The most incredible tornado footage ever recorded

You can't get more up-close and personal with a tornado than this:


Check out an amazing 360° video of the twister here.

Viewing fireworks from a drone

Note to President Obama: this is an acceptable (and awesome) use of drones...

Amazing video of a rotating supercell in Texas

Read about it here.

(via Colossal)

Protect yourself by printing your own handgun

That unregistered, untraceable 3D-printed handgun you've been waiting for is finally here.

The world's first entirely 3D-printed gun (photo: Michael Thad Carter, Forbes)

OK, it isn't pretty. In fact, it looks like the spray nozzle on a bottle of Windex. But it works. And you can bet the gun-control crowd will be up in arms about it (no pun intended).

Amazing experiment with water and sound

If you haven't checked out Brusspup on YouTube, you're missing out on some amazingly cool experiments and optical illusions. His latest involves water and sound.

You can read how he did it on his YouTube page. While you're there, be sure to check out some of his other videos. Here's a brief sampling:

Skydiving with an umbrella

Who hasn't thought of jumping out of a plane (or at least off the garage roof) with an umbrella? Extreme athlete Erik Roner decided to play Mary Poppins for real. From a hot air balloon. The results aren't exactly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, so it's a good thing he had the sense to bring along a parachute.

Disney animated short "Paperman"

I didn't catch this in theaters; I saw it for the first time last night online. Please, Disney, let's see more films done in this style!

Here is the trailer:

New iPhone app from They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants introduces a new app for your iPhone.

It's They Might Be Giants official and totally free song app. Like TMBGs original Dial-A-Song, the app has a different song every day. The app holds five of the freshest posted tracks at all times, and all are directly linked to iTunes. It also connects you directly to TMBGs social media and free MP3 club. From Don't Let's Start to Nanobots, the app even includes brand new tracks, GRAMMY-winning kids music and TMBGs beloved television themes.

Download it today!

Full-length, live-action version of Toy Story

Young Arizona filmmakers, Jonason Pauley and Jesse Perrotta, shot a full-length, scene-by-scene, live-action version of Toy Story. Yeah, it's pretty cool!

(via Kottke)

Turn your Christmas tree into a rocket

Looking to recycle your Christmas tree? Turn it into a rocket.

The most realistic optical illusions I've seen

Prepare to have your mind blown.


(via Kottke)

Tetris jack-o'-lantern you can actually play

Yeah, our family jack-o'-lanterns weren't quite this creative.

(via Engadget)

Record-breaking freefall jump from 120,000 feet delayed

World-record BASE jumper Felix Baumgartner was supposed to have completed his 120,000-foot supersonic free-fall yesterday, but the mission was scrubbed because of high wind gusts. If successful, the jump will look something like this:


You can follow mission updates and watch the actual jump live at RedBullStratos.com.

Father sends son's toy train into space

What little boy wouldn't like to send his favorite toy on an epic journey into space? That's what Ron Fugelseth did for his four-year-old son. Check it out:

19th-century inspiration for Star Wars?

These firefighter rescue masks, dating between the late 1800s and World War I, were steampunk a century before steampunk came into existence. And they bear a striking resemblance to a couple of familiar Star Wars faces.

It is interesting to note that a popular 19th-century manufacturer of smoke helmets was Vajen-Bader. Vajen-Bader? Vader? Hmmmm?

No flying car, but I'll settle for a hover bike

The future is here! Well, sort of. We didn't get the flying cars we were promised back in the 1950s, so it looks like we'll have to make do with hover bikes.

Here is the latest prototype from Aerofex:

Record-setting formation performed by 138 skydivers

After 15 attempts over the course of three days, 138 daredevils set a world record yesterday for the most skydivers in a single, vertical, heads-down formation. It's actually quite dangerous, but they make it look so effortless.


Read more here.

Man stranded in the desert converts his car into a motorcycle and drives to safety

Before Tony Stark built his prototype Iron Man suit in an Afghan terrorist camp, Emile Leray had his own MacGyver moment in the desert.

The French electrician was driving through the Moroccan desert in 1993 when his Citreon broke down 20 miles from the nearest village. He didn't think he could make it on foot, so he did what any enterprising 43-year-old man would do: he decided to build a crude motorcycle out of parts from his car.

Using a hacksaw and a small assortment of other tools, Leray went to work. He shortened the car's chassis, reattached the axles and two of the tires, placed the engine and gearbox in the middle, and fashioned part of the rear bumper into a seat. 12 days later, he drove himself to civilization.

Read the full story here.

What Earth would look like with rings

If Earth had rings like Saturn, it wouldn't just affect our planet's appearance from space.

It would drastically alter the sky as we know it.

This video goes into more detail.


(via PetaPixel)

Scratch-n-sniff: A whole new way to enjoy the internet

Scratch-n-sniff technology is new, but as it improves it may become a regular feature on many web sites. You can try it out here. Simply scratch the image on your screen, lean in, and take a whiff.

Not working? Click here.