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This Norwegian Road Tunnel Exists Solely to Set Fire to Things

The Runehamar Tunnel on the west coast of Norway is a piece of disused underground road infrastructure that has found an unexpected second life through its new and bizarre purpose: it now exists solely as a place for setting fire to things. Meant as a test site for “investigating catastrophic tunnel fires,” the abandoned subterranean…

First skyscraper created to generate its own power will be done in 2020

Pertamina—Indonesia’s state-owned oil and gas corporation—will have a new headquarters in Jakarta in 2020. One that looks like a smooth spaceship about to take off and generates electricity thanks to its design, created by American architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. According to the firm: The world’s first supertall tower for which energy is the primary…

What if humans dated like animals?

Weird animal sex is weird, and we love it. https://gizmodo.com/your-sex-life-is-boring-and-every-animal-on-earth-is-la-5962530 https://gizmodo.com/this-is-a-video-of-a-dolphin-masturbating-with-a-decapi-1463711897 https://gizmodo.com/10-most-bizarre-animal-mating-behaviors-5776098 https://gizmodo.com/this-mammal-is-dying-to-have-sex-literally-1442440074 This panel is excerpted from “I Wanna Date You Like an Animal” – a brand spankin’ new comic by Leigh Cowart and Jeannette Langmead, who are clearly every bit as intrigued by animal sexuality as we are. Check out the rest of…

Zero Dark Thirty’s Jason Clarke is in talks for the role of John Connor in the increasingly good-sounding Terminator reboot. Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke is the front-runner to play Sarah, Schwarzenegger is set to cameo, and it’s going to be directed by Thor: the Dark World’s Alan Taylor, with a plot that includes time-travel…

Will Sony Soon Have to Find a New Spider-Man?

There’s another new Star Wars casting rumor. Peter Jackson explains why he added elves to The Hobbit, and whether he’ll direct an episode of Doctor Who. And Robert Kirkman says you will always know when it’s a character’s last moment on The Walking Dead. Plus, the first poster from Godzilla. Spoilers now! Top image: Godzilla…

22 Awesome Science & Infrastructure Webcams From Around the World

How many webcams are there in the world? I have no idea. Millions upon millions. But the problem is that 99.99% of them are dull and boring, like watching concrete dry. (Although, perhaps, the very inner essence of webcams is to be repetitious and dull.) But take a look at the collection we’ve put together…

Rumor: Led Zeppelin Will Be on Spotify Later Today

Having previously refused to appear on streaming services, rock legends Led Zeppelin are rumoured to be making their catalog exclusively available for streaming through Spotify later today. The New York Times reports: Spotify will announce at a news conference in Manhattan on Wednesday morning that Led Zeppelin — which has so far refused to license…

Can Bad Weather Actually Cause Joint Ache?

You might have heard grandma or grandpa predicting a storm because they “could feel it in their bones” and when a storm hit you probably thought they’d been watching the weather channel. Turns out, their joints *probably* do get a little achy when it’s about to rain. “Weather pain” is a sensation that was noticed…

This Is What It’s Like to See the World as an Animal

If you’ve ever wondered how animals view the world, this video should satisfy your curiosity. It shows how five different animals—cats, dogs, rats, hawks and bees—see the world. A simulation created by the French 3D design company Dassault Systèmes, it was overseen by veterinary ophthalmologist Didier Schmidt-Morand. New Scientist explains what you can see: Hawks…

Apple Patents Oculus Rift-Style Headset

If you’re a hardcore gamer, you’ll already know that the real next-gen gaming revolution is virtual reality, spearheaded by the Oculus Rift. It seems that Apple has been taking notes, with a freshly-uncovered patent revealing sketches of a potential Apple-branded head-mounted display. A 3D glasses system resembling “ski or motorcycle goggles”, the 14,000 word patent…

Google’s Play Books now lets you upload any e-book you, ahem, happen to have on any of your Android devices to your central repository. Neat.

A Newly Discovered Greenhouse Gas Is 7,000 Times More Potent Than CO2

Move over carbon dioxide: scientists have discovered a new greenhouse gas, and it’s 7,000 times more powerful than CO2 in its effects of warming the Earth. Scientists from the University of Toronto have discovered that perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), which has been in used by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century, can have a huge impact…

AT&T: We Can’t Keep Subsidizing Your Phones

The big carriers have long subsidized phones to lure customers in. But that could all be coming to an end, if AT&T’s chief is to be believed. Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson explained that wireless operators can no longer afford to fund the smartphone upgrade cycle, reports CNET. With 75…

The Fascinating Truth About Sphincters

The word sphincter conjures one very distinct image in our heads. But did you know there are actually about 5o different types of sphincter throughout our body? No, of course you didn’t. In fact, there’s more to these rings of muscles than keeping your poop inside rather than out. This video explains why they’re there—and…

The NSA Reads Your Google Cookies to See if It Should Hack You

The Washington Post is reporting that the NSA has a simple way to work out if you’re worth hacking or not: it just reads your Google cookies. Leaked slides from an internal presentation reveal that the NSA use the cookies and location data from Google to pinpoint targets for government hacking. The Post explains: According…

Don’t panic, torrenters: following a domain name seizure, The Pirate Bay has simply moved to thepiratebay.ac (that’s the Ascension Island’s, if you’re interested).

Here Are the Most Popular YouTube Videos of 2013

Surprise, humans spent a lot of time watching YouTube in 2013. And that time wasn’t spread equally among all videos. Nay, some videos got more than their fair share of eyeballs. Here are the most popular YouTube videos (and music videos) of 2013, for your viewing pleasure. Top Trending Videos of 2013 1. Ylvis –…

Casually Framed Documents of the Sonic Quotidian

The Touch Radio series of podcasts, an offshoot of the esteemed Touch Editions label, has reached its momentous 100th episode, and it is marking the occasion with just the sort of low-impact gesture that would be expected of an enterprise that traffics in the everyday. See, much of the Touch output is field recordings: expertly…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: SPIN

Close but no cigar, Jetsons. Automated walkways are far too linear, the real people-moving technology of the future is spinning city-scapes where only the steady-footed survive. Part Thunderdome, part Merry-Go-Round, all awesome.

Bill Nye tells President Obama why we must boost planetary exploration

Listen to Bill Nye’s letter to the President of the United States asking for $1.5 billion to support planetary exploration. He gives three excellent reasons. First, the potential discovery of alien life, which will change the course of human history. Second, the creation of new awesome technology, which will bring new businesses that can greatly…