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10 Charts That Show How The Climate Has Already Changed

Climate change isn’t just coming — it’s already here. Just check out these 10 charts that show everything from how much it costs to heat or cool our homes to the amount of rain we’ve been getting. The National Climate Assessment, a government report on the rapidly changing climate in the U.S., was released today.…

The World’s Smallest Comic Strip Is Etched on a Single Strand of Hair

Even a perfectly smooth human hair looks like a scaly, alien creature under a microscope. Zoom in on this particular hair, though, and you’ll find something even stranger: a teeny, tiny comic strip called “Juanita Knits the Planet.” Ten micron-tall Juanita and her friends were etched onto the hair using a focused ion beam. The…

Every sci-fi fan should get this Star Wars Storyboards book

Abrams sent me their new book Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy. I’ve to admit that going through Lucasfilm’s original vision in sketch form is a pleasure—even if you are not a Star Wars fan. It’s so good that I asked them to give copies to three fortunate Sploid readers. The book is interesting from…

Report: Climate Change Will Be Our Aging Cities’ Biggest Problem

The White House just unveiled this year’s National Climate Assessment, and it holds dire warnings: climate change is already impacting every corner of the United States, and our cities are particularly vulnerable to increasingly unpredictable weather swings. The full National Climate Assessment report, which you can read here, takes an extensive look at the global,…

Why Do Artists Like To Change The Genders Of Fictional Characters?

One of the unwritten laws of the Internet is that once a character comes into existence, someone will draw that character as someone of a different gender. One artist explains how playing with her favorite characters’ genders helped her connect better with the media she loves. Allison “Mu” Jones drew a guest comic about genderbending…

An Actual Recording Of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Spirit” From A 1934 Séance

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle often wished that he would be remembered for his writings on Spiritualism rather than his Sherlock Holmes novels. That didn’t happen. But he would no doubt be pleased that the British Library has provided a unique public service — posting rare recordings of the author, both before and after his death.…

Google Maps Now Tells You What Lane to Get Into and More Goodies

El Goog is rolling out a bunch of improvements to its Maps apps for Android and iOS. Some of them are small improvements, and some of them are friggin’ awesome. Most significantly, when you’re using Maps for turn-by-turn navigation, it will tell you which lane you should stay in (or move to), so you won’t…

NASA Is Now Accepting Ideas For A Mission To Europa

With its subsurface ocean and active plumes, Europa is one of the best candidates for life in the entire solar system. NASA recently announced that it wants to organize a robotic mission — and the space agency is now ready to hear your ideas. Europa — a moon of Jupiter first discovered by Galileo —…

If you use Dropbox or Box, make sure you’re restricting access to shared links. Otherwise, third party advertisers could be raking in some seriously sensitive URLs. Dropbox your tax return, anyone?

Samsung NX30 Review: An Easy, Pared-Down Camera For Beginners

Samsung makes headlines for its phones nowadays, but a lot of effort is going into cameras as well. The NX30 is the company’s most serious attempt at a fully-featured mirrorless shooter. What Is It An $800 (with kit lens) 20 megapixel mirrorless camera with an APS-C size sensor. It’s the beefiest camera that Samsung makes,…

Siri Exploit Lets Anyone Skip the Lockscreen to Text or Call Contacts

The iPhone lockscreen has never been completely secure. Past exploits allowed random people to access your photos or to make callswith a few choreographed swipes. The latest, however, can grant access to your full contact list through Siri and let a stranger call, text, or email anyone they want from your number. Discovered by Egyptian…

The West gets Drier while the East gets Wetter

Climate change is happening, but how ugly is it going to get? Very ugly, getting both wetter and drier at the same time in different places for an escalating mess of terrifying extremes. Here’s a look at observed and predicted changes in rainfall patterns in the United States. Predicted precipitation anomaly for optimistic and pessimistic…

What the hell do all those IKEA names mean? Here are all their secrets

Some people think they are names of death metal bands. Others think they are made up names stolen from some Tolkien book on elvish lineage. The fact is that all of IKEA’s products follow a logic and have a meaning. Ish. Here’s an overview: Bookcases are occupations in Swedish The famous Expedit means shop assistant.…

So What Was The Tomorrow People‘s First Season About, Anyway?

We’ve now watched a full year of Tomorrow People, 22 episodes. Complete with roll-the-dice plotting and random character flip-flops. So it’s probably a good moment to ask: What the heck was this show about, exactly? Spoilers ahead… Can Mutants and Humans Coexist? The central question of The Tomorrow People always seemed to be whether humans…

Audible, Fight Club, Arrow, 4KTV, Humble Spring Sale

Hit up Amazon Local to grab 3 months of Audiobooks from Audible for just $2/month. Any cheaper than that and it would be a free trial. [Amazon Local] Humble Spring Sale Humble has launched their Spring Sale, which runs for two weeks, has flash sales, and offers a whole lot of deep discounts. “Today, customers…

The Sarolea Superbike Is a Lightning-Powered Speed Demon

It’s been half a century since Belgium’s famed Sarolea motorcycle brand last put out a bike but they’re clearly making up for lost time with the incomprehensibly gorgeous, all-electric-and-carbon-fiber SP7. And to prove they’re back in the superbike game, Sarolea is entering this black beauty into next month’s electric-only, Isle of Man TT Zero race.…

You Can Soon Buy Historical Map Engravings From The U.S. Government

From the 1880s to the 1950s, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published maps depicting transportation routes, cultural borders, topography, hydrography and geologic cross sections. And the stunning handmade engravings used to create these maps will be put on sale for the general public this summer. The engravings, mostly made from a copper alloy or zinc,…

Hulu just got a bunch of new shows from CBS—most of them throwbacks—including Cheers, 90210, Mork and Mindy, Taxi and more. So fire up Hulu if you’re feeling nostalgic.

The Strangest Visualization Of The Milky Way We’ve Ever Seen

This image may look like a cloudy sunset reflected over the ocean — it’s actually a shot of the Milky Way, as seen by the ESA’s Planck Satellite. The unique perspective reveals previously unseen characteristics of our galaxy. And it may provide crucial insights into how the universe was born. We’re located inside the Milky…

The Legendary Manual That Dictates Every Detail of the NYC Subway

Amidst the stinky, human chaos of NYC’s train system, we take the clarity of the MTA’s signage for granted. But every minute detail of those signs was carefully laid out in 1970 by two young designers who created a rulebook for how to guide billions of people through the subway for decades to come. It…