Matt Novak

Century-Old Time Capsule Mystery Finally Solved

Last year, a church congregation in Grand Ledge, Michigan cracked open a time capsule from 1912 filled with all the usual suspects: photos, newspapers, and newsletters. Basically, it had all the boring stuff you’d expect a church to put in their time capsule in 1912. But there was one single mystery item: a neat little…

“Space age outfits in silver vinyl by Pierre Cardin, on display at Fashion Week in Paris, 26th January 1968.” [Getty Images] Not quite as cool as the 1939 version, in this humble bloggist’s opinion.

Inside the Color Factory: My Chat With a Photo Colorizer

Dana Keller is a colorizer. He takes old black-and-white photos and applies his digital paintbrush, transforming them into a new work of art. Colorization of old photos isn’t new, but it’s becoming increasingly popular on forums like Reddit’s r/ColorizedHistory, where people share their colorized creations. But how do these new works affect our understanding of…

Argon the robot got some attention from Jacqueline Tirman, an attendee of a national computer conference, at the New York Coliseum on June 4, 1979. Ms. Tirman is holding a hairbrush above Argon’s head. The robot greeted people and “has a computer, moves on an internal tracking system, and turns his head 360 degrees,” according…

Are Colorized Photos Rewriting History?

There’s been an explosion in the number of colorized photos lately. People find old black-and-white photos online, and meticulously add color to give us a new perspective on history. But recently one colorized image caught my eye after it was tweeted by the notoriously inaccurate HistoryInPics. It’s a stunningly colorful view of the Golden Gate…

This Love Machine Was the OKCupid of 1955

Twentieth century science was particularly obsessed with finding new ways to approach love — or in some cases, lust. During the 1920s, technology magazines insisted that you’d be able to find the perfect partner through a series of highly scientific tests. By the 1950s, mechanical computers and love-automats were the future of finding Mr. or…

This Was The Nursery of The Future in 1930

1930: A woman sitting in a proposed child’s nursery of the future, at the Ideal Home Exhibition in Olympia, London on March 24th. If you’re in New York, be sure to check out the ideal futuristic home of today at Gizmodo’s Home of the Future — May 17-21 at 268 Mulberry Street, near Houston Street…

Time Warner Cable’s Phone Bot Is a Flat Circle

My Time Warner internet went down at home today. This isn’t unusual, because it goes down all the time. But it’s a problem, given that I work at home. And it’s starting to feel personal because my neighbor, Lifehacker Whitson Gordon, has the same shitty internet provider, but his service rarely goes out. I called…

NASA Asked Kids to Draw Our Future And They Drew WALL-E

NASA recently asked kids to draw what the future looks like to them. This being a question from NASA, many of the drawings are, of course, focused on space travel. But beyond the question of space travel, they also provide a look at the hopes and fears of American kids. The NASA LaRC contest was…

Is This Aerofex Hoverbike Going on Sale in 2017? Probably Not.

If we’ve learned anything from the history of 20th century vaporware, this gorgeous hoverbike from Aerofex probably won’t be hitting showroom floors by 2017. Companies that announce release dates of two or three years away generally like to keep pushing it further into the future while they’re raising money. Just look at flying cars and…

Politician Proposes Hoverboard Lanes For DC By 2015

If the recent White House Correspondents Dinner has shown us anything, it’s that politicians are the true masters of comedy in American society. Case in point: a recent joke proposal by a D.C. politician to install “hoverboard lanes” in the nation’s capital. You know… like bike lanes. Only they’re for hoverboards. Because hoverboards are going…

“I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown, but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me.” — Star Trek legend William Shatner in 2006 when offered the future opportunity to ride Virgin Galactic Image: William Shatner in 2006 via…

15 Years of Virgin Galactic’s Failed Space Age Promises

Back in 2012, I saw a sign outside of a travel agency in Western Australia that filled my cold, black heart with glee. It was an ad for Virgin Galactic, with the implied promise that if I stepped inside that door, I could buy a flight to space from an “accredited space agent.” I knew…

The 1940s Plan to Replace Jockeys with Robots

This year’s Kentucky Derby was certainly exciting for its mint-julep-soaked spectators. But our future-minded ancestors might have considered it a bit old fashioned. Why? None of the jockeys were robots. The March 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine imagined a future where human jockeys would all be replaced by radio-operated robots. The jockey-bots would be outfitted…

The Futuristic Superhighways of 1964 Had Glow-in-the-Dark Roads

Glow-in-the-dark roads are finally a reality; at least in the Netherlands. But we’ve been waiting on this particular vision of the future for quite a while now — for over 50 years, in fact. https://gizmodo.com/glow-in-the-dark-roads-finally-exist-outside-of-hot-whe-1562937639 RCA ran this stunning illustration in a 1964 print ad touting its transistors. Companies have always loved positioning themselves alongside…

The UN Will Debate the Ethics of Killer Robots This Week

This week the United Nations will debate the role of so-called “killer robots” on the battlefield — so called, because robots are currently killing humans on the battlefield, and the next steps in their robo-evolution will have serious consequences for the future of war. The meeting is taking place as part of the UN Convention…

The Solar-Powered Fridge of 1937 Made Sunbeams Into Ice Cubes In 2 Hours

We often think of solar-powered devices as pretty new. But we’ve been harnessing the sun since long before the first practical solar cell was introduced back in 1954. For instance, in these solar-powered contraptions from a 1937 Popular Science film — including the amazing fridge that turned sunbeams into ice cubes in just two hours!…

Above, Jimmy Carter holds a June 21, 1979 press conference in front of the White House’s then-new solar panels. Ronald Reagan quietly tore them down in 1986 during renovations. But thanks to the Obama administration, the White House now has solar panels on its roof again. We’ll see how long they last this time. Photos:…

President Obama Pitched Solar Power At a Silicon Valley Walmart Today

Today President Obama continued his tour of California with a stop in a somewhat unlikely place: Walmart. The company has pledged to double the number of solar projects at its stores and distribution centers by 2020, and the president used the Walmart in Mountain View, California as a backdrop to discuss the importance of solar…

Is The Flying Car Finally Here?

It’s that time of year again! Every six months or so, the media rave about the latest advancements in flying car technology. They insist your flying car is ALMOST HERE! No, no it’s not. We’ve been waiting on flying cars since at least the 1920s. And countless companies of the 20th century tried to make…