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An Epic Storm On The West Coast

The weather updates coming out of California read like measurement glitches Between 147 miles per hour wind gusts recorded at Mount Lincoln weather station, and a crest height of 37.6 feet on the Russian River, it’s looking downright apocalyptic. Batten down the hatches, run the bilge pumps, and hunker down for the storm! Top image:…

Star Wars: Rebels Is About To Reveal Its Own Unconventional Lightsaber

Who’d have thought that lightsaber-claymore hybrid seen in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer wouldn’t be the only insane lightsaber we’d see this year? As it turns out, Ezra, the young would-be padawan of Disney XD’s Rebels cartoon, will soon be wielding an equally unusual version of the Jedi weapon. Spoilers! This image comes…

Spectacular demolition destroys cooling tower in the most satisfying way

Watch a cooling tower being ripped apart in Lublin, Poland. It looks like an invisible hand is pulling a thin cord embedded in the concrete. Amazing. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

More Proof That People Basically Suck. One new study finds that white people get 12 percent more money than black people for basically identical apartments on Airbnb. And another study finds students give higher ratings to professors they think are male than to ones they think are female. Yay! Image: Toni Birrer.

Your New Desktop Wallpaper: A Fetching Geological Map Of The Arctic

Via Natural Resources Canada comes a gorgeously detailed geological map of the Arctic, served up hot and fresh for all your wallpaper needs. You can download the massive, original, 27MB-map here, along all the accompanying charts, legends, etc. Below is a browser-friendlier version of the entire map, which you can download by clicking expand. Below…

Arctic Geology Is An Intriguing Map Of Lost Lands

Maps are enthralling, but geologic maps stand out even more. The cartography of rocks are a hint to stories untold, of cataclysms past and lands lost beneath the seas. A new map of geology under the Arctic Sea by Natural Resources Canada delivers a colourful promise of academic mystery.

Genetic Analysis Shows That Fin-Eating Fish Are Complete Assholes

Some freshwater fish in sub-Saharan Africa have evolved this nasty habit where they bite off and eat the fins of other fish. DNA barcoding now shows these things are nastier and far more indiscriminate than we thought. This behavior is exceptionally rare, but ichthyologists have a name for it: “pterygophagy.” These fish have evolved highly…

What’s The Most Hours You’ve Ever Watched Something In One Sitting?

Some people watch a TV show or movie series for a few hours, and call it a marathon. WIMPS. A real marathon lasts 20 hours, with out sleep breaks and only minimal bathroom breaks. What’s the longest marathon you’ve ever had, and what were you watching? Please include a picture, poster, clip, DVD cover or…

Finally, The Walking Dead‘s Carol Is Getting An Action Figure

Carol fans, rejoice! Perhaps the TV show’s best character (not the best TWD character as a whole though, she already has one) is finally, finally making her début in McFarlane’s action figure line. It’s taken 6 waves of McFarlane’s The Walking Dead line to get us to this point, but alongside Rick, The Governor (Exclusive…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Creature From The Geode

Someone—or something—is emerging from a geode covered in strange markings in this week’s Concept Art Writing Prompt. Tell us a story about this image and the being who is about to step out into this mysterious world. “Geode” is by artist Aldo Katayanagi, who has numerous other fantastical (and sometime nightmarish) images at his portfolio…

A Lockpick School In a Box Gets You a Degree In Breaking and Entering

It’s assumed that lock picking skills are really only useful for breaking into someone’s office in search of sensitive documents. But in reality they could facilitate an emergency escape, or even let you back into your home, if you lose your keys. And this Lockpick School in a Box makes the learning process a little…

What a 9,000-Year-Old Mystery Taught Me About Honoring the Dead

Last month, I told a story for the podcast Story Collider about visiting an ancient city in central Turkey. It’s about the mystery of why people living 9,000 years ago buried their dead underneath their beds — and the mystery of my father’s recent death. If you’ve got a spare 10 minutes, give it a…

New Star Wars VII villain and hero names revealed in trading cards

In a fun and slightly unusual fashion, the makers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens decided to reveal the names of new characters in the form of throwback trading cards. They look a lot like the playing cards released for the original movie. But they’re, well, brand spanking new. J.J. Abrams and friends leaked the…

Beads Found In Ancient Danish Graves Match Glass Made For King Tut

An analysis of artifacts retrieved from Bronze Age burial sites reveals that Denmark and ancient Egypt traded with one another 3,400 years ago, and possibly practiced similar religious rituals. Scientists from the National Museum in Denmark and the Institute of Archaeomaterials Research in France used a technique called plasma mass spectrometry to examine the chemical…

Tools to Track Your Music, Movie and Reading Habits

The marketing firms of the world are keenly interested in your leisure habits but this kind of data can be useful to you on a personal level as well: Find out what you were listening to, reading or watching this time last year; get recommendations about what you might enjoy next; and spot patterns in…

New Star Wars New Character Names Revealed!

J.J. Abrams has revealed the names of his brand new Star Wars characters from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And they are the most Star Wars names we have ever heard. Entertainment Weekly has revealed the new crop of names via Photoshopped vintage Topps Star Wars trading cards, made up with stills from the recently…

Lord Of The Rings, As Told From The Orcs’ Perspective

We know the story of Lord of the Rings as it occurred from the Hobbits’ perspective (guy receives some disappointing heirloom jewelry, decides to melt it down). But what would the story look like from the Orcs’ point-of-view? Gather ’round, friends, and hear the tale of Gandalf the Betrayer. In response to this post, looking…

The Oldest Horned Dinosaur Ever Discovered In North America Is Tiny

Say hello to Aquilops americanus, the newest addition to the neoceratopsian family of horned dinosaurs. The diminutive creature, which was found in Montana, was no larger than a crow, sporting a beak-like nose and sharply pointed cavities on its cheeks. Paleontologists working in southern Montana recently discovered a 3-inch beaked skull, which they believe is…

How Greenpeace Wrecked One of the Most Sacred Places in the Americas

Greenpeace can get a little aggressive with its tactics. That doesn’t mean that it’s not fighting for a good cause! But after the organization marched through the sacred Nazca Lines etched into the Peruvian desert for a climate protest, capturing it all on camera with a drone, you have to wonder what the hell they…

Can Santa Claus exist according to the laws of physics?

I love this cool visualization of Santa Claus’ Christmas Eve trip as seen from space but, with the current laws of physics, we know he wouldn’t be able do it. Or would he? Can Santa be real and deliver on his promises? The question is tricky, as this scientific debate shows. Let the classic scientific…