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Two weeks ago, residents of Hawaii kissed their loved ones goodbye or huddled in confusion after emergency warnings of an incoming ballistic missile threat were sent out in error. Forty minutes later, they were told it was all a mistake, and that an employee clicked the wrong button. But an FCC investigation has concluded that…
With a top speed of around four or five miles per hour, most ride-on toys don’t provide much of a thrill—unless you throw safety out the window. The irresponsible chaps from YouTube’s The Real Life Guys channel upgraded a simple ride-on toy with a 15 horsepower engine that can accelerate it to over 40 mph…
An appeals court in the United Kingdom ruled Tuesday that key portions of the government’s immense surveillance powers are unlawful, putting greater pressure on authorities to quickly add greater protections for citizen’s privacy and civil liberties. But privacy advocates say changes the government plans to impose will likely do little to keep the government out…
MRI machines use a powerful magnetic field to produce internal images of the human body. The magnetic fields are so powerful that hospitals take great care to ensure no iron-containing metals come near the machines while they are in use. In rare cases, however, mistakes happen. This past weekend, an Indian man visiting a sick…
It looks like iOS 12 won’t be as flashy or fun as Apple originally wanted it to be. Following months of embarrassing bugs and performance issues, the company is reportedly pushing some features originally slated for this year’s iOS 12 update back to 2019. Engineers will be focusing on quality and reliability instead. In tandem…
As the FBI’s investigation into Russian election interference reaches a fever pitch, Facebook rolled out a new News Feed alert Monday night. The bulletin told users who followed pages created by Russian trolls that those pages have been removed. And some of the affected users did not like this. A brief search revealed that numerous…
Scientists are just like us: They buy things on Amazon. The difference is what they actually use their purchases for. That’s the basis behind science’s hashtag-du-jour, #ReviewForScience, in which researchers write reviews for everyday products—the way they really use them. It all began with Scottish Ph.D student Robyn Womack noticing writer John Birch’s Amazon review…
There are a number of ways a cryptocurrency-based business can run afoul of regulators these days. A startup called Arisebank seemingly decided to try all of them at once. Arisebank—a “decentralized bank”—was in the midst of fundraising through an initial coin offering (ICO) which the company claimed had already generated $600 million. That ICO was…
If there was ever a good reason to fullscreen a video on your computer, this is it. The third episode of Team Blacksheep’s Long Term Paradise series, featuring some of the best drone pilots in the world, might have you experiencing vertigo if you’re brave enough to watch this footage running at a full 60…
In December, Facebook launched Messenger Kids, a new messaging service for children as young as six. Now, a bunch of advocacy groups are urging Mark Zuckerberg to discontinue the app. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sent a letter to Zuckerberg on Tuesday, arguing that social media is detrimental to the development and well-being of…
Elon Musk has already made millions selling a really small flamethrower (which is actually just a really big blow torch), but one incensed California assemblymember wants to put a stop to sales in his state. On Saturday, Musk announced he was selling the $500 flame-sputterers, which are a fundraising merchandise for his tunnel-digging business, The…
Any room with a disco ball hanging from the ceiling is a non-stop party, and now any space can easily get a dance floor upgrade with this fun DIY project that shows you how to build a disco ball—using some brilliantly clever building techniques—inside a standard-sized lightbulb. The folks behind the W&M YouTube channel must…
Today we’re all being tracked by more gadgets than ever before, and in ways that might not be immediately obvious; but it is possible to put restrictions on the data that your laptop, your smartphone, and even your fitness tracker can collect about you—in particular, where you are and what you’re doing with your device.…
One of the major advantages of capitalism is the constant, nagging impulse to buy stuff. And lucky for you spendy Americans out there, Amazon is leveraging its purchase of Whole Foods once again, making it easier than ever to purchase things impulsively. You’ll soon be able to buy Amazon products in Whole Foods parking lots.…
For a company hoping to gain fans and customers in the US this year, Huawei has had a rough start to 2018. Earlier this month, just a day before Huawei CEO Richard Yu gave a keynote speech at CES, reports came out that AT&T had canceled plans to carry Huawei phones in its stores. Now,…
Tonight, President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union speech to the American people at 9pm Eastern (6pm Pacific, 5am Moscow time). And if you don’t have TV, there are plenty of ways to watch on platforms like YouTube and Facebook. You can even watch in VR. It should be interesting, to say…
At some point in your life you’ve almost certainly marveled at the classic drinking bird toy, and probably lost a few brain cells trying to figure out how it works. Don’t be ashamed if you never successfully unravelled the science, though, as engineerguy Bill Hammack explains, even Einstein apparently couldn’t crack it. So how does…
When Sydney, Australia decided to have a public vote to name a new ferry, there were worries that residents might choose something ridiculous. So when the winning name was announced as Ferry McFerryface, most people (including us) assumed that it was just another stupid vote gone wrong. But that’s not what happened at all. It…
The government of China has long held an interest in building bridges with countries across Africa, which it sees as both a major opportunity for economic investment and a chance to project geopolitical power. But while mutual solidarity is nice and all, the Chinese want to leave as little to chance as possible in their…
The review panel in charge of setting rates for songwriter’s royalties reportedly issued the biggest rate increase for artists in its history over the weekend—a 4o percent hike. For the music streaming industry, which runs on thin margins, this could be an issue. For Spotify, a price increase for users could be inevitable, but the…
