Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

What Queen Elizabeth II’s Speech Would Have Been If WWIII Had Happened

The early 1980s was a time of serious dread for many people worried that the U.S. and the Soviet Union might start World War III. And it’s easy to understand why. One wrong move by either nuke-equipped country, and it was the end of civilization as we knew it. In fact, that’s nearly what happened…

Tech News Matt Novak Aug 1 '13

The 100-Year-Old Charlie Chaplin Mashups That Are Lost Forever

Mashups, intellectual property laws, bootlegs, copyright. While those are all valid concerns today, they’re hardly anything new. Just ask Charlie Chaplin. Peter Decherney’s 2012 book Hollywood’s Copyright Wars: From Edison to the Internet is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in the history of intellectual property. Decherney covers everything from the rampant duping that early…

Tech News Matt Novak Aug 1 '13

From Shock Chairs to Smell-O-Vision: The Movie Gimmicks of Yesteryear

Have you ever been to a movie so shocking that the theater management offered you a life insurance policy just in case you died of fright? Filmmaker William Castle devised a scheme that did just that for the release of his 1958 suspense/horror film Macabre. Thankfully, they never had to pay out. Hunter Oatman-Stanford over…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 31 '13

New York’s Underground Moving Sidewalk That Never Was

At the turn of the 20th century, the moving sidewalk was the future of urban transportation. As much as airplanes soaring in the sky and automobiles rumbling on the streets, the moving sidewalk represented a bold new vision for tomorrow. This idea of rolling pavement appealed to people in major cities who didn’t yet see…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 31 '13

The Internet’s Save-the-Date: A Tiny Item in a UCLA Student Newspaper

There are surprisingly few documents from 1969 that mark the birth of the internet. We have some notes scribbled on a pad of paper, and a few newspaper articles after the fact. But there weren’t any reporters parked outside of 3420 Boelter Hall at UCLA on October 29, 1969 to witness that historic moment when…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 30 '13

Why There’s No 1960s Jetsons Art in Tomorrow’s Big Animation Auction

On Wednesday there’s an enormous animation art auction in L.A. that includes some gorgeous pop culture history. It will include original animation cels from Fleischer Studios, concept art from Disney legend Mary Blair, and an original production drawing from Winsor McCay’s classic 1914 film Gertie the Dinosaur. There’s even some 1970s and 1980s Jetsons art…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 30 '13

Air Travel Today is a Damn Bargain

It might not feel like it, but air travel’s a steal compared to what it was a half century ago. Since the American airline industry was deregulated in 1978, ticket prices have fallen by about 40%. Of course, air travel isn’t quite as luxurious as some postwar dreamers imagined, but you can’t beat that price.…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 29 '13

16 Names NASA Considered For The 1980s Space Station That Never Was

During his 1984 State of the Union speech, President Reagan announced that the U.S. would build a new permanently manned space station within a decade. The Space Shuttle program was underway, and a permanent space station seemed like the next logical step in our bold push into the final frontier. It didn’t hurt that the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 29 '13

This Week in Time Capsules: Burned Bibles, Bubbly Beer and Braggarts

This week’s time capsule round-up includes an arson investigation that turned up a Jazz Age time capsule, a beer keg filled with kids’ predictions for the future, and a town of retirees that must be worried paperweights could become extinct. The one thing that I was expecting to find this week but didn’t? A royal…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 26 '13

Marilyn Monroe Assembled Drones During World War II

It seems every six months or so these photos of Marilyn Monroe from World War II make the rounds on the good ol’ internet machine. At the time they were captured in 1944 she hadn’t yet taken the name Marilyn Monroe, nor had she dyed her curly locks blonde. She was simply known as Norma…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 26 '13

Will Shakespeare Be Popular in the Future?

When was the last time you read Shakespeare for pleasure? I’m sure a few of you can truthfully answer that it was last night or maybe just last week. But I’d dare wager that for most American adults (myself included) it was some high school English class. William Shakespeare’s popularity has endured over four centuries.…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 25 '13

Can You Find All The Scientific Mistakes In This Picture?

The September 1928 issue of Science and Invention magazine included an illustrated cover that dared readers to find all of the scientific errors they had planted. Forty-eight scientific errors, in all. And $500 in prizes to the winners who submitted the correct answers. “What’s Wrong With This Picture?” games were incredibly popular in magazines of…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 25 '13

This 1930s Family Is High On Laughing Gas Pie

Humans love to get high. So much so that people were recreationally using nitrous oxide (commonly called “laughing gas”) for nearly a century before it was used as an anaesthetic. So when chemists in the 1930s started proposing the use of nitrous oxide in consumer products like whipped cream canisters, some people naturally assumed that…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 24 '13

The NSA Hated Civilian Encrypted Data Way Back in the 1970s

In the 1970s, civilian researchers at places like IBM, Stanford and MIT were developing encryption to ensure that digital data sent between businesses, academics and private citizens couldn’t be intercepted and understood by a third party. This concerned folks in the U.S. intelligence community who didn’t want to get locked out of potentially eavesdropping on…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 24 '13

