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The True Origins of , the Most Hated HTML Tag in History

You’ve probably seen blinking text on the internet, then clutched your head and wondered why your elders ever invented such an affront to eyeballs everywhere. Now its inventor Lou Montulli has come forward to take responsibility, and to explain why was never supposed to exist. Writes Montulli on his blog: Back in 1994 I was…

The When, Where and Whys Of History’s Most Banned Books

Banned Books Week is long over, but celebrate the people’s failure to suppress and censor literature by checking out this great infographic. It explains which country banned which books, why, and for how long. And there’s a special bonus list of the hilariously dumb reasons some classic children’s books were banned, too! Well done, Printerinks.…

Your late-night karaoke skillz have some competition. As part of a study using birdsong to help better understand human speech, scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University gave spiked juice to zebra finches. Shocker: “Once the birds were sloshed, they started to slur their songs.”

When Will 1958’s World-Wide TV of the Future Finally Get Here? 

The living room of the future was supposed to be interactive. It was supposed to have all the world’s media at your fingertips. And above all, it was supposed to have a big ass TV. Today, Americans can buy enormous TVs for relatively cheap. But we’re still waiting on this wall-to-wall TV of the future…

Dinosaur 13 And The Story of Sue

Sue is the most famous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil in the world, marking a turning point in tension between commercial and academic collectors. The documentary Dinosaur 13 tells her story, but it misses out on so many intricate details that make the true story so much richer. Read on for the review. https://gizmodo.com/you-can-own-your-very-own-life-size-t-rex-skeleton-repl-1654674283 https://gizmodo.com/fossil-poaching-and-the-black-market-in-dinosaur-bones-1577785816 Top image:…

Avengers 2 Art Reveals Ultron’s New Origin Story

A bunch of new Avengers: Age of Ulton promo art has been unveiled, and with it Ultron’s new origin story. Plus, take a look at Vision in his full, caped beauty. Yahoo posted a bunch of promo art from the Avengers sequel, and with it this little biography about new big bad Ultron. For months,…

How Humanity Will Conquer Space Without Rockets

Getting out of Earth’s gravity well is hard. Conventional rockets are expensive, wasteful, and as we’re frequently reminded, very dangerous. Thankfully, there are alternative ways of getting ourselves and all our stuff off this rock. Here’s how we’ll get from Earth to space in the future. Top image: Britain’s Skylon Spaceplane. Image: Reaction Engines Limited…

The Best Apps of 2014

The smartphone in your pocket today makes whatever handset you had just two years ago look laughably bad. That’s not just because of better sensors and better software; the apps that power them have improved in kind. In 2014, these new iOS, Android, and Windows Phone apps were 100 percent worth downloading. Some improved dramatically…

John Carpenter’s Secret to Making Terrifying Soundtracks

The horror movie master himself, John Carpenter, is about to release his debut solo album, Lost Themes. Remember the ultra-creepy synth music in the movie Halloween? Yeah, that was him. The weird part is that he started out wanting to make westerns. Carpenter was a recent guest on NPR’s All Things Considered (download it or…

Physics students at the University of Leicester claim to have calculated the amount of energy required to transform water into wine. Warning: Don’t try this at home.

How to Prevent Lava from Flowing into Your City

Once lava from an erupted volcano starts moving, it tends to keep moving that way, regardless of what we want. But Hawaiian researchers have figured out some ways to redirect a lava stream away from you or your property — even if the eruption goes on for several months. In a new Volcano Watch column,…

Hackers That Took Down PSN and Xbox Live Now Selling Their DDoS Attack

The hacker group that calls itself the Lizard Squad took down PSN and Xbox Live last week with a massive DDoS attack. Now, it looks like they’re selling the attack as a service to anyone who can pay. The attacks last week screwed things up for gamers who wanted to play their newly unwrapped toys.…

​10 Dragons Who Are Enormous Assholes

Sometimes dragons are the majestic lords of the sky, noble creatures who are wise and powerful. Sometimes they’re evil incarnate, greedy enemies of humanity. And sometimes, they’re just jerks. Here are 10 wyrms that give the entire species a bad name. 1) The Dragon, Beowulf The stereotype that dragons sleep are evil, hoard gold, and…

Tuesday Game Room: Your Favourite Games Of 2014 Edition

2014 is at an end – and it’s certainly been a year for games. Let’s take a break from the usual format this week and talk about our favourite Games of the Year in this, the GOTY edition of Tuesday Game Room! Instead of the usual format, this week I thought I’d break down my…

Our 10 Favorite Outdoor Destinations Of The Year

Adventure travel in the outdoors on a tech blog? Hey, we do occasionally use a camera. Whatever, IndefinitelyWild went to some pretty cool places during our first seven months; here’s our favorites. Hana The girlfriend and I spent a week bumming around Maui’s bejungled eastern side, sleeping on a secret beach, getting our food from…

The First Blimp in Washington DC’s New Missile Shield Is Aloft

After years of anticipation, the United States Army has finally floated the first of two football field-sized blimps that will serve as a missile shield for Washington DC. The tethered, helium-filled aerostat is equipped with anti-missile and anti-drone radar to protect the capital from attacks. It also looks like a cartoon. There’s nothing cartoonish about…

The Boxtrolls‘ Timelapse End Credits Show How Much Work Stop-Motion Is

When you sit back and watch a stop-motion movie, it’s easy to forget that each tiny movement is controlled by an animator’s hands. But this hilariously philosophical sequence from The Boxtrolls’ end credits shows the animator at work, reminding us how much he moves so that the puppets can move. Note the changes in the…

A Dangerous Nemesis Star May Visit Our Solar System Many Years From Now

A stellar orange dwarf has a 90% chance of passing through the outer reaches of our solar system no earlier than a quarter of a million years from now. Sure, that’s a long way off, but this unwelcome guest could perturb the Oort cloud, flinging dangerous comets towards Earth. Top image: Comet Siding Spring coming…

The Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books Of 2014

This was a crazy good year for books. There was mind-expanding science fiction —including William Gibson’s return to the future! — along with thrilling fantasy, and a number of brilliant category-defying books. Here are the 22 best science fiction and fantasy books of 2014. Top image: Grimm Tales: Thousandfurs, by Shaun Tan, from Spectrum 21,…

The Android Apps That Collect the Most Data on You

Apps often need permission to access other stuff on your phone to work. What is less obvious is the breadth of information collected, and why it gets scooped up. Vocativ put together a list of common permissions from popular Android apps, calling it a “barometer of what app makers think they can get away with.”…