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Scientists Use Graphene to Make Bionic, Super-Powered Plants

A team of chemical engineers and biochemists has managed to change how plants work. Well, to be exact, they’ve made plants work better by embedding carbon nanotubes into the plants’ leaves so that they absorb more light. Put simply, they’ve created bionic plants. The technique is not quite perfect. “We envisioned them as new hybrid…

Microsoft has a special deal for Windows XP users. If you buy a new PC, the company will give you a $50 gift card, 90 days of tech support, and free data transfer. Or, in the words of one Wall Street Journal reporter, “Microsoft is bribing people to stop using Windows XP.”

#KissMeImBicep2

I get the feeling that the BICEP-2 cosmologists are going to be celebrating hard this Saint Patrick’s Day:

This Sneaky Trash Can Lid Lures Flies to Their Death

Just like Romeo and Juliet, flies are tragically destined to crave their one true love: Pungent, moldy, rotten garbage. And thanks to this ingenious trash can design that traps flies only to have them starve, the flies’ love can prove just as fatal as Shakespeare’s. Envisioned by designers Chang Shih-hsun and Hung Jui-yuan, the trash…

Incredible Discovery Provides Evidence for the Big Bang Theory

Today, Harvard’s servers were brought to their knees dealing with international demand to watch a press conference about … gravitational waves. It’s no surprise: as physicist Marc Kamionkowski reflected, “It’s not everyday you wake up and learn something completely new about the early universe.” Kamionkowski and his team were there to announce that B-modes of…

How Would You Rebuild Society After the Apocalypse?

We love to plot our own demise — people can’t seem to get enough of stories about how our end will come to pass. But what about a new beginning? Instead of how we fall down, let’s talk about how we get back up. The young men and women of The CW’s new show The…

​Razor Crazy Cart Review: Even More Fun Than It Looks

When I was a kid, the Big Wheel endgame was to pedal down the driveway, then peel out in a Mario Kart-esque sliding turn. That typically meant more skinned chins and elbows than glory. Razor’s Crazy Cart, though, lets me drift to my heart’s content. You want fun? This thing’s got fun. What Is It?…

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]