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Unpaid Members of the NSA Probe Refuse to Meet Because of the Shutdown

So, you know how the federal government all shut down because Congress failed to come up with a budget to pay the employees? Well, the members of the special committee set up to investigate the intelligence community just threw in the towel, too. But they weren’t even getting paid in the first place. In what…

NBC’s ordered a scifi pilot from Transformers movie scriptwriter Ehren Kruger titled Tin Man. It is not, thankfully, yet another show about The Wizard of Oz, but “a psychological crime thriller set in the near future that focuses on a fugitive robot accused of first degree murder,” according to Variety

The central limit theorem, explained with bunnies and dragons

Animator Shuyi Chiou and the folks at CreatureCast give an adorable introduction to the central limit theorem – an important concept in probability theory that can reveal normal distributions (i.e. bell curves) across data that does not appear to fit a normal distribution curve. Via The New York Times: Many real-world observations can be approximated…

An Audi You Can Give As a Pre-School Graduation Gift

Before you scoff in disbelief at the $450 price tag on this adorable children’s toy, remember that you’re actually getting two ride-ons for the price of one here. The Mini Runner, made from a hydroformed lightweight aluminum frame, converts from a sit down balance bike to a standing scooter with minimal fuss and muss. The…

Science proves dogs are people too!

As every dog owner/lover/friend knows, dogs are extremely intelligent and insanely lovable bundles of fur. Now, science has proven just how smart and aware our four-legged friends really are. Recent canine brain scans prove that dogs “experience consciousness and emotions at a level comparable to humans.”

Which actor has done the most to improve the image of science fiction?

There was a time when people thought science fiction (and fantasy) required over-the-top acting and scenery-chewing. Many actors didn’t entirely take these roles seriously. That time is past. But which actor, in particular, has done the most to improve the credibility of genre film and television? Please include a picture or clip showcasing this acting…

Facebook Data Shows How Many People Graduate College with True Love

It’s a myth that’s been around for nearly a century: Most of us are destined to meet our spouses during those magical/fraught years that make up college. But is there any truth to it? Facebook’s crack team of data scientists have mined our collective Facebook data to find out—and some of their results are pretty…

Disney’s Paper Generators Could Power Interactive Books of the Future

Disney has developed a new technology that allows you to generate energy by simply rubbing or touching a piece of paper. This is something the world needs because, you know, everything will require a level of interactivity in the future—even old-fashioned paper books. Disney’s paper generators make use of electrets, which are materials that hold…

Kick-Ass HBO Series Will Finally Be On Google Play

The Price of 500MB of Mobile Data Across the World

Today, nearly half of the world’s total population has potential access to some kind of 3G or 4G network, which is five times the level of mobile coverage we were at just five years ago. Unfortunately, not all mobile broadband is created equal—especially where price is concerned. According toa new report released by the International…

Witches of East End gives us the silliest magical pregnancy EVER

The mystical pregnancy is one of the most overused tropes in science fiction and fantasy — and now, we’ve seen this idea taken to its most ludicrous extreme, in the new Lifetime show Witches of East End. Watch the magical self-inflating belly for yourself, below. Spoilers ahead… Here’s the premise of Witches of East End…

Today’s Deals: Cheap Storage, Even Cheaper Canon DSLR, LIVE Gold

It’s time again for one of Amazon’s excellent flash storage Gold Box Deals, this time featuring PNY products. Grab yourself some SD Cards, Flash Drives, and external USB batteries at low low prices. See everything here or check out our picks below: PNY High Performance 16GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Card | $10 PNY Elite…

A Perfect Cardboard Robocop Costume Is a Great Reason To Recycle

Forget about reducing our demand for lumber, there’s no better reason to recycle than this remarkably detailed and accurate Robocop costume made entirely from cardboard, glue, and about twice as much dedication. Built and worn by Comic Book Girl 19 for this year’s Comic Con and Dragoncon, the costume took one month to design, and…

All the Ways Hollywood Tried to Ruin Gravity

Gravity took nearly four (and a half) years to make. That means for four years, Alfonso Cuarón had to deflect a lot of not-so-great ideas from the studio that had invested millions into his risky endeavor. Thanks to our exclusive interview with the director, we now know what some of those crappy ideas were. Warning:…

Why Is the Fox News Room Full of Absurdly Giant iPads?

Over on Fox News’ website, Shepard Smith gives us a tour of the the Fox News Deck’s upgraded studio which inexplicably features a team of staffers in the background working at what appear to be gigantic tablets. According to Smith, those are actually “information specialists” frantically pawing away at what Fox calls BATS—or big area…

Cats are the leading cause of death for Canada’s birds

Canada’s national environmental agency has assessed the various ways in which birds meet their untimely end owing to human activity. The main culprit? Cats, who are responsible for a whopping 196 million bird deaths each year. Owing to human activity, birds can get killed any number of ways. Outside of cats, the leading causes of…

The other Avengers have a deal too good to be true in This Week’s DVDs!

Sorry, Black Widow, but our favorite avenging female super-spy will always be Emma Peel of the classic British spy-fi show The Avengers, which you can pick up for a steal tomorrow — plus American Horror Story goes crazy, Chucky returns and Captain Mal is an ass, all in this week’s DVD releases! • The Avengers:…

Urban Outfitters Is Going to Build Its Own Tiny Town

Good news retail fans! Everybody’s favorite skinny jeans store, Urban Outfitters, is about to break ground not only on a new store but on an entire little Urban Outfitters town. Soon you’ll be able to eat, sleep and shop without ever leaving leaving the cozy embrace of Urban Outfitters. Just like in college. Okay, so…

This bizarre lizard bleeds green poison that can kill you

Prasinohaema skinks, residents of New Guinea, have green bones, green muscles and green tongues. Even their blood is green. And it’s also a deadly poison. But how their blood got so green, and so toxic, remains something of a mystery. To be fair, the hue itself isn’t a complete mystery. According to Louisiana State University…

Why Maze Runner‘s James Dashner abandoned dystopia for virtual reality

James Dashner made a huge impact with The Maze Runner, his dystopian young-adult novel which is being turned into a major movie by Fox. Now he’s back witha novel about virtual reality, The Eye of Minds. We talked to Dashner about why virtual reality could replace dystopia in young-adult novels. The Eye of Minds is…