Add a touch of The Shire to your backyard (Elijah Wood, not included) with the do-it-yourself hobbit house. Well, technically it’s called an Earthbag Dome. Owen Geiger has posted step-by-step directions on Instructables so you too can create this 50 sq. ft. dwelling for around $300. If 50 sq. ft. sounds cramped for your living …

Weird but true, the animal with the most genes—about 31,000—is the water flea, a near-microscopic freshwater crustacean. By comparison, humans have about 23,000 genes. Scientists have studied the water flea for centuries because of its importance in aquatic food webs and for its responses to environmental stress. The water flea, or Daphnia pulex, is the …

Everyone needs a little mental space in work and in life. But what’s the best way to do it? Harvard Business Review provides six great tips on gaining perspective. Here are just a few: Be honest about how much time you spend at work and why. Is it really necessary to work long, extra hours …

Should you comment? Should you not? Will they know what you’re really thinking if you do? No worries now with the comment cheat sheet from College Humor. Via Gizmodo. Too much Facebook pressure.

In this TED Talk presented at the December 2010 TEDWomen conference, Johanna Blakely shares her thoughts on how social media could alter the assumptions held about gender. Blakely’s background in studying the impacts of mass media and entertainment on our society gives her interesting insight into the way our virtual socializing has affected the old-school …

Tech-savvy Egyptians are finding ways to skirt the Egyptian government’s decision to pull the plug on the country’s Internet connection, but most of the nation’s 80 million residents and businesses remain in the dark after five days. Experts say the situation shows how vulnerable online communications still are even today. Social media and sites like …

A few months I ran a Facebook promotion where people who “liked” the Enchantment Facebook fan page could get a free copy of my first book, The Macintosh Way. Around the same time, I also offered an excerpt of Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour body and Take Control of iPad Basics by Tonya Engst. Around the …

Millions will be spent making sure the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is a classy affair, yet commemorative memorabilia has just reached a new low, and a rather ironic one at that. Crown Jewels, the “condoms of distinction” boast their product has “the strength of a Prince with the yielding sensitivity of a …

January 30 marked 63 years since the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi at the hands of a Hindu fanatic. The legendary leader of India’s independence movement remains a worldwide icon of non-violent political resistance. In memory of Gandhi, we present ten memorable quotes that reflect his character and beliefs. “A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; …

There’s nothing better than curling up on the couch with your kids, some hot chocolate, a few blankets, your favorite winter-themed movies. There’s something so much better about watching snow on TV than actually being out it in at 9 p.m. To facilitate your movie nights, here’s a list of seven winter-themed movies, including: Frosty …

After centuries of conquering nature, builders of the future are looking to the Mother as muse to answer environmental dilemmas and calls for greener design. The results are clever, stunning and in most cases, unlike anything gracing today’s skylines. Ultima Tower When Eugene Tsui dreams, he dreams big. The two-mile-high tower is meant to imitate …

Why merely look at naughty on the laptop when one can be naughty with the laptop? Full story at Gizmodo. Strange humor.