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Was “The Chocolate Cream Poisoner” Really Insane?

Christiana Edmunds was arrested for murder in 1871, after poisoning boxes of chocolate creams in stores. People are still arguing about whether or not she was insane — and what insanity actually means. The Chocolate Cream Poisoner In 1870, Christiana Edmunds was living in Brighton with her mother and having an affair with her across-the-street…

Sign Up for the iOS 8.3 Beta to Get Your Brand New, Jaundiced Emojis

We’ve known that a new set of diverse/sickly cartoon friendshas been on its way for a while now. But thanks to the new iOS 8.3 beta download, that day is finally here. You can officially send your friend a tiny, jaundiced, disembodied head. To get the slightly less racist set of emojis for your very…

Watching Magnetic Putty Devour Magnets In HD Is Ridiculously Satisfying

Magnetic silly putty, neodymium magnets, and time-lapse. Always a winning combination. “I have recently acquired some new magnets that are much much stronger than the ones I had been using before,” writes YouTuber Ian Parks, who shot the footage. “Interesting to see how the putty behaves differently.” Indeed. H/t BuzzFeed

How To Survive An Avalanche

Want to have fun in the snow outside a ski resort? Then avalanches are going to be a huge risk. 35 people were killed by them in the US last winter alone. But, with a little preparation, a few gadgets and some basic knowhow, they can be survivable. Before skiing out of bounds into the…

CSI Cyber: Just Your Basic Gore Porn Forum Rollercoaster Slaughter 

Hello my CyberHeads! Who wants to go to Six Flags? Not me. This episode has instilled a very deep and likely wholly unreasonable fear of Hacked Rollercoaster Murder in my heart. Just kidding, this episode’s villainy so conspicuously lacked any gossamer tether to human motivation that I think I actually feel safer now. Before launching…

Why Announcers’ Voices Sound So Much Different Than They Used To

When you imagine the life of a voiceover actor, you probably think of hushed radio booths, a team of sound engineers, and ridiculously large microphones. But the job of a modern voiceover actor looks very different, and this helps explain why that “announcer’s voice” we’ve come to expect keeps changing. In response to a question…

Carl Sagan’s Son Is a 9/11 Truther

Carl Sagan is arguably science’s biggest rockstar—the ultimate champion for logic and reason. Which makes it all the more painful to find out that his son is a vehement 9/11 truther. In a recent interview for a radio show called 9/11 Free Fall (already off to a great start), Jeremy Sagan—the younger son of Sagan…

This Is What A 250-Year-Old Burnt Pretzel Looks Like

Step aside, Twinkies. The most enduring snack just may be the pretzel, as evidenced by fragments of bakery castoffs discovered during an archaeological dig in Southern Germany. They are estimated to be around 250 tooth-breaking years old. Reports the Guardian: Dorothee Ott, spokeswoman for the Bavarian Office for Historical Conservation, said the pretzel fragments went…

Retrograde Your Kitchen With 8-Bit NES Cart Cutting Boards

If you dropped a little coin on some extra-fancy kitchen counter tops, the last thing you want to do is hack them to pieces with a knife while cutting meats and veggies. But who wants a boring old slab of timber to cut on when Etsy seller CuttingBoredom will make you a beautiful walnut, maple,…

How Tomorrowland Connects To Disney’s Creepy “Small World” Ride

How is exactly is Tomorrowland tied to the Disney empire? Is it tied to anything besides the Tomorrowland theme land? Does it really need to be? Well, it turns out the answer is yes, it’s 100% tied to Disneyland in the creepiest way imaginable. It’s linked to the “It’s a Small World” ride. This new…

Robert Downey Jr. delivers real Iron Man bionic arm to armless kid

I’m a sucker for happy stories, I make no excuses. So, when I saw Alex—a seven-year-old boy who was born with a partially developed arm and loves superheroes—meeting with Tony Stark himself—played by Robert Downey Jr—my heart started to melt. Then I saw Alex in awe with his new bionic arm, I was like… Here’s…

What If Toy Story Was A Gritty Action Movie?

What happens when you mashup, well, every action movie from the last 30 years with the Toy Story franchise? You get Toy Story: Taken, a fan-animated video in which the toys team up for one last mission: to rescue Andy. The folks at Mashed came up with this piece of silliness. Most of the fun…

It’s Only A Matter Of Time Before The Bourbon Shortage Hits

Take a seat and pour yourself a drink (no, no, a different one). You may need it to listen to this news. If bourbon is your drink of choice, you may have heard quiet rumblings the last few years of something unsettling afoot: a possible shortage coming down the pipeline. A bourbon shortage would be…

Kenzō Tange’s Buildings Will Make You Believe In A Better Future

These buildings by Kenzō Tange (1913-2005) look like matte paintings from futuristic movies — but they’re actually some of the most unique megastructures in the world. One of the most famous architects of the 20th century, Tange combined traditional Japanese styles with modern architectural solutions and forms. Nichinan Cultural Center, Nichinan, completed in 1962. (via…

Why the Talking “Smart” Barbie Terrifies Parents

Some child advocates are clamoring for Mattel to halt production of a new “smart” Barbie that can have conversations with your kid. The Barbie’s powered by voice recognition artificial intelligence that’s becoming increasingly prevalent in our everyday gadgets, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t freak people out. Especially when kids are involved. At last month’s…

The Best Part Of Chappie Is Being Turned Into An Incredible Figure

Sure, Chappie may not havelived up to our expecations as a movie, but Chappie the robot was definitely our favourite thing about it. So it’s a good job 3A are turning the titular robot into an amazing action figure we can buy then! The gorgeous 12″ is packed with details, from his tattered exterior panels…

You Can Now Get Motorola’s Great Little Cheap Phone For $100

If you’re on Verizon, you can now get Motorola’s new Moto E, its low-end smartphone champion complete with LTE speed, for just $100 via the carrier’s pre-paid service. That’s insane-o cheap and a cool $50 cheaper than what Motorola offers. Historically, when considering a sub-$100 device, you’re talking some pretty big sacrifices in performance, but…

How Do We Know Dark Matter Exists?

Dark matter can’t be seen or detected by any of our instruments, so how do we know it really exists? Imagine the Universe was a pie, and you were going to slice it up into tasty portions corresponding to what proportions are what. The largest portion of the pie, 68% would go to dark energy,…

A brand new Heinlein story! Robert A. Heinlein wrote a funny cyborg story in response to a cyborg anthology that was dedicated to him, Human Machines. And this rare find is finally appearing in a magazine, the May issue of Galaxy’s Edge. Contact the author at [email protected].

The $761 Peanut Butter and Other Insanely Expensive Government Products

The most expensive peanut butter in the world is sold by the U.S. government. The $761 jar of peanut butter, created to calibrate machines in food science labs, went viral last month. But “Standard Reference Material 2387,” aka peanut butter, is only the tip of the iceberg of a strange and fascinating world. Even among…