Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
The arrival of a new Marvel movie is as inevitable as the passage of time itself at this point—as is it being joined by a slew of Hot Toys figures to go with it, much to dismay of a comic book fan’s wallet. Captain America: Civil War in no exception, and Hot Toys have now…
When the Zoomer interactive dog was first introduced a few years ago, Spin Master officially took up the robotic pet torch that was slowly burning out after Sony abandoned the Aibo. The Zoomer Dog was followed by the award-winning Zoomer Dino, but neither are as remarkably capable as the latest addition to the Zoomer line.…
Graffiti and vandalism might be illegal, but as Banksy has proved, there’s a lot of money to be had in artfully tagging buildings. So instead of steering your kids toward a career path in medicine, Crayola’s updated Air Marker Sprayer might prepare them for a future as a renegade artist. Instead of having to mix…
If you and your significant other refuse to buy into another manufactured Hallmark holiday, here’s the perfect counter-programming to share so all your friends and followers on social media know exactly how you feel. You might want to think twice about sharing this one with kids, though. If only because the bear isn’t exactly anatomically…
Last year Mattel completely re-invented the View-Master by turning it into what eventually became one of the better Google Cardboard solutions on the market. For $30 it was cheap, comfortable, and held almost any smartphone available. And this year Mattel will be introducing a new model that fixes all the original’s minor problems. For instance,…
The smell of melting plastic is particularly unpleasant, so instead of putting Barbie on a two-wheeled self-balancing contraption prone to melting down, Mattel has given Barbie a hoverboard that legitimately takes to the air. Available in the fall for $60, Barbie’s hoverboard is essentially a remote control quadcopter drone with a lightweight foam version of…
With umpteen different Star Wars movies enroute, it’s understandable that Star Trek fans might be feeling a little left out. But 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the franchise, and to help celebrate Spin Master has turned its popular quadcopter drones into a flying version of the USS Enterprise. The detailed replica features the entire…
Do you hear that? That’s the sound of privacy and children advocates having a conniption. Because following up on last year’s controversial Hello Barbie that relied on the internet to have real conversations with kids, Mattel has just revealed an entire dream house that uses a wi-fi connection to respond to voice commands. So as…
For years, the United Kingdom’s Environment Agency has been using Lidar to study flooding and coastal changes. Since 1998, it’s had an unexpected use: discovering long-lost roads left by the Romans, helping to uncover new details of the country’s past. The Romans were renowned for their infrastructure projects, and their efforts extended far into Great…
Yes, music takes you places, and this was true 100 years ago too, when sheet music was the most widespread form of distributing popular music. And in the age of the Wright brothers, when powered flight started to gain ground, aviation became a significant theme in popular music. The following collection proves this very well.…
When you’re a kid, there’s an endless list of things you’re not supposed to eat, and that includes bubbles. But apparently the science of bubble solution has come a long way over the years, because a company called Little Kids, Inc. has succeeded in concocting bubbles you can not only eat, but are actually surprisingly…
The tech world loves their Easter eggs, from Adventure’s original hidden feature to Tesla’s various car tricks. But don’t fall for the recent claims for one hidden in your iPhone: if you attempt it, you’ll brick your device. A prank originating from 4chan claims that if you set your iPhone’s (5s models and up) date…
It’s a testament to the devotion of train enthusiasts that model railroads have remained a popular hobby for over 100 years. And to keep another generation interested in the toys, Lionel has turned its classic trains into something that looks more like a slot car track. But where as you usually need to clear a…
There have been rumors of a massive new Star Wars set based on Echo Base from Empire Strikes Back for ages now, but they’ve finally been confirmed: Lego have just announced a gigantic new set jam packed with so much goodness even the smell of Tauntaun insides couldn’t ruin it. Assault on Hoth contains over…
Because apparently a regular-sized Rubik’s Cube wasn’t already enough of a challenge, Tony Fisher built himself a version that’s over five feet long on each side. Even just bringing it out to play looks like a monumental struggle, let alone the back-breaking challenge that is trying to solve it. Fisher is still perfecting the design…
Here’s another thing to add to your ‘I really wish they had these when I was a kid’ wish list. If just the thought of running into battle carrying three or four Nerf blasters leaves you breathless, the Battle Racer from Hauck Toys makes it easy to simply roll up with a heavy duty arsenal…
If you’ve experienced it, you know what I’m talking about, although you might not have known the name for it. It’s when a sound triggers a physiological response from your body—perhaps a slight tingling that starts at the nape of your neck. It feels gooooood. But what is it? Welcome to Gizmodo’s Happy Hour. Substance…
Shun Hung Square is a 1,260-foot tall skyscraper that’s the third tallest building in Shenzhen, China. It’s really, really tall. And watching the guys from On the Roofs climb it gets more and more stressful because they just keep going up. You think they’ve reached the top but there’s still another level that’s narrower and…
Guys may loudly rule the dark corners of the internet and be considered the “computer nerds,” but according to a new paper from Cal Poly and North Carolina State University, it’s the ladies who are kicking ass and taking names when it comes to coding. The paper, still awaiting peer review and thus subject to…
DARPA, the Pentagon’s research division, just revealed a speed demon quadcopter that flies 45 miles an hour. It’s like a cheetah drone. I can’t stop watching glorious footage of this glorious cheetah drone. It’s a product of DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy program (FLA), whose goal is to beef up drone processing power that’ll let them…
