Florida rescue personnel on Saturday searched for a Florida man who disappeared into a sinkhole that swallowed his whole bedroom while he was asleep. More: One of the most heavily developed states is also one of the most geologically hazardous.

Tank brokers—yes, there is such a thing—estimate there are several hundred to 1,000 private tank owners in the U.S.

Obama has granted clemency at a lower rate than any modern president. Obama had granted 39 pardons; he had received petitions from 1,333 individuals. By contrast, former president George W. Bush received 2,498 petitions and granted 189 pardons, while former president Bill Clinton received 2,001 petitions and granted 396 pardons.

Nearly every crime in NYC involves a cyber component. Prosecutions for cybercrime and identity theft in Manhattan have increased by 50 percent in the last five years, and criminals are rigging ATM machines and scanning your credit cards when you’re not looking.

Visualizing U.S. Incarceration.

Baby born with HIV may be first person cured by drugs.

A deadly new virus has scientists scrambling to learn more about it and figure out whether the virus will become a pandemic or remain a limited threat.

Researchers dispell the myth of altruism and generosity surrounding Mother Teresa.

A recent study showed that White British heterosexual men’s preferences for larger female breasts were significantly associated with a greater tendency to be benevolently sexist, to objectify women, and to be hostile towards women.

Headless cockroaches are capable of living for weeks.

Ion Torrent’s chip-based genome sequencer is cheap, fast, and poised to revolutionize medicine.

High frequency trading has led to widespread efforts to reduce information propagation delays between physically distant exchanges. Using relativistically correct millisecond-resolution tick data, we document a 3-millisecond decrease in one-way communication time between the Chicago and New York areas that has occurred from April 27th, 2010 to August 17th, 2012.

Systematic strategies to help users create and remember multiple passwords. [PDF]

In many ways, today’s 3D printing community resembles the personal computing community of the early 1990s.

It all began on February 11, 1933 when a 21-year old student named Kiyoko Matsumoto committed suicide by throwing herself into the volcanic crater of Mount Mihara on the Japanese island of Izu Oshima.  The Volcano Suicides.

update: The Extent of U.S. Wealth Inequality. [Thanks Tim]

Psychotic Drug Ads Of Yesteryear.

First mind-reading implant gives rats telepathic power.

A nonprofit foundation wants to recruit a man and a woman - possibly a married couple - for a 501-day journey to Mars and back that would start in less than five years.

Giant Food Corporations Work Hand-In-Glove With Corrupt Government Agencies To Dish Up Cheap, Unhealthy Food.

Pessimism about the future may lead to longer, healthier life, research finds.

When something causes less pain than expected it is even possible for it to feel pleasant, a new study reveals.

Married opposite-sex couples have better overall health than same-sex couples who live together.

Common Hand Sanitizer May Distort Readings of Breathalyzer Tests in the Absence of Acute Intoxication.

Discerning one lipstick from the next can be tough for consumers but it’s even harder for scientists. Now forensics researchers have found a quick method to tell apart individual lipsticks, no matter the color or brand.

Experiments on Cadavers Settle 100 Year-Old Puzzle Over Human Skin Strength.

Increased temperature and humidity have already limited humankind’s overall capacity for physical work—and it will only get worse in the future.

In effect, even the most secure computer systems in the most isolated locations have been penetrated over the last couple of years by a series of APTs and other advanced attacks. Cryptography is becoming less important.

New Hampshire entrepreneurs have created a dollar-converting anonymous Bitcoin ATM, which they hope to sell to bars, restaurants, and other retail locations nationwide.

The supreme early-Renaissance master Piero della Francesca is like no other artist in my experience: not better, exactly, but loftily apart, defying comparison.

Fear of Loud Noises: A Common Problem in Domestic Dogs?

If aircraft “black boxes” are indestructible, why can’t the whole plane be made from the same material?

Luxury resort complete with sandy beaches, palm trees and clear blue water… inside enormous German hangar surrounded by snow.

12-year-old wins $256,000 after suing mother over fatal family car crash.

