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Statistical Proof That Lionel Messi Is the Best Soccer Player On Earth

Over at FiveThirtyEight Sports, Benjamin Morris makes a thoroughly convincing case that Argentina’s Lionel Messi is the world’s best soccer player. Even if you’re not big on sportsball, the statistical rigor in Morris’ analysis –and the athletic supremacy revealed thereby – is enough to make any data nerd squee. What Morris’ number-running makes clear is…

Clive Barker’s Nightbreed Is Getting Turned Into A TV Series

Remember Nightbreed,the totally insane Clive Barker monster movie centered around a pack of wonderfully gruesome monsters living under a cemetery? Oh, and the bad guy was played by David Cronenberg! Well, Barker and friends want to turn Nightbreed the movie into a TV series. Excellent. Barker has been talking about the return of Nightbreed for…

The Coldest Spot In The Universe May Actually Be A Massive Void

There’s an anomalous cold spot in the cosmic microwave background that’s baffled scientists for years. A group of astronomers now say they know what it is — a “supervoid” measuring nearly 1.8 billion light-years across. The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) Cold Spot (CS) is considered the most significant anomaly observed by Planck scientists. Explanations to…

You Set this Analog Watch With Swipes, Not Dials

If you needed any further proof that buttons, dials, and knobs are slowly being completely replaced by touch-sensitive alternatives, Rado’s new HyperChrome Touch Dual Timer watch is Exhibit A. Its old-school analog display looks traditional enough, but finger gestures have replaced dials when it comes to setting the time. Swiping up and down along the…

These Paper Models of Microbes and Cells Are Beautiful

Some artists find inspiration from the grand and vast, painting galaxies and taking photos of expansive landscapes. ButRogan Brown finds his inspiration through a microscope, focusing on the infinite mystery of nature’s smallest parts. Brown’s latest piece, Outbreak, is a series of hand-cut paper sculptures in transparent domes, depicting neurons, pathogens, cells, and microbes, a…

Technically, American flag napkins are illegal

When activist Abbie Hoffman wore his American flag shirt back in the 1960s people were shocked. He was even arrested and charged for “mutilating the American flag.” Oh how times have changed. Today, putting the American flag on t-shirts, in advertisements, and even on napkins is considered the height of patriotism. But technically, many of…

Stunning photos of windows transform New York City into a starship

Photographer Donna Dotan was shooting downwards out of a Manhattan apartment window when she noticed the beautiful symmetrical reflection. It inspired her to create this amazing series in which New York looks like an entirely different place—sometimes a starship, others the endless canyons of an alien megalopolis. Donna Dotan is a New York-based architectural photographer.…

Hawaii’s Using Lasers to Scare Endangered Birds Away From Power Lines

Hawaii has a bird problem. They keep crashing into power lines and dying. While that’s not so grim when pigeons are involved, the situation gets more serious when the birds are endangered. And many of the species in Hawaii are. That’s why they’re busting out the lasers. On the island of Kaua’i, a local utility…

A New Class Of Stars Is Made Entirely Of Metal

One in every 10,000 stars may be composed of metal. It’s likely the result of a phenomenon called “preferential concentration,” which plays an important role in everything from aerosol production to the creation of raindrops. The research that led to this conclusion, just published by CalTech astrophysicist Philip Hopkins, is based upon chaotic changes in…

How Mushrooms Expand Your Mind and Amplify Your Brain’s Dreaming Areas

Psilocybin, the psychedelic compound in mushrooms, can alter consciousness profoundly. Robin Carhart-Harris, co-author of a newly published study that examines the effects of psilocybin on brain activity, explains how his team is piecing together the mechanisms that cause its mind-expanding effects. Photo Credit: Robin Carhart-Harris In a new study, published in Human Brain Mapping, we…

48 American Flags That Came Before Today’s Stars and Stripes

Ah, Old Glory. A symbol of hard-won freedom that we honor by printing on $60 short shorts. It seems eternal, but it’s actually gone through dozens of revisions over the years. Would your beer kozies and bikinis have looked better if we’d stuck with the Bedford Militia Men’s flag of 1775? You be the judge.…

Not only is this 1968 photo from Russia totes adorbs LOL, the Getty Images description is pretty funny as well: “Twins in a Russian street are so well protected against the cold that they look like penguins.” Having grown up in Minnesota, I can definitely relate to these kids. Factually is Gizmodo’s new blog of…

“If Only The Rest Of This Movie Was As Good As The First Half Hour”

Lots of movies put their best foot forward at the beginning. Especially lately, a lot of movies have had a terrific opening act, followed by a weaker second act and a terrible third act. Which movie do you wish was as good as its first 20-30 minutes? Please include a picture, poster or clip for…

Over-Ear Headphones That Wrap Behind Your Head To Preserve Your ‘Do

Audio-Technica’s new ATH-S600 headphones don’t break much new ground when it comes to sound quality, but that’s not why consumers might be interested in the new cans. What makes the headphones interesting is their over-ear design with a headband that wraps around the back of the wearer’s head to protect their well-coiffed hairstyle. Even though…

This Amazing ’70s-Style Alien Playset May Be Comic-Con’s Best Exclusive

Not content to merely release awesome Alien action figures in classic Kenner style, Funko (along with Super7) has announced an incredible playset right out of the ’70s to accompany them. It’s perfect, right down to its packaging. Look how excited that little girl is to be playing with her Alien Egg Chamber! The set is…

Your Cable Box Is Wasting Absurd Amounts of Energy and Money

Electricity bill got you down? Blame your cable box or PlayStation or printer or refrigerator or any of your smart, networked devices that have a gentle-sounding but energy-sucking “standby mode.” A new report from the International Energy Agency puts the energy from networked devices worldwide at 616 terawatt-hours. That’s more than the entire energy consumption…

Magic cube transforms into dozens of wonderful geometrical shapes

Andreas Markus Hoenigschmid is the master of solid geometry, the black magic wizard of three-dimensional space. Check out the dozens of objects he can create with his amazing transforming cubes. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vacation Travel Site Reveals New Footage

Want to take a trip to Xandar, Morag, or Knowhere? Now you can—at least virtually—with the Guardians of the Galaxy travel site, which lets you explore each destination on Street View and shows us a great bar scene from the film. Galaxy Getaways assures us that every vacation hotspot on Earth is garbage compared with…

How To Take Fireworks Photos With Your Phone

It just wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without the climactic boom of fireworks. If you want to keep that memory all year—or at least share it with all of your friends on Instagram—these tips will help you get lovely photos with your phone, even if you’re not a pro. Some people roll up to…

Meet America’s Newest Predator

Call them what you want — Coywolf, Coyote/Wolf Hybrid, Freakin’ Terrifying — but the fact is, we’ve got a new predator and it lives in our forests, our suburbs and even our cities. While the parks department has denied their existence, PBS has produced this hour-long documentary on the animals. We’re excited about Coywolves and…