TORN GENES
I Had Three DNA Tests With Three Different Results
A healthy 28-year-old had three different companies check her genetic code. The discrepancies in their results were striking.
The Year In Digg 2013 Check it out
SHAME ORIGINATES IN THE GENITALS
Body Atlas Reveals Where We Feel Happiness And Shame
Chests puffing up with pride — and happiness felt head to toe — are sensations as real as they are universal. And now we can make an atlas of them.
SPIRIT FINGER SECURITY SYSTEM
Don’t Want Your Laptop Tampered With? Just Add Glitter Nail Polish
If you’re traveling overseas, across borders or anywhere you’re afraid your laptop or other equipment might be tampered with or examined, you’ve got a new secret weapon to improve security. Glitter nail polish.
RESOLVE TO PROCRASTINATE MORE
Play 'Frogger,' 'Asteroids' Free From Your Browser
Who needs "Call of Duty" when you could be playing "Montezuma's Revenge" featuring Panama Joe? The Console Living Room from the Internet Archive is making classic console games free to play online.
IF ONLY THEY WERE CRABS
You'll Wish This Was Just Pubic Hair
You don't need to speak Spanish to understand what happens next.
DEVELOPING
North Dakota Train Derailment Explosion Caught On Tape
Video of one of the train explosions near Casselton. Amazingly no injuries have been reported at this time.
CHEERS TO GOOD HEALTH
Moderate Drinking Boosts Immune System
A study could help scientists find new ways to improve the body's ability to respond to infections and vaccinations.
FINALLY! BIKE TO THE BAR IN WISCONSIN
A Quick Guide To Some New Laws Taking Effect On Wednesday
Smoke 'em if you got 'em in Colorado, use the more socially comfortable locker room in California, and still do not even think about cuddling in Wisconsin.
THIS MAN CAN TWEET NO WRONG
A Company Asked Patton Oswalt To Tweet About Popular Brands, And It Blew Up In Their Face
Friday afternoon, a company called Brander solicited comedian Patton Oswalt via Twitter to ask him to tweet about products they represent, and Oswalt ended up having a lot of fun with it.
PATTED SELF DOWN FOR OLD TIME'S SAKE
I Flew On A Plane Without Going Through Security — It Was Amazing And No One Died
On Friday morning, I flew on an airplane, and it was amazing. And there's no reason Congress can't make every flight exactly that amazing, as well.
SEARCHING FOR APHRODISIA
In The Jungle With Dr. Feelgood
No jungle or river is too remote for self-described medicine hunter Chris Kilham, who travels the globe looking for plants to boost our vitality, ease our pain, and turn us on.
DON'T SAMPLE A DISASTER
Beyonce Slammed For Sampling Challenger Tragedy On New Album
Beyoncé has been labeled "insensitive" by some current and former NASA astronauts and their families for sampling audio from the space shuttle Challenger disaster for a love song off her newly released album.
GRAPHIC IMAGES
Ibragim Todashev’s Father Writes Open Letter To Obama, Releases Photos Surrounding Son’s Death
Abdul-Baki Todashev is calling for justice for his son, the Tamerlan Tsarnaev associate who was killed by the FBI in Florida.
THE REST STILL LIVING IN CAVES
60% Of Americans Believe In Human Evolution
According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, six-in-ten Americans (60%) say that “humans and other living things have evolved over time,” while a third (33%) reject the idea of evolution.
PUFFER FISH
Dolphins Get High
Pass the coral reefer: A new documentary about dolphins outs the marine mammals as drug-addled trance-seekers who like to get high.
NEEDLE PRICKS AND WHY SIZE MATTERS
Why Flu Shots Hurt
Despite the latest needles being significantly small, the size of a needle does make a difference when it comes to the amount of pain you may experience when getting a shot.
FORTUNATELY STANDING ON SNOW
Reporter Passes Out On-Air, Recovers Perfectly
Most people would just give up and kick it back to the anchors. Not this reporter.
SAVE MONEY WITH DADDY DAY CARE
The Risky Business Of Paternity Leave
When men take time off to care for family members, their long-term earnings suffer — just as women's do. Here's why it's worth it.
'WE ARE BAD PEOPLE. WE FEEL SHAME'
Brewpub Serving 'Frappicino' Beer Responds Beautifully To Starbucks Cease And Desist Letter
A small brewpub some 40 miles outside of St. Louis was forced to change the name of one of its products after receiving a formal cease and desist letter from Starbucks.
'REMINDED ME OF GUANTANAMO BAY'
The Deadliest Frat's Icy 'Torture' Of Pledges
The true gentleman,” said the 19-year-old freshman, shivering in the backyard, “is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies.” It wasn’t easy to get the words out. He was naked, except for his underwear, and standing in a trash can filled waist-deep with ice.
DON'T ASK SIRI ABOUT IT
The NSA Has Nearly Complete Backdoor Access To Apple's iPhone
An NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP allows the agency to interceptSMS messages, access contact lists, locate a phone using cell tower data, and even activate the device’s microphone and camera.
DON'T FREAK OUT WHEN YOU SEE THEM
FAA Announces Drone Testing Sites In Six States
The Federal Aviation Administration announced six states on Monday that will develop test sites for drones, a critical next step for the march of the unmanned aircraft into U.S. skies.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
70 Journalists Killed On The Job In 2013
At least 70 journalists were killed on the job around the world in 2013, including 29 who died covering the civil war in Syria and 10 slain in Iraq, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
HOW TO RESPOND TO LUNACY
'If I Need ID To Buy Cough Syrup, Why Shouldn't I Need ID To Vote?'
