the digest (Page 75)

Latest in the digest

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has announced the crew of his upcoming flight around the Moon on board a SpaceX Starship, which includes DJ Steve Aoki.

Billionaire Paying for Steve Aoki to Join Him on SpaceX Moon Vacation

By Victor Tangermann

The war between Floridians and invasive iguanas continues. Unfortunately for some Floridians, one iguana laid its life on the power line this week.

Science & Energy

Saboteur Iguana Causes Mass Power Outage, Then Dies

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Satellite images obtained by MIT Technology Review show Saudi Arabia's astonishing progress in building its 100-miles-long megacity called the "Line."

Science & Energy

Satellite Images Show Progress on 100-Mile Long Skyscraper in Saudi Arabia

By Victor Tangermann

Despite its deftness at mimicking a human writer, ChatGPT is far from perfect. For one, it can be shockingly racist, as The Intercept reports.

ChatGPT’s Recommendations for Airport Security Are Shockingly Racist

By Victor Tangermann

SBF's Taylor Swift fandom led him to pursue a deal between the "Midnights" star and FTX — but she told the exchange that wasn't going to happen, like ever.

They Tried to Pay Taylor Swift to Shill FTX, But She Shook Them Off

By Noor Al-Sibai

After obliterating Twitter's workforce, the company's new CEO Elon Musk is desperately trying to piece together a workforce to keep the lights on.

Elon Musk Is Hiring Relatives at Twitter in Literal Nepotism

By Victor Tangermann

A scientific voyage aboard a CSIRO research vessel has yielded an untold treasure trove of shark teeth, and a species of living shark yet to be named.

Science & Energy

Scientists Stumble Upon Huge Graveyard of Sharks, Deep Under Ocean

By Frank Landymore

Meta-formerly-known-as-Facebook has reportedly banned its own employees from talking about divisive topics — including gun rights and abortion — at work.

Totalitarian Zuckerberg Bans Employees From Discussing Guns, Vaccines, Abortion

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

NASA announced that teams have lost contact with its CubeSat to Study Solar Particles (CuSP), which was deployed by Artemis I last month.

Another Satellite Released by NASA’s Artemis I Just Croaked

By Victor Tangermann

2022 has not been the greatest year for Tesla. It might be one of its worse. But has been an amazing one for those shorting it stock.

Tesla Short Sellers Are Suddenly Making Money

By Frank Landymore

Caroline Ellison, one of the key figures in the FTX fallout, seems to have joked about committing "wire fraud" on her Tumblr.

Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison Joked About Putting “Wire Fraud” on Her Dating Profile

By Noor Al-Sibai

After canning its autonomous vehicle division in 2020, Uber is back with a robotaxi service open to customers for free — but who needs 'em?

Advanced Transport

Can We Please Stop With These Offensively Stupid “Robotaxis”?

By Frank Landymore

In the wake of Twitter's chaotic exchange of power, Facebook-turned-Meta is reportedly hoping to fill the Twitter void — by going back to its roots.

Inspired by Twitter’s Struggles, Facebook Considers Making an App Where You Can Post Text. Wait a Second…

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Twitter CEO Elon Musk is hellbent on turning the company's San Francisco's offices into a place where he and his "hardcore" employees can live full time.

Elon Musk Installs Washing Machine at Twitter HQ So Overworked Employees Can Wash Their Filthy Rags

By Victor Tangermann

While we're photos won't ever do the Moon's sheer size perfect justice, a new video from the Artemis mission's uncrewed Orion spacecraft might come close.

Epic Artemis Video Shows the Astonishing Size of the Moon

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

There's still no definitive answer as to what that bizarre smell is on the ISS, but a new report may provide some clues — and they're pretty gross.

International Space Station

New Details Emerge About the “Peculiar Odor” on International Space Station

By Noor Al-Sibai

Tech giant Apple is giving up on full autonomy for its upcoming car and is delaying the target launch date by a year to 2026, Bloomberg reports.

Self-Driving Vehicles

Apple Gives Up on Making Its Upcoming Car Fully Autonomous

By Victor Tangermann

Environment officials in the UK were stunned after an entire river turned snow white in the south of England, the BBC reports.

Residents Alarmed When Entire River Turns White

By Victor Tangermann

SBF has hired an attorney who represented Ghislaine Maxwell when she was charged with trafficking, which is definitely a twist we didn't foresee.

Sam Bankman-Fried Hires Lawyer Who Defended Ghislaine Maxwell

By Noor Al-Sibai

Amazon is offering customers $2 a month to customers willing to install an app that will track all the traffic on their phones. Not worth.

Amazon Says It’ll Pay You $2 Per Month to Spy on Your Phone’s Internet Traffic

By Frank Landymore

The "Rick and Morty" fandom seems to have turned against Elon Musk in the three years since his cameo, where he played a tusked version of himself.

