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Back Off Criminals, Toronto’s Neighborhood Watch Is Intense

A Toronto local is jazzing up the “Neighborhood Watch” placards of the city. Andrew Lamb’s affixing superheroes, action stars, and everything else under the sun to the signs. Who’d mess with the neighborhood protected by Buffy? Lamb (not his real name) says that he was just inspired by the signs, telling CBC: I walked by…

How Do You Kill 86 Mammoths? With Dogs.

The new study “How do you kill 86 mammoths? Taphonomic investigations of mammoth megasites” proposes that one possible way for early humans to kill mammoths was with the beginnings of what would become man’s best friend. In the study, anthropologist Pat Shipman investigates makeup of mammoth remain “megasites” — areas with remains number from five…

Learn Animal Trivia With Adorable Animated Gifs

These come from the QI Zoo, which is by the people behind the television show QI. It’s a treasure trove of random facts and goofy animation. If there was one thing missing from these, it’s a link to more information. Because once you know that wombat poo is square, you need to know more. Below…

Mystery solved: This is the monster that ate that great white shark

It wasn’t the Kraken. It wasn’t Godzilla. And it wasn’t even a rabid killer whale. The mysterious animal that had killed and eaten the 9-foot great whiteshark and had stumped scientists turned out to be a super predator feared by even apex predators like the great white shark. So what was it? According to the…

Don’t Worry — The Mechs Are Here to Protect You! Have a Safe Evening!

It’s just not a Friday night until there’s an alcohol rationing riot and the mechs come out with their smart machine guns. That’s when the party really gets started. This illustration is the work of Johannesburg digital artist Riyahd Cassiem. You can see more of his work on his website. Spotted on Nuthin’ But Mech!

Nocturnal Transmissions: What Are You Up To?

It’s Friday, it’s almost the weekend, so what are you up to? Everything’s fair game in Nocturnal Transmissions, your nightly open thread.

This giant drop of water is actually a cake

If sorcery exists in this world, I’m pretty sure Japan has already discovered it. They can’t quite turn water into wine but they can turn it into dessert. That water droplet you see above? It’s actually a rice cake dessert, or shingen mochi, that melts in your mouth as you eat it. It’s like eating…

Fallen Angels: The Stunning Film Synthesized By Two Cinematic Legends

The first time I watched Fallen Angels I was trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen. I wasn’t lost in the way a sci-fi masterpiece like The Matrix makes you question reality, but in the you’ve never seen a narrative film told like this kind of way. Director Wong Kar Wai…

Watch a lightning bolt hit a car while it’s driving

Boom. A couple was driving their pickup truck on a fairly empty highway when the weather gods decided that their car would be a great target for a direct lightning bolt strike. According to the couple, after getting hit the car’s airbags popped out, the electrical system was destroyed, the car door’s locked and black…

Reframe Roundup: This Week’s Best Photography Posts

Did you guys know there is a Gizmodo subdomain where you can go for all things photographic? Yep! It’s called Reframe, and it’s where you’ll find additional coverage of gear, techniques, news, and all kinds of great stuff related to the crafts of photography and videography. San Francisco’s Sights Reflected Upside-Down In Perfectly Clear Puddles…

An Astrophysicist Explains Our Flying Car Problem

In a new essay at the New York Times, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester asks the retro-futurist’s most daunting question: Where’s my flying car? Or, as Adam Frank’s piece is titled, “I Was Promised Flying Cars.” As an astronomy-obsessed kid in the 1970s, I subsisted on a steady diet of science…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

It’s starting to feel like summer out there! Go on and get outside. Give your smartphone some fresh air—and some fresh apps. Multi-Platform Updates Tinder This week saw the addition of Moments, a new feature that lets you share photos with all of your matches at once. Add filters or text, see who “likes” your…

Black Label Society: Concrete Jungle

What is is about iconic cities that make people want to destroy them? Whether it’s Godzilla curb stomping San Francisco or Tetsuo reintegrating Neo-Tokyo or giant tentacle monsters molesting the Brooklyn Bridge, our popular culture is completely enthralled with the destruction of our most famous monuments. Why is that? Is it the same instinctive impetus…

Unofficial Guardians Of The Galaxy Posters Capture Our Excitement

These aren’t the official posters for Marvel’s space movie, but they probably should be. The folks at Poster Posse have whipped up a couple dozen fan-made Guardians of the Galaxy poster to show off their excitement for the film. You can see a few of our favorites below, but check out the rest at BLURPPY’s…

Finn Is Lost In The Darkness On This Weeks’ Adventure Time

Yeah, that picture pretty much speaks for itself, doesn’t it? Finn is feeling butt-dumps ever since his dad re-entered the picture (and then left again), he lost his arm, and Flame Princess dropped him. His flower is even wilting. Doctor Princess prescribes her patient a heavy dose of fun, but Finn isn’t sure how he’s…

A Town’s Famous Bioluminescent Bay Is Going Dark and No One Knows Why

For those who’ve seen it—and photographs don’t do it justice—the bioluminescent Mosquito Bay is one of the world’s most spectacular natural sights. Tiny plankton known as dinoflagellates light up the water like a glow stick at night. But since January, the glow has faded, throwing the entire Puerto Rican town into a panic. Vieques is…

Animated Map Shows How Paved Roads Spread Across L.A. County

Is the L.A. of 2014 driving around on a road network built for the L.A. of the 1980s? That’s one conclusion two researchers at Arizona State University draw from their above data visualization, which uses building records from the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office to infer the age of the metropolis’ roads. Green represents the…

If This 54-Year-Old Software Can Finally Release, Anything Is Possible

When development started in 1960, many people thought Project Xanadu would change the world. Then one delay led to another and another and another. But after 54 years in development the world’s most delayed software went live. It’s called OpenXanadu. Described as “the original hypertext project” on its website, the software is basically a fancy…

NASA has approved funding for 12 futuristic projects, including a submarine to explore the methane lakes of Titan, an aerial drone for Mars, and a probe to analyze the surface of Europa. You can learn about each individual project here. Image: Ron Miller, who wants to call this “Lake Bonestell” after famous Titan artist Chesley…

3D Printed Steel Structures Are As Efficient As They Are Awesome-Looking

No matter how many times you hear about a new breakthrough, 3D printing is amazing, transformative technology. Now, a new method for 3D printing steel joints stands to revolutionize the construction industry. It looks pretty badass, too. Arup, an engineering and design firm, has developed an additive manufacturing technique for critical structural steel elements that…