Author Archive

Ex-MegaDeath Drummer Records UFO – Bonus: Reveals how humans evolved

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014

The video pretty much explains it all. Nick Menza, who used to play for MegaDeath before things got ugly between him and his bandmates, spotted something weird in the sky over his home and hit record.

“I was standing in my front yard with my two boys and this is what we saw. [It had] the shape of a triangular object with rounded tips glowing yellow and white. [I am] not sure what it is, but it looked totally awesome.”

Menza also added, in true I’ve-been-a-rockstar fashion that he’s privy to humankind’s origins:

“Before, back in the Stone Ages, like when we were just regular humans, we didn’t have brains in us and then the aliens came down and they intervened and they put brains in our heads and now we’re all smart and we’re starting to figure things out, ascending to the next level and a higher level of conscious awareness and that sort of stuff.”

He obviously never peruses People of Walmart…

Wait…maybe that actually explains People of Walmart!

[Blabbermouth.Net]

Ancient Sea Creature Brain Discovered in China

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014

Anomalocaridids.

That’s the name for a bucket of strange insect-like creatures with terrifying pincers that crawled around on the ground billions of years ago and ate other, not-as-scary insect-like creatures with only semi-terrifying pincers that crawled around on the ground billions of years ago.

Chinese scientists have recently discovered the fossilized brain tissue of a group of animals called Lyrarapax unguispinus, a fun group of nasty creatures that have no modern day relatives save for a much smaller worm that isn’t quite as terrifying found in the tropics.

Dear scientists…just keep working on the cute, furry woolly mammoth. These don’t need to come back.

Ever.

[Washington Post]

Scientists Create Material That Absorbs All the Light

Tuesday, July 15th, 2014

Using nanotubes, British scientists have created a material called VantaBlack that acts like a bunch of very, very tiny blackhole when it comes to light.

The material is so black that our eyes can’t discern any type of edges or features an object covered in the material might have.

We’ll leave the explanation to the scientists in the above video.

To get a quick grasp of just how light-sucking and black this material is? Take a look at the piece of aluminum in the photo below. The black portion of the foil is just as crinkled as the silver portion. Think about that.

And then think about what you might cover in VantaBlack…

Or what a top-secret government agency might cover in VantaBlack…

Or how many ninja might begin using VantaBlack.

[BGR.com]

DARPA’s Bullet of the Future Follows Its Targets

Friday, July 11th, 2014

Welcome to the future, kids. DARPA has just released video of its first actual test of EXACT (Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance) 50 caliber bullet.

Big deal, right?

Read that acronym again. Mainly the part that says ‘Tasked Ordinance’. EXACTO bullets are bullets that’ve been given instructions. Bullets that will come find their targets.

Here’s the write-up from DARPA’s site:

For military snipers, acquiring moving targets in unfavorable conditions, such as high winds and dusty terrain commonly found in Afghanistan, is extremely challenging with current technology. It is critical that snipers be able to engage targets faster, and with better accuracy, since any shot that doesn’t hit a target also risks the safety of troops by indicating their presence and potentially exposing their location.

The Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordnance (EXACTO) system seeks to improve sniper effectiveness and enhance troop safety by allowing greater shooter standoff range and reduction in target engagement timelines. The objective of the EXACTO program is to revolutionize rifle accuracy and range by developing the first ever guided small-caliber bullet. The EXACTO 50- caliber round and optical sighting technology expects to greatly extend the day and nighttime range over current state-of-the-art sniper systems. The system combines a maneuverable bullet and a real-time guidance system to track and deliver the projectile to the target, allowing the bullet to change path during flight to compensate for any unexpected factors that may drive it off course.

Technology development in Phase II included the design, integration and demonstration of aero-actuation controls, power sources, optical guidance systems, and sensors. The program’s next phase includes a system-level live-fire test and technology refinement to enhance and improve performance.

That just about covers it.

The phrase ‘Dodged a bullet” is about to become a thing of the past.

[Topless Robot]

Japan Unveils Disturbing Future of Newscasters

Wednesday, June 25th, 2014

Meet Otonoroid (the more stately female android on the right) and Kodomoroid (the awkward android on the left).

Unveiled in Japan as part of a future museum exhibit asking, “What is human?”, these two androids are accessing news stories in real time and delivering them to the audience. Not only can Kodomoroid ‘read’ the incoming news reports, she can translate them from various languages and read them aloud in other languages.

