Sploid: Where awesome, wild, and breathtaking tech moments burst into view.
According to io9’s Charlie Jane Anders “there’s really only one reason to see the new Superman movie: to watch people with superhuman powers pounding the crap out of each other, flying into each other and burninating each other with heat vision.” Seems like a perfect movie to watch this weekend. https://gizmodo.com/man-of-steel-worth-it-just-for-the-super-powered-comba-513338058
Today’s solar panels convert about 20% of the Sun’s energy to electricity—which is good, but solar power would be much cheaper to use if the solar cells converted more of our star’s energy. Sharp has just made a huge step in this direction, with a new cell that converts a record 44.4% of sunlight into…
Why didn’t southern diner chain Waffle House want a 450-pound tattooed rapper to use their trademarks and logo on a record called Whiskey, Weed & Waffle House? “Jelly Roll’s use of those trademarks was one of the more flagrant violations we have seen,” a Waffle House spokesman says. “Actions were taken to protect owner’s rights.”…
Syria’s violent crackdown on the uprising has already claimed 92,901 lives, and that very specific number was reached by human rights groups collecting the actual names of those killed from family and friends in Syria since fighting began two years ago. Still, analysts admit the real number is much higher.
According to the European airplane manufacturer Airbus, their new A350 XWB plane is more fuel efficient and can carry more passengers (350 vs 250) than its American counterpart, the Boeing Dreamliner. It flew today for the first time in Toulouse, France. https://gizmodo.com/airbus-a350-xwb-first-flight-video-the-dreamliners-nig-513360748 Of course, a test flight is just a test flight. The Dreamliner was…
Jezebel brings out their daily dirt bag of celebrity miseries and inconsequential life events starting with news of Lindsay Lohan getting transferred from the Betty Ford clinic to a Malibu rehab center for being “disruptive” and “making life hell for those around her.” She really works hard to grow her legend. https://jezebel.com/lindsay-lohan-transferred-from-betty-ford-for-being-hel-513356462
Watch the movie trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s new sci-fi movie, the story of how the 1-percent go live in a perfect artificial world around Earth called Elysium and 99-percent stay in a wasted Earth, producing for them. A dystopian future set in 2154 which now seems more plausible than ever. https://gizmodo.com/new-elysium-trailer-is-f-cking-awesome-513329949
Scientists have proved that moderate alcohol consumption produces better and more ideas than coffee, which “can increase quality and performance if the task […] doesn’t require too much abstract thinking.” It seems reasonable, unless the scientists were wasted when they discovered this. Read the details at Lifehacker. https://lifehacker.com/why-you-should-drink-beer-for-big-ideas-coffee-to-get-513262326
A secret memo leaked to the New York Times proves that the United States knows the Syrian regime is using sarin gas against rebels there. John McCain wants a war. Barack Obama, the president, is more cautious. [URL http://gawker.com/white-house-sa…] http://gawker.com/white-house-says-syria-crosses-red-lines-with-use-of-513265502
A monstrous explosion at a Louisiana chemical plant has killed one person and injured another 73, said authorities in the town of Geismar 50 miles from New Orleans. The dangerous factor produces 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene per year, along with 90 million pounds of propylene.
Look at these two. On the left, 18-month-old Jaxson Denno—so sad when he realized that Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t wear an Iron Man suit at all times. On the right, 48-year-old Robert Downey Jr.—so sad when he realized that Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t wear an Iron Man suit at all times. http://gawker.com/child-cries-after-expecting-to-meet-iron-man-getting-r-513201816
One of the nice things about Kinja—Gawker Media’s new discussion platform—is how easily readers can create together the ultimate image collection about anything imaginable. Most compilations are truly beautiful, others surprising, some even insanely awesome. This one makes me queasy—but I can’t stop watching. https://deadspin.com/you-guys-got-nothing-ive-worked-in-restaurants-forever-513208411
11-year-old mariachi singer Sebastien De La Cruz got viciously attacked by online racists after his National Anthem performance at Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The bigots accused him of being unfit to sing it because, they said, ‘he looks Mexican.’ But he’s not—and his dad is a US Navy vet. Watch his perfect reply…
Why shouldn’t “plus size” ladies have the same cute clothes as non-plus-size ladies? There is no reason, that’s why. “According to the CDC, the average American woman is 5 foot 4, 167 pounds, and has a 37-inch waist—roughly a size 14. Yet most designer styles top out around size 12,” Laura Beck writes on Jezebel.…
If you feel dead tired even while you sleep well and exercise regularly, that could be the symptom of something bad happening of your body. Thankfully, that’s the exception and it’s usually caused by problems that are temporary, like high levels of stress or a bad diet. Here’s how to identify trouble and some ideas…
Brenda Byrd (left) and her friend (right) got wasted last Tuesday night. Instead of driving her SUV back to her home in Kenner, Louisiana, she made her ten-year-old grandson drive the car. The police noticed the slow car, stopping and arresting Brenda for “contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and allowing an unlicensed driver…
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, part of a family of drug dealers, smoked crack cocaine while one of his young pals recorded video. Since then, Gawker and a Toronto newspaper have confirmed the video shows Ford smoking a crack pipe, and Ford has denied the video exists. But Toronto vice cops knew about it before the…
Today is a good day for all humans in the United States: the US Supreme Court says that nobody can patent human genetic material. This means that no evil corporation would be able to block the development of some lifesaving gene therapy based on a patent claim. It also means scientific progress will be able…
For 20 years, the Tamale Lady has kept San Francisco’s bar crowds happy with her delicious, homemade tamales sold table to table in popular spots around town. When she lost the right to sell tamales at her main location, the outdoor beer garden and bar called Zeitgeist, people reacted with shock and sadness. https://jezebel.com/the-plight-of-san-franciscos-tamale-lady-513130604
ESPN has decided to discontinue their 3D television broadcasts. This means that your TV will just become a really expensive regular TV soon, as the sports channel was the only one to support the format. This effectively will kill any chances of 3D TV ever going mainstream. https://gizmodo.com/3dtv-is-officially-never-going-to-happen-512905205
