Cheryl Eddy

Hawaii Has Its Own UFO Landing Pad (And Alien Visitor Center)

Will intergalactic visitors prove a boon to supporters of Hawaii’s independence movement? Sovereignty group Lawful Hawaiian Government hopes so … and they’ve constructed a UFO landing pad and “Star Visitor Center” on a rocky Big Island lava field, to welcome alien guests. Reports the Wall Street Journal: Seeking out alien visitors might seem as improbable…

“World’s Largest Vertical Maze” Adorns Dubai Office Tower

You did it, you crazy-looking building, you! Dubai’s 55-story, aptly-named “Maze Tower” just got the nod from the Guinness folks that it’s officially the largest vertical maze in the world. According to the press release, the exterior is composed of natural stone and, as you can see in the image, there are LED lights (which…

In 1976, Arthur C. Clarke Knew A Lot About Cell Phones And The Internet  

Vintage interviews of Arthur C. Clarke predicting the future of computing continue to surface. Here’s one from 1976, just released by the AT&T Tech Channel, which contains even more spot-on description of what communications will look like in the future. As in, today. As in, internet and smartphones and maybe even drunk texting and online…

8 Mysterious Disappearances (And The Clues That Keep People Guessing)

What makes a mysterious disappearance even more intriguing? When baffling clues are left behind — or even more tantalizingly, when they surface again, months or years after the fact. Here are eight head-scratchingly compelling tales of people who vanished… and the weirdest theories they spawned. 1. The Lost Colony Every schoolkid’s heard this tale, but…

Monopoly Games Randomly Filled With Real Cash Being Sold In France

Monopoly, the beloved money-managing game/destroyer of dreams (“Go to Jail”? AGAIN?), celebrates its 80th anniversary this year — so Hasbro is releasing 80 games in France with actual euros inside, including one set that swaps the entire funny-money bank for the real stuff. Chances are pretty slim that you (or your Boardwalk-buying, Parisian-dwelling bestie) will…

The Revolting Yet Logical Physics Behind Ingrown Toenails

File under “Ewwwww … but good to know:” physics are partially to blame for ingrown toenails. They also have a hand in determining why ingrowns tend to only affect the big toe … and why certain folks (teens, pregnant women) are more susceptible to getting them. A new study published by the University of Nottingham’s…

People Were Murdered in This House. So Why Do We Keep Visiting It?

Why we so fascinated by houses that have played host to horrible murders? Would you dare to live in one? These are the questions posed in American Murder Houses: A Coast-to-Coast Tour of the Most Notorious Houses of Homicide, written by attorney (and Jalopnik contributor) Steve Lehto. The book weaves its way through decades of…

Turns Out Coin Tosses Are Much Less Random Than You Thought

The latest Numberphile video talks to Stanford professor Persi Diaconis about the randomness of coin tosses. It all depends on how the coin is tossed (height, speed) and how many times it turns over in the air. Small changes in initial conditions make for the difference between heads and tails. And for most of us,…

Remembering The Day Idi Amin Seized Power In Uganda

On this day in 1971, General Idi Amin Dada named himself the third president of Uganda, a week after leading the military coup that toppled the country’s second post-colonial leader, Milton Obote. Charismatic to the public, he proved a cruel, greedy tyrant behind closed doors. The History Channel breaks it down: In 1972, he launched…

David Duchovny Reveals His Favorite Type Of X-Files Fan Fiction

In an interview with theNY Times Magazine to promote his new novel, Holy Cow, David Duchovny also entertained some literary-themed X-Files questions. And by “literary,” we mean fan fiction. What the erstwhile Fox Mulder had to say about it was quite surprising. There is a lot of Mulder-Scully fan fiction, and some of it is…

The Magna Carta marks its 800th anniversary, and the four surviving O.G. copies are currently being displayed together for the first time at London’s British Library. “The birth certificate of democracy” contains the groundbreaking declaration that no one (including the king) is above the law.

Paranormal Activity House Sold, Ghosts Not Included

The San Diego, Calif., home once owned by filmmaker Oren Peli — who famously used it as the set for his low-budget, blockbuster-earning, sequel-spawning Paranormal Activity — was quickly snapped up for $749,000 after going on the market January 21st. “Congrats to the new owners on your demon house!” jokes Curbed, which has interior photos…

“Dragon” Dinosaur Was 50 Feet Long, Had Most Epic Neck Ever 

Before you get too excited on the heels of today’s Game of Thrones news items, we’re not talking actual fire-breathing monsters here. However, it’s possible this newly discovered dinosaur species could have inspired the dragons that populate Chinese folklore. The Canadian team that studied the skeleton, which was found in central China, dubbed it “Qijianglong”…

On This Week’s Archer, It’s A Bloody Great Sterling And Pam Road Trip

This week’s episode, “Edie’s Wedding,” is all about relationships. It’s also the most brutally violent ep yet in season six. Coincidence? NOPE. Some spoilers ahead! In our pre-season interview with Archer executive producer Matt Thompson, he dropped some serious hints about this particular episode: https://gizmodo.com/whos-back-and-whats-new-in-archer-season-six-the-insid-1669383651 One of the things I missed most in season five…

The Exact Moment When Freddy Krueger Stopped Being Scary

When A Nightmare on Elm Street hit theaters in 1984, it was hailed as a legitimately scary movie. But as the series added sequel after sequel, Freddy Krueger began to lose his potency, transforming from boogeyman to wisecracking buffoon. When, exactly, did that happen? Here’s the exact instant when Freddy pivoted. It didn’t take long.…

Plan Your Next Trip To Mordor With This Google Map Of Middle-Earth 

Because Middle-Earth can be a confusing, perilous place, Reddit user mbingcrosby created this Google Maps-style guide to the journey from Hobbiton to Mordor. As you can see, it’s expected to take six months (“four months without Orcs”), and be ready, because “this route has trolls.” [Via Laughing Squid] Image via Imgur.

Incredibly Rare And Mysterious Deep-Sea Megamouth Shark Washes Ashore 

There have been fewer than 100 confirmed sightings of the megamouth shark, an elusive deep-sea species that uses its huge maw to trap tiny bits of plankton and krill. So when a 15-foot specimen washed ashore in the Philippines this week, scientists were more than overjoyed. Reports the Washington Post, “We know so little about…

Farmer Uses Flying Drone, Careful Feed-Truck Driving To Create “Cow Art”

“We have happy cows in Kansas,” notes farmer and YouTube star Derek Klingenberg. His latest endeavor involves taking aerial images of his field as his cows mob together to create two eyes and a smiley face, guided by the almighty allure of a feed truck. Sure, this “cow painting” is not as intricate as, say,…

Suitcase Stuffed With Human Remains Found On San Francisco Sidewalk

A “suspicious package” report yesterday afternoon led San Francisco police to a wheeled suitcase filled with dismembered human body parts in the city’s South of Market neighborhood, just blocks from the headquarters of Twitter, Uber, and other high-tech companies. CNN reported on the grisly discovery: “We do have people of interest that homicide investigators are…

In Suburban Gothic, Seeing Ghosts Isn’t As Scary As Talking To Your Dad

Sometimes, even the prospect of facing down angry, vengeful ghosts is less terrifying than having to move back in with one’s raging asshole of a father. This is the situation facing the paranormally-inclined hero of deadpan horror comedy Suburban Gothic. The spooks that haunt Suburban Gothic take a distinct back seat to its human characters,…