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Smog Causes More Than 3 Million Premature Deaths a Year Worldwide

Air pollution is rarely a major concern for most people in Western Europe. You seldom notice it except when sitting in heavy traffic or when it obscures the far horizon at a scenic spot. However until the middle of last century it was a different story, with heavy industry and domestic heating filling city air…

Health Oliver Wild Sep 18

Emoji Help Explain Pantone Colors

Pantone, self-declared arbiter of visual light, has defined more colors than you would think imaginable. But with many colors comes a problem: how do you remember the names? This project uses emoji to try and help. Designed by Burro Studio, this series of images imagines a world in which Pantone color strips ship with helpful…

Tech News Chris Mills Sep 17

iPad Mini 4 Teardown: Literally Just a Smaller iPad Air 2

The new iPad Mini 4 was a footnote at Apple’s recent event, and for good reason: the little tablet really is just Apple’s year-old iPad, with a slightly smaller display. The good folks at iFixit took the Mini 4 apart piece by loving piece to see what’s new. Although things look pretty much identical on…

Tech News Chris Mills Sep 17

The history of the Great Wall of China and what makes it so great

Ted-Ed takes a look at the history of the Great Wall of China, telling the story of its origins and how it relates to what was happening in China at the time. Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen tell the fascinating story of the 13,000-mile ‘dragon’ wall in this animated short. SPLOID is delicious brain candy.…

Sploid Casey Chan Sep 17

Being inside a grocery store during an earthquake is like being in a horror movie

Chile was hit with another earthquake—a strong 8.3 this time—that forced a million people to evacuate and killed 11. It wasn’t as bad as the devastating 8.8 quake of 2010 but still, any time the earth is shaking is never a good time to be on the ground. Here’s footage taken of the earthquake inside…

Sploid Casey Chan Sep 17

Microsoft Is Being Sued for Sex Discrimination

Remember when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told women not to ask for raises, but to “have faith” that they’d get one eventually? According to a class action suit against Microsoft, this kind of talk was just par for the course at a company that undervalues women and does little to discourage sexual harassment. Former Microsoft…

Tech News Annalee Newitz Sep 17

Review: BOOMco’s Halo Dart Guns Aren’t All a Gamer’s Dream Come True

Yes, that’s right—this is a working Halo Needler. It shoots amazing darts that magically stick to targets, just like in the game. (No, they don’t explode.) It’s part of an entire line of new Halo dart guns produced by BOOMco. And I just tried them all. Incidentally, BOOMco is the company that now makes the…

Tech News Sean Hollister Sep 17

The New Broad Museum Tries to Cement Its Place in LA’s Future

“How do you build next to this beauty?” architect Liz Diller said yesterday, pointing next door to the glinting dorsal fins of Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall as she stood in front of the new Broad Museum, which she designed. It’s kind of a shame that any talk of LA’s most potentially exciting new…

Tech News Alissa Walker Sep 17

In India, A Baby Elephant Goofs Off Under the Watchful Eyes of Its Massive Bodyguards

A baby wild elephant plays between two adults outside of Gauhati, India—the same city where, less than a month ago, a male elephant wandered the streets after being separated from his herd. Close human encounters with wild animals have increased due to booming development in the area, which may explain why these two big bodyguards…

io9 Cheryl Eddy Sep 17

The golden glittery fireworks of a grenade launcher captured in a photo

It looks more like a flamethrower or a firework shooter or a glitter dust bomb gun but it’s actually a firing M32 grenade launcher. It’s a picture of Marines training Malaysian ARmed Forces during a non-lethal weapons seminar. What perfect timing it must’ve been to capture this shot. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us…

Sploid Casey Chan Sep 17

The FBI Says Retweets Are Endorsements

Remember when people put that “RTs ≠ endorsements” disclaimer in their Twitter bios, like that would offer some form of protection from the being associated with what they retweeted? Well, a retweet can be seen as an endorsement. It can also apparently be used as evidence that you’re trying to join ISIS. 22-year-old Queens resident…

Tech News Kate Knibbs Sep 17

Quantum “Weeping Angel” Effect Freezes Atoms in Place

The paradox of Schroedinger’s Cat famously demonstrates that a quantum cat sealed in a box is both alive and dead at the same time until we look inside, at which point it becomes one or the other. Such is the weirdness of quantum mechanics. But if a mere act of observation determines the outcome of…

Physics & Chemistry Jennifer Ouellette Sep 17

Is a Giant Academic Publisher Trying to Paywall Wikipedia?

