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How the Star Wars Logo Got Confused With Nazi Typography

The history of the Star Wars logo has long been controversial for its purported connection to fascist or even Nazi typography. After all, the Star Wars saga is an apparent analogy for World War II, where the Empire is the Third Reich and Darth Vader represents Adolf Hitler. So it wouldn’t be a surprise if…

You Can Finally Get Lost In A Shining-Inspired Hedge Maze

Fans looking to chase their kids around with an axe now have the perfect place to do that. The Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for the Stephen King novel and Stanley Kubrick film, The Shining, has finally opened its very own hedge maze. An international contest was held to select the maze design and out of…

Soil Sensors Can Cut Farms’ Water Use By a Quarter During Drought

We’ve extensively covered California’s drought, in which farming is playing a key role. While there’s no easy answer about how to restrict agricultural water use, a new startup wants to help farmers all over the country conserve valuable H20 using smart sensors that dictate where—and when—to water their crops. Here’s the problem with the way…

This Week’s TV: When Every Home Has An Android Servant, Things Get Weird

Summer TV is in full swing, and we’ve got a couple of new shows premiering this week. There’s the vigilante hacker thriller Mr. Robot and Humans, a series that explores the line between humans and their synthetic servants. Plus, Under the Dome and Falling Skies are both back for new seasons. Details ahead. Tonight Star…

European Police Are Going on the Hunt for ISIS Social Media Accounts

Europol has put together a new task force to shut down social media accounts associated with ISIS, the BBC reports. It’s a tough task—in fact, shutting ISIS’ social media presence down completely may be next to impossible. The new program is administered by European Police, and the hope is that officials can work with a…

The Supreme Court Just Made a Ruling Full of Spider-Man Jokes

The Supreme Court settled a long-running patent case titled Kimble V. Marvel Entertainment. It was basically about patent holders and licensing fees, which isn’t that fun, but Justice Elena Kagan wrote the court’s opinion on the case, which was fun — mainly because she filled it with Spider-Man jokes. Kagan, a self-avowed “avid comic book…

Fill This Tiny Toy Aquarium With Immortal Fish You Draw Yourself

If your attempts to own and care for a pet fish have resulted in a non-stop procession of toilet-side funerals, this new aquarium from Takara Tomy should help boost your success rate. It’s filled with colorful virtual fish you draw and color yourself that will only die if your smartphone does. The aquarium—or Picturerium, in…

The Wildly Inappropriate Scene You Must Watch From Penny Dreadful

As we head for the season endgame, Penny Dreadful is determined to drop the portents and start surprising us. And with Vanessa gone, everything shatters. There’s one scene, in particular, that’s jaw-droppingly nuts. And we made a clip for you! Spoilers ahead… Last season, John Logan spent the third act ratcheting up the tension and…

Selling Erotic Ebooks Is Illegal in Germany Before 10pm 

Thanks to an old-fashioned law that treats ebooks like movies, online booksellers in Germany are eligible for a $56,000 fine if they sell erotic ebooks before 10pm. That means any young fraus desperate to buy sensual Clippy stories may have to wait until after dark if booksellers come up with a plan to comply. After…

These Ants Took Over The World, And We Just Noticed

We know ants form large colonies. In 2002, we realized one specific kind of ant formed supercolonies. And then, in 2010, we learned that they had formed a global colony— and that, without even know it, we had helped them do it. The Argentine Ant It’s not surprising that Argentine ants are a successful invasive…

A Grim Crime-Scene Message Led To A Cold-Blooded Killer … Or Did It? 

A murder is tragic enough on its own. But when a killer carefully leaves some kind of calling card at the scene — like words scrawled on a wall — the act accrues even more horror. Everybody knows the Manson Family did it. But the message attributed to Chicago’s “Lipstick Killer” was just as terrifying.…

See How Drone Warfare Could Get Much, Much Scarier In The Future

We’re already sending machines to kill people — but what happens when those machines can walk and talk? And when we put our own minds into them, so we can control them as if they were our own bodies? That’s the nightmarish future in this excerpt from Christopher Golden’s Tin Men. A low, tinny alarm…

This 3D Software Designs Furniture That Assembles Without Screws or Glue

A new piece of software promises to give Ikea a run for its money by designing flat-packed furniture that can be assembled without the need for tools, screws, nails, or glue. By slotting the pieces together in a specific order, they securely lock together eliminating the risk of them falling apart. The software was created…

The 10 Craziest Punishments In Hell

Not every religion has a version of hell, but if they do, it’s generally not a nice place. It’s where the evil and unjust go to suffer, and the worse they are, the more elaborate their punishments can be. Here are 10 awful (but extremely creative) ways to spend the afterlife. 1) Flaming Wheel In…

About That Ultramarathon You’ve Been Meaning To Run

A recently conducted study concludes that that when extreme athletes (like ultramarathoners) overextend themselves, their guts can leak microbes into their blood stream, “poisoning” their blood and triggering a harmful inflammatory immune response. Scientific American’s Christopher Intagliata has more details. Contact the author at [email protected].

You can now pre-orderthe Pebble Time smartwatch, which was previously only available to Kickstarter backers. Shipments should begin in July. Here’s our preview of the device.

Misshapen Penis Corpse Flower Blooms At Cornell University

The Sumatran titan arum’s species name – Amorphophallus titanum – means “giant misshapen penis”. Guess what its flower looks like? At full growth, the flower stands 3 meters high, pulses with heat, and smells like rotting meat. The heat and stench attracts flies and beetles, which pollinate the plant. The whole show lasts 2 days.…

Free Trials Were Just Reset on All the Adobe Apps You’ll Never Pay For

There comes a time when you go to launch Photoshop and realize that your trial period expired the day before. Instant dread. Well, today is a fabulous day, as Adobe has reset the clock for free trials on all of its Creative Cloud apps. Adobe does this every so often, usually after a major release…

Come With Me If You Want To See Some Insane Terminator Concept Art!

One of the things we’ve always wanted from a Terminator movie is a longer, more insane look at the future war between humans and Skynet. And now, it looks like it’s on. Check out some exclusive concept art of the weapons of the future war for survival — including the Violet Cleaver and the Reaper.…

A Teen Just Died of Plague in Colorado

It’s supposed to be a disease of the middle ages, but every year a few people in the United States contract the bacterial infection that killed half the population of London in the fourteenth century. The latest victim of plague was a high school student in rural Colorado. 16-year-old Taylor Gaes was an athlete who…