DIY (Page 27)

PopSci's curated collection of life skills, tech tips, and hands-on projects we think you'll love.

Latest in DIY

Smart homes for beginners

Smart homes for beginners

Multiple desktops on a Mac computer.

Get more screen space than you ever imagined with virtual desktops

A swimming pool, from under the water.

It’s surprisingly hard to tell if someone’s drowning, so we made you a guide

By Whitson Gordon

A person sitting in a dark room with their hand on their face, staring at a phone as they try to figure out how to undo something in the iOS Notes app.

The simplest way to undo text in Apple’s Notes app

By John Kennedy

How to stop videos from autoplaying

How to stop videos from autoplaying

A stack of papers that would be hard to merge together if they were PDFs.

How to combine PDF files for free without sketchy online software

By John Kennedy

Chinese banyan bonsai tree on bright yellow

The beauty and science of growing bonsai

By Stan Horaczek

A man running shirtless on the side of a road in hot weather.

Know the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion. One can kill you quickly.

By Alisha McDarris

5 DIY Tricks To Amp Up Your Jack-O’-Lantern

5 DIY Tricks To Amp Up Your Jack-O’-Lantern

By Samantha Cole

Wind-Powered Record Player

How to build a record player powered by wind

A lawnmower, which you won't really need for a ground cover lawn, with a shovel and a broom for digging up your grass lawn.

It’s time to rip up your lawn and replace it with something you won’t need to mow

By Jean Feingold

An iPad Pro with a keyboard, on a windowsill surrounded by plants and bathed in sunlight.

The best apps for iPad Pro connoisseurs: 10 essentials to download right now

Anthotype images on wooden table

Spice up your art with turmeric, sunlight, and a 19th century photography technique

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Powerhouse tips to improve your favorite video call app

Powerhouse tips to improve your favorite video call app

An Amazon Fire HD tablet on a wood floor.

How to get any Android app on your Amazon Fire HD tablet, plus 8 other tips

A pomeranian with glasses reads from an iPad

Google Chrome’s Reading list will help you finally close some of those tabs

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Old printed photos scattered around a table.

How to colorize your old black and white photos

A snake plant sitting in an open cardboard box, ready for shipping.

How to ship your beloved houseplants across the country without killing them

By Ellen Airhart

Person working on Photoshop

How to wipe metadata from any file

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

person-holding-mask

How you and your family can cope with post-COVID anxiety

By Jean Levasseur

A dirty, rusty grill outside on a brick patio.

How to get your grill ready for summer

By Whitson Gordon

Make the most of your Apple AirTags with these tips and tricks

Make the most of your Apple AirTags with these tips and tricks

scientist injecting turkey

Thirteen science-backed ways to improve your Thanksgiving

By Sophie Bushwick

We asked for your best photos of frozen soap bubbles—and wow, did you deliver

We asked for your best photos of frozen soap bubbles—and wow, did you deliver

By Sophie Bushwick

A Mac laptop on a wooden table with Google Docs open in suggestion mode.

The greatest Google Docs shortcut you’re probably not using

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Hands holding slime with crumbs over a keyboard

This DIY slime can clean the grossest parts of your home and car

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A person grimacing and holding their left shoulder with their right hand.

Perfect posture doesn’t exist—but you can still improve yours

By Eleanor Cummins

A woman with curly, dirty blonde hair sitting in front of a gray laptop with her hands in the air in an act of confusion or frustration.

I used Google Tasks to turn my Gmail inbox into a to-do list, and now nobody can stop me

By John Kennedy

Protect your digital footprint by erasing your phone tracks

person's hand with silver rings

Go full silver alchemist and clean your jewelry with science

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Computer on a white desk with WeVideo editing platform on the screen

These free video editing tools are so simple, anyone can use them

By Jean Levasseur

Person checking phone in a coffee house.

The 7 best apps for sending money

One side of a reddish-brown brick building, with 15 windows arranged in a grid on the façade, each containing a separate window air conditioning unit.

How to prevent your window AC unit from falling out, and other cool tips

By Lauren Leffer

The Todoist app on an iPhone.

How to set phone reminders for anything

Hack A Teddy Bear To Say Anything

Hack A Teddy Bear To Say Anything

By Andrew Rosenblum

comic book flip phone

Build A Keyless Car Unlocker Out of a Cellphone

By Dave Prochnow

Watch This Bicycle Go 80 MPH

Watch This Bicycle Go 80 MPH

By Joey Carmichael

15 ways to be more secure online

15 ways to be more secure online

Apple Watch on table

How to choose the right smartwatch for you

Webcam clipped on to a computer monitor

It’s time to upgrade your webcam

Beer Can Camera

Turn Empty Beer Cans Into Sun-Tracking Cameras

By Dave Prochnow

A thermal lance made out of bacon cutting a steel pan in half.

Bacon: the other white heat

By Theodore Gray

A white mug full of hot coffee on a white saucer, surrounded by roasted coffee beans.

How a popcorn popper can help you roast coffee beans at home

By Alisha McDarris

Use these online office suites to get your work done anywhere

Use these online office suites to get your work done anywhere

2011 Invention Awards: Dynamically Glare-Blocking LCD Sunglasses

2011 Invention Awards: Dynamically Glare-Blocking LCD Sunglasses

By Elizabeth Svoboda

A frustrated woman sitting on the floor of a bathroom, resting her arm on the carpeted lid of a toilet.

How to fix a moaning toilet

By John Kennedy

An Amazon Echo, which will soon automatically connect with Amazon Sidewalk.

If you’re worried about Amazon Sidewalk, here’s how to opt out

Super Moon rise over a valley

How to photograph the moon like a pro

By Stan Horaczek

How to choose the perfect workout routine

How to choose the perfect workout routine

By Harry Guinness

Simple Amazon Kindle tricks that’ll optimize your e-reading

Simple Amazon Kindle tricks that’ll optimize your e-reading

Three homemade bubble lights, one blue, one red, and one green, over a small table and a chair.

Liquid lamps

By Radiohole (Eric Dyer and Maggie Hoffman)

A person striking a block of plastic with a hammer, creating white lightning against a blue background.

Gray Matter: Trap lightning in a block

By Theodore Gray

How To Build A Jacob’s Ladder

By William Gurstelle

A clean computer desktop on a macOS computer.

Clean up your computer’s embarrassingly messy desktop. Seriously. Please.

An Artist Is Growing A Skeleton Human Hand In A Lab

An Artist Is Growing A Skeleton Human Hand In A Lab

By Meaghan Lee Callaghan

How to recycle plastic at home

How to recycle plastic at home

By Meaghan Lee Callaghan

How to digitize all your VHS and cassette tapes

5 MacGyver hacks you should try at home—and 2 you really shouldn’t

5 MacGyver hacks you should try at home—and 2 you really shouldn’t

By Sophie Bushwick

A person using Facebook on a laptop while sitting in front of a table with books on it.

How to keep your Facebook account safe and secure

The 4 body parts you’re probably forgetting to protect from the sun

The 4 body parts you’re probably forgetting to protect from the sun

By John Kennedy

Three children sliding down a slip and slide.

Beat the heat by building your own slip and slide

By Jean Levasseur

Mom and kid in front of a cardboard rocket with white, blue, and red pain in a fenced-in yard

Turn your old boxes into a kid-sized rocket ship

By Lydia Geisel/Domino

You Built What? A Motorized Easy Chair to Roar Around Campus

You Built What? A Motorized Easy Chair to Roar Around Campus

By Gregory Mone

Simple Project Of The Month: The DIY Camping Shower

Simple Project Of The Month: The DIY Camping Shower

By Calvin Brennan