HowStuffWorks is a commercial
edutainmentEdutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
websiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that was founded by
Marshall BrainMarshall David Brain is an American author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. A former college instructor and computer programmer, Brain is the founder of HowStuffWorks.-Background:Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California...
with the goal of giving its target audience an insight into the way in which many things work. The site uses various media in its effort to explain complex concepts, terminology and mechanisms, including photographs, diagrams, videos and animations, and articles. A
documentaryDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
television series with the same name also premiered in November 2008 on the
Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
.
History
In 1998, former
North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
professor
Marshall BrainMarshall David Brain is an American author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. A former college instructor and computer programmer, Brain is the founder of HowStuffWorks.-Background:Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California...
started the site as a hobby. In 1999, Brain raised
venture capitalVenture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
and formed HowStuffWorks, Inc. In March 2002, HowStuffWorks was sold to the Convex Group, an Atlanta-based investment and media company founded by Jeff Arnold, founder and former
chief executive officerA chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(CEO) of
WebMDWebMD is an American corporation which provides health information services. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Clark and Pavan Nigam as Healthscape, later Healtheon, and then acquired WebMD in 1999 to form Healtheon/WebMD...
. The headquarters moved from
Cary, North CarolinaCary is a large town and suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina in Wake and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located almost entirely in Wake County, it is the second largest municipality in that county and the third largest municipality in The Triangle after Raleigh and Durham...
to
Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. HowStuffWorks originally focused on science and machines, ranging from submarines to common household gadgets and appliances. After adding a staff of writers, artists, and editors, content expanded to a larger array of topics.
In November 2004, HowStuffWorks moved its entertainment section to Stuffo. However, in 2006, the team disbanded and the site now redirects visitors to the site's entertainment channel.
The
domainA domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
HowStuffWorks.com attracted at least 58 million visitors annually by 2008, according to a
Compete.comCompete.com is a web traffic analysis service of Compete, Inc. which operates in the United States and publishes the approximate number of global visitors to the top 1,000,000 web sites in the world...
survey.
There have been four HowStuffWorks books – two illustrated hardcover
coffee table bookA coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
s called
HowStuffWorks and
More HowStuffWorks, and two un-illustrated paperbacks called
How Much Does the Earth Weigh? and
What If?. HowStuffWorks puts out an educational magazine called "HowStuffWorks Express" for middle school students. The company has also released a series of HowStuffWorks trivia "LidRock" discs –
CD-ROMA CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
s sold on
fountain drinkA fountain drink is a soft drink, prepared locally from a supply of flavored sweetened syrup, carbon dioxide, and water, either manually, in a device called a soda fountain, or in a vending machine which is essentially an automated soda fountain that is operated using a soda gun...
lids at Regal Theaters.
Howstuffworks recently acquired Mobil Travel Guide and Consumer Guide.
Howstuffworks.com spun off its international division when they went public (
Nasdaq:HSWI) via an acquisition of INTAC, a China based company. In March 2007,
HSW InternationalRemark Media is a global digital media company that specializes in creating technology platforms and user interfaces that combine high-quality content with relevant social media...
launched its
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
website with headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil. The Portuguese term for the site is Como Tudo Funciona, which means "how everything works". In June 2008, the Chinese site was launched with new headquarters placed in Beijing, China. The URL roughly translates to "Knowledge Information Web."
On October 15, 2007,
Discovery CommunicationsDiscovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
announced it had bought HowStuffWorks for US$250 million. The company later chose to use the name HowStuffWorks as the title of a television series on its Discovery Channel. The series, which focuses on
commoditiesIn economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
, premiered in November 2008 and is similar in style and content to other "how it works" programs like
Modern MarvelsModern Marvels is a documentary television series that premiered on January 1, 1995 on History. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in today's society....
.
On November 2, 2009,
HSW InternationalRemark Media is a global digital media company that specializes in creating technology platforms and user interfaces that combine high-quality content with relevant social media...
co-founded
Sharecare, Inc.Sharecare.com is an interactive question-and-answer platform that allows industry experts to answer health and wellness questions. Founded in 2009, Sharecare was created by Jeffrey T. Arnold and Dr...
, developing a social QA platform through which users ask health- and wellness-related questions, receiving answers from industry experts. Other co-founders in Sharecare include Jeff Arnold, Dr. Mehmet Oz,
Harpo ProductionsHarpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....
,
Discovery CommunicationsDiscovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
and
Sony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
.
