Latest

Has Comet ISON broken up?

It’s sure starting to look that way. This newly released photo, via NASA on Twitter, shows a comet that looks as though its lost its nucleus after a fiery encounter with the sun. As astronomer Carl Hergenrother explains, over at ALPO, “The comet is now extremely smeared out and the brightest part of the ‘coma’…

How Two Twins Were Born 87 Days Apart

Today I found out about Amy and Katie, the twins born 87 days apart. Maria Jones-Elliot of Waterford, Ireland, was just 23 weeks pregnant when she went into labour with her twins in 2012. She was understandably worried—it isn’t until 24 weeks that doctors now consider a pregnancy viable (that is, the baby could potentially…

Seventh Son delayed again. The fantasy movie starring Jeff Bridges has had release dates of Feb. 2013, Oct. 2013 and Jan. 2014… but now it’s moved to Feb. 2015. Also, Duncan Jones’ Warcraft is delayed to 2016, to avoid clashing with Star Wars: Episode VII.

Nope. Scientists did not just find an ‘alcoholism gene’

A number of media outlets are reporting on the apparent discovery of an alcoholism gene — a “single fault” in your DNA that supposedly contributes to alcohol dependency. But while this new research is interesting, it’s clear that addiction is much more complex than that. Here’s what the new study found: There’s a gene, called…

How an Engineer Earned 1.25 Million Air Miles By Buying Pudding

Most travelers take a passive approach to collecting Air Miles. The points accumulate in their account and, at some point, they might consider cashing them in for a free flight or upgrade—but there’s a better way to do it. With a more aggressive approach to amassing Air Miles, there’s a chance you may never have…

8 Superhero Origins the Movies Got Right (and 8 That They Messed Up)

Superheroes gain power from their origins, which explain how they perform their awesome feats, but also why. And most superhero movies are still origin stories. But sometimes Hollywood takes liberties and loses the souls of these characters. Here are eight superhero origins Hollywood captured, and eight they ruined. Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier…

How To Make Thanksgiving Better Through Chemistry

When you sit down to go to town on your Thanksgiving spread today, don’t forget that there’s a reason that your cranberry sauce is full and thick, and that your turkey is perfectly plump and juicy. And that reason is science, as this video explains. A lot of these techniques for improving upon the time-honored…

I am thankful this Magic: The Gathering puppet musical exists

Still have some time before your turkey is done cooking? Then bust out your comfiest ornithopter and watch Zombie Cat Productions’ brilliant, hysterical Magic: The Gathering musical. It’s 27 minutes of puppets, profanity, and Mana pools. [Via Geeks Are Sexy]

It’s hard not to marvel at French artist Benedetto Bufalino’s recent work “La caravane dans le ciel”—literally, “the caravan in the sky.” A small camper sits on top of a hydraulic lift, providing enough room for a person to live in the clouds. It’s kind of like The Jetsons, only trashier. [designboom]

Why are we so fascinated by photographs of decaying buildings?

Even as we dream of shiny new futures, many of us are captivated by images of crumbling modern buildings — mental institutions that have faded from use, amusement parks reclaimed by nature, houses that will never again serve as homes. But why are we so fascinated by the art and archaeology of the very recent…

This Genius Wheelchair Turns Your Tongue into a Joystick

Getting around in a wheelchair is difficult enough, even when one still has use of their upper extremities. Quadriplegics face an exponentially more difficult challenge: controlling the wheelchair by sucking or blowing air through a straw. But this new powered wheelchair from the Georgia Institute of Technology will respond to a flick of the user’s…

Bilbo finally meets Smaug in this fantastic new Hobbit TV spot

Admittedly, we don’t get to see that much of Bilbo’s first encounter with the massive dragon, but it’s still such a cool/important scene we figured you’d probably want to check it out. Besides, this video has some more cool new footage in it that makes it well worth taking 30 seconds out of your day…

Roku 2 (Not The One You’re Thinking Of), For $58

Amazon has the new Roku 2, not to be confused with the old Roku 2, for $58. This great little streaming box has all the best features of the Roku 3, including the headphone out port on the remote, at a nice discount compared to its ethernet port-sporting big brother. [Amazon] The Best Black Friday…

Why Airlines Don’t Just Add More Holiday Flights

Every year around the holidays airports are jammed with travellers heading all over the country. And it begs the question: if this happens so regularly and reliably, why don’t airlines just add more flights this time of year to keep up with the demand? As CNBC’s Phil LeBeau discovered, it’s not as easy as just…

Small Black Holes Are Deadlier Than Previously Thought

There’s a black hole in a galaxy 22 million light-years away that’s incredibly bright and energetic. Astronomers naturally assumed it was a supermassive black hole. But new observations show it’s actually quite tiny — throwing many conceptions of what we thought we knew about these things completely out the window. Black holes come in two…

Thanksgiving Has Ruined Sex For Turkeys

Wanna feel bad for that mouth-watering turkey at the center of your feast? Being filled with delicious stuffing is probably the closest thing to a romantic caress it ever experienced. Turns out, the turkeys we’ve been breeding and eating for the past several decades are just too big and misproportioned to have sex. As The…

Kim Dotcom’s cloud storage service Mega now has its own iOS app. Go forth and… store!

Here Are the Items that Your Gamer Friends Actually Want as Presents

If there’s a tabletop gamer in your life, your gift-giving dilemma is one of abundance – there are so many awesome things to give a gamer, how do you pick the right one? We’ll sort you out with this guide to great gaming gifts. Card Sleeves. Your gamer friends might play Magic: the Gathering or…

Explosive Pyrotechnic Pie Is Dangerous For More Than Just Your Diet

If you’ve been hunting for the perfect Thanksgiving dessert that will leave a lasting impression on your dinner guests, look no further than this recipe/experiment. The ingredients in your typical pumpkin pie aren’t that far off from a chemical mix known as Rocket Candy that’s typically made from sugar and an oxidizer like potassium nitrate.…

Winter is coming, and so are Game of Thrones action figures

Well, finally! Funko — makers of bobbleheads and those PoP! vinyl figures that are all the craze nowadays — has all but announced they’ve received the official Game of Thrones toy license. They’ll be part of Funko’s all-new Legacy line of 6-inch action figures, which will be revealed at next year’s NY Toy Fair. Before…