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Tech News
Those Poinsettias Are Not Going to Poison You
If you were looking forward to poisoning your loved ones and playing it off as a holiday accident, don’t look to the poinsettia to lend a hand. The famously “poisonous” seasonal flowers are not poisonous at all. Poinsettias are the big ugly red flowers often associated with Christmas. As a child, I was always warned … Continued
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Tech News
No, You Can’t Use the DMCA to Fight ISIS, You Lunatic
Politicians and Anonymous activists are freaking out about fighting ISIS on social media. Into this minefield stepped homeland security analyst Paul Rosenzweig, who proposed a solution so bad it’s mind-boggling. He wants to use copyright law to stop terrorism. Rosenzweig , founder of the homeland security-focused Red Branch Consulting PLLC, posted “ISIS and the DMCA … Continued
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Tech News
This Freeway Overpass Got Completely Replaced in 43 Hours
Remember Carmageddon, LA’s massive freeway widening project that was supposed to paralyze the city? (It didn’t.) The demolition of a single overpass alone took an entire weekend. Earlier this month, a major Beijing overpass was demolished and completely replaced in less than two days. How did this happen? While the demolition of the old bridge … Continued
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Tech News
These Parks Are Reclaiming Ugly Urban Underpasses as Public Space
Manhattan’s rails-to-trails High Line sparked a global trend of turning old transit infrastructure into parks. But a new breed of public spaces aren’t waiting for the transportation around them to stop running—they’re transforming the ground below the still-active elevated tracks. Use the slider to navigate between before and after shots proposed for Miami’s Underline We’ve … Continued
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Tech NewsMicrosoft
Windows Turns 30: A History, Told Through Microsoft’s Terrible Ads
Microsoft turns 30 today, and what a joyous occasion it is. Windows is once again a force to be reckoned with, and all it took was Windows 10 not being a complete dumpster fire of a UI. As the operating system has changed, so has Microsoft’s approach to sales—from one strain of crazy to another. … Continued
By Darren Orf -
Tech News
Europe Wants To Crack Down On Virtual Currencies To Fight Terrorism
New European proposals would go after non-banking payment methods in an effort to curb the flow of money to terrorist activities. Meanwhile in America, the first debit card for bitcoin just became available. It’s a bit jarring to read Reuters’ report about the EU’s desire to clamp down on unregulated monetary systems next to Wired’s … Continued
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Tech News
These Wheels of Steel Are Actually Made From Plastic Lego Bricks
Were it not for the tiny gray studs atop each platter, you’d probably need more than a double-take to confirm that this pair of Technics turntables (plus a mixer) were actually made from nothing but Lego. Built by Arran Hearn after finding the rounded Lego panels that make up the outer edge of each platter, … Continued
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Tech News
Why You Should Resist the Overwhelming Urge to Torment Your Cat With a Cucumber
So you’ve probably seen that viral video showing cats having the bejeezus scared out of them by a particularly snake-like vegetable: the lowly cucumber. Hilarious, right? Sure—if you’re a human. As a veterinary technician points out, this trending activity could cause lasting psychological problems for your feline companion. The video, posted to YouTube on November … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
The Largest Dome Ever Built Can Open or Close In 20 Minutes Flat
Every year, a few thousand engineers get together and decide which projects constitute the absolute smartest ideas in their profession. This year, they’ve chosen the largest dome structure ever built—which can open and close in less time than it takes to make dinner. It’s always interesting to see what professionals, not outsiders or journalists, think … Continued
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Tech News
6 Scientifically-Inclined Gifts That People Actually Want
Shopping for other people is hard and gift-giving can be high pressure. But that doesn’t mean science-fans need to settle for sad math pun T-shirts (acute angles, indeed) or beaker mugs. Here are some scientific gifts anyone would gratefully use, even after the politeness-mandated holiday stretch. A Food Scale Most of our everyday chemistry happens … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech News
Farmer Discovers Priceless Trove of Ancient Roman Coins While Removing a Molehill
A cache of over 4,000 silver and bronze coins dating back to ancient Rome has been discovered by a Swiss farmer. Buried some 1,700 years ago, it’s one of the largest treasures of its kind ever found in Switzerland. As The Guardian reports, the trove of coins collectively weighs 33 pounds, or 15 kilograms. They … Continued
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Tech NewsSploid
Video: An airplane fuselage gets transformed into a stunning interstellar light show
Wow. PlayMID’s Porta Estel·lar is a trully stunning visual light show inside an old airplane fuselage. It mimics the concept of interstellar travel, “from departure and takeoff to the sighting of comets, planets, galaxies and alien worlds, until finally returning safe to earth.” Watch it, it’s a total trip (in every sense of the word). … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech News
Plasma-Cutting Steel Underwater Is a Wondrous Phase of Shipbuilding
Thanks to this explanatory video full of really cool time lapse footages, we can take a look inside BAE Systems’ shipbuilding halls in Scotland, where the new offshore patrol vessels for the Royal Navy are being built as part of a £348 million contract, or about $530 million. The first big step in constructing such … Continued
By Attila Nagy -
Tech News
Web Trumps Pits Site Against Site in a Card Game That Doesn’t Need Internet Access
Based on a popular card game called Top Trumps created back in 1968, Web Trumps pits popular websites against each other in a card game that lets you see how your favorite site stacks up to the competition. The game includes 32 uniquely designed cards representing 32 different web apps and companies. Each card also … Continued
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Tech News
Slow Motion Video Reveals the Rapid-Fire Dance of Courting Songbirds
For the first time ever, scientists have documented the elaborate tap dancing courtship displays of cordon-bleu songbirds. Invisible to the naked eye, these birds execute their rapid-fire steps in as little as 20 milliseconds. Normally, male songbirds sing to attract females. But as a new study by an international team of researchers shows, both sexes … Continued
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Tech News
Meet the People Who Dream of Building a Space Elevator
In his 1979 novel Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke described an impossibly tall tower that would ferry humans from the Earth’s surface into orbit. Nearly forty years later, space elevators still have the ring of science fiction. But against all odds, a small community of engineers is pushing the idea closer to reality. SKY … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech NewsSploid
Watch a lightning bolt strike a car (Updated)
Boom. I remember hearing that being inside a car when it gets struck by lightning is a pretty safe place to be (as long as you don’t touch anything). Something about the bolt dissipating into the ground (the rubber tires thing is a myth). I’m not so sure about that now because the force of … Continued
By Casey Chan -
Tech NewsGadgets
Time Passes As an Ever-Changing Rainbow On This Chromatic LED Clock
ThinkGeek has made a very strong case to put a clock on your desk, even though everything from your smartphone to your laptop already has one built-in. It’s packed 60 color-changing LEDs into a spinning rainbow that makes every grueling conference call feel like a rave. But the Chromatic isn’t just about fancy colors—lots of … Continued
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Tech News
Are Fresh Vegetables Really More Expensive Than Frozen or Canned?
Fresh vegetables have a reputation for being a little more pricey than their frozen or canned counterparts. Here’s why it’s not really deserved—but why it will probably still seem like it is anyway. The USDA recently put together this nice little seasonal chart looking at the different price ranges you can expect some of your … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech NewsSploid
Witness the first horizontal spiral loop ever done on a skateboard
Man, Tony Hawk is 47 years old and he’s still setting the bar for skateboard tricks. Here’s the first ever horizontal loop ever skated on skateboard—as in, Hawk is spiraling parallel to the ground—and it’s crazy. Just seeing him fail and eat it and crash and do horrible things to his body and still get … Continued
By Casey Chan