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Wikipedia’s Adding Voice Recordings to Famous People’s Biographies

Imagine being able to hear a great historical figure’s voice. It would add such richness to the facts and dates about her or his life. Starting today, Wikipedia will make that possible with the Wikipedia Voice Intro Project, adding short voice recordings to the online encyclopedia. And that’s truly awesome. https://gizmodo.com/listening-to-this-incredible-recording-of-einstein-will-1464557213 WikiVIP announced the program…

New York City Is Using Data Mining to Fight Fires

Helmets? Check. Breathing tanks? Check. Hoses? Ditto. Algorithms? Yep: the New York City Fire Department is using data mining to predict which of the city’s buildings are at highest risk of catching fire. Now that’s metadata we can get behind. FDNY officials are using a 60-facet algorithm to determine which department-inspected buildings pose the greatest…

I Finally Found the Song I’ve Spent Years Searching For

Last Saturday, I asked you to name the one thing you keep searching for online, but can’t find. The question was inspired by my unsuccessful three-year search for a song I’d heard once on a college radio station. Serendipitously, I stumbled across it this week—and hearing it again sent shivers up my spine. Here it…

If the BBC had been behind Disney’s Great Mouse Detective

It would have looked like this. In all seriousness, though: Looking at FRANKN.STEIN’s post below, it’s hard to imagine someone from the Great Mouse team didn’t have a hand in the whole mustache schtick in Sherlock’s Season 3 opener. [MBC’s ‘BASIL’ by tales to astonish] https://observationdeck.kinja.com/homaging-the-classics-1508823806

This Trippy Animated Video Is a Roller Coaster Through the Internet

Whoa. Austin Motion Artists Group‘s computer-animated space warp is the grooviest 3 minutes you’ll witness today. It’s positively mesmerizing. Set to The Octopus Project’s song “MMKIT,” the video was animated by 14 teams, each working on an 11-second snippet of the song. Despite the disparate teams contributing to the project, the 3-minute end result is…

Motorola’s Knocking $100 Off Unlocked Moto X for One Hour on Monday

Holding out for a better price on an unlocked Moto X? Keep waiting until Monday—then scramble like your hair’s on fire, because Motorola’s cutting off-contract prices by $100 between 3 and 4PM EST on January 27th. https://gizmodo.com/moto-x-review-the-android-phone-for-everybody-1034784286 How’s that work? On Monday, January 27th, Motorola will have a registration form available at this link. Don’t…

SodaStream Boycott, Fake Viral Photos, Oculus Rift Gender Swaps, More

From the serious and unexpected geopolitics of a kitchen gizmo to the utterly terrifying notion of a drifting boat full of cannibal rats, Gizmodo brought you some shocking, fascinating, and compelling stories this week. Let’s review, shall we? Why These People Want You to Boycott SodaStream You’d think that, as a company accused of fostering…

The NSA’s website for kids isn’t creepy. Nope. Not creepy at all.

Just a friendly reminder that the NSA‘s children’s website, “CryptoKids,” is an actual thing that exists. https://gizmodo.com/need-more-reasons-to-feel-paranoid-about-the-nsa-watch-1495875117 In today’s New York Times, Michael S. Schmidt reports on the “furry, smiley face” the Agency puts on its mission: https://gizmodo.com/did-neal-stephenson-predict-the-nsa-spying-on-world-of-1480823003 https://gizmodo.com/the-nsa-spying-scandal-as-explained-by-pixar-757650604 The turtle wearing a hat backward, baggy jeans and purple sunglasses looks just like other cartoon…

The field of psychology could be entering a period of rapid transformation, leading the charge on reforms that stand to benefit all life sciences. Over at The Guardian, Chris Chambers runs through five big changes to the field to look for in the coming year.

