They might spend a lot of their time fetching Frisbees and chasing their tails, but our goofy canine companions may be smarter than we realize. In fact, when it comes to distinguishing useful instructions from pointless ones, dogs are even faster learners than human children, according to a recent study in the journal Developmental Science.

… Read More → "Dogs learn to ignore bad instructions faster than humans"

During practices, American football coaches typically stay on the sidelines, grim-faced, as they order their players through drills. But during an afternoon this past May, in the cavernous training facility for the Pittsburgh Steelers, head coach Mike Tomlin couldn’t resist getting in on the action. As a human-size robot sped over the artificial turf, the grinning coach ran onto the field and tackled it.

Read More → "How a robot football player will prevent concussions"

Just as certain beers are best enjoyed during certain seasons, there are some beers that taste best at a particular time. Light beers like pale lagers are great for day drinking, while darker and hoppier beers are best saved for the evening. Brewing company Suntory Japan decided to take these unwritten rules and make them official: They now sell beers meant to be consumed at very specific times. 
… Read More → "Japanese brewery makes beer that tells you when to drink it"

If you wave your hand under the water’s surface, you get a pattern of ripples on the surface shortly thereafter. Now imagine working that backwards: you want to produce particular ripples on the surface, so how do you wiggle around the water molecules underneath?

That’s the project that a crew from the University of Navarre … Read More → "3D printed acoustic holograms: Totally cool, not totally useless"

Oregon-based design studio Waaypoint has a new way of showing tribute to America’s landscapes. Using digital elevation mapping data from NASA, the company creates jewelry pieces that are accurate recreations of mountainous areas, My Modern Met reports.

The jewelry features 3D-printed tiny mountains that are then cast in silver, plated … Read More → "This 3D-printed jewelry is created from NASA’s elevation mapping data"

Monuments and vaguely descriptive plaques are commonplace around cities and heavily trafficked tourist areas, giving just enough insight into an historic event or landmark. The Staten Island Ferry Disaster Memorial blends in with these weathered monuments, except for the fact that all details on the work are completely false. The monument, which is located in Battery Park, Manhattan, was created by artist Joe Reginella and honors … Read More → "Elaborate bronze memorial dedicated to Staten Island Ferry Octopus Attack tricks tourists"

It sounds like the setup of a wacky science fiction comedy, but this is actually real life. A five-month old baby boy was just revealed to be the first kid in the world with three biological parents, according to New Scientist. The infant was created by a technique that has only been legally approved in the UK, and it lets parents with genetic disorders have healthy babies. The study … Read More → "Infant is world’s first to have three biological parents"

Swedish automotive company Scania has created a massive 750,000 square foot clock made entirely of moving trucks, Engadget reports. Replacing gears and motors with massive engines, and clock hands with the latest line of Scania trucks, the company successfully created a functional timepiece that ran for 24 hours.
via Mental Floss</ … Read More → "A massive clock made by circling truck drivers"

The world’s oldest known recording of computer-generated music has been restored to its former glory by a team from the British Library. Taken from an acetate cut recording made by the BBC in 1951, the selection of three songs generated by the University of Manchester’s Computing Machine Laboratory’s Ferranti Mark I computer was recently restored with the help of a programming manual written by Alan Turing.</ … Read More → "World’s oldest computer music recording restored"

A robot has been detained by police at a political rally in Moscow, with authorities attempting to handcuff the machine.

The rally was for Valery Kalachev, a candidate for the Russian Parliament, who had rented the robot for his campaign.

Police have not confirmed why … Read More → "Robot arrested by Russian police at political rally in Moscow"