By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
DEC. 10, 2024 | Every now and then, someone comes along who understands matters better than others. One recently came our way who was raised in Atlanta, and simplified complex issues in a manner most of us lesser mortals could understand.
Many people were influenced by this person who died recently. He became world-renowned for his ability to explain complicated matters.
He was Marshall Brain, 63, of Cary, N.C., who was on the faculty at North Carolina State University. He is best known for creating in 1998 the site, How Stuff Works, though he accomplished much more.
Marshall was born in Santa Monica, Calif., where his father worked on NASA’s lunar lander. Later the family moved to Atlanta, and his father helped engineer the MARTA system. Marshall’s life’s interest was influenced by his father’s engineering.
Brain was a graduate from high school in Atlanta (Marist), then got his bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., before getting a Master of Science degree from North Carolina State. He joined the NC State science faculty in 1986.
Brain
At first, explaining complex matters was his hobby. He founded the web site How Stuff Works in 1998 with his wife with the mission to make complex topics accessible to everyone. The site went through several rounds of venture funding totaling $8 million. It soon became not only a national, but international phenomenon. Thousands of people, many students, went to the site to understand matters. The site was acquired by Discovery Communications in 2007 for $250 million.
Check out How Stuff Works today for a plethora of topics. It has expanded to include explanations on science, tech, home and garden, auto, culture. Among specific topics:
- Why do we have middle names?
- Why is 9/10th added to gas prices?
- Why we “touch base’ at work and in baseball?
- You are probably petting your cat all wrong.
- The mystique of the horseshoe.
- And so many more.
Marshall Brain was always curious his entire life. In the midst of confusion and activity, he was continually jotting down notes to remember ideas. And he had a prodigious body of work, all the more remarkable since he never learned to type, but speedily used his two index fingers to tackle a keyboard.
He continued to expand his horizons. On television, he hosted Factory Floor with Marshall Brain, and Who Knew? with Marshall Brain on the National Geographic Channel. He was also a favorite on Oprah, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz Show and Modern Marvels.
He authored many books. One we particularly like is simply called The Engineering Book, which stays by my easy chair for easy reference. Like his other works, it is simplified, using one page (plus one page facing picture) to explain the marvels of engineering over the centuries. The topics in the 528-page book roam from explaining the Venice flood system, brain replication, parafoil, refrigeration, the Great Wall of China, and the bow and arrow principle. Each subject is a one page explanation! That was his manner. Keep it simple.
- You can find his obituary at this link.
Marshall Brain: 1961-2024: May you rest in peace.
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