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Alt - Boing Boing - 11 hours ago

Amazon uses AI to invent products you can't buy

Amazon's latest AI shopping "feature" generates fake product images while you type, because apparently searching through the world's largest pile of actual products was too grounded in reality. Available starting today, the Amazon app will generate images of products as you type words into the search bar. Read the rest The post Amazon uses AI to invent products you can't buy appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 11 hours ago

Grandpa Pudding Brains unveils "our pool is bigger than skyscrapers" chart

Dementia Donnie thinks this infographic is impressive. To celebrate his pool guy coating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool a deep blue, Trump held up a visual aid comparing its 2,030-foot length to the height of famous skyscrapers, under the heading "Our Pool is Bigger than Skyscrapers." Read the rest The post Grandpa Pudding Brains unveils "our pool is bigger than skyscrapers" chart appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 12 hours ago

A hobbyist projects SFO's overhead planes onto his ceiling in real time

Living under an airport's takeoff path usually means complaining about the noise. A Redditor who goes by I_am_Root01 went the other way and built a ceiling projection that shows every plane passing over his house in real time. A receiver picks up the ADS-B radio signals that aircraft constantly broadcast, and a projector throws a live map onto his ceiling, each plane labeled with its flight number and type. Read the rest The post A hobbyist projects SFO's overhead planes onto his ceiling in re...

Alt - Boing Boing - 12 hours ago

If you're paying a la carte for AI models, this $60 lifetime pass gets you ChatGPT, Claude and more

TL;DR: ChatPlayground AI lets you compare GPT, Claude, Gemini, and more side-by-side in one tab—and lifetime access is $59.97 (reg. $619) through June 14 I don't know what's worse—handling monthly individual subscription fees or navigating a jungle of multiple tabs on your browser. Read the rest The post If you're paying a la carte for AI models, this $60 lifetime pass gets you ChatGPT, Claude and more appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 13 hours ago

Meta backs off tracking workers' keystrokes after they revolt

Meta has backed off a little. After announcing in April that a tool called the Model Capability Initiative would log employees' keystrokes and mouse clicks to train its AI models, the company has now told staff they can pause the data collection for "up to 30 minutes at a time" or request an exemption altogether, according to an internal memo seen by the BBC. Read the rest The post Meta backs off tracking workers' keystrokes after they revolt appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 13 hours ago

When Meta, Google, and Apple agree on "privacy," watch your wallet

Don Marti has a rule of thumb: when Meta, Google, and Apple all line up behind a new "privacy" feature, someone should ask who actually benefits. In a post about the browser ad-measurement standard called Attribution Level 1, he argues the answer is Big Tech. Read the rest The post When Meta, Google, and Apple agree on "privacy," watch your wallet appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 13 hours ago

Bears in Japan also sick of humans

It seems global bear populations are letting humanity know we've encroached far enough. Seems this bear really wanted to explain the rules of the wild. Previously:• A bear got into a backyard hot tub and drank a guy's margarita• Man who moved into bear country demands bear respect zoning laws The post Bears in Japan also sick of humans appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 14 hours ago

The strange economics of setting your own cash on fire

In The Armchair Economist, Steven Landsburg makes the case that burning your own money is a form of philanthropy. Destroy a banknote, he argues, and "all surviving money slightly increases in value," so everyone else gains wealth in proportion to what they already hold. Read the rest The post The strange economics of setting your own cash on fire appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 14 hours ago

A stolen slice of watermelon sparked a deadly 1856 riot in Panama

On the evening of April 15, 1856, an American named Jack Oliver took a slice of watermelon from a Panama City vendor, José Manuel Luna, and refused to pay the dime he owed. Oliver, being American, drew a pistol to settle the matter. Read the rest The post A stolen slice of watermelon sparked a deadly 1856 riot in Panama appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 15 hours ago

What happened to the 2.5 mile high building designed to be taller than Mount Fuji?

In 1995 the Japanese construction giant Taisei Corporation unveiled plans for the X-Seed 4000, a tower four kilometers tall a building shaped like Mount Fuji that would have stood 224 meters higher than the actual mountain. It called for 800 floors, room for up to a million residents in Tokyo Bay, and more than three million tonnes of steel. Read the rest The post What happened to the 2.5 mile high building designed to be taller than Mount Fuji? appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 15 hours ago

Candace Owens takes her patriot act to Putin's talent show

Raw Story reports that Owens is scheduled to appear at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on a panel called "A Big Family, A Big Reach: New Demographics and Narratives for Media Leaders." Other scheduled panelists include Russian media and political figures under U.S. Read the rest The post Candace Owens takes her patriot act to Putin's talent show appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 15 hours ago

Bari Weiss' CBS News swims in Epstein-related baggage

Substacker Dean Blundell has a long look at the Epstein-related baggage now sloshing around Bari Weiss' CBS News, and the argument is not that proximity proves guilt. It is that a newsroom built to interrogate power can only get squeamish when the power is all over its own org chart. Read the rest The post Bari Weiss' CBS News swims in Epstein-related baggage appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 16 hours ago

