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Jon Hamm shows how it would feel to block people in real life

If you’re not already acquainted with the amazing sci-fi series Black Mirror—first, what the hell is wrong with you. And second, go watch it right now. And then watch the below trailer for the upcoming, feature-length Christmas special starring none other than Jon Hamm. It looks bizarre, creepy, and absolutely perfect. Each of the six…

You Can Finally Buy Those Beautiful Wooden Kitchen Knives

First revealed way back in January of last year, The Federal’s gorgeous set of wooden-clad kitchen knives were only objects to lust over, not actually buy. It was a tease, for sure, but enough people apparently said “want” that Warehouse has refined the design and put them into limited production. The Canadian maple sheathing is…

Marvel’s New Star Wars Series Could Be One Of The Biggest Comics Ever

The Star Wars saga returning to Marvel Comics was always going to be a huge hit, but according to data obtained by Comicbook.com, it could be even bigger than even the loftiest expectations – and is on its way into being one of the top-selling single issues in over 20 years. According to Comic Book,…

The Historic American Monument That Was Never Built

This is how one painter imagined the perfect American monument, in the 1860s. He called it “Historical Monument of the American Republic.” Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900) was a portrait artist and painter in the United States. Though he was famous for painting portraits at top speed, he worked on this particular painting for 21 years,…

How insane helicopter pilots harvest your Christmas tree at mad speeds

Once again, it’s time buy dead trees. Once again, we should marvel at the way they harvest them: Using insane helicopters pilots flying at full speed, ferrying trees from one side of a hill to where the trucks are. It’s crazy. The pilot “ruthlessly owning inertia” in this video is Dan Clark. Incidentally, did you…

Roberto Orci Won’t Direct Star Trek 3 After All

Paramount is under a lot of pressure to put out a Star Trek movie by 2016, to capitalize on the 50th anniversary of the series. And they just hit a major snag: the movie’s director, Roberto Orci, just left for unknown reasons. The good news? Rumor has it Edgar Wright could replace Orci. Orci, who…

This smooth space ship is piloted by one ugly minifig

The Diskus VV creation by Tyler (Legohaulic) has great lines and uses some excellent elements that give it the impression of a smooth hull. I really enjoy the splashes of color, they really bring the thing alive. Though, the Chima head makes the pilot quite ugly, it is a great contrast for this beautiful ship.…

The OTHER Character Who Brought Us A Brand New James Bond

Today, we read some of Daniel Craig’s thoughts on just how much the character of Austin Powers had, by necessity, transformed the latest version of the super-spy into an entirely new man. But, is there another character who deserves just as much credit? Yes, said a number of commenters, who argued that Jason Bourne —…

J.K. Rowling To Release 12 New Harry Potter Short Stories This Month

J.K. Rowling just dropped a huge holiday gift to her fans. The writer is about to put out 12 additional Harry Potter stories this month! Over at Pottermore(J.K. Rowling’s official site), the author has just announced that “Starting Friday, December 12, we’ll be releasing a festive surprise for you every day at 1pm GMT (8am…

An All-in-One Cookie Cutter That Makes Bite-Size Gingerbread Houses

Engineering a gingerbread house isn’t particularly difficult, the catch is they’re usually built around the holidays when you’ve got a million other things on your plate. That’s why this all-in-one cookie cutter that produces all the parts you’ll need to build a miniature gingerbread house—walls, roof, and all—is so clever, and necessary, this time of…

What to Buy the Paleofuturist Who Has Everything

What do you get for the paleofuturist who has everything? Forget the boring book and DVD sets. How about a real flying car? Or a robot butler? These paleofuturistic wonders can all be yours! Provided you have a few hundred thousand dollars lying around. Aerocar Flying Car (1954) — $975,000 We keep hearing that the…

The Woman Who Invented the Bag That Keeps Your Pizza Warm

Ingrid Kosar always dreamed about running her own business. She didn’t know what kind of company it would be, but she liked to picture herself carrying a little briefcase. As it turns out, a very different kind of bag would define her career. It’s a bag that appears on doorsteps millions of times a week…

For the first time ever, researchers have discovered comet dust (!) on the earth’s surface. The extraterrestrial particles were found preserved in the ice and snow of Antarctica, which Science Magazine’s Ilima Loomis reports could serve as “a promising new source of this material.” Above: A particle of comet dust, recently recovered from Antarctic ice,…

There Is No Such Thing As An Unbiased Map

Who knew that asking for directions to the Hollywood Sign could be such a complicated question? Well, it is. After writing recently that a group of residents have succeeded in effectively erasing the Hollywood Sign from Google Maps to lead tourists astray, I was floored by the response that came from every corner of the…

Why Are Some Franchises So Content With Retelling The Same Story?

As you might have known, this weekan officially licensed game set in the HBO version of the Game of Thrones universe was released. Naturally as a fan, I checked it out – and while I enjoyed it, I was jarred by how much it felt like it was just a retread of stories Game of…

Mind-Boggling Optical Illusion Graffiti Looks Like It Floats In Mid-Air

Graffiti artist Odeith wanted to make his street art stand out, so he decided to create murals that are also anamorphic illusions. By skewing is images in just the right way and painting “shadows” on the walls and ground, Odeith is able to create designs that look like 3D objects hovering in space. Not all…

The true heroes of science aren’t always the people we remember. Over at the New York Times Magazine, Veronique Greenwood has a beautiful, fascinating essay about her great-great aunt, who worked with Marie Curie and discovered the element Francium. Thestory of her mostly-forgotten life in science is a must-read.

Trains Could Get Lasers To Burn Slippery Wet Leaves Off the Tracks

Each autumn, leaves fall to the ground by the billions. Slightly annoying if you have a backyard but really annoying if you run a railroad company. It turns out those leaves are a slippery menace on train tracks. That’s why Dutch Railways is testing a high-energy solution: Train-mounted lasers. In a recent article, New Scientist…

Celebrate the End of Prohibition with This Odd Movie

On this day in 1933, Prohibition ended in the United States — which means it’s time to celebrate with what’s probably the strangest film made about that dark time in history: 1976’s Bugsy Malone. Cheers! Alan Parker’s musical gangster extravaganza stars an all-kid cast, including a slick-haired Scott Baio (in his debut) and a spit-curled…

What Television Show Deserves Its Status as “Gamechanger”?

Every few years, we’re told there’s a new show that’s changing television forever. Sometimes, it’s actually true; sometimes it’s wishful hype. Which shows or miniseries really did change the way we think about television? I’m going to do the obvious thing and pick Game of Thrones, because it did two things that television had never…