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This may be coolest, most futuristic combat jet ever built

The Swedes make some amazing flying machines, like the Saab 35 Draken photographed above by Tony Osborne, London Bureau Chief for Aviation Week. It’s so striking it doesn’t even seem real. It feels more like a space fighter than a plane from Earth. Check out this gallery. It really feels like a design by legendary…

New survey will help gauge adult Lego interest

Lego has launched a new survey to get inside the head of the adult Lego community. Geared toward both the casual user and die-hard AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego), the CEE (Community Engagement & Events) department wants to know more about Lego builders 18 and up. This is your chance to tell them and potentially…

You’ll Soon Be Able to Pay to Make Google Ads Disappear

Google just announced a new internet subscription service called Google Contributor, essentially a paywall for web publishers to provide ad-free content for a $1-$3 contribution. Well, free of Google ads at least. As it true with the company’s current publishing revenue model AdSense, part of your contribution will go to the creators of all those…

​I Went Camping With Bear Grylls, And Survived

“Hey, you want to come camping with Bear?” That’s a pretty random email to get on a Thursday morning, and it contained no other details. So, I said yes, packed a bag and hopped on a plane to New Mexico. Here’s what happened over the next few days. I really do mean no details. I…

Two groups of healthy green sea turtles are thriving off the coast of Peru. This is hopeful news, as these turtles are part of an endangered group and their numbers were shrinking. It seems that protecting their habitats has worked, and their populations are growing again.

Even James Gunn Thinks This Is How GotG Should Have Ended

The How It Should Have Ended guys have gotten their hands on Guardians of the Galaxy to the delight of everyone, including director James Gunn, who wrote: “Haha! I love these. Having a ‘How It Should Have Ended’ is better than winning an Oscar.” Doesn’t this mean they should direct GotG2? Or at least the…

Insanely Detailed Diagram of a Classic Nikon SLR’s Guts

Some gadgets of the past were feats of engineering that managed to squeeze countless moving parts into small packages. This diagram of the classic Nikon F3 shared by Bellamy Hunt of Japan Camera Hunter is a glorious sea of mechanics. On his website, Hunt details how he came to be in possession of the poster,…

Alfred Kicks Ass, Flirts With Fish Mooney In This Exclusive Gotham Clip

Pennyworth and Bullock hit the streets looking for Bruce Wayne. And what we get is a totally great, ass-kicking Alfred Pennyworth. Take an exclusive look at next week’s episode now. The clip opens with Bullock screaming, “Am I the only one in this town who waits for backup?” Before wildly firing his gun into yet…

Why “Neglected Diseases” Are Becoming A Global Danger

Though over 1 billion people suffer from them, they’re called “neglected diseases.” That’s because they attract little public attention and research money. But these diseases are about to explode across the globe, which is why many doctors say the neglect needs to stop now. Illustration by Jim Cooke. It’s a safe bet you’ve heard of…

5 New Details That Show How Apple Wants Us To Use Its Watch

This week the Apple Watch made a big step towards reality, with the release of WatchKit for developers of watch apps. Hidden within a fairly mundane document are plenty of glimpses at how Apple envisions smartwatches fitting in with our lives. With WatchKit come Apple’s Watch Human Interface Guidelines, which lay out the company’s recommendations…

Why Nikola Tesla Is a Hero to Men’s Rights Activists

Nikola Tesla is celebrated as a genius who had an amazing ability to envision the future. He predicted cellphones, television, and even elements of the internet long before any of these things existed. But he also had some weird ideas about the social issues of tomorrow. Which is why he’s become an unlikely hero in…

What Early Humans Might Have Had In Common With The Borg

In Star Trek, the prospect of being assimilated into the Borg Collective—and losing all sense of self—is a fate worse than death. One theory about the evolution of human consciousness could explain why we find the Borg so uniquely unsettling. “You may encounter Enterprise crew members who’ve already been assimilated,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard says during…

How Interstellar‘s Robots Were Made With Hardly Any CGI

If you’ve seen Interstellar, then you know that the best characters are the wise-cracking robots. Unassumingly boxy and faceless, they somehow end up stealing the show. Wired has a fascinating behind-the-scenes look on bringing the robots to life—largely without the help of CGI. Minor spoilers ahead. Interstellar’s F/X coordinator, Scott Fischer, reveals that 80 percent…

Why Do Rivers Curve?

Relatedly, why do branching river channels form fractals? Check out this latest installment of Minute Earth to find out. https://gizmodo.com/can-you-guess-the-subject-of-this-photograph-5973265 See also: The Control of Nature, by John McPhee, specifically the book’s first section, which centers on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ repeatedly inadequate efforts to divert the flow of the mighty Mississippi River.…

Amazon Fire TV Stick Review: A Lot Less Money for a Little Less Speed

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is the bargain version of Amazon’s super-fast voice search-enabled Fire TV. The HDMI version certainly sacrifices a lot of things that make Fire TV great, but is that bargain worth it? Absolutely. First of all, what is Fire TV and how is the Fire TV Stick different? Released back in…

Listen to an Excerpt from Brandon Sanderson’s Legion: Skin Deep

Stephen Leeds, the man with a thousand (superpowered) personalities, is back in this sequel to Brandon Sanderson’s novel Legion. Now he’s up against new bad guys — and has a creepy new mystery to solve. You can listen to an excerpt now! The book comes out November 24. Here’s the official description: Stephen Leeds, AKA…

10 Characters Who Should Have Read The Damn Instruction Manual

Sometimes you get hold of a nifty new piece of gear, and you just want to try it out without wasting time with the manual. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? A lot, it turns out. Here are 10 science fiction and fantasy stories where people didn’t read the instructions… with disastrous results.…

Everything You Need to Cut The Cord, Night Vision, and More Deals

If you’re looking to cut the cord from your cable provider, you’ll need at least a good streaming box, and an OTA antenna. We’ve got you covered on both fronts today. refurb Roku 2 Streaming Player ($45) | Newegg | After promo code EMCWWPH34 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815328013 Mediasonic HW-210AN HomeWorx High Performance Super Thin Indoor HDTV Antenna…

The world’s oldest basketball court has iron poles in the middle of it

Basketball is famously an all-American sport (invented by a Canadian). But thanks to an odd twist of fate and the YMCA, the world’s oldest surviving basketball court is actually in France. Tucked away in a neighborhood of Paris, the handsome facility has parquet floors and iron pillars running down the middle of it. It looks…

Make your own Star Wars paper snowflakes with these amazing designs

For the past few years, designer Anthony Herrera has released designs for people to make their own beautifully intricate, Star Wars themed Paper Snowflakes – and he’s returned this winter to give us even more lovely designs! This year’s designs include cutouts based on include Clone Wars’ Captain Rex, everyone’s favourite incompetent Bounty Hunter Greedo,…