How Stuff Works
By Zoë Agnew
This is a site for people who need to dissect and to take things
apart to understand them. How Stuff Works uses a combination of animations,
diagrams and articles to explain how the functionality of things like
car engines, key locks and computers. There are many other resources
out there, both in print and online, that would appeal to this kind
of curiosity. The similarly-titled book How Things Work, is one of
the most popular examples of this subject. How Stuff Works is a strong
addition to this subject area. The site takes good advantage of the
benefits of presenting these concepts online instead of in print:
animation and searchability.
The animations are appropriately simple and clean. A few of the animations
allow you to control the pace or to interact with it in some other
way. Otherwise, most of the animations are looping and non-interactive.
The other successful feature of this site is simply the number of
explanations that they have. You are able to search through hundreds
of articles and animations, grouped into general categories such as
Electronics and Telecom and Body and Health.
The tone of the site is also appropriately clear and simple. Children
of many ages would be able to understand the concepts, but the writing
would not be intellectually insulting to adults.The one major caveat
for the site is its commercialism. How Stuff Works is a for-profit
company, and they must rely heavily on advertisers for their income.
They of course have content on something like "how a car clutch
works," but they also have information on "how Nintendo'
Game Boy Advanced works."
Despite these many blatant product placements, How Stuff Works is
an excellent
resource for teachers, students and generally curious people.