Sticky tires are dirtier than they look

California's proposed replacement-tire rules are aimed at reducing rolling resistance, which is exactly the boring technical phrase that matters here. A tire that takes more energy to roll makes a gas car burn more fuel or an EV use more battery. Read the rest The post Sticky tires are dirtier than they look appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 16 hours ago

Bear shows hiker who is boss

A hiker on Glacier National Park's Grinnell Glacier Trail surprised a grizzly in a noisy snowfield, and the grizzly responded with a fractured-arm performance review. A 32-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a surprise encounter with a grizzly bear Thursday on the Grinnell Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park. Read the rest The post Bear shows hiker who is boss appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 16 hours ago

No whey? Protein shortage looms

Responding to the latest dietary craze, America put protein in Pop-Tarts, chips, candy, soda, and water, and now the whey mines are running dry. The Atlantic reports that wholesale whey powder prices are up more than 50 percent since January, inventories are tight, and some manufacturers have already sold through their supplies for the year. Read the rest The post No whey? Protein shortage looms appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

The next Silent Hill has a twist fans won't see coming

I know you just got done running around and trying to keep your sailor suit intact in Silent Hill f, but Konami has another helping of moody horror for you already. Silent Hill is a yearly franchise now, remember? Read the rest The post The next Silent Hill has a twist fans won't see coming appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

New God of War game does not feature the god of war

Honestly, I wondered what game announcement could possibly be so hype-inducing that PlayStation would rent out theaters nationwide to host it. The Last of Us 3? Bloodborne 2? Unfortunately, the levels of hype weren't quite that nuclear, but the show's much-speculated-about 'one last thing' a new God of War game from Santa Monica Studio was still pretty nice to see. Read the rest The post New God of War game does not feature the god of war appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

Insomniac's Wolverine game looks every bit as bloody as it should

With how great Insomniac's Spider-Man game was and how okay its sequel was, it's no surprise that Marvel has apparently designated them the Marvel game studio. Despite a devilish sequel tease, we probably won't see the third installment of their Spider-Man series until the 2030s, and in the meantime, they've focused their attention on something a little more… visceral. Read the rest The post Insomniac's Wolverine game looks every bit as bloody as it should appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

Newly discovered fish species looks just like Big Bird's best friend, Mr. Snuffleupagus

It's surely no surprise that my favorite Sesame Street character is Aloysius Snuffleupagus, a.k.a. Mr. Snuffleupagus, a.k.a. Snuffy. I mean, it's not a secret that I'm a sucker for an awesome snout, and Snuffy's snout which is technically a trunk affectionately known as a "snuffle" is just about the best one of all time. Read the rest The post Newly discovered fish species looks just like Big Bird's best friend, Mr. Snuffleupagus appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

Antarctica's winds permanently bent New Zealand's trees sideways

At Slope Point, the southernmost tip of New Zealand's South Island, the wind has become a sculptor. The trees here don't grow straight toward the sky. They all lean in the same direction, their trunks and branches twisted and locked into shape by years of punishing gusts. Read the rest The post Antarctica's winds permanently bent New Zealand's trees sideways appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

This playful online rave is the perfect party for homebodies

On Hallucinate, you can drop into a massive, free online rave as a customizable avatar you can dress up and style. The site's pixelated aesthetic gives the whole experience a charmingly nostalgic vibe. Videos of real DJ sets from YouTube play on the main stage, while you hang out in the crowd. Read the rest The post This playful online rave is the perfect party for homebodies appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 17 hours ago

Tom the Dancing Bug: The MAGAs swoon over the manliest man they've ever seen

Tom the Dancing Bug: The MAGAs swoon over the manliest man they've ever seen -> Please join the team that makes it possible for your friendly neighborhood comic strip Tom the Dancing Bug to exist in this hostile Trumpverse! JOIN US IN THE INNER HIVE, and be the first kid on your block to get each week's Tom the Dancing Bug comic – before it's published anywhere. Read the rest The post Tom the Dancing Bug: The MAGAs swoon over the manliest man they've ever seen appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 18 hours ago

Imagine never seeing a website hosting renewal email again after paying $149.99 once

TL;DR: Most web hosts treat your website like a subscription. PawnHoster's King Plan would rather take your money once and call it a day. For a limited time, get one for $149.99 you'll only pay once. Running a website is already enough work without getting hit with another hosting renewal every year. Read the rest The post Imagine never seeing a website hosting renewal email again after paying $149.99 once appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 19 hours ago

Cop fired and arrested after pulling gun on colleague who microwaved fish

A South Carolina cop was so infuriated by another officer microwaving fish that he aimed his service firearm at him. Michael Debiase, 46, was fired, arrested, and charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at a person. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated the incident, reports ABC News, which took place at Myrtle Beach Police Department. Read the rest The post Cop fired and arrested after pulling gun on colleague who microwaved fish appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 20 hours ago

