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You Have No Reason Not to Upgrade To Philips’ New $5 LED Light Bulb

Unless you refuse to light the room where you write about conspiracy theories with anything but antiquated incandescent bulbs, you really don’t have a single reason not to upgrade to Philips’ new 60-watt equivalent LED bulbs that cost just five bucks without a utility rebate. It will officially be the cheapest 60-watt equivalent LED bulb…

Why is It Called a ‘Medicine Ball’ Anyway?

Medicine balls, for those of you who haven’t been to a gym or never accidentally kicked one thinking it was like a soccer ball (true story), are heavy weighted balls coming in a variety of sizes and weights (with the biggest we could find ringing in at a whopping 150 pounds) with a diverse range…

This Is What 170-Year-Old Champagne From a Shipwreck Tasted Like 

In 2010, divers rescued some amazingly old alcohol from a shipwreck off the coast of Finland. They’ve already published some detailed tasting notes about the beer—but now they’ve carried out an in-depth analysis of the champagne they found, too. The bottles of champagne found aboard the ship were actually eminently traceable. Markings on the corks…

Even a Simple Reflection Looks Amazing in Space

Living in space provides an overwhelming series of aesthetic joys, from whether it’s the view of Earth from above the aurora borealis—but even a simple reflection can look amazing, too. This image shows the reflection of astronauts Scott Kelly and Samantha Cristoforetti when SapceX’s Dragon cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station last Friday.…

Road to Zero: Sierra Leone’s Struggle to Rid Itself of Ebola

The worst of the Ebola epidemic may be over but the World Health Organization has declared that life in Sierra Leone, as in other Ebola-affected West African countries, can only return to normal when transmission of the virus ceases and cases drop to zero. Unfortunately, not everyone in Sierra Leone is so concerned. Mark Honigsbaum…

7 Silly Techniques That Will Help You Take Fun Photographs

If you’re bored of the photographs you’re taking, perhaps it’s time to be a bit less serious. So forget about ISO settings, shutter speed or lens choice—and be a bit silly instead. These tips from the Co-Opeative of Photography aren’t at all complex, serious or expensive, but they are fun. Light painting! Smashed mirrors! Free…

These 3D Printed Organs Beat Just Like Your Heart

The rhythmic beating of these clumps is mesmeric—but it could be life-saving, too. These are tiny 3D printed versions of hearts and lungs, which work just like the real thing. Created by researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the pale gray objects mimic the heart and the dark…

The Agents of SHIELD Spinoff Will Follow Mockingbird and Lance Hunter

Well, this is interesting. It looks like the Agents of SHIELD spinoff and Marvel show being helmed by writer-producer John Ridley aren’t one and the same. And we finally know who the Agents of SHIELD spinoff will follow. So there are two new Marvel TV shows in the works at ABC, but nothing new on…

This Isn’t a Lens Flare, It’s a Galaxy

From the Hubble comes this image of an elliptical galaxy called IC 2006. It’s a huge bright spot, like an eye in the universe. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Image acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt and J. Blakeslee (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory). There is a mystery associated with elliptical galaxies. From NASA: Massive elliptical galaxies like these are…

Awesome video shows what it must be like to control and break gravity

Can you imagine if you had a knob you can turn to sway gravity whichever way you like it? Clemen Wirth’s imaginative experimental video, Gravity, just does that. Water can be poured upwards, paint can drip sideways, flying balloons can fly down and the whole world can be bent in any shape you want. It’d…

Go Search For The Loch Ness Monster Using Street View

The internet is really good at over-analysing photos, and Google is good at bringing the internet into our homes. So for armchair amateur sleuths, this should be The Dream: a chance to find the Loch Ness Monster without having to go to dampest darkest Scotland. It’s starting to become hard to find a place where…

Mr. X Sounds Like One Of The Year’s Worst Movies. Can’t Wait To See It!

Here’s the trailer for Mr. X, a new movie that rocked the box office in India this past weekend. Similar to the classic superhero drama Mr. India, it’s about a man who gains the power of invisibility, and uses it to take revenge on the bad guys. And find love! Sadly, Mr. X is getting…

Being inside a car inside an automatic car wash can be so relaxing

I remember being so fascinated with automatic car washes as a kid. Your mom would pull up the family car and then relinquish control to what seemed like a highly choreographed ballet of robot arms and soap ballerinas that worked together to clean your car. I would watch the bubbles, listen to the thumping and…

This week is National Park Week! From April 18—26, parks across the U.S. will be celebrating with walks, movies, talks, and tours, which you can find by searching the National Park Week Event Calendar. You can also click here to find the park nearest you.

R.L. Stine Explains Why It’s Gotten Harder To Scare Teenagers

Since 1989, R.L. Stine has been scaring teenagers, first with the Goosebumps books and now with the Fear Street series. But it’s gotten tougher — as he tells Time, it’s hard to keep up with technology, as well as shifting teenage trends. Stine tells Time: It’s actually much harder [to scare teenagers now], because the…

Life Is Perfect For Phil On Last Man On Earth—Then It’s Worse Than Ever

For a brief, fleeting moment, everything is perfect in Phil Miller’s life. He has what he thinks he wants, and he’s determined to keep it that way. But if there’s one rule in The Last Man on Earth, it’s that the universe hates Phil and wants him to be as miserable as possible. “Moved to…

Don’t Ever Touch This Fish

Yes, this fish has spines. Yes, this fish releases toxins. No, that’s not the reason why you shouldn’t touch it, though. You’ll know why you shouldn’t touch it when you find out what it has instead of scales. Image: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be The mandarinfish has a few good qualities. It engages in a charming…

MIT’s Flatpack Furniture Assembles Itself In Seconds

The last time we checked in with MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab, it was showing off video proof of a chair that assembles itself in water. Now, the team has uploaded video of its latest project: A flatpack table that does the assembly itself. The lab calls it “programmable” furniture, and while that implies that this table…

Some Of The Most Amazing Dirt Cheap Homemade Robots Ever Built

Robots have come a long way in the past few decades — but some of the coolest advances in robotics haven’t come from huge companies or massive university labs. Makers, inventors, tinkerers and builders have been creating some to-die-for robots for years now. Check out some videos of the very best DIY cheap robots. PET,…

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