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10 Hidden Details in Your City and What They Mean

There was plenty of outrage earlier this month when a London storefront revealed sidewalk spikes meant to keep the homeless from getting too cozy. While these shiny prickles did seem especially Temple of Doom-ish, they weren’t all that unusual: There are plenty of little details designed into our cities that tell us what to do,…

Who’s Bigger Than Thanos In Guardians? And Is Tom Cruise In Star Wars?

There are more rumors about the villains of Star Wars: Episode VII. Another actor is in talks to join Doctor Strange. Norman Reedus promises a “badass” season five of The Walking Dead. Plus, new photos from Avengers: Age of Ultron and Constantine. Spoilers now! Top image: The Walking Dead Star Wars The latest rumor comes…

Would You Use Facebook For Your Work Chats?

TechCrunch is reporting that Facebook could be building an at-work version of the social network. But would you like it if your company insisted that work communications all took place in Zuck’s little blue boxes? The site’s source claims that FB@Work, as it’s referred to, could be used in place of email or IM. “Everyone…

It’s a weed whose height rivals that of many NBA players, it’s increasingly herbicide-resistant, and it’s spreading. The Des Moines Register has the story of “superweed” Palmer amaranth’s spread through Iowa which they say could knock out 2/3 of the state’s corn and soybean crops if it continues.

Seinfeld’s Guide to Internet Etiquette

Technology brings with it many complex social problems—from using phones at the dinner table to the the etiquette of Facebook likes. In this video, Jerry Seinfeld helps us navigate the minefield that is society drenched in tech. Warning: you might not want to actually follow his advice. Apart from the bit about filming a concert…

World Cup Security Team Accidentally Shares Its Awful Wi-Fi Password

What’s the bigger security crime: having your Wi-Fi password displayed on a big screen, or using tired old internet speak to have “b5a2112014” as the password for the Brazil 2014 event security team network? The above photo came via local newspaper Correio Braziliense, in which security experts demonstrated the cutting-edge CCTV and monitoring facility being…

This Is What Space Debris Does to the Kevlar Skins of Spacecraft

Gravity wasn’t too far off the mark. You’re looking through a hole, made by simulated space debris, in the reinforced Kevlar–Nextel fabric that makes up the outer skin of European Space Agency spacecraft. The test was carried out by researchers from the Fraunhofer Ernst Mach Institut for High-Speed Dynamics, who fired a 7.5 mm-diameter aluminum…

Use These Stickers to Show How You’re Conserving Water

You may have noticed that half of the United States is currently suffering from drought. Some whole states are drought-stricken. Katie McKissick, author of the webcomic Beatrice the Biologist, has noticed that people in her home of Los Angeles are not really acting as if there’s a massive water shortage in the state. So she…

How Scientists Are Finding New Ways to Treat Pain

Pain medication is many, varied, confusing and, on occasion, ineffective—which is researchers around the world dedicate their lives to working out how to treat our discomfort better. This documentary takes a close look at where new drugs come from, and how they might help us all in the future. https://gizmodo.com/which-pain-reliever-should-i-take-for-a-sports-injury-1385346352 Created by Mosaic, it follows…

WSJ: Google Is Going to Announce an Android TV Set-Top Box at I/O

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google will announce “at least one” set-top box running its Android TV operating system at today’s I/O event. While we already know for sure that Android will announce its Android TV OS, the Journal claims that a set-top box, branded by its manufacturer, will also make an appearance.…

With This Giant Trampoline, Wales Is Officially My Summer Vacation

A network of three giant trampolines has been built in a quarry cave in the Welsh town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. You have to wear white overalls and helmets in it, so we’re stupidly close to getting the world’s largest game of Kosho going here. Trampolines are awesome: it’s all the fun of jumping on your…

Whitney Cummings Offers Advice About Your Tinder Pics

Tinder demands some degree of vanity—it’s an app designed to get you laid on looks alone, duh—but some people still get it very, very wrong. Whitney Cummings provided some biting criticism when Conan asked for her feedback. Posing with an expensive car? You probably hired it. Showing off your guns? You must be unemployed. Dressed…

Google Glass Hardware Just Got a Spec Bump

Google has announced that Glass is getting a hardware update following its extended Explorer testing feedback—but current owners won’t get upgraded. https://gizmodo.com/watch-the-daily-show-hilariously-troll-six-glassholes-r-1590364537 Google has decided to double the RAM in Glass from 1 to 2GB, as well as giving it a slightly bigger battery. Google claims that Glass will now last 15 percent longer between…

Every single airplane crossing the North Atlantic in a 24-hour period

This new cool 3D visualization shows all the airplanes that go through the five major air spaces over the North Atlantic during a 24 hour period. It’s like watching a modern version of the thermonuclear war simulations in War Games—without all the final explosions. The video was created by NATS—a big provider of air traffic…

MGM Is Still Trying to Reboot WarGames

The latest in proof that Hollywood is out of ideas is MGM’s dogged pursuit of remaking the 1983 classic WarGames. To which we say: Stop it. MGM’s been trying to get this project off the ground for years, having once had Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) attached to direct. Now, MGM is negotiating with Dean Israelite…

Magic fabric doesn’t catch fire after being doused with molten aluminum

The molten aluminum being poured out onto the thin black fabric is bubbling at a scorching 1500 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s hot. And yet, for all the heat and fire and flame power, the magic fabric easily withstands the burning liquid metal. The fabric doesn’t catch fire, it doesn’t get burned through and there’s not a…

Spider-Man‘s Upside Down Kiss Is Vastly Improved By Adding a Dog

This is adorable. Everything should just be made with dogs and cats instead of people. I would watch them all. [via Tastefully Offensive]

This video explainer makes a very convincing argument to eat bugs

Before I watched this video by the whip smart guys at AsapScience, I never considered eating bugs in my entire life. Now? Well. Damn. It actually makes a lot of sense. Raising bugs doesn’t take nearly as much space as raising animals and it doesn’t require the same amount of resources either. Heck, bugs may…

World’s first android newscasters are here to replace cable news hosts

In the future, we’ll get the news from fair and balanced android newscasters that’ll somehow terrify us more than the cable newspeople we have today. These android newscasters are frighteningly lifelike and can interact with humans, read the news and Tweets, tell a joke and basically replace the lousy talking heads on TV. The android…

Did This Ancient Civilization Avoid War for 2,000 Years?

The Harappan civilization dominated the Indus River valley beginning about five thousand years ago, many of its massive cities sprawling at the edges of rivers that still flow through Pakistan and India today. But its culture remains a mystery. Why did it leave behind no representations of great leaders, nor of warfare? Archaeologists have long…