Poster of The Birds of Palestine

John Rooney's The Birds of Palestine is a beautiful collage of avian species residing there. It's available as a print from his Etsy store (and from Shop Palestine, though the store appears to be down today), and the latest in a series: Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Iceland. Read the rest The post Poster of The Birds of Palestine appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

What happens when the machine keeping you alive dies on vacation

On her blog, game writer Laura Michet describes what happened when her insulin pump, a Tandem t:slim X2, started failing once or twice a day in the middle of a Santa Fe vacation. She has type 1 diabetes and has worn a pump for 25 years without one ever quitting on her. Read the rest The post What happens when the machine keeping you alive dies on vacation appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Pigeons may navigate using magnetic cells in their liver

A study in the journal Science argues that homing pigeons may read Earth's magnetic field using iron-rich cells in their livers, rather than their beaks or eyes. Researchers wiped out those cells in 34 trained birds; under heavy overcast, none could find their way home, while untreated birds all made it back within 70 minutes. Read the rest The post Pigeons may navigate using magnetic cells in their liver appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Is the AI apocalypse a religion in disguise?

In his talk "Superintelligence: The Idea That Eats Smart People," Maciej Cegłowski takes apart the fear that a self-improving AI will bootstrap itself into a god and wipe out humanity the Nick Bostrom, paperclip-maximizer scenario beloved in Silicon Valley. He finds the whole thing "somewhat silly, and full of unwarranted assumptions." Read the rest The post Is the AI apocalypse a religion in disguise? appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Scientists sterilized soil. It kept breathing for six years.

Quanta's "The Dirt That Refused To Die" follows a French lab that sterilized soil with gamma radiation, sealed it in jars, and watched it keep breathing taking in oxygen and giving off carbon dioxide for six years, with no living cell left inside. Read the rest The post Scientists sterilized soil. It kept breathing for six years. appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

This HP EliteBook delivers business-class performance for $400

TL;DR: This HP EliteBook comes with a range of professional features you can depend on and software compatibility with MS Office and other legacy tools for just $399.99 (reg. $899.98). When it comes to finding a device that can handle your workload, folks will usually look for a laptop that's durable, reliable, and powerful enough to run multiple apps at once. Read the rest The post This HP EliteBook delivers business-class performance for $400 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

The chemistry behind Garden Grove's runaway chemical tank

Over the long weekend, a storage tank of methyl methacrylate in Garden Grove, California, started to warm up and as the chemist Derek Lowe lays out in a post on the chemistry of the saga, a warming MMA tank is exactly the wrong thing to see. Read the rest The post The chemistry behind Garden Grove's runaway chemical tank appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

A 20-year-old YouTuber's horror film just broke A24's box office record

"Backrooms," a horror film by Kane Parsons, who directed it at 20, opened to $81 million this weekend the strongest opening A24 has ever had and the largest ever for an original horror movie. Parsons, who built the film from his creepypasta web series about endless empty rooms, is by far the youngest director to land the number-one movie in the country. Read the rest The post A 20-year-old YouTuber's horror film just broke A24's box office record appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Watch a caterpillar enjoy a tiny playground built just for bugs

Watch a caterpillar go down a tiny slide. This adorable playset was gifted to the lucky little larva by an artist who runs a page called Little Bug Creations, and it's the perfect size for this tiny explorer. Watching this video makes me want to build a miniature structure for the bugs in my yard to climb on, too. Read the rest The post Watch a caterpillar enjoy a tiny playground built just for bugs appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Meet Betsy, the 30-foot spiny lobster guarding the Florida Keys

America's love of giant roadside attractions has produced many strange sights, but few are as fierce as Betsy, a colossal spiny lobster in Islamorada, Florida. You can see Betsy in these fantastic photos shared by Atlas Obscura. She stands nearly 30 feet tall and stretches about 40 feet long. Read the rest The post Meet Betsy, the 30-foot spiny lobster guarding the Florida Keys appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Baby's hand makes a cherry look like a giant piece of fruit

This video, shared by Gyu, plays with perspective in a clever way. It shows different foods close up in the palms of a parent and a baby. A blueberry looks normal in an adult's hand, but when you see it next in the baby's palm, it suddenly looks gigantic. Read the rest The post Baby's hand makes a cherry look like a giant piece of fruit appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Cartoonist Jeff Smith, author of "Bone," is getting comics' most prestigious honor

When the National Cartoonists Society has its annual conference in August, it will confer on cartoonist Jeff Smith its Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award. Posted with the permission of Cartoon Books, Inc. Smith has produced many fantastic comics, including the science fiction thriller RASL and the prehistoric adventure TUKI, but his all-ages fantasy epic Bone is such a massive achievement that it will always be his defining work. Read the rest The post Cartoonist Jeff Smith, author of "Bo...

