The Internet won’t stop bombarding Japanese Twitter user Kya7y with questions on her dad. Why? Because almost 30 years ago, he created a hand drawn maze that’s so detailed, even he hasn’t managed to solve it. In fact, Kya7y’s dad says it’s probably unsolvable.

The 34 x 23.3-inch maze is garnering so much attention not only because it’s one of the most complex labyrinths ever created, … Read More → "‘Unsolvable’ hand drawn maze took seven years to complete"

Before 1962, most of the planets in our solar system appeared as hardly more than blurry dots in some astronomer’s telescope.

The most that scientists knew about Mercury, Venus, or Jupiter was their size, surface temperature, and atmospheric composition. But on Dec. 14, 1962, the Mariner 2 spacecraft flew by Venus. For the first time, researchers had detailed and up-close information about another world, helping spawn new scientific fields such as astrogeology and modern planetary science. The planets … Read More → "The solar system’s most spectacular geology revealed by 50 years of robotic exploration"

A German artist, who goes by the name of “Evol”, has taken his work to the streets by creating miniature buildings out of the unlikeliest mediums. 

Using a layered stencil technique, Evol transforms unnoticed objects like letterboxes, concrete blocks and electrical boxes into miniature buildings. 

Evol’s works produce such a realistic effect that it’s sometimes hard to tell if it’s a … Read More → "Artist transforms unnoticed objects into Mminiature buildings"

A new private company called Deep Space Industries announced today that it intends to send a fleet of small spacecraft to near-Earth asteroids with the aim of mining resources and turning them into products using space-based 3-D printers.

Last year was thick with audacious private spaceflight company unveilings, including the announcement from Planetary Resources, Inc. of their plans to mine relatively valuable platinum … Read More → "New asteroid mining company aims to manufacture products in space"

The Wobble Chess Set by Umbra features rounded game pieces that wobble on a special chessboard made of concave squares.
via Laughing Squid 

… Read More → "Wobble — a chess set with wobbly pieces"

Nuclear-powered rocket engines are not new. In the 1960s, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed and tested thermal nuclear rockets fitted with flight-worthy components. However, Project Rover and NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Nuclear Rocket Application) programs were defunded in the early 1970s just before test flights were to start. Now, as part of the Advanced Exploration Systems program at NASA, the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage team is tackling … Read More → "NASA team pushing towards thermal nuclear propulsion systems"

After decades of existing only in the realm of science fiction, the personal jetpack may soon become a reality. 

London-based Australian designer Marc Newson has developed a wearable jetpack—in partnership with a French aerospace company—that will allow its user to fly independently.
via Design Taxi

In less than three months, North American LEGO fanatics will be able to book a stay at the continent’s first LEGO hotel. 

The finishing touches are being put on the fantasy-inspired Legoland Hotel in Carlsbad, California—while the hotel itself is not constructed of tiny plastic bricks, the bright, color-blocked façade will certainly bring to mind everyone’s favourite childhood toy.
… Read More → "Coming soon: North America’s first LEGO hotel"

A Harvard geneticist named George Church had some interesting things to say during an interview with the German paper Der Spiegel, during which he discussed the cloning of a Neanderthal baby. Among other things, one of the big requirements for such a project is the willingness of a woman to be a surrogate for the child, a scenario that seems straight out of a Hollywood movie.
via Slash Gear

Read More → "Harvard geneticist says a Neanderthal can be cloned with the aid of an adventurous woman"