Latest

8 Otherworldly Songs Performed On Instruments Made Of Ice

We’re smack-dab in the middle of winter and baby, it’s cold outside (or so I’ve heard; I live over in LOL). I imagine that it might be tough to find the beauty in yet another day of sub-zero temperatures, but for some enterprising creative types, bone-chilling frost is more than a major nuisance—it’s the stuff…

Watch NASA’s Amazing Monkey Robot Walk, Climb and Clear Obstacles

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory drew some raised eyebrows when it first announced its latest hi-tech robot, based on primates, called Robosimian. But now it’s being put into action—and it’s amazing. https://gizmodo.com/robosimian-nasa-s-new-monkey-robot-designed-for-search-824994628 Robosimian—also known, amusingly, as Clyde—was JPL’s official entry at the DARPA Robotics Challenge in December 2013. Designed to mimic the posture and movements of…

This Is What Happens When You Give Conan a GoPro

Conan may be funny, but he’s hardly the most extreme of characters. So what the hell use would he have for a GoPro? Um, to film himself drinking from a cup? Eating a sandwich? Playing trombone? Yeah, it’s a complete waste of a GoPro. But it’s kinda funny too. [Team Coco]

This “backpack cannon” will come handy in the zombie apocalypse

KitUp’s headline for the new Smith & Wesson .460-caliber revolver is “Smith & Wesson Unveils Backpack Cannon.” Judging by its size, it looks like a hand cannon to me, yes. Or like a power tool that can kill you. “An ideal firearm for your backpack in the backcountry,” they continue. And more: “revolvers have long…

China Is Testing a New Ultra-High Speed Missile Vehicle

According to Pentagon officials, China’s military has begun testing of a new ultra-high speed missile vehicle, which is designed to deliver warheads through US missile defenses. The Washington Free Beacon reports that test of the new hypersonic glide vehicle—referred to as WU-14 by the Pentagon—were carried out last week on January 9th. The aircraft was…

The secret anatomy of toys and animated movie characters

I love the work artist/designer/mad doctor Jason Freeny. His Moist Productions shop has been showing us the fascinating humanoid anatomy of toys, animated characters and other objects for years. His new creations have reached new awesomely gross heights. Here’s a collection of some of his masterworks: SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join…

What Happens When Water Freezes in a Box So Strong It Can’t Expand?

Some readers may recall a science class in which an excitable teacher walked to the front of the class to show off a small, cracked steel container, seemingly damaged by an incredibly powerful, but tiny force; only for said teacher to reveal that the damage had been done by nothing more than water. However, what…

This fantastic alien planet is actually a star

National Geographic’s picture of the day is beautiful and otherworldly, like an aerial view of a fantastic alien planet. But this planet is a star. A sea star exquisitely photographed by Peet J van Eeden at Pomene Estuary, Mozambique. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sony’s Xperia T2 Ultra: 2014′s First Gigantaphone

Sony’s announced a new mid-to-high-end “phablet” model today, with its Xperia T2 Ultra arriving in both normal and dual-SIM options. It combines a 1080p display with a 13-Megapixel camera, with Sony plumbing its quad-core Qualcomm MSM8928 chipset into 1GB of RAM. Sony’s even gone and used the word “selfie” in its press release, suggesting its…

This Giant Pin Screen Will Render Your Face at the Winter Olympics

If you head along to this year’s Sochi Winter Olympics, you could be the face of the games. Quite literally, actually, thanks to the British architect Asif Khan‘s Megaface—a giant pinscreen on the side of a building that will morph to display the scanned faces of visitors. Forming one side of Russian carrier Megafon’s pavilion…

Google has just promoted its licensing rights filter right to the top of its image search, making it way easier to find images that you’re actually allowed to use.

You Can Build This Elegant Raspberry Pi Tablet Yourself

Hey, a new tablet! Crisp 10-inch touchscreen? Check. Luxurious carbon fiber and wood case? Present. Huge 10,000mAh battery? Yep. Linux-based and built at home? Err… This chunky-yet-oddly-elegant tablet was designed and built from scratch by Michael Castor. Powered by one of those open source Raspberry Pi mini computers, it’s affectionately known as the PiPad. Castor…

What are these 20 things that happened on the Internet in 2013?

Your two week long hangover may have prevented you from realizing this but… it’s 2014 now. That means 2013 is over and done with and like any other year, needs to be wrapped up nicely in one lovely drawing. This drawing, commissioned by Syzygy and created by Brosmind, sums up all that has happened on…

How the Carbon Cycle Dictates Our Lives

Carbon is the fundamental element which all life on our planet is based on—but it’s also much maligned for its role in climate change. So which is it, friend or foe? The truth is: both. We’ve got a lot to be grateful for when it comes to carbon, but we also ought not pump too…

Past and Future Ambient

Ambient music has never been much improved upon by veering too far from Brian Eno’s initial conception of it — that is, of a music that serves equally well as both foreground and background. But there are more vectors to ambient than merely its relative prominence in the listening experience. Even as ambient music has…

A Process of How It Seeks Itself, It Eats Itself

How do the animals we eat perceive their own existence and what do they think of us? This experimental short film from Shunsaku.H attempts to find out.

Here’s what one day of every single click on a computer looks like

Click. Click. Click. It’s hypnotic. Click. You don’t realize how often you do it on your computer on a daily basis. Click. It’s almost mindless when you’re reading websites on the Internet. Click. And cycling through windows and apps and. Click. Selecting text. Click And listening to music. Click. It’s just so easy to ignore…

Kickass Gundam space battle! That is all!

This is just one piece from a treasure trove of amazing Gundam art compiled by Marcos333 on Abduzeedo. This illustration is by Henry1025 — you can see the rest of his work on his Deviant Art page.

Cobra debuts its dopest weapon in its war on GI Joe, the Rap Viper

Actually, this is the great new music video from rapper Wordburglar, “Rap Viper,” off his new GI Joe-themed album Welcome to Cobra Island. But it should be real, if only because it’s not even close to the least ludicrous soldier Cobra employs. I’m looking at you, Big Boa. https://gizmodo.com/the-24-worst-dressed-members-of-g-i-joe-and-cobra-1278290191

Doing bike tricks off a moving truck half pipe seems brilliantly nuts

Imagine yourself stuck in traffic. Imagine listening to some Top 40 radio station playing the same 4 songs over and over and wondering about the things you would do if you didn’t have to commute. Imagine your brain numb. And then imagine seeing some psycho bike rider pull off some bike tricks off of a…