Boing Boing

Bloomberg reports that Amazon delivery drivers are placing smartphones in trees near Amazon delivery stations to trick Amazon's dispatch Network into thinking the drivers are close to the stations, which means they get more delivery work. The phones in trees seem to serve as master devices that dispatch routes to multiple nearby drivers in on […]

From tiny ultra-portable models to hulking beasts with loads of extra features to units that light up like a disco ball, Bluetooth speakers have diversified over the years. Now, users can always find one that suits their specific speaker needs. Of course, that often disregards what should be the most important line on any speaker's […]

Australian comedian Greg Larsen posted a challenge on Twitter: give him the name of someone who is universally agreed upon to be evil, and he'll figure out how Fox News or Ben Shapiro or any other Right Wing pundit would defend them. The results are bleakly hilarious, if not painfully accurate. Here are a few […]

It was reported last year that Trump made an unscheduled trip to a hospital, with no credible information to be found beyond the White House's questionable claim it was for routine tests. Today, however, it emerged that Vice President Pence was placed on standby to assume command of government, suggesting at a minimum that Trump […]

YouTuber CGMatter loves this origami illusion of a T Rex that can be printed and folded, but he wanted a digital version. That turned out to be a significant challenge in blender, but he prevails in the end. The digital one looks great superimposed on a street scene! Image: YouTibe / CGMatter

Chrome paint takes a little bit of skill to do well. Australian YouTuber custompaintmods tries applying it with paintbrush, airbrush, and with various primers and topcoats, and the end results compare favorably with real chrome. One interesting quality of chrome paint is that it looks best applied over glossy black paint. Another is that is […]

Turkeys were a key herd animal of many indigenous peoples in the western hemisphere, and one of the main products was the soft feathers that could be woven into blankets. Archaeologist Mary Weahkee shows how it was done. In the video, she says that these feathers come out of turkeys without causing them to bleed. […]

From KALB in Louisiana: Louisville lawyer Sam Aguiar, one of the attorneys representing Breonna Taylor's family, said local law enforcement had tried to offer Taylor's ex-boyfriend a plea deal in exchange for him naming Taylor as a co-defendant in a drug case. A convicted drug trafficker, Jamarcus Glover was arrested on new drug charges just […]

U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Nathan Freihofer is a Tik Tok star with 3 million followers. After the 23-year-old field artillery officer delivered a humorless "joke" about the holocaust in his annoying narcissist hyena voice, the army took immediate action, suspending him from duty and launching an investigation. In the short video, Freihofer said he would […]

While many birds have iridescence that is visible to humans, many also have colorful markings visible under ultraviolet light. Via Atlas Obscura: Studies have shown that seeing in UV helps birds with all kinds of tasks, from finding food to differentiating their own eggs from those of nest parasites. Some, like grouses, use it to more […]

During quarantine, amateur Belgian luthier tchicks' local lumber store was closed, so as a challenge, he made his third guitar from a shelf: This is my third guitar build, handcrafted in Brussels, Belgium. I used wood from a shelf to make the body, not only because Brian May is my hero, but mostly because the […]

It was the best of vans, It was the worst of vans. From Vancouver to Los Cabos, I explored the west coast of North America in that van. My daughter's childhood memories will be filled with camping trips all over Northern California in that van. She named it Serendipity and stuck each sticker on the […]

The charcoal-drawing artist Nokis Art [Facebook, YouTube] did this beautiful tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman of 'Black Panther' fame. Chadwick Boseman died of cancer at age 43, an announcement shared to his Twitter account on August 29 read. "He died in his home with his wife and family by his side," read the […]

If you're a fan of edibles, then you already know this, but for everybody else, a look at the price of some standard edibles might shock you. Depending on the dosage, an edible baked good is often about $15 to $20. A weed-infused lollipop is $10 to $12. And a pound of butter with a […]

Oh they REALLY want you to start flying again. We may be witnessing the end of the $200 ticket-change fees that U.S. airline travelers have hated for at least a decade. Delta Air Lines and American Airlines both said Monday they will drop the $200 fee that applied to changes on most tickets for most […]

The government of Donald Trump says it has recovered about 70% of those $1200 federal pandemic relief checks that were mistakenly sent to dead people. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Monday the Treasury Department told GAO that roughly 70% of the $1.6 billion in economic stimulus checks mailed to dead people has now been […]

