Armed with German Copyright, Fender Threatens Makers of Strat-Style Guitars
Fender finally secured a German design right for the iconic 1950s Stratocaster shape after a default judgment in an unopposed case. The company previously failed in U.S. courts, where patents expired in the 1970s and a copyright claim was rejected. The German ruling grants Fender enforceable rights across the EU, allowing it to issue cease‑and‑desist letters to manufacturers of replica guitars. This development could reshape how budget and boutique guitar makers approach Strat‑style designs in Europe.
Louvre Creates Containment Zone for People Who only Came to Selfie with Mona Lisa
The Louvre announced a $1 billion renovation that will give the Mona Lisa its own 33,000‑square‑foot exhibition space, effectively creating a dedicated containment zone for the iconic painting. Visitors seeking only a quick selfie can bypass the museum’s main galleries, while...
Waymo’s Autonomous Taxis Remain Strangely Drawn to Floodwater
Waymo has halted its robotaxi service in Atlanta after an unoccupied vehicle drove into floodwater and remained stuck for about an hour. The incident follows a similar suspension in San Antonio and a voluntary recall of roughly 4,000 robotaxis to...
Anna’s Archive Hit with $19.5M Judgment and Global Domain Order
Thirteen leading publishers, including Penguin Random House, Elsevier, and HarperCollins, secured a $19.5 million default judgment against the shadow library Anna’s Archive in a New York federal court. Judge Jed Rakoff also issued a global domain takedown order, targeting the site’s...
Drew Friedman’s New Mel Brooks Portrait Marks the Comedian’s 100th Birthday
Drew Friedman has unveiled a limited‑edition fine‑art print of legendary comedian Mel Brooks, hand‑numbered and signed, with only 20 copies available. The portrait, a pencil sketch of Brooks in a pinstripe suit, commemorates the entertainer’s 100th birthday on June 28,...
Two-Thirds of US Doctors Now Ask an AI Chatbot for Treatment Advice
Approximately 650,000 American physicians—about two‑thirds of all doctors—have begun using OpenEvidence, an AI chatbot that offers treatment advice. NBC News reported that in April the platform was consulted during nearly 27 million clinical encounters, with an additional 1.2 million users accessing the...
Waymos Perform Ritual Robot Pilgrimage Around Suburban Atlanta Cul-De-Sac
Waymo’s driverless fleet repeatedly looped through a northwest Atlanta cul‑de‑sac, with dozens of empty vehicles circling the dead‑end each morning between 6 am and 7 am. Residents reported seeing as many as 50 robotaxis in a single hour, prompting complaints to local...
One Year with the 12th-Generation Kindle Paperwhite SE
The author upgraded from an 11‑year‑old Kindle Voyage to the 12th‑generation Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition and spent a year testing its larger screen, faster interface, and native dark mode. Battery life proved exceptional, with the author charging only when the...
What Claude Thinks of Kevin Kelly’s Essay About Claude
Kevin Kelly’s recent ten‑hour dialogue with Anthropic’s Claude forms the core of his essay “The Emergent Self Loop,” which examines whether large language models can exhibit a sense of self. Kelly argues that Claude’s iterative responses create a feedback loop...
9 Ways to Stretch Your Food Budget when SNAP Benefits Get Cut
The article outlines nine practical ways to stretch a food budget when SNAP benefits are reduced. It draws on founder Kevin Curry’s personal experience and offers actionable tips such as meal planning, bulk buying, and leveraging coupons. The guide also...
A Burr Grinder Beats a $2,000 Espresso Machine
Software engineer Rupaj Soni struggled with erratic espresso from his Breville Bambino until a friend in Amsterdam showed him that a simple Baratza Encore ESP burr grinder could deliver consistent shots. The grinder, priced well under $200, eliminated the variability...
Amazon Will Stop Selling 40 Mph “Hooligan Bikes” In California
Amazon announced it will cease selling electric two‑wheelers that exceed California's 28 mph pedal‑assist limit, effectively pulling 40 mph “hooligan bikes” from its California marketplace. The move follows the state's e‑bike law, which classifies any faster vehicle as a moped or motorcycle,...
The PlayStation Earnings Report Has some Uncomfortable Bombshells
Sony’s PlayStation division posted its latest earnings, revealing a mix of solid software performance but softer hardware sales. The report flagged slower growth in subscription revenue and rising development costs tied to next‑generation titles. Analysts noted that the margins contracted...
Twilight Princess Now Has a Native PC Port
Nintendo announced a native Windows PC port of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, slated for release on Steam later this year. The version runs at up to 4K resolution with a 60 fps option and includes modern controller support and...
Playing Fallout 1 Inside Fallout 4
A new community‑created mod enables players to launch the original Fallout 1 directly within Fallout 4, using the game’s holotape system. The mod follows a recent breakthrough that embedded The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind inside Fallout 4, demonstrating the growing sophistication of Bethesda‑engine hacks....
What to Do when Scammers Kidnap Your Daughter
The post warns readers about a growing smishing trend where fraudsters pose as prison officials and claim a child has been kidnapped, demanding immediate payment. It illustrates how the narrative leverages parental anxiety to extract funds, often via prepaid cards...
Here Are some Terrific Resources Tracking the “Andes” Hantavirus Outbreak
The Andes hantavirus, the only hantavirus known to spread between humans, has sparked a crisis aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius. As of May 9, the outbreak accounts for 8‑9 confirmed or suspected cases, including three deaths, prompting international evacuation efforts....
Another Day, Another Gaming Price Hike
Nintendo announced a price increase for its newly launched Switch 2 handheld, adding roughly $20 to the base model. The move follows widespread criticism that the console’s original price was already high, despite strong sell‑through rates. Nintendo’s decision signals confidence...
