Sploid: Where awesome, wild, and breathtaking tech moments burst into view.
One of the biggest games of the year—Tom Clancy’s new Splinter Cell: Blacklist—takes players right into Guantanamo Bay prison camp to torture an inmate—and then lets them “decide to spare or kill their interrogated target.” In the game you play Sam Fisher, a “U.S. government super-spy and needed savior of the free world.” In this…
Bikes are the new fad in rich cities such as New York. Everyone wants to look cool and get exercise and be “green,” but actually riding a bike through Manhattan is a terrifying ordeal that one New Yorker very barely survived. [Photo via Shutterstock.] https://jalopnik.com/my-first-bike-ride-across-manhattan-nearly-made-me-ruin-1189072351
When a lucky boy caught a baseball that flew into the stands at a San Francisco Giants game, little did he expect that a big mean adult would wrestle that souvenir away from the kid. Now the police are looking for the adult thug. [Photo via Shutterstock.] https://deadspin.com/police-investigating-robbery-claim-over-home-run-ball-a-1189769855
Facebook and all that other Internet garbage sure does waste everyone’s time. Luckily, there’s not really that much else we should really be doing, as long as we get in a shower now and then. But if you’re concerned about the “time suck” that is Facebook, a new device may help you manage things. https://lifehacker.com/timerabbit-keeps-track-of-how-much-time-you-waste-on-fa-1189092893
Deadspin has a fascinating step-by-step video analysis that demonstrates how ESPN can pull stories out of the thin air its collective ass produces, without any shame or dignity. It’s appalling that people actually waste their time watching this verbal diarrhea. https://deadspin.com/how-espn-manufactures-a-story-colin-kaepernick-edition-1185400028
While this country is a lot less racist than it was a half century ago during the Civil Rights struggle, Americans have sadly admitted that they’re still personally kind of racist. Maybe everything will be better in another 50 years. http://gawker.com/americans-of-all-races-agree-we-are-racist-1188151323
In case you need more proof that before and after shots for miracle weight loss methods are as false as the methods themselves, here’s personal trainer Mel to tell you how she achieved what you can see in these two photos in just 15 minutes, no Photoshop involved. http://gawker.com/personal-trainer-exposes-before-after-secrets-on-in-1189167678
This amazing interactive map shows global protests flaring up all over the world, from 1979 until now. There are a lot more people alive today than 34 years ago, so maybe that’s why there are so many more protests. Or maybe people have learned how to manipulate TV news. https://gizmodo.com/an-interactive-timeline-of-every-protest-on-the-earth-s-1188214852
Here are 15 options to choose from, selected by the top experts in movie magicks. Do you agree? If not, tell us your personal favorite. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-effects-shots-ever-as-chosen-by-hollywoods-to-1188416659
One of the greatest characters ever is Chewbacca, the wookiee. Why is he so great? Because he’s brave, loyal, talented and handsome. He even understands human and droid languages. But in Japan, they think he’s a moron. https://kotaku.com/chewbaccas-name-in-japanese-sure-is-stupid-1187792847
Shy people who spend all their time writing their opinions on the Internet for millions of people to read have lately been very excited about the recognition of introverts. Finally, there are tons of web articles about how special it is to be introverted! Well, introverts are generally losers. [Photo via Shutterstock.] http://gawker.com/15-unmistakable-outrageously-secret-signs-youre-an-ex-1182875137
The internet is shocked—SHOCKED—after the breaking news: Ben Affleck is getting into Batman’s suit to battle Superman in the next Man of Steel movie. It’s going to make such a difference, people argue. It must be that chin’s dimple. Just look at this selection of outraged people tweeting about it. Look, outraged clueless people: it’s…
The Bible is a collection of tall tales and folklore written by random people through the ages. Naturally, it’s full of contradictions—not to talk about the violent and cruel acts that are against to everything that Christianity is said to represent. Still, it’s surprising to see it all in one neat infographic. https://gizmodo.com/this-comprehensive-map-traces-463-of-the-bibles-major-1188177994
The Starsky to the Bill Gates’ Hutch is retiring: Steve Ballmer has announced that he will be leaving Microsoft as soon as the company finds a CEO replacement. He has been in the company since the beginning, in 1980. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-ceo-steve-ballmer-will-retire-in-the-next-yea-1187983423
Hints: He has zero acting skills, only had one significant role in his career as the protagonist of a dreadful movie trilogy based on some terrible books about stinky emo vampires, has bad teeth and needs some heavy eyebrow threading. Photo by Getty Images https://jezebel.com/robert-pattinson-thinks-all-twihards-are-sad-fat-fatti-1187750331
Well, that’s not supposed to happen. A SpaceX rocket exploded during a test flight in Texas earlier today. This was the second test for the three engine version of SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket. There were no injuries. SpaceX told USA Today that, “an anomaly was detected in the vehicle and the flight termination system…
The food we consume as a child has a huge influence on how we eat throughout adult life. Monster-branded corn-syrup-infused puffs of starch and sweetener can start a youngster down a path of overeating, diabetes, heart disease and early death. But still, people miss their “Fruit Brute,” which is returning for Halloween! https://gizmodo.com/the-triumphant-return-of-the-most-terrifying-cereals-of-1185520573
Most people are just not very fond of spiders. So why don’t the humans join forces and use all their terrible weapons and poisons to destroy every last spider on the Earth? It’s a big job, but some people say the time to start is now. [Photo via Shutterstock.] https://gizmodo.com/why-isnt-science-doing-something-about-goddamn-spiders-1178733212
Do you know how much people spend on weddings? Way too much, that’s how much. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can have a great wedding that’s special and fun and all of that, without even going into debt for the rest of your life. (You already have student loans for that.)…
Lifehacker has a good—and depressing—guide on how we waste money. They offer some suggestions about how to save it, but they can be summarized in one: don’t spend it. Or reduce your expectations and don’t work so much to get money just to waste or—worse—to save it until you are too old to waste it.…