Find out how stuff works
Where to find it: How stuff works
– www.howstuffworks.com
Who runs the site: This site has been around for a while, and
was originally founded in 1998 by North Carolina State University
Professor Marshall Brain as a way to explain to people in simple
terms how complicated things work. It has since been bought by
Discovery Communications, the company that owns Web sites and cable
channels such as Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel and TLC.
Find out how stuff works
Where to find it: How stuff works – www.howstuffworks.com
Who runs the site: This site has been around for a while, and was originally founded in 1998 by North Carolina State University Professor Marshall Brain as a way to explain to people in simple terms how complicated things work. It has since been bought by Discovery Communications, the company that owns Web sites and cable channels such as Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel and TLC.
Who is likely to use the site: Curious people who want to know the inner workings of everything from how a car engine works to how in vitro fertilization works.
Pros: The site has tons of information and it can seem a bit overwhelming at first, but the site has plenty of tabs that break down the information into different categories from animals to auto to history. In addition, users can use a search function – enhanced by Google, of course – to find a specific topic. Search for green beans, and a pile of articles are returned, with information about how to grow them to how to cook them.
The best thing about the site is that it is interactive. The front page has quizzes people can take to see how knowledgeable they really are about things from cell phones to tattoos. They can even submit questions that are not already answered on the site. Some of the recently submitted questions are about tsunamis and rainbows.
Cons: The site, is of course, part of the Discovery Channel Web site group so expect lots of information about whatever is being promoted on the cable channels or other sites. For instance, since it is Shark Week, part of the How Stuff Works main page has been dedicated to a shark guide. There are also plenty of shark videos to be seen. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but a reminder that the site is pretty much advertising for Discovery Communications.
