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How to Go Back to iOS 8 and Get Your Cell Service Working Again

If you just updated your new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus, you’ve probably noticed your cell service and TouchID have died a swift death. But fear not! There is a way to downgrade back to iOS 8 and restore full functionality while Apple patches the update. Here’s how to do it. Of course, doing this…

Here’s Where the Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory Actually Came From

Look at the sky above you. Are those long, glittering clouds actually part of a government experiment to poison you? If you believe in chemtrails — a conspiracy theory that’s spawned a political movement — then yes. If you believe in science, not so much. Photo by Gabriele Maltinti via Shutterstock A Conspiracy Is Born…

Create Whatever Furniture You Need With This Cardboard Building Set

If you’re not going to be living too long in a place, decking out your temporary abode in recyclable cardboard furniture actually makes a lot of sense. It’s cheaper than real furniture, you don’t have to bring it next time you move, and with these modular TapeFlips sets you can actually build exactly the pieces…

The Agents Of SHIELD Are A Sad Shadow Of Their Former Selves

The season opener of Agents of SHIELD wasn’t super plot-heavy. Rather, it focused on the characters, showing just how messed-up our team still is, months later. And we glimpsed just how much of an uphill journey it’s going to be for these guys to help themselves, much less anybody else. Spoilers ahead… So the big…

​iPhone 6 Plus Review: The Best Tablet I’ve Ever Used

Six years ago, I sat on my girlfriend’s couch, casually flipping her new iPhone 3G end over end. I was pondering why anyone would buy an iPhone over my clearly superior T-Mobile G1 handset. Yes, I was an Android nut, a former Sidekick owner who believed that smartphones should have physical keyboards and be held…

How Boxtrolls Created One Of The Richest Worlds Of Any Animated Movie

The Boxtrolls, the latest film from Coraline and ParaNorman studio Laika, opens this week, and your eyes are in for a treat. The world of The Boxtrolls was inspired by everything from Monty Python to Charles Dickens to the Russian ballet, creating a sumptuous visual feast. Along with other members of the press, we were…

What it’s like trying to watch US Genre shows in the UK

Autumn has begun, and that means only one thing: The Fall TV season has started, and we’re on the cusp of a very special time for nerdy TV shows. That is, unless you’re like me and live in the UK, in which case: The Golden Age will not be Televised… yet. https://gizmodo.com/are-we-at-the-dawn-of-a-golden-age-of-comic-book-tv-sho-1595508642 Gotham. Arrow. Agents…

Robotic Birds Are the (Ridiculously Expensive) Modern-Day Scarecrows

At the Sydney Opera House, seagulls are a bigger nuisance than pitchy tenors. Management is desperate to keep the ravenous sky rats away, so much that they’ve installed a large robotic bird of prey as a modern-day scarecrow. They say it costs $6500. Which seems like a large sum for a bird-scaring machine… but compared…

The Best PCs You Can Build for $300, $600, and $1200

Looking for a new computer? Lifehacker’s got the guide you need to build the best one you can for however much money you have. Read on below to find out what you should buy. https://lifehacker.com/the-best-pcs-you-can-build-for-300-600-and-1200-5840963

A Wheel of Fortune episode without all the bullshit only lasts 3 minutes

Someone had the genius idea of editing out all the bullshit from an episode of Wheel of Fortune and leave only the parts where something actually happens. The result is three minutes of intense and frenetic Wheel of Fortune action. I wish there was a channel with no-bullshit versions of all TV shows. SPLOID is…

​Can Inflatable Poles Make Better Tents?

Replacing their rigid predecessors, inflatable poles offer advantages like ease of setup — you just pump them up — and increased strength. Disadvantages are weight and complication. Worth it? We spent a week living in an inflatable tent to find out. Pictured above is the Heimplanet Mavericks tent, built to resist 120mph winds thanks to…

Why The World Will Benefit From An Aging Population

As the bulk of the global population gets progressively older, most of us worry about the potential problems it’ll create. But a new study suggests that aging and the social changes that go along with it may introduce many positive benefits. Managing an aging population is going to be challenging, no doubt. We’re already feeling…

iOS 8.0.1 Is Breaking Cellular and TouchID on New iPhones, Don’t Update

New iPhone owners: Do not update to iOS 8.0.1 yet. The upgraded iOS 8 that just rolled out over the air is killing the ability of phones to connect to cellular networks and is also breaking other features like TouchID. We have confirmed those two problems, and we’re investigating what else might be wrong. If…

KLM’s Sherlock dog is an adorable lie

Yes, that viral video of KLM’s “lost and found” dog reuniting passengers with their lost phones is adorable. But sadly, it’s just an ad campaign. The dog is not a permanent member of KLM’s actual lost and found team. A Dutch news site confirms that it’s all just an adorable stunt. A translation from one…

Meet the Scirens, the Actresses Who Want Better Science in Hollywood

When talented women embrace science, the result is a steady stream of joy and curiosity. We sat down with the Scirens, a new collaboration of actresses sharing their excitement for science and technology who advocate for their inclusion in the entertainment industry. This spring, actress and writer Taryn O’Neill was inspired to solidify her position…

10 Space Empires That Actually Make Economic Sense

Everybody loves a huge space empire. A far-flung interplanetary civilization combines the romance of exploration with the pride and cool-factor of building something. But not every star-spanning regime is a viable proposition. Here are 10 star-empires from science fiction that make economic sense. Top image: Leviathan Wakes, cover art by Daniel Dociu. The main problem…

Someone please turn this 8-bit animation into an arcade game ASAP

This 8-bit style animated short film features a very enthusiastic moose and his inseparable sidekick, the yellow cat. They are on a mission to rescue Princess Burger from the evil clutches of a Hipster Octopus. Will they succeed? Of course they will. The short film was created by Mike Scott for the Nickelodeon International Animated…

Man Turned His Amputated Leg Into A Real-Life Leg Lamp

It didn’t end up looking like the “major award” from A Christmas Story, but a Dutch man succeeded in turning his amputated leg into a floor lamp. But not before engaging in a battle with the hospital over what he could and couldn’t do with his own disembodied body part. After Leo Bonten broke his…

Two speculative fiction books getting literary acclaim. The 10 books on the National Book Award longlistinclude the post-apocalyptic novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and the gaming-oriented Wolf in White Vanby John Darnielle, which we reviewed here .

iPhone 6 Review: The Phone That Lured Me Back to Apple

I’d rather get this out of the way up front: the iPhone 6 is the best smartphone you can buy. In fact, it’s better than that. The iPhone 6 convinced me to switch back to Apple. It feels strange to say this, but the last time I owned an iPhone, it was a 3GS. That…