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Four Perfect Movie Trailers Made By Hollywood’s Reigning Master

New releases have been teased by trailers for a century now, but hot damn have they evolved into an art form all their own, and there are editors who specialize in making them. We got the inside scoop from one of the masters. Mark Woollen is a modern maestro of this very specific, super potent…

Letters, Ranked (by Futurists of 1900)

Do you like the letter C? Have any particular attachment to the letter X? How about the letter Q? Well, back in the year 1900, some people thought we’d be rid of them by now. And while they haven’t actually disappeared, the futurists of 1900 were certainly right about that whole condensing of language thing.…

This is not an asteroid crater. Or so says a new study looking at the moon’s largest dark spot Oceanus Procellarum (a.k.a Ocean of Storms). But the newly proposed origin is equally cool: A stretching of the lunar crust, driven by a process that researchers compare to plate tectonics here on Earth. Image: Oceanus Procellarum…

Nerf Rhino-Fire Review: The Most Badass Foam Blaster Ever Built

Remember when you had to pull back a Nerf gun’s plunger and load a new dart for every single shot? That was a loooong time ago. The new Nerf Rhino-Fire rains down 50 rounds of fully-automatic flying foam from its dual drum magazines and twin oscillating barrels. This beast goes on sale for $89.97 on…

Amazing photo is yet another proof of why Earth is an awesome place

We share the planet with the most awesome creatures, sometimes so incredibly fantastic that they seem unreal—beautiful alien monsters from our worst nightmares and dreams. Dean Chiang sent in this cool photo of a sea anemone to prove this point. When I go diving I never get tired of looking at them. SPLOID is a…

What Would It Take to Turn New York into a Megacity?

Something bizarre happened overnight: New York City’s population grew to the size of Shanghai’s, swelling from 8 million people to 24 million. It’s like a natural disaster, but this tidal surge is made of human needs. Here’s how we’ll rebuild the city to make room for them all. Illustration by Imperial Boy Though the rapid…

Inside Out Trailer: The First Teensy-Weensy Peek at Pixar’s Next Movie

Inside Out is the next Pixar project, coming out in June 2015. The animation powerhouse just released the first teaser video of the new movie. Here’s your extremely short glimpse at what looks like a very whimsical film. Disney super-site Stitch Kingdom brings us a plot synopsis for the movie, slated to come out June…

Simple Grooves Let This Trash Can Hold Small or Multiple Plastic Bags

It’s easier to feel less guilty about forgetting your reusable bags for grocery shopping when you plan to use the plastic ones for garbage later. And in turn, it’d be easier to use those plastic bags for garbage if this clever trash bin concept, featuring strategic grooves to accommodate small or multiple bags at once,…

Beautiful Lego 2 looks more dark and evil than ever—and you must get it

Mike Doyle is on a quest to prove that Lego is a proper and wonderful medium for art. His new book Beautiful Lego 2: Dark will be much like the last, minimal type, no instructions, just lots of gorgeous pictures of Lego creations from artists all over the planet. The new book, available November 20th,…

The Stealthy Chopper That Sneaks Special Forces Behind Enemy Lines

Blackhawks and Apaches may be the poster-choppers of America’s Special Forces but much of the heavy lifting that makes those missions possible is handled by the venerable CH-47G Chinook. And with the most recent round of modernizations, this Vietnam-era workhorse is ready for the 21st century. Chinooks first entered service in 1962 as troop transports…

London’s Turning Its Iconic Phone Booths Into Solar Charging Stations

London’s famous telephone booths are more of a tourist attraction than anything else now that mobile phones are commonplace, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely useless. One booth has already been transformed into solar-powered mobile charging station, and six more are on the way. Solarbox, as the revamped booth is called, lets people top off…

Put Your Key Apps on the Android Lock Screen for Easy Access

Lock screen widgets have been around since Android 4.2, but it’s not always easy to find apps that can take advantage of the feature, and many users simply forget that it’s there. But lock screen widgets are great! You can check them without the hassle of keying in passcodes or drawing out a pattern, and…

Why The Sudden Surge Of Retractions At Nature Magazine?

In past years, the peer-reviewed journal Nature has had to retract scientific papers at a rate of about one or two each year. But in the past two years it’s had to retract over a dozen. So what’s going on, science? Academic papers tend to be retracted after publication for one of two reasons, either…

Why Today’s Architects Build Digital Cities Instead of Scale Models

When I was a grad student in architecture school in the 80s, one of our professors was on a mission. Every semester he’d give a design project in downtown Manhattan, asking his students to spend the first two weeks of the term building a beautiful wood model of the surrounding site. The next year he…

Watch Peter Capaldi get embarrassed over his past with Doctor Who fandom

Peter Capaldi’s recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show is airing on BBC America this weekend – but right now you can watch the poor actor squirm with embarrassment as Graham dredges up some of Peter’s past brushes with Doctor Who fandom. Ever since he landed the role of the Twelfth Doctor, Capaldi has made…

Just Add Water and This Tiny Emergency Flashlight Glows For 72 Hours

Because batteries have a limited shelf life, that flashlight you’ve been saving for an emergency might not actually work when you need it to. So instead of stocking up on candles, grab a couple of these tiny emergency lights from Eton that simply need you to add water to keep them lit for three full…

Margaret Atwood Is Writing A Book That Will Be Published In 100 Years

A thousand spruce trees have just been planted in a forest near Oslo. In a century, the trees will be cut down and made into paper to print books that have never been read before. The project is called the Future Library, and Margaret Atwood has agreed to contribute the collection’s first work. The Future…

The Moto 360’s Battery Life Has Gotten Way Better

The Moto 360 is the best Android Wear watch, and it just got better. A recent update has done wonders for its battery life, which had been the biggest knock against it. The Moto 360’s battery life was neverbad, but it wasn’t great either, thanks in part to its wildly old and not particularly efficient…

Man’s Parkinson’s Tremors Vanish With The Touch Of A Button – But How?

The short answer is deep brain stimulation (DBS), a targeted form of electrotherapy used to treat brain disorders like Parkinson’s disease and OCD. The long answer, i.e. why DBS is sometimes so remarkably effective, remains poorly understood – but researchers this week took a big step on their path to understanding the technique. Above: Andrew…

The Hidden History of This Year’s MLB Playoff Team Logos

In one of the first games of postseason baseball today—the real postseason, not the play-in games—a team with a logo that Hallmark Cards designed will take on a team that once played with a Disney-designed logo. It’s the Royals against the Angels, and there’s plenty more weird baseball logo history where that came from. Last…