Thursday, 10 July 2008 @ 2:11pm.
Check out one of Richard Bradshaw’s puppet shows on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vzDov1dBrLk
There are lots of other fun videos from different shadow artists on YouTube, too.
Here are some useful tips from an old Reader’s Digest issue:
“Plastic curtains in hotel showers have a habit of billowing inwards and wrapping you in a clammy embrace. They’re pushed inwards because the falling water creates slightly lower air pressure inside the shower area than outside it. To avoid their touch, spray the side of the bath with water and push the bottom of the curtain against it, where it will stick - thanks to surface tension - out of harm’s way.”
“For people in colder climes, frosty mornings can mean having to scrape at windscreens to remove the ice, or blast away with a fancy spray. But there’s a faster and simpler solution: melt the ice using warm water. (Not too hot, or you risk cracking the windscreen.) Problem is, the water will freeze too. The trick is to switch on your windscreen wipers as soon as you pour the water. The wipers will clear the meltwater from the windscreen, and where there’s no water, there’s nothing to turn to ice. A rubber squeegee does the same trick for the side windows.”
How to Find Lost Children: “If you’re looking for your kids in a shop or amusement park, the more searchers you send out, the greater the chance of finding them. The risk is that some searchers will continue looking for the children even after they’ve been found. Fortunately, mathematicians have deduced that the most effective strategy is to get searchers to check back at gradually decreasing intervals. So first tell everyone to report back at the same spot after, say, 15 minutes. If the missing offspring aren’t found in this first sweep, send the search party out again, this time reporting back after 12 minutes. Repeat as necessary, reducing the search time.”
“An unstable table can ruin an otherwise perfect meal. Before you complain or try stuffing bits of paper under the legs, try this simple trick: lift the table and turn it a little. A mathematical theorem proved in the 1960s shows that by doing this repeatedly, it’s usually possible to find a position where all four legs make firm contact with an uneven floor.”
How to Avoid Making Bad Choices: “Whether you’re looking for a new job, a gift for someone or even a soulmate, it’s hard to know whether to take what you’ve just see or continue looking. For decisions where you must accept or reject each option as it comes up, science actually provides a rule of thumb: weigh up the merits of the first offer, but don’t accept it. Now continue looking and accept the first offer that beats the initial one. This has been proved to maximise your chances of making the best choice - and minimise the risk of making the worst.”
How to Beat Travel Sickness: “Ditch all the car accessories claimed to cure it: the main cause is a mismatch between what the eyes see and what the body experiences. So sit where you can see the road ahead, instead of looking at something inside the car.”
