Tech News

Ikea Warns of Safety Hazard for 27 Million Dressers After Children Die

Ikea is urging people to stop using around 27 million of its dressers as a response to children getting crushed to death by them. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall* today, which affects 7 million of Ikea’s “Malm” model chests and 20 million other Ikea dressers: Consumers should immediately stop using all IKEA…

A Little Red Wagon That Transforms Into a Steerable Go-Kart

Every child should grow up with a little wooden red wagon, but Wishbone Design Studio has found a way to take the classic toy from being just a parent-powered pickup truck, to a gravity-powered go-kart that lets kids take the wheel as they careen down hills. With three different ways to connect the Wishbone 3-in-1’s…

How a Lotto Worker Tried To Rig a Jackpot with Self-Destructing Software

An ex-Lotto employee who tried to get rich by installing secret software onto the computer that picks Lotto winners has been convicted of fraud for trying to rig a $14.3 million jackpot. Eddie Tipton, 52, was the information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association when he tried to rig the system from within with…

Ikea Promises Peaceful Meals By Adding Smartphone Pockets to Placemats

Ikea just revealed all of the new creations that will be added to its upcoming 2016 catalog. But if there’s one item that promises to genuinely make your home life better, it’s this placemat featuring a dedicated pocket for stashing a smartphone during dinner. Part of the Ikea’s new Sittning line, the “Logged Out” placemat…

Stunning time lapse video of the sky reveals its staggering beauty

This time lapse video, Edge of Stability by Jeff Boyce, is fantastic. It captures the ferocity and epic scale and beautiful orchestra of the clouds and the sky and the phenomenons that happen up there and it’s just stunning. Taken across 15 US states and Canada, some of the shots look absolutely unreal. Jeff Boyce…

YouTube Is Making Vertical Video Less Awful Because Humans Never Learn

Because we can’t be trusted to do anything right, YouTube is alleviating our long-standing pain and anguish over watching vertical videos in landscape by finally giving us the option to watch those horizontally-challenged bits of cinema in full screen on Android phones. And there was much rejoicing. As Android Police reports, a new version of…

Watch a giant water balloon explode in slow motion with a man inside it

It’s always fun to see water balloons explode in slow motion because you get to see the skin of the balloon peel back and then actually get a glimpse of the water suspended in the air for the briefest of moments. So it’s even more fun when the water balloon is comically huge and a…

Urban Legend: Babies Born at Disneyland Get a Lifetime Pass 

On July 4, 1979 little Teresa Salcedo was the first baby born in Disneyland at California. But contrary to urban legend, she didn’t get a lifetime pass to the Happiest Place on Earth. It’s a surprisingly popular misconception that any baby born in a Disney Park gets a lifetime pass. But it’s completely untrue. And…

Sony Is Getting Into the Drone Business

Sony is making drones now, partnering with an autopilot technology startup to create a drone company called Aerosense. This might seem like a strange zag into an unfamiliar business for Sony, but it dovetails with the company’s mission to become a sensor powerhouse. Aerosense’s drones will use Sony’s image sensors, the same ones used in…

Could a Massive Collision Produce a Subsurface Ocean on Pluto?

Pluto and Charon have captured our hearts and imaginations. But how did these adorably strange worlds form, and what consequences could that have on what we see now? Researcher Amy Barr Mlinar chatted with us about catastrophic collisions, subsurface oceans, and Pluto’s lack of craters. The New Horizons spacecraft is bombarding us with a steady…

This Giant Display Uses Colored Thread Instead of Pixels

Tiny glowing dots have been the modus operandi for electronic displays since the TV was first invented. But at a Forever 21 store in New York, you’ll find a giant screen that swaps pixels for spools of colored thread that quickly align to display low-res images. The F21 Thread Screen is first and foremost a…

8 Government Instagram Accounts You Should Definitely Follow

Many of us have discovered NASA’s Instagram account during this fine Summer of Pluto, but believe it or not, there are plenty of other great government photo caches over on the Insta. Here are a few of the best. US Department of the Interior This account should really have at least a million followers. America…

These Mathematical Scarves Are Designed By a Computer Algorithm 

It’s still summer, but these mathematical merino scarves designed with a computer algorithm are getting us in the mood for colder temps. And making us wonder if we need to improve our coding skills. They’re called KnitYak: black-and-white merino scarves that each have a snowflake-unique design that’s generated by a computer algorithm. The woman behind…

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Lifelike Pepper Potts Figure Is Silently Judging You

As Hot Toys slowly works its way through the Iron Man universe, it was inevitable that after producing action figures for almost every last armored suit Tony Stark has built, it would eventually get around to turning characters like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts into sixth-scale collectibles. At this point it’s almost a moot point to…

Meet the Authors of the Encyclopedia of Hypothetical Police Procedurals!

Yesterday, we raved about the Encyclopedia of Hypothetical Police Procedurals, a.k.a. our new favorite humor blog about goofy cop shows that don’t exist, but should (like the outer space-set NYPD Blue Moon!) We’re obsessed, and we had to reach out to authors Luke Burns and James Folta for more. io9: Where did the idea for…

Some Genius Finally Turned Google’s DeepDream Code Into a Web App

Earlier this month, Google announced that its artificial neural networks were having creepy daydreams. While its since made the code public, a kindly soul has gone a step further and turned it into a web app that anyone can use. The new web app, called Dreamscope, is like Instagram on LSD, all powered by Google.…

How To Turn Your Smartphone Into a Sidekick for Urban Exploration

In times gone by, a well-thumbed guidebook and the hospitality of locals was your best way to navigate a new city; now, you can get up to speed in minutes using your smartphone. For the next time you travel, these apps and tips will help you see the best a new city has to offer.…

Good news for the inept: Amazon is extending its Home Services handyman scheme across the U.S.. You’ll now be able to hire people to mend your car, fix your iPhone or graze your goats (really) in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC and more.

The Cave Holding Evidence of Humanity’s First Culture Is Under Threat

Sibudu, a rock shelter above the uThongathi River in KwaZulu-Natal, is one of South Africa’s most important archaeological sites. Its recent nomination for World Heritage status demonstrates that it is of universal value, with heritage that belongs to all humanity. But a housing development has been approved next to the rock shelter, threatening the fragile…

Pentagon Confirms That a Gray Eagle Drone Has Been Lost in Iraq

Yesterday, images of a supposed U.S. military drone crash in Iraq began to circulate online. Now, the Pentagon has confirmed that it has indeed lost an MQ-1 Gray Eagle drone in the country. In an email statement made to BuzzFeed, a spokesperson from the Pentagon wrote that “an MQ-1 crashed on its way to its…