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

The art is fake, the boss is blind, and the job is yours

Have I mentioned today how much I love indie games? I just came off 007: First Light, which while a very, very good action adventure romp is still very much the kind of action-adventure romp the triple-A space is full of at the moment. Read the rest The post The art is fake, the boss is blind, and the job is yours appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Time-traveling dinosaur movie looks like a lot of fun

Sometimes, all you need for effective horror is a good pitch. David Robert Mitchell understood this with his modern horror classic It Follows, where the monster can be explained in three seconds but the tension lasts for an entire film. Read the rest The post Time-traveling dinosaur movie looks like a lot of fun appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Ben Palmer continues to run fake ICE hotline

Strange days when a comedian has more moral backbone than anyone in government. Last anyone heard of comedian and activist Ben Palmer, the Department of Homeland Security had put him officially on notice as a consequence of his latest scheme: a fake ICE deportation hotline people would unknowingly call into and make asses of themselves on. Read the rest The post Ben Palmer continues to run fake ICE hotline appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Desecrated Ronald McDonald statue yours for $2500

In-restaurant statues of Ronald McDonald are largely a thing of the past, McDonalds having stepped back from using its famed mascots in marketing aimed at children. The vintage items fetch hundreds and even thousands of dollars, and sellers are often eager to make clear how pristine theirs are. Read the rest The post Desecrated Ronald McDonald statue yours for $2500 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Why choose between ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini when one $60 platform gives you all three?

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to 1min.AI's Advanced Business Plan for $59.97 (MSRP $540) and use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more in one all-in-one AI workspace until June 14. Most AI setups today start with good intentions and end in tab overload. Read the rest The post Why choose between ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini when one $60 platform gives you all three? appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 1 day ago

Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens this week in London

Since the 1960s, Britons have been growing up with Quentin Blake's fabulous illustrations to books by Roald Dahl, Joan Aiken, Elizabeth Bowen, Sylvia Plath, William Steig, and even the first Dr. Seuss book that Seuss did not himself illustrate. Read the rest The post Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opens this week in London appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Florida sues OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged body count

Florida has become the first state to sue OpenAI and Sam Altman over alleged harms from ChatGPT. The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General James Uthmeier, accuses OpenAI of rushing unsafe products into the world, marketing ChatGPT as safe and reliable, and ignoring warnings about how the chatbot could affect children, vulnerable users, and people planning violence. Read the rest The post Florida sues OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged body count appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

A deleted recording blows up Melania's Epstein story

A former model with a messy history around Trumpworld and Jeffrey Epstein has made a new, disputed claim about how Melania Trump met Donald Trump. Just about the only people claiming Epstein didn't introduce the two odious pairs are the pair themselves. Read the rest The post A deleted recording blows up Melania's Epstein story appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Microsoft Office 2019 is yours forever for less than the price of dinner

TL;DR: A lifetime license to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows is on sale for $19.97 (regularly $229) right now. Here's something Microsoft would rather you forget: there's still a version of Office that doesn't require a monthly payment to keep working. Read the rest The post Microsoft Office 2019 is yours forever for less than the price of dinner appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Snow sheds let alpine roads survive massive avalanches

Last April, a powerful spring snowstorm swept across parts of the Alps, triggering dangerous avalanche conditions in multiple regions. In some areas, avalanche danger reached Level 4–5 on Europe's standard scale. This incredible clip shared by @imlukesnow shows an avalanche protection gallery, also known as a snow shed. Read the rest The post Snow sheds let alpine roads survive massive avalanches appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

What does a rock sound like when it's shaped into an instrument?

At the Svaram Sound Garden in Auroville, simple sculptures combine sound and art in a mesmerizing way. In this video, a visitor strikes a stone instrument with a smaller stone. It produces a clear, xylophone-like sound that makes me wish I could play in this sound garden, too. Read the rest The post What does a rock sound like when it's shaped into an instrument? appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

A couple and their pickup truck vanished in 2005, never found

Just before midnight on Saturday, February 19, 2005, Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone Jr. left Abilene's bar on South Street in Philadelphia and walked toward Petrone's parked Dodge pickup. Nobody has seen them since or the truck. It was never recovered either. Read the rest The post A couple and their pickup truck vanished in 2005, never found appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Nothing says regret like a $150k Cybertruck

Doug DeMuro has a new video on Cybertruck values, and the short version is that paying $150,000 to be first now looks a lot like lighting $150,000 on fire. The truck may be bullet-resistant. The resale value is not. Previously:• Is a Hearse or Cybertruck the perfect family car? Read the rest The post Nothing says regret like a $150k Cybertruck appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

The brain-in-a-bucket drug lab is here

Bexorg has found a way to make drug testing sound like a deleted scene from RoboCop: remove a dead person's brain, hook it to a machine, and see what experimental drugs do. Bexorg, a New Haven biotech startup, is using donated postmortem human brains to test experimental drugs. Read the rest The post The brain-in-a-bucket drug lab is here appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Grandpa Pudding Brains says the Supreme Court he rigged is rigged

