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New Light-Emitting Solar Cells Could Be Used as Smartphone Displays

In the future, the glass that coats our skyscrapers could also serve as the power plant that keeps the lights on. This is not news. However, with an amazing new material being developed in Singapore, that same glass could also turn your city’s windows into skyscraper-sized displays. https://gizmodo.com/color-solar-panels-let-stained-glass-windows-produce-ch-1535412144 Researchers from the Nanyang Technological University just…

Chuck Wendig And Sam Sykes Explain “The True Test Of A Writer”

Chuck Wendig and Sam Sykes are two fantasy authors who’ve been leaving their mark on the genre. We sat down with them at the Tucson Festival of Books recently, and they explained why they’re drawn to taboo subjects. Wendig is well-known for Blackbirds, the first of his three novels about Miriam Black, a woman who…

Undulating through the air, the winning design for China’s pavilion at Expo Milan 2015 resembles a field of wind-swept wheat. The wave-like roof of bamboo panels is both a play on the expo’s theme, “Feeding the Planet – Energy for Life,” and a reimagining of China’s traditional shingled roofs. [Studio Link-Arc viaMy Modern Met]

Android Smartphones Can Finally Get Predator Vision Too

Earlier in the year, FLIR got us all hot and bothered by revealing a thermal vision smartphone case that could actually see our excitement. Unfortunately it’s only for iPhone users, and won’t be available until the early summer. But Android fans will have the last laugh with their own thermal imaging add-on—the Therm-App—that’s already available.…

​The Gender-Flipping Martial Artist Who Created The US Anime Industry

It’s hard to overstate importance of Ranma ½ to the U.S. anime fandom. Long before Dragonball Z or Pokémon, Rumiko Takahashi’s martial arts comedy about a boy who changed genders whenever he’s hit with hot or cold water created the first wave of anime fans who actually knew the word anime. And now Ranma ½…

More Reasons To Stop Watching Animal Planet

You already knew that Animal Planet had a way of distorting reality. They present documentaries about the existence of mermaids and Bigfoot and only barely acknowledge that it’s all nonsense. But now evidence is mounting that some of the shows they air actually harm animals. http://gawker.com/your-favorite-animal-planet-show-is-fake-and-super-abu-1506776931 Earlier this year, Mother Jones published the results of…

What’s The Most Wonderful Moment Where Somebody States The Obvious?

Sometimes a crowning moment of insanity isn’t truly excellent, unless someone spells out what just happened. Sometimes the most quotable character is the one who just has to blurt out exactly what’s up. But what’s the greatest moment where someone states the obvious? Please include a picture, book cover or clip to signify this awesome…

Of Course It Is: American Horror Story 4th Season Titled “Freak Show”

Because “Absolute Shit Show” was too long, American Horror Story’s fourth season finally has a title — and even more details. We cannot wait for the carnival of chaos that will be the newly titled American Horror Story: Freak Show. Last week FX spilled the beans that the new season of AHS would be set…

Crazy videos of fearless guys in kayak falling down huge waterfalls

Another thing that I didn’t know was a thing. People who like to drop through big waterfalls, like Dane Jackson does in this video on the 60-foot La Tomata waterfall in central Veracruz, Mexico. And there’s more, like the 189-foot drop a reader posted below. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…

The Best Nature Apps For Springtime Adventures Outdoors

With spring finally in the air, it’s time to grab your phone and go outside. No, not so that you can check your email on a hike, but because there are plenty of other ways that the little computer in you palm can actually make the outdoors more fun. We’ve rounded up some of the…

What Happens When Scientists Ask Whether Milk Makes Mucus

Occasionally, when you are idly clicking around the web, you strike gold. Sometimes it’s a kitten video. Sometimes it’s a study about whether or not milk fills you with mucus. I love everything about this study. Supposedly it is meant to see how dairy products affect the production of mucus, but actually it is one…

Snapshots of Sand in Mid-Air Look Like Otherworldly Explosions

Armed with a shovel and a camera with a super-high shutter speed, photographer Claire Droppert made her way around a series of Dutch beaches and created these crazy Sand Creatures. The airborne formations look like the Sandman‘s brethren caught in the act of transformation. The pics are the first part of a larger series exploring…

On Helix, We Got the Awkwardest Reveal Scene Ever

Friday night’s episode of Helix is the penultimate one for the series, so by all rights it should have been packed with intriguing reveals and asskicking. Instead it was just kind of awkward and meandering. Spoilers ahead. Let’s get our biggest disappointment out of the way first. For the entire series, Hiroshi has been making…

Sunrise on the Soyuz Rollout

Soyuz is rolling into position for launch day! The rocket will take off from Kazakhstan in the middle of this week, carrying Expedition 39 to the International Space Station. Sunrise over the Baikonur Cosmodrone in Kazakhstan on Sunday, shortly before the Soyuz spacecraft was rolled into position. The Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft was rolled into position…

This Cedar Cooler Promises To Totally Class Up Your Next Tailgate Party

Tailgate parties aren’t exactly known as the classiest of get-togethers. But thanks to Williams Sonoma’s new cedar-encased cooler, even a Sunday afternoon spent in a parking lot with thousands of drunken sports fans can feel like you’re having high tea with the queen. Functionally, this cooler works like any other. You just fill it with…

Avengers 2’s Quicksilver Looks Nearly As Goofy As X-Men’s Version

A group of set pics from Avengers 2: Age of Ultron have revealed what the mutant siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will look like! As we’d hoped, the Marvel movie universe’s Quicksilver looks less ridiculous than his counterpart in Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Barely. Image by Photopix/Getty Images, via Huffington Post. I think…

Clever Photoshop Street Art is “Erasing” London

Ever walk down the street wishing you could erase the ugly billboards and other urban detritus? These Photoshop-themed street stickers posted around London may be the closest you’ll ever get. The project is called Street Eraser, and its effect of superimposing the ubiquitous visual tableau of Photoshop’s checkered background onto city surfaces is surreal. Those…

Shigeru Ban Wins the Pritzker Prize, Architecture’s Highest Honor

The Pritzker Prize is a little bit like the Oscars of architecture: It usually ends up being a chance for everyone to air their complaints about the industry. But every so often, there’s a real cause for celebration—such is the case today, when the jury announced that Japanese architect Shigeru Ban would become 2014’s recipient.…

Upcoming Genre Movies That Aren’t Sequels, Remakes or Reboots

Sometimes it seems like every movie is either a sequel or a reboot. They remade Robocop and Godzilla. They’re releasing sequels to the reboots of Spider-Man and Planet of the Apes. But there are still tons of original films in the pipeline. Here are over 50 forthcoming movies that aren’t sequels, remakes or prequels. Note:…

Adventure Time Fan Made A Snap Bracelet Replica Of Finn’s Grass Sword

During this past season of Adventure Time, Finn acquired the Grass Sword, which wraps around his wrist when not in use. One fan noted that Finn’s sword has a lot in common with those collapsible snap bracelets—and used them to make his very own Grass Sword. reddit user JoshuaQuail showed off his snapping Grass Sword…