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Some of the most important buildings of our time exist only on paper—and we’re left to reconstruct them, over and over, in our imaginations. But that doesn’t mean we can’t experience these lost structures through other means. To honor El Lissitzky—the famously unbuilt German architect who inspired a generation of avant-garde designers in the 1920s—an…
K. Jonas Nordby—a runologist doing his PhD research at the University of Oslo—has cracked the jötunvillur code, a secret rune code used by Vikings in the 13th century. He has been able to decipher 80 Norse inscriptions, including a romantic message that says “Kiss me.” The rest of the rune codes contain no major revelations,…
According to 9to5Mac, new Apple TV hardware is showing up in some iOS 7 builds, and as it’s been rumored, a new box should be on its way in the not-so-distant future.
Sick of shoveling the snow off your sidewalk? Well, the good folks of 1925 have a brilliant idea for you: just set it all on fire. The cover of the January 1925 issue of Science and Invention magazine included the illustration above, proposing a new way to minimize the drudgery of snow shoveling. The accompanying…
In case you missed it over the weekend, we’ve got great deals on both the iPad Mini Retina and the Kindle Paperwhite. Best Buy is the proprietor of both discounts, knocking $50 off all iPad Mini with Retina Display models, and 20 bucks off the Paperwhite. These are the Commerce Team’s choices for best tablet…
The world woke up Monday morning to yet more unsettling news about how the NSA is spying on people. This time, though, the repercussions are deadly. It turns out the NSA is helping the military carry out lethal drone strikes using electronic surveillance, namely from unreliable cell phone data. More specifically, the NSA uses geolocation…
If you find it fascinating to see how other photographers work, their choices and habits, then In My Bag is perfect for you. It’s a submission-based collection of photographers and their gear bags. Simply scroll through the site for a photo of each photographer’s kit, a list of equipment, and some personal info about each…
As a follow-up to its original Astron watch that used a low-power GPS chip to automatically set the time based on wherever in the world it was, Seiko’s new Stratosphere version features mostly aesthetic upgrades. But that doesn’t mean anyone with the original model won’t want to upgrade. The most remarkable feature of the new…
Moby wants you to join his perpetual pool party in Los Angeles, and a group of scientists wants China to use “spatial economics” to design more walkable cities. Plus: informal transit in Nairobi, a failed utopia in California, radical ideas for the Vegas of 2034, and a significant prehistoric site that’s currently being uncovered in…
Idiots.
Everyone is talking today about October Jones—the author of Text from Dog—and his commuter photos: He draws alternative heads for fellow train passengers and uses them to replace their real heads in photos so he gets to travel with the Hulk and Kermit. These were made in 2012 but hey, the internet has no memory…
Okay, confession time: I’ve got a crush on the Russian Proton-M rocket. Okay, so it’s not the most reliable rocket in the world. But that doesn’t mean I love it any less. And the blizzard! So Russian! “Proton-M” with the spacecraft “Express-AM5” on its way to launch complex 81, at Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, December 23,…
Business Insider reports that Barnes and Noble has laid off its Nook hardware engineering team in a drastic effort to return the product and the company to some semblance of a competitive position in the ereader/tablet market. B&N confirmed layoffs but declined to comment on their nature.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, it quickly became evident to the British government that Americans had no intention of sharing their newly acquired nuclear weapons technology despite the UK’s assistance in the Manhattan Project. As such the British government set about building its own atomic arsenal which eventually led to the UK’s…
This six-wheel-drive remote control robot snow plow is the best thing to happen to snowy mornings since able-bodied kids desperate for an allowance. Powered by six 24-volt 127RPM electric motors, its 52-inch wide blade can clear a sidewalk in one pass, and your driveway in no time, all from the comfort of inside your toasty-warm…
You might’ve heard about Under Armour’s crazy new zipper that only requires one hand to zip. Though the futuristic magnetic clasp jigsaws nicely with the company’s high-performance standards, the zipper originally came from more humble origins: helping a sick man lead an easier life. The Quickzip story starts in upstate New York, hundreds of miles…
The Great Plains of the United States. Some of the most breathtaking landscapes on Earth happen over this vast land. Often, their beauty is on their skies, as these territories are the stage of some of the the most incredible thunderstorms and supercells in the world. This mesmerizing time-lapse—filmed in Wyoming and South Dakota—shows exactly…
It’s always a good idea to give your pets lots of exercise and freedom. But how does that work with a fish who are reliant on a tank full of water to live? That’s easy; you just strap its aquarium to an RC car and rig up a device that lets the fish steer. Sound…
The last time Hamburg’s hulking air raid bunker saw use, it was 1945—and locals were taking cover from Allied bombs inside its six-foot-thick concrete walls. That was almost 70 years ago. This year, the bunker is serving a new purpose: Supplying the city with renewable energy. After the war—only two years after the bunker was…
You want a fishing boat, but the rest of your family wants a cabin cruiser. It’s a problem that’s been plaguing well-off families who can’t afford both for years. Thankfully, Italian boat builder Azure Embark has found a solution with its Ethos E30 that features a modular design that can be reconfigured for different types…
