The deadly side of champagne bubbles

Though the “sparkling” part of champagne is a key part of it’s appeal, those tiny bubbles were a huge problem for about a century’s worth of French wine makers. We’ll let you in on the making, and the downside, of bubbles. There’s a famous legend that has the inventor of champagne, Dom Perignon, tasting his…

Who was the Skull Cowboy, the mysterious character cut from The Crow?

When you watch Alex Proyas’ original movie of The Crow nowadays, it’s an amazingly tight movie. The supernatural revenge plot is pretty straightforward, and the film skips most of the angst, to go straight to the campy fun. But originally, there was a forboding presence in the film: the Skull Cowboy. See for yourself. Over…

Here’s one classic Doctor Who story that’s scary AND packed with ideas

Patrick Troughton’s second season starring in Doctor Who was the “base under siege” era, where relentless monsters terrorize an embattled crew of humans in story after story. But judging from the newly released “Ice Warriors,” it was also an era of good idea-driven science fiction. “The Ice Warriors” is out on DVD for the first…

15 Toylines from the ’80s That Will Never Ever Be Coming Back

The ‘80s were the golden age of the action figure, but not all ’80s toylines were gold. For every He-Man or Transformers, there are a dozen series that will never return — either because they’ve been forgotten, or they’ve been outclassed, or just because they sucked in the first place. Here are 15 toylines whose…

A ‘super typhoon’ is about to smash into East Asia

It’s called Super Typhoon Usagi — and it’s picking up serious steam as it churns away in the western Pacific Ocean. Now the equivalent of a Category 5 Atlantic hurricane, it’s poised to hit some of the most densely populated regions in the world, including Taiwan, the northern Philippines, and Hong Kong. A “super typhoon”…

The Unexpected Places Where Artificial Intelligence Will Emerge

We often imagine that artificial intelligence will be created by mad engineers who build a big box that starts thinking. But is that really how would AI develop in real life? Probably not. AI could emerge from computer systems that are part of our everyday lives right now. Here are some possibilities. Photo: Google/Connie Zhou…

William Shatner turned down a space voyage because he’s scared to fly

William Shatner decided not to boldly go into orbit, on board Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceship. According to Branson, this is because Shatner is “scared of airline travel.” Probably because of those gremlins on the wing, right? Shatner was invited aboard the Virgin Galactic flight in 2011, and turned it down. Shatner’s explanation has less…

What if you got blackout drunk every time you binged on carbs?

Yes, it’s possible. It’s called auto-brewery syndrome, and it happens when your stomach gets infected with Saccharomyces cerevisiae – the go-to yeast for brewers of beer. Top image by Ferran Jordà via Flickr Over at NPR, Michaeleen Doucleff tells the story of a 61-year-old man who recently arrived at a Texas emergency room with an…

Fuck Yeah Fluid Dynamics has an awesome roundup of fluids research that’s been recognized with an Ig Nobel Prize. Past winners include a study on why coffee spills when you walk, and another on pressures involved in penguin defecation. Check out the full list at FYFD!

Liquid Fuel, From the Sun

The future of solar energy could be a liquid fuel you put into your gas tank. The New Yorker just published an article I wrote about an incredible lab where scientists making that dream real. They’re building the prototype for a device that could convert water, sunlight and carbon into tomorrow’s gasoline. Here’s how the…

Here’s why everybody is freaking out about methane on Mars

After almost a year of searching, NASA’s Curiosity rover has turned up no traces of the four-pronged hydrocarbon known as methane. This special molecule is regarded by many as a chemical signature of past or present life on the red planet. That means there’s no life on Mars, right? Wrong. Life on Mars? First and…

New reality TV show wants to send you into space

The brain behind Survivor, Shark Tank, and The Voice, Mark Burnett has not given up on his dream of a reality TV show set in space. Now it looks like that dream will finally come true. TV Guide is reporting that Burnett’s latest reality series competition will launch the final contestant into space thanks to…

The less-is-better effect lets you fake generosity

How can you trick people into thinking you’re generous when offering them crap? Just use the less-is-better effect to offer them bonus crap, fungible crap, or a complete set of crap. It’s like when you feel a surge of gratitude when an ice cream seller offers you a little extra scoop on your sundae. But…

Hell is The Colony, and it has frozen over

There are only two distinguishing characteristics of The Colony, in select theaters today: 1) snow and 2) cannibalism. But it’s really the cannibalism where The Colony gets truly unique. And by unique, I mean ridiculous. Spoilers ahead… Apparently The Colony is one Canadian production company’s attempt to prove to studios that Canada can make big-budget…

Harry Potter Wedding Spoiled by Failed Owl Delivery Service

Hiring the Owl Post to act as the official ring-bearer is a great idea for a magical, Harry Potter-esque wedding is a wonderful, romantic idea. Unless that owl turns out to be a total dick. One couple had the cute idea to hire an actual owl and falconer to fly their wedding rings down the…

The human nose can sense 10 basic smells

We’ve got categories to describe our perceptions of taste, colors, and sounds. But things aren’t as clear-cut when it comes to our sense of smell. Looking to overcome this surprising limitation, a team of researchers have proposed a list of 10 basic smells. Indeed, we’re all set when it comes to describing the way our…

The grumpy history of the smiley emoticon

Scott Fahlman, computer scientist and typography genius, invented the smiley emoticon. But today’s ubiquitous smiley had a few precursors. One involved a tongue, and the other involved Ambrose Bierce. Pick your favorite. In 1982, Scott Fahlman decided to help computer users out by inventing a little sign that could let others know when they were…

Which of today’s current technologies will be around in 50 years?

Your laptop and phone will start becoming obsolete almost as soon as you take them out of the box, but some of the tech we use — like radio, and the QWERTY keyboard layout — has stood the test of time. What current tech do you think will still be around in 50 years? Make…

See the explosion that mimics the strike of a match

Striking a match isn’t a particularly dramatic process. But an explosion that goes off with the tap of a glass rod? Much more dramatic. Yet they both stem from the same reaction. Potassium chlorate isn’t particularly dangerous. It’s nothing but a potassium atom, a chlorine atom, and three oxygen atoms. Hardly sinister. If anything, it’s…

New message to aliens could be uploaded to New Horizons spacecraft

Astronomical artist Jon Lomberg — the same guy who helped develop the Voyager Interstellar record back in 1977 — is launching a new initiative to persuade NASA to upload a new message to the New Horizons spacecraft once its mission to Pluto is complete. He’s calling it Voyager Record 2.0. https://gizmodo.com/the-contents-of-humanitys-first-space-postcard-and-how-1308684243 As it stands, New…