Why don’t people understand the urgency of colonizing other planets?
The human race could be wiped off the Earth’s surface at any moment — so why don’t people understand the urgency of colonizing space? In this excerpt from his book Reopening the Space Frontier, Professor John Hickman explains our foot-dragging. Whatever justification or combination of justifications is ultimately adopted for establishing an extraterrestrial human presence,…
The Santa Chronicles: A Look into the Shady Life of the Man in Red
You probably don’t give Santa a second look when you see him in a department store or on a street corner every December…but maybe you should. SANTA COPS By December 2001, Mafia fugitive Francesco Farina had been on the run from Sicilian police for more than five years. Holed up in what he thought was…
How to Build a Compass Out of Lego—Without Using Any Magnets
Click to viewA compass that doesn’t need a magnetic needle? That might sound impossible, but the ancient Chinese worked out how to make one 4500 years ago. Now you can make one too—from Lego bricks. Watch the video above to find out more about the device and see New Scientist’s Sean O’Neill build one out…
The Greatest Knitting Patterns in the Universe
Winter is the perfect time to cozy up in front of a fire and knit. But there’s no reason those yarn projects can’t celebrate our love for all things science fiction and fantasy. Here are 20 awesome free knit/crochet patterns. 1) R2D2 Beanie This is the droid hat pattern you’re looking for. By Carissa from…
What the Hell do You Buy an Audiophile for Christmas?
Sound snobs are the easiest—and yet hardest—folks for whom to Christmas-shop. You know they want something audio-related, but you’re probably not qualified to choose something. No problem. We’ve got this. Go Mono Before he became famous for giant wigs and homicide trials, legendary producer Phil Spector used to proclaim, “back to mono!” An interesting retro-trend…
Best Science Pictures of the Year
Here are the most striking images of the year, from New Scientist’s Picture of the Day series. They include Martian landscapes, tiny monkeys, weird lightning, panda impersonators, and Yoda’s long lost cousin. This post originally appeared at New Scientist. Meet the world’s smallest monkey This is not a gremlin – it is the world’s smallest…