U.S. regulatory approval for UAV delivery tests brings Amazon Prime Air closer to goal of delivery times under 30 minutes Amazon.com said Monday its drone-based delivery service has received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that allows the company to start testing commercial deliveries with its UAV fleet. Amazon Prime Air is the […]

It's just been revealed in a (must-read) Los Angeles Times article that Devo cofounder Mark Mothersbaugh spent his summer battling COVID-19. He was not only isolated from his family for three months but the virus caused him to have delusions while hospitalized. Los Angeles Times: Mothersbaugh's delusions lasted more than two weeks during his time […]

Porn actor Ron Jeremy was charged with rape and sexual assault earlier this year. Today he was charged with 17 more counts along similar lines, including one alleged victim who was only 15 years old. The number of charges and their severity could send Jeremy, 67, to jail for the rest of his life. The […]

You may not be a fan of paper straws. And honestly, we don't blame you. They're almost universally ill-equipped to handle their one job. But as sub-par as most paper straws are, most of us would agree they're better than the usual alternative. Single-use plastic straws are part of a plastic scourge that has landfills […]

Police come out, hand woman an inflatable sausage, then arrest her. pic.twitter.com/zTa8ht8rED — Soundtrack to the End (@_WhatRiot) August 31, 2020 In this footage, police approach a protestor in the street. One offers her a large inflatable sausage. When she accepts it, she is arrested.

I really like my Wera slotted screwdriver. I get plenty of torque with the grippy, well-shaped handle, and the hard tip shows no signs of wear. The little one I bought is very cheap, too!

Monopoly is just such a beautifully designed game. The orange and yellow cards with the iconic temporarily embarrassed millionaire. The cast metal player tokens, the green houses and red hotels. The attractively colored currency. What a shame the game is not very much fun to play. Has anyone created a set of rules that makes […]

If you use Blender, "give your textures and models a knitted yarn look" with the new "Wooly" shader that makes anything fluffy. A shader changes the surface appearance of an object or scene; procedural refers to a programming technique that creates a convincing illusion of natural or random origin. Here's video of it in action:

I watch a lot of explaining videos, and Technology Connections makes some of the best. The host is knowledgeable, explains things clearly, and is funny, to boot. And this episode he talks about retroreflectors, which are reflective surfaces that send light back to its source with very little scattering. This is very useful for road […]

Paramecia are tiny near-animals that feed on algae, yeast, and bacteria. Journey to the Microcosmos put its new microscope to good use making a short film about one of paramecia's foes, a bacteria called Holospora, which infect paramecia and make their way to its nuclei.

After Trump's final speech at the Republican National Convention, Leonard Cohen's classic song "Hallelujah" was heard twice, albeit a cover recording by Tori Keller and live opera performance by Christopher Macchio. Leonard Cohen's estate did not, um, praise the use of the classic song. Now, they are "exploring their legal options." Meanwhile, Cohen's publisher, SONY/ATV, […]

Elon Musk confirmed last week that a Tesla employee reported a credible ransomware plot. The employee had been offered $1 million dollars to install the ransomware at their Giga Nevada facility, according to the FBI. Via Wired, which has excellent coverage of the details: Earlier this month, according to a recently unsealed criminal complaint, a […]

Blending all the colors of a seaside vista, Jukebox Print shared this lovely footage of their letterpress being inked. This overprint instructable with neon Pantone shades is really cool, too! Image: YouTube . Jukebox Printing

In 2019, climate scientists deliberately locked The Polarstern into an Arctic ice floe about 500 km from the North Pole, taking detailed and novel measurements. Scientist Gunnar Spreen of MOSAiC, aka the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, shared a grim report about the summer melt. Via Earther: But there should not […]

Boyce Langston from Living Big in a Tiny House visits Keith and Jen, who created a yellow submarine in their backyard. It started with a small grain silo that Keith bought for next to nothing, then they kept adding little flourishes. Now they use it as a bed and breakfast or a guest house. Boyce […]

Kraig Adams makes beautiful and soothing documentaries about his hiking alone on scenic trails, like this 70-mile hike on the Sawtooth Loop Trail in Idaho. With just a touch of quiet music underneath the nature sounds, and the occasional drone shot, these are a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon working. They're great for […]

Ohio-based Michael Dutko must be nuts about squirrels, or maybe he's just a little nuts. Either way, he's crafted an amazing "Nutty Bar" that offers seven kinds of nuts on tap for his backyard bushy-tailed critters. Hilarious! KDKA: Dutko said he built it to help his neighbor with her bird-watching hobby. "The whole reason I […]

