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On Flag Day, Defend the U.S. Flag By Punishing Those Who Desecrate It!

Today is Flag Day, America’s most important holiday. And while it might seem like a good idea to wear flag wings over your bikini or use a tattered Old Glory as a summer blouse, such actions are illegal. But because there’s no enforcement or punishment for hurting the American flag, freedom is constantly under assault.

Panasonic VT60 Television: $3000 of Video Perfection

When it comes to high-end HD sets, you get what you pay for. And in the case of Panasonic’s new top-of-the-line plasma set, it’s worth every penny. What Is It? A THX-certified flat-screen television, and arguably the single best-looking plasma set on the market right now. Who’s It For? People whose home theaters are actually…

This is a gibbon tightroping across a perfectly good bridge

And it is our new favorite thing. The video shows Siam – a lar gibbon at South African primate sanctuary Monkeyland – swanning rather adeptly (save for a few minor missteps) across the handrails of a lengthy rope bridge. Oh, to be endowed with opposable toes. [Spotted on Laughing Squid]

What classic space opera novel do you want to see on the big screen?

If the Ender’s Game movie is a success, then maybe the floodgates will open for other classic space opera books to hit the big screen and rock our universe. What classic space opera novel (or book series) do you think would make a fantastic movie nowadays? Please include a cover image or some other cool…

First Active Noise-Canceling Computer Fan Will Finally Shut Your Computer Up

If you’ve got a powerful desktop, it probably sounds like a jet engine. You could opt for watercooling, but if you stick with fans you’re out of luck. They’re just loud. Until you bolt on some active noise canceling. Produced by enthusiast CPU-cooler pros, Noctua, with some help from RotoSub, the cooling unit is only…

Damn that’s a huge bitch. Maersk shipping just christened the Mc-Kinney Møller, the company’s largest Triple E class vessel and the newest “biggest ship in the ocean.”

What Emily Post Can’t Teach Us About ‘Netiquette’

True story: When I was in middle school, my mother sat my brother and me down at the dining room table to give us lessons from Emily Post’s big blue bible called Etiquette. Fold your napkin when you leave the table. Start with the silverware on the outside and work your way in. A lot…

The man who tried to make human-ape hybrids

Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov was a gifted scientist, a dedicated conservationist, and a practical, grounded man who expanded everyone’s understanding of animal husbandry. He also, for years, tried to make human-ape hybrids. The post-revolution USSR was a nation that wanted to wholly embrace new technology and progressive science while reinforcing traditional nationalistic pride. It’s no wonder…

Ancient craters on Mars may have been oases for life

Meteorite craters on ancient Mars may have been home to primordial life forms. Because hydrothermal systems host the most ancient known lineages of life on earth, many biologists think that the first organisms on this planet arose in hot springs. On earth these were largely volcanic systems, such as those that exist today in Yellowstone.…

Why 3.5% Of Android Clocks Are an Hour Off

At OpenSignal, each datapoint we collect has two timestamps: the time the reading was taken and the time the reading was inserted into our server. Because we make extensive use of SQLite cacheing on devices, these times can be far apart – sometimes up to the order of weeks. The app reading time, however, should…

This Ergonomic Keyboard Is Your Deal of the Day

The keyboard you’re typing on is probably gross as hell, and it isn’t doing any favors for your posture, either. Consider replacing it with Microsoft’s stalwart ergonomic split keyboard, which is on sale for $30 from Amazon at the moment. Microsoft’s been making ergonomic keyboards in one version or another since the 90s, but they…

This video of a drone with a gun will freak you the hell out

If you were already feeling a little paranoid about drones, this video will put you into complete terror mode. It’s a DiY drone with a gun. What could go wrong? Find out, in this slo-mo capture of a drone on a shooting rampage. Luckily, the drone is only shooting fruit and my mobile phone (well,…

Doing It Wrong: The Xbox One and PS4 Aren’t the Consoles We Need

As E3 closes up shop for the year, we finally have a moment to reflect on a week of gorging ourselves on news about the continuing console war between Microsoft and Sony (and, uh, Nintendo). It’s all very new and exciting news about the next half-decade of gaming, but in a lot of ways, it…

What are neutrinos, and how do they come from beyond our solar system?

A couple months ago, scientists with IceCube, an Antarctica-based neutrino observatory, discovered two very high-energy neutrinos — named Bert and Ernie — that appeared to have originated from beyond our solar system. This is amazing news, and we talked to the researchers about what it means. https://gizmodo.com/neutrinos-from-another-galaxy-have-been-discovered-in-a-482689596 The IceCube team isn’t sure yet sure where…

The only Tesla item you need this weekend

Nothing says awesome more than a picture of Nikola Tesla with a lightning gun and a pigeon. It’s the ultimate mad science statement, and it’s only $6. This beauty comes from the winningly-named 6 Dollar Shirts site, and is one of many great geek and science shirts they offer. I love the product description: With…

The Most Exciting Doctor Who Rumor in Years

If you’re an old-school Doctor Who fan, at least, then this new rumor is just beyond thrilling. Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool claims reliable sources (plural) tell him that a ton of missing Doctor Who stories have been found. Stories. Not episodes. That could make the show’s 50th anniversary very, very special indeed. You’ve probably…

What if Shakespeare wrote Star Wars? “Alas, poor Stormtrooper!”

What if William Shakespeare took a crack at Star Wars? Just imagine the classic Wookie and R2-D2 chess scene re-written as a Greek chorus. We’ve got an exclusive look inside the pages of Shakespeare’s Star Wars, by Ian Doescher. And yes, it’s got the “Alas, poor Stormtrooper” line. Act III Scene 6. Space, aboard the…

We Want You . . . to Become a Scientist!

This summer, we want you to become a scientist. You can do it from your cubicle at work, or by going out into the woods and counting frogs. No matter what your scientific passion is, we’ve got a way for you to help scientists do cutting edge research on it. Join the citizen science revolution!…

This Submersible Skatepark Is Drainage in Disguise

Skateboarding’s earliest shredders cut their teeth in empty pools and drainage pipes, but extreme sport-boardin’ has come a long way in the years since. There are plenty of devoted skateparks out there now, but this one in Denmark goes back to those roots by doubling as a functional drainage system. Dreamt up by Danish design…

Apple Is Already Fixing Its Awful iOS 7 App Icons

Coming as a welcome reminder that iOS 7 is still very much in beta, subject to change, and everyone needs to calm down, Apple’s website is currently showing off a few much-needed updates to its less-than-lauded icon designs. https://gizmodo.com/why-the-ios-7-app-icons-are-so-ugly-513004516 The new set was first stumbled upon by 9to5Mac, who presumed that their sudden appearance on…