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The Truly Brilliant Design History of the Selfie Stick

I was at the beach a few weeks ago when I witnessed a three-generation family taking a group selfie (just try to make me call it an usie) in the surf using a selfie stick. A few minutes later, an adult couple repeated the scene. And so on. When, I wondered, did this weird little…

Explore The Chilling Remains Of Berlin’s Abandoned School Of Anatomy

Many abandoned buildings take on a slightly creepy aspect just because of their decay. But then there are places that are not only abandoned, but also house tables once used for dissections and chambers that once stored dead bodies, like Freie Universität Berlin’s former Institute of Anatomy. Top image by Jan-Christian Bommes, CC BY 2.0.…

This Pig May Be A Baby-Killer

Here is a piggy. Isn’t it cute? It might not be when you learn that farmers have a major problem with pigs because they engage in a behavior called “savaging” — a gruesome act which involves female pigs attacking and killing their own piglets. Infanticide is well-documented in many animals, but for some reason, pigs…

Say Hello to China’s New 11-Barrel Hypersonic Missile Killer

The future of naval warfare will likely include lasers, auto-cannons, and hypersonic missiles launched from the other side of the horizon. But while it may not have a defense against frickin’ lasers, China’s newly unveiled Type 1130 close-in weapon system can make short work of inbound warheads travelling at four times the speed of sound.…

The Lego Movie Oscars Snub Is Garbage

This morning, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—an institution that in March of 1995 declared Forrest Gump to be a superior film to Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, and Quiz Show (Quiz Show!)—has decided that The Lego Movie is not one of the five best animated movies of last year. This is not a…

Not Content With Being Ant-Sized, Ant-Man Will Also Come Potato-Sized

While the first action figure from Ant-Man may not be Ant-sized, at least this one is accurate to being… well, the size of a potato. After all, it’s a Mr. Potato Head. It shouldn’t be any other size, Ant-Man or not! https://gizmodo.com/of-course-the-first-ant-man-figure-comes-with-a-tiny-an-1679043315 The 6″ Potato Head toy, revealed by Action Figure Insider as part of…

The Flying Boy Experiment Entertained Audiences By Electrifying a Kid

In the late 1700s scientists were making great strides in the manipulation of electricity and the public wanted in on the fun. Demonstrations of electricity were one of the most popular events of the age. For the audiences members, they were fun and amazing. But for the boys in them, there were just painful. Stephen…

I Used the New 3DS On a Train and Didn’t Want to Throw Up

Years ago, I mastered the art of playing Nintendo 3DS—finding and holding my head in the perfect position to peer through the console’s 3D parallax barrier display and drink in its stereoscopic worlds. I’m so proud of this skill that I even use it to inflate my ego: yes, I am the best at looking…

Fran Kranz Takes On Oberyn Martell In The Bloodsucking Bastards

Cabin in the Woods’ Fran Kranz as a soulless office drone? Check. Game of Thrones’ Pedro Pascal as evil middle-management? Check. Here’s the first trailer for Bloodsucking Bastards, an Office Space meets Fright Night movie where Kranz and his co-workers realize their bosses aren’t just assholes, they’re vampires. Hmm. The trailer is definitely solid, although…

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Is Now He-Who-Must-Be-Added-To-Your-Collection

We’re all happy that Harry Potter and friends were able to defeat Voldemort and his minions at the end of all those books, but deep down who of us wasn’t rooting for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named just a little bit? And although he was ultimately defeated, at least there’s now this sixth-scale wonderfully-detailed Voldemort figure from Star Ace…

Read the Web Hands-Free with These Automatic Scrolling Tools

You’ve got a coffee in one hand, a mobile phone in the other—who’s got the fingers free to actually scroll down a web page manually? Not us, so we’ve rounded up the best browser extensions and plug-ins that can help provide a solution. Sit back, relax, and let your favorite sites flow before your eyes…

The 2015 Oscar Nominations Have A Lot Of Good And A Lot Of Bad

The 2015 Academy Award nominations are out, and they are actually pretty surprising. How the hell did The Lego Movie not get best animated feature? Meanwhile, Birdman is cleaning house with nine nominations, while it looks like Selma got the big snub. I’m equally surprised the Birdman score wasn’t nominated for an Oscar (although I…

The Alaskan Town Living Under One Roof

An impossibly long, single-lane tunnel is your only way into Whittier, and your only way out. Make it to the other end of those dimly lit miles, and you’ll find all the ingredients of a city. Except instead of a sprawling, urban center, this town has been scaled to fit almost entirely into one lonely…

Which Real Historical Figure’s Life Do You Most Want To See On Screen?

Our movie theaters and television screens have been filled with real historical figures (or at least characters who share their name and a couple of loosely related characteristics) lately. But whose life do you most want to see (accurately!) unfold on screen? Would you pick someone from long, long ago whose life held little in…

Verizon Won’t Stop Using the Tracking Cookie That You Can’t Kill

An online advertising clearinghouse relied on by Google, Yahoo and Facebook is using controversial cookies that come back from the dead to track the web surfing of Verizon customers. The company, called Turn, is taking advantage of a hidden undeletable number that Verizon uses to monitor customers’ habits on their smartphones and tablets. Turn uses…

This Adidas short film is made of pure visual pleasure

This beautiful Adidas’ commercial directed by Karim Huu Do—featuring Pharrell Williams, David Beckham, Rita Ora and Damian Lillard—questions what a superstar really is. So we have to buy their shoes I guess? Ah, leave the shoes, take the canoli. Who cares. It’s a pleasure to watch. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook…

Record-Breaking Sperm Storage In Sharks Explains This “Virgin Birth”

Back in 2012, a baby brownbanded bamboo shark was born in tank even though the mother hadn’t been exposed to a male for 45 months. Scientists have now figured out how this so-called “virgin birth” was possible. To photo: Pup of Chiloscyllium punctatum born at the Steinhart Aquarium of the California Academy of Sciences. Photograph…

Adobe’s Lightroom Mobile app is now available for Android phones (not tablets) running Jellybean, Kit Kat, or Lollipop. It has all the features of the iOS version, which we reviewed last year. Get it here at the Google Play store.

These Failures Are the Worst Sports Mascots Ever Designed 

Creating a good, crowd-rousing, kid-pleasing mascot is more difficult than it might appear. Some just look too goofy. Others fall into the lowest crevasse in Uncanny Valley and scare the shit out of people. Most Olympic mascots end up being oddly sexual, creepy, scary, or all three. Olympic mascots aren’t the only offenders. Sports history…

This Ode To Batman From A Starlog Contest Winner Is Poetic Genius

The team over Comics Alliance dug through old copies of Starlog Magazine recently (as you do) and came across the best piece of Batman poetry since… well, ever. The Dark Knight has inspired many creatives over the years, but perhaps never so strangely brilliant as this. Header image via Comics Alliance. Back in 1988, Starlog…