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Behold Tom Hiddleston’s shirtless audition for the role of Thor

Before he transformed into the greatest Marvel villain of all, Tom Hiddleston originally auditioned for Chris Hemsworth’s role as Thor. And we now have a tiny glimpse of that audition tape — and it is awesome. The gifs come from the soon-to-be released Thor: The Dark World DVD extras. One of the special features will…

What graphic novel should be required reading in high schools?

High school is when you learn a lot of the truth about being a grown up — and sometimes, the teachers will try to give you a heads-up, with reading lists that include Catcher in the Rye or whatever. But what graphic novel ought to be on every high school’s required reading list? Please include…

Gridded “Superlens” Brings Wireless Power Transmission A Step Closer

Above is a close-up of what developers call a “superlens,” a device that can focus low-energy magnetic waves over a distance. The result? Wireless power generation over nearly one foot of air between transmitter and receiver. That might not seem like a great feat, but its Duke University creators say the superlens for the first…

Graphite Razor Blades Turn Utility Knives Into Carpenter’s Pencils

When you’re working with wood, they say you should always measure twice and cut once. But there’s no mention of ensuring the pencil line you draw to make that single cut is as straight as possible. A company called Prazi believes you can actually create a straighter, truer line with a utility knife instead of…

The rumors are true: Google’s bringing Chrome apps to iOS and Android. Well, it’s providing the tools developers need in order to do so. The toolkit is only in a beta form at the moment, but it holds the promise turning Chrome apps into cross-platform suckers for your phone. If it turns out to be…

Overlords Among Us: Amazing Artwork of Clarke’s Childhood’s End

People have been trying for years to get a movie of Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End off the ground — and there has been some amazing artwork depicting Clarke’s Overlords. Including a design by creature-designer extraordinaire Wayne Barlowe, and drawings by Batman artist Neal Adams! While working on the post about “entry level” science fiction…

​Captain Mal and the Serenity finally fly again in This Week’s Comics

Yes, the fan-favorite Firefly crew are finally back in action, thanks to Dark horse’s new series, while the Dredd movie gets a comic sequel as well. Plus Snowpiercer, super-Brits, Captain Jane T. Kirk (really!) and more, all in this week’s comics! New Issues Dark Horse: • Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1: Six months after…

The Subtle Art of Breaking Building Laws

Building permits are wonderful things: They protect us from slum conditions and scammers, and they make money for our local governments. But permits can also pose a major financial hurdle for independent home builders—and rules are meant to be broken, man. There’s a rich, if somewhat under-the-radar, tradition of architectural loopholes out there, and it…

Yes, the Google Bus is affecting rental prices in San Francisco

The Google bus riots were one of the most futuristic protests that the San Francisco Bay Area has ever seen. But is the protesters’ rage against rich techies misplaced? According to one city planner, there is some truth to the idea that these shuttles raise rents. The bus riots were complicated, but one issue that…

No, this isn’t the stormy surface of a remote gas giant, but rather a swirling vortex atop a heated soap bubble. Shot by a high-speed camera, the image is helping scientists understand how these spinning complex structures form, whether they be in a bubble, a tropical storm or Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. Image: Hamid Kellay.

London’s Giant Shoebox Is Actually An Adidas Pop-Up Shop

Pop-up shops are a dime a dozen these days but, when a brand decides to get weird, it’s often memorable. Such was the case with the recent Adidas project in London’s Shoreditch neighborhood. Designed to celebrate the launch of the new Stan Smith collection, this giant shoebox of a pop-up shop had a short run.…

The Towering Glory and Infinite Weirdness of Post-Soviet Architecture

These surreal photographs from Frank Herfort’s Imperial Pomp – Post Soviet Highrise series show us the strangest post-Soviet buildings of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia. Two golden towers in Astana, Kazakhstan, also called as ‘the beer cans’ by locals, built in 1998 An office building in Moscow, Russia Grand Park Towers (Khodynsky Bulvar 5), 414 ft…

(this came from Oppositelock but I can’t find who posted it to give credit)

Holy F, this is the craziest GoPro video I’ve ever seen

When I started watching the latest Ken Blocks’ Gymkhana—filmed from every angle with a billion GoPro cameras—I was thinking “oh, this is neat.” By the middle of it I was “oh, wait, what? WHAT?” And at the end I was “what the hell did I just watch?” If there’s any video that realizes the potential…

Here’s what it would look like to fly directly into a nebula

Ever wondered what it would be like to look out the window of a spaceship as it travels through space? Wonder no more. This video gives you a spaceship’s-eye view as you blast off from a mountain range in Earth, fly through the stars, then move closer and closer to a distant brightness in the…

How a 1940s Gangster Film Foresaw the Surveillance Tech of Today

White Heat is a classic gangster film from 1949, starring James Cagney. It is a thoroughly Los Angeles flick, filmed almost exclusively in the Greater Los Angeles region, including scenes shot at Warner Brother Studios in Burbank. The film is considered a classic for many reasons—but what’s interesting in terms of Gizmodo is its depiction…

These drawings are actually photos

These photos are actually pastel drawings, but these drawings are actually photos of real objects. Created by Cynthia Greig, they use no digital manipulation whatsoever. Just white paint and black pencil. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sorry, Intelligence, but your princess is in another castle.

Last night’s Intelligence had a bit of a video game plot going on: each time the characters thought they’d reached their goal, they were presented with a new challenge. And yet, the fact that it was light on the emotional drama and heavy on the mission made this episode the best yet. Congratulations, Intelligence, you…

This is what Weird al Yankovic looks like as a My Little Pony

In a word, weird. But this is no fan art — Yankovic will guest-star on this week’s episode of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, as a pony named, and I am not making this up, “Cheese Sandwich.” Here’s the official synopsis of “Pinkie Pride,” which airs this Saturday at 10:30 am EST: An elated…

These Staged Pictures Are Perfect Visions of Imperfect Public Spaces

It may seem, at first glance, like a typical summer scene. But the photographs of busy beaches, airports and public buildings by Alex Prager are actually elaborately choreographed images. A new exhibition, Alex Prager: Face in the Crowd, features large-scale color photographs that capture her glorified versions of simple human interaction. For Prager, a photograph…