Latest

Chinese zoo tries to pass off a dog as a lion

A Chinese zoo is under fire for trying to disguise a Tibetan mastiff dog for a lion. The twisted scheme began to unravel when the supposed “African Lion” started to bark. Top image: An example of the very lion-like Tibetan Mastiff. The zoo, which is located in the People’s Park of Luohe in the central…

Facebook will soon test a system where users can make purchases via the mobile app using their login info. The PayPal-style quick payment system begins testing next month with men’s clothing site JackThreads. [AllThingsD]

A New Carbon Supermaterial Is Stronger Than Graphene and Diamond

Move over graphene; get outta here diamond. There’s a new carbon supermaterial in town, and it’s stronger and stiffer than either of you. Researchers from Rice University in Houston have calculated the properties of a new form of carbon that promises more strength and stiffness than any other known material. Called Carbyne, it’s a chain…

7 Street Art Stencils That Interact With Their Surroundings

Paris-based street artist ABOVE is known for weaving stencil paintings into the surrounding streetscape to create images that border on optical illusions. Traveling the world to make art that comments on social and political issues, ABOVE keeps an eye out for situations where real world and painted image can interact, with results that are playful,…

Is J.J. Abrams taking complete control of the Star Wars universe?

Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson says he isn’t officially an Avenger yet, but he’s optimistic. Director Alan Taylor explains how Thor: The Dark World combines genres like never before. Keri Russell describes the world of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Plus how is the world of Arrow big enough for The Flash? Spoilers ahoy!…

The Urban Trike: Big Wheels for Grown-Ups

There’s nothing worse than getting set for a fun-filled day of Trike Drifting with your bros only to realize, “Wait a second, I’m an adult. There’s not trike on Earth that will fit my man-sized frame.” You’re right! Well, only sorta right. There is a trike out there for you fatty! It’s just that they…

Why the Hell Do People Insist on Posting About In-Flight Internet?

What the hell, they have internet on planes these days? You must be, like, the first person ever to be able to post to Facebook from thousands of feet in the air. Quick! Tell your friends! Right now! Waste no time! Everyone will be fascinated. [Oatmeal]

A Brief History of Physics

You probably read about new physics discoveries all the time on this site, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you know how we got to where we are today. This brief history of physics describes how scientists have tried to build on each others work for hundreds of years—with varied success. Produced by the BBC,…

You Can Turn Any Surface Into a Touchscreen With a $150 App

Ubi Interactive and Microsoft have been working together to develop software which can—with the addition of a Kinect and projector—turn any surface into a touchscreen. Now, you can buy the app that powers it for $150. That might sound expensive, but this is a first step on a long road and, besides, it’s kind of…

The Mysterious Magnetar WIth an Insanely Strong Magnetic Field

A team of scientists using the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton space telescope have discovered a weird dead star , which hides one of the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe. The magnetar—a particular kind of neutron star—is called SGR 0418+5729, and is essentially the dead core of a once massive star that collapsed in on…

These Lands Were Entirely Unknown Until the Age of Exploration

While the people of Europe bravely set sail during the Age of Discovery—a period stretching from the early 15th century and continuing to the 17th century—it’s easy to forget that very few of the shores onto which they stepped were entirely uninhabited. This map shows the lands that were, until adventurers landed, entirely unexplored by…

Amazon has given its Silk browser for Kindle Fire a massive UI overhaul: it’s now neater and easier to navigate.

Things the Authorities Say to Mislead You About NSA Surveillance

It’s been two months since President Barack Obama first said that he welcomes a debate about NSA surveillance, which he once again reiterated last week at his press conference. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to have a real debate about a subject when the administration constantly and intentionally misleads Americans about the NSA’s capabilities and supposed…

What the Proper Cell Phone Etiquette Is Around the World

My brain tickles itself when something brand new gets invented, like a smartphone, and how different habits and customs form in each culture around that new smartphone and a brand new form of etiquette specific to each country is created all over the world. Maybe in some countries they call more than they text. Maybe…

The four types of people most likely to murder their families

Since the 1980s, there’s been an appreciable rise in people killing their families, and researchers have started to see a pattern. In a new study, British criminologists have identified four personality types that are common among people who commit this horrifying crime. There’s a great article on the BBC today about the study. Apparently the…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet: Distance

There are two lessons here: One, Stuart Smalley was right (just look at him now, a US Senator). Two, chowing down on a fistful of peyote caps just before trying to talk to your crush for the first time is probably a bad idea.

eBay’s My Gadgets Organizes Your Tech to Make It Easier to Sell

eBay finally officially announced the launch of My Gadgets, a new little wrinkle to eBay that lets you organize and track the value of the gadgets you have accumulated over your years of buying stuff you probably don’t need. It’s like an online portfolio of your stuff, add the gadgets you own and see what…

The Special Effects of Game of Thrones Are Still Unbelievably Amazing

For a TV show, Game of Thrones has clearly mastered the art of special effects. The quality of its visuals is simply spectacular. From the beautiful castles and boorish giants and nipple cutting we already know are fake to the amazing tricks of turning day into a bustling night camp and making snow impossibly glisten,…

AMP: Robots Make a Hell of a Friend (And a Pretty Good Soldier)

AMP is a pretty engaging sci-fi short written and directed by Adam Marisett for Triton Films. It’s set in a world where giant robots can be your best friend and giant robot dogs can be your worst enemy. Basically, it’s the kind of dystopian war where technology is awesome. Here’s the breakdown on the short,…

This is why the ocean is full of dead zones

Every year, a massive “dead zone” develops in the Gulf of Mexico — a region where algae destroys almost all the oxygen in the ocean. No fish or other life forms can survive there. This year’s dead zone is roughly 5,840 square miles (see above map). It’s almost twice as big as last year’s. What…