He wanted originalism until the original words got in the way. Hoping to somehow convince the country that birthright citizenship isn't a longstanding right, Grandpa Pudding Brains got very mad at the court he himself rigged, because it isn't doing exactly what he wants. Read the rest The post Grandpa Pudding Brains says the Supreme Court he rigged is rigged appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Trump's watch comes with a hilarious typo

A Rhode Island Trump supporter bought his wife a $640 pink Trump-branded watch, expecting "the integrity of the President of the United States." He got RUMP. Tim Petit, from Middletown, Rhode Island, treated his wife Melanie to a $640 pink limited-edition Trump-themed timepiece from GetTrumpWatches.com,  Read the rest The post Trump's watch comes with a hilarious typo appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Astronauts may soon finally be able to do laundry

There is no laundry in space. That is one of the many indignities suffered by the brave men and women who venture into Earth orbit and beyond. A plasma laundry gun currently in development may change that. Elisca Hicks, a crew systems operations instructor, explained in a NASA podcast on space hygiene that astronauts change their underwear every two to three days, exercise clothes every five days, shirts once a week, and pants every 30 days. Read the rest The post Astronauts may soon finally be...

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Trump promised cheap gas and no new wars. Thanks, MAGA!

Trump promised cheap gas and no new wars, then delivered expensive gas and a war. Some of his voters have noticed. The New York Times talked to Trump voters in several battleground states as they filled up their cars. Some still back him. Read the rest The post Trump promised cheap gas and no new wars. Thanks, MAGA! appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Farmer digs up yam shaped like a human hand in China

In Jieyang, in China's Guangdong province, a farmer recently dug up this incredible and bizarre yam that had grown into a strikingly realistic hand-like shape. The farmer in the video holds his hand up to the yam for comparison, and it's uncanny. Read the rest The post Farmer digs up yam shaped like a human hand in China appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

How a businessman's hunch became New Age gospel

Alfred Watkins was driving across the hills near Blackwardine, in Herefordshire, when he looked out at the landscape and thought he saw a pattern. Ancient mounds, hilltop beacons, old churches, moats, and standing stones seemed to fall into dead-straight lines across the countryside. Read the rest The post How a businessman's hunch became New Age gospel appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Grand Canyon's burned lodge leaves a very large hole

Last summer the Dragon Bravo fire destroyed a beloved US landmark, the Grand Canyon Lodge. This video provides an excellent update on what, if anything, can be done to save it. This is not just a construction problem. The lodge burned once, in 1932, and was rebuilt. Read the rest The post Grand Canyon's burned lodge leaves a very large hole appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

A pig liver and two pig kidneys worked in a human body for five days

Organ transplantation has a supply problem, and the proposed future keeps getting more science-fictional: gene-edited pigs supplying replacement parts for humans. Many believe xenotransplantation could be an important part of plugging the gap between donor organs and transplant recipients. A new study from scientists in China reports the first-ever successful bilateral kidney and whole liver transplant using pig organs in a deceased human.  Read the rest The post A pig liver and two pig kidn...

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Savvy PC users are getting Windows 11 Pro + training courses for just $20 while they can

TL;DR: You can get Windows 11 Pro plus a beginner-friendly training course for just $19.97 (reg. $237) through June 14. As of October 2025, Microsoft has phased out support for Windows 10. That means no more software updates, technical support or security fixes. Read the rest The post Savvy PC users are getting Windows 11 Pro + training courses for just $20 while they can appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Everybody hating on Florida principal over Fetty Wap yearbook quote

A song lyric from rapper Fetty Wap, attributed to the principal in a school yearbook published by Trout Creek Academy in St. Johns' County, Florida, has scandalized local parents and gotten the principal placed on administrative leave: "Everybody hating, we just call them fans though! Read the rest The post Everybody hating on Florida principal over Fetty Wap yearbook quote appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 2 days ago

Microsoft Surface Ultra laptop features Nvidia's new Spark platform

Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Ultra this morning, which it described as the most powerful Surface laptop yet and the first to run on Nvidia's new ARM-based RTX Spark platform. It comes with a Blackwell RTX GPU and full CUDA support, and is pitched at creators, developers and anyone running large language models on their own machine. Read the rest The post Microsoft Surface Ultra laptop features Nvidia's new Spark platform appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

$80 DIY bird listening device creates painterly collages of avian visitors

Teddy Warner created Heard Recently, a website showing the birds heard near his apartment. Unlike our Bird Buddy (a smart feeder with a camera) it uses audio to identify avian visitors and doesn't require a subscription. I mounted a tiny microphone on my apartment balcony to listen for any birds passing by and built a site to collage them as they're heard The software was built using Cornell University's BirdNet, which uses deep learning to recognize more than 6,000 species, and BirdNET-PI, an...

