Making Fun

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 203

Practical jokes made practical

Stuntology

Pranks you can use. Stupid tricks, dumb gags, and funny routines. Liberate your inner 12-year-old with this handdrawn manual. — KK

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Low-tech sand castle construction manual

Sandcastles Made Simple

In case you haven’t noticed, sand castles have become very elaborate and sand sculpture a new art form. Building them is a complicated business. We’ve used the simple methods here to build sandcastles we can be proud of without too much equipment. In our experience the most important part is finding a beach with suitable building sand. For the rest, follow this book and/or DVD. — KK

Most beach trips I would sit and read while my wife played around in the sand building castles. This year, I found a great resource that had me building sand castles and sculptures that stopped every passerby on the beach.

The Sons of the Beach Sandcastles Made Simple book showed me how to build high-reaching towers and arches by hand, without any buckets or forms. Their tool set was perfect for giving professional looking details. Their optional DVD makes it even easier to learn their technique.

The first week I had their book, I built a 48″ tall light house, several castles (one with a monorail train), and a snowman (they teach you how to make snowballs out of sand). Many people asked me how many years I’d been doing sand sculpture!

The book and DVD teach “hand stacking.” This is a process of scooping a big handfuls of completely saturated wet sand and plopping them on top of each other. By jiggling the sand just as the excess water is running out, it fuses the new plop with the previous ones creating a stable tower.

These folks also discuss and sell large forms (5, 3, 2 foot diameter) which can be used for large competition sculpture, but that was more than I wanted to carry down to the beach. — Chris Evans

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Circus resources

Doing Circus

Circus is a physical art-form that can engender a sense of control just as any type of athletics or dance training can. However, unlike most physical disciplines, circus has a place for almost any physical type. It’s one of the few places where I’ve seen short powerfully built women valued for their bodies. The circus is associated with the carnavelsque, so it’s a great way to have a party or to disrupt social patterns. And circus is also a lot of fun.

Circus is still mainly an oral tradition. Moreover, for certain of its disciplines it is confined to very particular places that can rig the necessary equipment and safety devices. It would be, for example, impossible and probably immoral to write a book describing how to learn the flying trapeze. There are plenty of books and resources for learning the object manipulation arts, eg. juggling, stick spinning, plate spinning, diabolo, etc. A good place to start with these would be Juggling Information Services. However, most serious folks quickly move back to oral traditions.

I think the best value however, if you have the time, are youth circus programs. Many big cities have non-profit programs that teach circus to youth. Many of these programs will offer volunteers instruction in the circus arts. The American Youth Circus Organization has a directory of youth circus programs.

I personally have not been too interested in the professional schools. They are more like the graduate programs.

Of course, working for a circus is not a bad way to learn either, and the way that most people, historically, have learned the trade. — Forest Gregg, co-founder of Runaway Circus

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Teach new riders how to balance

Skuut Balance Bike

Balance bikes teach balance before pedaling. Learning to pedal is easy if you know how to balance. Learning balance is fairly easy, too. But learning them concurrently is hard. With a balance bike instead of a trike or a standard bike with training wheels, it’s much easier for a child to learn the balance, steering dynamics and handling required to ride a bike. My son, at 2 1/2, can go at least a mile on his Skuut bike, and is learning all the skills he’ll need, so that when I get him a normal bicycle, with pedals, he won’t need training wheels.

The design of a balance bike is brilliant—it’s actually similar to the design of the first bicycles (velocipedes) that had no drivetrains. The particular brand of a running or balance bike for kids is not of much concern. Cool Tools previously featured the Likeabike, which was imported from Europe and lovingly crafted, but notably expensive. You can find cheap $50 metal balance bikes these days, but we use the current wooden standard Skuut which is good enough quality for $85. — Elon Schoenholz

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Extreme Pogo Stick

Flybar

When the guy at the bike store first told us about the Flybar, he said “Man, that thing bounces twenty feet!” It doesn’t, but I understand why he exaggerated. The Flybar has an amazing Boing Factor. Instead of a standard spring, it uses rubber-like bands which make the bounce feel more like a trampoline and can give you a real workout. It’s bulky, but sturdy. You can adjust to handle adult or kid weight. My 13-year-old son saved up for months to buy one and he’s never been sorry, because when he takes it to the local park, the little kids stare at him open-mouthed and the big kids try to keep their mouths closed and hide the fact they’re staring. It’s expensive, but until everyone has one, you will be the most awesome novelty on your block. Yeah, it’s dangerous. You should wear a helmet. Pads would be a good idea. But skateboards, mountain bikes, trampolines, and see-saws can be dangerous too. And fun! — Jay Allison

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Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.

