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Pacific Rim finally explains why you need two pilots per giant robot

The biggest question about Guillermo del Toro’s “Kaiju Vs. Giant Robots” movie Pacific Rim has always been: “Why do the giant Jaeger machines require two pilots to move?” And now, you have your answer. So there you have one for the left brain, and one for the right brain. Boom, problem solved! Right? Now unto…

Movies Meredith Woerner May 23 '13

The Lost 1949 Essay That Predicted The Computerized World We Live In

In 1949, the New York Times commissioned mathematician Norbert Wiener to write an essay about the future “ultimate machine age.” He wrote a fascinating look ahead at a world where computers take over many of the tasks then performed by humans. And then the Times asked for a rewrite. And another. And the essay… never…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders May 23 '13

NRA celebrates the gun wisdom in The Terminator and The Road Warrior

Last December, the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre decided to blame Hollywood’s “blood-soaked” gun “pornography” for gun violence. But now, the NRA has posted a list of great gun movies, and what they taught us. What important lesson about guns did we learn from The Terminator and Zombieland? In the National Rifle Association’s American Rifleman magazine, there’s…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders May 23 '13

Incredible Slo-Mo Footage Of the Pistol Shrimp’s Devastating Attack

Most clawed crustaceans use their pincers like a pair of deadly scissors, either for defense or tearing apart their prey. But the Pistol Shrimp has developed a far more devastating use for it. Its claw is able to open and snap shut with enough force to create a cavitation shockwave that kills fish and even…

Biology Andrew Liszewski May 23 '13

Bowling with God: Vint Cerf Talks Time Travel, Porn, and Web Addiction

They say that success has many parents but failure is an orphan. Judged by that standard—or any other—the Internet is a success. Al Gore invented it. Tim Berners-Lee got a knighthood out of it. Everyone was using it before it was cool. But only two men have ever borne the title “Father of the Internet.”…

Tech News Jeff Jetton and Erik Stallman May 23 '13

12 Underrated or Overlooked TV Shows to Marathon This Weekend

There’s a long weekend ahead of us, and that means one thing: DVD box sets. You could break out the Firefly and Babylon 5, or you could venture into the wild unknown. Television is full of undiscovered worlds — here are 12 underrated or overlooked science fiction and fantasy TV shows to mainline this weekend.…

Television Charlie Jane Anders May 23 '13

The New Xbox One’s Kinect Sensor Is Officially Coming to Windows Next Year

We knew that the Kinect would be coming to Windows eventually, but it looks like Xbox One’s groundbreaking new Kinect sensor won’t be stuck tethered to a console for long. Microsoft has just announced that the new and improved motion tracking system will definitely be hitting Windows sometime next year—exactly when, though, remains hazy. https://gizmodo.com/kinect-for-windows-will-play-nice-with-windows-8-5940414…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg May 23 '13

The Horrifying Flame Tank of the 1930s Meant to End All Wars

In 1936, Hugo Gernsback proposed a terrifying new war machine meant to be more efficient than any that had come before it. He called it the “flame tank.” And while the thing looks absolutely horrifying in every way (those appear to be dozens of people being burned alive by the tank’s flame guns), the stated…

Tech News Matt Novak May 23 '13

Concept art from the J.J. Abrams Superman movie that never was

Holy cow, the J.J. Abrams-produced Superman: Flyby is certainly shiny. Just think of all the lens flare you could get off all that alien chrome. Back in 2003, Abrams wanted to make a Superman movie and this is what it would have looked like. The movie Superman: Flyby hired concept artist Phil Saunders to create…

Movies Meredith Woerner May 23 '13

Google Glass Rival Hires ‘Cyborg’ Steve Mann as Chief Scientist

Wearables pioneer Steve Mann has joined forces with Meta, an ambitious startup that’s currently working on the world’s first entry-level augmented reality glasses. Meta, which has been under development for the past two years, is the brainchild of Columbia University computer and neurological science student Meron Gribetz. His team has developed a prototype that goes…

io9 George Dvorsky May 23 '13

Middle Earth: Why We Need to Turn Our Map on Its Side

Though he never actually crossed it, the Greek mathematician Pythagoras is sometimes credited with having first conceived of the Equator, calculating its location on the Earth’s sphere more than four centuries before the birth of Christ. Aristotle, who never stepped over it either and knew nothing about the landscape surrounding it, pictured the equatorial region…

Tech News Kurt Hollander - Aeon Magazine May 23 '13

How Do a Building’s Guts Help It Weather a Tornado?

