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How to Turn a Drone Into a Vicious Flying Stungun of Doom

See those silver stripes around the circumference of this Parrot AR drone? They’re not there for decoration or style. They’re actually strips of aluminum tape that’s wired into a capacitor from a disposable camera’s flash. Which means that when—not if—this drone bumps into someone, they’re going to get a particularly unpleasant shock as you can…

HBO Streams Online to Non-Cable Subscribers For the First Time But Sadly Only In Europe (Updated)

In October, citizens of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark will be able to get on-demand HBO content even if they don’t have cable. Oh those lucky Europeans. First health care, and now streaming Game of Thrones whenever they want it. HBO Nordic will offer customers the 24-hour movie channel US customers are used to, but…

A handy introduction to the morbidly fascinating science of autoerotic asphyxiation

Because we know you’ve always been curious, here’s a brief guide to the science and forensics of hypoxyphilia, also known as autoerotic asphyxiation. Using the death of actor David Carradine as a starting point, The Neurocritic runs through some damn interesting information behind this potentially lethal sexual practice. For instance, I had no idea that…

Brenthaven BX2 Camera Backpack: Nice Bag, But Too Baggy

Every week, it seems, a new bag company is out to court the crowded world of products for camera-wielding creative types. Brenthaven has been making laptop bags and luggage since the 1980s, but the name might not be extremely familiar in the realm of camera gear. We gave its BX2 backpack two weeks to show…

Doctor Who toile, for the most sophisticated Time Lord

Oh dear, this Doctor Who toile has Daleks and Weeping Angels mucking about inside the classic pastoral scene. We must have it covering our walls, or at least inside our TARDIS. The toile TARDIS was created by the brilliant folks over at Spoonflower. And that’s not all the company has a lovely collection of Doctor…

Adobe will release Photoshop with HiDPI and Retina display support in the coming months. Still not soon enough!

Twitter is Targeting Targeted Ads to Become More Targeted (Updated)

Twitter just announced that its letting advertisers create better, more targeted advertisements so you’ll actually see stuff you care about in your Twitter feed. It’s the way the Internet works in 2012—ads already know your tastes. Twitter uses a variety of signals to determine what a Twitter user likes such as who you’re following and…

Are the Paralympics a celebration of superhumans, or a modern freakshow?

Check out this commercial put together by Paralympic organizers who are trying very hard to cast the Games and its athletes in a completely new light. Rather than framing Paralympians as being somehow deficient or inadequate, they’re now being portrayed as elite athletes endowed with superhuman capacities. At the same time, however, there are some…

What Would You Do With a Touchscreen Ultrabook?

I didn’t like the idea of touchscreen ultrabooks when the rumors first popped up, and now that they’ve all arrived en masse, I still don’t like ’em. Sure, the product itself is fine, and they work as they’re supposed to, but the concept is just no good. They don’t fold, detach, or convert. And given…

Wolfram Alpha Will Tell You Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Your Facebook Page

Go here and type “facebook report.” What you get in return is a treasure trove of statistical insights about your Facebook profile, which is certain to send you into a narcissistic spiral you’ll never recover from. Wanna know how many links, photos and updates you posted? Wolfram’s got all that. Curious what time of day…

Thought-Controlled Quadcopter Takes To the Skies

Up, down, bank, take a photo! Researchers at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, have developed a quadcopter that can be controlled by thought alone. The idea is to give people with impaired motor abilities a new avenue for interaction. Their system relies on the commercially available Emotiv electroencephalography (EEG) headset to interpret brain activity as…

You Can Now Search Through Facebook Photos on Bing

Well here’s a strange little feature that has popped up as a result of Microsoft and Facebook’s alliance: the ability to search through the photos of you and your friends. If you ever wanted to find that one photo a friend posted, but can’t remember what album it was in, but can remember what the…

9 Scientific Breakthroughs That Happened Totally by Accident

You may recall that inventions like the microwave and Play-Doh were mere happy accidents. And of course you’ve heard of Alexander Fleming’s penicillin jackpot. But there are so many more scientific breakthroughs that came about through sheer dumb luck that you may not have heard of. https://gizmodo.com/whoops-the-10-greatest-accidental-inventions-of-all-5620910 Here are nine of our favorites, including a…

This Is How a Medical Scanner Looks Without Its Skin

When you look at them in hospitals, CT (Computer Tomography) scanners look like devices from Star Trek’s Enterprise. When you look at them without their smooth futuristic covers on, they look like tired engine parts from the Battlestar Galactica. But the most amazing thing is how it works. You won’t believe how fast this huge…

This Toddy Coffee Maker Is Your Cold-Brew-Coffee-Is-The-Best-Coffee Deal of the Day

If you’ve only had coffee brewed hot, you’re missing out. Cold brew coffee is incredible. On a hot day, there’s really nothing better. But here in New York, the price of a big cup of cold brew routinely exceeds $4, which is starting to push the limits that most people are willing to pay for…

Old-School Doctor Who Episodes That Everyone Should Watch

Doctor Who has been a legend for decades, but the time-travel adventure show has gained a whole new fanbase in the past seven years. Newer fans have an amazing opportunity to travel backwards in time, and rediscover the show’s greatest moments from the first 26 years. We’ve written before about how to discover 20th century…

Apple and Google Are Reportedly Trying to Play Nice Over Patents

Reuters reports that Google and Apple CEOs Tim Cook and Larry Page supposedly had a chat on the phone a few weeks ago their intellectual property disputes before they hit the courtroom. And apparently they’ve got a date to speak again. Can two tech titans resolve their problems without a lawsuit? The report comes just…

Solar System Scale: Weigh Yourself on Planets Where Gravity Isn’t So Harsh

If you’re feeling guilty about that fifth slice of pie you had after dinner, you might want to consider avoiding scales until you can weigh yourself on this educational aide. It’s designed to teach kids facts about the solar system, but more importantly, the varying effects of gravity on each planet. As you step on…

The Avengers will reassemble in theaters this Labor Day weekend

The Avengers are returning to the theaters. So if you missed seeing Hulk smash on the big screen, or just want to see Black Widow’s leather catsuit one more time in glorious 3D, get thee back to the theaters this weekend. According to the Avengers Facebook page the movie will be re-screened on August 31st…

Scientists develop robot that scans information directly from neurons

Neuroscientists from Georgia Tech and MIT have developed a robotic system that can find and simultaneously record the activity of dozens of neurons in live animals. The breakthrough could help researchers better understand how connected cells interpret signals and transmit information throughout the brain. Nature’s Helen Shen reports: The robots are designed to perform whole-cell…