Last week, academic publisher Elsevier announced that it would be donating 45 free ScienceDirect accounts to “top Wikipedia editors,” granting them access to thousands of paywalled scientific journals. And people are outraged. The seemingly benign move has sparked a bitter fight among academics and open access advocates, many of whom think that partnering with the…

Tech News Maddie Stone Sep 17

How These Structures Were Engineered to Survive a Global Catastrophe

Whether spurred by the Cold War, climate change, or just the seemingly inevitable arrival of an asteroid strike, humans have gone to extraordinary trouble to plan—and build—for the worst. These buildings range from the underground bunker where FEMA will broadcast emergency radio alerts to the arctic vault where the Norwegian government is amassing a collection…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Sep 17

Scientists Show What Happens When You Wrap Something in An Invisibility Cloak

The latest model of the Invisibility Cloak is here, and it has two major improvements on the last few models. It can actually wrap around the stuff it’s concealing — and you can’t see the cloak itself. Take a look! This sounds less like science fiction than Greek myth. A cloak can be placed over…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 17

Why Pianos Can’t Be Perfectly Tuned

Technically speaking, pianos tuned to coventional 12-tone equal temperament aren’t actually in perfect tune. A new video from MinutePhysics explains the math behind this musical oddity, and why in the case of pianos, close enough is good enough. For more about imperfect piano tuning, check out this helpful reddit thread and this Wikipedia article about…

io9 George Dvorsky Sep 17

How to make a latte with regular drip coffee and no espresso or milk

Here’s a fun little trick to turn regular drip coffee into a frothy and delicious latte-esque drink that’s not a latte but totally looks and feels like a latte, courtesy of our friends from ChefSteps. It’s pretty simple, actually. Just brew your normal coffee and throw it in a blender with a bit of xanthan…

Sploid Casey Chan Sep 17

Watch a Bunch of Sailors Smash Their Smartphones as Punishment

Navy cadets aren’t supposed to take their phones to training in Thailand. If they do, their superiors give them blocks of concrete and a tough order: SMASH IT! Don’t believe me? Watch the below video of officers-in-training smashing their phones with blocks of concrete. It was filmed—ironically enough with a phone—at the Thai navy’s Communications…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Sep 17

Every Single Doctor Who Story, Ranked from Best to Worst

This weekend, Doctor Who returns, continuing a rich history of time travel and wild adventures. But which of the over 250 Doctor Who stories is the best, and which is the worst? Here’s our stab at ranking every single Doctor Who story, in order of quality. Note: this is based on seeing every Who story…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Sep 17

How The Man Who Wrote Faust Helped Discover Caffeine

We know Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and poet. He was also an amateur botanist, and his interest and connections led to the discovery of the chemical you crave every single morning. You’ve heard of Romantic painters and poets. Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge was, in his way, a Romantic chemist. He lived in…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 17

Smog Causes More Than 3 Million Premature Deaths a Year Worldwide

Emoji Help Explain Pantone Colors

iPad Mini 4 Teardown: Literally Just a Smaller iPad Air 2

The history of the Great Wall of China and what makes it so great

Being inside a grocery store during an earthquake is like being in a horror movie

Microsoft Is Being Sued for Sex Discrimination

Review: BOOMco’s Halo Dart Guns Aren’t All a Gamer’s Dream Come True

The New Broad Museum Tries to Cement Its Place in LA’s Future

In India, A Baby Elephant Goofs Off Under the Watchful Eyes of Its Massive Bodyguards

The golden glittery fireworks of a grenade launcher captured in a photo

The FBI Says Retweets Are Endorsements

Quantum “Weeping Angel” Effect Freezes Atoms in Place

Is a Giant Academic Publisher Trying to Paywall Wikipedia?

How These Structures Were Engineered to Survive a Global Catastrophe

Scientists Show What Happens When You Wrap Something in An Invisibility Cloak

Why Pianos Can’t Be Perfectly Tuned

How to make a latte with regular drip coffee and no espresso or milk

Watch a Bunch of Sailors Smash Their Smartphones as Punishment

Every Single Doctor Who Story, Ranked from Best to Worst

How The Man Who Wrote Faust Helped Discover Caffeine

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