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What’s the most far-fetched dystopia?

Dystopias aren’t meant to be plausible. They’re a reflection of our darkest nature, writ large. Plus we can all think of real-life societies that would seem like ridiculous dystopias if you put them in fiction. But what’s the most contrived or implausible dystopia ever invented? In honor of The Purge, opening this weekend, we want…

Awesome Window Skins Let Sun Keep You Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer

In the cold winter months you’ll do everything you can to maximize your exposure to the sun. In the scorching summer, though, it’s just the opposite. So what if there were a way to harness/banish the sun’s rays without a constant battle with curtains or venetian blinds? Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial…

Three Fast, Easy, High-Protein Meals On the Go

The number one reason most of us grab an unhealthy meal over a healthy one is convenience. Junk food is ready to be stuffed in your face, and when you’re short on time, cooking is one of the first things to go out the window. Today we’re going to show you three super simple, healthy,…

Why Your Facebook Feed Is So Full of Junk

Man, I love “I Fucking Love Science“, the Facebook page with 5.4 million likes that clutters my News Feed with hundreds of clever images, many of which are stolen without attribution to their authors. It’s entertaining, and amazingly sharable. It’s also changing the character of the social network—and some argue it’s doing so for the…

Learn to evaluate the works of Joss Whedon with the Whedonic Calculus

This weekend, the brain of Joss Whedon rises again, as Much Ado About Nothing hits select theaters. Every single actor Joss has ever worked with is in this movie, including Spike’s poker kittens playing the Duke of Florence. How can your mind comprehend it? Luckily, we have an excellent analytical tool: The Whedonic Calculus. The…

Following fierce opposition from Congress and the airline industry, the TSA has shelved plans to allow you to bring small knives and bats on to planes.

Sonar Could Let Your Body Talk to Machines Better

Sonar. Subs use it. Dolphins use it. And someday your own body might use it to detect and treat what ails you. Echolocation unlocking the quantified self. Given that the human body is mostly water—about 60 percent—researchers at the University of Buffalo are currently developing miniaturized sensors that use ultrasounds to communicate with other embedded…

J.J. Abrams will resurrect Rod Serling’s famous lost screenplay

J.J. Abrams is adding another TV show to his long list of projects. Bad Robot has acquired the long-stalled screenplay penned by The Twilight Zone creator Rod Sterling. Abrams will develop the project as a potential miniseries — no word if Abrams is adapting or directing the project himself, but it will have a home…

Facebook Outrage: Sex Slave Pages, Fired Do-Gooders and a Musical Too

Despite Facebook’s public promise to crack down on hate speech and misogyny, there’s still plenty of ugly stuff on the world’s most popular social network—this Facebook page about prostitutes in the brothels of Kolkata is the latest outrage. A do-gooder bus driver lost his job for mentioning a hungry student on Facebook, and a weird…

And Now, Another Educational Fact About Eating Squid Sperm

You’ve no doubt heard that semen is nutritious, but it seems we’re not the only species aware of nature’s dirty little secret. Scientists have discovered that female southern bottletail squid readily — and consistently — consume the ejaculates and sperm of their mates. https://gizmodo.com/sperm-eating-controversial-or-just-tasty-5890745 What’s more, they direct the nutrients specifically towards egg production and…

Asbestos-Detecting Lasers: Finally a Weapon For the Good Guys

Graphene might be the latest and greatest hero of the scientific community, but lasers are still awesome and have a new trick up their sleeves to prove it. Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom have developed a device that can detect the presence of airborne asbestos particles—a fireproof material now known…

How the U.S. Government Waged War Against the House of Tomorrow

Americans were promised one thing during World War II: life was going to be amazing in the “world of tomorrow.” But when the war ended many companies, along with the U.S. government, turned back on that promise as quickly as they could. Americans were told that as soon as the war was over, everyone would…

Government Anti-Obesity Program Fattens Girl Using Photoshop

Government-run anti-obesity program First 5 is running a campaign asking kids not to abuse juices and soft drinks with sugar in them, even if they are labeled as “less sugar.” Unfortunately, to do that they fattened a stock photo of a girl (left) using Photoshop in the most horrible and sloppiest way possible (right).

6 Tech Company Slogans That Mattered

Intel’s always been a bit of a brand machine—remember the “Intel Inside” stickers?—and on Tuesday it upheld that tradition. In a pivot from the sort of stodgy “Sponsors of Tomorrow” slogan, the company is going with the hacker-friendly “Look Inside.” How much can a new slogan really matter, though? A lot, if history is any…

A Surface RT With A Free Touch Cover Is Your Deal of the Day

When the Surface RT launched, the most exciting hardware feature was the Touch Cover, a slick cover-keyboard hybrid. However, it cost an extra $120, which is a lot for a practically obligatory feature. Microsoft’s online store is now giving them away with a Surface RT purchase, which is the way it always should have been.…

Will Global Warming Bring Back These Terrifying Lizard Kings?

A giant prehistoric lizard who feasted on huge mammals back when the world was broiling is a possible preview of what our world will look like when climate change melts the ice caps. The “Lizard King,” named for Jim Morrison’s reptilian alter ego, thrived upon the flesh of big animals during a warm age 36…

Continuum gets a third season already

The second season of time-traveling cop show Continuum hasn’t started airing in the U.S. yet, and it’s not over in Canada. But already, the Canadian network Showcase has ordered a third year of the adventures of Kiera Cameron, the cop from 2077. Star Rachel Nichols told Digital Spy that the show will keep exploring the…

Paleontologists have discovered the oldest complete primate skeleton

The fossilized remains of a previously-unknown species of primate have been unearthed in central China. At 55-million years old, it is the oldest known primate skeleton ever discovered, and harbors tantalizing clues about a pivotal branching point in humanity’s evolutionary lineage. Top image: CAS/Xijun Ni Researchers have dubbed the newly identified primate Archicebus achilles, a…

The enormous, expensive, bewildering Kindle DX is suddenly back from the dead less than a year after its quiet demise. Why? Who knows. Go get your $300, 10-inch e-ink tablet/sideshow curiosity while it lasts!

Are Smart Locks Secure, or Just Dumb?

Keys have been around for hundreds, if not, thousands of years. We’ve all used them. We generally understand how they work and how vulnerable they can be. Some are better than others. And now that the simplest of devices in the home are connecting to the cloud, it’s time to figure out just how safe…