The Soviet Union’s arms race with the United States during the Cold War included an expensive effort to develop mind-control weapons, the Physics arXiv Blog reports. Drawing on a new paper published by researcher Serge Kernbach, the blog describes the USSR’s extensive efforts around what they called “psychotronics” — the equivalent of America’s own … Read More → "The Soviet Union spent $1 billion on mind-control experiments"

… Read More → "You can now 3D print a fully functional speaker"

Scientists may have spotted the first evidence for active plate tectonics on another world. Jupiter’s moon Europa is covered in an ice crust bearing scars that may reveal movement similar to that of Earth’s rocky plates.

Europa was already considered to be among the most scientifically intriguing bodies in the solar system and one of the most promising places to hunt for life in the solar system because of … Read More → "Icy Europa may be first alien world with active plate tectonics"

Because it never gets boring to look inside creatures, living or dead, here’s Cleared: a photo series by Adam Summers that straddles the super-narrow divide between science and art, showing deceased fish in various states of transparency to expose their complex insides…

As it turns out, the 40-year-old staining techniques he employs to view and examine the … Read More → "Pigmented fish look like creatures made from neon lights"

Biologists from the Federal University of Paraíba in Brazil have discovered a new species of porcupine that – to the uninitiated – basically just looks like an amazing, pug-nosed, spiky monkey.

With a prehensile tail, these Coendou porcupines are very similar to most internet writers we know: nocturnal, solitary, prickly, and slow-moving. Found only in Central and South America, the monkey-pines live in trees, … Read More → "New species of wacky monkey-porcupine hybrid discovered In Brazil"

In 1929, they built their Solar & Interstellar Rocket Car, dubbed the “Shirley Lois Moon Girl” after Daniel’s daughter. Made largely of cardboard and linoleum, a 1921 Chevy chassis, and powered by a set of gasoline-burning rocket motors, the thing must have been a fearsome sight on the back roads of rural New York. The lightweight building materials were a safety consideration. “In case of trouble,” Daniel said, “I wanted to be able to kick my … Read More → "The 1929 rocket car"

4. SWEDEN

Sweden gave coffee the ax in 1746. The government also banned “coffee paraphernalia”—with cops confiscating cups and dishes. King Gustav III even ordered convicted murderers to drink coffee while doctors monitored how long the cups of joe took to kill them, which was great for convicts and boring for the doctors.
via Mental Floss

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A mainstay of drive-up bank tellers for decades, a New Zealand cafe is finally taking the pneumatic tube to its logical conclusion: as a delivery mechanism for delicious, nutritive sliders. The Press reports the story of Christchurch’s C1 restaurant, which is in the midst of installing a network of vacuum tubing to connect its kitchen with every single table; when … Read More → "At long last, small hamburgers will be delivered in a pneumatic tube"

Artist Yuken Teruya cut tiny paper trees out of disposable paper bags and then installed them inside the bags in his sculpture series “Notice – Forest.”
via Laughing Squid

Continue reading& … Read More → "Notice – Forest, tiny paper tree sculptures made out of disposable bags"

Google has acquired robotics engineering firm Boston Dynamics, known for its animal-like BigDog, WildCat, Cheetah, and Atlas robots, as former Android chief turned Google-robot lead Andy Rubin increases the search giant’s “moonshot” efforts into the field. The deal was confirmed late Friday, the NYTimes reports, and will see Boston Dynamics continue its existing military contracts; according to Google … Read More → "Google buys Boston Dynamics for terrifying robot expertise"