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Dell counters the MacBook Neo with a $599 XPS 13

Dell just announced the new XPS 13, a well-timed response to the wildly successful MacBook Neo. It starts at $599 through September, but only for students and educators, and everyone else pays $699. By matching the Neo's price with a premium ultraportable, though, Dell's giving Windows buyers what they're asking for and gives other PC makers something else to worry about. Read the rest The post Dell counters the MacBook Neo with a $599 XPS 13 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Harvard students cheer graduation speaker encouraging them to mercilessly destroy AI

Various business stiffs wheeled out lately to tell graduates to "deal" with AI were surprised to find themselves booed and jeered. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, private equity strategist Gloria Caulfield and music exec Scott Borchetta didn't get the memo. Read the rest The post Harvard students cheer graduation speaker encouraging them to mercilessly destroy AI appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Get lifetime access to Mondly for $80 and learn up to 41 global languages

TL;DR: If you're simply looking to learn a new skill or boost your resume, Mondly has you covered at 73% off. Translation apps are all well and good, but in this global world we live in, learning a new language is still the best way to get ahead. Read the rest The post Get lifetime access to Mondly for $80 and learn up to 41 global languages appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

007: First Light review: From Denmark with love

Let me be up front: I'm not a huge James Bond fan. I've seen Daniel Craig's good movies, Austin Powers, and essentially nothing else. When 007: First Light was first announced, I was hooked not by the IP attached, but the pedigree of the developer chosen to handle it. Read the rest The post 007: First Light review: From Denmark with love appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

This poem perfectly captures AI-induced rage

If, like me, you're sick of searching for literally anything on the internet only to be bombarded, against your will, by AI summaries, stick around, because I've got something you're going to love. I recently encountered a poem by writer Kelly Link that perfectly captures the rage I feel when unwanted AI is shoved down my throat. Read the rest The post This poem perfectly captures AI-induced rage appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

A Bluetooth speaker named "BOMB" ruined everyone's flight to Mallorca

United flight UA236 was supposed to take passengers from Newark to Mallorca. Instead, it became a lesson in why teenage comedy and aviation security should never share a cabin. It turns out that an eagle-eyed passenger had seen a Bluetooth device listed with the name 'BOMB' and alerted the flight attendants. Read the rest The post A Bluetooth speaker named "BOMB" ruined everyone's flight to Mallorca appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Sideload Lode Runner onto your Roku

This YouTube video shows how to sideload apps onto a Roku, which is useful if your streaming box has not been doing enough 1980s computer-game archaeology. Games lovingly ported to Roku include Prince of Persia and the ultra-classic Lode Runner. The work for these games was done by Marcelo Cabral, and has been around a while. Read the rest The post Sideload Lode Runner onto your Roku appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Man who stole $11 million from prison has a new trick: escaping

Arthur Cofield was already famous for running an $11 million fraud scheme from prison with contraband phones, gold coins, and a private security company. Now he has improved the story by not being in prison. The United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other law enforcement agencies are searching for 34-year-old Arthur Cofield. Read the rest The post Man who stole $11 million from prison has a new trick: escaping appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Loony Toon sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting at cops

A man was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after admitting he took shots at police in Milwaukie, Oregon, while fleeing a traffic stop. Loony Tune, 43, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree attempted assault and other crimes. Already a convited felon, the sentence was a plea deal arranged with Clackamas County District Attorney's Office. Read the rest The post Loony Toon sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting at cops appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Jack Daniel's sold a preacher story and buried the enslaved distiller

For 150 years, Jack Daniel's sold the tidy story of a white country preacher teaching a boy to make whiskey. The man actually running the still was Nearest Green, an enslaved master distiller whose work gave Tennessee whiskey its signature trick. Read the rest The post Jack Daniel's sold a preacher story and buried the enslaved distiller appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Grandpa Pudding Brains says war is fine because number 69

Grandpa Pudding Brains is bragging that America has "a war going on" and the economy is booming, because apparently, the Dow hitting "number 69" is now how we measure national health. This is the Grandpa Pudding Brains worldview: war is not a catastrophe, or a policy failure, or a thing that gets people killed. Read the rest The post Grandpa Pudding Brains says war is fine because number 69 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Florida parents scandalized by toddler flipping the bird in yearbook photo

Diplomat Elementary's school yearbook has parents in Cape Coral, Florida, upset after it included a photo of a toddler extending their middle finger to the reader. The kid's mom (and school board member) Vanessa Chaviano apologized for the image im a statement provided to media. Read the rest The post Florida parents scandalized by toddler flipping the bird in yearbook photo appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Amazingly dangerous tech easily bought online

When online shopping was the wild west, you could buy delights such as male-to-male power cords, but they disappeared as retailers and platforms refined their policies. Big tech having outgrown state capacity to apply consequences, wildly dangerous junk is back on the menu. Read the rest The post Amazingly dangerous tech easily bought online appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Mysterious New England boom was meteor

A mysterious boom heard across New England yesterday was a meteor entering the earth's atmosphere, say scientists. The rocky visitor came in off the coast of Massachussets and was large enough to create a loud shockwave as it disintegrated over Cape Cod Bay. Read the rest The post Mysterious New England boom was meteor appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

YouTuber banned from Six Flags after smuggling McNuggets onto 93 MPH rollercoaster

A YouTuber stuffed a box of chicken McNuggets down his pants, smuggled them onto a roller coaster, then filmed himself eating them as the train climbed and dropped at up to 93 MPH. Six Flags banned Allen Ferrell for life after his video of the stunt went viral, reports Fox 8 News, noting that he had failed to comply with the park's policies against loose articles. Read the rest The post YouTuber banned from Six Flags after smuggling McNuggets onto 93 MPH rollercoaster appeared first on Boing Bo...

