Latest

Smithsonian Museum Forum About Tech Innovation — Live Right Now!

Today at 10:30 eastern, watch this livestream of a fascinating discussion at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History called “Innovation Echo: Tomorrow’s Brightest Days.” A panel of experts will be talking about how we can encourage more tech innovation in America, using education and community organizing. The question the panel will grapple with is…

Video shows how Disney recycled scenes in its animation movies

Sometimes instead of coming up with new ideas for scenes in movies, it’s just easier to copy your own work. Check out this video that shows how Disney recycled and re-used and repurposed scenes from its movies. Sleeping Beauty is Beauty in the Beast, Robin Hood was used in Snow White and so on. Hand…

What Book Did You Love… Until You Read It Again?

Each time you re-read a book, you find something new. And sometimes that thing is that you don’t really like it anymore. Tell us in the comments about a book that you enjoyed on your first (or second) read through, and then changed your mind about the next time you read it. Be sure to…

This Simulator’s Steering Wheel Is Strong Enough To Break Your Wrists

So how realistic do you like your simulators? Some racing fans are willing to spend thousands of dollars on displays, controls, and seats that move and shake to enhance their virtual driving experience. But a company called CXC Simulations is taking things to a whole new level with a new force feedback steering wheel that’s…

A Closer Look At The Madness That Is The Final Fantasy-Style Batman Toy

Last year we got our first glimpses at the sheer insanity of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts designer Tetsuya Nomura’s take on Gotham’s Dark Knight for the Play Arts Kai Variant Series. But now Square-Enix have revealed an even better look at the wings, claws, and power armour of this truly bizarre Batman. https://gizmodo.com/this-final-fantasy-style-redesigned-action-figure-of-b-1610394577 Yes,…

Watch This Volcano Erupt As People Stand Just A Few Feet Away

Yikes, that’s a little too close for comfort. Nicaragua’s Telica volcano began erupting late last week, hurling hot rocks, ash, and gas into the air. The Nicaraguan Geological Institute has since recorded dozens of small eruptions, none of them posing any kind of threat to local inhabitants. No evacuation has been ordered. That said, the…

10 Tricks to Make Yourself an iMessage Master

Apple’s iMessage is an all-in-one messaging solution that stays with you across mobile devices and laptops—assuming they’re all made by Apple of course. Even if you rely on the service every day, you may not know about some of the features and tricks you can take advantage of, so we’re here to help put that…

CSI Cyber and the Sick Killshot Ratio of Death

Most CBS procedurals skew conservative—this is, after all, the network that gave us NCIS, essentially a military police porno for old people— but last night’s episode of CSI:Cyber was like an hour-long PSA co-written by Glenn Beck, the Concerned Mothers Against Video Games, and my mom after my brother almost failed AP French when he…

How has the way Americans eat changed in 40 years? Vox put together a chart of changes in individual food consumptions. Mangoes are on the rise, kale’s not as trendy as we thought, and people have lost their taste for freeze-dried pears. Meanwhile, potato chips are the absolute zero mark in our changing times.

Will Google Buy Twitter? Amazon Buy Yelp? Rumors Swirl After AOL Deal

Technology is filled with all kinds of rumors, real and fabricated. It gives us a look at what might be and will be. BitStream gathers the whispers all in one place to divine what the future has in store. Verizon announced its plan to scoop up AOL for $4.4 billion yesterday, and now the industry’s…

Carrie Fisher’s Daughter Shoots Down A Longstanding Force Awakens Rumor

Take a closer look at Batman v. Superman’s Batwing. Charlize Theron could star in a comic-book movie, Eddie Redmayne is up for J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts, and Luc Besson’s Valerian gets two leads. Agent Carter season two will have new romances and new locales. Spoilers, Assemble! Top image: The Force Awakens. Star Wars: The Force…

I really want to visit this Lego amusement park’s tiny Star Wars land

The Lego master building team of OliveSeon has completely outdone themselves with a new diorama featuring a minifig-scale amusement park with Star Wars, Frozen, and even The Lego Movie-themed attractions. Legoland in California is an amazing place, but this is where I’d really like to vacation one day. Not only do the park’s minifig visitors…

Who on Earth is Inge Lehmann?

Click on today’s Google Doodle that sits atop its search results — a little exploded drawing of the planet — and you’ll be taken to a list of results telling you all about Inge Lehmann. Google’s automated algorithm says it’s her 127th birthday today, although we suspect she’s dead. So that’s fact #1. Inge Lehmann…

This Magnetic Shield Will Push the Boundaries of Particle Physics

This chamber might not look empty—but in fact it’s missing something that usually permeates every space on Earth: magnetic fields. And it will help physicists in the quest for a unifying Theory of Everything. In fact, it’s the first magnetic shield to be built that provides a space with an extremely low magnetic field over…

In the Dystopian Home of the Future, Robots Have the Search Warrants

Although this image was captured during police and armed forces exercises in Sweden, it contains a strong message about our common future. The machine is an explosive ordnance disposal robot—and it’s searching a mockup home. Equipped to search for homemade bombs using sensors and remote cameras, the robot can act on behalf of the authorities.…

Keep drinking coffee! We’ve known for a while that coffee has itsgood and bad qualities, but Aaron E. Carroll took to theNew York Times to outline how the scientific evidence weighs much more on the beneficial side.

This Lamp Was Inspired By Italic Typography

If this lamp looks somehow familiar, that’s because it’s based on something you see hundreds of times every single say: a single italicized letter i. The brainchild of COORDINATION Berlin, the lamp is constructed from a solid lump of polished marble, with an anodized alumium shade that flips up when you need some light. Inside…

Who Most Likely Makes Your Sandwich, Mapped

The sandwich is a delicious and convenient way to ingest your favored form of nutrition—but where do you get them from? This maps shows the dominant sandwich store across the entire country. Guess which color represents Subway. Nathan Yau of Flowing Data put this visualization together using information from AggData. He explains how it works:…

Stare Into the Dead Eyes of Madame Tussaud’s New Star Wars Exhibit

As much quality work as clearly goes into these, you just can’t escape the uncanny valley when you star into wax Han Solo’s lifeless eyes. Image credits: Getty Images On Saturday, May 16th, Madame Tussaud’s will open its brand new Star Wars exhibit, which recreates a bunch of iconic scenes with spaces for visitors to…

The Sun’s Light Is Way Older Than You Think

You probably know that it takes about eight minutes for light travel from the surface of the Sun to our humble planet. But sunlight is far older than that—in fact, it’s thousands of years old. In this neat little video, Sten Odenwald describes the physics explains why our sun’s light is so old—and it involves…