Who needs live human newscasters who require bathroom breaks, hair and make-up and can only work for a measly few hours before they get tired and need rest? Networks who buy news-reading androids and have a labor budget to swing under…that’s who.

As awkward as this demonstration is, it’s an interesting sign as to how robots are slowly becoming more and more integrated into our public lives.

While it all seems innocent and even a ‘cute’ demonstration of some oddly moving animatronics, it’s when Kodomoroid says something that should illicit a little, “Aw, Hell no!” from many of us human folk that we’re reminded of the possibility of a frightening robot-run future:

“My dream, when I grow older, is to have my own TV program. If you hear about a newscaster job, please, let me know.”

[DesignBoom]

Couple Captures Ghost in Photo on Alcatraz

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

A couple from Birmingham, England were visiting the infamous Alcatraz in San Francisco when something strange caught their attention.

“Whilst doing an audio-tour of the place, I casually stopped to take a snap of the empty visitation block window on my iPhone. When I glanced at the photo on my mobile, I saw this dark female figure in the picture. I looked at the window again and there was no-one in the room. I knew straight away that the woman in the photo was a ghost and showed the snap to Paul.”

Paul, the woman’s companion during the visit, was also a little weirded out by the image:

“I have no logical explanation for the girl in the picture – I’m baffled by her! It’s funny because she’s staring right at the camera, with a knowing look. I was really skeptical about ghosts before but I’m a bit more of a believer now. I do think that the woman in the photo is a ghost.”

[SFGate.com]

New Extreme Sport – Full Contact Skydiving

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

Most people won’t ever go skydiving because the idea of tossing yourself from a plan at the ground is terrifying to those people. For those people, the added notion that someone is going to beat them senseless on the way down is even more of an incentive to just scratch it from their bucket list forever.

Urijah Faber, a UFC fight star, has become the main character behind Full Contact Skydiving.

And it’s just like it sounds. Two people jump out of a plane and beat one another as they plummet toward the ground.

Sounds like a good time, right?

Most people seem to think it’s a viral marketing campaign for…um….something. The videos have been around for almost a year but there’s no evidence supporting the fact that it’s an ad campaign of any type.

Everything seems to be just like it claims.

You fly up in a plane, trash talk your opponent on the way, jump out and back up your claims on the way to the ground like a couple of superheroes…or complete idiots.

[Complex]

Paranormal Activity Star Claims She’s Had Sex…with a Ghost!

Friday, May 9th, 2014

Natasha Blasick, an actress from Paranormal Activity 2, is claiming she’s shacked up with a being from the afterlife.

Nope. Really.

This isn’t tabloid fodder, kids. It’s right up there in that video. Straight from the horse’s mouth.

What’s even more interesting is that this isn’t her first romantic encounter with a ghostly lover.

Nope. It’s the SECOND time this has happened to her.

“I felt something entered the room. I couldn’t see anybody. Suddenly I could feel that somebody touching me. Their hands were pushing me against my will and then I could feel the weight of their body on top of me but I couldn’t see anybody. At first I was very confused then I decided to relax and it was really pleasurable, I really enjoyed it. You don’t see anybody but it’s very pleasant and it made me feel warm and fuzzy. …It gave me comfort and support and love, and it did answer questions for me that there is something else out there.”

This will make for one of the weirdest paternity test episodes Maury Povich has ever had.

[Entertainment Tonight Online]

Hiker Shoots Video of Lone Figure – Possible Bigfoot

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

A video shot almost two years ago by hikers and recently posted to YouTube is rapidly going viral as the usual debate of another poor quality video-sighting of an alleged Bigfoot hits the internet.

This time everybody’s favorite cryptid is roaming the Squamish mountains of British Columbia.

While the interested parties of the internet sling mud at one another, the one thing you can’t deny about the mysterious figure is that it really is in the middle of nowhere, by itself and covering a lot of ground in a very short amount of time. So fast that the hikers continually comment on its animal-like ability to jaunt through the deep snow.

As the comments section of the video continues to grow exponentially with arguments for and against, the mysterious and lonely figure moving through the isolated mountains will be the only one to ever provide a definite answer…

[New York Daily News]

Book’s Pages Make Contaminated Water Drinkable

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

Using nanotechnology, a chemist has created an incredible book that straddles the line between magic and science.

[DesignBoom]

Chimpanzee Builds Fire and Roasts Marshmallows – Casually Signals End of Human Dominance

Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

With Dawn of the Planet of the Apes just around the corner, this couldn’t be a more timely reminder of how things can change.

