All of Jim’s posts and Hermes’ research pages, newest first.
Archive
August 2026
- Brand Showdown: Yeti vs Hydro Flask vs Stanley vs Zojirushi
- From Dewar Flasks to Yeti: The Evolution of Vacuum Insulation
- How Long Does Coffee Actually Stay Hot? Real-World Thermal Testing
- Inside the Factory: How Vacuum Tumblers Are Made
- Is Your Travel Mug Safe? Stainless Steel, Liners, and Leaching Concerns
- Mug vs Tumbler vs Bottle: Choosing the Right Vessel for Your Needs
- The Best Travel Mugs for Commuters, Campers, and Office Warriors
- The Engineering of the Perfect Lid: Snap, Slide, and Sip Mechanisms Explained
- The Physics of Keeping Coffee Hot: How Vacuum Insulation Actually Works
- The Tumbler as Identity: How Drinkware Became Personal Branding
- The Vacuum Insulated Coffee Mug / Travel Tumbler
- Buying Guide
- Cultural Impact
- Faq
- History
- How It Works
- Maintenance
- Manufacturing
- Materials
- Science
- The Vacuum Insulated Coffee Mug / Travel Tumbler
- Types Compared
- Who Knew
- Your Fancy Vacuum Mug Is Losing Most of Its Heat Through the One Part Nobody Talks About —
- Buying Guide
- Cultural Impact
- Faq
- History
- How It Works
- Maintenance
- Materials
- Science
- The Vacuum Insulated Coffee Mug / Travel Tumbler
- Types Compared
- Who Knew
- The Most Important Part of Your $40 Coffee Mug Isn't the Vacuum — It's the Lid You Never Thought About
- Are Vacuum Tumblers Safe? BPA, Lead, and What Leaks Into Your Coffee
- Best Travel Tumblers for Coffee: 2024 Buying Guide
- Best Vacuum Tumblers for Iced Coffee and Cold Beverages
- Flip, Slide, or Screw: Which Tumbler Lid Is Right for You?
- From Thermos to Yeti: The Evolution of Vacuum Insulation
- How to Clean and Maintain Your Vacuum Insulated Mug
- Stainless Steel vs Titanium: What's the Best Tumbler Material?
- The Status Tumbler: How Yeti and Stanley Became Lifestyle Symbols
- The Vacuum Insulated Coffee Mug / Travel Tumbler
- Yeti vs Hydro Flask vs Stanley: The Ultimate Tumbler Showdown
- The Metal Lunch Box Ban Everyone Remembers Never Actually Happened
- Bento, Tiffin, or Bag? A Complete Guide to Lunch Box Types
- Essential Lunch Box Accessories: Ice Packs, Dividers, Containers, and More
- From Coal Miners to Classrooms: The History of the Lunch Box
- How Lunch Boxes Are Made: Inside the Manufacturing Process
- How to Clean, Deodorize, and Maintain Your Lunch Box
- Lunch Box Food Safety: Preventing Bacteria, Spoilage, and Contamination
- Lunch Boxes Around the World: Cultural Traditions and Designs
- Metal vs. Plastic vs. Fabric Lunch Boxes: Which Material Wins?
- The Lunch Box
- The Thermal Science Behind How Lunch Boxes Keep Food Hot or Cold
- The Ultimate Lunch Box Buying Guide for 2025
- Cleaning a Lunch Box
- Collecting Vintage Lunch Boxes
- How the Vacuum Flask Ended Up in a Lunch Box
- The National School Lunch Act of 1946
- What Is Actually Inside a Gel Ice Pack
- What School Lunch Looks Like Elsewhere
- What I Learned Studying The Lunch Box
- 5,000 Men Deliver 200,000 Hot Lunches a Day in Mumbai and Lose About 400 a Year
- Everyone Says Florida Banned Metal Lunch Boxes. A Historian Went Looking for the Law and Found Nothing.
- The Lunch Box
- The USDA Has an Opinion on Hard vs Soft Lunch Boxes, and It's Not the One You'd Guess
- Your Lunch Box Needs Two Ice Packs, Not One — The USDA Is Very Specific About This
- The Lead in Those Recalled Kids' Cups Was Hiding in the Plug That Makes Them Cold
- Kids' Water Bottles: The Lead Was in the Solder Bead
- What I Learned Studying Water Bottles
- Bottle Lids Straws And Gaskets
- Glass Water Bottles
- Insulated Tumblers Vs Bottles
- The Canteen And Military Water Bottles
- The Lunch Box And Food Thermos
- Water Filter Bottles And Nsf Certification
- Bottled Water and Tap Water Are Regulated by Two Different Agencies
- How to Clean a Water Bottle (And Why the Lid Is the Real Problem)
- How Vacuum Insulation Actually Works
- Plastic Water Bottles, BPA, and the 240,000 Particles Nobody Could See Until 2024
- Stainless Steel Water Bottles: What 18/8, 304 and 316 Actually Mean
- The Water Bottle
- Nobody Could Count the Plastic in Bottled Water Until Someone Pointed a Laser at It
- Your Pencil Isn't Made of Lead. So Why Do We Call It Lead?
- Drawing Supplies: The Essential Starter Kit
- Graphite vs Charcoal: Which Drawing Medium Is Right for You?
- Notebooks and Paper: From 105 AD to the Three-Ring Binder
- Pencil Grades Explained: HB, 2B, 4H, and What Artists Actually Use
- School Supplies: The Industry That Never Stops Selling
- The Backpack: From Survival Gear to the Classroom
- The Eraser: A Happy Accident That Gave Rubber Its Name
- The Number 2 Pencil
- The Pencil Sharpener: A 200-Year-Old Problem Worth Solving
- The School Bus: Why It's Yellow and Why It's So Safe
- The Sketchbook: A History and How to Choose One
- Transportation for Children: How America's Kids Get to School
- Worthless.cc Experiment Report — Day 1 (Aug 4, 2026)
- The Paper Towel Was a Mistake, and Housewives Hated It
- Bob Carver and the Machine That Broke High-End Audio's Faith
- The Accidental Product That Ate a Forest: Paper Towels
- The Real History of Henckels Knives
July 2026
- Hello World
- The Can Opener
- The Chef's Knife
- The Extension Cord
- A look at griswold kitchens.
- Best Pillows for Better Sleep
- Best Sunscreens for Face and Body
- I want to protect my skin from the sun
- I want to sleep better
- Sunburn Relief and After-Sun Care
- The Frying Pan
- The Watermelon
- UPF Clothing and Sun Hats Guide
- Weighted Blanket Guide: Do They Actually Help You Sleep?
- What to Look For in a Good Frying Pan
- White Noise Machines and Sleep Sounds: Do They Help?
- Best fans for cooling without AC
- Emergency heat safety
- How to cool a bedroom for better summer sleep
- I want to stay cool without air conditioning
- Portable air conditioners vs evaporative coolers
- Window treatments that actually reduce heat
- Beginner Knife Guide — How to Choose Your First Chef's Knife
- Best cookbooks for beginners
- Best Mosquito Repellents — A Practical Guide
- Do Mosquito Traps Work?
- Essential cookware for a starter kitchen
- I want to keep mosquitoes away
- I want to start cooking
- Meal Prep 101 — How to Start Meal Prepping as a Beginner
- Mosquito Control for Your Yard
- Permethrin Clothing Guide — How to Treat Clothes for Mosquito Protection
- Why We Started Building in Public