Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

Mood-altering Drugs That Were Invented by Accident

Science is full of lucky whoopsies, and psychiatric medication has more than its share. From incredibly wrong-headed ways to keep people from masturbating to making TB patients dance, here’s how we (accidentally) got the modern pharmaceutical industry. Project No-Wank During the 1800s, masturbation was considered as a way to induce everything from epilepsy to round…

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This Is Why Noble Families Rise and Then Disappear Throughout History

In the Middle Ages, while it was definitely better to be a member of the nobility than to be a serf, noble families didn’t have it easy. They disappeared all the time—so much that historians at one point estimated the half-life of nobility. Members of the nobility (in fiction and occasionally in life) give the…

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Here’s Proof That Pseudoscience Is a Proud Pick-Up Artist Tradition

George Antheil was a musician, a scientist, a “bad boy,” and a man who thought he knew a lot about women. He was only three of those things, and his articles about how to use glandular science to pick up ladies prove that. George Antheil was at the forefront of that avant garde music scene…

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Here’s the Chemistry of Why Kryptonite Can’t Ever Exist

“Kryptonite” is a fictional material that brings down Superman, but the element krypton actually exists, and molecules that end in “ite” actually exist. Why can’t we make kryptonite? Chemistry is one of those sciences that gives us tons of information up front, if only we’re educated enough to use it. (Remember high school tests, during…

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Another Study Proving That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism Won’t Do Any Good

It’s time to stop trying to prove that autism and vaccines aren’t linked. Why? Because parents who believe in the link, and believe that Big Pharma is covering it up, have much more in common with Big Pharma than they think. To clarify: I don’t mean that doctors who are interested in the technical aspects…

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Check Out This Gorgeous Frog and Learn a New Word

This is Microhyla pulchra, otherwise known as the beautiful pygmy frog. It seems to be doing okay in the wild—it may even be an invasive species—but that’s tough to confirm because of its unique biological ability: crypsis. First, some from facts: It lives in southeast Asia. Although the frog is small and it lives in…

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“Mocha” Was a Place, Is a Flavor, and May Be a Scientific Innovation

Have you ordered a mocha lately? Do you realize that “mocha” shouldn’t actually mean “chocolate-flavored-coffee,” and instead should mean really, really expensive coffee? And that someday, it could mean the best decaffeinated coffee in the world? For me, mocha always meant a combination of chocolate and coffee. That’s what most of the world thinks of…

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These Rings Were Discovered in 1855—But We’re Still Puzzling Over Them

These are called Liesegang rings. You’ve probably seen them on paper, in rocks and cliffs around you, and in test tubes. They were first discovered back in 1855, and we’re still working out the details. Learn (roughly) what makes these things happen. Liesegang rings are, in the grand tradition of science, not named after the…

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What Extraordinarily Weird Things Are Locked Up in Your Junk DNA?

We know that we don’t “use” a lot of the genes inside our cells, but our DNA is strung with relics. But what are those relics, and what if they come back to haunt us? Here’s what you’re carrying around, and why it’s not as irrevocably part of the past as you think it is.…

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Why Does This Flower Make Red Nectar?

Flowers usually expend their energy on making themselves bright and colorful. They bleach themselves white to stand out against dark leaves, or they deck themselves out in colorful patterns, but the overwhelming majority keep the nectar they offer clear. So, where did this flower’s red nectar come from? For almost all flowers, the flower itself…

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Does Water Ever “Go Bad”?

The water on your bedside table hasn’t had anything bad happen to it while you slept, but in the morning it tastes stale. Why? And how long can water stay out before it’s too bad to drink? We know that water, after a few hours of sitting out, tastes indefinably nasty, but it’s tough to…

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Your Own Body Smuggles In This Radioactive Particle

Strontium-90 is not good news. It emits ionizing radiation, which means you want to keep it out of our body. Unfortunately, your body has other ideas. The body’s own mechanisms welcome this isotope in, and store it away. Strontium-90was one of the many isotopes the world got acquainted with after the invention of the atomic…

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I Had My Brain Monitored While Looking at Gory Pictures. For Science!

I was a test subject for a real, no-foolin’ neuroscience study with electrodes strapped to my head and everything. It was surprisingly pleasant—until they started showing me pictures of severed feet. Alan Leggitt, a friend of mine and a PhD candidate, has spent the last few years studying, training, organizing, and occasionally having monkey poop…

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How Do Steroids Actually Work?

