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New research suggests surprisingly few bee species are responsible for pollinating the world’s crops. Globally, a mere 2% of wild bees pollinate 80% of bee-pollinated crops. Monetarily,that equates to $3,000/hectare, or billions of dollars annually, a figure roughly equal to the value of honey bees. Image: USGS/Anthony G Gutierrez/CC

Say Hello to Cam and Aware, Nest’s New Home Surveillance System

We knew it was coming. When Nest bought the camera maker DropCam for a cool half billion last year, it seemed inevitable that a surveillance camera would be Nest’s third big hardware release. Today, Nest announced Nest Cam—along with a subscription service called Nest Aware. The Camera Let’s start with the Cam, which popped up…

Jobs That Humans Will Never Do Again, As Long As We Have Robots

Robots are entering the workforce. Some will work alongside you. Others, sadly, will put you out of work. The question is, which jobs are actually on the chopping block? The answer to that has been bathed in media hype, but we talked to experts who gave us some realistic answers about which human careers might…

Despicable Me Director Reveals What Your Pets Do While You’re Away

The trailer for the upcoming animated movie The Secret Life of Pets feels like a short film unto itself. See for yourself how dogs, cats, and other critters entertain themselves while their human companions are off at work. Where can we get one of those head-banging poodles? Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, No Time for Nuts)…

Amazon’s Super Great Kindle Paperwhite Now Has a Super Great Display

E-readers are the bane of my existence. I like books. I like the feel of books. The weight of books. Hell, even the smell of books. But no e-reader has challenged my page-bound allegiance like this new Kindle Paperwhite. It’s a lot like the old Paperwhite to be honest, which we loved lots and lots,…

11 Incredible Secrets About The Making Of Back To The Future

Back To The Future turns 30 this year — and this fall, Marty McFly arrives from the past. And a new book travels back and reveals a wealth of info about this legendary film. We read We Don’t Need Roads by Caseen Gaines and dug up 11 things you never knew about Back to the…

Fantastic Four And Denny’s Are Bringing Clobberin’ Time To Your Stomach

Following on their unholy pacts with The Hobbit movies, Denny’s has lined up a new cross-promotional menu designed to make you feel moderately bad about yourself while eating while advertising a movie. The Fantastic Four are heading to Denny’s, and they’re bringing “Thing Sauce” with them. https://gizmodo.com/the-hobbits-second-breakfast-being-served-at-dennys-is-5954327 Sadly, some of the intense wackiness of the…

Apple Watch Users Explain Why They’re Reselling on eBay

The Apple Watch has been out for less than two months, but already people are trying to unload theirs on sites like eBay. And these people aren’t just resellers hoping to cash in on the hype. Nope, these people are selling their Apple Watches “barely used” — a clear sign that things just didn’t work…

A Revised Map Of The “Body” Within The Brain

Using brain scans, neuroscientists from Emory University have revised a decades-old map of the homunculus — a visual representation of the primary motor cortex and how it corresponds to bodily awareness and control. Top image: Black indicates neck area of motor cortex identified by Penfield in 1950. Red indicates the neck area identified by the…

AT&T Must Pay $100 Million for Supposedly Slowing “Unlimited” Data

The Federal Communications Commission hit AT&T with one of its biggest fines in history today: Ma Bell has to fork over a hefty $100 million for allegedly slowing internet speeds for folks with unlimited data plans. Apparently, the FCC found out that AT&T throttled net speeds for people who used up a particular amount of…

How to make spaghetti and meatball tacos

Spaghetti and meatballs are as natural a pairing as hamburger and fries and whiskey and more whiskey so it’s natural to explore as many different variations of the noodles and meat dish that you can. After seeing a spaghetti bun and meatball burger, I thought the food gods would never bless us with anything more…

Get This Cool S6 Edge Feature on Any Android Phone

You might have noticed the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, a rather distinctive handset with a curved screen. The extra display can be used to alert you to different notifications and give quick links to contacts and other parts of the TouchWiz OS. Thanks to a clever app, you can get one of these features on…

Meet Ramsay Bolton, The Nicest Guy On Game Of Thrones

Ramsay Bolton has a bit of a reputation as a bad boy — or, more specifically, one of the most loathsome people in Westeros — but that’s because people don’t know the real Ramsay. The big-hearted Ramsay. The carefully edited Ramsay. See for yourself in this slightly NSFW video. This Ramsay is polite, loves his…

This Is the World’s First 3D-Printed Platinum Spacecraft Thruster

More than 600 ignitions and an hour of firing—this was the heavy test for the world’s first spacecraft thruster with a platinum combustion chamber and nozzle made by 3D printing. And the thruster successfully passed its baptism of fire. This is the 10 N hydrazine thruster which was printed in platinum—rhodium alloy using a laser…

The decal work alone on this Lego Ferrari F1 car is amazing

Lego master builder Sariel admits to not being much of a Formula 1 fan, but you wouldn’t know it looking at his replica of the Ferrari 248 F1 car that drivers like Michael Schumacher raced back in 2006. It’s even remote control, with full suspension and steering for hugging every tiny corner. And it’s finished…

Why Do So Many Science Fiction Stories Take Children Into Space?

Science fiction is filled with kids in space. This makes sense; if the future has us in space, children will be there, too. But if there are children in a spaceship, a number of things can go very wrong, both for the characters and the audience. The biggest pitfall is that putting children in space…

Can the indestructible hockey puck survive the endless fire of thermite?

The strongest material on Earth, fictional substances included, is a hockey puck. It’s true. After surviving against the red hot nickel ball and going toe to toe with liquid nitrogen, it totally edges out adamantium and whatever T-1000 was made out of. Here’s another battle that it holds up admirably to: thermite, which is basically…

Mormon Doomsday Survivalist Preppers Are All Over Pinterest

Pinterest—the mason jar lobby’s most effective propaganda apparatus—is an aggressively wholesome social platform. It’s The Container Store of social networks, but past the arrangements of DIY barn-wedding souvenirs, there’s another Pinterest, one focused on surviving doom. This is Mormon survivalist Pinterest. It’s grade-AAA Pinterest, a hodgepodge of pins that remind me of the 1998 film…

Uber Drivers in California Will Be Employees, Not Contractors (Updated)

An Uber driver is an employee, not a contractor, according to a ruling from the California labor commission. This is horrible news for Uber but good news for anyone concerned that the ruthless ride-hailing service is building a corporate empire by dicking over its drivers. Uber insists that it’s a merely a tech company peddling…

Exclusive Featurette: Why “You Can’t Do A Terminator Without Arnold”

Arnold Schwarzenegger has been playing the Terminator for over 30 years now. But he’s clearly still having fun with the role. Just check out our exclusive featurette on the making of Terminator Genisys — including a collection of the T-800’s craziest moments in this movie. Watch for yourself: This is the latest in a series…