Tech News

These 5,000 Melting Figures Commemorate World War One’s Fallen

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Britain’s entry into World War One, and commemorative eventsare taking place across the country. None are more beautiful than Nele Azevedo’s “Minimum Monument”, however. The Brazilian sculptor had 5,000 ice figurines placed on the steps of Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square this weekend, with the slowly melting sculptures representing those that…

Why We Yawn (And Why It Really Is Contagious)

Babies, dogs, cats, birds, mice, rats and even snakes yawn, and some of us were even doing it in the womb. Although for thousands of years the reason has remained elusive, recent scholarship may have uncovered the truth as to why we yawn. Physiology of Yawning When a person yawns, the stretching of powerful jaw…

Extreme wide angle photos turn mosques into beautiful kaleidoscopes

Mohammad Reza is a self-taught photographer from Iran. The wide angle lens and the colorful Persian architecture give to his pictures a mesmerizing kaleidoscopic effect. Most of my pics are covering a very wide angle of view (showing an entire building in one picture ) and also they are high dynamic range, for me light…

This turquoise gem is what summer looks like in southeastern Alaska. From an altitude twice that of commercial jets, NASA’s arctic research airplane ER-2—a civilian version of the Air Force’s U2-S reconnaissance plane—captured this view of a summertime melt pond atop a glacier on July 16, 2014. [NASA Earth Observatory]

This Floating Glass Hotel Will Let You See Northern Lights in Luxury

If you dream of watching the Northern Lights in decadent style, then you should wait until 2017—when this wonderful, floating, snowflake-shaped hotel will be ready in the icy reaches of northern Norway. The creation of Dutch Docklands, which specializes in the construction of floating structures, the 86-bedroom Krystall hotel is planned to float in the…

UK Intelligence Has Endorsed Cyber Security Courses For Wannabe Spies

The UK intelligence agency GCHQ has accredited six BritishMaster’s degrees in Cyber Security as meeting its “stringent criteria” for training young Cyber Security staff. And, presumably, future spies. For those of you interested in pursuing a career in Cyber Security that’s respected by British intelligence, the courses are: Edinburgh Napier University (MSc in Advanced Security…

This render is so realistic that you might think mermaids are real

The guys at Lightfarm Studios tell the classic impossible love story between a mermaid and a human in this impressive 3D composition. Everything but the model—the corals, the diver, the tail of the mermaid, the shipwreck—is made in 3D. I could spend hours watching these guys work. NSFW-ish. The video on how they made it…

Gmail Scans Caught a Sex Offender Who Left No Trace Elsewhere Online

We all know that our Gmail inboxes are scanned, and that Google uses automated image scanning to track down child exploitation—but it’s now been made clear the two overlap: searches of a Gmail inbox have led the arrest of a registered sex offender who has illegal photos of children in his email account. News reports…

Spray-On Solar Cells Are Finally Viable Technology

The concept of spray-on solar panels has existed for some time, but it’s been hard to make them efficient. Now, a team of scientists from Sheffield University is using a new material to create a solar paint that could change that. The researchers have claimed for for a while that this should be possible. But…

How to Plan an Epic Backpacking Trip

One of the most incredible ways to explore this planet is on foot, carrying everything you need to survive on your back. Here’s how to make backpacking as awe inspiring as possible. Choose an Epic Destination: My favorite part about living in LA is leaving LA. We are close enough to the Sierra Nevada that…

This Nintendo Avengers animation short should be made into a game ASAP

Here’s a fun mashup that combines two things most people who enjoyed childhood video games and comic book movies: Nintendo characters as The Avengers. Mario is Iron Man, Pikachu is Thor, Luigi turns into the Hulk, Link as Captain America and so on. They basically re-create The Avenger movie in this video by James Farr.…

Is Man With a Movie Camera Really the Best Documentary Ever?

Earlier this week, the British Film Institute (BFI) published results from a first-of-its-kind poll, asking 340 filmmakers and critics to vote for the best documentary of all time. The clear winner was Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera. But this 1929 avant-garde exploration of the USSR didn’t just eke by, it absolutely crushed the…

The Adult Swim Singles Program Provides a Soundtrack for the Summer

Every summer since 2010, the Adult Swim Singles Program gathers together a group of musicians to contribute one new single every week. Whether it’s been an LCD Soundsystem remix or a hip hop-laced song from Flying Lotus, these weekly singles inevitably become my soundtrack for the summer. And this year they’re killing it. First off,…

What’s the One Gadget That Got Away?

This week a video popped up on a few websites of a thief relieving his victim of very pricy pair of Google Glasses. Of course what the NYC ne’er-do-well didn’t know was that the owner was recording him—including his rave-filled nightlife—using a third-party Glass app called LiveLens. Even though that story could be a potential…

A New Chrome Extension Loads a Different GIF Every Time You Open a Tab

A lot of my day is spent in search of GIFs—those few seconds of endlessly looping animations that can perfectly describe any mood. A few websites hoard a treasure trove of these motion memes, and of course, I have every single one conveniently bookmarked, but with the help a new chrome extension, my GIF intake…

How a Stoned Teen’s Wikipedia Hoax Is Still Fooling Scholars and Experts

Welcome to Reading List, Gizmodo’s weekend collection of the best writing from around the web. Today we’ve got pieces from The Daily Dot, Motherboard, Medium, and more! EJ Dickson explains how a joke “fact” she and a friend added to the Amelia Bedelia Wikipedia page in 2009 (while stoned) fooled scholars, authors, and even Herman…

Floods, Rats, and Dominoes: What’s Ruining Our Cities This Week

Biblical floods swept through L.A. thanks to a water main break. Rats are overrunning Paris. And games—those dangerous diversions!—are being outlawed Seville, Spain. Hmm, does this sound like the end of days to anyone else? It’s a Revelations-themed look at What’s Ruining Our Cities! Floods are ruining Los Angeles Over 20 million gallons of drinking…

LG’s Upcoming G Watch Update Uses Software to Heal Its Hardware

As is true with most nascent technologies, you’re going to hit a few bumps along the way. Developing a new gadget has always been a step-by-step process and the LG G Watch is just the latest example. Complaints have been circulating that the exposed POGO pins on the back of the watch cause skin irritation,…

A 4Chan Post Just Sold for $90,900 on eBay

What is art? For this eBay seller it’s something as simple as a 4Chan post. Originally caught by Artnet, a vendor known only as “Artwork by Anonymous” turned the above piece of what would usually be everyday internet ephemera into a $90,900 masterpiece. The lucky buyer also gets free expedited shipping. The seller obviously had…

Build Your Own Simple Speaker With Just a Copper Wire and Magnet

YouTuber Andy Elliott (mist8k) stumbled upon an awesome DIY project. While “tinkering with a small electric engine,” he describes in his video, “my audio jack accidentally came in contact with the engine…and started randomly playing music.” Elliott unknowingly built his own speaker. Fascinated by the idea, he broke down this accidental discovery into a step-by-step…