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Richard E. Grant is a noted teetotaler who played one of cinema’s greatest lushes in Withnail and I. Now, the actor is shifting gears by introducing Jack, a British-branded, pot-scented perfume, that—well, it’s like he went all Mad Libs on his next career move, because this just seems bizarre. Of course, Grant is not the…
Who knew a sad story told through water drops can be so fun to watch? This stop motion animation called Cachoeira (which means waterfall in Portuguese) by Rodrigo EBA! is illustrated with a little droplet man in a little droplet car trying to take a dip in a little droplet waterfall. I find it adorable.…
Suck at Flappy Bird? Don’t worry, most humans do. Even if you’re smart, the game is so silly it won’t reward your intelligence. But do you know how you could outsmart Flappy Bird? By building a Flappy Bird terminator. Two guys from China used their frustration to make a robot who basically kicks ass at…
Awwwww, look at these little alien angels dancing and moving their tiny feet. They are so cute! Too bad they’re really trying to destroy that aquarium glass to rip your throat and suck all your blood through the aorta. OK, so they won’t really do that but they’re totally thinking about it. See what I…
A couple in Northern California recently uncovered a time capsule hunter’s dream: six metal canisters filled with rare coins, valued at about $10 million. The canisters were filled with a total of 1,427 coins, all dating from 1847 to 1894. The face-value of the coins only adds up to about $27,000. But the fact that…
From the usual viewer’s vantage point, it’s hard to appreciate the violent physics of a really great series of skate park tricks. That’s why this video shot from underneath pro skater Dean-Paul Denniston’s board is so mesmerizing: you get a front-row seat to all the grinding, slamming, kickflipping action. Amazingly, the individual moves that go…
Take a dip in the salty waters of the Dead Sea, visit a surprisingly musical milking parlor, get swept away by the surreal majesty of “underwater rivers,” and go birding in the urban alleyways of Cambodia—all in this week’s landscape reads. A Ridiculous and Audacious Plan to Save the Dead Sea Could the Dead Sea…
The term “techno-utopian” is helpful for referring to people who believe technology alone can solve the world’s problems. The term is rarely used literally. But if the financial services company Morgan Stanley is to be believed, driverless cars will literally bring about a utopian society in just over a decade. Business Insider has this slide…
I was excited about this one. It had been a while since I’d dusted off the old OkCupid profile. I’d been working a lot and thinking about my ex too much, and this girl looked cute. So, when she actually agreed to a date, I was thrilled. This one felt important! She suggested brunch, which…
I love John Conway’s dinosaur illustrations, which you can buy on his site. His dinosaur pet guide is a lot of fun too—and you can buy it as a poster for $16. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
Giving a robot a chainsaw sounds like just about the most unsafest thing mankind could ever do. But ironically in this case it’s actually making things safer for humans since this robot is designed to autonomously climb and prune very tall trees. https://gizmodo.com/giving-this-robot-a-chainsaw-could-be-mankinds-greatest-5977976 Developed by researchers at the University of Gifu in Japan, the 28-pound…
You probably think online ads are pretty annoying. But without them, the internet as we know it would not exist—and this blogger would not have a job. These are not your everyday ads, though. They’re built on an impressively complex network of technology that anyone can appreciate. CM Summit just posted a well done interactive…
The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom in TV history. Their design, personalities and even their voices have changed dramatically through 25 years on the air. We just didn’t notice day after day, just like we forgot about many obscure and interesting factoids. So obscure that, unless you’re a truly obsessive Simpsons’ fan, you won’t…
The industrial silhouette of a former sugar refinery in Montréal has gotten a pretty sweet makeover, being transformed into a fully-equipped climbing gym. Now, Allez-Up‘s sky-high ceilings house faceted white walls studded with colorful holds, like bits of candy in a saccharine mine. The whole thing has a Willy Wonka viba, with blue safety mats…
On a traditional analog watch face, you’ll find the numbers indicating the hours encircling its outer circumference. But on Projects Watches’ Nadir, they’re all crammed onto a small disk in the middle, with the hands—which are embellished with arrow heads—pointing inwards toward the hours, minutes, and seconds. If you’re used to a more traditional watch…
Apple’s got a vested interest in Arizona’s future—its newest factory will break ground there in 2015, bringing thousands of jobs to the state. And the company is now advocating for local policy. Today, Apple publicly took a stand against the state’s highly controversial proposed anti-gay legislation. A personal call was placed by Apple to Arizona…
You are not an X-Man. I am not an X-Man. None of us live in the Matrix (probably). But we could pretend we’ve got crazy superpowers in front of this faceted Hexi wall, which is covered in modules that respond to your movements in real time. The installation was created by graphic designer Thibaut Sld.…
When you live in a closet-sized city apartment, it’s no fun to cook in a teeny, tiny cramped kitchen. But a kitchen completely hidden behind lovely wood cabinets when not in use? That’s kind of ingenious. Stealth Kitchen is the latest creation of Resource Furniture, the same folks behind many of the designs in the…
Part of the joy of preparing meals while camping is that you don’t have to worry about keeping everything neat and tidy. But the last thing you want to do is put a scorched and filthy grill in the trunk of your clean car. So Front Runner’s solution lets you simply strap it to your…
Believe it or not, sailors are a big drag on shipping vessels. They weigh down the ship, take up space, cost thousands of dollars a day, and even cause most of the accidents at sea. So it’s no surprise that Rolls-Royce’s maritime division wants to replace them with robots. Rolls-Royce’s Blue Ocean development team is…
