Latest

Watch this falcon trick a crow, using a pretty sophisticated illusion

This falcon-cam view as the predator hunts a crow is incredible — but just as incredible is the old sailing illusion it’s using to do so. New Scientist reports on research from scientists at Haverford College that tracks the hunting movement of peregrine falcons through the use of the (highly enjoyable) falcon-cam. The researchers had…

Watch These Wind Turbines Shoot Incredible Lightning Into a Storm

We all know wind turbines can produce electricity, but have you seen them produce lightning? When scientists trained high-speed cameras on a wind farm in Spain, they captured lightning bolts shooting out of the wind turbines. Tall structures like towers can initiate ground-to-cloud lightning, but ever-spinning wind turbines present a unique challenge. Under certain cloud…

Oh Great, Even Refrigerators Are Hackers Now

Ever have that nightmare where your refrigerator comes alive and attacks you? Probably not, but in the era of smart fridges, this is actually a thing that can happen—that is, if we’re talking about cyberattacks. A new study by enterprise security company Proofpoint shows that over 100,000 internet-connected devices took place in a malicious cyberattack…

Arrow splits itself into four fantastic (and nostalgic) genres

One of the difficulties of watching Arrow is keeping up with the stuffed-to-the-gills episodes. This episode taught me that the best way to keep abreast is to accept the different storylines as totally different types of story. Each group of characters has their own genre. Fifties Adventure: “We’re trapped on this island with a mad…

The NSA Scoops Up 200 Million Random Text Messages Every Day

The NSA is monitoring thousands upon thousands of offline computers every day. It’s watching cellphone location data. It’s working on a quantum code-cracker. And if that wasn’t enough, a new report from the Guardian indicates it’s also scooping up around 200 million text messages a day. Seemingly at random. https://gizmodo.com/the-nsa-uses-radio-waves-to-monitor-100-000-computers-w-1501722277 According to the Guardian and…

The World’s Fastest Speedskating Suit Has Lockheed Martin DNA

As much as the Olympics are a test of humanity’s physical capabilities, these days the events are also an opportunity for equipment makers to show off their latest technologies designed to enhance an athlete’s performance. And it’s fitting that Under Armour’s new speedskating suit—which the company claims is the fastest in the world—is called the…

What kind of armor did Medieval women really wear?

We know that skimpy armor that shows off a woman’s cleavage is rather impractical for combat and that sculpted “boob plate” armor can be a hazard to your health, but on occasions that women did don armor in medieval Europe, what kind of armor did they actually wear? And is shapely, feminine armor a modern…

Impressive images of the California wildfire

Just two weeks after state officials declared 2013 the driest year in California history, a fast-moving wildfire has burned 1,700 acres northeast of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. In winter. When it’s usually raining. As of 10:00 a.m. this morning the Colby Fire is zero percent contained in Glendora, California, a city…

Slow-motion beatboxing is hypnotizing

German beatboxer Flula Borg wanted to film his craft at 1,500 frames per second. So he did. The result is mesmerizing (as slow-mo footage is wont to be). It’s also… weirdly explicit (due in no small part to Borg’s own reference to sauropod genitalia). https://gizmodo.com/if-this-video-doesnt-make-you-grin-like-an-idiot-there-5903530 https://gizmodo.com/nyc-commuters-are-suspended-in-time-in-stainless-1499713100 https://gizmodo.com/high-speed-video-reveals-the-bizarre-physics-of-an-ordi-5849356 Complement this video with the latest installment of…

GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition, Anker, 4KTVs, Game of Thrones [Deals]

Today you can pick up a top of the line GoPro Hero3+ Black Edition Wi-Fi camera for $50 off retail. This model is rarely discounted, so grab it while you can. GoPro Black Edition Hero3+ | $350 Early adopters can pick up the well-received Seiki 4K 39″ and 50″ TVs today from Amazon for all…

This is not a lost Space Marines’ prop from an Aliens movie

It’s a new gun industry invention: a “NY legal” 50-round five-magazine part for the AR-15 semi-auomatic air cooled rifle. I can’t understand how can this be legal in NY or anywhere else*. Just look at the description from The Truth About Guns—you can’t miss it: The concept is solid and well established on Ruger 10/22…

This Table Isn’t Complete Until You Decorate It With—Staples?

As the number of documents you actually need to print diminishes year by year, you’re probably finding that you don’t use office accessories as quickly. Like staples, which are all but useless without stacks of paper to bind. But designer Nilly Mozer has come up with another way to use them up: A lovely clear…

Taxpayers, the federal government just announced a new online tool that makes filing a wee bit easier: now you can download your past tax return documents directly from the IRS website. One small step. [WhiteHouse.gov via TheVerge]

Scientific evidence that booth babes don’t sell products

There’s been a raging debate over “booth babes” in the tech community for years. Should companies hire sexy models to work in their sales booths at events like CES, or is this an outdated, degrading practice? But nobody had ever asked whether booth babes were good for sales. So Frontback head of marketing Spencer Chen…

Manholes In D.C. Are So Full of Methane They’re Ready to Explode

Washington, DC may not really have been built on a swamp, but it can’t escape the swamp gas. Scientists just published a survey that maps a whopping 5,893 natural gas leaks in the city’s aging pipelines. But the most explosive news? They found a dozen manholes with enough methane in them to explode. A small…

30 Weird, Ridiculous, and/or Crappy Scifi Album Covers

We all know that science fiction novels can have crappy art on their covers — there are entire websites devoted to chronicling them. But what about album covers? Oh yes. Here are 30 album covers of full of shoddy scifi, bizarre dreamscapes, and just plain bad choices. Rock stars love scifi more than most people,…

Google Now Just Took Its First Steps Onto the Desktop

Google Now is great, but it’s only on your mobile devices. We’ve been waiting on a desktop version for what feels like forever. Now, finally, it’s just starting to poke its head out in the beta-est of Chrome’s beta builds. So far, the Now integration is a far cry from the redesigned Google homepage you…

Why Is There a US Naval Cruiser in the Middle of This Cornfield?

If you’re driving along the New Jersey turnpike just outside of Moorsetown and think you see the top of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer peeking above endless rows of corn, miles from the nearest ocean, don’t worry—it’s supposed to be there. It’s just a full-size mock up that Lockheed uses to develop its AEGIS Combat System.…

Animated classical paintings make me want to escape into other worlds

I really love these 2.5D animations of classical paintings by Rino Stefano Tagliafierro. He says that they are “a tribute to the art and her disarming beauty.” Some are more inviting and evocative than the actual painting. I want to keep getting into the scene. And a few are quite disturbing. Warning: the video includes…

Facebook Now Shows You Personalized Trending Topics In Your News Feed

Facebook will start showing you trending stories to the right of your News Feed, just under where you’re used to seeing notifications about your friends’ birthdays and upcoming events. Twitter has been showing trending topics for years, but Facebook’s trends promise to be personalized to your interests, so maybe they’ll be better? Not everyone on…