Look at you, freshly emerged from your 48-hour food coma. Or your ten-round Black Friday brawl over a stuffed animal. From pooping in retail shops to creepy sea animals, here's the best stuff we wrote about this week.
7 Things You Had No Idea the World Is Running Out Of
Hardly a day goes by that we're not told about the unsustainable pressure we're putting on our natural resources. And while it prompts visions of oil, fresh water, and coal, you'd be surprised at how many of our creature comfort commodities are dwindling just as quickly.
More Than a Record Shop: Inside Brooklyn's Massive New Music Outpost
Holy crap, someone is opening a new record store? Who in their right mind would open a record store? And in New York of all places, with its exorbitant rents! Didn't these guys see what happened those who came before them? Well, this is different.
For Retailers, Today Really Is the Shittiest Day of the Year
You've heard of Black Friday, the darkest day for American capitalism; Cyber Monday, where everyone gets out their latent shopping aggression online; now there's even Grey Thursday, as retailers open on Thanksgiving Eve to get an edge on the competition. But, friends, have you heard of Brown Friday?
Some Fool Threw Away a Hard Drive with $7.5 Million of Bitcoin On It
Ever accidentally lose a dollar? Then you count what's in your war chest, realize it's a dollar short, and kick yourself for being careless? Well, a British IT worker knows what that feels like—except times 7.5 million.
Say Hello to 3 New Subdomains on Gizmodo
We've added three subdomains to the greater Gizmodo umbrella this week, three awesome blogs that have long been carving out a niche for themselves elsewhere. So here's a hearty welcome to Southland, Abler, and Disquiet.
A Fake Slum for Luxury Tourists Who Don't Want to See Real Poverty
It's estimated that one in eight people worldwide live in so-called slums, which, in some cities, makes visiting these informally maintained neighborhoods unavoidable. Although controversial, the practice of "slum tourism" has become a popular way for tourists to engage with poverty on a personal level. But why go visit an actual slum when you can simply stay at a luxury resort that looks like a slum?
What International Air Travel Was Like in the 1930s
Today we largely take international air travel for granted. Every major city in the world is little more than a hop, skip, and jump away. But what was it actually like to fly halfway around the world in the 1930s, when the very concept was still novel? Pretty incredible, as it turns out—provided you could afford it.
Newly discovered species will make you want to run screaming in terror
Behold the latest goddamn species discovered on Earth! The big male seems to be ready to rip apart your two arms while grabbing your thighs with those lower hooks. You wouldn't be able to scream because he'd be cracking your head with those jaws to eat your brains. Fortunately, fellow humans, these beasts are tiny.
For 20 Years the Nuclear Launch Code at US Minuteman Silos Was 00000000
Today I found out that during the height of the Cold War, the US military put such an emphasis on a rapid response to an attack on American soil, that to minimize any foreseeable delay in launching a nuclear missile, for nearly two decades they intentionally set the launch codes at every silo in the US to 8 zeroes.
Stone-Tipped Spears Pre-date the Human Race
Spears feel very much like a human weapon of war—so it's surprising to find out that, in fact, the stone-tipped projectiles pre-date our species by a bewildering 85,000 years.