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Jar Jar Binks attains sainthood in deranged Star Wars religious art

Last week, we saw Luke Skywalker accept Jesus Christ by way of homemade lawn ornaments. Today, we take a look at Chawakarn Khongprasert’s Star Wars iconography, in which Yoda and Chewie bear witness to important events while looking piously constipated. Delightfully kitschy stuff. [Via Neatorama] https://gizmodo.com/church-lawn-display-sees-luke-skywalker-accepting-jesus-5950943

First-person footage from Felix Baumgartner’s space jump will make your head spin

Yesterday, extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner lept from a balloon hovering 24 miles above the surface of the Earth. This is what he saw on his way down. (Fair warning: this might make you nauseous.) Various outlets are reporting that this video — first aired by Austrian television channel Servus TV, which is owned by jump-sponsor…

These Baseball Glove Oven Mitts Give New Meaning to Hot Corner

Even if your team has already been eliminated from the playoffs, you can keep the season going in your kitchen with this brilliant pair of baseball-themed oven mitts. Made from flame and heatproof materials instead of leather, they could be the perfect consolation prize if your team didn’t win the pennant. The detailed screenprint makes…

Could mammal bladders lead to amphibian-like organ regeneration in humans?

A couple of years ago, scientists working at Wake Forest Baptist confirmed that mammalian bladders are capable of a rather unique trick. Unlike other organs, the bladder can completely regenerate itself after experiencing significant tissue loss. In fact, studies on rats showed that a bladder with as much as 75% of its mass removed could…

An Exclusive First Look at Tonight’s Moment of Summer Glau Awesomeness

Summer Glau has a new catchphrase, “Happiness is a warm gun” — and the resourcefulness to back it up, in this exclusive clip from tonight’s episode of Alphas. Too bad she’s up against someone who has special abilities of his own — and she’s trapped in an inescapable maze thingy. How will Summer Glau rescue…

How much does a shadow weigh?

Then again, a better question might be “how much less does an area covered in shadow weigh relative to surrounding areas covered in light?” As Vsauce’s Michael Stevens explains in the video up top, light has energy. This energy allows it to behave as though it has mass, and enables it to push any object…

Now’s Your Chance to Get a RED Scarlet Camera for Pretty, Pretty Cheap

The RED Scarlet is one of the more respected cameras in the film industry (especially among independent filmmakers), and because the company had to unbox a few for a super secret project, they have a few “battle tested” cameras to offer up on the cheap. https://gizmodo.com/frankly-red-scarlet-i-dont-give-a-damn-about-any-othe-5856290 Normally selling for 11,900, these Scarlets are only going…

Check out the first synopsis for Thor: The Dark World and the motherlode of Cloud Atlas photos!

Bryan Fuller swears there’s still hope for his gritty Munsters reboot Mockingbird Lane. Marvel Studios unveils the official synopsis for Thor: The Dark World. Plus Lost and Supernatural’s Mark Pellegrino chooses Person of Interest as his latest genre TV conquest! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Skyfall. Thor: The Dark World Marvel Studios…

Why the Best Online Identity Protection Is Just Being a Weirdo

These are troubling times for internet identity, with passwords being ravaged and real names outed. How does a young web citizen keep himself secret and safe? http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web By being a unique brand of nutjob, of course. XKCD has given us handy password tips before, but this one might be my favorite. Remember: it’s less important…

Microsoft Made Its First Non-Terrible Ad Just in Time for Windows 8

You may well know Windows 8 backwards and forwards (swipes) by now, may even be tinkering with the Developer Preview as we speak. But for the normals out there in the world? Their first introduction to Microsoft’s desktop upheaval will be through this ad. And—shockingly enough—it’s pretty good! Whatever your take on Microsoft’s actual products,…

How Quantum Mechanics Was Born From the Need For a Better Lightbulb

Some of mankind’s most remarkable scientific discoveries came to light as a result of research that had nothing to do with the breakthrough itself. And such was the case with quantum mechanics. Back in the early 1890s the German Bureau of Standards asked Max Planck to design a lightbulb that produced the maximum amount of…

Early Aerial Photography: Cameras on Pigeons in 1907

These days there are plenty of opportunities to take interesting photographs from unusual angles, including strapping tiny digital cameras to birds. But some early aerial photography was rather more clunky—and used massive cameras strapped to the breasts of pigeons. https://gizmodo.com/this-unbelievable-footage-literally-shows-a-birds-eye-v-5949507 In fact, the whole concept was pioneered by a German photographer named Julius Neubronner. From…

No Wonder Street View Is So Good When Google Has This Army of Cars

Street View is good and getting better—and that’s thanks to Google’s massive fleet of cars, kitted out to capture the world around us in all its panoramic glory. This is what a parking lot full of them looks like. https://gizmodo.com/googles-biggest-ever-street-view-update-sneak-inside-t-5950829 Google’s own Masrur Odinaev posted this picture of one of the company’s holding pens: the…

Amazon in Talks to Buy Texas Instruments’ Mobile Chip Division

Amazon is apparently in “advanced negotiations” with Texas Instruments, in an attempt to buy its smartphone and tablet oriented OMAP chip division. The news was reported by Calcalist.co.il (Hebrew) and hasn’t been confirmed by either company yet. However, Assaf Gilad, the journalist behind the story, has correctly spotted industry buy-outs in the past. According to…

The Raspberry Pi mini computer now ships with 512MB of RAM, up from 256MB, for the same $35 price. Tasty. [Raspberry Pi]

Amazon Quietly Discontinuing the Kindle DX

Amazon has been busily updating its Kindle lineup over the past few years, and now its flagship Fires and Paperwhite have media consumption covered. Along the way the massive Kindle DX has been ignored—and now it seems the device is being discontinued. https://gizmodo.com/kindle-fire-hd-review-everything-a-tablet-should-be-an-5942283 The eBook Reader points out that the DX is no longer available…

Softbank Confirms 70 Percent Acquisition of Sprint

Softbank has officially announced that it is buying a 70 percent stake in US mobile carrier Sprint. The Japanese company is ponying up a total of $20.1 billion for the privilege. https://gizmodo.com/wsj-japanese-carrier-softbank-to-buy-sprint-5950842 Softbank is paying $12.1 billion to buy existing shares in Sprint, and a further $8 billion for new shares that the network is…

First Head Cam Video of Supersonic Space Jump

This is the first footage from brave Felix Baumgartner’s suit camera as he descended to Earth. It starts right after the jump and shows the moment in which Felix breaks the speed of sound and spins out of control. https://gizmodo.com/supersonic-space-jump-full-coverage-5951563 Truly terrifying stuff. And awesome too. According to Red Bull Stratos, Felix said he thought…

Today’s Google Doodle Is a Huge Animated Tribute to Winsor McCay’s Cartoons

Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo was an iconic comic strip first drawn in 1905. Today’s Google Doodle celebrates the cartoon in an animated strip which sees Little Nemo embark on an adventure through Google-Land. McCay’s a hugely celebrated cartoonist and arguably inspired much of the work of Walt Disney numerous other animators along the way. The…

Apple Planning to Launch 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro This Month?

9to5mac is reporting that Apple is going to announce a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro alongside the iPad Mini at a forthcoming product announcement event. https://gizmodo.com/ipad-mini-rumor-roundup-everything-we-think-we-know-u-5948203 The website cites a “consistently reliable source at a high-profile U.S. retailer”, who has learned of a new, smaller version of the current 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. According to the…