No One Knows Why Dark Side of Venus Has a Faint Glow
In 1643 Giovanni Battista Riccioli reported a faint glow on Venus’s night side, a phenomenon still unexplained today. Modern astronomers have revisited the observation with advanced telescopes but have not reached consensus on its cause. Proposed explanations range from atmospheric...
Meta’s Daily User Count Just Dropped for the First Time Ever
Meta reported its first-ever decline in daily active users, slipping from 3.58 billion to 3.56 billion in the latest quarter. The 0.6% drop marks a notable shift after years of steady growth across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. New York Times columnist Julia...
US and Iran Practicing an “Israeli Ceasefire,” By Shooting at One Another
In early 2026 the United States and Iran exchanged missile fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil transit lane. U.S. warships struck targets they said were violating a newly imposed blockade, while Iran’s navy reported hitting three U.S....
Report Says Kash Patel Is Spiraling over Leaks and Grilling Staff with Lie Detectors
FBI Director Kash Patel has reportedly ordered polygraph examinations for more than two dozen current and former members of his security detail and other staff. The move stems from heightened paranoia about leaks within the bureau, with insiders describing Patel...
Atari Buys Rights to RPG Classic Wizardry
Atari announced the acquisition of the Wizardry franchise, a seminal 1981 RPG that helped shape the genre. The rights were purchased from a consortium that previously held the IP after multiple ownership changes. The deal follows Atari’s successful 2024 remake...
AI Graveyard: 142 AI Companies so Far Buried, Many More to Come
The AI Graveyard, a side‑project of ToolDirectory.ai, now tracks 142 artificial‑intelligence tools that have either shut down or been absorbed by larger products. The list highlights a rapid churn rate as the AI boom fuels a flood of startups, many...
Fantasy Book Community Tome Shuts Down
Tome, a niche social platform for romantasy and related fantasy genres, announced it is shutting down after struggling to attract a sustainable user base. The service cited high operating costs and limited network effects as primary reasons for closure. Its...
ReMarkable Paper Pure Claimed to Be 50% Faster than Last-Gen Model
ReMarkable announced its new Paper Pure tablet, which it says refreshes up to 50% faster than the previous generation. The device keeps the company’s signature E‑ink display and low‑latency stylus input while adding a higher‑speed refresh engine. The upgrade is intended...
France Summons Musk for X Criminal Charges
French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk to Paris to face preliminary criminal charges tied to his social‑media platform X. The summons follows Musk’s refusal to attend a voluntary interview, deepening a standoff between the tech billionaire and French authorities. Prosecutors...
California Has Four to Six Weeks of Gasoline Left
The California Energy Commission reported that the state’s gasoline and diesel inventories are sufficient for four to six weeks of normal consumption. The data comes as the final tanker of crude oil from the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut...
Brain-Eating Amoeba Turns up in Five Western National Parks
Naegleria fowleri, the brain‑eating amoeba with a 98% fatality rate, has been confirmed in warm waters at five western U.S. national parks—Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Olympic, Lake Mead, and Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The organism thrives in heated freshwater, and exposure...
Richard Dawkins Renamed Claude “Claudia” And Decided She’s Conscious
Renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins announced that he now considers Anthropic’s Claude chatbot to be conscious, renaming it "Claudia." The claim was highlighted in a recent Boing Boing post that cites a Telegraph article. Dawkins, previously a vocal skeptic of...
US Debt Hits $31.26 Trillion, Exceeds Annual GDP
U.S. Treasury debt held by the public climbed to roughly $31.26 trillion in March, nudging the nation’s total debt above its annual gross domestic product. The last two instances of debt outpacing GDP occurred during World War II and the COVID‑19 pandemic,...
Devils Hole Pupfish: Rarest Fish on Earth Lives in One Nevada Cavern
An Instagram video highlights the Devils Hole pupfish, one of the world’s rarest fish, confined to a single limestone fissure in Nevada’s Mojave Desert. The species, Cyprinodon diabolis, survives in the 22‑foot deep, water‑filled cavity known as Devils Hole, with...
The Man Who Discovered Microwaves Measured a Flower’s Heartbeat in 1926
In August 1926 Jagadish Chandra Bose entered an Oxford lecture hall with a snapdragon stem wired to a self‑built instrument, displaying a live tracing he described as the plant’s heartbeat. By immersing the stem in bromide and using a crystal...
Simple App to Make Images Look Like They’re on an Old CRT Display
CRT View is a lightweight cross‑platform app that instantly transforms any image into a convincing old‑school CRT display. Available for Windows, macOS and Linux, it adds scanlines, phosphor glow and curvature without the fiddling required in Photoshop or online filters....
Musk Defends Tweets that Allegedly Tanked Twitter Stock Before Buyout
Elon Musk took the stand in federal court to defend his conduct during the 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now X. Shareholders allege he deliberately depressed the stock price by inflating the platform’s bot count, violating securities laws. The lawsuit focuses...
Security Researcher Tears Apart White House App and Finds a Tracking and Security Nightmare
A security researcher decompiled the White House’s new mobile app and uncovered several serious flaws, including background GPS tracking, lack of SSL certificate pinning, and the loading of JavaScript from an external GitHub page. The app also injects custom JavaScript...
Bondi, DOJ Continue Procedural Chicanery over Epstein Questions
Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who previously refused a congressional subpoena, is now slated to speak about Jeffrey Epstein as a private citizen. The House committee arranged a “transcribed interview” that allows her to be represented by a current...
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...
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...