Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

This Is the Photo of the Summer

It’s been a rough summer so far. Shootings of civilians by police have caused Americans to ask how much more we can take. And a sniper’s massacre of police officers in Dallas has put law enforcement on edge. But there have also been a few moments of levity, like when people recently discovered going outside…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 10

Armed Robbers Use Pokémon Go To Find 9 Victims

The new augmented reality game Pokemon Go has gotten people off the couch and into the real world. But police in O’Fallon, Missouri say that four men have used the game to find players at a specific location, and robbed them using a handgun. About eight or nine people have been robbed by four men…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 10

Sore Legs Become Pandemic As Pokémon Go Players Accidentally Get Exercise

Pokemon Go is the hottest game to hit the market in forever. People are currently trying to catch their Pikachus and Fitzybutts (honestly, I don’t know what they’re called) but they’re paying the price. And by paying the price, I mean they’re accidentally getting some exercise. Just look at these poor souls complaining about their…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 9

Free Screening in LA: The Back to the Future Documentary About the DeLorean

If you’re in Los Angeles and looking for something to do this weekend, I suggest heading down to the Petersen Automotive Museum. They’ve got a free screening of the documentary Outatime. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s the documentary about the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future trilogy. The movie chronicles…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 8

The Man Who Invented Miller Lite Was Suspected of Being a Communist

Light beer is as American as apple pie, and Miller Lite is one of America’s favorite light beers. But what if I told you that the marketing man behind the creation of the Miller Lite brand was investigated by the FBI for being a communist? That’s the startling revelation that has come to light based…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 7

FBI Releases File on Willis Carto, Neo-Nazi Recently Buried at Arlington

In February, Willis Carto was buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside men and women who fought against Nazis. But perversely, Carto wished that the Nazis had won. He made his name as one of the 20th century’s most vile racists, and the FBI has now released most of Carto’s file in response to a Freedom…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 7

This Ingenious Car From 1923 Turned Into a Boat

It seems like every futurist and her sister wanted to turn cars into boats back in the 20th century. Remember the Water-Mobile of 1947? Or how about the poor man’s yacht of 1958? Well, this Jazz Age invention had them all beat. The October 1923 issue of Practical Electrics magazine included this peek at the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 6

This Adorable Bunny Is Fake

Have you seen this absolutely adorable bunny on Pinterest or Twitter or Facebook recently? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s completely fake. It’s a 100 percent bunny forgery. The bunny appears to have been made by a Chinese crafter on Weibo called Soft Mochi. The Weibo user has plenty of other adorable…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 5

The Complete List of Movies and TV Shows On Board the International Space Station

Astronauts on the International Space Station need to relax, just like the rest of us. So it’s no surprise that there are movies and TV shows on board for them to watch. I’ve obtained the complete list through a Freedom of Information request, which is published below. The movies are a great mix of old…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 5

WWII Ad Promised That TV Was Just Around the Corner

I came across this fantastically modern ad in the April 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine and just had to share it with you as we all slowly slide into the Fourth of July weekend. The ad was for Detrola, a company based in Detroit, Michigan that made some absolutely gorgeous radio sets in the 1930s…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 1

Syfy’s Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule (With Links for Cordcutters)

It’s that time of year again. Syfy’s Independence Day Twilight Zone marathon is upon us. But if you got spoiled by Syfy’s epic marathon of all 156 episodes over New Year’s, I’ve got some bad news for you: They’re only airing 57 episodes this weekend. We’ve still got the entire schedule below. There are plenty…

io9 Matt Novak Jul 1

Doubts About the Airplane in 1909: ‘Emotion Has Run Away With Reason’

When prominent pilots were dying in the 1900s some people started to wonder if aviation really had a future. French daredevil Leon Delagrange died in early January of 1910, leading magazines like the Literary Digest to have doubts about whether air travel could become a serious means of transportation. “The death of Leon Delagrange, crusht…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 30

Alvin Toffler, Legendary Author of Future Shock, Dies at 87

Alvin Toffler, arguably the most influential futurist of the 20th century, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old. Toffler was the author of the 1970 book Future Shock, which was heralded for articulating the anxieties that so many people felt about the future. Future shock, according to Toffler,…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

Wait, Why Isn’t She Looking at the Dude?

