The Tycoon Dude: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

The Internet's 2 Biggest Miracles, According to Slate

Monday night, Slate published an explosive new story suggesting shady ties between a server registered to the Trump Organization and ones own by a Russian bank. While the Clinton campaign quickly pounced on the story as possibly “the most direct link yet between Donald Trump and Moscow,” security analysts raised doubts about the story's conclusions just as swiftly. According to Noah Shachtman, the executive editor at The Daily Beast, his site ultimately declined to run the story itself due to the weakness of the evidence.

Dressing Little Girls Up as the Joker's Girlfriend Is So Creepy

In the run-up to Halloween, I've seen really young girls dressed up as Harley Quinn pop up on social media. Confession: it grosses me out when I see it.

Silly Animation Shows Off Some Crazy Weapons Used During the Middle Ages

Silly Animation Shows Off Some Crazy Weapons Used During the Middle Ages

From Sam O'Nella, here's an amusing look at some of the weird, creative, and deeply sinister weapons used during the Medieval period, when castles and knights and dragons existed (oh wait): the six-story tall super giant Warwolf trebuchet, used to bludgeon castles to bits; Greek Fire flamethrowers that basically burned everyone and everything; and a terrible use of pigeons and sparrows and their nests to light an entire city on fire.

How Donald Trump Can Forcibly Steal President Obama's Twitter Followers

There are few things in this world as sacred as a person's Twitter followers. Sadly for President Barack Obama, he's going to have to give up all 11.1 million he's earned on the @POTUS Twitter handle when he leaves the Oval Office in January 2017.

The World's Largest Telescope Might Not Be Built in Hawaii After All

As a bitter, multi-year battle over the legality of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) rages on, an alternate path forward has begun to emerge. The world's largest telescope may not wind up on the frosty peak of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, but instead it might be placed in Spain's Canary Islands. It'd be a loss for astronomy, but a major win for Hawaiian cultural practitioners who don't want their sacred mountain marred by gigantic machines.

Today's Best Deals: Contigo Mugs, Gucci Watches, iFixit Toolkit, and More

Contigo travel mugs, iFixit's toolkit, and Aukey smartphone lenses lead off Monday's best deals.

Stranger Things Has Released an Official News Report on Barb and Eggos

On a day containing the news of Stranger Things Funko Pop figures being on their way, it seemed unlikely anything bigger would arrive from the world of the Upside Down. Netflix is trying, though, with a silly parody news report tied to the show.

Elaborate Domino Setup Wishes You a Happy Halloween

Did you know today was a holiday? After a weekend of low-effort costumed drunks fighting, fucking, and puking in front of my apartment-sometimes simultaneously-I thought we were done this year's glorified national Santacon. But no. Halloween is today. Let us breathe the heavy sigh of the defeated.

Uber Is Quietly Terrible For Women And Black People: Study

People of color have been dealing with racist cabbies for decades, and according to a new study, that discrimination is alive and well in the world of ride-hailing apps. Not only are black people more likely to wait longer or have their ride cancelled, women in general also are getting taken for a ride-to either boost the fare or flirt.

Westworld's Sex and Violence-Filled Attempt to Outdo Game of Thrones Hid a Really Important Detail

Westworld has taken great pains in previous episodes to put the viewer and its guests in the same position, and more specifically to shame anyone who's more interested in the action and sex scenes than the philosophical questions it's asking. This week, again, there was violence and sex all over the place. And, once again, it's not at all the important part.

What's Actually Going On in the Two Seconds of a Formula 1 Pit Stop

What's Actually Going On in the Two Seconds of a Formula 1 Pit Stop

Formula 1 pit stops are almost comically quick. The driver rolls in; a gang of crew workers buzz around; and then two seconds later, the race car shoots out to zip around the track again. But what's actually going on? And what the hell are all those damn people doing? This video explains.

Fart Blamed for Causing a Fire During Surgery at a Tokyo Hospital

This surgery sounds like a total nightmare. According to a new Tokyo Medical University Hospital report, a patient's fart during surgery apparently caused a fire that led to serious burns on her body.

