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Behold, the Frankenpumpkin: A pre-made Jack-O’-Lantern

You might take a first look at these pumpkins and think ‘oh, what a delightful example of squash-based sculpting!’, but hold on. These pumpkins weren’t carved at all – they were grow that way! These marvellous Frankenstein’s Squashes come from Tony Dighera at Cinagro Farms, who grew the pumpkins in a special mold that forced…

How One Photographer Took Incredible Close-Ups of Space Shuttle Launches

Shuttle launches are audacious displays of smoke, steam, and a gigantic man-made vessel being thrust into space. Documenting in-the-moment details can be tricky—the press site for photographers is three miles from the pad itself. That just wasn’t close enough for Dan Winters. Winters is a photographer whose fascination with shuttle launches began as a kid,…

The Steve Ballmer GIF Bloomberg Businessweek Cover Is Just Perfect

Bloomberg Businessweek’s new cover is the best Ballmer Photoshop of all time. NBA franchise owner Steve Ballmer goes through life behaving like hugely endearing caricature of himself. It makes him a splendid subject for Photoshops. And my word, Bloomberg Businessweek nailed it with this cover. This is Steve Ballmer. [Bloomberg Businessweek]

“Drunk” Baymax Is The Cutest Thing In These Big Hero 6 Clips

The more we see of Disney’s Big Hero 6 movie, the more we’re reduced into screaming toddlers that want it now! It’s so cute, so precious, so sweet and Baymax is just the best. Here’s a collection of new clips that show a new side to Baymax and a few of the other heroes. Adorable,…

The Most Magnificent Report a Government Agency Has Ever Published

True art can come from unexpected places. Like the State of California Department of Transportation, whose Project #0712000035 was shaping up to look just like Project #0712000034—until an enterprising young staffer decided to give it a little flair. The government is not known for its design acumen, from its egregious abuse of PowerPoint to its…

Beautiful vintage pictures of Picasso drawing with light

In 1949, photographer Gjon Mili visited Picasso at his home in France with an idea in his mind. He wanted the painter to draw in the air with a light so he could capture it with his camera. Picasso agreed and he result of that experiment are these cool series of long exposure pictures. SPLOID…

What Fictional Food Would You Most Like To Try?

Fictional characters undertake some truly heroic tasks — they fight evil, solve mysteries, go on incredible journeys — and the food they eat while doing so is often just as ambitious. Today we want to know about the fictional foods you’re dying to taste-test. Maybe you want to try a fictional food with a mix…

A Short About the Challenge and Beauty of Large Format Photography

It takes a special kind of masochist to carry around the behemoth that is a large format camera. One such person is Joseph Allen Freeman, a photographer working in the 8 x 10 format. In the short film Through the Ground Glass, by Nick Bolton and Taylor Hawkins, we hear Freeman ruminate about the trials…

​Gundam Is Coming To America. All Of It.

Bandai Japan is partnering with anime distributor Right Stuf to bring out the entire mecha anime franchise, including Turn A, Gundam ZZ, The Origin and a few other versions that never made it to America before. The original 1979 Gundam series and Turn A will lead the charge with a spring 2015 release. [Via The…

CBS Thinks People Will Pay $6 a Month to Stream Just CBS Shows

Hot on the heels of HBO announcing a standalone streaming option, CBS just debuted its own subscription streaming service… and it is possibly the worst streaming TV deal out there. CBS is offering access to the current seasons of 15 primetime shows, full past seasons of 8 popular shows, some seasons of “CBS Classics” like…

This Gigantic Ancient Kangaroo Didn’t Hop — It Actually Walked

For millions of years there lived a rather large species of kangaroo in Australia called sthenurines. Weighing in at 550 pounds and featuring a 6’6″ frame, these Pleistocene creatures must have been an awesome site — an animal made all the more remarkable by virtue of the fact that they walked around on their feet…

Hilariously silly Spaghetti Western takes staring duels to the extreme

We all tried to mimic at some point the daring way gunners look at each other in classic western duels. Australian director Michael Shanks took those intense looks to the extreme by adding some great CGI effects, in this hilarious short film. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Emperor Palpatine has a new first name, and it is RIDICULOUS

Considering he’s a main character in the Star Wars saga, it’s pretty bizarre that Emperor Palpatine has gone over three decades with naught but a surname to his, err, name. But a new Star Wars novel coming out plans to reveal his forename for the very first time – and it’s really dumb. A panel…

A Brief History of Buildings That Spin

It wasn’t just the recipes that were faddish. The 1960s were halcyon times for restaurant experiences that hold almost no appeal today, from the dine-o-mat to the drive-in diner. But one curious product of this era had true staying power: the revolving restaurant. These spinning buildings are an institution that’s enjoyed a surprisingly long life—and…

Will Bill Murray Cameo In Ghostbusters? And Who’s Directing Avengers 4?

The list of actors up for Doctor Strange keeps growing. Channing Tatum has an update on the Gambit movie. Who is The Walking Dead’s new character? Is HBO committed to making a Westworld TV show? Plus updates on Arrow, Agents of SHIELD and The Flash. Spoilers now! Top image: Arrow Avengers 3 and 4 Now…

This is a view of the Amazon Rainforest captured by the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft—or HALO. The flight, which saw temperatures range from 35 °C to -65 °C, captured data about how clouds above the forest are changing with climate, pollution and deforestation. [Institute of Atmospheric Physics]

A small group of elite science journals get the lion’s share of citations and media attention, but that dominance is eroding as it becomes easier for scientists to find obscure but relevant papers. In 1995, only 27% of citations pointed to articles published in non-elite journals. That portion grew to 47% by 2013.

A Match Being Lit Like You’ve Never Seen Before

A match being struck is pretty hum-drum event. But what if you could capture the scene using a technique which can visualize the changing air flows around the process? This amazing video is what. The technique, known as Schlieren flow visualization, allows scientists to see what our eyes can’t: the changing density of fluids and…

Xbox One Update Lets You Buzz Your Controller When It’s Lost

Microsoft has begun rolling out a new update for the Xbox One, plonking several new handy features on the hulking great box in your living room. The new content is aimed at allowing owners easier use of the Snap multitasking function, access to their social circles and making their Xbox account more secure. If you’re…

Amazingly thrilling video of F-18 fighters with ambient sound

This spectacular footage of F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets is how all aviation videos should be: Just amazingly crispy shots with no stupid musical soundtrack. It makes you feel like you are sitting right there in the cockpit with the pilots. An incredibly detailed look into the F-18s of the USS Enterprise. Creators: Lt. Ian…