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Do Those Household Life Hacks Really Work? See 30 Of Them In Action

We love seeing those little life hacks that are supposed to make everyday tasks — from painting your walls to scooping ice cream — just a little bit easier. But how many of them really work as well as their proponents claim? This video puts 30 supposed life hacks to the test. John Green, author…

This Short Is A Brilliant Example Of Silent, CG-Animated Storytelling

The premise of the animated short film Le Gouffre is simple: two friends need to get across a broad chasm, so they start to build a bridge from one end to the other. But over the course of ten minutes, we’re treated to a beautiful, wordless drama about friendship, filled with plenty of tense action.…

The Battle For Emoji Diversification Is Almost Over

The fight for emoji diversity is one with a long and storied history, but it looks like victory might be on the horizon: in the latest version of OS X, Apple is giving you more choice than just white emoji or racist emoji. In case you’re not up to speed on the battle for #emojidiversity,…

Drinking Can Help Boost Your Immune System, And Other Wellness Fun Facts

Does chicken soup really have healing powers? Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? And what’s so special about garlic, anyway? This short video from AsapSCIENCE breaks down the science behind sick remedies that work (and don’t). Via Laughing Squid.

No, this isn’t some hi-tech torture dungeon: it’s the Maxwell Test Chamber at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands. It’s used to simulate the dead of space for satellites. Inside, no-one can hear you scream. The spikes are made of foam, and serve to absorb any internal signals from satellites that are being tested.…

Decoding The Internet’s Hidden Infrastructure

The internet has obviously changed our virtual lives beyond recognition — heck, no-one had ‘virtual lives’ before the internet — but it’s also had a marked, if more subtle impact on our physical surroundings. Ingrid Burrington’s project ‘Networks of New York’ is an attempt to decode some of the internet infrastructure hiding in plain sight…

Is There Really Any Such Thing As A Do-Over On 12 Monkeys, After All?

Syfy’s TV version of 12 Monkeys continues to play around with the question of whether Cole’s time-travel is changing the past, or whether it “already happened.” That ambiguity leads to some pretty interesting story possibilities, as last night’s episode “Atari” demonstrates. Spoilers ahead… The heart of “Atari” has to do with Cole thinking he’s able…

Mars Will Test Our Capabilities, But Europa Is The Prize

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is perhaps the most tantalizing destination in our solar system. Scientists have been trying for years to kickstart a mission to Jupiter’s most enigmatic moon, with very Earth-like concerns over costs keeping missions grounded until now. Above: The prize, Europa, a watery world. NASA The European Space Agency’s ambitious mission to…

On Sailor Moon Crystal, Change Might Actually Be A Good Thing

Sailor Moon Crystal is back for a new story arc, and after a pretty disastrous ending to a sloppy first half-season, I was less than optimistic going into the new ‘Black Moon’ arc – but so far at least, a shake up of the story might have been a good thing for our Sailor Senshi.…

Your Explanation Of The Explosive Sodium-In-Water Reaction Is Incomplete

Many of us gained our first appreciation for chemistry upon witnessing a high school teacher drop a chunk of sodium into a beakerful of water. You may think you know the explanation behind the explosive behavior that follows, but newly published research suggests there’s more to the reaction than previously believed. Top Animation via TREVMANVW…

Fascinating photos reveal how they built the SR-71 Blackbird

Built and designed in the 1960s after the A-12 Oxcart, the SR-71 Blackbird is still the fastest, most vanguardist air-breathing airplane in the history of aviation. These once classified photos reveal how Lockheed built both birds in secret, in California. They look taken at the Rebel base in Hoth. “Everything had to be invented” The…

Scientists created a transparent eggshell to see how an embryo grows

Damn, science. Researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China have created a see through eggshell to keep track of how an embryo grows over time. The material is made from a soft, silicon-based organic polymer that maintains the shape of a real eggshell but is completely transparent. What you’re looking at is what is happening…

Stop motion video makes marbles look like they have a mind of their own

This music video directed by Christophe Thockler for Victoria+Jean’s song Firecracker reminds me a little bit of staring inside a kaleidoscope. Only if the inside of that kaleidoscope was filled with mini-drones in the shape of marbles that move around as if they were controlled by one hive mind. My imagination aside, it’s pretty cool.…

Using Satellites, We Can Spot Pirate Fishing Boats from Space

The ocean is vast. We cannot patrol all of it. But now environmental groups are getting into the satellite game, watching for illegal fishing boats from the skies. It’s just one more example of how high-quality, real-time satellite imagery can change our relationship to the world around us. NPR has a storyabout Pew Charitable Trust’s…

Video: Making cast iron skillets the old fashioned way is pretty fun

Anthony Bourdain has a new show of sorts that explores the craftsmanship of certain items and the people behind them and the first episode focuses on Borough Furnace, a small metal casting workshop that makes handcrafted cast iron skillets. You see a bit of the process of how they turn recycled iron into cookware. It’s…

BattleBots Is Back After Ten Years, And It’s Bound To Be Incredible

Oh hell yes: BattleBots is coming back to TV. This summer, homemade robots will battle to the death on television, just as Asimov intended. They’ll be faster and stronger than ever before. Which makes sense, because the last time BattleBots was on television was over a decade ago. Imagine what they could do now. According…

How the Pentagon plans to launch rockets into orbit using jet fighters

DARPA’s Airborne Launch Assist Space Accessis not a new idea. In fact, they have been working on it for some time. Now the Pentagon’s research arm have a neat concept video to show us how they are planning to put stuff in low earth orbit. You know, like satellites and other secret darpish things. SPLOID…

Skin From Human Cadavers Helps Wounds Heal Better 

Scientists have a promising if slightly grisly treatment for wounds: skin from human cadavers stripped of everything but its cells. Sound weird? Let me explain. Organ transplants are easy to understand; you take the whole organ and put it in a new body. But there are plenty of structures like ligaments, cartilage, the windpipe that…

Jupiter Ascending‘s Spaceship Designs Are Even Cooler Than You Knew

Jupiter Ascending has some of the most stunning visuals we’ve ever seen in a space opera. The movie’s spaceships are just stunning, and unlike anything else in movies or elsewhere. We talked to lead designer George Hull, and he told us how Brutalist architecture and Siamese fighting fish influenced these ships. We’ve featured Hull’s artwork…

This Bauhaus-Inspired Watch Is Smart Because It’s So Simple

When I started college, my family bought me a Mondaine Swiss Railway watch based on actual Swiss Railway clocks. I loved it. How could you beat a classic? Now, a new addition to the MoMA Design Store from Uniform Wares has shown me the way—in the form of a timepiece designed to look like Bauhaus-inspired…