Esther Inglis-Arkell, Author at Gizmodo

See liquid oxygen form a boiling bridge between two magnets

Another day, another cool-looking chemistry experiment. This time around, the chemists involved are using a little-known property of oxygen to build an oxygen bridge between two magnets. If you are stuck in a room full of people and the oxygen is running out, what should you do? Well, if there are any magnets around, try…

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Humans go through moult and grow new pelts

People who live with pets notice that some animals moult in the spring and fall. Losing feathers or fur is unattractive, but it leads to a beautiful new coat in which to survive the winter or to attract a mate. It turns out humans also moult and grow attractive new coats of hair. Hair grows…

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There were once plans for nuclear-powered planes

Presenting an all-new horror movie: Nuclear Reactors on a Plane! In the 1950s, when nuclear power was still full of promise and wonder, there were plans to make a nuclear-powered aircraft. In the 1950s, the world was still on the fence regarding nuclear technology. On the one hand, nuclear bombs were powerful weapons. On the…

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Eliminating scarcity won’t stop us from being jerks

One thing nearly all utopian societies have in common is the elimination of scarcity. For them, limited resources are usually an antiquated concept, because everyone has enough. Unfortunately, one study shows that people in utopia might very well be the same grasping, avaricious jerks we know them to be right now. Zero-Sum Thinking Zero-sum thinking…

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The easy way to “prove” that zero is one and -1 is infinity

So you’ve been set a task: prove something which is clearly not true. That sounds much tougher than it is. All you need is basic math skills, an infinite series of numbers, and a playful spirit. Take a look. We’re going to look at how easy it is to “prove” impossible things if you can…

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Good news! You can’t get pregnant via gun bullet!

Today medical journals rarely intentionally publish jokes. How pleasant that in the 1800s they took a more enlightened attitude towards merriment. Sure, it led to a brief period when the public was sure women could get pregnant via bullet, but think of the laughs. Legrand Capers was born in 1834. He went to medical school…

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Olga Lepeshinskaya was the most dangerous woman in pseudoscience

What happens if you’re a terrible scientist perpetrating laughably obvious frauds? Well, that depends on whether or not you’re friends with Stalin. If you are, you can be as successful as Olga Lepeshinskaya. Olga Lepeshinskaya was proof positive that no amount of scientific incompetence can overcome immaculate politics. Born in 1871, she leaned politically left…

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The biggest tear-jerker scenes from last night’s Arrow

You would think that an episode called “Heir of the Demon” would be crammed full of fight scenes — and there are some sweet ones in there. But mostly last night’s Arrow fed off its audience’s tears. Here are the absolute saddest scenes from the latest Arrow. Spoilers ahead… Nyssa Al Ghul touches down in…

Television Esther Inglis-Arkell

A monkey, food coloring, and some Nair caused a UFO panic in 1953

In 1953, people began calling into the police station in Atlanta, Georgia to report UFO sightings. All it took to get everyone seeing flying saucers was three guys, a dead monkey, and a few basic household ingredients. So it was a balmy night in July in 1953 and three guys (two barbers and a butcher)…

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An explosion that shows why fluorine is “the tiger of chemistry”

Fluorine has a dangerous reputation. It’s been nicknamed “the tiger of chemistry” because it has killed so many chemists. We’re going to show you one of its most volatile explosions, and explain how it nearly killed one of the first researchers to work with it. Fluorine is one of the halogens. Halogen means “salt former,”…

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The Drinking Principle is the easiest possible form of social control

So, you’ve decided to be an evil puppet-master. That makes sense, you seem like the type. If you want to turn your fellow human beings into automatons following your direction, all you have to do is scoot over to a bar. Then you need to apply the Drinking Principle. The Drinking Principle is stated this…

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What’s behind the IKEA Effect?

IKEA stores now populate the suburbs of America. They spring up wherever there is enough space to hold their gargantuan facilities. Why are they so popular? Price is one factor, but also there’s something called the IKEA Effect: You value something that you build more than something you buy ready-made. This is true, even if…

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Why the Exact Same Lottery Numbers Came Up Twice in One Week

In 2009, the Bulgarian lottery turned the same number sequence twice within five days. Naturally, this made people a tad suspicious. After all, the odds of the same number sequence appearing twice in a row are millions to one against. But actually, it wasn’t that suspicious at all. Top image: California Lottery “Snowfall” Commercial. On…

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We might be destroying the universe just by looking at it

It’s not often that astronomy goes well with the book of Genesis. But this is a theory that evokes the line, “But of the tree of the knowledge, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In this theory, knowledge doesn’t just kill you —…

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This mathematician’s life could be an epic action movie!

It’s not often that a person’s life has the three-part structure of a perfect action movie. It’s even less often that that person is a mathematician. That’s why we need to really appreciate it when we see it. Enjoy the kickass action movie that was the life of Tartaglia Act One: The Boy in the…

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Why the Earth is wobbling

The Earth is not the steady round rock we think it is, and it’s not turning the graceful circles we imagine. Every little-bit-more-than-a-year, we make a sort of wobble in space called a nutation. Why? Imagine a top spinning in front of you. At first, when it spins quickly, it’s steady on its tapered base.…

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Read an anthropologist’s paper about the rituals of 1950s Americans

In the 1950s, Horace Miner became annoyed at the tone taken by anthropologists. They seemed to patronize and distance themselves from the culture they claimed to study. He decided to act on that annoyance by writing a paper on the tribe of the Nacirema – the American. I remember a story, perhaps apocryphal, about a…

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The science urban legend that claims blonds will die out

Did you hear the legend that blonds will die out in just a couple hundred years? I did. It turns out that everyone has — because the legend has been around for a couple hundred years. Here’s why blonds have spent centuries on the endangered species list. I was in high school when I first…

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On last night’s Arrow the good was terrible but the bad was amazing

I honestly thought Arrow’s latest episode, “Tremors,” was going to give me an aneurysm. I can’t imagine a more effective way to swing between joy and rage. It was half kitten video, half Fox News, and I could easily spot which half was which. Everything to do with the good guys was terrible, but the…

Television Esther Inglis-Arkell

Red mercury is the coolest substance that never existed

We know that red mercury makes the manufacturing of nuclear bombs much, much easier. We don’t exactly know how it manages to do this, but that’s only because red mercury, as far as we know, doesn’t exist. In the swinging 1970s, the design for nuclear bombs at the time required two explosions. A primary explosion…

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Esther Inglis-Arkell

See liquid oxygen form a boiling bridge between two magnets

Humans go through moult and grow new pelts

​There were once plans for nuclear-powered planes

Eliminating scarcity won’t stop us from being jerks

The easy way to “prove” that zero is one and -1 is infinity

Good news! You can’t get pregnant via gun bullet!

Olga Lepeshinskaya was the most dangerous woman in pseudoscience

The biggest tear-jerker scenes from last night’s Arrow

A monkey, food coloring, and some Nair caused a UFO panic in 1953

An explosion that shows why fluorine is “the tiger of chemistry”

The Drinking Principle is the easiest possible form of social control

What’s behind the IKEA Effect?

Why the Exact Same Lottery Numbers Came Up Twice in One Week

We might be destroying the universe just by looking at it

This mathematician’s life could be an epic action movie!

Why the Earth is wobbling

Read an anthropologist’s paper about the rituals of 1950s Americans

The science urban legend that claims blonds will die out

On last night’s Arrow the good was terrible but the bad was amazing

Red mercury is the coolest substance that never existed

Artemis 2 Crew Become First Humans to Travel Beyond Earth Orbit Since the 1970s

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

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

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

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?

There were once plans for nuclear-powered planes