Latest

The Mad Science Of Pouring A Vat Of Liquid Nitrogen Over Your Head

Canadian chemist Muhammad Qureshi has taken the viral ALS ice bucket challenge to its logical conclusion by dumping a bucket of liquid nitrogen over his head. Undeniably, it was a very dangerous thing to do — but Qureshi did have some basic chemistry on his side. “So a lot of you are saying that since…

What Time (Other Than Now) Would You Most Want To Live In?

Quick! You have a time machine with just enough juice for one more trip, so when do you set it for? Pick a date and stick by it, ’cause this ticket only takes you one-way. Unfortunately, there’s not time to do any research, and it’s very unlikely that your smartphone’s search functions will still be…

How ​Music Proves We Live In Three Dimensions

String theory has dimensions popping up all over the place. We are currently at over 10 dimensions. But how would living in that many dimensions affect us? The first thing to do would be to throw out all your albums, because they won’t sound right anymore. Three dimensions are convenient for sound waves. They begin…

A Vivid Reminder That Technology Can Enslave Us All

Every morning you wake up, your hand scrabbling for the smartphone on the bedside table. Is there email, a tweet, a like on Instagram? You’re a slave to the phone, desperate for its digital hit. Update: This post originally stated that the above was an image by Banksy; it is not. It was uploaded to…

Disney Forbade Stan Lee’s Original Guardians Of The Galaxy Cameo

Updated! Apparently Disney didn’t forbid the scene, because they never saw it. Director James Gunn took to Instagram to clear up the story. It boils down to this: He shot it with a double (seen in the pic below) but before the real Stan could film it, decided it was too similar to Star-Lord’s finger…

The Political Views Of U.S. Religions In A Single Graph

Relying on data from Pew’s Religious Landscape survey, Tobin Grant, a political science professor at Southern Illinois University, produced this graph representing 44 different religious groups — and their views on the extent to which the U.S. government should be involved in moral and economic issues. Grant highlights some key takeaway points: Churches that are…

Every Country’s Drinking Preferences, Mapped

Ever wondered which nation like beer best? Which prefers to sip at a glass of wine? Or which one slams back the most spirits? Well, this map shows exactly that. This map was created byGhost in the Data using alcohol and health data from the World Health Organization. The consumption of wine, beer and spirits…

What Book Changes Are Revealed in These Game of Thrones Photos?

More turns on the Star Wars rumor-mobile, including information on villains and casting. There’s a denial of a grim Batman v. Superman character rumor. And another of Ryan Murphy’s favorite actors may be showing up on American Horror Story. Spoilers now! Top image: Game of Thrones Star Wars A little bit more speculation from the…

Reddit’s New App Lets You Read AMAs on Your iPhone (Update: Android Too)

Reddit’s AMAs (Ask Me Anything) are the one of the best things about the network. But let’s face it: Reddit isn’t the world’s prettiest website. The learning curve is fairly steep. Clearly, Reddit thinks so too, because it has now released a rather good-looking app to read and participate in AMAs. The AMA app, available…

This Mosaic of Satellite Images Shows Antarctica Like Never Before

The picture above shows a top-down view of Antarctica, the freezing southern end of our planet. Except that it’s not a single picture. It’s a mosaic of 3,150 satellite images mashed together to form one giant image. The images were created by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, which manages the RADARSAT-2 satellite on behalf of the…

Samsung has announced a version ofthe Galaxy S smartwatch that comes dripping in Swarovski crystals. So now you really want one, right?

Microsoft Just Accidentally Teased Windows 9

We know that Windows 9 is on its way, but it could appear sooner than we expected. Microsoft China just mistakenly teased the new OS, announcing that it’s “coming soon.” Taking to Weibo, Microsoft China asked: “Microsoft’s latest OS Windows 9 is coming soon, do you think the start menu at the left bottom will…

No matter where Uber goes, trouble follows. A court in Frankfurt has now banned the service in Germany citing the lack of necessary legal permits. Der Spiegel reports that the ruling is a temporary injunction, meaning that the situation could change after a follow-up hearing. [Der Spiegel via BBC]

100 Years of Movie References, Visualized

Ever wondered if Star Wars and Orgazmo were linked? Or whether E.T. and Dogma were connected? Well ponder no longer, because that’s exactly what Culturegraphy does Developed by Kim Albrecht, the interactive visualization brings to life over 100 years of complex relationships between movie references. Each movie is represented by a point, and connecting lines…

You Can Train Your Brain to Prefer Healthy Food

You’re not born loving French fries or hating broccoli. You’re conditioned to it over years of stuffing your face with rich, fatty foods. The good news is that you can undo all those years of conditioning and go back to loving what you’re meant to eat: healthy food. A new brain scan study of adult…

Debunking the Myth of the Fake Banana Flavor

Over at the BBC, the myth about banana flavoring has been put to the test. And while there’s a kernel of truth to the idea that fake banana resembles a variety that nearly went extinct, it’s still a just a myth. Top image: Candy: Bananas by Bart Heird/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 At the BBC, Chris Baraniuk…

Fan Funding Lets You Directly Donate to Your Favorite YouTube Stars

Very, very few YouTube video creators make any real money off of those pre-roll ads, but that might soon change. Google has launched Fan Funding, a new way to tip your favorite YouTube stars directly from the video. Here’s how it works: when you play a video from a channel that accepts donations, you’ll see…

The Concept Art That Created Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Cosmic Locations

Guardians of the Galaxy had a number of great points, but one of the things that we all noticed from the very first trailer was the fully lived-in universe it created. Concept artist Kev Jenkins provided designs for Morag, Xandar and Knowhere. They’re beautiful. There’s a lot more on his website, where Jenkins describes the…

Remember Android One? It’s Google’s program to get manufacturers to develop high-quality, low-cost (less than $100) smartphones running stock versions of Android for developing countries. These devices, which will be regularly updated just like the Nexus line, now look like they’re round the corner. Google has sent out invites for a September 15 event in…

Looks like Microsoft has removed the 2GB size limit for uploading files to OneDrive. You can now upload files of pretty much any size. “It’s an old limit that we’ve been working to remove for a long time now,” a Microsoft manager told The Next Web. Good for us. [The Next Web]