Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

This Bacteria Can Make People See “Christ’s Blood” in Communion Wafers

Serratia marcescens is a bacteria that has earned a bad reputation for infecting people in hospitals. It may deserve an even worse reputation. It might have made people believe, for hundreds of years, that the blood of Christ was miraculously appearing in communion wafers. Serratia marcescens used to be the workhorse of the biology laboratory.…

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How to manipulate people into choosing the worst option

When we are choosing which action to take, one of the most basic calculations which guide us is, “How likely is it to lead to one option or another.” We need to think of all possible outcomes, and the rough probability of each one occurring. There is a problem with this. We are not great…

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Arrow‘s best episode ever is both a tragedy and a comedy

“The Promise,” is two episodes in one. The first is a wrenching tragedy. The second is one of the most delightful comic half-hours of television I have ever seen. This is the Arrow episode to watch, people. The Tragedy You know when KGBeast provides the storyline’s lightest moments, it’s going to be a downer. Sara,…

Television Esther Inglis-Arkell

Were the Spartans truly the greatest warriors of all time?

It will surprise precisely nobody that the 300 movies are not historically accurate portrayals of the Spartans, but the movies do lean on an existing myth. We all grew up thinking of the Spartans as the ultimate military badasses. Was this true? The Spartan Triumphs No one could deny that Spartans were one of the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

When scientists belived there was a little man inside every sperm cell

Preformationism was a popular theory in the 17th and 18th centuries. It allowed people to believe in a clockwork world, where there were tiny people running around in sperm. And those tiny people also had tiny people in their sperm. But there was a peculiar kind of logic to it all. Throughout the 17th and…

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The brain injury that finally makes us as smart as rats

There’s a simple cognitive test that humans tend to fail— at least, they fail when their performance is compared to the performance of rats. Why? Because our brains screw us up. But a specific brain injury can bring us up to rat-level. First let’s imagine a simple game, with potentially great rewards. You will see…

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How to avoid (or embrace) arctic hysteria during this eternal winter

So it looks like if you live anywhere east of Nevada or north of Texas you will never see the sun again. Since you are now essentially living in the Arctic, you will need to get a new set of skills, especially if you want to avoid what’s known as “arctic hysteria.” Arctic Hysteria It…

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A vortex has opened up in Arizona

Anyone in Arizona will be mildly concerned to hear that a vortex in reality opened up, and it’s soon to suck your state into another dimension. Or, at least, that what this looks like. Actually, it’s a common meteorological phenomenon seen from an uncommon vantage point. This photo looks like a hole in reality is…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

There is a major error in this famous photo of physicist Enrico Fermi

Enrico Fermi was one of the greatest physicists of all time. Take a look at the history of any branch of physics, and he was there, helping things along. Take a look at his most famous portrait and he made a boneheaded mistake. Maybe on purpose. You know that thing called quantum theory? Enrico Fermi…

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How often does speech turn into song?

You can make any person’s regular speaking voice seem to burst into song with a fairly simple trick. It’s called the Speech-to-Song illusion. But can you do it if they’re speaking another language? Or if you deliberately tweak their voice? Find out how to make people sing on your iPhone, and how they can make…

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Make people misjudge your attractiveness with the Cheerleader Effect

Want to appear more attractive to people? Only show pictures of yourself when you’re with your friends. Amazingly, this is not marketing — you don’t appear more attractive because you’re popular or loved, you actually trick people’s brains into considering your face more attractive. Cheerleaders are a kind of group hypnotism act. Their energy, their…

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How near-complete certainty can make you completely wrong

Ever been asked to settle something beyond a reasonable doubt? Ever taken part in a cause in which the evidence is overwhelming? Ever been completely sure you’re right? Sure you have. Plenty of times. So many times that occasionally, you have to have been wrong. What would you consider certainty? In an ideal world, 100…

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What happens when we exceed the universe’s speed limit?

