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Real-Life Architectural Puzzles Made for Escaping

You’re alone in a room, or perhaps with a small group of friends, looking for a way out, searching all the walls and surfaces around you—even the furniture and objects—for clues. There is no apparent way out. There are no immediately visible doors. But you haven’t been kidnapped, and this isn’t Saw; it is one…

Celebrate the brilliance of Calvin & Hobbes with Dear Mr. Watterson

Calvin & Hobbes was great, is still great, and will always be great. And while it not as good as new strips, at least we now have Dear Mr. Watterson (and its new trailer), a documentary to remind us just how amazing, genius and wonderful this comic strip was. And why, 18 years later, we…

Good news: You didn’t get bit by a brown recluse. Bad news: It’s MRSA!

Remember that time your skin got all gnarly and you went to the doctor and she told you you’d been bitten by a brown recluse? Chances are youactually had a case of MRSA. Which… oh good, hooray? As this webcomic from BuzzHootRoar* (a fantastic new science blog) explains, brown recluses are routinely slandered for nasty-ass…

Here’s How Lambeau Field Keeps Its Grass Green in the Dead of Winter

During Wisconsin’s long, bitterly cold winters, the only things that grow are snow banks. So to keep Lambeau Field’s turf in game shape for Sunday, the Packers roll out these massive Friday night lights. Built byStadium Grow Lights (SGL), a Dutch firm that services a number of professional soccer pitches throughout Europe, these mobile grow…

The CIA Warned About Edward Snowden All the Way Back in 2009

A confusing truth is becoming increasingly clear: The government had multiple chances to stop Edward Snowden before he leaked a trove of NSA documents earlier this year. But they didn’t. We’ve heard about the warning signs before, but the latest revelation is a real whopper. The New York Times reports that Snowden got booted from…

What do you want to see from a new Star Trek TV show?

Earlier today, we heard encouraging news: there’s actual talk of a new Star Trek TV series. With the show’s 50th anniversary coming up, the timing for a Trek revival on the smaller screen might be good. But what would you want to see from a new Trek? Which era? Which timeline? Top image via StarTrekDesktopWallpaper.com.…

Upgrade To Smart Plasma Cheaply, EVO Your Internal Storage, Free Fries

I have the Panasonic ST60 sitting on my bedroom dresser because I haven’t had time to wall mount it yet. It’s stunning, total overkill for a bedroom, and double the price of this Pansonic S60 we’ve got for you today. $600 is a small price to pay for 50 inches of Panasonic’s legendary, smart plasma.…

Make Way For the Olympics: The Paramilitary Clearance of Rio’s Slums

They come bearing satellite TV. Brazil’s Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais, or BOPE, is an elite force of military police who often specialize in urban operations in Rio’s slums—or favelas. As the World Cup and the Olympics approach, BOPE forces are appearing more and more often. And their techniques are evolving. BOPE has cleared dozens…

This new Dracula promo is full of sex, blood, and more fun stuff

Maybe it’s the prevalence of mopey sparkle-pires recently, but there’s some very compelling about NBC’s blood-soaked, sex-crazed Dracula miniseries. This new promo reveals a lot about what we can expect from the show, and I think it’s going to make Sleepy Hollow look tame on all counts. First of all, we knew Dracula would be…

Earlier this week, Francois Englert and Peter Higgs were awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on the theory of the Higgs boson. Many of us are still trying to wrap our heads around the dynamic duo’s discovery. These three cool GIFs from TED-ed will help.

Take Over Richard Branson’s Private Island for Just $60,000 a Night

There are rich people. There are multi-millionaires. And then there’s Richard Branson. The forever-young fellow is a cartoon character of a billionaire with everything from his own space tourism company to his own private island. But it’s cool because he’s willing to share. Necker Island, Branson’s private retreat in the British Virgin Islands, recently reopened…

X-Men: Days of Future Past‘s Quicksilver WILL have silver hair

Good news for X-Men fans who really want Bryan Singer’s new X-Men movie to adhere to the comics: Quicksilver will appear on film with his trademark silver locks. We spoke with the new Quicksilver, Evan Peters, about life as a 1970s mutant. He told us about filming in Singer’s crazy new 3600 frame-per-second cameras. Bryan…

What on Earth created this bizarre jellyfish-cloud outside the ISS?

The astronauts on board the International Space Station saw a strange and unexpected view out their windows yesterday. “Saw something launch into space today. Not sure what it was but the cloud it left behind was pretty amazing,” tweeted NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins. Above: A strange but amazing cloud seen from the International Space Station.…

Watch This Robo-Ape Evolve Into a Robo-Human In Just a Few Seconds

Remember that iStruct robotic ape? It was developed by Germany’s DFKI to presumably bring us one step closer to a cyborg version of Planet of the Apes. Well, it’s unfortunately advancing faster than we’d feared, and has seemingly condensed millions of years of robo-evolution into just a few seconds and is now able to stand…

Screenwriter alleges Neill Blomkamp stole his story for Elysium

The basic idea of Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium, with the have-nots on Earth and the haves in space, seems almost too basic to steal. But screenwriter Steve Wilson Briggs is alleging Blomkamp took way more than that, including characters, scenes and motifs. Briggs, whose one writing credit is for a movie called The Amazing Mr. Excellent,…

Be careful whose body you download your brain into… In Selfless, a dying billionaire has his consciousness transferred into the body of a younger man (Ryan Reynolds), only to be hunted by the thugs who murdered his host body originally. Victor Garber will play the billionaire’s best friend.

How Seven Cities Designed Surprisingly Great Websites

The government has been shut down for over a week, as have plenty of federally funded websites. Which makes me appreciate a good civic website even more. I was able to find seven city sites that will make you feel good about government again. Maybe. What you probably think about municipal websites still likely holds…

This Slim Toaster Has Clever Heated Pockets To Keep Your Toast Warm

Here’s the trade-off: if you want a slim toaster that doesn’t gobble up too much counter space, you’re going to be limited to how much toast you can make. But the Easy Toaster from Russel Hobbs incorporates a nice workaround. You can only toast two slices of bread at one time, but a pair of…

What Are the Best Tech Support One-Liners Your Parents Have Asked You?

I’m at my parents’ house for the weekend. Loosely translated, I’m doing some minor tech support for the next few days. My mother just implored: Siri now hates me. Can you help me? Sure, mom. Most of you have experienced something similar. If you’re of a certain age or have at least a little knowledge…

First Look at Game of Bones, the X-Rated Version of Westeros [SFW!]

We’ve got a long wait until Game of Thrones returns next March… but fear not! Episodes of Game of Bones, the porn parody from director Lee Roy Myers, will start appearing on the Web in just a couple of weeks. (Including a female Joffrey!) We’ve got the first exclusive teaser and cast photos, plus an…