08/17/26

Retro Recomendo: Money Stuff

Recomendo - issue #527

Our subscriber base has grown so much since we first started nine years ago that most of you have missed all our earliest recommendations. The best of these are still valid and useful, so we’re trying out something new — Retro Recomendo. Once every 6 weeks, we’ll send out a throwback issue of evergreen recommendations focused on one theme from the past 10 years.

A home budget that makes sense to me (YNAB)

For years I’ve tried to keep a home budget, but it never seems to work. I end up spending more than I budgeted in some categories, less in others, and I don’t keep good track of what I’ve spent. When our Cool Tools podcast guest Lillian Karabaic recommended something called You Need a Budget (YNAB), I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. YNAB’s websites and mobile apps are excellent, as are the podcasts, videos, blog posts, and mailing lists they produce. It took me a while to wrap my head around the YNAB method, but now that I get it, I’m a true believer. For the first time in my adult life, I feel in control of my finances. — MF

High-leverage philanthropy

I’ve been making micro-loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world via Kiva for 10 years. I loan small amounts (less than $100) to, say, women in Africa hoping to buy a sewing machine to start their own sewing business, or herders in Bolivia needing some equipment to make cheese, and soon enough they will repay the loan so that I can re-loan the money again to someone else. I’ve gone through 4 cycles of loans for my first money, and there is less than 0.1% delinquency — a rate any bank would die for. 100% of my money goes to helping the individuals I select; Kiva’s operating costs are funded separately. The money keeps going around. It’s one of the best bargains in the world. — KK

Salary Transparent Street

Salary Transparent Street shares videos of people on the street being asked, “What do you do?” and “How much do you make?” It’s humbling and (mind-boggling!) to imagine how I would survive in the Bay Area on certain salaries across the U.S. The channel’s goal is to promote pay transparency across the United States, close the gender pay gap, and increase diversity and equal opportunities. You can follow it on Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. — CD

Online notary service

Notarizing documents traditionally requires visiting a notary, but I’ve been utilizing online notary services for the past few years to avoid this hassle. All that’s needed is a laptop with a webcam. There are numerous online notaries available; my recent choice was Notarize.com, which charges $25 to notarize a single document. — MF

Equipping students

Few things in life are as satisfying as getting handwritten thank-you notes from school kids for helping them learn. DonorsChoose is a non-profit that features thousands of public school teachers seeking basic school supplies, or extra gear for special projects (rocket kits for science!). The teachers post their pitch. You choose a project. When it gets fully funded, they post verification pictures of the kids using the resource which your funds provided, and later they’ll send you a fistful of amazingly detailed (and endearing) letters from the students themselves. You’ll want to do this. — KK

Zelle payments

I use PayPal to send money to strangers (like on eBay or Etsy); I use Venmo to pay friends; but if I need to send a lot of money (more than several thousand $$$), I use Zelle. Unlike Venmo, which holds a reserve in your account that you replenish, Zelle is basically a bank-to-bank wire transfer – for free. But the interface is person-to-person. Still can’t do it internationally, but it is very handy for larger peer-to-peer payments in the U.S. Easy to set up. — KK

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08/16/26

Book Freak #222: How to remember anything, from a memory champion

Everyday Genius by Nelson Dellis

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Everyday Genius shows that there’s no such thing as “photographic memory.” Having a good memory is a skill — and six-time U.S. memory champion Nelson Dellis shows how to improve yours.

Core Principles

Genius Is Trained

In 2009, Nelson Dellis had an ordinary memory. Then he watched Alzheimer’s disease take his grandmother’s memory away. He decided that would never happen to him. He found a memory champion willing to teach him the tricks of the trade. Today he holds six national championships and two Guinness World Records. His message: what looks like genius is the result of training.

Memory Is the Foundation

Every skill in this book — fast reading, quick math, effective problem-solving — depends on memory. Dellis uses three simple tools to keep everything straight: pictures, associations, and something he calls the “memory palace.” These are the same techniques the ancient Greek orators used to memorize long speeches.

Focus Is the Multiplier

Your brain can’t multitask. It switches from one job to the next, and switching slows you down. But you can train your focus. A few minutes of meditation, slow breathing, and the discipline of finishing one thing before you start the next will get you there.

Break Impossible Questions into Answerable Ones

Someone once asked physicist Enrico Fermi: “How many piano tuners work in Chicago?” Fermi didn’t know the answer, so he broke the question into smaller ones. How many people live in Chicago? How many of them own a piano? How often does a piano need tuning, and how many can one tuner handle in a year? His guess was remarkably close to the real number. It’s a trick worth remembering the next time a problem looks too big to tackle: break it down into pieces that you already know or can look up.

