Avery Ellis, Author at Gizmodo

Russian Special Forces Rations Include Brain Pâté, Among Other Things

Steve1989—who we previously watched eat a piece of actual civil war history—has a penchant for consuming rare and obscure military rations. Today he decided to scarf down several meals intended for the Spetsnaz (Russian special forces) for when those troops are traveling through mountains. It’s hearty. It’s weird. And there’s lots of it. Mountaineering is…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jul 7

Don’t Freak Out Over This Supercut of Horror Movie Jump Scares

Jump scares are a staple—and one of the most divisive elements—of modern horror movies. Some people are too susceptible to them, while others find them gimmicky. To people in the former camp: does the above gif scare you in any way? The answer is almost certainly no. Despite the “jump” in “jump scare,” what I…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jul 7

Watch the Exact, Terrifying Moment a Hang Glider Loses Control

Last Tuesday, Voss, Norway-native Jon Gjerde decided to strap himself to a gigantic kite and go zipping through the air like some sort of very ugly bird. The 51-year-old is no stranger to hang gliding. He is, in fact, a world champion in the sport. But after this particular outing he’s lucky to be alive.…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jul 6

What Are the Guts of a Dartboard Made of?

In the above gif you can see that the face material of a dartboard looks a whole lot like horsehair. And plenty of people will insist that high-quality dartboards are made with horse or camel hair, but it simply isn’t true. What’s really in a dartboard is called sisal, and it’s more closely related to…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jul 6

Does Playing Loud Music Kill Your Battery Faster?

Of all the things your smartphone can do, playing music is one of the least demanding. Listening to a song puts very little strain on the CPU, doesn’t require GPS, and often doesn’t require wi-fi (so long as the music files are stored on your phone). Simple physics says that listening to louder music should…

Tech News Avery Ellis Jul 1

Video Perfectly Skewers the Assholery of OK Go

No one is impressed by your dumb choreographed videos, OK Go. It’s old. It’s masturbatory. You’re hurting yourselves and the people closest to you, and you need to stop. AJJ’s new video for “Goodbye, Oh Goodbye” reads like a parody of all the hallmarks of mad-vi internet band OK Go: There’s synchronized dancing (walking in…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 29

VLC Is Finally Available for Windows 10

What’s not not to love about VLC Media Player? It’s free, lightweight, intuitive, and plays damn never every file format under the sun. Now, a long-awaited beta is finally available for Windows 10 users. It’s okay to nerd out a little bit. Besides being its usual wonderful self, this new release works with Cortana voice…

Tech News Avery Ellis Jun 29

Speedrunner Reprograms a Super Mario Game to Beat Itself

Speedrunners have long been exploiting 8-bit games by “reprogramming” them. Pixel-perfect inputs can be used to trigger memory events, usually for the purpose of beating games in fractions of the time it would ordinarily take. A similar exploit exists in the classic Mario Game Boy game 6 Golden Coins, but it exists in a physical,…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 29

Watch a Man Eat Food From the Civil War

Food is one of the pieces of common ground that people of all cultures share. Food is the one language we’re all forced to speak. And then there’s Steve1989 MREinfo. He just likes to eat really old military rations. It’s kind of his thing. Steve has eaten the old-as-hell food of armies from countless wars,…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 28

This E-Cig is a Terrible Vape, But a Solid Cigarette Replacement

The ploy of the rechargeable, Blu PLUS+ vape is obvious: It looks like a cigarette and the charging case resembles a pack. “It’s just like real smoking!” it seems to beg of your disbelief. It isn’t. But that should be obvious. And it’s far from the biggest problem with the Blu PLUS+. Despite sharing roughly…

Reviews Avery Ellis Jun 28

What Dark Magic Makes This Weird Yo-Yo Work?

Yo-yo tricks are already a miracle of physics. But Ben Conde specializes in a type of yo-yo with an unattached string, and does things that defy all logic. But there’s one sneaky feature that makes these contraptions work. Hidden between the halves of his yo-yo are tiny silicone friction pads. These—combined with high rotational speed—grab…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 28

Idiots Climb the Eiffel Tower for Shits and Giggles

The Eiffel Tower is the most famous and one of the most heavily-guarded structures in Paris. For a fee you can hang out inside of it, but its upper reaches are not legally accessible to the public. So three Russian daredevils decided to scale it anyway, without safety equipment, while being filmed by a drone.…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 28