Man sues parents for not loving him enough.

A forensic psychiatrist has opened a clinic where stalkers confront their dangerous delusions.

Is bipolar disorder more common in highly intelligent people? A cohort study of a million men.

New anti-piracy system will hit U.S. Internet users next week.

What the closing of Kansas City’s Mercantile Exchange can teach us about how Wall Street stopped treating food like food.

Micro Apartments Are the Future of Urban Living.

Archaeologists hope to uncover secrets at James Joyce’s house in Fairview.

Evolution Nature Corp. has been issued a special license by the New York State Department of Health, as a Nontransplant Anatomic Bank. This authorizes Evolution to store and distribute human skulls, human skeletons, and individual human bones, for medical research and/or health professional education. To comply with New York State regulations, prior to the purchase of any human skulls, skeletons or individual bones, Evolution requires all customers to complete a simple form verifying their medical affiliation. [Evolution]

What Happens To Your Brain When You Get Black-Out Drunk?

Quadrocopter Pole Acrobatics.

Companies can rent ad space on young Japanese women’s bare legs.

U.S. Postal Service to launch new clothing line in 2014. “The main focus will be to produce Rain Heat & Snow apparel and accessories using technology to create ‘smart apparel’ — also known as wearable electronics.”

Christian worker resigned after his W-2 tax form was stamped with the number 666.

China is building a full-size, working replica of the Titanic.

“3D pen” can write in the air.

An Artificial Ear Built By a 3D Printer and Living Cartilage Cells.

South Africa names new head in Pistorius’ murder investigation; previous investigator faces reinstated attempted murder charges.

How forensic science will solve Pistorius shooting.

Lying is common at age two, becomes the norm by three.

Lack of condom use at first sex by men linked to early psychosocial stress.

Would you prefer $120 today or $154 in one year? Your answer may depend on how powerful you feel, according to new research.

Researchers work out a way to measure how much a decision is influenced by the opinions of others.

Can you fake your personality on Facebook? A new study says yes, but there are limits.

When Will the Internet Reach Its Limit (and How Do We Stop That from Happening)?

Evolution can be surprisingly predictable.

Tattoos as Intellectual Property.

Sayre’s law: In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.
The Oxford Comma and the Internet.

Van Gogh, Cèzanne and Degas lined the walls of the famed Armory Show 100 years ago, but it was Marcel Duchamp who stole the thunder.

The Most Dangerous Driving Day & Time. (Friday, 5-7 PM)

Even in Las Vegas, where hotels with 3,000 or more rooms are a feature of the landscape, the size of MGM Grand hasn’t been surpassed since its opening in 1993.

I came upon twin fawns in the display case of a mom and pop toy and science store in Kansas city, Missouri. It took me two years to win the trust of the shop owner and save the money to buy them.

TSA Investigating After Kanye West, Kim Kardashian Shortcut JFK Security Check.

Last fall, two academics posted a working paper suggesting that San Francisco’s eco-friendly ban on plastic bags might actually be killing people. They found that food-borne illnesses in San Francisco increased 46 percent after the bag ban went into effect in 2007–with no such uptick in neighboring counties.

Even though Khamenei sacrificed enormous political capital to keep Ahmadinejad in power, he got little loyalty back.

In Israel, brothels receive 3 million visits each week.

The World’s Oldest Pornography. It’s at least 3,000 years old, and it’s bi-curious.

There are two websites where you can add a gram of heroin to your shopping cart.

Banksy mural vanishes from London, appears at US auction.

In other words, the federal government has a Science of Science Policy policy.

Wet Beaver Creek.

Norwegian public television plans to broadcast a burning fireplace for 12 straight hours from Friday evening.

The budget for toilet paper at the state’s 280 parks is $250,000 every year, and the allocation of that money is one of the key ways that department heads in Sacramento measure a park’s popularity.

The Apple Shop, in Norfolk, UK is a little corner store that sells apple products. Not Apple products, but apple products, in this case, cider. However, it’s been forced to change its name to the Norfolk Cider Shop.