Rick and Morty Fans Now Embarrassed by Elon Musk’s “Cringe” Cameo

By Noor Al-Sibai

Let it be known that among all the different fields of science, it was astronomers who managed to turn a record-breaking telescope into a ska joke.

Science & Energy

Brilliant Scientists Decide to Name the World’s Largest Telescope “SKA”

By Noor Al-Sibai

A UK-based space startup is accidentally using a photo of an exploding Antares rocket on its website to illustrate SpaceX's efforts to develop its Starship.

Space Tourism Company’s Website Accidentally Shows Photo of Rocket Exploding

By Victor Tangermann

Bloomberg reports that Twitter's janitorial staff is officially on strike. The acquisition has been a total mess — now, the building will match.

Twitter HQ May Sink Into Literal Filth as Its Janitors Go on Strike

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

SpaceX has revealed a new project called "Starshield," a satellite project that is "designed for government use," according to the company's website.

SpaceX Unveils Military Satellite Called Starshield

By Victor Tangermann

Cryptocurrency stans are being forced to face the music as the industry continues trending ever-downward during 2022's "crypto winter."

Crypto Investors Despondent After Losing Life Savings in FTX “Bloodbath”

By Noor Al-Sibai

Introducing Asteroid Launcher, an app that allows you to simulate exactly how an asteroid impact might destroy your hometown — or anywhere else.

Fun Website Lets You Simulate an Asteroid Impact in Your Hometown

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

The European Union investing $400k into a 24-hour metaverse "beach party," only to attract a handful of guests — who all left within the first hour.

Man Alarmed to Become Only Guest at $400,000 Metaverse Party

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Boston Globe contributor Matt Karolian asked OpenAI's ChatGPT algorithm to come up with a "steamy, love scene featuring Yoda and Chewbacca."

Artificial Intelligence

AI Has Finally Gone Too Far With This Horrifying Sex Scene Between Yoda and Chewbacca

By Victor Tangermann

A new viral video, shared by Sports Illustrated, shows Stephen Curry sinking five consecutive full-court shots, a clip that almost proved convincing enough.

That Viral Video of Stephen Curry Sinking Impossible Shots Is Fake

By Victor Tangermann

Part of the maiden voyage of NASA's Artemis Moon mission, the Orion capsule is now headed back from lunar orbit and will splash down soon in the Pacific.

Skkrt! NASA’s Orion Heads Back to Earth, Leaves Moon in the Dust

By Noor Al-Sibai

In which Kim Dotcom asks FTX's Sam "SBF" Bankman-Fried an unimaginably rude question on Twitter Spaces — and gets told off with a swiftness.

SBF Not Happy to Be Asked About Ex-Girlfriend Caroline Ellison

By Noor Al-Sibai

Beach erosion caused by Hurricane Nicole and Ian has caused a massive mysterious object to poke out of the sand at Daytona Beach Shores in Florida.

Mysterious Object Emerges From Beach in Florida

By Victor Tangermann

An unusual volcanic comet has unexpectedly erupted in a massive cloud of gas and ice, stunning astronomers, Live Science reports.

Astronomers Spot Volcano Erupting on a Distant Comet

By Victor Tangermann

A SpaceX Raptor rocket engine exploded during a recent test, joining a long line of fellow Elon Musk-manufactured spacecrafts that have blown up.

SpaceX Rocket Engine Explodes In a Green Blast

By Noor Al-Sibai

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stole "customer money used in his hedge fund, plain and simple."

Coinbase CEO Says Only a “Gullible Person” Wouldn’t Think FTX Stole User Funds

By Victor Tangermann

OpenAI's ChatGPT AI chatbot can come up with believable answers to exam queries that could score students a decent mark, according to this professor.

Artificial Intelligence

Professors Alarmed by New AI That Writes Essays About as Well as Dumb Undergrads

By Victor Tangermann

It's not exactly a greenhouse, but astronauts aboard the ISS have been carefully tending to their garden for years. Time for fruits to join the mix.

Astronauts Prepare to Grow Juicy Dwarf Tomatoes in Space

By Frank Landymore

DeepMind's latest artificial intelligence called DeepNash has beaten a human player at a game of Stratego, a strategic war game.

Google Teaches AI to Play Stratego and It Becomes One of the World’s Top-Rated Players

By Victor Tangermann

Artificial Intelligence

Disney Creates AI System to Automatically Change Age of Actors

By Frank Landymore

There's now a surer sign than ever that NFTs are doomed for eternal lameness: museums are buying — and even minting — them in growing numbers.

The Ultimate Sign That NFTs Are Uncool: Museums Are Now Embracing Them

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

The crypto industry hosted its inaugural award show this week. It was called The Crypties, and it sounded... super weird.

Glitzy Crypto Award Show Gets Weird When Host Keeps Roasting Guests For Dismal Failure

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Why get pee all over your pants when you can use the ultimate, splashback free urinal designed by scientists at the University of Waterloo?

