The urn containing Freud’s ashes has been smashed by robbers

Back on New Year’s Eve, some assholes broke into a crematorium in London and, in a botched attempt to steal the antique Greek vase containing the ashes of Sigmund Freud and his wife Martha, smashed the urn instead. As the Guardian reports, staff at the Golders Green discovered pieces of the urn on New Year’s…

Our brain can process and identify images that the eye sees for as little as 13 milliseconds. That’s much faster than the 100 milliseconds suggested by previous studies. This rapid-fire processing helps us direct our eyes — which can shift gaze three times per second — to the next visual target. [ Gif: Christine Daniloff/MIT…

Westeros meets WWII in these Game of Thrones propaganda posters

Classic propaganda posters get a Westerosi makeover in the hands of Olivia Desianti. Which one would convince you to pick up arms for the Iron Throne? If you want Arya the Needler or the Lannisters’ visual roar on your wall, you can pick up these posters (and other geeky propaganda posters) from Desianti’s Etsy and…

Would You Have Sex with a Robot?

Ads for the computer love story Her are everywhere, and it makes me wonder about the ethics of sex robots. Would I ever have sex with one? Or would I find it ooky and gross — in a moral sense, but also aesthetically and erotically? Here’s what I decided. I certainly don’t have any objections…

A Highly Unlikely Scenario blends cyberpunk mysticism with goofy humor

A Highly Unlikely Scenario, by Rachel Cantor, takes place in a world where computer programs walk among us, the police wear Chipmunk Patrol sashes, and quasi-religious philosophical groups battle for converts via fast food restaurants. This dystopia comes replete with a Leader whose food preferences are kept secret to preserve unity, though a neo-Maoist book…

Bryan Cranston does a hell of a Godzilla impression in this set visit

Sit through the agony of the Entertainment Tonight intro to their on-set visit to Godzilla, and you’ll be rewarded with star Bryan Cranston, who is not only completely filthy and completely affable, but he also does a damn fine impression of his gigantic co-star. I know stars more or less have to be enthused about…

100 Famous Movie Quotes in Chart Form

Nathan Yau over at FlowingData has turned 100 of the most memorable movie quotes ever into chart form — and they are absolutely fantastic. The quotes were selected by the American Film Institute in celebration of their 100-year anniversary eight years ago, but there’s something about seeing the frequency of where ET’s calls are placed…

Long-Forgotten Photographs Reveal Challenger Disaster As It Happened

Michael Hindes of West Springfield, MA, was sorting through boxes of his grandparents’ old photographs when he happened upon 26 harrowing photos of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster of 1986. To his knowledge, these photos have never been publicly released. All photos featured with permission from Michael Hindes. Hindes had been searching for photographs to…

D&D Fourth Edition is the perfect game for wizard-on-wizard action

With the next edition of Dungeons & Dragons finally ready for release later this year, you may be thinking it’s time to garage sale all those 4th Edition books on your shelf. Here’s a better idea – use them for player-versus-player wizard battles. 4E has a pretty bad rep: too focused on combat, too rigid,…

Should you have your next doctor’s visit online?

The house call is long dead. But will over-the-phone and online doctor’s appointments replace it? Mother Jones took a look at the practice of skipping the in-person doctor’s appointment in favor of a phone call, an email, or even the very occasional Skype-appointment to get a prescription — and some of its advantages and disadvantages:…

The Mandarin rules in the first clip from Marvel’s “All Hail the King”

The next Marvel one-shot, included on the DVD/Blu-ray release of Thor: The Dark World, is of course about Trevor Slattery, the poor actor who pretended to be the diabolical terrorist called the Mandarin. But now that he’s been exposed and thrown in jail, Trevor learns he might still have some power. Question: How fun would…

Which classic Batman villains will be appearing in Gotham?

Rumor has it that Marvel’s already cast Doctor Strange, and it isn’t Johnny Depp. Scarlett Johansson promises that the Avengers sequel is equal parts deep and funny. Don’t hold your breath for a Halo movie. One actor denies he’s Gotham’s Jim Gordon. Plus could Yoda play a vital role in the Star Wars sequels? Spoilers…

100 Famous Movie Quotes as Charts

Nathan Yau has turned the American Film Institute’s 100 most memorable quotes from American cinema into chart form. Here they are, in all their wonderful geeky glory. Some are inspired, others were clearly tricky to construct, but all are frankly amazing. Click ‘expand’ on the image below to see it real big and soak ’em…

X-Files actress Gillian Anderson is writing a series of scifi novels

Gillian Anderson delighted us for years as the skeptical Agent Scully on The X-Files, and now she wants to return to the genre that made her famous, this time as an author. However, the main character in her upcoming book series sounds tailor-made for Anderson as an actress. Anderson told Entertainment Weekly that she’s working…

New equation predicts the best time to launch a cyber attack

Life just got a bit tougher for cyber saboteurs and hackers. A pair of researchers have formulated an algorithm that can predict the optimal time for unleashing specific weapons during a cyber attack. Experts say cyber insecurity is one of the most significant threats facing nations, corporations, and individuals today. Risks include financial loss, loss…

A ranking system to evaluate the food quality in every country

A new interactive graphic from Oxfam takes a look at the overall food quality in every country. Find out why the Netherlands came in first and Chad came in last. To make the rankings, they used four different criteria. First that there was enough food for everyone to eat, next that people could afford it,…

Peter Pan proposes to Wendy on stage while creepy giant Nana watches

Instead of giving Wendy a thimble, the grown up Peter Pan got down on one knee and made this fairy tale romance come true. Watch as Wendy and Peter Pan get engaged, while a gigantic puppet version of the Nana dog watches menacingly in the background. Romantic Sandor Sturbl proposed on stage to Lilly-Jane Young,…

From Bitcoin millionaires to robot philosophy, on Person of Interest

One of the never-ending joys of Person of Interest is watching its writers turn recent news into an intense, paranoid story. Last night’s episode was a standout in that department, giving us the tale of a Silk Road-esque online drug market and its mysterious connection to national security. https://gizmodo.com/person-of-interests-producers-tell-us-what-the-machine-1498754032 Oh, and there’s your weekly dose…

San Francisco’s Most Adorable Crime Fighter Just Got His Own Movie

When the Penguin and the Riddler invaded San Francisco last November, causing havock, robbing banks, and kidnapping the Giant’s beloved mascot Lou Seal, the SFPD called in the only person that could stop them: Batkid. https://gizmodo.com/5-year-old-batkid-will-save-san-francisco-thanks-to-ma-1457323535 With the help of the Make A Wish Foundation, this pint-sized crime fighter not only nabbed the baddies, but…

What space robots can teach us about disaster prepping

Robots in space are undoubtedly awesome, but they could also have some valuable lessons to teach us about disaster responses here on earth. Brett Kennedy, who led the teams that engineered both Robosimian and the robotic arm for Curiosity’s Mars-bound rover, joined us today to answer some questions about robotics, including how RoboSimian picked up…