Mistakes

The 12 Biggest Missed Opportunities in Tech

The tech world is full of flops. This ain’t them; some of these companies and their products were monstrously successful for a time; others never even had the high expectations and hype required for something to earn the title “flop”. Nope, this is a list of the folks who had something special—a firm grasp on…

Tech News Seth Porges May 22

Feuding Women Inadvertently Create Toxic Gas In the Middle of a Wal-Mart

Hey, did you hear the one about the two women fighting in a Wal-Mart? It’s a real gas! No, really, that’s not a punchline. Two women threw ammonia and bleach at one another and created poisonous gas in a Wall-Mart: Two woman involved in an altercation at southern Baltimore County Walmart store threw bleach and…

Tech News Jack Loftus Oct 8

Nuking a Hurricane Would Be a Really Bad Idea

Did we learn nothing from Independence Day? Nuking things for nuking’s sake just doesn’t work like we think it might. Take a hurricane, for example. It’d be relatively immune to whatever ordinance Bill Pullman—sorry, humanity—might throw at it. First of all there’d be the obvious nuclear fallout. Because hurricanes are coziest in the tradewinds, NOAA…

Tech News Jack Loftus Aug 28

Tablet Sales Are Just Fine, Thank You

Seems a few people forgot to read IDC’s tablet report extra carefully this weekend and as a result of that the whole tablet thing was deemed to have come up short of “lofty expectations” or something. But they’re actually fine. The IDC report, you see, only covered that period of time between January to March…

Tech News Jack Loftus Jul 10

Will.i.am Forgets His Own Lyrics During Performance, Reads Them from Cellphone

Have you ever unwittingly memorized the lyrics to a Black Eyed Peas song? Of course you have—they’re too damn catchy not to remember! Which is why this video, of frontman will.i.am resorting to reading the words to his own song from a cellphone during a recent performance of “Don’t Stop the Party” on French TV,…

Television Matt Cherette Jun 10

Blue Angels Commanding Officer Steps Down for Flying Too Aggressively

Commander Dave Koss, commanding officer of the Navy’s venerable Blue Angels flight demonstration team, has voluntarily stepped down after taking his four-man team too close to the flight deck during a Barrel Roll Break maneuver. In the video below from the Lynchburg Regional Airshow, you can see how the maneuver is designed to unfold (first…

Tech News Jack Loftus May 29

Time Warner Cable Charges Man $16 Million to Watch March Madness

How much do you love basketball? Enough to pay your cable bill? Probably. Enough to pay $16 million dollars? Probably not! So you can imagine the surprise of Ohioan Daniel DeVirgilio when he learned TWC tried to do just that. DeVirgilio learned of what TWC is describing as a “human error” only when he saw…

Television Sam Biddle Mar 25

How This Drunk Tweet Got Sent From the American Red Cross’s Account

Followers of the American Red Cross looking forward to the usual blood drive updates were surprised to find this tweet in their feeds two nights ago. It’s not every day the world’s largest volunteer services gets “slizzered.” So what happened? Was it a malicious hack to make the ARC seem like a bunch of lushes?…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 17

Yahoo! Can’t Tell the Difference Between Yoko Ono and World of Warcraft Monster

“John Lennon’s family and friends today”: What do they look like? According to Yahoo! (taking a page from the Washington Post) they look like a World of Warcraft orc or monster or something. No wonder the Beatles broke up! http://gawker.com/5525783/the-washington-post-cannot-tell-obama-from-malcolm-x

Tech News Max Read Dec 8

Some Would Think a BlackBerry Torch Running Android and Motoblur is a Very Good Thing

After a Droid X was seen ‘shopped with the iPhone’s Google Maps in a Verizon ad, it should come as no surprise to see an advert of a BlackBerry Torch running Android and—gasp!—Motoblur. Mad Men’s Don Draper would whip the art team for this. [Frandroid via An.Droid Life via PMPToday via UberGizmo]

Tech News Kat Hannaford Dec 3

College Kid Discovers False Murder Accusation While Googling Himself

Most of us probably Google ourselves semi-regularly, right? (Right guys…?) But if there’s one thing worse than discovering you’re an online nobody, it’s discovering that you’ve been wrongfully accused of murder by your local police department. How very embarrassing! University of Florida student Zachary Garcia was in the midst of a normal vanity Googling when…

Tech News Sam Biddle Nov 30

Thirty Years Ago, a Louisiana Lake Turned Into a Swirling Pit of Destruction

In 1980, Texaco drilled down to look for oil beneath Lake Peigneur. A little too far down. The mistake drained the entire lake like a bathtub, creating an enormous whirlpool that consumed barges, drills, and 65 acres of land. Oops. The error lay in the fact that the Diamond Crystal Salt Company was simultaneously operating…

Tech News Sam Biddle Nov 21

Google’s Biggest Mistakes? Wave, Gmail’s Launch, and DejaNews

Google’s made some grave errors in the past year (Wi-Fi snooping and Buzz to say the least), but VP Marissa Mayer’s picks of their three worst are surprising, to say the least. https://gizmodo.com/google-snooped-on-you-for-three-years-but-is-profound-5539395 In a video interview with Digg Dialogg, she said that “certainly there are things we’ve learnt from that, certain things we would…

