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Report: “Android Silver” Could be Google’s New Premium User Experience

Online rumours claim Google is planning some sort of premium owner experience for future Android phone buyers, with the Android Silver scheme said to encourage networks to babysit owners of phones, guarantee the latest version of Android and show them how to buy stuff through Google Play. The news, which comes via documents seen by…

Six Featurettes = Loads Of New X-Men: Days Of Future Past Footage

Don’t worry, they’re not long; in fact, two of these new featurettes are just set tours given by director Bryan Singer. But four of them contain new footage from the movie, and the video above explains how Wolverine’s psyche is sent back in time! This answer is, oddly, that Kitty Pryde can send people’s minds…

Animal Planet Is Making A Moby Dick TV Movie From The Whale’s POV

Animal Planet is mostly known for reality TV series about hell cats who piss all over their owner’s furniture, but now the animal-centric station is getting into scripted TV, thanks to Moby Dick. Deadline is reporting that Animal Planet’s new slate includes a story that is all about Moby Dick, but from the whale’s point…

The Enemy Of Anti-Tobacco Campaigns? Population Growth

Globally, smoking prevalence —the percentage of the population that smokes every day — has decreased, but the number of cigarette smokers worldwide has increased due to substantial population growth between 1980 and 2012. That finding comes from a study published by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, which…

Astronomers Discover Two More Dwarf Planets In Our Outer Solar System

It was just last week that we reported on a previously undiscovered dwarf planet located in the inner Oort Cloud. Now, astronomers have detected two more previously unseen celestial bodies, including one that could be as much as 932 miles (1,500 km) in diameter. Fresh off the heels of VP113 (a.k.a. “Biden” — and let’s…

This Is the First Detailed Map of a Mammal’s Neural Network

If this looks like an incredibly complex wiring diagram to you, it’s because it kinda is: you’re looking at the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas, the first detailed map of any mammal’s neural network. It’s not a full connectome—the name given to maps of every single interconnection between neurons in a brain—but it’s the most…

The Avengers Should Have Been Rated “R” And Here’s The Proof

The fine folks at Unnecessary Censorship finally got their hands on the Avengers movie, and the results are predictably hilarious. If you can make it through Thor’s “He adopted” line without cackling madly, you’re a better man than I.

During a Transplant Does the Donor’s DNA Integrate Into the Host?

Depending on the type of donation, the DNA stays for a short time, a long while—or maybe even forever. Chimerism and Microchimerism Scientists have known for years that a single organism can have cells that are genetically distinct. Sometimes, this occurs because two sets of fertilized eggs fuse into a single organism that retains both…

Which Marvel Hero May Cameo In Guardians Of The Galaxy?

Dominic Monaghan reports on J.J. Abrams’ guiding vision for the Star Wars cast. Pretty much the whole cast previews season four of Game of Thrones. Plus, what historical figure may appear on Doctor Who next? Spoilers now! Star Wars Dominic Monaghan told Dweebcast that he’s been asking J.J. Abrams for a part in Episode VII,…

What’s Your Favorite Piece of Fitness Technology?

Often times, we only think of the technology that makes our lives more productive or entertaining. But what about the stuff that allows us to have the most fun outdoors? So, what’s your favorite piece of technology designed for sports, exercise or general fitness. It could be technical clothing, bullet-proof headphones, a GPS device or…

Canonical has announced that it’s going to axe its Dropbox competitor Ubuntu One and, as a result, its streaming music service. Subscribers can expect a refund.

Yahoo Is Finally Encrypting the Bulk of Its Data

We were thrilled to hear today that Yahoo is carrying through a concerted effort to protect users across its sites and services by rolling out routine encryption in several parts of its infrastructure. The company’s statement announced that, among other things, it now encrypts traffic between its data centers, makes secure HTTPS connections the default…

Nokia’s Adorable New Bluetooth Speaker Is Just $55

To match its new Lumias, Nokia has announced this cute little Bluetooth speaker, too—with 15 hours of playback and as asking price of just $55. Available in the same colorful palette as the new phones—including, obviously, this bright orange—the MD-12 (no idea either, sorry) measures about the size of a hockey puck. Nokia claims its…

There’s a woman in bodypaint hidden in this moth

A beautiful black and white rendering of a Pandora Sphinx moth. But look closer. Can you see her? There’s a woman hiding in it. Keep looking. It will appear to you soon and, when it does, it will you freak out. It’s a body paint demo video by Roustan Bodypaint. SPLOID is a new blog…

Watch a piece of aluminum levitate and melt at the same time

This is an induction heater, an electromagnetic thingamajig that can make metal to levitate and—with enough power—melt. In this case, the metal is a 2.6-gram piece of aluminum that reaches a temperature of 2192 F (1200 C) before the machine is turned off. You can learn more about this process (and how to build one…

Remixing the Weather

It’s arguable that the remix of my afternoon sounds more realistic than did the original. This week has seen some tremendous rainfall in San Francisco, where I live. I was sitting in my car on Monday, just after noon, when the power of the storm was so intense that it was remarkable — and by…

80 barehanded men lift and move an entire house into a new location

Some people move entire houses with cranes and trucks. Not the Mennonites. They just get 80 men inside a house, lift it off its original foundation, and move it into a new location. That’s how Mennonites roll, folks. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Look At What A Decade’s Done To New York City’s Classic Storefronts

Ten years after photographing countless storefronts for their popular book, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, James and Karla Murray are returning to the same addresses for an update. The contrast in the pairs of images, each a decade apart, is striking. Looking at the photos side-by-side feels like stepping into a time…

Just Don’t Call Them Alpacas

In a world without peace, where everybody is a llama, nowhere is safe. But one crack team of special agents is mad as spit and not going to take it anymore. This summer, get ready, for LlamaLAN XX Part Five FINALE: The Inglourious Llamas.

This Incredible Cave Temple Was Also an Astronomical Timepiece

This temple in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan isn’t just an architectural marvel. It’s also an astronomical time keeper, designed to welcome the sunlight only on certain days of the year. Photo by Poco a poco The city of Petra is known throughout the world as a marvel — its buildings are carved…