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We were teased a hoverboard. We saw a hoverboard. And we even rode the hoverboard. So how does Lexus’ hoverboard actually work? This video breaks down the science behind it and like all things magical in science, it’s the lovely work of magnets. We can see how the polarity of the magnetic track is set…
Want to bring the (surprisingly good) power of Cortana to your MacBook? Well, there’s now two options. https://gizmodo.com/parallels-11-can-put-microsofts-cortana-on-your-mac-1724883769 Parallels and VMware have long been the two options for running Windows programs on OS X, and that isn’t going to change one bit for Windows 10. Parallels announced an updated version for Microsoft’s new OS last…
Once it’s been processed and pulped, most red meat looks more or less the same. This seems to be helping unscrupulous meat suppliers: according to a new survey, 20% of ground meat contains more than what’s just on the label. Correction: A previous version of this article mistakenly said that ground beef was one of…
Slow internet is the worst possible kind of internet, as anyone who’s sold kidneys to use in-flight Wi-Fi can probably attest. GoGo, the biggest player in the airborne Wi-Fi game, has been promising faster speeds since 2013; thanks to a FAA decision, the company is now one step closer to coming through. https://gizmodo.com/every-major-airlines-wifi-service-explained-and-ranked-1701017977 Up until…
If there is one thing all of humanity can agree on it’s that Mad Max: Fury Road was pretty much the most awesomest action movie this year. But it’s even more awesome to think about how impossible that awesomeness was: it’s a franchise whose last movie was 30 years ago. Its director did Happy Feet…
Some people dedicate their lives to doing good by like, building houses and killing mosquitos and being a doctor and making sure people can get water or something. Other people dedicate their lives to a much simpler cause that is totally different but is absolutely still improving the world around us: by punching as many…
The market for fish oil supplements is worth $1.2 billion annually, and you know what? It’s full of shit. I mean that literally and figuratively. The side effects of taking dietary fish oil include anything from nosebleeds to diarrhea. But you’ve been told for years that the precious omega-3 fatty acids in these supplements can…
It feels like a wave of pressure-sensitive tactile interfaces has been about to crest for years. But a pair of engineers believe they’ve built the hardware and software that could delivers on that promise—and they’ve funded the first round of production in just a couple of hours. It’s called Sensel Morph, and the two inventors…
The Star Wars hype is real, and it is upon us. [Laughing Squid] Contact the author at [email protected]. Public PGP key PGP fingerprint: 91CF B387 7B38 148C DDD6 38D2 6CBC 1E46 1DBF 22
Minnesota-based We Are All Criminals shares the anonymous stories of people who’ve committed crimes (vandalism, robbery, drugs, etc.) but were never caught, and contrasts them with similar stories of those who were. In doing so, the project “seeks to challenge society’s perception of what it means to be a criminal.” If you’re not able to…
We know the origin story for most of all our superheroes: parents die, a kid gets bit by a spider, other people get sent to Earth, some are just rich ass sociopaths. And we’ve seen superheroes before they get their powers when they’re Just Like Us but what we rarely see is what life is…
Connected States: Living Out of a Van in the Badlands
It must feel thrilling to be rich, free to fling millions of dollars at whatever your heart desires. Right now, you can buy a private island and former sea fort off the coast of Denmark for a little under $9 million. That includes a restaurant and a hotel. What a bargain! Nothing screams luxury like…
I’m a hunter. Not because I hate animals or nature, but because I love them. Two weeks ago, I flew to Washington to shoot a bear with a bow, that was a couple weeks after the whole #CecilTheLion business. And hunting was different, but maybe not for the reasons you’re thinking. Back in February, I…
As robots become more common in offices and homes, more humans will need to communicate with them. Sadly, bots still can’t converse or read or write well—yet. A European research project is looking to fix this limitation with a WikiHow-skimming kitchen robot that uses text and voice commands to throw together grub. The European research…
There are a million ways people might use drones in the future, from deliveries and police work to journalism. But in this episode, we’re going to talk about consumer drones — something that you or I might use for ourselves. What does the world look like when everybody with a smart phone also has a…
We’ve debunked it before, but this photo just won’t go away. The 1948 picture above doesn’t show Albert Einstein with his therapist. The guy Einstein’s meeting with is Cord Meyer, Jr., president of the United World Federalists. Meyer, a CIA operative, was merely discussing world politics with the famed scientist. If you follow history accounts…
In 1993, a 23-year-old woman went missing, leaving her young son behind. The only clues to Jacksonville, Fla. resident Bonnie Haim’s disappearance were her purse, found tossed in a dumpster, and her car, which was abandoned at the Jacksonville airport. For two decades, the mystery persisted. This week, the cold case notched a grim if…
Challenging Tonka’s super-tough construction toys, this giant plastic dump truck (with reinforced steel axles) is engineered to be strong enough to withstand up to 400 pounds of pressure. Which means you can fill it with a mountain of toys without having to worry about it breaking. A plastic pin and a pair of rotating hooks…
If you have a really nice set of chef knives, you’d know (or should know!) that the blades need to be maintained and sharpened to make life easier for you in the kitchen. Chef knives are meant for chopping food stuff but they’re basically bad ass mini-swords. How To You shows us—in very instructive detail—how…
