IS IT FRIDAY YET? | Just remember, your week could have been worse. This is just one of the stunning wildlife photos from the Veolia Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The winning entries range from the heartwarming to the thrilling… to the dreadfully upsetting.
https://gizmodo.com/the-years-most-thrilling-and-heartbreaking-wildlife-p-5953959
Easily the best thing you’ll hear all week: a beluga whale mimicking human speech
https://gizmodo.com/easily-the-best-thing-youll-hear-all-week-a-beluga-wha-5953817
Holy warbling whales, this is GLORIOUS. For the first time ever, researchers have presented audio evidence of a cetacean (a beluga whale by the name of “NOC”) spontaneously mimicking human speech. More »
10 Reasons Why Speed Racer Is an Unsung Masterpiece
https://gizmodo.com/10-reasons-why-speed-racer-is-an-unsung-masterpiece-5954595
This Friday we’ll get to see the Wachowskis’ latest crazy, gorgeous, and mind-blowing epic, Cloud Atlas. Most people know the Wachowskis for the Matrix trilogy, but we think their version of Speed Racer – a dud at the box office – is actually an unappreciated masterpiece. Here’s why. More »
Physicists demonstrate an actual tractor beam in the lab
https://gizmodo.com/physicists-demonstrate-an-actual-tractor-beam-in-the-la-5954567
It seems like we’re getting closer to the Star Trek future by leaps and bounds these days. We recently learned that a NASA scientist has set his sights on building a warp drive, and now news has come in that a team of physicists have built their own tractor beam in the lab. More »
The Hobbit’s Second Breakfast being served at Denny’s is something that is happening
https://gizmodo.com/the-hobbits-second-breakfast-being-served-at-dennys-is-5954327
In what is certainly one of the most mind-boggling-but-sort-of-logical marketing campaigns we’ve ever seen, The Hobbit has teamed up with Denny’s to bring you Radagast’s Red Velvet Pancake Puppies, Bilbo’s Berry Smoothie, Gandalf’s Gobble Melt, “The Ring” Burger, and Frodo’s Pot Roast. More »
Humanity never had a “missing link” to apes
https://gizmodo.com/humanity-never-had-a-missing-link-to-apes-5954898
Our early human ancestors began to walk on two legs a couple of million years ago, abandoning their old life of swinging between tree branches and perching in the leafy forest canopies of Africa. More »
9 Reasons to Elect a Supervillain President
https://gizmodo.com/9-reasons-to-elect-a-supervillain-president-5953525
When many American citizens cast their vote this November, they’ll be choosing between the lesser of two evils. But why choose the lesser evil when you can choose a supervillain as your president? More »
What you need to know about the upcoming ‘Frankenstorm’
https://gizmodo.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-upcoming-frankenstorm-5955145
Folks out on the East coast of the United States and Canada are bracing themselves for what could be a remarkably severe storm, one that has been dubbed ‘Frankenstorm’ on account of its tripartite composition. More »
Concept art reveals the gruesome chestburster that didn’t make it into Prometheus
https://gizmodo.com/concept-art-reveals-the-gruesome-chestburster-that-didn-5953387
If there was something missing from Prometheus aside from logic and quasi-competent scientists, it was an alien creature bursting from a human chest. An earlier version of the movie’s script involved a particularly bloody encounter with just such a critter. More »
10 Novels That Are Scarier Than Most Horror Movies
https://gizmodo.com/10-novels-that-are-scarier-than-most-horror-movies-5954916
You can’t do jump-scares in a book. There’s no computerized special effects, or actors covered with gruesome makeup and KY jelly. You can always put a book down for a few days. More »
Why Modern Society Would Appear Completely Dystopian to a Visitor from the Past
https://gizmodo.com/why-modern-society-would-appear-completely-dystopian-to-5955264
Contemporary societies have their problems – there’s no question about it. But few would go so far as to say that we live in a global dystopia. More »
Massive Secrets of The Hobbit – Revealed!
https://gizmodo.com/massive-secrets-of-the-hobbit-revealed-5954767
This past spring, we, along with several other members of the press, were invited to Wellington to visit the set of The Hobbit, and at long last, we can reveal some of what we saw and learned, including more details on how Peter Jackson is expanding J.R.R. Tolkien’s original story, how Gandalf will spend his time away from the main party, the Dwarves’ individual personalities and backstories, and just how all this Middle Earth craziness is being filmed. More »
Iron Man 3 trailer screencaps reveal Tony Stark’s worst nightmares. Plural.
https://gizmodo.com/iron-man-3-trailer-screencaps-reveal-tony-starks-worst-5954059
By now, you’ve probably watched the first Iron Man 3 trailer. It reveals that Iron Man is facing his absolute worst case scenario here — but that’s not all. More »
https://gizmodo.com/first-iron-man-3-trailer-tony-starks-darkest-hour-5954054
Can hot sauce applied to the anus cause a long-lasting erection?
https://gizmodo.com/can-hot-sauce-applied-to-the-anus-cause-a-long-lasting-5954579
A popular urban legend suggests that hot sauce, when applied to the anus, leads to an immediate and long-lasting erection. Is this a recipe for pain, a useful sexual stimulant in a pre-Viagra world, or both? More »
At Last, Official Maps of George R.R. Martin’s World, From Westeros to Qarth
https://gizmodo.com/at-last-official-maps-of-george-r-r-martins-world-fr-5954289
We’ve seen some amazing maps of the lands of Westeros and Essos, from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. There are nifty maps in the front of every volume of Martin’s series, but also fans have created detailed, stylized, spoilery and Easter Egg-filled cartographies. More »
The 55 Scariest Moments from Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies
https://gizmodo.com/the-55-scariest-moments-from-science-fiction-and-fantas-5955121
It’s Halloween, which means just one thing – time for a horror movie marathon! But what should you watch? What classic movies have at least one guaranteed freak-out moment? More »
