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Scientifically accurate Barney destroys children and does not love you

Even as a kid, Barney never made sense to me. I always wondered why this purple dinosaur was so friendly, like he had done something terrible in a previous life and was atoning for his sins. And he totally was! As ADHD’s scientifically accurate Barney shows, he’s a monster that you do not want to…

Every single trick to make the best paper airplane in the world

John Collins made the farthest-flying paper airplane in the recorded history of paper airplanes. He published a video on how to fold it in November, but that missed the key elements that made his airplane the very best in the world. He sent us this video that contains all the tricks you need to match…

A New Glimpse Of Doctor Who‘s “Lost” 5th Anniversary, With Peter Cushing

What if Doctor Who actually had a fifth anniversary special in 1968, featuring original stars William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton… plus the War Doctor, played by movie Doctor Peter Cushing? That’s the premise of this amazing art project by Colin Brockhurst. Brockhurst is selling some “memorabilia” from this story, “The Day of Doctor Who” on…

Women Destroy the Hugo Awards! How much visibility have women authors received in recent years, versus the past? Livejournal user Kalimac did a statistical analysis of Hugo nominations by gender going back to 1959, and found two spikes — one in the mid-1990s, and one from 2010 onwards.

How This Recluse Went from Bullied Kid to Internet Art Sensation

Elgin Park is miniature city created and photographed by artist Michael Paul Smith. In a short documentary directed by Danny Yourd, Smith explains how his miniature street scenes went from a nostalgic personal project, to a viral hit online. Scenes from the fictional Elgin Park, which exists in a fantasy version of the 1950s, have…

What’s the Most Obnoxious Way to Sign Emails?

The etiquette around work email is still evolving. If the Sony hacks taught us anything, it’s that even high-profile executives and celebrities are — let’s call it extremely informal in their email writing styles. What’s the worst email signoff you’ve ever seen? I don’t know how to sign my emails. When I’m writing to friends,…

A Koozie That Keeps Your Beer Cold With Good Engineering 

Arriving just a day too late to keep your drinks cool during the big game, the folks from Yeti are back with another marvel of insulated engineering known as the Colster. Comparing it to those foam neoprene sleeves often referred to as Koozies is almost an insult, because the Colster is designed from the ground…

These Traditional-Style Afghani Rugs Were Inspired By Modern Warfare

Contemporary art is sometimes bizarre, but images of weapons appearing on traditional Afghani rugs may be the strangest change in modern art. The tradition was started during the Soviet occupation started in 1979, and these items are still made by most of the local ethnic groups. After the US invasion of Afghanistan and the fall…

Are Smartwatches Already Dead?

Do people actually want smartwatches? I’m starting to wonder. The Pebble smartwatch—a phenomenal Kickstarter success story and the darling of tech critics everywhere—has only sold 1 million copies. Don’t get me wrong, that’s fantastic news for Pebble and for anyone with a Pebble on their wrist. One million units means Pebble can keep building watches…

36 Hours of Glaciers and Steam in Iceland

I just visited Iceland for the first time! But, due to airport chaos, I was only there for exactly 36 hours. Here’s what I learned from my short trip, camping out on ice and dunking myself in the country’s steaming hot springs.

Google and Uber Might End Up Duking It Out Over Self-Driving Taxis

Google may have invested some major funds in Uber over a year ago, but according to Bloomberg, it’s looking to churn out a rideshare app of its own. This comes just after news thatUber is looking to edge in on Google’s self-driving car game with the Uber Advanced Technologies Center. In other words, both companies…

Behold The Glorious Retrofuturistic City From Tomorrowland‘s Concept Art

We’re still not entirely sure what’s going on in Brad Bird’s upcoming film Tomorrowland, but we are excited to spend time in the shimmering city that the movie is teasing, one packed with futuristic vehicles, inviting public spaces, and skyscrapers from a forgotten version of the future. Yesterday, along with the latest trailer, Disney released…

There’s a Guide to the Solar System Etched Into This Cutting Board

If you’re the type who likes to learn something new every day, this wonderful custom bamboo cutting board from Etsy seller Elysium Woodworks will teach you the basics of our solar system while you hack away at vegetables during dinner prep. Once the intricate pattern on this wooden cutting board has been engraved—including the planets,…

How VFX Wizards Got The Brady Bunch Back on Screen to Sell Candy Bars

One of the more memorable moments from last night’s Super Bowl—at least before the end of the fourth quarter—was the latest Snickers ad that co-opted The Brady Bunch into selling candy bars. But if you thought the ad just used some clever editing and dubbing, over on FXGuide they have a thorough break-down of the…

Remembering The Day Idi Amin Seized Power In Uganda

On this day in 1971, General Idi Amin Dada named himself the third president of Uganda, a week after leading the military coup that toppled the country’s second post-colonial leader, Milton Obote. Charismatic to the public, he proved a cruel, greedy tyrant behind closed doors. The History Channel breaks it down: In 1972, he launched…

By the power of Grayskull, these Lego He-Man figures have the power

Saturday morning Weekdays after school wouldn’t have been the same without He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Along with Lego, the line of toys and the subsequent animated series were a big part of my childhood. LegoJalex has mixed the two together in one beautiful package, creating brick built representations of all the best…

Listen to the Gnarly Churn of $10,000 Worth of Moog Synthesizer

Earlier this month, Moogannounced that it would be reissuing an extremely limited number of rebooted instruments from the company’s extinct line of crazy modulars from the 1970s. You’ll probably never actually get to play one, but at the very least you can revel in the magnificent demo in the video above. At $10,000, the Model…

This Is What It’s Like To Be An Unvaccinated Child

Vaccines save lives and prevent untold amounts of suffering. It’s that simple. And yet, still, many parents refuse to vaccinate their children. But what’s it like to be a child who isn’t vaccinated? Today, some people who missed out on childhood vaccinations tell us exactly. After reading this letter Roald Dahl wrote after the death…

This Engineer Turned Radiowaves Into Fashion During the 1930s

For today’s edition of There’s Nothing New Under The Sun™, we have a radio engineer who experimented with creating high-tech fashion that would be right at home amongst the 21st century’s glitch art and wifi visualizations. Except that these patterns were made in 1938. The July 1938 issue of Radio-Craft magazine featured photos of RCA…

36 Hours of Glaciers and Steam in Iceland

I just visited Iceland for the first time! But, due to airport chaos, I was only there for exactly 36 hours. Here’s what I learned from my short trip, camping out on ice and dunking myself in the country’s steaming hot springs. It was supposed to be a three day trip, but a blizzard closed…