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Facebook’s Crazy Facts and Figures

They have 1 billion users, but that’s not Facebook’s only amazing statistic. There are a lot more, starting with a staggering 1.13 trillion likes. One point thirteen trillion likes, people. It’s crazy. Here are the rest of their stats, compiled since the first day of Facebook: Over 1.13 trillion likes since launch in February 2009.…

Report: Microsoft Office Will Hit iOS and Android Next Spring (Updated)

Oh, boy. Here we go again. Microsoft Office had reportedly been confirmed for iOS and Android, and should be available on both platforms in March 2013. Why should we believe this now more than the previous rodeos? Because this time, it comes from Microsoft itself. https://gizmodo.com/office-for-ipad-is-reportedly-imminent-updated-5886842 As the Verge reports, Microsoft product manager Petr Bobek…

One of the coolest GIFs we’ve ever seen: a rotating, 3D nebula

Things that GIFs are good for, in no particular order: 1. Cats. This one, specifically. 2. IWDRM 3. Absolutely jaw-dropping 3D renderings of astronomical bodies. Like this one, created by astrophotographer J-P Metsävainio, of a star cluster named IC 1396. Writes Metsävainio: Since astronomical objects are too far away, no real parallax can be imaged.…

Levitating Wireless Candelabra Makes For an Amazing Thanksgiving Centerpiece

It’s all explainable via science, but if you replace your typical cornucopia centerpiece with this floating steel plate supporting a glowing wireless candelabra, your dinner guests will be too blown away to notice your dry turkey and lumpy gravy. This awesome demonstration of magnetic levitation and inductive power was recorded at Paris’ Palais de la…

Cheap Third-Party Lightning Cables Could Finally Be On the Way for Your iPhone 5

If you’ve been wanting an extra iPhone 5 cable, but haven’t wanted to pay the full $40 for one, help might be on the way: a Chinese company called iPhone5mod says it has cracked the authentication chip found in the lightning connector and is now selling the cables for $20 apiece. According to TG Daily,…

SpaceX has completed its first commercial cargo delivery to the ISS

Early this morning, SpaceX’s supply-hauling Dragon capsule was successfully captured by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, in the first-ever commercial cargo delivery to the manned space outpost. With 11 resupply missions remaining in the SpaceX/NASA contract, it seems the private company’s billion-dollar delivery deal with The Agency is off to a good start. “Looks…

The real reason why the Pioneer spacecrafts appear to be slowing down

Back in July we reported on a new theory explaining why both Pioneers 10 and 11 were decelerating at a rate that seemed to defy Newtonian physics. The answer, it seemed, had to do with heat from the electrical subsystems and the decay of plutonium which was pushing back on the craft. But now, a…

Spectacular Dubai Engulfed By Fog Looks Like Cloud City

Dubai-based photographer Gerald Donovan has sent us this spectacular video of the city completely engulfed by fog. It’s extremely beautiful and eerie, with the Burj Khalifa and the rest of the buildings completely detached from the ground, apparently built on clouds.

New Zealand is now minting Lord of the Rings money

It’s nothing as radical as Gandalf Dollars or Bilbo Bucks or Gollum Wheat Pennies, but yes, money emblazoned with actors Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman’s mugs will soon be legal tender in New Zealand. On November 1, the New Zealand Post will release a series of commemorative coins and stamps bearing the faces of sundry…

Science Just Killed Any Hope You Ever Had of Jurassic Park Being Real

Every so often, a scientific breakthrough comes along that completely reshapes our world, giving us untold insight and inestimable hope for a more perfect future. What a world, it makes us think, and what privilege to be a part of it. This is not one of those breakthroughs. This is bullshit. Nature reports that researchers…

Logitech’s Windows 8 Touchpad Loves Gestures, Hates Wires

Logitech has given its Wireless Touchpad a much needed facelift that makes it look almost identical to Apple’s Magic Trackpad—save for a sleek dark gray finish, and the lack of any wires. https://gizmodo.com/logitechs-wireless-touchpad-is-a-magic-trackpad-for-win-5839821 You will have to top off its built-in rechargeable battery sometimes with a USB cable, but for the most part it won’t…

First Private Space Resupply Mission Has Been a Complete Success

The first private rocket company in the world—SpaceX of Hawthorne, California—has just achieved a big success for space exploration and the American space industry: their Dragon spaceship has successfully docked with the International Space Station at 9:05AM. This is the first official resupply mission for the ISS, under contract with NASA. It has been flawless:…

Spoilers galore for the Walking Dead premiere, plus an infamous Game of Thrones scene begins filming!

Could The Avengers and The X-Men face off on-screen? One producer says it’s possible. Game of Thrones stars filming one of the most notorious scenes in George R.R. Martin’s books. Check out brand new Skyfall and Wreck-It Ralph videos. Plus interviews with the stars of The CW’s Vampire Diaries and Arrow! Spoilers from here on…

This Chainless Electric Bike Makes You the Backup Generator

Your average e-bike is just a regular bicycle fitted with an electric motor. When the battery dies, you can just revert to pedalling so you’re not stranded. The new Footloose from Mando, however, takes a different approach. There’s still a set of pedals, but they’re used to power an alternator which generates electricity keeping the…

Advanced Trolling 101: Think Big

You hate “green” energy. You love mayhem. You’re an eccentric billionaire just looking for a good way to kill a Sunday afternoon. If any of these applies to you, here’s a blueprint for the most advanced trolling the world has ever known. Let this be a lesson to all of us: no matter what, we…

Samsung’s Galaxy S III Mini Might Have Shrunken Specs, Too

When Samsung confirmed that its 4-inch Galaxy S III mini was real, it promised that it wouldn’t just be another horrible tiny budget phone. But if MobileGeeks’ information about the handset is correct, we may be in for a letdown tomorrow. https://gizmodo.com/samsung-launching-new-four-inch-galaxy-s-iii-mini-tomor-5950454 It’s not that the device looks actively bad, like some other 4-inch clunkers…

How Can We See Light?

Light is tricky. You probably know that we experience “light” by seeing it bounce off something before being absorbed into our eyes. But what about light itself? That’s much tougher, since in order to see the light, it has to be absorbed. Solving for this little Catch 22 won Serge Haroche the 2012 Nobel Prize…

Google’s Cultural Institute Is Now a Massive Online Museum

Google’s Cultural Institute has had a shot in the arm, and is now host to a massive set of 42 online collections, which cover all manner of 20th and 21st century history. Rich with video, images and text, the collections span everything from Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, through D-Day and Auschwitz, to civil rights’ in…

Leaked Ads Are a Reminder of How Slick Windows 8 Is

On the run up to the official launch on October 26th, these four leaked clips are part of Microsoft’s attempts to promote Windows 8. Whatever you think of the OS, there’s no denying that these ads, which show off the new UI and emphasize its touchscreen abilities, make it look damn slick. [Techit via Neowin…

Spotify Premium users will be able to stream music through Samsung’s new smart TVs. [Pocket-lint]