Best Of MetaFilter

tiny frying pan is looking for fantastic physical gifts to buy that benefit charities. Go to that wonderful post to find some great options.

Campfire by Jason Pratt (cc by)

In Ask Metafilter, quiet coyote is looking for "good discussion-based games for 6 adults to play as a group that don't involve supplies other than pen and paper, and ideally help us learn more about each other rather than just passing the time."

Meanwhile, over in Mefi Music, the most favorited tracks of the past week have been: Workman 9 to 5; A Grand Unslam; Trapeze Act; Time (the Revelator)

The Secret History

rogerrogerwhatsyourrvectorvicto is looking for "a specific type of novel that is the definition of "comfort" for me - a loner attends a school/college, is adopted by an inner circle (usually led by one charismatic member), and after a period of euphoria realizes that there’s something sinister afoot."

Black Bean Burgers by C. VanHook Images (vanhookc) (cc by)

Over on Ask MetaFilter, mudpuppie's advice on what to look for when purchasing an old cast iron skillet is filled with great tips.

Sari Cloth Seller in New Delhi by Peter Rivera (cc by)

If you ever wondered what the lifecycle of a sari is like, MeFi member peacheater gave an amazing answer for how her mother has maintained a collection of saris over decades.

Another thing to note it that because saris are meant to be kept in the family and handed down (there are simply no sizing problems, if you think about it, since the blouse and underskirt can always be restitched for another person and the sari itself is just one big piece of cloth), women of the middle classes and above are willing to spend way more on a sari than one would imagine - if my mother really loves a sari, she'll go ahead and fork over thousands of dollars for it. However, it will remain pristine for decades, as she gets her saris pressed, and she has amazing taste, so even her old saris still look stunning.

STOP Snowing! by jpctalbot (cc by)

MeFi member Jane the Brown's guidance on how to survive and manage a heavy snowfall for a first-time homeowner is loaded with good advice.

Do not dig out the foundation. In fact, if it doesn't add to your effort, pile snow against the house. Your foundation should not leak from melting snow any more than it should leak from rain. In the meantime you can pile snow higher when it is against a wall and the snow has insulation properties, so that half burying your house in snow will cut your heating bills.

Jumping-Spider,on-fish-hook-eyes_2012-08-02-16.13.51-ZS-PMax by Sam Droege (cc by)

The tough question of what it would be like to have animal eyes as a human got a great answer from member (and brain researcher) wyzewoman:

First, we have to consider the type of animal whose eye we're using. Mice, for instance, have remarkably poor acuity -- the world is a pretty big blur to them -- and I think a lot of that comes from the physical structure of their eyes, so the child would inherit this. However, there are predators with very good acuity, so let's assume we're using eyes from one of those. And of course there's the issue of color; most mammals can sense 2 rather than 3. Our hypothetical child wouldn't be able to get around this limitation.

On the occasion of his new podcast launching, mefi's own Alex Goldman, formerly of NPR's On the Media, got his start in public radio soon after asking about the process on Ask MetaFilter here. I asked him how he connected the dots from Ask MeFi to getting internships to landing a job and he wrote the whole thing up on Medium. Anyone interested in working in public radio should definitely check it out, and congrats to Goldman and crew for the launch of their new Replyall podcast.

trombone by evoo73 (cc by)

Lokheed explains how playing a trombone works, in layman's terms.

Dad and daughter by Peter Werkman (www.peterwerkman.nl) (cc by)

On a question about dads wanting to learn the basics of feminism to better prepare their daughters for the world, EmpressCallipygos talks about how her dad raised her in a supportive way without deep knowledge of the field.

You don't have to have a degree in women's studies or a nuanced understanding of gender politics to raise independent-minded daughters. My father certainly didn't - he went to trade school instead of college and that kind of theoretical book-study was really not what he was into.

Wedding in the courthouse - Daniel and Kate by Russ Benfield (cc by)

Sometimes when you ask a question it turns out the perfect person to answer it works across the street from where you are getting married and can solve your problem.

Library by thejester100 (cc by)

MetaFilter has a long history of doing something on April Fool's Day, and for this year we did something big, but subtle. If you were logged in and visited Ask MetaFilter yesterday, chances are you saw this special page of questions that might have looked familiar. They were all questions posed from the perspective of a character in a fictional book, film, or game. Members were also allowed to offer up answers to the characters.

If you missed the page yesterday, read through them and try and figure them out. If you're stumped and want to see the answer key, there's one on the MetaFilter Wiki. There's also a big MetaTalk discussion that covers lots of the hows, whos, and whys of it.

post-it colors

MetaFilter member overeducated_alligator gives us the low-down on why Post-It notes come only in certain colors that don't seem evenly spread throughout the color wheel.

Lists Are Fun! by Malcolm Tredinnick (cc by)

An amazing internet sleuthing took place in Ask MetaFilter a few months ago when dmd asked us to help me come up with the jokes associated with a list of punchlines he found in his recently deceased father's notebooks. Ask MeFi stepped up and answered them all, and this story was recently featured on the new TLDR podcast from NPR's On The Media:

Drawing on index card by koalazymonkey (cc by)

In a thread seeking advice/gifts to impart on a 9 year-old receiving his first wallet, MetaFilter member decathecting describes the ultimate reference card for young people:

Make a card that is twice the size you actually need. Fold it in half, and then write on both sides of what is now the outside. Tell the young man that this is his emergency card. Include on the card a telephone number that you promise to answer, day or night, if he is in trouble and needs an adult, no questions asked. Advice about stuff he can't talk to his parents about, help getting a ride home from someplace he's not supposed to be, bail money, whatever. Before you laminate it, slip a $50 bill between the two halves, inside the fold. Tell him it's there, and that it's his emergency money, and that it will always be there if he needs it, but that the money is a one-time offer, so he really needs to save it for a situation he can't get out of on his own.