Sam Biddle, Author at Gizmodo

You Can Compost These Shoes When You’re Done with Them

When you think earth-friendly, biodegradable shoes, you probably think of something rather ugly and hemp-looking. The OAT shoes, however, are perfectly fine to toss in the compost heap, and are pretty attractive! So wear ’em out, guilt-free. [OAT via TreeHugger]

Tech News Sam Biddle

This Painting Is a Cascading Tower of Psychedelic Color

Sure, you could use a brush to make a painting, like some kind of neanderthal—or you could employ this mesmerizing, incredibly gorgeous drip method. With coffee cups. Watching this work’s creation is better than the finished product. [LikeCool]

Tech News Sam Biddle

This Beautiful Laboratory Has Curves

Instead of stacking four floors atop one another, architectural firm Rafael Vinoly created this long, slithering, curvaceous research building for UCSF, snaking its way down a hillside atop earthquake-resistant stilts. A green roof up top only heightens the structure’s looks. The research center accommodates vast meeting, lab, and office space, in one long sloping corridor.…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Nine-Year-Old Sexted by Pervert

Nine year old Ty’Ge Davis is a sophisticated young man. A star math student! But not sophisticated enough to be texted a photo of two adults blowing each other on a couch. Offender’s defense? Just trying to sell the couch! “That was just too old for me…I wasn’t ready for that,” says Ty’Ge, who was…

Tech News Sam Biddle

A Pentax Camera Beautifully Exploded

Photographer Todd McLellan likes taking things apart and revealing the dizzying bits that comprise our gear. I’d have never guessed so many tiny pieces could be stripped away from the thing—and when arranged so precisely, they’re quite gorgeous. McLellan has several prints in the same vein as this dissected Pentax—breaking down equipment into their smallest…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The Furious Femme Fatales of Computer Stock Photography

Stock photography is inherently funny—stilted people in forced, goofy scenarios. Laughing! Spitting milk! Eating salad! But there’s a bizarre subcategory of angry women grappling with broken computers. Really, really demeaningly angry women. Is this how stock photogs think women deal with system errors? They’re baring their teeth. They’re screaming. They’re pulling their hair. And, very…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The Navy Spent $450,000 Flying F-18s Over the Closed Dome of the Super Bowl

Everyone loves a great jet flyover! Except when you can’t see the jets, because you’re underneath a retractable dome. That’s un-retracted. Which is exactly what the Navy spent $450,000 of your tax dollars to do on Sunday. [Washington Post]

Tech News Sam Biddle

This Wallet Is Industrial Strength No Matter How Broke You Are

Leather! Duct tape! Some sort of cloth! Wallets are so dull. But one made out of two plates of powder coated aluminum alloy, bound with a bungee cord? Not dull at all—simple, minimalist, and tough. [Wintercheck Factory]

Tech News Sam Biddle

Every Trackpad Should Look as Good as HP’s Invisible Wonders

HP’s new g6 budget notebook line is wholly unremarkable—almost. The econo-laptops have one thing going for them, but it’s pretty stellar—a completely seamless, invisible trackpad. Our only question is, why is this awesome feature stuck in cheap-o land? The trackpad on the g6 is entirely unseen. No lines, no varying texture, no gaudy glow—no nothing.…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Kyocera’s Double-Headed Echo Phone Is Mutant Without the Super

The Kyocera Echo is the strangest phone I’ve ever seen. Inside, it’s just mundane—but on the outside, it’s a batshit bizarre, morphing, dual screen stab at DS form with iPad function. It fails at both. It’s freakishly bad. The Echo could have been something spectacular. With a form so over the top, it’s begging for…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Sennheiser CXC 700 Noise Canceling Earbuds: Just Listen to Louder Music

Noise-canceling headphones are usually the accoutrements of the airplane or other stationary seat in a steel mausoleum of droning engine noise—but what about blocking sounds on the go? Sennheiser’s CXC 700 buds aim to, but do little more than hiss into your ears. What Is It? A pair of noise-canceling earbuds. Who’s it For? People…

Reviews Sam Biddle

The HP TouchSmart Computer Designed After a Scorpion’s Tail

Crafting a new computer is tough. Everyone loves touch—fingers are winning interfaces. But pawing an upright monitor is physically tiring. So? HP’s design team cleverly brought the monitor down to you. And we’ve got their concept sketches. HP design guru Randall Martin walked us through the process. They know that their old TouchSmart form factor…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Space Shuttle May Fly Without NASA

Already missing the soon to be shelved Space Shuttle? You might not have to, with private contractor United Space Alliance considering a $1.5 billion a year proposal to take the fleet private. “It is safe. We have a lot of history, we understand how to operate it,” explains United Space Alliance’s chief. We’re not so…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle

Facebook Now Responsible for 25% of Hooker Hookups

There was once a time when you actually had to leave your home to get a prostitute. And what a long, seedy walk to the docks or brothel or alley behind Denny’s it was. Now? Facebook does it for you! According to Columbia University sociology professor Sudhir Venkatesh, of the 290 New York City prostitutes…

Social Media Sam Biddle

And Now, a Video of Jungle Cats Playing with an iPad

Degrading or dignified? North Carolina animal conservators teamed with the “Game for Cats” app, and let their giant felines paw confusedly at an iPad. Are they having fun? Are they yearning to be uncaged? Would they rather play Fruit Ninja? The wacky music makes me feel torn between This is adorable! and I’m going to…

Biology Sam Biddle

The Mayor of Boston Wanted to Fight Snow with Flamethrowers in 1948

Many of you are probably either snowed in, cold, or at least inconvenienced by the latest onslaught of flakes. Shoveling sucks! Snowblowers are obnoxious! The elegant solution? Flamethrowers, as asked of MIT by the Mayor of Boston, 60 years ago. In January of 1948, Mayor James Curley lamented that “the snowfall this year has exceeded…

Tech News Sam Biddle

NBC Employee Fired for Leaking Today Show’s Embarrassing Internet Cluelessness

So, that video exposing Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel‘s complete ignorance of the internet? The one where they literally ask “What is the internet?” NBC’s canned the person responsible for the leak. Hey NBC—it was 1994. Chill out. According to a tweet from Washington Post columnist Rob Pegoraro, the NBC employee was fired for letting…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Russia Building Its Own Super-Mysterious Robotic Space Plane

Remember the US military’s shadowy, unmanned X-37B? Well Russia won’t just sit there and let us be the only ones flying shadowy robot planes into space—they’re building their own, and it’s even more shadowy. Just how mysterious is this mystery-spacecraft? So mysterious that there isn’t a single image of it, and it has no name.…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle

Soviet Safety Posters Were Terrifying and Slightly Hilarious

Working in any hazardous factory isn’t a treat, but at least you aren’t met with these horrifying posters, which make it seem like you could be impaled or electrocuted at any moment. That hair-in-drill one looks like it REALLY HURTS. Of course, work safety is serious business, and I’d rather be freaked out by a…

Tech News Sam Biddle

The Best Gadgets (So Far)

January has come! And gone. And with it, a lot of broken New Year’s Resolutions. But also, new additions to our wonderful list of favorite gadgets. Check out the full roster of Bestmodo’s newest inductees below. For the full list of Gizmodo favorites, head over to the complete Best Gadgets https://gizmodo.com/the-best-gadgets-5411442 In Best Phone Headset:…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Sam Biddle

You Can Compost These Shoes When You’re Done with Them

This Painting Is a Cascading Tower of Psychedelic Color

This Beautiful Laboratory Has Curves

Nine-Year-Old Sexted by Pervert

A Pentax Camera Beautifully Exploded

The Furious Femme Fatales of Computer Stock Photography

The Navy Spent $450,000 Flying F-18s Over the Closed Dome of the Super Bowl

This Wallet Is Industrial Strength No Matter How Broke You Are

Every Trackpad Should Look as Good as HP’s Invisible Wonders

Kyocera’s Double-Headed Echo Phone Is Mutant Without the Super

Sennheiser CXC 700 Noise Canceling Earbuds: Just Listen to Louder Music

The HP TouchSmart Computer Designed After a Scorpion’s Tail

Space Shuttle May Fly Without NASA

Facebook Now Responsible for 25% of Hooker Hookups

And Now, a Video of Jungle Cats Playing with an iPad

The Mayor of Boston Wanted to Fight Snow with Flamethrowers in 1948

NBC Employee Fired for Leaking Today Show’s Embarrassing Internet Cluelessness

Russia Building Its Own Super-Mysterious Robotic Space Plane

Soviet Safety Posters Were Terrifying and Slightly Hilarious

The Best Gadgets (So Far)

Marshall Emberton III Bluetooth Speaker Isn’t Supposed to Be This Cheap, Even the New Midnight Blue at an All-Time Low

2026 MacBook Pro (M5 Pro) Breaks Into Its First Sale on Amazon, While Apple Store Still Has None on the New Laptop

Don’t Hold Your Breath for a ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Movie

What’s Actually the Best Way to Get a Good Night’s Sleep? We Asked Scientists

Game to Lose Online Mode After Its Server Partner Pivots to You’ll Never Guess What

This $400 (Not) AI Keychain Is Pointless, Extravagant, and Weirdly Lovable

New Getaway Means Subaru Has an Electric SUV in Every Size

pCloud Easter Special: One Payment, Lifetime Storage for Entire Family (68% Off)

Getting Stuck Inside a Glitching Robotaxi Is a Whole New Thing to Be Scared of

Artemis 2 Live Updates: Humanity’s Epic Return to the Moon 🔴

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

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

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?