Steroids seem to have two functions: making people strong and screwing up their lives. We’ll take a look at how steroids accomplish both of these tasks. From bulking muscles to shrinking testicles, this is what happens when you put a steroid in your body. When people bring up “steroids” while they’re talking about sports, we…

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These Toads Grow Spiked Mustaches and Use Them to Duel

Male Emei mustache toads usher in the mating season with a new look. They grow a long ridge of spines along their mouths, and use those spines to slash the hell out of other males. Learn about the fine art of mustache dueling. Leptobrachium boringii are, for most of the year, gentle souls. They spend…

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How the Jojoba Plant Saved the Sperm Whale

The jojoba plant is a desert-growing shrub. The sperm whale is an ocean-living mammal. On first glance, it would not seem that they would have much in common. But they do—and that commonality may be the reasons sperm whales didn’t go extinct. For over a hundred years, much of the world ran on sperm whale…

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That Famous “School Bus Yellow” Color Used to Be Very, Very Toxic

You can recognize the bus in this picture, even though it is distorted, because of that iconic color. It was chosen in 1939 and used all over America. Later, people found out that while the shade was great, the chemistry left something to be desired. Here’s how school buses got covered in poison. Dr. Frank…

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Who Wants a Grave Gun?

“Sleep well sweet angel, let no fears of ghouls disturb thy rest, for above thy shrouded form lies a torpedo, ready to make minced meat of anyone who attempts to convey you to the pickling vat.” How’s that for an advertising slogan? Welcome to the wonderful world of grave booby traps. In the beginning, they…

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Ruin Your Entire Day by Learning What “Copremesis” Is

I hate to sound like Lemony Snicket, but you really might want to turn back from this entry while you still can. Anyone who clicks will learn how awful copremesis is, and the only slightly less awful thing that causes it. Last chance. Let’s start your unavoidable journey to being a less happy human being…

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What’s It Really Like To Have Your Pleasure Center Stimulated?

We know that having an electrode zap your pleasure center on command will cause you to neglect your work and friends, and become a dried husk of a human being. But at least it makes you feel pleasure. Or does it? The B-19 experiment is one of the most famous muddles in psychology. Robert Heath,…

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Esther Inglis-Arkell

Mood-altering Drugs That Were Invented by Accident

This Is Why Noble Families Rise and Then Disappear Throughout History

Here’s Proof That Pseudoscience Is a Proud Pick-Up Artist Tradition

Here’s the Chemistry of Why Kryptonite Can’t Ever Exist

Another Study Proving That Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism Won’t Do Any Good

Check Out This Gorgeous Frog and Learn a New Word

“Mocha” Was a Place, Is a Flavor, and May Be a Scientific Innovation

These Rings Were Discovered in 1855—But We’re Still Puzzling Over Them

What Extraordinarily Weird Things Are Locked Up in Your Junk DNA?

Why Does This Flower Make Red Nectar?

Does Water Ever “Go Bad”?

Your Own Body Smuggles In This Radioactive Particle

I Had My Brain Monitored While Looking at Gory Pictures. For Science!

How Do Steroids Actually Work?

These Toads Grow Spiked Mustaches and Use Them to Duel

How the Jojoba Plant Saved the Sperm Whale

That Famous “School Bus Yellow” Color Used to Be Very, Very Toxic

Who Wants a Grave Gun?

Ruin Your Entire Day by Learning What “Copremesis” Is

What’s It Really Like To Have Your Pleasure Center Stimulated?

What’s Actually the Best Way to Get a Good Night’s Sleep? We Asked Scientists

Game to Lose Online Mode After Its Server Partner Pivots to You’ll Never Guess What

This $400 (Not) AI Keychain Is Pointless, Extravagant, and Weirdly Lovable

New Getaway Means Subaru Has an Electric SUV in Every Size

pCloud Easter Special: One Payment, Lifetime Storage for Entire Family (68% Off)

Getting Stuck Inside a Glitching Robotaxi Is a Whole New Thing to Be Scared of

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Humanity’s Epic Return to the Moon 🔴

NASA’s Artemis 2 Mission Blasts Off

Disney’s Robot Olaf Dying Is the Funniest Thing to Happen in 2026

Kia’s EV3 Is Headed to the US This Year With Up to 320 Miles of Range

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

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