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A Sober History of Shuttle Disasters is a Grim Reminder of the Dangers of Space

Space is beautiful, enchanting, awe-inspiring, and utterly unforgiving. We celebrate the victories, but don’t let a string of successes deceive you into thinking spaceflight is easy. A new documentary investigates the major malfunctions, technical and procedural, that led to NASA space shuttle explosions. Smoke plume of the Challenger explosion. Image credit: NASA Retro Report just…

Does a Storm’s Gender Impacts Willingness to Evacuate?

As if naming hurricanes weren’t already complicated enough, a new study suggests that the gender of a storm’s name may impact if people are willing to evacuate. Except, it’s probably not that simple. Read on for a paper-summary, then head over here for a critical analysis of the research‘s limitations. Tl;dr? Statistics are complicated to…

Bomber pilot saves the day in Boeing 737 emergency landing

This is US Air Force Captain Mark Gongol and his usual ride, a B-1B Lancer. But on December 30, 2013, Gongol wasn’t flying his four-engine supersonic strategic nuclear bomber. He was just one of the 151 passengers inside United Flight 1637 but, when the pilot had a cardiac problem, he knew he had to step…

NASA Satellite Spies on the Tiniest of Sea Critters

‘Tis the season for plankton blooms! It’s time to start scouring satellite images for the distinctive swaths of green and cyan blue that indicate plankton are reproducing in massive blooms that fill out the lower end of the food chain.

Compare the Wealth of Comic Book Characters With This Infographic

All hail comics’ most wealthy: Black Panther. Buddy Loans created the infographic below from a bunch of sources including Forbes, Wikipedia, and Comic Vine. I never thought that his comparatively low wealth would be a reason to feel bad for Magneto. Now, while fun, there are a few problems that jump out immediately: A) it…

And Now: The Four Hyena Species Explained

Not as epic as the series on cats (apparently there are a lot of cat species), but now mythbri‘s finished a series of posts on the four species of hyenas. These posts are gold for completionists, really.

This image of a dice rolling in space over the Earth is not a photoshop

There’s a new American astronaut in space. His name is Reid Wiseman—a guy who was a naval aviator and a test pilot before joining NASA as an astronaut in 2011. He seems like a pretty cool guy too. He just arrived to the International Space Station and he’s already taking some pretty neat photos, like…

Nocturnal Transmissions: Let’s Talk About Childhood Favorites

Let’s get nostalgic! What stands out in your memory as your childhood favorites? And have you revisited them since then and found them wanting? Still good? Embarrassingly bad? Hidden depths? This is Nocturnal Transmissions, your nightly open thread.

Adventure Tested: Sea To Summit Spark SP1 Ultralight Sleeping Bag

The lightest, smallest high-performance sleeping bag you can buy? This new Sea To Summit Spark SP1 weighs just 12.3 oz and packs down to the size of a grapefruit. Here’s the world-first review. What It’s Supposed to Do: This isn’t a sleeping bag for the casual car camper. When trying to shave weight for hardcore…

Dad Invents Kid’s Seat For Bike Shares—Promptly Gets Cease and Desist

There are many perks to bike shares, but there’s a distinct advantage for the entrepreneurially minded: you’re not allowed to make the bike better. Not by giving it an electric motor. Not by adding a seat to take your kid to school. Nope nope nope. Should bike shares really be keeping such a tight reign…

Tonight’s a Great Night to Watch Pirates of Silicon Valley

Another year, another Apple WWDC keynote without Steve Jobs. Though it’s been three years since the Apple cofounder’s death, few can help but wonder what Steve would’ve thought of the latest products. (Spoiler: He probably had a hand in designing them so he probably liked them.) But instead of letting your head get too lost…

Hands On with Three of the Coolest Tricks in iOS 8

The beta version of iOS 8 is finally here, and with it comes a whole slew of new features. Among the big ones are a health-tracking app, HomeKit, and the OS X-integrating Handoff, but the real beauty lies in the little things. Of course, there’s still plenty of beta-style kinks to work out, and we’ve…

Let Your Stoner Flag Fly with the High Kite

With more than 50 percent of the public in favor of decriminalization, it’s high time for America’s stoners to come out of the shadows. Get loud, be proud, maybe get off the couch today and show everybody your stoner pride with the High Kite. The High Kite from The World’s Best Ever, is exactly what…

Two of the Best iOS 8 Features Apple Didn’t Talk About

There’s plenty of great new stuff coming in iOS 8. You’ll be able to remote control your phone from your computer to send text messages. There’s soon to be an army of new keyboard options. It’s a brave new world. But Apple didn’t even mention some of the best new features on stage. There are…

Is This Really The Worst Movie Special Effect Of All Time?

It’s certainly a leading contender. This moment from Jaws 3-D is laughably bad, and sort of the opposite of the beautiful practical effects that distinguished Spielberg’s original movie. But is it actually the worst? Bloody Disgusting makes a pretty strong case that this glass-shattering bit goes beyond embarrassing into some uncharted territory of shame: This…

Nana Splits, Buttercrust, and Sweet Cream: Butter Ya’Self (NSFW)

Damn it feels good to be a banana, especially when you’re Internet-famous rapper and fruit salad fortune heir, Nana Splits. But in the rap game, you gots to get yours before some kid smashes you up on white bread with some Nutella. So check out the mad sick beats in LA-based filmmaker Julian Petschek’s latest…

The U.S. military is funding research into developing brain implants that will regulate human emotions. The idea is to locate and “stop” feelings experienced by soldiers and veterans, including depression and fear. What could go wrong?

I Would Totally Wear High Heels Equipped With Hydraulic Springs

Oh, high heels. You look so hot but hurt so much. Think a little interior padding will save your feet from a world of pain? Psssh. The Kinetic Traces collection by London College of Fashion grad Silvia Fado Moreno, however, are like Easy Spirits with an advanced engineering degree. Check out the hydraulics on these…

This USGS Map Treats Disneyland’s Matterhorn as a Real Mountain

Can you blame the U.S. Geological Survey for having a bit of fun when when it mapped Disneyland? This 1965 topo map from the United States’ official mapping agency seems to treat the theme park’s Matterhorn—a 1/100 scale model of the Alpine peak—as a real mountain. The map labels the summit and gives its “elevation”…

These GIFs Turn Famous Buildings Into Shape-Shifting Toys

Buildings: They are giant and they are unmoving (for the most part). But what if you could play with them as freely as a Lego set? That seems like the kind of fun Axel de Stampa had when creating this series of super-fun GIFs. Some of the most iconic buildings from around the world were…