Tech News

Video: The resonant frequency of googly eyes

Rob Cruickshank decided to embark on the important research of finding out the resonant frequency of googly eyes. He found it. It’s at around 433Mhz where the sound makes the googly eyes start to vibrate and get extra googly inside their plastic shell. Silly, hilarious and always a little creepy. SPLOID is delicious brain candy.…

TedEd has posted an excellent overview of in-vitro fertilization, summarizing how the method taps into the female reproductive cycle to harvest eggs, some techniques for getting fertilization to happen in a dish, and the options for gestating the resulting embryos. Contact the author at [email protected].

Does Safely Ejecting From a USB Port Actually Do Anything?

Is there any harm to be incurred by just pulling a flash drive out? Why do we need safe removal at all? Historically, Operating Systems treat disks as objects that can be trusted not to change state suddenly. When reading or writing files, the OS expects the files to remain accessible and not suddenly disappear…

This Humble Cactus Could Help Fuel Our Drought-Stricken World

As drought strikes broad regions of the world, farmers are focusing on the crops that can feed people—not the crops that can power their cars. But what if there was an energy crop that could grow where traditional crops can’t? Even in a drought? Enter the cactus. Climate change and drought aren’t just affecting agriculture.…

You Can Customize These Cardboard Pinball Machines However You Want

There’s a certain appeal to playing a pinball machine that even video game versions can’t perfectly replicate. And with these cheap miniature cardboard versions, pinball fans can finally customize their own machines using a glue gun, hobby knife, and other crafting supplies at their disposal. The PinBox 3000 comes as a build-it-yourself kit. But you…

The Army Built a Robot To Help Soldiers Shoot Guns Better

The Army’s latest supersolider innovation is inspired by the movie Aliens. And yes, the mechatronic arm exoskeleton is about as apocalyptic as it sounds. The arm-mounted device is literally a robot that lets soldiers shoot guns better. Scifi references aside, the exoskeleton seems to make good sense. Using a combination of carbon fiber, mounted motors,…

I Want to Live In This Colorful Maze Made From Sheets of Plastic

Each year a different artist or designer is tapped to create the Serpentine Pavilion, a site-specific installation that’s open all summer in London’s Kensington Gardens. This year’s Pavilion just opened to the public as a colorful, cacophonous labyrinth—with a secret cafe at the center. When can I move in? According to the Madrid-based artists José…

Lock and Unlock Your Android Device Automatically with Gravity Screen

Levels of smartphone addiction being what they are, locking and unlocking your mobile can take up a lot of precious time in the day: If only your phone knew when you were looking at it and when you’d set it down or put it in a pocket. That’s exactly that Gravity Screen offers, a free…

The iZombie Action Figure Comes With All The Brain-Eating Tools You Need

iZombie was a pleasant surprise when it debuted on the CW earlier this year, but the most pleasant surprise of all? That we’re getting merchandise for it—Diamond Select have announced they’re bringing Liv and friends to the world of action figures, and Liv herself is coming with some pretty fabulous accessories. Announced by Entertainment Weekly,…

Make Some Room For a Perfect Replica of the Millennium Falcon’s Cockpit 

Hot Toys has more than made a name for itself when it comes to its insanely detailed sixth-scale action figures. But instead of collectors just perching them on a shelf, the company is going to start introducing other places for its figures to hang out, starting with a perfect sixth-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon’s…

Amazon’s 20th Birthday Party Will Bring “More Deals Than Black Friday”

Get your credit cards ready. Amazon says that it’s celebrating its 20th birthday with what it’s calling Prime Day, a massively discounted 24 hours of shopping which will feature “more deals than Black Friday.” The “global shopping event” will only be available to Amazon Prime customers, and even then it will only happen in he…

Weaponizing Nerf Toys: Don’t Try This at Home

Strict safety regulations and litigious lawyers mean your kids’ toy foam blasters don’t have a lot of power behind them. And that’s a good thing, unless you spend you days making insane slingshot creations and have decided that Nerf’s Rebelle Bow Blaster needed an upgrade like Joerg Sprave did. By swapping in some beefed-up elastics,…

This 3D Printer Is an Artist That Paints With Light

3D printing needn’t just be used to make real objects. Artist Ekaggrat Singh Kalsi has been using one to paint with light—and this is what it looks like. Light painting is, of course, nothing new. But here, Kalsi has attached an RGB LED to the working end of a 3D printer and captured the way…

Chlorine Trifluoride: The Chemical That Sets Fire to Asbestos on Contact

First discovered back in the 1930s, chlorine trifluoride is a rather curious chemical that easily reacts, sometimes explosively, with just about every known substance on Earth. Just to get the ball rolling, here’s a few of the more unusual things chlorine trifluoride is known to set fire to on contact: glass, sand, asbestos, rust, concrete,…

How Many Sailors Do You Need to Pull a Helicopter to the Ground? 

Five, but they all have to be on the staff rotor! Sorry, that’s an awful joke. Actually, this image shows a team fast-roping from a helicopter: Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 3, execute a fast-rope exercise with an SH-60 Seahawk assigned to the “Black Knights” of Combat Helicopter Squadron 4, on the flight…

This Is the First Video To Be Projected on to Clouds From an Airplane

This video isn’t in 4K. Or 3D. It isn’t even in full color. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s the first video to be projected from an airplane onto the clouds outside. New Scientist explainsthat the hardware for the project was created by artist Dave Lynch, scientist Mike Nix and maker Aaron Nielsen. Project Nimbus,…

Robots Can’t Kill You—and Claiming They Can is Dangerous

If we start holding robots responsible for their actions – and accidents – we let their human designers and operators off the hook. Robots’ involvement in human deaths is nothing new. The recent death of a man who was grabbed by a robot and crushed against a metal plate at a Volkswagen factory in Baunatal,…

Major Government Spying Service Supplier Hacked, 400GB of Data Stolen

An Italian company called Hacking Team, which supplies intrusion and surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies, has been hacked. The intruders have made off with 400GB of data which is now being leaked online. The tranche of document reveals details about the company’s clients, along with passwords and details about the use of…

The Best of Gizmodo This Week

Apple jumped into the streaming music game this past week, and we give it a try. We had some thoughts. We also previewed the new Mac OS El Capitan, and tested a bunch of inexpensive laptops to find the very best. Meanwhile, our weekly podcast discussed what would happen if a star exploded near Earth,…

Facebook Really Would Like You to Use GIFs in Messenger

I’m personally doubtful that GIFs need more help in taking over the internet, but then again, I don’t have Mark Zuckerberg’s vision (or even two lowly commas). Facebook appears to be testing a new built-in way to search GIFs and stickers in Messenger, with the feature available to select users in Canada. Although you’ve been…