Sci-Fi Legend Arthur C. Clarke’s 1986 Predictions for Future Baseball

In 1986, legendary science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke wrote a book that explored what the world might look like in the year 2019. Titled July 20, 2019: Life in the 21st Century, the book has predictions about everything from transportation to sex. But it’s his predictions about sports of the future that may raise…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 23 '13

Internet Pioneers Discuss the Future of Money, Books, and Paper in 1972

Imagine a world where nearly every book ever published could be delivered to you electronically in the blink of an eye. Imagine a world where all of your banking is done without having to visit a bank teller. Imagine a world where paper doesn’t need to be shuttled around to exchange ideas. I know, I…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 23 '13

UCLA’s 1948 Mechanical Computer Was Simply Gorgeous To Watch in Action

The mechanical computers of yesterday may have been enormous, difficult to program, and amazingly clunky—but they sure were beautiful to watch in action. Released theatrically by Popular Science on August 6, 1948, this short film played before Paramount Pictures movies and demonstrated to the public how computers were freeing “research of old limitations” and provided…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 22 '13

The Invention of Jaywalking Was a Massive Shaming Campaign

Before the invention of the car, jaywalking wasn’t a recognized concept. Want to get across the street? Then just walk across the street—nobody’s going to stop you. But the rise of the automobile posed a new problem for people of the early 20th century. While the median state-designated speed limit for American cities was just…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 22 '13

This Week in Time Capsules: Badges, Caskets and Betting on the Ponies

This week, a race track in New York put a time capsule on tour, a town in Michigan used a casket for their time capsule, and Boy Scout badges will spend the next 300 years underground. New York Race Track Sends Time Capsule on State Tour Before Burial To honor the 150th anniversary of the…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 19 '13

Why the Biggest Obstacle for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Might Be Tunnels

It all sounds so Jetsonian. A new 600 mph “Hyperloop” method of transportation connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco? That’s the buzz around the internet water cooler as people guess what Elon Musk has in store for the transportation of tomorrow. I say, sign me up! But if we take any lessons from past visions…

Tech News Matt Novak Jul 19 '13

Matt Novak

What Queen Elizabeth II’s Speech Would Have Been If WWIII Had Happened

The 100-Year-Old Charlie Chaplin Mashups That Are Lost Forever

From Shock Chairs to Smell-O-Vision: The Movie Gimmicks of Yesteryear

New York’s Underground Moving Sidewalk That Never Was

The Internet’s Save-the-Date: A Tiny Item in a UCLA Student Newspaper

Why There’s No 1960s Jetsons Art in Tomorrow’s Big Animation Auction

Air Travel Today is a Damn Bargain

16 Names NASA Considered For The 1980s Space Station That Never Was

This Week in Time Capsules: Burned Bibles, Bubbly Beer and Braggarts

Marilyn Monroe Assembled Drones During World War II

Will Shakespeare Be Popular in the Future?

Can You Find All The Scientific Mistakes In This Picture?

This 1930s Family Is High On Laughing Gas Pie

The NSA Hated Civilian Encrypted Data Way Back in the 1970s

Sci-Fi Legend Arthur C. Clarke’s 1986 Predictions for Future Baseball

Internet Pioneers Discuss the Future of Money, Books, and Paper in 1972

UCLA’s 1948 Mechanical Computer Was Simply Gorgeous To Watch in Action

The Invention of Jaywalking Was a Massive Shaming Campaign

This Week in Time Capsules: Badges, Caskets and Betting on the Ponies

Why the Biggest Obstacle for Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Might Be Tunnels

Trump Wanted to Force Postal Workers to Conduct Identity Checks on Mail-in Voters

Nothing’s New Wireless Headphones Take the ‘Pro’ Label Literally

Trump’s Transportation Dept. Rolls Back Fuel Efficiency Standards Despite Surging Gas Prices

OpenAI Cancels Release of GPT-6.1 Astra Because It ‘Regressed’ on Safety

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ May Be Re-Released With New Footage

Anthropic Releases Its Second New AI Model in Less Than a Week

Not Even $10,000 Could Convince These Locals To Stop Protesting a Data Center Project

Federal Judge Blocks Utah’s VPN Crackdown

Meta Goes All-In On AI for Businesses Before Muse Goes Horribly Wrong

Matt Groening Says ‘Futurama’ Has ‘Lots More Stories to Tell’

Mova LiDAX Pro 800 Review: This Robomower Tried to Mow Me Down

iRobot Roomba Max 775 Review: A Respectable Roomba Redux

Sonos Ace Ultra Review: Headphones That Only Hardcore Sonos Fans Could Love

M6 Mac mini Review: A Better Tiny Desktop, With or Without AI

Aqara Multi-Sensor FP400 Review: Not Quite the mmWave of the Future

Alienware’s AW3926QW Ultrawide Gaming Monitor Review: Size Really Does Matter

iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max Review: Apple Is Just Flexing Hard Now

AirPods 5 Review: A Ridiculously Great Value for ANC Wireless Earbuds

Steam Frame Review: Valve Shows Us VR Was Always Meant to Be a Toy

Maingear Zero (2026) Review: PC Gaming Bliss With a Price Tag to Make You Cry