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Sorry, Chicago—Los Angeles Was Home to the First Wrigley Field

Baseball fans will always associate the name of Wrigley Field, which celebrates its centennial today, with the Windy City. But it wasn’t the first stadium to bear the name. Instead, that honor belongs to a long-lost ballpark in South Los Angeles. Though it had been open since 1914, Chicago’s historic stadium was still known as…

What did last week’s blood moon eclipse look like from the moon’s perspective? University of Pennsylvania astronomy professor Mark Devlin explains what someone standing on the lunar surface would have seen while looking at Earth. And, if you missed seeing it here on Earth, you might also enjoy this timelapse:

“Going with the Crowd” Causes Us to Make the Wrong Choices

Going with the herd makes us feel safe, but herd behavior can go very wrong. It’s not just crowds panicking and trampling. Enough of a crowd, and enough familiarity, will let smart people make exactly the wrong choice. We don’t herd together accidentally. In dangerous situations, we group together for safety. In uncertain situations we…

Lytro’s Light Field Tech Is Amazing, But Is It Already Obsolete?

Lytro wants to bring photography into the future by creating cameras that do the seemingly impossible—allowing anyone viewing the image to choose which part is in focus. It’s called light field technology, and it might already be completely obsolete. Over the past couple of years, camera technology has plateaued. Smartphones have gobbled up the need…

Use Google Maps To Look Backwards In Time

We’ve gotten so used to seeing our maps loaded with satellite imagery, that it doesn’t seem so remarkable. But what if you could see not just a mapped area in its present, but also look back through the years, at what it used to be? Google Street View has been building up a caché of…

What 650 Miles With Ford’s Top Designer Taught Me About Tomorrow’s Cars

On day two of my classic Mustang road trip with Ford Motor Co.’s top two designers, Moray Callum and I were concerning ourselves with the future. Not just the future of cars, cities, and design; but our own imminent futures. Because we were driving a half-century-old car, with antiquated brakes, insufficient tires, and zero safety…

The Plot To The Peeps Movie Has Nothing To Do With Actual Peeps

In the new world, all consumer goods will have a shot at starring in a million dollar feature film. Next up The Good, The Bad and the Pepsi. This sounds terrible. Deadline is reporting that director Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City) has optioned film and TV rights to Peeps. Here’s the pitch, “[it’s] a Lego…

A radical new theory by a well-respected scientist suggests that consciousness is a state of matter, like a liquid or gas. According to MIT’s Max Tegmark, “perceptronium” gives rise to various types of consciousness when certain mathematical and physical conditions are met. Conceivably, the theory could be formulated as a set of problems that can…

A Pirate-Friendly Map of the Pieces of Ocean That No Country Owns

Cool map alert: Donut Holes in International Waters is an interactive map that shows which countries have sovereignty over the high seas. It shows how we’ve diced up the waters with international law—and what all the left-over bits and pieces look like. For the most part, you know what the borders of different countries look…

Summer Movie Preview: 33 Movies To Watch Out For!

Are you ready for one wild summer? This year brings legendary superheroes, famous monsters, and fantasy icons. There are two Michael Bay films, but also the ultra-weird Guardians of the Galaxy. Plus the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer. Here are 33 science fiction and fantasy movies you need to know about this summer. MAY Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May…

Explore Barcelona’s Architectural Past With a Colorful Interactive Map

Exploring a city on foot is one way to get a feel for the place, but there’s always tons of history hidden behind the street-side facades that you’d never really get just by looking at them. Those whose hearts beat for Barcelona are going to love Big Time BCN, a new interactive map which allows…

BBC Documentary Super Sale, Gatchaman Complete, The Breakfast Club

There’s an amazing selection of BBC nature documentaries on sale today. The highlight for us is the Life/Planet Earth Special Edition set narrated by David Attenborough, but you really can’t go wrong with any of these. Life (David Attenborough-Narrated Version) ($25) | Amazon The BBC Natural History Collection featuring Planet Earth (Planet Earth/ The Blue…

All the Weird Toys From Your Childhood

I don’t know you. I don’t know where you’re from or what you look like or how old you are. You might be a judge or a cook or a priest or a clown. I don’t know. But what I’m pretty sure about is that at one point or another, you’ve been involved with most…

New Images Show Wreckage Of U.S. Ships Sunk During D-Day Preparations

On April 28, 1944, a German E-boat sank two U.S. ships participating in training exercises for the Normandy invasion — a largely unknown incident that claimed the lives of 749 American soldiers and sailors. A robotic sub recently captured the most detailed images yet taken of the wrecks. It was called Exercise Tiger, a training…

An Orchestra of Drones Will Rule Mankind With Sweet Tunes

Okay, yes, these drones look adorable zipping around and playing keyboards and drums like a swarm of musical bees. Don’t let them charm you. It’s all part of their plan. First you start to trust them, then they take over mankind. Stay strong. Stay…wait, are they playing bells? Aww, they’re so cute! Seriously, though, we…

Shooting Challenge: Instagram

60 million photos are taken on Instagram each day. Surely, you’ve taken a few yourself. For this week’s Shooting Challenge, take a great Instagram photo—loaded with whatever filters you want—and share it with us. The Challenge Take a great photo on Instagram. Note the filter you used, because that’s always fun to know. The Technique…

Forget VR Sex — Here’s How Tech Will Actually Change Your Love Life

Our technologies are rapidly evolving, and with it, the very nature of our personal lives. Here’s how the era of tech-enabled intimacy will forever change the way we go about forming and maintaining relationships. One person who’s given this topic considerable thought is Heather Schlegel. She’s an award winning futurist and social scientist who investigates…

India’s First 3D Motion Capture Film Looks Like An Old Videogame

Well this is certainly something. More specifically, it’s Kochadaiiyaan, India’s first real attempt at 3D motion capture animation. It’s set for release on May 9th, and Cartoon Brew had a nice little post detailing this trailer’s reception, along with some other featurettes. And it’s a nice try at motion capture when you consider the movie…

Wake Up Like a Human, iPhone 5c, IPS Displays, SodaStream

If you’re still waking up every morning to a shrill alarm clock, you owe it to yourself to give a wake-up light a try. Gizmodo has wholeheartedly recommended this Philips model in the past, and you can get it for only $52 today after clipping the $10 coupon. Update: Seems like this is going in…

You Definitely Can’t Afford a Round-the-World Trip In a Four Seasons Jet

Most of us can’t afford the luxury of being comfortable while traveling, but if you’re loaded, fancy hotel chain The Four Seasons wants to fly you around the world on a nine-destination trip in a black Boeing 757. Forget adventure. This is luxury. According to Bloomberg, the problem is that rich people aren’t throwing around…