Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

We All Know Which Movie Last Night’s Arrow Was Referencing, Right?

On last night’s Arrow, Ollie and Thea have come to Ollie’s old island to train. The title of the episode was “The Return,” but we all know what its title should actually be: The Wrath of Khan. Ollie and Thea barely have time to bond before they are betrayed. They discover that Malcolm Merlyn has…

Television Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Slightly-Less-Than-Epic Quest To Measure the Blueness Of The Sky

Some projects meant to gather scientific information end in glory when future generations recognize a visionary endeavor. Others, not so much. Here is the story of the cyanometer, and one man’s attempts to measure the blueness of the sky everywhere on Earth. Inventor, adventurer, man of science, Horace-Benedict de Saussure had a vision. He wanted…

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The Bizarre True-Life Tale Of The Hoax Behind The Book I, Libertine

Have you ever read I, Libertine? The book itself may be less interesting than how the book came to be. Hear the story of the book that started as a hoax. Jean Shepherd, a 1950s radio DJ, was very slightly embittered. He had reasons. He was given the 1:00 to 5:30 slot at his radio…

Books & Comics Esther Inglis-Arkell

There’s A Right Way To Exterminate A Species

We shake our head when we see histories of animals driven to extinction. Why would people so callously kill off an entire species? Then sometimes, we discover there’s a invasive, damaging species damaging the ecosystem, and we realize something needs to be done. But can there be a safe way to render something extinct? The…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

What Happens When Your Brain Always Provides You With The Wrong Word

Jargon aphasia is a strange syndrome which cause people to suddenly say nonsense words while otherwise speaking normally. Often they won’t even know that they did it. And scientists are not entirely sure what that means. Jargon aphasia arises from brain damage, either from traumatic injury or some kind of degenerative syndrome. It involves substituting…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

“Gourmand Syndrome” Is The Most Delicious Kind Of Brain Injury

A person you know has just had a stroke. This, naturally, is terrible news. Apart from the initial damage, the effects can linger for years. But sometimes, the effects that linger are weird but fantastic. Top image: Cheddar on Flickr. Gourmand syndrome is both a brain injury and an eating disorder, which sounds bad until…

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People Once Believed the Arteries And Heart Were Filled With Air

Almost everything we consider common knowledge today was once a total mystery. Around the second century AD, no one in the western world knew that the arteries, veins, and heart were filled with blood. Most thought they were filled with air. Here’s how one man disproved that theory. Do you know what you’ll find if…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Romance That Led To A Legendary Science Burn

Wolfgang Pauli, famous now for the Pauli Exclusion Principle, was once an idealistic young scientist going through a rough patch. This rough patch included a tempestuous marriage that resulted in a lot of heartbreak, and one of the famous lines in science history. In 1929, Wolfgang Pauli seemed to be enjoying a very lucky life.…

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Melting Glaciers Lead to the Freak Phenomenon Of “Dead Water”

Climate change is bad. Melting glaciers are also bad. However, both these things lead to something called “dead water.” From a nautical perspective, this is also bad because it stops a ship in the middle of the ocean. But it is so, so cool to look at. As glaciers melt, they release massive amounts of…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

A History Of The Most Impractical Weapons Ever Used In War

A lot of brainpower goes into designing weapons of war. Unfortunately, in a complicated situation, brainpower is a terrible substitute for testing. Here are some of the ingenious weapons of war that were great on paper and terrible in practice. I remember an engineer giving a talk at my college. He and a team had…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why Would Someone Stick These Crystals In Your Heart?

These are piezoelectric crystals. Their use is based on one insight — sound is a physical wave which can deform a crystal — and it’s how we measure the changing size of organs while they’re still being used. It works like this: Two crystals are embedded in a material, and both are attached to wires.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

One Of The Ways The Bubonic Plague Kills You Is By Stealing Your Iron

The bubonic plague kills you all kinds of ways. One of the more fascinating ways it kills you is engaging in a protracted war with your cells over the mineral rights to your body. When virulent bacteria enter a host alone, they have almost no resources, and they use whatever resources are on hand. One…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Watch This Water Droplet Pulse And Form A “Star”

