Discover the latest in technology, engineering, and tools with Popular Mechanics. Plus, get essential advice on your home and car, useful DIY ideas, in-depth explanations on how things work, and more!
PURSUE POSSIBILITY
My Pop Life • EXPERT HACKS, GEAR RECS & LIFE-TESTED WISDOM FROM OUR STAFF
Popular Mechanics
My Pop Life • EXPERT HACKS, GEAR RECS & LIFE-TESTED WISDOM FROM OUR STAFF
How to Make Your Car More Like Your Phone
Milwaukee Cordless Band Saw
ROCK WOOL
Prepare Your Garage for Winter
No Heat? Try One of These
POPULAR MECHANICS WORK/SHOP • A COLLECTION OF PRODUCTS & OFFERS FROM OUR PARTNERS
The Ultimate Off-Road Toy
How the Air Force’s Secret Spaceplane Disappears
HOW TO TRACK AND PHOTOGRAPH SECRET SPACECRAFT • Earlier this year, Dutch science journalist and satellite tracker Ralf Vandebergh successfully snagged detailed images of the X-37B in low orbit using a hand-tracking method—catching sight of the vehicle and guiding his 10-inch reflector telescope manually—and video-based imaging techniques. Want to capture a satellite, booster rocket, or the ISS in action? Follow Vandebergh’s lead.
How One Mathematician Solved a 2,000-Year-Old Lens Problem
The Toyota 4Runner Is Outdated, Clunky—and Awesome
How Scrabble Pros Bend Words to Their Will
Weird Words That Are Scrabble-Legal • Official U.S. tournaments abide by the official Word List compiled by the North American Scrabble Players Association. Here are some of our favorite totally legal oddities.
How to Turn Old Rice Krispies, Cocoa Krispies, and Corn Flakes Into Beer
Make Some Yourself
Causality Loops and Terminator’s 35-Year Struggle to Make Time Travel Convincing
WE ALREADY KNOW HOW TO BUILD A TIME MACHINE
Are There Aliens in Area 51?
THE FEUD THAT CREATED AMERICA’S GREATEST RACE CAR • IN THE 1960s, FERRARI WAS DOMINATING RACING’S ULTIMATE ENDURANCE TEST. THEN THEY PISSED OFF FORD.
THE CARS • THERE ARE THREE GENERATIONS OF FORD GT. HERE’S HOW THEY STACK UP.
Mario Andretti on What It’s Like to Drive the Ford GT40 • The famed driver, now 79, raced for the Holman & Moody team at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. We talked to Andretti about his years with the GT40.
“THE SAFEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD” • How the Salesforce Transit Center went from to one of the century’s biggest construction debacles.
MIND-BOGGLING CONSTRUCTION DISASTERS AND HOW THEY COMPARE IN COST AND CONSEQUENCE
The World’s First Digital Circuit Breaker Could Completely Change Our Powered World • 3,000 times as fast as the fastest mechanical breaker, this innovation could radically alter how we manage power.
3 Ways to Upgrade Your Analog Breaker
BURNING OUT • What Really Happens Inside a Crematorium
Stud Finders for Every Job
Knives for Surviving a Disaster—Or Just Carrying Around Every Day
5 Types of Locking Mechanisms to Know
This Technics Turntable Powered Hip-Hop’s Early Sound
Editors’ Choice • AWARD-WINNING TOOLS AND GEAR RIGOROUSLY VETTED BY OUR TEST TEAM.
How to Be Good at What You Do • CHELSEA MILLER, 35, KNIFE MAKER, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK