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Teenager 3D-Prints Prosthetic Hand for Adorable 3rd Grader in Need

An enterprising 16-year-old in Kansas recently 3D-printed at prosthetic hand for his 9-year-old family friend, giving the young tyke the use of fingers for the first time in his life. And he did it all at the local county library. Mason Wilde, the teenager with the 3D printing skills, first became interested in making the…

A planet whose seasons are impossible to predict

Thank to Earth’s stable axial tilt, our seasons are highly predictable. But there’s a planet out there called Kepler-413b that’s wobbling so wildly, its seasons are in a constant state of flux. The planet, discovered by Kepler, spins around a close pair of orange and red dwarf stars every 66 days. It precesses, or wobbles,…

29 Common Myths About Booze, Debunked

The one and only Hannah Hart (of My Drunk Kitchen) recently stopped in at Mental Floss to guest host an episode devoted to deflating some common misconceptions and rumors about alcohol. There’s some great rapid-fire debunkery to be had here, including a few myths we’ve busted in greater depth in the past, like the misconception…

Electronics retailer Newegg just launched Newegg Premier, an Amazon Prime-like subscription service that offers free expedited shipping, free returns, and exclusive deals—all for $50 a year. [Newegg Premier via Ars Technica]

This cybernetic hand is the first to give amputees a sense of touch

You’re looking at LifeHand2, a prosthetic limb that allows amputees to feel sensory-rich information in real time. The futuristic device, which transmits signals to nerves in the upper arm, is not yet commercially available or portable — but it represents an important proof-of-concept as researchers work to create more life-like assistive devices. To date, researchers…

In Jimi Hendrix’s final interview, he calls himself a mad scientist

In this animated version of Jimi Hendrix’s lost final interview, he calls himself a mad scientist, talks about the place of fantasy in his music, and expounds on his favorite saying: “When things get too heavy just call me helium, the lightest known gas to man.” The interview took place in London with Keith Altham…

A Gorgeous Inkless Pen That Never Needs a Refill

Pininfarina is known for turning Ferraris and other exotic cars into even more impressive works of art, so it’s a safe assumption that its new 4.EVER Pininfarina Cambiano writing instrument is going to cost a small fortune when available. But with an inkless design that never needs a new cartridge, it could eventually pay for…

A Subway Map of All the Best Coffee Shops In NYC

Here’s a map that shows you all the best places to get your coffee fix in New York, based on the subway line. How convenient! We could sit here and argue all day on how the map doesn’t list all the different branches of the same shops, or that it leaves out all the great…

Blimey! This Sherlock Lego set may become official!

This fan-made “Sherlock” Lego set may soon be a reality! Having achieved 10,000 votes on Cuusoo, the LEGO Group will now provide an official response. Based on the BBC drama “Sherlock”, starring the dreamy Benedict Cumberbatch (swoon!) this Lego set, designed by Flailx recreates 221 B Baker Street. As shown the set contains 370 pieces.…

The makers of The LEGO Movie take apart their creation brick by brick

Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Chris McKay pulled off a miracle: They turned what could have been a massive commercial for LEGO toys and turned it into a vast, beautiful science fiction world that channels The Matrix, Time Bandits and whole lot of heart. In our exclusive interview, the directors explain how they pulled it…

The Back to the Future musical is opening in London

Back to the Future: The Musical is going to open on London’s West End in 2015. There had better be a “Great Scott” tap dancing number, or we will leave. The film’s original screenwriters, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, have been threatening to make a Back to the Future musical for years. And now it’s…

Photos of Movie Theaters Show the Former Grandeur of Cinema

Your garden-variety multiplex probably resembles a concrete box with interiors sporting giant movie ads and sterile seating areas. But there are still a number of surviving theaters that show off the glamour and scope of cinema in its heyday. Photographer Franck Bohbot’s recent series documents just that. Bohbot’s beautiful medium format images portray the ornate,…

Let This Periodic Table Of Storytelling Destroy Your Writer’s Block

Writing is many things: a job, a hobby, a personal imperative, an act, an art, a gigantic pain in the ass. But is it a science? The Periodic Table of Storytelling breaks down narrative elements into a familiar form—though one that liberal artsy folks probably haven’t thought about since high school. Here’s how it works.…

Crazy Oculus Rift Rig Turns Any Room Into a Holodeck Full of Zombies

The Oculus Rift is already great when you’re just sitting down, but it’s easy to imagine an awesome future where you walk around with it on. A holodeck on your face. Well, that future’s already here. Meet the Inversion VR system from Zero Latency. Unlike a holodeck, you can’t just walk in though. To get…

Watch this endless ship crawling by like an Imperial Star Destroyer

Watching this gigantic cargo ship passing right under your feet is mighty impressive—like watching Darth Vader’s Imperial Star Destroyer zooming by in the opening scene of Star Wars, but from the top. However, despite the impressive display, the 93496-ton S-Class cargo ship Arnold Maersk is not the largest cargo ship in the world. She is…

10 Times Captain Kirk Actually Faced a No-Win Scenario

According to the classic movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, James T. Kirk has never faced a no-win scenario. Except that anyone who’s ever watched the original Star Trek knows that’s not true. He faced them all the time. Here are 10 no-win scenarios that Kirk faced. Before we get started, let’s acknowledge…

New Robocop movie to explore the themes the first Robocop took care of

Hey, did you know the new Robocop reboot will explore the nature of free will, and the fine line between human and machine? You probably did, since that’s exactly what the first Robocop movie did. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch this featurette, with oodles of new footage. Part one is above, and part…

Snore Sensing Pillow Automatically Nudges You To Roll Over

It seems like snoring has become more of an epidemic than any of us have realized. At CES, Sleep Number revealed its IQ bed that lets bedmates silence a snoring partner. But now there’s a pillow that can stop a deafening snorer all by itself. Using a built-in microphone with adjustable sensitivity, the pillow listens…

​Why a Single-Molecule LED Could Be a Big Deal

Technologically speaking, smaller is virtually always better. So it’s perhaps no surprise that scientists have developed the first ever single-molecule LED. But why is it potentially such a big deal? A team from the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials in Strasbourg, France, has developed the new device. Formed from a single polythiophene wire…

Patrick Stewart performs a somber monologue as China’s dying moon rover

China’s Jade Rabbit (Yutu) lunar rover has broken down on the moon, and Sir Patrick Stewart has employed his thespian talents to pay tribute to the plucky robot explorer. On last night’s Daily Show, Stewart dressed up as Jade Rabbit and bade a (goofy) bittersweet farewell to humanity. If you want to skip ahead to…