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Where Space Begins
It's a long way up to leave the Earth's atmosphere behind reach true space. But just how far away is it? The Royal Greenwich Observatory has an answer — and it's both farther away and closer than you might think.
Basketball Robot
Dubbed Cue, Toyota has finally created an athlete that will never let you down. Although it's a robot, it can shoot free throws with 100 percent accuracy. Even when pitted up against players from Japan's Alvark Tokyo it just can't miss. NBA players don't need to worry just yet. With only a perfect shot from the stripe in its repertoire, Cue won't be getting drafted anytime soon.
Putting a Price Tag On a Death Star
So you need to destroy a pesky, Rebel-controlled planet. You're going to need a Death Star to do it, and Death Star's aren't cheap. To help you plan financially for the big purchase, Second Thought did up an estimate on what it would cost to get a new Death Star in your driveway.
Why We Imagine Aliens the Way We Do
In short, we imagine aliens the way we do because of Hollywood. There's no scientific research that has concluded that they are flying around space in saucers with big heads and squinty eyes. From the film franchises to TV series, our perception of extraterrestrials has been greatly influenced by the science fiction genre. In this video, Oscar-nominated VFX supervisor Charley Henley explains the process behind creating the unknown for Prometheus and Alien: Covenant and how that has shaped our ideas of life beyond our planet.
The Case For Venus
Mars gets all the talk when it comes to the next great step in human space exploration. But Venus is a lot closer — even if it is a little harsher. Life Noggin makes the case for attempting to reach our neighbor closer to the sun instead of the Red Planet.
Falcon Heavy and Starman
It's been a month since Falcon Heavy launched a Tesla into orbit. Over the weekend at the SXSW Westworld panel, Elon Musk popped up to release a highlight reel of the monumental event he and the show's creator Jonathan Nolan put together. The tribute goes through the entire process of getting the rocket into space, including some never-before-seen footage, while David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" gives you goosebumps in the background.
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Casper Wave
The result of three years of research and millions of data points, the Casper Wave is a breakthrough in mattress design. Underneath its handsome exterior, you'll find the new, proprietary Natural Geometry System. It uses five layers of foam to mimic the natural contours of your body at 36 specific points, adjusting naturally to your shoulders and hips without sacrificing support, and keeping your spine properly aligned. Like the original, it uses open-cell foams to keep you cool at night. Designed and assembled in the USA.
Presented by Casper.
Bamford Mayfair Watch
Taking a cue from car dealerships, Bamford Watch Department last year built a "Service Watch" that was lent out to clients while their timepiece was in for maintenance. People loved it and wanted to purchase one for themselves, so the Bamford Mayfair watch was born. Measuring in at a classic 40mm size with Military Grade Titanium Coating (MGTC), the watch is available in two versions — one with a matte grey case, anodized aluminum bezel, and leather strap, and one with a more sinister black case, matte ceramic bezel, and rubber strap. Both watches' indices and hands are finished in LumiNova for legibility and are powered by a Quartz Miyota 2035 movement. The Mayfair is your daily driver. Your vintage Rolex is the one that stays in the garage except on special occasions.
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Robot Solves Rubik's Cube
It isn't the first Rubik's cube solve by a robot, but it is the fastest. Ben Katz and some pals at MITERS created an electric motor-driven robot that reads, computes and solves a Rubik's cube in less than half a second, beating the old record by nearly half.
If You Only Drank Coffee
Although it might sound like a dream, living on coffee alone is not so wise. There are some positives like reducing the risk of Type 2 diabetes and some cancers, but that's just with regular consumption. Like two or three cups a day. Going on an all-coffee diet leads to excess amounts of caffeine and causes headaches, nausea, restlessness and muscle spasms. Overdosing on it can even lead to more series problems like comas, trouble breathing, and cardiac arrest. So go ahead, enjoy your espressos and americanos. Just remember to keep it in moderation.
Time-Lapse Of The Entire Universe
Starting with the Big Bang, this time-lapse takes us through 13.8 billion years in just 10 minutes. That's 22 million years per second. The whole experience is capped off by the angelic voices of Morgan Freeman, Brian Cox, Carl Sagan, and David Attenborough.
Third Thumb
When you think of prosthetics, you think of something made for some with a disability — and rightly so. But designer Dani Clode designed the Third Thumb to change the way we think about prosthetics — by augmenting what's already there and enhancing what humans can do.
Building a Rocket to Mars
Boeing and NASA are working on the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket in history. Being built at a facility outside of New Orleans, the Space Launch System is the first step on the road to putting humans on Mars.
String Theory Explained
Kurzgesagt returns for another vibrant science lesson. In their latest animation, the soothing voice from above takes a stab at explaining String Theory — the idea that tiny strands of energy vibrating in 10 dimensions create every particle in the universe.
How Phones Are Designed To Be Addicting
It's not you. Seriously. Your phone is actually designed to grab your attention and keep it all to its greedy little self. A former design ethicist from Google spills the beans on the three design elements that make smartphones so dang addicting. Now that you know them, put it down and go talk to someone.
Opening Doors at Boston Dynamics
It's hard to fear the robot apocalypse when you see robots being so helpful — to each other. Boston Dynamics latest video shows one of their robots requesting help from another equipped with an arm that looks like it can do a lot more than just open doors.
