We’ve all seen the beer ads on TV…

Before the days of refrigerators and insulated coolers, the hardy pioneers chilled their brew by submerging the bottles in a wild and ice-cold mountain stream, right?

But did you know there was another way to cool a bottle without electricity?

If you ever get caught in the rain, or go outside with your hair wet on a breezy day, the answer is clear — evaporation!

I bring this up because the Lion Brand Yarn people just issued a free pattern to knit or crochet a bottle cooler that works in just that way:

Evaporation!

These bottle coolers take advantage of this natural property. Simply place the bottle inside, dip in water and hang or place the cooler in the shade where there is a breeze. Dampen again as needed.

Even on hot days, you’ll find your soda stays pleasantly cool without the use of any energy except the natural breeze!

True, there are still warm days to come on the other side of the Labour Day weekend… but it would have been nice to know about these bottle cooler thingies at the beginning of the summer! Ah well, make a note…

No melting glaciers required.
The wet T-shirts are, of course, optional.

Technorati Tags: free, patterns, knit, crochet

When I was in about Grade 5, I desperately wanted to be an archaeologist and travel around the world digging up the remains of ancient civilizations. (I blame National Geographic magazine.)

Without any natural ability for science and math, however, that dream was soon dashed — but I’ve never gotten over the fascination with puzzles and mysteries and treasures of the past. It has simply been transformed into a passion for antiques, I suppose.

Anyway, the point is this — there are a great many terrific gift ideas out there for the young budding scientist. You know, clever educational toys and science-experiment kits and the time-honoured telescope, microscope, or chemistry set.

But this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything that would bring great such delight straight to the heart of a would-be archaeologist — a small-scale replica Egyptian mummy and artifacts ready for excavation! They’re buried in a block of soft chalk, about 7 by 4 inches, ready to be revealed with the brush and pick tool provided.

An amazing price (was $9.95, now just $4.99) in an offer exclusively for VictorianTradingCo.com E-Subscribers. Worth signing up for the newsletter, with that kind of deal on a truly unusual (stocking stuffer?) gift.

Oh, it just occurred to me — this little Egyptian Excavation Kit might be a nice addition to the curriculum for home-schooling families, too, if you’re doing a unit on ancient times or some related topic…