Try It Now

1. Walk through your house in your mind — the front hall, the kitchen, the stairs. Now place five things you need to remember in five different spots along that path. Later, take the same mental walk, and you’ll find them waiting for you. Memory experts call this a “memory palace.”
2. The next time you’re introduced to someone new, don’t just nod and forget. Build a quick mental picture that ties their name to their face — the stranger the picture, the better it sticks.
3. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Put the phone in another room. Work on one thing, and only one thing, until the timer rings. You’ll be surprised how much you get done.

Quote

“I would forget things just like anybody else. And I trained this skill. I learned it from another memory champion and practiced the hell out of it until I was able to do it.” — Nelson Dellis, interviewed on Here & Now, March 2026

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Book Freak is published by Cool Tools Lab, a small company of three people. We also run Recomendo, the Cool Tools website, a YouTube channel and podcast, and other newsletters, including Recomendo Deals, Gar’s Tips & Tools, Nomadico, What’s in my NOW?, Tools for Possibilities, Books That Belong On Paper, and Book Freak.

08/14/26

Best Hotel Chains/New UNESCO Sites/Oldest USA Bars

Nomadico issue #219

Best Hotel Chains in the USA

Each year I update this post on the best cheap hotel chains in the USA, but I use the JD Power & Associates survey that covers all categories as the source. (Ritz-Carlton and Waldorf-Astoria are tops overall if that’s your income level.) With the four largest hotel corporations having more than 110 brands between them, we could all use a shortcut. The winners in each category from the bottom were Microtel, Tru by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton, Hyatt House, and Drury Inn. The worst score of all went to OYO Hotels, which you’ll find bad reviews for all over the world.

New UNESCO World Heritage Sites

UNESCO recently announced its latest batch of sites added to their lists for this year and you can see them all here. Some are not much to look at, the “heritage” being the key factor. Some are well-known though, like Mount Olympus in Greece, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Florida, and Sarnath Buddhist temple in India. There’s a tilt to modern buildings in this round and I’ll be seeing one entry soon: “Tashkent Modern Architecture.”

Where You’ll Get Triple-taxed to Visit

It has unfortunately been a return subject on here this year: new taxes and fees popping up for you to stay in a specific country or city. Europe has led the way, with Edinburgh being the most recent one: as of July 24, you’ll pay an extra 5% per night on your room. While we understand the dual motivations of tempting revenue increases gleaned from people passing through and the hope that fees will deter overtourism, these charges are on top of plenty more. There’s the destination tax already included in your airline ticket, the hotel or rental apartment tax you’re already paying, and other local taxes levied for rental cars, restaurants, taxis/rideshares, and tours. Here’s a full rundown of new ones this year.

Oldest Bar in Every State

If you want to get a drink in a place that has been around for a century or two, this rundown of which bar is the oldest for every U.S. state will give you a destination. To the best of my recollection, I have only been in two of them. One in a historic mining town in Montana, the other a couple of blocks from my first apartment in Nashville, TN.

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A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

08/13/26

What’s in my NOW? — Tanya S.

issue #266

A mom, reader, traveler, pet owner, and a person with a lot of energy. I love nature, art, and discovering new things.

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PHYSICAL

• Walking Pad: MERACH W50. I tried using a walking pad while working. It was fine during calls, but deep work while walking did not work for me. Then I made a rule: I can watch Netflix only while walking on the pad. That worked much better. I now easily reach 10,000 to 12,000 steps a day, and quite often more than 15,000.
• Battery-Free Luggage Scale. We usually check one or two bags on family trips. I am also the person who really does not want to pay an overweight baggage fee.
  A luggage scale helps us check the weight before leaving and see whether there is still room for souvenirs. The problem with my old scale was the battery. Once, it died right before we left for the airport. This one has a tiny hand-powered generator inside. You push the button a few times, and it creates enough power to weigh the bag. No batteries and nothing to charge.
• Tapo Smart Plugs. I do not like using the ceiling light in my home office. Instead, I have several lamps around the room. The light feels warmer and makes the office much nicer to work in. The annoying part was walking around and turning every lamp on and off. I connected them to Tapo smart plugs and grouped them together. Now I can control all the lamps with one tap in Apple Home or by saying, “Alexa (or Siri – I have both), turn on the office lights”.

DIGITAL

• Spark Email. I have several email accounts for different purposes. Connecting all of them again every time I get a new device is annoying. I use Spark on two MacBooks, an iPhone, and an iPad. I connect my accounts once, and Spark syncs them across my devices. When I replace or upgrade a device, I do not have to set everything up again.
• The Curious Procrastinator Newsletter. This is a weekly read about behavior, some of the psychology behind it, and useful technology. It mixes interesting ideas with personal stories and dry, self-sarcastic humor.