Tony Hawk (Old) Can Still Pull Off His Famous 900

Seventeen years ago, extreme sports ambassador and titular Pro Skater Tony Hawk pulled off the 900 revolution at the 1999 X-Games. The trick involves rotating the board two and a half times while midair (and in normal gravity), and Hawk struggled with it back in his spry days. Now 48, he gives it the old…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 28

Welcome to Australia, Where Even Money Can Kill You

Australia has an earned reputation for being dangerous and inhospitable. It’s home to dickhead lizards that look like Jurassic Park dinosaurs, jellyfish that swallow regular fish whole, gangs of murderous sharks, herpes-infested carp, and snakes that are so sick of living there that they try to suffocate themselves in their own skin. Now even Australian…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 27

Terrifying Helmet Doubles as Flamethrower

Two fundamental rules in most science labs are 1) always have protective eyewear on and 2) don’t stick your face next to stuff that’s on fire. For these reasons, Sufficiently Advanced’s flamethrower welding helmet presents a conundrum. Modeled after Cyclops from the X-Men, this deeply unsafe contraption shoots two lines of fire out of your…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 26

It’s Your Fault For Ordering a Cocktail That’s Both Frozen and On Fire

Ha! I trapped the drink you ordered in a weird ice sphere. Bet you weren’t expecting that. Don’t even try melting it with your tongue or some shit, because I also lit the glass on fire. You’re going to wait for this lackluster drink to become consumable (not counting the 2.5 hours you waited for…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 24

These Coffee-Infused Cocktails Are the Hair of the Dog You’ve Been Looking For

Standard remedies for a hangover are generally limited to greasy food, a strong cup of coffee, or more booze. Order those mozzarella sticks from bed, because we’ve got the other two covered. You can thank us later. Welcome to Gizmodo’s Happy Hour. Substance abuse for nerds. At first blush, coffee cocktails might seem like a…

Tech News Avery Ellis Jun 24

Make These Salt-Cured Egg Yolks and Impress the Pants Off Your Foodie Friends

Salt preserves food, and we’ve using it in that capacity for thousands of years. But here’s a neat tip: meat and fish aren’t the only things you can keep from going rancid with salt curing. It also works with egg yolks. Your friends (the ones with reservations at Stone Barns anyway) are going to think…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 23

“Seven Nation Army” Is Vastly Improved by Mayo Farts

Jack White is divisive musician. Mayo is a divisive condiment. For some people it’s the only thing that ties a sandwich together, while for others it’s a boring, expensive quest to achieve some dated form of rock-and-roll authenticity that totally overshadows its musical talent. …Yup! What I’m trying to say is that they’re a tangy…

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 23

Who’s Hungry For Some Roach Cake?

NOPE (But it’s just chocolate cake) NOPE (There’s even Boston cream filling!) NOPE (Just a tiny little bite? Pretty please? It took Katherine Dey a long time to make…) NOPE NOPE NOPE [Laughing Squid] SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Sploid Avery Ellis Jun 23

Avery Ellis

Russian Special Forces Rations Include Brain Pâté, Among Other Things

Don’t Freak Out Over This Supercut of Horror Movie Jump Scares

Watch the Exact, Terrifying Moment a Hang Glider Loses Control

What Are the Guts of a Dartboard Made of?

Does Playing Loud Music Kill Your Battery Faster?

Video Perfectly Skewers the Assholery of OK Go

VLC Is Finally Available for Windows 10

Speedrunner Reprograms a Super Mario Game to Beat Itself

Watch a Man Eat Food From the Civil War

This E-Cig is a Terrible Vape, But a Solid Cigarette Replacement

What Dark Magic Makes This Weird Yo-Yo Work?

Idiots Climb the Eiffel Tower for Shits and Giggles

Tony Hawk (Old) Can Still Pull Off His Famous 900

Welcome to Australia, Where Even Money Can Kill You

Terrifying Helmet Doubles as Flamethrower

It’s Your Fault For Ordering a Cocktail That’s Both Frozen and On Fire

These Coffee-Infused Cocktails Are the Hair of the Dog You’ve Been Looking For

Make These Salt-Cured Egg Yolks and Impress the Pants Off Your Foodie Friends

“Seven Nation Army” Is Vastly Improved by Mayo Farts

Who’s Hungry For Some Roach Cake?

Two Songs We Really Wish Were the Anime Outros for ‘Steel Ball Run’

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

Artemis 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Researchers Discover How to Add Psilocybin, DMT, and Other Psychedelics to Tobacco

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

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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