Anonymous billionaires donated $120m to more than 100 anti-climate groups working to discredit climate change science . Related: The 15 Rules of Web Disruption.

Don’t Panic, But Thousands of Dolphins Were Spotted Swimming Away Off the Coast of San Diego.

For the first time since the New Deal, a majority of Americans are headed toward a retirement in which they will be financially worse off than their parents.

According to an article by Hamilton and Armstrong (2009), many girls in their early twenties who attend college actually prefer casual sex over a committed relationship.

Shane had died a week before he was to return to the US. Singapore police said he had drilled holes into his bathroom wall, bolted in a pulley, then slipped a black strap through the pulley and wrapped it around the toilet several times. He then tethered the strap to his neck and jumped from a chair. Shane, 6ft 1in and nearly 200lb, hanged himself from the bathroom door, the autopsy report said. […] She wanted to see exactly how Shane had died – and she saw nothing that fitted the police description. The marble bathroom walls had no holes in them. Nor were there any bolts or screws. The toilet was not where the police had said. Beyond the bathroom, Shane’s home looked like a snapshot of a man in the middle of a move. There was laundry in the dryer and dirty washing on the floor. Clean clothes were folded on the couch. Boxes were packed. […] “Mom, I’m going to call you every week, and if you don’t hear from me for a week, call the American embassy,” Mrs Todd recalled him as saying. [Financial Times | Thanks Stella]

A Chinese Hacker’s Identity Unmasked.

With the Knowledge Graph, Google has taken a different step towards the future of search: providing answers, not links.

Grandmaster Melle Mel was the first rapper to call himself “MC” (Master of Ceremony). Other Furious Five members included his brother The Kidd Creole, Scorpio, Rahiem, and Cowboy. While a member of the group, Cowboy created the term “hip-hop” while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words “hip/hop/hip/hop” in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. [Wikipedia]

Who’s Sending Out Fake Lesbian Wedding Announcements to Small Papers?

What Are Dogs Saying When They Bark?

Midas and Medusa: A very brief affair.

15 Celebrities You Might Not Know Are Twins.

Last Meals of Executed Innocent Men.

Pictures of hipsters taking pictures of food.

Libra: The 21st Century (Libertarian) Space Colony.

Eyelid Stickers Allow You To Sleep During Working Hours.

French driver trapped for an hour in speeding 125mph car with no brakes. He finally came to a stop in a ditch in Belgium when his Renault Laguna ran out of petrol after 200km trip.

Woman unaware of her pregnancy delivers 10-pound baby after going to hospital for hernia.

Graduate student Megan Thode wasn’t happy about the C-plus she received for one class, saying the mediocre grade kept her from getting her desired degree and becoming a licensed therapist — and, as a result, cost her $1.3 million in lost earnings. Now Thode is suing her professor.

An essay that earns a B+ at one moment might earn a B- the next day. It shouldn’t be that way, but any honest teacher will admit it’s true.

Iceland considers pornography ban.

A bill that could send women to prison for going topless in public appears headed for approval by the North Carolina legislature.

Exploring the Good (Reactive) and Bad (Suspicious) Sides of Romantic Jealousy: Jealousy and Relationship Closeness.

The first academic review article on ‘Munchausen by Internet‘ – where people fake the identity of an ill person online – has just been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

First U.S. artificial retina approved; device could restore some sight to blind.

US researchers have effectively given laboratory rats a “sixth sense” using an implant in their brains. An experimental device allowed the rats to “touch” infrared light - which is normally invisible to them.

A comparison with traditional surveillance data showed that Google Flu Trends, which estimates prevalence from flu-related Internet searches, had drastically overestimated peak flu levels. The glitch is no more than a temporary setback for a promising strategy, experts say, and Google is sure to refine its algorithms. But as flu-tracking techniques based on mining of web data and on social media proliferate, the episode is a reminder that they will complement, but not substitute for, traditional epidemiological surveillance networks.

Does water or blowing air stimulate Canadian cows to defecate?

