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A Brief History of How Emoji Took Over Your Phone

Love ’em or hate ’em, emoji are an integral part of internet culture and they’re only increasing in popularity. But despite their ubiquity, they’re a relatively recent addition to the digital world—and this video explains their short but successful life so far. In fact, they were first created in 1999 by a certain engineer called…

GRRM Tells People Who Think He Won’t Finish The Books “F*ck You”

Apparently George R.R. Martin is quite, quite tired of people worrying that he will never finish his fantasy magnum opus A Song of Ice and Fire. But can you really blame him? In a recent interview, the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger asked 65-year-old Martin about the people who worry he’s going to die before he finishes…

The Real Reason Why Meetings Are Boring And Unproductive

Ever come out of a meeting knowing that no person there has the slightest bit more information than they went in with? Of course you have. There’s a documented reason why this is very likely to happen. Scientists asked a group of people to meet together and discuss the resumes of people they were going…

The Best (And Worst) Famous Works of Art You Can 3D-Print At Home

Last month, Scott Kildall and Bryan Cera published a 3D digital model of artist Marcel Duchamp’s chess kit. The original, hand-carved by Duchamp, is gone—but now anyone with a 3D printer can recreate the artist’s kings and rooks at home. As it turns out, this is far from the only piece of great art you…

10 Tricks To Make Yourself an Instagram Master

Instagram smashed through the 200 million user mark in March, so it doesn’t seem to be suffering too badly from the surfeit of competitors taking it on. Whether you’re an Instagram newbie or an old-timer on the network, these 10 tips should give you a few fresh ideas about how you can get the most…

MOSS Robotics Toy Review: The Easiest Way To Build Your First Robot

When reviewing a building toy it’s impossible not to make comparisons with Lego. Not only are its bricks able to build everything from dinosaurs to X-wings, Lego also offers robotics sets that have been used to make some truly impressive autonomous creations. And in that latter category, it finally has some competition. The folks at…

A Webcomic About A Time Traveler Trying To Comprehend Terminal Illness

In the future, time travel is possible, but time travelers can’t interact with the past, only observe it. While most time travelers watch historical events, the one in this heartbreaking story finds himself compelled to watch a girl who is suffering from something that no longer exists in his time: terminal illness. Winston Roundtree’s webcomic…

Behold The Marvel Of Nature That Is A Cloudbow

Better known as an iridescent cloud, a cloudbow is just what it sounds like: A cloud full of rainbows. Photographer and astronomer Oleg Bartunov captured this shot of a rare bank of iridescent clouds rising above Thamserku mountain in the Himalayas — and then was able to capture several more views just before the phenomenon…

How to make a hit pop song part two

Brett Domino returns with another quick guide to making hit pop songs. Whilst the first part was all about the instrumental hook, this one is about the vocals. Most of the techniques Brett introduces here are real and are actually used by big pop producers. No wonder so many songs sound the same. SPLOID is…

Someone please turn this cool isometric animation into a weirdass game

Inspired by modern architecture, isometric video games and sci-fi literature, this beautiful animation from artist Fabrice Le Nezet follows some tiny people in an epic journey. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

MIT’s “FingerReader” Reads Aloud To The Blind In Real Time

Researchers at MIT’s Media Lab have developed what they call the FingerReader, a 3D-printed device – worn like a ring and outfitted with a small, text-scanning camera – that enables its wearer to scan print with the tip of her finger and have it read to her in real time. The FingerReader’s software and design…

The Argument For Being Genuinely Optimistic About Batman V. Superman

I’m not being sarcastic. Despite my previous comments and constant unease regarding DC’s future cinematic endeavors, I have tried to make the case why there are many reasons to look forward to these movies, and even more reasons to hope. Seriously, this is a Batman V. Superman-criticism-free zone. Read on if you don’t believe me.…

World’s Tallest Waterslide First-Person View: HOLY SHIT

We’ve heard a lot about the world’s tallest water slide—but now you can watch exactly what it’s like to ride the thing as a member of the public. The Verrückt—which means “insane” in German—stands 168 feet and 7 inches tall. It’s so big that even its designer admitted to being terrified of riding the slide.…

Google appears to have removed the Play Edition of three Android devices — the Xperia Z Ultra, LG G Pad 8.3 and HTC One M7 — from direct sale. Maybe the rumored Android Silveris on the way?

Climate Change-Denying Politicians Rant About Fluoride And Mars

The week began weird and then got weirder. First, it was reported that a Kentucky state senator said climate change is implausible because Earth and Mars share the exact same temperature. And then a U.S. congressman linked the climate change debate to the ozone hole “hoax” and the fluorination of water. So, let’s begin with…

Contortionists transform into freaky animals using body paint

An artist metamorphosed three contortionists into animals using some incredibly realistic body painting. She created three different detailed designs including a tarantula, a giraffe and a seahorse. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Trailer For Terry Gilliam’s Zero Theorem Ends His Orwellian Triptych

The third movie in Terry Gilliam’s “Orwellian triptych” is Zero Theorem, and this new trailer is loaded with references to its dystopian predecessors Brazil and 12 Monkeys. And yet the film stands alone as a Gilliam original quite well, as this trailer proves. Check it out. The film is centered around Christoph Waltz, a computer…

You get three-for-one in this striking image of Saturn: its north polar vortex and hexagon along with its expansive rings. It was captured by Cassini’s wide-angle camera earlier this year. [NASA]

Show Us What You’re Working On!

It’s the return of our show-and-tell thread! What projects have you been working on lately? Show them off to the rest of us now. Put all the robots, writing projects, home decorating schemes, microscopic observations, videogames, and whatever other projects you have in-progress (or completed) on display in the comments. Whether it’s a project you’ve…

Crazy acrobat jumps from 180-foot crane onto a giant air bag

Watch professional acrobat Greg Roe leap, somersault and plunge head first from 180-foot crane—the equivalent of 25 stories—landing at almost 100 miles per hour on a giant airbag. While it looks cool, it is not the most insane jump of its kind. Check this one out, from 342 feet in 1998: SPLOID is a new…