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Jurassic Park blew my mind when I saw it in the theater almost 20 years ago, but special effects have come a long way since then. It takes a lot to wow a modern audience. We’re jaded. We’ve seen it all—until now. I am not ashamed to admit that this clip, entitled “Realistic Dinosaurs,” honest-to-god…
In a recent interview with DP Review, Fujifilm manager Toshihisa Iida stated that it would be beneficial for their company for bigger brands like Canon and Nikon to offer high-end mirrorless cameras. This might seem counterintuitive coming from an underdog, but actually it makes perfect sense. Mirrorless cameras (or ILCs, whichever you prefer), have been…
There’s a certain charm to old-school analog clocks, unless you’re part of the generation that never learned how to properly decipher a bunch of numbers laid out in a circle. So Thingiverse user ‘joo’ has created a happy medium for those more comfortable with a digital clock, but like seeing a bunch of moving parts,…
When you’re at a party, or a barbecue, or are just killing time before work in the morning, the last thing you want to be bothered with is keeping track of how many beers you’ve had. Just let the Bevometer koozie take care of all the counting for you. Besides keeping your can or bottle…
Ever wonder what the face might look like for that skull-shaped Crystal Head vodka bottle? Well, one Scottish forensic scientist recently found out. Nigel Cockerton typically works on movie sets, but he decided to bring his face-making talents to the iconic vodka bottle. Treating the crystal skull like a real skull, he applied layer after…
Check it out: This print features the notable profiles of some of the world’s most recognizable museums. There’s a key, but quick, without peeking—how many can you name by sight alone? Graphic artist Yoni Alter reduced these cultural institutions down to super basic forms, then doused them in neon hues because hey, why the hell…
Here’s the effect of one entire year of drought in California, going from February 15, 2013, to February 16, 2014, as seen from NASA’s Terra satellite. It’s really scary to see the land die like this—especially after you read what NASA has to say about it. Note: The white spots at the bottom of the…
At London South Bank University’s shiny new pub, the drinks are free but they, uhh, may or may not actually contain alcohol. And it’s not a real pub, actually. Oh, and there are little cameras all over the place tracking your every movement. If that doesn’t like quite the greatest night on the town, that’s…
“Is Harlem good now?” That’s the question that Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef Marcus Samuelsson gets asked the most about his neighborhood. In Sunday’s New York Times, Samuelsson wrote an insightful op-ed about watching Harlem change over the past decade. Samuelsson, who has lived in Harlem for 10 years and opened his acclaimed restaurant Red Rooster there…
Leave it to the Italians to take something as utilitarian as base jumping and turn it into an elegant fashion cat walk, starting with the gorgeous/crazy Roberta Mancino base jumping in high heels and a sequin dress. From the description: Roberta Mancino expresses her passion for fashion and her love of base jumping in this…
All buildings eventually die: Sometimes sooner, sometimes later. But artist Calvin Seibert’s work lasts no longer than a turn of the Earth. Seibert spends his free time sculpting incredible models on the beach—and they’re unlike any sand castles I’ve ever seen. Seibert, who goes by Box Builder on Flickr, has been making sand castles since…
A team of Stanford scientists recently made a breakthrough. After years of trying to create a new generation of lithium-ion batteries that use energy-efficient silicon to hold a charge, they found the secret to the winning design in an unlikely place: pomegranates. The problem with using silicon in batteries is two-fold. For one, the fragile…
On a recent evening in San Francisco, a couple dozen well-dressed and hiply bespectacled young people leaned over glass cones and inhaled. The purpose? Time travel. At Urban Olfactory, an exhibition running at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) through March 31, you can breathe in the smells of Paris from 1738,…
Construction workers scramble through scaffolding that surrounds a massive urn-shaped glass atrium, which will eventually house meetings of the Council of the European Union. The building—which was supposed to be finished by 2012—is more than $100 million over budget. [AP Photo/Virginia Mayo]
Back in the 1950s and 60s, self-driving cars represented the fantastic life of luxury that was supposed to be just around the corner. But here in the 21st century we can’t even pretend that our driverless cars of the future will be filled with board games and light reading. No, our self-driving car of tomorrow…
New Yorkers had a great time giggling at a new sort of subway map earlier this month. It looked just like the regular subway map only, instead of the real stops, the New York City Coffee map showed the best coffee shop found at each of those locations—unless that stop happened to be in Brooklyn…
You must watch this fascinating four-minute video on the effects of the re-introduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Not only they affected the entire live of the park—increasing the number of species in it!—but actually changed the geography of the park itself, affecting the rivers in a way that positively affected everything. SPLOID is…
The Bond 50 23-film box set has been on sale for about $20 less than this in the past, but Amazon is shaking (not stirring) things up today with 3 HD Bond films of your choice on Amazon Instant Video included with your purchase. Bond 50 23-Film Collection | $120 | Includes three HD Amazon…
For those of us narcissistic enough to regularly self-Google, there’s always that ever slightly more famous person who’s coming out on top. Do you have an internet doppelgänger/moral enemy? Or is your name so unique you can gloat about your Google search ranking? In light of this hilarious New York Observer piece about @sambiddle, a…
This video of a rabbit stampede is freaking the hell out of me. They may be inoffensive but it seems they are about to attack and eat Yu Yu Lam Lam, the woman who’s walking with the bags (which obviously contain food.) SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook
