GOODNIGHT, TATOOINE | This weekend, we bade a sad farewell to Ralph McQuarrie, the artist who designed the visual look of the Star Wars universe and other flights of science fiction fantasy, who passed away Saturday. See a slideshow of McQuarrie’s work at StarWars.com.
https://gizmodo.com/r-i-p-ralph-mcquarrie-the-man-who-designed-darth-vade-5890274
This is what your skin looks like after you’ve been struck by lightning
https://gizmodo.com/this-is-what-your-skin-looks-like-after-youve-been-stru-5890173
Lichtenberg figures (sometimes called lightning trees) sometimes occur when an electrical charge is introduced to an insulating material, representing the branching electrical discharges. They can occur in resin, glass, grassy fields, and, if you’re unlucky enough to be struck by lightning, human skin. More »
Simon Pegg joins Boba Fett’s All-Star Bounty Hunter Team & we become a DC Nation
https://gizmodo.com/simon-pegg-joins-boba-fetts-all-star-bounty-hunter-team-5890125
This week sees Simon Pegg voice Dengar on Clone Wars, DC Nation kick off with the return of Young Justice, Orion Pax discover his past on Transformers. More »
This innovative manga uses just pencil and paper to create a striking three-dimensional comic
https://gizmodo.com/this-innovative-manga-uses-just-pencil-and-paper-to-cre-5890184
Some comics demand more than ordinary words and pictures on a flat page. We’ve seen comics that use the infinite canvas of the Internet, comics that create a sense of visual depth, and comics that get a boost from a little animation. More »
Breakthrough technology turns filthy sewage into clean energy
https://gizmodo.com/breakthrough-technology-turns-filthy-sewage-into-clean-5889110
Last year we reported on a new way of gathering power from wastewater, one that combined power generating from salinity gradients between salt and freshwater, and that produced by waste-eating bacteria, to create a self-sustaining power supply. More »
Star Trek: TNG Season 8 illustration has us longing for more
https://gizmodo.com/star-trek-tng-season-8-illustration-has-us-longing-for-5890208
The Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 8 Twitter account has been keeping us in stitches with its insane plot lines for an imaginary next season for Jean-Luc Picard and his crew. More »
The psychedelic physics behind the lava lamp’s hypnotic goo
https://gizmodo.com/the-psychedelic-physics-behind-the-lava-lamps-hypnotic-5890103
The lava lamp glooped its way into pop culture history with its ascending and descending blobs of wax. Although some lava lamp science is known, there are still a few mysteries that only its makers know for sure. More »
New Game of Thrones trailer offers more scenes from the War of Five Kings
https://gizmodo.com/new-game-of-thrones-trailer-offers-more-scenes-from-the-5890249
We have less than a month to wait for the new season of Game of Thrones, and the latest trailer offers a few more peeks at what’s in store. This trailer includes many of the scenes we saw in the last, but includes more time beyond the wall, a better look at Arya in disguise, and some chilly words… More »
These colliding galaxy clusters challenge everything we know about dark matter
https://gizmodo.com/these-colliding-galaxy-clusters-challenge-everything-we-5890350
Abell 520 is one of the most gigantic mergers of galaxies we’ve ever seen, and it’s definitely the most baffling. As galaxies smashed together and parted away, they seemingly left their dark matter behind. More »
Watch 10 minutes of John Carter set right here on Earth — with Old West chases and Bryan Cranston
https://gizmodo.com/watch-10-minutes-of-john-carter-set-right-here-on-earth-5890355
Disney has just released a 10-minute scene from John Carter, one that shows off our hero’s action-packed adventures before he stumbles onto Barsoom. Watch John Carter make a jail break and engage in an Old West horse chase. More »
Mental disorders visualized in six minimalist posters
https://gizmodo.com/mental-disorders-visualized-in-six-minimalist-posters-5890317
Mental and neurological disorders are hard enough to explain in words, but how about with just a few blocks of color? Graphic designer Patrick Smith tries to capture an impressionistic sense of some serious illnesses with his minimalist designs. More »
Grimm reveals Hitler’s true identity
https://gizmodo.com/grimm-reveals-hitlers-true-identity-5890385
Finally a Grimm episode that unzips its fairy tales’ pants and screams, “get a load of this.” While I’m not sure the folks behind this episode were hoping for screaming laughter from the audience, that is exactly what they got from me. More »
Behold the amazing rainbow-colored cosplay of Ariel and her sisters
https://gizmodo.com/behold-the-amazing-rainbow-colored-cosplay-of-ariel-and-5890243
Now here’s a bit of Disney princess cosplay that you don’t see every day. Ariel and the other mermaid daughters of Triton have all lined up for their respective close-ups. More »
Concept Art Writing Prompt: Me and My Carpet Monster
https://gizmodo.com/concept-art-writing-prompt-me-and-my-carpet-monster-5890197
What adorableness lurks in this otherwise ordinary rug? This week’s concept art writing prompt stars a fuzzy and unusually flat creature and the human who loves it. More »
Genetic diversity among chimpanzees reveals just how closely related humans really are
There are four genetically distinct chimpanzee populations, all found in two relatively small regions of Africa. And yet these populations, which are sometimes less than a mile apart, are more genetically diverse than humans that live on different continents. More »
Tyrannosaurus on a truck might be the scariest thing you’ll see on your commute
These model dinosaurs are out for a Sunday drive, enjoying a little fresh air before they head to their next destination. Still, if I saw T-Rex staring down my windshield, I might get in the other lane. More »
