Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

Why does falling asleep sometimes feel like falling down?

We’ve covered sleep twitches, the unconscious twitches that people make while they’re asleep. They’re the result of the unconscious and conscious brain both being online at the same time. Sometimes people twitch themselves awake. This is preferable to another strange sleep tic — the sudden sensation of falling that can cause the person to wake…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 22

How to create an ant spiral of death

As creepy as it sounds, the ant spiral of death is deadly only to the ants involved in it. The ants circle and circle into one heaving vortex until they drop dead from exhaustion. Bad things can happen when instincts go wrong. If you’ve ever read an old-timey pulp novel, you may be familiar with…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 22

When the Earth is uninhabited, this robotic jellyfish will still be roaming the seas

Virginia Tech and the University of Texas at Dallas have claimed their place as the leading purveyor of robot-based nautical doom with robojelly, a robot that simulates the look and the move of a cnidarian. Anyone who has seen jellies knows that they move with a repetitive contraction of their bells, or their transparent outer…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 21

The best (and easiest) special effect you can do to freak out your friends

Some special effects are incredibly easy to do — with science. Find out how to pour an ’empty’ pitcher on candle flames and cause them to suddenly go out. It’s a fun and easy effect for your supernatural movie, fake seance, or just freaking out your friends. Of course there’s a reason why I put…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 20

What does anger look like? Creepy, ghostly stick figures

Anger carries a lot of baggage. Musical tones, color schemes, physical sensations, and words can all convey this emotion, and the pictures above are compilations of people’s feelings of rage. The far left is a strip of colors that people associated with anger, with the thickest bands representing the most popular colors and the thinnest…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 20

How astronauts use “space cups” to drink in low gravity

How can astronauts drink in space? If your answer is, ‘through a straw so drops don’t fly off and damage the instruments around them,’ then Don Pettit has proven that you’re a fool. Check out how astronauts can enjoy drinks from an open container like civilized ground-people. There’s nothing like space to make us realize…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 19

This chart explains where your eyes look to recognize faces

Or at least that’s what your intuition tells you. The blue areas in the image above track how the eye moves over a stranger’s face when the viewer is trying to recognize them. The nose, front and center, and usually distinctive, gets the first look. When talking about a person’s face, most writers rhapsodize about…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 17

Major Spoilers for the End of the World, the Solar System, and the Universe

This sure is a nice planet we have here — but we shouldn’t get to attached to it. Nothing lasts forever: Not our planet, not our solar system, not even the entire universe. But how will our world and everything else meet their fates? Check out the ultimate spoilers, below. How the Earth Ends Technically,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 16

A Simple Illusion That Makes a Cube Drawing Move in Three Dimensions

Sometimes the simplest illusions are the best. A simple trick makes a sketch of a cube appear to float and twist in the middle of a sketch pad. This optical illusion is completely inexplicable when you first look at it, and then utterly comprehensible the moment the person in the video shows the trick. At…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 16

The Physics of Pixar’s Hair

How is a curling hair like a long-range oil pipeline? And what two groups are working on the physics that apply to both? Learn about the science of engineering mop-tops. Over at Physics Central’s podcast, there’s a fascinating discussion with an MIT grad student, Jay Miller, who looks at the curve of the flagella on…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 15

What Fantasy Art Looked Like Before Photoshop

In 1908, while photos themselves were still in their relative infancy, a moderately successful photographer began making ‘Tall Tale Postcards.’ He rapidly became one of America’s first, and most successful, fantasy artists. William “Dad” Martin took over a photography studio in Ottawa, Kansas in 1894. His stock in trade was taking photos of the locals…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 15

Psychic abilities fail their most crucial test

The big problem with mental powers is you can never prove they exist. They never seem to be repeatable under experimental conditions, like other sorts of phenomena. Until recently — when a researcher named Daryl Bem claimed he’d done a study that indicated that people did indeed have some kind of precognition. Bem urged other…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 15

The Many Ways Science Has (Wrongly) Assessed Your Personality

What if someone could figure out your personality without actually taking the time to talk to you? What if there was a simple test that could figure out exactly what sort of person you are? For many years, scientists have searched for a surefire test to assess your personality — and they’ve failed, spectacularly. From…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 14

How a dash of mercury can rip a jet plane apart

There are plenty of reasons why you don’t want to be around mercury under any circumstances. It’s toxic, and can lead to emotional and mental instability. On planes, it can lead to structural instability. As in, ripping them apart. But how? How does a plane, which is made to withstand being accelerated up to seven…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 13

How to use vegetables as mood lighting

You can set a pickle aglow. All you need is a couple of wires, a fixture, a pickle, and a devil-may-care attitude towards the electrical integrity of your house. Pickles serve so many functions in this society. They’re a primary food source, condiment, term of endearment, common cat’s name, and inherently funny food. Dare we…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 12

In 1939, a robot dog was killed while chasing a car. Really.

Sometimes you stumble across a piece of history that is too good not to follow up on. Sparko, the robot dog, is one such piece of history. Prepared for the World’s Fair in 1939, he got out of his pen, chased a car, and was killed. No fooling. Androids may dream of electronic sheep, but…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 10

Watch drops of water in space ‘orbit’ a knitting needle like tiny planets

Ever wonder what planets would look like orbiting a cylindrical sun? Now, thanks to the magic of electric charge, microgravity, and awesome astronaut Don Pettit, you can see for yourself. Watch tiny liquid planets ‘orbit’ a knitting needle, and find out why they do. Some days it’s hard to recognize that the world is a…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 9

The Stroop Effect reveals that you believe what you read, even if you know it’s false

We think that the ability to read is a complicated, artificial process, but when’s the last time you’ve seen a sign, in your native language, that you’ve chosen not to read? The Stroop Test shows how deep the ability to read runs through us. There is no instinctual ability to read. Written words are shapes…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 9

Bees have personalities — and we can change them

Honey bees drones actually have a large spectrum of personalities. Scientists found that some are homebodies, some are explorers, and no matter what they are, we can change them. There are some scientific studies for which the results don’t matter so much as the method of inquiry. For example, when people hear that a team…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 9

10 Weapons That Animals Use

We’ve come a long way from thinking that what separates us from the animals is, say, using a rock to bash in the skull of our competitors. It turns out that there are a lot of creatures out that that re-purpose tools to make their personal world better and someone else’s world a lot worse.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 9

Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why does falling asleep sometimes feel like falling down?

How to create an ant spiral of death

When the Earth is uninhabited, this robotic jellyfish will still be roaming the seas

The best (and easiest) special effect you can do to freak out your friends

What does anger look like? Creepy, ghostly stick figures

How astronauts use “space cups” to drink in low gravity

This chart explains where your eyes look to recognize faces

Major Spoilers for the End of the World, the Solar System, and the Universe

A Simple Illusion That Makes a Cube Drawing Move in Three Dimensions

The Physics of Pixar’s Hair

What Fantasy Art Looked Like Before Photoshop

Psychic abilities fail their most crucial test

The Many Ways Science Has (Wrongly) Assessed Your Personality

How a dash of mercury can rip a jet plane apart

How to use vegetables as mood lighting

In 1939, a robot dog was killed while chasing a car. Really.

Watch drops of water in space ‘orbit’ a knitting needle like tiny planets

The Stroop Effect reveals that you believe what you read, even if you know it’s false

Bees have personalities — and we can change them

10 Weapons That Animals Use

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

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

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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