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McLaren Is Using Fighter Jet Technology for Wiper-free Windshields

Anyone who’s ever driven in a southern thunderstorm knows that windshield wipers suck. They smear water more than they remove it, and, my God, is that “whip-flick” sound annoying. Well, worry no more. McLaren says it’s doing away with wipers altogether in favor of fighter jet technology that keeps windshields clean. The British supercar company…

The Doctor is real! Behold a life-size flying TARDIS!

Congratulations humans, we’ve reached the pinnacle of human achievement. We’ve built a flying TARDIS. Now if we could only teach it how to land… Powered by 12 rotors and constructed out of styrofoam. This giant TARDIS was built and filmed by Flyonix. Unfortunately the TARDIS doesn’t last too long in the sky, as you’ll see…

Federal Judge Says NSA Phone Spying Is Probably Unconstitutional

A federal judge just ruled the NSA’s widespread collection of phone records is most likely unconstitutional and gave the go ahead for plaintiffs to file a lawsuit. And pending appeal, the judge said that the data collection should be halted. Of course, until that appeal goes through, the NSA will continue spying. The ruling sounds…

DeLorean’s Next Radical Idea: An Engine that Starts Using Lasers

You might not realize what a great engineer DeLorean was — until you look at these never-before-seen sketches for a next-generation engine. Which included laser ignition, and something that looks curiously like a flux capacitor. https://jalopnik.com/deloreans-next-radical-idea-was-this-never-before-seen-1484018531

Ruin Christmas Early With Scientifically Accurate Santa

What’s that you say? Santa’s existence is actually impossible? Sure you may have heard some of these facts stated before, but never this musically—or with this much absurd animation. Sorry to steal your joy, but the big man would have to travel 3,000 times the speed of sound to reach every child in the world.…

​The 14 Least Competent Alien Invaders of All Time

There have been many times when the Earth has been at the mercy of alien invaders. And there have been more than a few times where haven’t — not because of our weapons, our savagery, or our inner strength — but because the aliens themselves were morons. Here are 14 alien invaders who did not…

Millions of Microbeads from Soap Have Contaminated the Great Lakes

Who doesn’t like smooth, exfoliated skin? How about fish living in the Great Lakes? On top of invading Asian carp and algae blooms, the Great Lakes are being polluted with tiny plastic beads from soap. The polyethylene beads are most commonly found in exfoliating facial scrubs, but they also appear in body washes and toothpastes.…

The “pause” in global warming comes from bad data

Global temperatures haven’t gone up in the last few years. Does that mean climate change isn’t happening? No. In this video, York University chemist Kevin Cowtan explains very carefully how he and his colleague discovered that the “pause” is a fiction, the result of bad data and bad statistical reasoning. Climate change deniers have jumped…

Video: This explosive Christmas tree made of detonation cord is nuts

RatedRR never fails to deliver crazy videos of things exploding, firing, or bursting into flames. This video of a Christmas tree made of detonation cord—a flexible plastic tube filled with an material that explodes “at a rate of approximately 4 miles per second”—is fantastic. As promised, there would some explosions in Sploid. Happy holidays! SPLOID…

What Should Miami Do With Its Graffiti-Covered Marine Stadium?

If you follow anyone who was down in Miami for the art fairs earlier this month, you might have seen their photographs of the Miami Marine Stadium, a decaying, dilapidated oceanfront venue for powerboat racing that turns 50 years old next week. Condemned in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew, it’s since been plagued by vandalism and…

Ask an expert your questions about China’s past, present, and future

Rana Mitter is a professor of Chinese history and modern politics at the University of Oxford. He’s here to answer your questions today about China’s past, present, and what we might expect for the future. He’s the author of the book Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, looking at China’s history during the second World…

These New Sensors Will Turn Passenger Jets Into Flying Weathervanes

Despite our best efforts, accurately predicting the weather remains about as easy as accurately predicting the next winning Powerball numbers. But with the installation of a new type of humidity sensor, the fleets of commercial passenger jets that inhabit our skies could soon provide meteorologists an unprecedented look at the sky—in real-time. Developed through a…

Amazon Can Take Away Your Digital Books and Movies Whenever It Wants

In light of the holiday season, what better time than now to remind ourselves to give thanks for all that we have. Although, in the case of any digital goods you’ve “purchased,” maybe don’t add those to the list quite yet. Because remember: You don’t actually own any of it. https://gizmodo.com/you-dont-own-the-books-on-your-kindle-5954497 Talking to BoingBoing, one…

Operation: The claymation horror short inspired by real life parasites

Stop-motion animation goes full horror as a man named Bob is attacked by bio-mechanical parasites. Check out the creepy short film Operator. According to the director, Sam Barnett, this short was inspired by: “cordyceps mushrooms which infect and control the minds of ants, causing them to climb up as high as possible so that when…

A scientifically accurate Santa Claus would horrifyingly destroy Earth

Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! Santa Claus isn’t *spoiler alert* real! And that’s actually a good thing. Because if Santa Claus was real and scientifically accurate, he would travel the world so fast that he’d basically become a flaming meteor that would destroy the world and crater the Earth. Claus himself would then turn into ground…

This Week’s TV: Will the Person of Interest team lose another MVP?

This week’s must-see TV is the fall finale of our favorite network show, Person of Interest. And they’re hinting that one of the show’s heroes may quit the POI team. Watch clips from the Robot Chicken Xmas special, and John Oliver’s guest spot on Rick and Morty! Plus learn how Sherlock Holmes created forensic science!…

New research: Great white sharks are surprisingly similar to humans

A new genetic study on great white shark’s hearts has found that these animals are strikingly similar to humans. More than zebrafish, in fact, which is now widely used to “study cancers, neurological diseases and blood disorders” because of their similitude to humans. Cornell University’s professor Michael Stanhope—the lead author of the paper published in…

Report: Windows Phone 8.1 Will Finally Have a Notification Center

The Verge reports that Microsoft is gearing up to ship Windows Phone 8.1. The new OS, which will apparently be detailed at the company’s BUILD conference in April, will finally (FINALLY) add a notification center as well as a Siri-like personal assistant. According, to the Verge’s Tom Warren, the new notification center will have two…

The Best Reason to Join Google+ (Or Else!)

Have you signed up for Google+ yet? Have you?! Or have you been cowering in the closet, whispering empty reassurances to yourself as it slowly but surely closes in. There’s only one place this can all be headed: Enter Google Blackmail. OK so College Humor’s take on the future is (probably) not accurate, but the…

This is a 2,400-year-old baby bottle. This recently discovered terracotta pig was used as a toy and a baby bottle by the Messapii people of what is now southern Italy. These vessels, called guttus, had narrow necks and small openings from which liquids could be poured slowly, even in drops. The beautifully preserved artifact was…