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Apple Releases iOS 8 Update to Fix Borked iPhones

If you downloaded Apple’s cellular-killing 8.0.1 update, and haven’t reverted back to the original iOS 8, good news: the update is here. Apart from fixing the ever-so-slightly annoying bug that killed cell service and TouchID on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the changelog for 8.0.2 is the same for 8.0.1: basically, HealthKit now works, plus…

Concept Art Writing Prompt: The Demons Take Their Pram For A Stroll

In this week’s writing prompt, we’ve spotted pair of shadowy creatures looming over a pram. Are they monstrous parents? Baby thieves? Or are they just airing out their midnight snack? Deamonhood is by artist Daniel Tyka via r/SpecArt. As always, we invite you to come up with a story inspired by this image and post…

Raekwon’s “Heard It All Before” Is the Latest Reimagining of a Classic Hit

It’s Throwback Thursday and you all know what that means! That’s right, it’s time to sit down, kick your feet up, and put on Raekwon’s newest reimagining of classic hip-hop and pop hits. This week, the Wu Tang member and Mafioso rap pioneer takes on Sunshine Anderson’s 2001 song, “Heard It All Before.” You can…

Apple Shows Off Its iPhone Torture Chambers in Wake of Bending Clamor

Apple is in full damage-control mode in the wake of the mini-maybe-not-quite-scandal that ripped through the tech universe after a handful of users complained that their iPhones are prone to bending under duress. As part of its response, Apple has opened up the lab where it conducts durability tests to media outlets like CNBC and…

How The Rise Of The Recap Changed The Way We Watch TV

We love a great recap of a great show — and we adore a great recap of a terrible show only slightly less. But has the prevalence of recapping changing the way we look at our television screens? In response to this piece on the pains and all too rare privileges of being a fan…

The Walking Dead is even better and way funnier with bad lip reading

If you enjoy a good laugh or watch The Walking Dead or ever wondered what zombies are saying through all that clawing and moaning, the Bad Lip Reading guys have got you covered in their latest take on The Walking Dead. It’s pretty damn funny. Instead of worrying about zombies, they’re disinviting people from a…

Gorgeous, Insane Posters Take You on the Greatest D&D Campaigns Ever

If you have fond memories of early Dungeons & Dragons modules, you are going to utterly love these special edition posters by Jason Thompson for Wizards of the Coast. They’re hilarious, detailed walkthrough maps of classic adventures like Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, Tomb of Horrors, and more. The posters are utterly gorgeous, and the…

Is The Focus On India’s “Cheap” Mission To Mars Missing The Point?

Okay, we get it — India’s Mars Orbiter Mission was spectacularly cheap, costing less than the entire budget of the Hollywood movie Gravity. But is this really what we —and India — should be focusing on? No doubt, this is a stunning achievement for India. Commentators from around the world are lauding India’s space program…

Vintage Memorabilia Celebrates The Soviet Union’s Cosmonaut Dogs

The canine members of Soviet Union’s space program were stars, symbols of the nation’s technological future. And so, throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these pups appeared on matchbook covers, commemorative boxes, ceramics, and more. https://gizmodo.com/the-first-animals-in-space-1399364861 A matchbox label with Laika, 1957 (via Guardian) A halva box with Laika (via eBay) Children’s toy packaging from West…

FBI Director Says Apple Marketing Encryption Snubs the Law

Today in cops getting angry about the new encryption on smartphones features FBI Director James Comey who is “very concerned” about the matter. He’s so concerned that the FBI’s had conversations with Apple and Google about how they’re marketing the devices. And Comey wants America to know that he’s upset. “I am a huge believer…

From Coraline To Boxtrolls, How Laika Has Revolutionized Stop-Motion

This week, stop-motion production studio Laika comes out with its third feature, The Boxtrolls. A lot has changed in the world of stop-motion animation since Laika’s first feature, Coraline, and in a world filled with CG features, it’s amazing what Laika can accomplish. “I like to think of it this way,” said The Boxtrolls co-director…

Meet the tiniest pathogen in the world. It’s called a viroid (because it’s 1/80th the size of a typical virus) and it attacks potatoes. As Carl Zimmer explains in the New York Times, it also may be one of the planet’s earliest life forms — and it’s still with us.

A 5-Year-Old Worries Voyager Will Get Lonely, Receives Best Answer Ever

This is, hands down, the sweetest thing you’ll hear today. A five-year-old named Timor from British Columbia has been having trouble sleeping because he worries about the Voyager space probe. Won’t it get lonely? What if it crashes? So the CBC arranged for him to get some reassurance. You can hear the whole thing, in…

The U.S. killed the half-penny when it was worth what a dime is today

It seems like every week there’s a new argument to remove the penny from circulation. But did you know that the U.S. once had a half-cent? When the U.S. stopped making them in 1857, they had the buying power of over a dime by today’s standards. Which makes the most excellent case to scrap the…

The Artist Who Helps Scientists Imagine the Future of Evolution

In fifty years, as we flee regions made unlivable by climate change, we’ll want to adapt quickly to new habitats. That’s why we need the inventions of Maja Smrekar, an artist who works with scientists to create visions of the future — and glimpses of our evolutionary past. https://gizmodo.com/where-will-the-climate-refugees-go-in-50-years-1637877483 Image from “History of the Future,”…

Brilliant Packaging For Invisible Clear Tape Makes the Box Look Empty​

When you wrap a gift in fancy paper, the last thing you want is ugly pieces of tape stuck all over it. That’s why 3M created its Scotch-brand tape that’s nearly invisible, and a selling point that Hamburg-based ad agency Kolle Rebbe perfectly drove home with this clever packaging for the product that looks like…

Han Solo, Star-Lord And Captain Mal Discuss The Joy Of Shooting First

What happens when the galaxy’s greatest anti-heroes meet up for a drink? They talk about how dumb it is to wait until bad guys shoot at them before returning fire, naturally. The Brotherhood Workshop has made a lot of fun stop-motion Lego videos over the years, but if they decided to make nothing but Firefly/Star…

This could be the beginning of a new Steven Spielberg movie

Cute kid: Check. Handsome older brother: Check. Charming dog: Check. Long(ish) take of a mysterious corn field: Check. Lost alien that looks evil but it’s actually friendly: Check. Merciless military trying to hunt it down: Check. It feels like 1980s Spielberg published this short film using a time machine. Except it’s not Steven Spielberg. The…

An Instant Portable Campfire Saves You From Chopping Firewood

Camping is supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors, not spending your time chopping up logs just so you can keep a fire burning. So if you can spare a can of propane, you can now just bring a portable campfire with you—or at least a close facsimile thereof. At $120, Camco’s…

Why killing Destiny‘s Loot Cave is the worst thing Bungie can do

If you’ve been playing Destiny recently, you might have heard of the mystical ‘Loot Cave’, an ‘exploit’ that allowed players to farm loot for hours – it’s now gone. And I think that’s quite possibly the worse thing Bungie could do to try and engender faith in its fledgling new community. https://kotaku.com/bungie-kills-destiny-loot-cave-1639154905 For those unfamiliar,…