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Do Crowbars Really Need Hinges?

The Hultafors 209 adjustable wrecking bar features a nine-point articulated claw, a rubberized grip, and claims to optimize the everyman’s nail-pulling experience. But does the crowbar design require improvement? The 209’s curved claw is set on a hinge and locked in place with a screw gear, which reportedly allows it to withstand the same forces…

Gadgets Andrew Tarantola Apr 3 '12

These ticks shrug off airless vacuums and powerful electron beams like they’re no big deal

These bugs might just be the hardest organisms on the planet. They’re the only creatures observed alive inside an electron microscope that actually survived this airless, high-radiation environment. This discovery could mean big things for life on other worlds. One of the basic tenets of scanning electron microscopes (SEM) is that, if you actually want…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Apr 3 '12

What if Doctor Who were a Super Nintendo roleplaying game?

In the spirit of their 16-bit remixes of Battlestar Galactica and Breaking Bad comes College Humor’s low-tech remake of the Eleventh Doctor’s adventures for the BBCSNES. Witness the Weeping Angels in thrilling real-time strategy! https://gizmodo.com/battlestar-galactica-in-four-minutes-as-a-1990s-rolepl-5873166 https://gizmodo.com/breaking-bad-the-roleplaying-game-is-extremely-depress-5881001 For more pixelated Who, see the time The Doctor invaded a certain classic Super Nintendo RPG and the opening…

Television Cyriaque Lamar Apr 3 '12

These Clothes Turn Transparent When Your Heart Rate Increases

These clothes are perfect for every beautiful person on this planet. Called Intimacy 2.0 and made by Studio Roosegaarde, they’re made of leather and smart e-foils and totally look futuristically stylish. The best part though? The material turns transparent as a person’s heartbeat increases. Oh yes. That means the hotter and heavier you get (figuratively),…

Tech News Casey Chan Apr 3 '12

Do you feel more lonely after using your smart phone?

In a recently-posted TED talk, MIT professor and psychologist Sherry Turkle explains why people who are constantly tethered to their smart phones feel so alone. She argues that loneliness in the age of social media has become far more crippling than ever before in history. But is she right that connectivity is driving us apart?…

io9 Annalee Newitz Apr 3 '12

Building Titanic: Learn How the (Not) Unsinkable Ship Was Born

Jack and Rose aren’t the only ones taking a ride on the Titanic again. National Geographic has hopped aboard the unsinkable ship with the release of its iPad app, Building Titanic. https://jezebel.com/i-re-watched-titanic-so-you-dont-have-to-youre-welcome-5898432 What does it do? The app takes you through the full history of the once-unsinkable ship, starting in 1908, when the design for…

Tech News Leslie Horn Apr 3 '12

The Worst Science Fiction Movie Ever Made, According to You

After weeks of hot debating, io9’s readers have now officially picked the very worst science fiction movie of all time, in our March Madness bracket. And the winner is… Battlefield Earth. In celebration we will be speaking in John Travolta’s insane Psychlo accent for the rest of the day. Congratulations, rat brains! Beating out Catwoman…

Movies Meredith Woerner Apr 3 '12

Amazing Dune concept art will make you see Arrakis anew

The settings and characters in Frank Herbert’s Dune are so vivid, it’s hard to do justice to them on the screen. But looking at these amazing “speed-paintings” by concept artist Mark Molnar is enough to make you wish they’d try again. Writes Molnar: I was always a big fan of the world of the original…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Apr 3 '12

We’re Using Way More Paper Than We Ever Have Before

Apparently human beings are still Tree Enemy Number One, sneaking past beavers and termites. In fact, if you are reading this in America, you personally killed 5.57 40-foot trees last year thanks to all of your paper usage. But don’t feel too bad: Belgians consumed a whopping 8.5 trees per person, which is like taking…

Tech News Evan Schwartz Apr 3 '12

Watch a tornado toss truck trailers 50 feet into the air

Extremely powerful tornados touched down today in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Fortunately, no deaths or injuries have been reported, but the storms were so ferocious some 18-wheeler trailers were tossed fifty or so feet upward as if they were Tonka toys. It gives one pause to realize that’s several tons of metal pirouetting in the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Apr 3 '12

Dark Energy Confirmed: How ancient sound waves shaped the entire universe

Just 30,000 years after the Big Bang, the universe started singing. Vast soundwaves rang out and expanded through the primordial cosmos, their ripples determining the universe’s large-scale structure. And this all fits perfectly with one particularly theory of dark energy. The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, or BOSS, has just completed a massive survey of a…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Apr 3 '12

Ikea’s “Experimental” LED Lamps Are Perfect For “Experimental” Lying On the Floor Staring at the Ceiling

