The folks at Samkwok workshop used a Hot Toys’ 1/4 Iron Man Mark 43 figure to build this amazing Iron Man/Alien Xenomorph mashup that would truly bring a new meaning to the quote: “In space, no one can hear you scream.”
In this fantastic series of videos, Andy George travels to Mexico and explores the process of turning the cacao fruit into the chocolate we all know and love. The videos below each explore one step of the process, from picking the cacao pods to tempering the chocolate.
It’s April Fools’ Day and once again the tech world has provided many of the spoof stories.
Perennial pranksters Google have got a weird one: a bogus addition to a genuine service that itself started out as a prank. Several years ago the company made a joke post on April 1 about Gmail being able to automatically create replies to messages based on the contents. Staff took that idea as inspiration for a real project to test artificial intelligence, which led to the creation of Smart Reply for the Inbox by Gmail app.
Now they have taken today as an opportunity to pretend the service is getting updates with the addition of automated emoji replies based on context, whether it be a string of Zs for a boring message or the classic curling turd for unwelcome approaches.
Another Gmail prank backfired, mainly because Google tried to make it a (temporary) reality. The one-day only feature added an extra send option that would automatically inset a GIF of a Minion character dropping a microphone and walking away. Within a matter of hours Google had to apologize and withdraw the feature after hearing multiple reports of users accidentally pressing the wrong send button and including the mic drop in replies with awkward results.
Google did also seem willing to make itself the butt of the joke, spoofing Google Cardboard with the supposed launch of Google Plastic:
Samsung mocked the obsessions of many firms (including itself) with the Internet of Things and wearable tech by revealing the Internet of Trousers (pictured at the to of the post), which will include electric shocks if you sit down too long; waist pressure pads that automatically lock your fridge when your trousers are getting too tight; and text alerts to your phone if you leave your fly undone for too long.
ThinkGeek has added a host of spoof products, the best of which is baRPG, an alcohol-themed board game that it describes as “Dungeon Crawl Meets Pub Crawl.”
Display manufacturer Prysm uses some wonderful jargon and buzzwords to describe its supposed new product, a spray-on display that lets you create a screen on any flat surface with an aerosol can.
Gift firm Man Crates explains how it is using genetics to bring back extinct creatures such as the dodo and woolly mammoth to use in exciting new jerky treats:
The Royal Albert Hall has supposedly struck a deal with CERN to take advantage of its circular hallways to build a scaled-down Large Hadron Collider.
On the fringes of technology, online insurer Esurance takes a dig at current affairs by supposedly offering cover for people who want to protect their home if they decide to flee the country if upcoming election results don’t go as they hope:
The award for worst prank has to go to Opera for its utterly lame and unconvincing move into a new platform, namely paper (or rather cardboard):
Not everyone seems to appreciate April Fools’ Day however. China’s state run news agency posted to say that “April Fools’ Day’ is not consistent with our cultural tradition, or socialist core values. Hope nobody believes in rumors, makes rumors or spreads rumors.”
Today, comic artists all around the web have conspired to create a global April Fools’ Day. Seen alone, each comic strip isn’t all funny, but when your whole feed reader is filled with those, that’s when the prank really hits home. My favorite of the bunch is the one by 1111 Comics, so be sure to check it out below!
A video guide to all the different types of espresso drinks (and how to make them.) My favorite is the latte, but I usually take a cappuccino in the morning because… well… it has less calories.
Oh, and no, a macchiato is not that over sugared drink you get at Starbucks. Yuck.
The Star Trek White Noise Sleep Machine provides the low thrum of a familiar spacecraft exploring some corner of an as-yet-unknown galaxy to gently lull you to sleep. Use the easy-to-navigate LCARS touch screen display to select a ship or station, whose schematic will pop up in the next window. Rest your head on your pillow and watch the stars race by, projected onto the ceiling. Bask in the light of the glass “warp” tower as you relax to the familiar sounds of the warp core… or whichever sound you choose. You’ll soon discover one craft in particular provides your optimal nighttime environment for maximum relaxation. And there will be no more hitting the snooze bar in the morning with our Red Alert alarm. You’ll wake up refreshed, ready to attack the day. Because today is a good day to — well, do anything, really!
For the inaugural Silicon Valley Comic Con, Adam wanted to do something special for his incognito cosplay: he walked through the convention as the comic-book version of Hellboy, having first cosplayed as the movie version eight years ago. Watch Adam transform into his favorite comic character, carrying a prop he made in a recent One Day Build!
In the near future, sentient robots are targeted for elimination after they develop emotional symmetry to humans and a revolutionary war for their survival begins.
Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with these short movies, we never get the chance to see the full story, and that makes me really sad, especially considering how good RISE was.
The Martian was one of the biggest hits of 2015, and was nominated for tons of year-end awards. But being as it’s set in space and in the near future, we thought it best to bring back Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson to help us separate this movie’s sins from its wins.