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Why rhyming phrases are more persuasive

Want to convince someone of something? Make up a rhyme. They may think it’s cutesy, but they’ll still believe it more readily than if it were stated plainly. At least until they are asked to think about it a little. Rhymes are easy to remember because they contain their conclusion in their premise. “Red sky…

AC Router with a Free Modem, WeMo Light Switch, WD My Passport [Deals]

If you buy a new router today, you probably want to get one with 802.11AC, and if you get a new modem, you definitely want the Motorola SURFboard SB6141. Today, you can kill two birds with one stone at Newegg. Just buy a Linksys AC1900 router, add in promo code EMCPHWB92, and you’ll get the…

The real reason why Einstein came to believe in an expanding universe

According to legend, Albert Einstein changed his mind about the static state of the universe in 1931 after astronomer Edwin Hubble showed him evidence that the universe was expanding. A recent paper shows this is a myth — and that Einstein needed a lot more to change his mind. The traditional story is that Hubble’s…

Researchers Build the First Stretchy, Bendy Light Circuit

Stretchable circuits are going to enable our wearable tech future, but they’re super finicky to create. It was just under two years ago that scientists nailed stretchable electronic circuitry; now, Belgian researchers have come up with a flexible light circuit that carries light signals even when stretched. https://gizmodo.com/scientists-have-finally-made-stretchable-circuitry-5923166 Flexible light circuits are nothing new; fiber…

Watch Kate Upton posing in zero gravity in a bikini because science

Sports Illustrated had a wonderful idea: Demonstrate how zero gravity works on muscular and fat body masses by putting Kate Upton in a bikini and taking her in a parabolic flight. I have to admit that I like her better with gravity. Like Kate, you can also enjoy zero gravity—you only need to pay for…

A portrait of Steve Jobs made entirely out of e-waste

It seems fitting that the man whose company produced tons of e-waste should be immortalized in this way. San Francisco collage artist Jason Mecier built this incredible portrait of Apple founder Steve Jobs out of 20 pounds of discarded phones, memory sticks, boards, and more. Apple products like iPhones and iPods make up an enormous…

Training for Underground Warfare at a Nuclear Weapons Complex in Texas

In the early, angst-filled days of the Cold War, miners starting carving the insides out of a hill between Dallas and Austin, Texas. The workers didn’t know what they were building, but on a 7,000 acres base—it was a huge underground facility. At that point in time, it was only known as “Project 76.” This…

12 Famous Lines of Dialogue (That Everyone Always Misquotes)

The greatest works of pop culture are also the most insanely quotable. We all love to swap lines of dialogue from our favorite books, movies and TV shows — but too bad we usually get them wrong. Here are 12 famous quotes — that are actually misquotes. 12) “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”…

Chevron: Sorry Our Gas Well Exploded, Here’s a Free Pizza

If you live in the small, rural town of Bobtown, Pennyslvania, you woke up to quite a scare last week courtesy of a pretty horrible explosion over at Chevron’s nearby fracking site. So how’s Chevron going to quell fears about that giant column of flames and possible residual toxins? Who cares! Your next large pizza…

All of Art & Science Has Culminated in Kate Upton’s Zero-G Bikini Shoot

Behold the pinnacle of human invention. Sports Illustrated had the fantastic idea to shoot supermodel Kate Upton into the sky and then film her while she floated around in a bikini. Now we all know what Kate Upton looks like at Zero-G in a swimsuit. The answer, unsurprisingly, is great. This might be our Icarus…

Who is riding a dragon in this sneak peek at Legend of Korra Book 3?

What is ahead for The Legend of Korra after the world-altering events of Book 2? This quick peek shows Korra in action, a shirtless Tenzin, and a mysterious dragon rider. Even though this is an ultra-brief look at Book 3 (and it’s in Dutch), it’s nice to see Korra back in Republic City. Hopefully Lin…

A $35,000 Renovation Turned This Suburban Home Into a Cat Palace

You love your pet a lot. You buy the fancy food and only the best toys. You have a collection of sweaters so she doesn’t get cold in winter. But do you love your pet enough to spend $35,000 converting your spacious California home into an animal fantasy land? This California man does. It’s sort…

Artists creates awesome artificial glowing nebulae over city skies

I love Janet Echelman’s floating alien sculptures. I want them to be everywhere, like otherworldly guardians of the night. Urban skies—devoid of stars thanks to light pollution—are a lot more beautiful with these stunning nebulae in them. There’s a Kickstarter campaign to collect funds to build a new 700-foot long floating sculpture in Vancouver, her…

Was This The First Robot Ever Arrested?

On August 18, 1982 the Beverly Hills Police Department took a rather unusual perp into custody: a robot called DC-2. The crime? Illegally distributing business cards and generally causing a commotion on North Beverly Drive. It was probably the first time a robot had ever been arrested. When BHPD approached DC-2, the person operating it…

Earth’s First Animals Barely Needed Any Oxygen

There’s a longstanding theory which says oxygen-rich oceans were a key requirement for complex life to emerge on Earth. But a new study involving sea sponges upsets this notion, showing that primitive animals may have been able to survive with hardly any oxygen at all. The first microbes appeared on Earth about 3.6 billion years…

Cover Story: The Fascinating Anatomy of a Magazine Cover

You know the saying: you can’t judge a book by its cover. With magazines, it’s pretty much the opposite. The cover of a magazine is the unified identity for a whole host of ideas, authors, and designers who have created the eclectic array of stories and articles and materials within each issue. And, some would…

The World’s Fastest Jet-Truck Rockets Through a Sub-:07 Quarter Mile

How do you move three tons of Peterbuilt tractor-trailer more than 1300 feet in less time than it takes to read this sentence? By strapping on a trio of jet engines, obviously. Built in 1984 by drag racing legend Les Shockley, the Shockwave packs three Pratt & Whitney J34-48 engines—the same used in the T2A…

The New Gothic anthology ditches romance for fear and gloom

The New Gothic is a collection of unsettling tales, including a story by horror grandmaster Ramsey Campbell, that seeks to regain gothic territory ceded to defanged vampires and bantering demon hunters. It’s an ambitious undertaking to revise the definition of gothic literature. What exactly “gothic” is has been under revision and argument since the term…

Guardians of the Galaxy teaser is glorious sci-fi eye candy

I don’t care what they say about Guardians of the Galaxy. I wanted to see this movie before this teaser trailer, talking raccoons and whatnot, but now I want to see this space opera even more. It’s really going to be some serious sci-fi eye candy. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join…

A potential Nobel-winning stem-cell study is now under investigation for irregularities. Haruko Obokata rocked the science world last month by showing how stem-cells could be reprogrammed by an acid bath. Japan’s RIKEN institute has now launched an inquiry following allegations of duplicate images and numerous failed attempts to replicate the results.