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We’ve certainly made some pretty big advances when it comes to household lighting—but why rest on our laurels? The next leap forward in lighting could be sheets of OLEDs that hang from your walls—and use half as much power as light bulbs. While OLEDs currently power the displays of TVs and smartphone to great effect,…
Beans. They are delicious. And great for you too. One of the staples of the mediterranean diet. Sure, they have some resounding side effects, but nobody is perfect. This cute video explains the science behind farts. Watch it and learn—because farts are always great table conversation. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join…
I don’t know how scientifically accurate the script of this short film by French directorAćim Vasić is. It seems very unlikely that planets can shift their orbits the way the film describes but there’s something undeniably true that makes this movie worth watching: Its depiction of human greed. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome…
Detecting lung cancer can now be as simple as exhaling into a specially-designed thermometer, which is good news, since it’s dastardly difficult to detect. A research paper presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Munich suggests that a simple, non-invasive breath test could be enough to detect the deadly disease. Here’s how the…
Neutron stars. They are so strange that we can barely wrap our heads around the idea of their existence. In fact, we still don’t really know most things about them, so we can only guess and wonder trying to explain their extreme properties. This video explains all we know—or suppose—about them. SPLOID is a new…
Hey Spotify users, your favorite streaming app is going to be plastered with video ads soon. The company’s Spotify for Brands initiative wants to get Spotify’s 30 million free listeners to sit through visual adverts in addition to the regular audio ads. There will be two types of video ads in Spotify. “Video Takeover” does…
Google Glass can now detect when your stress levels are through the roof, which, let’s face it, is decidedly less creepy than having it detect someone else’s. An Glass app called BioGlass, developed by researchers at Georgia Tech and MIT, uses the built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and front-facing camera on Google’s wearable device to measure your…
GM is already taking technology in cars seriously, but it has plans to take it to the next level, and soon. Yesterday, the company announced that in less than two years its cars will communicate with each other—and hopefully even drive themselves. At a conference in Detroit yesterday, GM’s Chief Executive Mary Barra announced that…
If we get a massive 5.5-inch iPhone 6 this Tuesday, wouldn’t it make sense if the apps that ran in landscape mode had dual panes, just like on an iPad? The ever-reliable Mark Gurman of 9to5 Mac thinks they just might. Gurman has posted some screenshots sent to him by developer Steven Troughton-Smith, who altered…
Facebook is adding two new features to be more like Youtube. Starting this week, the social network will start displaying video view counts, so you can instantly tell how popular a certain clip is. You will also be presented with a list of related videos, just like YouTube, once you finish watching something. Facebook announced…
Your iPhone and Android devices are about to get some Bing goodness. Microsoft is releasing its touch-first Bing apps — News, Weather, Travel, Finance, Sports, Health & Fitness, and Food & Drink — that already exist for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 for the rival mobile platforms in the next few months. Oh, and…
Time travel is tricky business. If done right it can be an effective narrative device, but when abused it becomes a muddled mess of questions. “Wait, he did what? When? Where? Wouldn’t that change the future? I mean, the past? ARGGG.” But Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure totally nails it because, in the end, the…
For eight years, La Blogothèque has been creating the best way to watch music on YouTube. Its Take Away Shows follow independent and mainstream artists around various French locales and capture what they do best: make music. This week, Jack White reminded us why this series is so amazing. White sets up in the Château…
The app developers of the world have had another week to impress us, and they don’t disappoint. Here’s the best and most brightly-colored apps that were introduced or newly revamped this week. Go ahead, let your smartphone taste the rainbow. Multi-Platform Updates TheScore TheScore gives you the constant-updating, wall-to-wall sports coverage you need, whether you’re…
Welcome to Reading List, Gizmodo’s weekend roundup of the best and most interesting writing from around the web. Today, we’ve got great work from Pacific Standard, Outside, Nautilus, and The Paris Review. Let’s dig in! By 2012, David Roberts wasn’t just a man, he was a brand: A star political blogger for Grist, by August…
Jack the Ripper, the scourge of Whitechapel and possibly the world’s most famous cold case, has reportedly been solved by a businessman and a forensic analyst, according to The Daily Mail. The partner teamed up after businessman Russell Edwards obtained a shawl that supposedly belonged to Catherine Eddowes, an unfortunate victim to the Ripper’s grisly…
If cooking is science for hungry people, brewing is applied chemistry for thirsty people. The Gedrinken Experiment will explore the brews and spirits inspired by science. The first entry is Great Basin Brewing Company bringing a Triassic beast back from extinction as the Ichthyosaur IPA. Top image base image credit: Ryan Somma; mashup: Mika McKinnon…
And that was the week that was! Toybox’s first week has been quite a success – here’s a round-up of our best material from the past 7 days. Toybox is well on its way to its 300k US Uniques target for September, racking in 102k as of yesterday. It’s a great start, and it’s too…
Samsung’s Gear VR virtual reality goggles, which use a Galaxy Note 4 for brains, will cost $200 when it hits the market, says VentureBeat. Note, that cost doesn’t include the price of the Note 4, which will run $300 on contract, $800 purchased outright. [VentureBeat via The Verge]
Video game consoles are amazing. Ever since I cracked into my first NES 20+ years ago, they continued their steady progression of awesome. Yeah, there have been a few hiccups along the way (does anyone remember 3DO Interactive Multiplayer?), but overall every iteration was an improvement. The most successful consoles, handheld or otherwise, of course…
