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Sure, some random objects like a frying pan and a shovel make some sort of sense to use as a ping pong paddle replacement. But an iron? A kitchen knife? A wooden spoon? A rolling pin? Just watch these two dudes get wild with their paddle ideas. Even though they’re doing it as a goofy…
According to a new report from Mark Gurman, Apple will kill the iPhone’s physical home button in 2017. Don’t get it twisted, this isn’t the iPhone we’re going to see in a few weeks; it’s the iPhone after that. And killing the home button is a very sad idea. We’ve heard the rumor that Apple…
Do you have a deadline looming in the next 20 minutes or so? Do yourself a favor and avoid BlankWindows.com at all costs because despite being a website filled with nothing but empty randomly sized windows, it’s surprisingly addictive if you try to move them off-screen and dig down to the bottom. You have developer…
One might think that caring for a robot baby—one that cries and sleeps like a regular human baby—might discourage teenage girls from getting pregnant. According to new research, however, the robo-babies actually appear to have the opposite effect. A study published today in the medical journal The Lancet found that so-called infant simulator-based programs, which…
Nothing is more important to us than our precious digital photos, so keeping them stored safely in the cloud is crucial. The problem is, both Apple and Google have great photo-storage services, and it’s hard to know which one is actually better. Here’s how Apple Photos and Google Photos stack up against each other. For…
The dodo has been extinct for about 350 years, and it’s entirely our fault—so why not own a memento of man’s destructive tendencies in the form of a three-foot tall bird skeleton. Dodo bones come up for auction from time to time, but this skeleton is the closest to a complete specimen that’s ever come…
Hey, look! Pictures of self-driving Ubers are starting to emerge from Pittsburgh. Uber announced the launch earlier this month. While the cars do indeed drive themselves, there’s still going to be a human at the wheel. Which is probably a good idea! Uber is partnering with Volvo to roll out these self-driving cars. This is…
In a new blog post for Virgin.com, billionaire Richard Branson writes about his recent flirtation with death, when he got into a gruesome bike accident while training for the Virgin Strive Challenge in the Caribbean. Here’s how it happened: Branson was biking down a hill as it got dark. He hit a speed bump head…
WhatsApp betrayed its long standing commitment to privacy when the company announced the app will now share user data with Facebook for the purpose of selling ads. But existing users have only 30 days to opt out. Here’s how you do it. When prompted to accept the new privacy policy, tap the “Read more” tab…
For every genuinely clever device that manages to succeed on Kickstarter, there are 1,000 other ridiculous crowdfunding campaigns that thankfully don’t succeed. There’s a chance you might roll your eyes at the Nail Capsule, unless you’re not a monster and hate the thought of fingernail clippings flying all over the place. It doesn’t take a…
As arguably the world’s most active volcano, Hawaii’s Kīlauea presents a unique opportunity for researchers who want to observe the Earth’s geologic processes in real-time. Even more importantly, as a goddamn erupting volcano, footage of Kīlauea is gnarly as fuck. This week, the United States Geological Survey demonstrated that gnarliness by sharing over 10 minutes…
Are vaccines good for public health? Absolutely. Does Jill Stein believe this? Probably, but her stance has always been a little ambiguous, perhaps in an effort to get those sweet, sweet anti-vaxxer votes. https://gizmodo.com/jill-stein-deletes-tweet-that-says-theres-no-evidence-1784624949 Today, in a meeting with the Washington Post editorial board, Dr. Stein once again attempted to clarify her position, saying: Vaccinations…
The son of a prominent Russian politician has been convicted in Seattle of 38 charges related to stolen credit card information, including 10 counts of wire fraud and nine counts of obtaining information from a protected computer, the Justice Department announced on Thursday. According to prosecutors, Roman Seleznev was “one of the most prolific credit…
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the cyberattack on Leslie Jones, according to a report by the LA Times. The Ghostbusters actress has been subject to a barrage of online harassment since July, after Breitbart tech blogger Milo Yiannopoulos incited his army of alt-right eggs to harass Jones on Twitter, ultimately resulting in Yiannopoulos…
A group of scientists at Lancaster University in England are constantly monitoring geomagnetic activity, to get a heads-up for the spectacular night sky display known as the Northern Lights. So a couple of days ago, they were thrilled to get a strong reading that an aurora was likely imminent. Alas, it turned out to be…
Of all the movie presidents—not fictional presidents like Morgan Freeman’s President Tom Beck in Deep Impact, but rather, actors’ portrayals of real presidents—which one did his best? To help you decide, Candice Drouet put together a quick video showing actors playing presidents, including Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon, Jon…
According to the caption on this White House photo, President Obama is watching “a virtual reality film captured during his trip to Yosemite National Park earlier this year.” But we all know that photo captions lie. So, what’s he actually watching? The “virtual reality film” was apparently made this summer while the the First Family…
A kind of batshit insane and unprecedented thing has just happened in the world of ethical hacking. After finding serious security vulnerabilities in St. Jude Medical’s pacemakers and defibrillators, cybersecurity and research company MedSec decided to take that information to a short-seller (Carson Block of the investment firm Muddy Waters) which then bet against the…
Not everything Google touches turns to gold—just ask Robert Scoble—and Google Fiber, it seems, is in the midst of joining those not-so-illustrious ranks. According to a new report from the Information, Alphabet CEO Larry Page recently passed down some strong recommendations to Google Fiber leader Craig Barratt: slash his staff numbers in half and drastically…
The roboticist behind the creepy snake robot is back with another snake robot. Only this time it’s a robot that you’re supposed to willingly let slither into your mouth. (For health reasons.) The Flex Robotic System, which looks sort of like Wall-E’s phallic little cousin, is developed by Howie Choset, a professor of Carnegie Mellon…
