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If you were a psychic, astrologer, spiritualist or any other kind of charlatan in the 1920s, you had no greater enemy than the science and technology magazines of the era. Many publishers of the 1920s saw calling out bullshit peddlers as a natural part of their broader mission. And they did so in glorious fashion…
Bad things often happen in mysterious, inexplicable ways. Michel Pierre of Brooklyn experienced this first hand this week when he pulled the handle of his toilet, and the whole thing exploded in his face. The blast knocked him out and sent him to the hospital where he got 30 stitches. You’re probably wondering one (or…
Earlier this year, a design competition was announced for a new pedestrian bridge in Salford, England. Called the Salford Meadows Bridge competition, and sponsored by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the actual winning design will be announced at the of November. Until then, though, a trickle of interesting submissions has been popping up on…
Ikea furniture names are often full of umlauts and improbable double consonants. I’ve been told that the names are Swedish—and I have no choice but to believe this, because I don’t speak Swedish. Come to think of it, they sort of resemble the names of another fantastical Scandinavian export: Death Metal. Take the Ikea or…
Research has shown that first dates are often awkward, uncomfortable and full of nauseatingly-forced conversation. Well, thanks to recent breakthroughs there’s now a scientific guide to to the perfect first date. So, you’ll be cruising down the Hot Love Highway in no time!
Regardless of your choice of ecosystem, carrier, or contract preference, we’ve got a phone deal for you today. Moto X [AT&T] | $100 Moto X [Verizon] | $100 Moto X [Sprint] | $80-$100 iPhone 5c Unlocked ($529) | eBay Lumia 1020 Unlocked ($670) | eBay Galaxy S4 Mini Unlocked ($350) | eBay T-Mobile Prepaid –…
Do you ever joke around with your coworkers about how cool it would be to build desks out of old cars or have meetings on a houseboat? Maybe not, but if you work at Google, you might want to start—because they might actually make your weird office dreams a reality. That’s exactly what Google did…
From the department of Innovations That Really Aren’t That Innovative comes a robotic arm that’s been customized and programmed to make a fresh pot of coffee—using a Keurig machine. That’s like building a robot designed to clean floors—by turning on a Roomba. This particular minnovation comes from a company called FOCUS Integration, and in its…
T-Mobile has announced that its Simple Choice plans will now come with free international data and texts. That sounds amazing, but in reality how much will it actually save you compared to carriers like AT&T, Sprint and Verizon? Laptop Mag created a handy comparison chart yesterday, and it’s useful for anyone who travels abroad. Let’s…
Coca-Cola’s global distribution channels are so well-developed that a Coke can get pretty much anywhere on the planet—even places where there’s no access to fresh water. But Coke is working on that, too. As part of its mission to bring drinking water to the communities it serves, the company has developed a solar-powered, Wi-Fi-equipped kiosk…
Got an old smartphone you’re wishing was an iPhone 5S or 5C? Best Buy just confirmed they’re knocking at least $100 off a new iPhone when you trade in a working smartphone October 13th through 19th. [AllThingsD]
Meet Bose SoundTouch, a combination of hardware and software aimed at making the easiest, most seamless wireless music system ever. It’s a direct shot at Sonos’s excellent system from one of the most recognizable names in consumer audio. But can Bose catch up with the popular and excellent system Sonos has been building up for…
Almost everybody knows Berenice Abbott’s famous “Night View, New York” photograph. It’s Manhattan in a nutshell—a solid wall of city, cold and bright. But we’ve never known the whole story behind this definitive image. I recently stumbled upon the following photo hiding inside the Boston Public Library Flickr stream. It’s by the photographer Leslie Jones,…
All of your favorite bloggers are on Twitter constantly because it’s the fastest way to find out about breaking news. That’s our secret. A new experimental Twitter account, @eventparrot, leverages the plethora of news organizations blasting out breaking bits to the world, 140 characters at a time. Event Parrot works much like the @magicrecs account…
Does Sasquatch (or Sasquatches) really exist? That question has been hotly debated by the scientific community for decades. But now, one Idaho State University cryptozoological team is hoping to finally provide a definitive answer—using this autonomous blimp outfitted with NASA-quality photographic equipment. The program, dubbed The Falcon Project, is the brainchild of ISU professor and…
Chinese electronics manufacturer Foxconn was accused of labor violations with the iPhone 5C, iPhone 5, iPad, Nintendo Wii Uand just in general. Now, add Sony’s PlayStation 4 to the list, with a new report claiming that university interns are staffing overtime and night shifts for credits required to graduate.
When it comes to cramming as much data as possible on a platter, hard drive manufacturers will use every trick in the book to maximize capacity. Including turning up the heat as TDK plans to do with a new technique that could deliver 40 terabyte hard drives by 2020. In layman’s terms, it’s actually easier…
Some might say that nothing can truly prepare one for the atrocities of war. From the chaos of screaming civilians and injured soldiers to the horror of exploding everything, the experience must be nothing short of horrific. And it’s this Hollywood production company’s job to reproduce it. San Diego-based Strategic Operations specializes in “hyper-realistic tactical…
The simple pleasure of swinging is one that most of us probably haven’t enjoyed in years. At the historic Convento Das Dominicas n the Portuguese city of Guimarães—itself a Unesco World Heritage site—designers Cláudia Oliveira and Isabel Bourbon of creative studio Elas Duas gave visitors of all ages an opportunity to sway on a special…
What’s faster: A bullet or the fungus Pilobolus? The folks over atEarth Unplugged are back to give us a rare look at one of the fastest things on the planet, which—surprising as it may seem—is none other than this poop-loving fungus. Here, though, we’re talking fastest in terms of acceleration. Because though each spore may…
