks nicer. I think the shell is nylon but there's no tag. I guess it could also be polyester? It's probably 25+ years old. In theory I could darn it but that seems fiddly and I don't know if that's even the right thing. I'm wondering if there's an easier way, perhaps a drop of some sort of flexible adhesive? Thanks!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by SaltySalticid at 8:57 AM on October 11, 2023 (7 comments)

Plunging into the crystalline blue waters off a Portuguese island, scuba divers searched the seafloor. A see-through, orange creature lurking below caught their attention. It turned out to be a new species ... The Azores sap-sucking sea slug is about a quarter-inch in size, researchers said. It has “bladelike teeth” and a “bright and translucent orange” body. Its digestive system is visible from the outside and looks like “a dark green pigment.” from See-through creature with ‘bladelike teeth’ found lurking in sea. It’s a new species
posted to MetaFilter by chavenet at 7:45 AM on October 11, 2023 (7 comments)

I would like to devote one day a week to volunteering but am currently and for the foreseeable future leading a somewhat nomadic lifestyle (two months in one place, one month in another, etc.). What are my options?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fiery.hogue at 12:05 PM on October 10, 2023 (14 comments)

I sort of know how to read music and I want to take up piano (again)
posted to Ask MetaFilter by tractorfeed at 5:19 PM on October 10, 2023 (3 comments)

I just reached my breaking point with the Times this morning. Looking for highly-regarded sources of international and national (United States) news.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by rhymedirective at 6:13 AM on October 9, 2023 (33 comments)

I have a presentation in 9 days. It cannot and will not be moved. I will have three days of near nonstop talking. I would need to be on my deathbed to miss this event. My cuddly plague rats (children) brought home a cold last week and now I have it. Post nasal drip, sore throat, and cough. What are your tips and tricks to get rid the cold fast?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Suffocating Kitty at 9:29 AM on October 8, 2023 (45 comments)

Kentucky Route Zero: It took seven years for the three-person team at Cardboard Computer to finish their masterpiece about a sad, regretful man making one last delivery for his employer's failing antique shop.
posted to MetaFilter by mecran01 at 6:52 PM on October 1, 2023 (15 comments)

For the last few years, I've worn elusively Gap Breathe Shorty underpants. They are soft and amazing. But they only come in boring colors. I'd want brightness and patterns!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jeszac at 6:37 AM on October 1, 2023 (6 comments)

There's a poem I'm trying to find that's about grading essays about "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (I think, could be a different Frost poem) but procrastinating, and maybe it's getting late and the narrator is drinking wine and the essays aren't getting graded. It's got the wit of Billy Collins but I don't think it's by him. This has become un-Googleable, please help.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by one_bean at 9:23 PM on September 28, 2023 (6 comments)

What are things I can do to zone out that don’t involve screens or eating?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by CMcG at 5:59 PM on September 29, 2023 (35 comments)

Hi everyone -- I'm walking more for fitness lately and I'm hoping to find an app with a very specific functionality: I want to be able to request a loop of 1, 3, 5 or more miles from a specific point, and then through some sort of GPS wizardry the app (or website) would automatically generate a map for a route that meets approximately that specific distance. Does this exist?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mochapickle at 11:42 AM on September 23, 2023 (8 comments)

I want to embark on a self improvement journey (specifically in terms of getting my finances in order and learning to be better with money) and the idea of blogging about my progress is appealing to me, but I'm not sure where to start.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by chives at 1:35 PM on September 19, 2023 (17 comments)

My absolute favorite genre of museum/attraction is ”eccentric rich person’s oddly sorted collection of items related to their special interest(s).” I just spent part of today at the Mercer Museum and had an amazing time. What other museums, historic homes, or other attractions anywhere in the world might scratch a similar itch?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ActionPopulated at 7:39 PM on September 17, 2023 (81 comments)

Here's a couple examples. The present: A young woman walks down a street in Tehran, her hair uncovered, her jeans ripped, a bit of midriff exposed to the hot Iranian sun. An unmarried couple walk hand in hand. A woman holds her head high when asked by Iran's once-feared morality police to put a hijab on, and tells them: "Screw you!"
posted to MetaFilter by aniola at 10:14 PM on September 15, 2023 (16 comments)

I'm looking for some fake candles. I want to turn on a bunch of very realistic looking candles at the touch of a button. If a professional candle inspector looks at my candles from more than a couple feet away, I want them to be fooled.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bondcliff at 4:21 PM on September 15, 2023 (12 comments)

