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ScienceSpace & SpaceflightNew Solar Satellite Uses Pigment Found In Prehistoric Cave Paintings
The European Space Agency’s new solar satellite will be partially shielded using a bone-based pigment found in prehistoric cave paintings. The result will be a surreal cross between the earliest era of human cognition and creativity—that underground cinematic world of flickering animal images found in European caves—and the outer reaches of our current mechanical sciences. … Continued
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Tech News
First Video of the Steve Jobs Time Capsule Being Unearthed
This past September one of the most sought after “lost” time capsules of the 20th century was finally found. After years of various people searching for the thing, the so-called Steve Jobs capsule was finally unearthed in Aspen by a team of excavators from the National Geographic Channel show Diggers. And now we have video … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Dumb Starbucks Wasn’t Dumb Enough
The first thing I thought of when I heard about Dumb Starbucks was the movie Idiocracy. Joe: Man, I could really go for a Starbucks, you know?Frito: Yeah, well, I really don’t think we have time for a hand job, Joe. In one of the most skeweringly intelligent movies of the last 10 years, Mike … Continued
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io9
Cabaret-style Game of Thrones posters glamorize the magic of Westeros
I like these caberet-style Game of Thrones posters for a couple reasons: 1) They celebrate the unsung plot devices of Westeros, from the magical incendiary Wildfire to the best steel in the land. 2) They make me imagine a far future where Westeros reaches 19th century technology and culture. These posters come from FRO Design … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Meet the Flockers: ISS Launches Low-Cost Earth-Imaging Micro-Satellites
Since the launch of the Landsat program in 1972, generating images of Earth from space has been the near-exclusive domain of enormous, multi-million dollar satellites sponsored by nations and major defense corporations. But these new micro-satellites, recently launched from the ISS, aim to make real-time imaging available for a fraction of the price. Designed, built, … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
What to do if you fall through the ice into a deadly cold lake
I don’t think the ice freezing the Northern Hemisphere now is going to start melting anytime soon, but I always wondered about this since I was a little kid and I first walked on frozen lakes in Sweden: what to do if you fall through the ice? SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9
A 3D Reconstruction of the World’s Oldest Face
You’re looking at a 3D facial reconstruction of a 410 million year-old armoured fish called Romundina. It’s one of the first creatures on this planet to feature a characteristic many modern animals take for granted — a face. Above: The internal structures of Romundina’s face show a mixture of features of both jawless and jawed … Continued
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io9
How Your Body’s Unique Biosignatures Are Used for Surveillance
Not long ago, fingerprints were the cutting edge of biometric profiling. Today, the use of biosignatures to identify individuals has expanded to include everything from iris and facial scans right through to DNA profiling and even the unique shape of a person’s ass. Here’s what you need to know about how companies and governments are … Continued
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Tech News
Microsoft Might Be Bringing Android Apps to Windows Phone
Unnamed insiders are telling The Verge’s Tom Warren that Microsoft is considering bringing Android apps to both Windows Phone and other Windows devices. Looks like the WP8 app ecosystem could get a lot better in the blink of an eye. Windows Phone 8 boasts some rad hardware. Now-Microsoft-owned Nokia in particular, constantly puts out uniquely … Continued
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io9
A climate map showing every Winter Olympics ever!
Climatologists over at NOAA have mapped out the weather patterns hitting the host cities during the Winter Olympics since their beginning — and, big surprise, the Winter Olympics are heating up, with Sochi among the warmest of the last century. Here it is in more detail: The global rise in temperature could mean that the … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech NewsSploidInsane Russians climb the 2132-foot Shanghai Tower barehanded
What the hell, you Russian kids, are you absolutely insane? What’s wrong with you! Check out these dudes climbing the 650-meter tall Shanghai Tower equipped with nothing but their hands and GoPro cameras. It’s crazy. “Today we will show you how to climb on second tallest building in the world. Shanghai Tower, China,” they say … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
Tech News
Watch Two Crazy People Climb the World’s Second Tallest Building
At this point, we’ve all seen the insane Russian dudes who dangle off of tall things. But that looks like child’s play when you see these Ukrainian guys scale the second tallest building in the world. Like, they literally go to the very top. The building in question is the spirally Shanghai Tower, and it … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Holy crap, look at this giant wave towering over an entire English town
According to the Met Office—UK’s national meteorological service—a hurricane-force superstorm similar to the catastrophic Great Storm of 1987 is about to obliterate Britain. Just look at this incredible wave towering above an entire town on the coast of Cornwall, England. It’s just the beginning. The Express says that “the Met Office has issued a rare … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9
We want someone to turn this fairytale concept art into a movie now
Artist Matt Rockefeller creates gorgeously colorful fantasy art, with just the perfect blend of cuteness, creepiness and wonder. We seriously wish someone would turn this amazing work into a movie right away. Rockefeller is currently studying illustration with a concentration in animation at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and we could easily see some … Continued
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Tech NewsNYC’s Touchscreen Subway Maps Are Finally Here, and They’re Amazing
New York subway riders first were promised futuristic touchscreen wayfinding maps a year ago. But the plan to install the futuristic infrastructure stalled as the design team took a step back to improve the hardware. Six months overdue, the first batch is finally live in Grand Central Station. They were worth the wait. Over the … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Inside the military lab where they freeze and cook entire airplanes
Welcome to the U.S. Air Force 46th Test Wing’s McKinley’s Climatic Laboratory at the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Climatic Lab, which began testing in 1947, is the largest climate testing facility in the world, a real torture chamber for airplanes. In the laboratory, test engineers can create almost every kind of severe weather … Continued
By Attila Nagy -
io9TrailersIn the Purge 2 trailer, there’s nowhere to hide
You’ve already seen the home invasion horror movie The Purge. The premise was simple: In the future, America legalizes all crime for one night per year. The Purge 2 takes this wacky premise one step further — check it out. Instead of giving the characters a home base to defend, The Purge: Anarchy strands two … Continued
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Tech News
Bees To Humans: We’ll Make Hives Out Of Your Plastic Trash
It’s hard to be a bee these days, what with the sinister—and still mysterious—Colony Collapse Disorder decimating millions of hives over the past decade. But a few highly resourceful Canadian species have started adapting new nesting techniques, using plain old everyday plastic garbage to build their homes. Rather than going for plants and organic matter … Continued
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io9
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Love and Sex
Regardless of your stance on Valentine’s Day, there’s no way to avoid being bombarded with romantic imagery. So you might as well take this as an opportunity to learn something new. With that in mind, here are ten things you probably didn’t know about sex, love and lust. Illustration from Saga, by Fiona Staples. Who … Continued
Robert T. Gonzalez