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Pixar Didn’t Just Change the World of Film — It Transformed Business

What’s the secret to Pixar’s string of amazing films, from Wall-E to Toy Story? In the new book Creativity, Inc., Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace delve into just how Pixar made hit after hit, revealing how the film industry changed as they did. The first thing to know about Creativity Inc., is that it’s not…

Every Asteroid Discovered Since 1980

From the far, far away to the startlingly close, there have been over 600,000 asteroids identified in the inner solar system since 1980. This visualization tracks them all. The video is the work of Scott Manley. Manley included the path of the near-by asteroids that have been identified starting 34 years ago and carrying on…

Why the Same Three Typefaces Are Used In Almost Every Airport

Wayfinding signage is an invisible network draped upon our public places. And that network has to work especially hard in airports when we’re lost, hungry, and exhausted. Especially when helping us navigate in jetlagged states using strange languages, good wayfinding means sticking to clear, legible typefaces. So how do designers choose? “It’s like a spiderweb—you…

How Soccer Security Is Creating the Surveillance State

International mega-events like the FIFA World Cup require increasingly expensive, high-tech security. It’s not just the financial burden that’s become worrisome. When the games are over, the host country will still possess the tech—which may have lasting repercussions for the privacy of its citizens. As the Weekly Wonk blog observes: So far, Brazil has reportedly…

What’s the Very Best Infodump Scene of All Time?

An infodump scene is when one character will suddenly offer a detailed political backstory that explains the plot, or we’ll hear a strangely relevant newscast about why the bug people are attacking the mushroom planet. Often they’re clumsy, but I love them. Are there any you love, too? Pick an infodump moment from a science…

The Planet’s Biggest Water Supply Might Be Hidden 400 Miles Below the US

When most of us imagine what the mantle of the Earth is like, we see burning hot rock and magma (and maybe satan hanging out for good measure or something). But scientists have discovered evidence that all that rock may be hiding huge amounts of water—three times the volume of all our oceans combined. The…

We Only Wish Game Of Thrones‘ Bloody Duel Could Have Ended Like This

The illustration below would only happen in a world where the guilty are punished, the noble are victorious, and people can live happily ever. In other words, not in Westeros. Spoilers ahead. Artist TheRealMcGee made this alternate ending for Tyrion’s trial by combat, in which Oberyn Martell doesn’t die beside the Mountain, but instead enjoys…

Watch a Mind-Controlled Cyborg Leg Make the World Cup’s First Kick

The FIFA World Cup may be a nearly century-old institution, but mere minutes ago, it kicked off with the most advanced mind-controlled exoskeleton the world has ever seen. The first-of-its-kind kickoff came from the cyborg-like toes of someone who is, in fact, paralyzed from the waist down. But paralysis is no match for the Walk…

Be Prepared For Any Vehicular Emergency With a Gas Can Toolbox

As fun as a weekend off-roading adventure can be, it can be equally hard on your vehicle. Simply running out of gas isn’t the only risk you face, so be prepared for any vehicular emergency with this clever gas can-shaped toolbox that fits in the external storage compartments your Jeep or Land Rover already have.…

Is Edward Snowden one of the world’s first post-humans? This terrific Wired story explores Snowden’s strange life as a telepresence robot.

100 ways to hit someone on the groin in 80 seconds

I didn’t know about YouTube comedy series Enter the Dojo so, when I first saw this absurd video on 100 ways to attack the groin, I thought it was real. I blame Karate Kid and its stereotypical portrayal of America’s suburban mall martial art gyms and the people that populate them. SPLOID is a new…

The Sleep Schedules Of Some Of History’s Greatest Minds

Mason Currey’s Daily Rituals: How Artists Work is full of revealing insights on the creative habits of some of history’s greatest writers, scientists, musicians and philosophers. Here, bedtimes collected by Currey in the course of his research are compiled into a single, circular chart. Notice anything interesting? As FastCo notes, “The infographic seems to debunk…

11 Vertical Views From Rooftops

There’s nothing quite like sitting on a rooftop in the summer—except if you get a nice photo of the view. Here are the images taken from your rooftops in this week’s Shooting Challenge. Winner: Slightly Better View I was relaxing on a rooftop bar on Friday afternoon (with the shooting challenge in mind) and looked…

The Only Footage We Have Of Arthur Conan Doyle Talking About Sherlock

This 1927 interview with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the only known interview with the Sherlock Holmes and Lost World author committed to film. Here, Doyle talks about why he created the world’s greatest detective, the response from Sherlock Holmes fans, and his belief in the supernatural. The interview encapsulates the contrasts in Doyle’s life.…

It’s Been 150 Years Since the U.S. Was This Politically Polarized

A new survey from the Pew Research Center reveals that political polarization in the United States has reached a dangerous extreme. The gap between what Democrats and Republicans believe is enormous, with almost no center ground. We haven’t seen such strong polarization since the Civil War. Photo by Andrew Kuznetsov At this point, you might…

A Floating Disc Boat Gives Fishermen 360-Degree Access to Their Prey

If you took a bass boat and stripped it to its bare essentials—just the most important things a fisherman needed—you’d probably end up with the Ultraskiff 360. It does away with the traditional boat design in favor of a circular floating platform that gives fisherman better access to the water in any direction. It’s easier…

Thanks ESEE!

Reader Loran Richardson just received the ESEE-6 survival knife he won in our reader giveaway. How’s he using it? Once again thank you for your generous give way. I am so grateful to be the winner. The ESEE-6 is an awesome knife. I have been a big ESEE fan for a years and own a…

Here’s How You Pick the “Unpickable” Bike Lock

In the more innocent days of April, we showed you a mystery bike lock that purported to be “unpickable.” A hidden keyhole was supposed to prevent picks from getting into the lock. It seemed rock-solid! Except not really. Of course not! Here’s a guy picking it open with ease. Oliver Diederichsen, the lockpicker in the…

This sauce is so hot that the cook has to wear a gas mask

Muhammad Karim—the cook at Bindi Restaurant, in Lincolnshire, England—is the inventor of the Atomic Kick Ass Drumsticks. He has to wear a gas mask when he prepares the sauce to stop the vapors getting into his nose. Inhalation of those vapors can cause facial paralyses or even death by asphyxia. The sauce contains two of…

CubeSats Offer Big Science in a Small Box

Miniature cube satellites allow for contained research projects on a tight budget. More and more science is being done with these tiny cubes, with 24 projects currently in-orbit and another 76 pre-approved on a waiting list awaiting launch. A pair of CubeSats ejected from the International Space Station in February 2014. Credit: NASA The satellites…