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The neuroscience of stage fright — and how to cope with it

Public speaking is one of our most common fears, topping flying, financial ruin, sickness, and even death. The fear can get so bad that people become physically ill before getting on stage. But this fear — often called performance anxiety or stage fright — extends beyond the pressure to perform in the moment. It’s about…

Watch the first episode of Gnomeland Security, a cartoon about drunk anti-terrorist gnomes

What if David the Gnome was a dipsomaniac, a demolitions expert, and under the employ of the United States government? Then his escapades would likely resemble those of the diminutive hell-raisers in Gnomeland Security, a new three-part web series by Dark Igloo, {group theory}, and Shift Editorial. And courtesy of those aforementioned groups, here’s an…

Who Knew That Takeout Containers Made For Convenient Little Greenhouses?

If your green thumb is itching for a garden that your cramped apartment can’t facilitate, it turns out those takeout containers in your fridge can double as clever mini greenhouses. Or at least, these specially designed translucent plastic boxes that look like takeout containers, but still let sunshine in. Created by Italian designers Francesca Bonfrate…

10 Future-Proof Gadgets You’ll Still Love Next Year

When it comes to tech shopping, sometimes it pays to wait for a new-and-improved model. But this fall, too much procrastination will turn you into a high-tech Hamlet wondering whether to be or not to be a Galaxy S III owner while your digital Denmark rots. Here are 10 products you can pull the trigger…

Trollhunter director signs up for another Enormous monster movie

André Øvredal’s Norse mythology found footage film Trollhunter was a work of art, what with its giant trolls lumbering through the Norwegian landscape, sniffing down the blood of Christians. We loved it, so we’re doubly excited that Øvredal’s next undertaking is bringing the graphic novel Enormous to life. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Øvredal and…

The incredible devices that made motion pictures before there were cameras

Long before Hollywood and Bollywood, people wanted to watch movies. The weird part is that they were watching them. Even without cameras, people from the Cro Magnons to the Victorians invented ways to make pictures move. They even made movies in the genres that we recognize today. You could find everything from horror to comedy…

Jetsetter‘s been updated for Passbook, joining our running list of Passbook-compatible apps.

These are your toys on drugs! Watch the full Toy Story short now

The water toys in Toy Story certainly like to party. Watch what happens when Rex meets the bath toys and begins doling out the water like it’s free. Rex becomes Partysaurus Rex and the hungry demon inside us all climbs out of his gut and begs for more, MORE! (We’re actually super-happy that the Toy…

These Laser-Engraved iPhone 5s Look Really Cool

Another reason why you don’t need a f*cking case for your iPhone 5: laser engraving. They look really cool and, as far as I know, they are the first ones out there. https://gizmodo.com/you-dont-need-a-f-cking-case-for-your-iphone-5-5945198 I remember the laser etchings that Phil Torrone made at the first Gizmodo Gallery, back in the day of the first iPhone.…

Fastest Bottle Opener in the Galaxy Opens Bottles in Less Than Twelve Parsecs

For all the Star Wars branded crap that’s been approved by Lucasfilm over the years, there’s the occasional stroke of genius like this bottle opener that reminds us why we love the films—and drinking. The ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs can now call your refrigerator home, because this wonderful…

A Look at the Craziest Competitive Gamers You’ve Ever Seen

San Francisco has its share of landmarks: The Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, wherever Rice-A-Roni came from. But for white-knuckle competitive gamers, the city has just one true destination: Southtown Arcade — a tiny storefront by the Stockton Tunnel that houses Frisco’s last outpost for hardcore gamers. So when game-loving photographer Ryan Russell landed out…

One of the best figures to ever grace a peer-reviewed scientific journal (warning: panda demise)

From the article entitled “Remains of Holocene giant pandas from Jiangdong Mountain (Yunnan, China) and their relevance to the evolution of quaternary environments in south-western China” comes this mildly distressing but amusingly illustrated scientific figure, which depicts the manner in which giant-panda bones might accumulate and decay in sinkholes over time. Tragic? Yes. Hilarious? Also…

TweetDeck Gets a Clean, Easy-to-Read Redesign

TweetDeck, the enormously popular Twitter client, just got a new redesign across desktop, web, and mobile platforms. As soon as you fire it up, you’ll notice that individual tweets are easier to read thanks to better outlining and a stronger font hierarchy. You’ll also be able to set your font size in the app’s settings…

This New Battery Will Store Excess Wind Power Using the Air Itself

Wind farms simply aren’t reliable sources of steady power, which is why many rely on enormous battery systems to store excess current for times when the wind isn’t gusting enough to meet our energy demands. Problem is—the production of these batteries is itself a drain on resources. So what if, instead of lithium and metal…

New Pinterest-Like eBay Makes It Easier for You to Spend Money

Remember New Coke? It was wildly unsuccessful. Fortunately, New eBay ain’t half bad. Everything from the apps to the logo to the main site has been redesigned, and mostly for the better. Definitely for the more expensive. Now, everything on eBay is heavily curated—each time you visit the site, you’re going to get suggestions of…

Microliner Turns Your Twitter Conversations In Easy-to-Follow Hierarchical Trees

Gizmodo’s friend Dave Winer has released a really useful minimalist tool called Microliner, which turns your Twitter conversations with multiple people from long sausages impossible to follow into logical, clearly organized hierarchical conversations. It’s pretty easy install and use: • First download OPML—his outline editor—here and run it. • A dialog should appear asking if…

Watch the original ending of Little Shop of Horrors, where everybody dies

When it hit cineplexes in 1986, the Hollywood adaptation of the off-Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors had a much more cheerful ending than its theatrical source material (and the 1960 Roger Corman movie that inspired that). But this wasn’t initially the case. In fact, director Frank Oz was forced to completely rejigger the film’s…

What’s Your Worst Craigslist Horror Story?

All you wanted to do was sell a desk. A really nice desk you like. So you put it on Craigslist, listed it at the price you thought was fair, and specified “Or best offer.” Then come the crazies. Yup, Craigslist is full of jerks. Anybody who has ever tried to sell anything, or, worse,…

We now know why coffee helps to stave off Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists recently discovered that caffeine consumption can be tied to a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. They knew that it was suppressing the rise of amyloid plaques in the brain, but why coffee consumption did the trick remained a mystery. But now, researchers from the University of Illinois believe they have…

This Bauhaus Watch Makes a Rolex Look Gauche

To a man like Max Bill, the chunky, uber-luxe tachymeter diving watch is more than just tacky. It’s tachy. An immoral abomination. As a perfect counterpoint to the Rolex Submariner look, we have this German Junghans watch, a Bauhaus-inspired timepiece that Bill designed. Max Bill is one of those overlooked 20th century designers that should…