Looking for a longish (15+ minutes) guided bodyscan audio. I'd like one with a clear, calm voice and pauses built in for reflection. Don't want anything religious or woo, just someone guiding you through a scan of your body and its sensations. Ideally without a subscription, but happy to pay for a one-off. Do you have a favorite?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jebs at 9:40 AM on September 15, 2023 (12 comments)

I want to be a person who writes things down in their notebook, but I have never developed good habits and practices for being the type of person who writes things down in a notebook. Please share your wisdom with me, dear notebook people! How do you do it? like how and when do you make the time? do you draw little quadrants for every meeting? Start each day with some set of journaling intentions in your mind? Some deeply learned wisdom about how and why writing stuff down helps you? My to do lists overwhelm me to the point even writing them down is hard.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bingbong at 4:30 PM on September 13, 2023 (22 comments)

We use small amounts of the cheapest detergent. Sometimes I sort by color. When my undergarments are dingy I soak them for 24 hours in Oxiclean. When I clean out the dryer lint trap, I wonder if I am slowly destroying my wardrobe. The burden of living a mediocre life is almost unbearable. I want to level up my laundry game. What are your life-changing laundry tips?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mecran01 at 7:45 AM on September 13, 2023 (34 comments)

Looking for a vendor (online or brick+mortar) where I can reasonably expect to find a "nice" top for a teenager. This is harder than you'd think. I must be looking in the wrong places. What are the right places?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fingersandtoes at 10:17 PM on September 11, 2023 (38 comments)

I'm looking for books that made you gasp, that made you realize what was possible with literature. Books that have crawled inside your skin and made the world look different. Books that made you say "I didn't know you could do that!"
posted to Ask MetaFilter by allymusiqua at 11:30 AM on September 5, 2023 (52 comments)

The Most Famous Photos in the World and the Cameras that Captured them When looking at old pictures, we rarely think about the photographers that took them, let alone the cameras they used. From album covers to unnerving pictures of War, get the stories behind the most famous photos in the world and see the cameras that were used to capture them. CONTENT WARNING: images of violence, injury, and death
posted to MetaFilter by robbyrobs at 3:17 PM on September 4, 2023 (24 comments)

Help me find new amazing audiodramas to listen to. I particularly like coziness, sci-fi, and fantasy. I love fascinating and detailed sound design, but it's not a requirement if the story is worth it. I would love some stories that aren't predicated entirely on intense conflict rooted in cruelty, but instead explore something interesting (a place, an idea, a way of being human, finding one's path, slice of life) with gentleness and kindness rather than brutality. List of favorite (fiction) podcasts and other media below the fold.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cnidaria at 12:41 PM on September 3, 2023 (9 comments)

I am heading to SF very soon, oops! What to do and where to stay please? I got great answers in my recent Vegas thread, so fingers crossed!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Iteki at 11:30 AM on September 3, 2023 (29 comments)

It's 2023 (I know what the heck) and I want to host my own big or archive again. I say WordPress because I know it well, but I'm looking for suggestions on a theme - or platform - I can use for microblogging, a la Kottke or Tumblr style.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by socky_puppy at 12:54 AM on September 2, 2023 (5 comments)

I saw something on the Internet the other day that had to do with... freezing bits of your face? And there was another one with needles. Are these things that regular people are doing? Do they work? Is there something for my issues that I could do?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fingersandtoes at 8:48 AM on August 24, 2023 (8 comments)

I am in vacation in Colorado and my migraines are in overdrive and almost nothing is helping. Is there anything I can do to get some relief?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Amy93 at 5:46 PM on August 23, 2023 (20 comments)

About two years ago we adopted a dog that had lived as a stray for his first year. He is attached to us, and has met every training challenge except for coming when called. He’s part hound.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Phyllis keeps a tight rein at 9:11 AM on August 20, 2023 (17 comments)

I want to get my important papers in order. I'm thinking I should have the most important in one spot, in a container that I can grab as I'm running out the door. What is that container, and what goes in it?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by The corpse in the library at 7:29 AM on August 19, 2023 (12 comments)

My Parents Are Dead: What Now? A resource (aimed at Millennials, but useful to people of any age) for those who have no idea what to do when their parents die. From the last days through the funeral to probate and beyond, useful advice and links for folks who are working through one of the awful parts of adult life. US-centric.
posted to MetaFilter by gentlyepigrams at 9:48 PM on August 16, 2023 (55 comments)

I have ants come in my kitchen sink, on the counters, and even on the island right opposite of the sink. I've tried cleaning and Clorox'ing, but the ants come back, especially if there's food crumbs. It's driving me crazy.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dubious_dude at 2:49 PM on August 15, 2023 (16 comments)