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Fritz Kahn’s Whimsical Infographics Turn People Into Contraptions

Fritz Kahn (1888-1968), the pioneer of infographics, published more than 20 books with his artist friends and made thousands of scientific illustrations. His infographics attempt to take you inside the functioning of the human mind and body, by depicting people as rather whimsical contraptions. Here are his most amazing illustrations. Kahn was chased out of…

Win A Boreas Hopper Day Pack and Bootlegger Suspension System

Like the new Boreas Trava and Tiago tents? Win one of their backpacks! Update: Reader David Camp has been randomly selected as the winner. Congrats David! We’re giving away one Boreas Hopper day pack and its Bootlegger suspension system. The pack measures 28L in volume and weighs just 1lbs 90z, making it ideal for hiking,…

The BMW i8 Is the Template For The Future Car You’ll Someday Own

BMW’s i8 is the kind of gorgeous, $140,000 sports car that most of us will never get to own. It’s packed with supercar tech like a carbon fiber passenger cell and a turbocharged, hybrid powertrain that kicks out Porsche-beating acceleration and Prius-like fuel economy. But it’s not just an engineer’s flight of fancy, nor a…

Ready For Some Croc-on-Croc Violence? Cretaceous Crocs Ate Each Other

We’ve previously brought you impressive images of crocodylians – that’s the group of reptiles that includes alligators, crocodiles, and caimans – being eaten by river otters and by snakes. Now we bring you some intense croc-on-croc violence. We share because we love. Yesterday, paleontologist Pedro L. Godoy and colleagues reported a new fossil found in…

This Wickedly Fast Running Robot Is Now Commercially Available

Meet OutRunner — a sleek star-shaped robot you can use to mercilessly hunt down your friends. It’s the world’s first remotely controlled legged running robot that’s commercially available to the public. The remarkable device, which was developed by Pensacola, Florida’s Robotics Unlimited, is capable of self-balancing, reaching speeds around 20 mph (32 kph) on almost…

An Engineer Commissioned This Incredible Mausoleum For Himself

It’s a rare kind of person who has the foresight (and cash) to hire an architect to design their own funeral mausoleum. But this engineer in Mucia, Spain, did just that—commissioning this incredible structure for when he shuffles off this mortal coil. The black steel and concrete structure is nestled into a shady lane full…

What Movie Was Way Better Than You Expected?

Sometimes low expectations can pay off. Sometimes, you expect a movie to be kind of terrible, and it surprises you by being actually quite good. Sometimes, a movie looks dumb, but turns out to be charming and fun. Which movie did you expect to suck — and then were pleasantly surprised? Please include a picture,…

Above, Jimmy Carter holds a June 21, 1979 press conference in front of the White House’s then-new solar panels. Ronald Reagan quietly tore them down in 1986 during renovations. But thanks to the Obama administration, the White House now has solar panels on its roof again. We’ll see how long they last this time. Photos:…

Real Estate Experts Value Goku’s House At Way Over 9,000

So, how much would the home of Dragon Ball’s hero be worth on today’s market? It’s got nothing to do with power levels. As this infographic reveals, as with all houses, it’s about size and location. Over at the Movoto Blog (“The Lighter Side of Real Estate”), David Cross applied some creative thinking to determine…

Harry Potter Fans Name Brain-Paralyzing Wasp After Dementors, Natch

The Museum of Natural History in Berlin recently allowed its patrons to name one of its henceforth unnamed wasp species. The name the public chose was Ampulex dementor, either out out of Harry Potter fandom or because the wasp really is the Dementor of the animal world. Seriously! Here’s how Nature World News describes the…

You Can Drive Over This Parking Lot Paved With Solar Panels

If you’ve scampered barefoot across asphalt on a sunny day, then you know driveways are already absorbing plenty of solar energy. What if we could actually harness it? Solar Roadways has created solar panels so strong you could drive a tractor right over them—plus they light up at night and heat to melt snow. In…

These Snow-White Tents Offer Shelter With Lightweight Fabric Ribs

Shifting some of the structure off the poles and into the fabric, new tents from San Francisco-based Boreas are using design innovation to keep weight off your back and a roof over your head. Boreas is a new Bay Area company that’s shaken up the backpack space with drastically simple and lightweight trekking packs that…

President Obama Pitched Solar Power At a Silicon Valley Walmart Today

Today President Obama continued his tour of California with a stop in a somewhat unlikely place: Walmart. The company has pledged to double the number of solar projects at its stores and distribution centers by 2020, and the president used the Walmart in Mountain View, California as a backdrop to discuss the importance of solar…

S5, Lensbaby Gear, 240Hz TVs, Walking Dead Season 4 Limited Edition

Lensbaby’s lenses add a lot of unique effects and even more fun to your photography experience. Today Canon users can grab the Pro Effects Kit which features 3 lenses, macro converters, and more for $100 off the regular price. [Lensbaby Pro Effects Kit, $629] Nikon users aren’t being left out though, the Composer Pro Lens,…

Vacant Hotels and Unemployed Teens: What’s Ruining Our Cities This Week

An empty hotel that’s symbolic of Vegas’s bust. A parking app that’s about to turn San Francisco into one big $20/hour parking lot. And why it’s really, really important that you spend your formative years working at a Dairy Queen. Let’s look at What’s Ruining Our Cities. A lack of working teens is ruining the…

Watch London Evolve From Roman Times To Today

This remarkable film brings together and animates thousands of historical records to depict the growth of London over the past two millennia, beginning with the construction of the very first road networks. Several prominent organizations collaborated on the creation of this seven-minute video, including the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at UCL, English Heritage, the…

The First Thing Apple Should Do With Beats

Apple wants to buy Beats? It’s one of the stranger Apple rumors we’ve ever heard and it would be Apple’s most expensive acquisition ever by a long shot, but you better believe it’s good business. And for regular folks, the deal has enormous potential to improve one of Apple’s most flawed products: The EarPod. The…

Over One Hundred Years of Cameras Illustrated On One Poster

A really cool poster was recently posted to Behance featuring an illustrated chronology of cameras going back to the 1860s. The poster was made by Carlos Ramos and Carolina Borrero. Any particular camera you feel has been egregiously left out of their lineup? [PetaPixel]

Never-Before-Seen Star Wars Storyboards Show The Original Trilogy Anew

We’ve already seen a ton of astonishing artwork from the making of classic Star Wars — but the new book of storyboards from the original trilogy is still a revelation. So many cool images, so many glimpses of how key sequences could have looked different. We’ve got some exclusive images to share with you. Top…

Watch this guy ride his bike completely parallel to the ground

Here’s 31-year-old Canadian cyclist Matt Hunter riding his S-Works Enduro 29 bike completely parallel to the ground. It may seem impossible but that’s what happens when you go around a sharp curve at very high speed. You know, physics! (and skills!) SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook