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The Secret History of Emergency Exits

When designing a commercial structure, there is one safety componentthat must be designed right into the building from the start: egress. “Egress” refers to an entire exit system from a building: stairs, corridors, and evacuation routes outside the building. Each state’s building code specifies a certain number of means of egress, depending on the size…

The Grand Canyon Faces Gravest Threat in the Park’s 95-Year History

Developers want to put gondolas, hotels and shops in and around the Grand Canyon, in what the National Park Service has called the “most serious threat the park has faced in its 95-year history.” Above: A panorama of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, from which proposed developments would be visible | Photo Credit:…

Astronomers discover farthest stars in the mysterious Milky Way halo

A team of astronomers led by John Bochanski has found the farthest stars in our galaxy in the mysterious Milky Way halo, a rare discovery that may change our understanding of the formation of our galactic home. They’re so far away that, if you took a photo of the Milky Way from their orbit, it…

Here’s What Saving $1.3 Billion On a New Stadium Looks Like

Yesterdaywe learnedthat London-based architect Zaha Hadid had rethought her design for Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, after widespread protests and a major budget cut put the original design in jeopardy. Dezeen has the new images of the redesigned stadium, and it’s… pretty damn similar, despite a $1.3 billion budget cut. Dezeen says these renderings were released by…

Chromecast’s Best New Trick: Make Your Own Infinite Inception Vortex

Now that Chromecast screen mirroring is here, you can beam anything from your phone to your TV. It’s great for playing games and casting content from apps that don’t support Chromecast yet. But the best thing you can do with it is turn on your camera and point it at the screen. Inspired by redditor…

Walk Around Adam Savage’s Mini-Museum on Google Street View

Adam Savage isn’t just one half of the Mythbusters power duo, he’s the patron saint of awesome nerdiness. With decades in the movie prop and special effects business, he’s got a jaw-dropping collection of cool stuff—and now you can tour Savage’s Cave on Google Street View. Let’s take a gander! That toy cabinet alone is…

How To Finally Get Your Desktop Under Control

It’s easy to dump shortcuts, files and other miscellany on to your desktop for quick access or for convenience’s sake, but before long you can be left with a forest of icons and thumbnails obscuring the wallpaper beneath. If your desktop could use a clean up, we’re here to tell you how to go about…

A Field Guide To Unusual (And Hilarious) Harry Potter Patronuses

Not everyone can have a Patronus that’s steeped in romance or a longing for the father they never knew. Some wizards have Patronuses that are steeped in pop culture, awesomely frightening, or just plain silly. Artist Alicia Braumberger came up with this guid to rare and unusual Patronuses, and the Dementors should beware of some…

​13 Tips For Surviving A Night In A Cabin In The Woods

So you’ve decided to spend a night in a cabin in the woods! You fool. You might as well sacrifice yourself to Satan and save yourself some time and effort. But if you and your friends feel you have to embark on this most deadly of vacations, here are 13 tips that might just keep…

This is why you should only drink water with impurities

It may sound like a good idea to drink the purest water you can find, but as this video explains, that is not actually the case. Ultra pure water has no impurities—so absolutely no taste and who wants that—but also in large quantities it will harm and even kill you because it will leach the…

13 Designs That Bring Reclaimed Airplane Parts Into Your Home

So you love flying. You love every type of aircraft. You would spend the whole day high above ground if you could. But that’s impossible, and when you return to your home or to your office, you want to feel at least a tiny bit of that sensation you felt at those high altitudes. Thanks…

The Same Insecticide That’s Killing Bees Is Also Killing Birds

A class of pesticides linked to colony collapse disorder in bee colonies has now been linked to a dramatic decline in insectivorous bird populations. Disturbingly, this could also mean that other animals along the food chain are at risk as well. Earlier this year, scientists presented some of the most compelling evidence yet that neonicotinoids,…

Your Next Pair of Jeans Could Be Designed by Lions and Tigers

You know how trendy it is to wear jeans that look old and beat up, right? Most denim companies turn to sandblasting to get the job done, but a Japanese charity has a new idea: let lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) do it. We’ll show you how, with gifs. Step one: Wrap denim around…

The science of happiness explained in one infographic

Happiness is a difficult thing to measure due to its subjective nature, but scientists have been trying nonetheless. Here is a compilation of some of the most interesting findings they’ve gathered so far packed into one big infographic. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Google’s making it even easierto attach Drive document in Gmail: on the right-hand pull-down menu in the Android app, there’s now an “Insert from Drive” option. Neat.

These Folding Shelves Pop Right Out of the Wall

Reminiscent of those wall-mounted foldaway beds, these shelves hinge out from their main, framing structure to create impromptu, versatile storage. Made from high-quality ply, these shelves—which have the rather unfortunate name of Fläpps—have been created by AMBIVALENZ. They come in various sizes, so you can hang them wherever they fit, and in fact they feel…

Preppers Explain Why They Joined The Organic Food Movement

Activists championing organic foods have found support among preppers. They’re sympathetic to the “government is a conspiracy and corporations are evil” idea. But what really made preppers into anti-GMO food activists is their desire to have a healthy post-apocalyptic lifestyle. (Photo: Destination America) Yes, the preppers, have gone green. You can get all sorts of…

People Think Their Dogs Are A Lot Smarter Than They Really Are

We love to brag about the intelligence of our canine companions. But a recent survey suggests that many of us are grossly overestimating the cognitive capacities of our dogs — and that our emotional attachment to them has a lot to do with it. Realizing that few studies have examined people’s perceptions of specific cognitive…

Stunning New Close-Ups Of The Largest Crater On Mars

The European Space Agency has released new images of the Hellas basin, which formed around four billion years ago when a small asteroid crashed into the Red Planet, creating an impact crater 1,400 miles wide and 26,465 feet deep. The images, taken by the high-resolution stereo camera on the ESA’s Mars Express, feature a portion…

What Is An Ionocraft And How Dangerous Is It To Make One?

You may have heard about “lifters” or “ionocrafts,” in science fiction stories discussing fake worlds, or on message boards discussing the real world. They exist in both worlds, but they’re only really practical in one. How An Ionocraft Works Electrons are slippery little things, but most of the time the atoms in the air have…