For its new lighting line, “Experiments in LED,” Ikea tapped different designers to create lights that change the ambiance of a room into something trippy. And yes, they’ve all got wonderful names we don’t know how to pronounce. Designed by Ehlen Johansson the Solullen pendant lamp (blue, left) is made out of paper with a…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Apr 3 '12

A lovely short movie about life at a magic lightbulb factory

This is Luminaris, director Juan Pablo Zaramella’s six-minute silent film about a fantasy world where light governs daily existence and working at a lightbulb factory involves chewing glass. It’s a kooky, well-assembled little flick. [Via Kuriositas]

Movies Cyriaque Lamar Apr 3 '12

An Ice Cream Maker for Grandma-Quality Scoops of Deliciousness

As the weather turns springlike, the tinkling sounds of Mr. Softee ice cream trucks sing through the streets leaving many New Yorkers fixated on thoughts of scarfing colorful cones of the cold confection. But why not make some yourself? 63 Bucks. Amazon. This stainless-clad ice cream maker from Cuisinart won’t put too much of dent…

Tech News Leslie Horn Apr 3 '12

Frozen Beer Foam That Keeps Your Beer Ice Cold Sounds Amazing and Needs to Exist in America

Japan. We need to talk. Your food is awesome, your electronics are solid, your people are sweet—you have enough good things already. You do not need to hoard Kirin’s new frozen foam for beer—which looks like tasty beer soft serve and keeps your adult beverage cold for half an hour—to yourselves. SHARE IT WITH US.…

Tech News Casey Chan Apr 3 '12

How to Tell When the Superhero Movie Craze is Finally Over

It’s been over a decade since superhero movies started ruling the world. And everybody keeps expecting it to end any day — Matthew Vaughn said he did X-Men: First Class because he thought it might be his last chance to do a big superhero movie before the bubble burst. But instead, 2012 is the year…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders Apr 3 '12

Want to get paid to play with Legos? Try becoming a scientist.

This right here is what science is all about. Biomedical engineers at Cambridge University want to build artificial bones. Better yet, they want to automate the process. One way to do this is to drop a grip of cash on a robot designed for repetitive tasks like the one required for growing faux bones… but…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Apr 3 '12

Enso Pearl: The Only Timer Actually Worth Buying

A smartphone makes a lot of little gadgets obsolete. However, even if you’re attached at the thumbs to your iPhone, you might still find yourself coveting the Enso Pearl, the mother of all timers. Capable of timing 30 different activities concurrently, it’ll cost you a hundred bucks on Amazon. But that’s worth it, especially if…

Commerce Leslie Horn Apr 3 '12

Insane GIFS put Cthulhu and mechs in old Library of Congress photographs

If you enjoy the cut-and-paste madness of Terry Gilliam, then these GIF illustrations by Kevin Weir should be right up your alley. Over at Flux Machine, Weir takes monochrome photos from the Library of Congress’ Flickr account and ramps up the weirdness. See for yourself below. https://gizmodo.com/watch-terry-gilliam-create-surreal-animation-by-hand-in-5828334 https://gizmodo.com/santa-claus-robs-children-in-terry-gilliams-1968-animat-5870031 You can find more of these GIFs…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Apr 3 '12

Unedited: Gizmodo Wishes a Happy Birthday to Our Brian Barrett

Do you know our managing editor Brian Barrett? You should! He appeared in that TV commercial with Beyonce. You know the one. But he’s also one of our best friends and a terrific guy to work with. And today is his birthday. Brian is grappling with being 31, which is actually a very nice age,…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 3 '12

Do Crowbars Really Need Hinges?

These ticks shrug off airless vacuums and powerful electron beams like they’re no big deal

What if Doctor Who were a Super Nintendo roleplaying game?

These Clothes Turn Transparent When Your Heart Rate Increases

Do you feel more lonely after using your smart phone?

Building Titanic: Learn How the (Not) Unsinkable Ship Was Born

The Worst Science Fiction Movie Ever Made, According to You

Amazing Dune concept art will make you see Arrakis anew

We’re Using Way More Paper Than We Ever Have Before

Watch a tornado toss truck trailers 50 feet into the air

Dark Energy Confirmed: How ancient sound waves shaped the entire universe

Ikea’s “Experimental” LED Lamps Are Perfect For “Experimental” Lying On the Floor Staring at the Ceiling

A lovely short movie about life at a magic lightbulb factory

An Ice Cream Maker for Grandma-Quality Scoops of Deliciousness

Frozen Beer Foam That Keeps Your Beer Ice Cold Sounds Amazing and Needs to Exist in America

How to Tell When the Superhero Movie Craze is Finally Over

Want to get paid to play with Legos? Try becoming a scientist.

Enso Pearl: The Only Timer Actually Worth Buying

Insane GIFS put Cthulhu and mechs in old Library of Congress photographs

Unedited: Gizmodo Wishes a Happy Birthday to Our Brian Barrett

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