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5 Water Saving Bathroom Devices You Can Install Yourself

California remains in a deep drought, and this winter’s expected precipitation levels aren’t expected to be much more than a than a drop in the bucket, so to speak, for the state’s parched aquifers. That means it’s the responsibility of every citizen to conserve as much water as possible in this time of need. But…

Now Sources Say A Labyrinth Sequel Is NOT In The Works

Yesterday, a one-sentence aside in a Variety article sent rumors flying that The Jim Henson Company is working on a sequel to 1986’s Labyrinth. Now, because life is cruel, it’s looking like that may not be the case. https://gizmodo.com/the-jim-henson-company-is-apparently-working-on-a-labyr-1644770305 Yesterday afternoon, an unnamed source told Entertainment Weekly that, sure, there’s always talk of doing a…

How Big is Too Big (When It Comes to Smartphones)?

I’ve long maintained that any phone with a screen size over 4.2 inches is stupid and pointless, and then promptly went out and got an iPhone 6. It seems, though, that everyone’s acceptance of what the maximum screen size is varies pretty massively. There’s been a steady and well-documented rise in average phone screen sizes:…

Syfy’s 12 Monkeys Immediately Distinguishes Itself from the 1995 Film

Last night, we caught an early screening of the pilot of Syfy’s new series 12 Monkeys. And while it’s clearly based on Terry Gilliam’s original film of the same name, it takes great pains to set itself apart. Here are our spoiler-free first impressions. In a way, it’s almost a shame that the show’s going…

More iPad Leaks Show Off TouchID and Gold Bling

We’re less than a week away from a new iPad (probably!), which means the leaks are coming thick and fast. Today, we’ve got alleged photos of a gold-colored TouchID sensor that’s supposedly destined for Apple’s next tablet, in addition to some silicon-porn of the new iPad’s motherboard. The photos come via a Taiwanese Apple blog…

Here it is: Your official all-singing, all-dancing Baby Groot Toy!

Guardians of the Galaxy fans, long have we waited for a potted, groovin’ Groot of our very own, and now the wait is almost over. Marvel have finally lifted the lid on their version of Dancing Groot – and he’ll be out by Christmas! Exclusively revealed by Mashable, the toy is a collaboration between Marvel…

According to a report from The Daily Dot, a fairly long list of big-name retailers — including supposedly high-tech stores like Best Buy — won’t be supporting Apple Pay at launch. Although this isn’t all that surprising, given that supporting Apple Pay will generally require upgrading a store’s payment terminals, it’s still a blow for…

I wish I could Iive 200 more years to see a scene like this

I like Johnson Ting‘s vision of Neo Japan 2202, wherever his Neo Japan is located to have two moons (or maybe one is no moon but some space station, I don’t know.) Every time I see illustrations like this I long for immortality. Or at least a couple hundred years in good health so I…

Beautiful long exposure photo of the lunar eclipse rising over China

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is featuring this long exposure photo of the lunar eclipse rising over the city of Chongqing, China, captured by photographer Zhou Yannan on October 8. The zooming tail effect as the Moon went out of the eclipse is fantastic. From NASA: As the Moon rose and the Sun set…

First look at the new Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series

This is great news, just announced this Friday at New York Comic Con: Marvel is releasing a Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series coming in 2015 on Disney XD! Check out the first sequences of how it is going to look here (I like that colorful 80s look!) SPLOID is a new blog about…

Photos of regular soldiers transformed into warriors of the future

Johnson Ting creates these amazing images by painting new layers on top of existing photographic material using a Wacom Intuos Pro tablet and Photoshop. The results sometimes end being completely different from the original, and they are always impressive. Johnson Ting is a concept artist and illustrator based in Malaysia. You can follow him on…

This mantis eating a fly alive is so damn gross but I watched it all

[To the Rolling Stones’ I Miss You] Look that mantis eat a fly/ You’ll never she her cry/ Lord I hate you. Mother Nature she’s the Ma’am/ She just doesn’t give a damn/ She will kill you. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Medicine, As You Know It, Is Younger Than You Probably Realize

This week, the bloggers at science-salon The Last Word on Nothing are dishing out stories based on scary issues in medicine. “We won’t resort to fear mongering, because we don’t have to,” the site reads. “Medicine is scary enough as it is.” Above: Danse macabre by Michael Wolgemut / Public Domain Case in point: The…

Video proof that slow motion in 4K makes everything look cooler

Skateboarding, motorcycling, breakdancing, doing gymnastics—all of those sports already look awesome in real time. But if you record them with a Phantom at 1000FPS slow motion in beautiful 4K, they become so epic that you wish life came with a slow motion button too. Watch. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…

Somewhere Butterflies Are Weeping: CBS Renews Under The Dome And Extant

Now here’s a somewhat surprising development: CBS has renewed its struggling summer shows Under the Dome and Extant for next summer. So we’ll get to see more cryptic clues and oracular paintings, plus more of Halle Berry’s messed-up family. Neither show was exactly a ratings over-achiever this past summer, and in fact Extant’s season finale…

Your Date Just Made A Mistake On A Bit Of Geek Trivia. What Do You Do?

It happens. You’re having a perfectly nice conversation with someone when, all of a sudden, they make an innocent mistake on a piece of pop culture knowledge. It’s eating you up inside, but do you correct them? Choose your answer in this comic and face the consequences. The one option this Dorkly choose-able path comic…

Speeches from US presidents have gotten dumber over time

Vocativ analyzed over 600 presidential speeches in US history, measuring syllables and keeping track of word and sentence count to determine the Flesch-Kincaid reading level of each speech. In the beginning, presidential speeches were at the level of a PhD, now it’s at the reading comprehension of a 7th grader. But this is actually a…

“You Remind Me of the Babe”: Raise Your Glass Orb for a Labyrinth Sequel

I’m finding it hard to do much else on this afternoon after learning earlier today that one of the greatest films of my childhood will, after 28 years, finally be getting a sequel. I’m talking, of course, about the 1986 movie Labyrinth. Details are vague, but according to Variety, the Jim Henson Studio says yes,…

At its Best, Vampire Diaries Admits It’s A Show About Terrible People

At this point, almost everyone on The Vampire Diaries is a mass murderer — but even more than that, the show is about how our foolish notions of “romance” are a pure distraction from the ugliness of our violent world. And last night’s episode beautifully uncovered the unromantic truth about Damon and Stefan. Spoilers ahead……

Michael Jackson’s First Music Video and the Birth of Green Screen

Everybody knows how the 13-minute-long, zombie-laden adventure that is the Thrillervideo shaped the history of music and saw the birth to a little phenomenon called MTV. Michael Jackson was primed to reinvent the medium from the start, though, with his very first music video. Released in 1979, that Michael Jackson video was “Don’t Stop ‘Til…