Remember how dramatic of a moment it was when Caesar from Rise of the Planet of the Apes stands up and yells “NO!” to the treatment of his kind and then mankind gets whipped into submission by their primal cousins?

That moment has already happened in a much more relaxed and quiet way.

Kanzi, a famous Bonobo who’s met Oprah and communicates very comfortably with humans via sign language, has quietly signaled the clock is ticking not by tossing us out by windows or spearing us with broken broom handles. Nope.

He’s roasting marshmallows…

And flipping burgers.

No. Really. He flips burgers too.

[Gawker]

Drowning Simulator Teaches Players a Lesson

Sunday, May 4th, 2014

If you asked around what peoples’ greatest fears are there’s a good chance that one or two would pop up more than the others…

Fear of deep water and the fear of drowning.

Thanks to the ‘magic’ that’s the internet and a company trying to drive home the message that everyone who takes to the ocean should be sporting the proper safety gear, namely a life-jacket, you can experience both in a “game”.

Created by an interactive design company and a yacht-wear manufacturer, the site that hosts the game wants to use those fears to get you to make a simple purchase that could save the life of anyone at sea.

What starts out as an ideal jaunt in a boat on a beautiful day does exactly what you’d expect it to…

It goes horribly wrong.

We won’t spoil anything with how this whole “game” plays out, so we’ll just suggest that you go give it a spin.

Two things are going to happen…

You’re going to have an even greater fear of the ocean and drowning and the first thing you’ll ask if you, for whatever reason, find yourself heading out to sea is, “Where are the life-jackets?”

[Sortie En Mer]

Mysterious Figure Caught on Camera During Game!

Monday, April 28th, 2014

Video of a weird figure quickly traveling through the stands during a game at the Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz, Bolivia has hit the internet in the last couple of days.

Quickly going viral, the clip has split viewers. Some, like many of the commentators who witnessed it in-camera, believe it’s some kind of apparition and have openly admitted to being a little freaked out. Skeptics are claiming it’s a reflection of some kind.

There’s no doubt that some weird figure is rapidly moving through the stadium. But what is it?

Post your theories below.

[Telegraph UK]

Town of Dolls is Just as Eerie as You Think It Is!

Sunday, April 27th, 2014

Valley of Dolls from Fritz Schumann on Vimeo.

There’s something unsettling about a small village in Nagaro, Japan. The village, located about 90 minutes from anything resembling civilization is like something out of a Twilight Zone episode.

Over 350 motionless dolls resembling people no longer living populate the small village.

Created by Ayano Tsukimi, the dolls were something that she just started doing one day.

Now the entire town is populated by dolls in various places and enacting the daily activities of the once bustling little village.

While Tsukimi’s intentions are innocently endearing, there’s something quietly frightening about walking into the now deserted school (where it looks like everyone just got up and walked out mid-day leaving EVERYTHING behind and where it was when they walked) and finding students with button eyes and stitched mouths blankly staring ahead at their just-as-creepy teacher waiting for a lesson that is never going to happen…

Unless they all freeze when the sun comes out and wait for the night to continue their ‘lesson’…

[AwesomeRobo]

World’s Smallest Magazine Cover Sets Record – Blows Minds!

Sunday, April 27th, 2014

To help demonstrate a a new nano-scale technology, a group of scientists at IBM have recreated a Kids’ NatGeo magazine cover…

So small that it would take 2,000 of them to cover a single grain of sand.

Just keep staring blankly straight ahead because we’re all doing that now.

And it hurts.

[Gizmag Emerging]

Terrifying Insects Back From Edge of Extinction

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

There are a LOT of animals being saved from extinction…rhinos, cheetahs, snow leopards, etc,. Most of them are regal or furry or cute or just plain huggable.

The Weta Punga are not ANY of those things.

Weta Punga literally means “God of Ugly Things”.

Nailed it.

The Weta are squirrel-sized insects that can only be described as terrifying. But that’s not stopping a group of animal lovers from bringing the animal back from the edge of extinction. Once the weta flourished in and around the islands of New Zealand. Invasive and non-native species took care of that until only small numbers of the giant insect remained.

Researchers in Auckland began a breeding program to…uh…yay…bring back the populations of weta that once roamed the islands.

Between this year and last almost 400 of these creepers were released into the wild to bring back nightmares to anyone visiting the islands.

[Stuff.co.nz Auckland]