Latest

What The Hell Is a Transcendental Number?

There are some mathematical concepts that seem straightforward, but once you dig deeper seem to make less and less sense. Transcendental numbers are one of ’em—but what the hell are they? This video seeks to explain. Essentially, it’s a quality which means numbers like Pi can’t be constructed properly using normal algebra. But at this…

This Is Maybe Possibly the HTC One Mini

“Trusted sources” close to Engadget have furnished them with pictures of the supposed HTC One Mini: a smaller, cheaper version of HTC’s flagship One. It is, of course, small in a relative sense, featuring as it does a 4.3-inche screen. Like other undersized Android phones, the guts are also a step down from the flagship…

Airport Extreme Teardown: Hack This Router With Your Own Hard Drive

Apple announced a new Airport Extreme earlier this week, and iFixit has already torn it apart. The good news? It’s a hacker’s dream. Instead of opting for a new, custom case for the new router, Apple has opted to just reuse the case of its Time Capsule—just with the hard drive and connectors ripped out.…

These Bruised Blood Cells Are Over 5,000 Years Old

This may look like your last bad trip, but in fact you’re looking at a sample of damaged blood cells which is over 5,000 years old. Taken from Ötzi, the iceman met his demise on the Schnalstal glacier in the Alps, the dark areas on the cells in the this microscope image show bruising that…

Reuters: Apple Considering 5.7-Inch iPhone and Budget $100 Model

Reuters is reporting that Apple is planning to extend its range of iPhones with new larger-screened phones and a colourful lower-cost version. Sources, “including those in the supply chain in Asia”, have told Reuters that Apple is considering new phones which boast screens of 4.7 and 5.7 inches. The sources claim that, if Apple goes…

The Top 10 Countries Who Request Data from Tech Companies

Spoiler alert: the country that requests the most data from tech companies is the US. We’re number one! We’re number one! This should really be no surprise for anyone who’s been following the news lately but our dominance is actually pretty admirable. Take that you Frenchies! Try to catch us Aussies! We’re horrible. Actually the…

The Weirdest Thing on the Internet Tonight: Four Calories

This is the single most awesome Tic Tac commercial of all time—in that I will never again eat orange Tic Tacs without thinking of a fat fuzzy guy’s belly button. Now that’s branding. [BF]

Every Mom’s Computer Keyboard Looks Like This

Moms are at the absolute best. They brought you into the world, they raised you, they loved you, they took care of you, they Mom’d you. In fact, what they’re not the best at is a very short list. Actually, it’s just one thing: Computers. No matter how easy it is to use a computer,…

These Internet Memes Art Pieces Should Be in a Museum

You know a meme when you see one. Silly image. Impact font. Chortling punchline. You know when something goes viral on the Internet too. It’s all over Facebook. Every site you go to has a post about it. You keep seeing it for three weeks. But you’ve never seen memes and Internet viral hits like…

They’ll Never Catch Him Now

After leaking the data and incriminating details, he packed up his broadcasting machine. He was escaping to somewhere they’d never find him — beyond national borders, and beyond planetary boundaries. This portal was a one-way ticket to another dimension. Howard Lyon is an artist who has worked as a concept designer and illustrator for Wizards…

First Trailer for 300: Rise of an Empire Delivers Hot, Sweaty Action

Those 300 scantily-clad soldiers from 300 may be dead, but luckily Lena Heady is still alive and SHE WANTS BLOOD. Plus the scary super-tall King Xerxes from 300 is also still alive, and his greatest warrior WANTS BLOOD TOO. Prepare for more slo-mo fighting, giant-mouthed yelling, men in tiny metal underwear, and seriously badass sword…

Originally set to open in April, Ashton Kutcher’s Steve Jobs movie ‘Jobs’ has a release date now. It’s coming out on August 16th 2013. [LA Times]

A Jet Powered, Fire Blowing Bicycle Is Not Ridiculous At All

Colin Furze, maniac maker of maniac things like the maniac 50mph baby carriage, has decided to attach a fire-breathing jet propulsion system to an old woman’s bike because that’s what maniacs do. As you can imagine, it’s not ridiculous at all. https://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-fastest-baby-stroller-can-go-50-mph-of-aweso-5950770 It’s COMPLETELY ridiculous. You can see the JET bicycle almost reach 50mph. Furze…

On the importance of storytelling in science

Many of you have probably heard of Story Collider, a traveling show (and weekly podcast) that features compelling stories about science. Each story is unique in its own way. Some are hilarious. Others are gut-wrenching. But they’re all stories – and that quality, more than anything, is what makes them so consistently fascinating, revelatory and,…

Why the iOS 7 App Icons Are So Ugly

iOS 7 is beautiful. It’s exciting. It feels like a completely different phone—vibrant, alive and a design refresh in the truest sense of the world. But, um, what about them app icons? Some are nice but most are bizarre looking and possibly even ugly. How can something look so good inside but so weird on…

Are these really the most essential epic fantasy books ever written?

Five different people have taken a stab at creating lists of the top 50 most essential epic fantasy novels of all time. And their different lists reveal that… nobody’s quite sure how to define “epic fantasy.” And there’s been a noticeable shift in the parameters of the genre lately. Top image: Michael Whelan, via Staffers…

Ex-NSA Official’s Advice to Edward Snowden: Lawyer Up, Watch Your Back

Thomas Drake may know better than anyone what NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden faces in the days to come. In 2010, the former Agency official was prosecuted for allegedly revealing classified information about the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program. https://gizmodo.com/edward-snowden-the-nsa-whistleblower-explains-why-he-512212147 “Be lawyered up to the max and find a place where it’s going to be that much…

No, China is not conducting a giant eugenics project

One of the stories about China you see cropping up a lot in U.S. media is that the nation is conducting a eugenics project to engineer a generation of hyper-smart kids who can conquer the world with their genius. The truth is a lot more interesting than that. In reality, researchers in China are trying…

The Weird and Occasionally WTF World of Matchbox Art

Every matchbox needs a little decoration on the outside. But sometimes package designers go the extra mile to make your moment with fire a truly trippy experience. Here are some of the weirdest matchboxes we’ve ever seen. The King Kong above is from Japan, and produced in the early 1930s. The Iron (Japan, c. 1935)…

Say hello to the particle accelerator of the future

Behold the International Linear Collider — a proposed 31-kilometer electron collider that could shed light on new areas of physics — including dark matter. A five-volume report containing the blueprint for this futuristic particle physics project was published today by an international group of scientists. The designers say it will “compliment and advance beyond the…