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Elaine Stritch passed away today at the age of 89. While the Broadway legend had decades of iconic live performances under her belt, tonight’s a good time to celebrate her life on the small screen: As Colleen Donaghy in 30 Rock with a eulogy—The Greatest Eulogy of All Time—written and delivered by her onscreen son,…
In the extreme world of bacteria, stunts such as living in hot springs or without oxygen are, like, totally unimpressive. But then there are bacteria that live off electricity, feeding directly on naked electrons. Even more surprisingly, scientists are finding that these bacteria are not even that rare. “Stick an electrode in the ground, pump…
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, Nike has made a pair of shoes that’ll make you feel like every step you take is on the moon. Because of the all over lunar print, the silhouette of the shoe completely disappears and makes it look like the shoe is made…
You’ve probably seen the mysterious giant hole that was discovered in Siberia, which appears to lead into a large cave. We don’t know its origin yet, but it isn’t the only hole like that on Earth. Or the Moon: NASA found these formations there too, which are perfect for future human outposts. Or current alien/Nazi…
This week, a team of researchers at Dartmouth announced an exciting, if terribly disgusting, medical discovery. A single-celled parasite usually found in cats’ intestines—and later in their poop—shows unique promise as a cancer treatment. The researchers even think the parasite could enable them to create personalized cancer vaccines. The parasite, known as Toxoplasma gondii, is…
Copenhagen-based singer MØ (real name: Karen Marie Ørsted) was described to me as the Danish Lady Gaga by my Danish friends, who saw her last week at the Roskilde Festival. I think she’s closer to the Danish Grimes, though there’s no need to compare her to anyone: MØ’s splashy, bombastic electro-pop isn’t only good relative…
Earlier today, three of the biggest names in social network land—Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat—all announced major pushes towards mobile payments. But it’s not your friends they want to help you funnel money to—it’s advertisers. The biggest problem any social network faces today is turning a profit. If you ask users to pay from the start,…
‘Tis the season for stripping down and getting wet in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, the chlorine and chemicals used to keep man-made, al fresco watering holes clean can do a number on sensitive skin, which makes this Swiss pool all the more appealing; Herzog & de Meuron designed this beautiful lagoon with biofilters. Au naturel,…
Moonwalk One is a snippet of immersive history from the day humans first stepped foot on the moon. Take the time to be lost in history with the stories, fears, excitement, and celebration of people who were there, and dream of a future in space. Moonwalk One is a documentary on the Apollo 11 moon…
Originally designed for home or recording studio use, over-the-ear headphones somehow became a popular choice for music aficionados on-the-go. We can probably blame Sony’s Walkman for that, but it means that Betabrand’s new Audio Engineer’s Hoodie—which uses speaker fabric on the hood so headphones can be worn over it—isn’t necessarily just for those hiding in…
Trusco toolboxes have long been an elusive item, something only seen by tasteful travelers who spotted them in Japan. They lusted after them enough to fill a few pages on Instagram. But now Hand-Eye Supply is selling a whole line of these beautiful blue boxes, and they’re surprisingly affordable. To call Trusco toolboxes classic would…
It’s that time of the year, folks. The new Ikea catalog is heading towards mailboxes around the world, and it’s full of neat little tweaks to the lines you’ve come to love. There’s also a handful of completely new products that you’ll love even more. Ikea offered a peek at the new products (and some…
The thousands of graphics-covered minibuses called matatus that zip through Nairobi make up one of the largest (and liveliest) informal transportation systems in the world. This unregulated—some might say renegade—transit keeps the city moving rather efficiently, and, until recently, was an all-cash business. Until Google stepped in. According to the New York Times, a team…
I’m American, but I’ve spent a big chunk of the last eight years in Canada, first for affordable education, and then for love. Canada is a gentle foster motherland, suckling me on her polite, maple-flavored bosom. But Netflix here is some bootleg FUBAR bullshit. Don’t get me wrong, Canada’s got a lot going for it.…
General Atomics has a new cockpit for their MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers, two of the most common hunt-and-kill drones used by the USAF, capable of destroying basically any ground—and some air—targets. It looks like a dream gaming setup. Heck, it even includes a gamepad (check out that guy’s lap.) According to General Atomics’ Christopher…
It’s the attention to detail that often differentiates a good product from a great product, but designer Norihiko Terayama goes above and beyond the call of duty with his f,l,o,w,e,r,s ruler, which uses tiny dried flowers to represent the centimeter markings along its length. It’s unfortunately useless to those still using archaic imperial units, but…
After two years of aspiring to original content, Xbox Entertainment Studios is shutting down. Master Chief will have to settle for video game stardom. Xbox Entertainment Studios was created in 2012 to help Microsoft create original entertainment content, but it appears Microsoft is shelving its hopes to produce an Xbox-branded version of Orange is the…
The Oculus Rift is a fantastic headset, but looking at stuff is only one part of VR. If you want to interact you need some sort of controller, and CNET is reporting that Oculus VR is working on its own first-party ones. According to CNET’s sources “close to the development process” Oculus VR is currently…
Facebook is just full of surprises today. After releasing its new Mentions app earlier, the company has just announced the latest in its long history of experiments: Giving you the ability to buy things straight from your News Feed. At least for right now, Facebook is keeping the option limited to “a few small and…
Mountaintop removal mining is exactly as destructive as it sounds. In West Virginia coal country, entire mountaintops have been stripped into barren wastelands for the sake of coal. But every once in a while, you’ll see a lonely island of green—a centuries-old cemetery that just barely continues to exist. In this video from the BBC,…
