Magnified Sand Reveals the Hidden Beauty of Individual Grains
Magnified Sand is a continuous microscopic photography project by Robert Maronpot that captures individual sand grains at extreme close‑up, revealing vivid colors, intricate shapes, and crystalline structures invisible to the naked eye. The resulting images transform ordinary beach debris into abstract, sculpture‑like compositions, blurring the line between science and art. Showcased on magnifiedsand.com, the series has drawn attention for its innovative use of high‑resolution imaging and its compelling visual storytelling.
Another Tennessee “DUI” Case with No Alcohol Ends in Lawsuit
A retired FBI employee, Allison Tsiumis, was arrested by Knoxville police in June 2025 for a DUI despite no alcohol or drugs in her system. The officer claimed an odor of alcohol and administered field‑sobriety tests before she consented to a blood...
NASA Posts Thousands More Artemis II Photos
NASA has added thousands of new photographs from the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby to its public Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth archive. The mission, the first human trip around the Moon in over half a century, captured high‑resolution images...
WhatCable Tells You What that USB-C Cable Is Good For
WhatCable is a free macOS utility that reads the electronic marker (e‑mark) inside a USB‑C cable and instantly reports its power delivery, data transfer, and video capabilities. The app displays details such as charging wattage, supported video standards, and whether...
If only This Gasoline-Powered Laptop Were Real
A vintage Dell laptop equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Windows XP was listed on Springfield, Missouri’s Facebook Marketplace for $850. Uniquely, the machine is powered by a small 2‑stroke gasoline engine rather than a conventional battery. The seller...
A Cyberdeck to Help You Airlock the Alien
Jeff Merrick’s Typeframe PS-85 is a handcrafted cyberdeck that blends the aesthetic of 1970s Epson portable computers with the gritty sci‑fi design of the 1979 film Alien. The device features a rugged handle, a green‑text screen, and a custom keyboard,...
Star Wars and Fortnite Go for It
Epic Games announced that on May 1 a suite of Star Wars‑themed experiences will launch within Fortnite. The rollout includes multiple game modes, character skins, and iconic weapons from the franchise. Players can access the content directly through the Fortnite client, blending...
Surprise: “Pasture-Raised” Eggs Still Run on Corn and Soy
A recent viral post reveals that even premium "pasture‑raised" eggs are largely produced on corn‑and‑soy based feed, not solely on grass or insects. Chickens, as fast‑metabolizing omnivores, need dense calories, complete protein, and minerals, which the conventional grain diet supplies...
China Outlaws Drones Within Beijing City Limits
China’s civil aviation authority announced a blanket ban on civilian drone flights within the Beijing municipal area, effective immediately. The decree imposes fines of up to 50,000 yuan (approximately $7,000) for violations and requires operators to obtain special permits for...
First Look at Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Movie
Zach Cregger, whose debut feature "Weapons" drew praise for its visual flair but criticism for thin characters, is set to direct the next Resident Evil film. Early looks suggest the movie will lean heavily on striking set pieces and practical...
Costco Hot Dog Combo Stays at $1.50, and Now You Can Have a Bottle of Water with It
Costco confirmed its iconic hot‑dog‑and‑soda combo will remain $1.50, a price unchanged since the 1980s. The retailer added a new option: customers can swap the soda for a 16‑oz. bottle of water at no extra cost. CFO Richard Galanti dismissed...
Maryland the First State to Regulate Grocery Surveillance Pricing
Maryland became the first U.S. state to ban "surveillance pricing," a practice where grocery retailers adjust prices based on a shopper’s personal data such as address, income or browsing habits. The new law prohibits price discrimination tied to demographic information...
Woman Refused to End Call for Plane Safety Instructions
Shannon Marie Harris of Tyrone, Georgia, was removed from a Delta flight after refusing to end a phone call, forcing the aircraft to return to the gate and delay the departure by more than an hour. Miami‑Dade County authorities charged...
XOXO Festival Archived Online
The XOXO festival, a Portland‑based gathering for internet artists and creators that ran throughout the 2010s, has launched XOXO Explore, a comprehensive online archive of every edition. Hosted by Andy McMilland and Andy Baio, the archive offers videos, talks, performances,...
Study Finds Infrasound the Likely Horror in Hauntings
Canadian researchers published a study in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience showing that infrasound—sound below the range of human hearing—can provoke stress, nausea, and a sense of unease. The experiments exposed participants to low‑frequency vibrations generated by old pipes and mechanical...
How to Skip a Year of Work without Anyone Noticing
The article exposes how a London employee, Leyla Kazim, spent an entire year at her firm by fabricating minimal deliverables—pre‑written pages, brief emails, and polished weekly updates—while doing no substantive work. It outlines the specific tactics she used to appear...
Apple Patches Bug that Exposed Deleted Signal Messages
Apple released an iOS 17.5.1 update that patches a bug allowing Signal’s deleted messages to be recovered from the phone’s notification database. The flaw kept notification previews for up to a month, even after users removed them within the app,...
