“People,” lamented Richard Feynman in 1964,“I mean the average person, the great majority of people, the enormous majority of people — are woefully, pitifully, absolutely ignorant of the science of the world that they live in.” In the half-century since, we’ve sequenced the human genome, put a man on the moon and rovers on Mars, confirmed the existence of the Higgs “God particle” boson, and achieved innumerable scientific miracles, small and large, that enhance our daily lives in fundamental ways. And yet,  … Read More → "Neil deGrasse Tyson on scientific literacy, education, and the poetry of the cosmos"

You know that scene in the film Contact where the “Machine” is spooling up, its three spinning rings kicking out crazy light and an electromagnetic field powerful enough to pitch nearby Navy battleships sideways, as Ellie (Jodie Foster) waits, terrified, in her tiny spherical craft above the space-time bedlam, to plummet into the vortex?

Yeah, that’s not exactly how NASA’s envisioning faster-than-light space travel, … Read More → "NASA actually working on faster-than-light warp drive"

It’s been a pretty big week in the auto world. We already got a glimpse of the successor to one legendary sports car. Now we have a look at a successor to an even more legendary and timeless car. Jaguar has revealed the all-new F-Type convertible, the spiritual successor to the E-Type born in the 1960s.

If 100 different people had to scour the history of automotive design to come up with … Read More → "Jaguar F-Type – the new “most beautiful car ever”?"

If you’re in California today, Friday, Sept. 21, you may have a chance to see space shuttle Endeavour’s historic flyover of the state as it heads for the California Science Center in Los Angeles for retirement. Here are more details from NASA Dryden on the exact route and planned times.

The orbiter, atop its 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), is scheduled to fly over northern … Read More → "Shuttle Endeavour flies over California today, en route to LA retirement"

Travel writer and blogger Raymond Walsh has discovered 12 mildly-disturbing scenes amongst the carefully-constructed buildings of Legoland Florida. 

“I first noticed a Speedo-clad LEGO man with a crab attacking his face and though it was pretty funny,” Walsh told CNNGo. “I figured if there was a scene like that one, there had to be others. I was on a mission after that.”
via Design Taxi

Read More → "Mildly-disturbing scenes discovered in Legoland Florida"

Scientists at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems in Lausanne, Switzerland, have been hard at work inventing the world’s first flying robot that can crash, pick itself up, and fly off again.

Adam Klaptocz, a doctoral student working on the project, says that the inspiration for their designs came from nature. They looked to insects, which are adept at avoiding most obstacles, but still easily recover if they do, in fact, crash into an object.

“We build robots that are better adapted to the real world, not just the lab … Read More → "The world’s first flying, crash-proof robot"

… Read More → "Elaborate Lego contraption in some guy’s house"

Ladies and gentlemen, please stow your tray tables and bring your seatbacks into an upright position… the flight to suborbital space is now ready for takeoff….   Oh you heard me right.   Virgin Airlines announced the company will reward it’s most frequent traveler for the year with a roundtrip ticket to outer space!    Started in 2004, Virgin Galactic has already pre-sold tickets for … Read More → "Virgin offers space ride to the most frequent flyer"

The winners of the fourth UK Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition were announced yesterday—and boy are there some gems amongst them. Organized by the Royal Observatory, the contest generates stiff competition, so it’s no wonder that the overall winner—pictured above—is absolutely breathtaking.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "These are the best amateur pictures of space this year"