Author: Jeremy Andenberg

A stroll in the woods is nearly always an enjoyable endeavor; what’s not so enjoyable is discovering a red, itchy rash the next day. Each year, millions of Americans come in contact with poison ivy, poison oak, or poison sumac. While there are numerous other poisonous plants, these three are grouped together because they share a common irritant: an oily resin/sap called urushiol. This resin is potent — it only takes 1 nanogram to cause a reaction. And unfortunately, it coats all parts of these plants. While some of the characteristics we describe below aren’t necessarily unique to these plants, we’ll … Continue reading →

You’ve arrived at the campsite with your friends and some cold beer in the cooler, only to realize you left the bottle opener at home. Lucky for you, that’s no problem — you’re a master of improvisation. Use any of these 9 MacGyver-esque tricks to open a bottle whenever you find yourself without an opener. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Send us a tweet or join the discussion on Facebook! Illustrations by Ted Slampyak

Finding out the weather forecast these days is as easy as turning on the TV or checking your phone. That wasn’t always the case, though. In the hundreds of years before television and even radio, people used more rudimentary devices to predict what the skies would bring in the coming days. One of those tools was the barometer. Once common in aircraft, ships, and ordinary households across the world, it predicts approaching weather by measuring changes in air pressure. While technological advancements have replaced the humble barometer in meteorological circles, they’re still fun to have at home and know how … Continue reading →

The arrival of summer — and along with it all sorts of outdoors activities — also ushers in the arrival of ticks. This guide covers what to do in the event that you find a tick that has already bitten you and embedded itself in your skin. However, the best thing to do is to take a few precautions that’ll increase your chances of not having to extricate a tick from your person to begin with: Wear long-sleeved clothing — especially pants, as it’s often our legs that are most exposed to the grass and plants that we brush up against when outdoors. … Continue reading →

In 2002, Chris Moneymaker (yes, that’s his real name) was an accountant and amateur poker player in Tennessee. He played online quite a bit, and occasionally in casinos, but mostly ended up in debt. By the end of May 2003, he had won the World Series of Poker — and the $2.5 million main prize. Moneymaker beat the best players in the world, and amazingly, it was the first live tournament he had ever been in. And it all started with an online game that had a $39 entrance fee. After that, as you can imagine, the popularity of Texas … Continue reading →

Many a man will occasionally smoke a cigar, be it during a round of golf, a wedding, or celebrating the birth of a child; but not many men know how to prepare, light, and smoke a cigar in such a way that truly gets the best flavor from the tobacco in …

Nowadays when you hear the word “spam,” you probably think of the unwanted emails you get from unknown sources soliciting you for money and information. Little do many people know, the term actually refers to and originates from the glorious canned luncheon meat of the same name. In the 90s when email became popular, users began referring to a classic Monty Python sketch to talk about these unwanted but ubiquitous messages. In the sketch, a couple is dining at a restaurant in which Spam is part of nearly every item on the menu, much to the chagrin of the wife. … Continue reading →