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When buildings fail, they fail spectacularly—and often, tragically. But failed structures also serve an important purpose: To teach engineering and architecture students what not to do. On Popular Science today, an infographic from the New School of Architecture gives a glimpse of a handful of historical failures, beginning with the Fidenae amphitheater (which collapsed in…
Apple products are seldom discounted, but throughout the past year Amazon and Best Buy have been bucking that trend with significant sales on OSX products. Best Buy has one such sale today, but it’s made that much more significant by how recently the new Macbook Airs were released. Each product has a base sale and…
Gmail looks different this week! The new inbox system that automatically splits your new messages into stuff from Social, Promotions, etc. is finally out for everyone. Here’s how to send it back from where it came from. OK, so the process is actually super easy. Just click on the gear icon at the top right…
Police on patrol live and breathe situational awareness. Even in the safety of their patrol cars, cops can’t let their guards down. Now, a new feature developed by Ford and InterMotive Inc. lets officers know when pedestrians are approaching from behind — and puts the vehicle in lockdown. This car will cover your six. Ford…
Nobody wants to drink their own processed urine like Kevin Costner did in Waterworld. Lord no, that’s disgusting. But drinking your own sweat like Kyle MacLachlan from Dune, now that’s the ticket. And with the help of this new distillation device, people living in even the most parched environments will have easy access to potable…
It all sounds so Jetsonian. A new 600 mph “Hyperloop” method of transportation connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco? That’s the buzz around the internet water cooler as people guess what Elon Musk has in store for the transportation of tomorrow. I say, sign me up! But if we take any lessons from past visions…
Jeff Bezos’ child-like love and wonder of space and rockets has yielded many a great thing, including Apollo 11’s #5 engine. The Amazon CEO confirmed today that the rockets dredged from the Atlantic earlier this year are, in fact, those from Apollo 11. While one of the conservators was checking out all the recovered debris…
You’ve got the obnoxiously large grill, the finest cuts of meat, and champagne chilling in the cooler, but if you really want to impress your friends with an over-the-top BBQ this summer, you’ll need a stack of these hundred dollar bill napkins. You see, people will think they’re actual C-notes, and that you’ve got thousands…
In what will be its first widespread commercial use, Split Scimitar Winglets have officially been giving the go-ahead to grace United Boeing 737-800s all across the country. While winglets themselves are nothing new, this more aerodynamic incarnation should cut fuel costs by 2%—in other words, pushing their total winglet-related savings to $200 million. Inspired by…
As low-tech as it may be, the pencil has managed to still keep itself relevant—despite the endless graphite-free ways we can communicate these days. That being said, it doesn’t mean it couldn’t use an upgrade, and we love how Tous Les Jours has managed to combine the convenience of a mechanical pencil with the feel…
We didn’t get any new hardware back at Google I/O, but we’ve heard plenty about a new Nexus 7 on course to be announced sometime this month. Time is running out, but now Engadget has gotten some leaked details that seem to confirm most everything we’ve heard so far. According to the leaked spec sheet…
Practice makes perfect. That includes the ability to accurately fire some of the biggest, baddest, and deadliest weapons systems in the US Navy. But since the indiscriminate shelling of passing ships is generally frowned upon by the maritime community, here’s what US sailors take aim at instead. The US Navy has long relied on radio…
Apple’s iWork for iCloud is rolling out in public beta today. The app, announced earlier this month, lets users access and edit Pages, Numbers or Keynote files from any browser. [Cnet]
Today, Android published a helpful blog post offering up a list of design tips for developers slaving away over new app icons, encouraging them to use shadows, textures, and micro detail. We’re watching Android grow up into its own distinct visual identity—independent even from Google mothership. The list comes courtesy of Roman Nurik, of Android’s…
It hasn’t exactly been a runaway hit with consumers, but on a technical level the Lytro camera introduced some brilliant innovation to the world of digital photography. Its revolutionary optics capture an almost infinite depth of field letting you adjust focus to whatever’s in the frame when you’re post-processing. But as researchers from Saarland University…
Earlier this week, Elon Muskannounced that he would publish an alpha design for his crazy-sounding “Hyperloop” by August 12. According to Musk, the diagram above is as close as anyone has gotten to figuring out how the super-fast transit technology might work. And it seems bonkers. For those of you who have been out of…
If you are not Steve Wozniak or David Bowie—to name a couple of random exceptional geniuses—chances are that you are pretty mediocre, just like everyone else in the planet. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be highly effective and successful in life. Here are seven habits that will turn your mediocrity in success. Ish.
It had a rough start, but Apple Maps has come a long way from what it was at launch. And the push isn’t over. Apple just picked up a little startup called “Locationary” that specializes in hyperlocal results; you can bet that’ll trickle down into Apple Maps soon. Locationary’s special talent is rounding up crowdsourced…
This is one of the crazier camera rumors we’ve heard in a while. According to some “top sources” at Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony is developing a unique set of lenses that actually contain their own sensors and batteries. Whoa. The lenses are meant to be attached to a smartphone, with the only actual interfacing being…
Windows Phone 8 updates are quietly showing up on some unlocked HTC and Samsung phones. The update, which was announced without an arrival date, includes calendar and contact syncing for Gmail users, which Google has said it will cancel on July 31. [Verge]
