We’ve been testing various prepping memes, like turning oranges into candles and using Doritos to start fires. Around this time of year we often see people share memes about using tealight candles and a terracotta pot to craft a DIY heater. So we built a couple of different versions ourselves and measured the results. Yes, you can get a surprising amount of heat from this setup. But it doesn’t work the way some think it does. The same amount of heat is coming out of the candles whether

All's quiet on the Canadian front. All border blockades have ended, and CNN reports that the protests may end soon as Ottawa police consider no-go zones. After the Canadian government gave banks the go-ahead to freeze protestors' bank accounts, there was speculation that it could cause a bank run. We haven't seen evidence of that, but Canada's five major banks experienced major outages on Wednesday. Don't read too much into it, but we'll keep our eyes on it. If you're in Canada, let us know i

The recent eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai on the island nation of Tonga was one of the most violent observed in modern times. But the lava was only the beginning of Tonga’s problems — volcanic ash spread throughout the islands, contaminating drinking water and creating a humanitarian crisis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHIujMY1nj8 That led a student in the water survival course to ask if you can filter volcanic ash and debris out of drinking water. A thoughtful questio

In the news, we have big happenings on two fronts: Canada and Ukraine. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invoked the Emergency Powers Act, putting Canada into a state of martial law to quell the trucker protest that has been happening for over two weeks. Trudeau stopped short of deploying the military but has empowered banks and financial service providers to freeze accounts without a court order, without fear of legal repercussions. https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/14933444