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First Secret Service Trailer Has Badass Spies With Even Better Manners

Behold, the first trailer for Matthew Vaughn’s violent return to comic book movies. Kingsman: The Secret Service is based off the comic books created by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. They have a wonderful retro spy feel, but the story is still set in modern times, with plenty of wonderful gadgets. Watch! The premise is…

Smoking E-Cigarettes Is A Surprisingly Effective Way To Quit

New research shows that smokers who are trying to quit are 60% more likely to succeed if they switch to e-cigarettes compared to those who use willpower alone or try nicotine replacement therapies, such as patches or gum. The results, which are set to appear in the science journal Addiction, were based on a survey…

This Company Uses Earth’s Magnetic Field To See Inside Buildings

In some ways, it’s an ominous pitch. By measuring the “magnetic fingerprint” of any building in the world, the Finnish company IndoorAtlas can conjure up a startlingly precise indoor map of any building. It’s technology that sci-fi has dreamt of for decades. But instead of surveillance, it’s being used for shopping. According to The New…

What if David Lynch directed The Return of the Jedi?

I really like David Lynch and I wish this wasn’t just a trailer edited by a fan. It isn’t too far from reality, though. George Lucas approached David Lynch in 1981 to direct The Return of the Jedi, the third and last episode of the trilogy. I bet his version wouldn’t be as dark as…

Palaeontologists Next To Dinosaur Bones

Including scale in photographs is important for them to hold scientific value. When you’re a geoscientist taking field-photos, humans make remarkably good scale objects. Enter palaeontologists, with their constant need to point out how much larger dinosaurs are than their research topics. https://gizmodo.com/scale-is-deceptive-1578771839 Diego Pol next to a titanosaur’s thigh bone via CBC http://www.cbsnews.com/news/scientists-discover-largest-dinosaur-ever-to-have-walked-the-earth/ https://observationdeck.kinja.com/paleontologists-laying-near-giant-dinosaur-bones-1578923927

120-foot bowling strike is possibly the longest bowling strike ever

These guys decided to see if they can get a strike 120 feet away from the pins, all the way from the door of the main door of the bowling alley. It probably took a few dozen tries, but they finally succeeded, achieving what perhaps is the longest bowling strike ever.* * Of course, this…

A Guillotine On a Stick That Lets You Play Caesar With Slugs

If you’re tired of your local snail and slug population undoing all the hard work you’ve put into your garden, there’s finally a tool that lets you choose between getting rid of them humanely, or turning them into ironic compost to help your flowers and vegetables succeed. There’s no doubt that Unikia’s Snail Pick and…

What Is the Most Terrible Plot Hole in the History of Science Fiction?

It’s not that I expect every science fiction story to be entirely rational, or to cleave perfectly to scientific reality. But when something happens out of nowhere, or (for example) a character is able to “blend in” and hide despite being world-famous — well, I’ve fallen into a plot hole and I can’t get out!…

Scuba diver almost gets swallowed by 49-foot whale

This 49-foot (15 meter) Bryde’s whale came close to accidentally swallowing diver Rainer Schimpf off the coat of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The whale appeared right under Rainer, going up mouth open, swimming at full speed to catch as many fish as she could. Schimpf was underwater watching the annual sardine run, a natural event…

No, Your Urine Is Not Sterile

There’s a widely held belief that urine, except in cases of kidney or urinary tract infections, is sterile. It’s a myth that won’t go away — but a recent study linking bacteria to the bladders of healthy women should finally put this tired notion to rest. This finding was recently presented by researchers from Loyola…

The FBI Is Struggling to Hire Hackers Who Don’t Smoke Weed (Updated)

The FBI has a problem. The agency needs to hire hackers to build out its cyber crime division, but it also will not hire anyone who’s smoked weed in the past three years. And guess what? A lot of hackers like to smoke weed. It’s a real conundrum. However, it’s a conundrum the FBI is…

The Mysterious Disease That Prevents Girls From Growing Older

A handful of girls diagnosed as having ‘Syndrome X’ seem to defy one of the biggest certainties in life: aging. Scientists who are working to understand this rare condition say it could inform our efforts to radically extend the human lifespan. Richard Walker has been trying to conquer ageing since he was a 26-year-old free-loving…

These Adorable “Robot Tortoises” Were the Roombas of 1949

Watching our small family of Roombas tidy up has been one of the biggest hits at Gizmodo’s Home of the Future this week. They’re just! So! Damn! Adorable! But in 1949—long before the sweet little guys were making our floors dust-free—a British neurophysiologist and roboticist named Dr. William Grey Walter invented a mini-gang of early…

They’ll Let Anybody Into the Justice League Nowadays

DC’s “Forever Evil” mega-event finally comes to a close tomorrow, Peter Parker is back to being screwed as the Amazing Spider-Man, the TMNT are now 30-somethings, and meet the plumber who must save the world but isn’t named Mario, all in this week’s comics! New Issues Dark Horse: • Star Wars: Darth Maul: Son of…

Good news: Twitter has backed out of talks to purchase SoundCloud, thus avoiding ruining one of the best services on the internet. Sounds like Twitter listened to our plea. [WSJ]

The World’s Smallest Nanomotor Spins as Fast as a Jet Engine

A team of engineers at the University of Texas at Austin recently created the world’s smallest, fastest nanomotor. Designed to power microscopic machines that could deliver medicine or fight cancer, this thing will fit inside of a human cell. And boy can it purr. https://gizmodo.com/scientists-put-tiny-sound-powered-motors-inside-living-1520079572 The three-part nanomotor is less than 1 micrometer on all…

Can Juliette Lewis and Molly Ringwald Save The Jem Movie?

If anyone can save this High School Musical-looking Jem movie, it’s actual rock star Juliette Lewis. Thank goodness she’s joined the cast. This movie needs some actual badassery in it. Also, 80s icon Molly Ringwald. Deadline is reporting that Lewis has been cast in a “secret supporting” role. Look I’m just going to say this.…

Flooding in the Balkans Comes with Landmines

Rainfall that usually takes three months dumped in just three days over the Balkan Peninsula this month. The result is devastating floods and thousands of landslides. To make everything just that much worse, the floods are also exposing landmines and washing away warning signs. Turkeys in landslide debris in Topcic Polje, Bosnia. Photography credit: AP…

A Drug That Could Destroy Political Movements

As neuroengineering becomes a reality, scientists are grappling with the ethics of changing people’s perceptions and feelings — especially when it comes to love. We’re on the cusp of “anti-love” drugs, that could help people recover from bad love affairs. What could go wrong? A lot. https://gizmodo.com/scientists-need-philosophers-to-solve-this-problem-1578428283 Over at New York Magazine, Maia Szalavitz has…

On This Day in 1899, The First Speeding Arrest Happened—At 12 mph

If you think Manhattan traffic is slow today, consider that Jacob German was arrested on this day in 1899 for driving at the blistering speed of 12 mph. The speed limit he blasted past? Eight mph between streets, and 4 mph around corners. He is unlucky enough to be remembered forever, as the New York…