Scientists Say They’ve Figured Out the Ideal Urinal for Not Splashing Back

By Frank Landymore

The new OpenAi chatbot is so good at text generation that it was able to pretend to be Santa Claus while explaining to someone's kid that Santa isn't real.

Artificial Intelligence

New AI Tells Children That Santa Isn’t Real

By Noor Al-Sibai

Airbus has announced it is strapping an experimental hydrogen fuel cell engine to a modified A380 superjumbo jet for an upcoming test.

Science & Energy

Airbus to Strap Hydrogen Fuel Cell Engine to Massive Superjumbo Jet

By Victor Tangermann

The European Central Bank is throwing some major shade at bitcoin — even as it bounces back above its low point following the FTX collapse.

Europe’s Central Bank Warns That Bitcoin Is on Its “Last Gasp”

By Noor Al-Sibai

Tesla released a timelapse video of one of its all-electric Semi trucks driving a 500-mile journey while carrying 82,000 pounds, a full load.

Tesla Semi Truck Drives 500 Miles Fully Loaded

By Victor Tangermann

It seems that grey wolves are the latest victims of toxoplasmosis — but in their case, the effects of the brain worm are kind of, well, based.

A Brain Parasite Is Making Wolves Into Pack Leaders, Scientists Say

By Noor Al-Sibai

Hemgenix is the latest form of a gene therapy drug to be approved by the FDA, and it's now the most expensive drug in the world. Too expensive.

Another Crypto Exchange Is Laying Off 1,100 Employees

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Astronomers, expecting a gamma ray burst, instead discovered an extremely distant black hole that is regularly destroy stars.

Black Hole In “Hyper-Feeding Frenzy” Chews Through Stars and Shoots Its Leftovers Towards Earth

By Frank Landymore

LED streetlights that replaced their sodium-vapor predecessors are turning blue and purple. And the problem may all stem from one company.

Science & Energy

Defective LED Streetlights Are Turning the Night Purple

By Frank Landymore

While trying to explain the pros of the metaverse, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared unable to stop hiccuping for some reason.

Mark Zuckerberg Tries to Explain Why the Metaverse Is Great, Gets Attack of the Hiccups Instead

By Noor Al-Sibai

YouTuber extraordinaire and NASA alum Mark Rober took it upon himself to launch an egg into space only to release it and have it land safely.

Former NASA Guy Drops Egg Out of Space, Tries to Keep It From Breaking

By Victor Tangermann

Billionaire commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman says we should bring back the dinosaurs — and we're almost convinced that he's kidding.

Billionaire Private Astronaut Suggests Reviving Dinosaurs

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

Lockheed Martin showed off an Amazon Alexa-enabled "party mode" on board NASA's uncrewed Orion spacecraft, which is making its way around the Moon.

NASA Shows Off Artemis “Party Mode,” Powered by Amazon (TM) Alexa (TM)

By Victor Tangermann

According to court filings, FTX owes about $55,319 to Jimmy Buffet's Bahamian Margaritaville resort, because of course it does.

FTX’s Worst Sin: It Owes an Immense Bill to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

A courtroom in Washington County, Tennessee, erupted in cheers and applause after county commissioners rejected a proposal to build a Bitcoin mining plant.

Courtroom Erupts in Cheers After Bitcoin Plant Rejected From Opening in Community

By Victor Tangermann

San Francisco police have been granted permission by city supervisors to murder civilians using killer robots, a dystopian turn of events.

San Francisco Cops Now Allowed to Use Robots to Kill People

By Victor Tangermann

The official ball of the World Cup makes use of internal sensors that track its movements, but it needs to be charged like any old phone.

The World Cup Is So High Tech That They Have to Charge the Balls

By Frank Landymore

SBF, the disgraced head of the collapsed FTX crypto exchange, just can't stop talking smack — and this time, his lawyers are the victims.

SBF Says His Lawyers Can “Go F*ck Themselves”

By Noor Al-Sibai

Used luxury cars are selling for way cheaper than ever as crypto continues to crashes, and some thing those two things are closely related.

Impoverished Crypto Bros Desperately Trying to Sell Luxury Cars

By Noor Al-Sibai

Fiji's Vanua Levu is being absolutely overrun by vines, including an invasive species introduced by US troops during WW2, The Guardian reports.

Science & Energy

Entire Island Strangled by Choking Vines

By Victor Tangermann

3D printing firm ICON just landed a $57.2 million contract from NASA for Project Olympus, the company's mission to create 3D-printed Moon shelters.

NASA Hires Company to 3D Print American Base on the Moon

By Maggie Harrison Dupré

A Ford F-150 Lightning owner has been left stranded after his EV truck made a loud noise and suddenly died while charging at an Electrify America station.

Advanced Transport

Driver Says His Ford F-150 Lightning Made a “Loud Boom” and Died When He Plugged It In

By Frank Landymore