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Which Conspiracy Theory Fascinates You the Most (Even Though You Know It’s Probably Ridiculous)?

Aliens. Pyramids. Montauk. The Illuminati. The Bermuda Triangle. Bohemian Grove. Elvis. JFK. 9/11. The Moon landing. There are dozens, probably hundreds, of conspiracy theories … and even if you don’t really believe in any of them, it can be fun to speculate. So share with us: which conspiracy theory (which you may not/probably don’t) believe…

The Shade on These Perfectly Flat Lamps Is Just an Optical Illusion

Using the same science that makes fiber optics and modern communications possible, these ultra-flat LED lamps look like they’ve each got a shade attached to them, but it’s all just an optical illusion. Created by Israel’s Studio Cheha, these new lamps are actually an updated version of an older design that looked like a giant…

Disney Found a Way To Make LED Lights Talk To Each Other

Wifi networks aren’t ubiquitous yet, and other wireless communication protocols like Bluetooth can suck battery life. So researchers at Disney have come up with an alternative way for devices to talk to each other using LEDs blinking faster than the human eye can see. The applications seem a little toy-focused at this point (this is…

Watch This Short and Develop the Totally Rational Fear of Being Replaced by a Fox

Last year, we learned that Foxed! was going to be made into a full-length feature. Now, you can see the short for yourself, for free. And, yeah, it’s pretty terrifying. In James Stewart’s Foxed!, we meet Emily, a little girl kidnapped by foxes and forced to work in a mine. Her escape reveals that their…

The World’s Largest Arcade Cabinet Makes Anyone Feel Like a Little Kid

Those of us considered adults now didn’t grow up playing video games exclusively in the living room. We often traveled to far away rooms called arcades that were full of giant one-game consoles. And if you think back to being a little kid, Jason Camberis’ 14-feet tall arcade cabinet is probably exactly how you remember…

4 Filtered Photos That Will Cure Your Instagram Rut

Instagram filters really do make bad photos look better, but there’s more to the world of photography than Hudson and Lark. Here are four novel, filtered photos you submitted for this week’s Shooting Challenge. The results? Surprisingly tasteful. Winner: Ocean Moonrise I shot this photo Labor Day weekend as the moon rose over the Atlantic…

The Worst Hard Time Is The Most Heart-Breaking Kind of Apocalyptic Story

A group of disparate explorers settle in a bountiful alien land. Through technology they transform the world, making it beautiful, hospitable, profitable. And little by little, they doom themselves. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, by Timothy Egan, is a sweeping, epic portrait of the…

What’s Up With Apple’s New iPhone Upgrade Program?

In a footnote to its big new product reveal, Apple announced a new iPhone Upgrade Program that looks very enticing. Extra emphasis on the word “looks” because some basic math reveals that the Apple’s new deal is not necessarily all that good. Here’s Apple’s description of the new upgrade program: Exclusively at Apple’s retail stores…

Sky High Really, Really Needs To Be a TV Show

Last week, Sky High turned ten years old. And rewatching this classic superhero movie only made us appreciate it all over again—and now we’re wondering: Why isn’t this a TV show? This summer, Disney presented the world with another movie version of “children of heroes go to high school together and also save everyone.” It…

Early Warning Fire Alarm Detects the Telltale Gases That Precede Smoke

A well-maintained smoke detector is a must for every home, but often, smoke isn’t the first byproduct of a smoldering fire. So researchers have developed a new kind of fire alarm that detects carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide instead, to identify fires at an earlier stage. The new sensors work by shining blue LED light…

What Really Happens When Male Seahorses Are Pregnant

A male seahorse gets pregnant when his mate deposits her as-yet-unfertilized eggs into a pouch on his belly. He fertilizes them, then carries the developing embryos until they’re ready to feed themselves. At which point he forcefully shoots them into the world. But his pouch isn’t just a bag for keeping baby seahorses safe. A…

This Fetal Monitoring System Is The Best Thing Apple Has Ever Done for Women

Of the many new experiences you might have during a high-risk pregnancy, one of the least fun is a fetal monitoring test called a Non-Stress Test, or NST. It really should be called a High-Stress Test because of the anguish it puts parents through. Apple just made it a little bit better. An NST is…

This Latest Game of Thrones VFX Breakdown Could Be The Most Impressive Yet

Every year we’re amazed at how much of Game of Thrones isn’t actually there. Each episode is basically a full Hollywood film in terms of visual effects, especially the ones we aren’t supposed to see. Entire worlds are built in a computer, not on set. To show this, once again, the team at Rodeo FX…

What can the ancestor of the world’s staple crop tell us? Plenty—if we can find it. This intriguing account of a hunt in the Australian outback for rice’s ancient ancestors in California Sunday is part treasure hunt, part travelogue, and part research paper. Top image: AP Photo/Biswaranjan Rout

If Only One-third of Published Psychology Research is Reliable, Now What?

The ability to repeat a study and find the same results twice is a prerequisite for building scientific knowledge. It may surprise you to learn, then, that scientists do not often conduct—much less publish—attempted replications of existing studies. Journals prefer to publish novel, cutting-edge research. And professional advancement is determined by making new discoveries, not…

The iPhone’s New 3D Touch Is the Future of Apple User Interaction—Here’s How It Works 

It’s official: The new iPhone 6S will have force feedback. But the new feature, called 3D Touch, won’t be quite like any other haptic feature Apple has used before. While a few Apple products and competing smartphones have featured forms of force feedback before, make no mistake: Apple throwing the weight of the iPhone behind…

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus Start at $200 and $300. Available for Pre-Order September 12th.

Today we got our look at the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. They’ll be available at exactly the same prices as last year’s models. Here’s the breakdown. First the two-year contract prices (then full price). iPhone 6s: 16GB: $200 ($650) 64GB: $300 ($750) 128GB: $400 ($850) iPhone 6s Plus: 16GB: $300 ($750) 64GB:…

Don’t Buy a 16 GB iPhone! 

When the iPhone 6S goes on sale, the cheapest model you can buy will be 16 gigabytes. Does it mean you should buy it? Hell no! Apple shouldn’t even sell it. A 16 GB iPhone in 2015 is the hand job of the iPhone world. It still works, it’s relatively easy to come by, but…

Crazy man drives a car over a fiery ramp that jumps straight into a lake

I don’t know if a car stunt can get any crazier than this. Car on fire? Check. Man jumping out of the car on fire? Check. Car plunging into a lake while the man is jumping out of the car on fire? Check. It is totally spectacular and also just plain nuts. Also, it has…

Watch Me Defend Hunting On Dr. Drew

It’s counterintuitive, but sport hunting as it’s practiced in the US is the most significant conservator of animals in the country. And some of that applies even if you’re murdering lions in Africa. Yesterday, I made that point on Dr. Drew, amid much shouting. Yesterday around lunchtime, my buddy Scott called up and asked if…