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![Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Shave Gel]( "Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Shave Gel")
Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Shave Gel
Give your face a revitalizing bath while simplifying your grooming routine with Morihata Binchotan Charcoal Shave Gel. Made using restorative, impurity-removing Binchotan charcoal powder, this gel does triple duty as a pre-shave cleanser, shaving gel, and after-shave lotion. It's lightly scented with hinoki essence and comes in a travel-friendly 3.4 oz pump bottle.
![North x Uncrate Smoked Tumbler Set]( "North x Uncrate Smoked Tumbler Set")
North x Uncrate Smoked Tumbler Set
Searching for barware that's as interesting as today's modern cocktails, we partnered with North Drinkware on a collection of smoked glass mountain range tumblers. Made in Portland, each set contains two hand-blown, 8 oz. cocktail glasses in a custom smoked translucent black. Using data from the United States Geological Survey, a two-day, fifteen-step process forms the molds of Mt. Hood (Oregon), Mt. Rainier (Washington), or the dual peaks of The Maroon Bells (Colorado) inside the bottom of each tumbler, ensuring the natural topography of each is perfectly represented. The limited edition sets also include leather and felt coasters produced by the artisans at Spooltown in Portland, and arrive in a handmade wooden stash box. Limited to 50 sets per mold, our collaboration with North is a commitment to the original makers of these patented, American-made designs.
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Falcon Heavy Test Flight
Yesterday, Space X made history. The Elon Musk-head company launched the most powerful rocket in the world. Named Starman, it can lift 141,000 pounds and is hopefully one day going to carry humans to the Moon or even Mars. While the test flight streamed live for the world to see, the original broadcast has been updated to include both side booster cameras and additional views from Starman itself.
Tesla in Space
On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, SpaceX will launch the Falcon Heavy — the most powerful rocket in the world today. The Falcon Heavy will carry a Tesla Roadster into an elliptical orbit around the Sun while playing David Bowie's hit "Starman". But the big news is that the Falcon Heavy is completely reusable, cutting the cost of getting into orbit by an estimated third, marking a new era in space travel.
The Great Filter
If there is life out there in the universe, something is keeping it from expanding — either reaching us or evolving into intelligent life. Known as the Great Filter, the theory posits that somewhere, in our past or in our future, is a leap that can't be made. Kurzgesagt looks at what that means not just for our chances of meeting other civilizations, but also for ourselves.
Capturing a TV Image in Slow Motion
There's a whole generation of people that will never know the joy of pressing their face up against an old-school CRT television and trying to see how it works. This video by the Slow Mo Guys demonstrates how a CRT TV creates an image by scanning side-to-side, top-to-bottom in far less than the blink of an eye. Using film speed as low as one-millionth of a second, you can see how it works like never before.
Falling Asleep is Hard
Coffee, cellphones, work, school, kids — it's a wonder anyone gets a good night's sleep. Sleep is one of the most important aspects of our health, and few of get enough. But knowing why it's hard to fall asleep can help us sleep better and feel better while we're awake.
The Pinball Doctors
Mike Hooker and Jon Erhlich are the last of a dying breed — New York pinball repairmen. Pinball games are complex, and they were never intended to last more than maybe five years in the field. So they break down — a lot — and there are a very few left with the skills to repair them. Here's what it takes to keep this uniquely American pastime going.
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch
It's been a landmark year for SpaceX. Spearheading the private orbital launch market, SpaceX is pushing the commercialization of space travel. Their latest rocket launch caused a sensation over California with its bizarre contrail, actually causing car accidents and reports of UFO activity. Photographer Jason Watson captured a beautiful time-lapse as the Falcon 9 rocket streaking across the night sky.
No One Knows How Machines Learn
How could humans make something that they have no idea how it works? This is the secret behind machine learning — the algorithms that run nearly everything we do in our digital lives. CGP Grey tries to explain how something we don't really know how it works, works, and how these robots are the future of humans.
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The Scientific Probability of A Jedi
They have lightsabers, mind-bending reflexes, and can influence other's thoughts. Every eight year old wants to be one, but is it possible? As far as we know, they only exist in the Star Wars Universe but AsapSCIENCE is putting their abilities to the test to see if humans could, in fact, wield The Force.
First Interstellar Asteroid
For the very first time, NASA has detected an interstellar asteroid traveling through our solar system. Named Oumuamua, it's a long, cigar-shaped object that measures about a quarter of a mile in length. Due to its rarity, this discovery has scientists and space enthusiasts very excited.
Real-Life Baymax
If you're into Disney or live with a kid under the age of 12, you've probably heard of Baymax. For those of you who haven't seen Big Hero 6, he's a huggable robot helper turned huggable robot superhero. This fluffy protagonist was actually modeled after an actual creation by Chris Atkeson — a pioneer of soft robotics. His goal is to bring his humanoiud helpers to the masses and according to him, it could be soon than you think.
Atlas Robot
It seems like only yesterday Atlas was merely running on a treadmill and wobbling across footholds. Now, the humanoid robot is doing backflips. Backflips. Not to mention it totally stuck the landing. At this rate, humanity is only one cartwheel away from complete extinction.
Better Together with Emergence
One thing by itself can't do much. But when things work together, the possibilities are nearly endless. Whether ants, humans, or cells, you need lots of small parts to make a whole. Kurzgesagt looks at emergence and how it underpins life on Earth as we know it.
Bullet Trains and Birds
Japan's famous bullet trains had a problem: they were extremely loud. Pressure waves while exiting tunnels at high speeds caused a shockwave that could be heard from 1,500 feet away. Engineer and birdwatcher Eiji Nakatsu led the redesign of the trains, and found solutions in birds, most notably in the beak of the kingfisher.
