This morning, NPR brought on Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, of the depressingly small House Civility Caucus, to offer advice on how to defuse the now-traditional Thanksgiving political spat. As you might suspect, given the Civility Caucus' record of success, this was not the world's most helpful interview.

Probably the best bit of advice Congresswoman Capito had was to offer up a distraction when things get too tense. "It may be the perfect time to bring in dessert, she says, or to announce that someone should take the family dog out for a walk."

I've got a better suggestion. Every year, Richard Wiseman releases a set of easy-to-do and highly impressive science stunts that you can perform using things you probably already have around the house.

My suggestion: Combine Capito's awkward segue with Wiseman's awesome tricks. Not only will you actually get your family focused on a new topic, they might even be delighted enough that they decide to ignore the fact that you just passive-aggressived them out of a heated debate. Happy holidays!

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Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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TAGS: family Holiday magic ooh look over there! relationships Science tricks

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Guest

Screw that (and I mean that as nicely as possible). #OccupyConversation.
franklinsmith

Why is sharing a “TEACHING” with your family considered only when needed for effect or manipulation – namely, here, “to impress/distract???” Why can’t sharing a TEACHING (even sharing a joke, for example) just be a status quo value (a standard) of what we EXPECT to be discussed in our home, daily – rather than our daily standard (?) discussion about the greatness of OTHER people, places, & things OUTSIDE of the home… especially “the weather” (ugh)? What values are we imparting/teaching in our homes? How are we being responsible in cultivating our children for a successful, healthy adulthood? …By celebrating/idolizing together the value of everything outside of the home? How absurd, me thinks! Folks, let’s make it happen at home!:)
http://openid-provider.appspot.com/lordbyteme Lord Byte

Science… How does it work?

Science tricks to impress/distract your family

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