Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
If you have a tongue equipped with moderately functional taste buds and can put aside regional allegiances, you’d know that Shake Shack is very probably the world’s best burger chain. And to celebrate its 10 year anniversary, Shake Shack got the best chefs in the world to create a special burger for them. I’ll trade…
Because we all need a good dose of geopolitics in between sword fights, White Walkers, and boobs, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientistshas a thorough analysis of all the ways dragons are just like nuclear weapons. It’s actually a stunningly obvious comparison once you get down to it. Here be spoilers. And dragons. George R. R.…
Look, here is a promise from me to you: There is no more better way to spend 34 minutes of your time tonight than sitting down and (re)watching The Red Balloon. The featurette begins with a boy who finds this new floating friend on the way to school one day, then follows their exploration of…
There is a lot of intriguing music streaming in the feed of the São Paulo, Brazil–based musician who identifies as Asvfuks on the SoundCloud service (and on Instagram, among other places). The track “A Divisão Do João,” by way of example, seems to be based on a snatch of music by João Gilberto, the bossa…
Although the northern town of Yellowknife feels a bit surreal in the summer with endless days of midnight-sun, forecasting -94°C with at least a half-meter of snow and an additional 5 centimeters of rain seems a bit extreme. Aside from being a game of, “Which of these is not like the others,” the forecast appears…
You won’t believe what these keepers have to do to get in and out this lighthouse in the middle of the sea. It is absolutely terrifying. Really, it defies belief. If you thought that your daily subway commute was hell, watch this video and be grateful. The video is titled “La Jument” Lighthouse – keeper…
Who knew a song about selling drugs could be so catchy? Lots of musicians apparently. This is one of the single’s off Future’s latest banger of a record, Honest. It rules, and it also brings a question to mind: how is Pharrell (and that hat of his) everywhere at once? [Spotify, iTunes, Amazon]
Move over everyone in the rap game — Nana Splits, ButterKrust, and Sweet Cream have arrived. Not only have they managed to be hard as fuck while rapping about food, they sound like they could be a top 40 hit on the radio and look like they could headline the Grammys. Ok, that may be…
In case you haven’t heard, California is screwed. The drought has turned our perennially water-challenged state into a desiccated husk. In these dire times, we look toward desalination, an idea long-promised but never quite delivered in the U.S. But a spate of new technologies—graphene, solar mirrors, and more—could finally make desalination viable for our freshwater…
There are bike-friendly cities, and then there are places—like Amsterdam—with so many cycles on the street that people lock up at racks in multi-story garages, creating a completely nutso mass of wheels. How the hell are you supposed to find your ride at the end of the day? How about strapping on an innocuous-looking smart…
Haptic technology has come a long way in recent years. And at long last, it’s finally reached its inevitable conclusion: Boobs. More specifically, Japanese researchers have developed a robot hand that uses haptic technology to simulate softness on individual fingertips. Other than acting as a stand-in lady friend for lonely scientists, the device has the…
This video is a promotion for a special audio and visual effects plug-in company, but I’m a sucker for sci-fi eye candy. It shows how to make all the sci-fi weapons you can imagine using a Nerf rifle, a can of black spray paint, and the magic of Adobe After Effects. SPLOID is a new…
What’s your wall doing right now—holding up your posters? Being leaned against by the bookshelf? What about storing the energy that powers all your kitchen appliances? New research into structural supercapacitors, which can withstand the stress and vibrations of bearing weight, could eventually inspire such an energy-storing house. This is all, admittedly, pretty far off,…
Sometimes in a professional office environment, you’re gonna have to forgo Gchat for a minute and communicate with a colleague in person. So you get up. You wander over. Now what? You could hover awkwardly behind them. You could pull up a chair. Or you could ask them politely to split their seat in half…
A few weeks ago we looked at the broken promises of Terrafugia — a flying car company with a product that’s always just two years away. Well, we’ve got an important update. The company is looking for just $30 million more to get their product off the ground. And you’ll never guess when they project…
After touring a museum, what do you think is the best gift shop souvenir to commemorate your visit? A post card? A magnet? The online gift shop for the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, has got something far more appropriate: an actual viking boat to stage your own conquests. The museum is far more…
Circles. They’re all around us. Literally. Here are 19 circles spotted by all of you. Winner: Hobbit House I built this hobbit door using oak from a tree in my sister’s backyard, after aging it for 2 years. The rest of the tree I made into flooring. The runes are Tolkien’s own, “Burglar wants a…
Though we may consider ourselves intellectually and technologically superior to our cave-dwelling ancestors, we still adorn our bodies, transports, and homes with the skin of conquered animals. But unlike the wholly organic methods used by our forebears, the modern leather industry is simultaneously killing the local environment and the people that work there with a…
Some crazy/amazing person has sorted every single word in Star Wars alphabetically in one 43-minute-long video. And here’s one surprising fact: The movie only features the word “lightsaber” once. How weird is that? SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
Someone with a bunch of DVDs and lot of spare time just made a supercut of what appears to be every single table flip in cinema. It’s hard to know if the video does actually show them all, but it’s still a blast to watch. Because: (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ Here’s the list of movies: 00:05 –…