When a big funnel of destruction touches down, it puts everything that’s about ground in instant trouble. But exactly how much trouble actually depends a lot on construction, and not just things like structural reinforcement: pretty standard, inherent things like the size of the rooms. Making admittedly unnecessary use of its fancy-schmancy holo-table, CNN explains…

Tech News Eric Limer May 23 '13

A quick way to manipulate people

What’s the best way to get people to do what you want them to do? Make them believe that they’re the kind of person who would do what you want to do. If you’ve ever shouldered your way past a clipboard person on the sidewalk, you may want to beware one particular tactic. If I…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell May 23 '13

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why he prefers Star Trek to Star Wars

Here’s an awesome video from a few years ago where Neil deGrasse Tyson and other astrophysicists praise Star Trek for making an “admirable attempt” to portray space travel with actual scientific explanations. Star Wars? Not so much. Tyson recently told Business Insider that he loves “old-school” Star Trek, with Captain Kirk and the original crew,…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders May 23 '13

Microsoft Has Two New Mice for Windows 8 Multitasking

Microsoft has a couple new mice coming out today with some simple features that make using Windows 8 a little bit easier. First up on the the fancier end is the Sculpt Comfort Mouse, which will be on sale in June. It’s $40, connects to your computer or tablet via Bluetooth, and is the first…

Tech News Leslie Horn May 23 '13

Universal will reboot Timecop without Jean Claude Van Damme

But can you make Timecop without Jean Claude Van Damme? And if you can, why would you? Heat Vision reporting that the time-traveling action flick from 1994 is getting the reboot treatment from Universal. In the original film, Timecops were deployed to stop criminals from messing with the time stream in 2004 (where time travel…

Movies Meredith Woerner May 23 '13

The World’s Smallest RC Helicopter Can Be Destroyed By a Fly Swatter

It was impressive enough when toymakers found a way to make remote control helicopters small and safe enough to fly around indoors. But their miniaturization efforts continue on as toymaker Silverlit introduces the Nano-Falcon, an RC chopper so tiny that Guinness has officially granted it the world record for smallest IR-controlled helicopter. At just over…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski May 23 '13

A Closer Look at Geoff Manaugh, Gizmodo’s New Editor in Chief

In an in-depth Q&A published last night, The New York Times’ Steven Kurutz talks to our new Editor in Chief, Geoff Manaugh, about his vision for Gizmodo. In the profile, Manaugh discusses everything from military technology to elevators, commenting on how his voice will fit in with Gizmodo’s focus on gadgets: You might come to…

Tech News Gizmodo May 23 '13

Humanity Will Never Be Overrun By Spontaneously Forming Space Brains

Good news, everyone! A new interpretation of string theory is proposing that Boltzmann Brains — those disembodied brains that could emerge spontaneously in outer space — will never outnumber humans. Yes, this sounds super-weird, but the whole Boltzmann Brain thing has troubled scientists for quite some time now. It was named after the theoretical physicist…

io9 George Dvorsky May 23 '13

This 163 MPH Rocket Bike Just Set a Land Speed Record

There’s a surprising amount of energy locked away in the fizzing bubbles of hydrogen peroxide. Enough, in fact, to propel one daredevil and his modified bicycle into the record books at nearly triple the speed limit of your local interstate. Eat your heart out, Wile E. Coyote. Cyclist François Gissy reached a top speed of…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola May 23 '13

Pacific Rim finally explains why you need two pilots per giant robot

The Lost 1949 Essay That Predicted The Computerized World We Live In

NRA celebrates the gun wisdom in The Terminator and The Road Warrior

Incredible Slo-Mo Footage Of the Pistol Shrimp’s Devastating Attack

Bowling with God: Vint Cerf Talks Time Travel, Porn, and Web Addiction

12 Underrated or Overlooked TV Shows to Marathon This Weekend

The New Xbox One’s Kinect Sensor Is Officially Coming to Windows Next Year

The Horrifying Flame Tank of the 1930s Meant to End All Wars

Concept art from the J.J. Abrams Superman movie that never was

Google Glass Rival Hires ‘Cyborg’ Steve Mann as Chief Scientist

Middle Earth: Why We Need to Turn Our Map on Its Side

How Do a Building’s Guts Help It Weather a Tornado?

A quick way to manipulate people

Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why he prefers Star Trek to Star Wars

Microsoft Has Two New Mice for Windows 8 Multitasking

Universal will reboot Timecop without Jean Claude Van Damme

The World’s Smallest RC Helicopter Can Be Destroyed By a Fly Swatter

A Closer Look at Geoff Manaugh, Gizmodo’s New Editor in Chief

Humanity Will Never Be Overrun By Spontaneously Forming Space Brains

This 163 MPH Rocket Bike Just Set a Land Speed Record

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