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Forrest Gump works pretty damn well as an 8-bit video game

I’ve never thought about it but Forrest Gump really works as a video game. You have your running levels, your war levels, your ping pong levels, your socially awkward levels, your fishing levels and your save Jenny levels. You can even have a pick a chocolate level. It’s a movie that can easily be turned…

One Of Doctor Who‘s Creepiest Stories Is Now On DVD

The 1967 Doctor Who story “The Web of Fear” is best remembered as the first appearance of Colonel (later Brigadier) Lethbridge-Stewart, the Doctor’s steadfast friend. But now that it’s finally on DVD, the thing you’ll remember most about it is how skin-crawling the whole thing is. It was a huge big deal last fall when…

Video shows life in Machu Picchu in beautiful 4K detail

You can probably walk every inch of the Earth and not find a place that’s as mysteriously majestic as Machu Picchu. The city in the sky not only takes your breath away, it forever changes the meaning of being breathless. This video by Devin Super Tramp reminds you how beautiful it is out there and…

Lord Of The Rings Animation Supervisor Defends Importance Of Job

Last week, Cartoon Brew pointed out some potentially belittling comments actor and motion-capture icon Andy Serkis made in a recent interview with io9. In short, Serkis downplayed the role of animators in creating realistic mo-cap CGI. And while Serkis is certainly right to say an actor makes a huge contribution during the process of motion…

When Toothless And Stitch Have Sleepovers, They Dress Up As Each Other

These two animated scamps get cozy with their double cosplay act in this sweet painting by Eric Proctor. Incidentally, both Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon were directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Also, be sure to check out Proctor’s Grumpy Disney series, in which Grumpy Cat takes the place of…

Why Fake Apple Chargers Totally Suck

So your iPad charger goes kaput, and you aren’t so keen on giving a pretty penny to Apple (yet) again. It can’t be that bad to buy a cheapo one online right? It even looks exactly like real Apple charger! But then it heats up like a burning coal and stops working after a couple…

Someone Finally Designed a Better Disposable Coffee Cup Lid

Given how much money the average American spends on coffee, why wouldn’t you want the best drinking experience possible? Even if it’s from a disposable cup? That’s what inspired a Seattle-based company called Vaporpath to finally redesign the disposable plastic lid and address many of the shortcomings of what we’re forced to use now. The…

Raccoon or Dog? US Government Decides the Fate of Animal Fur

Is this animal, Nyctereutes procyonoides, best referred to as an Asiatic raccoon or as a raccoon dog? The answer to that question is actually more complicated than you might think — and could determine whether this animal will be killed for its fur or not. Earlier this week, the US government announced its answer: These…

Stop In For A Reader Happy Hour At The Gizmodo Home of the Future

Stop by the Home of the Future from 5-7pm on Tuesday, May 20th, for a pint of Hop Tech 431, our collaborative futurist IPA brewed with the mad scientists at Sixpoint. Taste the experimental hop known only as HBC 431 with the Gizmodo crew and get a glimpse of where the flavor profile of American…

Europa Crisis: Read The First Chapter Of Jeff Carlson’s Frozen Sky 2!

Last year, we brought you an exclusive look at Frozen Sky by Plague Year author Jeff Carlson — and now, here’s the first chapter ofthe sequel, Frozen Sky 2: Betrayed — in which the situation with the alien sunfish on Europa is only getting more drastic. Plus some exclusive illustrations! BETRAYED 1. The ice shook…

When Apple Damns Your Texts to iMessage Purgatory

I recently switched from an iPhone to Android, and discovered shortly thereafter that my phone number was still associated with iMessage, meaning that any time someone with an iPhone tried texting me, I’d receive nothing, and they’d get a “Delivered” receipt in their Messages app as though everything were working as expected. I spent the…

It’s hard to top the holy shit news that Antarctica is, as we’ve long feared, irreversibly melting, but this week’s Landscape Reads is chock full of other great stories. Could the difference between rice and wheat farming also explain cultural differences? (By the way, those are rice terraces above!) What’s a 19th-century map doing in…

This is the closest you can get to fly speeder bikes at Endor’s forest

I never thought that skating through a forest was possible but—looking at this video of Andreas Wirnstl, Marco Dallago, and Luca Dallago zooming through a forest in Graz, Austria—apparently it is. It must really feel exhilarating to race like that, like driving a speeder bike in Return of the Jedi. SPLOID is a new blog…

This Keyboard for Google Glass Is Stupid or Clever or Both—I Can’t Tell

Minuum, the weird keyboard with a weirder name, has announced it is coming to Google Glass. Get ready to type with your glasses. This concept video shows how that might work. From eye-control (neat!) to finger control (dumb!) to arm control (clever?). God only knows which of these will make it to Glass and how…

Why Scientists Won’t Talk To The U.S. Government

Roughly 90% of scientists in a recent survey said that scientists and policymakers don’t communicate enough. But only about 60% said they were sure of the names of their elected federal representatives. What explains this paradox? That question was the focus of a forum held earlier this week by the American Association for the Advancement…

We May Have Solved the Mystery of the Dying Bees

For over a decade, a disease called colony collapse disorder has been destroying bee populations worldwide. Because bees pollinate many of our staple crops, their deaths threaten our food supplies. Now, new evidence is solidifying a case against the likely culprit in their deaths. Photo by Alex Wild Researchers have previously argued that colony collapse…

Glee Meets Game of Thrones In The New Musical Series Galavant

ABC has just just released a bunch of new series trailers and we are very excited about some of these shows, including the singing comedy Galavant, which looks ridiculous. But maybe in a great way. Up top is Galavant, which feels like ABC hired the cast of rogue writers from Once Upon A Time who…

“I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown, but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me.” — Star Trek legend William Shatner in 2006 when offered the future opportunity to ride Virgin Galactic Image: William Shatner in 2006 via…

US-Russia Tension Threatens GPS System

The tensions between the American and Russian space program have ratcheted up another notch. In retaliation for a US ban on certain high-tech exports, Russia is refusing for their rockets to be used in military launches, and is threatening GPS base stations used in geodetic research. Artist impression of a GPS satellite in orbit. Image…

Everyone’s the Grillmaster At this BBQ Picnic Table

There’s a certain pride that comes with donning the apron and tongs to handle grilling duties at a barbecue. Making sure everyone’s steak is cooked exactly how they like is a lot of responsibility, though, which is why the JAG Grill table—that lets every dinner guest grill their own meat—is such a wonderful idea. Located…