Popular Mechanics

Discover the latest in technology, engineering, and tools with Popular Mechanics. Plus, get essential advice on your home and car, useful DIY ideas, in-depth explanations on how things work, and more!

We Got a Tree

POPULAR MECHANICS EVERYWHERE • Where to find us beyond these pages

THE READER PAGE

HOW YOUR WORLD WORKS • LARGE PHOTO OF THE MONTH

The All-Conquering Mountain Machine • Mountain sleds are built to handle deep powder and steep slopes. The Polaris 850 PRO-RMK 174 is one of the latest, combining low weight with big power. Here are some highlights.

What I’m Looking Forward To • The cool stuff, both rumored and announced, that the tech industry saved for after the holidays.

When Your Gadgets Deceive You • Your devices are behaving like something they’re not. That’s a very good thing.

How to Use Computer Fakery Now

The Winter Fix-It Crew • Snow, ice, and plow trucks tear roads and street signs to shreds. Meet one of the men who make things right again.

What the Heck Is a Motion Sculpture?

Paintable Antennas

The First American to Pay Taxes with Bitcoin

Plane Achieves Flight with No Moving Parts • An aircraft rides on wind it makes itself from electrical potential, pointing the way to a new form of aviation.

GREAT (AND STRANGE) MOMENTS IN IONIC WIND • Renowned scientists and borderline crackpots have been puzzling over ionic wind for centuries. Here, a selection of key happenings.

Do people in witness protection ever get sent somewhere cool? Or is it always, like, Nebraska?

Torch Your Lunch • Fire is better than the office microwave.

117 YEARS OF GREAT ADVICE • We gave it then, and we’d still follow it now. Some of our all-time best tips.

ASK ROY

Budget Drills • If you’re picky, you can find a great deal.

SHOP NOTES • Easy ways to do hard things

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter • Back on the job, made in the U.S.A.

Genesis G70 3.3T • A sport sedan that needs no caveats.

Nissan Altima • Proof that the crossover hasn’t won yet.

MY FIRST YEAR ON A MOTORCYCLE • After logging 5,000 miles on his first bike, Popular Mechanics’ auto editor reaches some conclusions.

HOW TO GET YOUR MOTORCYCLE LICENSE

Distracted Much? • New cars’ “infotainment systems” are a mess of dangerous touch screens and inscrutable icons. More knobs, please.

A Better Way to Buy Electricity • A system for metering apartment buildings that saves renters money—but ended up running afoul of utility companies.

The Biggest Ice-Climbing Wall in American History • In which ice stands in for steel, and plywood stands in for ice.

Scandinavian Booze from…Colorado? • Devil’s Head distiller Ryan White makes aquavit that’s true to his roots and entirely new.

The Home Snow Gun • Adventures in making your own weather.

High Atop the Mountain • There are a lot of jobs involved with running a ski resort. Luckily, there are a lot of DesLaurierses.

THE SHOPPABLE LIFE

Winter Camping • If you plan it right, it can beat summer camping.

Guarding Uncle Sam's Borders • Thousands of miles of sea and land frontier ceaselessly patrolled to keep out prohibited articles and collect duties.

CONTEXT-FREE HEADLINES • (And a Few Photos!) From the Archives

MODERN SMUGGLERS • We asked a Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent on the John F. Kennedy Airport’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force team to tell us about the new ways smugglers attempt to get narcotics into the U.S. He came back with this story about diplomas.

POPULAR MECHANICS ON THE SMART HOME • A completely automated home might feel like the future, but elements of...