This 30 oz. RTIC Tumbler Is Just As Good as a YETI, and Only $12 Today

Before you go out and flush $30 down the drain on a Yeti Rambler, check out this RTIC alternative for just $12 on Amazon today, matching a Gold Box deal from several weeks ago. It uses the same vacuum-insulated stainless steel construction, and according to this YouTube video at least, actually keeps ice frozen for longer. No-brainer.

These Bionic Plants Can Detect Deadly Land Mines

Popeye was right when it came to the health benefits of spinach, but that simple sailor man couldn't have predicted this unorthodox use of the superfood. Researchers at MIT have found a way to use spinach to detect explosive materials in soil, potentially making the plant a safe way to detect landmines.

This New York Mansion Is Legally Haunted

This New York Supreme Court case's real name is Stambovsky v. Ackley, but its nickname, “the Ghostbusters ruling,” is way catchier-and way more descriptive. Not to mention accurate, as the most famous part of the decision contains the phrase “as a matter of law, the house is haunted.”

I Asked The World's Foremost Ethicist If It's Okay To Have A Revolution

There is inequality everywhere. But in San Francisco, it seems to be drawn by a cartoonist with an unrefined taste for absurdity.

Darth Vader Dresses As Koch Brother For Halloween

Today is Halloween, which is great for neighborhood kids and bad for those of us on the internet. The Twitter account for the Koch Industries started things off with a bang, sending out a tweet that featured a photo of the first rider of the apocalypse, Charles Koch, in costume as Darth Vader.

Here's What Happens to Your Body When You Die

Welcome to Pipette, a recurring video series that explores big science by women.

Jalopnik Uber Is Quietly Terrible For Women And Black People: Study | Lifehacker Avoid the Phrase “I

Jalopnik Uber Is Quietly Terrible For Women And Black People: Study | Lifehacker Avoid the Phrase “I Need” in a Salary Negotiation | io9 Khloe Kardashian's Storm Halloween Costume Is Freakin' Terrible | Kotaku In Memory Of The Guy Who Gets Beheaded At The Beginning Of Skyrim |

What Is the 'Monster Mash'? An Investigation

When it comes to seasonal novelty songs, few have enjoyed the level of dominance achieved by “Monster Mash.” Unlike, say, “Jingle Bells,” The Mash (as I will refer to it throughout this post) is now basically synonymous with its associated holiday, becoming the first and maybe only Halloween song readily named by the average person.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Jill Stein Still Ambivalent About Wi-Fi

In her latest Reddit AMA, Jill Stein pulled a Jill Stein, nicely evading a question about the effects of wi-fi on young children. In August, Gizmodo reported on a video where Dr. Stein responds to a question about wi-fi in schools with, “We should not be subjecting kids' brains...to that.” On Saturday, the Green Party presidential candidate clarified her stance when Redditor Bromaster3000 asked: “You once said that 'wi-fi' is a threat to the health of American children? Why do you hold that belief, if you still hold it?”

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Today's Best Deals: Crock-Pot, All-Clad, Starship Enterprise, and More

A programmable Crock-Pot, All-Clad skillets, and the Starship Enterprise lead off Saturday's best deals.

How Skyscrapers Are Being Built Higher and Higher

How Skyscrapers Are Being Built Higher and Higher

Tall buildings often have tuned mass dampers hidden inside their structures to stabilize them against the wind. Those tuned mass dampers are huge and heavy and help limit a building's movement by swaying in the opposite direction of the building. That is, if the wind is making a skyscraper sway to the right, the damper will sway to the left to dissipate the kinetic energy, and reduce the, um, swaying. What's interesting is that the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, doesn't have that.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Second Plane of the Day Explodes in Florida

Earlier today, an American Airlines plane with 170 people aboard caught fire at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Everyone was evacuated alive, though there are some minor injuries. But now a second plane, this one operated by FedEx, has exploded at the Ft. Lauderdale airport in Florida.

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