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And Now, Big Cats Tasting Marmite

This video is perfect. I have nothing to add. Except maybe this, to serve as soundtrack: [Big Cat Rescue via Ed Yong’s always excellent weekly link-roundup]

Can’t Go Back Now: Apple Stops Supporting iOS 7

With every new iOS update, there are bugs and glitches. Oh man, were there ever glitches with iOS 8. For a brief time, if you knew how, you could go back to the sane stability of iOS 7. Not anymore—Apple stopped signing iOS 7.1.2 on Friday afternoon. This, of course, was bound to happen. Apple…

What If Ayn Rand Had Written Buffy The Vampire Slayer?

Over at The Toast, Mallory Ortberg adds to her ongoing alt-history series of movies, books and TV shows penned by Objectivist Ayn Rand (previously). The results are characteristically superb. Exhibit A: XANDER: You won’t be alone. We’re coming with you. BUFFY: What could you possibly do for me? XANDER: I – BUFFY: For true friendship…

Flexy, Wrist-Worn Concept Phone: A Real Life Buzz Lightyear Communicator

Indiegogo concepts are always a bit out there, and this one’s no exception: Portal, a six-inch Android-powered smartphone that’s impressively capable, waterproof, and flexible enough to wear on your wrist like Buzz Lightyear’s communicator. Forget smartwatches, this baby’s a goddamned gauntlet. Judging by the specs, Portal’s creators don’t want to churn out some mid-range device:…

Is This Our First Look At Wayne Manor In Batman v. Superman?

It’s not official yet, but a lot of compelling evidence suggests this derelict mansion in Detroit, Michigan is Batman v. Superman’s take on Wayne Manor. Chris Begley at Batman News has the scoop, along with a trove of photos of the Ransom Gillis House, the mansion in question. Amateur footage of the scene has been…

5 of the Best Android Apps Amazon’s Giving Away For Free This Weekend

As they’ve done before, Amazon’s App Store is having a blowout on some fantastic Android apps this weekend. The Everything (App) Store is offering over $135 worth of apps for zero dollars—27 apps, entirely free. Here’s the best of the temporary freebies: Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, normally a whopping $42 Threes!, the addictingly awesome number puzzle game,…

Need more mobile data? Between September 28th and October 31st, AT&T will double the data on its shared family & friends plans. 15 through 50GB plans now ring in at 30 to 100GB per month for the same price—but only if you lock in a new or updated plan during the promotion [AT&T via Engadget]

Just How Accurate Are Science Fictional Space Battles?

In the latest installment of It’s Okay to be Smart, Joe Hanson talks about the physics of fictional space battles. This is pedantry at its best, easily one of my favorite IOTBS episodes in recent memory. Contrasting the propulsive and directional abilities of fictional spacecraft with real-world examples was particularly crafty. Definitely worth a watch.…

Bending iPhones, Ello, Wrist Drones, the New BlackBerry, and More

What a week! We heard all kinds of complaining about whether or not Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus will actually deform in your pocket; we pondered the weirdness of the new and super-hyped social network, Ello; and of course, we played with all kinds of crazy gadgets. Let’s take a look back at the week! Consumer…

Listen To This Teenage ‘Hyperpolyglot’ Speak 20 Different Languages

Timothy Doner began studying foreign languages intensely at the age of thirteen. Today, Doner, still a teenager, can speak more than twenty languages, making him one of the world’s most famous polyglots – but equally impressive is his mature perspective on the subject of his linguistic fame. In the video featured here, Doner demonstrates varying…

Alleged Video of New GoPro HERO Shows Image Quality and Sub-$200 Price

Russian leakers Rozetked just supplied us with an alleged video of the recently-leaked GoPro budget-priced HERO camera in action. There’s no way of knowing if it’s legit, but the video seems to confirm everything we’ve heard so far today about this rumored camera. The Russian-language, English-subtitled video gives a closer look at the camera alleged…

Leaked: GoPro’s New, Budget-Friendly HERO Action Camera

The GoPro leak machine just keeps on leaking: PetaPixel just revealed that GoPro may add a low-spec, budget model to the bottom of its action cam line. Meet the HERO. If PetaPixel’s intel is to be believed—and they’ve been extremely reliable in the past—the simply-named HERO will give up some of the fancier features of…

Your Body, the Machine… Literally

Once upon a time it was quite popular to depict the human body in terms of machinery. The idea was that all of the functions and organs of the body could be equated on a one-to-one basis with machinery and technology: the eyes were cameras, the lungs bellows, the arms derricks, etc. The result was…

A Tetris-Playing Bracelet Is Where Fashion Meets Frustration

Earlier this year Kevin Bates revealed what had to be the best way to make an amazing first impression with any potential employer: a business card that actually played Tetris. That project is still in development (yes, you’ll eventually be able to buy one) but in the meantime Kevin has reformatted the guts of his…

The Best Alternative for Every Pre-Loaded iPhone App

The iPhone comes with a bunch of apps you never use. Some of them are poorly implemented. Others are lacking important features. Fortunately, there’s a whole world of developers offering some very viable third-party alternatives. You still can’t delete the apps your iPhone comes with, but here are some alternatives that will free you from…

Giant, Worm-Slurping Leech Filmed For The First Time

For the first time, filmmakers in the forests of Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu have documented the so-repulsive-it’s-captivating behavior of a large, red, worm-guzzling predator. While it remains unclassified by science, the animal is known to the area’s tribespeople, fittingly, as the “Giant Red Leech.” Allow me to introduce this brief but unsettling clip, recently captured by…

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won

Paul Morantz knew Synanon would try to kill him. He just didn’t know how or when. You probably don’t know the name Paul Morantz. That’s a shame. And if you know about Morantz at all it’s likely because of what was done to him rather than what he accomplished in his career as a cult-busting…

Need a Homemade Ice Pop Right Now? Dry Ice to the Rescue

Sometimes you just really want an icy treat like, right now. And sometimes your freezer is bereft of freezey goodness because life is cruel. Fear not! All you need is some juice, a popsicle stick, and a pile of dry ice. Because who doesn’t have that hanging around? YouTube’s “The King of Random” brings us…

Is There Such A Thing As Volcano Season?

This morning’s eruption at Mount Ontake in Japan is the latest in a recent spate of volcanic blasts to have threatened lives and forced evacuations. The timing and global distribution of these recent eruptions raise an intriguing question: Is there such a thing as a season for volcanic eruptions? https://gizmodo.com/japanese-volcano-violently-erupts-sending-hikers-racin-1639819074 Above: A spire of steam…

Star Wars Is About So Much More Than The Jedi

Star Wars owes it to fans to move past its love affair with the Jedi order. Here’s why. https://gizmodo.com/star-wars-needs-to-get-over-the-jedi-1639503706