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The Future Is Unevenly Distributed

One of the big questions of futurism is what kind of world we want to live in tomorrow. But as attendees at a recent conference on futurism discovered, “tomorrow” is relative. People in Egypt look at the future very differently than people in Canada do. This was a heated topic of discussion at the recently…

Shooting Challenge: Blink

A blink goes by in just 1/10 of a second. What could have happened in this sub-moment that you missed? For this week’s Shooting Challenge, show us what occurred in the 100 milliseconds that our eyes were closed. The Challenge Take a photo that lasts 1/10th of a second. Big bonus points for playing off…

For $1,230, you too can own a 3D-printed model of your unborn fetus

This is how you impress your horrified progeny’s date during prom photographs. The Japanese engineering firm Fasotec is teaming up with Tokyo’s Parkside Hiroo Ladies Clinic to offer expecting mothers 3D-printed models of their gestating bundles of joy. A mere ¥100,000 will get you a 90x60x40 millimeter “Shape of an Angel,” an MRI-scanned keepsake that…

Netflix just added ESPN’s critically acclaimed 30 for 30 series to its streaming lineup. Sports fans, rejoice! [Twitter]

Why we should look for extraterrestrial ‘bubbles’ in neighboring galaxies

There’s been an exciting shift in scientific thinking about life beyond Earth recently. Extraterrestrial-seeking group SETI has started to recognize the importance of detecting alien artifacts along with radio signals. The most viable target for these searches is the Dyson sphere, a massive shell that envelops an entire star. But as Discovery’s Ray Villard rightly…

Twitter Has an Official Election Tracker and November’s Still So Far Away

In case you’re not already sick of the election cycle, Twitter has launched the Political Index, a new election tracker which measures a candidate’s performance based on what every regular citizen is saying about them in 140-character form. It takes every tweet that mentions Obama or Romney and decides whether they’re positive or negative, then…

Children’s chemistry sets used to contain cyanide

Do you ever long for the good ol’ days? When a rickety school desk was enough to protect you from a nuclear blast, and chemistry sets contained real (read: deadly) chemicals? The first half of the 20th century was the golden age of children’s chemistry sets. “By the 1920s and 30s,” writes BBC’s Alex Hudsen…

These Are the Oldest Stars In Our Galaxy

Like NASA says, these stars look like the thousand bright flashes of people taking photos just before a big rock concert. In reality, they are the oldest stars in our very own Milky Way, captured by Hubble. This beautiful group of stars is the last globular cluster in the Messier Catalogue, discovered by French astronomer…

Deep-sea squid can break off all its arms to fight enemies

If you grew up on a diet of 1980s cartoons, as I did, you will have seen many a giant robot shoot many a rocket-propelled fist into many a big monster. Sadly, there are no rocket punches in the real world, but I can give you the next best thing: a squid that can grab…

10 Foods You Crave — And Why You Crave Them

We’ve all experienced food cravings. In general they tend to be for things like potato chips, ice cream, and other high-calorie foods that doctors say will murder us. Some cravings, though, are the result of deep and correct instincts, telling us what we need to eat to stay alive. Here are ten ways your body’s…

You Can Now Configure Your MacBook Pro Retina In Any Way You Want

This is great news! Instead of having to deal with Apple pre-configured MacBook Pro Retina options, now you can freely configure your machine in any way you want. Processor, memory and storage, you can combine them all for your optimal performance/price point ratio. For example, you can select top speed in the processor without having…

Conan Takes Super Slo-Mo to Absurd New Heights

You know how the Olympics has all of this amazing, mind-boggling slow motion footage? Incredible, right? Conan O’Brien thought so, too. So he borrowed one of those cams to see if slo-mo can do for comedy what it’s already done for sports. I’m going to go ahead and say, yes. It works. I mean who…

Photographs of Secret Government Technology from the 20th Century

Thought you knew everything about secret government projects in the 20th Century? Think again. Macedonian artist Damjan Cvetkov-Dimitrov created this series of simple, but surprisingly compelling, photoshopperies of “ancient high tech.” Each combines historical photographs from World War I, II and the Cold War with evocative bits of CGI. The effect is slightly cheesy, but…

If You Want HBO Go, You’ll Have to Keep Paying For Cable Forever and Ever

A standalone HBO Go service is the holy grail for cordcutters. It means liberation from cable forever. It’s never going to happen. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes just told his investors in no uncertain terms that cordcutters don’t exist, and that forcing people to pay for cable to get HBO will work. Sadly, he’s probably…

Tiny Desktop Metropolis Gives You Four City Blocks of Extra USB Ports

Who says a USB hub has to have a minimal design or be highly portable? Not designer David Weeks, who created this hub for Kikkerland that’s shaped like a miniature metropolis full of not-so-towering skyscrapers. With just four extra USB ports you’re mostly paying $20 for adorableness over functionality with this hub. But who could…

In the trailer for Paranormal Activity 4, the demons have gone viral

The supernatural cash cow Paranormal Activity has churned out another addition to the franchise. After the series covered the original couple, the couple’s sister, and went back in time to show what happened when the sisters were babies, we thought they ran plum out of story. Well, we were wrong! The fourth installment follows the…

Here’s How to Banish All the Babies From Your Facebook Newsfeed

The older you get, the more of your friends start crapping out kids. And of course they pretty much insta-post every picture of their spawn on Facebook. Maybe you’re annoyed or maybe you just think newborns actually look more like tiny shriveled old men. Unbaby.me, a Chrome extension that removes all the babies from your…

A CliffNotes Guide To The Wishbone Episode About H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine

Thank you for purchasing CliffNotes: Wishbone – “Bark To The Future,” an educational guide for those readers requiring assistance in understanding the fundamental plot points of H.G. Wells’ science fiction novella The Time Machine, as depicted in the defunct 1990s PBS children’s show Wishbone (ages 5-12). Whether you use this guide for the classroom —…

Ten Power Tools Everyone Should Own

Tempting as it may be to covet plunge routers, nail guns, and compound sliding miter saws, they’re just not right for most guys. A tiny drill, though, that’s something no junk drawer should go without. Here’s a look ten power tools a regular homeowner ought to have on hand, a list Gizmodo put together as…

How to Make Beer and Influence People

Ok, real talk. How cool are you? Like, on a scale of 1-10. A six, maybe a seven? Are you content with that? Wouldn’t you like for more people to like you more? Well, friend, it’s totally possible. “How?” you might ask. It’s easy! Give them beer! “But beer costs money,” you say. Not if…