Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2017 i Popular Mechanics

The issue you’re holding represents a fortunate confluence of events. It started last fall, when I was having lunch with Mark Warren, a gifted reporter and writer, and Rob Vrabel, an Army veteran and a talented writer himself. We were talking about crowd control for some reason, specifically New Year’s Eve in Times Square. How does that work? How do the police protect all those people? Mark said he’d call John Miller, a former journalist— he was the last western reporter to interview Osama bin Laden, in 1998— and the current deputy commissioner of intellgence and counterterrorism for the New York Police Department. Meanwhile, I recalled that Rob had handled explosives-detection K-9s in the Army. I asked if he would consider writing about that. He said he’d dig up some…

Weed Killer That Can’t Miss Roundup’s new Precision Gel ($15) uses glyphosate to destroy a weed’s ability to process nutrients. Anything you touch—and only what you touch—is toast. Your New Favorite Grass Seed Thanks to the addition of shadefriendly Titan Rx seeds, the Seed Super Store’s new grass blend (Product SS1002; $64 for a ten-pound bag) handles intense sun as well as it does intense shade, and provides increased resistance to a variety of lawn pests. A Hose That Stands Up to Everything The Goodyear Max- Lite hose ($35) can handle scorching sun and hot water up to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, and still stays flexible even at 40 below. Get it in a bright color and you’ll avoid one of the few things the MaxLite can’t withstand: being run over…

When I was working for the TV news years ago, every story went a little like this: You’re under deadline. You need to get two guests in with a correspondent for interviews. So you quickly book a studio (or rent a nice hotel room) and—as the correspondent waits impatiently—have two camera crews cart in and set up nearly half a ton of lights, cameras, and audio gear. Sometimes the hot lights char the ceiling tiles and the heavy tripods scratch the floors. You’ll hear about (and maybe pay for) that later. In the meantime, you have to hustle the video back to the editing room and assemble your story to be broadcast to the world. All before 6:30 p.m. Of course now that I’m done with that life, there’s Mevo…

My dad’s dad went bald in his 30s. My father’s response was lifelong use of vitamins, hair tonics, and a medicine cabinet full of other treatments. He’s made it to 60 with a full head of hair, but not without preaching the same daily prevention regimen to my three brothers, aged 20 to 31. You’d think in the 50-some years since my grandfather lost his hair, we’d have figured out better solutions to male pattern baldness. Not yet—though experts think we’re getting closer. Traditional balding treatments, like my father’s, prevent hair loss. Until recently, there was little that could be done if hair had already started disappearing. But increasing interest in hair loss has led to new research that holds promise even for those already balding, says Wilma Bergfeld, a…

BEER COUNTER 1 Jacqueline Detwiler: Cheers, everybody! Thanks for coming by to help. You’ve all heard the song, and there’s a lot of beer here. So, you know: Take one down. Alexander George: Song? Jacqui: The “99 bottles of beer on the”—are you serious? 6 Kevin Dupzyk: You know, “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of—” Jacqui: Stop. Matt Allyn: Anyway, for the record, it’s two o’clock in the afternoon, and a few of us are in a glass conference room about to plow through 99 bottles of IPA. Our colleagues can see us in here. While they work. 12 James Lynch: Not that I’m complaining, but why are we doing this again? Jacqui: We’re doing this to find out why IPAs are having a moment right…

OTHER ASSETS At mass gatherings in a large city—say, New Year’s Eve—when you have assets dedicated to securing a specific spot, you need to have resources free and able to move on a moment’s notice (such as the Archangel Package, a.k.a. the Holy Shit Package, see page 90) either to the gathering or to another area of the city. SCREENING For a controlled event (as opposed to a more spontaneous exercise of free speech) of two million people, screening is essential, as is blocking access to where the largest concentrations of the crowd will be assembled. In addition to the street being blocked by fully loaded sand trucks, the sidewalks are blocked by two-ton concrete blocks. PENS Back in the old days, New Year’s Eve in Times Square was an…

DIFFICULTY EASY REASONABLE HARD Time: 90 minutes Ages: 9+ MATERIALS LIST • Six ½ x 36–inch poplar square dowels • 1 ½ x 40–inch poplar round dowel • piece of felt, approximately 7 x 4 inches • 1/8-inch x 2 x 4–foot piece of hardboard • 2 x 4–foot dry-erase hobby board • electric fan (part No. 1238AXCF- 115VAC120mm*) • 2-inch air hockey pucks (part No. 55120-UK2*) • Six 1-inch screws (any type) • package #18 x ¾-inch finishing nails • piece of 3/4-inch scrap wood *Available on Amazon. DIRECTIONS KID PARENT PARENT AND KID 1 Use a table saw or jigsaw to cut the dryerase board and hardboard to 24 x 15 1/8 inches. 2 Create a ¾-inch grid pattern on the top of the dry-erase board with a…

