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A Massive New Levee Could Add Two New City Blocks To Manhattan

The footprint of Manhattan’s been expanding since the 17th century, when early New Yorkers began their first project to infill its shoreline. A huge part of the island we know today is built on artificial pilings. Now, it might get its biggest expansion in years. Next City reports on a new feasibility study released by…

Warner Bros. is planning a big-budget adaptation of The Odyssey. Titled Odysseus, the film will be directed by Fedor Bondarchuk, who made the Russian historical epic Stalingrad, and written by Jeremy Doner, of The Killing semi-fame. Only the gods know how this thing will turn out. [Via The Dissolve]

How 70 Year Old Machines Make Chrome’s Tough, Cheap Sneakers

Cycling outfitter Chrome Industries makes solid gear that’s designed to last even the hardest rider for the long haul. To make its super tough new sneakers, it picked up 86 World War II boot making machines from Slovakia. The $85 Forged Rubber shoes they make will kick the crap out of your Chucks. The 70-year-old…

Which Horror Or Dark Fantasy Movie Has The Most Powerful Ending?

Most horror and dark fantasy movies can’t quite stick the landing, when it comes to endings. People survive, or they die. But a few great horror movies actually manage to serve up endings with real weight, and catharsis to them. Which horror or dark fantasy movie has the absolute best ending? Please include a picture…

Radar For Your Bike Gives You Long-Range Eyes on the Back of Your Head

When you’re riding a bike, the world is an endless barrage of obstacles, hazards, and other vehicles sharing the road you need to avoid. Mirrors let you keep an eye on what’s going on behind your cycle, but the Backtracker promises to spot vehicles up to 450 feet away using radar, and warn you to…

If Medical Marijuana Is Legalized, You Can Thank The Tea Party

Politics makes strange bedfellows—except for the Tea Party, which doesn’t sleep with anyone. The Conservative movement has defined itself by its “no compromise” approach toward politics. So, why did Tea Party members of Congress support Democrats on a key vote on medical marijuana? A total of 49 Republicans joined Democrats in supporting legislation, co-sponsored by…

About 90% of the movies made before 1929 are lost forever

Recognizing the importance of film preservation is a relatively recent phenomenon in Hollywood. Early motion picture film was especially prone to destruction by fire thanks to its nitrate base. And early films that haven’t yet been destroyed by fire can deteriorate in any number of other ways. In fact, it’s estimated that over 90 percent…

A Gas Station Frank Lloyd Wright Designed 87 Years Ago Is Now Finished

In 1927, acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed a gas station for Buffalo, New York, envisioning a gleaming center of commerce and social interaction for the bustling industrial city. Almost 90 years later, the structure has finally been completed—in the lobby of an automobile museum. The Pierce-Arrow Museum has been working to build the service…

Scientist creates new flu virus that can kill all of humanity

Working at a lab with a relatively low level-two biosafety rating, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka has created a strain of flu that can completely escape the human immune system. The new genetically-engineered virus is based on H1N1, which may have killed 500,000 people just five years ago. Most people today have a level…

The Size Of Rosetta’s Comet Measured Against The Landmarks Of Earth

When Rosetta finally makes its rendez-vous with Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko this fall, we’re expecting to learn all kinds of new things about the surface of the comet. And that surface is a gigantic one, as this chart comparing the size of the comet to the landmarks of Earth, shows. The human-made objects, whether world’s tallest building…

This is the coolest demonstration of self-driving cars I’ve ever seen

If Volvo had to appeal to Van Damme’s epic splitto sell more trucks, Hyundai just released this insane self-driving demonstration to try to sell their vehicles: A group of stuntmen jump from the roof of moving cars leaving them on their own. It’s impressive to see the cars driving and braking without a driver. SPLOID…

Deals: In-Home Coffee Shop, Gunnar Optiks, Home Security

If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to buy your own 3D printer, here you go: A refurbished Makerbot 2 for $1200. That’s $1000 less than retail for a new one, and a fantastic entry price for the most popular consumer 3D printer around. [Refurb Makerbot 2, $1200] Update: Expired Coffee snobs will be excited…

Bio-Bots Powered By Real Muscle Can Walk On Command

University of Illinois engineers just showed off a new kind of robot that’s half animal, half machine. More specifically, it’s a tiny “bio-bot” that’s powered by actual muscle but supported by 3D-printed hydro-gels. And the best part is that it can be controlled by pulses of electricity. While it sounds wildly futuristic, the design of…

Right Now, On the Moon, Dust is Quietly Levitating

Right now, a couple of feet above the surface of the Moon, a layer of dust is levitating. This is not a new development. Early photos of the Moon show the same phenomenon. What makes this dust float without air? If we see dust floating around on Earth, we imagine that the wind is picking…

How time travel can ruin our lives

Time travel looks like fun until you actually take it to its ultimate consequences. Directed by Bo Mirosseni and written by Elisha Yaffe, Time Travel Lover is a fun little short that shows how time travel would destroy our lives if it were real. This is heavy, Doc. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…

This ‘Bio-Bot’ Walks On Command Using Actual Muscles

Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed tiny biological machines capable of walking by using twitching muscle cells. Remarkably, these self-propelled “bio-bots” can be controlled externally using electrical pulses. Oh, and they’re 3D printed. We typically imagine robots as being comprised of metal gears and electronic parts. But by combining biological components,…

Silk Road Bitcoin Auctioned Off to Guy Who Wants to Split Up California

When the FBI shut down illegal online marketplace the Silk Road, it seized a stash of 30,000 Bitcoin from the underground website and announced plans to auction the supply off. This week, venture capitalist and would-be California-splitter-upper Tim Draper won all of it, gaining an estimated $17.7 million in illicit cryptocurrency. To qualify for the…

In Deliver Us From Evil, Male Bonding Is The Best Defense Against Satan

Deliver Us From Evil is a pretty run-of-the-mill possession horror film. But it has one thing going for it: The bromance between a lapsed-Catholic cop (Eric Bana) and an unconventional priest (Edgar Ramirez). This lets the film occasionally get into themes of masculine vulnerability, and the craving for forgiveness. Get thee behind me, spoilers! Deliver…

Facebook is blue because Mark Zuckerberg is colorblind

Being colorblind doesn’t mean you see the world in black and white. But it does mean that you have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors. For Mark Zuckerberg, blue is the “richest” color he can see — which is why Facebook’s dominant color is blue. From the September 20, 2010 issue of the New Yorker: [Mark…

Dive Into the World’s Biggest Cave

Our species owes a lot to caves. The natural rock formations have been homes, religious sites, art galleries, and graveyards for humanity’s earliest ancestors.The July issue of National Geographic magazine delves into some of the planet’s most expansive cave systems, located in the wilds of China. Below follows an excerpt from the story, but check…