By Jessica Roy 2/01 10:15am

Science Rules

(Screenshot: YouTube)

7th Graders Send Hello Kitty Into Space in Cutest Science Project Ever

Gone are the days when science projects consisted of paper mache volcanoes, baking soda and vinegar. Now, budding young scientists are putting your space diorama to shame by actually launching things into space. Kids these days, smh.

CBS News reports that a trio of young ladies at Cornerstone Christian School decided to marry their love of science with their Hello Kitty obsession. So, for their 7th grade science project, they created a homemade rocket, placed a Hello Kitty doll inside, and launched it into space using a home weather balloon kit. Read More

By Jessica Roy 1/22 9:40am

The Final Frontier

(Photo: Deep Space Industries)

Sorry Rocket Scientists, ‘Asteroid Hunter’ Is Now the Most Badass Job

Rocket scientists are cool–have you seen that NASA mohawk guy?–but with the growth of the commercial space industry, they were bound to get eclipsed by swashbuckling adventurers with a mind for intergalactic exploration. Enter the Asteroid Hunter, the newest position of badassery, second only to the child who came to our house dressed as “half unicorn, half rockstar” on Halloween. Read More

By Jessica Roy 1/03 3:08pm

Space the Final Frontier

(Screencap: Twitter)

Okay, Who Rigged Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Computer to Display Hayden Panettiere Before the Planetarium in Search Results?

Renowned physicist and biggest baller alive Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of the Internet’s favorite heroic figures; he is so beloved by science geeks and techies alike that at an event hosted by Gizmodo last summer, attendees broke into spontaneous applause at the mere mention of his name.

Mr. Tyson is the director at New York’s popular Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space uptown. The Planetarium, as wondrous as it is, has a bit of a branding problem: namely, it boasts the same name as actress Hayden Panittiere, star of the new series Nashville, which we keep hearing is actually good but like, really? Is it?
 Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 12/17/12 9:04am

Frankenface

"Wat."

Maybe Don’t Pay a Doctor to Inject Stem Cells Into Your Face

Behold, the greatest Real Housewives of Los Angeles episode that never existed, courtesy of Scientific American: A woman in her sixties went to her doctor, complaining of pain in her right eye. When she opened it, “she heard a strange click—a sharp sound, like a tiny castanet snapping shut.” Can’t you just hear the Watch What Happens Live rehash with Andy Cohen already?

Doctors took a look at the swelling, and despite their skepticism they found something, all right: Read More

By Jessica Roy 12/11/12 2:19pm

The Future Will See You Now

(Photo: Dan-Dare.org)

Researchers Plan Test to Determine Once and For All Whether We’re Living Inside the Matrix

Possibly stoned NASA scientists have already conjectured that we may live inside a computer, much to the delight of Matrix fans. Now, researchers at the University of Washington–a state which just legalized recreational marijuana!–are planning the first-ever test to determine whether or not our world really is a super sophisticated computer simulation. Duuuuude.
Read More

By Jessica Roy 11/20/12 1:41pm

Ballers

(Photo: Laurentiu Garofeanu/Barcroft, DailyMail)

Guy Attaches Helium Balloons to House, Soars Into Sky Like Up Character

The whimsical scene from the 2009 movie Up has been burned into the imaginations of Pixar fans everywhere: an elderly man attaches hundreds of balloons to his house and takes to the sky, soaring above the city. Most people figured it to be an impossible feat, but not 38-year-old Jonathan Trappe. A balloon enthusiast, dude actually boarded a house with 365 helium balloons attached to it and ascended into the sky at the Leon International Balloon Festival in Mexico. Read More

By Jessica Roy 11/01/12 1:00pm

Science Rules

(Photo: flickr.com/mtaphotos)

Here’s Why Salt Water Is Delaying Your Subway Commute

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it became clear that the MTA’s worst fears were realized: not only were many of the subway tunnels flooded, but they’d become inundated with salt and brackish water scooped up in the storm surge and funneled into the subway system.

The MTA has gotten parts of the system in Manhattan and Queens up and running, but pumping water out of stations dotted around Brooklyn along the East River will take some time. Seven subway tunnels beneath the East River have flooded, leaving switches and signals “likely damaged.” MTA chairman Joseph J. Lhota said in an earlier press conference that the subway system “has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night.” Read More