Hi! I’m Avisha NessAiver / @Distilled Science
👨🔬 Scientist turned 🎓 Science Educator – 🧬 Science-backed Life Optimization
I help you use Science & Data to think smarter, live healthier, & uncover truth online
✒️ Sign up for Distilled Download – my weekly newsletter – I share actionable, science-backed tips and tools for optimizing your thinking, performance, and productivity. Drop your email to join a growing community of science-minded readers!
As soon as you hit subscribe, I’ll send you my 🧴FREE sunscreen calculator🧮 that you can use to figure out precisely how much sunscreen you need to get the labeled SPF!
1-3 Minute videos not enough for you?
I started a FREE Substack where you’ll get the accompanying text and citations for all my videos, along with bonus thoughts and sources! (And paid subscribers will get access to deep-dive articles with actionable takeaways)
SPECIAL: For the first week only (Until June 18th) I’m offering all annual subscribers a LIFETIME discount of 35% off!
✉️ Have a question? Feedback? Cool study to share? Send me some words😉! I read everything and usually manage to respond to >70% 😄
Air Purifier
This has been the best bang for buck air purifier out there for years.
- Great for rooms ~500 sq ft, still a solid effect for the 500-100 sq ft range.
- Top Wirecutter pick
- Best combo of coverage, noise, and price (including year 1 filter) in this analysis of 50+ air purifiers!
Note: The effectiveness of any filter-based air purifier is a direct function of it’s fan speed. When shopping for any air purfier, look for something that says “CADR” or “Clean Air Delivery Rate.” As a rule of thumb, aim for a CADR of ~50% the square footage you’re trying to treat, assuming ~8.5’ ceilings.
Gifts for Nerds
I bought most of these on Amazon, expecting to return them, buuuut they ended up being too much fun (either for myself or my guests), so now I just have an interesting coffee table.
Some of the non-Amazon items were sent to me by brands that are small businesses run by usually just one or two nerds like myself. If you want to support them (and me), make sure to buy from them directly–through my link or using my discount code!
Arc Lighter
Why use a match or lighter when you can use thousands of volts of rechargeable electricity instead?
Magic Chain Wine Holder
Exactly as it looks. Well made and super cool looking! The perfect table centerpiece.
Gyroscope
Well-made and inexpensive, this is a lot of fun to play with–and great for teaching some cool physics!
CMY Color Cubes
A translucent acrylic cube with cyan, magenta, and yellow on each surface. Rotating it in different ways is a really cool way to teach color theory!
3-D Mirascope
This produces a fun optical illusion where, when viewed at the right angle, it looks like there’s a hologram of whatever small object you put in it. Great for teaching optics!
FerroFluid - Venom in a Bottle
This stuff is fascinating to play with, whether you’re 5 years old or 50. Also a cool way to teach electromagnetism. Also might be an alien parasite.
Satisfying Spinners Under $30
Double Pendulum Spinner
Chaos in action! The tiniest small motion completely changes the way that it will swing, but that doesn’t stop my brain from trying to predict it. I’ve spent hours playing with this thing.
Pendulum Spinner
This spinner works on a less cerebral, more kinesthetic level. It moves super smoothly and is very viscerally satisfying to play with, both from it’s density and it’s smooth motion. This is the one that people steal from me most often 🤣
Cube Spinner
This is solid metal, with the larger part spinning around the smaller axis in a manner similar to that of a normal fidget spinner. I like how decorative it looks when not in use.
High-End Gifts that are Totally Worth the $$
Alfred Cutting Board
I’ve been gearing up for a Science-In-The-Kitchen series for a while now, and first step was for me to get a super high-end cutting board to use (and film on). I did a bunch of research and found a small family business out in LA that makes these beautiful walnut cutting boards, and were nice enough to send me one. You can use code SCIENCE10 to get 10% off!
*NOTE: the discount will show up once you’ve created an account. You will be able to have a 3-day free trial that can be canceled any time!