Institute for Centrifugal Research. [Thanks Tim]

Among those given shorter sentences was a 74-year-old who has served more than 15 years for possessing $10 worth of drugs and an 81-year-old behind bars for more than 17 years for stealing dozens of packs of cigarettes.

Earth-buzzing asteroid could be worth $195B if we could catch it.

Facial symmetry is not a reliable cue of aggressive behavior. [PDF]

Gene therapy cures diabetic dogs.

A national survey shows that as of 2008, 75 percent of babies born are being breast-fed, compared with 70 percent in 2000.

Contrary to previous reports, parents (and especially fathers) report relatively higher levels of happiness, positive emotion, and meaning in life than do nonparents.

A new study shows that college students with overcontrolling parents are more likely to be depressed and less satisfied with their lives.

It is considered common knowledge that boys and men are more violent than girls and women. In hospital data on psychotic individuals, however, the gender gap decreases or even turns to be the opposite. Exploring female rage among adolescents admitted to adolescent forensic psychiatric inpatient care.

When it comes to having a lasting and fulfilling relationship, common wisdom says that feeling close to your romantic partner is paramount. But a new study finds that it’s not how close you feel that matters most, it’s whether you are as close as you want to be, even if that’s really not close at all.

The Internet isn’t robust enough for the ongoing explosion of connected devices.

The Internet of Things Has Arrived — And So Have Massive Security Issues.

He became notorious for his philosophical stunts such as carrying a lamp in the daytime, claiming to be looking for an honest man.

Why do people use “Nope” even though “No” is easier to say and shorter to spell?

Male anti-masturbation devices.

Nearly one-quarter of malware on mobile devices comes from porn websites.

How you treat others may depend on whether you’re single or attached.

Anxiety about relationships may lower immunity, increase vulnerability to illness.

Resilient, friendly people are more responsive to placebo treatment.

Dutch food research company reveals a new method of measuring mouthfeel: the wonderfully named “acoustic tribology.

We Need More Relatively Unattractive People to Be Naked on the Street

Manhattan socialite drama.

Trail Blazers was a live web surf event where you could show off your PRO surfing skills. No keyboard, no google, just pure links! [Thanks GG]

A well-funded patent-holding company sues Facebook and seeks a royalty on the “Like” button.

In Spain, paying people to use free texting services.

Ozone layer seems to be on a road to recovery as Satellite images indicate that the hole in the protective layer, which was prominent over Antarctica, is the smallest seen in the past decade.

Extracting Men from Semen: Masculinity in Scientific Representations of Sperm. [Thanks Nathan!]

One of the least understood symptoms in psychosis are hallucinations called cenesthesias. These are ‘inner body’ feelings that often don’t correspond to any known or even possible bodily experiences.

This article examines the conditions under which, in June 1975, a marginalized, stigmatized population -the prostitutes of the French city of Lyon- took the step of collective action, occupying a church for more than a week to protest against police repression. [PDF | via ZunguZungu]

An asteroid the size of a city block is due to come whizzing past Earth on February 15, closer than any other of its size in recorded history.

He’d shave the person’s head, lay his hand on the bald pate and ask for God’s forgiveness for the condemned. Then, he would strap the person into Virginia’s electric chair.

How a Chinese hacker used my private nickname, personal emails, and sensitive documents to try to blackmail me.

Apple Is Testing Watch-Like Device.

Designer glasses correct red-green colour blindness.

A calculation to see how many cups of coffee you would need to drink in order to kill yourself.

Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art.

The Asch Conformity Experiment [video]

Cat survives 35-minute cycle in washing machine.

Family sues Disneyland, claims rabbit character is ‘racist.’

Two Myths and Three Facts About the Differences in Men and Women’s Brains.

What’s really at work in selecting a romantic or sexual partner?

While reformers emphasize the therapeutic advantages of marijuana, the drug stands alone among Schedule I substances in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as the only one that did not start out as a medicine. The similarly classified drugs heroin and cocaine both had long histories as painkillers and numbing agents used by doctors and dentists. As the federal government pursued illicit dealing in these drugs, the market for them went underground. In response, the federal government imposed new laws on the District—like mandatory sentencing, asset forfeiture, and no-knock searches—that would later become fixtures of the modern drug war.

