Latest

Bandai are turning Stormtroopers into beautiful Matchlock Samurai

Earlier this year we saw Bandai’s ‘Samurai Taisho’ Darth Vader, a Japanese take on a Western icon, at the Tokyo Toy Show. Now the Dark Lord of the Samurai is being joined by some henchmen in these wonderful Stormtrooper figures! All Images credited to Tag Hobby Bandai revealed two more figures in their ‘Star Wars…

Why the Woman Who Found Snowden Doesn’t Want More Whistleblowers

A few days ago, I found myself in a crowded Manhattan office watching Laura Poitras sign posters for her new documentary. Each signature appeared above the film’s title—Citizenfour—and below the film’s subject—Edward Snowden. She didn’t think she had time, but her handler insisted. It’s taken me a while, but only now do I realize what…

Flash Photography Is Fun Again With These Squishy Diffusers

If you shoot with an external flash, learning to control the light can be dreadful. Sometimes the best thing to do is buy a modifier for diffusing the light. Talk about a boring accessory to buy! A new Kickstarter makes flash modifiers fun and practical with the flexy, 3D printed MagSphere and MagBounce. The new…

Curiosity Has Stumbled Upon A Unique Mineral Patch

NASA’s Curiosity Rover has spent the better part of a year scooting from a low lying area called Yellowknife Bay to the base of Mount Sharp. As a recent chemical analysis performed by the robotic explorer shows, this region is distinctly different from that found within Gale Crater — which is exactly what NASA scientists…

Create customized minifigure holiday cards with this app

The Minifigure Family application is now available again on Lego.com. With it you can create, send or share custom Lego themed post cards to your friends and family for the holidays. It doesn’t appear that they have changed much since last year except maybe a couple different backgrounds and torso pieces if I am remembering…

Scallop-Like Nanobots Could Someday Swim Through Your Blood and Eyeballs

File under disgusting/interesting: Scientists have designed a new type of nanobot that could swim through your bodily fluids by mimicking the motion of scallops in the ocean. Since nanobots are designed to be tiny, there’s not really room for electronics to make them swim. You can use magnets, but they don’t work well if you…

Is It Time to Accept That We’re Alone in the Universe?

We have yet to discover any signs of aliens, a troubling observation that has led to much speculation. One possible solution to the Great Silence is that nobody’s out there. It’s a conclusion that sounds impossible to believe, but there may be something to it. Here’s why we may be alone in the universe. Photo:…

This Note-Taking App Is the First iOS Widget That’s Actually Useful

When they were announced, the widgets in iOS 8 sounded like they had huge potential. But then iOS 8 came out and, well, all of the widgets sort of sucked. Until this one. Neato is a super simple note-taking widget does exactly one thing: let you take down notes from the Notification Center. After a…

Battle Subway Crowds With a Perfect Replica Of Captain America’s Shield

When you’re late for work and the subway is packed full of meandering commuters, you don’t have time to politely push your way through the crowds. You need to use the snowplow approach to get everyone out of your way, and this Captain America shield prop replica is obviously the perfect tool for the job.…

This short film about exes meeting again is hilarious because it’s real

This show film written and produced byAli Vingiano and directed & shot T.J. Misny made me laugh out loud at parts because this is exactly how it is sometimes. I wish life came with subtitles all the time. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Orbital Sciences: Yep, That Old Soviet Engine Probably Blew Up Antares

When the Antares rocket exploded on the launchpad last week, a lot fingers pointed toward its 70s-era Soviet engine. Indeed, Orbital Sciences now confirms a malfunctioning turbopump in the engine was the likely cause of the explosion. The company remains committed to fulfilling its space station resupply contract with NASA, though, likely by buying (newer)…

This Totally Acoustic Instrument Sounds Just Like an Electronic Synth

When it comes to modern instruments, there’s usually a team of engineers and musicians trying to make an electronic device sound exactly like the acoustic counterpart it’s trying to emulate. But Görkem Şen has gone in the other direction with his unorthodox Yaybahar, an unplugged instrument devoid of electronics that somehow sounds like it’s a…

The Four-Eyed Night Vision Goggles that Helped Take Down Bin Laden

When Seal Team Six kicked in the front door of Al Qaeda’s top brass back in 2011, you can be sure they didn’t spend any time looking for a light switch. Not when they had these cutting-edge, panoramic night vision goggles in front of their faces. Don’t confuse these with the helmet-mounted FLIR systems also…

20 Doctor Who Stories That Are Based On Real Science

Sometimes Doctor Who plays fast and loose with science. (Just like Star Trek and Star Wars.) But this show was created, in part, to teach science to children, and its producers used to subscribe to New Scientist. Here are 20 Doctor Who stories which are based on real scientific ideas. Top image: Horsham Museum, via…

New pictures of 2015 Lego City, Creator, Friends, Ninjago and Pirates themes

Thanks to another premature listing on Spielwaren Bludau, our pals over at Brickset were able to update their already huge database of all things Lego. They have included new images from the City, Creator, Friends, Ninjago and Pirate themes. Nearly all of the sets slated for 2015 release now have at least box art images.…

Creator of Giant New York Cityscapes Talks About His Process

Jeff Chien-Hsing Liaois not content in shooting one photograph of a particular scene. Instead he shoots dozens, then digitally combines them to create his stunning works. This new video by Aperture visits Liao’s studio where he talks a bit about his thinking and process of composing a piece.

How Astronauts Use Laptops on the International Space Station

When the ISS was being designed, its architects wisely concluded that installing physical interfaces into the structure of the ISS was not a good idea. It’s very hard to upgrade and/or repair interfaces that are part of the vehicle, whereas if laptop computers are used, upgrading or repair is as simple as launching a CD-ROM,…

How to Stream Local Video From Your Android Device to Your Chromecast

The Chromecast is cheap, useful and easy to operate, so it’s no surprise that it’s become Google’s biggest hit yet in the world of home theater. Out of the box it’s designed to stream online content directly from services such as Netflix and YouTube, but with the right utilities installed you can cast local content…

Where is all of Earth’s groundwater going? Groundwater supplies around the world are undergoing a massive depletion. So what’s the answer? Well, since the majority of groundwater is used for agricultural purposes, improving agricultural efficiency could have the biggest impact. Graph via J. T. Reager, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

New Bill Watterson Comic Is A Simple But Perfect Celebration Of Comics

When Bill Watterson makes a comic about comics, his affection for and mastery of the medium are clear. This nearly wordless, Sunday newspaper-style comic is a reminder of just how much we’ve missed Watterson’s work since Calvin and Hobbes ended. Watterson made this comic for a poster to promote the 42nd annual Angoulême International Comics…