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What Can President Coolidge Teach Us About Sex?

In 1955, researcher Frank A. Beach first used the term “Coolidge Effect” in a publication to a describe a biological phenomenon in which males become interested in sex when introduced to new partners, even after refusing sex from familiar (but still receptive) partners. The origin for the moniker comes from an old joke: “It seems…

What the hell kind of ending was that, True Detective?

Brilliant, weird noir series True Detective had its season finale last night, and the ending probably wasn’t what most viewers expected. There were a lot of problems with the way this mystery was resolved, but the show did do one thing gloriously right. Spoilers ahead! I’m going to start with what I consider to be…

A graph showing all the languages whose words invaded English

Languages are evolving, living things, a fact that this graphic that charts just which languages English has been taking its loanwords from over time makes clear. The graphic is the work of Philip Durkin the head etymologist over at the Oxford English Dictionary and offers a great look at the global influences that come into…

City-Dwelling Spiders Build Webs That Don’t Work

In welcome news for urban arachnophobes everywhere, it turns out that certain types of spiders just aren’t cut out for city life. Apparently, spinning webs on concrete and steel kills the vibrations spiders need to sense prey—meaning dinner ain’t coming easy. In order to see how man-made structures affected spiders’ abilities to catch prey, a…

Retracted: Study That Found Acid Converts Blood Cells Into Stem Cells

The team of Japanese scientists who published a study trumpeted as a groundbreaking advancement in stem cell biology are now asking that it be retracted. The study claimed that by dipping blood cells in acid, scientists had discovered they could turn them into stem cells. But since its publication at the end of January, many…

Anne Rice to bring Lestat and the Vampire Chronicles back from the dead

See what I did there? Anyways: Anne Rice announced on her son Christopher’s internet variety hour/thing “The Dinner Party Show” that her popular Vampire Chronicles series was no longer finished, and that Lestat is going to return from his metaphorical grave. Rice claimed that the tenth book in the series, Blood Canticle, was the final…

A new movie about Chicago; an unbelievable road diet in Buenos Aires creates 100 blocks of pedestrian space; and a tour of the vibrant city of Accra. Plus, another idea for solving San Francisco’s housing crisis, and everyone’s favorite cokehead mayor hits the late night talk show circuit, all in this week’s Urban Reads. A…

This might not be a good sign

We’d been having some weird weather on the east coast, but this was different. None of us had ever seen lights and flashes of metal come whirling out of the clouds before. Nicolas Ferrand is a concept artist in Montreal who has worked in videogames and television. You can see more of his art on…

These Gorgeous Screenprints Showcase a City’s Most Famous Structures

As part of a project called “Shapes of Cities,” London-based designer Yoni Alter takes a handful of iconic buildings from various metropolitan areas and silhouettes their shapes in a range of colors, overlapping the forms to create a single abstracted, impossible skyline. While there are plenty of posters that highlight a city’s best buildings, Alter’s…

The Proper Reading Order for the Star Trek Novels in a Handy Flowchart

Have you been wanting to dive into the world of Star Trek novels, but aren’t sure where to start? Check out the Almighty Star Trek Lit-verse Reading Order Flowchart, which lays out which books should come earliest on your reading list. Created by TrekBBS members Thrawn and 8of5, this flowchart doesn’t suggest one single starting…

Scientists Hacked a Blu-Ray Player to Test for Salmonella

As much of the world migrates its movie needs from optical disks to hard drives, a team of chemists from Spain found a new use for a regular old Blu-Ray player. They turned it into a cheap but functional medical device that could help the third world. The hack itself is actually sort of simple.…

These flash science fiction stories will keep you up all night

The six-word science fiction stories you wrote for us this time around covered some very dark worlds, ranging from the most perfect supernatural Craigslist ad on the internet to aliens whose darkest fear is being found by us. Here are just some of our favorites: Room for rent, cheap. NOT HAUNTED. — Long Lost Albatross,…

Ride an Outdoor Elevator to a Walkway in the Sky

If you’ve ever walked around in a hilly city, you’ve probably done your share of avoiding uphill paths. Hills have a way of carving dividing lines into a city. In Pamplona, Spain, two neighborhoods separated by elevation could be connected by this striking new outdoor elevator. The elevator would replace what is now a precarious…

A Menagerie of Church Gargoyles Includes Aliens and Astronauts

The traditional gargoyle is a horrendous creature who leers out of medieval church walls. But people have continued making gargoyles right up into the modern day, bringing science fictional flourishes to these fantasy creations. A Xenomorph on Paisley Abbey, Scotland, built in the early 14th century Many of the original gargoyles were replaced during the…

The Alien Baby Powerloader costume has been upgraded, and it is bonkers

Sorry, Jason Smith and child — your Alien Baby Powerloader costume was quite impressive, but Carsten Riewe and his one-year-old daughter have perfected the costume, and Alien Baby Powerloaders will never be the same again. All you have to do is read Riewe’s video description to know why: The arms and legs are full moveable…

Terrifying collision between airplane and skydiver, everyone survives

This accident could have been a total disaster, but fortunately it just ended with one ruined Cessna airplane, a ripped parachute, and no victims. MyFox Tampa Bay got these incredible photos of the mid-air collision between an airplane and skydiver. More photos and information here. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…

Americans Are Riding Public Transit In Record-Breaking Numbers

Visit any major U.S. city and you’ll likely see the anecdotal evidence that use of public transit is steadily growing in popularity. Last year, however, Americans reached an important milestone: according to a new study by the American Public Transit Association, U.S. residents took almost 10.7 billion trips on transit, the highest number since 1956.…

The World’s Thinnest LED Is Only 3 Atoms Thick

LEDs have come a long ways. From the early 70s when a bulky LED watch cost thousands of dollars to LG’s announcement last month that it had created an OLED TV as thin as a magazine, these glowing little bits of magic have become wonderfully cheap and impossibly small. But guess what: they’re about to…

The Ending of Portal 2 Dramatically Rendered as LEGO Bookends

This LEGO creation doesn’t just give us plastic brick versions of Chell, Wheatley, and the Space Core; it also captures Portal 2’s final confrontation—all while keeping your books in place. Portal 2 spoilers within. Builder Lego Junkie came up with this playful scene, which shows Chell hanging onto Wheatley’s head (which is attached to GLaDOS’…

Gigantic Lego St. Pancras Station is 120,000 bricks of brilliant!

Warren Elsmore, a former IT consultant, gave up his job over a year ago to pursue his passion: Making badass buildings with Lego. His St. Pancras station build is incredibly detailed and quite impressive. It’s made the rounds at Lego events and conventions around Europe and at 120,000 bricks, it’s a pretty epic creation. St…