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A fugitive can become a folk hero — or a desperate criminal whose acts become more terrifying the higher the stakes become. Sometimes, they can be both at once. Here, we present five different cases of men who managed to elude the law for years, even decades, before finally facing justice … or not. Eric…
After years of speculating about possible futures in his writing, William Gibson recently tried out one the world’s contemporary science fictions come true. At TED, he strapped on a Gear VR headset. According to the tweet documenting the moment, the 67-year-old scifi author proclaimed, “They did it!” What exactly did they do? I asked Ari…
We’ve not seen much of Square-Enix’s Play Arts Kai Variant takes on the Star Wars universe, but what we have seen so far has been pretty damn awesome. But now the line is getting even better though,with the addition of these tricked out versions of Boba Fett and the Stormtrooper! https://gizmodo.com/this-darth-vader-toy-comes-with-the-coolest-lightsaber-1675265616 Square-Enix revealed the next…
Amazon’s Top 100 book list changes hourly, but there are a few mainstays right now: All the Light We Cannot See, of course, and the unreleased Go Set a Watchman. Oh, and two coloring books for grownups. An artist named Johanna Basford pretty much owns two slots of the top seven books on Amazon, next…
A drum full of radioactive waste exploded at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico last February, sparking serious safety concerns about the U.S.’s only longterm nuclear storage site. A yearlong government investigation has officially fingered the long-suspected culprit: kitty litter. Kitty litter? Yes, inorganic kitty litter is commonly used to pack nuclear waste.…
If you’ve always wanted to customize the lid of your MacBook but hate the idea of putting stickers on it, a new Kickstarter is attempting to raise funds to produce a laptop case that can be decorated, adorned, or upgraded with most building toys, including Lego. The Brik Case is designed to snap onto the…
My neighborhood is experiencing a crime wave. Just on my block in the last week, several packages were stolen from doorsteps and tires have been slashed on at least two cars. I found all of this out from an app that’s quickly becoming our neighborhood’s best security system. “I heard it from Fred two doors…
Getting your first bike means two things: you’re free to explore your neighborhood farther than you ever could, and you can finally prove which of your friends is indeed fastest—a coveted honor when you’re six-years-old. So if it’s speed on two wheels you’re after, what could possibly be faster than a dragster bicycle? It’s not…
Google is working on an exciting new feature for YouTube: videos you can’t watch! Blame your shitty computer and internet connection. YouTube has been slowly preparing for the pixel-filled video streaming future. In August last year, the mobile app began supporting Quad HD content and YouTube got a buttery 60 frames-per-second upgrade a few months…
It’s the traditional, old school and almost forgotten methods of craftsmanship that always impress me the most. This video shows how traditional wooden skis are made in Norway and you get to see the entire process, the carving, shaving, shaping, bending and even the making of bindings from wood. S Ensby filmed at Nørrestogo Skigard…
So you replaced the letter “e” with “3” and capitalized a random letter, and now you think your password is secure? Nope. Hackers (and the NSA) know those tricks, too. That’s why you should use this crazy dice technique to create a practically unbreakable passphrase. A passphrase is inherently more secure than a password. Since…
The Control Center joined the iOS party with version 7.0 and is a useful way of accessing shortcuts for Wi-Fi, brightness, music control and so on. However, it can pop up inadvertently when you’re gaming, browsing maps, or binge-watching your way through a Netflix marathon. Here’s how to disable the feature if you want to…
A $50 media player is becoming a threat to North Korea’s oppressive, isolationist regime. Many North Koreans are using cheap, portable Chinese media players to learn about the outside world and watch contraband foreign TV, news, and films. Image: screenshot of Chinese media player via Alibaba North Koreans call these portable media players “notels” or…
Gardens are beautiful and all but they’re almost always inconveniently located on the ground. Instead of stooping to smell the roses, this garden comes to you: A suspended, living arrangement of 2,300 flowers which rises and fall around viewers as they move through the space. Floating Flower Garden: Flowers and I are of the same…
The number of security clearances issued by the U.S. Department of Defense has plummeted in the past two years. The big question: Is it because of the Snowden leaks or just because U.S. military spending is down? Yeah, you read that right. Military spending is down. During fiscal year 2013, there were 4.6 million DoD…
It’s a great time to be a Ghostbusters fan as the film’s 30th anniversary has triggered a renaissance in collectibles and other memorabilia connected to the movie. For example, if the thought of posing sculpted gnomes in your garden seems tacky, why not opt for this statue of the dog-like Keymaster monster that possesses Louis…
Around 400 people live inside the flood channels underneath Las Vegas and it’s such a fascinating underworld that is so different from the neon-lit indulgence and styrofoam opulence that Sin City is known for. Matthew O’Brien has been visiting the community for 12 years and takes a tour of it in this video. O’Brien, who…
Virtual reality isn’t ready yet. Oh, it’s damn good—but it can’t quite fully convince you that you are someplace you’re not. But how sure are you of the “real world,” anyhow? Today, Oculus guru Michael Abrash used these kickass optical illusions to show how fake our reality can be. Remember The Matrix? Would you choose…
I can’t believe this picture is real and not a frame from a movie about a very unlucky guy. It was shot by Australian scientist Huw Alexander Ogilvie when he was flying over the Pacific Ocean back in 2005. You can get a high resolution version here. SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on…
Route 66. The Autobahn. The Trans-Eurasian Belt Development? The head of Russia’s railway system has proposed a superhighway through Siberia across the Bering Strait that would link Europe with the United States through Russia. Image: Anton Balazh According to a report from The Siberian Times, the highway would run alongside much of the current Trans-Siberia…
