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Water Eruptions on Europa Mean that Conditions Are Ripe for Life

Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered in a thick layer of ice, but it has a turbulent ocean that lies beneath. Today astronomers announced that new observations show this water is erupting in massive plumes like water volcanoes. It’s a discovery that could have serious implications for Europa’s potential to harbor life. Astronomers have never before…

The animated 47 Ronin prequel shows off its fantasy world

Get a sneak peek at Carl Rinsch’s fantasy-infused take on the classic Japanese story of the 47 Ronin with this motion-comic prequel. It’s perfect if you still do not understand the basic premise surrounding this story. Plus, dragons! [Via Crave Online]

Watching espresso pouring in slow motion is so hypnotizing

Normally coffee gets you all hyped up, but this slow motion footage of an espresso shot being pulled is so relaxing I can hardly take my eyes off it. The silky stream of creamy, coffee goodness was shot at 120 fps by YouTuber skunkay, and it’s a almost as good as drinking some yourself. So…

Six Feet Over: The Future of Skyscraper Cemeteries

This month in Oslo, an architecture student named Martin McSherry presented a controversial idea to a gathering of cemetery and funeral professionals. The topic? His design for a “vertical cemetery” that could, in theory, solve Norway’s growing graveyard conundrum. In McSherry’s vision for Oslo—which he presented at the Oslo Conference for Nordic Cemeteries and Graveyards—the…

What are your favorite food and fiction pairings?

Watching Twin Peaks goes perfectly with a slice of cherry pie and a damn fine cup of coffee; The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe calls for Turkish Delight (seasoned with just a hint of betrayal); and Harry Potter is best enjoyed along with a slice of treacle tart. What are some of your favorite…

You Can Now Send Private Photos Over Instagram Direct

At today’s mystery press event, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom officially announced the much rumored Instagram private message system, Instagram Direct. Instead of sending photos to your entire feed, you can finally send photos and videos to both individual friends and groups of friends. And in very much the same way read receipts work on Facebook…

Those Crazy Timelapse Videos We All Love Take a Whole Lot of Work

It seems like every other day there is a new dreamy, stupifyingly beautiful timelapse video of some location around the globe. It’s a tried and true form for wowing us internet denizens, but rarely do we get to meet the people behind those thousands of shutter clicks. The Creators Project recently visited with timelapse photographer…

This Briny Structure Was 3D-Printed Entirely Out of Salt

This solid-looking structure appears to be made out of plastic—or some equally sturdy polymer. But get a little closer, and you’ll find it’s made of… salt? Created by additive manufacturing startup Emerging Objects, this structure is made of 3D-printed panels of humble old salt. We’ve spoken to these guys about smaller projects involving salt in…

Talk about excuses: US orders of Motorola’s Moto G are delayed due to severe weather conditions. So blame the snow, right?

Adobe has released Lightroom 5.3, which contains bug fixes as well as RAW support for the latest cameras like the Sony A7/A7r. Grabbit!

This Friday, Walmart will slash iPhone 5C prices to just $27 with a two-year AT&T or Verizon contract. Kick in another hundred bucks, and you can jump up to an iPhone 5S. Both prices will last through December 24th. [LA Times via Business Insider]

Arrow gives us the villain (and hero) we’ve been waiting for. Again.

Nothing really happens in last night’s episode of Arrow. And yet the episode is filled with Things Happening. Let’s look at the episode-long highlight reel. What actually happened in last night’s episode? I guess they got rid of Solomon Grundy, but there wasn’t really anything tight enough to call a plot. The title, “Three Ghosts,”…

There’s Yet Another Wireless Charging Standard (That Might Have a Shot)

Like the Beta vs. VHS and HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray battles of years gone by, wireless charging technology has had a difficult time establishing itself thanks to dueling standards. But a new challenger, the Alliance 4 Wireless Power and its consumer-friendly Rezence brand, might finally have what’s needed to take wireless charging mainstream. And how does…

Guess who’s playing a villain in Arrow and Hunger Games: Mockingjay!

Peter Jackson gives details about the filming of The Hobbit’s barrel scene. Will James McAvoy be in X-Men: Apocalypse? Samuel L. Jackson may be joining Tarzan. Plus, find out more about the 12 Monkeys TV show, and Lafayette’s new boyfriend on True Blood. Spoilers now! The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Here’s the first of the Robert…

14 Fresh Pieces of Space Art for Your Viewing Pleasure

Contemporary visual arts and the new space age we are currently living in often pleasantly fuse together, resulting in great art and illustrations that everyone would gladly hang on the wall. To Infinity And Beyond is a space art exhibition of 40 young Hungarian graphic designers and painters currently on display in the Budapest Planetarium,…

How the Gaia Telescope Will Scan the Entire Sky

When the Gaia space telescope launches next week, it’s going to attempt the biggest astronomy project of all time: it will try and scan the entire sky, capturing images of at least a billion stars in our galaxy. Plunging 1.5 million kilometers into space, it’ll do all of that with unprecedented accuracy, almost certainly transforming…

This Amiga 500 Emulator Is So Awesome

If you’re tired of modern computing this morning, how about starting your day using an Amiga 500? Thanks to Google developer Christian Stefansen you can do just that, and it’s awesome. Stefansen has just published his Amiga 500 emulator, which carefully recreates the 1980s OS as a Web app that runs in Chrome. Pulling together…

What Happened When Ice Cube, Kevin Hart and Conan Shared a Lyft Car

Hiring you and your car out on Lyft can be an amusing experience—especially if Ice Cube, Kevin Hart and Conan are the people who want to get a lift. The results are, as you’d expect, hilarious. Watch it now, I implore you. You won’t regret it. [Team Coco]

These Delicious Wall Hangers Look Just Like Cookies

Hungry? Sorry, you’re outta look. While this box might look like it’s stuffed full of cookies, you’re actually looking at a cool new set of wall hangers. Designed by Andrea Brugnera, these Frolle wooden hooks come in assorted cookie shapes, and either a brown or cream trim, to make them look like they’ve been dunked…

Welcome to SPLOID, a blog of delicious brain candy

Here you will find beautiful things; awesome photos, illustrations, and videos; design from the future; weird and wonderful happenings; scientific discoveries that may change the world—all the stuff that honestly make us go “oh wow, that’s so cool.” Here you won’t find fake and cheap viral crap. What we decide publish are the things that…