Podcasts
HowStuffWorks maintains several podcasts, hosted by its staff writers and editors.
- Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know, often abbreviated as SYSK, is a podcast created and released by the website HowStuffWorks. It is currently hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant, both writers at HowStuffWorks. Clark has been a mainstay on the podcast since it began on April 17, 2008...
: various topics from all fields of interest, co-hosted by senior staff writers Josh Clark and Charles "Chuck" Bryant. In older episodes, editors Candace Keener and Chris Pollette co-hosted with Clark before Bryant became the permanent co-host. The podcast falls under the category of "Society and Culture." It was granted recognition as one of iTunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
' Best of 2008 podcasts.
- Stuff You Missed in History Class: important historical events originally hosted by editor Candace Keener. She is joined by co-hosts Josh Clark (older episodes), Jane McGrath (newer episodes), and Katie Lambert (newest episodes). In August 2009, Candace left the show and Katie was joined by editor Sarah Dowdey. Since then, Deblina Chakraborty has replaced Katie Lambert. The original title of the podcast was Fact or Fiction? History Stuff for the History Buff.
- TechStuff: dedicated to demystifying technology and discussing its impact on society, hosted by technology editor Chris Pollette and senior staff writer Jonathan Strickland. Topics range from the history of tech companies (I.e. the recent RIM Podcast
Research In Motion Limited or RIM is a Canadian multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada that designs, manufactures and markets wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market...
) to the way a piece of technology works (I.e. the recent podcast on Micropayments) to the way things work (recent iOS 5iOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...
podcast) to fictional tech ("The Tech Of Doctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
).
- Brainstuff: hosted by Marshall Brain, deals with natural sciences. Usually is a 5-10 minute podcast.
- CarStuff (formerly High Speed Stuff): dealing with automotive topics and is hosted by editor Scott Benjamin and video writer Ben Bowlin.
- Stuff Mom Never Told You: explores gender roles and highlights notable pioneering women, hosted by staff writers Molly Edmonds and Cristen Conger. Molly Edmonds was replaced by Caroline Ervin in 2011.
- Stuff of Genius: a short video format podcast that focuses on an inventor or innovator (i.e., genius) for each episode. The video features humorous animation with a voice over originally provided by site founder Marshall Brain with later episodes narrated by Jonathan Strickland.
- The Coolest Stuff on the Planet: a video podcast that highlights a specific location and features geographic-specific facts and trivia.
- Stuff They Don't Want You To Know: a video podcast that focuses on conspiracy theories and the evidence and arguments behind them.
- Stuff To Blow Your Mind (formerly Stuff From the Science Lab): focuses on natural science. It is hosted by Robert Lamb, one of the site's senior writers, and Julie Douglas, a writer and editor.
- Stuff To Make You Smarter: focusing mainly on general topics and their impact on the human body. Hosted by writers Rob and Chris.
- Stuff From the B-Side: originally hosted by senior staff writer Charles "Chuck" Bryant and staff writer John Fuller and deals with music. Later episodes feature Mark Larson taking Charles Bryant's place as host. No new episodes have been released since December 2009.
- PopStuff: An opinion based podcast, featuring Pop culture related topics, including televisions shows and movies. Hosted by Holly and Tracy.
Blogs
There are also 10
blogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s on the website, 8 of which are extensions of one of HSW's podcasts.
- Brainstuff: maintained Marshall Brain
- Fanstuff: maintained by money editor Chanel Lee and site director Tracy V. Wilson
- Car Stuff: maintained by auto editor Scott Benjamin
- How-to Stuff: maintained by Jessika Toothman and Katherine Neer.
- Keep Asking: maintained by site founder Marshall Brain
- Stuff From the Science Lab: maintained by green editor Sarah Dowdey, staff writer Robert Lamb, and senior editor Allison Loudermilk
- Stuff You Missed in History Class: maintained by senior editor Katie Lambert
- Stuff You Should Know
Stuff You Should Know, often abbreviated as SYSK, is a podcast created and released by the website HowStuffWorks. It is currently hosted by Josh Clark and Charles W. "Chuck" Bryant, both writers at HowStuffWorks. Clark has been a mainstay on the podcast since it began on April 17, 2008...
: maintained by senior writers Charles "Chuck" Bryant and Josh Clark
- TechStuff: maintained by tech editor Chris Pollette and senior writer Jonathan Strickland
- The Coolest Stuff on the Planet: maintained by adventure editor Amanda Arnold
External links