World’s Tallest Waterslide Opens For Test Rides—Immediately Shuts Down

Kansas City’s 17-story water slide (the tallest in the world) opened up its pipes for a few human test runs, then immediately closed as the riders were LAUNCHED INTO THE AIR. Updated with new information. We’ve been following the creation of the Verrückt for sometime now. It’s the water slide so big, it has its…

These Meteorites Were Caught on Film as They Blazed to Earth

There’s something undeniably awesome about a blazing rock entering our atmosphere from space. Especially when you can watch it over and over again, because some lucky (or unlucky) person caught it on video. Alberta and Saskatchewan, November 20, 2008 Cuzco, Peru, August 2011 A skydiver almost struck by a meteorite, the first meteorite filmed in…

The BBC Seriously Considered Cancelling Doctor Who When Tennant Left

Hard to believe, but the BBC weren’t sure if Doctor Who could go on without David Tennant. They were seriously considering pulling the plug on the show when the Tenth Doctor moved on, according to head writer Steven Moffat. Talking to the Hay Literary Festival, Moffat says the BBC were “ready to axe” the show…

This Box Transforms A 200-Square-Foot Room Into A Comfortable Apartment

Could you live in a 200-square-foot apartment? What if it came equipped with a device that could turn a single room into a bedroom, living room, dining room, or kitchen with just a wave of your hand? CityHome is a concept developed by architect Kent Larson and M.S. candidate Hasier Larrea at the MIT Media…

Should People Without Licenses Be Allowed To ‘Drive’ Autonomous Cars?

Self-driving vehicles are starting to appear on our streets, and it’ll only be a matter of time before they’re commonplace. Which brings up an interesting question: Just who, exactly, should — or should not — be allowed behind the wheel? This question was recently posed by the fine folks at the Open Roboethics Initiative via…

What Genre Movie Made You Leave the Theater or Shut Off the TV?

There are a lot of possible reasons why you have to stop watching a movie part of the way through. Sometimes it’s just terrible, but other times it’s too scary or too sad — or it’s just undefinably evil. What science fiction, fantasy or horror movie made you stop watching? Please include pictures, video, or…

Spiked Godzilla Hoodie Lets You Live Out Your Destructive Fantasies

With Matthew Broderick out of the picture, and the latest version of the film destroying the box office, it’s cool to like Godzilla again. And we all know that the best way to show your appreciation for anything is to wear a hoodie that turns you into a crude facsimile of it—whether it be a…

These Inflatable Godzilla Costumes Are Both Brilliant And Terrifying

There’s been a bold new step in non-sexy Halloween costume technology: inflatable costumes you can wear! As you can see from these two upcoming Godzilla outfits from Rubies, the results are impressive to say the least. So why are they terrifying? Probably because, as Topless Robot has correctly pointed out, in the time you have…

A Visualization Of Popular Opening Chess Moves Over Time

Theoretically, there are 71,852 positions that can be obtained in chess after each player’s fourth move, the vast majority of which are strategically useless. So where to start? This remarkable visualization shows how the opinions on this matter have changed over time. These graphs were put together by computer science graduate research assistant Randal Olson.…

How Can a Movie Series Bounce Back From “Franchise Fatigue”?

X-Men: Days of Future Past didn’t just have one of the biggest Memorial Day openings ever. The seventh X-Men movie also had the best opening since X-Men 3 in 2006, nabbing $110 million over four days. Does this mean that “franchise fatigue” is over? Or just that the right movie can overcome it? Industry watchers…

The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base flunked a test when security forces were unable to regain control of a nuclear missile that was captured during a hostile takeover simulation. Since only the president has the launch codes, the main security concern would be the fissile material inside the warhead.

Watch Seven Years’ Worth Of Meteor Showers Condensed Into Two Minutes

Need a quick escape from your day? Put on your headphones and watch this dizzying time-lapse video at full screen as meteors from years and years of showers flit across the sky. Thomas O’Brien shot and edited this video, which captures the Perseid, Geminid and Leonid meteor showers, sometimes showing the path of the meteors…

Exoplanets Close to Earth’s Size Are Surprisingly Common

A recently-finished study of Kepler data is providing a new glimpse into the Milky Way’s exoplanetary composition. Planets about one to four times the size of Earth appear to be typical around Sun-like stars. But researchers say we don’t know yet whether they have the potential to harbour life. This latest survey, which was conducted…

The Chinese Comic Book Version of Star Wars Is Dazzling, Baffling

In 1980, not everybody had a chance to see Star Wars in China — but they could read the comic book adaptation. And now, thanks to historian Maggie Greene, so can you. Marvel at the stunningly beautiful art. But also some weird choices, like Darth Vader attacking the Kennedy Space Center. Writes Greene: In addition…

$5 Blu-ray Blowout, Alien Anthology, 20% off Video Games

Fill up your Blu-ray shelves today with over 50 titles available from Best Buy for just $5 each. Obviously, these aren’t new releases, but most everyone should find something good to add to their collection. [Best Buy $5 Blu-ray Sale] If you have any games on your wish list (like maybe Watch Dogs, Wolfenstein, or…

The Only Way 2001 Can Be Improved: Make H. Jon Benjamin Voice HAL 9000

Archer and Bob’s Burgers voice actor extraordinaire H. Jon Benjamin dubbing the sentient computer HAL 9000 in Stanley Kubrick’s scifi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey? This is all I’ve ever wanted out of life and I didn’t even know it before today. The video/recording comes from Last Night Basement, a live comedy show in Brooklyn.…

Why Tomorrow’s Conservatives Will Reject The Death Penalty

Politicians going after Republican votes know from the polls that opposing capital punishment is a career-ending decision. But, a growing group of conservatives say it’s time to reject a policy that they describe as an anti-life intrusion by big government. Is this the future of conservative politics? Writing in the Boston Globe, Leon Neyfakh profiles…

Self-Surgery: The Correct Way to do Human Experimentation

This 1908 paper is a gem. It’s about recovery from nerve trauma — and the research was done by two doctors who were so interested in the subject that one volunteered to have his nerves severed, just to see how they healed. In 1903, neurological research was in its early stages. A group of doctors,…

This Amputee Turtle’s Prosthetic Fins Are Modeled On Fighter Jet Wings

What do an injured turtle and an F-22 Raptor warplane have in common? In this case, they glide thanks to a very similar wing design. When the green seas turtle Hofesh was brought to Israel’s Sea Turtle Rescue Centre in 2009, he had been badly injured in a fishing net and had to have two…

​12 Of The Most Game-Changing TV Episodes Ever

If a TV show nowadays doesn’t have at least one big twist now and then, chances are it doesn’t remain on the air for long. But only a handful of TV series have the courage to completely transform themselves — to show something so crazy, it irrevocably redefines the show from that point on. We’ve…