As far as universal limits go, the speed of light gets all the glory. But did you know there is a different speed limit for particles? It’s called the GZK limit, and some people think it has already been exceeded. Which has some pretty weird implications for the laws of the universe. We know that…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Felicity gets her groove back on Arrow

Arrow’s most popular character takes center stage in a light and charming story during which everyone is nice to each other. It’s pretty cool. For those of you who like the heavy stuff? There’s plenty of that in the rest of the episode. “Time of Death,” despite the ominous title, is a light-hearted episode. And…

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The physical limit of trick shots in billiards

For anyone who has ever had their ass handed to them in a game of pool, take comfort knowing that in the end, physics beats everything. A physicist has calculated how many collisions it takes for billiards to be impossible without a supercomputer. It’s less than you think! Beginning pool players (or the hopelessly incompetent)…

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Statistics professor challenges midwives’ math on home birth safety

Recently a group of midwives published a paper about birth outcomes for home births, which seemed to indicate home birth is as safe as hospital birth. A skeptic blog got a statistics professor to analyze the paper, and came up with very different results. Check them both out! Midwives Alliance of North America, or MANA,…

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The science of audio illusions, or fooling people’s ears

Diana Deutsch is a professor of psychology at the University of San Diego, and a master at manipulating people’s ears. While researching quirks in the way humans hear things, she has invented many auditory illusions. Here are some of the weirdest, and why they work. Diana Deutsch was born in Britain, but came to the…

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When America gassed a housing project for practice

The Cold War yielded a lot of horror stories. One of them was in St. Louis, where low-income housing and schools were routinely gassed in order to practice attacks on Russian cities. Also, there may have been radiation in the gas. Just to make it perfect. Did you know that St Louis resembles cities in…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Slobber weed makes for the world’s meanest prank

Pilocarpus pennatifolius is known, along the Amazon river, as jaborandi. In English, we call it by a translation of that word; “slobber weed.” It does exactly what it says. In Brazil, it is occasionally taken to bring on sweat and to cure dry mouth. It certainly does the latter. Someone who chomps down on slobber…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Who perpetrated the Great Duck Egg Scare of 1895?

Today, while we have an ongoing debate over environmental issues, it might be informative to look at a past environmental debate – and a past environmental hoax. Who orchestrated the hoax, and why? You decide. In the late 1800s, sport hunting went into vogue in the United States. It was the pastime of the rich…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Esther Inglis-Arkell

This Bacteria Can Make People See “Christ’s Blood” in Communion Wafers

How to manipulate people into choosing the worst option

​Arrow‘s best episode ever is both a tragedy and a comedy

Were the Spartans truly the greatest warriors of all time?

When scientists belived there was a little man inside every sperm cell

The brain injury that finally makes us as smart as rats

How to avoid (or embrace) arctic hysteria during this eternal winter

A vortex has opened up in Arizona

There is a major error in this famous photo of physicist Enrico Fermi

How often does speech turn into song?

Make people misjudge your attractiveness with the Cheerleader Effect

How near-complete certainty can make you completely wrong

What happens when we exceed the universe’s speed limit?

Felicity gets her groove back on Arrow

The physical limit of trick shots in billiards

Statistics professor challenges midwives’ math on home birth safety

The science of audio illusions, or fooling people’s ears

​When America gassed a housing project for practice

Slobber weed makes for the world’s meanest prank

Who perpetrated the Great Duck Egg Scare of 1895?

Labubus Might Be Labu-Bust After Pop Mart Posts Record Share Loss

Cursor’s New Tool Lets Users Delegate to a Team of Coding Agents

Nvidia Needs to Remind Itself What PC Gamers Actually Want

Iran Says It Hit Oracle Facilities in UAE

‘Invincible’ Season 4 Is Doing Right By Debbie

Artemis 2 Day 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

New Theory Says We’ve Been Overcomplicating the Big Bang

Marvel Might Have Finally Dealt With One of the Most Hated ‘Spider-Man’ Characters Around

China Is Trying to Grow New Forests in This Notorious Mega-Desert. It’s Working

RAM Prices Are Threatening the Viability of the Raspberry Pi and Single-Board Computing

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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?

Arrow‘s best episode ever is both a tragedy and a comedy

When America gassed a housing project for practice