Elon Musk is a bit of a strange fellow. Instead of seeking capital for his new venture ‘Boring Company’ the normal way, it seems he’s decided to make the journey as exciting as possible (which, like totally goes against the name of the company) and has launched a branded flamethrower.

The flamethrower, which can shoot volleys of fire up to 10-feet, is a real product. Like, a real thing, by a real person, and will be available for the first 20,000 buyers at the low price of $500.

Now, the idea of 20,000 people suddenly owning a gun that shoots fire may seem a little…quirky, but it’s actually (mostly) legal as the 10-foot range is fairly short.

However, California seems to be the odd state out and wants to block the possession and sale of the flamethrower. I can’t imagine why though, why would good old, dry, drought prone, dead forest, California want to avoid people running around with flamethrowers? It’s a mystery.

So, is it a joke? I don’t know, but you can pre-order one now, though you better hurry because those pre-orders are filling up fast.

[ TheVerge ]

Google Arts & Culture app had been around for some time, it’s a simple app that offers insight into culture and art pieces, including well-written and passionate articles. But, if you wanted a history lesson, you’d go to that public book blockbuster thing everyone’s always raving about. Thankfully, Google realized this and made the app a little more exciting with a new facial recognition and matching feature.

Now, the app can take your everyday selfies and match them to famous portrait paintings.  It’s gotten so popular over the last week that even celebrities are jumping on board to see who they look like.

Maybe this will be the new craze that sweeps the country, I can see it now. “oh man, I got Galileo!”. “That’s cool, but I got Margaretha Leuveling.” Hey, anything’s better than idiot kids munching on packets of laundry detergent.

Google Arts & Culture app is available to download for free on the iOS and Google app stores.

[ TheVerge ]

Folding laundry sure is a pain. I mean there’s the folding part, then there’s the…well I guess that’s the only part. But it’s 2018, we shouldn’t have to waste our time folding laundry like we’re living in 1993.

Well there’s good news, Foldimate is here to make our lives easier by folding our clothes. There’s only one problem, it looks terrible.

Right off the bat, the thing is the size of a coffin. Good luck making room in those notoriously spacious laundry rooms. Also, the thing folds clothes at the speed of an old woman with arthritis and two replacement hips. If that’s not enough, each piece of clothing has to be feed into the machine like you’re spoon feeding a baby.

And to top it off, at $980 this thing isn’t exactly affordable. But hey, if you’re into folded laundry without all the hassle, maybe it’s a good investment.

As for me, I’ll just stick to my old faithful method of stuffing clean clothes in a dresser drawer at random.

[ LikeCool ]

Hit the jump for a video of the machine in (painfully slow) action.

There are many forms of contraceptive in the world today. No matter what your needs are, there is a way to make sure you don’t get a junior before you’re ready. Let me tell you what is not an effective contraceptive, an app.

Unfortunately, this came as news for 37 women who went to a Stockholm hospital that had unwanted pregnancies after using a birth fertility app called Natural Cycles. The app is designed to use information like body temperature and body cycles to determine fertility, and has even been approved as a form of birth control by the EU. But the thing is, bodies are complex and can’t be read like a copy of People Magazine.

The app is said to have an effective rate of 93%. That’s it. I have a better rate of actually waking up to my alarm clock instead of breaking it against the wall.

The app currently has 700,00 users, which is crazy and I hope people give a little more precaution that just checking their phone like they’re checking out a Facebook notification.

[ TheVerge ]

(Author’s Note: Just to be clear, I don’t blame anyone for trusting this app. It should have never been certified as a form of birth control by the EU.)

Remember the scene in Empire Strikes Back where Han decides to tear into the belly of a Tauntaun and stuff Luke inside to save him from Hypothermia? I’m sure that was a pretty horrific and gruesome act for everyone involved, I mean you don’t exactly spend a night inside a dead animal and come out the same person.

Well, now you can relive that lovely scene with the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag. Let the sleeping bag’s 100% Polyester build keep you from freezing just as the warm tissue and organs of space horse would. The sleeping bag also comers detailed with intestinal inner lining, to ensure gruesome accuracy.

