Andrew Liszewski, Author at Gizmodo

This Lettuce Umbrella Should Count As a Serving of Veggies

If the thought of putting anything green in your mouth leaves you gagging, this adorable and remarkably life-like lettuce umbrella might help slowly acclimate you to accepting vegetables into your life. And it probably goes without saying that it will keep you dry as well. Available for just under $50 from a Japanese website called…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

This Manmade Island Floats On Over 150,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles

As part of the site’s ongoing Coolest Thing I’ve Ever Made series, MSN has a video about Mexico’s Richart Sowa, a former carpenter who became interested in ecological engineering and left his job to spend over six years building a manmade island made from mostly recycled materials. Over 150,000 plastic bottles bundled into mesh sacks…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

A Board Game That Has You Guess Ridiculous Internet Search Predictions

How often have you found yourself scratching your head in bewilderment over the ridiculous autocomplete suggestions that Google makes for you? They can often be as hilarious as they are absurd, which is what inspired sisters Phoebe Stephens and Nikki Flowerday to turn those search engine predictions into a board game called Query. To create…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

How To Make Self-Igniting Fire Arrows For Your Next Medieval Siege

When you’re tasked with invading a fortified castle, the easiest way to defeat your foes is to burn their home from the inside out. And while we’ve lost some of the medieval skills mastered by our ancestors, it turns out that creating your own self-igniting fire arrows isn’t that difficult thanks to modern technology. Specifically,…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

A Giant Elastic Band Could Let You Hide From Your Seatmates in Coach

Besides the leg room, free booze, and endless snacks, flying first-class also provides some much needed privacy that can make a cross-country voyage more enjoyable. It’s a big part of the reason why flying economy sucks, but a couple designers may have found a way to make your cramped coach seat feel like first class.…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

A High-Speed Robot Arm That Snatches Objects Out of Mid-Air

Major League Baseball probably hasn’t even considered the idea of allowing teams to add artificial players to their rosters. But games would certainly be a lot more exciting if this EPFL arm—that can react in less than five hundredths of a second to catch an object—were to take the field. The robot arm seems particularly…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski May 12

Black+Decker’s AutoSense Drill Stops Itself When a Screw Is Flush

If you’re not already experienced with a drill, when working with screws there’s a very good chance you’re going to accidentally drive them below the surface of whatever material you’re working with—splintering wood and cracking drywall. You can of course get better at it with practise, or you can just buy Black+Decker’s new AutoSense drill…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski May 12

A Sand Art Case Gives Your iPhone a Radical 80s Makeover

The 80s might be long gone, but your fond memories of Reebok Pumps, Cabbage Patch Kids, and those water-filled sand art pictures will forever live on—at least that last one. Because someone has gone and made an iPhone case backed with hypnotic sand art that’s constantly changing as you move your phone. It’s $25 well…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 30

A Sleeping Bag Add-on That Gives Your Dog a Warm Spot to Snooze

If you can’t stand the thought of your dog sleeping outside on a camping trip while you’re warm and cozy inside a tent, you’re apparently not alone. Thanks to the magic of Kickstarter, you can help make the BarkerBag—a sleeping bag add-on that securely accommodates small dogs—a reality. Is it a ridiculous idea? If you’re…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 30

Tiny Robots Add Physical Controls and Dials To Giant Touchscreens

If there’s still one complaint we all have about touchscreens, it’s that we sometimes miss physical buttons. Whether it’s a game controller, or a keyboard, having tactile feedback is often a better solution—sometimes. Which is what led to the development of these tiny robot Thumbles that roll onto a touchscreen as needed to provide temporary…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 30

Coke’s Arcade Machine Accepts Plastic Bottles Instead of Quarters

Sometimes all that’s needed to encourage people to recycle is a little incentive. That’s why pop cans and beer bottles have deposits, and why Coca-Cola built an arcade machine that runs on empty plastic soda bottles instead of quarters. Sure, it’s also a way to advertise sugar water, but that doesn’t make this recent initiative…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 30

A Functional Cork Keeps This Coffee Table From Collapsing

If there are any Ikea engineers reading this post, please take note. Your system of using hex bolts and wrenches to assemble your flat-pack furniture is OK, but things would be a heck of a lot easier for everyone if all of your pieces were held together with giant wine corks. Clearly designer Hyeonil Jeong…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 30

Frisbeecam Records the Ultimate First-Person View

Mankind might not be able to fly yet, but until that day comes it seems we’re pretty happy to simulate the experience by strapping cameras to everything from falcons, to drones, to now even frisbees. Although that last one requires a cleverly-designed mechanism so that the footage from a flying, spinning disc isn’t completely sickening.…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