What is work? The discussion builds on analysis of two groups whose activities have at best a tenuous connection to conventional notions of work: Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish men (engaged mainly in full-time Torah study, not paid employment) and French farmers, whose incomes derive more from public subsidy than from success in markets. The elements of their situations that seem distinctive are found in fact to be quite pervasive, even for activities that are ‘obviously’ work.

Iovine and Dre approached Monster with a dazzling offer: Let’s build electronics. The inside story of one of the all time worst deals in tech.

When Bill met Shelley.

Two Finnish Journalists Poop Their Pants On A Bus, Write About The Experience.

A new content analysis subtitled “Hip-Hop Artists’ Perceptions of Criminal Justice“, by criminologists Kevin Steinmetz and Howard Henderson.

“Is this for Fashion Week?” “Nah, I just got out of jail. I’ve been wearing this shit for two weeks.” [Thanks Tim]

Earth formed about 4.6 billion years ago and life first appeared here about a billion years later.

Texas woman sues gym over ’sexually suggestive’ exercises.

Pubic hair grooming injuries jumped five-fold between 2002 and 2010, according to a recent analysis of ER visits.

City in Virginia Becomes First to Pass Anti-Drone Legislation.

The latest Census figures show real earnings for young college grads fell again in 2011. This makes the sixth straight year of declining real earnings for young college grads, defined as full-time workers aged 25-34 with a bachelor’s only.

Three “handy steps” for getting a questionable loan approved by JPM Chase’s automatic system.

One of the most surprising aspects of the Justice Department’s five-billion-dollar lawsuit against Standard & Poor’s, which the D.O.J. accuses of defrauding investors by issuing ratings on subprime mortgage securities that it knew to be misleading, is that the settlement talks broke down.

Baby Boomers Sicker Than Parents’ Generation, Study Finds.

Self-reported feelings of well-being tend to increase with age, but a person’s overall level of well-being depends on when he or she was born.

As winter sets in, many animals effectively shut down their bodies in order to survive. Injured humans might benefit from similar techniques. Hibernation for humans.

Goggles That Block Facial Recognition Technology.

Microsoft only entered the console market because Sony refused to work with them, according to a former Microsoft exec.

Three-legged robot uses exploding body to jump. “By actuating all three legs simultaneously, we caused the robot to jump more than 30 times its height.”

Pundits and the press too often treat terrorism and guerrilla tactics as something new, a departure from old-fashioned ways of war. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Evolution of Irregular War.

Richard Feynman and Ralph Leighton had a hard time at restaurants deciding whether to order the best dish they had tried so far or something new, which - who knows - might be even better. So, naturally, they decided to formalize this as a mathematical problem.

A fisherman rowing his boat on a very small lake throws his anchor into the water. Does the water level of the lake rise, fall, or stay the same?

The spectacular anus of Joseph Pujol.

The work is composed of 310 abandoned strollers (collected by the artist from the streets of his neighborhood) surrounded by a field of flattened fire hoses.

{ image via Shellie Z }

A documentary about a secret society of Los Angeles high school students that has been toilet papering houses for more than 32 years.

A study finds that more fatal heart attacks occur during winter, even in warm, sunny climates like Hawaii.

Between 60 and 80 percent of people’s time on the Internet at work has nothing to do with work. [Thanks Erwin]

Study shows Facebook unfriending has real life consequences.

The psychology of the to-do list.

Researchers report fabricating transparent paper-based transistors, which could lead to green electronics.

Scientists may have received millions in duplicate funding.

Does the functionality of your small finger determine your ability to master the violin?

A Diet Mixer Could Make You Get Drunk Faster.

Why are there so many murders in Chicago?

“While the 1990s drop in felonies is undeniable, what remains unsolved is the cause, or causes, behind this significant change in New York City’s crime rates.”

What would be the best place to live if the polar ice caps melt?

