Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
Google had a big 2015: It changed its logo, divvied up its business into startups like Sidewalk, Calico, X, Fiber, and consolidated all those companies into one brand named Alphabet. Now Alphabet is very, very close to being named the world’s most valuable company—yes, more valuable than Apple. The suite of companies that now form…
Take the burning hot that is molten aluminum and mix it with the very cold that is liquid nitrogen and dry ice and you get an awesome as hell experiment that breaks science. Or something like that. Whatever it is, it’s very, very cool because you get to see the extreme reaction create giant bubbles…
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking pregnant women to avoid 22 countries that have seen outbreaks of the Zika virus. That’s up eight from just yesterday. Disturbingly, the mosquito-borne virus, which may be causing abnormally small heads in newborns, has also been linked to yet another debilitating disease. The Zika virus…
The great storm is finally here. What can we expect? The latest forecast is out—and it’s both weird and grim. Read it tucked safely indoors, with candles, canned goods, and the last of your frail hopes gathered tightly around you. The heaviest of the snowfall is set to be in Washington DC. Yesterday, they were…
Now that you’ve gotten over the excitement of WhatsApp scrapping its $1 annual fee, you’re probably wondering how you can start making the most of the Facebook-owned messaging app. One trick for Android users you might not have come across is using widgets to jump straight to your favorite conversations. Here’s how. There are three…
This week, The Wall Street Journal published a Q&A with Rob Naylor, “the brewer who could create the next Bud Light.” The article wondered, “Could Bud Sour Ale be next?” I sure hope not. In fact, we can’t let it happen. Welcome to Gizmodo’s Happy Hour: Substance abuse for nerds Bud Sour Ale is not…
The iPhone 6c? Naw. Maybe it’s the iPhone 5e? Nope. Apple rumor machine 9to5Mac’s Mark Gurman is going with “iPhone 5se” for Apple’s rumored 4-inch iPhone, supposedly coming this March. It makes me want to punch something. Previous rumors have said that that the “e” stands for “enhanced,” but also supposedly “special edition.” What happens…
Just when the news about lead poisoning the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, couldn’t get any worse. A report from The Guardian says many US cities are systemically and purposely downplaying the amounts of lead and copper in municipal water systems. A scientist who was part of an Environmental Protection Agency taskforce disclosed documents to…
Oh to be a kid again when even lawn work could be fun. This genius kid strapped himself up in a leaf blower and started spinning around in circles because the air blowing out was so powerful. He looks like he’s having the time of his life! He looks like a superhero first learning the…
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld missed a huge opportunity this week by releasing a card-game iPhone app that isn’t called “Rummy’s Gin Rummy.” Instead, his app is called “Churchill Solitaire.” But…I LOVE IT! If the name didn’t tip you off, it’s a Winston Churchill-themed Solitaire game. Rumsfeld created it working with his former aid,…
A new fractal analysis of London’s dense network of streets and intersections reveals that a green belt meant to encourage migration to the suburbs had the opposite effect. The city has just became denser. People really seem to love urban living, especially in a thriving city like London. The work could shed light on how…
Vine just released their playlist of popular vines from the past year. Frankly, most of them are dull as shit. So instead of squeezing off a blog post directing you to mediocre shit curated by Vine, we’ve decided to compile a list of high-quality shit curated from the world of garbage video by Everything Is…
Yesterday we mistakingly declared that a bouquet of tiny dinosaurs was the best Valentine’s Day gift—we were wrong. If you really want someone to know you love them, or you’re sorry, or you’re trying to rule the galaxy, it’s better said with a bouquet of assorted Star Wars characters. At $60 each bouquet is about…
When Mezco announced they were bringing the original Star Trek to their detailed One:12 line, they did so with a jaw-droppingly brilliant figure of Spock. The next in the line, Mr. Sulu, continues so many of the amazing details that wowed us with that figure…. and then totally whiffs on the face sculpt itself. Seriously,…
The good minds at MIT have used a rubber-like polymer to predict how much light gets transmitted through a material, depending on its thinness and stretchiness. The material could lead to windows that automatically adjust the amount of light that’s let in. We all know that some materials, like balloons, get more transparent the more…
Before you retweet some hilariously indignant missive from Donald Trump, we suggest you look a bit closer. Granted, Trump is known for saying outlandish things on Twitter. But there are so many fake Trump Twitter accounts, you might be retweeting a “parody” account. For instance, here’s a tweet that’s doing the rounds, in which “Trump”…
Turns out, El Niño is the worst kind of party guest: the kind that shows up late and ready to rage, only to stumble home puking an hour later. Just last month we were asking when El Niño was going to get its ass over here, but according to NASA, the climate phenomena that’s caused…
A sonar reading recently revealed a previously unseen trench at the bottom of Loch Ness. Located about nine miles east of Inverness, it looks just large enough for Nessie to hide in. Or more plausibly, it’s yet another attempt by the locals to keep the myth alive—and the tourists flocking to the lake. The crevice…
Microsoft’s looking to shrug off some of this week’s bad Surface Pro PR by finally releasing its promised crazy-powerful Surface configs, including a $3,200 Surface Book with 1TB of storage, 16GB of RAM, an Intel Core i7, and a discreet GPU. Yeesh, that’s a lot of cash. But if you want the best of the…
Quick! Something white, cold, and flaky is falling from the sky. Should you start eating it, perhaps by the spoonful? Maybe—but, more likely, maybe not. Certainly there are some advocates for snow-eating: The Romans drizzled honey on top of snow for a (disappointing-sounding) dessert. A more modern alternative is offered by this recipe for basic…
