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The How Things Work site didn't have enough activity during the beta, and has been closed. You can download the data dump of all questions here.

175
followers

How Things Work

Q&A site for people who want to know the principles of how things work

Announcements

47  
It's an excellent idea for a Stackexchange site. I just wonder what Discovery, Inc. will think about us stomping on their trademark site, HowStuffWorks.com. Suggest changing the name to "How does that work?" or "What Makes it Go?" – Robert Harvey Jul 26 '10 at 3:47
4  
Good point. I like your suggestion "What Makes it Go?". I would like to add some names to the suggestion list "How Things Work?", "What makes it tick?" and "How Everyday Things Work?". Lets see if the site gets some significant following, then we can give it a new name. – ianjorgensen Jul 26 '10 at 6:48
3  
Could this happen to be similar to Popular Natural Sciences? IMHO all current questions would be on topic there, too. – Tobias Kienzler Jul 26 '10 at 8:46
show 12 more announcements
9
votes
1
answer

Closed before reaching public beta?

jan 15 '13 at 17:27 Community♦ 1
12
votes
3
answers

894 Commitments Needed to launch Beta

may 21 '11 at 20:47 Community♦ 1
11
votes
1
answer

Is it unusual for a proposal to be closed during the private beta?

apr 26 '11 at 22:12 Community♦ 1
9
votes
1
answer

Can the name be changed to an actual question?

mar 26 '11 at 21:40 Community♦ 1

discuss this proposal

94 Example Questions (16 closed)

active newest votes
up vote -2 down vote
If we become stronger it's because our muscles grow bigger. What's the biological equivalent for flexibility?
added by Christian Oct 16 '10 at 10:25
link
The order in which this question is asked makes it confusing when skimread. (I had to doubletake then revise my original comment.) This question also has the potential to be answered with a glib "regular exercise", so perhaps it would benefit from an increased specificity of language. – Christopher Woods Dec 20 '10 at 23:28
up vote -2 down vote
My iPod won't synch, or play via my docking station. I think it's the cable/dock port. What should I do? [closed]
added by gkrogers Oct 28 '10 at 13:02
link

closed as off topic by The Josenator, Nathan Osman, woodchips, Dean, firedfly Dec 9 '10 at 15:00

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

1  
Belongs on Apple SE. – Nathan Osman Nov 16 '10 at 1:17
Well, definitely belongs somewhere else... – gkrogers Nov 16 '10 at 6:45
up vote -2 down vote
How can I tell if my oven is working properly i.e. heating up to the right temperature?
added by gkrogers Oct 28 '10 at 13:22
link
Thats not really a how does it work question. – NinjaSquirrel117 Nov 17 '10 at 0:58
@NinjaSquirrel: Yes, I know. – gkrogers Nov 17 '10 at 5:28
up vote -2 down vote
How does a printer work?
added by NinjaSquirrel117 Nov 17 '10 at 1:01
link
Kind of a broad question. "How does an ink-jet printer work?" or "How does a dot-matrix printer work?" would narrow it down significantly. – Greg Nov 22 '10 at 1:23
up vote -2 down vote
How can I make my car run faster? (off-topic)
added by PearsonArtPhoto Dec 16 '10 at 13:13
link
up vote -3 down vote
How do energy saving light bulbs work?
added by ianjorgensen Jul 25 '10 at 22:20
link
7  
Which type? CF (compact fluorescence)? LED? How about "Why do CF bulbs use less electricity than incandescent bulbs?" – Larry Smithmier Jul 26 '10 at 3:24
up vote -3 down vote
How does an alarm clock work?
added by NinjaSquirrel117 Nov 17 '10 at 0:57
link
1  
What type of alarm clock? – Greg Nov 22 '10 at 1:24
up vote -3 down vote
How does a motorbike work?
added by Dean Dec 4 '10 at 20:49
link
vague: how to ride it or how it's built? – Tshepang Dec 11 '10 at 9:07
up vote -3 down vote
How does 'Inception' work?
added by kchau Dec 8 '10 at 22:10
link
up vote -4 down vote
How does the internets work?
added by Conroy Whitney Aug 24 '10 at 5:36
link
too broad a question – Greg Nov 22 '10 at 1:33
up vote -4 down vote
How do the dynamics in a polygamous relationship work? [very off topic]
added by Stewbob Oct 22 '10 at 19:27
link
up vote -4 down vote
How can dragons fly?
added by Mnementh Nov 13 '10 at 20:06
link
Doesn't it is a good example for off-topic? Seems not for the most. – Mnementh Nov 17 '10 at 10:29
1  
What type of dragon? – Greg Nov 22 '10 at 1:26
up vote -6 down vote
How does recycling help save the environment? [closed]
added by Conroy Whitney Aug 24 '10 at 5:35
link

closed as off topic by Refael Ackermann, deceze, Christian, HoLyVieR, Brad Mace Oct 15 '10 at 21:30

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I've voted this question as "not a good example" because the premise that it does help save the environment is so strong in the question. That's not to say that I think it doesn't help, but... somehow, it just doesn't strike me as a good example question for how things work. Perhaps something like "What really happens to things that get recycled" would be better? – lindes Dec 11 '10 at 20:51
up vote -6 down vote
Why is Arthur C. Clarke's cable not practical?
added by Pavel Radzivilovsky, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 19 '10 at 20:57
link
Please elaborate – Refael Ackermann Aug 31 '10 at 12:59
Clarke's cable: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator – WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 19 '10 at 20:58
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This proposal didn't have enough activity during the beta. It was closed 9 years ago.

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