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Snowden May Get to Binge-Watch House of Cards in Russia After All

Netflix has ambitious international plans, Bing prediction sets the dial to creepy, and the future a silicon-based chips is coming to an end. It’s a healthy helping of news and rumors on BitStream. Come and get it. Netflix Wants to Be in Russia By 2017 Despite companies, such as Spotify, currently postponing or abandoning service…

What the hell did I just watch?

I can’t really tell you much about this Swedish short film without spoiling it. I’m just going to say that it’s hilarious and completely nuts—even with the English subtitles on. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Is the Internet killing our individuality?

British motion designer Thom Haig lays out some very interesting questions about our future: Is the Internet and the new connectivity systems affecting our individuality? Are we capable of creating new thoughts or are we just simply replicating the same ideas over and over again? I’m sure you all have your own thoughts about this…

This Soft Upper-Body Exo-suit Could Boost Your Strength Without Power

Exoskeletons can make it far easier and safer for workers to carry out heavy-duty labor. But not everyone needs to lift insanely heavy loads—and in those cases, something a little less robotic may just be the answer. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-the-future-of-heavy-work-and-it-looks-awesome-1663623797 A new prototype designed by researchers from Hiroshima University in Japan claims to be able to enhance…

The Troubled History of the Foreskin

Common in the US, rare in Europe and now championed in Africa, male circumcision is hotly debated. Jessica Wapner explores whether the gains are worth the loss. On a recent Saturday morning, Craig Adams stood outside the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was sunny but cold. Adams, who had…

Watch people throw molten iron to make it explode against a brick wall

Dashuhua is a 500-year-old Chinese tradition practiced in Nuanquan town, in Hebei province, during the Lantern festival. It consists in throwing molten iron scraps to the cold bricks of the city gate to produce a spectacular shower of sparks that burst into the air creating a similar effect to a fireworks display. SPLOID is delicious…

“I was in hospital last week. I asked the nurse if I could do my own stitches. She said ‘suture self'” was one of the bits of wordplay that secured the UK Pun Championship for Leo Kearse last week. Read more of them at The Independent.

Instagram Posts Help Reveal Schock’s Inappropriate Taxpayer Spending

According to the Associated Press, Republican Representative Aaron Schock has been spending taxpayer money on private jets and taking his staff to sold out concerts. And they’ve confirmed at least some of that using Instagram. The news wire reports that it extracted location data from his (prolific) Instagram feed and compared it with records about…

A Sunset On the Surface of Mars

Using photos taken from Mars by the Opportunity Rover, NASA has recreated the sunset the rover sees from the red planet. Hit play and be mesmerized.

Curiosity’s New Software Lets It Drill More Gently (and Do Less Damage)

Curiosity can be heavy handed. Its drill, used to investigate geological samples on Mars, has frequently broken the rocks that NASA scientists have wanted to peer inside. But a new software update means that now it can go more gently with its drill. Curiosity has six settings on its drill. Between the softest and hardest…

These Mice on a Treadmill Show Weight Loss Drugs in Action

Cheap, effective and—above all—safe weight loss drugs could help ease the obesity epidemic. These mice demonstrate how a new weight loss jab called morpholino works, as they scuttle along a treadmill. Images using infrared as they exercise, the different colors reveal how much energy different parts of creatures are using—red means a lot. On the…

Words of Praise For Microfilm, An Overlooked But Essential Library Tool

There are some great research-minded tumblrs out there — I highly recommend JSTOR‘s — the Muncie, Indiana Public Library is celebrating technology month in February. They asked their local history librarians what they thought the best technology was. They were big fans of microfilm. Photo credit: Microfilm Reels by University of Illinois Library/flickr/CC BY 2.0…

Drone footage of Russia’s Air Force Museum shows a heaven for planes

All these fighter jets and war planes and attack helicopters are on display at Russia’s Central Air Force museum just outside of Moscow. They’re advanced killing machines. And yet this drone footage makes them look so peaceful, resting and hibernating in the Russian winter snow. It’s as if we’ve stumbled upon a paradise for planes.…

How Wes Anderson uses red and yellow to paint his movies

When I think of the colors red and yellow together, I think of Big Macs and french fries and chicken nuggets. Yep, I think of McDonald’s. But maybe I should think of Wes Anderson movies now. As you can see in this lovely supercut by Rishi Kaneria that shows Anderson’s use of color, red and…

James Gunn’s Poetic Defense of Superhero Movies

James Gunn took to his Facebook page to respond to a number of disses superhero movies took during the awards season. He was mostly very unconcerned with it all, but he did end with the admonition that their characters were every bit as loved as those from “serious” films.

The Black Plague Was Probably Caused By Cute Gerbils, Not Dirty Rats

Conventional wisdom has it that the Black Death was spread throughout Europe by nasty, evil dirty, disease-carrying rats. Well, prepare to have your mind blown (and find a new pet): according to a new study, gerbils are more likely to blame. The Black Death — a mid-14th century epidemic of the bubonic plague that killed…

A.I. Might Kill Us Through Incompetence, Not Malevolence

Artificial intelligence has been looming large in the public conciousness recently, thanks to the likes of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking telling us how we’re going to die at the hands of robots (the upcoming Terminator reboot probably doesn’t help, either). But amidst the techpocalypse talk, there’s been limited discussion of what constitutes A.I, and…

Chef magically cuts a carrot into an elaborate net

On good days, my knife skills could be considered rudimentary. On most other days though, I’m probably a danger to myself. So never in my wildest dreams would I ever think that I could pull this sorcery off: turn a regular carrot into a perfectly webbed net by strategically cutting it with a knife. The…

Well, That’s One Solution to the Parking Problem

When technology fails to create more parking, just use magic. It’s the only way. This amazing piece of mind-bending photomashery was created by UK artist and designer Alex Chinneck. See more of his work on his website. via Twisted Sifter

’50 Shades Of Grey’ Had An Entirely Predictable Effect On Porn Searches

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me. At least that’s the message that randy users are sending leading porn streaming site PornHub following the release of 50 Shades Of Grey in cinemas: more people — especially women — want to watch BDSM content thanks to Christian Grey. In case…