You probably don’t dial and drive and PLEASE tell me you don’t text, but you might think that using Siri or Cortana (or, if you’re fancy, the car’s in-built voice controls) isn’t a big deal. Turns out, it’s one of the biggest distractions there is. New research by the University of Utah for the AAA…

Here at Shiny we look at loads of new start ups, from clever time saving apps through to wonderful wearables. Every now and then though one really catches our eye. Step forward Introducing Carrot. You may not have ever had any experience of the product before but as the video below and the words on…

If you've ever used self-service checkout tills in a UK supermarket, then you'll know the frustration which arises from a chorus of mistimed declarations of 'unexpected item in bagging area' from multiple machines. It's a similar feeling you get from that seagull scene in Finding Nemo, or being forced to listen to We're Taking the…

New research from the US suggests that there's a real generation gap when it comes to what makes us laugh. Assistant professor of psychology Jennifer Tehan Stanley from the University of Akron conducted the study, alongside Monika Lohani from Brandeis University and Derek M. Isaacowitz from Northeastern University. The team showed three groups of adults…

Should you feel the need to mark your territory on the universally-loved Nutella, Selfridges have come up with a solution: the option to personalise the label with your own name. No more cases of mistaken ownership, then (thieving housemates, I'm looking at you). Priced at £3.99 and available only when ordered online, the designated name or…

For the first time, scientists have recorded how chimps in the wild pick up new behaviour. The research, which was just published in the journal PLOS Biology, was undertaken by an international team from the University of St Andrews, University of Neuchâtel, Anglia Ruskin University, and Université du Quebec. Chimpanzees in different communities have different…