Hobbies

Pickleball to woodcarving, ham radio to bread baking. Find a new thing to love and the people who do it too.

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The Flour Sack Dress and the Neighbors Who Fed Each Other

Our grandparents didn't get through the 1930s on grit alone. They had a system: the garden, the sewing box and the family next door.

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 3, 20267 min

Hang a Pre-Hung Door So It Doesn't Drift Open at 2 a.m.

Most bad door installs get decided before the first nail. Diagnose the opening, set the hinge side first, and the latch takes care of itself.

Ask BRO

What should I wear to this?

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GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20267 min

Plant Paste Tomatoes If You Actually Want Sauce

Most homemade sauce fails in March, when you buy the wrong seeds. Pick the right variety and the timing, and one August afternoon fills your freezer.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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History6 min read

Proving up took five years and two neighbors willing to swear

The Homestead Act's paperwork was easy. Staying alive on the claim was the hard part, and at the end your neighbors had to vouch for you.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideCan You Fix ItWes DunbarOct 3, 20267 min

Sweating a Copper Joint Is Mostly About Getting the Water Out

The torch is the easy part. A dry pipe and clean metal decide whether the joint holds, and most first-timers skip both.

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20266 min

Plant by Your Frost Date, Not Your Zone

Your zone tells you what survives winter. Your frost date tells you when to plant. Most first-year gardeners mix them up and lose a flat of tomatoes.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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StoryHistoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

From the Plow to the Combine, One Broken Bottleneck at a Time

For most of history a farm was only as big as one family could harvest. How a blacksmith, a Virginian, and a few stubborn tinkerers changed that.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

GuideTools & OrganizingDean ShawOct 3, 20267 min

The Ten Minutes Before You Start a Chainsaw After a Storm

Chaps, chain tension, a clean air filter and fresh fuel. The checks that keep a cleanup Saturday from ending in the emergency room.

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20266 min

Your Soil Needs a Test and Compost, Not Another Bag of Fertilizer

Most yellow leaves aren't hungry plants. They're a soil problem nobody tested for. A cheap lab test and an inch of compost fix more than any bag will.

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Rewrite my résumé so it actually gets read

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StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Baseball's Birth Story Was Made Up, and the Real One Is Better

A commission handed America a tidy origin myth in 1907. The true history has clerks, prisoners, a paid shortstop and a man who refused to swing back.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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GuideCarsDean ShawOct 3, 20267 min

The spark plug job is easy until the last quarter turn

Gapping, torque and the hand-start habit that keep a simple plug change from ending with a stripped aluminum head and a tow truck.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

GuideGarden & YardWes DunbarOct 5, 20267 min

Your First Raised Bed Costs More in Dirt Than in Wood

A 4x8 bed holds over a cubic yard of soil. Size it right, fill it with the right mix and plant things that'll actually win you a first season.

StoryHistoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Every Rodeo Event Was Somebody's Job First

Rodeo started as ranch hands settling an argument. It became the one sport where every event began as a day's work.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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GuideMomsNina CastellanOct 3, 20267 min

Your Mower Probably Isn't Broken. The Gas Is Just Old.

Most mowers that won't start in spring just need fresh fuel and a proper pull. Start, fuel and care for one yourself, without a repair shop.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

Garden & Yard7 min

Start Your Seeds Later Than You Think and Closer to the Light

History6 min

Farmers Invented the Pickup and Detroit Caught Up Later

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

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GuideSelf-Employed WomenNina CastellanOct 3, 20266 min

Your home is your office now, so own a real drill

Every jammed disposal and sagging shelf costs a home business a morning. A dozen basic tools, and what each one actually does, fix most of it.

GermProof.com — An invisible germ barrier on your skin for hours

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BRO for Her6 min read

The anchors that came in the box are why the shelf fell

A cordless drill isn't hard. The clutch, the pilot hole and the right wall anchor are the whole game, and almost nobody explains them.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

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