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In perhaps the most counter-intuitive scientific finding of recent time, researchers have discovered a volcano lurking beneath Antarctica. [Nature Geoscience]

The First Airless-Tire Vehicle You Can Own Is a Wicked ATV

Airless—or non-pneumatic tires—have popped up from time to time over the past few years, and while they offer many advantages over traditional air-filled tires, they haven’t been available outside of research labs—until now. Polaris is officially the first company to offer a vehicle with non-pneumatic tires on its new Sportsman WV850 H.O. all-terrain vehicle. Military…

National Geographic’s Mary Bates has compiled a fascinating list of five unexpectedly creative ways that animals “repurpose” their genitals. Conspicuously absent from the list: this rather enterprising dolphin. (Then again, it wasn’t exactly his genitals that were being used creatively.)

Qualcomm’s Toq Smartwatch: $350, Available December 2nd

Qualcomm’s rather lovely looking Toq Smartwatch—which seems miles better than Samsung’s Galaxy Gear—will be available from December 2nd, and it’ll cost a princely $35o. https://gizmodo.com/qualcomm-has-a-smartwatch-too-and-its-the-anti-galaxy-1248201854 The watch—which packs a Mirasol display, wireless charging and stereo Bluetooth audio—was originally a proof-of-concept to be shown off to OEMs. But now Qualcomm has decided that it’s time to…

The Red Planet’s Deep Valleys in Kaleidoscopic Color

Do not adjust your monitor: Mars hasn’t really been given a rainbow paint job. In fact, this image is a color-coded topography showing the heights and depths of the planet’s Ismeniae Fossae region. In the image, white and red show the highest terrains, while blue and purple show the deepest. Imaged by the High Resolution…

How Historic Moments Would Have Been Shared on Instagram

Many of history’s most iconic memories endure in written form, as paintings or, perhaps at best, as cringe-worthy photographs. But what if those historic moments had been cheekily snapped and posted on Instagram? Histagrams answer that very question, by providing a funny and flippant slant on some of history’s most memorable moments as if they’d…

The Complex Relationships Between Bourbons, Visualized

As any good drinker knows, there’s a an awful lot to know about Bourbon. But if you’re sometimes confused about the providence of your tipple, then this family tree should help. https://gizmodo.com/the-book-of-bourbon-how-the-worlds-best-whiskey-got-i-1443181721 Put together by Colin Spoelman for GQ, this chart shows the origins of some of the most famous bourbons. He explains: This chart…

The CIA Is Trying to Stop Russia Building Monitoring Stations in the US

The CIA is quietly trying to stop Russia building a series of monitoring stations—devices that form part of Moscow’s version of the Global Positioning System—on US soil. The New York Times reports that Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, is trying to build around half a dozen of these structures—which it describes as “seemingly innocuous dome-topped…

How YouTube Works

You’re about to watch a video via YouTube. Hell, you watch dozens of videos every day on YouTube. But do you have any idea how it works? If not, it’s worth watching this video. Where does all that video live? How does it get to you? And why the hell do you have to put…

Rumor has it that Apple is deep into talks to buy PrimeSense, which produces—and licenses—the gesture-based technology behind Microsoft’s Kinect. Which could prove… interesting.

Google Announces Massive New Restrictions on Child Abuse Search Terms

Following no small amount of pressure from the UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron, Google has announced a new initiative which will see it clean up search results for queries relating to underage sexual abuse. https://gizmodo.com/the-uk-moves-to-block-all-internet-porn-by-default-866811082 Taking to the pages of the UK’s Daily Mail, Eric Schmidt announced that Google has put together a team of…

A Quick (Crazy Quick) Explanation of Negative Temperature

With Minute Physics videos we pretty much expect to have the universe explained to us in . . . a minute. Or maybe a few minutes. But this rundown of temperature and how to achieve “negative temperature” only takes 10 seconds. Impressive. If we’re talking about temperature measured in Kelvin (you can experience negative Fahrenheit…

When spacewalking becomes a spectator sport

Aquilla trained her entire life for synchronized spacewalk event, but after Dorna broke her back in a freak stratojump accident, she decided to perform their routine alone. Thousands of spectators swarmed the orbital skybox, gawking as she floated and flailed, untethered in space. A collage by Joseba Elorza. Astronaut [Joseba Elorza via this isn’t happiness]

Authorities Made the Swedish Ice Hotel Install Fire Alarms

You’ve probably wondered what it’d be like to stay in Sweden’s Icehotel, or similarly frigid accommodations. But you may have neglected to consider the danger posed by fire in these facilities. How shortsighted of you. https://gizmodo.com/how-to-build-an-ice-hotel-5987834 Swedish officials, on the other hand, are on top of the situation and recently manadated that Icehotel, in the…

MPAA made Spielberg add flames to Indiana Jones‘ exploding head scene

In yet another odd chapter from the US’s movie rating history, the MPAA would not let Raiders of the Lost Ark’s famous exploding head scene pass without an R rating—until director Steven Spielberg agreed to obscure the phony gore with flames. Will McCrabb tweeted this piece of Indiana Jones trivia, along with a photo of…

Kenyan TV show imagines European refugees fleeing to Africa in 2062

Kenyan TV series Usoni plans to flip the script on immigration stories by imagining a future in which the sun is no longer visible in most parts of the world, leaving Africa as the sole oasis of sunshine. Created by Dr. Marc Rigaudis, produced by Denver Ochieng, and directed by Cherie Lindiwe of the United…

These Model Flying Ships Are Whimsical But Also Really Real

You can spend a lot of time on model-building or paper airplane folding, but Italian architect Luigi Prina does both. His flying models hang from the ceiling of his small studio as a reminder of his 20+ year design hobby. Prina, now 84, won an Italian aircraft modeling competition at 16, but he didn’t expand…

​RIP Doris Lessing, one of science fiction’s most indispensible authors

Doris Lessing, who died today aged 94, wasn’t just a Nobel Prize-winning literary author — she was also a major hero of science fiction. She was one of the first authors with mainstream acclaim to embrace, and her fiction is worth more than a hundred writing workshops, for aspiring SF authors. Image via OzSo Seriously,…

Old iPhones Are Being Repurposed to Decorate Your House

Recycling e-waste is kind of important. Our devices are full of heavy metals and toxins that probably shouldn’t just chill in landfills. But iPhone repair company Twice Used is designing housewares that put a new spin on old handsets. Twice Used was throwing away thousands of iPhone displays a year because screens that are too…

These concrete arrows point the way across America

When United States Post Office planes took to the skies in the 1920s, they had their own version of the roadway’s yellow line. A series of giant concrete arrows and gaslight beacons helped point the way from New York to San Francisco. Top image of an airmail arrow near Hurricane, UT, from Google Maps. Airmail…