failure

18 Stories

Clue to a New Iran Fail: the 'Scorch Marks'

It appears for the 2nd time in a month, a rocket launch has been unsuccessful

(Newser) - The giveaway: burn scars that could be seen from the sky. Satellite images taken Wednesday by US-based companies seem to indicate that, for the second time in a month's time, Iran tried to send a satellite into space. In discussing the images with NPR , nonproliferation expert David Schmerler says...

Snap's Futuristic Sunglasses Apparently a Massive Fail

Hundreds of thousands of camera-fitted Spectacles said to be gathering dust in warehouses

(Newser) - A misstep for Snap? Citing "two people close to the company," the Information reports hundreds of thousands of its camera-equipped Spectacles released last fall are sitting unused in warehouses because of low demand, despite CEO Evan Spiegel's recent claim that some 150,000 sales had surpassed company...

Jawbone Is Latest 'Death by Overfunding'

Too much venture capital may have been responsible for company's demise

(Newser) - With $41 billion pumped into startups by venture capitalists last year alone, some experts argue that big-money failures are "inevitable." But Jawbone's recent collapse is so monumental that only the Solyndra bankruptcy of 2011 tops it, reports Reuters . And some argue that all the money pumped into...

Demolition Crew Finds Decrepit Bridge Not So Decrepit

Arkansas span wasn't as structurally deficient as thought

(Newser) - It turns out a 93-year-old bridge deemed structurally deficient isn't so weak after all, reports the AP . Demolition crews triggered explosives Tuesday to bring down the Broadway Bridge between Little Rock and North Little Rock, but the structure's arch and bridge deck remained upright. Arkansas highway department spokesman...

Princeton Professor's Resume Lists Only Failures
Princeton Professor's Resume Lists Only Failures
in case you missed it

Princeton Professor's Resume Lists Only Failures

Brutally honest CV is 'attempt to balance the record,' says Johannes Haushofer

(Newser) - The point of a CV—or resume, in more American parlance—is to highlight all of your finest awards and accomplishments, right? Johannes Haushofer takes a different approach: Although the Princeton psychology professor has a standard resume he sends out, he's also compiled something a bit more unusual, per...

Kickstarter Digs Deep Into Case of Doomed Drone

Was Europe's largest Kickstarter ever a scam?

(Newser) - It had all the makings of fraud, or at least some level of incompetence: a Kickstarter product that raised a ton of cash, didn't ship on time to backers, didn't work properly, and sent the manufacturer into bankruptcy. Not only that—it was the largest project out of...

$5M Gun Database Never Solved a Single Crime in 15 Years

Maryland program finally nixed

(Newser) - Since 2000, more than 300,000 bullet casings have piled up in an old fallout shelter in Pikesville, Maryland, the result of an ambitious program launched to catalog the casings in a database, which would then be used to help solve crimes, per the Baltimore Sun . But 15 years and...

Amazon Prime Day: Just a 'Crappy Garage Sale'

Customers complained on social media about retailer's #PrimeDayFail

(Newser) - Those in the market for an XXL Diane Keaton T-shirt, a family pack of brass knuckles, or a plate of ham may have been thrilled about Amazon's mega-hyped Prime Day , but for others, yesterday's deals proved a dud. The online event—dubbed by one Twitter user as a...

Watching TV After Work Makes You Feel Like a Loser
Watching TV After Work Makes You Feel Like a Loser
STUDY SAYS

Watching TV After Work Makes You Feel Like a Loser

Winding down in front of the boob tube can cause high levels of guilt, scientists say

(Newser) - It seems natural to reach for the remote to take a breather after a taxing day of conference calls and TPS reports , but a new study warns that especially work-weary folks who flick on the TV or play video games may feel incredibly guilty and like failures afterward, reports the...

Super Bowl Shows Value of Losing
 Super Bowl 
 Shows Value 
 of Losing 
OPINION

Super Bowl Shows Value of Losing

John Tamny sees a conservative lesson in Pete Carroll's comeback

(Newser) - The Seahawks' dominance last night put Pete Carroll "in an elite circle of the all-time greatest football coaches," but he wasn't always held in such high esteem, writes John Tamny at Forbes . "Failure made Pete Carroll." Carroll, you'll recall, was fired after just one...

To Succeed, Students Might Need to Fail First

School administrators wrestle with how to teach character

(Newser) - Traditional measures of success in high school—GPAs, standardized-test scores—aren’t always good predictors of a successful future. That’s why the heads of two very different schools in New York City are searching for a way to mix character into the education equation. In a lengthy New York ...

GOP Should Copy Domino's, Admit It Screwed Up
GOP Should Copy Domino's, Admit It Screwed Up
JONAH GOLDBERG

GOP Should Copy Domino's, Admit It Screwed Up

Republicans can rise again if party acknowledges, 'We blew it'

(Newser) - The GOP need not abandon its core principles to become ascendant again—but it has to 'fess up to its failure to deliver what it preaches. The party could take a lesson from Domino’s Pizza, which in a new campaign basically says: "We blew it." The analogy...

Why Your New Year's Resolutions Will Fail

Skip the self-help advice, keep a journal for better chance of success

(Newser) - The New Year's ritual of resolving to lose weight, get organized, and give up smoking is not only pointless—78% of resolutions fail—but may actually do harm, psychologists say, as broken resolutions leave people feeling dispirited and powerless. In a study of 700 people, those who tried to change...

Google Suffers Global Hiccup
 Google Suffers Global Hiccup

Google Suffers Global Hiccup

For 2 hours, most services were unavailable

(Newser) - Google was down for nearly 2 hours earlier today in a mysterious and widespread outage, PC World reports. Services from the home search page to Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and News were unavailable to users in the US and as far away as China. The glitch—quickly dubbed #googlefail on Twitter—...

Keyboard Cat: Web's Swine Flu
 Keyboard Cat: Web's Swine Flu 

Keyboard Cat: Web's Swine Flu

(Newser) - While swine flu sweeps the world, a YouTube meme is sweeping the Web with nearly equal virulence, Butter Team blogger Z reports: Play Him Off, Keyboard Cat. Amateur video artists splice fail-type situations—guy falling down escalator, Miss South Carolina—with a clip of a keyboard-playing cat, and the kitty...

Korea Rocket Never Made Orbit

More evidence that 'satellite' rocket was missile test

(Newser) - North Korea's launch early this morning of what officials said was a satellite rocket never made orbit, despite the nation's claims to the contrary, according to US and South Korean officials. The finding was further evidence that the launch was a ballistic missile test disguised as part of a space...

Carville's Bush Comments No Comparison to Rush's 'Fail'

Pre-9/11, Dem hoped Dubya didn't 'succeed'

(Newser) - Amid the hubbub over Rush Limbaugh’s open desire for the president to fail, Fox News is claiming a media double-standard: Democratic strategist James Carville made a similar comment referencing Bush 43, and no one heard about it. But the two situations are far from analogous, writes Dave Cook in...

Rocky Mountain News Ends Publication Tomorrow

(Newser) - The Rocky Mountain News, the oldest paper in Colorado and perhaps the longest-running business in Denver, will print its last edition tomorrow, the Denver Post reports. The news comes after its owner spent months fruitlessly searching for a buyer. “The operating conditions have become increasingly difficult,” the CEO...

18 Stories