Replacing Parts of 3D-Printed Models With Lego Speeds Up Prototyping

Before ‘3D printing’ became a catch-all term, the hardware, which has been in use for decades, was referred to as a rapid prototyper. But even waiting five hours for a ‘rapidly’ printed part can be a waste of time. And that’s what inspired Stefanie Mueller and researchers at the Hasso Plattner Institute to create software…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

A Joystick-Inspired Interface Could Solve Smartwatches’ Biggest Problem

The smartwatch revival isn’t going away anytime soon, but maybe this time around we can finally figure out a way to make their tiny displays useful for more than just showing notifications. In fact, a group of researchers from Carnegie Mellon might have finally figured out how with a concept watch that can be twisted,…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

Disney Researchers Can 3D Print Speakers Into Any Object

Last year researchers at Cornell University figured out a way to 3D print a functional speaker cone. But now researchers at Disney have one-upped them with a new printing technique that lets any 3d-printed object work like a speaker—no matter its shape. The secret involves using electrostatic loudspeaker technology that actually dates back to the…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

This Sticker Adds Four Customizable Buttons To Your Android Device

Most Android devices don’t have a physical home button like the iPhone or iPad, and while it reduces manufacturing costs and is one less thing to break, sometimes it’s nice to have that tactile feedback. So the Dimple goes above and beyond the call of duty with a set of four easy-to-install buttons that can…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

Hands-On With the World’s First 3D-Printed Teddy Bear

Despite the existence of softer plastics and materials, 3D printers are still primarily designed to create hard, solid objects that don’t have much bend or give. But a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University has successfully hacked a machine to create the world’s first 3D-printed teddy bear using a technique called felting. The final result looks…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 29

A One-String Pen-Sized Guitar That Almost Plays Like the Real Thing

They’re not as awkward to transport as a piano or a cello, but guitars are far from being the easiest instrument to travel with. And if air guitar never really satisfies your desire to play while away from your instrument, this pen-sized single-string playable guitar might be a better traveling companion. Currently trying to raise…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski Apr 28

A Gorgeous Wooden Kitchen Scale That Masquerades as a Cutting Board

Successful baking requires strict adherence to a recipe and precise measurements, which is made easier with a scale at your disposal. But if the last thing you want is another ugly appliance cluttering up your kitchen counters, feast your eyes on the lovely GKILO scale (pronounced kilo) which when not in use looks like another…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski Apr 28

Andrew Liszewski

This Lettuce Umbrella Should Count As a Serving of Veggies

​This Manmade Island Floats On Over 150,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles

A Board Game That Has You Guess Ridiculous Internet Search Predictions

How To Make Self-Igniting Fire Arrows For Your Next Medieval Siege

A Giant Elastic Band Could Let You Hide From Your Seatmates in Coach

A High-Speed Robot Arm That Snatches Objects Out of Mid-Air

Black+Decker’s AutoSense Drill Stops Itself When a Screw Is Flush

A Sand Art Case Gives Your iPhone a Radical 80s Makeover

A Sleeping Bag Add-on That Gives Your Dog a Warm Spot to Snooze

Tiny Robots Add Physical Controls and Dials To Giant Touchscreens

Coke’s Arcade Machine Accepts Plastic Bottles Instead of Quarters

A Functional Cork Keeps This Coffee Table From Collapsing

Frisbeecam Records the Ultimate First-Person View

Replacing Parts of 3D-Printed Models With Lego Speeds Up Prototyping

A Joystick-Inspired Interface Could Solve Smartwatches’ Biggest Problem

Disney Researchers Can 3D Print Speakers Into Any Object

This Sticker Adds Four Customizable Buttons To Your Android Device

Hands-On With the World’s First 3D-Printed Teddy Bear

A One-String Pen-Sized Guitar That Almost Plays Like the Real Thing

A Gorgeous Wooden Kitchen Scale That Masquerades as a Cutting Board

Pentagon Reportedly Asks Detroit to Use More Car Factories as Arms Factories

We’ve Seen Doctor Doom in Action for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

We’ve Seen the First 18 Minutes of ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’

The New ‘Mandalorian and Grogu’ Trailer Amps Up the Nostalgia

Hollywood’s First Big Budget AI-Generated Movie Is About Bitcoin, of Course

White House Is Reportedly Ready to Drop Its Anthropic Beef and Embrace the Spooky New Model

A Critical Ocean Current System May Be Unraveling Faster Than We Thought

Lana Del Rey Just Released the First Bond Theme We’ll Hear for Years

Tesla Wants a $50,000 Penalty for Anyone Who Tries to Resell Its Signature Model S and X

Google Wants to Put Gucci Smart Glasses on Your Face

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

This Manmade Island Floats On Over 150,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles