The Nerdwriter has a really interesting breakdown on intertextuality in movies, or the idea of how something seen in a movie is shaped by something previously seen in something else. A call back, of sorts. A cultural or genre nod, even. But what’s really interesting is how intertextuality is now used in a world of…
Aside from sparklers, the most least piece of fireworks kids have access to are black snakes, those tiny pucks that grow into long ashen serpents as they burn. As far as pyrotechnics go, black snakes incredibly lame, except when YouTube’s NightHawkInLight super-sizes them. Once the mix powdered sugar and baking soda…
When you smash the previous world record of walking on a highline of 1,640 feet—by doubling it over, walking on the slackline for 3,346 feet, you are truly fearless. When you do it in the sweeping mountains of Aiglun, France and walk as if you’re not afraid to fall, extreme can’t even begin to describe you. That’s…
Spoiler alert, obviously. Actually, are there really spoiler alerts when it comes to movies by Quentin Tarantino? Everybody knows that everybody dies. Room 237 made this really fun video of characters from all of QT’s films, like Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds, showing their first and last appearances.
Here are two black mambas—the world’s most dangerous snake—fighting each other for the right to mate with a female black mamba. They’re engaging in a form of plaiting combat where they twist their bodies in a braid in hopes of making the other black mamba submit. It’s basically a never ending shove match that goes on…
If you grew up with an older brother or sister and an old school video game console, Zachary Antell’s short animation Player Two should hit you right in the nostalgic feeling bank. Some people call that a heart, and maybe make you want to pick up the phone to call him or her (or let’s be honest, shoot a text to them).
The same soap bubbles that fascinated you as a toddler can be just as engaging when you’re all grown up. They just need to be super-sized, filmed in glorious 4K, and then manipulated in post-production with a mirror effect that turns them into undulating alien-like blobs. Cue up some Led Zeppelin and let your mind go…
For the past four years, Tommy Edison has vlogged his experience as a blind man in a world full of people who can see. Some of these videos are revelatory, like when he explains how the blind use money, or what his dreams are like. Today he decided to find out what riding a rollercoaster feels like.
The butterfly is in a much heavier weight class compared to the ant. But when you have a bite like this ant, it doesn’t even matter. Watch as the butterfly pokes its proboscis around until it irritates the ant enough for the ant to fight back by locking its jaws on the long, straw-like feeding tube of the butterfly.…
To cap off their freshman year at the Naval Academy, hundreds of plebes try to scale the greased down Herndon Monument to replace the hat on top of the 21-foot tall obelisk. It’s a fun tradition that teaches teamwork and caps off a hard year—but it looks oh so ridiculous to see so many shirtless human bodies…
To make this list—which I’m absolutely sure will be totally definitive, with no need for anyone to ever debate it, right?—critics from around the world were polled by the BBC to name the greatest American movies in film history. I’ll save you some surprises: Citizen Kane was first, The Godfather was second.
Calcium alginate is incredible stuff. It has the ability to surround liquids with a springy membrane so they can hold a shape and be handled like solids. The process is called spherification, and gets a lot of use in upscale, molecular gastronomy-type restaurants. One start-up is even trying replace water bottles…
Nothing is more closely associated with “upcycling” than the lowly, splintery shipping pallet. You can get them for next to nothing and turn them into sweet boxes, benches, light stands, or put the wood towards hundreds, nay, thousands of other projects. Here’s how to pull one apart without ending up in the ER.
How does radar not detect a B-2 stealth bomber? How can an aircraft with a 172-foot wingspan register as small as just a large bird, if anything at all? The Northrop B-2 Spirit escapes radar by being specifically designed to reflect radio waves away from the source so it’d never be detected.
Leafcutter ants get their name because they use their incredibly sharp jaws to slice through leaves. Pretty straightforward stuff. Unfortunately for humans, those jaws can cut through other things, like fingers. So the host of Brave Wilderness decided to find out how much damage one could do in just 60 seconds.
You probably can’t get away with watching movies at your desk all day at work. But since most websites are still totally acceptable, warm up your scrolling finger, and go to town on this incredible fan tribute that sees the entire original Star Wars: A New Hope turned into one long scrollable schematic.
If you’ve ever stumbled across a creation that looked too unsafe to ever be attempted—be it a thermite cannon or a flying hoverbike—you’re probably looking at the handiwork of Colin Furze. This time he’s built a flamethrowing electric guitar with a built-in smoke machine turning whoever’s playing into the ultimate…
Salt. It shows up in our idioms about as often as our food. Even the word salary is derived from salarium, the term for a Roman soldier’s earned ration of salt. But one of the most ridiculous lies perpetuated about this humble mineral is that in ye olden days, salt was more valuable than gold due to its function in…
Calvin and Hobbes should be everyone’s favorite comic strip. But what makes it so special? Kaptain Kristian dives in to explain why the strip is so good. The argument centers around the idea that Calvin and Hobbes puts art before commerce, as all art should.
The history of why Q is almost always followed by U is fascinating, and dates back to when the Normans invaded England in 1066. Before that, English didn’t even have a Q; it used “cw” to replicate the sound. After the invasion, though, the spelling of English was changed to match the French ways: “cw” was replaced…
