Auto and Garage
A Lithium-Battery Dashcam Wears Out Fastest Behind a Hot Windshield
A dashcam sits behind glass in direct sun, which is the worst place in a car for a lithium battery. Capacitor models exist because manufacturers know that.
Luka
Luka is the editor of Analysis of Fear. Nobody here buys or tests products: each article is built from manufacturer specifications, manuals and warranty terms, published standards, regulator data and recall notices, and every figure links to its source. First drafts are produced with AI writing tools; Luka checks them against those sources, edits them and signs off before publication, and handles corrections sent to support@analysisoffear.com.
134 articles
Baby and Kids
Car Seats Expire, and It Is Not a Trick to Sell You Another One
Expiry dates on car seats look like a way to sell more car seats. There are three genuine reasons behind them, and the second-hand market compounds all of them.
Baby and Kids
A Wi-Fi Baby Monitor Is a Camera on the Internet in Your Child’s Room
Every Wi-Fi baby monitor depends on a vendor’s security, an account password and a firmware pipeline that will eventually stop. A closed-circuit monitor depends on none of those.
Baby and Kids
A Crib Mattress Should Feel Too Firm. That Is the Specification.
Everything about choosing a baby mattress runs against adult instinct. Firm feels unkind and is the safety requirement, and a mattress that fits loosely is a hazard regardless of how good it is.
Baby and Kids
Volume-Limited Headphones Often Are Not, and the Limit Is the Wrong Number Anyway
The 85 dB limit is quoted as if it were a safety guarantee. It is a workplace exposure figure that assumes a time limit — and independent testing keeps finding headphones that exceed their own claim.
Tools and DIY
A Torque Wrench Left on Setting Goes Out of Calibration in a Drawer
A click torque wrench is a calibrated spring. Leave it wound to 60 Nm in a drawer for a year and it is no longer a 60 Nm wrench, and nothing about it will tell you.
Tools and DIY
The Ladder Rating Includes You, Your Tools and What You Are Carrying
Duty rating is the total load a ladder is designed for, not your body weight. Add boots, a tool belt and a bucket of tiles and a comfortable margin disappears.
Tools and DIY
The Safety Rating on a Multimeter Matters More Than Its Accuracy
Cheap meters quote resolution and accuracy. The specification that decides whether one fails safely on a household-circuit fault is the CAT rating, and it is frequently absent or unverified.
Tools and DIY
Stud Finders Do Not Find Studs. They Find Density Changes.
An electronic stud finder measures capacitance through the wall surface. Anything denser than empty cavity reads as a stud — including the cable you are about to drill into.
Pets
Indestructible Is a Marketing Word. Ask What Happens When It Fails.
Every chew toy eventually fails. The question that decides whether that is a nuisance or a vet bill is what shape the pieces are when it does.
Pets
Most Litter Boxes Sold Are Too Small for the Cat Buying Them
Cats that stop using a litter box are usually not being difficult. The box is frequently too small, too covered or too few — and all three are fixable for very little money.
Pets
A Collar Puts All the Force on the Narrowest Part of a Dog
A collar is fine for a dog that does not pull and a real risk for one that does. A harness fixes that and introduces a different failure — escape — which is entirely about fit.