ants

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Miracle Berry tablets make sour food taste sweet.

- Man implants magnets in his ears to use as invisible headphones.

- Crazy Ants that will destroy your electronics.

- Inside Atlantis, the new Amazon for illegal things.… Read more

It was first spotted in Houston. But then so many strange phenomena are.

Now it's heading your way, regardless of where you might be keeping safe in these excitable United States.

It might seem to you as if it's had a few drinks. But no amount of offering it your Jack or your Bacardi will keep it from one thing it really wants in its mouth.

Yes, your S4, iPhone 5 or, indeed, anything that smacks of electronica.

Nylanderia fulva is its name. But you, at least as far as scientists are concerned, can call it the "crazy ant."… Read more

It sounds like an old black-and-white monster movie. Crazy, tech-nesting ants invade America! That would make for a great matinee, but it's oh so very real. Tawny crazy ants, known scientifically as Nylanderia fulva, are marching into territories once dominated by fire ants -- and they're not being very good neighbors.

While fire ants have made their sting notorious, tawny crazy ants have a propensity to infiltrate unwelcome places en masse. They're making fire ants look positively polite. The South American native ants are attracted to electronics in particular. Once inside, they create short circuits, says University of Texas research assistant Edward LeBrun.

"When they get electrocuted, they release an alarm pheromone," he says, adding that this attracts more ants and exacerbates the problem.… Read more

A quick settings menu, only available on the new Android 4.2 operating system, allows immediate access to all of the important settings that one may wish to change with a quick swipe of the thumb. AntTek Quick Settings brings this intuitive feature to all Android devices regardless of the operating system. It's a great app that functions perfectly.

AntTek Quick Settings installs very quickly. At only 2.5MB, it's very light on the resources, too. The look and feel of Jelly Bean is preserved in the remake of its menu. A black background is highlighted with intuitive, … Read more

Most phones sold these days have a speakerphone mode. This setting is usually good enough for an impromptu hands-free call in a quiet office. However, when you get on the road in a noisy car, the phone's flaws are made apparent. For example, the built-in microphone can be less than ideal for canceling the levels of road and wind noise present in a car at highway speed, which leads to poor quality on the receiving end of your calls. I'm sure that you dislike repeating yourself to callers as much as I do, so let's look at how to improve call quality.

Visor-mounted Bluetooth speakerphones feature more sophisticated microphones with noise and echo-cancellation technology located closer to your head, which can dramatically improve sound quality. How much of an improvement should you expect? I've recorded outbound calls from five speakerphones (and my test phone's internal microphone) to demonstrate. … Read more

Impressed by a bearded dragon playing Ant Crusher? Check out how intense an African Bullfrog gets during the game.

As the ants climb down the touch screen, it becomes quickly obvious that the tired phrase "there's an app for that" is now becoming relevant to keeping exotic amphibian pets entertained. After successfully lunging and darting its tongue at the Android smartphone, the frog easily passes to the next level. … Read more

We already know that cats have a penchant for iPads, but the gadget of choice for lizards? A smartphone loaded with games.

We can thank YouTube user ThatSpecialGuy for this revelation. You see, he posted a video of his pet bearded dragon playing a game of Ant Crusher on his Android device (looks to be an HTC phone), and the scaly yet adorable creature absolutely kills it.

As you'll see in the video below, she zaps those ants with her tongue like a pro and often looks up at her owner--perhaps looking for a little praise for her mad skills. Or maybe she's wondering why she isn't being fed real food. … Read more

If you like adding tech to your outdoor workout, 4iiii Innovations has a nifty gadget that can turn virtually any pair of sunglasses into a heads-up display, or HUD.

Recently shown off at Interbike 2011 expo in Las Vegas, Sportiiiis ("sport eyes" and, yes, it's four i's as in four eyes) is a body rhythm monitor that adds LEDs in seven colors to your shades.

The device clips to the arm of a pair of sunglasses and communicates performance info via a small boom that extends to the eyepiece. … Read more

The BlueAnt Embrace on-ear headphones ($200) look luxurious and, if you don't mind, adult. I sometimes think a lot of today's headphones are designed to look cool to 15-year-olds, with boosted bass and highs designed to dazzle young ears. The Embrace's demeanor is more, shall we say, reserved?

Maybe it's the all-black color scheme and lack of flash that first appealed to me, but then I fell in love with the thickly padded headband and pillowlike ear cushions. My ears and head appreciate being coddled like this. The sound mimics the Embrace's look and feel: … Read more