Lauren Davis, Author at Gizmodo

The Daily Routines Of Famous Creative People, Charted

Ever wonder if you’d be more productive if you could schedule your time properly? Take a look at how folks like Benjamin Franklin, Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Darwin, and Pablo Picasso divided up their days. Podio made this chart based on Mason Curry’s book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, the Daily Routines blog, and other academic…

io9 Lauren Davis

No, Your Family’s Name Was Not Changed At Ellis Island

There is a persistent story in a lot of American families that their last name was changed at Ellis Island, garbled by an agent who simply wrote it down incorrectly. Now, it’s possible that the name really was changed at some point, but it didn’t happen at Ellis Island. Here’s why. Image via NYPL. Philip…

io9 Lauren Davis

Check Out The Frozen Easter Eggs That Snuck Into Big Hero 6

The animators behind Big Hero 6 hid a few Easter eggs from other Disney films in San Fransokyo, including a few from Frozen. See how Olaf the Snowman and Prince Hans found their way into Big Hero 6. These aren’t the only Frozen nods that folks have spotted in the movie. For one thing, as…

Movies Lauren Davis

Ezra’s Jedi Trial On Star Wars Rebels Is More Brutal Than We Expected

The big tease for this week’s episode of Star Wars Rebels was that Frank Oz would be reprising his role as the voice of Yoda. But what was truly interesting was not the return of the old Master, but Ezra’s own “Luke on Dagobah” moment and what it reveals about Ezra — and Kanan. We’re…

Television Lauren Davis

At The End Of The World, A Robot Becomes Best Friends With Death

On a dying world, the cloaked personification of Death and a robot have one thing in common: They’re both extremely bored. But when they finally dare to come out of hiding and meet one another, they change not only each other, but their world. This extremely sweet stop-motion animation was conceived, directed, and animated by…

io9 Lauren Davis

Marvin The Martian Channels Napoleon In This Glorious Royal Portrait

Earth’s diminutive would-be destroyer plots his next move in this perfect imperial portrait. In this picture, he’s already emperor of Mars and he’s ready to change the solar system to his liking. Ricardo Chucky painted Marvin’s “Martian Emperor” portrait, and it is fantastic. We imagine this is how the spaceman truly sees himself. After all,…

io9 Lauren Davis

Adorable Comics Illustrate The Peculiar Problems Animals Have

Animals have a lot of issues in Geoffrey Hewer-Candee’s webcomic series Animal Problems. And while those issues may vary from animal to animal, they’re often very human problems. Hewer-Candee has been posting his Animal Problems series to Tumblr, and he has collected the first 66 entries in a print volume. Prepare for a whole lot…

io9 Lauren Davis

Hidden Portraits In These Illustrations Are Only Revealed With A Mirror

István Orosz makes prints that are beautiful on their own, but when you place a cylindrical mirror on the surface, a hidden image is revealed. Secretly, the illustrations contain anamorphic portraits of famous men. Orosz, who also goes by the pseudonym Utisz, is often compared to MC Escher because of his mathematical works and optical…

io9 Lauren Davis

A Soul-Snatching Job Goes Hilariously Wrong For Unluckiest Grim Reaper

Dji is a Grim Reaper sent on an errand to retrieve the soul of a man dying in the hospital. Should be easy, right? Well, everything that could possibly go wrong does in this slapstick short film. Dji. Death Fails was directed by Dmitri Voloshin at the animation studio Simpals. The studio also just released…

io9 Lauren Davis

Longing For More Korra & Asami? Fan Comics Picture Life After The Show

We loved The Legend of Korra’s season finale, but it left us with a profound desire to see more of Korra and Asami’s adventures. Fortunately, plenty of fan artists have drawn comics and illustrations picturing the pair’s life after the show ends. Top image by Sandra Velazquez. Naturally, after that ending and the creators’ confirmation…

Television Lauren Davis

This Week’s TV: Iron Man’s Dad Is Framed For War Crimes And Yoda’s Back

Oh, television, how we missed you. Not only have many of our favorite shows returned from winter break, the long-awaited Agent Carter premieres, as does the sixth season of Archer. Neil Patrick Harris joins American Horror Story and Firefly’s Morena Baccarin turns up in Gotham’s Arkham Asylum. Tonight Gotham (8 PM, Fox) Morena Baccarin joins…

io9 Lauren Davis

Not Every Griffin Has Lush, Feathered Wings

Artist James Doyle has the perfect name for his flightless griffin creature: Old Chicken Wings. Doyle is a sculptor and digital artist who has more glorious creatures up at his Facebook page. You can also see some progress shots for Old Chicken Wings up at his blog. He physically sculpted the figure in Chavant and…

io9 Lauren Davis

Supercut Proves That Doctor Who‘s Favorite Phrase In 2014 Was “Shut Up”

