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These Underwater Mountains Are More Dangerous Than They Look

The ocean can look enormously peaceful, like a postcard sent from heaven by someone on Xanax. Under the surface, things aren’t nearly so calm and picturesque. And on the coast of North Africa, the U.K.’s Royal Navy found another salty hazard: Two previously unmapped underwater mountains, jutting up from the seabed. The HMS Enterprise mapped…

You Can Squeeze These Tiny Synths Into Your Skinniest Jeans

Teenage Engineering’s been teasing its tiny PO-12 for nearly a year, and for the NAMM show, it’s officially launching its pocket synth not as a standalone unit, but as a line of little noisemakers that look like Casio calculators with their faceplates snapped off. The new PO-12, PO-14, and PO-16 are called the “Rhythm,” “Sub,”…

Oregon Was Founded As a Racist Utopia

When Oregon was granted statehood in 1859, it was the only state in the Union admitted with a constitution that forbade black people from living, working, or owning property there. It was illegal for black people even to move to the state until 1926. Oregon’s founding is part of the forgotten history of racism in…

What’s The Best Way A Mind-Blowing Scientific Fact Was Explained To You?

Whether it’s the mind-boggling scale of the universe, the complex lives of cells, or the weird mechanisms of physics, science is filled with plenty of concepts to stretch the boundaries of our minds. Today we want to know the best way someone has ever explained one of those facts, that instantly made you get it.…

Obama’s 2015 State Of The Union Address Peaked At A Grade 10 Level

Last night’s State of the Union address by President Barack Obama was tailored around a tenth-grade comprehension level, which is actually higher than his previous speeches. The speech analysis was conducted by Vocativ who used the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, a widely recognized reading comprehension algorithm. Using this test, large swaths of text can be assigned…

Do The Age Of Ultron Funko Pops Reveal A New Take On The Hulk?

As inevitable as the sun rises and sets, there is more Age of Ultron merchandise heading into the wild – and equally inevitably, there are going to be Funko Pop! Vinyl figures based on the team. But interestingly, one of them might reveal something interesting about the movie. Update: Now with high res pictures! First…

Just How Insane A Body Count Does The Joker Rack Up In Suicide Squad?

Get an insider’s look at the big fight in Batman v. Superman. And a possible glimpse of Max von Sydow’s Star Wars character. One star is eager to return in Amazing Spider-Man 3. Plus fresh looks at Mad Max: Fury Road, Jupiter Ascending, and Pan. Spoilers now! Top image: The Walking Dead Suicide Squad On…

Nerf’s New Modular Blaster Lets You Build Your Weapon of Choice

In a firefight when foam darts are flying everywhere, your hardware is as important as your skills with a blaster. And because everyone’s needs and preferences are different in the heat of battle, Nerf is introducing the N-Strike Modulus ECS-10 Blaster that can modified or reconfigured in at least 30 different ways. The Modulus base…

You Only Have 24 Hours To Read This Self-Destructing Book

If you thought blockbuster movies were the only form of entertainment that relied on over-the-top publicity stunts, you were wrong: It’s alive and well in the book world as well. James Patterson’s new thriller, Private Vegas, will not only be made available as 1,000 free digital copies that will self-delete after 24 hours. There will…

Your next urban fantasy TV or movie obsession? The other day, we reviewedDaniel Jose Older’s fun, inventive Half-Resurrection Blues. Now, the book’s been optioned for TV or movies by Tony Award-winning actor Anika Noni Rose (who also costars in The Good Wife).

Smart Home Security Guard Piper Now Has Night Vision

Piper is many things in a tiny package. The pint-sized home security device—it’s literally the size of a pint glass—watches over your house, automates your connected devices, and helps you keep in touch with friends. And now, with night vision too. In case you’re not familiar, Piper is an all-in-one home security device that lets…

This Is How a Plane Will Navigate Earth Using Solar Power Alone

Last year, the team behind Solar Impulse 2 revealed the design of a plane that it hopes will be able to traverse the world without refuelling. Now, it’s revealed the route it will take when it takes off—which will hopefully be in March. https://gizmodo.com/this-plane-will-circle-the-world-using-only-the-power-o-1561304864 The world tour will see the craft take off from Abu…

Even our underwater forests are dying off. Kelp forests have been undergoing huge losses in the last 75 years. So what’s causing the disappearance? NASA’s Earth Observatory identifies three of the biggest problemsas warmer oceans, more intense storms, and invasive species moving into the area.

Ad shows how Facebook would’ve been if it existed in the 90s

Comedian Brent Weinbach made this great fake commercial showing how The Facebook—as Mark Zuckerberg originally called it—would have been if it existed in 1995. It’s almost an identical copy of this classic America Online commercial. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

For anyone who’s been wondering what that odd white spot on the surface of Ceres is, Randall Munroe thinks he has the answer. [XKCD]

“TL;DR Jurassic Park” Is Three Minutes of Pure Geeky Plot Dissection

Max Knoblauch and Bob Al-Greene devote about three minutes — that’s one per film — to summarizing/questioning the plots of the three Jurassic Park movies. Also, they spend some time proving their dinosaur knowledge. And they are correct that the baby T-Rex is the most memorable part of The Lost World. [via Tastefully Offensive]

How Fat the World Is, Visualized

Obesity has hit the United States hard in recent years—but how do American waistlines compare to those around the world? This map, put together from recent obesity data obtained by the CIA, shows that the U.S. is not alone. https://gizmodo.com/fat-maps-show-where-the-obesity-epidemic-has-hit-the-5934298 The map, put together by Clinic Compare, shows that the percentage of the population that…

A limited edition of Red Velvet Cake Oreo will arrive on February 2

We are all doomed! The new Red Velvet Oreo is here. A limited edition of the new flavor will be released on February 2. If you can’t wait 12 days you can go to oreoredvelvetrope.com over the next three days and win the chance to get a free package. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow…

This is the amazing town of Epecuén. Once a booming resort city, it was drowned in 10 metres of water for 25 years after the dam protecting the town was destroyed. Only recently dried up, you can read more about the place in our photo essay from last year. [AP viaNew Scientist]

Conan O’Brien gets animated to fight Russian mob with Archer

Conan O’Brien joins international secret agent Archer in his battle against the Russian mafia. The neat animated sketch shows Conan shooting a gun, throwing a grenade, and getting really excited in his new role as a badass spy. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.