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When it comes to camouflage, we lowly humans are far behind the cephalopod. Octopus, squid, and cuttlefish have the amazing ability to change color or texture—going from scarlet red to bone white, bumpy to smooth in just seconds. But we’re making progress. Scientists at MIT and Duke have created a new stretchy camouflage skin inspired…
You know how I know it’s garbage day? Because it’s 5 am and it sounds like the trucks from Pump are getting busy on the curb. VROOOOOM, CRUNCH, SLAM, WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA, SLAM, CRUNCH, VROOOOOM. But some lucky Chicagoans will soon be able to sleep all the way through the night thanks to a new…
There are some that believe that even cracking a smile in the kitchen is an insult to the culinary arts. For the rest of us, the internet’s a treasure trove of fun, but often useless, gadgets for the kitchen. This DJ Grater manages to be both whimsical and useful, letting you grate cheese like you…
This clever power strip (can I even call it that?) is shaped like a cube to accomodate all of your oversized all warts. It even has a couple of USB ports for your convenience. The price currently varies by color, but the green is as low as $13. [PowerCube Power Strip with 4 outlets, Dual…
September continues with a quieter week after the sales-beast that was Destiny tore through last week – but there’s still plenty of games coming out. Come and talk shop about what you’ve been playing in the latest edition of Tuesday Game Room! What have you been playing this week? I have continued to play a…
Work on TOTE shipholding’s new Marlin-class cargo ships is progressing quickly. Late last month crews were photographed installing the vessel’s main engine, a 539-ton behemoth that runs on liquefied natural gas rather than diesel. “This large slow speed (two stroke) dual fuel engine is the first of its kind in the world” said Phil Morrell,…
It’s hard to understand why Canadian adventurer Bruce Kirkby decided to go over the 93 miles that separate Vancouver from Victoria on an inflatable standup paddleboard. Why do humans sign into such extreme, dangerous and exhausting adventures? This award-winning short documentary digs into that question. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us…
Amongst Apple’s deluge of announcements last week, the company declared that the two iPhone 6 models and other iOS 8 iPhones would support Wi-Fi Calling, a nifty sounding tech that can use your home Wi-Fi to make calls. But the terminology is confusing, and it doesn’t help that carriers are dancing around what it means.…
Is there anything more awkward than showing up to a birthday party or a wedding and plunking down the smallest present on the gift table? It turns out that science can help compensate for your limited spending through some simple optical illusions. By wrapping your gift in this clever paper that makes it look like…
Searching for porn on the internet just got easier (not that it was hard before). Boodigo, a porn search engine created by porn producer Colin Rowntree and ex-Google programmers, filters out the web’s non-sexy content to get you exactly what you’re looking for. No more pictures of old brass instruments when you search for rusty…
Apple recently gave iTunes users something they didn’t want for free: a new U2 album. Reactions have ranged from “who the hell is U2?” to “who the hell is U2 and why is this on my phone?” The move has also spawned countless jokes, including the photoshop’d image above. Yes, despite looking plausible enough, it’s…
Chromecast just got another wave of apps. Leading the charge this time is the newly Amazon-owned Twitch, along with iHeartRadio, and a handful of Disney streaming apps. Amazon-owned Instant Video, however, is still nowhere to be seen. But still, you just got a few more excuses to never leave the couch! https://gizmodo.com/why-everyone-wanted-to-buy-twitch-1626616566
IFTTT is a simple yet powerful way to put your digital stuff to work making your life easier, automatically. Now, thanks to a collaboration with Automatic, drivers of some 2011 or newer Ford vehicles can summon IFTTT with the push of a steering-wheel button. Earlier this year, Automatic introduced a $100 dongle that plugs into…
With roughly 12,383 miles of coastline, the US has plenty of potential installation sites for offshore wind farms. Floating data collection centers like the one shown above will help energy companies and government agencies alike find the windiest, and most effective locations along America’s shores. Since wind farm technology has really only come into its…
Making and sharing your own Google Map isgetting easier thanks to the newly rebranded and relaunched “My Maps” tool. There’s also a new Android appso you can make and manage your maps on the go.
Qatar, the 2022 host of the World Cup, is not a large country, with a population just over 2.1 million. So to prepare for the millions who’ll descend on the country eight years from now, it’s going to great lengths—including building an entire new city from scratch. It’s called Lusail, and it’s set to be…
LittleBits has had a busy year. First, it released an Arduino module that let you program your own littleBits circuits and then the CloudBit that let any circuit become internet-connected. Now, the pioneering startup is launching the final piece of the puzzle: the bitLab. https://gizmodo.com/littlebits-now-lets-you-to-build-your-own-diy-smart-hom-1609215918 The bitLab is basically an app store for hardware. It…
We’ve seen dust devils and firenado, but are you ready for a volcanic vortex? This swirling whirl of ash, volcanic gas, and flaming doom was imaged above the Holuhraun fissure eruption in Iceland earlier this month. The name is up for debate: I’ve seen both volcanado and volcano tornado in use, while a volcanic vortex…
We first wrote about Misfit Wearables’ first activity tracker, the Misfit Shine, back in 2012. Not only did it look absolutely gorgeous, but it never needed charging, and it was waterproof. It had some flaws, but for 100 bucks, it wasn’t bad. Well Misfit’s second wearable, the Flash, is here, and it just undercut its…
Microsoft’s got a new mobile keyboard, but you won’t find a Windows key anywhere on it. You will find a “Command” key though, and a little switch that toggles between Windows mode, Android mode, and iOS mode. It’s a keyboard that aims to turn any tablet into a Surface. The new Universal Mobile Keyboard isn’t…