Alt - Boing Boing - 3 days ago

Your Notes app isn't a prompt strategy—VibeFarm is and it's just $30 for lifetime access through 6/14

TL;DR: Get lifetime access to VibeFarm Lite for just $29.99 with code SAVE25 through June 14 and turn scattered prompts into reusable creative assets. There's a very specific modern problem that nobody talks about enough: You finally write the perfect prompt. Read the rest The post Your Notes app isn't a prompt strategy—VibeFarm is and it's just $30 for lifetime access through 6/14 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

United flight declares emergency over Bluetooth broadcast, passengers say

A United Airlines flight to Spain returned to Newark on Saturday and made an emergency landing there, with passengers reporting on Reddit that it turned back after cabin crew told everyone aboard to disable Bluetooth on their devices. Though the report is unverified, flight data confirms that Flight 236 declared a general emergency, reversed course and returned to the airport. Read the rest The post United flight declares emergency over Bluetooth broadcast, passengers say appeared first on Boin...

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

MacBook Pro shoppers, this 16GB/512GB setup is just $395 while stock lasts

TL;DR: Get a near-mint Apple MacBook Pro 13″ (2020) with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $394.97 through June 14 and upgrade to premium Apple hardware without paying premium-new pricing. Nobody really buys a laptop because they love buying laptops. You buy one because your current one has started negotiating every task, and you're over it. Read the rest The post MacBook Pro shoppers, this 16GB/512GB setup is just $395 while stock lasts appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

Acupuncture hits different in Nebraska

I am not sure who failed harder, the AI used to create the image, or the social media manager who let it out into the wild: Look, plantar fascitis sucks but I think this guy has bigger issues going on — Lucas Seehafer (@seehafer.bsky.social) Read the rest The post Acupuncture hits different in Nebraska appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

Grandpa Pudding Brains thinks he's bigger than Elvis

Grandpa Pudding Brains is mad that the "Third Rate Artists" are getting "the yips," so he may replace them with the only performer he truly respects: Grandpa Pudding Brains. Get ready for an extended double-fisting them dance while YMCA plays on repeat. Read the rest The post Grandpa Pudding Brains thinks he's bigger than Elvis appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

Muxcard: a portable computer the size and thickness of a credit card

Muxcard is a working, programmable computer built into the footprint and roughly the thickness of a credit card. Its developer, who goes by krauseler on GitHub, published the hardware and firmware specification as open source and has a working prototype in hand. Read the rest The post Muxcard: a portable computer the size and thickness of a credit card appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

This cybersecurity course library includes over 90 classes for $50

TL;DR: InfoSec4TC's Platinum Membership includes lifetime access to 90+ cybersecurity courses covering ethical hacking, CISSP, GRC, Python security, certification prep, and career development, now $49.97 (reg. $280). Human civilization has now connected nearly everything to the internet, including financial systems, hospitals, infrastructure, and, somehow, even the refrigerators in our homes. Read the rest The post This cybersecurity course library includes over 90 classes for $50 appeared firs...

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

Backrooms is a blockbuster

A wild $35m Friday night haul put Kane Parsons' Backrooms on track for a $75m weekend (including Thursday's $10m preview take)—far more than what was even hoped for on its $10m budget. The total will easily surpass studio A24's previous best, Civil War, which cost $50m and made $127m all told. Read the rest The post Backrooms is a blockbuster appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 4 days ago

Famous bull fresco's bollocks restored

Milan is repairing the worn-out testicles of a mosaic bull on the floor of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, reports Taimaz Szirniks for the AFP. The casualty of a good-luck ritual that draws thousands of tourists—placing one's right heel on the testicles and spitting three times—the bull was restored by Gianluca Galli, who used modern materials such as epoxy resin in hopes of a more durable finish. Read the rest The post Famous bull fresco's bollocks restored appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Stars ditch Trump's "Freedom 250" concert series after they realize he's behind it

The Freedom 250 concert series, pitched as a "Great American State Fair" to take place on the National Mall over 16 days in July, looks like an enjoyable American birthday boozathon featuring a variety of contemporary and oldschool musical acts. When its Trump connections became clear, though, the scheduled acts started dropping off the roster. Read the rest The post Stars ditch Trump's "Freedom 250" concert series after they realize he's behind it appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Tiny E-ink note-taking gadget

