Tech news, analysis, culture, business, security, and more
In-N-Out, the world’s second best fast food burger chain for anyone who eats food regularly, enjoys having good taste, and is considered a trustworthy person, has an infamous ‘secret menu’. It’s not exactly secret because everyone pretty much knows about it. But for those who don’t know, Foodbeast did brave work in cataloging In-N-Out’s secret…
Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson became a superstar after founding her church in 1923 Los Angeles; her Foursquare Gospel teachings still have millions of followers today. But she made her mark on history beyond religion, too—by mysteriously vanishing for five weeks at the height of her fame. It happened in May 1926, when the 36-year-old had…
Oh hello, fine citizens of Gizmodo. Can we all agree to burn this week down and never look back? I don’t know what’s in the cosmic air, but everyone I know has been reporting a hellish stretch of days. WTF, November? You’re supposed to be chill. To distract from The Troubles that people seem to…
Internet cafes started as coffee shops where you could check email. But over the years, people turned them into dens for sharing pirated music, hotspots for video game addiction, and even temporary housing. How Internet Cafes Were Born In the February 17, 1993 edition of the Washington Post, writer John Boudreau filed a story from…
It’s been an amazing week of secret histories on Gizmodo, and we wanted to finish up by sharing our own secret histories. Apparently, the family histories of Gizmodo staffers are full of criminal acts, shenanigans, and hanky panky. So it’s confession time … Annalee Newitz: My great-grandfather was an arsonist. He came over from Central…
Everyone assumes that one day robotic arms will be dominating human opponents at the inevitable Cyber Olympics. If IBM’s research division has anything to say about it, flying drones could pose the bigger threat to mankind’s gold medal dreams. Jae-Eun Park and the rest of the computer vision research team at IBM have successfully taught…
After 6 years of readers submitting photos to our weekly Shooting Challenge, Gizmodo is retiring the series. So for the final challenge, I want you to take your best shot. The Challenge Take a photo of anything you’d like. The Method The possibilities are endless, but let me call out a few fun options. You…
People in swamps occasionally see mysterious lights in the forest, dubbed “will-o-the-wisps.” They’ve been attributed to spirits or aliens, but scientists say they are probably the product of resourceful microorganisms. You’ll find phosphate, PO4, in most living things, because it helps regulate metabolism. That means you’ll also find it in the ground, since this is…
If you were looking forward to poisoning your loved ones and playing it off as a holiday accident, don’t look to the poinsettia to lend a hand. The famously “poisonous” seasonal flowers are not poisonous at all. Poinsettias are the big ugly red flowers often associated with Christmas. As a child, I was always warned…
Politicians and Anonymous activists are freaking out about fighting ISIS on social media. Into this minefield stepped homeland security analyst Paul Rosenzweig, who proposed a solution so bad it’s mind-boggling. He wants to use copyright law to stop terrorism. Rosenzweig , founder of the homeland security-focused Red Branch Consulting PLLC, posted “ISIS and the DMCA…
Remember Carmageddon, LA’s massive freeway widening project that was supposed to paralyze the city? (It didn’t.) The demolition of a single overpass alone took an entire weekend. Earlier this month, a major Beijing overpass was demolished and completely replaced in less than two days. How did this happen? While the demolition of the old bridge…
Manhattan’s rails-to-trails High Line sparked a global trend of turning old transit infrastructure into parks. But a new breed of public spaces aren’t waiting for the transportation around them to stop running—they’re transforming the ground below the still-active elevated tracks. Use the slider to navigate between before and after shots proposed for Miami’s Underline We’ve…
Microsoft turns 30 today, and what a joyous occasion it is. Windows is once again a force to be reckoned with, and all it took was Windows 10 not being a complete dumpster fire of a UI. As the operating system has changed, so has Microsoft’s approach to sales—from one strain of crazy to another.…
New European proposals would go after non-banking payment methods in an effort to curb the flow of money to terrorist activities. Meanwhile in America, the first debit card for bitcoin just became available. It’s a bit jarring to read Reuters’ report about the EU’s desire to clamp down on unregulated monetary systems next to Wired’s…
Were it not for the tiny gray studs atop each platter, you’d probably need more than a double-take to confirm that this pair of Technics turntables (plus a mixer) were actually made from nothing but Lego. Built by Arran Hearn after finding the rounded Lego panels that make up the outer edge of each platter,…
So you’ve probably seen that viral video showing cats having the bejeezus scared out of them by a particularly snake-like vegetable: the lowly cucumber. Hilarious, right? Sure—if you’re a human. As a veterinary technician points out, this trending activity could cause lasting psychological problems for your feline companion. The video, posted to YouTube on November…
Every year, a few thousand engineers get together and decide which projects constitute the absolute smartest ideas in their profession. This year, they’ve chosen the largest dome structure ever built—which can open and close in less time than it takes to make dinner. It’s always interesting to see what professionals, not outsiders or journalists, think…
Shopping for other people is hard and gift-giving can be high pressure. But that doesn’t mean science-fans need to settle for sad math pun T-shirts (acute angles, indeed) or beaker mugs. Here are some scientific gifts anyone would gratefully use, even after the politeness-mandated holiday stretch. A Food Scale Most of our everyday chemistry happens…
A cache of over 4,000 silver and bronze coins dating back to ancient Rome has been discovered by a Swiss farmer. Buried some 1,700 years ago, it’s one of the largest treasures of its kind ever found in Switzerland. As The Guardian reports, the trove of coins collectively weighs 33 pounds, or 15 kilograms. They…
Wow. PlayMID’s Porta Estel·lar is a trully stunning visual light show inside an old airplane fuselage. It mimics the concept of interstellar travel, “from departure and takeoff to the sighting of comets, planets, galaxies and alien worlds, until finally returning safe to earth.” Watch it, it’s a total trip (in every sense of the word).…
