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First Up-Close Images of Mars’s Near-Miss Comet

It may not look much, but these are the first images of Comet C/2013 A1, known as Siding Spring, as it passed by Mars on Sunday. The images were captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. https://gizmodo.com/comet-c-2013-a1-known-as-siding-spring-passes-mars-j-1648349372 The comet passed closer to Mars than any comet has ever passed by Earth in recorded history—so scientists are…

Mac Mini 2014 Teardown: Minor Tweaks and Major Upgrade Headaches

We’re glad to know that the Mac Mini is back—but has it changed much inside? Fortunately, iFixit has torn the sucker apart to find out what lurks within. https://gizmodo.com/the-mac-mini-is-back-with-all-new-guts-1647212364 Of course, over the weekend many people reported that it was now impossible to upgrade the RAM in side the Mini. But here’s some choice cuts…

CGI footage of people falling and not getting up makes me laugh so hard

I must be a horrible person because I howled so hard when I saw this CGI footage by Dave Fothergill that shows computer generated people falling down over and over again as they get swept around by a swinging metal fence. Don’t get me wrong, I’m rooting for these clumsy CGI folk to make it…

Black Friday Lego giveaway leaked by shipping error

LUGPol user len got a special surprise in his Lego shipment when the 2nd of the Holiday Lego sets accidentally showed up as the free giveaway in his order. The Creator Ice Skating (40107) set was not supposed to be available until Black Friday, but thanks to the screw-up, you can see the box image…

All of Peyton Manning’s record breaking touchdown passes in one chart

Data Looks Dope’s Max Einstein just made this visualization that charts every touchdown pass that Peyton Manning, who is now the record holder for TD passes, has thrown in his career. Yep, all 510 of them (so far). It shows the distance of each pass along with the receiver who caught it from 1998 to…

Get Ready, Southeastern United States, the Sharknado Is Coming For You

Sharknado 3: Has This Joke Run Its Course Yet? has announced its next target and it’s, well, most of the southeastern coast of the U.S. It sounds like our leads are going to be running from a sharknado that chases them. Is this a tornado of Voodoo Sharks? Now that the major metropolitan areas of…

Watch The Simpsons get animated to look like other famous cartoon shows

If you ever wondered what characters from The Simpsons would look like if they got animated in the style of South Park or Archer or Adventure Time or various animes or maybe even made to look like minions, well, here you go. On last night’s episode, we got to see what The Simpsons would look…

The Latest Batman News Is Both Surprising And Not Surprising At All

Thanks to DC’s Diamond Previews solicits for January 2015, the next person to step into the green boots of Batman’s sidekick Robin has been revealed. Since it’s a spoiler, the reveal is after the jump — but I do feel confident the new Robin’s identity will not shock you. Something else will, however. Ready? Yeah,…

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade summed up in a ridiculous 60 seconds

I always enjoy these stupid simple and zany animation summaries of movies by 1A4STUDIO that take film classics and squeeze all the important scenes in goofy squealing glee. Here’s the newest: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It’s like one awesome chase scene. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

The Man Who Makes Movie Posters Into Modern Art

Drew Struzan is a movie poster master. If you have seen a film—any film—considered to be a classic in the last three decades or so, chances are good that he painted the art that made you excited to hit the theater. Star Wars! Indy! The Goonies! E.T.! Muppets! Police Academy! All those and lots, lots…

Just Because Magic Has Rules, Doesn’t Mean It Should Be Predictable

A lot of fantasy writers and readers will tell you that magic needs to have a clear set of rules, so you don’t just have a situation where magic can do whatever the author needs it to do. A system of magic. But go too far in that direction, and you end up with something…

Swimming in an iceberg is like being inside the Fortress of Solitude

Swimming inside an iceberg looks amazing because the ice looks like glass and that’s crazy, and because it kind of resembles an underwater version of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Or at least, like a crystal palace. National Geographic shows us how a free diver explores the ice cold waters below. The first minute and a…

Unearthing 91-Year-Old Sphinxes From the Buried Ten Commandments Set

Hollywood lore and biblical history have been buried together for almost a century under the coastal sands of California, but archaeologists recently unearthed a massive 15-foot-tall Sphinx built for Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 black-and-white epic The Ten Commandments. The “Lost City of DeMille” is situated on the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, near San Luis Obispo. Peter Brosnan…

The Eye in the Rock Broke Me With Its Gaze

If there’s one thing I learned as graduate student of thaumaturgy, it’s that sometimes you choose projects that are just too big for your level of expertise. Here’s a hint, people: Don’t decide your thesis project will focus on awakening omniscient eyeballs before you’ve learned the spell for sleep. Junton Lee is an illustrator and…

Holy crap, this amazing Universe simulator makes me want to buy a new PC

It’s been a long time since I craved a computer program, but now I want Space Engine so much that I’m ready to buy a PC just to be able to immerse myself in it. Developed by Vladimir Romanyuk, Space Engine is a complete sandbox simulation of the Universe with mind-blowing graphics. Check this out:…

How do you know whether a scientific study is bogus? Over at Popular Mechanics, there’s a very simple guide. Keep their six-point test in mind next time you’re reading about a “scientific” study that claims it’s a great idea to close borders during an epidemic.

Fearing An Alien Invasion, An Inventor Tests His Instant Panic Room

Joe and Irene have been testing their product, a small device that can expand into an impenetrable panic room. But Joe fears that aliens are about to attack the Earth, and that the panic room won’t prove safe enough. Is this prescience or paranoia? Marc Leidy wrote and directed Nothing Safer, a brief thriller that…

The Greatest Representations of Comets in the History of Art

We may not have known what comets were until the late sixteenth century, but humans have been recording their impressions of these orbiting ice balls for thousands of years. Some of the most beautiful art ever made reveals how long comets have been inspiring our imaginations. The Halley’s comet on Bayeux Tapestry, made in the…

There Is an Inherent Problem With Prequels

News of a sequel of a movie that you love can feel a little bittersweet: On one hand you get to revisit a fictional world that you love. On the other, there’s a not insignificant chance that visit will be unpleasant and awkward. Even worse, though, can be news of a prequel. After reading about…

Neil Gaiman Explains Why Sandman Isn’t Part Of The DC Movie Slate

When Warner Bros announced its large, large calendar of movies based on DC superheroes (and villains), there was one movie that as curiously absent — the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, which supposedly Joseph Gordon-Levitt was already in talks to star and direct. What gives? Neil Gaiman explained the deal on his blog last week:…