Paul Lagier built a tiny note-taking device with an e-ink display, a couple of buttons, and no significant functionality except recording what you say to it, organizing and playing it back, and sending you the text of it. "Just press a button, speak, and the device saves everything directly onto the SD card," Lagier writes. Read the rest The post Tiny E-ink note-taking gadget appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

A murderer's daughter listened to a podcast about her dad and got physically sick

In January 2025, a woman who writes under the byline Heather Jane got a Google Alert: CBC had a new podcast, Sea of Lies, about her father. He is Albert Walker, the man the British press called the "Rolex Killer." Read the rest The post A murderer's daughter listened to a podcast about her dad and got physically sick appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Site tracks significant U.S. layoffs

The US Layoffs Tracker is updated daily with the latest disclosures under the WARN Act, which requires employers with 100 or more workers to give 60 days notice before major layoffs or site closures. Though only a portion of the countless people fired, made redundant, pushed into resignation or otherwise removed from their jobs, it shows where and when things have gotten bad. Read the rest The post Site tracks significant U.S. layoffs appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

This weekend's blue moon is also a micromoon (but won't be blue and isn't smaller)

This weekend's Blue Moon, the second full moon in one month, is also a micromoon, because it is at the moon's apogee, the furthest point from Earth in its orbit. The best moment to catch it, writes EarthSky, is just before 4 a.m. Read the rest The post This weekend's blue moon is also a micromoon (but won't be blue and isn't smaller) appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

RFK Jr.'s "just a rash" disease filled Texas hospital beds

The anti-vaccine crowd spent years trying to rebrand measles as a harmless childhood inconvenience. Texas just supplied the hospital records. In a study published yesterday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, state and federal researchers provided a detailed postmortem of last year's massive multi-state measles outbreak that mushroomed out of West Texas. Read the rest The post RFK Jr.'s "just a rash" disease filled Texas hospital beds appeared first on Boing Boing.

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Her wedding necklace cost $75,000. She died guarding a worthless mine

In March 1935, Sue Bonnie pushed through three feet of snow to her friend's cabin on Fryer Hill outside Leadville, Colorado. She and Tom French broke a window and found 80-year-old Baby Doe Tabor dead on the cabin floor, partially clothed, arms flung out, her body frozen stiff into a cross. Read the rest The post Her wedding necklace cost $75,000. She died guarding a worthless mine appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Judge orders Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center

President Trump had his name added to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, having stacked its board with cronies, then closed the center for "renovations" after credible performers began giving the fabled institution a wide berth. Read the rest The post Judge orders Trump's name removed from the Kennedy Center appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Radiohead's OK Computer performed with Nintendo 64 soundfonts

OK Nintendo is a full-album cover of Radiohead's seminal 1997 release OK Computer. Instead of Thom Yorke's plaintive, soaring vocals, we have samples from Mario Kart and other N64 classics. Arranged by on4word, there's a companion album at Bandcamp: "Nintendo 64 Music from a parallel universe." Read the rest The post Radiohead's OK Computer performed with Nintendo 64 soundfonts appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Windows 11 Pro helps aging PCs feel modern again for $10

TL;DR: Windows 11 Pro upgrades older PCs with modern multitasking tools, stronger security, gaming enhancements, and integrated Copilot AI features, now discounted to $9.97 (reg. $199). It feels like Windows 10 just arrived yesterday, yet Microsoft has already ended support for it. Read the rest The post Windows 11 Pro helps aging PCs feel modern again for $10 appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Backrooms makes $10.4m in preview screenings

Horror movie Backrooms is set to become A24's biggest hit, with $10.4 million clipping through in preview screenings, earning back its production budget, and signaling a $40-50 million opening weekend. Alex Garland's "Civil War," the company's previous top earner, made $2.9 million in previews. Read the rest The post Backrooms makes $10.4m in preview screenings appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

Drug that grew extra teeth in mice enters first human trial

Researchers at Kyoto University Hospital have begun the first human trial of TRG-035, a drug meant to grow new teeth in people who are missing them. Humans keep a set of dormant tooth buds left over after the adult teeth come in, but a protein holds them switched off for life. Read the rest The post Drug that grew extra teeth in mice enters first human trial appeared first on Boing Boing.

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Oscar Mayer's Wienermobiles returned to Indy to haul buns

The second annual Oscar Mayer Wienie 500 is eleven innuendo-packed minutes of giant hot dogs racing around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is more or less what we call fine art in America. This is what happens when a brand knows exactly how stupid it should be. Read the rest The post Oscar Mayer's Wienermobiles returned to Indy to haul buns appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alt - Boing Boing - 5 days ago

The pyramids' missing casing stones have a better story than "thieves"

The pyramids used to be smooth, white, and blinding in the sun. Now they look like giant ancient staircases, and the usual explanation is that people stole the good bits. History for Granite says the truth is messier and far more interesting. Read the rest The post The pyramids' missing casing stones have a better story than "thieves" appeared first on Boing Boing.