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We’re having a Gif Party! For Science.

That’s right — we’re having a Gif Party! But not just any Gif Party, nope, this one is for Science. Have a gif of a favorite science experiment or perhaps a gif of a pair of cat lungs at the moment they inflate? Well, this is the place for it. We want to see all…

Imagining the Earth through the eyes of China’s Yutu rover

The Yutu rover is now scouring the lunar surface on a three-month mission to explore the dark lava plains of the Bay of Rainbows. The Chinese probe is also set to leave behind a powerful telescope. Here’s what Yutu will see when it peers towards Earth — and what the eclipse of April 15th, 2014,…

The Instagram Accounts We Loved This Year

Not every Instagram account is pictures of semi-famous tweens or farm-to-table food. There are some very artful, very niche accounts out there that we adore simply for their aesthetic merits. We’ve compiled a catalog of the ones we follow so you can too. NASA There is nothing not to love about NASA’s Instagram feed. It…

Stephen Chow’s Journey to the West is delightfully insane

When we last showed you footage of director Stephen Chow’s adaptation of China’s classic fantasy epic Journey to the West, it had Chow’s trademark cartoon-ish lunacy, but still seemed indebted to the fantastic literary classic. This new trailer is nothing but pure insanity… and somehow that only makes u want to see it more. https://gizmodo.com/bow-down-to-the-monkey-king-by-watching-the-first-trai-5980026…

Why you should quit your New Year’s resolutions right now

We’re facing another stinking year, people. Some of you will be tempted to make some kind of promise to yourself for the new year. Don’t do it. According to the “willpower paradox,” the determination to do something weakens your will. One study uncovered what seems to be a “willpower paradox” — the very act of…

Something Called “The Object” Stops World’s Largest Tunneling Machine

Bertha, the world’s largest tunneling machine, churning through the rock and mud beneath Seattle, has hit a mysterious roadblock—so mysterious, it is only known for now as “the object.” The New York Times reports that the machine—300 feet long and 5 stories tall—has ground to a halt. Built precisely not to be stopped by, well,…

New Hints for X-Men: Apocalypse, Warcraft, Doctor Who and Walking Dead!

Why is Matt Smith doffing his costume in his final Doctor Who story? Hugh Jackman’s in talks to play a surprising villain for Peter Pan’s origin story. Bryan Singer reveals which X-Men MVPs will script X-Men: Apocalypse. The Strain casts a key character. Stargate Atlantis’ Jewel Staite and David Hewlett reunite. Spoilers now! X-Men: Apocalypse…

These Rainbow Mountains Are China’s Secret Geological Wonder

At the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu, China, tourists flock to see China’s own version of the Grand Canyon: A mountain range of densely packed layers of minerals and rock that are dramatically striated into a layer cake of magenta, maroon, and lemon-colored stone. As a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, Danxia is…

Scientists Send Text Messages Using Spritzes of Vodka

Someday, if you’re out on the town and spot someone you fancy at the end of the bar, you might be able to pass along your digits using the drink in your hand. Because researchers at Toronto’s York University have created a simple system that’s able to encode data—like a text message—into puffs of evaporated…

The Perfect Civic Pride Gifts for City Lovers

For the unapologetic urbanophiles in your life, these city-themed presents will be the perfect way to help them perpetuate their fierce (and sometimes scary) public displays of civic pride. And, because most of these gifts can be customized with a particular geographic location—some of them right down to a specific neighborhood—it’s the perfect way to…

Sushi Transformers Are More Than Meets Your Tastebuds

If you’re trying to eat healthier, it’s a good idea to know exactly what goes into the food you consume. And while that’s not exactly the goal Bandai had in mind when it created these sushi transformers that turn into what they’re made from, it’s justification enough to collect all five. Available from those more…

When Did There Become Too Many Books to Read in One Lifetime?

We’ve all done it: stood in a library, looking around, we’ve been confronted by the fact that there are way, way too many books in existence for us to ever read. But when in history did that happen? Randall Munroe has tried to answer that question over on his What If? site. Sadly, it’s not…

Adding More Layers is Apple’s Patent-Suggested Plan For Fixing Maps

It’s slowly getting better, but try as it might, Apple just can’t top Google’s Maps service when it comes to digital cartography That’s not to say it isn’t still keeping up the chase though — a newly uncovered patent points towards a raft of new features Apple has planned for the troubled service. The “Interactive…

The European Space Agency’s Gaia Telescope—which is set to scan the entire sky and change our understanding of the universe—successfully launched yesterday morning at 09:12 GMT. [ESA]

Classic Arcade Game Designs Illustrated as a Field Guide

If your recollections of arcade games past are starting to fail you, perhaps you just need the Amusement Field Identification Kit in your life. Illustrated in the style of a traditional field manual, these annotated images—created by Michael Mateyko and Hans Thiessen—detail the design of classic arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pong, Ms. Pac-Man, and…

Google ‘Started Over’ on Android the Day the iPhone Launched

Apple changed the mobile industry with the iPhone, and has been known to suggest that others have copied it along the way. Now, one of Android’s original software architects admits that Google had “to start over” the day the iPhone was announced. When the iPhone was launched in 2007, Andorid had already been in development…

What Do Your Android Reader Apps Know About You?

When you read a book or an article on your Android device, how much power—and access to your personal data—are you giving the app? A new comparison of 17 of the most popular reader apps, compiled by Matt Bernius, answers that question, and in some cases users may be revealing much more than they think.…

Disquiet Junto Project 0103: Tinsel Song

The project: Make a song based on last week’s “sonic tinsel” project. Each Thursday at the Disquiet Junto group on SoundCloud.com a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have just over four days to upload a track in response to the assignment. Membership in the Junto is open: just join…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: White Rabbit

And now you know where all those Matrix references come from. Lewis Carroll? Never heard of the guy.

So this is how Santa Claus delivers all those presents (in a F-16!)

It’s 2013. Of course Santa Claus has traded in his sleigh and reindeers for a fighter jet. That way he can zip around the world in the coolest rig possible. The US Air Force posted this picture of a pilot in a Santa costume for a bit of holiday cheer. Happy Holidays everybody! SPLOID is…