QC#68 – Easy Apple Hack

An apple is cut “tic-tac-toe” style, and it’s ready to serve 5 times faster.

Full project video: http://bit.ly/5DeliciousAppleHacks

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“Quick Clips” are clips of random experiments in a minute or less.

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Music by Jason Shaw (RP-Clattertrap)
http://www.audionautix.com

Project Inspired By: A picture I came across on a Google image search for Life Hacks: http://bit.ly/IBAppleLifeHack

WARNING:

This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume the responsibility for the results. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is at YOUR OWN RISK.

Project History & More Info:

I was surfing the internet checking out pictures of so-called Life Hacks, and I say so-called because most of them are either over used, or useless. But I stumbled across an idea that really intrigued me (http://bit.ly/IBAppleLifeHack). There wasn’t any information at all, and I couldn’t find the idea duplicated anywhere else. Just this one picture of an apple cut like a tic-tac-toe grid rather than cut into quarters. And another picture showing the apple wrapped with a rubber band to hold it together.

Luckily, my wife always has apples on hand, so I got experimenting.

Firstly, I tried cutting the apple as seen in the picture. My overall impression was that the pieces didn’t look the way I was used to seeing apple slices, but I was surprised by how much faster it was to cut them this way, and really happy to see there wasn’t a pile of apple core pieces that had to be cleaned up afterward. Just one bit of apple core that was easily discarded, or composted.

Next I tried experimenting with the rubber band around the apple. The idea is that by keeping the pieces held together with an elastic, the apple slices won’t turn brown. I tested this idea on numerous apples and found that given enough time, they all eventually go brown, but keeping the pieces together keeps them in pretty good condition for up to around 3 hours, which could be long enough to get them to work or school just in time for snacks or lunch. In any case, keeping the slices together was far more effective then putting them in a container, or in a ziplock baggie.

I have also experimented with using lemon juice on apple slices. The idea is that the citric acid in the lemon juice prevents the fruit from oxidizing. That is true! In my experiments I had apple slices last up to 8.5 hours without turning brown at all. They may have gone even longer than that, but I ate them.

While I was starting to film this video, my wife gave me a really great suggestion. She said, why not turn the apples upside down when you cut them? This way they are a lot more stable because they have a bigger base to work from. Genius!

If you’re looking for more cool tricks you can do with apples, check out my video on how to make an “Edible Apple Swan” http://bit.ly/MakeAppleSwan Apple art is fun, easy, and available, so give it a try and see how yours turns out 🙂

For one final experiment, I set up a time trial to see how the traditional method of cutting apples would compare to this new method of slicing apples. I found that the traditional (cutting into quarters, then cutting out the cores) method took 49 seconds to make 8 slices, while the new Apple Hack method took only 10 seconds for the same results! That’s 5 times faster!

So my final conclusion is that this Apple Hack is indeed 5 x faster, easier, more convenient, and saves a baggie if you use an elastic instead. In general, it just makes a lot more sense.

It’s one of those concepts that jumps out and makes you say, why haven’t we always been doing this??!

Watch for the full video, to see more experiments and explanations, and in the mean time start cutting your apples upside down! 🙂

Are eSports real sports and does it even matter?

TotalBiscuit brings you a discussion video on the claims a recent article on Recode made about eSports in regards to ESPN broadcasting a Heroes of the Storm tournament.

“Why we watch Twitch” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN2jDtRNuCI
View article here: http://on.recode.net/1QF1ytD

Footage courtesy of:
http://youtube.com/esltv
http://youtube.com/dreamhackmedia
http://youtube.com/blizzheroes
http://youtube.com/epicskillshot

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Redline Review: 2016 Kia Sorento SX-L 2.0T

As the top-selling SUV in the Kia lineup, the all-important 2016 Sorento gets a thorough redesign to go head-to-head with all-new versions of the Murano and Edge. With three different engine choices and an optional third-row, Kia offers buyers plenty of choices in this very competitive segment. Just don’t expect bargain basement pricing anymore.

► WTF Is… – Kaiju-A-GoGo ?

