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Report: Here’s the Face-Tracking Tech Amazon’s 3D Smartphone Will Use

At this point, we’re damn near certain that Amazon’s big June 18 announcement will be its first foray into the (3D?) smartphone market. But now, thanks to a report from TechCrunch, it looks like the four front-mounted IR cameras will be powered by Omron’s Okao Vision’s face-tracking face-tracking technology. Amazon’s teaser video certainly seems to…

If I Stay Actually About A Girl Stuck In A Really Crappy Purgatory

If you’ve seen the ads for If I Stay, you may have written it off as some tween heartstring yanker (and you wouldn’t be wrong). However, it is also a story about a ghost who is attached to her comatose body, stuck forever in some horrible hospital until she decides what to do—which just made…

12 Classic Lines of Dialogue That You Probably Didn’t Know Were Improv

The best movies are insanely quotable. The classic dialogue sticks with you and becomes your new catch-phrase, even if you sometimes misquote it. But some of the best dialogue wasn’t in the script at all. Here are 12 famous lines you probably didn’t know were improvised on the set. 1) Blade Runner The line: “All…

Folding OLED Displays Could Make a Bendy, Bright Kindle Someday

Well, e-ink, you’ve had a great run. You showed us that reading on electronic displays could be just as enjoyable as paper, and somehow you thrived in a world of color-screen tablets. But with these new OLED displays that can be folded up like a magazine, your days could finally be numbered. Developed as part…

​This Scientific Paper On Mermaids Is Absolutely Brilliant

Karl Banse, an oceanographer and biologist, is one of the most esteemed scientists in the world. He’s written on everything from the use of satellites to detect phytoplankton concentrations to the transport of carbon into the deep oceans. But, perhaps his most overlooked research is his seminal paper on mermaids. Craig McClain, the Assistant Director…

A Swivel Chair That Becomes Its Own Private Office

Don’t feel bad if your climb up the corporate ladder currently has you serving time in an open cubicle. You’ll get that private suite one day, but until then, see if you can convince your office manager to swap out your chair for Campeggi’s Tuttomio, which swivels into a semi-private spot to shut out distractions.…

Really? Are We Still Genre Shaming People For The Books They Like?

Yesterday, Slate caused a bit of a stir with an editorial reprimanding adults for reading books marketed to young adults. This song-and-dance — saying that we should be ashamed of what we like to read — is a familiar one for fans of genre fiction. And frankly, it’s getting old. Top image by Rory MacLeod.…

Samsung NX Mini Review: Small, Stylish, And a Little Bit Confused

Samsung’s NX Mini is the latest camera to squeeze a large sensor into a super-small body. It’s stylish and capable, but still suffers from an identity crisis. What Is It? The NX Mini is a tiny, interchangeable lens camera with a one-inch sensor packing 20.5 megapixels. That’s about the same spec as the terrific Sony…

Critics of the EPA’s emissions reduction plan say it lets many big polluting states off easy. For instance, coal-burning states like West Virginia and Kentucky will have to cut carbon pollution by 19.8% and 18.3%, while Washington state, one of the lowest carbon emitters, is supposed to cut its pollution output by 72%.

Intruders Clip Brings Back John Simm To Scifi TV

We’re really creeped out by the latest couple of teasers for BBC America’s Intruders. Centered around a secret society searching for immortality by possessing the bodies of others, we’re not sure what to expect from this series. But we are happy it’s got Life on Mars and Doctor Who’s John Simm! From writer & executive…

15 Incredible Photo Composites Match Up Normandy on D-Day and Today

Today marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, aka Operation Overlord, the single largest seaborne military invasion of all time. How has Normandy changed in the seven decades since? In these perfectly-matched photo composites, Getty Images photographer Peter Macdiarmid compares the quaint towns in 1944 and 2014. Macdiarmid has actually done a similar project before—earlier this…

This Fashion Photographer Uses Only One Beat-Up Hand-Me-Down Lens

It’s easy to stress out about lenses. Which ones to buy, which ones to use when—ad nauseum. Fashion photographer Erik Madigan Heck avoids the problem completely by shooting exclusively with one single lens, and you’ll probably never guess which one it is. Heck is no amateur. You might find his work on the cover of…

Massive Fossilized Pterosaur Colony ‘Most Important Ever Found’

Well-preserved fossils of pterosaurs are extremely hard to come by, which makes this recent find of 40 male and female individuals all the more incredible. Along with the discovery of a spectacular new crested species, paleontologists have also found the first 3-dimensional fossilized pterosaur eggs. Say hello to Hamipterus tianshanensis, a newly documented species of…

Dyson’s Cordless DC59: A True Replacement For a Full-Sized Vac

They started out as Dustbusters that actually worked, but Dyson’s cordless vacuums have improved to the point where they’re very nearly a viable alternative to full-sized models. Especially now that they come with a powered cleaning head, capable of really tackling the crustiest of carpets. The DC59 Motorhead is the company’s first cordless vacuum to…

363 tons of trash makes this beach the dirtiest in the world

This is how Shenzhen’s Dameisha Beach—in China—looks at the end of the annual Dragon Boat Festival. Some 780,000 people dumped more than 362 tons of trash in just one weekend. It seems unreal that people can still relax surrounded by so much garbage, just imagining the stench makes me feel sick. They are now cleaning…

Clever Tree Frogs Shout For Sex By Using Storm Drains As Megaphones

Human males try all kinds of things to seduce females. Some show off their fancy cars, some learn to play the guitar, some drive big trucks. The male Mientien tree frog scoffs at our puny human tricks. All it needs is a nice storm drain. Like many frogs, the male Mientien tree frog (Kurixalus idiootocus),…

American Hippopotamus, Or How The US Tried To Import Hippos For Food

Back in 1910, in the midst of the American meat crisis, the US government came up with the idea to import hippos for food. This is how the “American Hippo Bill” was introduced. And now Bret Ratner and Edward Norton are turning this strange hippo story into a movie. Louisiana Congressman Robert Broussard wanted to…

We’ve Found Traces of Another World on the Moon

Scientists have discovered traces of another world in rock samples from the Moon—and it’s evidence of the planet that once crashed into Earth to form our rocky satellite. It’s been believed since the 80s that the Moon was created when a planet called Theia hit Earth 4.5 billion years ago. But until now, there hasn’t…

As of July 30th, Yahoo won’t let you use Facebook or Google logins to sign into Flickr—you’ll need a Yahoo account instead.

It’s Time For A GIF Party, People!

Deal with it, GIFs! This party is happening. What’s on your mind this week? Tell us about what you’ve been up to, your projects, and your plans, all through the art of the GIF. The party starts now!