HowStuffWorks is a website created by Marshall Brain. It is dedicated to explaining the way many things work. The website in its early days focused mostly on science and machines, ranging from submarines to common household gadgets and appliances. Content since then has expanded to a larger array of topics, ranging from "How Black Holes Work" to "How Verbal Self-Defense Works" to even "How St. Patrick's Day Works." The site has an article dedicated to "How Wikis Work" and one dedicated to explaining "How the HowStuffWorks Book Works". The site uses photos, diagrams, video and animation to explain even complex terminology and mechanisms in lucid terms. New content is added daily. There have been four HowStuffWorks books: two hardcover, illustrated coffee table books, called "HowStuffWorks" and "More HowStuffWorks," and two unillustrated paperbacks, "How Much Does the Earth Weigh?" and "What If?". HowStuffWorks puts out an educational magazine called "HowStuffWorks Express" for middle school students. The company has also put out a series of HowStuffWorks trivia "LidRock" discs -- CD-ROMs sold on fountain drink lids at Regal Theaters.
In 1998, former North Carolina State University professor Marshall Brain started the site as a hobby. In 1999, Brain began raising venture capital and formed a corporation, HowStuffWorks Inc. In March of 2002, HowStuffWorks was sold to The Convex Group [http://www.convexgroup.com and the headquarters moved from Cary, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia. The Convex Group is an Atlanta based investment and media company founded by Jeff Arnold, founder and former CEO of WebMD. Howstuffworks recently acquired Mobil Travel Guide® and Consumer Guide®. On August 15, 2003, the popular HowStuffWorks Forums shut down The community has since survived in an unaffiliated website at [http://forums.howwhatwhy.com__NOTOC__
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the
"HowStuffWorks".
Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world