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Google Wants to Bring Fiber to 34 More US Cities

It’s finally time! Google just announced that it’s “exploring” the idea of bringing Fiber to nine more metropolitan areas across the country—34 cities in total. And based on the map Google made to show what the expansion would look like, you’re in luck if you live in the South. Don’t get too excited, though. Google…

Acne is the first bacteria found to have hopped from humans to plants

Humans aren’t the only living things that play host to the bacteria that causes acne. A team of researchers believe that our ancestors passed the microbe to grapevines thousands of years ago, the first known bacterial transfer from human to crop. In a letter published in the latest issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution, a…

Redesigning New Orleans for flooding, new buildings in Williamsburg that don’t suck, and a skyscraper in L.A. that will soon be the tallest west of Chicago. Plus: Google’s urban expansion and dying department stores, all in this week’s Urban Reads. How New Orleans’ new water plan will dramatically reshape the city’s streets and canals to…

A Family of Singing Time-Travelers Drive the Highways of Tomorrow

Tired of sitting in traffic? Just take the completely automated, high-speed safety lane! At least that’s what the singing, time-traveling family of the 1950s did in this amazing film from General Motors. In 1956, over 2.2 million Americans visited the General Motor’s Motorama exhibit. It traveled from city to city showing off the latest and…

This Simple App Can Train Your Brain to Have 20/7.5 Vision

Everybody wishes they had super powers. The big problem with that shared ambition, however, is that super powers do not exist. Not unless you count super human vision. That does exist, and a new app promises to help you attain it. The app is called UltimEyes, and it was designed by neuroscientists who were thinking…

Did you know that butterflies have (the weirdest) penises?

Scientists have discovered two new species of butterflies in eastern USA—”an extremely rare discovery.” That’s cool, but I just wanted to tell you that butterflies have penises, which is one of the reasons that served biologists to identify them as new species. They look like deathly alien manta rays. The new Intricate Satyr (Hermeuptychia intricate…

Who Needs UAVs When You’ve Got Surveillance Munitions?

The US military has poured millions upon millions of dollars into squad-based tactical UAVs—the kind deployed by troops for close-range ASAP reconnaissance—over the past few years, developing the likes of the Puma AE and Black Hornet. But ST Kinetics has just unveiled a clever surveillance system that uses modified 40 mm rounds—and it could do…

The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s Green Goblin is more goblin than green

Thanks to this video preview of a bust revealed at this week’s New York Toy Fair, we have our first good look at Harry Osborn’s form as the evil Green Goblin in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The good news: He looks extremely goblin-y. The bad news? He’s not wearing a mask. Seriously, watch the video:…

How to make a paper plane to fly and loop forever

These guys say you can use a stove to make a paper plane to gently fly in circles for as long as you want. Their new trick, however, is much better: make it loop forever at super speed using a chair and a hair dryer. https://gizmodo.com/how-to-make-a-paper-airplane-fly-forever-1280788882 The guys who claim this is possible explain it:…

Netflix Releases New “Browse Endlessly” Plan

Perfect for a night of clicking through films you have no intention of watching. The Onion has done it again with their news report on the new Netflix plan. Why not make people pay for what they’re doing already? I would also be open to a “Just West Wing” plan or “The first 10 minutes…

Nespresso VertuoLine: Like Keurig Coffee, But With Style

Say what you will about Keurig-style pod coffee machines, but they are a godsend for lazy people. And now Nespresso—purveyor of pod-based espresso—is selling a machine called the VertuoLine that makes you a full cup o’ joe. For the uninitiated, Nespresso makes fancy/expensive machines that you can pop a little aluminum cup the size of…

200-Year Old Douche Discovered Under NYC City Hall

This mystery artifact unearthed during a rehabilitation project at New York City Hall had archaeologists puzzled. Was it a spice grinder? Maybe a needle case? Nope. It’s a 19th-century feminine hygiene product: that’s right, a 200-year-old douche. Chrysalis Archaeology, an intrepid team of NYC archaeologists we spoke with last year, discovered the hygiene device in…

Everything You Need to Know About That Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

The first proper trailer for Marvel’s comedy space-opera Guardians of the Galaxy blew our minds last night, inspiring comparisons to Farscape and The Fifth Element. But who are all these people, and what’s their deal? We’ve broken down the trailer frame by frame, to give you a Who’s Who on the Guardians and their universe.…

The first official Ubuntu hardware partners have been announced and companies you’ve never heard of! Expect the phones later this year, but don’t set your heart on US availability you crazy Linux junkie.

Sir David Attenborough gloriously narrates a round of Olympic Curling

If you are mystified by the sliding and sweeping sport that is curling, Sir David Attenborough is here to help. BBC Radio 1 convinced the naturalist to narrate a few moments with Great Britain’s Olympic curling team as if it were a nature documentary. Attenborough was featured this week on Greg James’ show on Radio…

Stop Carrying Credit Cards With This Fob That Can Fake Them

George Costanza would love the Loop: it’s a tiny device that stores all of your credit card information, lets you pay at any terminal, and guarantees you’ll never live with the threat of your wallet exploding again. And you can buy it right now. If Loop sounds familiar, you might be thinking of Coin, the…

Brain interface lets one monkey control the movements of another

Neuroscientists have taken us one step closer to an Avatar-like world after demonstrating a brain-to-spinal-cord interface that allowed a “master” monkey to remotely control the hand movement of an “avatar” monkey who was completely unconscious. Scientists have already developed brain-to-brain interfaces, but this is the first demonstration of a brain-to-spinal-cord interface. The breakthrough could eventually…

The FCC Is Going to Write All New Net Neutrality Rules

It’s official: The FCC isn’t going to appeal the net neutrality ruling. Instead, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is just going to be writing a whole new set of rules. Supposedly, the new regulations would still ensure that that Internet service providers wouldn’t be able to charge companies an additional fee to reach customers at faster…

I stumbled on this photo while writing last night’s post about the East Side Access Project in New York and just couldn’t resist: like some underground rail gun or a particle accelerator whirring to life, this is part of the Second Avenue Subway, the so-called “86th Street Cavern,” a subterranean wonder that will soon be…

Will a superhero movie ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

Greetings, folks. Sorry if I’m a bit snappy today in my answers; but I’m in a bad mood. I set up the first mailbox in town so people could drop off their letters (and I didn’t have to personally pick them up), but someone, I don’t know who, keeps pooping in it. I know civilization’s…