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It Only Takes This Electric Bus 15 Seconds To Charge At Every Stop

Because battery technology still relatively sucks, electric vehicles like buses that have to run all day long usually stay tethered to a spiderweb of overhead cables. But as an alternative to that costly infrastructure, researchers at the EPFL have developed an electric bus that can recharge itself at every stop in as little as 15…

Prometheus Teases the F-Ring of Saturn

Prometheus and Pandora are a tag-team of moons shaping Saturn’s F-ring. As Prometheus passes through the ring, it gouges a gore in the ring, drawing the material out as a streamer as the moon exits the ring. https://gizmodo.com/glittering-trails-of-giant-snowballs-seen-in-weirdest-r-5905062 Saturn’s sunlit rings as observed by the Cassini spacecraft in visible light on February 11th, 2014. Scale…

A Coffee Machine That Works In Space!

There are some things it’s easier to get in space — a glimpse of the ring nebula, for instance — and some things that are much harder… like a cup of coffee. This new coffee-machine, set to make the trip to the ISS, is going to make it much easier. Coffee-maker Lavazza and Argotec designed…

How SoundCloud Changed Music Forever

Some of the best ideas are also the simplest. And there are few things more simple than SoundCloud, which in its seven year existence has sneakily become one of the best things online. How’d it get there? Slowly, surely, and with a cadre of artists as diverse as the internet itself. SoundCloud is to music…

Massive Lego ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ is 50,000 whimsical bricks

Ryan Ziegelbauer, a LEGO Master Model Builder, designed this Lego replica of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel with over 50,000 bricks. This two-minute video is condensed from hundreds of hours of design work and construction. The result is every bit as whimsical and charming and beautiful as a Wes Anderson film. I love it.…

This Robot Is Going To Hitchhike Across Canada By Itself

Starting next month, a robot named hitchBOT will attempt to hitchhike across Canada. Using speech recognition, speech processing, and social media, it will try to charm its way from one coast to the other. Its journey will commence on July 27th, 2014 at the Institute for Applied Creativity at the Nova Scotia College of Art…

Use Your Web Browser As a Basic File Viewer

Do you know how many file types Chrome, Firefox, Safari et al can handle? It’s probably more than you think, and if you need to quickly view a file—be it a PDF, MP3 or photo—then you can use your Web browser for the job. You don’t have to wait for iTunes or Photoshop to kick…

Guy replaces Britney Spears with himself in Work Bitch music video

This is truly hilarious: Gal Volinez got Britney Spears’ Work Bitch video and replaced the pop singer with himself doing the same dance moves. Volinez first filmed himself doing the choreography under different backgrounds, then used a video compositing program to crop and map that video over the pop diva’s. SPLOID is a new blog…

A Speaker That Camouflages Itself As a Paper Palm

Like it or not, most sound systems don’t exactly blend into your home’s decor. You can try buying a pair of speakers in a matching tint, or mount it near the ceiling so it’s less obvious, but they rarely are. Phonon’s Kamone could be your safest bet. It looks like a houseplant, but it actually…

Texas Museum Censors Exhibit on Climate Change

When the $185-million Perot Museum of Nature and Science opened in Dallas, it removed an exhibit describing the link between fossil fuels and climate change. It’s just one egregious example of the reluctance of museums across the country to discuss how human activities are altering the climate. According to the Dallas Morning News, a 4-by-2.5-foot…

So An Uruk-Hai Walked Into A Mall…

What would you do if you saw a 7-foot orc warrior walking down the food court or your local mall? I think you’d be hard-pressed to handle yourself quite as well as the people in this video do. The reason there’s an orc in the mall is because of Rossanne Puck Aafjes, a make-up art…

The ISS Will Get a Custom Espresso Machine With a Few Space-ifications

Just like any hard-working professional, an astronaut can use a good cup of coffee first thing, which is why Lavazza has developed a new custom espresso machine for use in space, destined to find a home aboard the International Space Station. The coffee machine, which is known as the ISSpresso—no, really—is a joint project between…

Revealing Doctor Who Photos, Plus See Superspeed From The Flash’s POV!

Batman v. Superman and Ant-Man may be sharing an actor. The Orphan Black co-creator explains where the Proletheans go from here. Meet the new heroes on Arrow. And The Flash gives us a look at Barry Allen’s POV as he runs at superspeed. Plus, set photos from Doctor Who reveal a unique predicament. Spoilers now!…

A Brief History of Every Official World Cup Ball Since 1930

Every year, the World Cup is played with a new ball. That makes it unique—after all, few other sports reinvent the wheel every four years. But this element of uncertainty is also exciting, and it means that soccer ball technology has come a long, long way since the 1930s—when World Cup balls were still inflated…

This is the largest and longest 3D street painting in the world

The world’s largest and longest 3D street painting is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, China. It’s called Rhythms of Youth and occupies an area of 27,986 square foot— 2737.5 m2. Its creator, famous Chinese artist Yang Yongchun, said it’s a gift to the upcoming 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games. “It took my…

The sweeping nature of President Obama’s proposed regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants is likely to open his initiative to serious legal challenges. To date, however, the courts have given the federal government wide latitude in regulating CO2 under the Clean Air Act.

Report: OS X Yosemite’s Handoff Feature Won’t Be Available to All

Handoff is perhaps one of OS X Yosemite’s coolest features, with its ability to pair your Mac and phone. But a new report by German outlet Apfeleimer suggests that only devices with Bluetooth 4.0 LE support will be able to take advantage of the feature. The report claims that a Bluetooth 4.0 LE connection is…

These Wireless Earbuds Charge While They’re in Your Pocket

These are perhaps the headphones of the future: earbuds which use Bluetooth to beam audio to your ears, with small rechargeable batteries to eliminate cables, in perhaps the smallest package of its type we’ve seen. Called “Earin,” they’re designed by a group of ex-Sony Ericsson and Nokia engineers and are currently being funded on Kickstarter.…

Enormous river of ducks flood an entire road

I don’t know how they herd the ducks in Thailand but I have never seen such an enormous flock that seemed quite so animated. Motorists had better just stay out of the way because it must be feeding time. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

How Staring at the Sun Can Make You Sneeze

Have you ever been in a dark place, say a movie theatre or a room with all the blinds close, and walked outside into the daylight when, all of a sudden, you begin to sneeze uncontrollably? You had no runny nose or desire to sneeze prior to this exposure to sunlight, but you just can’t…