Robbie Gonzalez

Watch 60 of Cinema’s Greatest Duels in One Epic Sword-Fight Supercut

Everyone loves a good sword fight. This movie montage by film lover and video editor Clara Darko combines sixty of her favorite duels in cinema into one ridiculously fun, eminently watchable supercut. https://gizmodo.com/10-of-the-most-awesome-sword-fight-scenes-ever-5895092 https://gizmodo.com/something-weird-happens-when-three-master-fencers-battl-1570551641 I’ve watched this four times today, and it’s given me chills – and a big, goofy grin – every time. The…

What Ants Can Teach Us About Avoiding Traffic Jams

A physicist at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology has developed a model that could explain how ants handle traffic congestion better than humans. Above: Ants march across a fallen tree in Tanjung Puting National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia | Photo by Daniel Murdiyarso for Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) | CC…

The ‘Star Wars Tipping Point’ Is At Hand

Are you feeling old this morning? Here, allow xkcd to make you feel old. The passage of time. So predictable. Slow, sneaky, unrelenting, and indifferent, yes. But predictable. [xkcd]

Hero Teacher, Banned From Demoing Condom-Use, Demos ‘Sock-Use’ Instead

Mississippi boasts some of the highest rates of teen childbirth and young-adult HIV in the United States. It also prohibits “any demonstration of how condoms or other contraceptives are applied.” What’s a responsible sex educator to do? Why, demonstrate how to properly apply a sock, of course! As laudable as this teacher’s workaround is, we…

Diederik Stapel Recounts How He Became One Of Science’s Biggest Frauds

In 2011, prominent social psychologist Diederik Stapel admitted to fabricating dozens of scientific studies. One year later, Stapel published Ontsporing (“Derailment”), a book about his rise and fall in the field of social psychology. Originally released in Dutch, Ontsporting has now been translated into English. https://gizmodo.com/psychologist-admits-to-faking-dozens-of-scientific-stud-5855733 Thanks to the efforts of Nick Brown, Stapel’s book…

The Ultimate Low Earth Orbit Workspace

Check out the office digs aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA Via NASA: This image of the interior view from the International Space Station’s Cupola module was taken on Jan. 4, 2015. The large bay windows allows the Expedition 42 crew to see outside. The Cupola houses one of the space station’s two…

Human ancestors may have been using tools tools as early as three-million years ago – that’s a half-million years earlier than previously believed. The announcement is based on an analysis of hand bones belonging to Australopithecus africanus published in Thursday’s issue ofScience.

Doomsday Clock Now Three Minutes To Midnight

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has moved the big hand of its “Doomsday Clock” to three minutes to midnight, i.e. the end of the world, citing the apocalyptic threat of global warming and nuclear proliferation. Photo Credit: Cliff Owen / AP “In 2015, unchecked climate change, global nuclear weapons modernizations, and outsized nuclear weapons…

An Unexpected Discovery On The Surface Of Rosetta’s Comet

Scientists have presented their initial observations of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in seven articles published Thursday in the journal Science. Among the more surprising finds: images of ripples and dunes on the comet’s surface, unexpected given that the comet lacks an atmosphere (and therefore wind) and experiences very little gravity. Above: High-resolution data show evidence of dune-like…

How Anti-Vaxxers Ruined Disneyland For Themselves (And Everyone Else)

“The Happiest Place On Earth” is ground zero for a recent measles outbreak centered in California. Now, unvaccinated people are being warned to avoid visiting Disneyland parks. Image Credit: Wonkblog + Associated Press No Infants In Disneyland There are now 67 confirmed cases of measles in an ongoing outbreak centered in California. According to the…

Yet Another Reason To Pay Attention During Physics Class

Here now is a practical demonstration on impulsive tension, and why a large force applied for a very short period of time is bad for tow hooks. “Well that’s what you do with these straps, you just go.” “No.” Remember, when towing with a tow strap, to always pull very slowly; a little force can…

The Republican SOTU Live-Stream Cut Obama’s Remarks On Climate Change

President Barack Obama took climate change deniers to task during his State of the Union Address, mocking the “I’m not a scientist” refrain that has become common among Republicans in recent months. But much of Obama’s criticism was cut from the Republican party’s official live stream of the speech. The sloppy cut appears in the…

What Does It Mean When Someone Says “There Is No Such Thing As Cold”?

Perhaps you have heard that cold does not exist – that what we subjectively experience and describe as cold is, in fact, the absence of heat. But what does that mean, exactly? Joe Hanson explains this mind-bending concept in the latest episode of It’s Okay To Be Smart. https://gizmodo.com/here-are-the-hottest-and-coldest-known-temperatures-in-1678816967

The Secrets Of Highly Efficient Napping

Not all naps are created equal. Some naps have been shown to rejuvenate where others boost creativity. What’s more, when you nap can be as important as how you nap. Here’s how to nap like a professional, nap-taking machine. Here’s how to nap like you MEAN IT. Photo Credit: Kevin O’Mara | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0…

Here’s Sigourney Weaver Test-Firing the Flamethrower From Alien 

Your spirit animal is a honey badger? That’s nice. My spirit animal is Sigourney Weaver in a jumpsuit unleashing a plume of hot death over what looks like a dry, potentially disastrous, patch of grass. Xenopedia, the AvP Wiki, has a wonderfully informative entry on the “M240 Incinerator Unit,” and the backstory on this photo:…

Can You Crack One Of Car Talk‘s ‘Toughest Puzzlers’?

For years, the radio show Car Talk challenged its listeners with a weekly “Puzzler.” According to the show’s archives, this is one of the toughest Puzzlers to ever air. Can you solve it? Today’s post marks the sixteenth installment in io9’s Sunday Puzzle series. That means we’ve been at this for about four months now.…

80% Of Americans Support Mandatory Labels On Foods Containing DNA. DNA!

A recent survey conducted by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics found that 80.44% of respondents supported a government policy mandating labels on foods containing DNA. Not GMOs. DNA, the genetic material contained in every living thing known to science and practically every food, GMO or otherwise. Update: In light of responses to…

Fox Wants To Bring Back The X-Files, David Duchovny And Gillian Anderson

Fox has confirmed that it is in talks to revive its iconic supernatural horror procedural, The X-Files. Speaking Saturday at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour, Fox TV executives Dana Walden and Gary Newman said they’ve been in talks not only with series creator Chris Carter, but stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, about…

Akira Kurosawa’s 100 Favorite Films

Few filmmakers have left as indelible a mark on cinema as iconic Japanese director, screenwriter, and producer Akira Kurosawa. The following list reveals which films had a lasting impact on him. “I have learned more from him,” Steven Spielberg has said of Kurosawa, “than from almost any other filmmaker on the face of the earth.”…

“Tim is patient, Tim is kind. Tim does not envy, Tim does not boast, Tim is not proud. Tim is not rude, Tim is not self-seeking, Tim is not easily angered, Tim keeps no record of wrongs.” Some Guy Named Tim Edits The Book Of Corinthians To Replace All Instances Of “Love” With “Tim.” Image…