Latest

Inside a Lethal Exhibit Dedicated to the Power of Poison

Poison can be a curse, a killer, and even a medicine—an alchemical substance that appears in everything from myth to literature. You might not think of poison as being this multifaceted, but that’s exactly what the American Museum of Natural History’s new exhibit—The Power of Poison—delightfully urges you to do. What Is It? An exhibit…

Illustrating America’s Silliest Laws With Equally Silly Photographs

Stories about weird local laws always begin like urban legends. You might have heard that in Wisconsin, the Dairy State, all restaurants are required by law to serve cheese with every dish, including placing a slice of certified Wisconsin cheese on top of each and every order of apple pie. Really? Will a waitress get…

Quantum Computing Takes a Gigantic Leap Forward

An international team of scientists have just held a qubit’s memory state for 39 minutes. That might not sound like much, but it’s 100 times longer than the previous record. It’s a groundbreaking achievement that could pave the way to freakishly fast computers. Above: A quantum computer chip. Credit: Erick Lucero. Unlike conventional computers and…

How many people born in the 1800s are still alive?

Supercentenarian Grace Jones has passed away at the age of 113. She will go down in history as the last Briton born in the 19th century to die. Which got us thinking: How many people born in the 1800s are still kicking around? The answer is shockingly few. There’s just five left, people. Five. As…

NES Cartridge Flasks Make Video Games Your Least Problematic Addiction

When you consider that a flask is supposed to be a secret way to smuggle contraband libations, an NES game cartridge doesn’t immediately spring to mind as the most subtle design. But maybe that’s the true brilliance behind these game cart recreations that you can fill with more than your cherished high scores. After all,…

Punk Odyssey: A former Gaelic punk singer and biologist won a prestigious literary “first book” prizefor his novel about two musicians who hitch a ride on a rocket to a space station full of anarchists, then steal a “disco-equipped spaceship.”

Our Biggest Unanswered Questions about Jamie Foxx’s Baffling Short Film

Jamie Foxx has made a short film called “…And She Was My Eve.” Which he has called, “Frankenstein on acid.” We have some pressing questions. First, please watch for yourself: Here are our questions: What kind of college offers a Masters in Creativity? Are the ingredients to his robot Candy, Apple and Brown? What sort…

What would Earth be like if humans had never existed? New Scientist wanted to find out. This video is their speculative tour of an Earth that never included Homo sapiens. Would the world really be all that different?

You Just Missed a Massive, Destructive (Fake) Cyberattack

What would happen if an army of hackers put America’s power grid in its sights and pulled the trigger? How fast would the country descend into darkness? Would there be anarchy in the streets? Would people die? According to a war game carried out across the country this week, the answer is not necessarily good…

Guess who’s wearing a fez in the first Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Clip

Can’t wait until Nov. 23 to see worlds collide in Doctor Who’s anniversary special, “The Day of the Doctor”? Here’s a sneak peek, featuring a lot of fez action, a mystery involving famous paintings that have a Monty Python-esque problem… and a special guest star. This clip just appeared in the UK as part of…

Americans – why do you keep refrigerating your eggs?

The U.S. is one of the only countries on Earth that keeps chicken eggs in cold storage. But why? Top photo by Flávio via Flickr One of the most common health risks, when it comes to eggs, is posed by Salmonella bacteria. There are really only two ways Salmonella can get at an egg: the…

The new Iraqi parliament may as well be a control tower in a spaceport

Beautiful work by Zaha Hadid for the $1-billion Iraqi parliament. When is someone going to ask her to design an entire city? https://gizmodo.com/1-billion-iraqi-parliament-will-rise-over-saddams-hal-1465171177

​Geordi La Forge Explains NASA’s MAVEN Mission to Mars

After narrowly avoiding the chopping block during the recent government shutdown, NASA’s upcoming MAVEN mission is finally a go for launch on Monday, barring any technical or weather setbacks. Before then, take a moment as Reading Rainbow host and Star Trek: TNG staple LeVar Burton explains exactly what the interplanetary orbiter is in for. https://gizmodo.com/nasas-maven-mission-spared-cancellation-despite-govern-1441062739…

Too Many Doppelgangers, on The Vampire Diaries

There are a lot of over-the-top supernatural soap operas on television nowadays — which may be why Vampire Diaries is working so hard to raise its levels of crazy lately. Last night featured three Nina Dobrevs — on screen together! — and two Paul Wesleys. Just watch this clip to see Nina working her butts…

The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Not the year’s most dazzling shower, and it’ll be competing with the light of a full Moon, but you’ll want to keep your eyes peeled if you find yourself outside in the early morning hours. If you’re feeling optimistic, SPACE.com has some good viewing tips. Pictured above: The…

This weekend, learn to extinguish a candle with your voice

Got some free time and some candles? Try to extinguish a flame with your voice! We know it can be done, we’re just not sure how it can be done. Maybe you’ll have a breakthrough. Or maybe you’ll just have a housefire. I was disappointed when I found out that a human voice can’t shatter…

Turn Any Wall Into a Death Star With These Mix-and-Match Tiles

Tom Spina Designs has a long history of bringing wonderful Star Wars-inspired creations to life. We still wish we could have snatched up the Han Solo Carbonite desk the company created, and now we desperately want these brilliant sculpted modular tiles that make any surface look like you’re up close and personal with the Death…

BatKid saves San Francisco and our collective souls

By now you’ve probably heard of BatKid—the alter-ego of five-year-old Miles, a super kid fighting leukemia. He’s on a mission today, courtesy of Make-A-Wish, saving San Francisco from the Riddler and Penguin. Watch it unfold live, right here. The plan to transform San Francisco into Gotham has been unfolding since October, with San Francisco’s police…

Anonymous Hacker Gets 10 Years in Jail, Blames Informant Sabu

Anonymous hacker Jeremy Hammond knew that he was going to serve serious time for his role in the 2011 hack of Stratfor Global Intelligence. But holy crap, the judge threw the book at the guy! The 28-year-old Chicago native was just sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. For hacking. Let’s put that into perspective.…

8 Incredible Facts You May Not Know About Human Evolution

Homo sapiens evolved about 200-150,000 years ago in Africa, but our story as a species stretches back much further than that with early human ancestors. And the evolution of Homo sapiens is itself a tangled tale, full of unanswered questions and gothic family melodrama. Here are a few facts you may not know about the…