In The Empire Strikes Back, what were the original AT-ATs constructed from? The AT-ATs (All Terrain Armored Transports, or Imperial Walkers, as they were also known) were fashioned from the crushed hopes and pathetic tears of the Rebel Alliance, dispirited by the Empire’s resilience following the destruction of the Death Star and distraught over the discovery of their doomed base on the ice planet Hoth. And hand-machined aluminum, mostly. Nowadays (as in the excellent Rogue One), such cinematic creations are completely computergenerated. But a long time ago in a galaxy much resembling our own, the special-effects Jedi at Industrial Light & Magic used models and stop-motion animation to bring the Empire’s stork-legged strike force to life. First, skilled craftsmen custom-fabricated complex, movable aluminum armatures, which were then skinned with molded…

With thanks to Omer Ibrahim of SkinCare Physicians in Boston. • Platelet-rich plasma • STATUS: Available in some doctor’s offices • HOW IT WORKS: Doctors draw blood and remove the blood cells from it, leaving behind a fluid called plasma. The plasma is then injected into the scalp, where doctors believe that cytokines—proteins in the blood that induce blood vessel growth and help to repair wounds—cause the patient’s hair follicles to revert to the growing phase. • Micro-needling • STATUS: Available in some doctor’s offices • HOW IT WORKS: Doctors prick balding areas of the scalp with very tiny needles. (“Almost painless,” says Ibrahim.) The tiny injuries cause the skin to go into repair mode, which in turn releases cytokines that make hair go into a growing phase. Micro-needling has…

If you want to know what makes the Scott Meridian fly rod special, I can spell out all the science-y reasons. A good fly rod is light and strong and allows you to cast with just the right balance of power and finesse. In developing the Meridian’s state-of-the-art composite materials, Scott used a new process that creates bonds between each graphite fiber that are 20 percent stronger than those found in traditional rods. They pioneered a damping system that keeps vibrations from sapping energy from your cast without adding excess materials that up weight and compromise feel. The rod’s anodized aluminum surface is so hard, durable, and corrosion-resistant you might well hand the thing down to your grandkids’ grandkids. At the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show, the industry’s top trade…

Most people see a rustic, weathered old barn, its red coat faded by sun and wind, its paint chipped in a perfect mosaic of time and history, and they think, How beautiful. I look at the same barn and think, Needs paint. One evening last summer, I saw such a barn. I was walking in a field with some friends and their dog on land I know well. We stood in the green grass taking in the view as swallows dipped and weaved through the dusk. The barn stood at the far end of the field soaking in the last of the light, assuming the sense of purpose old structures often do—a purpose larger than that for which they were built. Its silhouette seemed to outline the passage of time…

A Surf Santa Barbara Sitting a couple hours up the coast from the heart of Southern California surf culture, Santa Barbara, as Lovelace describes it, is a SoCal satellite with more than enough high-quality waves and people to make up for its relatively small size. B The Crew Musician Chris Everett (right) plays guitar in the shop-favorite band Pleasure. Joe Yee (left) apprentices under Lovelace, shaping boards for the house brand Trim Craft. G reat waves are a scarce resource. In a crowded community like Santa Barbara, California, the surf lineup can turn into a melee in which friends fight like brothers to catch the same wave. Locals admit it’s an aggressive scene, but when they’re out of the water, they have a sanctuary in the Trim shop to decompress and…

THERE’S A DRAWER in my apartment that holds a rat’s nest of micro USB and Lightning cables, the ugly life force for my devices. Every night I dig out the right cable and plug, then feel behind the nightstand until the prongs find the outlet. I drape the kinked, discolored wire across an otherwise attractive nightstand, and plug it in so my phone has enough juice for the morning commute. I thought there was nothing I could do to avoid this, until I discovered inductive charging. It’s simple to use. Just place your phone on a charging base, and your battery percentage climbs. No fishing for the right cable, no finding an outlet. The most ubiquitous version of this technology is called Qi (pronounced “chi,” like the harmony feng shui…

THE SUBJECT: CHRIS MORRIS THE JOB: Master distiller at Woodford Reserve, one of Kentucky’s fastestgrowing distillers LOCATION: Versailles, Kentucky 1 / SPIRIT SAFE The spirit safe allows us to access the spirit and make adjustments. There are three whiskey flow compartments. The first makes sure the still is running properly and at the right proof. Called the low wines, that stage still has impurities. The second compartment processes “high wines,” which we nose, but won’t taste. Third is the “new make” still— we taste as it’s being produced. It’s good, but it will taste even better after aging. 2 / NOSING AND TASTING GLASSES The most important pieces of equipment we have are our nose, tongue, and palate. We’re looking for proof points based on our senses. We know from…

THE SURFACE Two hundred thirty miles southwest of New Orleans, a vessel called the Turritella floats on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an FPSO, which stands for floating production, storage, and off-loading facility—basically a cross between an oil platform and a tanker. This particular FPSO belongs to Shell Oil Company, and it is connected by very long pipes to the deepest oil and gas well in the world, in an area called Stones Field. There’s just one huge problem: In a strong storm, an FPSO like the Turritella can cut loose from the well and run. One and a half nautical miles away, a yellow sensor buoy called a metocean station monitors meteorological and oceanic conditions. This helps Shell protect the Turritella from unexpected storms, which could…