INVISIBLE

Answers are hidden in action, not thinking.

Many times, I do not know what to do. Sometimes I am not even sure what I am doing. But I have learned that I usually do not find the answer by searching or thinking longer. I find it by starting. Works every time.

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08/12/26

Feathers / Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye

Issue No. 130

FEATHERS – A SUBLIME MEDITATION ON THE BRILLIANCE OF THE BIRD FEATHER. RELEASED TODAY!

Feathers: Displays of Brilliant Plumage
by Robert Clark
Chronicle Books
2016, 176 pages, 7.6 x 9.5 x 0.8 inches

Buy on Amazon

We live in a world of backgrounded miracles, entire worlds of wonder and beauty that we either can’t see or stopped noticing a long time ago. Look closely at the wings of a fly on your window sill, stare into a bisected piece of fruit, or look carefully at a growth of mold on a dish. Millions of such micro worlds surround us, breathtaking examples of design, engineering, and evolutionary artistry. When we bother to look.

Feathers is a photographic examination of one such overlooked natural wonder, the lowly bird feather. A single bird has thousands of feathers, of different types, and there are some ten-thousand species of birds. Feathers takes a broad view of the evolution of the bird and its feathers while focusing its lens on the plumage of 75 or so notable species. Each species gets a few pages, with one or two impressively photographed feather close-ups and a brief explanatory text.

This book reminded me a lot of Rose Lynn Fisher’s BEE (which I loved). Both books are minimal in content and feel, but that only helps to narrow and maintain your focus on the world under examination. The text in Feathers doesn’t try to tell you everything about the species of the bird and feather that you’re looking at, but the bits of fascinating science it does contain are probably far more memorable. Like BEE, I felt like I got to peer into a world I don’t normally see and came away greatly enriched by the experience. You can’t really ask for more from a book. – Gareth Branwyn

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WARREN THE 13TH AND THE ALL-SEEING EYE: A NOVEL

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye: A Novel
by Tania del Rio (author) and Will Staehle (illustrator)
Quirk Books
2015, 224 pages, 7.8 x 8.8 x 0.8 inches

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A gloomy, nine-story mansion, perched on a plateau in a desolate countryside. A trench-coated, top-hatted visitor stands in an illuminated doorway, a tiny, frog-faced boy dwarfed by this imposing figure, as he stands on a checkerboard-tiled floor, the scene ringed by an ornate, circular frame. Taking up two pages, his aunt and uncle sit at a very long dining room table. The boy’s aunt accuses him, a black word balloon contains the word “Liar!” in calligraphic script. The boy uses the reflection of an algae-filled basin to read the mysterious page of a handwritten journal, its letters written in ornate, backwards cursive.

Warren, a peculiar-looking child with a toad-like face and a luxurious head of hair, is the 13th descendent of the founder of the now-decrepit hotel where he lives with his lazy uncle and mean aunt. Hidden within the walls of the rundown hotel is the All-Seeing Eye, a mythical treasure. Rumors of its existence brings untold numbers of treasure hunters to his family’s hotel, including a mysterious lodger covered in bandages. The nine-story-high mansion begins to be ransacked by these new guests, its furniture toppled, its floorboards pulled up, its carpets unraveled, all in the search for the treasure. A pale spectral girl lurks in the hedge maze, and a strange tentacled creature dwells in the boiler room. Warren’s only friends are Chef Bunion, and his tutor, Mr. Friggs, but his circle of new friends begins to grow in unexpected ways. A colorful cast of characters include witches, pirates, ghosts, librarians, perfumiers, and chefs.

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye is a lovely book with a foil-embossed cover, nearly every page containing red and black line engraved illustrations that look as though they were pulled from an antiquated reference book from a dusty library. “The ugly boy with the big heart and beautiful hair” meets several intriguing characters, who often aren’t what they appear, and navigates a compelling storyline, strewn with puzzles and clues. Ominous black pages hint at arcane goings-on, and they’re topped with backward, spell-like chapter headings. As the plot twists and turns, descriptive passages weave an atmosphere filled with the scents and flavors of zesty beef goulash, the feelings of dread, excitement, loneliness, and ultimately triumph. It’s a delightful page-turner. – S. Deathrage

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Books That Belong On Paper first appeared on the web as Wink Books and was edited by Carla Sinclair. Sign up here to get the issues a week early in your inbox.

08/11/26

What’s in my NOW? — Tanya S.