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Hologram Pop Star Hatsune Miku “Announces” 2016 US and Canada Tour

If you’re a fan of virtual musicians with computer-generated bodies and voices, and you live in North America, then do I have news for you. Hatsune Miku, Japan’s “virtual pop star,” is coming to the US and Canada next year for a seven-city, synth-filled tour—her first tour in this neck of the woods. Miku herself…

Did A Tiny Star Wars Toy Just Confirm A Huge Force Awakens Theory?

Fitzsimmons fans are about to get their moment on Agents of SHIELD. Justice League could introduce another female superhero. The Flash teases a surprise return. Tomorrow’s episode of Doctor Who includes a weird first. Plus, James Gunn answers a ton of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 questions. Spoilers Now! Star Wars: The Force Awakens…

Terrifying car bomb shockwave caught on video

According to the Popular Mobilization Forces—an army formed to fight ISIS in Iraq—a car bomb exploded today in the north of Samarra, Iraq. Someone was recording with a cellphone and captured the explosion in the distance with pristine quality. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Why People Think Friday the 13th Is Unlucky

Being wary of Friday the 13th is much more than a quaint superstition observed by a few uneducated people in distant, unreachable towns and hamlets. In the United States alone, it is estimated that between 17 and 21 million people dread that date to the extent that it can be officially classified as a phobia.…

Pluto Shows Its Principal Colors in This Psychedelic Shot

Do not adjust your monitors. While this view of Pluto looks like it’s all screwed up, in fact it’s an image from New Horizons that brings out the subtle variations in color on its surface. The image uses a technique that NASA calls principal component analysis. It’s designed to “highlight the many subtle color differences…

Earlier this year, Snapchat introduced a new Lenses feature which provides a rolling set of free filters to make your pictures more fun. From today, via the medium of the in-app purchase, you can buy expired Lenses to use forever at mere 99 cents a pop.

Inside the Body Farms Where Human Remains Decompose in the Name of Science

Imagine your dead grandmother lying in an open field, being attacked by vultures. It’s a horrifying thought and may seem like the ultimate indignity. But, assuming she is an “inmate” at one of the human taphonomy facilities around the world, she could be making an invaluable contribution to the advancement of forensic science. Facilities for…

These Water-Filled Condom Raindrops are Art to Raise Water Awareness

You’re looking at 3,000 extra-large, extra-strength condoms that have been filled with blue water and hung above the head of the public, as part of an art installation designed to raise awareness of water use. Created by the Spanish design studio Luz Interruptus for the Waterman Arts Centre in London, the giant fake raindrops—said to…

This 360-Degree View From a Blue Angel Cockpit Is Amazing and Terrifying

The Blue Angels are insanely talented—and, if this video is anything to go by, also more than a little nuts. The 360-degree view from a cockpit of one of their F18s is amazing, exhilarating and absolutely terrifying all at once. The video is shot from Blue Angel 2, which assumes perhaps the most terrifying position…

Watch What Happens When You Ignite Methane With a Laser

Setting fire to things isn’t in and of itself science. But if you record it using schlieren photography at 10,000 frames per second—as in this video of laser-ignited methane—then it’s getting closer. The video, created by Victor Miller and his team from Stanford University and first shown on the New York Times site, shows what…

Microsoft’s Amazing Hyperlapse Video-Smoothing App Now Available for Mac

Earlier this year, Microsoft launched a neat piece of software called Hyperlapse that could make butter-smooth time-lapses from jerky footage. Not, it’s available for Mac. Here’s a reminder of what it does: Hyperlapse doesn’t just speed up a long piece of footage. That process usually involves dropping a specific number of frames and can actually…

Faulty Security Certificates Are Screwing Up Some Mac App Store Updates

If your Mac’s app updates are acting a little weird, you’re not alone. A security management slip-up means that some software updates might actually require a delete and reinstall to work properly. The Stack reports that the the security certificates of some apps—including 1Password, Acorn, Byword, Call of Duty and Tweetbot—expired this Wednesday, and in…

A Simple Guide to Urgent Missed Calls

Honestly, you may as well just use WhatsApp. [Truth Facts]

Is the EU Really Making Some Hyperlinks Illegal?

You may have read that the European Commission intends to prevent hyperlinks to copyrighted material. The good news is that this isn’t true, but the bad news is that there is a real proposal to change copyright law that could change how we use hyperlinks – the bedrock of the world wide web. How does…

We Are All Doomed to Live in Vertical Forests Now

Switzerland, a country not known for its lack of trees, has come up with a new solution to grow a few more: a ‘vertical forest’, or more accurately, a 383-ft skyscraper masquerading as a shrub. Designed by Italian Stefano Boeri, the tower will consist of cantilevered concrete pods interspersed with cedar trees. It’s being built…

Finn Attacks A Stormtrooper In Brand New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Footage

ABC just dropped a brand new teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Some of the footage we’ve seen, but a good chunk is new—including Finn attacking a Stormtrooper with a lightsaber, and some very familiar profiles. You can watch the footage above, and we’ll update if a better version hits. But in there you…

Not Even Google’s Self-Driving Car Can Escape the Cops

Google’s self-driving car might be intentionally designed to look cute and innocent, but as we all know, puppy-dog eyes are not enough to escape the police. The image above was tweeted out by Google employee David Weekly, and the company took to Google+ to explain itself a little later. Apparently, the car got pulled over…

Beats Music Will Die a Sad, Lonely Death Later This Month

The writing has been on the wall for Beats Music ever since Apple bought the company and launched its own streaming service, Apple Music. The end is now coming: on November 25th, the not-quite-two-year-old service will end. According to Engadget, Apple is emailing the last remaining subscribers, encouraging them to jump ship over to Apple…

Here’s Your Chance To Discover The Best of Russian Science Fiction

Most of us are familiar with the Strugatsky Brothers and one or two other Russian writers—but most of the science fiction produced in Russia during the 20th century remains a mystery. That’s about to change. Cornell University Professor Anindita Banerjee and University of Richmond Professor Yvonne Howell are putting out a whole book of Russian…

Super Bowl to San Francisco: “Can You, Like, Take Down All Those Icky Bus Wires?”

Super Bowls and public transportation don’t always mix, and sometimes the result is nothing less than apocalyptic. Usually the problem is that cities need more transit to handle more people. But here’s the odd idea for the next Super Bowl, being held in San Francisco: Take some of that transit away. That’s the request from…