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Adobe just announced that its Flash player has yet another major security flaw—one that’s already wild and could let hackers take over your entire computer. Adobe’s urging Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and ChromeOS users to download the patch immediately. AGAIN. Sound familiar? It’s because this keeps happening over and over and over. Plus, a lot…
Science presenter Steve Mould used a simple bow to demonstrate how when played like a violin, a metal plate will resonate and cause a bunch of spilled couscous to beautifully align into what are known as Chladni figures. The science and mathematics explaining why the metal plates resonate in these specific designs are too complex…
Much like yelling “I have a bomb!” in front of a police officer, using certain words or phrases online can often end badly. Now we have one more slangy acronym to add to the list of shit you can’t say on the internet. The Verge reports that typing “idek”—short for “I don’t even know”—into the…
Your browser’s private or incognito mode can be useful for many reasons, but you should always know what it is and isn’t hiding. Here’s exactly what’s happening when you launch a private window. First of all, this is the data that isn’t kept: searches, visited pages, and cookies won’t stick around on the local computer…
On March 11, 2011 one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded was epicentered off the coast of Japan. But most of the devastation—including many of the over 15,000 deaths—was due not to the shaking but to the powerful tsunami waves that traveled up to six miles inland. Five years later, many of these communities still…
A team of Japanese scientists has discovered a bacteria that’s evolved to break down and consume PET—one of the world’s most environmentally damaging plastics. The team discovered the bacteria living on plastic items found in wastewater samples it was collecting. Called Ideonella sakaiensis, it appears to consume a diet made up exclusively of PET, which…
Imagine being able to unfurl a huge tent that immediately pitched itself from a small bag. That’s what this material could provide, according to a a team of researchers from Harvard. The structure is actually built up from a series of extruded cubes, like the one below. With edges extended out from the central cube,…
You aren’t born with all your brain cells: In some parts of your brain, new ones grow throughout your life. This image, taken from experiments with mice, is the first time we’ve ever seen new neurons growing in live brain. We used to think that our brain was fully formed at birth, but more recently…
Something gone badly wrong with your Uber ride? Well, the ride-hailing company has been testing a new emergency phone line in 22 cities, that you can reach by dialling 800-353-8237 (that’s 800-353-UBER). The existence of the “Critical Safety Response Line” was confirmed by Uber on Wednesday, reports Inc. Apparently it’s been in testing since October,…
The Large Hadron Collider is impressive for a great many reasons. But forget about all that cutting-edge science for a moment and instead marvel at the scale of the engineering behind the project. This video by the BBC takes you on a 360 tour of the world’s largest scientific experiment. You’ve been able to explore…
Virtual reality might be a transformative technology with untold potential across dozens of fields. But it’s also most definitely a great way to make young and old alike look dumb as hell. What you’re looking at is the “virtual desk” phenomenon, when someone in a VR headset (in this case, an HTC Vive) gets carried…
Turning a tin can into a grater might be a tedious process, but it offers the advantage of getting all those little food strips inside a vessel you can easily dump onto whatever you’re making. With a little plastic wrap it could even be used to store your pre-grated ingredients for later—and it comes at…
Film takes inspiration from the world around us so it’s no surprise that directors mimic art paintings in their movies. Vugar Efendi put together famous art paintings next to movie scenes to show how film meets art. It’s like seeing the paintings come to life. Some of them are so picturesque that it actually looks…
Not so long ago, in our very own Milky Way galaxy, a plucky little droid named BB-8 roamed the hallowed halls of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, rubbing elbows with its robotic brethren. Happily, a photographer was on hand to capture this moment for posterity. Contact the author at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter…
Earlier today, the Department of Justice filed the latest in a long series of paperwork, this time telling Apple to stop being a baby and unlock the goddamn phone. Apple’s general counsel just responded, and he’s pissed. On a conference call to discuss the DoJ’s filing—itself a response to Apple’s response—Apple’s Bruce Sewell ratcheted up…
Tonight is arguably the most important Republican debate yet. Hosted in Miami, Florida by CNN, it’s the last one before the critical March 15th primaries. We can expect Trump, Cruz, Rubio, and even Kasich to all come out swinging. March 15th is when Republicans in strategically crucial swing states like Florida and Ohio will decide…
I’ve never been to Vienna but I can tell you that it is beautiful because this video by FilmSpektakel basically takes you all over the capital of Austria through a fun zooming effect that teleports you to different landmarks. It’s sort of like traveling on a haze of drugs and booze. SPLOID is delicious brain…
Seriously, what other industry makes its most important decisions while sitting on fake hay bales at Pac-Man tables in pirate-ship themed treehouses? Yes, every tech company’s office is garbage. But thanks to design critic Chappell Ellison, we start to see how joyously embarrassing this type of man-child interior design actually is. Ellison took the time…
Animation students at Carnegie Mellon University were recently tasked with reimagining classic film footage of a galloping horse from the late 19th century. They did not disappoint, drawing on Burger King, space aliens, rainbow centaurs, and modern art for inspiration. The footage in question was taken by British photography pioneer Eadweard Muybridge. He was asked…
The Elide fire ball must be filled with magic potion because it can get thrown into any fire and put it out immediately. Watch this demo video of it as it gets tossed around and turns flame into smoke. Sorcery! SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Contact the author…