A former editor at Cosmopolitan, Leah Hardy, recently wrote an exposé about the practice of photoshopping models.

Enterprise Florida, a public-private joint venture that promotes business development in the state, spent $380,000 to come up with its first branding logo.

Fake Metro Map of Montevideo.

Interview w/ Kai, the Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker: Smash, smash, sss-mash.

Clock.

The pet fawn of Brad Curry of Galesburg, Michigan, watches him depart from home every morning on his schoolbus, Oct. 26, 1960

Iranian space official: Photo shows wrong monkey.

The porn star disappointed fans and surprised many others by saying she won’t try to have sex in space.

Scientists have begun to unlock the mystery of why the outer edge of the Sun is much hotter than its surface.

Gun massacre conspiracy theories follow every massacre—fed in part by the NRA.

Why should we all do yoga, according to science?

There’s a female patient, known in the research literature as S.M., who’s been dubbed the “woman with no fear.” More: Human brain is divided on fear and panic.

Men are from Mars Earth, Women are from Venus Earth. Statistical analysis of 122 different characteristics involving 13,301 individuals finds that men and women, by and large, do not fall into different groups.

Time spent watching television is not associated with death among breast cancer survivors.

Ai Weiwei: Wonderful dissident, terrible artist.

Inside the lucrative world of ecstasy smuggling.

Are large-breasted women more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome?

The murmurs, whispers, shrieks and growls of 9,000 species are now digitized in a huge library of animal sounds, including some songs that will never be sung again.

Ooh, La La: Google Street View Catches Couple Going at It in a Dressing Room.

Chinese millionaire sells canned fresh air.

27 percent of Americans believe God will determine the Super Bowl’s outcome.

Apple has trademarked the design of its retail stores in an attempt to prevent copycat shops from being set up.

Internet-ordered Viagra is rarely genuine.

Are we built to be lazy?

Rats, like humans, return to drinking once punishment is removed.

Married men and women who divide household chores in traditional ways report having more sex than couples who share so-called men’s and women’s work. Although: Married men who spend more time doing traditionally female household tasks — including cooking, cleaning, and shopping — report having less sex than husbands who don’t do as much.

In this investigation, we show that individuals can perceive suicidality from facial appearance with accuracy that is significantly greater than chance guessing.

Drunk eyewitnesses are more reliable than expected.

What happens to cadavers after medical students are done with them?

What are some mind blowing facts about the human eye?

Is the Universe simple or complex?

Chinese physicists use ghost imaging technique to make 3D images with a single pixel.

YouTube Set to Introduce Paid Subscriptions This Spring.

The biggest book craze in China right now? James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. The first-ever mainland Chinese edition of the novel sold out its initial print run of 8,000 copies just three weeks after being launched in December.

Dashboard cameras in Russia. [via TNI Rex]

Use of music to awaken astronauts on space missions [PDF].

Josephene Myrtle Corbin, the Four-Legged Woman, born in Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1868.

Man smoking through his tear duct.

Madness.

Germany accused of ‘deporting’ its elderly: Rising numbers moved to Asia and Eastern Europe because of sky-high care costs.

A Brazilian woman is being sued by her husband for allegedly trying to kill him by putting poison in her genitals and then asking him to perform oral sex. [Thanks GG]

Google search for ‘robot surgery lawsuit.’

Google pledges Pi Million Dollars in hacking contest prizes.

The conventional view that extroverts make the finest salespeople is so accepted that we’ve overlooked one teensy flaw: There’s almost no evidence it’s actually true.

Study finds taking the stairs, raking leaves may have same health benefits as a trip to the gym.

The menopause.

This article explores the evidence for animals being able to promote human well-being, and examines whether or not they have a role to play in modern health care.

Why might innocents make false confessions?

High heels give women more attractive gait.

Why did men stop wearing high heels?

For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II. [Thanks Freddie DeBoer]

The secret lives of North Korea.

As the Pentagon works to figure out precisely how it will integrate women into military specialties previously closed to them—including infantry and artillery units— top U.S. defense officials are actively studying other militaries around the globe that have already sent women to combat.

