Latest

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…

The Dragon Was Plagued By Butterflies

Nothing could terrify the dragon whose scales were made of titanium, and whose mouth dripped with toxic smoke. Well, actually, there was one thing. He could not abide flocks of butterflies. You can see the whole illustration below. Frederick Richardson was an early twentieth century illustrator, perhaps best known for his work with L. Frank…

Did Neal Stephenson predict the NSA spying on World of Warcraft?

New leaked documents from Edward Snowden reveal that the NSA and British intelligence have been spying on people in World of Warcraft and other online games. And Neal Stephenson’s epic spy novel REAMDE predicted this whole mess back in 2011. https://kotaku.com/american-and-british-government-may-have-spied-on-wow-a-1479468945 https://gizmodo.com/neal-stephensons-reamde-is-a-high-tech-incarnation-of-t-5849371 Over at Ars Technica, Sean Gallager reports: “Al Qaida terrorist target selectors and…

Here is everything we know so far about a massive freshwater lake on Mars, which existed about 3.5 billion years ago. It was pretty damn muddy, and may have harbored life.

How Los Angeles Erased Entire Hills From Its Urban Core

In 1912, Los Angeles considered an audacious plan to reshape its topography. A group calling itself the Bunker Hill Razing and Regrading Association proposed to pump water from the Pacific Ocean, pipe it 20 miles to the city center, and spray the seawater through high-pressure jets against a ridge of hills to the immediate northwest…

Charles Stross gives us a sneak peek at his new novel

Today, author Charlie Stross, from this month’s book club selection, joined us for a Q&A, where he filled us his thoughts on how new writers get traction, the skyrocketing of ebook sales (from 1% to 50% of his sales in the last five years), and gave us the first line of his new book coming…