Staring at the blank page is often the most intimidating moment of any writing project. Deciding exactly what to say and how to say it can be nerve-racking. If you're writing fiction, you've also got a whole separate set of questions that need answering. Have you worked out your story beats? Have you defined your […]

Police broke up an illegal all-night rave on Sunday in Thetford Forest in eastern England. The rave raid came days after the British government launched a crackdown on "serious breaches" of COVID-19 restrictions. Potential fines for breaking the rules are as much as 10,000 pounds ($13,000). From Reuters: Dozens of officers, some holding protective shields, […]

United Airlines on Sunday released a video saying they've listened to customer complaints and will end their standard $200 fee for changing a ticket for travel within the United States. "When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of fees is often the top request," United CEO Scott Kirby said in […]

Utah's KSL-TV reports a 55-year-old man from Syracuse, Utah, is dead after likely being gored by a bison. Utah State Parks issued this statement about the suspected bison attack: A 55-year-old man was critically injured today while trail running at Antelope Island State Park. Two women who were on the Antelope Island State Park Lakeside […]

Every week, Boing Boing inundates you with attention-worthy offers for cool stuff. And frankly, it's probably too much cool stuff — because there's no realistic way you could follow along and keep track of it all. Our bad. Enthusiasm can get the better of us all. But we can get pretty excited about these deals […]

YouTuber SG Yap got some great footage of the new Apple Marina Bay Sands location in Singapore. The landmark Apple Store is the first floating store in the world. Via Apple: We will soon open the doors to our new store by the Bay.Apple Marina Bay Sands will be at the heart of creativity, a place we've made for […]

I really enjoyed Stephen Colbert's live post-event coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. By far, my favorite moment each night was the introduction to the coverage, with animated Avengers: Endgame parodies. For the DNC, Biden becomes Captain America, Kamala Harris Captain Marvel, and Elizabeth Warren as the Scarlet Witch, among others. Kasich is […]

Nobody thinks they're going to get into an accident, which is half the reason why bicycle riders often sneer at wearing a helmet. The other half of the reason is obvious — helmets usually make you look incredibly dorky. So the trick for any manufacturer is coming up with a helmet that's both cool as […]

YouTuber Seth Everman plays just four notes on his piano and asks, "What's the name of this song?" <clickbait voice>The answer may surprise you!</clickbait voice> (The Awesomer) screengrab via SethEverman

Leatherface with a chainsaw or Karen with a cell phone – who really strikes fear into the hearts of men in 2020? This latex mask sculpted by artist Jason Adcock captures the true horror underneath the haircut. Be sure to talk your partner into dressing up like the manager of Arby's for an unbeatable couple's […]

My first son was born in early June. As terrifying as it was to have a premature child during an outbreak of police violence in the middle of a pandemic, it was made worse by The Pout-Pout Fish. I don't know which of my mom's friends (presumably) bought us this book at the baby shower. […]

Twitter user Sean Kelly AKA StorySlug shared an insightful Twitter thread about the Dark Knight after the release of the new trailer for The Batman. He addresses some of the problematic elements of the Batman mythos — like the idea of a billionaire beating up petty criminals and working with the police — by looking […]

As if Reality2020 wasn't horrifying enough, George Davila fed the King James Bible into a Boltzmannian natural-language processing model. He then asked the AI to write in the King James style about three topics: the Plague, Caesar, and the End of Days. Let's take a look at one of those results: The End of Days.And […]

According to ISoldMyHouse.com, an online service for people who want to sell their homes without an agent, conducted a survey of 5,000 Americans to gauge their belief in ghosts and haunted houses. They claim that 55% of those surveyed admit to believing in the supernatural and 61% wouldn't buy a house they suspected was haunted. […]

Between 2000-2016 the U.S. government seized over 2 billion dollars from U.S. airport travelers. The vast majority of these people were not charged with a crime. The Institute for Justice highlights one such case involving a retired railroad engineer and his daughter: Retired railroad engineer Terry Rolin's life savings were seized by the government, but […]

On Wednesday, police in Cologne, Germany responded to multiple reports of gunfire at an apartment complex in the city's Ehrenfeld district. Multiple units surrounded two residences and searched the area. Eventually, the discovered the truth and order was restored. From Polizei NRW Köln: After an added lockdown service opened a locked door, the reason behind […]

AnimeGan2 is a neural network that converts photos into images that look like anime art. It was trained with a data set of anime feature films by Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises). Makoto Shinkai (Your Name and Weathering with You), and Satoshi Kon (Paprika).