Things go to hell for pretty much everybody in the Dracula finale

Those hoping that NBC’s Dracula miniseries would bring the excitement for the season (series?) finale, you couldn’t have been disappointed. Sure, not everything was resolved, but how upset can you be with a finale that included a great deal of murder, fucking, and the blood of Christ used as a vampire GPS? I’m serious. It’s…

This week in Tech Reads: Twitter, YouTube, Her, and much more! New York Times film critic A.O. Scott recounts the weird turn of events when one of his tweets turned into an advertisement for Inside Llewyn Davis, and what happened next. [NYTimes] Ryan Graff explains how the New York Times’ most popular item of 2013…

Watch this polar bear cub take his first bath

This little cub has dealt with more than his share of struggle in his brief life. One of three male cubs born at the Toronto Zoo last November, he was the only one to survive more than 48 hours. When his mother had trouble nursing him, staff at the zoo’s Wildlife Health Centre decided to…

​Grimm reveals even Wesen can be horrible racists

After three strong weeks in a row, Grimm falters with “The Big Hunt.” It’s not a reversion to the Wesen-o’-the-Week formula, thank goodness, but it involves three separate plots that never come close to approaching each other, and all of which could have been condensed. Seriously, I can make this recap even quicker than last…

Four Ways to Winterize Your Bike Before Next Week’s Commute

So what if the East River is iced over and the mercury refuses to climb into the double digits? Commuting on your bike through snow can still be faster and more enjoyable than waiting on an overcrowded subway car. Here’s how make sure your two-wheeler is ready to face Old Man Winter. https://gizmodo.com/new-yorks-frozen-east-river-seen-from-pier-1-playground-1508445224 Clean It,…

NASA’s Opportunity Rover Celebrates a Decade on Mars

Ten years ago today, the Opportunity rover landed on Mars. In this newly released retrospective, NASA engineers reflect on the challenges they’ve faced keeping this intrepid little rover roving well beyond its original 90-day mission. https://gizmodo.com/10-years-ago-opportunity-rover-began-a-90-day-mission-t-693893908 Via JPL: There are no vehicle repair stations on Mars. The Opportunity rover landed on the Red Planet in…

Riding the RYNO: When Two Wheels Is Too Many

This sci-fi electric unicycle is the RYNO, a future-badass alternative to the Segway that looks like it got beamed down from the year 2114. But it’s here, and it’s real, and I got to ride it. Self-taught engineer Chris Hoffmann began working on the RYNO concept in 2006, when his 13-year-old daughter sketched a one-wheeled…

This animated short is the best 10-second adventure you’ll take today

Animation and live action meet halfway in Golden Age of Insect Aviation: The Great Grasshoppers, a whimsically bold 10-second adventure by Wayne Unten. Writes Unten: “In 1903, Olivia Wright was the first to pilot the great grasshoppers of North America.” While taking my kids to the playground, I shot live-action footage of a grasshopper, using…

And now, Mr. Freeze Singing ‘Let It Go’ From Disney’s Frozen

Don’t fight it. You knew this was inevitable. Honestly, we’re surprised it took this long. Via creators 2chinTV: Pixar Animation Studios, the studio behind “Toy Story 3” and “Free Birds,” presents “Freezin’,” a stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Determined scientist Victor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with his loyal henchmen—to make Gotham…

The Triumphant Return of the Powerpuff Girls!

The Powerpuff Girls are back! The trio returns for a special this week, Steven Universe jumps into bizarre world of professional wrestling, and we take a look at Rick and Morty, a ‘toon from the mind of Dan Harman. As always – minor spoilers ahead! Adventure Time – “Blade of Grass” Finn breaks his sword…

Report: Apple’s Expanding Mobile Payment to Physical Goods

The Wall Street Journal is hearing rumors that Apple wants to expand its mobile payment capabilities beyond iTunes purchases, moving into the space dominated by names like Square, PayPal, and Google. https://gizmodo.com/you-can-use-square-to-give-cash-to-friends-now-1446364218 With over 575 million registered iTunes users, it’s almost surprising that Apple hasn’t already given those users a way to pay for 3rd…