Deck the Halls — Scientifically! 5 clever recommendations for holiday redecorating

'Tis the season of tangled Christmas tree lights, burnt-out menorah bulbs and dried-up mistletoe. but as you deck the halls this year, there is one element that could preserve such adorning nightmares at bay: technological know-how. From the way to keep a Christmas tree fresh and green to ensuring that festive lighting fixtures don't interfere with your property's wi-fi sign, right here are 5 medical recommendations that will help you pressure much less this excursion season.

1. Use the right lighting

you could have heard rumors that vacation lights can interfere with wireless indicators, inflicting slow internet connections and, finally, a very frustrating vacation. The reasoning in the back of this seasonal rumor is straightforward: wi-fi networks perform using radio alerts, and light bulbs also transmit radio alerts, stated Tom Coughlin, an electrical engineer and senior member at theInstitute of electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). this indicates, theoretically, the radio signals produced by means of a whole string of lighting fixtures should interfere together with your wireless sign.

but, the incandescent bulbs and mild-emitting diodes (LEDs) used on most strandsof contemporary vacation lighting emit low-frequency radio signals and are not probably to reason this trouble, Coughlin informed stay technological know-how in an electronic mail. [7 Holiday Stress Busters]

Stuart Lipoff, an IEEE fellow, said he has the same opinion with Coughlin. while excursion lighting produced a long time in the past (mainly the ones that blinked) may additionally have precipitated radio interference, cutting-edge lights (even the flashing ones) are not possibly to emit robust sufficient radio alerts to mess up your wi-fi network, Lipoff said. So if you're concerned that your old lighting fixtures will ruin your holiday, just purchase some new ones and also you should be inside the clean.

2. Trim (and water) the tree

nothing will burst your vacation bubble pretty as speedy as a house full of prickly tree needles. but there's a scientific way to maintain Christmas tree needles on the tree and rancid the ground. All you need to do is water the bottom of the tree frequently, said Rick Bates, associate professor of horticulture at Pennsylvania state university.

"retaining a excessive moisture stage inside the tree is the unmarried most essential element in decreasing needle loss and keeping the tree sparkling," Bates said at the Penn country college of Agricultural Sciences' internet site.

How often should you water your tree? Bates recommends replenishing the water-maintaining tree stand once an afternoon at some point of the primary week that the tree is in your house (that is the term when the fresh-reduce tree absorbs the maximum water). the overall rule of thumb is to provide the tree with 1 quart (it truly is 4 cups, or just less than 1 liter) of water consistent with inch of trunk diameter.

You or your local Christmas tree provider should also make a "fresh cut" within the base of the tree earlier than bringing it inside for the holiday season. Re-cutting the stem of the tree only a little — approximately 0.25 inches or zero.64 centimeters — will help the tree take in more water and, consequentially, maintain your tree searching sparkling.

3. Do now not knot

record this one under "knot theory." Are your Christmas tree lighting continuously getting snarled collectively in a massive, messy jumble? agree with it or not, there's a scientific reason for why this takes place, and there are even a few realistic ways to save you it from going on.

In 2007, physicists from the university of California, San Diego, achieved a series of experimentsto figure out why some cords are more likely to tangle than others. The scientists discovered that cords among 1.5 toes and 5 feet (0.forty six to at least one.5 meters) in length had been much more likely to knot after they were disturbed or shaken inner of a box than had been cords shorter than 1.5 feet. Cords that were longer than 5 feet had been just as possibly to knot as their shorter counterparts, that's horrific information for anybody contending with 25-foot-long (7.6 m) strands of Christmas lights.

The researchers also found that flexible cords, just like the ones that host your holiday lights, are greater without difficulty tangled than stiff cords, like electric wires. The high-quality manner to keep your light strands from knotting is to restriction their movement, the researchers stated. this indicates wrapping your lighting fixtures in coils until it's time to enhance. To preserve your vacation merry, shiny and tangle-unfastened, try wrapping lighting fixtures round rectangular pieces of cardboard.

four. Trim the ones wicks!

there's a scientific way to hold your Hanukkah candles burning for 8 nights, and all you want to make it show up is a pair of scissors.

before you mild the menorah, trim the candlewicks among one-eighth of an inch to at least one-area of an inch (0.3 to zero.6 cm). Trimming the wicks will get the candle's "combustion process" off to an excellent begin, said the countrywide Candle association, a change affiliation for candle makers in the u.s.a..

while you mild a candle, the wax at the bottom of the wick melts and is drawn up into the wick, in which it provides fuel to the burning flame. a long wick reasons an excessive amount of gasoline to be burned straight away, making the candle's combustion procedure much less green. This additionally reasons undesirable facet effects, which includes a flaring or sooty flame (the soot is made of unburned carbon debris escaping from the flame before they combust). with the aid of maintaining a candlewick quick, you can limit these sooty side-effects and lengthen the existence of your candles.

five. do not wrap something

You may not want any scissors (or wrapping paper, tape or bows) for this next technological know-how-inspired tip. studies indicates that beautiful packaging isn't the key to giving the correct gift, which is right information for every person who feels harassed by using the idea of wrapping dozens of provides this excursion season.

in preference to spending time and money on wrapping paper, attempt setting some extra attempt into choosing the proper items for the human beings you care approximately, stated Ryan Howell, a psychologist at San Francisco nation college and co-founder of beyondthepurchase.org.

In a latest interview with live technology, Howell said that a meaningful present is one that "shows that you honestly recognize the individual well, and also you virtually care about them." And that might imply locating a present which you could not wrap even if you tried.

Researchers from the Wharton school at the university of Pennsylvania have found that individuals who obtain experiential gifts — such things as concert tickets or a journey to an art museum — sense more related to the gift giver than do individuals who obtain cloth objects as gifts. just suppose: All that point you spend wrapping may be placed in the direction of making plans the perfect day in town with the ones you like.