Tech News Kat Hannaford Nov 3

Cloudy With a Chance of Gigantic Penis

OK, as far as inadvertent weather forecast genitalia goes, it really doesn’t get much better than this. Does this guy realize it? Do the producers realize it? We’ll never know for sure. In any event, good work, Texas/Mexico border. [TheInternetToday]

Television Kyle VanHemert Oct 22

One Politician’s Incredibly Unfortunate Tweet

Meg Whitman is running for governor of California. Last night, her spokesperson tweeted what was intended as a standard-issue endorsement announcement. But when you leave off a letter from a bit.ly address, strange things happen. Like, really, horribly, hilariously strange. What Sarah Pompei’s followers were treated to wasn’t the promised endorsement by the Deputy Sheriff’s…

Tech News Brian Barrett Oct 19

Those 100 Million Sunflower Seeds Are Being Removed From the Tate Modern

Remember that installation of 100 million meticulously hand-painted ceramic sunflower seeds that just opened a few days ago at the Tate Modern? It turns out they’re giving off “noxious ceramic dust” and now they all have to be removed. Whoops. https://gizmodo.com/the-tate-moderns-new-art-installation-100-million-hand-5662788 No word yet on if or when the exhibition might reopen. [HipHopCube via BoingBoing]

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Oct 15

Don’t Put Your Secret Second Marriage Photos on Facebook

Fellas, how many times do we have to go over this: when you leave your wife and family in Ohio and go secretly marry a much younger woman in Florida, do not let her put the wedding photos on Facebook. Lynn France was a little suspicious when her husband claimed to have gone to China,…

Social Media Hamilton Nolan Aug 5

UPS: Getting Your Packages Into the Garbage On Time or Your Money Back

I’m pretty sure BSMT GARBAGECAN is not where this package was intended to be delivered. But hey, UPS delivered it, and that’s all that counts, I guess. Martin says: On Monday I couriered an envelop containing paper objects and a DVD from Toronto to New York, to be included in an exhibition that will open…

Tech News Adam Frucci Feb 25

Google Admits Buzz Testing Sucked and They Are “Very, Very Sorry”

Google has admitted that their Buzz testing process was equivalent to mine: Click enable, then disable it ninety seconds later. They said to the BBC that their testing sucked donkey balls, which is why many people hate it. The excuse: https://gizmodo.com/f-ck-you-google-5470696 We’re very early in this space. This was one of our first big attempts.…

Privacy & Security Jesus Diaz Feb 17

Fans Come Down On New Moon’s 22 (And Counting) Mistakes

Just because New Moon was one of the biggest films of all time doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Twilight fans are cataloguing the film’s many on-screen errors. We’ve picked our favorites, and suggested a few of our own. Right now the fans have identified 22 flaws, and counting. We’ve listed a few funny ones below, but…

io9 Meredith Woerner Nov 30

The 12 Biggest Missed Opportunities in Tech

Feuding Women Inadvertently Create Toxic Gas In the Middle of a Wal-Mart

Nuking a Hurricane Would Be a Really Bad Idea

Tablet Sales Are Just Fine, Thank You

Will.i.am Forgets His Own Lyrics During Performance, Reads Them from Cellphone

Blue Angels Commanding Officer Steps Down for Flying Too Aggressively

Time Warner Cable Charges Man $16 Million to Watch March Madness

How This Drunk Tweet Got Sent From the American Red Cross’s Account

Yahoo! Can’t Tell the Difference Between Yoko Ono and World of Warcraft Monster

Some Would Think a BlackBerry Torch Running Android and Motoblur is a Very Good Thing

College Kid Discovers False Murder Accusation While Googling Himself

Thirty Years Ago, a Louisiana Lake Turned Into a Swirling Pit of Destruction

Google’s Biggest Mistakes? Wave, Gmail’s Launch, and DejaNews

Cloudy With a Chance of Gigantic Penis

One Politician’s Incredibly Unfortunate Tweet

Those 100 Million Sunflower Seeds Are Being Removed From the Tate Modern

Don’t Put Your Secret Second Marriage Photos on Facebook

UPS: Getting Your Packages Into the Garbage On Time or Your Money Back

Google Admits Buzz Testing Sucked and They Are “Very, Very Sorry”

Fans Come Down On New Moon’s 22 (And Counting) Mistakes

‘Good Omens’ Season 3 Is Still Just One Episode, Despite Being Called That

Steam Gaming Has Arrived on Apple Vision Pro, and It’s Unexpectedly Glorious

RFK Jr. Will Take on Joe Rogan for Podcaster Supremacy

The Spymaster’s Guide to the Secret Agencies of ‘Star Trek’

Uber Is Testing Driverless Volkswagen ID. Buzz Vans in Los Angeles

Cast Adrift, Meta Employees Have No Idea Who the ‘Token Legend’ Is Anymore

Microsoft Office 2024 and Windows 11 Pro Bundle Hits 76% Off, a Complete PC Setup for Less

You Can Add ‘Lamp That Folds Your Laundry’ to the List of Doomed Startups

Asus Zenbook A16 Review: Start Considering Snapdragon on PC, for Real

Aqara Thermostat Hub W200 Review: Almost Better than My Ecobee

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

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