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This camera stabilizer seems to defy the laws of physics

Though it may look fake and unreal and impossible and not allowed on Earth, the camera stabilizer in the video is completely real. You can’t make it shake. It’s like magic decided to defy physics and ignore gravity. All I want to do is park myself in front of a mirror and do as many…

The Best Gizmodo Stories of 2013

We’ve posted thousands of pieces in 2013, so to pluck out a few dozen and to call them our favorite is in some ways impossibly arbitrary. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t try. If you’d rather see our most popular stories, there’s a list for that, too. But below are the posts that stood out…

A Startling Image That Shows Why Space Junk is a Nightmare

If you saw the movie Gravity, then you know that space debris can be deadly. Some scientists warn that the crud in Earth’s orbit may have reached a dangerous “tipping point.” But to prove the point, here’s an image from artist Michael Najjar that shows every single piece of real-life junk in our orbit. https://gizmodo.com/has-the-space-junk-in-earth-orbit-really-reached-a-dang-5836962…

What Are Your Tech Resolutions for 2014?

We all have our standard, age-old New Years resolutions. Quit smoking. Work out more. Come to terms with ever present self hatred. But there’s more to life than just health and wellness. There are computers! And social networks! So is this the year you finally kick Facebook? (Yeah right!) Or maybe the year you stop…

“Sputnik Girl” Was Ready to Blast-Off On New Year’s Eve 1958

December 31, 1958 — Five-year-old Linda Chapman of Kent stands in costume beside her toy rocket at New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Gillingham NAAFI Club. [Getty Images]

NASA snaps a pic of China’s Yutu Rover from 93 miles overhead

China’s Yutu rover has been spotted by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LRO). The 60-inch wide robot can be seen as a pair of white pixels just east of a 1,500 (450 m) foot impact crater. Thanks to the image, we now know Yutu’s exact location. Chang’e 3 landed on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains)…

The Number of People Killed in Covert Drone Strikes is Down 50 Percent

As another year comes to a close, another batch of sobering numbers about the United States’ semi-secret drone war is in. They’re actually not as bad as they used to be. The Council on Foreign Relations just updated its running tally of deaths caused by covert drone strikes in non-battlefield settings, dating from its first…

This 1901 Cartoon Takes a Humorous Look at the Future of New York

The folks over at Ohio State University’s Cartoon Library and Museum have posted a fantastic cartoon from 1901 that takes a humorous look into the world of tomorrow — specifically that far off, futuristic year of 1987. Drawn by J. Campbell Cory for the New York World newspaper, this “prophetic vision of the 20th century”…

It’s time for the sparkly rainbow version of Game of Thrones

What if the famous Trapper Keeper artist Lisa Frank was living in Westros, designing all the house sigils? You’d be dying at the end of a glitter sword, and slain by pink dragon fire. Artist ArterialMotive has posted these awesome Lisa Frank sigils over on Tumblr. You should check out more of ArterialMotive’s work there!…

Can Radar and RFID Stop Drivers From Killing Cyclists?

Last month, London reached a grim milestone: Six cyclists were killed within 14 days, sparking a massive “die-in” protest. London isn’t alone; 176 cyclists or pedestrians were killed in NYC last year. The rapidly rising death toll is spurring a race to build a technology to warn drivers before they hit someone on foot or…

Advanced Imaging Reveals a Computer 1,500 Years Ahead of Its Time

X-rays and advanced photography have uncovered the true complexity of the mysterious Antikythera mechanism, a device so astonishing that its discovery is like finding a functional Buick in medieval Europe. In 1900, some divers found the wreck of a Roman vessel off the Greek island of Antikythera. Among the other treasures remanded to the Greek…

A Map of the 124 United States of America That Could Have Been

The fact that we’ve kept the number of U.S. states relatively static is nothing short a miracle—there have been hundreds of attempts at state secession over the years. But what if they had all succeeded? This brilliant map depicts that alternative universe, where the U.S. is broken up into 124 different states that stretch from…

​11 Characters Who Should Have Stayed Dead

We all know death is a revolving door in pop culture, and nowhere more so than in science fiction, fantasy and comics. But there are a few resurrections that feel especially cheap, and which cheapen the characters who had previously died with great fanfare. Here are 11 characters who should have stayed dead. This list…

Transforming X-Wings battle Star Beasts in the 1980s Star Wars anime

Don’t stress, this video is a mock-up made by the guys at Nacho Punch — there’s not really an anime series based on Star Wars. If there had been, though, and it had been made in the ’80s, I think it’d look a lot like this, complete with lightsaber hands, transforming spaceships, and lots and…

The Complete List of Everything Banned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg leaves office tomorrow after 12 years as New York City’s mayor. No mayor in recent memory has added so much to a city. Or taken so much away. To remember him properly, here’s a list of everything Bloomberg banned during his time in office. Smoking in commercial establishments like bars and restaurants (2003)…

Less than half of U.S. Republicans now believe in evolution

US Republicans are a conservative party, but even just two decades ago they were pro-science, generously funding many of the nation’s greatest science programs like NASA. But not anymore. Now, a new Pew survey shows that only 43% of Republicans believe in evolution. https://gizmodo.com/what-is-public-science-and-why-do-you-need-it-5834462 According to Pew Research, we’re at a tipping point — belief…

Drunk Driving and The Pre-History of Breathalyzers

Drunk driving combines two of America’s favorite pastimes: getting absolutely hammered and driving an automobile. But before the invention of the modern breathalyzer in the 1950s, determining if someone was too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle was incredibly subjective. It took decades for law enforcement technology to catch up with one of our most…

Mystery Steam Over Fukushima Could Be Sign of Another Meltdown

The newest update in the highly disconcerting series of devastating failures that is the Fukushima cleanup effort is troubling to say the least. Tepco has confirmed that (unexplained) plumes of steam have been rising from the mangled remains of Reactor Building 3. In other words, there’s a chance Fukushima could be in the middle of…

Sony may get into the Windows Phone game, launching a model as early as mid-2014, according to The Information. If it pans out, it would be a break from Sony’s Android loyalty, and bring some variety to the Nokia-heavy Windows Phone segment. [The Information via The Verge]

I Wouldn’t Pay for 2013’s Most Pirated Movie Either

On the heels of Torrentfreak’s most-pirated TV shows of 2013 is their list of most-pirated movies. Not surprisingly, the list doesn’t exactly represent the refined cultural taste you might hope. https://gizmodo.com/the-top-10-pirated-tv-shows-of-2013-1490417092 Coming in at #1 is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. I’m guessing it only took a handful of 2012 theater goers to spread the…