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China’s Dredging In the South China Sea Created 2,900 Acres of New Islands

We’ve known for years that China’s military is spearheading one of the biggest land reclamation projects ever in the middle of the South China Sea. But a report from the Pentagon yesterday says that the project is far larger than previously thought: 2,900 acres of new land has been created—roughly tripling the size of the…

7 Ways That World War I Could Have Started Before 1914

The First World War was instigated by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but it’s no small miracle that a general European war didn’t happen earlier. Here are 7 international crises in the years before 1914 that could have started a global-scale conflict. For most Europeans, the century leading up to the First World War…

This Surgical Procedure Restores Sensation to the Penis by Remapping the Brain

Guys, imagine for a moment what life would be like if you couldn’t feel your penis. That can happen to men with some kinds of spinal injuries, or who were born with a condition called spina bifida. Their penises can still sense touch, but a break in the spinal cord means the signal never makes…

Wolves Return To California

Researchers have confirmed that these five wolf pups — born this spring — are the first born wild in California in over 100 years. Along with their mommy and daddy, they form the newly dubbed “Shasta Pack.” Wolves now call California home again. The pups are thought to be four months old and, like their…

My Time With Google’s Cellular Service Was Mostly a Disaster

I glimpsed the future before it collapsed into bullshit. I wanted Project Fi, Google’s new and experimental cellular phone service, to be amazing. The idea sounded so superior to the status quo that it just had to be destined for greatness. But like the Star Wars prequels and most food with black olives, it let…

MIT’s MultiFab 3D Printer Is One Giant Leap Towards a Real-Life Replicator

One day 3D printers will be able to churn out working electronics and fully-functional machines, instead of just plastic parts. And that day is now slightly closer with MIT CSAIL’s MultiFab 3D printer that can use ten different materials to build working devices in a single print run. For 3D printers to fully realize their…

Alphabet’s First New Company Is the Life Sciences Team from Google X

The Alphabet family just gained a member, after Sergey Brin announced that the zany, experimental life sciences group from Google X would become its own company. This is the same group of nerds that’s been building smart contact lenses. And it sounds like more crazy new inventions are on the way. Brin didn’t say what…

Better Late Than Never: Netflix Is Getting Person of Interest Next Month!

Yes, you can finally watch the best science fiction show on network TV, on Netflix. Person of Interest has been mind-blowingly great for the past four seasons, but this show about artificial intelligence hasn’t found the geeky audience it deserves. But that’s all about to change. We’re excited to be the ones to break the…

Submit your short film to the Sploid Short Film Festival 2015

The Sploid Short Film Festival is all about featuring filmmakers and celebrating storytellers and helping creators show off their work. If you think you have something special and want to share your short film, please feel free to submit your film for consideration in the Sploid Short Film Festival 2015. We’re constantly accepting submissions and…

North Korea’s Internet Is Basically That Town From The Truman Show

North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. But a new interview with a telecommunications employee who worked inside the country is full of surprises about what kind of phone and internet access the average North Korean has. NK News interviewed Ahmed El-Noamany, a former technical director who worked on North…

The First Order and the Resistance Rule In New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Photos

Gone are the Rebellion and Empire. In a post-Return of the Jedi world, the good guys are the Resistance and the bad guys are the First Order. How and why? We don’t know yet, but two new images from Star Wars: The Force Awakens highlight both of these new groups. Those are the covers to…

Seeing a cello get carved from wood and made by hand is so soothing

The cello is a gigantic instrument so it’s really no surprise that it basically takes an entire tree to make. What is impressive about the process of making a cello by hand though is just how long it takes to carve the wood down, to precisely cut out the shape, and to put all the…

The Fat Jew’s Joke Theft Excuse: “I Was Drinking a Daiquiri Nude” 

The internet’s most-hated joke-stealing Instagram aggregator has been eating shit all week, losing a Comedy Central deal after getting called out for ripping off comedians online. Now, Josh “The Fat Jew” Ostrovsky is making excuses for his long history of digital plagiarism. Unsurprisingly, his excuses are terrible. Ostrovsky isn’t the only person building a career…

Your Next Android Phone Won’t Be Clogged With as Much Google Bloatware 

Google is finally doing its part to minimize its contribution to the scourge of bloatware. Has anybody in the history of owning a phone ever wanted a Google+ app? Shitty preinstalled apps like Google+ on Android and Stocks on iOS are called “bloatware” because they’re stuck on the phone before you buy it, and are…

Hitman: Agent 47 Will Give You The Joyous Sensation of Temporary Brain Damage

If you’re the sort of person who huffs paint and gives yourself mild concussions for fun, then you’ll enjoy the heck out of Hitman: Agent 47, in theaters today. Actually, anybody who enjoys incredibly dumb movies will get a kick out of this cinematic gem. Some spoilers ahead… Hitman: Agent 47 is the latest in…

Amazon Echo takes one more step to becoming the benevolent central hub (or Hal 9000) to your future smart home. After connecting with Belkin’s WeMo smart devices this past May, a web-cached blogpost shows Amazon’s Echo now controlling SmartThings devices, Samsung’s acquired smart home division. Neat. [TechCrunch]

Marvel’s September Comics Are Covered With Awesome Cosplayers

Cosplay is a huge part of fandom these days, and companies are embracing the ridiculous talent and creativity of their fans more than ever. Marvel are getting literal with said support, too: They’ve announced that their September variant cover theme will highlight fan cosplay with some amazing photos. Throughout September, over 20 of Marvel’s current…

Spotify Clarifies Exactly How it Will Use Your Information After Privacy Kerfuffle

Everybody (including this blog) freaked out a little bit yesterday when Spotify released a new privacy policy that asked permission to do everything from track your location to look at your photos. But Spotify is sorry. The company’s CEO just clarified that Spotify doesn’t want to spy on you. In a blog post boldly titled…

Watch the ocean’s five islands of garbage form over the last 35 years

The ocean is filled with alien-looking creatures, a lot of natural beauty and a crap ton of garbage. There is so much garbage in the ocean that fully formed patches of our filth have spawned. In this fascinating visualization, NASA reveals how the ocean’s 5 islands of garbage came to be. You can see the…

Samsung Might Be Making a Huge, Absurd 18.4-inch Android Tablet

Big tablets. So hot right now. Much like the “big smartphone” revolution from 2011, tablets seem to be undergoing something similar. Apple’s got its own in the works—which we’ll most likely see in a few weeks. But not to be outdone, Samsung’s planing to go bigger. According to the reliable rumor site SamMobile, the Korean…