Hoodies and scarves that block thermal radiation from the infrared scanners drones use.

How to Build a Supersonic Ping Pong Gun.

What are Occlupanids? Acutignatha, Haplognatha… [via Improbable Research]

Surfer catches ‘world’s biggest wave’ off the coast of Portugal.

One-legged roller-skater jumping rope, 1921.

The Ohio woman dubbed “the cleaning fairy” by local media because she broke into a home and cleaned it without permission, was arrested on Tuesday after police found her shovelling snow from a driveway without the owner’s consent.

Yawning: a sign of boredom, empathy or sexual arousal.

A new study suggests that lightning alone—even without the other elements of a thunderstorm—might trigger migraines.

Poor sleep in old age prevents the brain from storing memories.

Is this how short-term memory works?

At what price does traffic divert from toll roads to alternative routes?

According to the Wall Street Journal, the practice of carrying two cell phones of complimentary sizes is not unheard of: in Asia, women who carry big phones in their purse may carry secondary cellphones in their pockets. Get a smaller phone for your smartphone.

Vine, Vinepeek, and Visual Efficiency.

All bubbles are enabled by fraud.

Why Is Cashmere More Expensive Than Other Kinds of Wool?

Who Designed the Seal of the President of the United States?

Has a passenger ever landed a plane after the pilot was incapacitated?

Robots Coming To U.S. Hospitals (approved by the FDA).

Robotic machine can produce six hamburgers a minute. [Thanks Tim]

Robots will offer such significant cost benefits over time that companies not heavily invested in robotics may find themselves at a huge competitive disadvantage.

Eating more fruit and vegetables may make young people calmer, happier and more energetic in their daily life, new research suggests.

Obese Drivers 80% More Likely to Die in Accidents.

In general, research suggests that expressing anger is helpful during a negotiation because it signals dominance and toughness. What happens when anger is not authentic?

Stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as unipolar depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, occur more frequently in women than in men. Emerging research suggests that sex differences in receptors for the stress hormones, corticotropin releasing factor and glucocorticoids, contribute to this disparity. [PDF]

Men Are More Likely to Commit Scientific Fraud.

Big data could soon be stored in a very small package: DNA. A team of scientists has demonstrated that storing information in synthetic DNA could represent a feasible approach to managing data in the long term, bumping aside the magnetic tape favored by archivists today.

UC Berkeley named one of nation’s fastest growing ‘sugar baby’ schools. SeekingArrangement.com organizes “mutually beneficial” pairings between students and older, more established individuals seeking to lavish a younger partner with gifts and money. [Thanks ZunguZungu]

Skinny motherfucker with the high voice Prince has crawled out of the bathtub to give an interview to Billboard. “I have a team of female black lawyers who keep an eye on such transgressions,” Prince says.

The Behaviors that Destroy Your Financial Health (and How to Avoid Them).

Business Cards of Famous People.

Dramatic Chipmunk.

Wrangler Debuts Moisturizing Jeans (infused with hydrating oils and butters).

Naked Florida Man Jumps Off Roof Onto Homeowner, Knocks Television Over, Empties Vacuum Cleaner, Masturbates.

Georgia man sues after state refuses to approve ‘GAYGUY’ license plate.

NYPD “Takes Delivery” Of Portable Body Scanners To Detect Concealed Weapons On The Street.

Lawmakers in Ireland Vote to Allow ‘Moderate’ Drunk-Driving.

A new Zara store opens every day, on average.

Scientists Create Gasoline From Plants.

Lying becomes automatic with practice.

Can you fake your personality in a photo?

Do women really like taken men? [PDF]

Tendencies to fall asleep first after sex are associated with greater partner desires for bonding and affection. [PDF]

The effects of facial symmetry and sexually-dimorphic facial proportions on assessments of sexual orientation. [PDF]

New study reveals sex to be pleasurable with or without use of a condom or lubricant.

Preferences for condom placement in stores among young Dutch men and women: relationships with embarrassment and motives for having sex.

