Latest

Put The History of Time In Context With a Click of Your Mouse

There’s nothing to spice up your Monday like getting a feel for how insignificant of a speck you are in the grand scheme of the universe. Here Is Today does just that, but in such a pretty, minimalist way that you won’t even mind. HereIsToday.com is a single serving site that does exactly what it’s…

The 9 Most Incompetent Wizards of All Time

There’s no IQ test to become a wizard. Sure, it usually takes years of training, apprenticing and studying to be able to cast spells and such, but really, any nincompoop can luck into immense magical power and make the lives of everyone near them a magical hell. Here are nine wizards that should drop their…

What Lies Beyond This Interstellar Rabbit Hole?

Stephen Hawking is right, “We must continue to go into space for humanity.” But what do we do when confronted with the unimaginable possibilities we find out there? Director Hasraf HaZ Dulull posits that question in his fantastic short work, Project Kronos. The mocumentary film follows an international team of of researchers describing the massive…

Farewell Herschel Space Telescope, We’ll Miss You!

This was all planned, but somehow it is still sad: European Space Agency’s Herschel space telescope is officially dead, its observations have been brought to a permanent end. HSO has exhausted all of its cryogen, there is no more superfluid liquid helium in the cryostat. This ends the more than three years of pioneering observations…

Beer Mapper App Takes the Mystery Out of Choosing Your Next Pint

Imagine if an app could learn your taste in beer the way Netflix learns your taste in movies. It’s coming. Drink it all in. Beer Mapper is a project by engineering student Kevin Jamieson. The app, when it becomes available, will work a lot like a Hot or Not for beer: It shows you two…

Introducing Morphees, mobile devices that can change their shape

Imagine downloading an app that can change the shape of your mobile phone. Researchers from the University of Bristol are looking to make it happen. The concept is called shape resolution, and a research team led by Anne Roudaut and Sriram Subramanian have added 10 of these new features to its six flexible prototypes. The…

If you’re not watching Warehouse 13, you’re kind of a bad person

We’re not judging or anything, but yeah — if you’re not watching Warehouse 13, then your soul is probably in mid-decay. And you’re part of why we can’t have nice things. Tonight’s midseason opener is a pretty good jumping-on point for all things Warehouse, too. Plus check out our guide to all the rest of…

Form(s) vs Function: Making Official Docs Look Better–And Work Harder

A crop of newly reimagined government forms beautify and clarify the documents that define us (as far as the government is concerned, at least). But should we be thinking harder about how these forms function, alongside how they look? Earlier this month, a London design agency called I Want Design introduced a new concept for…

So the Batmobile has a baby seat now, apparently

I know Batman’s whole shtick is that he’s prepared for any eventuality, which would presumably include the possibility that he may need to drive a toddler somewhere in the Batmobile. And I know he likes putting Bat-logos on things. But I still can’t help but feel this thing is a little self-indulgent. Still, the cup…

First footage from Snowpiercer looks like the Polar Express FROM HELL

From the director of The Host comes a wacky Thomas the Train-goes-to-snow hell movie titled Snowpiercer. Set in the new Ice Age, the surviving members of humanity travel the icy Earth via giant train, for reasons. Check out the very first footage! Bong Joon-ho’s post apocalyptic movie has a stellar cast including Chris Evans, Tilda…

The Military’s New Flying Gas Station Will Be Open 24/7 Worldwide

KC-135 Stratotanker planes have been refueling fighter craft in-flight for more than 60 years. While such longevity is commendable, the US military’s fleet of mid-air refuellers is in desperate need of an update. And that’s where this new flying gas station comes in. The Boeing KC-46A is a derivative of the Boeing 767-200 built at…

This shirt can go 100 wears without washing and we couldn’t care less

Some kids are hawking a new line of button-ups they claim can endure 100 wears (unwashed) and come out looking and smelling like new. So what’s the big, scientific secret? https://gizmodo.com/this-shirt-can-be-worn-for-100-days-without-washing-wh-5995490 The fledgling company goes by Wool&Prince, and their secret is no secret at all: the shirts are made of wool. And while the whole…

Twitter Should Shut Me Down

In August of 2012 I left my job at a startup in New York City. I was 24. I enrolled in a graduate program at NYU, wanting to study Computer Science and Biology. Two weeks in, one of my professors assigned a homework project that would rapidly turn into a profitable business. The goal of…

Change is good. We changed over to Kinja today. We’re super excited to have the new design, so we made you this Spotify playlist to rock out to as you read. Enjoy!

Can evolution still happen without competition?

A new theory proposed by two computer scientists suggests that animals can still experience significant evolutionary changes over time, even in the absence of selectional pressures. Image: “Practice Run” by Grégoire Bouguereau. https://gizmodo.com/the-years-most-thrilling-and-heartbreaking-wildlife-p-5953959 Evolutionary potential, or what’s simply called evolvability, is a crucial attribute for a species to have. If the opportunity for physical mutations…

Microsoft’s Crazy IllumiRoom: More Details About a Real-Life Holodeck

Not too long ago, Microsoft introduced its grand, pie-in-the-sky plans to maybe, someday turn your entire wall into an extension of your TV screen. Now, Microsoft Research has dropped some new details about how it all would work, and it’s shaping up to be pretty awesome. https://gizmodo.com/microsoft-wants-to-turn-your-entire-wall-into-a-tv-scre-5974606 The IllumiRoom would take the physical form of…

This Pristine Coffee Grinder Looks Like a Jet Engine

A quality grinder is an essential tool in making good coffee or espresso, but they’re often known more for their utility than their beauty. The HG-One, though, is a different beast. Its sleek beauty will make you forget how much cranking is involved. The HG-One requires good old-fashioned human strength to grind beans into fine…

20,000 people have already applied for the one-way mission to Mars

In the first three days of accepting applications, the Mars One project has received a whopping 20,000 applications, with more than 600 coming from China alone. The project plans to send a select group of colonists to the Red Planet for permanent settlement — with permanent being the key word. The Dutch aerospace project, which…

Google Now for iPhone and iPad: It’s Here, and It’s Great (UPDATED)

Rumors have been swirling that Google Now (the Big G’s super-useful personal assistant application) would be coming to the search page on Google.com, but surprise! Our friends on iOS are getting the love first. Starting today, Google Now will be rolled into the Google Search app for iPhone and iPad. https://gizmodo.com/google-might-change-google-com-and-make-using-the-inter-5995205 Google Now, for those…

Kobo Aura HD Review: A Beautiful Reader Screen Trapped in an Ugly Body

Everyone loves a pretty screen. The Kobo Aura HD is aiming to lead that charge in the ereader space. Armed with a best-in-class screen and an unusually powerful processor under the hood, the Aura HD tries its best to be a real luxury reader. It doesn’t quite make it. What Is It? A front-lit ebook…