You’ll have heard of this effect in high school, but you probably haven’t seen this manifestation of it. It makes an ordinary water droplet pulse like it has a heartbeat. And sometimes, it makes the drop form into a pulsing star. If you were to know that the water droplet in the clip above is…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Elephants Were Once Used As Executioners

Here’s a horrifying fact. Trained elephants were once used to torture an execute people. Some of the earliest references come from the Bible. The latest came in the 1800s. In The Surgeon’s Daughter, a novel by Sir Walter Scott, the villain seduces a pure young Scottish girl, gets her to elope with him to India,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Here’s How An Isotope Can Let People Track You By Your Hair

Deuterium is a rare variation of hydrogen. For such a small object, it’s incredibly informative. Here’s how deuterium can let people track your your diet, your area, and your season. Add a neutron to a hydrogen molecule and you get deuterium, a rare, heavy isotope. Deuterium makes up only one hundredth of a percent of…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Interesting Theory On Why French People Find English-Speakers Annoying

There exists a kind of long-standing rivalry between the French and the English (and the Americans). Some of it is rooted in history, but could some of it come from language? Here’s an interesting little theory about why the French, at least, find English-speakers annoying. Any two nations that spend a long time next to…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why Do We Use Nitrous Oxide In Our Canned Whipped Cream?

Nitrous oxide is bad for people and bad for the Earth. We know this. So why is it in every can of whipped cream? Can’t we find something else that’s just as good? The answer is no. Laughing gas really is the best option, and here’s why. A few years ago, I did a short…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

The Thrilling Tale Of The Very First Heart Surgery

In 1893, as far as the world was concerned, surgery on the heart was unheard of and a stab in the heart was nearly always fatal. Today, eighty percent of people who have been stabbed in the heart wind up surviving. Here’s the story of how one doctor started the process of changing the odds.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

What Caused These Men to Eat Cats and Candles?

Charles Domery was a Polish man whose eating habits astounded three armies. Tarrare was a Frenchman who went from carnival act to spy to suspected murderer. What made these men so desperately hungry? Top image via Fortean Times Charles Domery Charles Domery was born Charles Domerz, in Poland, in 1778. He was a voracious eater,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Why Viagra Tints Your Vision Blue

One of the lesser-known side effects of Viagra is blue-tinted vision. How does a pill that’s supposed to help men maintain an erection cause them to see the world as too blue? Find out. Viagra is the trade name of a drug called Sildenafil, a drug originally developed to treat high blood pressure. In certain…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Esther Inglis-Arkell

We All Know Which Movie Last Night’s Arrow Was Referencing, Right?

The Slightly-Less-Than-Epic Quest To Measure the Blueness Of The Sky

The Bizarre True-Life Tale Of The Hoax Behind The Book I, Libertine

There’s A Right Way To Exterminate A Species

What Happens When Your Brain Always Provides You With The Wrong Word

“Gourmand Syndrome” Is The Most Delicious Kind Of Brain Injury

People Once Believed the Arteries And Heart Were Filled With Air

The Romance That Led To A Legendary Science Burn

Melting Glaciers Lead to the Freak Phenomenon Of “Dead Water”

A History Of The Most Impractical Weapons Ever Used In War

Why Would Someone Stick These Crystals In Your Heart?

One Of The Ways The Bubonic Plague Kills You Is By Stealing Your Iron

Watch This Water Droplet Pulse And Form A “Star”

Elephants Were Once Used As Executioners

Here’s How An Isotope Can Let People Track You By Your Hair

Interesting Theory On Why French People Find English-Speakers Annoying

Why Do We Use Nitrous Oxide In Our Canned Whipped Cream?

The Thrilling Tale Of The Very First Heart Surgery

What Caused These Men to Eat Cats and Candles?

Why Viagra Tints Your Vision Blue

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

This Is the Way to Lego’s April Releases

Group Pushing Age Verification Requirements for AI Turns Out to Be Sneakily Backed by OpenAI

Amazon Facilities in Bahrain Hit Again as Iran Follows Through on Threat, Report Says

Why the PS6 Handheld Will Matter More Than the PS6

DNA Study Casts Even More Doubt on Shroud of Turin’s True Origin

Sam Witwer Is Ready for Maul’s Moment

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?