How to respond to an ubiquitous, and misleading, question about voting rights.
FEEL THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT BURNING
Olympic Torch Goes Up In Flames
No, that's not how a torch is supposed to work.
STAY HOME, WE'LL VOTE FOR YOU
Over 500 Lawmakers In China Resign Following Election Fraud Scandal
The 512 officials resigned after accepting bribes from 56 members of the provincial assembly to elect them to their posts.
THE END OF ASHTRAY DIPLOMACY
Chinese Officials Banned From Smoking
Chinese leaders are now banned from smoking in public, using public funds to buy cigarettes, or smoking or offering cigarettes when performing official duties, the Communist Party said in a circular made public Dec. 29, the latest attempt to curb cigarette consumption in a nation of more than 350 million smokers.
STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT CRYING BABIES
A Genius Design For Airplane Seats As Comfy As Aeron Chairs
Jeremy White is the head of transport for renowned British design firm Seymourpowell, and he’s developed a seating concept called Morph that will bring much needed personal space to the masses.
EIGHT MILES, SIGH
The NSA Can Hijack Your Wi-Fi From Eight Miles Away
Attendees at the Chaos Communications Congress in Berlin this weekend got a surprising rundown of the NSA's surveillance capabilities, courtesy of security researcher Jacob Appelbaum.
FIERY DOOM
Christmas Candy Vs. Potassium Chlorate
I had some left over candy from Christmas.... Why not go out with a bang and drop it in some molten potassium chlorate?
I, GLASSHOLE
My Year With Google Glass
People get angry at Glass. They get angry at you for wearing Glass. They talk about you openly. It inspires the most aggressive of passive aggression. Bill Wasik refers apologetically to the Bluedouche principle. But nobody apologizes in real life. They just call you an asshole.
PREPARE FOR ECONOMIC THEORY
How And Why Bitcoin Will Plummet In Price
Let me outline one possible scenario in which the value of Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) would fall apart.
UP IN THE AIR
Crane Operator Captures Stunning Photos of Shanghai From Above
Amateur photographer Wei Gensheng has taken advantage of multiple opportunities as a crane operator to capture stunning images of Shanghai from over 2,000 feet above the city.
SHUT IT DOWN
Japan Is Hiring The Homeless To Clean Up Fukushima
Seiji Sasa hits the train station in this northern Japanese city before dawn most mornings to prowl for homeless men. He isn't a social worker. He's a recruiter. The men in Sendai Station are potential laborers that Sasa can dispatch to contractors in Japan's nuclear disaster zone for a bounty of $100 a head.
FRANCE HA
France's 75% Millionaire Tax Has Been Approved
French President Francois Hollande received approval from the country’s constitutional court to proceed with his plan to tax salaries above 1 million euros at 75 percent for this year and next.
RAVE PIGGIES
Glow-In-The-Dark Pigs Created Using Jellyfish DNA
Scientists in China have used jellyfish DNA to create glow-in-the-dark piglets.
MINIATURE HOONIGAN
A Loving Tribute To Ken Block's Gymkhana With RC Cars
Ken Block is the internet's favorite stunt driver. But what would it look like if his videos were made on a slightly smaller scale?
GUESS PETA NEVER FOUND SPAIN
How Spain Deals With Its Pigeon Problem
Spain evidently employs a brutal solution to excess pigeons it finds in its cities. You can read more about what's going on here at the Wired link.
ENHANCE, ENHANCE
Pupil Reflection In Photos Can Be Used To Identify People You're With
Suddenly that scene in "Blade Runner" doesn't seem so ridiculous, does it?
HI, I'M ADAM PLATT
Why One Restaurant Critic Is Giving Up His Disguise
Do they know who you are? (Of course they do.) So why do you register under an assumed name? (Because chefs would otherwise prepare for my arrival.) Will they come up and say hello? (Probably not.) Why not? (Because they’re pretending I’m not here.) Why are they doing that? (Because they want to pretend I’m having a “normal” dining experience.)
$62,400 FOR TROPICAL FISH
Cost Of Being Mayor? $650 Million, If He’s Rich
When Mr. Bloomberg leaves office at midnight Tuesday, he will bequeath a litany of record-shattering statistics on crime reduction, sidewalk safety and skyline-altering construction. But perhaps the most staggering figure is the amount of his own money that he devoted, day in and day out, to being mayor — much of it unseen by the public.
FLAWED BAND
Our Internet Sucks
The United States is falling dangerously behind in offering high-speed, affordable broadband service, according to technology experts and recent studies.
THE GLOBAL BOOMER BUST
The World Braces For Retirement Crisis
A global retirement crisis is bearing down on workers of all ages.
TEARS, FIRES, AND EVASIONS
The Sentimental Repackaging Of George W. Bush
George W. Bush currently has a 49% approval rating, despite, well, history. So why did America fall back in love with him after he left office?
MICROSOFT CAN'T BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS
21% Of All Notebooks Are Chromebooks
There’s a more important point behind this though: Chrome OS has blown right through the sort of market penetration that Apple's Mac OS was getting in the 90s and Microsoft thought of that as a threat and quite rightly too.
SUPER PARENTS NEVER TAUGHT THEM BETTER
Why Superheroes Wear Their Underwear On The Outside
The true story, once you know it, is shockingly simple.