… Read More → "The scariest video you have ever watched in the name of science"

You can’t very well take over the world from your parent’s basement, now can you? No, a proper arch-nemesis needs a sufficiently intimidating hidden base. Luckily, Norway is selling off its defunct Olavsvern Naval Submarine Base for a $17.5 million pittance.
via Gizmodo

Read More → "Norway’s selling a Super Villain Starter Set"

The ’80s were a magical decade for gadgets for kids. Computing power and display technology were evolving and cost effective enough to penetrate the toy market in a big way. Purely mechanical toys evolved into electromechanical toys and gave birth to the digital toy revolution. For example, LED games of the ’70′s were replaced by Tiger LCD games which were replaced by the Nintendo Gameboy and so on.

Companies also began to innovate on educational toys for kids, whether it was teaching them about electronics, programming, or … Read More → "5 amazing ’80s geek toys and their modern equivalents"

Eighty five years ago, Charles Lindbergh became the first pilot to successfully fly from New York to Paris non-stop, claiming a substantial cash prize and securing a place in history in the process. Now another world record holder, Chip Yates, has announced plans to take on the same aviation challenge … but this time the aircraft making the 3,600 mile non-stop flight will be all-electric. The ambitious project is still in its early stages but … Read More → "All-electric aircraft to emulate Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight"

If you carry a backpack, you might feel like you’re in grade school. But you’re not, damnit, you’re a professional, and you need a tote that reflects that status.
via Gizmodo

< … Read More → "The coolest waterproof backpack money can buy"

Ben Cosgrove of Life says:

As the prospect of nuclear weapons testing by nations like North Korea and Iran once again makes headlines, LIFE.com presents rare and (mostly) unpublished pictures from the Nevada desert by photographer Loomis Dean shortly after a 1955 atomic bomb test.

These are not “political” pictures. They are, instead, eerily beautiful, unsettling photographs made at the height … Read More → "Eerie photos of a replica town demolished by an atomic test (1955)"

The sun had a busy day last week. On Saturday, for a few hours around noon, Germany (the entire country) managed to meet half of its total demand for electricity from solar power alone. That’s 22 gigawatts, or about the capacity of 20 nuclear reactors.

Nuclear reactors may not be the best milestone for German power output. Germany is currently in the … Read More → "Germany got half it’s energy from solar power last Saturday"

If it’s true that those with the biggest toys win, a few lucky engineers over at EEW Maschinenbau in Germany just earned a gold medal; they have access to a gigantic CNC machine that is large enough to machine a house.

This machine was originally built to manufacture molds for fiberglass wind turbines that are over 50 meters in length. Because building a 50 … Read More → "The biggest CNC machine can build a house"

We all have our pet peeves. But have you ever wondered about the annoying things you do that your friends, family, and strangers are too polite to tell you about? I do, and I decided to do something about it.

It’s easy to talk about self improvement, but in reality we’re not that adept at seeing our own faults. The problem is that most people aren’t going to tell you when you’re doing something wrong until it gets to a point where they don’t want to hang around you anymore. I’ … Read More → "Pinpoint how you’re annoying people and do something about it"

Your body, in many ways, is a computer. It’s not wired up with silicon, but relies on chemical pathways to transmit and receive information and instructions. Conventional electronics tend to not play well with biology, but the invention of the first artificial chemical circuit could be the key to interacting directly with our cells.

A chemical circuit is very similar to an electrical circuit: you’ve got signals that come in, … Read More → "First ever chemical circuit could bring computing inside your body"