The Tenth Doctor had “Allons-y!” The Eleventh Doctor had “Geronimo!” And Twelve? The Twelfth Doctor spent a great deal of Series Eight telling people to shut up. And he wasn’t the only character prone to shushing everyone. Blogtor Who put together this supercut of every “Shut up,” “Shush,” “Be quit,” “Hush,” and “Shhh” from Series…

Television Lauren Davis

Tom Hiddleston Goes Gothic In Photos From Del Toro’s Crimson Peak

In Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming gothic ghost story Crimson Peak, Tom Hiddleston plays the mysterious husband of a young author, played by Mia Wasikowska. But as dapper as Hiddleston looks in his 19th-century costume, the real star of these official images is his character’s manor. Torrilla posted these scans from Empire Magazine’s preview of Crimson…

io9 Lauren Davis

Watching A Man Change The Bulb In A 1500-Ft TV Tower Is Nerve-Wracking

Kevin Schmidt changes the blinking lights atop those high TV towers, climbing 1500 feet into the air. And thanks to drone photography, we can enjoy the astounding view without making the queasy climb. PrairieAerial shot Schmidt scaling the now inactive KDLT TV analog broadcast antenna near Salem, SD. The drone even catches him taking a…

io9 Lauren Davis

Famous Paintings Behave Rudely In These Artistic Parodies [NSFW]

Dixie Leota has been drawing parodies of classic paintings whose subjects just won’t cooperate. The Mona Lisa glares. The Scream yawns. And Matisse’s Woman in Blue has been caught picking her nose. You can see more pieces from Leota’s art parody series on Tumblr, including the full view of her annoyed version of Gustav Klimt’s…

io9 Lauren Davis

A Short Webcomic About Grief That Will Leave A Lump In Your Throat

Olive’s favorite thing to do is just hang out with her best friend Charlie, riding bikes and eating at the local Chinese restaurant. But something is off in Olive’s life, something she refuses to wrap her brain around. Rosemary Valero-O’Connell’s If Only Once, If Only For A Little While starts out as a slice of…

Books & Comics Lauren Davis

Jaws Baby Bed Lets You Imagine Your Child Being Eaten By A Shark

I’m not sure whether this bed will instill a lifelong fear of sharks or will inoculate a kid against any sort of shark phobia, but that baby does not look happy. Redditor SutekhRising posted this Jaws-themed baby bed. It would be even better if the baby’s name was Quint. A baby bed inspired by the…

io9 Lauren Davis

Fan-Made Force Awakens Painting Looks Like An Official Movie Poster

Artist Adam Schickling takes inspiration from Drew Struzan‘s classic movie posters for his own take on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, combining trailer footage, concept art, and older versions of characters from the original trilogy. Schickling hand-drew and hand-painted this 30×40″ piece, and while we don’t know if it will ultimately prove an accurate representation…

io9 Lauren Davis

See How Museum Of Natural History Turned Lonesome George Into Taxidermy

The Pinta Island tortoise Lonesome George was the last known member of his subspecies and he has become a symbol of the importance of conservation. This short documentary shows us how the taxidermists at the American Museum of Natural History preserved Lonesome George for future generations. Preserving Lonesome George is a brief look at the…

io9 Lauren Davis

Lauren Davis

The Daily Routines Of Famous Creative People, Charted

No, Your Family’s Name Was Not Changed At Ellis Island

Check Out The Frozen Easter Eggs That Snuck Into Big Hero 6

Ezra’s Jedi Trial On Star Wars Rebels Is More Brutal Than We Expected

At The End Of The World, A Robot Becomes Best Friends With Death

Marvin The Martian Channels Napoleon In This Glorious Royal Portrait

Adorable Comics Illustrate The Peculiar Problems Animals Have

Hidden Portraits In These Illustrations Are Only Revealed With A Mirror

A Soul-Snatching Job Goes Hilariously Wrong For Unluckiest Grim Reaper

Longing For More Korra & Asami? Fan Comics Picture Life After The Show

This Week’s TV: Iron Man’s Dad Is Framed For War Crimes And Yoda’s Back

Not Every Griffin Has Lush, Feathered Wings

Supercut Proves That Doctor Who‘s Favorite Phrase In 2014 Was “Shut Up”

Tom Hiddleston Goes Gothic In Photos From Del Toro’s Crimson Peak

Watching A Man Change The Bulb In A 1500-Ft TV Tower Is Nerve-Wracking

Famous Paintings Behave Rudely In These Artistic Parodies [NSFW]

A Short Webcomic About Grief That Will Leave A Lump In Your Throat

Jaws Baby Bed Lets You Imagine Your Child Being Eaten By A Shark

Fan-Made Force Awakens Painting Looks Like An Official Movie Poster

See How Museum Of Natural History Turned Lonesome George Into Taxidermy

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

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?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets