odd look at news on the web
Stolen French fries really do taste better, study finds
15 June 2026 @ 12:08 am
What if the best-tasting morsel isn’t on your plate, but the one you steal? New research suggests “forbidden food” really may taste better.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: Psychology, Food, Hunger, Domesticating AI – It's not coming, it's already here
14 June 2026 @ 11:43 pm
When my neighbor wanted a vision of what his fence could look like, I didn't hesitate to ask ChatGPT to create a mock-up. I took a photo of the fence and asked it to overlay a potted Jasmin espaliered to it, after a couple of tweaks, and all of about one minute later, it gave me this:Continue ReadingCategory: AI and Humanoids, TechnologyTags: "Double-bubble" hybrid airliner concept uses electric fans to cut drag
14 June 2026 @ 10:03 pm
Electra has provided a glimpse of the airliner of 2050 with its hybrid aircraft concept capable of carrying more than 100 passengers while using electrification, advanced aerodynamics, and integrated airframe-propulsion design to improve efficiency and reduce emissions.Continue ReadingCategory: Aircraft, TransportTags: Aircraft, Pro-grade record cutter lets musos make their own master discs
14 June 2026 @ 1:03 pm
A few years ago, Teenage Engineering partnered with designer Yuri Suzuki for a cute lo-fi vinyl cutter. Now the Swedes are going pro with the limited-edition APC-2, a full-sized record cutter for churning out high-quality playback discs.Continue ReadingCategory: Music, Consumer Tech, TechnologyTags: Vinyl, Unpowered speaker cover focuses sound into one select spot
14 June 2026 @ 11:03 am
If you enter a room to see someone dancing their heart out in silence, no headphones in sight, don't be alarmed. They may be jamming to music via a new 3D-printed speaker cover that can focus sound across a room to a focal point just above an inch.Continue ReadingCategory: EngineeringTags: 700,000-year-old poop tells rich story of a lost Ice Age world
14 June 2026 @ 6:07 am
One of the world's oldest turds has been given the royal science treatment, with ancient Arctic ground squirrel droppings offering a smorgasbord of DNA from other animals and plants dating back up to 700,000 years.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: McMaster University, Octopus-like robo-arm thinks with its suckers to explore the ocean floor
14 June 2026 @ 4:03 am
Robots exploring the ocean floor today use pre-programmed movements, centralized processors, and rigid structures to do their work. But the sea is unpredictable, and that architecture struggles wherever currents shift, visibility drops, or terrain changes without warning. Now, researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have taken a very different approach to sidestep all of that – one 500 million years in the making.Continue ReadingCategory: Pegasus: The next-gen lunar rover that will leave Apollo buggy in its dust
14 June 2026 @ 3:03 am
NASA is racing to build a permanent settlement near the lunar south pole. The space agency claims its Moon base will cover “hundreds of square miles,” meaning mobility will be key. Enter Pegasus, one of two Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs) chosen by NASA to fly to the Moon with the first Artemis astronauts.Continue ReadingCategory: Space Systems, EngineeringTags: ADHD and autism is dominating mental health talk online
13 June 2026 @ 10:44 pm
Jemima Kang, Nick Haslam and Mike Conway/The University of Melbourne/The ConversationContinue ReadingCategory: ADHD & Autism, Brain Health, Body and MindTags: University of Melbourne, SYM's latest maxi scooter will make you reconsider touring motorcycles
13 June 2026 @ 5:03 pm
The last time I talked about SYM (Sanyang Motorcycle) was when I covered the Cruisym 400 scooter. Terrific value for a capable maxi scooter in a sea full of full-sized scooters. It just so happens that we’ve got another one of SYM’s scoots that’ll make you question whether getting a motorcycle is even worth it anymore.Continue ReadingCategory: Motorcycles, TransportTags: