Unusual

Rats Master the Art of Slaying Demons in DOOM

By Bill Smith December 13, 2025

Photo credit: Viktor Tóth
Viktor Tóth began down this path a few years ago with a simple question: can rats figure out how to navigate the levels of a classic video game? He tried setting up something similar in New York a while back, with rats running on a large ball that logged their every move. As the rat ran back and forth on the spot, sensors detected its motion and turned it into forward movement within DOOM II. Every time the rat reached a specific point, a tube would appear and feed it a delectable drop of sugary water to keep it motivated and moving down those interminable halls.

Secret Walnut Spy Camera Watches Back

By Bill Smith December 12, 2025

Walnuts are a seriously satisfying way to get a crunch fix when the hunger pangs hit mid afternoon. Their strong shells conceal the delicious stuff within, and they disperse all over the place without anyone noticing—until now. Penguin DIY transformed that common cover into a super-sneaky camera, small enough to put into a bowl of mixed nuts and begin filming without anyone noticing.

New RTX 5080 GPU Heist Hits Best Buy, Shows What Happens When Rocks Outweigh Expectations

By Bill Smith December 4, 2025

Photo credit: GnarDead
A few days before Thanksgiving, GnarDead took a big risk by placing an order that was expected to significantly improve their gaming setup. The ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 5080 was lying in their Best Buy shopping basket for a reasonable $1,200; its specifications were impressive, capable of handling even the most demanding games. It arrived on November 28, but things quickly took a turn for the worse.

Nintendo’s Forgotten DS Mouse Experiment was Bundled with Slide Adventure: MagKid

By Bill Smith December 3, 2025

Japan has always been the place where Nintendo’s wildest ideas come to life. In 2007, one developer took it to the next level by creating a device that transformed your entire DS into a desktop mouse. The “Slide Controller” was an official product, albeit a quite wacky one, that came exclusively with “Slide Adventure: MagKid.” This device plugs into the DS’s bottom GBA slot and features a bright red LED sensor.

Huawei’s X3 Pro Wants to be the Router That Climbs Mountains

By Jackson Chung November 27, 2025

Huawei has unveiled a Wi-Fi router that shatters all preconceptions about what these devices are supposed to look like. The X3 Pro is a sleek, mountain-inspired objet d’art that boasts a clear cone and a textured peak inside. The main unit is long and thin at the top, flares out at the bottom, and has a translucent top piece that let some light in. A metal band wraps around the center, with a gold-etched mountain design and the Huawei emblem beneath it. Off the back of the main unit is a compact satellite router, perfect for expanding your network without making a big impact.

Kernelcom Laptop with Ultrawide Display Folds In on Itself with 12.5″ OLED Panel

By Jackson Chung November 24, 2025

When closed, the Kernelcom measures 321 x 140 x 36mm, allowing it to comfortably fit within a backpack. It’s not heavy at all, weighing in at just 1.24kg, about the same as a hardcover book; the startup behind it was able to squeeze out two versions, one with an Intel processor for casual use and one with an AMD chip for heavier stuff.

Up-Close Look at the SnackSync PC, a Custom Gaming Rig That Cooks Pasta and Serves Up Dinner

By Jackson Chung November 19, 2025

Engineer James Bruton likes to create everyday machines that would only exist in an alternate reality. His latest creation, the SnackSync PC, takes a standard gaming computer and turns it into a pasta cooker. It watches your game for those inevitable pauses, like when a level loads or a match ends, and gets dinner started in the background. By the time you catch your breath, a pot of steaming carbonara is ready, complete with a spork to dig in.

Fascinating Look Back at Avogadro Sphere, the World’s Roundest Object

By Jackson Chung November 14, 2025

Photo credit: Veritasum
There is a quiet little corner of precision engineering where the roar of factories and the rumble of particle accelerators is miles away, a place where a tiny, gleaming silicon sphere sits at the center of all attention – the Avogadro Sphere. Made from a single isotope, silicon-28, it measures just under 4 inches across and weighs a precise 1 kilogram.

AIdol Debacle in Moscow is What Happens When Humanoid Robots Trip Over Their Own Ambitions

By Bill Smith November 13, 2025

Humanoid robot researchers say we’ll be living alongside machines as if it were second nature, but a recent presentation in Moswcow reminded us that, more often than not, these promises are built on shaky ground. That was the case last week when AIdol – billed as Russia’s attempt at cracking the market for upright, thinking robots – made its long-awaited debut. For a fleeting moment, it looked as though this was going to be some kind of smooth first impression.

Whale Riders and the Secret Lives of Sucker Fish Caught on Camera

By Bill Smith November 10, 2025

Humpback Whale Migration Remora Fish Ride
Dr. Olaf Meynecke just wanted to see humpback whales migrate. So, he attached small suction-cup cameras to their backs along Australia’s eastern coast to record feeding patterns and social calls on the long journey from Antarctica to Queensland. Instead, the lenses filled with fish.