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Retro Arcade Light Switch Doesn’t Require a Single Quarter

Somewhere there’s a tired joke about the Konami code waiting to be made for this awesome arcade-themed light switch plate. But we’re going to take the high road here and just focus on why this is a must-have addition to your gaming room. For starters, besides a controller, the only tool you need to know…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

This Chair Is a Tribute to the Ocean, Said the Inside of a Hallmark Card

You can easily imagine this undulating three-person bench at a crazy surreal garden party hosted by Salvador Dalí. Named Baud, it was created by Vito Selma, and it was designed to be a “tribute to the ocean.” The above statement sounds really ridiculous when you write it out but those are literally the designer’s words.…

Tech News Leslie Horn

Acid and Gold: The Modern Alchemy of Artificial Gemstones

Everyone knows that humans can make artificial diamonds. But did you know that we can make sapphires, emeralds, and rubies as well? Did you know that this involves weird occult-like instruments, like little rooms lined in gold? Starting with crystal seeds and watering regularly with hydrochloric acid, we can grow a cluster of emeralds. Sometimes…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Will CAPTCHA-breaking bots soon make it impossible to prove we’re human?

Have you noticed that CAPTCHAs are getting more difficult to solve? CAPTCHAs, for those who’ve never heard of the internet, are those annoyingly ubiquitous prompts asking you to make sense of a marginally legible string of letters to prove that you’re human. And yes, these bot-defying, rage-inducing tests are indeed getting harder to solve, on…

io9 George Dvorsky

Orlando’s Orwellian Surveillance Cameras Bust Guy Smoking and Eating Weed on a Corner

Everyone knows if you’re smoking weed and you think the cops are coming, the best thing for you to do is just eat the evidence. Super Troopers taught us that much. Except it doesn’t work if you live in the police state known as Orlando and there are cameras watching you, 29-year-old Joe Haywood recently…

Tech News Leslie Horn

First Impressions: The Best Character Intros from Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies

The most memorable characters in science fiction and fantasy are often the people who made a huge impression the very first time we meet them. Who can possibly forget the first time you saw the face of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, or heard the voice of HAL for the first time? A great…

Movies Meredith Woerner

This microscopic 3-D pattern was “painted” using a laser beam

Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology have developed a brand new method for positioning molecules in space with micrometer precision. They call it “3D-photografting,” and it uses laser beams to place microscopic chemical structures in the nooks and crannies of a macromolecular meshwork known as hydrogel. Materials scientist Aleksandr Ovsianikov, one of the researchers…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Deadly Virus Outbreak In California

The Center for Disease Control is warning of an unprecedented virus outbreak in California, with two confirmed deaths so far and two more ongoing cases. The virus’ ground zero seems to be in Yosemite Park: The National Park Service (NPS) announced that there were 3 confirmed cases and 1 probable case of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome…

Tech News Jesus Diaz

What’s Coming Next for Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms

Wizards of the Coast held an elaborate keynote address at games convention Gen Con this year to promote the big changes they have planned for Dungeons & Dragons and the Forgotten Realms. An all-star line up of authors will be shaping the Realms, and everything old will be digital again while the public playtest marches…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

This Is What It’s Like To Play Street Fighter Using Real Fireballs

There is a dream harbored by everyone who grew up playing Street Fighter. In that dream you put your wrists together, shove them forward, shout “Hadouken!” and a giant fireball flies through the air. Last night, that dream came true. Brent is reporting live from Burning Man all week, in a possibly fruitless attempt to…

Tech News Brent Rose

Ask Obama Anything on Reddit Right Now

President Barack Obama is literally posting on Reddit, right now. Not sure what this means for democracy. He’s using a Mac, though. TYPICAL FANBOY.[Reddit]

Tech News Sam Biddle

The tawdry medical history of soft drinks

It is a little-known fact that one the most outrageously unhealthy drinks in the world — Coca Cola — has its roots in a health craze of the Victorian Age. The history of sodas offers us a window on a strange time when medicine became a tasty, intoxicating treat. In the nineteenth century, inventors created…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Underground Tunnel Where the Laws of Physics Are Rewritten

Thirty feet beneath the hills of Menlo Park, scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator have worked for the past half century to alter our fundamental understanding of the universe. The 1.9-mile-long structure, where electrons fly at nearly the speed of light, is reputed to be the straightest object on earth. Here’s a peek inside. The…

