Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Well here’s a fun trick for any New Yorker who wants to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius easily, courtesy of Google employee Gabor Cselle on Twitter. “To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius,” he writes, “know that -10C is 14F, and then follow the NYC MTA 6 stops uptown.” Yes, it’s an approximation, but it’s pretty easy to…
I’m pretty sure I could pass a high school history test about the Civil War armed with only the knowledge that was dropped on me from watching this highly entertaining 10-minute animation from John D. Ruddy. I’m actually halfway certain I would do better on that test after watching this YouTube video than I would…
Cool teens of America, hit your vapes now because I have some really, really bad news for you: Some narc who goes by the name of “Mitch Zeller” and works at the “FDA” just officially made it illegal for people under 18 to buy e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah tobacco. Some teens, predictably, are taking this…
Here’s a remote-controlled robot skull with a bunch of spooky legs. It’s cool. A guy who goes by Y Nakajima built it. His website is here. It’s inspired by those strandbeest things that everyone loves. No, I can’t tell you how to build one. [Boing Boing]
Do you notice anything weird about this ad for the new season of Supergirl that’s coming out in October on the CW network? Look closer… Yeah, that’s unfortunate. Too bad the dozens of people at CW didn’t catch that, right? Well, as Buzzfeed points out, the ad is completely fake. The original ad simply reads…
According to a report by security blogger Brian Krebs, Oracle’s popular MICROS point-of-sale terminals support website was commandeered by a Russian cybergang. This is bad since MICROS is in the top three most popular payment systems in the world. In a statement to Gizmodo, Oracle said it had “detected and addressed malicious code in certain…
Not all scary movies are actually all that scary so what is it about the best scary movies that make them so much more terrifying than the rest? It’s in the editing. Now You See It shows us how great horror filmmakers can make a scary scene stand out by slowly building out the suspense…
If you’re one of the country’s most important spy agencies, you’d probably have a pretty strict list of what documents to keep secret, right? Well, judging from my latest FOIA request, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) might just be winging it. Back in April, I filed a Freedom of Information request for a list of…
Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of ancient stone tools at a dig near Azraq, Jordan, some of which still contain traces of animal residue. A number of food items on this bona fide paleolithic menu will be familiar to the modern eater, while others, well, not so much. A new study published in the…
If you thought drone racers simply rolled up to an event, grabbed an RC toy out of their trunk, and lined up to race, you’ve got a lot to learn. We popped by the US National Drone Racing Championships, recently held in New York, and asked one of the competing teams to show us what…
According to various reports, the water at multiple Olympic venues is pretty much full of shit. Unfortunately for three different rowers, they’ve now probably eaten that shit. On Saturday, Serbian rowers Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik capsized after battling what The Guardian described as “vicious crosswinds” and choppy water. Here they are: And here they…
Walt Mossberg is a legend. I mean it—he’s someone I’ve tried to emulate for most of my professional career. He’s made a great living testing gadgets, hanging out with influential technologists, and giving everyday people advice on how to better use their consumer electronics. But lately, it seems like Mossberg’s love affair with tech is…
The Gizmodo office is rife with Australians. I mean. There are only two. But that is a lot, statistically speaking. According to Wikipedia there are only about 60 well-known Australians in America. Also according to Wikipedia, in the year 2000, there were only about 61,000 Aussies horfing down Vegemite while telling us that what we…
One of the first things I asked of Nick Detloff was that he cast a spell on me. The 36-year-old Michigan resident says he’s the only person offering real-time spellcasting on Facebook Live, and based on my own research, that’s true. (Many Wiccan-centered groups on the platform are closed or hidden, including the one Detloff…
Watching lightning streak across the night sky is already one of Mother Nature’s most spectacular displays. But photographer Ron Risman has managed to improve that natural pyrotechnics display with a stunning 4K video of the spectacle that’s perfectly edited and synced to a rousing soundtrack. The Fourth of July will never be the same once…
Liquid nitrogen is an endless source of fun. You can freeze things and smash things into pieces. Or you could pour it onto things and then watch the smoke monster move around and then smash things into pieces. Or you could dunk things in it and then watch the smoke disappear and then smash things…
It’s halfway through Monday, and you look like you could use a drink. These are the best places to consume one. 20) The floor 19) Stoop 18) Tub 17) Concert 16) Sitting shotgun 15) Beach 14) The Game 13) Woods 12) Bed 11) Shower 10) While finishing another beer 9) Mommy’s basement 8) Rainforest 7)…
According to the LA Times in 1923, it took streetcars 30 minutes to move just six blocks in downtown LA that summer. The automobile had invaded the city, and the streetcars were owned by private companies that didn’t want to spend any money on improvements. The dream? Elevating mass transit, like in the 1923 model…
Jupiter is often referred to as a “failed star,” leading some futurists to wonder if our descendants might set it ablaze in a process called planetary stellification. A new study suggests this is indeed theoretically possible—and that we should be on the hunt for galactic aliens who have already converted their gas giants into stellar…
Woah buddy it’s 10:30am on a Monday and this hungover blogger has something to get off his chest. After writing no fewer than 17 posts in the past few weeks about our nation’s newest craze, I have some sad news to report to you all: Pokémon Go is a bad, bad game. Why, you ask,…
