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The CIA’s Bizarre Art Collection Memorializes Its Greatest Hits

Great victories in intelligence are, by definition, usually destined to remain secret. But inside its headquarters in Virginia, the CIA keeps its own little oil-and-canvas shrine: 16 pieces of art commemorating important moments in intelligence history. Up until this month, only CIA employees and VIPs had access to the “secure” gallery, according to the AP.…

Is this ice drumming for real?

Last year, Russian percussion band Etnobit recorded themselves creating incredible music by drumming on ice shards on Siberia’s ancient Baikal Lake. You won’t believe it. According tothe Siberian Times: How did they realise they could make their own Coldplay on Baikal? [Said Natalya Vlasevskaya,] ‘The wife of one of our drummers, Sergei Purtyan, slipped and…

A Tiny Stamp Brands Your Can To Make Sure No One Steals Your Drink

Is there anything worse than being at a party and having someone steal your drink? Sure! Taking a long swigg on a can only to realize it isn’t yours. But now you can avoid both situations with this keychain-sized stamp that lets you brand an aluminum can with a permanent message, leaving no debate as…

Oil Companies Could Create Dozens of Toxic Lakes In Alberta

Canada’s tar sands are an unequivocal environmental nightmare, ravaging the landscape and spewing billions of gallons of toxic water into the world. Now, oil companies are claiming they’ve figured out what to do with all that poisonous water: Turn Alberta into one giant man-made lake district. Bloomberg has the story of Syncrude Canada, one of…

The Very Best Camera Trap Photography

Don’t look too surprised, giant kitty — you’re live on candid camera trap! Zoologists and ecologists these days use “camera traps,” or motion-activated cameras hidden in natural habitats, to observe wildlife without harming them. The resulting pictures are often heartbreakingly gorgeous, occasionally goofy, and reveal animals we never knew existed. Top image: An African leopard…

Real life version of the Hobbit’s Sting sword glows blue too

Master swordsmith Tony Swatton—who also made Wolverine’s claws and Thor’s hammer—just forged the famous Sting, the ancient elvish blade that glows blue when orcs and trolls are near. Swatton’s version can cut like the real thing and glows blue too, thanks to his amazing technical prowess. Sting was the blade used by Bilbo and Frodo…

This Incredible Portrait of Morgan Freeman Was Painted on an iPad

Remember iPad art? Like those New Yorker covers that look, well, basically just okay? Or the hobby that David Hockney had for like ten seconds? Well British artist Kyle Lambert’s been practicing, and he’s gotten good. Like, photorealism good. The latest Lambert creation is this jaw-dropping portrait of Morgan Freeman. You almost feel like you…

Dissection reveals the insides of Sulley from Monsters Inc.

Curious what the insides an employee of Monsters Inc. (or a student from Monster’s University) looks like? Well now you know, thanks to artist Jason Freeny. Behold, the guts of a great monster. Freeny reveals half of the great blue James P. Sullivan, better known as “Sulley.” We love it. Both prints and sculptures are…

Boing 474: The Chinese Are Now Knocking Off Our Airplanes

Chinese manufacturers are experts at knocking off just about anything, from “Rat Ban” sunglasses and “Wee” gaming consoles to, yes, “HiPhones.” But now it looks like they’re very close to copying another American export: They’re bootlegging our Boeing 747s. Copying our planes is actually nothing new for the Chinese aerospace industry. This has been going…

The first person in the world to become a government-recognized cyborg

Neil Harbisson is the first person on the planet to have a passport photo that shows his cyborg nature — in his UK passport, he’s wearing a head-mounted device called an eyeborg. The color-blind artist says the eyeborg allows him to see color, and he wants to help other cyborgs like himself gain more rights.…

Radio broadcasting will have disappeared, for no one will tune in a program that cannot be seen. Radio will long since have reverted to a strictly communications medium, using devices now unheard of and unthought of. — Associated Pressarticle from 1950 about the year 2000

Farewell, Comet ISON. After a weekend of hemming and hawing from experts, the sun-grazing ball of ice and dust has been declared officially dead. Again. Except this time, it’s pretty much for sure. Bad Astronomer Phil Plait has the post-mortem. Astrophysicist Karl Battams even penned a eulogy.

You Could Help Measure Weather Patterns Just By Turning On Your Wipers

The average rainfall for a given region can be approximated by taking samples from scattered weather stations. But that sparse distribution of samples can make it difficult to form a truly accurate map of rainfall patterns—which can be invaluable for predicting floods. So researchers from the University of Hanover in Germany have come up with…

German Conspiracy Nuts Vandalize Part of Khufu Pyramid

Two German students, in an effort to prove that the Great Pyramids are 15,000 years older than they really are, chipped off samples from the walls of an ancient burial chamber and brought them back home for analysis. Both Egyptian and German authorities are outraged. As reported in News Corp Australia, the two University of…

​Turns out The Wolverine movie was better than you knew

Were you a touch disappointed by the The Wolverine? Don’t be. At least not yet, because it turns there a lot more of the movie than you got to see. By all accounts, the Extended Edition is much, much better — and you can finally see it tomorrow. • The Wolverine: Extended Edition Wolverine goes…

Explore the Extraordinary, Glittering Infinity Rooms of Yayoi Kusama

Judging by the long lines that have snaked around Chelsea’s David Zwirner gallery this week, it seems that New York has found its next big blockbuster art installation: I Who Have Arrived in Heaven, a spectacular and intense show by 84-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama—we got a chance to film inside. There are three major…

Nobody knows what’s inside these mysterious safes found in Jersey City

Steve Fulop—the new mayor of Jersey City—has found two mysterious safes inside a vault of the mayor’s office. Nobody alive knows who put them there or what’s inside, including the previous mayors. Dirty money? The bones of Jimmy Hoffa? A recording of some mobsters planning the assassination of JFK? According to NJ.com,Fulop says that they…

What’s the best (or worst) character unmasking of all time?

So we were talkingabout our issues with “John Harrison” turning out to be Khan in Star Trek Into Darkness. But what’s the absolute best moment where a character is unmasked in science fiction and fantasy? Or the worst? Please include a clip or image of this huge character reveal. And mention the name of the…

Witches of East End spins the plot roulette wheel with both hands

Mark Twain reportedly once said, “If you don’t like the weather in New England now, just wait a few minutes.” That’s pretty much the philosophy of this episode of Witches of East End: if you don’t like the direction of the plot, just take a pee break and it’ll be something different. Spoilers. . .…

An Ultra-Compact Cable Lock To Protect Everything Else You Own

When you’re going about your day, it’s not always just your bicycle that needs to be occasionally locked up. If you were studying at the library and came back from the bathroom to find your backpack missing, you’d be just as upset. So while incredibly compact Safe+ Microlock probably isn’t ideal for your bike, it…