TotalBiscuit takes a look at a recently released action-strategy game from Kerberos Productions Inc.
Review key was supplied by the developers free of charge.
Get it on Steam – http://bit.ly/1JsaT65

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How to Make Rocket Igniters (Electric Matches)

In this project you’ll see how to turn matches into electric ignitors, that fire off with the press of a button.

$5 OFF on Harry’s shaving products. Coupon Code: THEKINGOFRANDOM http://bit.ly/HarrysTrumanSet
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Special thanks to Harrys.com for sponsoring this video. To make it extra fluffy, I’m giving away $125 in cash, so watch to the end to see how you could be one of 5 people picked for a $25 cash prize 🙂

UPDATE:
5 winners have been chosen, and the money sent to their email addresses, so check your emails. Maybe you were one of the winners of $25. Thanks again for supporting me so I can give back 🙂

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Music By:
Scott & Brendo (“Clever” – Instrumental)
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Project Inspired By: My friend Ritchie Kinmont, who said that as a kid, he used to make igniters for his rockets with very thin wire and paper match heads. He’s a really smart guy. Check out some of his projects here: http://bit.ly/SonicDadProjects

WARNING: This project should not be attempted without adult supervision. These igniters are intended for igniting rockets, and safety precautions should be in place to mitigate any fire hazards. Misuse, or careless use when testing indoors, may result in fires and/or property damage. Be safe and have fun, but always remember that any project you try is at your own risk.

Project History & More Info:

While testing out home made rockets and sugar motors, my friend Ritchie Kinmont (http://bit.ly/SonicDadProjects) brought a handful of Estes rocket ignitors so we could launch the rockets on command. We got talking about making igniters from scratch, since the commercial brand was nearly $1 per igniter!

He mentioned that, as a kid, he used to make his own improvised igniters by wrapping very thin wire around paper matches, so that when you’d touch the leads to a battery, it would ignite. Cool concept!

Until recently, I’d been lighting smoke flares and home made rockets with the use of a fuse. While the fuses have proved very reliable, they do pose a few hazards. Firstly, they occasionally fall out, and could catch surrounding items on fire. And secondly, you can’t control exactly when the rocket will launch because the timing is always random. So if the wind were to pick up and blow your launchpad over, you wouldn’t be able to put out the fuse. That would be a dangerous situation!

So in an effort to gain more precise control over rocket launches, I played around with some ways to make homemade ignitors, also known as “electric matches” to launch my rockets with the press of a button.

In this video I demonstrated that they will ignite pyrotechnics on command as well, which could be useful for 4th of July fireworks! 🙂

I spent countless hours in my workshop playing and prototyping with different kinds of cords, matches and batteries, to finally develop and confirm a system that does, in-fact, ignite matches 10/10 times.

Although these igniters are one time use only, I’m extremely excited about this idea because they are made from things you probably have around the house right now .. meaning anyone can make them for cheap, or free.

Ritchie and I did a lot of field testing with these ignitors with our home made “Randomizer Rocket”, and proved they work exactly as hoped. Look for that video coming soon 😀

You’ll see step-by-step how to make these ignitors in the next project video, so keep an eye out for it, and I’ll also have tutorials on building the Randomizer Rocket, as well as the Launch Pad, and Rocket Launch Controller in upcoming videos.

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► WTF Is… – Convoy ?

TotalBiscuit takes a look at a recently released tactical roguelite inspired by FTL and Mad Max.
Review key was supplied by the developers free of charge.
Get it on GOG: http://bit.ly/1EvfBIo

Get it on Steam – http://bit.ly/1z0e5SG

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Redline Review: 2015 Cadillac Escalade

Spared from the dreaded alpha-numeric nomenclature ever so common in the luxury class, Cadillac gives its best-seller the redesign it desperately needed, but are the changes enough to make you forget about its lowered price offerings from GMC and Chevrolet?

Valve announces paid modding for Skyrim – Apr. 23rd, 2015

http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/aboutpaidcontent

18:51 TOTD: AeroZ – IV. Sky http://bit.ly/1KBGHaa

Skyrim gameplay courtesy of:
https://www.youtube.com/user/GophersVids
https://www.youtube.com/user/ElectronicDreamers
https://www.youtube.com/user/ScorbasGaming

Content Patch Episode 195 – April 23rd, 2015

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