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More evidence that volcanoes killed the dinosaurs

Geologists and paleontologists have been kicking around an idea for the past several decades which threatens to overturn the scientific canon surrounding the demise of the dinosaurs. Rather than an asteroid impact, say a growing number of researchers, it was extreme volcanic activity that drove the dinosaurs to extinction. Critics complain that there isn’t enough…

Here’s a New Yorker Cover Made With Nothing But Emoji

When you think of The New Yorker, chances are that legions of emoji aren’t the first thing that come to mind. They will be after you’ve seen this full rendition of the magazine’s entire cover composed of nothing but. Dubbed “Eustace Emoji” after the magazine’s signature dandy, the cover cover was whipped up for a…

How Napster Brought the Recording Industry to Its Knees

Just over thirteen years ago, a novel file sharing service called Napster sent the recording industry into a tizzy. Suddenly nobody had to pay for music anymore thanks to the Internet. Napster co-founders Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker pretty much single-handedly spearheaded the file-sharing revolution that the recording and motion picture industries are only just…

Bane explains the importance of fiber in these Dark Knight Rises “outtakes”

There are two reasons why you should watch this Dark Knight Rises comedy video, despite the likelihood that you overdosed on them months ago: 1) it’s about Bane, but isn’t about Bane being unintelligible, and 2) hearing this guy’s uncanny impression of Tom Hardy’s weirdly genial supervillain worry about his henchmens’ dietary habits is hilariously…

Watch These Dogs Drive a Car Better Than Your Grandma

Attention: you are about to watch dogs—who mere months ago were roaming the streets of Auckland homeless—drive cars. My grandma isn’t even allowed to drive anymore, but these canine chauffeurs are completely street legal because they actually passed their drivers’ tests. Seriously, New Zealand, is everything okay down there? The pooches were trained by the…

Six scientists tell us about the most accurate science fiction in their fields

What do scientists think about seeing their fields of research pulverized by science fiction? We asked researchers from diverse fields to tell us whether any science fiction gets it right. Several of the scientists we contacted were simply at a loss when I asked whether they could think of any science fiction that was accurate…

Hear what kids think of The Hobbit while you think of your inevitable, looming death

The Fine Bros. made one of their patented “What Kids Think” videos, this time pitting a wide assortment of children against one of the latest Hobbit trailers. I was all set to talk about how it’s a fun look at the variety of reactions of those who haven’t necessarily formed opinions on nerdery or Tolkien…

Is This Nasa’s Next Lunar Lander, Or a Gorgeous Espresso Machine?

At first glance this beautiful espresso maker from CB Industries looks like a proposed NASA spacecraft design from the mid-1950s. But instead of dropping astronauts on the moon, it’s only designed to drip coffee into a cup, while looking sleek in the process. Polished stainless steel lets the Jules’ spherical body and pointy legs shine…

Get Intimate With a Ham Leg (Pillow)

Ham is so delicious maybe you actually want to make love to it. Medically, it’s not recommended, but you can curl up in pork’s warm embrace with the ham leg pillow. At $22 on Big Cartel, it actually is significantly cheaper than the same amount of fine, premium meat. The only problem is it looks…

Monkey with stylish winter coat spotted at Toronto Ikea

Visitors to an Ikea in Toronto had to finish their Christmas shopping with some unexpected company this past weekend. A small, but stylish, monkey wearing a shearling-like winter coat was found on the loose and alone in the store’s parking lot after escaping the confines of its owner’s cage. The monkey was eventually lured into…

Why Is the Sky Blue Isn’t the Right Question

Sure, you know why the sky is blue. You’re a learned man and/or woman of learning; you know your way around Wikipedia. But hey, sorry buddy. That’s still amateur hour. The question you should have been asking all along: Why isn’t the sky violet? Actually, on second thought, pretty sure Wikipedia’s going to have an…

Tons More Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Details. Plus a Surprise Guest Star for Doctor Who‘s Christmas Special!

Iron Man 3 is filming in China after all — and they’ve added a Chinese star. Martin Sheen is returning for more in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Peter Jackson discusses Middle-Earth’s cinematic future. Felicia Day returns to Supernatural. Plus a great look at Superman’s new costume! Spoilers from here on out! Top image from Star…

Seems the Apple TV’s upcoming iOS update will bring Bluetooth keyboard control. Easy armchair navigation! [9to5mac]

Scientists Can Now Make Brain Cells From Urine

You can generate electricity from it, use it to heat your home, or even play video games with it. Urine is a versatile thing indeed—and now scientists can make brain cells from it. https://gizmodo.com/these-teenage-girls-from-africa-made-a-urine-powered-ge-5959396 Wait, what? It might seem difficult to believe, but scientists claims that they can persuade some of the cells that are…

Smart Store Displays Trigger Product Demos When You Pick Something Up

A Japanese clothing retailer has installed new display racks in its store outfitted with a device called the DLabHook which promises to make decision making a little easier. When a customer removes an item from a rack, a promotional video is played providing more info on the product while it’s demo’d by a model. The…

Why Aren’t We Afraid of a Tsunami Hitting San Francisco?

When a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan’s eastern coast early Friday morning, we all feared a tsunami. But San Francisco gets earthquakes all the time, and we’re not scared of a tsunami there. Why? When news broke of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake off the eastern coast of Japan early this morning, our first reaction was to…

This Trippy Gobstopper Is Actually a Map of the Moon’s Mass

When you fly two space craft around the moon for days on end, you may as well do something useful with them. So NASA created this beatifully colorful map of the moon, which shows how its mass varies over its surface. The color indicates how much mass certain parts of our rocky companion has: red…

Why Not Build This Year’s Gingerbread House Using CAD and Lasers?

We’ve all seen our fair share of crooked gingerbread houses, daubed with frosting to the point where they look less like a building and more like a bomb site. Johan von Konow has a solution to that problem, though: design the building using CAD and manufacture it using laser cutters. Johan explains on his blog…

Google is chopping more dead wood: Motorola’s Korean operations are being brought to a close. [The Next Web]

How the US Air Force Wasted $1 Billion on a Failed Software Plan

The US Military makes its fair share of mistakes when it comes to technology—but over the weekend, the New York Times revealed that even upgrading a single software system can go horribly wrong for it. https://gizmodo.com/the-6-billion-military-software-project-that-came-to-n-5919824 The New York Times describes the situation: Last month, [the Air Force] canceled a six-year-old modernization effort that had…