DISASSEMBLY REPORT BIOLITE CAMPSTOVE MODEL: BIOLITE CAMPSTOVE 2 PRODUCED: DONGGUAN, CHINA TIME TO DISASSEMBLE: 1 HOUR, 51 MINUTES, 17 SECONDS NOTES: The idea behind BioLite’s CampStove is simple: Build a fire, use the fire to generate electricity, then use a portion of the electricity to power a fan that helps the fire burn cleaner and hotter for longer, so it can keep making power. The guys who built the first prototype were mostly interested in using it for camping, so it’s about the size of a large can of pork and beans and weighs just a couple of pounds. But a fortuitous misadventure at a combustion conference led them to realize their simple idea could be useful in developing countries, so they also make and sell a larger version for…

THE MAKER CAPERS LANDRUM CAUTHEN HIS COMPANY LANDRUM TABLES After disassembling my grandmother’s dilapidated barn, I had a lot of good wood and built a table. My business grew from there. I was looking to do something meaningful, and saving the character—the true beauty—of indigenous Lowcountry wood is my contribution to our local preservation efforts. I don’t throw out anything. A two-foot piece can become a shelf. A four-by-four stud turns into a leg. Letting the imperfections of age become a design feature has become our signature: We are the link between fine and primitive furniture. HE RECOMMENDS THIS COFFEE HOUSE “You can choose your environment at Kudu: air-conditioned interior or shady courtyard.” SOME HISTORY “Eighteenth-century Middleton Place will give you a sense of plantation life and how important it…

A / Husqvarna DRT900 TILL WIDTH, DEPTH: 17 inches, 6 ½ inches LIKES: Shifts smoothly and with a short throw from forward to reverse, or in and out of tilling. Drives as smoothly as the Cub. Other details, like positioning the throttle by the operator and designing side guards that float over rocks and tilled soil, contribute to its ease of use. DISLIKES: None. $800 B / Troy-Bilt Bronco Axis TILL WIDTH, DEPTH: 16 inches, 6 ½ inches LIKES: The Bronco’s tines rotate on the vertical axis instead of the horizontal, which—in the right conditions—lets you push through the soil in only one pass. DISLIKES: There is no way to drive the Bronco without tilling action. If you need to get it into your truck, be ready for a shoving…

Q I want to build a three-foot-high retaining wall behind my house outof pressure-treated wood. Thoughts? SHAWN B., SIOUX CITY, IOWA A Go ahead, but do your homework. First, call 811 before you dig. The free service locates all underground utilities on or in front of a property. (It’s unlikely that you’ll hit these in the backyard, but you never know.) Readers are probably tired of hearing me say this, but in most cases, you’ll need a building permit. The town’s zoning and building department will want to know how close the wall is to property lines. If there’s a chance the wall could encroach on a neighbor’s property, they’ll ask for a surveyor to mark the lot lines. Assuming your wall is nowhere near a property line, you’ll just…

Homeowners hate painting because most homeownerquality tools are flimsy. Pro-duty brushes last longer, speed the job, and make you look like a better painter than you are. If you do nothing else, invest in better brushes. A/ Purdy Clearcut Elite Pip This classically proportioned Purdy may be the perfect brush to cut-in for house painting. It uses synthetic DuPont filaments instead of irregularly shaped natural-fiber bristles and attaches them to the handle with a rustproof stainless-steel ferrule. The ultra-rigid filaments have a round cross section and taper to a spear point. They hold a lot of paint and stand up to repeated cleanings. Most importantly, the brush cuts a clean, crisp line even on a surface as rough as barn board. $28 +USA MADE B / Wooster Gold Edge Wooster’s…

THE TONGUES OF native New Yorkers land heavy on consonants, and on vowels, too. On words and sentences. On poetry and prose, on dese, dem, and dose. For all the worry that television has homogenized all the fun accents out of existence, the sons of certain neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn—they still speak the hell out of all the words. Make a real meal out of them. No posh Manhattan private school diction for these guys, not on your life. And these guys here—these guys are cops, and when they’re on the job, people aren’t people, they are the more formal in-duh-vi-jewwuhls, and by the time this man here, Jim Waters, chief of counterterrorism, New York Police Department, gets up the slopes and down the valleys of that word, it’s…

Rules of Thumb for Pouring Concrete When you’re preparing for a concrete pour, the hardest part can be figuring out how many bags of mix to buy. Once you’ve calculated the surface area you need to cover (hint: section the pour into rectangles, whose areas are easy to calculate), use these tips to ease the math. If you’re framing with two-by-fours, the slab is about four inches—one third of a foot— thick. So you can simply divide the surface area in square feet by 3 to get the volume in cubic feet. Similarly, if using two-by-sixes, divide by 2. One 60-pound bag of mix makes about one-half cubic foot of concrete. So once you’ve got the volume, multiply by 2 to determine how many bags to buy. The World’s Simplest…