Also included is a blue lightsaber zipper pull, which is oriented properly to open the beast’s belly with surgical precision.

The Tauntaun Sleeping Bag is available for $133 from ThinkGeek, and don’t worry, this isn’t just made for the kiddies, even a full grown adult can be stuffed inside.

[ ThinkGeek ]

This may be a tech-blog, but sometimes a story is just too interesting not to write about. That’s certainly the case here as one look at the Alligator in the picture brings sorrow to most as they assume the reptile froze to death, but that’s not actually the case.

In fact, no one can blame you for thinking the animal is no longer alive, but it turns out Alligators use this as smart way to survive the frigid temperatures. By intentionally poking their heads through the water before it freezes over, Alligators allow themselves to continue breathing.

It’s a process that’s known as brumation, reptiles slow their metabolism and breathing significantly allowing them to survive freezing temperatures. It’s essentially hibernation, though that term specifically only applies to mammals (those greedy-greedy mammals).

So don’t worry, once the temperature warms up a bit, the gators will crash through the surface and be back to terrorizing golf courses in no time.

[ Newsday ]

Here we have a super-short video of the Cantina theme from Star Wars being played on pencil. Yes, you read that right. It may seem impossible (believe me, I thought the same thing), but once you watch the video, you’ll say ‘wow, that kinda does sound like the Cantina Theme.’

[ LikeCool ]

Hit the jump for ‘Man, I should of thought of doing that.’

While Nintendo has had massive success with the launch of the NES and SNES Classic, its seems only a matter of time before they announce their next Classic console, and it’s stands that there’s a good chance we’ll see a Gameboy Classic coming soon.

Until then however, accessories maker Hyperkin is launching their own updated Gameboy for those who want their fix sooner.

The Ultra Game Boy, as is the current name, includes such features that an 8 year-old me would have sold his soul for including, a backlit fully-RGB display, stereo speakers, and a USB-C rechargeable battery that can last 6 hours (no more fumbling for batteries). Another great feature, that an 8 year-old me would be less interested in, is the beautiful aluminum chassis.

The prototype even keeps the contrast and volume dials from the original, and includes a new brightness dial letting you turn off the backlight for that classic (awful) Gameboy experience.

Hyperkin plans to release the Ultra Game Boy sometime later this summer, and with a price under $100.

[ Gizmodo ]

If you can’t stop thinking about your Cryptocurrency portfolio (and how you put $250 into Litecoin at its highest value and it still hasn’t recovered), than maybe you can at least jam to some Cryptocurrency-themed music.

Kasotsuka Shojo is a new J-Pop band that has formed under the hype of Cryptocurrencies. The band, whose name translates to Virtual Currency Girls, is comprised of 8 members who each represent a different cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others that I’m sure aren’t nearly as popular.

The band’s debut single is called “The Moon and Virtual Currencies and Me” and is said to be about the dangers of online fraud, but I don’t speak Japanese, so the song could be about making toast and flying to the moon for all I know.

Despite my linguistic ignorance, there seems to be some excitement around the band as they play their first show in Tokyo this weekend and it’s sold out.

Hit the jump for a link of their debut single “The Moon and Virtual Currencies and Me”.

[ TheVerge ]

Before the release of Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo teased the release with a promotional image of a shirtless Mario. The internet went crazy, and even months later, people can’t get the Italian plumber’s bare chest out of their minds (who can blame them?).

The obsession has gone so far that speedrunners have even begun competing to see who can get the Nintendo mascot to reveal his headlights the fastest. Specifically, who can play through the game and unlock the ‘Boxer Shorts’ outfit for 1,000 coins.

The run, being called the Nipple%, seems to have many runners contending for the record. For now, the record seems to belong to Stravos96, who managed to unveil the plumber’s glory in 9 minutes and 57 seconds, the first under 10 minutes.

I knew I’d have to end up getting a Switch eventually, but I didn’t know what I was missing out on.

[ TheVerge ]