In the photo above we see a videophone (or picturephone as they were sometimes called at midcentury) being demonstrated at the International Radio Exhibition in Stuttgart, West Germany in 1965. The weird part? The woman in the photo is apparently not even bothering to look at the person she’s speaking with. But we get it.…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

Century-Old Time Capsule Opened, Includes 10-Cent Bill

A time capsule sealed by a bank in 1916 was opened in Saratoga Springs, New York this week. And it has many of the things you’d expect—like some photos of the town, a letter from the president of the bank in 1916, and some old coins. But one artifact stuck out as peculiar to the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 29

Ikea Recalls 29 Million Dressers After Third Child Dies

Rumors broke yesterday that Ikea was going to recall millions of dressers today. And they were right. But it’s not just the Malm, as we originally heard. Ikea is recalling 29 million dressers of all varieties in partnership with the US Product Safety Commission after the death of a 22-month-old child who was crushed by…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28

No, Cormac McCarthy Didn’t Die of a Stroke

Cormac McCarthy, author of such utopian sci-fi novels as The Road, didn’t die today at 82 from a stroke. But that didn’t stop the death hoax rumors from getting tweeted out by respected news outlets like USA Today. The rumors started with a tweet by Italian journalist Tommasso Debenedetti, a man Business Insider has described…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 28

Ikea Is Discontinuing Some Malm Dressers, Recalling 27 Million Units

Tomorrow Ikea will reportedly announce a recall of over 27 million Malm dressers. And shockingly, the Swedish furniture company is doing away with the piece of furniture altogether. Many versions of the Malm dresser were officially removed from the Ikea website today. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, three American children have died since 2014 from…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27

Electrocuting People Was Basically America’s Favorite Pastime in the 1920s

Forget baseball. America’s favorite pastime in the 1920s was electrocuting people. I’m not even joking. One thing you learn from reading old science and tech magazines of the 1920s is that tech nerds were sadistic weirdoes. There are countless stories from the pages of magazines like Science and Invention and Practical Electrics where average people…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 27

This 1938 Magazine Cover Showed Britain a Shinier, Happier Future

The late 1930s were dark times for Britain. War was on the horizon, and things were about to get very, very tough. But some periodicals tried keeping things light with utopian visions of tomorrow. Like this March 5, 1938 cover of Modern Wonder which featured the streamlined transportation of the future. The magazine reads: Our…

Tech News Matt Novak Jun 24

Matt Novak

This Is the Photo of the Summer

Armed Robbers Use Pokémon Go To Find 9 Victims

Sore Legs Become Pandemic As Pokémon Go Players Accidentally Get Exercise

Free Screening in LA: The Back to the Future Documentary About the DeLorean

The Man Who Invented Miller Lite Was Suspected of Being a Communist

FBI Releases File on Willis Carto, Neo-Nazi Recently Buried at Arlington

This Ingenious Car From 1923 Turned Into a Boat

This Adorable Bunny Is Fake

The Complete List of Movies and TV Shows On Board the International Space Station

WWII Ad Promised That TV Was Just Around the Corner

Syfy’s Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule (With Links for Cordcutters)

Doubts About the Airplane in 1909: ‘Emotion Has Run Away With Reason’

Alvin Toffler, Legendary Author of Future Shock, Dies at 87

Wait, Why Isn’t She Looking at the Dude?

Century-Old Time Capsule Opened, Includes 10-Cent Bill

Ikea Recalls 29 Million Dressers After Third Child Dies

No, Cormac McCarthy Didn’t Die of a Stroke

Ikea Is Discontinuing Some Malm Dressers, Recalling 27 Million Units

Electrocuting People Was Basically America’s Favorite Pastime in the 1920s

This 1938 Magazine Cover Showed Britain a Shinier, Happier Future

The First ‘Clayface’ Footage Was Wonderfully Disgusting

Scientists Found Literal Ink From Ballpoint Pens in Martian Meteorites

The ‘Galaxy’s Edge’ Han Solo Proves You Really Can’t Replace Harrison Ford

BYD Is Rolling Out 5-Minute Charging on Several Popular EVs

Jury Does What Trump’s DOJ Wouldn’t, Deems Ticketmaster a Monopoly

Govee RGBIC TV Smart Light Bars Go on Clearance, Bringing Each Down to Under $25 on Amazon

EU Is Rolling Out an Online Age Verification App That Could Become the Global Blueprint

16 Underrated Anime That Deserve Your Love

The West Finally Got Some Snow, but It’s Too Little, Too Late

Elon Musk Scores a Victory Against Free Speech

Alienware’s $350 QD-OLED Gaming Monitor Nixes Everything for a Pretty Screen

Sony Inzone H6 Air Review: A Perfect Case for Open-Back Gaming Headsets

Anker’s EufyMake E1 Finally Brings Printers Out of the Dark Ages

The Soundboks Mix Is Going to Make You the Most Popular Guy at the Park

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

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

The Best Gadgets of March 2026