Andrew Liszewski, Author at Gizmodo

Incredible Slo-Mo Footage Reveals Hummingbirds Are Truly Nature’s Fighter Jets

Most birds get all the lift they need to fly with the downward stroke of their wings—meaning there’s no upward force being produced as they raise them back up. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, produce lift with both their upward and downward wing strokes, creating air vortices that the tiny birds use to fly with…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

The World’s Biggest Super Soaker Is Powerful Enough to Shatter Windows

Last summer, Mark Rober built the world’s largest Nerf dart gun, capable of blasting foam at 40 mph. Sure, that made it slightly more dangerous than the toy it was based on, but it doesn’t even come close to Rober’s latest bonkers creation: a giant Super Soaker that fires water at 243 mph. https://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-biggest-nerf-gun-can-shoot-darts-at-40-mph-1782334889 At…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Hasbro’s Latest Comic-Con Exclusive Is Like a Hall of Fame for Awesome ’80s Toys

The 2017 San Diego Comic-Con is a little over a week away, which means toymakers are running out of time to hype their convention exclusives. Most should probably just give up now, though, because Hasbro’s latest Comic-Con exclusive reveal is essentially irresistible ‘80s nerd heroin. Based on the IDW Comics series Revolution, a crossover of…

io9 Andrew Liszewski

Car Crash Turns Utility Pole Into Fireball-Shooting Mortal Kombat Character

A driver in Ontario, Canada, recently discovered that crashing your minivan into a power pole can have bigger repercussions than just higher insurance premiums. Enraged at nearly getting toppled, the utility pole started spewing fire balls down the line like it was some kind of video game baddie. As the video below shows, the local…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Classic Video Game Themes Sound Even Better Played Backwards

Video games like Super Mario Bros. and Tetris included some of the most catchy background music ever put on a cartridge. But would you recognize those same classic video game themes played backwards? An artist created an album featuring four memorable game themes performed in reverse, and we can’t stop listening to them. “Sorb Oiram…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Playing Darts off a 150-Foot Tower Is Even More Dangerous Than in a Bar

One of humanity’s worst decisions has to be the pairing of darts with bars full of drunk patrons making terrible decisions. Throwing tiny pointed spears when you can barely stand once seemed like a dangerous way to have fun, until the lads at How Ridiculous decided to play darts off a 150-foot-tall observation tower. From…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

This Photographer’s Shots of Real Buildings Look Just Like Optical Illusions

Serbian photographer Nikola Olic lives and works in Dallas, Texas, but he also travels the world with a keen eye that’s always looking for unusual angles on buildings and other structures. The result is a collection of architectural photographs that look more like impossible optical illusions. https://gizmodo.com/10-optical-illusion-architecture-photos-from-major-us-c-1699187431 Olic’s abstract shots make the world seem like…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Watch a High-Speed Train Race a Fighter Jet

If you don’t live in a country where high-speed trains are common, you might not realize how fast they can really go. Traveling at just shy of 200 miles per hour, this TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) train in France was able to keep pace with a fighter jet during an inaugural run of a…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

iOS 11 Has a Secret Feature That Lets You Stomp Around Cities Like Godzilla

With the introduction of iOS 11 and a development tool called ARKit, Apple is betting that augmented reality could be the next revolutionary feature for smartphones. At the very least, it’s facilitated a secret feature that lets iPhone users pretend they’re giant monsters stomping through a tiny city. https://gizmodo.com/ios-11-all-the-cool-new-features-coming-to-your-iphone-1795826183 The feature was discovered by developer…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Fly Through This Real Hotel Like It Was Scanned by an Enormous Medical Machine

Using strong magnetic fields and radio waves, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines let us peer inside the human body as if it were sliced into thousands of layers. The same effect has been achieved here, letting you fly through the massive Sofa Hotel in Istanbul. But do they make MRI machines that big? Obviously not.…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

You Can Own the Original ‘Just Two Years Away’ Flying Car for Five Million Bucks

After spending 40 years and unspeakable amounts of investor money to make his dream a reality, Paul Moller’s flying car is finally available for purchase. But because flying cars are perpetually “just two years away,” Moller is actually auctioning off his original prototype, not a production model. https://gizmodo.com/surprise-dubious-flying-car-company-loses-all-kinds-of-509183291 You’ve probably seen the G90 M400 Skycar…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

A Pedal-Powered Elevator Will Make You Less Guilty About Not Taking the Stairs

Can’t shake that nagging, guilty feeling that you should have dragged your butt up the stairs every time you take the elevator? Then you’re in luck, because Vycle creators Elena Larriba and Jon Garcia have come up with a pedal-powered elevator alternative that helps you get in shape as you travel between floors. Like a bicycle,…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

RED’s ‘Holographic Media Machine’ Feels Like an April Fools’ Joke

RED, makers of some of the most advanced cinema cameras used in Hollywood, revealed an entirely new product today in the form of an Android smartphone—sorry, “Holographic Media Machine”—that lets you view 3D content without glasses, among other buzzwordy features. Specific details about the new device/platform are slim at the moment, save for a one-sheet…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Artist Recreates His Trip to Tokyo Through 30 Charming Short Animations

Having previously shown us what living in Los Angeles and New York City is like through a series of perfectly-looped GIFs, artist James Curran has now brought Tokyo to life with another adorable collection of animations, this time based on his experiences while living in Japan for a month. Tokyo Gifathon recreates 30 uniquely Japanese…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

These Crowdfunded Nintendo Switch Docks Sure Look Like Rebranded USB-C Adapters

The Nintendo Switch seems like it could be the perfect portable gaming console—were it not for the bulky dock required to connect it to a TV. That’s why gamers have gotten excited about a pair of compact Switch HDMI adapters currently being crowdfunded, but you might be better off spending your money elsewhere. When Nintendo…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

These Gaping Mouth Star Wars Snack Bowls Aren’t Screaming As Loud As I Am

Lucasfilm and Disney have ensured there’s no shortage of decor ideas for your next Star Wars-themed soiree. But if you plan to feed your guests, do everyone a favor and skip these Star Wars snack bowls that make it look like you have to snatch pre-chewed treats from the gaping maws of Jabba, Chewbacca, and…

io9 Andrew Liszewski

Cursed Throwable Camera Is Finally Dead After Six Years of Toil [Updated]

In a time when your average smartphone can capture immersive 360-degree photos using a clever app, how can consumers justify spending $600 on a spherical camera that does the same thing? It turns out they can’t, which is why the creators of the Panono have filed for bankruptcy, and are in the process of selling…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

This Homemade Automatic BB Gun Is Even More Dangerous Than It Sounds

YouTube’s Giaco Whatever, who previously terrified us with a custom Nerf blaster capable of firing foam darts faster than the speed of sound, has now designed and built an automatic BB gun powered by a 4,000 PSI air tank that’s easily one of the most dangerous creations you’ll find online—so of course you want to…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Guy Upgrades Toy Firetruck To Start Blazes Instead of Putting Them Out

If you’re going to call something a firetruck, should its sole purpose really be to extinguish flames? That’s like a food truck driving around and disposing of people’s lunches. It just doesn’t make any sense, which is why YouTube’s PeterSripol upgraded a toy firetruck with a functional flamethrower so that at least one the vehicles…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

This Catchy Song Was Made by Sampling the Most Canadian Things Possible

Americans celebrate their nation’s birthday on the Fourth of July, but for Canada, that annual party comes a few days earlier, on July 1. Tomorrow, our polite neighbors to the north turn 150, so take a few moments and enjoy this catchy track that was made by sampling some of the most stereotypically Canadian items…

Sploid Andrew Liszewski

Andrew Liszewski

Incredible Slo-Mo Footage Reveals Hummingbirds Are Truly Nature’s Fighter Jets

The World’s Biggest Super Soaker Is Powerful Enough to Shatter Windows

Hasbro’s Latest Comic-Con Exclusive Is Like a Hall of Fame for Awesome ’80s Toys

Car Crash Turns Utility Pole Into Fireball-Shooting Mortal Kombat Character

Classic Video Game Themes Sound Even Better Played Backwards

Playing Darts off a 150-Foot Tower Is Even More Dangerous Than in a Bar

This Photographer’s Shots of Real Buildings Look Just Like Optical Illusions

Watch a High-Speed Train Race a Fighter Jet

iOS 11 Has a Secret Feature That Lets You Stomp Around Cities Like Godzilla

Fly Through This Real Hotel Like It Was Scanned by an Enormous Medical Machine

You Can Own the Original ‘Just Two Years Away’ Flying Car for Five Million Bucks

A Pedal-Powered Elevator Will Make You Less Guilty About Not Taking the Stairs

RED’s ‘Holographic Media Machine’ Feels Like an April Fools’ Joke

Artist Recreates His Trip to Tokyo Through 30 Charming Short Animations

These Crowdfunded Nintendo Switch Docks Sure Look Like Rebranded USB-C Adapters

These Gaping Mouth Star Wars Snack Bowls Aren’t Screaming As Loud As I Am

Cursed Throwable Camera Is Finally Dead After Six Years of Toil [Updated]

This Homemade Automatic BB Gun Is Even More Dangerous Than It Sounds

Guy Upgrades Toy Firetruck To Start Blazes Instead of Putting Them Out

This Catchy Song Was Made by Sampling the Most Canadian Things Possible

ExpressVPN Spring Sale Special: Up to 73% Off + Free eSIM and Password Manager

You Too Will Learn to Fear the XenoFrog

Amazon Echo Dot Sees Its Last Price Drop in the Spring Sale, Final Hours Tick Down Ahead of an Uncertain Prime Day

Artemis 2 by the Numbers: Breaking Down NASA’s Big Return to the Moon

Apple Removes iPhone Vibe Coding App from App Store

China’s Biggest Social Media Celebrity Is… Kris Jenner?

Up to $1,550 Off on pCloud: Pay Once, Protect Data Forever for World Backup Day

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets