Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

25% of the population are supertasters — are you one of them?

About a quarter of the population of the world has super-powered tongues. They experience taste more intensely than the rest of us. Find out if you’re one of Them below. Some people have particular tastes in food. They’re considered overly picky and too sensitive. It turns out they could just be tasting things on a…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 23

Why creature features are my comfort food

There’s nothing like a movie about a giant killer ape to relax you after a really stressful day. Here are five reasons why a monster movie can be the most soothing thing in the world. 1. They require nothing of you. Some films take you on deep emotional journeys. They make you fall in love…

Movies Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 22

Real-life star maps show where the spice flows and Babylon 5 is stationed

Project Rho has a large variety of star maps that show what real-world stars are famous scifi locations. For major geekery, check out the Star Trek Universe and the spreadsheets of data about the stars in Dune. [Via Project Rho]

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 22

What color dragon is likely to wipe out your town

The good people at Orbit Books have analyzed which dragon colors were most popular on the covers of fantasy books. Although no one color has the majority, most artists have gone with a traditional green. A dramatic orange takes the second spot. There are a few ties, but brown dragons trail the herd at only…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 22

A chart that groups classic science fiction fans by political affiliation

Curious about the political leanings of people who read classic science fiction authors? Check out this online excerpt from the 1977 Analog Yearbook. It sums up the politics of 70s scifi readers in a handy graph. Authors William Sims Bainbridge and Murray M Dalziel also group authors by subgenre, and offers this handy way to…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 22

We may be even more alone in the universe than we thought

Two scientists propose that the jump from bacteria to complex life might be much riskier than previously imagined. Even on planets with earthlike conditions, plant and animal life would therefore be incredibly rare. All cells need power. Some cells need more than others. Bacteria are widespread, adaptable, and hardy, mainly because they don’t suck down…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 22

How your brain sees your body: Meet the cortical homunculus

We all know what bodies look like from the outside. This cortical homunculus is how your brain sees your body from the inside. In the 1930s, Wilder Penfield performed surgeries on patients with epilepsy. While he had a live brain on the table, he figured he might as well poke around a bit. The doctor…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 21

Malaria-carrying mosquito could be evolving into two separate species

As one of the primary carriers of malaria, the Anopheles gambiae mosquito is one of the most dangerous animals in the world. Now efforts to wipe out malaria must succeed quickly, because it’s rapidly evolving into two separate species. Malaria infects two hundred million people a year, and killed nearly 900,000 people in 2009. Many…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 21

“The Secret of Kells” takes the religion out of religion

The Secret of Kells, available as video-on-demand, is a fantasy film about monks who never mention God. Is that appropriate for the piece or missing the point? It’s the ninth century in Ireland, and everyone has either been attacked by Vikings, or is waiting to be. Brendan, a young boy who has spent his entire…

Movies Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 21

A rare, light-absorbing property of pumpkin seed oil

The oil in pumpkin seeds has a very rare quality. In a thin layer, it’s green. In deep pools, it is red. Pumpkin seed oil is one of the most dichromatic substances in the world. Pumpkin seed oil has a nutty taste, a thick body, and a host of people claiming that it healthies up…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 21

An experiment with surface tension

Here’s an easy experiment with pepper and soap that allows you to see surface tension – and its destruction. Photo by John Bush, Tristan Gilet/MIT. Shake some pepper, carefully, into a cup of water. If you let it fall lightly on top of the water, many of the flakes will stay afloat. They’ll wander around,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 20

How does the Sun create a pillar of light in the sky?

The right weather conditions can send pillars of light shooting up across the sky. Find out how nature forms its own spotlights. Many people have been walking home in the evening when they turned to see the setting sun seemingly shooting a beam of light directly up into the sky. I imagine fewer people have…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 16

How heat can cross a vacuum

Up until now, it was thought that only light could cross a vacuum. A new experiment suggests that heat can do so as well under very specific conditions. Light is not the only thing that can be mentally chopped up into discrete packages of energy. Vibrational energy can also be diced into little packages called…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 16

Terrarium, the worst-rated scifi movie on IMDB, is actually pretty good

Weeks ago, we took a look at the IMDB worst-rated sci-fi films. Hours later, the writer/director of one of them offered to send a DVD. Here’s a look at the low budget sci-fi horror film Terrarium. https://gizmodo.com/imdbs-worst-rated-scifi-movies-are-strangely-compelling-5642438 On the list of IMDB worst-rated films, I singled out Terrarium because it was comfortably in the bottom…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 15

Why boomerangs come back

Here’s a guide to the physics of a boomerang’s mid-air turn. If you, like many others, have ever received a boomerang as a present, then you know its remarkable achievement; getting people to buy, throw, and then chase and retrieve sticks. I have never in my life thrown a boomerang in such a way that…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 15

Planet Zarmina is ripe for colonization from within its own system

Due to their position in the Gliese system, hypothetical creatures on planet Zarmina might not be alone in their own solar system, the way humans seem to be. And those neighbors could reach Zarmina pretty quickly. Planet Zarmina, or Gliese 581 g, may be situated happily in the middle of the habitable zone around red…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 14

Gegenschein: The glowing circle in the sky

The moon, stars, comets and planets aren’t the only ones lighting up the night sky. Gegenschein glows in the sky every night – it’s usually just too faint to be seen. You’re on the road in a dark and moonless night, hundreds of miles from civilization. When you look up into the sky, you see…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 13

Electrostatic traps: When photons are too big

In their quest to study ever smaller and smaller particles, scientists have hit on particles too small even to be captured in a wavelength of light. What can you use to trap these particles? Meet the electrostatic trap. An older post on Io9 discussed optical traps as a way to deal with particles too small…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 10

The Archer’s Paradox: you can’t hit a target by aiming exactly for it

We imagine that real-life archers are constantly frustrated by the inaccuracies of movies and comic books. Namely, the fact that no one realizes you can only hit a target if you’re aiming somewhat away from it. Let’s consider two typical action movie shots. The first is a zoom out from a target, maybe a bad…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 10

Tia Maria and the physics of getting liquored up

Pouring a thin layer of cream on top of Tia Maria coffee liqueur results in a in a constantly-roiling cell pattern on the surface of the cream. What’s driving the motion? If you’re looking to get introspective, or hypnotized, while getting hammered, here’s a drink that will keep your drunk eyes and your drunk mind…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Oct 8

Esther Inglis-Arkell

25% of the population are supertasters — are you one of them?

Why creature features are my comfort food

Real-life star maps show where the spice flows and Babylon 5 is stationed

What color dragon is likely to wipe out your town

A chart that groups classic science fiction fans by political affiliation

We may be even more alone in the universe than we thought

How your brain sees your body: Meet the cortical homunculus

Malaria-carrying mosquito could be evolving into two separate species

“The Secret of Kells” takes the religion out of religion

A rare, light-absorbing property of pumpkin seed oil

An experiment with surface tension

How does the Sun create a pillar of light in the sky?

How heat can cross a vacuum

Terrarium, the worst-rated scifi movie on IMDB, is actually pretty good

Why boomerangs come back

Planet Zarmina is ripe for colonization from within its own system

Gegenschein: The glowing circle in the sky

Electrostatic traps: When photons are too big

The Archer’s Paradox: you can’t hit a target by aiming exactly for it

Tia Maria and the physics of getting liquored up

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