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The time President James Garfield wrote a mathematical proof

So, now that we’ve reviewed which U.S. presidents in history did the most to advance science, let’s turn our attention to which presidents have done the most for math — and the time U.S. president James Garfield wrote a proof for the Pythagorean Theorem. https://gizmodo.com/which-u-s-president-was-the-most-pro-science-1522251878 Commenter jztemple suggested that, though Garfield’s term in office was…

Go to sleep while listening to comforting starship engine sounds

Why sleep listening to white noise or ocean sounds, when you could hear the Starship Enterprise in flight? Or the interior of the TARDIS? That’s what this new free app Hypersleep offers. (It’s 99 cents for additional starship engine sounds.) I know I’d sleep a lot better if I knew that Data was still working…

Why not cast Chiwetel Ejiofor as Doctor Strange?

We’ve heard lots of names bandied about to play Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but Rob O. has a great suggestion: Chiwetel Ejiofor. I already believe in him as the Sorcerer Supreme, without seeing a single frame. https://robottone.kinja.com/why-not-chiwetel-ejiofor-1522229284

I Can’t Wait to See This Robot Vs. Human Ping Pong Match

You’ve seen robots hike over rocks and dominate a foosball table, but have you ever watched a machine face off against a human ping pong champion, Forrest Gump-style? Well, March 11 is your lucky day. In a little less than a month, the KUKA Robot Group will pit its flagship machine against professional table tennis…

What 12 inches of snow fall overnight looks like in 45 seconds

Is winter going to end anytime soon? Doesn’t look like it. Here’s GoPro footage capturing more than 12 inches of snow piling up over one night. It starts falling quickly and then slows down a little bit in the middle until it starts raging in the end. It’s like you expect the snow to come…

Are all Native Americans descended from the Clovis people?

For the very first time, scientists have produced genetic evidence that today’s indigenous North and South Americans are all descended from a single population that trekked across the Bering land bridge from Asia. For the past 20 years, anthropologists have argued over whether the first Americans came to the New World by walking over a…

Even I Would Read the Bible If It Were This Pretty

Despite having grown up in the Bible Belt, I’m not terribly religious. Sure, I still go to our quaint little Episcopal church with my mom on holidays but, if you asked me what happens in the Book of Revelation, I’d be dumbfounded. Unless I had an app like this. A British design studio called Family…

Most Amazon bestselling authors aren’t making minimum wage

Yesterday we posted a chart from Hugh Howey’s new report on author earnings, showing indie and self-published authors pulling ahead of people published by the “big five” in terms of total unit sales. Now here’s another chart from an e-book publishing expert who’s calling some of Howey’s conclusions into question. https://gizmodo.com/this-chart-ought-to-make-the-publishing-industry-very-n-1521586768 Writing in Digital Book…

Using Subterranean Acoustics to Explore Ancient Cave Art

You don’t even need a flashlight to look for cave paintings in the dark: you just need the sound of your own voice. By listening to echoes as they walk through Spanish caves, acoustic archaeologists are unlocking the secrets of underground soundscapes. Prehistoric cave paintings, as it happens, aren’t scattered at random underground. Archaeologists at…

A Treasury of Rare and Weird Star Wars Posters From Around the World

Nothing could be more familiar than the original Star Wars poster, featuring Darth’s head looming over our light saber-wielding heroes. But that poster has gone through a lot of mutations in its lifetime, as the movie journeyed across the globe. Here are some of the weirdest and most obscure Star Wars posters in existence. The…

This dramatic fossil shows an ancient marine reptile giving birth

This 248 million-year-old fossil is incredible for two reasons. First, it shows the tragic moment an Ichthyosaur died giving birth. Second, it’s the oldest evidence of a live reptilian birth — about 10 million years older than previous samples. The fossil is that of a Chaohusaurus, a giant marine reptile that looked like a cross…

Guardians of the Galaxy toys show the softer side of Rocket Raccoon

Hasbro has revealed their next set of Marvel movie toys — giving us a nice close look at the heroes of Marvel’s upcoming movie Guardians of the Galaxy. You’ve seen the test footage of Rocket Raccoon and Groot, now take a look at the toy line, which actually looks pretty bananas detailed. Even Gamora’s pink…

These Autonomous Bots Build Structures With a Hive Mind of Their Own

These tiny construction robots look like they’re doing a well-choreographed dance, working together to build a structure. Who’s driving? Nobody—these micro machines cooperate autonomously, using the same concept that guides termites and bees to build huge structures without a supervisor or blueprint. Look at them go! These bots are part of a research project from…

7 NSA Patents: Cyber Manholes, Super-Shredders and More

The National Security Agency has access to the world’s most incredibly sophisticated spy technology. But did you know that the NSA sometimes patents its own creations? The NSA has been granted patents for everything from advanced paper shredders to specific methods of location tracking on the internet. There’s even a super-secure manhole designed to protect…

December 21, 1936: People dressed as robots at a Toronto children’s festival. Photo by Arthur Goss via the City of Toronto Archives.

Who Wouldn’t Want this Victorian Mansion With a Spaceship in the Attic?

The owners of this 8-bedroom Victorian mansion in South London apparently had a knack for juxtaposing classic architecture and high tech goodies. Case and point: this meticulously detailed cockpit for would be astronauts in the attic. Of course, it’s not really a spaceship cockpit. It’s a playroom that was custom-built for what I can only…

Batman is terrible at ad libbing in the LEGO Movie blooper reel

Still haven’t gotten enough of Will Arnett’s LEGO Movie Batman? He has even more goofy one-liners in this “blooper” reel, and even bonds a bit with Emmet. [via Blastr]

WHOA. A giant lightning bolt just struck the world’s tallest building

A massive bolt of lightning just struck the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa — and a photographer was there to catch it the precise moment when it all happened. To get the shot, photographer Michael Shainblum said that he spent more than four hours lying in the rain, until capturing just the moment that lightning…

This video of a honeybee swarm reveals why humans can’t form consensus

Every so often, a honeybee queen leaves the hive where she was born to found a new colony. Along with thousands of workers, she has to figure out a good place to live. But how does this huge group decide where to locate their new home? This video reveals their process — and sheds light…

Somebody Hacked Into Silk Road 2 and Stole All the Bitcoins

Bad news, you lovers of liberty and cryptocurrency. Somebody just hacked into the resurrected version of the Silk Road (a.k.a. Silk Road 2) and stole everybody’s money. And since that money was all in the form of Bitcoin, there’s no way to get it back. https://gizmodo.com/i-pity-the-fool-who-resurrected-silk-road-1459570609 The anonymous administrator who goes by Defcon of the…