Avatars encourage us to spill our secrets, says study

Many of us only talk to our computers when we've got something negative to say, like when the internet goes down again and we unleash a few phrases that might not be strictly PG. But slap a vaguely human face on that sucker, and apparently we'll tell it anything it asks. A new U.S study has…

OmieBox wants to revolutionise packed lunches

If you’ve got children, nieces and nephews, or are fulfilling a lifelong dream to be a dinner lady, you’ll know that soggy sandwiches and a Penguin just don’t cut it for lunch anymore. Kids today are eating sushi and quinoa before they can even say ‘sushi’ or ‘it’s pronounced "keen-wah, actually"’ and most schools, nurseries…

The world’s longest tattoo chain: Alice in Wonderland, sentence by sentence, on over 5,000 human subjects

A company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has launched a Kickstarter campaign aiming to (temporarily) ink the entirety of 'Alice in Wonderland' onto over 5,000 separate bodies. Litographs, which is known for its literary-inspired T-shirts, posters and tote bags, wants to inscribe Lewis Carroll's classic children's novel sentence by painstaking sentence on eager bibliophiles, thereby hopefully creating the world's…

Spinach could be the key to clean fuel

Take a break, Kale: this is a job for the original gross-tasting super-healthy green veg. Yep, Popeye’s old favourite, Spinach, is being studied for its ability to turn sunlight into a clean, efficient fuel. An international group of physicists led by Petra Fromme, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Arizona State University, is experimenting…

This photographer turned spam emails into art

If you’re at all influenced by emotional blackmail and have ever almost been convinced that a Nigerian prince really will give you a share of his fortune if you just let him borrow your bank account for 24 hours, you might want to avoid this exhibition that brings junk emails poignantly to life. Instead of…

HootSuite has turned classic novel titles into clickable headlines

That BuzzFeed has a lot to answer for (as does Upworthy to be fair). Anyhow the folks at HootSuite have spent the day re-imagining the titles of classic novels as if they were dreamt up by social media driven, link-bait hungry hack (err that's us too) Not only are the new headlines funny, they also prove that…

Like to bike? Map your route with this app

A new app aimed at providing accurate information on the best cycle routes around the world promises to be every pedal-pusher's best friend. The no-nonsense CycleMap app is the brainchild of Olivier Carbonneau, who together with David Boudreault decided to create a single, free smartphone app for cyclists after Carbonneau realised that the .pdf cycle maps available for…

Now Facebook’s annoyed William Shatner

He may be everyone's favourite eccentric granddad, but the OG Captain Kirk isn't such a fan of Facebook after trying out their Mentions app and finding it lacking. In the first content post on his new Tumblr, Shatner Specials, the actor/singer/gravel-voiced icon details his experience of using the iOS app, which (ironically given his impassioned…

8 affordable ways to decorate your home with Instagram

Instagram keeps getting better and better. What with the improved editing controls in the latest update, Kimye’s wedding photo splash and more than 75 million photos uploaded daily, it continues to be the reigning image sharing app of choice. As its popularity has grown, options for turning your favourite Instagram photos into tangible items to decorate your…