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The sound of rain made with single water drops sampled 10 million times

Yugo Nakamura is one of the most famous digital designers in the world. In his latest project, The Origin of the Sound of the Rain, he wanted to prove that a single drop of water sampled and reproduced a million times would actually sound like rain. And it really does. For his experiment he used…

How Electronic Engineers Are Helping Us Unravel The Human Brain

Electronic engineers are emerging as important contributors to our understanding of the workings of the human brain — a scientific development that could lead to breakthroughs in medical treatments of brain disorders and artificial intelligence. But how is this even possible? Neuroscientists measure the brain’s electrical activity using technologies such as Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging…

Visit Barcelona with this beautiful hyperlapse

This “flow-motion” hyperlapse by photographer Rob Whitworth uses 26,014 photos taken over 363 hours of work in total. Impressive work. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Read J.K. Rowling’s First-Ever Story About Harry Potter As An Adult

J.K. Rowling gave us a brief epilogue about Harry Potter’s adult life at the end of The Deathly Hallows, but now, for the first time since that final book, Rowling has written a story that features Harry not as a teen wizarding student, but a 34-year-old Auror. Like many of Rowling’s recent writings at the…

First Details On DC’s Klarion The Witch Boy Comic And All-New Catwoman

There’s a shake-up coming to the DC universe. io9 can exclusively reveal that Catwoman writer Ann Nocenti will helm a new comic starring Klarion the Witch Boy in October — while author/io9’s own Genevieve Valentine takes over Catwoman! We were able to talk to both writers about their series and what’s in store. Created by…

Apple Patent Describes How to Create Seamless All-Glass Devices

Imagine a phone or tablet encased in one solid, seamless, curved slab of glass: hell to repair, but heaven, surely, in the hand. Well, a new patentobtained by Apple describes how it might manufacture such a thing, if it were ever to choose to. The patent No. 8,773,848—or “Fused glass device housings” to its buddies—was…

Is 3D Ever Worth It?

There are a lot of reasons to dislike 3D: The prospect of wearing a stranger’s glasses for two hours, the extra $5 tacked onto the price of your ticket, the occasional headache. So when is it worth it? Today, we want to know when (if ever( you prefer seeing movies in 3D. Tell us in…

How Baseball Put the Drip Coffee Machine Into Your Home

The drip coffee machine is a household staple—and way better than the percolators that went before it. But did you know that you have baseball to thank for its presence in your home? In this video, Engineering Guy explains that the commercial drip coffee machine turned into a domestic staple thanks to a little help…

Behold The Largest Bird To Have Ever Flown

Introducing Pelagornis sandersi, an extinct giant bird that lived some 25 to 28 million years ago. With an estimated 24-foot (6.4 meters) wingspan, the enormous albatross-like creature is now considered the largest bird to have ever taken to the skies. The giant seabird, which was twice the size of the Royal Albatross (the largest flying…

Creepy Real-Life Doll From The Conjuring Gets Her Own Film

Remember that creepy doll from The Conjuring, which is allegedly very real and still lives with the real-life ghostbusters The Warrens? Well she’s getting her own movie! Variety is reporting that Annabelle will premiere this Octoberl no word on who is directing, but James Wan and Peter Safran are producing.

The creative process of an Oscar-winning screenwriter

The creative processes involved in writing a screenplay are as varied as the writers who work on them. In this video Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black—Milk,J. Edgar—takes us through his own process, from how he goes about researching to how he lays out scenes written on hundreds of index cards. SPLOID is a new blog…

Japan’s Super Typhoon Neoguri Looks Terrifying From Space

This is the super typhoon, dubbed Neoguri, that’s currently threatening Japan. It looks intimidating, even from the comfort of the International Space Station. The Japanese meteorological agency reckons it’s the strongest typhoon of the year, so far, and that it could generate winds of up to 170 mph and waves 45 feet in height. Authorities…

GE’s Made a Microwave That Can Measure the Calories on Your Plate

Health and fitness monitoring is helping us all look after ourselves a little better, but there’s one stumbling block: calorie intake is still self-reported, making it laborious and often inaccurate. GE, however, thinks it has a way to change that. Researchers from the company have developed a prototype device which uses low-energy microwaves to measure…

This Newest Guardians Of The Galaxy Trailer Is Criminally Awesome

Not sure how you could be looking more forward to Guardians of the Galaxy? Watch this new extended trailer, which features the first look of Michael Rooker as Yondu, the first time we’ve heard Lee Pace’s Ronan the Accuser, er, accuse things out loud, and so much Rocket Raccoon being completely awesome. Not all the…

Sequel Watch: News On Avengers 2, Transformers 5 And Planet Of The Apes

Joss Whedon reveals his Age of Ultron inspiration. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was originally a very different movie. Tons of new Guardians of the Galaxy footage, described. Taylor Swift opens up about her Giver character. Plus hints for Game of Thrones season five. Spoilers now! Top image: Dawn of the Planet of…

7 DIY Photography Tricks That Only Use Household Objects

Want to give your photography a shot in the arm but don’t want to spend a cent? No problem! Here are seven simple tricks that only use household objects to make your pictures better. Some are for hardware—say, using tights and rubber bands to create new filters—while others are to do with scene-setting, like using…

A Simple Blood Test Could Predict the Onset of Alzheimer’s

Scientists have developed a new blood test that can predict who will develop Alzheimer’s disease a year after having mild memory problems—and it could be in clinical use within two years. Researchers from King’s College London have developed a test which identifies 10 proteins in blood that can predict who will develop Alzheimer’s. It’s around…

Why Not Have a Wombat Do Your Laundry?

This video comes from the Sleepy Burrows Wombat Sanctuary in New South Wales, Australia. And while all the wombats’ antics are adorable, we’re mostly still stuck on the beginning, where the wombat empties the washing machine. As cute as these are, I’m no longer able to look at wombats without remembering that their poop is…

Nope, this isn’t an oil painting: it’s the windswept valleys of Northern Africa as photographed by Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency. Pretty, huh? [NASA]

This Man Shouldn’t Be the Next U.S. Patent Office Director

Philip Johnson is Chief Intellectual Property Counsel of Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. He is also a representative member of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, the leading trade group opposing patent reform this past year. And now he’s rumored to be next in line to be…