The Yangtze River is the third longest in the world, and it’s served as a critical artery in the beating heart of China’s economic boom. It’s also incredibly wide at points—which has forced China to become a top contender in the race to build the most advanced long-span bridges in the world. Taizhou Bridge is definitely one of those bridges.

Read More → "China’s suspension giant Is 3,500 feet longer than the Brooklyn Bridge"

Chess currently has its highest profile for years – with millions gripped by the world championship. But one attempt to capitalise on this interest – a Norway versus the Rest of the World match – has been abandoned due to online sabotage.

Kjetil Kolsrud, the Managing Editor of Norway’s Aftenposten newspaper, thought a Norway versus the Rest of the World online crowdsourced match would boost audience engagement and be a bit of … Read More → "The dark side of online chess"

New Zealand sculptor David McCracken created this “Stairway to Heaven”-inspired piece for the 2013 Sculpture by the Sea exhibit in Bondi, Australia. The welded aluminum piece, titled Diminish and Ascend, looks like an infinite stairway to the clouds – the effect, as you can clearly see, is fantastic!
via Neatorama

Read More → "Sculpture is a “Stairway to Heaven” optical illusion"

These people are gifted with what scientists call “highly superior autobiographical memory” (HSAM), which means that they can remember in vivid detail nearly every day of their life going back to childhood. But new research shows that even these special people are susceptible to forming false memories, sometimes even more so than normal people.

Knowing how HSAM people form memories would provide a great leap in our understanding. … Read More → "People who don’t forget can still be tricked with false memories"

This recently released photograph from the Hubble Telescope captures the spectacular glory of Messier 15 located about 35,000 light-years away. It might be hard to believe, but if you were to look up in the sky and locate the constellation Pegasus, this entire cluster of stars is located inside of it. It is one of the densest clusters of stars ever discovered.
via Read More → "Hubble photographs Messier 15, one of the densest cluster of stars ever discovered"

Either that or there’s going to be a lot of squished people needing to be scraped off the tiles at the deep end. Currently under construction at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, the Meg-a-Blaster slide will open in Spring 2014, dropping people from nearly 140 feet up.
via Gizmodo

Continue reading</ … Read More → "The world’s tallest water slide better end in the world’s deepest pool"

Having a robot obey your commands is hard. Having a group of robots obey your commands is really, really hard. The good news is roboticists are making good progress in solving this problem. Research presented at IROS early this month shows how we may be getting to the point where teams of robots can pay attention to what we’re saying, where we’re looking, and … Read More → "Robots that pay attention to you"

You’ve probably wondered what it’d be like to stay in Sweden’s Icehotel, or similarly frigid accommodations. But you may have neglected to consider the danger posed by fire in these facilities. How shortsighted of you.

Swedish officials, on the other hand, are on top of the situation and recently manadated … Read More → "Authorities made the Swedish Ice Hotel install fire alarms"

A bizarre instrument combining a piano and cello has finally been played to an audience more than 500 years after it was dreamt up Leonardo da Vinci.

Da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance genius who painted the Mona Lisa, invented the ‘‘viola organista’’ – which looks like a baby grand piano – but never built it, experts say.

The viola organista has … Read More → "Leonardo Da Vinci’s wacky piano is heard for the first time, after 500 years"

Honda’s Walking Assist is finally getting a large-scale test run in the US. The company has started clinical trials of the leg-boosting device at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, where it will (hopefully) help stroke victims regain their mobility. While Honda hasn’t said how long the study will last, it could have a significant impact if it proves successful. Up to 80 percent of US stroke survivors have trouble walking quickly or … Read More → "Honda starts testing Walking Assist device in large-scale US trials"