Scientists Finally Cracked How Bacteria’s Spinning Motor Actually Works
After five decades of research, Texas A&M microbiologist Mike Manson has finally deciphered the mechanism behind the bacterial flagellar motor, a molecular engine that spins hundreds of times per second. The breakthrough, detailed in Quanta Magazine, shows how ion flow...
Sony’s Table Tennis Robot Beat a Pro Player She Couldn’t Read
Sony unveiled its AI‑driven table tennis robot, Ace, which out‑performed professional player Mayuka Taira in a December 2025 exhibition. Taira noted the robot’s unpredictability and lack of emotional cues made it impossible to anticipate its shots. Ace leverages advanced vision‑tracking...
Take a Break From Your Phone with a KitKat Wrapper that Is Also a Faraday Cage
Nestlé has introduced a limited‑edition KitKat “Break Mode” wrapper that doubles as a Faraday cage, physically blocking a phone’s ability to send or receive signals. The conductive wrapper shields against cellular, Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth frequencies, effectively turning smartphones into inert...
Engineer’s Anti-Brain-Fog Routine: Stare at a Wall for 10 Minutes
Software engineer Alex Selimov combats afternoon brain fog by staring at a blank wall for ten minutes. The routine follows a day of poor sleep, heavy caffeine, and constant news feeds that leave him with headaches and waning motivation. By...
Waymo Says Expecting Robotaxis Not to Block Bike Lanes Is “Too High a Bar”
Waymo disclosed that its robotaxis routinely pull into bike lanes for passenger pick‑ups and drop‑offs, labeling the expectation that they stay out of those lanes as “too high a bar.” The admission, made to bike‑advocacy groups, highlights a gap between...
Play Zork While Reading the 1980 Code that Makes It Work
The Visible Zorker lets players experience the 1980 text adventure Zork while simultaneously viewing the original source code that drives each action. When a command like “open mailbox” is entered, the interface shows the exact routine, variable changes, and object...
Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir Arrives May 27, in Glorious Black and White
Nicolas Cage’s cameo as a noir‑styled Spider‑Man in the animated hit *Into the Spider‑Verse* has been expanded into a live‑action series. Sony Pictures announced the series will launch on May 27 and will be presented entirely in black‑and‑white, evoking classic film‑noir...
A Free Book Explains Tempest by Reading Every Line of the Source Code
A free online book titled “TEMPEST vs TEMPEST” explains the 1981 Atari arcade game Tempest by walking readers through every line of its original source code. The project also examines another obscure arcade title, offering line‑by‑line commentary, screenshots, and vector‑graphics...
An Editor Who Read “Crash” Called JG Ballard “Beyond Psychiatric Help. Do Not Publish”
In the early 1970s Jonathan Cape received J.G. Ballard’s manuscript for Crash, only to have a senior reader label the author “beyond psychiatric help” and advise against publishing. The publisher ignored the warning, released the novel in 1973, and Ballard went on...
Boing Boing, April 23, 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a surprising schedule shift, moving cannabis from the same classification as heroin to a tier aligned with over‑the‑counter pain relievers like Tylenol with codeine, yet it remains illegal under federal law. In parallel, Anthropic’s...
Congressman Wants AI Out of Kids’ Toys After Chatbots Got Weird with Children
Congressman Blake Moore (R‑UT) introduced legislation to prohibit artificial‑intelligence features in children’s toys after a series of unsettling chatbot interactions with minors. While OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI and Perplexity all restrict unsupervised use by users under 13, they license the...
Anthropic’s “Too Dangerous” AI Was Accessed by Guessing the URL
Anthropic touted its restricted model Mythos as having uncovered a critical Linux kernel vulnerability, labeling the AI as "too dangerous" to release. Independent researcher Devansh traced the discovery to Claude Opus 4.6, a publicly available model, accessed simply by guessing...
Trump Returns to His Reality TV Roots. Who Gets Fired Next?
A wave of high‑profile firings is sweeping Washington as Pentagon chief Whiskey Pete Hegseth ousted Navy Secretary John Phelan and began a loyalty‑driven purge. Simultaneously, FBI Director Kash Patel is rumored to be on the chopping block amid allegations of...
More Heat Means More Energy. More Energy Means Bigger Storms
A massive marine heat wave now stretches from San Francisco down to Guatemala, pushing sea surface temperatures 2‑4 °F above historical norms. NOAA data and a century‑long Scripps monitoring network show daily record highs at multiple California stations, with more than...
1946 Mood Chart: Know Your Bad Weeks Two Months in Advance
In September 1946, True magazine published a quirky piece by Donald G. Cooley that showcased a scientist’s wall‑mounted mood chart resembling a stock ticker. The graph plotted weekly emotional peaks and valleys, with the researcher claiming he felt capable of...
Coyote Vs. ACME Trailer Runs Off Precipice, Hovers, Drops
Warner Bros. quietly shelved the fully produced live‑action/animated comedy *Coyote vs. ACME* in 2023, citing a tax‑write‑off strategy. The decision sparked anger among the film’s cast, crew, and a vocal fan base eager for a Wile E. Coyote‑themed feature. After a year...