Tech News Andrew Tarantola

All the Best Moments From Last Week’s Conversation with Eric Ackerson

Last Wednesday we were fortunate enough to have Eric Ackerson, Acer’s senior product marketing and brand manager, here to chat. Needless to say, you guys weren’t afraid to ask Eric some tough questions — which in turn gave Eric the chance to talk about some really exciting developments in Acer’s upcoming line of products. Unfortunately,…

Tech News Sponsored post

Why (Unfair, Expensive) Shared Data Plans Just Became the Inevitable Future

You’ll be forgiven for not paying too much attention to IFA, a giant tech conference taking place this week in Berlin. There have been some fine spectacles so far—84-inch, 4k TV anyone?—but for the most part, you’re not missing much. https://gizmodo.com/sonys-84-inch-4k-tv-is-mammoth-and-beautiful-and-we-wan-5938854 Except, maybe, for the exact moment that data plans started down an irreversible path…

Gadgets Brian Barrett

Auto Cable Winder Is the Cure For Knotted Headphones

If you spend more time untangling your headphones than listening to music—and turn your nose up at clunky wireless solutions—consider these automatic Recoil winders that make the grandiose promise of knot-free cables. Not only are they a rare Kickstarter win, but they actually appear to deliver on everything they promise. When you’re done with your…

Gadgets Andrew Liszewski

SOL Republic Says Its New Headphones Are the Best Yet, but Cannot At All Explain Why That Is

These are the SOL Republic Tracks Ultra. The company says these are its nicest, bestest headphones yet. But aside from the new name, the use of terms like “V12 Sound Engines,” and a more expensive $180 price tag, there’s no quantitative, or even qualitative, explanation as to why these are the company’s new pride and…

Tech News Adrian Covert

The Best Laptop Bag

You spent hundreds of dollars on your laptop. You’re not going to toss that thing around like a Frisbee. The right bag should keep that precious piece of metal and chips safe, but it should also make the machine mobile. That means portability, comfort, and style. After two weeks hauling four bags, we’ve found one…

Tech News Leslie Horn

Does Steven Moffat have a master plan for Doctor Who?

Steven Moffat’s Doctor Who era has been one long story, about the Doctor and the Silence. The Silence are mentioned in Matt Smith’s very first episode, and their actions have dominated the Eleventh Doctor’s life. But we still don’t really know what this is all about, and we’re hoping for more clues when the show…

Television Charlie Jane Anders

Sleek Thermos Is a Tribute To Cutting-Edge 1980s Computer Graphics

When computer graphics was in its infancy—well before CG dinosaurs appeared—a simple 3D model of a teapot was used for testing software and new rendering techniques. And the simple lines of Normann Copenhagen’s Geo thermos is reminiscent of that time when CG was comparatively primitive to what we see on screen today. Made from simple…

Tech News Andrew Liszewski

Retro Arcade Light Switch Doesn’t Require a Single Quarter

This Chair Is a Tribute to the Ocean, Said the Inside of a Hallmark Card

Acid and Gold: The Modern Alchemy of Artificial Gemstones

Will CAPTCHA-breaking bots soon make it impossible to prove we’re human?

Orlando’s Orwellian Surveillance Cameras Bust Guy Smoking and Eating Weed on a Corner

First Impressions: The Best Character Intros from Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies

This microscopic 3-D pattern was “painted” using a laser beam

Deadly Virus Outbreak In California

What’s Coming Next for Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms

This Is What It’s Like To Play Street Fighter Using Real Fireballs

Ask Obama Anything on Reddit Right Now

The tawdry medical history of soft drinks

The Underground Tunnel Where the Laws of Physics Are Rewritten

All the Best Moments From Last Week’s Conversation with Eric Ackerson

Why (Unfair, Expensive) Shared Data Plans Just Became the Inevitable Future

Auto Cable Winder Is the Cure For Knotted Headphones

SOL Republic Says Its New Headphones Are the Best Yet, but Cannot At All Explain Why That Is

The Best Laptop Bag

Does Steven Moffat have a master plan for Doctor Who?

Sleek Thermos Is a Tribute To Cutting-Edge 1980s Computer Graphics

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