If you’ve ever studied genetics in school or college, you’ll know that the structure of DNA is a double helix. According to the researchers, a quadruple helix is also present in some cells and is believed to relate to cancer in some ways.

A patient who could only say the word ‘tan’ after suffering brain damage became one of the most important cases in the history of neuroscience. But the identity of the famously monosyllabic man has only just been revealed.

Hegemonic Masculinity and Mass Murderers in the United States [PDF]

Bad grammar makes good password, research say.

Tumblr now rivals Facebook and Twitter in reach and influence, but it represents everything wrong with the online echo chamber.

How Apple used its money and muscle to kill an iTunes competitor Lala.

At the Consumer Electronic Show two weeks ago, Netflix announced that it would block consumer access to high definition and 3D movies in its new “Super HD” (HD) service for customers of Internet service providers (ISPs) that Netflix disfavors. Netflix’s goal is to coerce ISPs into paying for a free Internet fast lane for Netflix content.

A change in Internet traffic patterns over the past week suggests that Cuba may have turned on a fiber-optic submarine cable that links it to the global Internet via Venezuela.

5 types of sociopath invented by the Internet.

China’s first 3D printing museum opens.

The Trials of Art Superdealer Larry Gagosian.

Everything Was Fake but Her Wealth. Ida Wood, who lived for decades as a recluse in a New York City hotel, would have taken her secrets to the grave—if here sister hadn’t gotten there first.

With the spring of a wild beast, he leapt clean over the heads of the very line of soldiers about to fire on him, and, landing behind them, whirling his sword in his left hand, he cut down three of them, but was bayoneted by the fourth.

Joseph Carey Merrick (1862 – 1890) was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man.

The Five Types of Territorial Morphology.

Just Twenty-Nine Dominoes Could Knock Down the Empire State Building.

Why do golf balls have dimples?

What is it like to be an agent of the U.S. Secret Service?

Retailer Uses CCTV Crime Footage To Promote Sale.

Hard truths from soft cats.

Artist Liu Bolin Hides in Plain Sight.

The Robot Restaurant opened in China in June. Robot Restaurant staffs a total of 20 robots as waiters, cooks and busboys.

Cross-Dressing Priest Busted for Selling Meth and Laundering Money Through His Sex Shop.

Most people who buy life insurance never actually get paid when they die.

A lucky two percent of people have a gene for stink-free armpits. But a new study finds most of them still use deodorant.

Extraversion does not just explain differences between how people act at social events. How extraverted you are may influence how the brain makes choices — specifically whether you choose an immediate or delayed reward, according to a new study.

Studies have shown that women are less likely to take the most direct approach to ensure that they receive fair pay compared to their male counterparts – simply asking.

Over one hundred million women in the world are estimated to be “missing” from the world’s population due to some form of gendercide. Gendercide exists on almost every continent and affects every class of people. Gendercide has traditionally taken the form of sex-selective abortion, infanticide, or death caused by neglect.

People with low risk for cocaine dependence have differently shaped brain to those with addiction.

Did you know fecal transplants are a thing? They are. And not only that, they’re an effective cure for a potentially fatal intestinal infection resistant to antibiotics.

Urinary incontinence: Could two cups of coffee a day cause urinary incontinence in men?

Why do we remember more from young adulthood than from any other time of our lives?

After a string of digital dating disasters, Amy Webb dug into the data…and found her husband. {Thanks Tim]

How personal-health journalism ignores the fundamental pitfalls baked into all scientific research and serves up a daily diet of unreliable information.

All Scrabble players know that Q and Z are the highest scoring tiles. You can get 10 points for each, in the English language version of the game. But according to one American researcher, Z really only deserves six points.

A nine-year-old Pennsylvania girl wearing a black and white Halloween costume was shot in the shoulder by a shotgun-wielding relative who mistook her for a skunk. Is a bullet wound in the shoulder as harmless as the movies make it seem?

“SUBWAY FOOTLONG” is a registered trademark as a descriptive name for the sub sold in Subway® Restaurants and not intended to be a measurement of length.”