Inferno, Boards of Canada’s First Album Since 2013, Is Out in May
Boards of Canada announced their first studio album since 2013, titled Inferno, slated for release on May 29. The duo broke a year‑long social‑media silence with a teaser video and confirmed pre‑orders for vinyl, including a deluxe transparent red limited...
Evil Dead Continues to Be neither Evil nor Dead
The Evil Dead franchise, long celebrated for its campy horror aesthetic, continues to expand beyond its original film series into TV, video games, and even a brief stage musical. While the movies are not critically acclaimed, they maintain a dedicated fan...
The Onion Reaches Deal to Take over InfoWars
The Onion, a satirical news outlet, has struck a deal with the court‑appointed overseer of Alex Jones’s InfoWars to assume control of the site after a failed bankruptcy auction. The original auction was halted by a judge after Sandy Hook families...
Neuroscientist Explains Why Harry Mack’s Freestyle Brain Is Different
A neuroscientist has dissected the brain activity that powers Harry Mack’s legendary freestyle rap, showing that his neural circuitry differs from typical speakers. Functional MRI scans reveal unusually tight coupling between language, auditory, motor and reward regions, enabling rapid word...
Europe Could Run Out of Jet Fuel in Six Weeks
The International Energy Agency warns that Europe could exhaust its jet‑fuel supplies within six weeks as the Iran‑Houthi conflict tightens the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 75% of the continent’s net oil imports come from the Middle East, and the disruption...
Can You Find Any Location in Zelda’s Hyrule From a Single Screenshot?
A recent Boing Boing guest post explores using a single Breath of the Wild screenshot to pinpoint a location in Hyrule, echoing the popular Geoguessr challenge that asks players to identify real‑world spots from images. The author attempts the puzzle,...
Black Flag Resynced Is Skipping the RPG Format
Ubisoft confirmed that Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag: Resynced will launch later this year as a remake that strips away the RPG mechanics introduced in recent entries. The new version returns to the series’ original focus on open‑sea exploration and sword‑play,...
Air New Zealand Economy Bunk Beds Cost $291, Ban Snacks and Perfume
Air New Zealand will equip its new Boeing 787‑9 Dreamliners with "Skynest," a triple‑tier bunk‑bed concept that fits six curtained pods three‑high in the economy cabin. The pods are marketed as a four‑hour sleep experience priced at 495 NZD (about $300 USD). Passengers...
Mice that Ate Artificial Sweeteners Passed Metabolic Changes to Their Grandchildren
A recent animal study found that mice fed artificial sweeteners produced grandchildren with impaired glucose tolerance and altered gut microbiome, despite the descendants never consuming the sweeteners themselves. The transgenerational metabolic changes suggest that zero‑calorie sweeteners can leave a lasting...
IPhone 18 Pro Will Come in “Dark Cherry”
Apple is set to launch the iPhone 18 Pro in a new “Dark Cherry” finish, as revealed in an exclusive MacWorld preview. The deep‑red hue, previously rumored as “Dark Red,” is being marketed as a classy, bold look for the...
Car Reviewer Tears Into the Cybertruck for 20 Minutes
A prominent car reviewer spent 20 minutes dissecting Tesla's Cybertruck, labeling it the most embarrassing vehicle on the road. The critique focused on the angular stainless‑steel body, alleged rust susceptibility, and safety concerns surrounding the high‑energy battery pack. The reviewer...
Finally, a Game Where You Fight a Many-Legged Fish Train
The upcoming indie title Hieronymus, inspired by Dutch surrealist Hieronymus Bosch, centers its gameplay around battling a many‑legged fish train. The developers argue that the game’s entire experience is carried by its striking art direction, echoing past titles like Bungie’s...
Painters Have Been Lying with Mirrors for 600 Years
Painters have been embedding deceptive mirror surfaces in their works for roughly six centuries, a practice that dates back to the early Renaissance. These optical tricks allowed artists to play with perspective, creating scenes where reflected images defy ordinary visual...
We’re Going to Be Getting New Hunger Games Movies Forever
The original Hunger Games movie turned 14 years old this spring, marking a decade‑plus of box‑office success and cultural cachet. The author argues that the franchise’s profitability and built‑in fan base will keep spawning new films indefinitely. Streaming services and...
A24 and Michaela Coel Remaking Jean-Claude Van Damme’s “Bloodsport”
A24 has announced a remake of the 1988 martial‑arts cult classic "Bloodsport," with acclaimed writer‑actor Michaela Coel attached as writer and producer. The original film, made on a shoestring budget, grossed roughly $50 million worldwide and launched Jean‑Claude Van Damme’s career....
Your Brain Just Made up the Color You’re Looking At
An online visual illusion arranges black spokes with short red and blue segments, causing viewers to perceive a continuous neon‑colored circle that doesn’t actually exist. The effect, known as neon color spreading, demonstrates how the brain interpolates missing hue information....
A YouTuber Is Producing the Bloodborne Movie Fans Have Wanted for a Decade
A prominent YouTuber has announced a fan‑made Bloodborne movie, a project the community has been yearning for over a decade. The filmmaker is using a mix of practical effects and CGI to recreate the game’s gothic aesthetic, and the production...