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Scientists capture first ever signal from the beginning of the Universe

It looks like an explosion from an 80s game, but you’re looking at the first direct proof of the event that started the Universe—the Big Bang. Those black lines represent the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background, which “could have been produced by gravitational waves created by inflation” as predicted by Einstein. If confirmed, it…

Twist people’s minds to make them think disgusting words are nice

Words don’t just convey a meaning, but a feeling as well. Pleasant words like “ice cream” make us feel happy, while unpleasant words like “toe jam” make us feel queasy. But there is a way to make people experience bad words as good, if only briefly. In one particular experiment, dealing with subliminal words, subjects…

Watch This Phone Screen-Protector Handle a Drill and Knives with Ease

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as a deep gouge on your new phone’s screen. Still, it can be hard to bring yourself to put on some stupid-looking screen protector. Unless it’s as tough as this one that we attacked with a hammer. And a drill. Sir Lancelot’s Armor’s “The Holy Grail” is a lot impressive…

9-year-old kid debates asteroid destruction with Neil deGrasse Tyson

Seriously folks, you need to watch 9-year-old Jacob debating about how to deflect or destroy asteroids that may hit Earth with Cosmos’ host Neil de Grasse Tyson. The non-Newtonian fluid line is pure gold. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Every young Earth creationist needs to watch this episode of Cosmos

In the second episode of Cosmos, Neil DeGrasse Tyson tackles the greatest story science has ever told: the story of life. Tyson begins with the evolution of dogs from wolves via artificial selection, or if you prefer, the domestication of humans by dogs. Wolves that were friendlier, tamer and more loyal to humans were selectively…

Astronomers Discover First Direct Proof of the Big Bang Expansion

Somebody’s going to win a Nobel Prize. At least that’s what the physics community is saying after the announcement on Monday that a Harvard team has found the first direct evidence of cosmic inflation right after the Big Bang. It’s more proof that the Big Bang really was the beginning of it all. https://gizmodo.com/this-animation-explains-the-big-bang-better-than-school-1535824886 The…

The Woods Around Chernobyl Aren’t Decaying

Like a landscape of the undead, the woods outside Chernobyl are having trouble decomposing. The catastrophic meltdown and ensuing radiation blast of April 1986 has had long-term effects on the very soil and ground cover of the forested region, essentially leaving the dead trees and leaf litter unable to decompose. The result is a forest…

Looks like people have been running into to some problems using Gchat. We’re looking into the issue—but how’s Gchat looking on your end?

This Week’s TV: The Suicide Squad is unleashed on Arrow!

This week’s Arrow opens up the DC Universe a little wider with the Suicide Squad—and we’re excited to see what happens. Plus, the Community crew is playing another game of Dungeons & Dragons, The CW premieres a new post-apocalyptic TV show, and Adventure Time remembers Billy in its season finale. Check out all the details…

Huge part of a Delta airliner’s wing breaks off at takeoff

Missing panels and gremlins top the list of things you don’t want to see on a plane’s wing at 30,000 feet. But on Delta flight 2412 from Orlando to Atlanta yesterday, one passenger captured this unnerving scene: A big panel came loose and fell during take-off. The panel reportedly came loose and fell off as…

How NASA’s Supercritical Wings Save Airlines Millions Every Year

Throughout the 1950s and 60s, aviation engineers struggled to overcome an important issue: That planes became increasingly difficult to control, the closer they got to the sound barrier. It wasn’t until NASA strapped a pair of custom-made wings onto this fighter that supersonic flight became not just feasible, but downright commonplace. See, as a plane…

Heal Yourself, Skeletor is the internet’s greatest accomplishment

Daily affirmations delivered by He-Man’s nemesis Skeletor. That is all. Website Heal Yourself, Skeletor wants to lend you that helping hand you may need via skinless, screeching He-Man villain Skeletor. Nothing says “you can do it” quite like the shrill screams of a reanimated skull head. Truly, we are gazing at greatness. Enjoy… [Via Neatorama]

The (floating) sun also rises in Sydney Harbor—in this case, for Opera Australia’s outdoor production of Madama Butterfly. Each night, the sailcloth orb is inflated by two fans and illuminated by 12 LED lights. “Orb master” Andrew Tindal-Davies sits inside, making sure the sun rises without a hitch. [James Morgan for Opera Australia]

Mac Users, hop over to the App Store today and download a free copy of Microsoft OneNote.

Science says go ahead and eat the food you dropped on the floor, maybe

Good news, fellow hungry yet clumsy diners! The “five-second rule” may just have some credence to it after all — depending on just where you dropped your food. https://gizmodo.com/is-the-five-second-rule-too-strict-5839587 Microbiologist Anthony Hilton at Aston University had his students look into how much E.Coli and Staph bacteria collected on food that had just been dropped on…

Graphene Could Give You Predator-Vision Contact Lenses One Day

Imagine a future where your contact lenses gave you Predator vision. One day, it might happen, thanks to graphene. Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed the first room-temperature light detector that can see the entire infrared spectrum of colors. And it can be small and compact, because graphene is insane and only one…

All the airplanes that have mysteriously vanished since 1948

As this Bloomberg map shows, Malaysian flight 370 is not the first flight to mysteriously disappear. 83 flights have vanished since 1948—80 of them never to be found again (the dots in yellow). This map only includes flights capable of carrying more than 14 passengers. Some more curious stats: Five planes were missing in the…

How Biotech Could Make Life in Prison a Living Hell

At the University of Oxford, a team of scholars led by the philosopher Rebecca Roache has begun thinking about the ways futuristic technologies might transform punishment. In January, I spoke with Roache and her colleagues Anders Sandberg and Hannah Maslen about emotional enhancement, ‘supercrimes’, and the ethics of eternal damnation. What follows is a condensed…

​The Walking Dead trades cheap scares for a brutal, gut-wrenching shock

Holy hell. We all know The Walking Dead can be a violent show; we know zombies can appear from behind any corner; we even expect major characters to die at any moment. But last night, “The Grove” gave us a shocker that rivaled both the fate of Sofia and Carl having to shoot his dead…

Aurora over Canada

Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day with a thematically-green aurora that was photographed by astronaut Koichi Wakata from the ISS on January 14th. In the same theme, here’s a lovely video of a different aurora captured over Canada in February 2012, and Ghost in the Machine dug out a video of celebrating on the ISS. https://observationdeck.kinja.com/st-patricks-day-in-space-1545490765